Friday, February 28, 2014

Hedgie's Must Reads: February 2014


It's that time again - the end of the month. I had a lot of reading to get done this month, being a bit behind; I didn't have time for St. Valentine's Day. I hope everyone had a good one! Me? I snuggled down with Bilbo with some chocolate and a glass of milk and read my heart out. And a date with Hedgie is the perfect way to spend St. Valentine's Day, in my opinion. :-)

Thursday, February 27, 2014

February 2014 Book Haul


This month was the beginning of my book-buying budget plan, since January didn't exactly go according to, um, plan. I did treat myself to a little bit of a buying sprint trip, but I actually did have this planned, and had cushioned myself with extra money earned at a 4-hour music gig. So it didn't come out of my regular paycheck; it was actual spending money. And I got massive deals at the used bookstore I went to. Even so, I bought 51 books total this month . . . . .

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #33

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 Things I Love About Being A Blogger/Reader. This was actually supposed to be last week's topic, but I accidentally switched the two around, so last week was this week's topic, and this week's topic is last week's topic! :-)

Monday, February 24, 2014

Author Visit: Victoria Schwab, Lish McBride, Kendare Blake

All my beautiful books. From bottom to top: Anna Dressed in Blood;
Girl of Nightmares; Antigoddess; Hold Me Closer, Necromancer;
Necromancing the Stone; The Near Witch; The Archived;
The Unbound; Vicious

On February 15, 2014, authors Victoria Schwab, Lish McBride, and Kendare Blake came to Bellevue University of Washington Bookstore for a book signing! It was super, super, super awesome to meet all of them, even if I haven't read Lish McBride and Kendare Blake's books yet (they're on my shelf!). Stupid me, though - I forgot my camera and my recorder (I'm sorry, guys!). So, I guess you guys will just have to enjoy pictures of the swag I got - and the signed books!

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Guest Post: Story Pet Peeves

We all have story pet peeves: things in a story that irritate us, be it writing style or love triangles or unnecessary violence. We Readers probably have more story pet peeves than bookish pet peeves. My three bookish friends, Katherine, Hazel, and Kel have joined The Reading Hedgehog again to share some of their story pet peeves!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Review: Vicious - V. E. Schwab

Vicious by V. E. Schwab
Genre: Adult, paranormal
Published on September 24, 2013
Published by Tor
Pages: 364
Read From: 2.8.14 - 2.10.14











SYNOPSIS
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates - brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing hidden possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could actually gain extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis inevitably moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Review: The Unbound - Victoria Schwab

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
Series: The Archived #2
Genre: YA, mystery, supernatural
Published on January 28, 2014
Published by Hyperion
Pages: 368
Read From: 2.7.14 - 2.8.14










SYNOPSIS
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #32

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is any topic of my choice! Well, sort of. This is my opportunity to redo any past TTT topics or maybe do ones that I missed. So my choice for this week: Top 10 Books I'm Glad Were Recommended to Me. (NOTE: Apparently this is next week's Top Ten Tuesday topic; I got them switched, but am too lazy to fix it).

Monday, February 17, 2014

Review: Enders - Lissa Price

Enders by Lissa Price
Series: Starters & Enders #2
Genre: YA, dystopian, futuristic
Published on January 7, 2014
Published by Delacorte Press
Pages: 273
Read From: 2.4.14 - 2.7.14










SYNOPSIS
Someone is after Starters like Callie and Michael - teens with chips in their brains. They want to experiment on anyone left over from Prime Destinations - Starters who can be controlled and manipulated. With the body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. 

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Hedgehog Life: February 2014

Hedgehog Life is a monthly update letting people know
what's new in The Reading Hedgehog's life!

Hello, all!

Welcome to a new feature, letting people know what has been going on and what will be going on in The Reading Hedgehog's life! February has been pretty unexciting for us. Lots of reading, watching BBC shows, work, and reading some more. Poor Hedgie has been going through his second major quilling, which is when hedgehogs lose their baby quills and get new adult ones in. It's an uncomfortable process, as he has thousands of sharp little quills poking up through his skin, so he's been rather crabby all this month. Fortunately, though, he is towards the end of it now, and going back to being a sweet little ball of jam and kittens (and sometimes rage).

