Girl Plus Books

The Sunday Post #59

Sunday, June 11, 2017

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

A fairly uneventful week - which was good. At the office, two of my three bosses were out all week so it made for a quiet week there, as well. Nice!
I have some kind of eye infection... in both eyes... which has made reading loads of fun. LOL I have this gunky stuff to put in my eyes 4X a day and afterwards everything is good and filmy. Thank goodness for audio books!
The Husband won 1st Place in another car show last night. We know what that means... more books for me! :) (For those who don't know, we have a sliding scale for every time my husband enters/places/wins a car show. Depending on how he does, I could get a Kindle book, a paperback, a hardcover, an Amazon card. etc. It's all in fun, but I think I come out the winner. He is the best! ♥)
It's worth mentioning that I finished A Court of Wings and Ruin last night. Wow... just, wow. I can't count how many times I had to read only a page at a time or set the book aside completely because the tension and suspense was overwhelming. Or things were happening that I couldn't bear to read. SJM is a master at making fantasy truly emotional.

Tuesday, June 6
Top Ten Tuesday:
Most Recent TBR Additions

Wednesday, June 7
Best in Books | May 2017

Friday, June 9
#ShelfLove Mid-Year Check-In

FINISHED:

A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3) - Sarah J. Maas

CURRENT:

Marked in Flesh (AUDIO) - Anne Bishop

KINDLE BOOKS:

Leveled - Jay Crownover

The Friend Zone - Kristen Callihan

My Lucky Days - S.D. Hendrickson

LIBRARY HAUL:

When Dimple Met Rishi - Sandhya Menon

Words in Deep Blue - Cath Crowley

Eliza and Her Monsters - Francesca Zappia

eARC FOR REVIEW:

Sugar & Gold - Emma Scott

Me reading A Court of Wings and Ruin...

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

You know I want to hear about it! :)

#ShelfLove 2017 Mid-Year Check-In

Friday, June 9, 2017

For the second year in a row, I'm taking part in the #ShelfLove Challenge.

The focus is on reading the books you already own - and I'm all about that!

The discussion topic for the mid-year check-in:

How are you doing with the challenge?
Look back at your January post and share your progress.

I started off the year strong - purposely choosing books that were already on my shelves (or my Kindle). But, somewhere along the way, I became distracted by all the shiny new releases and a few arc's and, well... it's time to get back on track. The goal I set at the beginning of the year was to read between 31-40 books this year that I already owned (before the start of the year). With the year almost half over, I feel like I should be a little further along in this goal. Sooo, time to get focused and get back to reading all the awesome books already on my shelves!

My #ShelfLove Challenge Progress:

If you're taking part in any reading challenges, how's your progress?

Best in Books | May 2017

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Best in Books is a monthly feature created by BookTuber Hope Ortego.

A playlist of her Best In Books videos can be found HERE.

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Welcome to my Best in Books for May! A little later than I intended (for the second month in a row) but what can I say? Life has a habit of getting in the way. :)

Best in Books was created by my friend Hope and she was kind enough to let me join in on her feature (because she's awesome that way). Her BookTube channel is linked above and I hope you'll check her out. Now on to all the best bookishness in May...

Feyre, Morrigan and Amren from A Court of Mist and Fury
For the first time ever, I'm choosing more than just a single person for my Best Female Character category. Because all three of these women from ACOMAF are so amazing, are so unique, and contribute so much. Newly fae Feyre who finds herself with powers she still struggles to understand and control, Mor who is equal parts fun-loving friend and fierce warrior, and Amren whose background remains a mystery and who all seem to treat with a wary respect. I love these characters both individually and as a group. Their dynamic is evolving and I'm excited to see how it changes.

Rhysand from A Court of Mist and Fury and Ambrose from Making Faces

Since I didn't narrow it down to one for Best Female Character, I have zero compunction about doing the same for Best Male. :) Rhys in ACOMAF was everything. Learning the depth of his sacrifice was staggering and it broke my heart. The kindness, the generosity, and the selflessness hidden beneath the veneer of cocky cruelty makes Rhys one of my favorite fictional characters ever.

