Building the Book Pile #172

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

And can you believe how fast January flew by? I can't, this is crazy! I have spent my week trying to read all the things, painting my office, and trying to adopt a puppy - well application is submitting but nothing more yet (anxiously awaiting a reply). Work has been pretty busy too but there has still been a little time to prep some blog content in the afternoons which is nice :) I have a bunch or reviews lined up for February and am super happy about it...and I have my TBR prepped and ready for you to see tomorrow. Yay organization.

How are you doing? Staying organized in 2016? 

What's Happening?! 

How was your week ? Let me know in the comments.

  Giveaways on Cover2CoverBlog!

SOON! ... so soon

Coming up on the Blog...

 February TBR
Book Blast: Excerpts from the The Witches' Sleep Trilogy by Kaitlyn Deann with Giveaway!
Recent Reads: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (YA/ GN)
Recent Reads: Spelled by Betsy Schow (YA)  
Recent Reads: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (YA)  
   

      

  Books Received this Week

     

  Unicorn Vs. Goblins (Heavenly Nostrils #3) by Dana Simpson from Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for Review

Our Love Grows by Anna Pignataro from Netgalley and Sourcebooks for Review.

 

Have you missed anything lately?

Recent Reads: Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2) by Rachel Hartman (YA)- DNFed



Blog Blast: Excerpt of The Customer is Always Wrong by CC Standish (YA)

Waiting on Wednesday: Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto (YA)

Recent Reads: Harley Quinn #24 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti (Comic)- 3 stars

Recent Reads: Princess in Pink (The Princess Diaries #5) by Meg Cabot (YA) - 4 stars

Monthly Re-Cap: January 2016   




Comment and leave me a link to your Round-up/ STS/ Weekly...anything, post and I will happily stop by and say hello!

 Happy Reading!

Monthly Re-Cap: January 2016

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Can you believe we are already a month into 2016?!

January is a strange month, you come down from this high of holidays to settle back into life and reevaluate your life. Some make resolutions and some continue on as if nothing has changed. Either way, I hope 2016 is treating you well so far :)

Did you make any resolutions for 2016? Any reading/blogging resolutions or goals?

This month I set myself a pretty strict reading goal, something I don't normally do... and I think it went ok. I hope I can keep up my place.

What did you read or listen to in January? 

Link me up in the comments section! 

 

     ~~Books Read in January~~     

                      
                       
    

How did I do on my January TBR?
I read 4/ 6 books :) and DNFed one so really kind of 5/6 and that ain't bad :/

AND... I have 2 more days to finish my last book :) - update 1/30 I FINISHED IT! that means 6/6 booYa! Woot!
  
~~Links to Some Reviews ~~

• The Night Parade by Katheryn Tanquary (MG) - 4 stars
• Whispers in the Reading Room by Shelley Gray (Adult) - 3 stars
• Surf's Up by Kwame Alexander (Youth) - 4 stars
• Princess in Pink (Princess Diaries #5) by Meg Cabot (YA) - 4 stars
• Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2) by Rachel Hartman (YA) - DNFed:/ so it is not pictured above
  
• Harley Quinn #24 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palimotti (Comic) - 3 stars
• The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (YA/ GN) - 5 stars, review coming in February
• Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (YA/ GN) - 5 stars, review coming in February
• Spelled by Betsy Schow (YA) - 5 stars, review coming in February
• Unicorn vs. Goblins by Dana Simpson (MG/ GN) - 4 stars, review coming in February
• Our Love Grows by Anna Pignataro (Youth)- 3 stars, review coming in April  
• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (YA) - 5 stars -- review coming in February 

 

 

 

Recent Reads: Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot

Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot
Series: The Princess Diaries #5
Publisher: Harpercollins Publishers
Publication Date:  April, 2004

 

Format:  Hardback
Source: Library

Rating:
 


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

In a series of humorous diary entries, high school freshman (and Genovian Princess) Mia records her efforts to get her reluctant boyfriend to take her to the prom.

Review: 
I feel like all of the reviews for these books are starting to sound the same but again I really enjoyed this one. I still love that these are in the diary format, they are so easy to read and I love hearing the inner turmoil of Mia's thought process.

Mia is still her sarcastic, panic-ridden self and this time it is about the prom. Michael hasn't asked her yet and it is coming up very soon. To make matters worse, her grandmother continues to 'ruin' her life but being a very entitled woman and not understanding how a teenager's life works.

The messes that Mia's grandmother makes are hilarious and so over the top I love them. I think that the movie did us a great displeasure by making the grandmother likable. Had they kept to the books, I think it would have been far more funny to witness Mia get so flustered about her as she learns to be a princess.

These books fall one after the other and pick up where the last one ended so they are really just a continuation of Mia's diaries and so you don't miss a minute of her new life as both a teen and a princess with duties.  I hope to grab the next one soon.

Recent Reads: Harley Quinn #24 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti

Harley Quinn: You Can't Fight the City... or Can You?
Series: Harley Quinn #24
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date:  January 20, 2016

 

Format: Comic
Source: Bought/ Own

Rating:
 


 


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Harley’s got an endangered friend to save, but there’s just one problem: she’s got to get through Arkham Asylum first! Unsurprisingly, Harley’s not eager to set foot in the site of some of her darkest hours…and she definitely isn’t ready to face a certain someone who’s laughing at the end of a dark hallway…

Review: 
Someone is messing with one of Harley's friends and it may mean his death. Harley thinks that the city might be behind it and in this issue she is determined to find out who and why... and how to get him out of Arkham. In this issues we don't get into Arkham but it is a great lead up... however VERY violent. Harley is hunted down by a gang of men, one that looks hilariously like Hulk Hogan. Harley is her normal energetic self, loyal to the end but this one does give a wonderful twist ending that might send her off the deep end in the next issues.

Waiting on Wednesday: Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto

Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publication Date:  February 2, 2016

Goodreads Synopsis: 

The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it’s perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local inventor Nigel Butler.

Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Nine years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She’s determined to make the killers pay for their crimes—and there’s nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways.

But Westie’s search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel’s latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold—which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There’s only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie’s kin. With the help of Nigel’s handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she’s not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.

This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.

Why I Am Waiting:
Another debut, I love the beginning of the book year :). From the synopsis this sounds like a fantasy/western and that seems so fun!