What I Got For Christmas Was...

 

It's time to wrap up this little holiday feature of mine...with showing you guys which books I actually received for Christmas! It was a very bookish Christmas this year (yay!!) and I was given a lot of the books on my wishlist :D

So, without further ado...on to the books!

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Dear Jane Austen: A Heroine's Guide to Life and Love by Patrice Hannon
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien (I've already read this one, got totally sucked into it!)

Nightspell by Leah Cypess
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (I read this one at the beginning of this year but wanted a copy of my own!)
Legend by Marie Lu
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure by P. B. Kerr
Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block

Crossed by Ally Condie
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

And then there was a big surprise from my dad...

...he bought my mom, my sister, and me all Sony e-readers! I admit I have been resisting e-books because I love physical books so much — but now that I have an e-reader I really have no excuse. I suppose I shall have to give in and accept the inevitable!

Anyway, between all these books from Christmas and books I have for review, I now have an absolutely massive (and kind of overwhelming) number of books sitting in my room, dying to be read! So I am going to be very busy over the next little while...

What books did you receive over the holidays? If you'd like to share, feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments!

All I Want For Christmas (6)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist. I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get (maybe I'll add a few of them to my own list!) I'll be posting my pick each Monday, but feel free to link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick:

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

From Goodreads: "Melina Marchetta's brilliant, heart-wrenching new novel takes up the story of the group of friends from her best-selling, much-loved book Saving Francesca - only this time it's five years later and Thomas Mackee is the one who needs saving.

Thomas Mackee wants oblivion. Wants to forget parents who leave and friends he used to care about and a string of one-night stands, and favourite uncles being blown to smithereens on their way to work on the other side of the world.

But when his flatmates turn him out of the house, Tom moves in with his single, pregnant aunt, Georgie. And starts working at the Union pub with his former friends. And winds up living with his grieving father again. And remembers how he abandoned Tara Finke two years ago, after his uncle's death.

And in a year when everything's broken, Tom realises that his family and friends need him to help put the pieces back together as much as he needs them."

I enjoyed Saving Francesca and one of my favourite characters was Thomas Mackee! So I am definitely looking forward to finding out more about him in The Piper's Son. And I know a bunch of bloggers rave about it (Ashley and Audrey, I'm looking at you guys :P) so it must be worth it. Plus, it's "new adult" so it'll work for my challenge!
 

All I Want For Christmas (5)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist. I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get (maybe I'll add a few of them to my own list!) I'll be posting my pick each Monday, but feel free to link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick:


Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

From Goodreads: "What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate."

This one sounds super cute! Looks like it'll be playing around with gender roles and stereotypes, which is always fun :)

All I Want For Christmas (4)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist. I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get (maybe I'll add a few of them to my own list!) I'll be posting my pick each Monday, but feel free to link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick:


Ward Against Death by Melanie Card

  From Goodreads:

"Twenty-year-old Ward de’Ath expected this to be a simple job—bring a nobleman’s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can’t be a surgeon—the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying—so bringing people back from the dead it is.

But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she’s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can’t bring himself to break his damned physician’s Oath and desert her.

However, nothing is as it seems—including Celia. One second, she’s treating Ward like sewage, the next she’s kissing him. And for a nobleman’s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive…"

I think I first paid attention to Ward Against Death when I saw Small Review's review of it. The book doesn't sound like quite my typical style (necromancers not so much, normally), but I keep seeing it getting good responses from bloggers and something about it keeps drawing me back in. I love the sound of Ward's character (yay for the fact that he fits into the New Adult category! I could use this one for my challenge next year!) and their opposites-attract relationship.

All I Want For Christmas (3)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist. I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get (maybe I'll add a few of them to my own list!) I'll be posting my pick each Monday, but feel free to link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick:


The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

  From Goodreads:

"The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.


As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget."

I've been wanting to read this one for a long time, and I've seen plenty of glowing responses from bloggers (although I have tried to avoid reading in-depth reviews of it, because it's one that I don't want to have spoiled). It sounds amazing!

All I Want For Christmas (2)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist. I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get (maybe I'll add a few of them to my own list!) If you'd like to join in, feel free to link up below and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick:

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

From Goodreads:

"Natalie Sterling wants to be in control. She wants her friends to be loyal. She wants her classmates to elect her student council president. She wants to find the right guy, not the usual jerk her school has to offer. She wants a good reputation, because she believes that will lead to good things.

But life is messy, and it's very hard to be in control of it. Not when there are freshman girls running around in a pack, trying to get senior guys to sleep with them. Not when your friends have secrets they're no longer comfortable sharing. Not when the boy you once dismissed ends up being the boy you want to sleep with yourself - but only in secret, with nobody ever finding out.

