My Weekly Book Haul: 16/08/2014

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 hasn't been too exciting. I have been ridiculously sick, the most sick I have been in the longest time. I'd agreed to a ton of extra time and I hate phoning in sick, which means I have worked every day. I have already infected my whole family with what I am calling Charbola. They do not appreciate my gift. Ungrateful bunch! This has made it hard to function in any way, so reading has been far too hard. But I have forced myself to get some posts written, and have post one every day this week. Progress! Nobody rubbed my chest and sang Soft Kitty though. Bad times.

Lots of adult fiction for once!

Have A Little Faith by Candy Harper

Year Ten has just begun and I'm already in trouble. The way Miss Ramsbottom acts you'd think I'm always causing explosions or giving teachers' radical haircuts (whereas it was just that one time). And now she's separated me from my best friend, Megs, which means I have no one to give me a piggy back or check for dangly bogies. At least the school is trying to make amends by bussing in boys for our choir. So I can stare at Dreamy Finn until he realises I'm the girl for him… except he's singing a duet with my sworn enemy and her big head keeps blocking my view. Fortunately, I've got a plan to solve both problems; as long as I'm careful with the squeezy cheese and the underage driving everything should be just fine...

I've begun to realise that I have a really big book problem. I own so many that this one got lost among them and I haven't featured it, even though I got it a whole month ago. The amazing, wonderful, genius Amanda at Book Badger sent it to me for my birthday, along with the most gorgeous handmade card. I have such a problem with finding time to read books, what with ARCs that have piled up. I need to find time to get to this, especially since it's relatively short. 

Four by Veronica Roth

Readers first encountered Tobias Eaton as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Readers will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When read together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias Eaton's life. The first three pieces in this volume – "The Transfer," "The Initiate," and "The Son" – follow Tobias's transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, "The Traitor," runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving readers a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty – and love – that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior. Exclusive scenes included!

'His voice is an integral part of Allegiant' - Voice? What voice? His voice was just Tris's, haha. I hope he actually sounds like the character we meet in the first two books. Not the whiny, male version of Tris we meet in book 3. Please, Roth, redeem yourself. Please! This was a gift from the boyfriend, he's rather amazing like that.

The Queen of Tearling by Erika Johansen

Kelsea Glynn is the sole heir to the throne of Tearling but has been raised in secret by foster parents after her mother - Queen Elyssa, as vain as she was stupid - was murdered for ruining her kingdom. For 18 years, the Tearling has been ruled by Kelsea's uncle in the role of Regent however he is but the debauched puppet of the Red Queen, the sorceress-tyrant of neighbouring realm of Mortmesme. On Kelsea's 19th birthday, the tattered remnants of her mother's guard - each pledged to defend the queen to the death - arrive to bring this most un-regal young woman out of hiding...
And so begins her journey back to her kingdom's heart, to claim the throne, earn the loyalty of her people, overturn her mother's legacy and redeem the Tearling from the forces of corruption and dark magic that are threatening to destroy it. But Kelsea's story is not just about her learning the true nature of her inheritance - it's about a heroine who must learn to acknowledge and live with the realities of coming of age in all its insecurities and attractions, alongside the ethical dilemmas of ruling justly and fairly while simply trying to stay alive...

Another gift from the amazing boyfriend! He saw me eyeing this up at YALC on their wall of books. I wanted to grab it, steal it and run away. He was lovely and bought it for me for a present. I am very excited to read it.

 

White Cat & Red Glove by Holly Black

Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.
But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.

Amanda has made me want to try this series, pretty excited to get to it. If I ever actually find the time.

Stolen by Lucy Chrisopher

IT HAPPENED LIKE THIS.
I was stolen from an airport. Kidnapped. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Imprisoned by sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.
This is my story. A letter to my captor.

I tried to read this once before but didn't get too far. The story does really intrigue me though, I want to try my hardest to get at least halfway with it.

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

Frieda and Isabel have been best friends their whole lives.
Now, aged sixteen and in their final year at the School, they expect to be selected as companions - wives to wealthy and powerful men. The alternative - life as a concubine - is too horrible to contemplate.
But as the intensity of the final year takes hold, the pressure to remain perfect becomes almost unbearable. isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty - her only asset - in peril.
And then, the boy arrive, eager to choose a bride.
frieda must fight for her future - even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ver known..

