Weekly Book Round Up! - 19th August

Weekly Book Round Up!

It's been quieter this week so I thought I'd just go over what books I've been reading/getting my hands on this week!

Currently reading: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

Books finished: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Legend by Marie Lu.

Bought: The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate. As I mentioned in my Friday Finds post, I hadn't heard of this title before I saw it in a charity shop. I'm still waiting to read Fallen so I thought I'd pick this up in the mean time!

Library: I picked up Will Grayson, Will Grayson this week by John Green and David Levithan. I've been working my way through John Green's back catalogue so I requested this one from the library a while ago.

What have you been reading this week? Let me know!

Weekly Book Round Up! 16th - 22nd July

Weekly Book Round Up!

16th - 22nd July

Here's a round up of what I've been reading this week!

Currently reading: Hope's Daughter by Melanie Cusick-Jones. The author very kindly sent me a free copy of this book to review. It's a dystopian/post apocalyptic story which is one of my favourite genres to read. I'm really enjoying the world it's set in. Look for my review some time this week!

Books finished: Paper Towns by John Green, Stargazer by Claudia Gray, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Catching the Fever by Kylee Gwartney. Reviews for the last two will be coming soon!

And that's pretty much it in terms of a round up! Next weekend I go away (a certain sporting event in London is calling...) and so I won't be able to do as much blogging as I'd like. I'm hoping to have some drafts saved and scheduled before I go, though, so keep checking back for reviews and updates! Obviously I'll be taking some books away with me. I have a mammoth reading list and plenty of books on my shelves that have been neglected for too long. Still trying to narrow it down to which books to take! There probably won't be a round up/IMM next Sunday so I'll just have to post a mega long update when I get back.

Hope you've all had a great weekend. Happy reading!



In My Mailbox - 15th July

In My Mailbox is hosted over at The Story Siren and showcases the books you received throughout the week. Be sure to pop over there to see some great books!

In My Mailbox

This week is a library special IMM! Ok, so I get most of my IMM posts feature library books but this one is a bumper library special because I got my hands on some pretty awesome books.

First up - Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.

Eek! I've been waiting so long to read this book. I requested it from the library and I've been waiting for them to order it in. Finally got the email this week. I've finished it already and I absolutely loved it! I just adore Lauren Oliver's writing.

At the same time, I also requested Paper Towns by John Green. Ta da!

I've read bought The Fault in Our Stars at the start of the year when it came out, and since then I've been slowly working my way round John Green's back catalogue.

Next up it's Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

I've been wanting to read this for ages! I nearly took it out a few weeks ago but I was on a library ban at the time (too many books to read!) and so my friend took it out instead. She said it was good so when I saw it in front of my this week I couldn't resist taking it out.

And finally Stargazer by Claudia Gray.

This is the sequel to Evernight which I read last month. I had a sort of love/hate affair with the first book but I liked it enough to want to carry on with the series, so I'm looking forward to reading this.

I mentioned in my last IMM that I've been using my library's e-book lending service. There's so much good stuff on there! I've downloaded Percy Jackson and the Lighning Thief from there this week because it's a book I've been wanting to read for absolutely ages and I'm probably one of the few people on the planet who still hasn't read it. Time to change that!

Also, one last book I want to mention (even though it isn't YA) is Separate Lives by Kathryn Flett.

This was my first ever Waterstone's review copy that I won as part of their cardholder review scheme. If you haven't signed up to the scheme then it's totally worth it! It's free to get a Waterstone's card (find out how here) and I've seen a few YA titles on their read and review page before. (For their read and review scheme you receive a free copy of a book in exchange for a review on the Waterstone's website.) This came as a total surprise when the postie delivered it this week! I loved the book so if you're a chick-lit fan I'd highly recommend it.

Weekly Book Round Up!

Currently reading: Paper Towns by John Green.

Books finished: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. (plus non-YA - Separate Lives by Kathryn Flett)

In My Mailbox/Weekly Round Up - 8th July

In My Mailbox is hosted over at The Story Siren. Be sure to pop over there and check out a great selection of books and blogs!

In My Mailbox

This week the latest book by one of my favourite authors was released! Between the Lines is a YA novel written by Jodi Picoult in collaboration with her daughter. It arrived on Friday morning and I couldn't have been happier with it! I don't want to talk too much about it now because I sense an epic review coming next week ;) Here's my copy <3

Love the cover!

And the illustrations are so beautiful <3

Mug shot! Me and my book.

I tried holding off and saving my money but I just couldn't resist. Jodi Picoult books are the books I always have to have as soon as they come out! I was lucky enough to meet her at a signing last year for Sing You Home. I think she's brilliant.

