Stacking the Shelves #5 - May 3, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a meme dedicated to sharing your book hauls and swag.  Please visit this link to find out more.

This week came as a total surprise, as I wasn't expecting anything.  Then, I got two mysterious UPS My Choice notifications.  Then, Edelweiss had a flood of Harper Collins titles.  THEN, I found out that we're going camping this month, so naturally I had to check out a guide to brush up on things. It turned out to be an excellent week when all is said and done.

The Books

For Review

Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii by Vicky Alvear Schecter (finished copy courtesy of Scholastic)

Firebug by Lish McBride (ARC courtesy of Macmillan)

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios (Edelweiss via Balzer+Bray)

Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little (Edelweiss via HarperCollins) 

Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch (Edelweiss via Balzer+Bray)

Stray by Elissa Sussman (Edelweiss via Greenwillow Books)

Blackbird by Anna Carey (Edelweiss via HarperTeen)
MARY: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan (Netgalley via Disney-Hyperion)

Borrowed

The Pocket Guide to Camping by Linda White & Katherine L. White (digital library loan)

What I Read

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

What I Reviewed

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

What I'm Reading

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The Outside by Laura Bickle

Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

Other Posts

Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon 2014

Marla's Wish List - What I Love & Would Like to See More Of

Marla's Wish List - What I Love & Would Like to See More of

Sometimes you're going along in your reading life, minding your own business, when suddenly you're taken by a yearning for something different.  It could be that you just need to change things up.  Sometimes, however, that isn't quite enough.  Maybe you change direction and find something you really like...

only to realize that you. want. MORE.

Well, folks, I can confidently say that I've been there and I now have a decided opinion on what I want out of my books.  Perhaps these books are out there and I just have yet to discover them.  Perhaps there's a place in the market that has yet to be fulfilled.  Maybe some of you will have recommendations for me.  Either way, I want what I want, so here it is.

Historical Fantasy

This is probably one of those genres that I can find plenty of if I just look for it.  However, I am definitely looking for some recommendations, because apparently I can't do it by myself.

Gothic Fiction

This probably isn't too surprising given my love of all things Jane Eyre.  It's been a while since I read anything recent with a Gothic tone.  Help a girl out?

Horror

Yes, I know!  Horror is out there in force!  However, I need recommendations, people!  Halp!

Epistolary Novels

I loooove books written in letter form.  Ever since Daddy-Long-Legs, I've been completely in love with the genre.  I've read everything from the moving to the silly.  I can't get enough of it.

Dragons

I just took one reading of Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey to get me hooked.  Seraphina?  Awesome.  The Sweetest Dark?  Fantastic!  Must. have. MORE!

Automatons

This is a recent one, but as I prepare to read The Girl with the Wind Up Heart, I get the feeling I'm going to be wanting a lot more of this.  Plus, you know, it tends to be found in steampunk.  God, I love steampunk.

So, how about it?  Can someone out there help me out with some great book recommendations?  I'd be ever so grateful.  I'll be here waiting.

Review - Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

by Stephanie Perkins
publisher: Dutton Books
date of publication: September 29, 2011
format: Hardcover
pages: 338
source: purchased
series: Anna and the French Kiss #2
buy it:

From Goodreads:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This book has been sitting on my shelves for the longest time, yet I'm just now getting to it.  Why is that?  Heck if I know.  Once I pulled it down and opened that shiny cover, I got sucked in and didn't want to give up reading it. Lola and the Boy Next Door made for a great companion to Anna and the French Kiss, and while it's been quite some time since I read Anna, it still brought back many of the same feelings I had when I did.

Lola Nolan is a girl struggling to figure things out.  She sees herself as much more mature than she really is, evidenced by her choice of boyfriend, a man 4 years older than herself.  That may not seem like much, but at 17, Lola is still figuring out who she is and what she needs.  Seeing Lola get treated like dirt by Max made me very frustrated, almost to the point of putting down the book.  One of her greatest moments of redemption comes in the wake of something horrible he says to her, and it was then that I realized what potential she had as a character.  As she works through the tumult of her thoughts and comes to the realization of who she really is, she really shines.  It is then that you see that Cricket is there to highlight all of the best of her while Max highlights all of the worst.  It made for an interesting contrast and I really enjoyed seeing the culmination of that conflict.

Stephanie Perkins is a very funny writer.  In spite of the heavier issues at hand, she never failed to make me laugh when it was most needed.  The blend of seriousness and humor really worked for Lola and the Boy Next Door and the delivery was much appreciated.  I also loved the subplot involving her dads and her biological mother.  The circumstances surrounding Lola's birth and the lingering effects they left upon her really lent perspective to her overall character.  When combined, it made for an engrossing read that left me alternating between laughter and sniffles.

While I didn't get quite the same level of experience reading Lola and the Boy Next Door as I did Anna and the French Kiss, I still found Lola to be an enjoyable read that ultimately left me with a smile on my face in the end.  The ways in which Perkins incorporated humor and even characters from Anna into the storyline made it even more engaging.  If you're looking for a fun read with some weight at the root of it, Lola and the Boy Next Door should do very nicely.  I would definitely recommend it to all.

Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon 2014

It's been ages since I participated in a read-a-thon, so I thought I would start with this one since I've enjoyed it in the past.  This year, I am committed to reading 3 books.  Because I'm doing this for fun, none will be review books.  All of these are books I own and have been looking for a chance to read.  I plan to read the following:

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

The Outside by Laura Bickle

Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

If you would like to participate, follow this link to the sign-up post and use the linky to sign up.  I hope you'll join me!

Stacking the Shelves #4 - April 26, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a meme dedicated to sharing your book hauls and swag.  Please visit this link to find out more.

It's been a pretty good week with lots of nice pick-me-ups that were much-needed in light of some medical problems I am facing.  It was nice to have these pretties to think about and I can't wait to read them all.

The Books

For Review

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck (paperback from Sterling Publishing)

Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry (eGalley from Netgalley & St. Martin's)
The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett (eGalley from Netgalley & Harlequin Teen)
Firebug by Lish McBride (eGalley from Netgalley & Henry Holt & Co.)

Purchased

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Steam & Sorcery by Sidney Spencer Pape (eBook)
Photographs & Phantoms by Sidney Spencer Pape (eBook)
Kilts & Kraken by Sidney Spencer Pape (eBook)

What I Read

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

What I Reviewed

House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

What I'm Reading

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Door by Andy Marino

Other Posts

Hannah's Review of Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor
Feature & Follow Friday - April 25, 2014