Lisa's Looking Forward To #34 - October 15th, 2019

Back to joining up with the Waiting on Wednesday Posts, and the Can't Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  And once again it seems like the list of books coming out is getting smaller than the week before.

From my ARC list for October 15th, 2019:

Love the cover and sounds good, but as a dragon book, it's not a top priority as they aren't always my favorites.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Game of Thrones meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that's full of rivalry, romance... and dragons.

Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone—even the lowborn—a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders.

Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn’t be more different. Annie’s lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.

But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.

With war on the horizon and his relationship with Annie changing fast, Lee must choose to kill the only family he has left or to betray everything he’s come to believe in. And Annie must decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.

From debut author Rosaria Munda comes a gripping adventure that calls into question which matters most: the family you were born into, or the one you’ve chosen.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 
 

I have an ARC of this one, need to get to reading it!  I really like this author.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A WOMAN ON THE RUN. A CAPTAIN ADRIFT IN SPACE. ONE OF THEM IS INFECTED WITH AN ALIEN PARASITE.

In this dark science fiction thriller, a young woman must confront her past so the human race will have a future.

Rosalyn Devar is on the run from her famous family, the bioengineering job she's come to hate, and her messed-up life. She's run all the way to outer space, where she's taken a position as a "space janitor," cleaning up ill-fated research expeditions. But no matter how far she goes, Rosalyn can't escape herself. After too many mistakes on the job, she's given one last chance: take care of salvaging the Brigantine, a research vessel that has gone dark, with all crew aboard thought dead.

But the Brigantine's crew are very much alive--if not entirely human. Now Rosalyn is trapped on board, alone with a crew infected by a mysterious parasitic alien. The captain, Edison Aries, seems to still maintain some control over himself and the crew, but he won't be able to keep fighting much longer. Rosalyn and Edison must find a way to stop the parasite's onslaught...or it may take over the entire human race.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE.

I know that I really need to read this author!  And this one sounds really good!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin --which Angie Thomas, the bestselling author of The Hate U Give, called "a must read"--comes a pitch-perfect romance that examines class, privilege, and how a stroke of good luck can change an entire life.

Meet Rico: high school senior and afternoon-shift cashier at the Gas 'n' Go, who after school and work races home to take care of her younger brother. Every. Single. Day. When Rico sells a jackpot-winning lotto ticket, she thinks maybe her luck will finally change, but only if she--with some assistance from her popular and wildly rich classmate Zan--can find the ticket holder who hasn't claimed the prize. But what happens when have and have-nots collide? Will this investigative duo unite...or divide?

Nic Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out, creates two unforgettable characters in one hard-hitting story about class, money--both too little and too much--and how you make your own luck in the world.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 

Sounds like it could be a good spooky story.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
 
Sixteen-year-old Clara Morris is facing an awkward summer with her father in the tiny upstate town of Redmarch Lake. Clara’s relationship with her parents—and with life in general—has been strained since she lost her twin sister, Zoe, when the girls were eight. As a child, her sister had been her whole world—they even shared a secret invented twin language. Clara has managed to rebuild herself as best she can, but she still feels a hole in her life from the absence of her twin, and she suspects she always will.

She soon finds that Redmarch Lake, where her father’s family has lived for generations, is a very unusual place. The townspeople live by odd rules and superstitions. The eerily calm lake the town is named for both fascinates and repels her. The town’s young people are just as odd and unfriendly as their parents. Clara manages to befriend the one boy willing to talk to an outsider, but he disappears during a party in the woods.

The next day, he is found dead in the lake under mysterious circumstances. The townspeople all treat this as a tragic accident. Clara isn’t buying it, but she doesn’t know what to do until she receives a mysterious note hinting at murder—a note written in the language she shared with her twin sister, Zoe.

Sound good?  Add to Goodreads HERE. 

Final Thoughts:
I've got one of these as ARCs this week, but still a bit behind.  Have you read any of these yet?  Are they on your TBR?  And hey, while you're here, you should go try to win some of my ARCs from Cleaning Up My TBR Post HERE.  The US only giveaway is open till Friday at midnight, there are even some 2019 ARCs that can be one of your two choices. 

Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #32

This meme was started by Lost in a Story.  Here is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Because I have so many to do, I'm going to try to do this weekly, and do 10 at a time. 


1.   The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn:

Is it possible...
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America's future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgment are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?

Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel nine specific warnings and omens of national destruction – These same nine Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications for America’s future and end-time prophecy.

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the exact days… the 3,000-year-old mystery that revealed the exact date of the stock market collapse of 2008… the ancient prophecy that was proclaimed from the floor of the US Senate and then came true…and more. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptic will find it hard to put down. Though it sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller – IT’S REAL.

The prophetic mysteries are factual but revealed through a riveting narrative the reader will find hard to put down. The Harbinger opens with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received from a mysterious figure called The Prophet. The Prophet has given him nine seals, each containing a message about America s future. As he tells of his encounters with the Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each revelation becomes another piece in a larger and larger puzzle, the ramifications of which are, even now, altering the course of America and the world.
 
My thoughts:
Eh, probably nothing I need to read today.

Verdict:  Toss



2.  Fragment by Warren Fahy:

In this powerhouse of suspense—as brilliantly imagined as Jurassic Park and The Ruins—scientists have made a startling discovery: a fragment of a lost continent, an island with an ecosystem unlike any they’ve seen before . . . an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards.

The time is now. The place is the Trident, a long-range research vessel hired by the reality TV show Sealife. Aboard is a cast of ambitious young scientists. With a director dying for drama, tiny Henders Island might be just what the show needs. Until the first scientist sets foot on Henders—and the ultimate test of survival begins . . .

For when they reach the island’s shores, scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find—creatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time, an island of mutants, or a lab where science has gone mad: this is the Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion years.Soon the scientists will stumble on something more shocking than anything humanity has ever encountered: because among the terrors of Henders Island, one life form defies any scientific theory—and must be saved at any cost. International Thriller Writers nominee Best First Novel

My thoughts:  
Eh, sounds like it might be good, but also not sure I'll ever get to it.

Verdict:Toss




3.  Enchanted by Alethea Kontis:

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?
 

My thoughts:  
I'm usually a big fan of fairy tale retellings, but I don't know if I'll ever get to this one. 

Verdict: Toss



4.  Austentatious by Alyssa Goodnight:

In this quirky, sexy novel set against the lively, music-filled backdrop of Austin, Texas, a young woman learns that romance can wreak havoc with even the best laid plans. . .


It started innocently enough. While browsing in one of Austin's funky little shops, Nicola James is intrigued by a blank vintage journal she finds hidden among a set of Jane Austen novels. Even though Nic is a straight-laced engineer, she's still a sucker for anything Austen-esque. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to disbelief once she starts writing in the journal--because somehow, it's writing her back. . .

Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance. Those twelve tiny words hit Nic like a thunderbolt, as if her diary was channeling Austen herself! Itching for a bit of excitement, Nic decides to follow her "Fairy Jane's" advice. The result: a red-hot romance with a sexy Scottish musician who charms his way into Nic's heart in about five seconds flat.

Sean MacInnes is warm, funny, and happens to think Nic is the most desirable woman he's ever met. But a guy like Sean doesn't exactly fit into her Life Plan. With no one but Fairy Jane to guide her, Nic must choose between the life she thought she wanted--and the kind of happy ending she never saw coming. . ..

 
My thoughts:
Um, this sounds fun!

Verdict:  Keep

5.   Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleine Roux:

Sadie Walker fights for survival as the dead close in...

In the months since The Outbreak, Seattle has become a walled fortress - the Infected are kept at bay, and the survivors are trying to scrape back a life. But the city is rife with crime, religious cults and black-market dealings. And things are about to get much, much worse.

When a group of frustrated fanatics, the 'Repopulationists', destroy part of the wall, zombies start swarming the city. Sadie, devastated by the brutal kidnapping of her young nephew, must find him and get them both out before it's too late. But the only escape is by sea, and she's seen for herself the horrible fate of those who tried that route before...
  
My thoughts:
I enjoyed the first book, so I probably want to read this and see how the story finishes up.  Plus I like this author.

