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Saturday 31 January 2015

January Book Haul!

In my last book haul, I said that my New Years resolution was to only buy one book for every five I read, so really I should have only bought three books this month. However, this month was also the first time I ever got paid from my job, so I caved and bought SO MANY BOOKS. I'm gonna try and cut back next month, so hopefully it won't throw out my overall year total too much... But it was pretty bad. I have no self control.
However, I also received three of the books I won through Goodreads First Reads, and got a couple of eBooks from authors, so they will also be included - as well as a list of the books that I've been approved to read on NetGalley, reviews of which you can look out for over the next month or two.

Goodreads First Reads: 



The first of my Goodreads wins that I received this month was 'A Reunion of Ghosts' by Judith Claire Mitchell. It sounds a lot like 'The Virgin Suicides', in that it involves three sisters writing one suicide note, but other than that I don't really know what it's about. This book is released on the 24th of March, so expect me to be reading and reviewing it around that time!



The second Goodreads win that I received was 'Organize Every Day: An Amazing Way To Get The Most Out Of Every Day' by Can Akdeniz. I read this the day that I received it, so check out the review I posted!


The third and final Goodreads win that I received was 'Corrupted' by A. D. Croucher, the second book in a series. I bought the first one last month, in preparation for the arrival of this one, so I'll probably end up reading them fairly soon. On the giveaway I won, it didn't say that it was going to be signed, so it was a lovely surprise when it turned up with a little message in it!



Gifts: 




The first gift I received this month was 'Us' by David Nicholls. This was a Christmas present I ordered for myself using my Christmas money, but it took a while for it to arrive. The reason I decided to buy this was because it was signed! David Nicholls book 'One Day' is one of my favourite ever books, so I couldn't resist getting his new release, and I can't wait to dive into this.




The second gift I received this month was 'Learning To Live' by Kira Adams, which I received in exchange for an honest review. I posted that review a couple of weeks ago, so you should go and read it! It tells the story of Ciera and Topher, a nerdy girl and a popular jock, and the trials and tribulations they go through during their developing relationship. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I still enjoyed it and I want to say another massive thank you to Kira for sending me a pdf and letting me read it.

eBooks: 



The first of the two eBooks I bought this month was 'The Winner's Curse' by Marie Rutkoski. If you haven't heard of 'The Winner's Curse', it's the first book in a new YA fantasy series (I believe a trilogy). The second book is out in a couple of months, so when I saw the first book was on £1.43 on Kindle Daily Deals I thought I might as well buy it to catch up in time for the second book. 


The second eBook I bought this month was 'Zomburbia' by Adam Gallardo. I've already read and reviewed this book (and the second one in the series) so check that out if you're interested. 'Zomburbia' is the first book in a new YA zombie apocalypse series, and it's unique in the fact that it's set just over ten years after the zombies first arrived. I didn't love this book, but if you like zombies and YA novels, you should definitely check it out!

Books: 



The first book I bought this month was 'Horns' by Joe Hill. If you haven't heard of 'Horns', it's the story of Ig Perrish, who wakes up with horns protruding from his head the night after his girlfriend is brutally raped and murdered. I'm not quite sure what else happens in the book, but it was adapted into a film last year and it looks majorly creepy and horrifying, so it's the kind of book I'm sure I'll fall in love with. I annoyed myself by buying the movie edition of the book, but it was only £3 in The Works so it seemed worth it anyway. 


The second book I bought this month was 'The Luminaries' by Eleanor Catton. This book won the Man Booker Prize in 2013, and because I've been trying to get into more literature oriented novels, I thought I might as well get this one. It's over eight hundred pages, so it will take me a while to get through it, but I bought it for £1.50 so it was well worth that price.


'The Wolf In Winter' is the twelfth book in John Connolly's Charlie Parker thriller series. I already own the other eleven, so when I saw this book half price in Morrison's I had to buy it. I can't really talk too much about the plot of this book, because it is the twelfth one in a series, but if you like thrillers I would seriously recommend John Connolly's 'Every Dead Thing' because it's one of the first murder mystery/crime novels that has made me feel physically sick and absolutely terrified.


