Jen's July Book Haul

Most of the books in this haul are pretty much impulse buys from Big W.  Some of them I've heard great things about, while others I have heard nothing about but sounded very intriguing so I bought them anyway.

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
This is the first book in a YA magical fantasy series that I've heard a lot about recently so I grabbed it up when I saw this on the shelves. 

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes
I absolutely love fairy tale retellings so I decided to pick this one up even though I hadn't heard anything about it.

The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz
I originally wasn't going to pick this one up but after hearing a few of my favourite booktubers talk about this book I changed my mind. 

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
I was interested in this book before it was released, and despite the mostly negative reviews and poor rating on Goodreads, I still really want to read it and decide for myself. I had no idea that there was going to be a different cover for the paperback edition and while I do really like this cover, I still love the hardcover edition as well.

Convergence by Stan Lee
This was a random find at Big W one day. I'd never heard of it before, but if it's going to feature the Chinese Zodiac, then I want to read it!

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library & Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein
I also stumbled across these two books but I was sold on the synopsis. Fun adventures and problem solving taking place in a library? Definitely intrigued by that. 

The Witch's Kiss by Katharine & Elizabeth Corr
A YA fantasy that I've heard nothing about, but it's about witches so that's pretty much all I needed to know. 

Empire of Dust by Eleanor Herman
This is the sequel to Legacy of Kings which I bought when it first came out. When I saw the sequel in the matching size and edition I knew I had to grab it right away. And I have to say, I love this cover more than the first book!

The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory
This book is part of The Cousin's War series. I have been slowly collecting these in hardcover whenever I spot them in the bargain section of my local QBD store. Now I only need the fourth book and then I'll have the entire series!

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
I read this last year and absolutely loved it. I saw it for a cheap price one day and decided just to get it. I am extremely annoyed with that huge round blob (that isn't even a removable sticker) advertising her next book though. So unnecessary and it messes up an otherwise beautiful cover.

The Sky is Everywhere & I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
I have wanted to read these two books since I first heard about them a couple of years ago. But I could never find them in the hardcover edition that I wanted for a decent price. These paperback editions aren't as pretty as the hardcovers, but I do like the simplicity of the covers and the fact that they match! When I saw them cheap in Big W I just went ahead and bought them. 

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I recently read A Little Princess and absolutely loved it. I have wanted to read The Secret Garden as well so when I came across this beautiful illustrated edition I knew that I had to own it.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory & Matilda by Roald Dahl
These two are my absolute favourite Roald Dahl books. I never actually owned a copy of Matilda before so when I saw it on the shelf I picked it up right away. My copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is all old and beat up because I owned it since my childhood so I went ahead and bought a brand new copy in the edition that matches Matilda.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
It's Harry Potter. Enough said. I have already read this one, and while it did have it's problems, I was still super happy to finally get something new from the Wizarding World. 

August 2016 TBR

We have decided that we really like doing the challenges every month so we’ve compiled a whole list to choose from and these are the ones for August!

1. Read a middle grade book

2. Finish a series

3. Read a standalone

4. Read a favourite children’s book

5. Read a book by an author who writes under more than one name

Jen’s TBR

Challenge #1 - The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. This book is perfect for this challenge since I read and loved The Lost Hero back in May but I just haven’t been able to get to the next book yet. I really want to continue with this series and I need to before I completely forget everything that happened in the first book!

Challenge #2 - Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi. The Shatter Me series has actually been one of my most disappointing reads of the year. It is still such a hyped up series and I really wanted to like it but I just found myself hating it more and more as the series went on. I still have some hope that the third book may redeem the series somewhat. I doubt it, but either way, I just want this series over and done with.

Challenge #3 - The Cabin by Natasha Preston. This is a YA mystery thriller that sounded very appealing to me and I was just approved to read an ARC of this on NetGalley so this challenge worked out well!

Challenge #4 - Matilda by Roald Dahl. I have watched the movie too many times to count and it still remains one of my favourites. Amazingly enough, I have only read the book once and it was many years ago.  I’ve also actually never owned a copy of this book until last month. Since then I’ve been really wanting to read the book and watch the movie again.

