That's What He Said Thursday #21

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme created 

and hosted by Chapter Break. It's a fun way to share a quote 

from a favorite book boyfriend (aka male protagonist) to his girl.

For more info, visit Chapter Break here.

First things first. Before we get to the quote can we just take a moment to admire the awesome That's What He Said Thursday header? Kei (The Lovely Pages Reviews) made this for me and as soon as I saw it I fell in love (and yeah I may have drooled a little). Since Daemon is my ultimate book boyfriend she created this gorgeous graphic and surprised me with it. (She actually made me two!) So thank you again, Kei! You are the best! :)

With the fabulous new header I guess it's no surprise that I'm going with a quote from Daemon Black - or, as Katy so eloquently described him, the holy trinity of hot boys. 

Who is your *ultimate* book boyfriend?

June #ShelfLove Challenge: Mid-Year Check-In

June topic: Mid-year check in post. How are you doing with the challenge? Look back at your January post and let us know how you are doing. Share an updated picture or list of your TBR pile.

Back in January I joined the #ShelfLove Challenge. People have different goals for the year-long challenge (reading what they own, buying less books, finishing series, etc) but for me it's been more about reading the books that I've been excited about for a long time but kept putting off. It could be because I was requesting ARC's and reading those instead. Or because I was getting sucked into the latest releases that everyone was raving about. And that always meant the books I really wanted to read were taking a backseat. So I decided that 2016 was going to be the year of me reading what I wanted to read.

So how's that been going for me? :) In January I set my goal at 31-40 books, meaning of all the books I read in 2016, at least 31 of them will be books already in my personal library. I've read 41 books so far this year and of those 16 count toward the #ShelfLove Challenge. So I'm right at the halfway point of the low end of my goal. I'm right on target for the year but I'll need to be diligent about choosing the books I already have and want to read over all the shiny new pretties. :)

I don't have any pics of my TBR because I don't keep an actual stack of physical books as my TBR. I just mentally make note of what I what to read and go with it. But there are certain books that I very much want to read by the end of the year that would count toward my goal. A few of them are: 

Are you participating in challenges this year? Now that the year is half over, how's your progress? Are you where you want to be?

The #ShelfLove Challenge is hosted by Julie and Lynn at Chapter Break, Terri at Second Run Reviews, and Brandee at BookwormBrand

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund: Sale + Giveaway!

For the Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund is on sale! Grab your copy today for 1.99! To celebrate the sale, Diana is sharing an excerpt with us as well as a giveaway! 

About For the Darkness Shows the Stars: 

Fans of Divergent will love Diana Peterfreund’s take on Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in a post-apocalyptic world.  

In the dystopian future of For Darkness Shows the Stars, a genetic experiment has devastated humanity. In the aftermath, a new class system placed anti-technology Luddites in absolute power over vast estates—and any survivors living there.   

Elliot North is a dutiful Luddite and a dutiful daughter who runs her father’s estate. When the boy she loved, Kai, a servant, asked her to run away with him four years ago, she refused, although it broke her heart.   

Now Kai is back. And while Elliot longs for a second chance with her first love, she knows it could mean betraying everything she’s been raised to believe is right.   

For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking YA romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

 Get your copy:
  Amazon | Apple iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play   

  Exclusive Excerpt: 

FOUR YEARS AGO    

Dear Kai, 

The sun is probably streaming in through the big barn windows now, which means you’re awake. And if you’re awake, it means you’re wondering where I went. I haven’t run away from you, I promise. But I knew that today of all days, they’d need me in the house. Tatiana may be the head of our household now, but she’s not the one the staff will look to in my mother’s absence. And there is so much to do to prepare for the funeral. Also, I have to go tell my grandfather what had happened to his daughter. I don’t want him to hear of her death from anyone but me. 

Thank you for last night. I wish I could say I don’t know why you are the one I ran to—you, Kai, not Tatiana or my father or even my grandfather. But I know why. And I have a confession to make.

After you let me cry, after you let me sob and shout and choke on all that pain—after you did all that, and didn’t say a word—I didn’t fall asleep like you thought. Not right away. I lay there, wadded up into a ball, and you curved your body behind mine. You were barely touching me—your thigh against the edge of my hip, your arm draped lightly across my waist, your fingers entwined with mine. How many times have our hands touched, when we were passing each other tools or helping each other in and out of machines? Hundreds of times. Thousands. But last night, it felt different. You cradled my hand in yours, palms up, our fingers curled in like a pair of fallen leaves. Fallen, maybe, but not dead. My hand never felt so alive. Every place you touched me sparked with energy. I couldn’t sleep. Not like that. And so I bent my head, just the slightest bit, until my mouth reached our hands. I smelled the oil you never quite get off your fingers. I breathed in the scent of your skin. And then, as if that was all I was doing, just breathing, I let my bottom lip brush against your knuckle. Time stopped. I was sure you’d see through my ruse and pull away. I was sure you’d know that I was not asleep, that I was not just breathing. But you didn’t move, so I did it again. And again. And on the third time, I let my top lip join my bottom. I kissed your hand, Kai. I didn’t do it to thank you for letting me cry. For letting me sleep in your arms. I thought you should know. 

