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Top Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

Jan 19, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list that members at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. All bloggers are then welcomed to join. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is: Top Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

For this weeks TTT, I went into my goodreads ‘to read’ list, sorted it by date added and then picked the last 10. You will see on this list books that I have talked about before and that is because I sometimes…okay always forget to add books to my ‘to read’ list on goodreads and then it comes up months later and I finally add it. Most of these books also haven’t come out yet, so lets just say I am quite excited for them. These are also in no partiuclar order.

Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan: Magical New York torn between two very different kinds of magic. With a boyfriend that has a soulless doppelganger created by dark magic. With a hood fastened by a collar nobody but a Light magician with magical rings can take off… and who introduces himself to both of them by, for reasons nobody can understand, saving Ethan’s life… Released: April 6th 2016

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard: Best Friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable, but when Caddy turns sixteen she begins to wish she was more like Rosie. Then Suzanne comes into their lives, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne’s past is revealed, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own. Released: Febuaray 11th 2016

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by: Taylor Simmons had it hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen. But after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down. Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard. Released: June 7th 2016

What I Saw by Beck Nicholas: One punch will shatter a town. But is anyone ready for the consequences of telling the truth? A complicated romance between a girl with everything on the line and a boy with nothing to lose following a king hit incident that leaves the high school golden boy in a coma. Released: March 2016

With Malice by Eileen Cook: A teenage girl who wakes up in a hospital bed and cannot remember the last six weeks of her life, including the accident that killed her best friend–only what if the accident wasn’t an accident? Released: June 7th 2016

Runied by Amy Tintera: Emelina Flores has nothing. Having everything ripped from her she is driven by a blind desire for revenge. Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake. Released: 3rd May 2016

The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead: Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court. Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: Cedric Thorn. But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . . Released: April 6th 2016

In the Dark, In the Woods by Eliza Woods: Five Siblings that abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father. Slowly they start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they’re still the freaks they’ve always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice. Released: 26th April 2016

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer: Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.
Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years. The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her best friend was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple answers. Released: December 29 2015

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer: A girl who copes with her mother’s death by leaving her letters at the cemetery, until a boy intercepts them and starts writing back, and soon the two find themselves falling for a stranger–except they’re actually classmates who loathe one another. Released: 2016

And there are the last ten books that I added to my TBR. I hope you enjoyed. You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads and on facebook and also on Instagram at angelreads. Subscribe to my email through the sidebar or follow me on bloglovin’ to keep up to date.

TV Series Review: Shadowhunters Ep1 Spoiler free

Jan 17, 2016

Shadowhunters: Episode 1

Episode Name: The Mortal Cup
Release date: 12 Jan. 2016
Running Time: 42 mins
Starring Katherine McNamara,Dominic Sherwood, Alberto Rosende, Matthew Daddario, Emeraude Toubia, Isaiah Mustafa, Harry Shum Jr.,Alan Van Sprang, Maxim Roy
Watch: Freeform (US) – Netflix (Worldwide)
Episode Review: 1|2

Clary Fray is thrown into the world of demon hunting after her mother is kidnapped, and must rely on the mysterious Jace and his fellow Shadowhunters Isabelle and Alec to navigate this new dark world. With her best friend Simon in tow, Clary must now live among faries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves to find answers that could help her find her mother.

The Mortal Cup:

I went into Shadowhunters with no expectation. I wasn’t expecting it to be like the books, I wasn’t expecting it to be decent. And after I saw people’s comments after it aired in the US my expectations were even lower. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

The first episode (The Mortal Cup, directed by McG) starts off with a flash-forward that appears later on in the episode. It stars Jace (Dominic Sherwood), Alec (Matthew Daddario) and Isabelle (Emeraude Toubia) following a shapeshifter demon. It was certainly a clever way to start.

It showed that these people aren’t mundane, that they are different. We also get to see the first ‘bump’ between Jace and Clary (Katherine McNamara). Once the scene we see Clary going into her interview for arts school, and so the episode starts.

Casting:

Firstly the casting is perfect! I cannot explain how much I love this cast. When I see them, I can see them as the characters. It was truly well done.

At the start many people didn’t like the cast, but I do think they have portrayed them so well.

I truly loved Alan Van Sprang as Valentine. If anyone has watched his other works, especially Reign where he goes crazy; you would agree with me that he is going to a fabulous Valentine.

I was cautious about Katherine as Clary, simply because I hadn’t seen her in anything before and I was pretty impressed.

Characters:

Overall, I actually enjoyed the characters in Shadowhunters; New, Old and changed.

I like that they aged up the characters because who would let their 15/16 kids run around a city by themselves every day.

I like Clary, she was feisty – I do wish she had a little bit more in her, but I hope to see that in coming episodes.

I wish Jace as a little bit more sarcastic and not so, I cannot even explain it. But, what I can say is that Dom had quite a decent American accent.

Simon = perfect. He was funny and nerdy and yes. Plus I loved the friendship between Clary and him. They hit that spot on. His lines were classics

Alec. He is hard and protective over Jace and beautiful. His lines cracked me up.

Izzy. Man this woman is beautiful. I didn’t like that she was a distraction the club, but I got over it quickly. She is much softer in the show from the books. It was different.

Luke, I like that he is a cop, it makes totally sense. There are all these crimes happening and they need someone on the inside to deal with it all. Cause if they didn’t the FBI would probably get involved.

Valentine: Perfect. He was creepy and intimidating.

Magnus from what I saw of him, I am going too really like him.

