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TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books On Our Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday.13

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Today we’re sharing Books On Our Fall TBR. And they are….


(Chelsea’s Choice)

(Cassie’s Choice)

1. Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) by Laini Taylor (Releasing 10/02)
Amazon * Goodreads

 

2. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (Releasing 10/02)
Amazon * Goodreads


(Cassie’s Choice)

(Chelsea’s Choice)

3. Broken Things by Lauren Oliver (Releasing 10/02)
Amazon * Goodreads

 

4. Shadow of The Fox (Shadow of the Fox #1) by Julie Kagawa (Releasing 10/02)
Amazon * Goodreads

 


(Arielle’s Review)

(Jen’s Review)

5. Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas (Releasing 10/23)
Amazon * Goodreads

 

6. The Darkest Star (Origin #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Releasing 10/30)
Amazon * Goodreads

 


(Jen’s Review)

(Arielle’s Choice)

7. Dangerous Exes (Liars, Inc. #2) by Rachel Van Dyken (Releasing 10/30)
Amazon * Goodreads

 

8. Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer (Releasing 11/06)
Amazon * Goodreads

 


(Jen’s Choice)

(Arielle’s Choice)

9. Kiss Collector by Wendy Higgins (Releasing 12/18)
Amazon * Goodreads

 

10. The Disasters by M.K. England (Releasing 12/18)
Amazon * Goodreads


(Cassie & Chelsea’s Choice)

(Chelsea’s Choice)

11. Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake (already released)
Amazon * Goodreads

12. Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) by Kerri Maniscalco (already released)
Amazon * Goodreads


So these are the Books On Our Fall TBR. Are any of these on your Fall TBR too? If not, then what books are?

BLOGIVERSARY + GIVEAWAYS – Our Favorite Female Leads

female leads

Since we’ve already had two posts talking about our Fiercest BBFs and Kindest BBFs, today we’re going to talk about some of Our Favorite Female Heroines.  These are the women we look up to, respect and absolutely love!  So have fun meeting our favorite heroines and we’re wishing you lots of luck on our giveaways below!

Female_chelsea

Jude from The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
* Review  * Amazon * Goodreads *

Okay. The biggest cliché BUT COME ON-She. Is. SOOOO badass. She is a human who takes on all the fae, defeating the worst and most cunning of them all, time after time…only to fall for him. Come. ON. I love her and I want to be friends with her (but not really because she’d not only kick my ass but hand me over in a second to get what she needs HA).

“Well, let me remind you that means you have much to lose and I have nothing. You may win in the end, you may enscroll me and hurt me and humiliate me, but I will make sure you lose everything I can take from you on the way down. I promise you this is the least of what I can do.”

 

Lira from To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
*Review * Amazon * Goodreads *

Lira is yet another fierce female who, in the end, is just so bad I can barely stand how awesome she is. And the writing in this book-WOW. If I could write, it would be like this woman. And, as it goes, the monster falls for the other monster…even though they are both hunting one another (unbeknownst to either, obviously). Seeing this all play out…it was beautiful and epic and just out of this world amazing. I love this book so hard.

Every action will betray. Every choice will slaughter. Despite what my mother says, I seem to be the exact kind of monster she wanted.

 

Isobel from An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
* Review  * Amazon * Goodreads *

And then sweet Isobel. Yet another human fallen prey to the fae….or, rather, the charms of a certain fae. A young artist who gets swept away to the faerie courts and worlds-but don’t be fooled, for Isobel is no fool, and she won’t be swayed just for love-but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t fallen for the charming and tortured Rook.

I’d always scoffed at stories in which maidens pine for their absent suitors, boys they’ve hardly known a week and have no business falling for. Didn’t they realize their lives were worth more than the dubious affection of one silly young man? That there were things to do in a world that didn’t revolve solely around their heartbreak? Then it happens to you, and you understand you aren’t any different from those girls after all.

 

female_jen

Zara from Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts #1) by Sara Wolf
*Review * Amazon * Goodreads *

Zara was sarcastic, witty, spoke her mind and wasn’t afraid to challenge others.  I loved how sure she was of herself and she was a heroine that I could easily respect.  It was so much fun watching what should have just been a job turn into so much more. The more she learned about the Prince and his secrets, the more she found herself conflicted.  Her freedom came first, but at what cost when the Prince started treating her unlike any one else ever had. And I found myself nervous. She was to turn the man I had fallen for into a monster.  How could I ever forgive her………

I want nothing more than to stay in this moment, my hand in his.  But that’s an impossibility. A weakness. I am a monster, and he’s a human.  I want his heart, and I want his other heart. His affection, his blood. I want it all.
But if I take one, I can’t have the other.