Slut or saint? Winner or loser? Natalie is getting tired of these forced choices - and is now going to find a way to live life in the sometimes messy, sometimes wonderful in-between." 

I've seen multiple bloggers praise this book, and the snippet I read of it in the bookstore drew me in. From what I recall the main character's voice was very relatable :)

All I Want For Christmas (1)

So, now that Halloween is over...it's time to start looking forward to the next big holiday: Christmas! That's right, it's time for me to create my yearly Christmas book wish list :D And like last year I'll be posting about a book on my wish list weekly on the blog.

If anyone would like to join in with picks from their own wish list, please add your link — the more the merrier! I had a lot of fun last year seeing what books everyone was hoping to find under the tree, and would love to do the same again (and maybe get some more ideas for my own list...)

This week's pick:

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

From Goodreads:

"Finding your one true love can be a Grimm experience!  After her boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, sophomore Savannah Delano wishes she could find a true prince to take her to the prom. Enter Chrissy (Chrysanthemum) Everstar: Savannah’s gum-chewing, cell phone–carrying, high heel-wearing Fair Godmother. Showing why she’s only Fair—because she’s not a very good fairy student—Chrissy mistakenly sends Savannah back in time to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella, then as Snow White. Finally she sends Tristan, a boy in Savannah’s class, back instead to turn him into her prom-worthy prince. When Savannah returns to the Middle Ages to save Tristan, they must team up to defeat a troll, a dragon, and the mysterious and undeniably sexy Black Knight. Laughs abound in this clever fairy tale twist from a master of romantic comedy."

This sounds like a fluffy, fun read that's perfect when you don't want anything too heavy or serious. Plus I'm a sucker for fairy tales!

What I Got For Christmas Was...

...stomach flu. Yep. This year we had stomach flu floating around my house. Which meant I was feverishly sick in bed on Christmas Eve, so we had to postpone our celebrations for another day. I'm still recovering but definitely over the acute phase! Hope all of you had illness-free Christmases :)

But aside from stomach flu, I also got some fabulous gifts for Christmas, including (of course)...books! So just to wrap up my little "All I Want For Christmas Is..." meme, here's what I got:

From my wishlist and featured in my meme picks:

Jasmyn by Alex Bell
Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

From my wishlist but I didn't get around to featuring them in my meme picks:

An Accomplished Woman by Jude Morgan
Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
Stork by Wendy Delsol

And a couple more practical books, not from my wishlist:

Networking for People Who Hate Networking by Devora Zack
Higher Education: On Life, Landing a Job, and Everything Else They Didn't Teach You in College by Kenneth Jedding

So yay! These should keep me busy for a while. Which books did you end up getting for Christmas? Did they match some of the ones on your wishlist? Link up below! :D

Oh, and thanks to everyone who participated in my meme! It's the first meme I've tried and I had a lot of fun with it - hope you did too :)

All I Want For Christmas Is... (10)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist – and I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get! I'll be posting my pick each Thursday, but you guys can link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick:

The Thornthwaite Inheritance by Gareth P. Jones

From Goodreads:

"Ovid and Lorelli Thornthwaite have been trying to kill each other for so long that neither twin can remember which act of attempted murder came first. But whoever struck first, trying to take each other's lives is simply what they do. Until one day a lawyer arrives at their house to take stock of its contents, and his accompanying son attracts their attention. Soon a new battle evolves - one in which the twins have to work together to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Can Lorelli and Ovid overcome their old animosities, and will they ever get to finish that game of chess?"

This pick is a little outside of my usual selection - it's a middle-grade book that leans toward the macabre. But it sounds so quirky, darkly humorous, and different from anything else that it ended up on my list!

What books are you hoping Santa brings you? Link up your posts below! :D 

Oh, and this will be the last post for this meme before Christmas (next week is going to be crazy busy here!) But after Christmas I'll be posting a "What I Got For Christmas Was..." and seeing how many books on my list made it under the tree! I'd love to hear how everyone else made out too :D

All I Want For Christmas Is... (9)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist – and I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get! I'll be posting my pick each Thursday, but you guys can link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick: Must've Done Something Good by Cheryl Cory

From Goodreads:

"If you love "The Sound of Music" and "Pride and Prejudice," prepare to be enchanted by "Must've Done Something Good!"

Sylvie O'Rourke, "The Sound of Music" devotee and born procrastinator, is about to die. Well, she thinks she is, anyway, and so attempts a last-ditch bargain with God for her life.

