End of February Book Haul!

February has come to and end, which means my bookshelf is a whole month of book-buying fuller!

It's a big one this month, because the bookstore was having some great deals, plus there were some awesome new releases I could not resist.
Here's what I got this month:

This Star Won't Go Out (Esther Earl), Cress (Marissa Meyer), Ignite Me and Unite Me (Tahereh Mafi), 13 Little Blue Envelopes (Maureen Johnson), Breathe (Sarah Crossan), Cruel Beauty (Rosamund Hodge)

Dreamless (Josephine Angelini), Incarnate (Jodi Meadows), Partials (Dan Wells) 

The Selection Stories (Kiera Cass), Once (Anna Carey),  Arise (Tara Hudson), Spark (Amy Kathleen Ryan)

Arise is a duplicate (oops), so I'll be returning that one to the bookstore. This is what happens when you have so many books AND you work at a bookstore. Sometimes it's hard to remember if you've seen the book on your actual shelf or the shelves at work. Oops :P

 And I picked up the Vampire Academy paperback and MTI box set. I own the first book as a hardcover as well as the sixth, but finding them all in hardcover now is going to be difficult because they are not easily available. I was going to order them from The Book Depository (fab site, by the way. Free worldwide shipping), but figured this is easier. Plus, I like the new cover designs (minus the MTI edition of the first book, but that's okay).

Some more pictures of the box set:

And just for fun, here's something bookish that I bought to add to my bookshelf!

A book clock! I saw this and could not resist! I admit I do still look at the time on my laptop when I'm using it or my phone, but this clock looks so great on my shelf <3 Don't you think?

Monthly Wrap Up: January & February Reads

Hey all!

I'm going to try to do a new thing on here. It's similar to a weekly roundup, except it will take place at the beginning and end of each month. At the beginning, I will plan out my reads, and at the end I'll check back in and see how I did, as well as remind you all (and myself) which reviews I've done the past month.
It should hopefully get me back on track to blogging as regularly as possible (I'd like to two at least two posts a week). These will likely come as two separate posts in the future, but since it's no longer January, I merged the two months.
And for the books I didn't get a chance to review each month, I'll write a short review of my thoughts so no book is left in the shadows.
Let's get started!

Books I Read in January:

Independent Study (The Testing #2) by Joelle Charbonneau

To date still one of my favourite futuristic series! You can read my review on the first book in the series, The Testing, by clicking -here-. IS was just as good as The Testing, if not better, and I cannot WAIT for the final book in the trilogy. Graduation Day is out in June 2014. The conclusion should be an expected epic one.




And then I went on a contemporary kick with the following four:

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

An interesting POV. I admit it took me a while to get used to the story being told by the all-seeing generation of men lost to AIDS, but the characters and their stories were too intriguing for me to want to put the down. This book was fantastically written and a great LGBT read I highly recommend you add to your shelves.

How to Love by Katie Cotugno

I loved this book a lot more than I thought I would! For someone who gets bored with contemporary, I couldn't really put this one down. I liked that it was honest, and a more mature YA. The plot didn't feel cheap or cheesy, and the characters were well developed. I'd read more contemporary like this one.

The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

This one I summed up on my Goodreads review as 'cute'. It did not blow me away, but the writing was superb - it switched chapter by chapter to the two main characters' point of views, and their voices were distinct, which is very difficult to do. Kudos to the author for a great debut novel. If any of you are looking for a Valentine's Read (because why not?), I recommend this.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

This is an older book, but still a fabulous read by the amazing David Levithan. I'd love to see this turned into a film (isn't it about time?). Anyone else? Comment with your fancasts if you've got 'em. If you haven't read Boy Meets Boy yet, I highly recommend that you do. It's another great LGBT and Valentine's read that will leave you smiling and maybe even shedding a tear or two.





My February Reading Plan

I'm currently reading three books (I know Goodreads says four, but one's on hold until I feel like picking it back up again). I'd like to get through them by the end of this month, as well as read another one or two. So here's the plan: