Top Ten Tuesday #21

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This weeks topic is...


Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year

(Click the book covers to go to their Goodreads pages!)


1. The Fault In Our Stars
by John Green

No book will ever compare. If you haven't read it yet, I know it's scary, but you simply must put all that aside and jump in. It's worth every tear.


2. The Avery Shaw Experiment
by Kelly Oram

This is currently tied for first place, with TFIOS, as book of choice for my favorite. They're 2 vastly different books so really there's no way for me to compare and pick just one. So cute and a really fun read.


3. Archer's Voice
by Mia Sheridan

I'm officially not finished with this one but I'm still counting it. Sure a lot can happen between where I stopped and the end of the book, but what I've read this far is heartbreaking and sweet and I fell in love with Archer Hale.


4. Hearts in Darkness
by Laura Kaye

Got this one last year when I kept hearing people rave about it. I finally got to it a couple months ago and all I'm going to say is...being stuck in an elevator when the power goes out with Caden Grayson? *Fans self* Ultimate fantasy.


5. Inhale, Exhale
by Sarah M. Ross

Such a good storyline. And Grant has definitely made it to book boyfriend status. A must read.


6. Adorkable
by Sarra Manning

SO CUTE! Come on it says so in the title. Adorkable! Plus I love all things British which this is full of.


7. Sean Griswold's Head
by Lindsey Leavitt

I know what a name right? It is what grabbed me and made me buy it. Luckily it was a really good book on top of that.


8. My Not So Super Sweet Life
(My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #3)
by Rachel Harris

If you haven't read this series, or anything from Rachel Harris for that matter, you are truly missing out!


9. Dirty Trick (Perfectly Matched #1)
by Christine Bell

Trick Mathews. Sigh. This book is just all kinds of yum!


10. It's In His Kiss (Bridgertons #7)
by Julia Quinn

I started this book years ago. Like before I even started blogging. I'm not even sure why I never finished it, but I decided to finish out this series last month. Julia Quinn started my love for Historical Romance back in 2002 when I found the 4th book in this series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, and decided to give it a chance. You can't help but love this family. There's 8 books in the series (well 9 including the book of extra Epilogues) one for each child in the Bridgerton clan. Named, quite humerously, in alphabetical order; Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth. This one is Hyacinth's book and seriously if you asked me to pick my favorite Bridgerton book I'd probably stare at you blankly. It's impossible! (Well okay probably Romancing Mister Bridgerton simply because it made me fall in love with this family) but truly Julia Quinn is a phenomenal writer. #EndFangirling


*****


So that's it! Those are the books that have left a lasting impression on me so far this year. But 2014 is only half way through, SO, what books aren't on my list that you feel like I'm missing out on? I have an itchy click finger that's just dying to have some fun over at Amazon so let me know in the comments and/or link your TTT!!

REVIEW: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Title/Series: Panic
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: March 4th 2014
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Format: eBook | Pages: 416
Source: Amazon
★★★✩ (3.5/5) Stars!

Lauren Oliver | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes an extraordinary novel of fear, friendship, courage, and hope.

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Already optioned by Universal Pictures in a major deal, this gritty, spellbinding novel captures both the raw energy of fear mixed with excitement, as well as the aching need to find a place to belong.

This was the second Lauren Oliver book I've read. About a year or so ago I stumbled across Before I Fall and absolutely loved it. So when a friend texted me a few weeks back to ask if I'd ever read a the Delirium series I told her I owned it but had yet to get to it. She mentioned she was curious because she had just read a book, Panic, by the author and loved it so she was looking for more and that I should really check it out. After checking out the summary I just knew I had to read this book.

Overall, I have some very mixed feelings. Mostly though, I will say it was a very enjoyable read and was perfectly paced. I was thoroughly hooked and don't think I put it down once until I was finished. That being said, I felt there were a few holes and things that I took issue with. There were also quite a few, what I can only describe as, juvenile statements and references that, to me, just sort of brought the book level down a bit. For example:

It seemed somehow surprising that Nat Velez, with her thick, perfect hair and slick lip-gloss lips, would speak so frankly about a subject most people avoided. It was like hearing a supermodel fart: surprising and kind of thrilling.

