Sunday Post 2nd April 2017

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it's a chance to post a recap on the past week, show the books we have received and share what we plan for the coming week. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops or downloaded on to their e-reader. As always you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the Goodreads page for that book if you're interested in finding out more about it or click the title to go to the review.

Films of the Week:

Ok so when I am feeling a little down I have a few go to films that I watch to make myself feel a little better. And the one I chose to watch this week was the wonderful The Slipper and the Rose which is a musical about Cinderella and I just love it so much. If you love either fairy-tales or musicals (or both) then you need to watch this. It's my favourite Cinderella adaptation ever and its definitely in my Top 10 musicals. (I watched it twice this week and its a two hour long film so you know it has to be good right??)

Last Week on the Blog:

• The Book Life Tag
• Cover Reveal: Blood Rose by Danielle Rose
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Conquering Kingdoms Book Tag
• Friday Reads
• Blog Tour: Wild Chamber by Christopher Fowler
• Clare's March Wrap Up and April TBR
• Blog Tour: Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds

Books We Got This Week:

Taking Flight/On the Outside/Time It Right/Colorblind by Siera Maley: I downloaded these via Kindle Unlimited because of how much I loved Maley's Dating Sarah Cooper. 
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde: Diversity, conventions, geekiness! What more could I possibly want?

A Dangerous Year by Kes Trester: No cover for this one yet! But it's coming soon from Curiosity Quills (here is a link to the goodreads page). This just sounds incredible and the mystery/spying element of it really appeals to me!

Prophet of the Badlands/Archon's Queen/Grey Ronin/Daughter of Ash by Matthew S. Cox: Also received from Curiosity Quills. This is a series but I believe each book follows different characters? Which is my favourite type of series honestly. I am super intrigued by all of these (although its Daughter of Ash that most makes me excited).

The Struggle by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Received from Hodder & Stoughton for review. This is the third book in the Titan's series!

Fire in You by Jennifer L. Armentrout: Received from Hodder & Stoughton for review. The sixth book in the Wait for You companion series. I am clearly going to have a very Jennifer L. Armentrout reading week at some point!

Hostage to Pleasure/Branded by Fire/Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh: My quest to own all the books in this series continues (slowly). I will almost definitely be reading these in April as I aim to have the series finished this year!

Reading Update:

Ann:

Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon: 5 Stars, I really enjoyed this book and I loved the characters, they were all so different and realistic. It was amazing.

Clare:

The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova: 5 stars, So, so good. I loved Ari from the first page and Cvareh slowly but surely grew on me (Florence is just precious and wonderful and must be protected at all costs). There was some great character development, I loved the world and I just can't wait for the next book please!

Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas: 5 stars, God I love this book! Lisa Kleypas is officially my favourite Historical Romance author. The characters were incredible, the romance made my heart actually ache. I just loved it so much.

A List of Cages by Robin Roe: 5 stars, Wow, this was one of those genuinely life altering books. I laughed at times (usually in Adam's POV) and towards the end there were moments when I felt sick. Oddly it was the hope in the book that had me closest to tears. This is just incredible. But trigger warnings for assault and abuse.
Dating Sarah Cooper by Siera Maley: 5 stars, I am just on a roll with these 5 star books! This was - everything I ever wanted. I know I'm going to re-read it again and again. It's a bit like Faking It only better, I loved both the MC's and the story and the ending and I just - yes. 

The Dragon's Price by Bethany Wiggins: 2 stars, It's a problematic book in terms of the races in this book and also there were not nearly enough dragons for me. I need dragons. So many dragons.

Bad Blood by Demitria Lunetta: 2 stars, I had a lot of problems with the mental illness representation here.
Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher: 5 stars, Meanwhile - this is a personal book for me (and a reread) it was enormously helpful to me when I most needed that help and understanding. 

Next Week on the Blog:

• Cover Characteristic: Person in a Field of Grass
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Ann's March Wrap Up and April TBR
• Classics Wrap Up and TBR
• Fairy Loot March Unboxing

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare), Facebook and Instagram to keep up with what we are reading.