Friday, February 14, 2014

ARC Review: The Winter Horses - Philip Kerr

The Winter Horses by Philip Kerr
Genre: YA, historical fiction
Published on March 25, 2014
Published by Knopf Books
Pages: 288
Read From: 2.2.14 - 2.4.14











SYNOPSIS
It will soon be another cold winter in the Ukraine. But it's 1941, and things are different this year. Max, the devoted caretaker of an animal preserve, must learn to live with the Nazis who have overtaken this precious land. He must also learn to keep secret - for there is a girl, Kalinka, who is hiding in the park. 

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Review: The Vanishing Game - Kate Kae Myers

The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers
Genre: YA, mystery, thriller
Published on February 14, 2012
Published by Bloomsbury
Pages: 353
Read From: 2.1.14 - 2.2.14











SYNOPSIS
The bond between twins is unmistakable. For Jocelyn and Jack, that bond was all they had. But now Jack is dead. Then Jocelyn receives a letter from Jason December - the code name Jack used when they were children. Only one other person knows about Jason December: Noah, Jocelyn's childhood crush. But Noah isn't the one contacting Jocelyn. Together they decide to return to Seale House, the frightening foster home where all there of them lived together. 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #31

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 Books That Will Make You Swoon. Oh dear; this isn't a good topic for me. I am not the swooning type. Not even a little bit. Swooning is nonsensical, undignified, and rarely helpful in a situation (unless one is pressed for a good distraction plan). So, I'm going to be extremely interpretative with this topic and choose the top 10 books that have my favorite male characters! (Note: neither Sherlock Holmes nor Watson will be included in this list, as they're a given. As are any of Jane Austen's male characters.)

Monday, February 10, 2014

Review: Sword of Damocles - Brian Bern

A copy was provided by the Author
in exchange for
an honest review.
Sword of Damocles by Brian Bern
Series: Cade Knight #1
Genre: YA, action
Published on September 10, 2013
Published by CreateSpace
Pages: 243
Read From: 1.29.14 - 2.1.14













SYNOPSIS
Cade helped his father design the J-Phone, the most significant invention in the history of spy craft - complete with Eavesdropper, Impersonator, and Hacker apps. Together, he and his father customized a J-Phone for the president of the United States, enabling him to launch nuclear weapons from the Nuclear Football app. 

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Weekend Recommendations #32

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or more strawberries) that I would recommend to friends!

Friday, February 7, 2014

ARC Review: Stay Where You Are & Then Leave - John Boyne

Stay Where You Are & Then Leave by John Boyne
Genre: YA, historical fiction
Published on March 25, 2014
Published by Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 247
Read From: 1.25.14 - 1.26.14











SYNOPSIS
The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Review: Defy - Sara B. Larson

Defy by Sara B. Larson
Series: Defy #1
Genre: YA, fantasy, romance
Published on January 7, 2014
Published by Scholastic Press
Pages: 336
Read From: 1.19.14 - 1.24.14










SYNOPSIS
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory. 

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #30

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 Books That Will Make You Cry. I can't guarantee that there's 10 books in my list, as it takes quite a bit to make me cry. But here are my picks:

Monday, February 3, 2014

Review: My Invisible Boyfriend - Susie Day

My Invisible Boyfriend by Susie Day
Genre: YA, comedy, contemporary, romance
Published on April 1, 2010
Published by Scholastic Press
Pages: 288
Read From: 1.18.14 - 1.19.14
Final Rating: 3/5 strawberries










SYNOPSIS
Heidi has the perfect solution to her popularity problems - a fake boyfriend. She's even made him a real-life Internet profile that makes him look like a motorcycle-riding bad boy who reads poetry for fun. *swoon* Heidi's friends are impressed. So impressed they start e-mailing Heidi's fake boyfriend for advice about their own problems. Including their problems with, um. . . .Heidi. 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Weekend Recommendations #31


This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or more strawberries) that I would recommend to friends!