"You guys are my witnesses," she tells her sisters somewhere over Connecticut. "If we get out of this plane alive, I promise to do something good with my life."

Back on firm ground, Kate and Meg won't let their sister forget her promise, and with their years of practice hitting just the right chords of guilt ("What kind of person lies to God?" Meg wants to know), Sylvie finally caves.

A teaching position at the broken-down St. Matthew's High School appears to be Sylvie's perfect opportunity to do some good. That is, until she's snubbed by a fellow teacher on the first day of school.

Whether she's becoming a bit too invested in the students' fall fundraiser or directing the school's sure-fire musical disaster, Sylvie's charmingly irreverent style gets her called down to the principal more often than her students. Can Sylvie keep her promise and make it through the year, dignity and sanity intact?"

This is one of the few non-YA books on my list, but doesn't it sound like fun? I am a big Sound of Music and Pride and Prejudice fan, and plus I've had a bit of teaching experience...so this book sounds like a perfect fit. And that cover is so cute too!

What books are you hoping turn up under your tree? Link up your posts below! :D 

All I Want For Christmas Is... (8)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist – and I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get! I'll be posting my pick each Thursday, but you guys can link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick: The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

From Goodreads:

"Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day... a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?
Filled with shocking twists and turns, The Twin's Daughter is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end."

There aren't too many YA gothic novels out there, and this one just generally seems really different from standard YA fare. It sounds a little twisty psychologically, and what's not to love about "betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets"? Also the cover is simple but elegant and I think the silhouettes work really well. And I totally only just noticed that the space between the girls forms a dagger...woah.

What books are you hoping Santa brings you? Link up your posts below! :D

All I Want For Christmas Is... (7)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist – and I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get! I'll be posting my pick each Thursday, but you guys can link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick: Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

From Goodreads:

"On the surface, Emily Meckler leads the perfect life. She has three best friends, two loving parents, and the ideal setup at the Connecticut prep school where her father is the headmaster. But Emily also suffers from devastating nightmares about fire and water, and nobody knows why. Then the enigmatic Del Sugar enters her life, and Emily is immediately swept away—but her passionate relationship with Del is just the first of many things that aren't quite what they seem in Emily's life. As the lies she's been told start to unravel, Emily must set out to discover the truth regarding her nightmare; on a journey that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about love, family, and her own idyllic past.This companion novel to Warman's critically acclaimed Breathless proves that sometimes the biggest lies are told to the people you love the most."

This one sounds full of mystery and secrets! I haven't read Breathless but it sounds like Where the Truth Lies works as a stand-alone, and I'm intrigued by Emily discovering the truth about her past and her nightmares. Also, the cover = gorgeous, love the angles used and the color of her outfit.

And to add to the holiday spirit... here are some pics from my yard today. Is it ever snowing! (So unusual for Vancouver at this time of year!)

What books are you hoping to find under the tree? Link up below!

All I Want For Christmas Is... (6)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist – and I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get! I'll be posting my pick each Thursday, but you guys can link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

From Goodreads:

"Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew—just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road—diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards—this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself."

 
I have seen so many glowing reviews of this book. Having it set during a roadtrip makes a change from the conventional contemporary YA format, and it sounds like it tackles some heavier topics while remaining a cute, fun read. And the added "scraps from the road" sound perfect for this one!


What books are on your Christmas wishlist? Link your post up below!

All I Want For Christmas Is... (5)

This is a feature/meme where I choose a book each week leading up to Christmas and say why it's made it onto my wishlist – and I'd love to see what books everyone else is hoping to get! I'll be posting my pick each Thursday, but you guys can link up and visit other people's posts all through the week.

This week's pick: Jasmyn by Alex Bell

From Goodreads:

One day, without warning, Jasmyn's husband died of an aneurysm. Since then, everything has been different. Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour - without Liam. But even through the haze of misery she begins to notice strange events. Even with Liam gone, things are not as they should be, and eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the mysteries that have sprung up after her husband's death ...and follow their trail back into the events of his life. But the mysteries are deeper than Jasmyn expects, and are leading her in unexpected directions - into fairytales filled with swans, castles and bones; into a tale of a murder committed by a lake and a vicious battle between brothers; into a story of a lost past, and a stolen love. She's entering a magical story. Jasmyn's story.

This was one of my WoW picks a long time ago, and I still haven't managed to get my hands on it, so now it's on my wishlist! This one's an adult novel, not YA, but really sounds different...dark and intriguing. I'm interested to see how the fairytale aspect is incorporated into Jasmyn's reality and the story of her husband's death. Also pretty cover, love that castle!

What books do you want for Christmas? Link up below!