Stacking the Shelves (45)

Stacking the Shelves is a book haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews -This is a great way for us to share what books we added to our shelves each week.


Won: 

Thanks Brad @ BookYAReview and  Quirk Books!

For Review/Tour:

Thank you to the authors for a signed copy of this! 

Purchased:

Whoo! I've been dying to read this and gave myself 10$ to spend at the bookstore because I had finished three books off of my TBR since I made that deal with myself! I'm really into high fantasy lately and am super excited to read this one! Three more books to read and then I can buy another!

Leave me a link to your haul this week! I'd love to see what you got!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge ~ Day 5

I'm taking part in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine! This is a great way to get to know a bit more about the bloggers behind these book blogs!

Recommend a tear jerker:

As you probably know, if you've been following for a while, I don't cry with books very easily. It takes a very specific mood or something pretty dang special for me to cry while reading a book. I mean, guys... I didn't cry when I read The Fault in Our Stars. 

But there are two books that I automatically think of when I hear 'tear-jerker'. These two books are ones that I actually did tear up a bit because of. One is The Summer of Skinny Dipping, which I haven't read in ages but remember loving and I also recall it being quite the sad book. The other is one I read last year, Second Chance Summer. This is one that made my eyes super blurry where I couldn't see the words on the page, even though the sad part was expected. 

There Are Some Summers You'll Always Remember
Sometimes I wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.
My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything. Goodreads

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.
Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.
As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.Goodreads | My Review

Both of these are summer reads and they both definitely look and sound fluffier than they actually are. They also both made me tear up, which is a hard thing for a book to do. I'm dying to reread The Summer of Skinny Dipping, as I don't own it, so I'm always looking for it in stores! And I might do a reread of Second Chance Summer if I can get the chance this summer!

What books leave you with tears in your eyes? Are you a person who rarely cries over books like me? Or are you one who tears up a lot?

Happy reading!
~Kristy

TGIF: My Dilemma With Clockwork Angel

Alright guys, if you read my 15 confessions on Tuesday, you will have probably seen that I'm having a bit of a conflict with myself on whether or not I should try to read Clockwork Angel again. I attempted to read it January 2012, when I borrowed it from a friend, but I got about 1/4 way through and ended up putting it down as a DNF. This was pretty sad for me, since I really wanted to like this book! Especially now that I've read City of Bones and really disliked it, I am very unsure about whether or not I should try to give Clare's books another chance.

When Clockwork Princess was released, let's be honest here: the book world went crazy. I think I saw two reviews that weren't entirely positive and guys... That's TOTALLY INTIMIDATING. Because of the fact that I had DNF'd Clockwork Angel and seriously disliked City of Bones, I was ready to give up on trying to read these two series that so many people adore. But the thing is, I don't like giving up. So, I'm making it my mission to read City of Ashes this year, just to see if the series really does get better as the books go on. My main issue with City of Bones had been the writing in general, as well as the pacing. I've been told it gets better... should I see if I think the same?

BUT THEN, with all of the crazy hype about Clockwork Princess, now I'm wondering if I should give Clockwork Angel another try? I've asked around and have had multiple people tell me that I'd like The Infernal Devices series a lot more than The Mortal Instruments and I feel like that might be the case.

SO, I need your advice! What do I do? Do I pick up City of Ashes because y'all think I need  to know what happens with Clary? Or do I give Tessa another try and see what's up with all the swooning over the supposedly super charming Will? OR, do I just leave Cassandra Clare's books be and not give them another shot? Let me know! I'm in need of your sage advice! And let me know down below what you think of these two series! Love them? Hate them? I want to know what you think!

What do you think I should do?
	Try Clockwork Angel again! You'll like it more!
	Give City of Ashes a chance! The series gets better!
	Reread City of Bones first and THEN read City of Ashes!
	Let it go, if you didn't like them before, it's probably not worth it.
pollcode.com free polls

Happy reading!
~Kristy

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge ~ Day 4

I'm taking part in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine! This is a great way to get to know a bit more about the bloggers behind these book blogs!

What's the last book you flung across the room?

Usually, a 'fling across the room' book for me is one that I absolutely despised, or one that I completely adored and then it leaves off on a huge cliffhanger. But the last book I actually threw off of my bed and was super mad at was Sever by Lauren DeStefano. 

Amazon

Goodreads

My Review

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.
Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.
In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

Why it was thrown:

If you read my review, you'll notice that it's full of GIFs and capslock yelling and a pretty passionate little rant about why this book broke my heart and how mad I was that I couldn't talk about it because SPOILERS.

Anyway, I started off reading this book and was pretty disappointed at the beginning and had to force myself to read on, because I wanted to know what happened. I got to a certain point where I really started to enjoy it and then.... BOOM. DeStefano throws this huge SURPRISE! in our face and while I was impressed that she took a risk and did something you don't see a lot of in YA, I also felt like she did this just to get the love triangle out of the way in a quick manner. I was pretty mad at Rhine, as well, for just kind of forgetting all that she had been fighting for and against and going with whatever her brother said. 

So, yes, this is a book that I flung across the room due to heartbreak and anger. 

Okay, yeah, not as drastic as this, but I absolutely loved this GIF when I was trying to find something appropriate :P

There have been others where it was close, but this is definitely the last book I actually threw from my spot on my bed/couch to the ground.

Let's chat: What books do you remember getting so frustrated with that you had the urge to throw it down?

Happy reading!
~Kristy

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge ~ Day 3

I'm taking part in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine! This is a great way to get to know a bit more about the bloggers behind these book blogs!

Who are your blogging BFFs?

So, here's the thing. I am uber shy. Like, I'll start up a little tweet saying "hi" to one of my fave bloggers and then quickly overthink everything and delete whatever I had written up. BUT, I will say that it has gotten better and I'm making friends! I think there's only one person that I can truly call a blogging BFF, (I hope!) but there are a bunch of others where I'm kind of like, "We could totally be friends but I don't know how to initiate that..."

*sigh*

Ah well! If you go back to my twitter, you'll see that there is one person who I'm talking to the most and that is...

BRAD! (AKA BookYAReview) I started watching his videos on YouTube and then one day in Home Depot, I decided, hey, why don't I tweet him? So I did and now, I'd say he's probably one of the coolest/nicest bloggers ever! I did an interview with him about BookTubing last month and that was super fun! He's also motivated me to start doing YouTube videos, which is scary, but fun! If you have not checked out his blog or YouTube channel, please do so! He's totally awesome! And I'm not sure if he'd consider me a blogging bff but well... he's who I consider mine!

So, Brad, if you're reading this, thank you for being my blogging friend! 

Also, there are so many bloggers that I'm just dying to say hello to, but I have to work up the courage to do so. And I mean, I do talk to people on twitter, like Eileen, but no one else who I automatically think of when I need to talk books with someone! I kind of feel like Sheldon...

So um, yeah! Guys, seriously, I'm trying really hard to put myself out there and ask people questions and make friends... I also just get really nervous, you know? But there are so many amazing people in this community of booklovers and I would love to get to know some more of you! So if you're not as shy as me, don't hesitate to say hi! As bad as I am at initiating it, I love talking to new people! I'm going to try a lot harder at making an attempt at conversing with more people on twitter and actually sending an email if I have a question... Stuff like that! 

Thanks for reading my little rant/spiel about all that!

Happy reading!

~Kristy