Stacking the Shelves (8)

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

I'm back with another Stacking The Shelves. in last week's Stacking the Shelves post I mentioned that I usually only post these when I add more than two books, but recently this blog has been helping me keep my mind off things that are making me anxious, so I wanted to share my shelves with you this week too, even though I only added two books to them.

This week I added:

Goodreads

Goodreads

I actually managed to finish all five books that I posted about in last week's Stacking the Shelves post, so I have already been able to jump in to Friday the Sixteenth. I'm about a 20% of the way through right now, and once I finish, the review will be up as soon as possible.

I haven't started reading The Grimrose Girls yet but I am so excited to. I'm definitely going to be cracking that one open as soon as possible. Both of these books are ARCs from Netgalley and I am so excited to share my thoughts on them. 

Happy reading everybody :)

First Line Friday (12): Friday the Sixteenth by Peter Coombs

First Line Friday is a bookish tag hosted over at Abstract Books that is used to showcase your favourite first lines of books.

There really is something to be said about a good first line, and I'm going to be using this tag from now on to showcase my current read's first lines.

This week my current read, and spotlight for First Line Friday is Friday the Sixteenth by Peter Coombs. I think this is a perfect time to post this book as my First Line Friday, because it's currently Friday the 13th. Posting about Friday the Sixteenth on Friday the Thirteenth just feels fitting to me.

Goodreads Synopsis

He stumbled across a web of lies. His conscience wouldn't let him walk away.

Andrew Packford, newly established as an antiques dealer, is enjoying life very much. He has a career that suits his laid back nature, a passion for antiques and business is booming.

Then, as is often the case, fate comes calling. While restoring an item of furniture he finds an old newspaper article together with a photograph of four people. Two men two women. He has no idea just how much these four strangers will change his life.

One of them kills people.

One of them turns a blind eye.

The other two might just be Andrew’s salvation.

The discovery opens a Pandora’s box and while a lesser man might have walked away, that is not his way. If he didn’t stand up for what he thought was right who would? Friday the Sixteenth is a gripping read with a memorable character at its heart.

-

"Friday the sixteenth. Two days before Sunday the eighteenth. He didn’t know it yet, but it would all start on Sunday and his life would never be the same again."

I love this as a first line. I think it's very effective at building suspense. Although at the time of writing this I'm only about 20% of the way through, this first line was successful at grabbing my attention.

I Kissed A Girl by Jennet Alexander

Title: I Kissed a Girl 

Author: Jennet Alexander

Format: Audiobook

Duration: 10 hours

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Release date: July 3, 2021

Quick Review

This book was okay. I wasn't a huge fan of the insta-love between Lilah and Noa. I was hoping that throughout the book that their chemistry would grow, but in my opinion it stayed very surface level throughout the whole story, so although they are the protagonists, and the point of the story was for them to be together, it was a little hard to root for them because their attraction and affection towards one another felt shallow at best.

Despite not feeling a deep connection with Noa and Lilah, I still feel like the book was cute and lighthearted and perfect for a quick read (or listen, this was my first ever audiobook) when you're not looking for anything too deep or serious.

Waiting on Wednesday (10): Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

This is my 10th Waiting on Wednesday! I'm not sure why but I like keeping track of how many of certain posts I do. There's little milestones in my head, and hitting 10 is always one of them. So happy 10th Waiting on Wednesday.

This week I want to spotlight Legosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi

Expected publication date: September 28, 2021

Publisher: Life Drawn

Goodreads Synopsis

A biography chronicling the tumultuous personal and professional life of horror icon Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi, the tragic life story of one of horror’s most iconic film stars, tells of a young Hungarian activist forced to flee his homeland after the failed Communist revolution in 1919. Reinventing himself in the U.S., first on stage and then in movies, he landed the unforgettable role of Count Dracula in what would become a series of classic feature films. From that point forward, Lugosi’s stardom would be assured...but with international fame came setbacks and addictions that gradually whittled his reputation from icon to has-been. Lugosi details the actor’s fall from grace and an enduring legacy that continues to this day.

Why I can't wait

I've been wanting to read more biographies lately, and I think reading one about Lugosi is a great place to start. I'm also interested to see the graphic illustrations featured in it, I think they'll add a great flare to the chronicling of Lugosi

Top Ten Tuesday (12): Secondary Characters That Deserve More Love

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is secondary characters that deserve more love. This is my second post today, and I will admit that I wasn't planning on posting a top ten tuesday today, but I have been having a bit of a busy and anxious week and writing posts helps me focus on things that aren't making me anxious. Because this post wasn't one that I planned on doing, I could only come up with five characters that I think deserve more love, but I think a half finished list is still a good effort and I wanted to share my thoughts with all of you anyway.

1. Kenji - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 

2. Newt - The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I'm not sure if this one counts because Newt does get a lot of love from The Maze Runner fans but I think there's always room for more.

3.  Issie - Need by Carrie Jones

Issie is  the perfect example of an upbeat quirky character done right, as in, in a way that doesn't annoy the hell out of me, and I will protect her forever.

4. Jag - Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

I'm not sure if is a fair one to use because it's not published yet, so maybe everybody will think he deserves more love, but I'm including it anyway because I think I liked Jag more than I liked the protagonist so I don't think it's fair to leave out.

5. Marlene - Divergent by Veronica Roth

Teaser Tuesday (18): Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:
• Grab your read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

This week my teasers are coming from Bleed More, Bodymore by Ian Kirkpatrick.

Goodreads

"This isn't normal, Jag. The bodies. The park. The crime scenes. Everyone's just so used to their neighbors being criminals around here. You find out girl scout three doors down beat someone to Hell? Huh. That's interesting, but not surprising. Fucking everyone in this city is thirsty for something that ends in blood."

"Trying to ask someone to understand who you are or what's bothering you or what hurts or why it hurts is a risk I never wanted to take."

Page 90.

At the time of writing this, I'm about halfway through the book. It's set to release on Halloween, so I'm counting it as the first of my mandatory spooky season reads. Once I finish, the review will be up in September :)

Mini Review: Hematite by Victoria Maderna and Frederico Piatti

Title: Hematite

Authors: Victoria Maderna and Frederico Piatti

Date published: June 23, 2021

Publisher: Europe Comics

Format: epub.

Pages: 82

Goodreads Synopsis

Hematite is a young vampire who is trying to find her way. As a member of the illustrious Blackwood family, she faces pressure to conform to high society standards, but such grandstanding isn’t for her. And neither is drinking blood—she’d rather have vegetable soup! So it is that she opts for the more diverse Wolven School, rather than joining the ranks of her fellow vampires at the Diaemus Academy. Being different can be hard, though, and doesn’t always help to make friends. Luckily for Hematite, she has her poetry, as well as Drunela—a draugr who won’t let their differences keep them apart—and Emile, a human boy fascinated by the occult who would just love to take a peek at the Blackwoods’ private library. Unfortunately, bridging societal divides isn’t always easy, and can lead to terrible consequences…

Quick Thoughts

This was my first time reading a graphic novel since I read Ghostopolis in 2013, so I felt a little out of my comfort zone when I picked it up, but I'm so glad that I did. I loved this so much. 

The art was absolutely beautiful, I loved the style. Plot wise, it was a great introduction to what will hopefully be many more volumes. I can't wait for future installments so I can watch character growth deepen and more of the plot unfold.

The only thing that I wish was different was the length, but that's because I was enjoying it so much that I wanted it to last longer. 

Overall, this was a lovely book that I will be gushing about to anybody who will listen while I await the next book.