Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Titles link back to Goodreads
• Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott (purchased)
• The Girl With The Iron Touch by Kady Cross (purchased)
• The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa (purchased)
• Extras by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• Shadow Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon (purchased)
• The Temptation by Aubrey Clark (purchased)
• Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey (purchased)

I got a lot of J.R Ward books…a lot. I found these on eBay, $30 (incl. postage) for the lot. I had been wanting to get the Aussie covers, because, well, these covers aren’t really for me, but at that price I could forgo them looking pretty on my shelves. Here’s hoping I still enjoy the vampire series. It’s been a few years since I read the first two.

There’s a distinct purple-ness to my book haul this week. I finally decided to give in and get a copy of Heartbeat, adding it to my pile of contemporaries I want to check out this year. I haven’t been able to find a copy of The Girl In The Clockwork Collar in-store, but I’m going to keep trying. I picked up the third in the series in case it disappears in the mean time. Why is it so hard to find previous Harlequin releases in Australia once the next book in a series comes out? It’s exactly why I’ve been collecting Julie Kagawa’s books with each new release even though I haven’t even started this series yet.

The rest are some bargain books I picked up on the cheap in order to finish off or fill out missing places in series I’ve been collecting. I did read Blood Feud back in 2011, but I’m not sure what happened in it anymore. I recall a family of vampires, and…caves, maybe. I’m not sure. You can see it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. I’ve got books three and four on my shelves already, but I don’t think I’ll be getting around to them any time soon. I’m waiting on my TBD order to arrive with some other goodies I want to check out.

Here are some of my latest posts if you want to check them out:
LaFevers, Robin His Fair Assassin #1, Grave Mercy – Joey’s guest review.
Terrill, Cristin All Our Yesterdays #1, All Our Yesterdays – LOVED this!
Westerfeld, Scott Uglies #2, Pretties – Wasn’t for me.

That’s it for this time. So, what books have you gotten lately? Which of these books would you recommend I read first? Let me know in the comments.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Everneath by Brodi Ashton (thanks to Publishers)
• The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (thanks to Publishers)
• Fated by Sarah Alderson (thanks to Publishers)
• Hallowed by Cynthia Hand (purchased)
• Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward (purchased)
• Hero by Perry Moore (purchased)
• Nana: Volume 2 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)

A big thanks to Simon and Schuster who sent me the top three books this week. Everneath is a Harper one in America, so I’m not sure why S&S Australia has it. Anyway, can’t wait to read all of them. For those that haven’t heard, Simon and Schuster are running a comp giving Aussie bloggers the chance to win a $250 voucher for either Dymocks, Westfield or JB HiFi. All you need to do is read Everneath, film a video review and post it to your blog and then head over to www.everneath.com.au and fill out the form before 24th February 2012. Under 18’s need parental permission.

Okay, back to my mailbox… I went shopping during the week and kind of spent more than I’d hoped. Hallowed and Lover Awakened were both $20 each, more than I’d like to pay for a paperback, but self-restraint went out the window and I hurried to the counter and bought them. I’m hoping to read Hero either this week or next, but who knows if that will happen, we’ll see. Lastly, I stopped in at the local anime store and picked up another volume of the Nana manga. I got a heap of them last week during an online stocktake sale, but I needed this one so I could move on to volume three. If you haven’t noticed the Tempest pic at the top of my sidebar, I’m hosting a giveaway for Macmillan Audio for the Tempest Audiobook. It ends next Thursday 19th January. Click on the pic to check it out. There’s a free audio sample on the page, too.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Cross, Julie Tempest #1, Tempest
Dane, Jordan, On A Dark Wing
Hocking, Amanda Trylle Trilogy #1, Switched

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!
(Sorry to those I missed getting back to last week, I was feeling sick Sunday/Monday.)

Title: Lover Eternal (Black Dagger Brotherhood #2)
Author: J.R. Ward
Published: July, 2007 by Piatkus Books
Pages: 449
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood…

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetite. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover – for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin.

Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him. When Mary Luce is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world, she must rely on Rhage’s protection. Knowing that Mary feels the same intense animal attraction, Rhage must make her his alone…

Final Thoughts:
Even better than the first book. Rhage brings a hot new perspective to the Brotherhood’s world. Deep characters, plenty of angst, and heaps of steamy vamp sex.

Title: Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1)
Author: J.R. Ward
Published: September, 2005 by Signet Eclipse
Pages: 393
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed – leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate – Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead – a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Final Thoughts:
Lots of romance, sex and vampire lore, made this one a very enjoyable read. A very promising start to this long series. I can’t wait to start on Lover Eternal.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Wake by Lisa McMann (purchased)
• Gone by Lisa McMann (purchased)
• Die For Me by Amy Plum (purchased)
• Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (purchased)
• The Devouring by Simon Holt (purchased)
• Soulstice by Simon Holt (purchased)
• The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross (purchased)
• My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent (purchased)
• Halo by Alexandra Adornetto (purchased)
• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (purchased)
• Intertwined by Gena Showalter (purchased)
• Unraveled by Gena Showalter (purchased)
• Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (purchased)
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (purchased)
• Fallen by Lauren Kate (purchased)
• Torment by Lauren Kate (purchased)
• Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon (purchased)
• Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon (purchased)
• White Cat by Holly Black (library)
• The Secret To Lying by Todd Mitchell (library)
• Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (library)
• Frostbite by Richelle Mead (library)
• Captivate by Carrie Jones (library)
• My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey (library)
• Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward (library)

As you can see, my mailbox went into overload this week. Lots of my bookdepository orders arrived (every single book packaged individually), but I still have a couple more I’m waiting on. I went to the city this week with my friend Brittany from Nice Girls Read Books and we stalked all the bookstores we could find. We nearly got stuck in a back alley tow away zone trying to find a park for one of the little independent bookshops. City driving, not fun… On top of the 12 books that arrived in the mail, I grabbed 6 at the shops on impulse and picked up 7 more from the big library in the city. Out of all of these, I’d read six already (Wake, My Soul To Take, Intertwined, Unraveled, Clockwork Angel and Infinity) but I needed them for my collection. I especially love the shiny foil coverslip on Clockwork Angel, it looks great sitting beside my TMI hardbacks.

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!