OR

Now it looked like a person whose soul had been sucked out through his asshole...

They paint a picture don't they? 

The setting of Carp was a town I could easily identify with. Maybe not so much presently as it's grown quite a bit, but when I was around the same age as these characters it used to have that same type of small town, everybody knows everybody else and they all know each other's business sort of thing going on. If something happens at 9am, it's safe to say by 11 everybody else knew about it. Heck we even have a place similar to the opening scene, the cliff and lake. So it was really very easy and lots of fun to lose myself in the world that Lauren Oliver has created for us in Panic. It was a very real possibility.

Heather was a great MC. She had flaws and struggles and you can't help but root for her. I think one of my favorite aspects of Panic is Heather's relationship with her sister Lily. It wasn't perfect which made it more realistic, but it felt like no matter what Heather had going on personally/emotionally she never quit trying to do better and be better for Lily and protect her. It was very heart warming.

Sadly, my feelings towards the other MC, Dodge, didn't exactly go the same way. He didn't start off bad for me and I actually, initially thought I was going to like him. He was one of those shy, sort of awkward types in the beginning that I'm sometimes fond of. But some of the signs I started seeing early on quickly turned those feelings around. I felt as though some of the reactions he had to certain situations were taken to an extreme and slightly unreasonable level. Extreme over reactions. He was a very angry person, like he maybe felt the world owed him something. Yeah, okay sure. In a lot of ways he did have some valid reasons for his anger. Really one major one. But I think his dark plans and ideas for revenge went a bit too far.

Still, even with the small issues here and there and being on the fence with a couple of characters, I thought the book and the concept were great! In a way, it sort of made me wish we had some form of Panic back when I was in high school. Well maybe a more fun, less harmful version that is. Because when it says in the book that 'the stakes are high' that's a bit of an understatement. I couldn't believe some of the challenges!! I sat here thinking "Are they really going to make them do that?!" But then I think of the other thing in the summary about 'the payoff being even higher' and I think to myself that I'd almost do just about any of the challenges for that kind of payoff...*whistles*. 

It was a very exciting plot and I feel like it ended just perfectly. Matter of fact had there been any other outcome, this would probably be an entirely different review! I would absolutely suggest giving it a shot.

REVIEW: My Not So Super Sweet Life (My Super Sweet SixteenthCentury #3) by Rachel Harris

Title/Series: My Not So Super Sweet Life | My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century #3
Author: Rachel Harris
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Published: April 21st 2014
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Format: eBook | Pages: 190
Source: Amazon
★★★★✩ (4.5/5) Stars!!

Rachel Harris | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Cat Crawford just wants to be normal—or at least as normal as a daughter of Hollywood royalty can be. And it looks like fate is granting her wish: she’s got an amazing boyfriend, Lucas; her fabulous cousin, Alessandra, living with her; and her dad planning his second marriage to a great future stepmom. That is, until her prodigal mother reveals on national television that she has something important to tell her daughter…causing a media frenzy.

Lucas Capelli knows his fate is to be with Cat, and he’s worked hard to win her over once and for all. Unfortunately, Lucas has his own issues to deal with, including a scandal that could take him away from the first place he’s truly belonged.

As secrets are revealed, rumors explode, and the world watches, Cat and Lucas discover it’s not fate they have to fight if they want to stay together…this time, it’s their own insecurities.

Well, and the stalkerazzi.

I knew when that when I was finally able to start blogging reviews again, that I didn't want to start off with just any old random book. I've read quite a few books and pre-(hand)written  some reviews in my absence. All ready to be typed up and posted. But about the same time I realized only had a couple weeks left until I could finally order my new computer I happened to see on one of my rare Facebook visits, talk about the newest installment of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century series releasing and I thought to myself...that's the one.

I will admit, I've always been really nervous about getting fully back into Cat's story. It's no secret that I was torn up over how the first book ended. I loved it, don't get me wrong. But, to keep things unspoilery for those who've not started the series yet (and if this is the case go! Go now and read them then come back! I'll wait...) Anyway. Basically at the end I was both happy from reading such a great book and yet very sad and brokenhearted as well. I was hurting for him. You know who I mean.

