My Weekly Book Haul: 07/06/2014

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Friday Finds is something that was started over on ShouldBeReading and Stacking the Shelves over at TyngaReviews, I am in love with all of these as I love finding other blogs to follow and books to read through these! So check them all out and see what you find, Stacking the Shelves has a lot of participants as well which is great. This is basically a way for me to show what books I have received, borrowed or bought each week. All book covers and their summary come from back of book or Goodreads.



This week was very up and down. I went to Paradise Wildlife Park on Sunday with my family and had a lot of fun. We took my new baby second cousin and had such a fun time as a family, nice to do something together. I love taking pictures of all the animals. I also managed to get bit by a meerkat, as 1. I didn't realise that they could jump high & 2. I didn't realise they would attempt to steal the food bag they give you for the farm animal section. It hurt... a lot. Simples. 
Monday I had work but started to feel really faint and like I'd actually pass out or vomit as I was trying to shelve. That's never good. So I had to get the boyfriend to come meet me at work so he could go home with me. Thankfully, I had the next day off work but was still feeling unwell on Wednesday and had to phone in sick. I really didn't do too much in that time, barely managed to finish one book. I did however FINALLY catch up on the latest season of Game of Thrones and am eagerly awaiting next weeks episode. I'm not worried because nothing bad will happen to my favourite character, I just know this. 
I did get to see Maleficent and was actually pretty disappointed overall. Angelina Jolie makes an excellent Maleficent... until they make her have feelings. Seriously, Maleficent is a villain and a bloody amazing one at that. Don't make her all lovey dovey!!!! DON'T! And also don't listen to all those grumblers who say Disney Princess films send bad messages to kids. You obviously have been as you made every man in the movie either subservient, power mad, a liar or completely useless. Way to send an even worse message to children. Angelina Jolie was AMAZING as Maleficent so it's a shame she didn't have a better story/stronger script to work with. Pfft. 
I finally got to go back to work on Friday though and was rewarded by having a moment where I pretty much gave up on humanity. I seriously had a woman come up to me and ask who wrote Romeo & Juliet. Yup, pretty much gave up on the world right then and there.



True Fire
True Fire by Gary Meehan

THE MISSION.
Her sister stolen. Her grandfather murdered. Her home burned to the ground. At just 16, her life destroyed. Now, Megan wants revenge.
THE ENEMY.
But the men who took Megan's precious twin are no ordinary soldiers. The brutal witches, armour-clad and branded with the mark of the True, will stop at nothing to take back the power they once had.
THE DECEPTION.
Desperate for a way to destroy them, Megan uncovers a terrifying lie.
A lie that will cast doubt on everything she has ever known, and everyone she has ever trusted. A lie that will put Megan at the heart of the greatest war her world has ever seen...

I only got one this week and I really don't know what I to think of it. I got it really cheap so I won't be too disappointed if it isn't any good. But, it does have the disappointment of having one of those stickers on it: 'If you liked Throne of Glass, you'll love this.' So if you loved Throne of Glass, what then? Haha. 



The Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

The Masque of the Red DeathDeath is impossible and living is impossibly hard for 17-year-old Araby Worth, with her exclusive, decadent lifestyle surrounded by a plague-ravaged society...
A sexy, post-Apocalyptic reimagining of Poe's gothic horror story of the same name.
It's 1870 and a deadly virus has decimated the population of North America. Masked corpse-collectors roam the streets, removing the bodies before the contagion can spread. Though Araby tries to escape it all with drugs and parties, even at her most intoxicated she can't forget her brother's death - or her guilt for causing it.
But things begin to change when William, the fascinating proprietor of The Debauchery Club where she searches for oblivion, and Elliott, nephew of the insane dictator, enter her life. One wants her heart, and the other her name. Convinced that he has won over his uncle's army, Elliott believes that having Araby on his arm will charm the populace into supporting a new government. After all, her father is the inventor of the mask which prevents the spread of the plague and saved civilisation - for those who can afford it...
But Araby's greatest interest is that his plans will make protective masks available to all citizens and, in particular, to Will's young siblings, whom she has come to love despite herself. But nothing is what it seems. A new contagion called the Red Death is sweeping the city and a shocking revelation about the origin of the new virus puts Araby's life in danger.
The mob wants her. The rebels want her. And both boys want her. In this superb two-book series, what and whom Araby chooses may just decide the fate of humanity..

