This Is How I Feel

This is how I feel after ALA - like I need a really long nap. :) And yes, that is my new niece. Could not resist putting up this adorable picture of her, and it illustrates my state of mind right now.

I spent a really fantastic weekend at ALA hanging out with librarians, bloggers, publishers and other book lovers. I saw tons of wonderful authors and met lots of really cool people. I want to give you guys a full update soon but I am a bit wiped out. It may be a bit quiet around here for a bit as I try to get back to real life. And I want to show you on what books I got at ALA. Not to make anyone jealous, but because I think book blog readers like to look at books. I know I do. And I got a lot of really awesome books that I am super excited about. 

I hope you're all having a great week! :)

---

Stacked (9): The One with Richelle Mead

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another week of Stacked, my weekly haul post. I am making this post before ALA so you won't be seeing any ALA books in it. Sorry but I'll probably include it in the next post. 

Lots of borrowing going on as well as some buying from the Richelle Mead signing. Not much for review this week except a smexy romance that I've been hearing good things about. I am too tired from my first night at ALA to say much more but hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Did anyone see Brave yet? I don't think I will have time this weekend. :(

Borrowed

The Goblin King by Shona Husk - I've been wanting to read this one for awhile. Guy on the cover kind of reminds me of one of the brothers on Supernatural. 

Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas - I love most things set in Paris.

Prelude To A Scandal by Deborah Marvelle

Jessica Rules The Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey - Loved the first book in this series and am excited to finally read the sequel. 

Bought

If you read my post earlier in the week, you know that I went to a Richelle Mead signing. There I bought The Golden Lily and a copy of Succubus Blues (my original is an e-copy). Richelle was also giving out some cool VA posters that she also signed. We love Richelle.

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

Review

About Last Night by Ruthie Knox - I like some good abs on a cover and I have seen favorable reviews on this one. 

That's it! Wish me luck this weekend at ALA and I'll see you next week!

---

Uncovered (19): A Monster Calls

OMG I love this cover! I am sure you have seen it around but seriously, look at how awesome it is. It's already got the word "monster" in the title and the cover and illustrations inside are perfect for this moody, creepy, and dark story. I love the black and white and the sort of sketchy line drawn look of the image. It actually reminds me a little of the work of Stephen Gammell whose illustrations in the Scary Stories series used to haunt me when I was a kid.

The artist on this one is Jim Kay and his stuff is fantastic. You really should check out his website to see more illustrations from A Monster Calls. Or, better yet, go out and buy it.  Here is the book trailer to give you a taste of what the book is like.




Awesome, right? I'd love to know what you guys think of this one? Too creepy? Just creepy enough? Thanks for stopping by!

---

Richelle Mead at B&N Third Street

Hello, eveyone! Wow it has been an amazing and crazy weekend. My brother's baby was born and I made a whirlwind drive up to northern California. I was awesome and no words can describe how much I love my niece. Anyway - upon my return I had a fun event to look forward to. Richelle Mead, author of such awesome series as Vampire Academy, Dark Swan, and the Succubus series was heading to Santa Monica for a signing. 

I really kind of hate the B&N procedure for signings though. You have to buy the book and get a wristband on the same day as the signing. This becomes an issue when the event is on a weekday and also when the store is far from you, and this event was both. It took some plotting and lots of driving but we got to B&N at 9am, bought our books, came home for a few hours, then drove 45 min back to Santa Monica, where we got to stand in line in a really hot place for about 2 hours. As uncomfortable as it was, it was totally worth it for Richelle. 

the richelle display at the entrance to the store

more richelle books upstairs in ya

I've actually seen Richelle once before at a Comic Con a few years ago. Since I already had some of my Vampire Academy books signed, the only dilemma now was deciding which books to get signed this time (she has a 3 book limit). Finally decided on the Vampire Academy Guide and the first and last Succubus books. 

Since we had gotten there so early that morning, we had A bands, which I was very grateful for. There was quite a turnout and I think I heard one of the B&N employees say that they though maybe 140 people were there.  They seated us a little after 7pm and Richelle came in pretty soon after everyone was settled. We made it to the very front row. :)

richelle with the great b&n employee (think his name is shane)

Richelle is pretty much what you expect - sweet, funny, and humble. She started off with a reading from The Golden Lily. It involved Sydney, Adrian, a guy named Wolfe, and some nun-chucks. :) I have some video of Richelle which I am trying to upload for you guys but Youtube uploading is slow. I may have to do a separate post of the videos. 

