Stacking the Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page! It is hosted by Tynga of Team Tynga's Reviews

Here is what I got this week:

• an ARC of Elixir by Ted Galdi provided by the author for an honest review
• Just One Day by Gayle Forman (received from Paperbackswap.com)

• Eve by Anna Carey (borrowed from my sister)
•  Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau (from Paperbackswap)
• Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs (borrowed from my sister)
• Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs (borrowed from my sister)

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (from Paperbackswap)

Passion by Lauren Kate (Paperbackswap)

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Paperbackswap)

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (Paperbackswap)

• Siren by Tricia Rayburn (Paperbackswap)
• Supernaturally by Kiersten White (Paperbackswap)
• Virals by Kathy Reichs (borrowed from my sister)

• A Millions Suns by Beth Revis (Paperbackswap)
• Divergent by Veronica Roth (Paperbackswap)

WOW! I received soooo many books from Paperbackswap this week. I am loving this site! If you want to check it out: Join the Club and Swap Books for Free! - PaperBackSwap.com

Swords are for fighting, 

2014 Beat the Heat Readathon Progress Post

My progress

Here’s where I’ll update my progress for the duration of the readathon.

Week 1

Monday 8/11
Currently reading: Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin
Pages read today: 369+36
Books completed today: Just One Day by Gayle Forman (369 pages)

Tuesday 8/12
Currently reading: Passion by Lauren Kate
Pages read today: 145+23
Books completed today: Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin (181 pages)

Wednesday 8/13
Currently reading: The Tree House by Shay Lynam
Pages read today:
Books completed today: Passion by Lauren Kate (420 pages)

Thursday 8/14
Currently reading: The Tree House by Shay Lynam
Pages read today:
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Friday 8/15
Currently reading: Beauty by Robin McKinley
Pages read today:
Books completed today: The Tree House by Shay Lynam (261 pages)

Saturday 8/16
Currently reading: Divergent by Veronica Roth
Pages read today:
Books completed today: Beauty by Robin McKinley (247 pages)

Sunday 8/17
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Week 1 summary

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Week 2

Monday 8/18
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Tuesday 8/19
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Wednesday 8/20
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Thursday 8/21
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Friday 8/22
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Saturday 8/23
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Sunday 8/24
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Week 3

Monday 8/25
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Tuesday 8/26
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Wednesday 8/27
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Thursday 8/28
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Friday 8/29
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Saturday 8/30
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Sunday 8/31
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3 week final summary

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Review: Elixir by Ted Galdi

Synopsis:
Meet 14-year-old Sean Malone. He has an IQ above 200, a full-ride scholarship to one of the country’s top universities, and more than one million dollars from his winning streak on Jeopardy. However, Sean wishes he could just be normal.

But his life is anything but normal. The US government manipulates him, using him as a codebreaker in pursuit of a drug lord and killing innocent people along the way. 

For reasons related to his personal security, Sean finds himself in Rome, building a new life under a new name, abandoning academics, and hiding his genius from everyone. When he’s 18 he falls in love. The thrills begin again when he learns that his girlfriend is critically ill and it’s up to him to use his intellect to find a cure, a battle pitting him against a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical company and the demons of his past. 

Elixir is a story about identity, secrets, and above all, love.

Review:
**A COPY OF THIS BOOK WAS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR, TED GALDI, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW**

Elixir is Ted Galdi's first novel, and he did an excellent job! I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, exciting, well written, action packed, and had a little bit of everything. 

Sean is a genius, but being the smartest person is not all it's cracked up to be. His brain ends up getting him in trouble, so, with the help of the FBI, him and his aunt, Mary, fake their own death and start new lives in Italy. Sean enjoys not being known for his intelligence, so he keeps it hidden from his new friends in Italy. He has fun being a normal teenager. It is not until his girlfriend, Natasha, whom he loves very much becomes ill that he must bring back the old Sean to find a cure for her illness.

If you like thrillers and the young adult genre, you will definitely like this book! I look forward to reading more of Ted Galdi's work in the future.

Rating: 4/5

Swords are for fighting,

Review: Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau

Synopsis:

First zit. First crush. First…mermaid’s tail?

If she hadn’t been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail?

Most. Embarassing. Moment. Ever.

Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But this revelation raises a serious question: if Mom was a mermaid, how did she drown?

Jade is determined to find out. But how does a plus-sized, aqua-phobic, mer-girl go about doing that, exactly? And how will Jade ever be able to explain her secret to her best friend Cori, and her crush, Luke?