It was so easy to fall right into this book. Rachel Harris will forever be one of my favorite authors. She has this ability to create fascinating characters that pull you into their stories and make you fall in love. I don't know how she does it, but I hope she never stops! It's in the dual POVs of Cat and Lucas which also makes me happy. I love getting the story and emotions from both sides.

I'm still very much loving Cat. She's tough and still just a little bit guarded but there's also a pretty vulnerable, scared girl underneath the side of her she projects to the world. Things have really changed for her since we left her in book 1. All the pieces in her life are seeming to fall right into place and she's allowing herself to be more open. Things are so much better where she's concerned. It's just a matter of "waiting for the other shoe to drop." Which it does. In the form of her mother.

To say that I despise Caterina Angeli would be a huge understatement. She's like a tornado. Dropping down suddenly. Destroying everything in her path. We've heard all about her before but trust me, witnessing the real thing in action was maddening. She is such a horrible person!!

I was so worried about how I'd feel about Lucas. Let's face it, he was going up against some pretty big competition for my affections from book 1. But I went in wanting to give him a chance and like him. I was worried for nothing because it didn't take long and I was under Lucas's spell. I love how supportive and understanding he is with Cat. He would do anything for her and bend over backwards to make her happy.

Along with some of our old favorites, like Les and Austin (I miss them), we get to meet a new character. Ransom. Now, I'm not going to go spoiling the surprise and tell you who he is or  how he fits into the story...sorry, (not)sorry. He's still a bit of a mystery and we don't get to find out a whole lot about him. It feels like...maybe...he could get his own book in the future...? If not, well, no biggie, but it would have been nice to know him more. I think that's really my only complaint with this book. He has me intrigued!

All in all I adored this book and it was a perfect compliment to the series. I really, really hope that it's not the last one and we do get to have more of Ransom and maybe even the surprise person we got to hear from after Cat's epilogue. Either way, if you haven't yet, you really should give this sweet series a read. You won't regret it!

Update: A Little Bit of Sunshine!

I'm happy to report that, as of a week ago, my new computer has been ordered!

At first I was like...

Then I did a little bit of this...

Which kinda turned into this...

And ended with a bit of this...

Okay so maybe I didn't cry but...you get my point. But the anticipation of getting it is KILLING ME!! Ughhh. It's been like 5 days since I ordered it and I've been stalking Dell and my online banking praying for changes. Sadly it still says "in production" and my bank still has lots of monies. :/ Knowing it's so much closer to being in my hands has made these last 5 days seem more like a year! But they estimated it arriving on the 4th so I'll just have to practice that...patience...word that I hate so much! Obviously I'm learning to use it quite a bit, I'm actually using gifs and formatting this post on a frickin iPad. *Grumble grumble grumble*

ANYWAY.

I've already pre-written a quite a few reviews by hand and they're all ready to be typed up and posted, slowly, once I'm up and running again. Plus I've taken plenty of notes on other books that I've finished ready to be fleshed out into reviews.

My first review back will be: My Not So Super Sweet Life by the lovely Rachel Harris

I'm not going to go crazy and stick to only posting a couple reviews a week with some other stuff thrown in (TTT, WoW, Swoons, Hauls etc) whenever I have the time. But I'm super excited to get back into it and feel like a normal, plugged in, human again. Haha :P

So I just wanted to come in here and dust off the cobwebs and say I'm almost back baby! Hope everyone that's going to BEA has an amazing time and a safe trip! I can't wait to see your posts after so I can live vicariously through you!! :)

Well that's it for now. Have a great week everyone!!

xoxo Sheri

And then life said...."Hahaha!"

I had a plan. 

See over the summer I started to get sick and worn down. I mean even the thought of just sitting here and posting a blog made me exhausted. No exaggerations, quite literally exhausted. So I stepped back from everything and I slowly started to get better. 

I decided to make a New Years resolution to be blogging again by the first of the year. I miss it! I miss my friends, I miss that feeling you get when you finish a book and can't wait to talk about it. I miss being in the loop! I used to keep up on what was coming out and when, had lists a mile long of stuff I was dying to get my hands on. But now.... :/ I wanted to get it all going again though.

