If you remember my Pre-Christmas Book Haul, there were some fun books in there. Well for Christmas, I was only actually given one book by my family (Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher) and $80 in Barnes and Noble giftcards. (Well $55 in B&N giftcards and $25 in a Visa giftcard, which come on now, we all know where that is going.)
Here is what I was given, and sent (both by friends and by publishers for tours):
Given:
Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera #3)
Sent:
Isabella: Baveheart of France by Colin Falconer (thank you TLC Book Tours!)
And Penny is a creep and wanted in the picture.
This is a super pretty ARC of Laurie Halse Anderson's soon-to-be-out The Impossible Knife of Memory. Bekka from Pretty Deadly Reviews sent this to me and she wrapped it like a present because she is the best.
pictured: joy
This is what I came home to the day after Christmas.That is what is known as a YAY pile to me. In there were several tour books, and a lovely Christmas package from my coblogger.
Isn't it pretty?! It's a cute note, the first Legends anthology, homemade/delicious cookies that to my boyfriend never existed, and a mystery book!
The mystery book ends up being Two Boys Kissing, which I have wanted but have refused to buy in hardcover. Danielle is the best.
From Danielle:
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Legends edited by Robert Silverberg (She sent this to me so I could read the first Dunk & Egg story from ASOIAF. Bless her. I am a huge fan of the series and somehow have never read any of them.)
From TLC Book Tours:
Netherwood by Jane Sanderson - this is described as for fans of Downton Abbey so I am curious. I've never watched the show, though. I also have the sequel, Ravenscliffe, coming for review later this month.
The Kept by James Scott - honestly this sounds brutal, but I have to know how it all works out in the end from the synopsis alone.
Remember that $80 of giftcard money I mentioned earlier? I had it less than 48 hours. Here is where $75 of it went:
Deadline and Blackout by Mira Grant (Newsflesh 2 & 3). I've already read Deadline as I own it on Nook, but I decided to get the series in paperback as well.
Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross. I read this as an ARC two years ago and have always wanted a physical copy.
The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham (The Dagger and Coin #2). Another second in a series I haven't started. But I plan to get to this particular series in 2014.
The Mage's Blood by David Hair (The Moontide Quartet #1). I would've had more cash to spend if not for this behemoth. It's huge and costly but it sounded like precisely my kind of fantasy. And I would never send spend $27 on one book so giftcards were perfect.
eBook Buys:
17 year-old Kelley Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what she thinks...
In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelley's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.
This was a Free Friday download, so I figured: why not?
The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza, a practical beauty, and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers, despite growing up in villages just a few miles apart. At the turn of the last century, when Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is banished from his village and sent to hide in America as an apprentice to a shoemaker in Little Italy. Without explanation, he leaves a bereft Enza behind. Soon, Enza's family faces disaster and she, too, is forced to go to America with her father to secure their future.
Unbeknownst to one another, they both build fledgling lives in America, Ciro masters shoemaking and Enza takes a factory job in Hoboken until fate intervenes and reunites them. But it is too late: Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I and Enza, determined to forge a life without him, begins her impressive career as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House that will sweep her into the glamorous salons of Manhattan and into the life of the international singing sensation, Enrico Caruso.
From the stately mansions of Carnegie Hill, to the cobblestone streets of Little Italy, over the perilous cliffs of northern Italy, to the white-capped lakes of northern Minnesota, these star-crossed lovers meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever.
Lush and evocative, told in tantalizing detail and enriched with lovable, unforgettable characters, The Shoemaker's Wife is a portrait of the times, the places and the people who defined the immigrant experience, claiming their portion of the American dream with ambition and resolve, cutting it to fit their needs like the finest Italian silk.
This riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write, one inspired by her own family history and the love of tradition that has propelled her body of bestselling novels to international acclaim. Like Lucia, Lucia, The Shoemaker's Wife defines an era with clarity and splendor, with operatic scope and a vivid cast of characters who will live on in the imaginations of readers for years to come.
I read and loooved The Supreme Macaroni Company back in early December so this was a steal at $1.99.
All in all, I would say I had a very good Christmas and I am sincerely grateful to be here and to talk to all of you in 2014!
I get more excited about your book hauls than I do about my own. I have no idea what that says about me...
ReplyDeleteMIRA GRANT!!!!!!!!! <3
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