It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (April 23, 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.


I had a pretty good reading week this past week. I had one book that went kind of slowly but another was one I just couldn't put down. Here is what I finished:

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy was an entertaining middle school fantasy that played with fairy tale tropes. My review will be posted on April 28. This book will be released on May 1.

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth was a combination post-apocalytic, paranormal story about a girl who has been struck by lightning many times and who has developed some power over lightning. She is living in LA after a massive earthquake has destroyed most of the city. She is the target of two different cults because of her affinity to lightning. My review will be posted on May 3. The book will be released on May 8.

The Witness by Nora Roberts was the book I couldn't put down. I read it late into the night until I couldn't keep my eyes open and then woke up early to finish it. My morning errands turned into afternoon errands and I didn't regret it at all. I loved the characters in this one and the suspense really kept me on the edge of my seat. My review will be posted on May 5. The book is available now.

The Department of Magic by Rod Kierkegaard Jr. was the one that was a slow read for me. I got this eARC from NetGalley based on the blurb but was disappointed in the lack of character development, the characters I didn't like and couldn't connect with, and the shear implausibility of the plot. My review be posted on May 3 and the book is available now. 

I am currently reading two books which is sort of unusual for me. Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm is an Amazon Vine pick. It is a contemporary mystery/ghost story/romance with a very engaging main character. It will be released on May 8.

I am also reading The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda. This is an Adobe Digitial Edtions copy that I got from NetGalley. I am intrigued by the story of a young human teen who is passing as a vampire in a world where humans are a delicacy and have almost been hunted to extinction. My problem is that I read while watching baseball games. Since I watch the games online, I can't be reading my ADE book at the same time.

Locked On by Tom Clancy and Pirate King by Laurie R. King are carryovers from last week because The Department of Magic and The Witness jumped over them in line. I do hope to get to them this week though. Both of these would help my meet my TBR Challenge goals since I received each of them before Jan. 1, 2012.

The next YAs on my review stack won't be published until May 22 but have been on the stack since last December. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks is about mermaids and Bridge of Time by Lewis Buzbee is a middle grade time travel story.

I also just asked for A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix from the Amazon Vine program. It should arrive around next Thursday and has a May 15 release date. That will jump it ahead of the two YAs that I plan to read because I do try to read my review books in order of publication date. 

I am also strongly tempted to read What Doesn't Kill You by Iris Johansen because I am in the mood for more romantic suspense or Divergent by Veronica Roth this week. Divergent has been on my stack since it was published and its sequel is coming out May 1. I have heard marvelous things about it. 

Those are my plans. What are your plans for next week?