Library Loot #12

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Considering I still have a couple of books to read from my last loot I may have gone a little crazy this week. Eh, you can never have too many books! There are a lot of different types of books that I grabbed this week. If you see one you think I should read right away please tell me!

My Library Loot

     

    

Review: Bellman & Black by: Diane Setterfield

Bellman & Black by: Diane Setterfield (Nov. 5, 2013)

328 pages

Genre: Fiction/Gothic

Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Source: I received a free ARC of the book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Bellman & Black is a heart-thumpingly perfect ghost story, beautifully and
irresistibly written, its ratcheting tension exquisitely calibrated line by line. Its hero is William Bellman, who, as a boy of 11, killed a shiny black rook with a catapult, and who grew up to be someone, his neighbours think, who "could go to the good or the bad." And indeed, although William Bellman's life at first seems blessed—he has a happy marriage to a beautiful woman, becomes father to a brood of bright, strong children, and thrives in business—one by one, people around him die. And at each funeral, he is startled to see a strange man in black, smiling at him. At first, the dead are distant relatives, but eventually his own children die, and then his wife, leaving behind only one child, his favourite, Dora. Unhinged by grief, William gets drunk and stumbles to his wife's fresh grave—and who should be there waiting, but the smiling stranger in black. The stranger has a proposition for William—a mysterious business called "Bellman & Black" . . .

My Review

Bellman & Black is essentially a story about life and death. William Bellman lives an amazing life, has a job he loves and is good at it, has a beautiful family, and a lot of money. That is until a sickness takes over many in his town and his wife and two of his children succumb to death. Then everything changes when he finally meets the man in black, the one that he has seen at countless funerals over the years.

There is one thing I can say with certainty about Bellman & Black, Setterfield knows how to tell a story. She writes beautifully and has the ability to write descriptions of images that will take a while to leave your mind. It's a beautiful yet very dark story and at times very creepy, but one worth reading.

William Bellman is a man I love and a man I hate. To put it simply, he is a great character. He is obsessed with work and numbers. If you don't like a lot of business talk then this book could perhaps get a little boring or frustrating for you. It didn't bother me at all because I found it all so interesting. His daughter Dora is also a great character, from a fun loving child to a darker personality and yet always kind. There are a lot of characters that you will get to meet if you read Bellman & Black and all are significant no matter how small of a role they play, and each will make you feel some sort of emotion.

So after all of this praise why did I only give Bellman & Black 3.5 stars? It's complicated. I think part of the reason is because it wasn't as good as her other book, The Thirteenth Tale, (I know this shouldn't be a factor but whatever) the other part just has to do with a feeling I had when reading, that something was missing. Overall, the big meeting between Black and Bellman just didn't live up to my expectations and that is the main reason for its star rating.

If you are willing to read something a little dark, at times creepy, but full of vivid descriptions and wonderful writing, then Bellman & Black shouldn't be passed up. 

MY RATING: 3.5/5 stars

Top Bookish News of The Past Week

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness. 

Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

NEWS

You can order Butterbeer at Starbucks! I'm going to try this the next time I go to Starbucks. I'm sure it's good but it probably isn't as perfect as the Butterbeer I had at Harry Potter World in Florida.

There are some new Divergent movie posters out! More please! Why oh why do we have to wait until next year for the movie?

There may be a Hunger Games theme park. Does anyone else find this kind of twisted?

BLOG POST

Inspiring Insomnia has a fun and interesting post about how to prepare for the Catching Fire Movie release! What a unique and good idea for a post! I didn't even know that at some theaters you can reserve your seat for the movie. When are you planning on seeing Catching Fire? I may go at midnight if I can still get tickets. I need to figure that out. :/

Release Day Review: The Final Omen (Second Sight #4) by: Heather Topham Wood

The Final Omen (Second Sight #4) by: Heather Topham Wood
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Mystery/New Adult
Source: I received an arc of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Heather!
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords

Goodreads Summary: Psychic Kate Edwards had seen her death in a premonition. She was given the
opportunity to stop her murder from happening and finally reconnect with her love Detective Jared Corbett. However, fate had different ideas…

Kate finds herself trapped between life and death. Her only companion is Rose Corbett, Jared’s long dead mother. Rose offers answers to many of Kate’s long-awaited questions and alludes to what the future could hold. However, before Kate can finally be happy, she must complete a seemingly impossible task: save Jared from his own tragic fate.

The Final Omen concludes the thrilling Second Sight series.
New Adult Paranormal Romance-Ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.

My Review

Although I'm incredibly sad (and I'm sure you are too) that this is the last book for Kate and Jared and all of the other lovable characters in Wood's Second Sight series, I can guarantee that the conclusion will leave you satisfied. Heather Topham Wood knows how to write a good story and memorable characters.

The Final Omen begins right where the last book left off. We get even more answers to Kate's visions and how they came about. 

Kate is just as awesome and just as snarky in this novel, not to mention very clever. Jared acts a little out of character making me uneasy here and there, but given the circumstances it's understandable. In the end I still love him. Declan is just as much of an awesome jerk as ever and Kate's mom is still sweet.

There are a lot of little surprises in this installment. Wood does a great job with the mystery story line of trying to figure out who Kate's attacker is. We also get some romance and friendship scenes which really round out the feel of the whole book. It satisfied all my bookish cravings.

Although The Final Omen was a little too short for my tastes, I felt like it could have been even better if it were longer, I liked that it was a quick read. Once you start you won't want to put it down. 

If you have yet to read this series you really should. If you are already a fan then don't put it off any longer and grab yourself a copy of The Final Omen. Did I mention that the first book in the series, First Visions, is currently on sale on amazon for only 99 cents?! Well it is. So what are you waiting for? This is a unique New Adult novel. I can't say that it's the best well written novel ever, but I can say that it's a darn good story worth discovering.