Interesting cover but that has one hell of a long blurb!

Neverending by Martyn Bedford

Never EndingWhen a family holiday ends in tragedy, the grieving parents’ marriage is left in ruins and, Shiv, their 15-year-old daughter, is tormented by what happened … and her part in it. Off the rails and unable to live with her guilt, Shiv is sent away to an exclusive clinic that claims to “cure” people like her.
But this is no ordinary psychiatric institution and Shiv discovers that her release – from her demons, and from the clinic itself – will come, if it comes at all, at a bizarre and terrible price.
Winter Damage by Natasha Carthew

Winter DamageOn a frozen Cornish moor, a fifteen-year-old girl lives in a trailer with her dad and little brother. Ennor's mother left years ago, when things started to go wrong - and gradually their world has fallen apart. Now her father's gravely ill, school has closed, and Ennor knows they're going to take her brother away if things don't pick up soon. So three days before Christmas, when the wind is cold and her dad's health takes a turn for the worse, Ennor packs a blanket, a map, a saucepan and a gun into her rucksack, and sets off to find her mum and bring her home. Ennor thinks she knows where she's going. But this journey will change her life for ever - it becomes a battle for survival, a heartbreaking story of love and friendship, and a fable about not finding what you were looking for, but finding something more important instead . . .
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Looking for AlibrandiFor as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it’s just been her, her mom, and her grandmother. Now it’s her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn’t be any stricter—but that doesn’t seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life.
Caught between the old-world values of her Italian grandmother, the nononsense wisdom of her mom, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josephine is on the ride of her life. This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past—and the year she sets herself free.
Told with unmatched depth and humor, this novel—which swept the pool of Australian literary awards and became a major motion picture—is one to laugh through and cry with, to cherish and remember.

Hated the cover on mine so I picked a different edition to show you. I saved you from the horror. 


Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt

Bright Before SunriseJonah and Brighton are about to have the most awkwardly awful night of their lives. For Jonah, every aspect of his new life reminds him of what he has had to give up. All he wants is to be left alone. Brighton is popular, pretty, and always there to help anyone . . . but has no idea of what she wants for herself. Her seemingly perfect life is marred only by Jonah, the one person who won't give her the time of day, but also makes her feel, well, something. So when they are repeatedly thrown together over the course of one night, anything can—and does—happen. Told in alternating chapters, this poignant, beautiful novel's energy and tension, amidst the humor and romance, builds to a new beginning of self-acceptance and hope.

I can tell that I will either really love this or probably want to throw it out the window in frustration and from a reflex from all the cringing. We shall see which side I fall on. 



The Winner's Curse (Winner's Trilogy, #1)
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction.
Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Thank you, Bloomsbury Children's UK! They were lovely enough to send me a finished copy of The Winer's Curse for review. I already bought myself the hardback as I didn't think I was getting it as a review copy, but then it came in the post and I died of happiness. Now I have a finished paperback and the hardback, so it's a good thing I ended up LOVING this. All my love of tv shows like Rome & Spartacus really helped as it was definitely similar to those, you can tell where the author got her inspiration from.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird, #1)Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.
Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.
Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.
A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

So, I hated Every Day and barely got past Cloud Atlas so maybe those comparisons aren't the best for me. But, I love the cover and love the sound of the premise. Let's hope I love it more than those two. 





One chance to win a Kindle Fire HDX, to enter go here.

You can also enter my June giveaway, where 3 winners have the chance to win any 2 of the books I have reviewed in 2014 so far. For full details go here.




Now & Forever by Susanne Colasanti: Review
The Things That Disney Taught Me
Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Will Be In My Beach Bag
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: Review
Films for Thoughts on Thursday: X-Men: Days of Future Past
Five Friday Favourites: Underrated Books


40 comments:

  1. OOh nice! I got a Thousand of Pieces of You to review as well, but I have a few ARCs to read that come out first, so they're kinda taking priority.

    I actually liked Maleficent. A shame you didn't enjoy it. I liked seeing that the villain could be a hero and that there was more than one kind of true love. Disney always wants to showcase that true love is between a man and a woman (prince and princess). They never say that true love could be a mother for her daughter or sort of mother! But to each their own!