Yours, 
Elliot 

Dear Elliot, 

I know. When will I see you again? 

Yours, 
Kai 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Diana Peterfreund is the author of a dozen books for adults, teens, and children. A lifelong Jane Austen lover and technophile, she lives outside Washington, DC with her family, her BBC miniseries collection, and her smartphone. You can visit Diana online at www.dianapeterfreund.com.         Website: http://dianapeterfreund.com Twitter: @dpeterfreund Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/diana.peterfreund/ 

Enter Diana’s Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Sunday Post #18

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's a chance to share news - a post to recap the past week on your blog, 

showcase books and things we have received, and share news about what is

coming up on your blog in the week ahead. You can find the info here:

Sunday Post Meme

Happy weekend! Hope everyone had a great week. I was busy at the office but not overwhelmingly so. On the downside the AC at the office was hit or miss all week so it was rather toasty. It didn't effect the whole building, just my section (lucky me!), so I found reasons to walk over to the cooler areas quite often. Fingers crossed that it's fixed tomorrow!

My wonderful friend Kei (The Lovely Pages Reviews) surprised me by making some *fantastic* graphics for me for the That's What He Said Thursday meme. I think I actually squealed out loud when I saw them. She is *so* good at her graphic edits and I'm beyond excited to roll out the new TWHST header this week. Thank you, Kei!!

Earlier today I went to see Me Before You with my husband. Oh, my heart! I thought it was an amazing adaptation of the book and the casting was perfection. Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think?

Monday, June 20: Say You'll Stay by Corinne Michaels released last Monday and I am so excited to read this one. The synopsis hooked me immediately and it's getting great reviews on GoodReads.

Tuesday, June 21: On Tuesday I took part in the cover reveal for Jennifer L. Armentrout's Torn, the second book in the Wicked saga. Wicked was loads of fun so I can't wait to get my hands on Torn. Less than a month to go!

Tuesday, June 21: Top Ten Tuesday had me choosing my favorite books so far this year. Some were obvious choices and others were trickier to narrow down. I went on a Katie McGarry kick earlier this year and it shows... I love everything she writes so she's well represented in my favorites list. :)

Thursday, June 23: That's What He Said Thursday had me going back to my favorite book of all time - The Bronze Horseman. The epic love story has no shortage of swoon-worthy quotes from Alexander.

 

  

Finished: Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon 

Even better than I expected.

Back to Us by Teresa Roman

I had a few issues with it but overall a very sweet and emotional romance.

This One Moment by Stina Lindenblatt

Meh. Not a fan. There was way too much going on, much of it over the top, unbelievable drama, which ruined it for me.

Current: Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

After This One Moment I was desperate for something I knew I would love. Some Daemon Black in my life is just what I needed. I'm loving reading from his point of view.

KINDLE: 

Semper Mine - Lizzy Ford

Soldier Mine - Lizzy Ford

One Day Soon - A. Meredith Walters

How was your week? Any new books? Any news to share? 

Fill me in... I'd love to hear!

That's What He Said Thursday #20

That's What He Said Thursday is a weekly meme created 

and hosted by Chapter Break. It's a fun way to share a quote 

from a favorite book boyfriend (aka male protagonist) to his girl.

For more info, visit Chapter Break here.

The lovely Kei (The Lovely Pages Reviews) and I were just talking about The Bronze Horseman and wondering why we don't fangirl about it more. Good question! Why don't we? So this week's That's What He Said Thursday quote is from my all-time favorite, The Bronze Horseman, and the swoony Alexander.

Have you read The Bronze Horseman?

I know some of you have it on your TBR... what are you waiting for? :)

Cover Reveal! TORN by Jennifer L. Armentrout

   

I've been waiting for the release of Torn for ages and we finally have a cover! It's just as gorgeous as the cover for Wicked... and speaking of Wicked, if you haven't read it yet now is the perfect time because you can get it for only 99¢!

The highly anticipated second book in #1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout's Wicked Trilogy has a cover! The amazing TORN cover was created by Sarah Hansen from Okay Creations with photography by Kelsey Kukal-Keeton from K Keeton designs. Check it out below! TORN is set to release July 19th. Be sure to grab the first book in the series, WICKED, which is on sale for $.99 for a limited time!

TORN Synopsis:

Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in on Ivy, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans…

Don’t miss the first title in the series, WICKED, now just $.99 for a limited time only!

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo

About Jennifer L. Armentrout: #1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.  

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

 

Top Ten Tuesday: The Best of 2016... So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme 

created by The Broke and the Bookish.

Welcome to my Top Ten Favorites of 2016... so far. There have been some hits, there have been some misses, but these stand out above all the rest (Katie McGarry for the win!). In no particular order...

Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road #1) - Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2) - Katie McGarry
The Problem with Forever - Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Edge of Juniper - Lora Richardson
Him (Him #1) - Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
To the Stars (Thatch #2) - Molly McAdams
Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits #1.5) - Katie McGarry
Chasing Impossible (Pushing the Limits #5)
One True Loves - Tayor Jenkins Reid
Fuel the Fire (Calloway Sisters #3, Addicted #3.1) - Krista & Becca Ritchie

Have you read any of these?

What would make your list of 2016 favorites?