Challenge #5 - The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is a YA contemporary that I have wanted to read since it was released but as with most of my books, I just haven’t gotten to it yet. I am making it a priority to read it this month so this challenge is perfect! She also writes her new adult books under the name J. Lynn. I have read Frigid and Scorched by her and absolutely loved them so I can’t wait to get to this one!

And now for the other books that I would love to read this month:

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas - I’m currently on track to be caught up with the series so that I’ll be ready for Empire of Storms when it comes out very soon! I read The Assassin’s Blade novellas in July and absolutely loved them, probably even more than Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight! I’ve heard that this series just keeps getting better and better, which makes me excited!

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 14 & Vol. 15 by Kiiro Yumi, Hiro Arikawa and Kinami Watabe - this is a manga series that I stumbled across in July and quickly became obsessed with. VERY annoyingly these final two volumes of the series were checked out from my library right before I could get to them. I am waiting impatiently to get my hands on these so that I can finish up this series.

Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya, Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley - Since discovering Library Wars, I have really gotten into manga. Mel has been recommending this series to me for years so this is the one I’m going with next. If this turns out anything like Library Wars, I may end up marathoning the series. 

Death Note series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata - I just randomly decided that I wanted to sit down and read this and I was immediately hooked. I have already finished reading Volume 1 and I will definitely be binge reading this series when possible because I just can't get enough of it.  

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Wow. It’s finally happening. I’m going to be reading a Jane Austen novel. readbyzoe has just created the Austentatious Book Club on Goodreads where we will be reading one Jane Austen novel a month. I’ve never read anything by Austen before and yet I own several of her novels. This group seems to be just the push I needed to actually pick one up! It feels very daunting but exciting at the same time! 

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover - A new Colleen Hoover release! One of my most anticipated releases for 2016 and I managed to get a copy from the library so it's going on my TBR! Her last release, November 9, was a bit of a miss for me, but I've loved all the other books I've read by Colleen, so I'm really hoping that I'll love this one as well. 

Mel's TBR
Challenge #1 - The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan - I really need to continue reading the Percy Jackson series! I have the Heroes of Olympus sitting there waiting to be read too, not to mention the first Magnus Chase book. I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to that universe!
Challenge #2 - Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - I have yet to listen to the audiobook version of this, and since I recently listened to the first two books, it makes sense to continue!
Challenge #3 - The Messenger by Markus Zusak - I've had this on my shelf for a while now, and since Zusak's other book The Book Thief is one of my favourites, I thought I'd see what this one is about.
Challenge #4 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling - As much as I wanted to choose something other than Harry Potter for this challenge, I got tired of wracking my brain for other books I enjoyed when I was a kid. And I was already reading it, so why the hell not?
Challenge #5 - The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith - This is none other than JK Rowling! This book is one of the books that is on my TBR challenge for the year too, so I'll be hitting two birds with one stone.

I will also be continuing a few books that are already on my Currently Reading list:

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Treason of Isengard by JRR Tolkien

As ambitious as this list already is, I do want to try to get around to a few other books this month to catch up on my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I'm currently 17 books behind, but since I'm taking a semester off from uni, I should have plenty of time for some catch-up reading!

And I Darken by Kiersten White - I sampled a few chapters of this book and I had to force myself to stop reading! I didn't intend to read more than a chapter, but I was instantly hooked!

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye - I also sampled a bit of this book and it also sounds like it's going to be a really interesting story.

Snow White with the Red Hair by Sorata Akizuki - I fell in love with this manga/anime seires a month or two ago and it's quickly become one of my favourite things to ever come out of Japan! It's got a classic fairy tale vibe about it and has just the right amount of drama, romance, comedy and fantasy to really balance it out perfectly. I recommend this series if you're new to manga and anime. I don't know yet how much of this I'll get around to reading, because I may read just one volume, or I might marathon it!