The Booktuber Habits Tag

Book Review / Cavendon Hall by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Opening on the eve of the First World War, this is a dramatic novel set around the stately home of Cavendon Hall, its owners the aristocratic Ingham family and the Swann family who serves them.

Two entwined families: the aristocratic Inghams and the Swanns who serve them. The Earl and Countess have relied on their faithful retainers Alice and Walter Swann as their young family grows up.

One stately home: Cavendon Hall, a grand imposing house nestled in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales

A society beauty: Lady Daphne Ingham is the most beautiful of the Earl’s four daughters. Being presented at Court and making a glittering marriage is her destiny.

But in the summer of 1913, a devastating event changes her future forever, and threatens the Ingham name. Yet life as the families of Cavendon Hall know it – Royal Ascot, supper dances, grouse season feasts and a full servants’ hall – is about to alter beyond recognition as the storm clouds of war gather.

Published:     30th January 2014
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

●● Waiting on Wednesday - Hexed by Michelle Krys ●●

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 10th June 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

●● Book Haul / 24th March 2014 ●●

Book Lover Survet Tag [Originally from You Tube]

Series Review - Fracture and Vengeance by Megan Miranda

Below is the description for the first book, Fracture....

When Decker found Delaney kissing his best friend Carson, he told himself that it meant nothing. But then Carson calls to Delaney from across the vast frozen lake. Jealous, Decker insists they walk over the fragile ice. Halfway, he leaves her there ...Ten minutes without air, Delaney will be dead. Decker pulls her out of the icy waters after eleven. Delaney is alive, but now she is drawn to those who are dying ...and to stranger, Troy - someone Decker should see as a threat.

Fracture
Published:     13th February 2014
Publisher:  Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Fracture
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Vengeance

 Published:     13th February 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 2, Fracture
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

Best wishes

Debs

●● Waiting on Wednesday - Bloodwitch by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes ●●

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 13th May 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

A gripping tale about loyalty, power, and the quest for freedom
Vance Ehecatl was raised with every luxury he could imagine in a beautiful greenhouse within the powerful empire of Midnight. Vampires are the only guardians Vance has ever known since he was abandoned by his shapeshifter family as a baby quetzal, and he is grateful to them for generously providing for all of his needs. When an act of violence forces Vance from his sheltered home, he is startled to meet Malachi Obsidian, a fellow shapeshifter with conflicting ideas about Midnight and its leader, Mistress Jeshickah.

Malachi claims Vance is a bloodwitch, who Jeshickah and her trainers, Jaguar and Taro, are trying to control. Vance doesn't know anything about the rare and destructive magic Malachi says he possesses, and he can't believe Jeshickah would use it to hurt others. But when his friends begin falling ill, Vance starts to realize his perfect world may not be as flawless as it seems. Now Vance must decide who to trust-the vampires he's always relied upon, or the shapeshifters who despise them.

Book Haul - 17th March 2014

Blog Tour Review / Deeper by Robin York

When Caroline Piasecki's ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn't look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear; hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defence and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he's shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger - even after promising her dad she'll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they're 'just friends,' their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself - and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.

Published:     6th March 2014
Publisher:  Piatkus Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Caroline & West
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
Review:  

My Review 

One of my resolutions for this year was to try new things and to expand my reading into genres I would not have otherwise picked up.  Deeper is a New Adult book; New Adult is a type of book that I have been seeing 'around the block' for quite a while now and have been intrigued to try one.  I have to confess that I have never had a fondness for erotic style stories, mainly because the ones I have read in the past seem to consist of just the erotic style of the story and not focus on the actual story of the book.  New Adult intrigued me.  

I really enjoyed the story of this book.  For me, the best part of this book was the character progression of Caroline and West.  You have Caroline at the beginning who is being victimised by having very private photos put on the internet with what seemed like everyone she knew had seen them.  How mortifiying...   Enter West who comes to Caroline's defence and punches the nasty ex-boyfriend who posted the pictures in the first place.  From there the story mainly concentrates on Caroline and West, how they interact with each other and seeing how they progress throughout the book.

What I loved the most about this book...

What I loved the most about this book was the character progression of both Caroline and West.  At the beginning of the story, Caroline has completely closed herself off trying to survive the embarrassment of everyone having seen her in a very private moment.  At the beginning with West, he definately had some family issues and worries from home, that I will not go into in too much detail here as I don't want to spoil the story. 

As the story goes on, I loved the way that Caroline and West bantered with each other and how they help each other along the way.  

What I was not fond of with this book...

The only thing that I was not fond of in this book was the erotic side of it.  It was a bit too much for me, but that is just a personal choice.  I was trying out this type of story to see how I got on with it.  I loved the story side of it but the erotic side was not for me.


Best wishes 
Debs :-)

 

Book Haul and Unboxing

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●● Waiting on Wednesdays / We Were Liars by E Lockhart ●●

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 13th May 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Book Review / The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

From the author of the highly addictive and bestselling Blue Bloods series, with almost 3 million copies sold, comes a new novel, Melissa de la Cruz's first for adults, featuring a family of formidable and beguiling witches.

The three Beauchamp women-Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid-live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret-they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

Published:     21st June 2011
Publisher:  Hyperion
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, The Beauchamp Family
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
 
 

Best wishes
Debs :-)

●● Waiting on Wednesday / The Treatment by Suzanne Young ●●

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.


Expected Release Date: 29th April 2014
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)

Goodreads link is here.

As the above is book 2 in The Program series, below is the blurb for book 1

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them

Book Review / The Name on Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns

It's the first thing they teach you when you start school. But they don't need to; your parents tell you when you're first learning how to say your name. It's drummed into you whilst you're taking your first stumbling steps. It's your lullaby. From the moment it first appears, you don't tell anyone the name on your wrist.

In Corin's world, your carpinomen - the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist from the age of two or three - is everything. It's your most preciously guarded secret; a piece of knowledge that can give another person ultimate power over you. People spend years, even decades, searching for the one they're supposed to be with.

But what if you never find that person? Or you do, but you just don't love them? What if you fall for someone else - someone other than the name on your wrist?

And what if - like Corin - the last thing in the world you want is to be found?

The gripping debut novel from the winner of the inaugural Sony Young Movellist Award.

Published:     2nd January 2014
Publisher:  Corgi
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Not part of a series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher 




Best wishes  
Debs :-)

Book Revew / Enders by Lissa Price

Below is the description for the first book in the series, Starters.  The link to the goodreads page for Enders is below also...

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Published:     26th December 2013
Publisher:  Doubleday
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 2, Starters
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher
 



Best wishes
Debs :-)