I was on relief at another library this week and spotted this on the new books display. Sounds pretty interesting, definitely intrigued. 

The Son-In-Law by Charity Norman

On a sharp winter's morning, a man turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's lost almost everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them.
This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph. 
They slowly adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...

You may not know this by looking at my blog, but I love adult fiction. I know I have basically read nothing but YA since I started blogging, but I really miss my adult fiction. This one just looks too good to pass up. 

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell 

Meet the Bird Family.
All four children have an idyllic childhood: a picture-book cottage in a country village, a warm, cosy kitchen filled with love and laughter, sun-drenched afternoons in a rambling garden.
But one Easter weekend a tragedy strikes the Bird family that is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear them apart.
The years pass and the children become adults and begin to develop their own quite separate lives. Soon it's almost as though they've never been a family at all.
Almost. But not quite.
Because something has happened that will call them home, back to the house they grew up in - and to what really happened that Easter weekend all those years ago.

I may have just picked this up because I loved the cover. In my defence, the blurb sounds great too.

Someone Watch Over Me by Madeleine Reiss

She closed her eyes and he was gone - who is watching him now?
When Carrie’s five-year old son, Charlie, disappeared on a Norfolk beach, her world was destroyed. Now, three years on, her marriage crushed by grief and the uncertainty around Charlie’s fate, Carrie keeps herself distracted by running a local gift shop. Persuaded by her mother to visit a medium, Carrie is initially sceptical, but is blown away when he appears to reveal something about Charlie’s disappearance; something that nobody could ever have known except herself.
Single mum, Molly, is worried about her young son, Max. Naturally a sensitive child, Max has been having more of his little ‘accidents’ at school and has recently starting talking again to his imaginary friend.
Reluctant to tell his teachers, Molly knows that Max’s problems stem from his very real anxieties about his father – a violent and unstable man – who they are now in hiding from.
Carrie is desperate to learn the truth about Charlie’s disappearance and Molly is will do anything to protect Max from danger. Little do the women know that their worlds are about to converge – and both of them will have to face the thing they fear the most. But will the truth destroy them or will love be their saviour?

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

Ellen O’Farrell is an expert when it comes to human frailties. She’s a hypnotherapist who helps her clients deal with everything from addictions to life-long phobias. So when she falls in love with a man who is being stalked by his ex-girlfriend she’s more intrigued than frightened. As Ellen is about to discover, we’re all a little crazy – even her.

I enjoyed the authors debut and have wanted to read more of her books ever since.

TWO OF THEM! TWO OF THEMS!!!

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.
This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted...which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.
Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.
Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.
But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

I HAS TWO OF THEM! I was so excited to receive my ARC last week, even more excited to receive a finished copy this week. WOW! Was not expecting that. Now what to do with the ARC copy. I need to get some cash so I can start mailing out some books, know the perfect person for this one.

The Rain by Virginia Bergin

One minute sixteen-year-old Ruby Morris is having her first proper snog with Caspar McCloud in a hot tub, and the next she’s being bundled inside the house, dripping wet, cold and in her underwear. Not cool. As she and Caspar shiver in the kitchen, it starts to rain. They turn on the radio to hear panicked voices – ‘It’s in the rain . . . it’s in the rain . . . ' That was two weeks ago, and now Ruby is totally alone. People weren’t prepared for the rain, got caught out in it, didn’t realize that you couldn’t drink water from the taps either. Even a drip of rain would infect your blood, and eat you from the inside out. Ruby knows she has to get to London to find her dad, but she just doesn’t know where to start . . . After rescuing all the neighbourhood dogs, Ruby sets off on a journey that will take her the length of the country – surviving in the only way she knows how.

I wanted to steal this from the YALC wall too, very excited to read it. 

I have read and loved both of Abigail's books, Dangerous Girls & Dangerous Boys. To celebrate the release of Dangerous Boys, I am giving 1 winner the chance to win paperback copies of both Dangerous Boys and Dangerous Girls. It's open internationally, as long as Book Depository ships to you!

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