Adaptation:

I wasn’t expecting it to be the same as the book. And if you were, then where have you been? It’s been said on twitter and tumblr by Cassandra Clare herself that it is different. And in all honesty that is how a TV Show works.

If they kept everything the same it would get tiresome pretty early and people will just stop watching. Has anyone read the Vampire Diaries or the Pretty Little Liar books because they are nothing like the TV shows.

I could still see the essence of the books in the episode. I saw the essence in the characters, in scenes, in locations. It was still there. The may have changed the way things happened here and there, but it was still the same.

If they kept it like the books, how are they supposed to have less than a week in 13 episodes – no thank you.

CGI:

It wasn’t that great. I truly was expecting more and I hope it does become better as the series goes on.

The demons were pretty okay looking, but the fighting scenes looked a little fake.

Runes:

The way they appear are certainly interesting and the way they put it on is very smart. I always thought it was…time consuming. If they are walking the street at night and then bam there is a demon, they don’t have the runes on them to fight. So what they would they do, tell the demon that they have to wait while they get ready to fight.

It was smart that all they had to do was swipe and then it was there. It made things more practical.

Tech and Institute:

This is one of the biggest controversies that is being talked about in Shadowhunters.

Firstly, I don’t mind the tech. To me it makes total sense. They have changed the year to 2015/16 I am guessing to having high tech is normal.

Nonetheless, what I don’t like is them having so many people in the institute. I liked the small family closeness of what it was in the books so it having so many people was kind of a shock.

Overall:

I quite enjoyed the first episode of Shadowhunters. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t horrible. I enjoyed it, my family enjoyed. There was a few problems and I hope that as the series goes on, this will change. Nonetheless, I will be watching the whole series for sure and I cannot wait to see what it brings.

I hope you enjoyed my discussion. What did you think of the very first episode of Shadowhunters. I’ll be back next week with my review of episode 2.

I hope you enjoyed. You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads and on facebook and also on Instagram at angelreads. Subscribe to my email through the sidebar or follow me on bloglovin’ to keep up to date

Excerpt Reveal: Hallowed Ground by Rebecca Yarros

Jan 15, 2016

Hallowed Ground (Fight & Glory #4) by Rebecca Yarros

Pages:
Publish date: 25th January 2016
Publisher: Entanlged:Embrace
ISBN: *************
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

There are some debts you can’t repay.

Josh Walker is loyal, reckless, and every girl’s dream. But he only has eyes for December Howard, the girl he’s craved since his high school hockey days. Together they have survived grief, the military, distance, and time as they’ve fought for stolen weekends between his post at Ft. Rucker and her college at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac pilot and Ember is headed toward graduation, they’re moving on—and in—together.

Ember never wanted the Army life, but loving Josh means accepting whatever the army dictates—even when that means saying goodbye as Josh heads to Afghanistan, a country that nearly killed him once before and that took her father. But filling their last days together with love, passion, and plans for their future doesn’t temper Ember’s fear, and if there’s one thing she’s learned from her father’s death, it’s that there are some obstacles even love can’t conquer.

Flight school is over.
This is war.

Welcome to a Excerpt Reveal for Hallowed Ground by Rebecca Yarros. I am so excited for this book, this series is one of my favourites from New Adult so I am counting down the days till the 25th of Jan. But, today I am doing something exciting. I have the chance of giving you guys an excerpt. Let me tell you that both that I had to choose from were amazing and I couldn’t pick – so I closed my eyes and this was the one. Hope you enjoy it.

He skated toward me, and I paused, blown away with everything that was Josh. His hair was sweaty, water dripping down his flushed cheeks from dumping his bottle over his head. It was high school and college all jumbled together to make this magnificent man in front of me. I’d never loved him more.  “I’ve gotten a little better since that first date, huh?” I asked with a flirtatious smile, skating backward just because I could.

“You’ve always been perfect.” That grin was enough to melt me despite the temperature of the ice.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yes. I can’t believe you did that for me.” His eyes were warm, letting his love for me shine.

“It’s your dream.”

He shook his head and took my hands in his much warmer ones. “No. It used to be my dream. And as hard as I worked for it, and as difficult as it was to let go, I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me. This”—he glanced at the empty seats and bright lights— “has been more than I could have ever imagined.”

“I’m glad. You deserve it.”

“The jersey, the game, hearing my name, it was amazing. But what made it perfect was seeing you against the glass like we were in high school again. Remembering every time I told myself not to get close to someone as good as you are. Thinking back to that day in college when I told you I was going to chase you. Feeling the warmth of your hand over mine seeping through the glass during the championship. Recalling every time I wanted to kiss you, hold you, tell you how much I love you. I have that now, and you, December, are what made this perfect, because you are all that matters to me now.”

About the Author

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and lover of all things chocolate, coffee, and Paleo. In addition to being a mom, military wife, and blogger, she can never choose between Young Adult and New Adult fiction, so she writes both. She’s a graduate of Troy University, where she studied European history and English, but still holds out hope for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her blog, The Only Girl Among Boys, has been voted the Top Military Mom Blog the last two years, and celebrates the complex issues surrounding the military life she adores.

When she’s not writing, she’s tying on hockey skates for her kids, or sneaking in some guitar time. She is madly in love with her army-aviator husband of eleven years. They finally can call Colorado home along with their gaggle of rambunctious kiddos and snoring English Bulldog.

Website | Facebook| Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads| Amazon PageSo I hope that you enjoyed the excerpt. I know I did. Will you be reading Hallowed Ground? You can find me on twitter at @angel_reads and on facebook and also on Instagram at angelreads. Subscribe to my email through the sidebar or follow me on bloglovin’ to keep up to date