Monday, August 15, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

We have seriously been sucking at Top Ten Tuesday lately. It seems like every other week we are diverging from the given topic because we are too lame cool to stick with it! In reality, we just can't come up with enough books for the topic to justify the list of the week, so we decided we would do the most recent books we have bought lately! 
I am even lamer than lame, as when Mariela said she wanted to do the most recent books she has bought for this week, I couldn't even come up with anything I had bought that wasn't at least from 3 or 4 months ago. Which, for me, is pretty shocking. So instead, I decided to bug my brother (who is a pretty awesome photographer, check him out!) to take pictures of all of the books I got for my birthday last week. 

I am a seriously lucky gal, as I have a lot of really, really amazing people in my life who are generous enough to send me books for my birthday. I am happy to share my birthday book haul with all of you :) 

 My brother (the photog), bought me Ready Player One and Armada by Ernest Cline. They are both pretty nerdy sounding, which is absolutely up my alley!
Mariela, my lovely blogmate, got me A Darker Shade of Magic and Lailah, and This Savage Song came in the Owl Crate that she got me. My dear friend Betsy got me My Lady Jane and my friends Anny and Alice, two adorable sisters, got me Gifted
 

I mentioned to Mariela in passing that I wanted Master of Crows, and she was awesome enough to buy me a copy. My wonderful friend Nina got me Reclaimed, and Anny and Alice sent me The Affiliate. That's my pup, Bellatrix, not really wanting to sit still in the background. 
 
My brother, avid Harry Potter fan, also got me the new Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Super stoked to read it!
 
My mom got me Daring in a Blue Dress this past weekend while I was down visiting, not really for my birthday but I couldn't help but add it in. Mariela got my What Waits in the Woods, Nina got me Heroine Complex and Anny and Alice got my The Awakened and Broken Fate.


Seriously, I am pretty lucky to have so many amazing friends and family members who fuel my book hoarding habits :) 







Exiled exorcist Lucian Negru deserted his lover in Hell in exchange for saving his sister Catarina's soul, but Catarina doesn't want salvation. She wants Lucian to help her fulfill her dark covenant with the Fallen Angels by using his power to open the Hell Gates. Catarina intends to lead the Fallen's hordes out of Hell and into the parallel dimension of Woerld, Heaven's frontline of defense between Earth and Hell. When Lucian refuses to help his sister, she imprisons and cripples him, but Lucian learns that Rachael, the lover he betrayed and abandoned in Hell, is dying from a demonic possession. Determined to rescue Rachael from the demon he unleashed on her soul, Lucian flees his sister, but Catarina's wrath isn't so easy to escape!

 
You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. 

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back. 

Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

 
After spending most of his life in captivity, Sarmin now sits upon the Throne of Cerana. But his reign is an uneasy one. And the emperor’s own heart is torn between two very different women: Mesema, a Windreader princess, and Grada, a lowborn untouchable with whom Sarmin shares a unique bond. In times past, a royal assassin known as the Emperor’s Knife served to defend the throne from menace, but the last Knife has perished and his successor has yet to be named. Sarmin must choose his own loyal death-dealer . . . but upon whom can be he bestow the burden of the Knife-Sworn?

 
Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything changes when she is awarded a prestigious internship at a posh Chicago hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous strangers: the powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit. 

As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?



Kell is one of the last Antari, a rare magician who can travel between parallel worlds: hopping from Grey London — dirty, boring, lacking magic, and ruled by mad King George — to Red London — where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire — to White London — ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne, where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back — and back, but never Black London, because traveling to Black London is forbidden and no one speaks of it now.

Officially, Kell is the personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see, and it is this dangerous hobby that sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to take her with him for her proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save both his London and the others, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — a feat trickier than they hoped.



42 comments :

  1. Allyson, I love your pictures! And Bella and Abbie!

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  2. What a great list! I see so many that intrigue me. Thank you for sharing. :)

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  3. It's always lovely to see a book haul! :-) Great list!

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  4. I wish I could get books for my birthday! My friends don't read so they don't think to get them for me.

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  5. What gorgeous pics! And I'm seriously intrigued by some of these titles - esp Teresa Frohock.

