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.

Title: Pretties (Uglies #2)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Published: November, 2005 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 368
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she’s completely popular. It’s everything she’s ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun — the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom — is a nagging sense that something’s wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally’s ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what’s wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life — because the authorities don’t intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Final Thoughts:
This started out SO slow. Set in New Pretty Town, I just couldn’t get into the characters. I got that their brains had been messed with, but it didn’t make for enjoyable reading. I mean, how many times can you listen to characters say ‘bubbly’ or ‘bogus’ before you want to hurl the book across the room? The pacing was just off for me. It was one of those books where you felt the need to put it down every 20 or so pages and go find something else to do. Of course, I got around that by forcing my way through it, but you shouldn’t have to do that. Luckily the second half picks up a bit.

Title: Uglies (Uglies #1)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Published: February, 2005 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 425
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Tally can’t wait to turn sixteen and become pretty. Sixteen is the magic number that brings a transformation from repellent Ugly into a stunningly attractive Pretty, and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks, Tally will be there.

But Tally’s new friend, Shay, isn’t sure she wants to be Pretty. She’d rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the Pretty world – and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Final Thoughts:
While the publisher has actually labelled these reprints’ covers with ‘Before The Hunger Games, there was…’, I actually found this older dystopian series reminded me more of Divergent with a bit of The Host spliced in. It was interesting reading it eight years after publication, knowing it came before the mega-series that exploded the genre. Uglies for me, though, didn’t feel quite as high stakes. It was getting there, and I think the second book will probably hit the mark, but starting the series, it seemed to focus more on the survival/relationship side of it than the political issues driving the Pretty initiative.

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
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• Pretties by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• Specials by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• The Vampire Diaries: Destiny Rising by L.J. Smith (purchased)
• Popular by Maya Van Wagenen (thanks to Penguin, AU)
• The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel (thanks to Harlequin Teen, AU)

It was only two weeks between book hauls this time (not a whole year again, so I think I did pretty well). I’ve been wanting to start Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series for quite a while now, so I gave in and ordered these with the cool black/fluorescent covers. I still need to order my copy of Extras, but I’m saving that for another one down the track. I snatched up this copy of The Vampire Diaries for less than $2 on Booktopia this week, which I’m really happy with. I needed it to round out that trilogy of the seemingly never-ending series. I’ll have to start collecting the next lot with the blue covers soon. I’ve only read the first four that L.J. Smith actually wrote, though. I’m not sure when the ghostwriters took over, but it hasn’t stopped me collecting the books. Maybe I’ll read them one day when the TV show ends and I want another fix.

Popular has been sitting around my room for a couple weeks now. It was a free gift from Felicity at the Penguin Teen Australia blogger/reader meetup in Brisbane on the 7th of April. It doesn’t particularly look like my kind of book, but it’s pretty thin so I might give it a go sometime in between the other bigger books I’ve got scheduled at the moment. Lastly, I got a copy of The Break-Up Artist to review. I’m really looking forward to this one. The blurb sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve been getting into contemporaries more and more lately, so I’m hoping this one clicks with me too.

Here are some of my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Cross, Julie Tempest #3, Timestorm
de Pierres, Marianne Night Creatures #3, Shine Light
Hodkin, Michelle Mara Dyer #1, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Rowell, Rainbow, Fangirl

That’s it for this time. So, what books have you gotten lately? Let me know in the comments.

Title: Peeps (Peeps #1)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Published: August, 2005 by Penguin
Pages: 312
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Okay, let’s clear up some myths about vampires. First of all, you won’t see me using the V-word much. In the Night Watch, we prefer the term parasite-positives, or peeps, for short. The main thing to remember is that there’s no magic involved. No flying. No transforming into bats or rats either . . .

After a chance encounter with a mysterious woman one night, Cal’s life is changed forever. He’s been infected with an insidious parasite. The good news: he’s only a carrier. The bad news: he’s infected all his former girlfriends – and now they’ve turned into what Cal calls ‘Peeps’. The rest of us know them as vampires. And it’s Cal’s job to hunt them down, before they create even more of their own kind . . .

Final Thoughts:
Not your ordinary vampires, actually they don’t like that word. Call them peeps. Bringing science into the myth, this novel treats vampirism as an infection rather than a curse. I didn’t love this as much as I wanted to, but I’m sure others will enjoy it. With a swarm of creepy rats and an unintentionally horny 19 yo guy, there’s lots of fun to be had in this.

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!

• Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• Blue Noon by Scott Westerfeld (purchased)
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (purchased)
• The Morganville Vampires: Vol 4 (Fade Out & Kiss Of Death) by Rachel Caine (purchased)
• The Demon’s Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan (purchased)

A heap of my AmazonUK purchases turned up this week. I got the complete Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. I borrowed these from the library a couple months ago and really enjoyed them. I’ve seen a heap of different covers for this series, but I settled on these ones. My Hex Hall hardback finally turned up, I think it took four weeks to get to me from the UK, lucky I’ve already read it, otherwise I would have been stressing. Volume 4 of The Morganville Vampires bind-ups was just released, I had it pre-ordered so mine shipped early (thanks book depository). I still haven’t caught up on reading these, I’ve only read the first two in the series. Lastly, is The Demon’s Surrender. I can’t help but smile at it. I’ve been waiting on this new release for so long. I’m absolutely in LOVE with this series. If you haven’t read book 1: The Demon’s Lexicon, go out and get it now.

Don’t forget to enter my INTERNATIONAL Giveaway for a chance to win one of Sarah Rees Brennan’s books.

My reviews from the past week:
Jones, Carrie Need #2, Captivate
Ward, J.R. Black Dagger Brotherhood #2, Lover Eternal

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

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!

• Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (library)
• Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (library)
• Fade by Lisa McMann (purchased)
• Gone by Lisa McMann (purchased)

I know I said I wasn’t going back to the library any time soon because I seem to stockpile myself with books, but have no time to read them. But I’ve had these first two reserved for a while and they finally came in so I had to pick them up. I got a copy of Gone last week as well, but it arrived soaking wet, so bookdepository quickly sent me this replacement. Now that Fade has arrived, I can get back to this series. It’s thin, so it’ll be a quick read. I really enjoyed Wake when I read it back at the start of the year.

My reviews from the past week:
Black, Holly The Curse Workers #1, White Cat
Emerson, Kevin Oliver Nocturne #3, Blood Ties
Harvey, Alyxandra Drake Chronicles #1, Hearts At Stake
Ward, J.R. Black Dagger Brotherhood #1, Dark Lover

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