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 . . . . .

My February 2014 book haul!

NEW RELEASES:

(bought at Book 'N' Brush)

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Book #3 in The Lunar Chronicles. Oh my gosh, I've been sooo excited about this book! And now I can read it! Ahhh! This was a totally planned buy, so I don't feel guilty buying it at all. It was in my budget!

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I got to read an ARC before it was published, and I just absolutely loved it. Unique and dramatic and mysterious, it is the best retelling of this particular fairy tale that I have read to date. So naturally I had to buy my own copy. And it's so pretty! The actual hardback - without the dust jacket - even has a red rose imprint on it!

The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

A new release for this month, I hadn't originally planned on buying it when I first heard about it (but of course, when I first heard about it, I wasn't as of yet certain of my future employment, either). It sounds odd and creepy and interesting.

White Spaces by Ilsa J. Bick

Book #1 in The Dark Passages trilogy. Another new release of the month, I didn't actually plan on buying it until February actually hit. I hadn't heard of it until then. It sounded really weird - but in a good way. The Matrix meets Inkheart seemed like a concept too good to pass up. I'm no Matrix fan, but the concept for it was awesome, and I love Inkheart.

Fool's Gold by Philippa Gregory

Book #3 in her Order of Darkness series. I've read the first two books, and though I still don't know whether this series is going to stay normal or take a weird turn, I like it well enough to buy the rest of it.

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Book #3 in The Ascendance Trilogy. It's the last book!! Sadness! Even so, though, I'm really excited about reading it. I love this trilogy; I can't wait to see what Jennifer's next project is. I'll be sad to say goodbye to Sage and all his friends, but every good adventure must come to an end. This was a planned buy of the month, as it was a February new release.

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Book #1 in a planned series/trilogy; not sure which. This wasn't as planned of a buy as, say The Shadow Throne. It is a new release of February, but I didn't decide to buy it until the beginning of this month. And I half wonder if I'll regret it. I've been reading a lot of different reviews on it, but the prevailing opinion seems to be that the protagonist is annoyingly useless. Hm. This may be one that I regret . . .

Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick

A planned February buy, this sounded too good to pass up. It might have an annoying romance in it - or it may not - but in any case, it takes place in Russia, before the Bolshevik revolution, and has magic eggs in it. Sounds awesome! And it's so pretty!

BOUGHT AT BOOK 'N' BRUSH:

The Last Knight by Hilari Bell

Book #1 in the Knight & Rogue novel series. I've been wanting to buy this series for a long time, but what finally prompted me to do so was the Author is sending me an ARC for Book #4, and I want to re-read the entire series before then!

Rogue's Home by Hilari Bell

Book #2 in the Knight & Rogue series. I love this series, and I've been wanting to re-read the series. But what yanked this into the must-buy list for this month? The Author is writing two more books, and she was looking for reviewers for Book #4 - Thief's War. She asked The Reading Hedgehog! And I wanted to have the other books on hand for a re-read session.

Player's Ruse by Hilari Bell

Book #3 in the Knight & Rogue novel series. Now I can marathon the entire series before Book #4 arrives in the mail for me to read! Can't wait!

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Not a planned buy, not really. But I have the ARC for Book #2 in the series and the library was going to take too long to get it in. So I went ahead and bought it, even though I wasn't sure I would like it. Thank goodness, I ended up loving it! It was a surprisingly good book - it really was! I'm still a little shocked over how much I love it.

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Book #1 in The Goddess War series. I got to meet the Author this month and though I've never read any of Kendare Blake's books and have no idea if I'll like them, I knew I would kick myself later if I did end up liking them and had missed an opportunity to get them signed.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Book #1 in a duology. I bought it for the same reason I bought Antigoddess: the author event. But I did hear a lot of good things about this book, and I hope I end up liking it. It sounds interesting . . . .

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Book #2 in a duology. Unfortunately, the same people who said Anna Dressed in Blood was good didn't enjoy the sequel as much. But I hate having unfinished series and I needed to get both signed.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Book #1 in the Necromancer series. The Author event that I attended not only had Victoria Schwab and Kendare Blake, but Lish McBride as well! I hadn't intended on buying her books, but my friend did and she loved them, and I had only heard good things about this series. It's not my usual type of read - I don't do necromancers. But it sounded just weird and unique enough to be interesting. We'll see how I like it; probably won't read it until October.

Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride

Book #2 in the Necromancer series. Yeah, I know; the covers don't match. While the paperback version of Book #1 matches the rest, the hardcover (which is what I bought) doesn't. Irritates me to no end. But the story is what counts, right? Matching covers is secondary . . . . Anyway, obviously I bought this book for the same reasons I bought the one above. And hopefully it's good, too!

Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Book #3 in The Spiderwick Chronicles. I wasn't going to buy this one until April, but having Books #1, #2, #4, and #5 was bugging me. Especially when I noticed that the spines together form a picture! It's only a $10.99 book, and with my employee discount at the bookstore, less than that. Now my collection is complete.

BOUGHT AT HALF PRICE BOOK OUTLET:

The Seeing Stone by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Book #2 in The Spiderwick Chronicles. I bought Book #1 last month, and the used bookstore I went to this month (an amazing find) had this for $1.00. I want to finish buying the series so I can marathon it!

The Ironwood Tree by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Book #4 of The Spiderwick Chronicles. The bookstore didn't have Book #3 (of course not), but I'll get that one later.

The Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Book #5 in The Spiderwick Chronicles. For some reason, this is always the one I had the hardest time finding. And finally I found it - for $1.00! Yay!

The Prophecy by Hilari Bell

I read this a very long time ago and look forward to re-reading it. We all know the classic fantasy story: an unlikely hero discovers an ancient prophecy about how he will save his world and accomplish great feats. Well, Hilari Bell takes that concept and totally turns it on its head.

The Book of the Maidservant by Rebecca Barnhouse

I put this one on my TBR list a long time ago, and haven't read it yet. But it's hard to go wrong with historical fiction and book it so pretty - and it was so cheap ($2.00) and in such wonderful condition that I was like why not?

The Wrap-Up List by Steven Arntson

This wasn't on my TBR list at all - it was a total faith-buy. But at only $1.00, I wasn't going to turn it down when it sounded somewhat interesting. And just look at the cover - that's just too awesome. The actual hard cover is really awesome, too.

The Poison Apples by Lily Archer

I'm actually not sure why I bought this. I read it once, and I don't recall disliking it, but I also don't remember especially liking it, either. I think I just kinda got caught up in picking out books for $1.00 and I recognized this one and just added it to the pile without much thought. Maybe I intended to put it back and forgot. Either way, it's part of my collection now and I do look forward to re-reading it. Maybe that'll shed some light on why I bought it.

Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison

Book #1 in the Gilda Joyce series. Another series that I read a long time ago and want to re-read. The first three books in the series freaked me out - they are surprisingly creepy. I'm curious to see if they're still as scary as I remember. I definitely recall loving Gilda's sense of humor and style.

The Legend of the King by Gerald Morris

Book #10 in The Squires' Tales series. I almost have the whole series now! I haven't read this one (shocker!), but I'm really looking forward to it! I dislike that they've changed the covers, though; the series will never match now. :-(

Loving Will Shakespeare by Carolyn Meyer

I have yet to read a Carolyn Meyer book that I do not like, so I wasn't going to turn this down - a Carolyn Meyer book that I haven't read! Sounds a bit girly, but I've usually enjoyed her stories nonetheless.

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques

Book #1 in the Flying Dutchman trilogy. Read this a long time ago, thought it was weird, but I liked it. I'm looking forward to revisit some childhood memories by re-reading this.

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper

I can't even remember how long this has been on my TBR list. It was one of those that I do want to read, but probably would have never gotten around to it if I didn't buy it.

Shakespeare's Daughter by Peter W. Hassinger

More on my TBR list that have been there forever and haven't been read yet! I've never read anything by this Author before, but this sounds really good - or at least moderately so.

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

Book #1 in what I think is going to be a trilogy, but may just be a duology (it desperately needs at least one more book, though). I read this back in 2012 and liked it. There were holes, but I liked the characters. Book #2 was better, and I really liked it.