I've also been trying out my library's online e-book borrowing service this week. I was amazed at their range of YA titles! I've just downloaded 2 for now which I'm hoping to read soon. The books I've downloaded are The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, which I've read amazing things about, and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I've been wanting to read this series for a while but the library didn't have it in physical form so thank goodness for e-books!

 

I also received an e-book to review this week - Catching the Fever by Kylee Gwartney which sounds like a really cute read.

Weekly Book Round Up!

2nd - 9th July

Currently Reading: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Books finished: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer (review coming soon!) Silenced by Simon Packham, Evermore by Alyson Noel, The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter by David Colbert, Justice by Jade Varden, Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

Library books: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

In My Mailbox/Weekly Round Up - 1st July

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted over at The Story Siren. Be sure to check out the books and blogs over there!

In My Mailbox

I was lucky enough to receive two awesome books in the post this week. Book post makes me happy! Check them out below.

(Blogging fuelled by a cup of tea as always!)

I've already finished Writing Advice for Teens. You can find my review of that here! I really enjoyed it and learnt an awful lot - I'd really recommend it for any writers/aspiring writers.

I also received a copy of Silenced by Simon Packham which is about a boy who becomes mute after the death of his friend. I'm about halfway through so far and really enjoying it! Hopefully a review will be coming tomorrow once I've finished it so keep an eye out for that. You can read a summary of the plot below.

It wasn't grief; grief I could have learnt to cope with.. It was so much worse than that.
When Chris's best friend is killed in a car crash, Chris is struck dumb – literally.
Mysterious, funny this is a first-class exploration grief and friendships for teenagers.

Weekly Book Round Up!

Here's a quick catch up on what I've been reading this week!

Currently reading: Silenced by Simon Packham.

Books finished: The Spell Book of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty, Writing Advice for Teens by Mike Kalmbach, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, The Rock Star's Daughter by Caitlyn Duffy.

I'm still waiting on the following books from the library - Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, Paper Towns by John Green and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I'm getting impatient for them now! ;) If none of them arrive this week then I have Evermore by Alyson Noel, Eragon by Christopher Paolini and Sabriel by Garth Nix lined up to read.

Released this week: A book I've really been looking forward to is out on Thursday: Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer. I've entered a few competitions to win a copy so I'm waiting to see what comes of those before I order it as I can't really afford more books right now. It's going to be hard to resist, though! Picoult is one of my favourite authors and this book is a YA novel written in collaboration with her daughter. It sounds amazing. You can see the trailer for the book right here!

That's it for this week! Keep an eye out for more reviews next week or check back next Sunday for a round up of what's been happening :)

Weekly Book Round Up! 18th - 24th June

Weekly Book Round Up!

Another week has passed so here's my reading round up! This week's book goodness all in one place. Enjoy!

Books finished: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Intangible by J. Meyers, Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie, The Gathering and The Calling by Kelley Armstrong, Phew! A busy week. A really amazing selection of books.

Currently reading: I had a few books lined up to read next but then I got an email from the library letting me know that Wonder by R.J. Palacio was available to collect, hurrah! I've been waiting for this book for a while. I'm really enjoying it so far :) I'm also reading The Rock Star's Daughter by Caitlyn Duffy which I got on a free iBook downloading spree on my iPod last night. It's actually pretty good so far! Reviews of both will come this week.

Library holds: I'm currently waiting on the following titles to become available - Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and Paper Towns by John Green, all of which my library has ordered in after I requested them. This is why libraries are AMAZING. I'm so excited to get them all! Because I'm waiting for so many books (and I'm going away next month and might not be here to collect them) I've banned myself from placing any more holds - something that is proving seriously tough! I have plenty of my own books to read, though, so I won't run out of reading material anytime soon :)

What have you been reading this week? Let me know! :)

In My Mailbox/Weekly Round up! - 17th June

Hello! This week I've decided to take part in In My Mailbox, a meme hosted over at The Story Siren. Be sure to go over there and check out a great selection of books and blogs.

The reason I wanted to do it this week was because I actually ordered some books and had them come in the post, woohoo! Here's what I got:

Now I am a HUGE Jaclyn Moriarty fan (I'll say that a lot on this blog) but unfortunately some of the books of hers I absolutely loved as a teenager ended up being cleared out my mum years and years ago (sad face) and it's always made me sad that I no longer had copies of those books. So imagine how excited I was when I found one of them on Oxfam Books! (very). Feeling Sorry For Celia (which is an amazing, amazing book) was available at a steal for just £1.49 so I grabbed it.

Upon searching the Oxfam website I also found The Spellbook of Listen Taylor which is the one book of Moriaty's I haven't read yet, so I grabbed that too! I'm really excited to give that a read as it's the first book that isn't a part of the Ashbury/Brookfield series.