This summer is about to get a lot more interesting…

Review:

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau is a charming and entertaining book about a young girl named Jade that discovers she is a mermaid. The story is adorable. Jade had to cope with many changes by herself since her mother drowned the year before. The major one being sprouting a tale after falling asleep in the bath tub.

This book has many great lessons for tween to early teenage girls. Jade learns to cope and make decisions on her own. I love how positive Jade was with her weight and how she learned to accept herself. She was a refreshing main character. There is not much depth to the story, but that is what makes it fun and cute! Perfect read for a young girl.

Rating: 3.5/5

Swords are for fighting,

Review: Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires #5) by Rachel Caine

Synopsis:
In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn't the only threat.

Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural.

Review:
It has been a while since I picked up a book in the Morganville Vampires series, and I cannot believe it took me so long! First off, I LOVE the miniature recap in the beginning. It helped to refresh my memory of what happened in the previous book.

Myrnin is still one of my favorite characters even though he seems more crazy than ever. He is as weird and quirky as ever. I really hope a cure is found for this vampire illness because many more vampires are already showing signs of it.

Claire had to make some tough decisions in this book. I love how Claire continues to develop in each book. As always, this book ended on a cliffhanger.

Rachel Caine has successfully kept me hooked so far! I look forward to reading the next book in the series. These books continue to be thrilling, entertaining and a quick read. I recommend this series to everyone!

Rating: 4/5 

Books in the Morganville Vampires series:

1. Glass Houses
2. The Dead Girls' Dance
3. Midnight Alley
4. Feast of Fools
5. Lord of Misrule
6. Carpe Corpus
7. Fade Out
8. Kiss of Death
9. Ghost Town

Swords are for fighting,

Review: Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

Synopsis:
Okay, so maybe Shelby has made a few mistakes with boys lately (how was she supposed to know Wes had "borrowed" that Porsche?). But her stepmother totally overreacts when she catches Shelby in a post-curfew kiss with a hot senior: Suddenly Shelby's summer plans are on the shelf, and she's being packed off to brat camp. It's good-bye, prom dress; hello, hiking boots.

Things start looking up, though, when Shelby meets fellow camper (and son of a rock star) Austin Bridges III. But soon she realizes there's more to Austin than crush material—his family has a dark secret, and he wants Shelby's help guarding it. Shelby knows that she really shouldn't be getting tangled up with another bad boy . . . but who is she to turn her back on a guy in need, especially such a good-looking one? One thing's for sure: That pesky full moon is about to get her into trouble all over again.

Review: 

The main character, Shelby, is a teenage girl that cares about her looks, popularity, and boys, but she is also smart and caring. This book starts off with Shelby being caught outside her house with a boy. Her evil stepmother blows it out of proportion and convinces her father to send her to a brat camp. There she meets Austin who is sweet and has an English accent.

This book is a quick read. I read it in one sitting. It was enjoyable, but had a few problems for me:

1) It was very predictable
2) Austin told Shelby his big secret wayyyyy too easily
3) The characters are not fully developed
4) The story seemed rushed
AND (SPOILER WARNING):
3)It completely ignored the fact that Shelby got scratched/bit by Austin. Did anyone else think it was weird to completely ignore that fact?!

Nevertheless, I still want to know what happens next, but I do not want to pay $2.99 for a short ebook.

Rating: 2.5/5

Swords are for fighting,

Review: Mistwood by Leah Cypess

Synopsis:
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

Review:
Mistwood is the story about a Shifter named Isabel who in under a spell to protect the Samorna Kings. Leah Cypess does a wonderful job with this story. It is original, unpredictable, unexpected and I absolutely loved it. I cannot believe it took me so long to pick it up off of my shelf!

The characters are wonderfully written. Isabel is fierce. She will protect "her king" at any cost. Unfortunately, after being in the Mistwoods for so long, she is having trouble shifting when she is back in the castle. She has no idea what is causing it since she has little to no memory of her past. Throughout the book, Isabel discovers secrets about her past that certain people have kept from her. She is weary of Roken, the current king, but she will protect him because that is her job.

 Roken is one of my favorite characters even though he kept some things from Isabel. As he gets to know Isabel, he starts to confide in her and trust her. 

Kaer claims to be the rightful king, but I did not like him at all. He is arrogant, pushy, and mistrusts Isabel.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes this genre. It was a quick read that had me on the edge of my seat. I could not put it down because I HAD to know what happened next. Leah Cypess has made me a fan of her writing. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Rating: 4.5/5

Swords are for fighting,