February 28, 2018

Can't Wait Wednesday [#11]

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight the books we are eagerly awaiting. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Reckoning of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #2)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Expected Publication Date: November 13, 2018

Noah Shaw confesses all in this second novel of a chilling new companion series to Michelle Hodkin’s New York Timesbestselling Mara Dyer trilogy!

Noah Shaw doesn’t think he needs his father’s inheritance.
He does.

Noah believes there’s something off about the suicides in his visions.
There is.

Noah is convinced that he still knows the real Mara Dyer.
He does not.

Everyone thought the nightmare had ended with Mara Dyer’s memoirs, but it was only the beginning. As old skeletons are laid bare, alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and no one will be left unscarred.

I absolutely loved The Becoming of Noah Shaw! Even more than I liked the Mara Dyer books if I'm completely honest. I'm super excited for this book! I CAN NOT WAIT to see what happens next!!! 

What can't you wait for this week?

Read more »

February 21, 2018

Cover Reveal: The Reckoning of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin

Noah Shaw confesses all in this second novel of a chilling new companion series to Michelle Hodkin’s New York Timesbestselling Mara Dyer trilogy!

Noah Shaw doesn’t think he needs his father’s inheritance.

He does.

Noah believes there’s something off about the suicides in his visions.

There is.

Noah is convinced that he still knows the real Mara Dyer.

He does not. 

Everyone thought the nightmare had ended with Mara Dyer’s memoirs, but it was only the beginning. As old skeletons are laid bare, alliances will be tested, hearts will be broken, and no one will be left unscarred.

Expected Publication Date: November 13, 2018

Read more »

November 11, 2017

Stacking The Shelves [#75]/Sunday Post [#6]/Mailbox Monday [#6]

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality as a way to share all the books we got during the week!

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. Its a weekly post to showcase what books you got, recap the week, and talk about what will be coming up this week on the blog!

Mailbox Monday is hosted on its own site. It is there to show off the books acquired during the week!

So no new books this week. Probably a good thing as I have books I need to catch up on anyways. 

Weekly Recap:

New Release: Week of November 7, 2017

Can't-Wait Wednesday [#3] - Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

Reviews:

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1) by Michelle Hodkin

So yay! I got Noah Shaw read and reviewed like promised! However, if you guys noticed, it ended up being a day late. If you follow the blogs Facebook page I gave a quick update why. Computer issues... Yay.... We love those huh??? (SARCASM) Lol.

So I've been using my fiances laptop for everything the past few months. His has been more reliable than mine. So on Tuesday, when I planned on doing my review. I ended up with it crashing and constantly restarting trying to fix the issue. Eventually it seemed to have repaired it. So I was able to finally get the review up a day late on Wednesday. Well, his laptop started doing its issue again Friday, and added a new issue to it (OH JOY). Now I can't even do anything really without it crashing and restarting. It is an almost 5 year old laptop (though fully updated with Windows 10), so I don't blame it breaking, it just sucks!!!! 

So where does this leave me? Well currently, I'm back on my own laptop. I stopped using it because it was being incredibly slow and has some issue I'm not sure about. Honestly, I think my laptop just needs Windows 10 freshly reinstalled to fix the issues, but I have to take it to Best Buy to get that done. It's working ok at the moment with me on it (multiple updates seemed to have fixed some of the slowness), but we'll probably be taking it in this week to get its issue fixed (its still under warranty and everything) so I can have it working faster and correctly again. So until then I'm dealing with the slowness, or using my fiances desktop computer when he's not on it. We'll probably take his laptop in as well with mine but I'm doubtful they are gonna be able to fix his. :( Looks like he'll need a new one come tax time. I'll be doing my best to still get stuff up though until my laptop is fixed! 

In other news, we've narrowed our wedding venues down to 3 options. And they are some of the few venues under $3,000 around us with good packages (good amounts of stuff included). So that's pretty exciting! 