The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding

Book #1 of the Cat Royal Adventures series. Another series that has been on my TBR list for a while, and I've been really wanting to actually get to it because it sounds fun. I love the size of these book - they're short and compact, but thick. Like a hardy little Highland pony. ;-)

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Book #1 in the Castle Glower series. I have Book #2, and as you all know, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to finish buying at least half of the series on my list. One down, not many more to go! :-)

The one Funke novel I didn't own; now my collection is complete. Seriously, though this a fun quick read, filled with Cornelia's wonderful illustrations, magic, and brave heroines. And don't forget the singing spell books! Loved those guys! Really looking forward to re-reading this one as well.

Sphinx's Queen by Esther Friesner

Book #2 in the Sphinx's Princess duology. And this completes one of my other series! Yay!

Dragons from the Sea by Judson Roberts

Book #2 in The Strongbow Saga. A great series - why did HarperCollins have to drop it? I've had Book #1 for a long time and kind of panicked when I heard that these books were going out of print. What if I couldn't find the rest of them? Thankfully, I did find Book #2.

The Road to Vengeance by Judson Roberts

Book #3 in The Strongbow Saga. So happy that my series is complete now, but it bugs me that I may never find out what happens to Halfdan next because HarperCollins dropped the publication. Grrrr.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Book #5 in the Harry Potter series. There's only one more for me to buy and then my collection is complete and I can start reading them! I'm a little surprised at how excited I am about the prospect of finally reading these. I'm a wizard fan - never have been.

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Another favorite read from 2012, I had to add it to my collection (especially at the low price of $1.00 and in pristine condition). This is a fun Dickensian sort of story with a touch of magic - and yes, it's also a little creepy.

The Importance of Being Earnest & Other Plays by Oscar Wilde

This isn't the edition I got, but I couldn't find a picture of it. I do have a Barnes & Noble classics edition, but in hardcover (this is paperback). Oscar Wilde was a hilarious man; I love his plays, and this volume contains some of the best.

Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen

I recall this rendition of King Arthur being somewhat more grounded in history and reality. And while I certainly enjoy a good fantasy retelling of the Arthurian legends, a historical twist is always fun as well. Jane Yolen is a great writer, too, and this had to be added to my collection.

BOUGHT AT BARNES & NOBLE:

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Book #1 in a planned trilogy/duology/series (not sure which). This was a total faith-buy. I was browsing Barnes & Noble and it was sitting there and it sounded super creepy and therefore awesome. So I bought it. Yeah, it seems like a bit of a rip-off from Miss Peregrine in terms of style, but the story still might be good!

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

This was one of my favorite reads in 2013 - I just love it. And the (sort of) sequel is coming out soon, so I needed to buy this one so I can have the series complete and not have one lonely book on the shelf.

A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

A sort of unplanned buy. It was on my TBR, and I recently read a very positive review for it that made me thing that I might like it more than I initially thought. Could be wrong, but i have a rather good feeling about it. And the cover is gorgeous. ;-)

Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Confession: I didn't actually notice who the Author was until I bought the book. If I had, I might not have purchased it. I read the Author's other book - Don't Turn Around - and wasn't all that impressed. However, Strangelets sounds super creepy and super interesting, so maybe her writing has improved? Hope so!

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

The best non-Canon Sherlock Holmes novel I have ever read. The Author has the writing style down so well and the characters - and the mystery is very interesting. I read this in 2012 and really, really enjoyed it. Barnes & Noble had it on sale for $5.99, so how could I pass it up?

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

Book #1 in a planned series. I originally got this from the library and got tired of renewing it. I've enjoyed this Author's past books, so I trusted that it would be worth the money. Hopefully I will be getting around to actually reading it in the new few months (cross fingers).

The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

Book #1 in The Land of Stories series. Browsing Barnes & Noble, I had a sudden desire for some Middle Grade fantasy. Something fun and whimsical; fairy tale-ish and along the lines of Inkheart and Storybound. So I picked this book up. It wasn't on my TBR until now, but it looked like it fit the bill perfectly.

The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer

Book #2 in The Land of Stories series. Well, I bought Book #1 - how could I pass up Book #2? That would defeat my New Year's Resolution to finish buying the incomplete series on my shelves, now wouldn't it?