Technically, 'The Wolf In Winter' should have been the last book I could buy this month, but I'm a terrible person so it was not. On Fridays, I have three hours to spend between getting to town and going to work, so I generally go book shopping and then sit and read somewhere. The book that broke my resolve and led me spiralling down a never-ending road of book buying, was 'Fateful' by Claudia Gray. I bought this book because I have the 'Evernight' series by her, and I really enjoyed the first one, but I didn't make the connection that actually Claudia Gray is the author of 'A Thousand Pieces Of You', one of my most anticipated releases of last year. 'Fateful' is a book about the Titanic, and I really enjoy books surrounding that story, so hopefully I'll enjoy this one.


The next book I bought was 'Nocturne', the sequel to 'Claire De Lune' by Christine Johnson. I bought 'Claire De Lune' ages ago, because it's about werewolves, but I wanted to wait and get the second book in the series before I power read them, so now it's like four years later and I've finally gotten the second one. Not sure when I'm going to get around to these, but they're short so I'm sure I'll read them really quickly when the time comes.


I'm not really sure why I bought 'Dangerous Boys' by Abigail Haas, other than the fact that it's a pretty new release and the cover was really beautiful. The premise kind of reminds me of 'We Were Liars' by E. Lockhart, in that someone dies and there's a lot of questions and secrets surrounding it... I'm not sure, because I haven't read 'We Were Liars' yet, but the ideas of them seem very similar in my mind.


If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that back in September I bought three Douglas Coupland novels, and even though I still haven't managed to read any of them, I couldn't resist buying these two: 'Miss Wyoming' and 'Girlfriend In A Coma'. I don't really know much about either of them, but all of the Douglas Coupland novels I've bought have such interesting plots and ideas behind them, so I couldn't resist grabbing these.


I recently discovered that the Waterstones in Swindon has quite a big clearance sale, and I managed to pick up both 'My Love Lies Bleeding' and 'Bleeding Hearts' by Alyxandra Harvey, brand new, for a pound each. I've read the first two books from the Drake Vampire Chronicles series before, but I really wanted to buy them all and re-read them, so I'm getting closer to that goal. The Drake Chronicles series focuses upon Solange Drake, the only female vampire born and therefore a threat to the vampire queen. From what I can remember, each book focuses on a different Drake sibling, and I did really enjoy them when I read them before, so I'll get around to these soon.


Another book I bought from the Waterstones clearance was 'Every Last Drop' by Charlie Huston. It's the fourth book in a series, which I've only found out since I bought it, but it seems to be somehow linked to vampires and crime... I'm not really sure, but the blurb sounded great and the cover was cool, so impulse buy!


'Before I Wake' is the sixth novel in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series, and I own the first five, so I had to buy this one. The series focuses upon Kaylee, a girl who can sense when people near her are about to die, and when she gets this sense she is compelled to scream, and scream, and scream. I read the first book a good few years ago, but I did really enjoy it, so I'll get around to this series soon.


Next up, I bought 'All The Bright Places' by Jennifer Niven. I don't normally buy brand new books, because they're normally much too expensive, but I have been anticipating this novel and WHSmith had it on offer for £5 the week it was released, so there was no way I was going to resist getting it. If you haven't heard of 'All The Bright Places' (which will really surprise me) it tells the story of Finch and Violet, two teenagers who meet on the ledge of the school bell tower when they're about to jump. I've heard a lot of amazing things about this book, so I'm a bit worried that my expectations are too high, but I'm glad I've bought it so that I can get around to it soon.


After buying 'All The Bright Places', I received a voucher for £5 off if you spent £15 in WHSmith, so of course I had to take advantage of that offer. I bought 'The Dream Thieves' and 'Blue Lily, Lily Blue', the second and third books respectively in the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I got halfway through 'The Raven Boys' before giving up, so hopefully now I have the three books already released I should be able to get the motivation up to start it again.


However, as well as my £5 off voucher, if you bought two books you got one free, so I picked up 'Sisters' Fate' by Jessica Spotswood. I read the first and second books in the Cahill Witch Chronicles, 'Born Wicked' and 'Star Cursed' back in December, so I'm beyond excited about reading this third and final installment.


This book belongs to my mum, but I'm hauling it because I'm the one that found it and convinced her to buy it, because Anthony Horowitz is her favourite author. 'Oblivion' is the fifth and final book in the Power of Five series, which is apparently advertised as Stephen King for young adults. I don't know much about the series, but I will be reading them eventually. However, the reason I convinced my mum to buy this book, was because it was signed and it was only £7.50!



