☆ VBB Weekly – 08.01.2016 ☆
You guys! This week is nuts! So many amazing releases, so many books I’ve read and loved, so many I’m itching to read RIGHT THIS VERY NOW. I’m so overwhelmed by my TBR at the moment because I wish I could just read everything at once.
I just finished Liane Moriarty’s Truly Madly Guilty, and I thought it was really well done. As always, it’s such an addictive glimpse into the complexities of people… what pulls them together, what pushes them apart, and how they react to both the big and small things that ripple through their lives. (Review to come)
On the listening front, I can’t wait to dive into The Regulars and The House Between The Tides, but first I have to see what happens with Lia, Rafe and Kaden in The Beauty of Darkness!
Loving Veiled by Karina Halle and hoping to finish today, then I’ve got some beta reading to do, plus looking forward to reading The Summer Games: Out of Bounds and Day Zero… ahhh and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (duh!). It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is out Tuesday and is phenomenal, a must-read for anyone and everyone.
Lastly, make sure to check in with the blog every day this week, I have a special feature every single day through Friday, so you won’t want to miss it! Stay tuned and have a great week!
What I’m Reading
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New Reviews
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Bookish News
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New Releases
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling (Available Now)
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”
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The Summer Games: Out of Bounds by R.S. Grey (Available Now)
I despise Erik Winter.
He’s arrogant and cruel—a man I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy—and by some twisted turn of fate, he’s my new Olympic gymnastics coach.
I’ve had to contend with gruff coaches in the past, but Erik is far worse. His stern demeanor complements a body built for intimidation, and his reprimands come from a mouth so cunning, I know it could strip me of my defenses—if I let it.
Though each of us would love to be rid of the other forever, we are bound to each other by need and necessity. I’m his rising star, his best shot at proving himself to his critics. And without a coach, I have zero chance of winning gold in Rio.
The easiest way forward would be to wave a white flag and make peace with the man I’ll be sharing close quarters with for the foreseeable future, but he is intent on war.
Fine. By. Me.
If he pushes me, I’ll push back harder. If he wants to test me, to play with my head, I’ll show him just how many boundaries I’m willing to cross. Because I know it’s not a choice between winning or warring—not if you can have them both. At the end of it all, I plan on leaving Rio with gold around my neck and his icy heart in the palm of my hand.
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Penny In London by Fisher Amelie (Available Now) – Read my review
You know how everyone says when one door closes another one opens? At the time, you find this statement obnoxious as all get out because a) you don’t really know what the future holds, it certainly hasn’t been a cakewalk so far, and b) the thought of change is unbearable. You feel like your life is falling apart and everyone around is feeding you clichés like they’re made out of kale or quinoa or whatever the trend health food is right now. You don’t want kale clichés, you want double-chocolate fudge realisms, and you want them now.
You just want things the way they were, but then something happens, a moment, an instant that sets you out on a path toward happiness you never knew could exist, and suddenly you think, huh, I don’t think I want double-chocolate fudge anymore. I think I’m in the mood for this heaping serving of strawberry cheesecake sitting in front of me…with a side of kale. And a pair of split pants, but we won’t get into that right now. Graham Glenn may have tossed her in, but Oliver Finn made her feel again.
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Day Zero (Arcana Chronicles) by Kresley Cole (Available Now)
Top Series Recommendation
Arcana means secrets, and these Arcana Chronicles short stories from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole are filled with them. Experience firsthand the beginning of the end and behold the apocalypse through the eyes of characters you only thought you knew.
Ashes to ashes . . .
Evie Greene’s story of the Flash is just one of many. All over the world, those connected in some way to the lethal Arcana game—like Death, Jack, and Fortune—must first survive a horrifying night of blood and screams.
We all fall down.
Some will have to grapple with new powers; all will be damned to a hellish new existence of plague, brutality, desolation, and cannibalism. Find out who they lost, why they endure, and what they sacrificed in order to live past Day Zero. . . .
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Queen of Ashes by Eleanor Herman (Available Now)
Power, betrayal and desire… It’s a dangerous gambit in Queen of Ashes, an ebook companion to the Blood of Gods and Royals series by New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman!
If you look away from her face, you will die.
This is the warning given to the suitors of Queen Laila of Sharuna, who must compete against one another to win the royal Egyptian’s affections. One by one, men cower under her penetrating gaze, and one by one, they are executed.
That is, until Laila meets two brothers who do not cower before her: Brehan, noble and courageous…and Riel, intelligent and ambitious. As Laila is tempted by both of them and their differing approaches to magic, she decides that there is one thing she wants more than either brother’s affection: power.
But when Brehan and Riel turn on each other, Laila must choose where her heart truly lies, before the brothers she loves reduce her kingdom to ash.
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The Regulars by Georgia Clark (Aug 02)
A fierce, feisty, and “wonderfully entertaining” (Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies) debut with a magical twist about three ordinary, regular girls who suddenly have their fantasies come true…or do they?