 

Amelia from The Importance of Being Scandalous (A Tale of Two Sisters #1) by Kimberly Bell
*Review * Amazon * Goodreads *

I loved Amelia.  She was strong willed, fierce and protected those that she loved.  It was a breath of fresh air that she knew what she wanted and had no problems speaking her mind.  I clicked with her instantly. Amelia made me smile, laugh and my heart hurt for her for the situation she was in.  Thankfully she had a lot of light in her life. And while I loved the relationship she had with her sister Julia I found myself even more addicted to the one she had with Nicholas.

Amelia sighed.  Before she closed the cloak, she turned to her sister. “How do I look, honestly?”
“Like a women who is up to absolutely no good.”
Amelia nodded. “Well, then I suppose I’m ready.”

 

Lauren from Glitter and Sparkle (Glitter and Sparkle #1) by Shari L. Tapscott
* Review  * Amazon * Goodreads *

Right from the start I loved Lauren!  She has the most adorable voice.  She was honest, heartfelt, and I loved her passion for crafting and her blog.  She pulled me right in and she was someone I would love to be best friends with!  This was a book I hope all of my friends will read!  Between the back and forth banter, the scenes that made me laugh and cry and the beautiful characters, it was just all so perfect!  And as if that wasn’t enough, the epilogue was the most amazing thing ever!    

He stretches higher, and his shirt shifts a little more. “Like this?”
Bad Lauren.
I rub a spot behind my ear, feeling a little guilty. “Maybe just a little higher…” Oh, I give up. I can look at him, can’t I?
I can detest someone while admiring their hotness?

 

Celaena Sardothian from Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
 * Amazon * Goodreads *

She’s a badass female assassin–the greatest in all of Erilea.  She’s sassy, loves chocolate and books, and is loyal to a fault. This series would be nothing without her.

 

 

Kestrel Trajan from The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
* Amazon * Goodreads *

I love Kestrel because of how fiercely loyal and clever she is.  She accepted a duel with a man twice her size so that her slave wouldn’t get whipped and refused to tell Arin the truth about being a spy because she knew he would remove himself from the rebellion to save her. One of my favorite series of all time!

 
 

Mare from War Storm (Red Queen #4) by Victoria Aveyard
* Review  * Amazon * Goodreads *

I loved the character Mare Barrow from the moment I met her in Red Queen a few years ago. While I understand not everyone feels the same way, I appreciate the fact that she’s not perfect and makes mistakes, but tries to learn from those mistakes and keeps her end goal in mind. Which is not particularly easy considering everything that happens over the course of the series. But through it all, she remains loyal, fierce, understanding, funny and kind and I like to think she does ultimately get her happy ending.

 

 

Lila from A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab
* Amazon * Goodreads *

When I first read this series a year ago, I almost instantly fell in love with it. A few weeks ago, I read it for the second time, and I think I liked it even more. While a lot of that is thanks to the four main characters (Lila, Kell, Alucard and Rhy), Lila certainly is a major factor. She unabashedly herself and doesn’t take no for an answer. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and will do anything to help them, even after everything she did for own self-preservation. Underneath her snark and knives, there is a girl who is capable of great love and kindness.

 

Giveaway:

***There will be 5 winners, and prizes will be sent via Amazon Kindle. The first winner drawn will get to chose which book they want first, and so on.  Prizes are ebooks of:
*An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
*Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
*Adorkable by Cookie O’Gorman
*Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
*Angelfall, World After & End of Days (YES the whole trilogy!) by Susan Ee***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR+GIVEAWAY+EXCERPT: Block Shot (HOOPS #2) by Kennedy Ryan

BLOG TOUR+GIVEAWAY+EXCERPT: Block Shot (HOOPS #2) by Kennedy Ryan

Block Shot now available! Check out all the author info and the excerpt and giveaway below! A second chance romance that is sure to make you an addict, I can't wait to read this one-Enjoy!

BLOG TOUR+GIVEAWAY+EXCERPT: Block Shot (HOOPS #2) by Kennedy RyanBlock Shot (Hoops #2)
by kennedy ryan
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads
Synopsis:

JARED
If I had a dollar for every time Banner Morales made my heart skip a beat...
The heart everyone assumes is frozen over.
Her anger is...arousing.
Every glare from those fire-spitting eyes, every time she grits her teeth,
gets me...well, you know.
If I had a dollar for every time she's put me in my place, I'd be an even richer man.
I'm a successful sports agent because I assume "no" means you'll think about it.
I'm sure what you meant to say is "Coming right up.”
They say even rich men don't always get what they want,
but those men don't know how to play the game. The trick is to keep them guessing.
Take Banner. She assumes she's winning, but this game?
She doesn't even know how to play.

