TBR Bookshelf Tour #3 ( Bottom Shelf)

We are at the end of the TBR Bookshelf Tours. Hopefully I will find time in the future to film a tour of my other bookshelf. That one is harder since the lighting is bad. I hope I can figure out a way to film it at some point. Let me know if that is something you are interested in seeing.

TBR Bookshelf Tour #2 (Middle Shelf)

Last week I posted the first of these shelf tours I'm doing and started, of course, on the top shelf. Today I have the next installment for you all! If you are wondering why I'm doing these in short segments rather than one long video, it is simply because my computer can't handle exporting such a long video. Once videos get over ten minutes, the computer gives up. So anyway today we have shelf number two! This has some of my most anticipated reads involved so let me know which ones I should pick up first.

Review - Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

Series: Kate Daniels #9 

Genre: Urban Fantasy 

Age Group: Adult

Hardcover - 328 pgs

Ace - September 2016

Source: Christmas Gift

Add it // Buy it

Rating - 4.5/5

Kate and the former Beast Lord Curran Lennart are finally making their relationship official. But there are some steep obstacles standing in the way of their walk to the altar…

Kate’s father, Roland, has kidnapped the demigod Saiman and is slowly bleeding him dry in his never-ending bid for power. A Witch Oracle has predicted that if Kate marries the man she loves, Atlanta will burn and she will lose him forever. And the only person Kate can ask for help is long dead.

The odds are impossible. The future is grim. But Kate Daniels has never been one to play by the rules… 

In this novel we address many issues that have arisen since Kate claimed Atlanta, namely that Kate now has a ton of power and has to deal with how it is changing her. Also her father's continuous attempts to challenge or provoke her. Kate has a lot on her plate even before the Witch Oracle gives her dire news that puts her upcoming nuptials on the back burner. We have been working up to many of these problems for several books and I feel that drive towards the finish line. It is time clear up lingering problems and questions before the big finale which I think is coming (maybe) in book ten. 

We get a lot of answers in this book which I really appreciated. A lot of my favorite characters were back in the picture. (It would be nice to see even more of them.) Kate and Curran's relationship is still a sticky point for me. I find it frustrating that they constantly take action and ask for forgiveness after the fact. It seems to work for them, but the whole trust issue has been there since Magic Rises so I won't keep griping about it. (Well I will but in my own head) 

There is a lot going on in this book and I do want to read it again before the next book is released. Kate does what she does best in this installment. She uses her mental database of knowledge on myths and legends to come up with a plan to save her own skin. It is epic and just what I want from these novels. Kate kicks ass and is smart about the choices in front of her. I love it. I love her and I'm very very curious about where we go from here.

My Last Review ---> Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

#TomeTopple TBR (Round 3)

It is time, once again, for Tome Topple! This readathon doesn't always work out for me, but I still enjoy the community and the amazing books I hear about during it. This time I've picked just two books and we shall see how the reading goes!

Review - Letters from the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Standalone

Age Group: Young Adult

Published: April 4th, 2016 (Bloomsbury)

Source: Won from Author 

Hardcover - 400pgs

Add it // Buy it

Rating 5/5

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. 

This book walked into my life at just the right time. I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Brigid Kemmerer's Facebook and this title arrived on my doorstep in the middle of a reading rut. I've loved Kemmerer's books in the past, and opened this book when it arrived to sneak a peak at the first few chapters. I read a lot more than a few chapters that first day and, in general, had a hard time putting this book down.

The letters at the beginning of most chapters take up a lot of space so you move through the chapters quickly and get a lot of insight into each character from them. Kemmerer didn't shy away from tough topics like loss, abuse, and guilt. I enjoyed how she tackled all these topics and her writing tugged at my heartstrings. I was deeply invested in these two characters.

Throughout the book I enjoyed how Declan and Juliet played into some stereotypes but defied others.  This kept my interest piqued for the whole book and made the characters much more interesting. The two of them grew and changed throughout this book and their growth felt very organic. I liked how romance wasn't the cure-all for these characters problems. They had to continue to battle their demons while romance was blossoming in the background. I also really liked how the physical side of the relationship took a back seat to their problems both in the writing and their minds.

I highly recommend this contemporary and bet this will be on my list of top books for 2017. It was excellent.

Final Thoughts: This story is for fans of You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner.

Fairyloot Unboxing Fail + Haul

My attempt at a Fairyloot Unboxing went a little awry when the footage disappeared! So I improvised and added a couple of books to the end.

Happy Reading!