Whoops.....I purchased three more books!

I was only going to the library for one book; The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly. I have not been able to find it anywhere. I ended up spending six bucks! I was so excited. I completed my Cormoran Strike (Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling) series with this purchase. The book was 3$; really a steal. I also got The Memoirs of Cleoparta by Margaret George; which was a 1$. And The Fifth Witness was 2$! I am really excited about all of these. I am planning on reading the Cormoran Strike novels this summer ;) I think it will be a summer of mystery novels!

My 10 Newest Book Acquistions!!

Here is the list:

1) Balm by Dolen Perkins - Veldez

2) Left Behind by Lahaye/Jenkins

3) Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon

4) The Count of Monte Cristo by A. Dumas

5) Praying the names of God by Ann Spangler

6) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

7) The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey 

8) Me before you by Jojo Moyes

9) Breakout by Joel Osteen 

10) Finders Keepers by Stephen King

Six Books I instantly loved....

Bookish love is a wonderful thing. And bookish love at first sight is even more wonderful. There are very few books that I fell in love with upon opening to the first page or at the conclusion of its first chapter. But here is a short list....

1) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - In Tan's bestseller I instantly felt as if June was a kindred spirit. I read the book at a time of my life when I was discovering who I was. I was finally learning more about my own family and about my own mother; and at the heart of this book is the story of daughters learning to value their mothers. 

2) The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank- I read this book at a very young age and it has stayed with me my entire life. Anne was so much like myself, she liked to read, she was curious about everything. She also was coming into her own; sadly Anne's life was cut short. I sometimes wonder what she would have done with her life had she survived the concentration camp.

3) Renee and Jay by J.J. Murray - This was the second book by Murrary I had ever read; however, it is why I kept reading his work. In that one little book he weaved a love story so real I was completely taken aback. What's funny is that supposedly the story is loosely based on his relationship with his real life wife. Another thing about this story that really made me love it was that he is a Caucasian man writng as a black woman and a very very convincing way. 

4) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - what's not amazing about this book. Austen writes about the way that people sometimes fall into love. It can come from out of nowhere; and sometimes that love can be bought on due to a few misunderstandings. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett's love story is be far one of my favorites and I know I will be reading it over and over again for the rest of my life! 

5) The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling - does this need any explaination. I mean what's not to love about The Potter series; it's got it all. Witches, Wizards, Magic, Danger, Loce and laughs. 

6) The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness - I read this series last summer and fell head over heels in love with it. Mainly I fell in love with Matthew Clarimont; the mysterious Oxford professor. Matthew is dreamy, and Diana (who would become his love interest)  has a mystery of her own to unreveal. It seems the closer they get to one another the more they need each other to work through every great the mystery of the series.

What books did you really fall in love with? Please feel free to comment!

The Bookbabe Returns to the House of Night....My review of Hidden by P.C. + Kristen Cast

Where do I begin....well how about at the part where I started this book in July of 2014 and stopped reading it! I honestly gave up on it. I will start by saying that once upon a time I was crazy about this series. I raved about it. Then came a few books in the series that I had a hard time digesting. Honestly, I think that this was because the characters never seemed to have any real "growth" or complexity. At least not the characters on the side of good like, Zoey, Stark and Stevie Rae. While the Villians, like Kalona, Neferet etc..... are well developed and well written. Which is one of the reasons I came back to the series. I wanted to know how they would fight evil and handle Neferet! 

What I loved about this book was that we finally see Zoey evolve. She is forced by Nyx to grow up. She is told point blank to stop acting like a child and step into her high priestess position. Same goes with Stevie Rae; who honestly I believed had handled her Red High Priestess position rather well up to this point. I honestly would have loved to have seen more of Stevie Rae throughout this book. She kind of took on a side kick role. 

It was also nice to see Kalona in action....to see him change his ways. We all knew he had it in him; but I was surprised by some of the developments with the character in this installment of the series. I think it would have served readers better if these changes had happened earlier in the series! Kalona's character is a very interesting one to me. He is deeply flawed and has done some very terrible things. However, he will do whatever he can to be forgiven and he proves that when he battles Neferet; only to find out that he can no longer control darkness. That was perhaps one of my favorite scenes of the book. Another scene I loved was when Zoey's Grandmother, Sylvia Redbird, takes on Neferet via the use of Native American charms and magic. 