After finding Feeling Sorry For Celia I went on an Internet search to find the second book in the Ashbury/Brookfield series Finding Cassie Crazy. I managed to grab that for £2.48 from an Amazon seller.

All these copies are second-hand but I don't mind that about books - it means they've been read and loved by somebody else and that's awesome!

If you haven't read any of these books then here's a quick plot summary of each (from Goodreads). You need them in your life, you really do. (Note: although the Ashbury/Brookfield books are part of a series, they can all be read independently as each book has it's own unique plot focusing on certain characters, but characters from across the series pop up in each of the books so it's a better reading experience to read them all.)

Feeling Sorry for Celia (Ashbury/Brookfield book #1)

Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," a Complete and Utter Stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

But Elizabeth is on the verge of some major changes. She may lose her best friend, find a wonderful new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon.
So much can happen in the time it takes to write a letter...

Finding Cassie Crazy (aka The Year of Secret Assignments) (Ashbury/Brookfield book #2)

Three Aussie girls become pen pals with three guys at another school in this delightful, high-spirited read by Feeling Sorry for Celia author Jaclyn Moriarty.

Told entirely through letters, diary entries, emails, and other writing, Moriarty's novel introduces us to Emily, Lydia, and Cassie -- all students at Ashbury High -- who begin writing to their Brookfield High counterparts through the schools' organized pen pal project. Readers learn quickly that each girl has her own writing style and that at two of the Brookfield boys (Seb and Charlie) seem to be smitten with Lydia and Emily. The only trouble is Cassie's pen pal, Matthew, a shady character who first sends her short, threatening letters and then becomes strangely sweet toward her. Nobody can figure out why Cassie keeps writing to him, but after she has a crushing meet-up with Matthew, Cassie discovers -- with the help of her friends and the Brookfield guys -- that he hasn't been honest about his identity. All could be ended there, but when Charlie helps take revenge and Brookfield High gets mysteriously vandalized, the group comes together to deliver justice and save the endangered pen pal project.

The Spellbook of Listen Taylor

A fairytale, a mystery, a history of hot-air ballooning, and a romance . . . A novel so brilliant, moving, zingy -- and Zingy -- that it could only have come from Jaclyn Moriarty.

The Zing family lives in a world of misguided spell books, singular poetry, and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. They use these things to protect the Zing Family Secret -- one so huge it draws the family to the garden shed for meetings every Friday night.
Into their world comes socially isolated middle grader Listen Taylor, whose father is dating a Zing. Enter Cath Murphy, a young teacher at the elementary school that Cassie Zing attends, suffering from a broken heart. How will the worlds of these two young woman connect? Only the reader can know!

Since starting this blog I've also had some e-book ARCs arrive in my e-mail inbox! The books I got were Intangible by J. Meyer, Deception by Ashley Strachan. I can't wait to read them both!

The Weekly Round Up! Here's what I've been reading this week:

Books finished: Crossed by Ally Condie, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher.

Currently reading: The Gathering by Kelley Artmstong, the first book in the Darkness Rising trilogy.

Library hold: Ready to collect on Monday - Falling Fast by Sophie MacKenzie.

Don't forget to check out more IMM posts on The Story Siren!

Weekly Book Round Up! 4th-10th June 2012

Weekly Book Round Up!

I can't believe it's been a week since I started this blog - how time flies! Firstly welcome to my lovely new followers. Each Sunday I hope to bring you a little round up of all the book related shenanigans from throughout the week. From what I'm currently reading to what books I've bought/borrowed, this is the place to find a whole week's worth of book goodness all in one post. Enjoy!

Currently reading: As of last night I'm reading Crossed by Ally Condie, the sequel to Matched which was my very first review on the blog! (You can read that review here.) I'm 50 pages in so far and it's getting me excited already.

Books finished this week: This week I finished Evernight by Claudia Gray and the utterly amazing City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. I actually had to have a debrief of CoLS with a friend after I'd finished it because I had so much to say about it! The review of that is here.

Books loaned from the library: This week I checked out Evernight by Claudia Gray which you can find the review of here. I also took out My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, Crossed by Ally Condie and The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.

Library holds: Books I'm waiting to become available at the moment are Wonder by R.J. Palacio and Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie.

Books bought: I rarely buy books as I can't afford to splash out on them a lot, but this week I picked up some bargains as a little treat for starting this blog! I bought Shiver by Maggie Steifvater at The Works for £1.99 and Evermore by Alyson Noel and The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter by David Colbert from The British Heart Foundation charity shop. Yay for bargains!

I'm also really excited about some of the books featured at this week's BookExpo America, particularly those featured in this piece by HuffPost.

So it's been a busy week, but an amazing one book wise. I hope you'll join me again next week for YA related antics!