The next book I bought this month was 'Golden Son' by Pierce Brown. I read the first book in the series, 'Red Rising', late last month and I absolutely adored it, so I can't wait to read this second installment. It was only released a couple of weeks ago, and the third book, 'Morning Star' has already had its covered revealed, so the hype surrounding this series is at an all time high and I would suggest jumping on as quickly as you can. 


I had intended upon 'Golden Son' being the last book I would buy in January, but it was Friday yesterday, so of course I bought a lot of books while I was in town. The first of yesterdays finds was 'Gathering Blue' by Lois Lowry, one of the books from The Giver quartet. I bought 'The Giver' a couple of months ago, soon after the release of the film, so I was pretty excited to find one of the other installments for £1.60. 


The next book I bought was 'The Sound' by Sarah Alderson. I actually bought this book on my Kindle last month, but it was £1 in The Works, and I had a £1 off voucher, so I technically got it for free. I do generally try to buy all books that I get on my Kindle in physical copy, it was just unfortunate that I found this so close to the previous edition that I purchased.


I also found 'The Essence' and 'The Offering', books two and three in the Pledge trilogy, each for £1 in The Works. I work in a library, and I've seen this books on the shelves a few times and have been very interested, so at £1 each I couldn't really say no. I haven't got the first book in the trilogy, 'The Pledge' yet, but I'm hoping to get hold of it soon.


Next up, I bought 'Abandon' by Meg Cabot, the first book in a trilogy. I've already read the first two books, and I absolutely adored them, and I own the third book on my Kindle, but I really want to re-read them before I read the last book, because I can't really remember what happened. 'Abandon' is a re-telling (kind of) of the story of Persephone and Hades, because Pierce is a girl who was clinically dead and revived by paramedics, and John is from the Underworld. I'm kind of worried about re-reading this book, because it has been four or five years since I read it the first time around and my reading tastes have matured greatly, so I hope I still enjoy it. 


The penultimate book in my book haul is 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland' (and 'Through The Looking Glass') by Lewis Carroll. It wouldn't be one of my book hauls without buying a Vintage red spine edition of a classic. 


The final book I bought this month was 'Radiance' by Alyson Noel, the first book in the Riley Bloom spin-off series from The Immortals. I bought 'Shimmer' back in September, and I thought that it was the first book in the series, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found 'Radiance'. Also, the charity shop I bought it in has a buy two, get one free policy, so I actually got this book for nothing; yay!

NetGalley books:

I'm not going to go too much into these ones, because there are quite a few of them! So I'm just going to list the titles that I've received this month, linked to their reviews if I've already posted them. I'll be reading them all over the next couple of months, depending on when their publishing dates are, so keep an eye out for the reviews when I publish them.
  • 'A Grimm Legacy' and 'Grimm Memories' by Janna Jennings
  • 'Phobic' by Cortney Pearson
  • 'The Walls Around Us' by Nova Ren Suma
  • 'I Was Here' by Gayle Forman
  • 'The Orignals: Rise' by Julie Plec
  • 'Mind Games' by Teri Terry
  • 'Clarity' the trilogy by Loretta Lost
  • 'Endgame: The Calling' by James Frey
  • 'We Are Watching' by M. Stephen Stewart
  • 'Cruel Summer' by K. R. Conway
  • 'The Last Leaves Falling' by Sarah Benwell
  • 'Ignite', 'Entice' and 'Incite' by Erica Crouch
  • 'All Fall Down' by Ally Condie
  • 'Stung' by Joss Stirling
  • 'How (Not) To Fall In Love' by Lisa Brown Roberts
  • 'Summoner: The Novice' by Taran Matharu
  • 'Silverwood' by Betsy Streeter
  • 'Untouched' by Lauren Hawkeye
  • 'The Sham' by Ellen Allen
  • 'Dorianna' by Catherine Stein
  • 'Whispers In The Dark' by Chase Jackson
  • 'Gifted' by Donald Hounam
  • 'Zombified' by Adam Gallardo
  • 'Heaven Has No Regrets' by Tessa Shaffer
  • 'Denton's Little Deathdate' by Lance Rubin
  • 'We All Looked Up' by Tommy Wallach
  • 'Crash and Burn' by Lisa Gardner
  • 'Soul Crossed' by Lisa Gail Green
  • 'The Naturals' by Aaron Patterson, Melody Carlson, Robin Parrish and K.C Neal
  • 'Forsaken' by Kristen Day 
Phew! That was quite a list! So yes, look out for those reviews over the coming weeks. Seven of the reviews are due throughout February, so those will be coming along soon.

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