I've yet to write my review of Making Faces but that won't stop me from mentioning about Ambrose Young. His journey broke my heart. The way he fought to accept his new reality, his struggles with grief and guilt and loneliness... all while maintaining a sweetness and a quiet dignity that had me in awe. Ambrose was unforgettable.

Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout
As with the first book in this paranormal/urban fantasy series, the character Tink totally steals every scene and delivers the laughs. I love that little brownie. :)

"You cannot let anyone know what you are," said Tink.

"Gee, really? I was thinking about updating my Facebook status."

Tink cocked his blondish-white head to the side. "You don't have a Facebook, Ivy."

I sighed.

Tink continued, because of course. "I looked for you. Wanted to add you as my friend so I could poke you, and I know people don't poke anymore, but I think poking is great."

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
Even though The Crown's Game was a re-read (well, re-listen) in anticipation of The Crown's Fate, I still love that OMG Moment during the final duel at the end of the book. I'd been developing theories on what might happen but the ending took me by surprise and left me scrambling to know how and why and what would happen next.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
Wintersong ended up being a mixed bag for me - equal parts problematic and enjoyable. The Goblin King is not the typical swoon-worthy character and Wintersong is not filled with typical swoon-worthy moments. But there was a scene that, within context, truly got to and had my heart melting and hurting all at the same time.

"Yes, you have the very soul of me, Elisabeth."

"Then your name, mein Herr."

He laughed softly, but it was a gasp of pain, not of joy. "No."

"Why?"

"So you will forget me," he said simply. "You cannot love a man with no name."

Oh, my heart.♥

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Was there ever any question? Because it's ACOMAF, people.

Prince Drake from Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout
This guy was cold, heartless and seriously creepy. His reasons for needing Ivy were icky enough but add to that his utter cruelty and absolute lack of compassion... the Prince made for one badass villain.

it rode in on

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I guess it's no great surprise, since ACOMAF appeared at least three times in this post, but there was really no contest. Even being a re-read, this was the best book I read in May. I loved returning to this world. Immersing myself in the happenings in Prythian, connecting to the amazing cast of characters, and continuing to fall under the spell that Maas weaves with this series makes for an incredible reading experience.

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Now it's your turn: What was the best book you read in May?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent TBR Additions

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme

created by The Broke and the Bookish.

There was a time when I added books to my TBR left and right. Something looked mildly interesting? Added it to the TBR. I read an interesting review? Bam, it went on the TBR. These days I'm a lot more discriminating. I have to be truly excited about a book for it to make it to the TBR. So here are the ten most recent additions to my To Be Read list.

The Story of Us - Tara Sivec | Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate | Just Friends - Tiffany Pitcock

The Night Mark - Tiffany Reisz | The Light We Lost - Jill Santopolo

The Hard Truth About Sunshine - Sawyer Bennett | Violet Grenade - Victoria Scott

My Skylar - Penelope Ward | Words in Deep Blue - Cath Crowley

Eliza and Her Monsters - Francesca Zappia

Have you read any of these?
What have you most recently added to your TBR?

The Sunday Post #58

Sunday, June 4, 2017

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

Girl Plus Books got a new look last week. Still some tweaking to do but I'm loving the cleaner, more streamlined look.
We got some much-needed rain... finally. Unfortunately the storms were so severe they caused a lot of damage (trees falling through roofs). Can we get a happy medium, Mother Nature?
More attacks in London this weekend. It's so senseless and so heartbreaking. :(
I've received my first Blue Apron box and will be doing some cooking at home for a change. Does anyone else use Blue Apron? How do you like it?
And most exciting, I attended my nephew's high school graduation on Friday. Jackson is an incredible person (I want to be him when I grow up :) and I'm so proud of him.