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  6. Great pics! Your brother did a wonderful job. And so cool that your family bought you those books! Awesome! Also some cool books here... definitely intrigued by Knife Sworn.

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    1. I have some pretty awesome friends and family ;) I think Knife Sworn is book 2 in a series! Hopefully if you start the series you enjoy it :)

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  7. Ooh, that's a good bunch. I've read Ready Player One and enjoyed it, but I'm kind of stalled with Armada. It's a cool concept, but for some reason it's not keeping my attention!

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    1. I've heard that about Armada! That people who loved RPO were a little let down by Armada.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. Beautiful pictures!! Ready Player One was one of my favorite books from last year. I still need to read Armada. Hope you guys enjoy them all!!

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    1. That's good to hear that you loved it! I have yet to meet anyone who didn't, so that's a good sign :)

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  9. Love the book pics! That's a nice cover on Armada, and Ready Player One is a fun read. I see The Illustrated Star Wars book in that second one (in the background)- at least I think that's what it is- I have that book and love it. lol And Knife Sworn and Illuminate both have striking covers!

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    1. Much like me, my brother has similarly awesome friends who get him awesome nerdy gifts. They bought this blown up artwork set from the illustrated book and he had them framed in this giant piece of artwork in his Star Wars room. It's pretty awesome :)

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  10. A Darker Shade of Magic is amazing, hope you enjoy!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/top-ten-tuesday-70/

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  11. Everything V.E./Victoria Schwab writes is incredible! My favourite of hers is Vicious but This Savage Song and the Shades of Magic series are super awesome too. I hope you enjoy them when you get around to reading them.

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    1. I haven't ever read anything by her, so I hope I love her as much as you do ;)

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  12. I Love seeing what other people pick up for books, fun list!

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  13. Oooh I LOVED Lady Jane and I enjoyed reading The Cursed Child- I went to the midnight release for that one! ALSO I SPY BB-8 AND R2-D2 and other Star Wars stuff in the background of the Ernest Cline books picture :D

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    1. I didn't even know they did a midnight release for it! That's so neat that you went ;) and yes, that photo was taken in my brother's Star Wars study room. It's got amazing Star Wars art on all of the walls, and pillows and a Star Wars quilt that I made him. its a really cool room!

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  14. Ready Player One is amazing! I still need to read Armada. And I enjoyed the new Harry Potter book, read it in two short sittings!

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  15. A Darker Shade of Magic is one of my favorites - happy reading!

    Check out my TTT.

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  16. I love how you have set up this post, keeping with the theme of your blog and using the flower image behind all the pictures. Nicely done. Happy reading to you both.

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    1. Thank you :) Mariela can tell you how insanely obsessed I am with floral patterns. Almost all of our TTT's have flower themes :p

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  17. YOUR GRAPHICS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL I WAS JUST STARING AT THEM FOR AGES WITHOUT READING. but I did read. haha. I JUST...afjdkalsd prettiness. You two are very awesome at setting out posts. :') AND clearly with picking books!! So much Schwab appreciation!! I love and adore ADSOM and This Savage Song. So I hope you like them!! And I'm very curious to try Ready Player One eventually hehe. Oh and also Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is on my wishlist too because THAT COVER. :D

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    1. Aww, that's so nice to hear! Especially coming from someone whose blog is as absolutely gorgeous as yours :)

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  18. OOO, so pretty! Love how you put this together. "Illuminate" looks gorgeous, and of course, I hear good things about Ready Player One all the time. I'll have to look into that one more closely. Also, I bought My Lady Jane a while back and am hoping its as charming a read as it portrays itself to be. :)

    (Apologies it took me so long to check out your Top 10 Tuesday. Thanks so much for the Finding Wonderland visit!)

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  19. Alyson - I love your topic--and look at all the books you got for your birthday! I so rarely get books from my family. Happy belated birthday, by the way!

    I listened to the audio of Ready Player One and loved it. I hope you like it as well. I haven't read his second book yet.

    Mariela - You've got some really great sounding books there! Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea sounds amazing. I really need to give Schwab a try.

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