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My Weekly Book Haul: 10/05/2014

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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 pretty awful. I worked every day and I just wanted to be at home, curled up in bed with a good book. My hamster died during the week, which absolutely sucked, but he was almost three - which is practically ancient in hamster years. But the next day my chrysalids started emerging, so I've currently got nine pretty butterflies distracting me. 
On the book front I haven't had much luck, I've read some books that I wasn't that big a fan of. I just finished Signed, Skye Harper by Carol Lynch Williams and didn't enjoy it, it was very young and not very young adult. Before that I finished Life by Committee, which I realised was kind of a bit of a rip off of Mean Girls at times. But, as sad me wants to take and hold and love all the books, I practically brought half the library home with me.

I also finally received my copy of The Winner's Curse, but when it showed up there was a problem with the pages - they were all different lengths and I was super upset because I'm particular, *cough* have psycho OCD *cough*, when it comes to my books. But, because Book Depository are awesome (and not at all because they were incompetent for sending it out like that in the first place) they are sending me a replacement copy and letting me keep the slightly damaged one. Have no clue what to do with it, would do a giveaway but not many people want a damaged book. Or maybe they do, who knows. Maybe if I end up hating the book I could go all Wreck This Journal on it as punishment.


I took ALL the books!!!


The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy, #1)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.

It's about time that this showed up! It's a little damaged, so I am waiting on a replacement. Just have to decide what to do with the spare, useless copy. 

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Unremembered (Unremembered, #1)A catastrophic plan crash leaves one survivor: a girl with no memory.
Who is she?
Where does she come from?
Nobody knows and no one comes forward to claim her.
Haunted by a looming threat she can't remember and plagued by abilities she doesn't understand, she struggles to recall who she is. But every clue leads to more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them.
Her only hope is a boy who claims they were once in love.
Alone and on the run, who should she trust? And what if she discovers that she is safer with a past that stays unremembered?
Have heard a lot of good things about this series, hopefully I enjoy it.

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Dangerous GirlsElise is dead.
And someone must pay.
Anna, her boyfriend Tate, best friend Elise and a group of close friends set off on a debaucherous Spring Break trip to Aruba. But paradise soon turns into a living nightmare when Elise is brutally murdered.
Soon Anna finds herself trapped in a foreign country and fighting for her freedom. As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone is questioning her innocence. To the rest of the world, Anna isn't just guilty, but dangerous. As the court case unfolds the truth is about to come out, and it's more shocking than you could ever imagine...
Have literally seen no reviews for this, but it was £1 and that meant I had to buy it.. obviously. 



One Moment by Kristina McBride

One MomentIt was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget.
Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a party the night before. She remembers climbing the path hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, safe. So why can’t she remember what happened next?
All it takes is one second for everything to change. One moment to realize that it’s the people you love who hurt you the most.
Compelling, heartbreaking and unforgettable; this is the American Dream ripped apart.
Speechless by Hannah Harrington

SpeechlessEveryone knows that Chelsea Knot can’t keep a secret
Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.
Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she’s ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.
But there’s strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she’s done. If only she can forgive herself.
Butter by Erin Lange

ButterYou think I eat a lot now? That's nothing. Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal. Death row inmates get one. Why shouldn't I? I can't take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you're invited to watch ... as I eat myself to death.
So starts Butter, the story of a lonely 423-pound boy everyone calls 'Butter'. Worse than being ridiculed for his size at high school, he is simply ignored. Desperate, he pledges to eat himself to death live on the Internet - and everyone will watch. When he makes this announcement online, he expects pity, insults, or possibly sheer indifference. Instead, his classmates become morbid cheerleaders for his deadly plan.
Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline?
Readers will be surprised to find themselves identifying with both the bullied ... and the bullies

This one just sounds really intriguing... and slightly weird.


Skinny by Donna Cooner

SkinnyFind your voice.
Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies’s head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she’ll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it. 
But there is another voice: Ever’s singing voice, which is beautiful but has been silenced by Skinny. Partly in the hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.
With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own.

The cover: Clearly that girl is not over 300 pounds, I'm like 102 and she looks pretty small to me. I have a lot of 'issue' books this week. I had a list of good issue books and basically picked up everyone I could find. Can't remember why or for what reason. Now I am confused at my own choices. 

Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy NcNamara

Lovely, Dark and DeepSince the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn't survive. Instead of heading off to college with her friends as planned, Wren retreats to her father's isolated studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somewhere she can be alone. Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal's hiding out too. And when the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

Everybody Sees the AntsLucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.
But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?
Michael L. Printz Honor recipient A.S. King's smart, funny and boldly original writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope with the shrapnel life throws at you--and taking a stand against it.
I've heard good things about good ol' ASKing, love the name. But I just think of Bill Bailey when I read the title: HUMAN SLAVES IN AN INSECT NATION! 



Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains)Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...
The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding

The Reece Malcolm ListThings I know about Reece Malcolm:
1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.
5. She’s my mother.br /> Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much.
L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan—a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love.
But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything?


After by Kristin Harmel 

AfterLacey's world shatters when her dad is killed in a car accident. And secretly? She feels like it’s her fault. If she hadn't taken her own sweet time getting ready that morning . . . well, it never would have happened. Her mom wouldn't be a basket case. Her brother Logan wouldn't drink. And her little brother would still have two parents.
But life goes on even if you don’t want it to. And when Lacey gets the chance to make a difference in the lives of some people at school, she jumps at it. Making lemonade out of lemons is her speciality. Except she didn’t count on meeting a guy like Sam. Or that sometimes? Lemonade can be a pretty bitter drink to swallow.


The Revealed by Jessica Hickam 

The RevealedLily Atwood lives in what used to be called Washington, D.C. Her father is one of the most powerful men in the world, having been a vital part of rebuilding and reuniting humanity after the war that killed over five billion people. Now he’s running to be one of its leaders.
But in the rediscovered peace on Earth, a new enemy has risen. They call themselves the Revealed – a powerful underground organization that has been kidnapping 18 year olds across the globe without reservation. No one knows why they are kidnapping these teens, but it’s clear something is different about these people. They can set fires with a snap of their fingers and create a wind strong enough to barrel over a tree with a flick of their wrist. No one has been able to stop them, and they have targeted Lily as their next victim.
But Lily has waited too long to break free from her father’s shadow to let some rebel organization just ruin everything. Not without a fight.

I judged it on the cover, so shoot me! But, that cover is lovely. 


Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot
Even in ParadiseWhen Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.
Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.
But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden … until now.

It's supposed to be  a YA Great Gatsby, yes please!


Blackbird by Anna Carey

BlackbirdThis twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.
A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her. 
On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined. 
The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists.

Only once I downloaded it did I realise it's from the author of Eve. I enjoyed Eve but the sequel was awful, nervous for this one. 


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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Review 5/5 Review
2014 Series Challenge: Sign Up & Progress
2014 First in a Series: Sign Up & Progress
Top Ten Tuesday: Covers I'd Frame As Art
The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes: 2.5/5 Review
Films for Thoughts on Thursday: The Other Woman
Five Friday Favourites: Not-so-Favourite Leading Ladies

32 comments:

  1. Ooh, you've got some lovely books this week. I'm really intrigued by a lot of them. I see my TBR pile growing even more... Sorry to read about your hamster :-(

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    1. Thank you. The TBR pile never seems to get any smaller since I've started blogging.

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  2. I'm sorry about your hamster. I had gerbils when I was at school and I was so gutted when they died that I've never had another pet since. Still better news on the butterfly front! Why can't it be butterflies that invade the house instead of darn ugly spiders???!!! Enjoy your books!

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    1. Thanks so much. I know, spiders are my mortal enemies, at least it feels that way to me.

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  3. I don't think the pages are damaged. Sometimes they choose to print them that way, you'll notice that they're in a pretty even pattern. Unless your copy is different from the weird edged books I have that look like that. I hate those kinds of pages too though as I find it hard to turn the page haha. Great haul though :)

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    1. They are in an even pattern at one end... but then are flat and straight at the other =S That really confused me. We've had ones come in at work but they are deckled on both ends. This one is kind of half patterned. It's odd and ugly lol. I'll see how the next one shows up.

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  4. Unremembered is wonderful! I'm eagerly anticipating all of the books you got for review, too! Don't worry - I judged The Revealed on it's cover...it sounds really interesting. My copy of The Winner's Curse is the same way. I believe they call it deckled edges. But I totally understand about being a perfectionist when it comes to my books. I look at every detail before I buy one in the store. I rarely buy them online because I can't examine them first! *blushes* Awesome haul! :)

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    1. I thought it was deckled too when I saw that perfect edge that I photographed... but then the it evens out halfway through and the other end is completely straight. It looks really ugly and I don't like it at all. Hopefully the replacement copy will be deckled completely or straight completely... not half and half.