Upcoming:

Review of The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #3) by Michelle Hodkin - This was meant to go up this past week, but between computer issues and school work, it's been delayed. :( This week for sure though!!!!! :D 

Review of The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa - I've been in a mood for this book lately so I'll definitely be getting it read! 

Read more »

November 08, 2017

Review: The Becoming of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: November 8, 2017
Pages: 384
Format: Galley/Netgalley

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

Review: Oh my god! I loved this book so much! So, I really want to keep this review spoiler free so I might be a bit vague about a few things. But trust me, you definitely want to experience this book and it's shocking moments when you read it, not in a review. So small bit of info, you should read all the Mara Dyer books before this to fully understand things happening. I actually haven't completely. I'm in the middle of Retribution (book 3), so I've read enough of it to understand the referenced things generally. So I wasn't missing much information. However, remember all those before notes, letters and chapters in Retribution?? We get to see a different side of that in this book. And we get to see how they end up coming to the main story!

Noah Shaw! I honestly think I enjoyed reading from his point of view more than Mara's. Don't get me wrong. I love the Mara Dyer books, but I just generally think I liked Noah's point of view a little bit better. I felt so bad every time we were with Noah when he was experiencing another Gifted's death. You couldn't help but feel awful every time he was seeing a death and couldn't do a thing to stop it. I could not imagine being in his shoes. What made things worse for him was that he knew these people had gifts like him, and he couldn't figure out why others like him were dying. On top of all this he was still dealing with everything regarding his father and his "research." Poor Noah was juggling so much.

The majority of the book revolves around trying to find out why other gifted are going missing and dying and who else in general has a gift. Come to find out, two more people really close to the Shaw and Dyer families had hidden gifts, one not knowing he had one, and one knowing and intentionally hiding it from them. We also catch up with friends from the Mara Dyer books. One being helpful to Noah and Mara, one not. Mentioned person who is not causes a lot of drama and issues throughout this book, including one of the huge scenes at the end. But throughout this book we see some new gifts come to light, new secrets revealed, and a lot of changes within many of our favorite characters due to their trauma and experiences with their gifts.

I really liked Daniel in this book. We see him really be like the brother Noah never had. And we even see Noah be exactly that for Daniel in return after the huge betrayal Daniel experienced from one of the people closest to him. And whats worse, is the ending. I have no idea how poor Daniel is going to handle what happened at the ending once he finds out about it. He will definitely need Noah's support. 

And Mara. Mara Mara Mara. My feelings about her are all over the place in this book. I loved the happy, loving, caring scenes between her and Noah in this book. But I also couldn't shake her actions. Hiding stuff from Noah. After all she went through and she still hides things from the person she loves. Not to mention she was always a prime suspect in the deaths that were happening. And she always acted differently regarding it. She would deny it sometimes, or just not say anything at all, but she seemed to be the most suspicious of the group regarding the people dying. She never had a straightforward reaction regarding it. She was just different from the Mara we used to know. 

The ending. I still do not know how to react to the ending of this book. Lets just say all the things that happened at the end are setting up for an incredibly interesting next book. It was not my favorite ending, but a good one still. I am incredibly excited for the next book because I sense it will have a lot of interesting things going on! 

5 Stars!

Read more »

November 07, 2017

New Releases: Week of November 7, 2017

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: November 7, 2017

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

Renegades (Renegades #1)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: November 7, 2017

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Haven 

Author: Mary Lindsey

Publisher: Entangled

Publication Date: November 7, 2017

"We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed."

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere, He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.

Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.