After the reading Richelle took questions from the audience. Someone asked if she would ever write another story with some of the series that have ended (like Dark Swan and Succubus) and Richelle said that she likes to never say never. While she doesn't have any immediate plans for anything, she said that anything is possible (yay!). When asked when she knew that she was going to write a VA spinoff series, she said maybe about halfway into it. She said that she had created this world that she loved and was interested in exploring still but that she wanted a change from writing from Rose's point of view. 

More questions then signing time! I am glad we were at the front because that meant we were first in the signing line, too. When I got up to Richelle I basically just gushed about how much I loved the Succubus series and how happy I was with the ending. She was super nice and didn't look at me like I was crazy at all.

signing my friend's va books

We finally left so that everyone else could get their books signed. Even though we had to drive to Santa Monica twice and then stand in a long, hot line, it was so worth it. We had a great time and Richelle was awesome. We also accosted Melissa de la Cruz and Margie Stohl after the signing. They had stopped by to say hi and we caught them wandering around afterwards. Hope we didn't scare you, ladies.

I had a fantastic time. Thank you, Richelle, for writing awesome books and being a cool person to boot. I definitely recommend going to one of her signings if you get a chance to. That's it for me. Signing off now!

---

View more of Thuy's YA reviews at Read Now Sleep Later

Honor Bound - Review

Honor Bound (fka The Bastard) by Brenda Novak

Publication date: 01 May 2012 by Amazon

ISBN: B005Z4ZX94
Goodreads | Amazon 

Category: Adult Historical Romance
Keywords: Historical, romance, disguise, navy
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

From Goodreads:

To some men honor is just a word...

Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent—and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way. Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger.

To Lieutenant Treynor, honor means everything...

Born a bastard to a wayward marquise, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor was given to a poor farmer to raise and was maltreated until he ran away to join the Royal Navy. Treynor is determined to prove he’s as good as any other man and rise to captain his own frigate. But once he finds Jeannette aboard The Tempest he must decide whether to return her to the man he knows would abuse her—or risk everything, even his life, to keep her safe.

Thuy's Review:

I picked up this book, then called The Bastard, a few months ago after seeing it as a free Kindle download (it's now back to $3.99). The idea of a romance on the high seas intrigued me and so I began it with high hopes. Honor Bound is the story of Lieutenant Crawford Treynor, born a bastard, who has worked his way up to a position of power and prestige on board The Tempest. He longs to captain his own ship and show the world that a bastard can be as honorable and worthy of the same things as a legitimate son. Jeannette Boucher agrees to marry an old Englishman who needs an heir to save her family from financial ruin. However, she learns that he is impotent but still plans on having his heir, even if it means compromising Jeannette in the worst way. So she stows away on one of the King's ships, but a woman alone is not safe on the high seas and Jeannette must depend on Treynor to protect her identity on the ship.

I had never read anything by Brenda Novak before but knew that she had a good rep as a romance writer. I started the book hoping to find an exciting, action packed adventure full of romance on the high seas. While entertaining, the book did not deliver the drama and intensity that I look for in a good romance. Honor Bound had all of the elements of an exciting sea tale going for it - brooding sea captain, sassy heroine, a plot to attack the kingdom - but it all came off as very tame. I don't know what it was but I just wasn't drawn into the story as much as I wanted to be. I cared about Jeannette and Treynor but I wasn't really invested in their relationship. And while there are some very nice kissing scenes, there wasn't much beyond that in the romance department. I don't need a love scene in every chapter or anything but, c’mon, I want some sexy times in a romance novel.

As characters, Jeanette and Treynor are likable but forgettable. I didn't read the book that long ago and I am having a really hard time remembering much about either of them. Of the two I think Treynor is more interesting. He has a strong sense of honor and duty that compels him. He also has a chip on his shoulder because he is a bastard. He is trying to prove something, to himself and to society. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with Jeannette. She's a feisty heroine in her own right. She just didn’t seem that unique and I felt like I had seen many characters like her before.

While I enjoyed the nautical setting, I felt like there was too much emphasis on the logistics of running of a ship that distracted me from the main characters. Instead of making out like I wanted them to be, Jeannette was often scrubbing decks or hiding from the other shipmates. I know, I know, don’t read a book set on a boat if you’re not interested in life on a ship. You’re probably right but I do feel like the balance between the ship stuff and romance was a bit uneven. If you like stories set on the ocean you might like this one.

*Random side note but I just realized that along with the title change I think they redid the cover and gave him a shirt. Oh what a shame. :)

 

---

You can visit the author online at www.brendanovak.com or on Facebook