{Mini Review} A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Timesbestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down! 

4 "I Am Very Conflicted" Stars

This will be a short review today! I had a lot of thoughts on this one, but my poor dog broke her tooth over the weekend, so we're off to the vet's today. She's not feeling too good right now. :(

A Court of Thorns and Roses was a well written and intriguing retelling of Beauty and The Beast, and is a refreshing and exciting addition to the new adult genre. It was definitely a hyped novel, and in a lot of ways I can see why. In others...well, I'll just do a pros/cons list and keep it simple. ;)


On the one hand, I love:

- Tamlin. He was an enjoyable character, if slightly one-dimensional. I enjoyed how he did not push Feyre into anything, his loyalty and protectiveness of his people, and he's admittedly pretty sexy.

- Tamlin's best friend, Lucien. That man was hilarious, and I want to see more of him! He and Feyre had some awesome banter.

- The world building is just gorgeous. Rich, vivid, and thought provoking, but thankfully didn't enter the realm of "I have no fucking clue what is going on" high fantasy.

- The Fae were interesting! I've been intrigued by fae since reading Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, and it's always interesting to see another author's perspective. This cast of characters was slightly different from anything I've read before.

- The last 10-15% blew my mind. The action was heart pounding, emotions ran high, and I felt like I was right there with them.

- After the first 70 pages or so, it was incredibly addictive and I didn't want to put it down.

- Despite having more of fade-to-black sex scenes, this was a surprisingly sensual novel!

- I feel it could be read as a standalone without problem.

- The audiobook is pretty decent!




I wasn't as big a fan of:

- Feyre. First of all, I bought the audio version just so I could figure out how the hell to pronounce her name. I was thinking something along the lines of Fay-re, Fear-re, ect, but nope. Her name is pronounced Fair-uh. Never would've gotten that.
Second, I didn't really care for her as a heroine. She's just okay; a bit bland, not too well defined. She wasn't much of anything, good or bad.

- I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be a love triangle. I really, really hope I'm wrong.

- Like I said, it took around 70 pages to get into the story.

- The pacing for the book was a little weird to me. Nothing so hugely, glaringly obvious that I can pinpoint and say "that's what's wrong with it", but more like a nagging little something that set it off as odd to me.

- The romance. This was my biggest disappointment for me, especially because it's a Beauty and The Beast retelling and that storyline needs a romance that is all consuming. This one...wasn't. It was just okay. I wanted, needed to be completely enthralled with their romance, needed to believe in it one hundred and ten percent. The entire plot is revolves around love, and I didn't fully buy Tamlin and Feyre's love.

Overall though, it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next!

- Amanda, aka The Bibliophile Babe

Let's Discuss: Favorite Format

Hey, ladies!


We all love do read, but do you prefer one format over another?

My preferences have changed hugely over the past six months or so. I used to be a hardcore physical book reader. You couldn't pay me to touch any kind of e-reader. Then I discovered novellas, books that aren't usually released in paperback form. I wound up downloading the Kindle app, "just" for those books I couldn't get in physical form. One thing turned into another (mostly I found out about free ebooks), and I caved and bought a Kindle Paperwhite. Aside from my dogs and my Nikon, it's one of the best purchases I've ever made.
That said, I still read all three!

Paperback

Let's be honest here: there's nothing quite as beautiful as a well stocked bookshelf. The look, feel and smell of real books just can't be beat. I love having shelves on the verge of collapse from just how many books they hold, and a life goal is to have all my favorite books in physical form. "Real books" are extremely satisfying for my more tactile side, and a bookstore is heaven on earth. 

But...they're really expensive. You're stuck reading that one book if you happen to leave with it, and it's incredibly frustrating to loose your page if you accidentally drop it...or if you have dogs or kids, and one of them decides it'd be fun to dive-bomb you. 

Because of all this, paperbacks have become my least used format. I can't swallow the price of them too often!