    I heard recently that they plan on making Beauty and the Beast into a live action movie! Cinderella is next year too! I can't wait to see either of those! Let's hope they do those justice!

    Happy Reading this week!

    My STS won't be up until Sunday, stop by then if you can!

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. Yeah, it will probably be a while before I can get to that one myself. It's quite a long time till the release date, so at least I have plenty of time.

      I don't know, it just got to me. I don't know why. I guess it's because that wasn't what I was expecting from the story. I am always a lover of happy endings so I probably should have loved this movie. DAMN! I can't even explain why I didn't.

      I am excited to see the live actions, just kind of wish they could come up with a NEW idea and stop reusing old ones. I worry they will ruin more of my childhood favourites!

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  2. Thanks for the chance to win! I'd choose:
    The Art of Lainey
    Maybe Someday

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  3. Oh...my word. What a week! lol Goodness. Bitten by a meerkat. I just. Never woulda thought. I so bet that hurt. Glad you're feeling better. Definitely sounds like you need a bit of a break this weekend!

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    1. It did hurt, a lot. I was not expecting that at all, haha.

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  4. Sounds like your week wasn't the best, Charnell, but I'm glad you're feeling better now. :) I hope your meerkat bite is healing nicely! What a shame you didn't like Maleficent! I have yet to see it, but my expectations are quite high.

    As for your book haul, I can't wait to see what you think of The Masque of the Red Death, Looking for Alibrandi (I have that copy pictured, and it's soo pretty), Bright Before Sunrise and A Thousand Pieces of You.

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    1. Haha, as far as Maleficent goes it seems I am just like the original, hate filled Maleficent. It didn't work for me. Everyone loves it... except me :(

      I can't wait to get to them all, they look really great.

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  5. Sorry you had a crazy week and glad you are feeling better. I don't know whether to laugh or be appalled that someone seriously had to ask you who wrote Romeo and Juliet. :( That is just sad and so so wrong.

    Congrats on all the great books this week! I got the new Claudia Gray book as well and am really excited about it.

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    1. I KNOW! As soon as they walked away from the counter I burst out laughing and just couldn't stop. Totally unprofessional but I couldn't help myself.

      Me too, looks like a good one! :)

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  6. Awe, girl, I'm so sorry it's been a rough week. I haven't been able to go see Maleficent yet, but I want to. Even though it's been a crazy week, thank you for hosting the giveaway! If I won I would like Vitro and Under the Never Sky. :) I hope next week is better for you! *sending hugs*

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  7. Nice haul of books. I see plenty of good books. These last two weeks have been crazy. I got the Claudia Gray book as well.

    Grace

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  8. I hope you didn't scare the meercat! *giggles* Oh dear, not a great thing to have happened to you. I also bought True Fire but I'm worried coz I didn't like Throne of Glass! Enjoy your books!

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    1. I know, I probably did. The poor thing only wanted some carrot but I was not impressed. I'm a little worried too, hopefully I really like it.

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  9. Aw, I was really hopeful about Maleficent. Bah. I'll probably still go and see it.

    Anyway, enjoy your new books!

    My StS.

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    1. You probably should, everyone else seemed to love it. Clearly, I'm just miserable and me and the original Maleficent deserve each other. Haha :)

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  10. I think I am going to wait until the movie hits DVD's and I can get it from Netflix. We all have our own opinions, like with Vampire Academy. Personally, I thought it was boring! True Fire may be added to my THINK ABOUT list! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks! I know, everyone else seemed to love it so I am clearly just miserable and wanted a horrid, unhappy ending. Haha.

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  11. I would totally pick Maybe Someday and Far From You. :)

    Great haul this week! I really liked Bright Before Sunrise. I hope you do, too. I still need to read The Winner's Curse. One of these days... :)

    Happy reading!

    My StS + Bonus Giveaway!

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    1. Those are two brilliant choices ;)

      It's a really great book, so I hope you can get to it soon! :)

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  12. Haha, I liked Every Day and I loved Cloud Atlas so I really want to read A Thousand Pieces of You! :P

    I actually loved Maleficent a lot. Thought Angelina Jolie was amazing, loved that it was a story about the love she had for Aurora, how she came to love her despite how much she hated the very idea of Aurora at first. I thought that was super cool.