BANNER
If I had a dollar for every time Jared Foster broke my heart, I’d have exactly one dollar.
One night. One epic fail. One dollar...and I'm out.
I've moved on.
I’ve found success in a field ruled by men.
Anything they can do, I have done better.
They can keep the field while I call the shots, blocking them when I have to.
And Jared has the nerve to think he gets a second chance?
Boy, please. Go sit down. Have several seats.
I'll just be over here ignoring the man carved from my fantasies with a lust-tipped chisel.
Oh, I didn't say the struggle wasn't real.
But I've got that one dollar, and Jared won't have me.

Excerpt:

[scroll-box]I stretch my arm toward the wall and turn out the lights.
With the light snuffed out, my other senses rise, hunting for her in the dark. The smell of her hair and her quick, shallow breaths. My sight adjusts until the heavy black curtain completely obscuring her fades to gray. Light from the outer room spills under the door, revealing just the shape, the outline of her, but still camouflaging details. I cup her cheek, taking a moment to appreciate the softness of her skin, the silky hair brushing my knuckles. I’m not an idiot. She wants the lights out because she’s self-conscious, but from my perspective, she has nothing to be ashamed of.
“I think you’re beautiful, Ban.”
“You do?” she asks, her voice hushed.
My words surprise me as much as they seem to surprise her, because I don’t say shit like that to girls. The prettiest ones usually seem to already know, which makes any admiration I’d express redundant. But Banner . . . she’s so beautiful, and I’m not sure she knows.
“I do.” I push the hair away from her face.
“Uh . . . thank you.” Her laugh isn’t much more than a breath. “The lights are out, so I’m not sure that compliment counts.”
“I know your face by heart. You have seven freckles here.” I swipe a finger over the straight bridge of her nose and drift down to caress her full lips and the tiny dent in her cheek her smile displays. “And a dimple right here.”
I explore the smooth skin of her nape, under a heavy fall of hair.
“Now I want to know your body, too,” I say softly. “Take off your clothes for me, Banner.”
After a sharply indrawn breath, she raises her arms. The rustle of her clothes—the sweatshirt, jeans, socks, shoes—being discarded whisper in the dark. I approximate her by touch, reaching for her arms and closing my fingers around the softness, the velvety skin. I lower my head and run my nose along her neck, discovering.
“You always smell so good.” I’ve wanted to tell her that since the first night we studied here.
“Pretty Pastel,” she replies, her laugh low, nervous.
“What?” I pause.
“The smell. It’s my dryer sheets. The scent is Pretty Pastel.”
“I like it.” I resume my exploration, running a palm over her shoulder, her collarbone until I find the soft, full weight of her breasts, testing them in my hands, cupping them, holding them, brushing the nipples with my thumbs until they pebble and her breaths come harshly.
“You like that?” I ask.
I see her head nod in the semi-darkness. “Yeah. It feels good.”
Her touch startles me in the best way, her hand finding my face, traveling over my mouth, eyes, and hair. I sense her approach, feel tiny pants of breath on my lips, and anticipation has me panting, too, shortens my breath and sharpens my senses. Her mouth seeks mine, eager and sweet when she kisses me. Her pleasure, her excitement matches, answers, fans mine.
I guide her back down to the couch, and with a hand at her shoulder, urge her to stretch out. I’d shave points off my GPA for a glimpse of her, but she doesn’t want that. I get it, so I settle for a taste.
[/scroll-box]

 

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

*Special release price $2.99! Price goes up soon!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2QmF0TE
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/BlockShotKR
Add to GoodReads: https://bit.ly/2IbeQOU

 

BLOCK SHOT Spotify Playlist:  http://bit.ly/BlockShotSpotify

Block Shot Discussion Group: https://bit.ly/2QhoCUh

 

Enter the BLOCK SHOT BOSS Giveaway!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/696a82ab44/

 


About Kennedy

A Top 30 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy Ryan writes about women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts.

She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine and Frolic, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Atlanta Autism families, she has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for families living with autism.

 

Connect with Kennedy

Never Miss A Release! Follow Kennedy on BookBub:  bookbub.com/authors/kennedy-ryan

New Release Txt: https://clk2.me/mgFv

Subscribe to Mailing List: http://bit.ly/2QjisCW

Reader Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Fvhqiz

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kennedyryan

Book+Main:  https://bookandmainbites.com/kennedyryan

Website: http://kennedyryanwrites.com

BOOK REVIEW: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

BOOK REVIEW: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno99 Days by Katie Cotugno
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.