Kindle/eBook

Nothing but nothing beats the convince of a Kindle. Having hundreds of books at your fingertips is perfect for pretty much all situations. It lets you easily switch back if you read more than one book at once, and it takes up almost no room in your bag. I love being able to share to Goodreads and Facebook, and to buy books right from the device. Adjusting font type and size fixes the problem of most tiny print paperbacks, or those annoyingly large large print physical copies. Not to mention the lower prices for books! The Paperwhite really is just like reading an actual page.

They're a bit impersonal though, and they do require charging. 

Audiobook

An audiobook with a fantastic narrator is my favorite way to read. A narrator that can bring all the emotion and passion into the story and really bring it to life makes the experience almost movie-like. The narrators for Karen Marie Moning's Dreamfever, Shadowfever, Iced and Burned are a truly fantastic pair. Likewise with the narrators for Jeaniene's Frost Night Huntress series or Daryanda Jones' Charely Davidson.

Not to mention listening frees up your hands and allows you to multitask!

On the other hand...a bad narrator can ruin a great book, and they're pricier than most paperbacks if you don't have Audible or utilize Whispersync!

I'll say that audiobooks and paperbacks are my favorite formats, but Kindle is my most utilized. What about you?

- The Bibliophile Babe

Kindle Kandy No. 3

Kindle Kandy is a Friday weekly bookish feature hosted by The Book Dame. We scan our shelves and eReaders to rediscover books that we own but have not read, to this point little more than shelf or Kindle Kandy.

Gifts of the Blood  by Vicki Keire

Goodreads

Caspia Chastain, art student and barista, is gifted (or plagued, if you ask her) with the ability to draw the future, usually at the worst possible times. Her parents are four years dead; everyday she watches her brother Logan fight his cancer diagnosis. Things get worse for Caspia the day she draws an angry stranger framed by planes of light and violent, bloody images. That exact same stranger walks up to her out of nowhere mere hours later knowing things he shouldn't, like her name, her brother's illness, and her strange ability. That's when Caspia discovers her hometown is a refuge for supernatural beings both Light and Dark, and she and her brother find themselves caught up in a war between the two that predates their very birth. In order to protect herself and her brother, she turns to the one who seems to have started it all: the man who walked out of her sketchbook calling himself Ethan. 

But Ethan has his own agenda, Logan's getting sicker fast, and Caspia finds that drawing the future isn't the only strange thing she can do. Meanwhile, someone really wants all of them dead. In a town where Dark doesn't equal Evil and Light isn't always Good, Caspia and Ethan find themselves making strange alliances and even stranger sacrifices in order to protect those they love.

I've always been intrigued by angel stories, and the cover of this is so eerie!

Grayson's Vow by Mia Sheridan

Goodreads

A full-length, standalone romance from the New York Timesbestselling author of Archer's Voice.

Kira Dallaire is desperate.

Some challenges in life seem too hard to overcome. With little money, and even fewer options, the quick-witted and vibrant twenty-two-year-old needs to reinvent herself. Known for her generous heart and impulsive personality, she devises a survival plan, possibly her most outrageous idea yet. 

Grayson Hawthorn is losing hope.

Some obstacles in life seem too hard to overcome. Betrayal definitely being one of them. With limited capital, and dwindling resources, he is attempting to resurrect his failing family vineyard, a self-imposed vow seemingly destined to fail. That is until a young woman enters his office with an outlandish, unexpected proposition impossible to refuse. 

What begins as a temporary business arrangement, soon evolves into more as vivacious, spirited Kira challenges detached, arrogant Grayson to want more from life. To want more for himself. But as their wills clash and fiery passion ignites, they'll realize that sometimes the past creates walls too difficult to climb, and that lies and deception rarely precede a happily every after.

As Kira and Grayson race toward their destiny, they will discover that some vows are meant to be broken, and others are worth risking everything for . . . even your very own heart.

Archer's Voice has been one of my favorite books this year, and while I haven't started any of the author's other books (despite having nearly all of them on my physical TBR), I'm excited to start this one.

Under His Skin by Stacey O'Neale

Goodreads

A paranormal category romance from Entangled's Covet imprint...