    Ooooh, The Winner's Curse is similar to TV shows like Rome? Now I'm even more interested to start reading it! (Loved Rome so much.)

    Sorry to hear you haven't been having a great week. Hope you're feeling better now and you have a good week next week. Happy reading! (:

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    1. I am really hoping that it works.

      I don't know, I guess I just wasn't expecting that to be where the story goes. I think I wanted Maleficent to be a much darker movie. I found the whole ending completely unsatisfying, which is strange because I love happy endings!

      IT'S AMAZING! Made me want to go a watch Rome all over again.

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  13. Awww no, I can't believe that you a meerkat bit you! I bet it did hurt.

    I hope you enjoy your books this week and have much a better week!

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    1. Haha, it did. He attempted to steal my carrot, I was not impressed. Me too :)

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  14. Great haul of books! I have Winner's Curse somewhere, it was one of my WoW picks so I really want to read it but I keep picking up other things instead! I saw Maleficent this week too, I enjoyed it but I a felt bit deprived at the end as it was all so neatly tied up...

    Enjoy your new books and happy reading :)

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    1. Way too neatly tied up and really cheesy. It wasn't too terrible, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I wanted it to be a lot darker than it was. Thanks :)

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  15. Aww..I'm sorry this wasn't your best week Charnell! I hope you're feeling better from your meerkat bite and that everything is healing up nicely. It's a shame that you didn't enjoy Maleficent as much as you wanted to! I've heard only great things about it, so it's interesting to see the other side of the spectrum. I'm going to see it with a group of friends this weekend, so I'll have to let you know what I think! :D

    And yeah! You got The Winner's Curse?!?! I absolutely loved that book, and I hope you do too! It's absolutely gorgeous!

    And I've heard nothing but great things about Looking for Alibrandi and Bright Before Sunrise, so I'm interested in seeing what you think of them!

    Thanks for sharing and happy reading! <3 Hope this week is a lot better for you!

    ~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf

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    1. Thankfully, the meerkat bite didn't do much but pierce the skin a little, was just a shock. I think it's because I really wanted a darker story than it turned out to be.

      I loved The Winner's Curse, I now have three copies of it. Haha.

      I hope I love them both. Thanks, me too :)

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  16. You chose the new classic Alibrandi cover! It's v.cute but I think it makes the book look like a middle grade novel when it's really YA.

    And I thought Maleficent was ok, but I had no expectations when I went to see it. Certain scenes did verge on being a bit cheesey ;)

    Mands @ The Bookish Manicurist

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    1. Soooo cheesy, drove me crazy. I just preferred that one to the awful cover that was on the one I borrowed. I shiver just thinking about it.

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  17. Aww, that sucks about Maleficent. Yeah, no emotions for villains! Great haul this week.

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    1. I just wanted it to be dark and for her to be evil. Dam you, Disney!

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  18. Sorry you didn't have a great week, especially being sick and being bitten. :( So glad you loved The Winner's Curse! Bright Before Sunrise is a cute read, hopefully you'll enjoy it. And I'm intrigued by A Thousand Pieces of You, and yeah, hopefully those are not accurate comparisons (although I haven't read either book, but it's because I have no desire to). Have fun reading! ~Pam

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    1. I really hope I end up loving A Thousand Pieces of You. I don't really like either comparison so I hope it's way better than those ;) I am nervous for Bright Before Sunrise because I have seen some less than favourable reviews. Fingers crossed I like it though :)

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  19. Nice book haul! I almost bought The Winner's Curse the other day, but I'm still not sure about it. I hope that you like it, I've seen it around and have heard okay things about it. I also like the premise of The Masque of the Red Death. It sounds like a good one :) Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I LOVED IT!!! :) I hope if you get it you end up really enjoying it too.

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  20. I really hope you love Masque of the Red Death! I hardly know anyone who's read it, but it's so eerie and intriguing and I've never read anything quite like it. Excited to hear your thoughts!

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    1. I am hoping to get to it soon, it doesn't seem like my usual read but I saw some great reviews and it peaked my interest.

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