Julia Donnelly eggs my house the first night I’m back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything.

“Hey, stranger,” he says as I climb into the passenger seat, in a voice like I’m not one at all. “Wreck any homes today?” I snort. “Not yet.”

Here’s the thing, I really liked this book. I liked Molly, the protagonist of the book. With that said, Molly makes a lot of dumb mistakes in the book. She is far from perfect. Even when she thinks she’s learned from a past mistake, she makes it again. This is frustrating from a reader’s perspective, but how many of us have done the same thing or have a friend who makes the same stupid mistake again and again?

If you are averse to reading anything with love triangles, cheating or imperfect MC’s, walk away. This book isn’t for you.

Molly knows exactly what she did and spends the course of the book dealing with the aftermath, attempting to atone for those grievances and making more mistakes. She is 17, slightly self-centered and in need of growing up. But with all of this said, I still rooted for her.

He was my best friend. He was my first love. I had sex with his big brother. I broke his fucking heart.

I’m not spoiling anything by saying that Molly cheated on her first boyfriend, Patrick, with his older brother, Gabe. Following the news making its way around town, she is essentially ostracized for her mistake by almost everyone. It’s harsh and I appreciated the author making it very clear there is a huge double-standard placed on women in these situations. They are the homewrecker, the slut/whore, etc., while the man was tempted/coerced/etc. The woman should have known better, she made her choice, it was her fault, etc. Ugh.

Eventually, Gabe and Molly start to develop a real relationship when he is home from college, and as you can imagine, is awkward for many of the other characters, including Molly’s former friend/current tormentor and Gabe and Patrick’s sister, Julia. Despite how great things are with Gabe, Molly continues to have complicated thoughts and feelings about Patrick.

With Gabe I never feel like a walking, talking letdown. With Gabe I just feel like me. So why can’t I stop thinking about his brother?

I feel like a horror show, I feel like exactly the kind of nightmare Julia thinks I am – tearing through the Donnellys again and again like some kind of natural disaster.

While sometimes I just wanted to grab Molly and shake her, I then wanted to follow it up with a big hug. Does she cause a lot of pain for herself? Yes. But does she deserve everything that is given to her? Absolutely not. Besides the obvious focus on the romantic relationships, there’s some nice focus on friendships, a unique mother-daughter relationship and learning to find yourself at such a precarious age.

The author recently released a follow-up this book, 9 Days and 9 Nights, which I will be reading here shortly. I’m looking forward to meeting Molly and Gabe and seeing where their story is headed next.

“Why are you going to let people who are hell-bent on not forgiving you keep you from something that could actually be great?”

BOOK REVIEW: Sadie by Courtney Summers

BOOK REVIEW: Sadie by Courtney SummersSadie by Courtney Summers
Purchase on: AmazoniBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and the author, Courtney Summers, for my free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“And it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl.”

I finished Sadie almost a month ago and I’ve struggled how I wanted to review this book. I haven’t really read anything like it and honestly, after I finished the last page and closed the book, I was left feeling a bit sad and empty.

It’s a tragic story on every level. Sadie, our main character, hasn’t had an easy life. Her mother, who is both a drug addict and often absent, has abandoned Sadie and her other daughter Mattie, in their small rural town. Mind you, Sadie is around 17 when the story begins, who isn’t even an adult herself. And then Mattie is murdered, shattering Sadie’s entire paper-thin world. And with nothing left to lose, and no help from anyone else, Sadie begins her quest to get justice for Mattie.

Intertwined in Sadie’s story is investigative journalist/podcaster Wes McCray, who is working to figure out what happened to Sadie, as we learn she is consider “missing” by the small group of people who care about her. The format of the novel is ‘regular’ chapters from Sadie’s POV and transcript chapters from Wes’s podcast interviews. I really enjoyed this format and loved a true crime podcast as a vehicle for telling Sadie’s story, as there are so many great true crime podcasts doing similar work in real-life.

I also appreciated Summers giving Sadie an additional layer of complexity, as Sadie has an almost debilitating stutter that greatly affects how she interacts with others. It’s not something I’ve seen put into a story before, so kudos for Summers adding in that representation.

I don’t want to give anything away, but this is not an easy story to read. There’s not a lot of happiness or light-hearted moments. It’s a dark but realistic story, so just go in preparing to get heart stomped all over. Don’t let that deter you, but just be prepared.

I have risked everything for this kindness, or whatever it is, and that make me worry I’m too starved, too broken, to anything right.

Be sure to also check out Chelsea’s review and interview with Courtney Summers here.

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