Best friends Evie, Krista, and Willow are just trying to make it through their mid-twenties in New York. They’re regular girls, with average looks and typical quarter-life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making sense of online dating, and making rent.
Until they come across Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well…gorgeous. Like, supermodel gorgeous. And it’s certainly not their fault if the sudden gift of beauty causes unexpected doors to open for them.
But there’s a dark side to Pretty, too, and as the gloss fades for these modern-day Cinderellas, there’s just one question left:
What would you sacrifice to be Pretty?
Wildly irreverent, blatantly sexy, and observed with pitch-perfect wit, The Regulars is fresh “compulsive reading from a bright new voice” (Brenda Bowen, author of Enchanted August) in fiction, perfect for fans of Jennifer Close and Kevin Kwan.
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The House Between The Tides by Sarah Maine (Aug 02)
Kate Morton meets Daphne du Maurier in this atmospheric debut novel about a woman who discovers the century-old remains of a murder victim on her family’s Scottish estate, plunging her into an investigation of its mysterious former occupants.
Following the death of her last living relative, Hetty Deveraux leaves London and her strained relationship behind for Muirlan, her ancestral home in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. She intends to renovate the ruinous house into a hotel, but the shocking discovery of human remains brings her ambitious restoration plans to an abrupt halt before they even begin. Few physical clues are left to identify the body, but one thing is certain: this person did not die a natural death.
Hungry for answers, Hetty discovers that Muirlan was once the refuge of her distant relative Theo Blake, the acclaimed painter and naturalist who brought his new bride, Beatrice, there in 1910. Yet ancient gossip and a handful of leads reveal that their marriage was far from perfect; Beatrice eventually vanished from the island, never to return, and Theo withdrew from society, his paintings becoming increasingly dark and disturbing.
What happened between them has remained a mystery, but as Hetty listens to the locals and studies the masterful paintings produced by Theo during his short-lived marriage, she uncovers secrets that still reverberate through the small island community—and will lead her to the identity of the long-hidden body.
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The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson (Aug 02)
Top Fantasy Series Recommendation
Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda and the path before them is winding and dangerous – what will happen now? This third and final book in The Remnant Chronicles is not to be missed.
Bestselling author Mary E. Pearson’s combination of intrigue, suspense, romance and action make this a riveting page turner for teens.
Read my review of the first five chapters
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It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (Aug 02) – Read my review
Top Recommendation
Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters, It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.
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Exiled by Jasinda Wilder (Aug 02)
My name is Madame X.
My heart is torn in two.
And now I have to choose…
Caleb is everything to her: lover, caretaker, the man who gave her life meaning when she had none. But as she seeks the truth about herself and her past, she discovers that unravelling Caleb’s web of lies might very well be impossible.
Logan is everything she never knew she wanted: freedom, joy, and a passion she couldn’t anticipate. But is Logan’s love enough to save her from herself, from Caleb, and from the tumultuous truth of her past?
Caught between two equally compelling men, X must make the ultimate choice. But there’s more at stake than just her heart…
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Dare to Stay by Jen McLaughlin (Aug 02)
The sizzling second novel in the gritty contemporary Sons of Steel Row series from the author of Dare to Run.
Bruised and bloodied on Boston’s mean streets, Chris O’Brien is reeling from the loss of his childhood best friend. But after barely escaping a hit placed on his head, Chris is desperate to live. A chance encounter leads him to the perfect safe haven—the home of a girl from his childhood, Molly Lachlan. Before he has fully considered what it would mean to involve her in his mess, he lets her take him home.
For Molly, letting Chris into her house means also letting him into her life. Danger and desperation are coming off of him like steam, and yet she can’t bring herself to turn him away. His bad boy charm always had a hold on her, but now there’s a soulfulness and sorrow in him that she’s never seen before. And despite the heart-stopping risk of helping him, she hopes against all reason that he’ll stay…
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You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross and Mark Perini (Aug 02)
Everything she wants. Everything he needs.
The supportive friend, the reliable daughter, the doting big-sister: Finley is used to being the glue that holds everyone together. But while her sweet demeanor makes her the perfect confidant, her wholesome look isn’t landing her the high paying modeling jobs, which are what Finley needs if she is going to reopen her mother’s dance studio.
Enter Eddie. He’s intense and driven, not to mention the life of every party, and he completely charms Finley. The last thing she wants is another commitment to stand in the way of her dreams, but when she’s with Eddie, their chemistry takes over and she can let go of her responsibilities and just be. After all, what’s so wrong about putting herself first once and a while?
Except Eddie is hiding a secret. A big secret. And when it surfaces, he and Finley are going to have to choose between their love for each other and everything else…
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Upcoming Releases
(Click images to purchase – you will not be charged until book is released. Stars indicate books I’ve already read and loved.)
★ Visit THIS PAGE for the full list of upcoming releases ★
Current sales list for Amazon U.S. Click on image to purchase; click here to search my reviews.
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Young Adult
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New Adult and Adult
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