Earth girls are never easy. But they're worth it.

Bakery owner Annabelle Sparks' business is booming ever since she won reality TV's Cupcake Wars. The one thing deflating her happy soufflé? The extremely sexy Kaden Chance only sees her as a best friend-and Annabelle wants so much more. After waiting a year for him recognize their chemistry, she's giving up and dating other people.

What she doesn't know is Kaden's heart doesn't actually beat. He's not human. Heck, he's not even from Earth. To retain his intergalactic immunity, no one can ever know he is an extraterrestrial. But when Annabelle starts dating, something strange happens to Kaden's unmoved heart: it begins to beat. Now he faces an impossible choice-tell Annabelle the truth and be deported-or lose his last chance at love. (

This is so not my normal thing, but Im curious to try it!

Play by Kylie Scott

Goodreads


Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller Lick.
Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast-at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl. 
Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls-especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

I've heard good things about this! Sounds light and funny. :)

- The Bibliophile Babe 

Ooops, I Did It Again (Book Haul!)

Hey, everyone!

I have another book haul to share with you today. I swear, Book Outlet and Thriftbooks will be the death of me. I see a book, and then bam, I get order conformation. It's completely out of my control.
I sold a few things and used that as my completely guilt free book buying blow money. This is the first of...4 orders? 5? Might be 6. Ooops.

You know, I thought having a Kindle might've curbed my book hoarding a bit, but it hasn't. Not in the slightest. Now I just hoard both physical and eBooks. I'm officially a One-Click slut, and I love it.

Here's what I grabbed from Thriftbooks the other week. I love that place for the most part, but I hate where they put their stickers. They're right on the spine and sticky as hell, and I always wind up peeling at least one book. Grrr.

See what I mean? I hate it! Any tips for getting stubborn stickers off without hurting my book? :p

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Death and The Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones I'm nearly finished with this. Quick, fun YA paranormal romance
Easy by Tammara Webber
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

And I downloaded these yesterday:

Ember by Rachel Van Dyken
That cover.....<3

The Scene by Roxy Sloane

Short and sexy, apparently.

The Dirty Anthology by K.I. Lynn, N. Isabelle Blanco and Elena M. Reyes

Because everyone needs a little book porn, and I've been pretty smut free the past two weeks. We couldn't have that!

Vanguard by C.J. Markusfeld

This sounds incredible, and has a pretty high rating. 

Bound by Honor by Cora Reilly

An intriguing Mafia romance.

So there's the first of what will most likely be many book hauls over the next week or two! What have you gotten recently?

- The Bibliophile Babe

The Amazon Box is Better Than Christmas Morning

Hey, everyone!


After being on a self-imposed book buying hiatus, I am back to splurging on every piece of writing I can get my hands on, and it feels so good. I splurged a few days ago, and ordered around 15 books. Well, I say splurged, but since I did order half of my haul on discounted websites, I'm telling myself I snagged deals.... Denial's not just a river in Egypt, and all that.


While I was perusing various book related Facebook groups, I discovered two websites that I really shouldn't be looking at: Book Outlet and ThriftBooks. Oh my god! Discounts, discounts everywhere! Before I knew it, I had three orders placed at Amazon, Book Outlet, and ThriftBooks. Ooops.

My Amazon order came yesterday (I'm trying out Amazon Prime, and I think I need it in my life. Seriously, free two day shipping is incredible, and I know I've spent way more than the $99 or whatever it is just in book shipping this year), and I'm a bit embarrassed at the squeal I let out when my tracking update said "delivered". Not only did some books come, but... I bought the newest Kindle Paperwhite. Real books will always win with me, but I have to admit that this thing's pretty damn sweet.

I still have 11 other books to be delivered, but here's my current book haul:

Stinger - Mia Sheridan
The Offer - Karina Halle
Kyland - Mia Sheridan
The Stars Never Rise - Rachel Vincent
King - T.M. Frazier 

Have you snagged any good books lately? Where's your favorite place to buy books?

- The Bibliophile Babe