I loved loved loved this element of the story. The Cast's mix in elements of Wicca and Native American religion and Greek mythology into these books. Which is a great and fresh take on the vampire storyline; and honestly is another reason I was so anxious to give the series another try. All in all, I do not regret listening to the audio book (yes I know that's cheating lol). However, I did give the book 3/5 stars on Goodreads. I downgraded it a three because of the overly sexual scenes in the book. Like the last book these made me extremely uncomfortable because some of it read a bet like a bad Paranormal romance when the book is written for a YA audience. I am not trying to be judgmental or anything but the sex could be completely avoided because it does not enhance the story line; and again these books are marketed for kids from middle school to highschool age. I have read several YA authors that allude to sex in their books but they are not as vivid with it. In my opinion that's a fine line that should not be crossed in YA unless you can deal with it responsibly. 

Here are some of the quotes I loved from the book...

 

It's a full on angel Apocalypse....

Hey Bookies, long time no review! Sorry about that; so here goes nothing. At the beginning of this month I finished Susan Ee's novel End of Days; the final book in the Angelfall Trilogy. I was really dragged reading this out because I was so in love with the series. So reading this book was really bittersweet. It was very hard to leave behind Raffe and Penryn. In this book we are thrust back into a world that seems to have ended; however, the real apocalypse has not even happened yet. Which makes this book even more exciting. I know that seems messed up to wish an apocalyptic event on a books characters; but, if you've read these books you know that the action is often the best part. 

Honestly reading about Raffe and Penryn battling it out with scorpion like creatures and rogue Angels is the truly the best! It also happens to produce some of the funniest dialogue I have ever read. The best part of this particular book is when Raffe and Penryn decend into the underworld to bring back fallen angels to help Raffe fight for the human race. 

It was during their time in the underworld that I think Raffe's true feelings for Penryn are on full display. The tension between them had been building since the second book. However, Raffe made it clear that he could not be with her no matter how he felt because getting the heavenly hosts (the Angels) back in order is what is most important. He promises Penryn that he will do all he can to get the Angels back where they belong and perhaps they will even be able to fix what happened to her sister. What I loved about the story is that Susan Ee seemed to wrap things up so nicely. She really left no lose ends. What was most surprising was Raffe's sacrifice to keep Penryn safe. I really wish that Susan had showed us a little more of what happened after the finally battle to save humanity. All together I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads. 

Quotes I loved:

“He looks down at me with sincere eyes. 'If I were human, I would have been the first in line for you...' He looks away. 'But I'm not. I'm an archangel, and my people are in trouble. I have no choice but to try to set things straight. I can't get distracted by a Daughter of Man.” 

“Raffe arches his brow at me. ‘You should be with a nice human boy. One who takes your orders and puts up with your demands. Someone who dedicates his life to keeping you safe and well fed. Someone who can make you happy. Someone you can be proud of.’ He waves his hand at the Watchers. ‘There’s nobody like that in this lot.’ 
I glare at him. ‘I’ll be sure to pass him by you first before I’ – settle for – ‘choose him.’ 
‘You do that. I’ll let him know what’s expected of him.’ 
‘Assuming he survives your interrogation,’ says Howler. 
‘Big assumption,’ says Cyclone. 
‘I’d like to be there to watch,’ says Hawk. ‘Should be interesting.” 

"I challenge you to come find us.’ ‘This is Penryn Young, Daughter of Man, Killer of Angels." 

 

I am going to Camp....Are you?

Every year I tell myself I am going to write more. I am going to be more productive in my creative life; and then I flop. I get lazy etc. Mainly I just allow self doubt to stop me. So as a part of my mission for the year I am going to commit myself to writing and I what a better way to kick it off then with Camp NaNoWriMo? I am very excited. 

I have finally worked out the beginning of the book I have been wanting to write for years. This book is deeply personal, and this journey will most likely not be easy. Anyone that writes knows just how personal the process is. I am going to be blogging about the journey once a week here beginning in April. I will also be creating an online writing group in May. Anyone interested in joining can email me at thebookbabe84@gmail.com! Also, if you are also going to be at camp let me know! We can keep each other encouraged. Good luck bookies! 

She is spinning a new tale....

One this day of Women's history month I want to uplift the name of author Danielle Paige. She is the author of the best selling Dorothy Must Die YA series. Before she was a novelist she worked in the Television industry.