Other New Releases This Week:
Rosemarked (Rosemarked #1) by Livia Blackburne (11/7/17) [Hyperion]

This Mortal Coil (This Mortal Coil #1) by Emily Suvada (11/7/17) [Simon Pulse]

Retribution Rails (Vengeance Road #2) by Erin Bowman (11/7/17) [HMH]

The Speaker (Sea of Ink and Gold #2) by Traci Chee (11/7/17) [Putnam]

Kat and Meg Conquer The World by Anna Priemaza (11/7/17) [Harper Teen]

The November Girl by Lydia Kang (11/7/17) [Entangled]

Now Is Everything by Amy Giles (11/7/17) [Harper Teen]

Eight Days on Planet Earth by Cat Jordan (11/7/17) [Harper Teen]

Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga (11/7/17) [Balzer + Bray]

Devil In Ohio by Daria Polatin (11/7/17) [Feiwel & Friends]

Read more »

November 04, 2017

Stacking The Shelves [#74]/Sunday Post [#5]/Mailbox Monday [#5]

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality as a way to share all the books we got during the week!

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. Its a weekly post to showcase what books you got, recap the week, and talk about what will be coming up this week on the blog!

Mailbox Monday is hosted on its own site. It is there to show off the books acquired during the week!

So I just got one book this week. From NetGalley!

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1) by Michelle Hodkin (Goodreads)

You guys have no idea how excited I was to see I got approved for this!!!! It's like my most anticipated release this year!!! I've already started it! So far so good!! Look for my review on Tuesday, it's release day! 

Weekly Recap:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Halloween Reads

New Releases: Week of October 31, 2017

2017 Dystopia Reading Challenge: 3rd Quarter Update

Can't Wait Wednesday [#2] - Restore Me (Shatter Me #4) by Tahereh Mafi

November 2017 TBR Pile

Reviews:

Into The Still Blue (Under The Never Sky #3) by Veronica Rossi

So I only got to read one book this week. Unfortunately, Halloween night I got sick. My daughter and my fiance got a really mild cold with just some coughing and sneezing. Somehow mom got it 10x worse. I ended up not only with the coughing and sneezing, but also a sore throat and Halloween night, a fever of 100.3. Both of them are fine now but I'm still sick. No more fever though! Just trying to get rid of this sore throat and stuffy nose. But getting sick definitely put a damper on my week. I've been so out of it that I couldn't focus on reading the book I started until today. But at least my sweet little kitty has been by my side. He has literally been laying right next to me all week since I got sick keeping an eye on me and trying to make me feel better. He's such a sweet little guy. So I had to put off my second review I wanted to do this week. I'm looking for it to be up Sunday or Monday now instead.

But in the midst of getting sick I did get some good news! I found out I passed my midterm with a 77% for my math class!!! I was super stressing about it. I struggled on it. My college has a policy that you have to pass your math tests with a 68% average or higher to pass the class regardless of the rest of the grades in the class. So I was stressing that I wasn't gonna get a high enough grade to help my test average. Lets just say a huge weight got lifted when I found out I got a 77%. 

Also, since I was sick, I just laid around and rested, so I started planning my daughters birthday party!!! She turns 3 in exactly one month (December 4th). I made the Facebook event for her party, and have a good idea of the decorations I wanna get/make for her party thanks to Pinterest. 

Since I got sick on Halloween we didn't get to do all the stuff we were gonna do for festivities. I did manage to make fun pudding cups with worms (like worms are coming out of the ground) before the sick overcame me. Lol. However we didn't get to decorate our pumpkin shaped cookies, and I fell asleep halfway through movies. We were watching IT (the original, not the new one). I do have a picture of the pudding cups! 

Coming Up This Week:

Review of The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #3) by Michelle Hodkin

Review of The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1) by Michelle Hodkin (On Tuesday, it's release date)

Read more »

October 11, 2017

Waiting On Wednesday [#107]

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme that was hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

The Becoming of Noah Shaw (The Shaw Confessions #1)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Expected Publication: November 7, 2017

In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.

Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.

They’re wrong.

Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.

He shouldn’t.

And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.

They’re right.

So I love the Mara Dyer books! I got incredibly excited when I saw we were gonna get Noah Shaw books as well!!! This is probably the book I'm most looking forward to this year!!! :D

Read more »