Then 4am on the 1st I found myself in the ER. Happy New Year!?!....!  Err, yeah. Anyway. I'm fine. We're still not even sure what happened. Every test they put me through came out normal so who knows. So, once I was back to 100% from that life decided to kick me while I was down. Now my computer is dying.

I mean COME ON. Are you kidding me right now?! Sigh. I can turn it on and it'll start up just fine, but anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 hours later my monitor goes into power saver mode. So it's not worth starting anything if I can't make it through. Currently writing this on my iPad. It's annoying as all hell. I haaaaaate typing one handed. I'm sure there's a pervy joke in there somewhere....but you know what I mean.

Life 2 Sheri 0.

Well played life. Well played.

I'm giving it a positive spin though. I'm taking the excuse to buy a brand new computer!! I mean I know that this thing is most likely fixable but the fact is, my computer is almost 6 years old so it's wayyyy past warranty. Getting someplace around town to look at it will cost at least $60/hr + the cost of whatever I'll need to replace. Which may not end up being a whole lot, I realize that. But, frankly, I'd have to wait until April to fix it, BUT...if I wait ONE more month, in May, I can buy a whole new system. I like that idea tremendously! :D

Basically this was a long way of saying...

I'll be back (terminator voice)

Eventually. Hopefully in May. June if life still has it's ass kickin boots on.

Miss everyone terribly! xoxo 

Sheri

Top Ten Tuesday #20

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This weeks topic is...

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2013

I have read SO MANY amazing new authors this year. Going through my 2013 list on Goodreads, I pulled up 26 names that made me think "Ohh! Ohh! I have to add this one..." They weren't the only ones that sparked my interest this year, but the ones that made me feel the most. Weeding that list of 26 down to JUST TEN?! Sigh...so freaking hard. These aren't in any particular order, but they are ten of my favorite authors I either "found" or finally read this year. :)



Kate Kaynak

Freaking love these books. But one thing I learned reading Kate Kaynak's series? Do. Not. Get. Attached! She writes these characters that you can't help but fall in love with and just when you think everything is happy and on the right track...she takes one (or 5) away from you! And usually violently!! But I love every second of it!!

Rachel Harris

Rachel Harris was, literally, one of the first names I thought of when I saw the topic for this week. If she writes it, I'm reading it. Period.

Stacey Kennedy

I saw the cover for Claimed and I was done for. Though when I read the description I was a bit nervous about the subject matter. Still I gave it a shot and I was hooked instantly. I still need to give some of her other series a try but Club Sin was the perfect start!

Tiffany King

Tiffany King was tied up with Rachel for first names I thought of while doing this. Simply adore this woman! I started with No Attachments and fell in love with Nathan and this story. Then I gave Jordyn a try. Here were two completely different types of books, contemporary/paranormal, and she nailed both of them. I've now got quite a few of her other books piling up in my Kindle that I'm dying to read!!

Jessica Park

I got this in a requesting binge on NetGalley a while back. The title grabbed me and when I skimmed the summary I had a feeling it would be a very emotional read, which is what I was wanting. Little did I realize that it would make me feel so much. I can't even explain it, but this book hit me really hard. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Caisey Quinn

If you haven't discovered Caisey Quinn yet, you are missing out! She will make you laugh. She will make you cry. She will make you scream and want to throw things! But you'll love every second!!

Victoria Scott

Dante. Freaking. Walker. Need I say more? Victoria Scott has this amazing sense of humor that shines throughout her writing that nobody else can seem to touch for me. Love it!

Ednah Walters

I love mythology and Ednah Walters does it right in my opinion. She's also very talented at those cliffhangers that make you want to throw something. She's evil, EVIL I SAY!

Cora Carmack

NA is really tough. I either absolutely love it or I want to drill a hole in my brain to try to get everything I read back out of my brain. A bit drastic? No I don't think so... Fortunately there are those few gems of authors out there that have it and Cora Carmack definitely has it.

Katy Evans

This woman created Remington Tate! Sigh. Yes, I'm obsessed. I don't care! He's my #1 book boyfriend therefore she is of course on this list!

So, is there anyone I didn't mention that I should be reading? Post me your links so I can find out!! :)