Verdict: Keep



6.  Reincarnate, Beloved by Loren Manns:

When Ana, an immortal, meets the reincarnation of the boy she once loved, and inadvertently killed, she must fight to save him from her sister, the Norse goddess of the underworld. And from the curse that dooms any boy who loves her to a painful death.


My thoughts:
Doesn't sound that original. 


Verdict: Toss




7.  Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick:

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism.

And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

My thoughts:  
I love this author, so I want to read all of her stuff.  Forgot about this one though!

Verdict:  Keep


 8.  Fire by William Esmont:

No one knows what caused the dead to rise. No one knows what caused them to attack the living. Fighting for their lives, scattered survivors find the attempted cure to be almost worse than the disease. In the twilight of a shattered civilization, the fate of humankind rests upon the actions of a handful of war-weary survivors. Driven to a scorched corner of the former United States, they alone hold the key to a global reawakening. Or the final epitaph for a dead planet.


My thoughts:
Nah, probably won't get to this one.


Verdict: Toss


9.  Attic Clowns  by Jeremy C. Shipp:

BEWARE THE CLOWNS IN THE ATTIC—LEST YOU BECOME ONE YOURSELF!

Bram Stoker Award nominee Jeremy C. Shipp spins 13 tales of horror and dark humor in this highly conceptual collection. Angels and demons, husbands and wives, tormented ghosts and an army of men made of soap—all of them trapped in attics of the mind, attics of heaven or hell, the attics we make for ourselves or with which we ensnare others.

Meet a paranoid astronaut whose jealousy drives him to extremes beyond murder…a miniature circus spawned from the mind of woman with too much control…the underling demon Globcow who desires redemption even more than the taste of human feet… Men, women, children, and things beyond imagination all interconnect in ATTIC CLOWNS, where laughter is only the prelude to the bizarre and terrible.

My thoughts:
Again, there was a time I loved short story collections like this.  Now, not that big of a deal for me.

Verdict:  Toss


10.  Survival of the Fittest:  The Last Hope for the Human Race by Michael Taylor:

One night, seven teenagers wake completely alone and in the dark. Their parents are gone, and it seems everyone on earth has disappeared as well. Worse, the electricity is off. Surrounded by darkness, their differences no longer matter; they are the sole survivors of an alien attack and the last hope for humanity. But in the black of night, can they outrun the hulking creatures with the glowing red eyes?

Priya is the exotic girl who says what she thinks. Will was a star athlete before the attack. They find Trevor and Aiyana, the twins; Alex and Ricardo, the tough guys; and finally, Lindsey, the innocent. Together, the seven of them are the last humans on earth-but are they really humans at all? They have no idea that the government has known of the incoming alien attack for decades; to prepare they created special children with very special abilities.

The chosen seven are part alien and part human, and they exist to fight off the otherworldly forces, threatening to conquer the planet. But with such differing personalities, will the seven be able to put their pride be-hind and work together? They must move beyond the grief of lost friends and family and find the strength to go on; if they don't, the world will die, taken over by monstrous creatures that can smell your fear.

My thoughts:
Might be good, but again, don't know when I'll get to it.

Verdict: Toss



Final Thoughts:
Keeping three again this week out of the ten, still more gone than kept!

Once again you can see that I may have dropped some, but you can also see how many I've added during the week as well because I'm also pointing out how many books are on my Want to Read list on Goodreads each week.  This week, after taking these 7 off, I have 3,162 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,172. As my unpacking continues, I'm finding books to get rid of, not to mention a few that I'm reading now were on my Want to Read list, and so they've come off as well since I've read them or am reading them currently.

Have you read any of these?  Would you suggest I keep any I'm tossing?  And if you're inspired to do this on your blog, please feel free to join in and share a link in the comments, since it will also get you an extra entry into my giveaway at the bottom of this post.      
 

Giveaway:
Once again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way.  You get to pick any two books from the pictures below, as long as they don't get traded away, or picked by last week's winner, and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice.  As I mentioned above, unpacking is finding a lot of books to get rid of, so you have even more to pick from this week!  Here are your choices:   

2018 ARCs:

2017 ARCs:

I'm continuing to add in my early 2019 ARCs now.  You can pick one of your two choices from the picture below, the other book you pick needs to come from the pictures above.