** I received an arc of The Final Omen from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Heather!

TTT #13: Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get My Hands On

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.  

This week's topic is sequels! Here are the top ten eight sequels that I can't wait to get my hands on. Sadly most of them aren't going to be out for a while. Share below what sequels you are waiting on!

1.  The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by: Deborah Harkness

(July 15, 2014)

  I am a big fan of A Discovery of Witches and it was just recently announced that the third book will be coming out next July and that it has a title! I can't wait to get back to Matthew and Diana's journey.

2.  Untitled (Throne of Glass #3) by: Sarah J. Maas

There is no title and no release date but I still can't wait to get my hands on this sucker! I want more!

3.  The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) by: Rick Riordan

(Oct. 7, 2014)

I can never get enough of Percy Jackson and his adventures!

4.  Independent Study (The Testing #2) by: Joelle Charbonneau

(Jan. 7, 2014)

I really enjoyed The Testing and I feel like the sequel will be even better.

5.  The Retribution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #3) by: Michelle Hodkin

(June 10, 2014)

This book was originally supposed to come out this year but it got pushed back for some reason making me even more impatient to get my hands on it.

6.  Split Second (Pivot Point #2) by: Kasie West

(Feb. 11, 2014)

When I found out there was a sequel to Pivot Point I couldn't have been happier.

7.  Going Rogue (Also Known As #2) by: Robin Benway

(Jan. 14, 2014)

The first book was so much fun I hope this one gives me just as many laughs.

8.  The Unbound (The Archived #2) by: Victoria Schwab

(Jan. 28, 2014)

I didn't love the first one as much as I had hoped but I still loved it.

Review: Not a Drop to Drink by: Mindy McGinnis

Not a Drop to Drink by: Mindy McGinnis (Sept. 2013)

320 pages

Genre: YA/Survival

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.

My Review

     

A tough heroine who fights daily to keep her pond safe at all costs is a girl I would rather have on my side than against me. With the world running out of fresh water Lynn struggles to survive the only way she knows how, by relying on herself to keep her water supply safe from anyone and everyone that isn’t her.

I want to give a big round of applause to McGinnis for writing such vivid descriptions that put me right inside the novel with Lynn. This is a very dark book and from the very beginning my mouth was hanging open in shock when I visualized a young girl holding a rifle and killing anyone that gets close, and that isn’t the only shocking moment I encountered. There are plenty of twists, death scenes, and more unique and interesting aspects in Not a Drop to Drink that make this a unique young adult survival book worth reading.

I loved all the characters. I loved Lynn and enjoyed getting to see her start to think for herself and grow from the beginning of the novel to the end. Her mother is pretty bad-ass and very interesting. Their neighbor from afar, Stebbs, and all the other characters which I don’t think I’ll mention because it may ruin part of the novel, are all unique and bring something to the table. Oh and the evil people (there are always some in a survival story) are super horrible and make me cringe. Yet I love every single character just because of how real they all seem and no matter how small of a scene they may be in they always add something significant to the story.

I enjoyed the overall plot line of the story but the ending fell a little flat. I just didn’t feel like I got any closure, and let's just say it was upsetting. Plus the last part of the novel seemed to be so rushed and it made me a little frustrated since the rest of the story is slower paced (and not in a bad way mind you). Don't get me wrong, even with the ending the book is definitely worth your time, I just needed to put my two cents in.

I must say that Not a Drop to Drink is a book worth checking out. It’s a unique survival story. It’s dark but has some lighter moments that will make you chuckle. Most importantly, it’s well written and has a really killer heroine. Plus, you should really never pass up a book with a cover as awesome as this one!

Top Bookish News of The Past Week

Top Bookish News is back!

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness. 

Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

NEWS

What 20 years of best sellers say about what we read is an interesting read and worth a look.

Are you traveling any time soon? We can now officially read our e-readers while the airplane takes off due to new FFA rules!
\
Publisher's Weekly has already published their list of the best books of 2013.

I just found out that BEA will be in Chicago in 2016!! Although that is still a few years away at least I know I will for sure be going to that BEA since I live in Illinois. Take this poll to weigh in on the hot topic of BEA changing venues!

A Texas man was arrested for an overdue library book. Now I'm a big believer in the library and always returning your books, but being arrested for an overdue book? That seems a little crazy my friend.

Read this list of 10 book sequels that aren't written by their original authors. Some of these I knew about and some were new to me.

***THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS*** Veronica Roth discusses the ending of Allegiant! She handles it amazingly.

FUN STUFF

You must take just a couple of minutes (or longer if you are like me) and look at this literary map that I hope to some day own.

These three tumblrs will make your book lover heart go pitter-pat. Bookshelfies does my favorite thing, people sharing their bookshelves with other book lovers! CoverSpy posts what books they see when they are out and about in New York! Go Book Yourself is yet another site that will give you reading recommendations. I just love the name so I had to share. (Any One Tree Hill fans out there?)

The Book Shimmy Awards are coming over at Epic Reads!!!

BLOG POSTS

Want to be a part of a bookish Secret Santa? Then check out The Broke and Bookish 4th Annual Secret Santa!

The Quiet Concert started a great feature a few weeks ago called Thoughts for Thursday. It really is worth checking out. This week they talked about what would be in their fear landscapes.

If you are trying to find out what new books are coming out next year you should probably take a minute to read Jamie's blog post Catalog Creepin'.

Worried about the impending apocalypse? You don't need to be. Just read Writer of Wrong's How to Survive the Apocalypse (As Taught by YA Fiction). I guarantee you will laugh.

VIDEO

This is the final Catching Fire trailer and man is it good!

MY NaNoWriMo UPDATE as of 11/2