Blog Tour: Close to Me by Amanda Reynolds

I am excited to welcome Amanda Reynolds to the blog today for the blog tour for Close to Me.

About the Book:

She can't remember the last year. Her husband wants to keep it that way.

When Jo Harding falls down the stairs at home, she wakes up in hospital with partial amnesia-she's lost a whole year of memories. A lot can happen in a year. Was Jo having an affair? Lying to her family? Starting a new life?

She can't remember what she did-or what happened the night she fell. But she's beginning to realise she might not be as good a wife and mother as she thought.

Five Books I have Recently Read…

1.       Weightless – Sarah Bannan I don’t read much Young Adult literature, but this for me is more crossover fiction than straight YA; and anyway, I loved it! It’s written in second person, which is quite different, but it works so well to illustrate the collective mentality of a group of teenagers obsessed by the new girl at their school. The subtext of menace is always there, along with those twin teenage preoccupations: image and status. It’s beautifully written and a devastating read.

2.      Gone Without a Trace – Mary Torjussen I loved the way this book built and built. It kept me guessing all the way through and the premise is instantly engaging, ‘What would you do if you came home and found your partner had left, erasing every trace of themselves from your life?’ The author has cleverly plotted this intricate tale, and there’s a thought-provoking subject at its heart which isn’t often spoken about. I’m a slow reader, but I devoured it in a few days; could not put it down.

3.      The Doll Funeral – Kate Hamer I think this second outing for Kate Hamer is even better than her great debut, The Girl in the Red Coat. She has such a lyrical way of describing the Forest of Dean where the book is set. It’s an unusual story, with supernatural elements, and influences again from classic fairy tales. The author captures a child’s view of a mixed-up world with pin-point accuracy.

4.      The Girl Before – J P Delaney This book has short snappy sections from different points of view and I love that. It’s how I’m writing my next book. It’s being made into a film by Ron Howard and I could imagine it working well on screen, it has a very filmic quality and a fabulous premise. One Folgate Street offers its tenants the chance to lead a perfect life, but at what price?

5.      My Sister – Michelle Adams As a child, I always wanted a brother or sister, but maybe not after reading about Elle. She is a truly terrifying creation. This book has it all: creepy houses, dysfunctional relationships, crazed sisters and dark family secrets. I can’t say much more without giving anything away, but suffice to say it gets darker and more twisted as you read on.

Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour as well! 

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare), Facebook and Instagram to keep up with what we are reading.

Clare's March Wrap Up and April TBR

March Wrap Up:

March turned out to be the best reading month I've had in ages! Not only did I read Twenty five books which is a ridiculous amount - but I enjoyed almost all of them!

25. Can't Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon: I just struggled with the writing style in this and never really connected with the characters which was a shame.
24. The Dragons Price by Bethany Wiggins: I struggled with this for a few reasons. Firstly - the main character felt very special snowflake. Also the depictions of the different races felt problematic to me (with a dark skinned "savage/exotic" race known to be barbarians). And also - in a book with Dragons in the title there weren't a lot of dragon interactions. I just want a good dragon book (seriously recommendations please?).

23. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab: Kind of a disappointment - I did actually enjoy the first book but I just didn't get into this one and I doubt I'll finish the series. I guess V.E. Schwab is just not for me?

22. The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard: Fun, slightly longer than it needed to be maybe but a lot of fun and very intriguing. I will definitely be continuing the series at some point but not just yet.

21. Angels of Music by Kim Newman: An interesting reimagining of the Phantom of the Opera with a Charlie's Angels angle. This was definitely unique and quite a lot of fun but it felt disconnected as a narrative.

20. The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles: I loved the mother figures of this book and Zoe's little brother was adorable. But it almost felt like two different books with the two perspectives and it was definite insta-love. 

19. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: Actually really enjoyed this. Despite some problems with world building I liked the characters. And the ending is fairly complete.

18. Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza: Loved the world building, it was a bit confusing at first but it felt very detailed and imaginative. Unfortunately didn't get attached to the characters as quickly. Will probably re-read this before the next book comes out.

17. Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North: Sheer fun, I really really enjoyed this. It's a bit like mixing a video game with a book (two things I love) and it was very entertaining. I know I'll be returning to this many times to try and get different endings but I am only going to count it as read once because it seems like cheating?

16. The Valiant by Lesley Livingston: Plenty of drama and secrets and backstabbing. I was slightly disappointed because actually I adore Lesley Livingston's other books (especially Wondrous Strange) so whilst I did enjoy this I didn't love it as much as I expected to.

15. A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn: Much as I love Veronica Speedwell she hasn't quite reached the same heights as Lady Julia yet. I am still really enjoying this series and very much look forward to the next!

14/13/12. Silent Night/Twelfth Night/Bonfire Night by Deanna Raybourn: These are the three final novellas in the Lady Julia series and I thought they were a nice way to end the series. It was great to see Julia and Brisbane really work together and to see them get a relatively complete ending especially as it doesn't look like we'll get more of these books! :(

11. New York, Actually by Sarah Morgan: Sarah Morgan's books continue to delight me. They're so light and fun but at the same time so character driven. All of her characters feel real and complex and that just adds so much to the romance and the story. 

10. Blood Tide by Claire McGowan: I have a full review for this linked below but basically I loved it. It had all my favourite elements of a mystery (locked rooms/isolated islands) and also an intriguing personal story for the main character which I am excited to see developed in future books.

9. The Courage of a Samurai by Lori Tsugawa Whaley: Again, full review linked below. This was kind of a different book for me - I don't often read self-help books but I found this to be actually inspiring and really interesting.

8. Starfall by Melissa Landers: I didn't love this as much as Starflight but it was still so great to catch up with these characters. I really need to read the Alienated trilogy by Landers because I love her writing.

7. Frostblood by Elly Blake: If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that early in the month Frostblood saved me from an oncoming reading slump and thank god! It was so addictive and exciting and I adored the characters. I did however, really like the ending of this one. So I may wait until the series is complete before I continue because I really hate cliffhangers.

6. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller: Loved the main character, loved the premise, loved the world, loved the action. Genuinely so excited for the next book. 

5. Done Dirt Cheap by Sarah Nicole Lemon: Probably my biggest surprise of the month. I went in not really knowing anything about it - drawn by the fact its been blurbed by most of my favourite authors. And discovered an incredible story with characters that felt so real to me. I was sorry that it had to come to an end!

4. The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova: Ari and Florence are two of my favourite fictional characters... ever? I adored them and need more. Cvareh did take a little longer to grow on me but I ultimately did like him a lot as well.

3. A List of Cages by Robin Roe: Thank you very much to Vera @ Regal Critiques for recommending this to me. It was such an emotional and powerful book. Julian was such a precious character I just desperately wanted to protect him and Adam was just like a sunbeam.

2. Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas: Each new Kleypas book is better than the last I swear. I adored pretty much everything about this book and I could have read about these characters for hours. 

1. Dating Sarah Cooper by Siera Maley: And my favourite book of the month is this! I freaking loved the main characters and all their interactions and the drama. It felt a little like Faking It (only way better) and I already want to re-read it!

Reviews Posted This Month:

• Courage of a Samurai by Lori Tsuguwa Whaley
• Blood Tide by Claire McGowan

Challenge Progress:

• 58/200 Goodreads Reading Challenge 29%
• A Classic a Month: Completed! It was a re-read of The Princess Bride and I'm really hoping to read something new to me in April! 
• When Are You Reading Challenge: 1900-1919 - The Ways of the World by Robert Goddard

April TBR:

This is a fairly loose TBR because I have some review books I'd like to read this month and a couple of new releases as well? But these are all books I got in March but haven't had a chance to read yet and I am excited for them! 

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare), Facebook and Instagram to keep up with what we are reading.