It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (Jan. 9, 2012)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


Since I spent the first two days of last week still on Christmas Break, I had a good reading week. I finished four books - two adult and two young adult.

Here are the adult books I finished:

The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss was a very nice love story that was very reminiscent of a medieval love story. In fact the characters, both with doctorates in medieval literature, seem to be living out a thousand year old curse. The physical format of the book enhanced the feel because it was accordion folded and in a lovely slipcase. My review will be published on Jan. 14. The book will come out on Jan. 17. I got my copy through the Amazon Vine program.

Amongst My Enemies by William F. Brown is a World War II/Cold War thriller that reminded me a lot of Alistair MacLean and Ken Follett. This book was self-published by the author on Dec. 12 and is a good example of the genre. My review will be posted on Jan. 19.

Here are the middle grade/young adult books I read this week:

The World-Wide Dessert Contest by Dan Elish was an ebook that I received from Alina Adams Media. They have created an enhanced ebook with links to the songs from the musical created by the author from this story. The story itself was very silly with larger than life, quirky characters and situations. My review will be posted on Jan. 14. This book is available now.

Dreamland by Alyson Noel is the third book in the Riley Bloom series and deals with Riley getting used to the after-life. I have many very passionate fans of this series in my middle school. It does deal well with themes that are of concern to them. My review will be posted on Jan. 19. The book is available now. In fact, the fourth book is out in eARC form at NetGalley now.

I am currently reading another of my Amazon Vine picks. I chose Daughter of Centaurs by Kate Klimo because I was interested in this combination of post-apocalyptic novel and paranormal novel. I am just a little way into the story but am enjoying it so far. This book will be available on Jan. 24. 

Next week, I have four on my stack - all review books. These two are at the top of the list:

Blood and Bullets by James R. Tuck which is a new urban fantasy series. Somewhat unusual for the genre, the main character is male. I was pitched this one by the author. It will be published by Kensington on Feb. 7.

Torn by Dean Murray was also pitched to me by the author. Here is the description of this young adult paranormal:

Shape shifter Alec Graves has spent nearly a decade trying to keep his family from being drawn into open warfare with a larger pack. The new girl at school shouldn't matter, but the more he gets to know her, the more mysterious she becomes. Worse, she seems to know things she shouldn't about his shadowy world.

Is she an unfortunate victim or bait designed to draw him into a fatal misstep? If she's a victim, then he's running out of time to save her. If she's bait, then his attraction to her will pull him into a fight that'll cost him everything.

I do have two more review books still on the stack waiting if I finish these:

Earth Blend by Lori Pescatore follows Human Blend which I recently read and The Fate of the Muse by Derrolyn Anderson which is the third in her Marina's Tales series. Both are self-published.

I am also expecting to receive Copper Beach by Jayne Anne Krentz this week. I won an Early Reviewers copy from LibraryThing but never received it. I am a huge fan of JAK and will be reading this one as soon as I finish the book I'm reading when it arrives. 

That was my reading week. 

Also, this week I made a trip to St. Paul to attend the book debut party for the final book in Andrea Cremer's Nightshade trilogy - Bloodrose - and I am really excited to read that one too. I just don't know when it will fit into the schedule. It is very unlikely given our unusually mild winter but I could really use a couple of snow days for some extended reading time.

Here's hoping for a great reading week for everyone!