And here are the older ones I've cleaned out as I unpack:

2010-2013 ARCs:

2014 ARCs:

2015-2016 ARCs:

Once again I'm going to let you pick two, along with me throwing in a surprise third book!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below.   Disclaimer:  Unfortunately, while I've only had it happen once, I'm going to have to make a statement like other giveaways I've seen on blogs that I am not responsible for lost mail.


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

First thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this.  I've read another book by this author, Allison Hewitt is Trapped, and I enjoyed the zombie story.  So when I saw the info about this on Edelweiss, and heard it was going to be like Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I immediately requested a download of it.  And it was a pretty good, twisty plot story.  It comes out at a good time, after the recent hit TV show American Horror Story had its 2nd season take place in an insane asylum.  My only disappointment is that not all the photos for the story were part of the e-galley.  Although I definitely understand why that was probably the case.
The main character is Dan Crawford.  Dan is attending a summer institute called New Hampshire College Prep.  It just so happens that the dormitory the high school students are staying in is called Brookline, and was once an insane asylum.  One that has some really bad history, and the town really would like to see it destroyed.  Dan doesn't seem to have a lot of friends from what he sounds like at the beginning.  And his roommate Felix is a bit odd he feels.  But at the mixer the first night he meets a girl named Abby.  And she introduces him to the friend she made on the bus trip there, Jordan.  Now, when Dan first got to his room, there was a picture in the drawer where he put his belongings.  It was what looked like a doctor maybe, with his eyes scratched out.  And his roommate said he'd seen some cool stuff down in an office that was from the old asylum.  So when Dan tells Abby about this, she immediately thinks it sounds like a fun trip.  It takes a bit of convincing, but they get Jordan to go as well.  Once down there they find more pictures, and old files, and weird things start to happen.  Abby finds a picture that just speaks to her for some reason.  Dan begins having dreams where he seems to be seeing things from the warden's view point in the past.  And that's not all.  When they get caught for being down there by one of the Hall Advisers, a day or so later, he is found dead.  And not just dead, but kind of posed, the way a serial killer that had once been at the asylum used to do to his victims.  And when Dan tries to ask townspeople more about the asylum, he runs into some issues.  One is when he tells them his name.  See Daniel Crawford was the name of the last warden, the one who was doing so many horrible things to the patients.  What is really bothering Daniel is why he has the same name, why such a huge coincidence?  And as he is adopted, there is no telling if there was some relationship between him and this guy.
In the end, it is definitely left a bit open, because I would like to know exactly what his relationship is, and while they thought they'd solved the mystery, something happens at the end that leads you to think otherwise.  A good creepy story, and I can't wait to actually see the book in print with all the pictures, and then I'll be eagerly awaiting a sequel, I hope!

Stacking the Shelves - May 2013 Round-up

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.   With the end of the school year, things get really hectic, especially in my school where we have to pack up all our stuff in our classroom every year.  So, I've gotten several books, ebooks, etc., since my last STS post.   I tried to write them down as they came, but I think I may not get all of them.  Here are the ones I remember/wrote down:

Although I was disappointed to get 4 rejections of books from Edelweiss over the past two weeks, two of which I did REALLY want, I was approved for Asylum by Madeleine Roux, the author of a zombie book I enjoyed called Allison Hewitt is Trapped.  This is her first teen novel, and it is compared to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  So excited to get this one!

I won an e-book of The First Days by Rhiannon Frater, from At Random Blog from the Spring Carnival Blog Hop.  This is one I've been interested in awhile, even blogged about it in one of my "Hazards of Working at a Bookstore posts.



I had 2 successful trades through the YA Book Exchange.  I got an ARC of Light by Michael Grant from Lori, and Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes from Megan @ The Book Babe.



And finally, the Scholastic Book Warehouse had their big sale, similar to the one I bought about $200 worth of books at last December.  But since I am not teaching English next school year, and just bought a bunch at the RT Convention at the beginning of May, I limited myself to the 2 books you see above.  Finally I can read the very popular Cinder by Marissa Meyer, as well as The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix, one of my favorite authors.