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  5. Eh, I have Dangerous Girls and have since December, want to do a joint read, share thoughts and stuff? I'm also interested in Unremembered myself so I'll be excited to see what you think of that book too. Great haul Charnell, hope you have better look with reading the next few books :D

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    1. Me too, I am fed up of reading rubbish books. I am up for a joint read of Dangerous girls! :)

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  6. It is always sad to lose a beloved pet. The winner's curse was amazing and I hope you will love it. Blackbird was a book I seriously considered requesting but decided not to.

    Grace
    My STS

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    1. Blackbird looked great, I had auto-approval which always makes me download books even if I wouldn't usually bother to take the time to request them. It's terrible but true.

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  7. I haven't read any of these but happy reading!

    Tsuki’s STS

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  8. I'm so sorry to hear about your hamster, our pets are never with us long enough. I really feel for you <3

    Your copy of The Winner's Curse, a few bloggers have also had an issue with their copies too from TBD, mainly with pages being stuck together. I was going to grab a copy during the week (read it in digital ARC format), but sounds like they've got a dodgy batch.

    I wanted Blackbird desperately. I actually loved the Eve series, but they don't approve me for many on Eldweiss. Awesome books, happy reading.

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    1. I think so, especially since my book is only like that at ONE end. Haha, hopefully the next one will be better though.

      I have auto-approval for some of the publishers, and so I don't have to request very often. I hate requesting though because you do get a lot of rejections on there.

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  9. Sorry about your hamster. :( The butterflies are cool though. How do you keep them contained, is there a special butterfly house?

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    1. Yes, you get a little butterfly habitat delivered with them! :)

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  10. Aww...I'm so sorry to hear about your hamster! :( I know how tough losing a pet can be, so if you want to talk, I'm here! <3

    On the book front, though, it looks like you have a FABULOUS haul! I absolutely loved The Winner's Curse, Unremembered and Speechless when I read them, so I hope you have the same experience. :D I haven't heard of any of the other books you've mentioned, but I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for what you think in case you end up with a hidden gem! :)

    Happy reading and thanks for sharing!

    ~ Zoe @ The Infinite To-Read Shelf

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    1. Thank you. Happy to hear such great things about all of those books. I am really excited for The Winner's Curse, it looks so good! :)

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  11. I really really want to read butter! Dead Ends by Erin Lange was aaaawesome and just one of my top picks of the year. OH but that sucks about The Winner's Curse pages! Noooo! I had a bit of a freak-out when I got Scarlet from TBD finally and the cover was like a quarter inch shorter then the pages! I actually figured it was supposed to be like that. But I was really, really disappointed. I mean, don't they think about the people who like their covers to match up?? TBD is being really slow at the moment, eh? I'm waiting like 1 month plus for my books to arrive. *sigh*

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    1. I know, they just don't seem to understand how OCD some of us book lovers can get about our books. I really love TBD, but have noticed that they are taking a lot longer now to ship out books. It sucks!!!!

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  12. I hope you enjoy THE WINNER'S CURSE! :)

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  13. I'm sorry about your hamster. Losing a pet is very hard. But your butterflies are very pretty!
    I thoroughly enjoyed The Winner's Curse. Hope all the trouble it's causing you is worth it.
    Butter sounds interesting to say the least. I'll have to watch out for your review of it.
    I enjoyed Unremembered. Still need to pick up the second book.
    Can't wait to get my hands on Blackbird. I haven't read a book in second person since I was a kid. Well besides bits of Half Bad. But still. A whole book that way. Hmmm...
    Hope this week is much better!
    Happy reading!

    My SS

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    1. I am loving the butterflies, they are very cool! Me too, I can at least read the bad copy seeing as I get to keep it. I'm interested to read Blackbird. Butter sounds so interesting, I am really intrigued by that one. I hope I enjoy them all, hope I have a better week in general and reading wise too.

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  14. So many great books! The Winner's Curse…really good. And I really enjoyed Unremembered, I love stories where the main character has lost her memory. Reece Malcolm List…I still need to read that one, but I've heard great things. The Revealed, I got that one too, I hope it's good. Sorry to hear about your hamster, that's sad.

    Hope you have a good week! ~Pam

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    1. I'm very excited for The Winner's Curse, it looks so good and I have heard so many amazing things. I'm also intrigued by Unremembered, especially with the second book out now.

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  15. Sorry about your hamster. Hope you enjoy your new books though. Happy Reading!
    Here are my newest additions.

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  16. Nice haul of books! I have seen The Winner's Curse everywhere and it does sound pretty good. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I'm really excited for that one, have heard nothing but good things! :)

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