What about you?  What books did you add to your shelves this week?

Allison Hewitt is Trapped: A Zombie Novel by Madeleine Roux

I have to start with when I first started reading this book. I was sitting in the break room at the bookstore I work at reading about the main character, Allison Hewitt, sitting trapped in the break room at the bookstore she worked at. The name of her bookstore was Brooks & Peabody. The name of my bookstore, Barnes and Noble. She's trapped with the store manager, and two of the assistant managers. One of the assistant manager's name is Matt, so is one of my store's. The other assistant manager is Janette, well, our other assistant manager is named June, or we also have Jolynn. She's also trapped with two regular customers. Their break room, like ours, has no windows. The nice thing about her's though, is that it has a bathroom in it. We unfortunately have to share with the customers. Which can be a real pain on really busy days.

So anyway, they are trapped by zombies. Somehow the people have changed to zombies, and these are the people left. Allison has her laptop, and is able to log into an internet called SNet. On here she blogs about what is going on. And there are other people around who follow her blogging as well as comment and tell what they are also dealing with where they are.

Well soon, they decide they must leave, in search of food, etc. There are apartments above the store, so they decide to go up there. Once up there, there is a guy named Zack that they find in one of the closets, and he becomes a part of their group. Until, one of them is killed by a squirrel that bites her and turns her into a zombie. And when they are done mourning her, they return to their apartment to find that Zack has taken off with all their supplies. In the meantime they've heard a voice on the radio inviting them to come to the college campus nearby for more supplies and other people and safety. So they decide to head there, but first Allison and Ted decide to go after Zack to get their supplies back. Turns out Zack was also a thief that stole from the college campus people. Allison gets her first look at how this situation can change what you would do.

Allison gets a message from her mother on the internet, and that makes them decide to wait on her before they go to the college, but her mother never shows up, so Allison goes to the college hoping maybe her mother got that far and couldn't get out to Allison.

The book follows Allison through all the stops on her search to find her mother. Clear to Colorado. Along the way there are zombies, she falls in love, then has a setback with that. She has to do surgery on a friend, and set up a big rescue mission.

This was a really fun read. I wish I'd been in on the internet beginning of this before it became a book. I feel kind of out of it. But that's okay. The book was good. And I read at the end there is going to be a sequel called Sadie Walker is Stranded. So I'll be looking out for that.

The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore

Last night as I was working at the bookstore, I found myself noticing books that I wanted to read, and trying to remember to put them in my Goodreads.com account marked as to read. And I got to thinking, why don't I do something like other blogs I read, where I have a weekly, or regular type of post. At first I wanted to name it "The Day After" and every day after I worked, post the books that I saw that I wanted to read. I think I'll call it The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore, or "The Hazards" for short. What I mean by that is, if I didn't work there, there are so many books I would probably never read. I tend to have my set types and authors, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, young adult, etc. But working at the store, yes, part of it is the cover pulling me over, but then, I'll pick it up, and read the back or the inside of the dust jacket, and be kind of hooked. I don't need to buy anymore book, or check out anymore, or ask for any more ARCs, because I have about 300 books in my office that I have NOT read yet! However, it is a sickness. I think there should be a Books Anonymous group, for people like me who can't walk past a display of books without stopping to check it out. I can't, whether it be at Walmart, a gift shop, a garage sale, I have to stop.

And so, in my first "The Hazards" blog, I have two books to tell about. First is Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux. It is a zombie book, and it is about Allison Hewitt of course, and her coworkers at the bookstore where she works. They become trapped because of zombies, and she uses her blog to communicate. This books sounds like it will be very humorous and I cannot wait to read it! It's paperback, so I'll have to buy it.

The 2nd book is Delirium by Lauren Oliver. First of all, I must say the cover is beautiful!! But then of course I picked it up, and it sounds really interesting. It is a YA/Teen novel. In dystopian future, you can be cured of love. How deep is that? But then once you've done it, what if you wish you could be uncured? I can't wait to read this one either. Forutnately it is a hardcover book, so I'll be able to check it out from the bookstore.