Wednesday, September 23, 2015

I Still Exist!

Guys, I am so, so, so incredibly sorry! It's like I fell off the face of the planet, without warning. I just wanted to let you know that: yes, I am still alive. Yes, The Reading Hedgehog is still alive. Yes, I will be back to blog! I've been fighting with some recent medical issues lately and have had no motivation or energy to do much. And college just started. While I'm only taking one class, between it, work, dance lessons, and working on my new writing project, I'm pretty busy.

But I haven't forgotten about you guys! I still intend on reviewing every single book I've recently read and getting back into the swing of things. I'm just in a state of recovery right now.

Keep reading, my friends! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Six of Crows

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.
It's a weekly meme about upcoming books we're excited about!



Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
(The Dregs #1)
Publication Date: September 29, 2015

From Goodreads:

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction - if they don't kill each other first.

Why I'm Excited

- I love heist novels.
- I love Leigh Bardugo's world!
- And I love fantasy!!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: Beastly Bones

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.
It's a weekly meme about upcoming books we're excited about!



Beastly Bones
by William Ritter
(Jackaby #2)
Publication Date: September 22, 2015

From Goodreads:

"I've found very little about private detective R. F. Jackaby to be standard in the time I've known him. Working as his assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible relationship with reality."

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer R. F. Jackaby are called upon to investigate the supernatural.

First, a vicious special of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens, and a day later, their owner is found murdered with a single mysterious puncture wound. Then in nearby Gad's Valley, now home to the exiled New Fiddleham police detective Charlie Cane, dinosaur bones from a recent dig mysteriously go missing, and an unidentifiable beast starts attacking animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Charlie calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

Why I'm Excited

- I lied; this is my most anticipated September release!
- If any of you follow this blog faithfully, you already know how crazy I am about William Ritter's Jackaby series. Though I've already read an ARC, I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy!!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: The Hollow Boy

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.
It's a weekly meme about upcoming books we're excited about!



The Hollow Boy
by Jonathan Stroud
(Lockwood & Co. #3)
Publication Date: September 15, 2015

From Goodreads:

As a supernatural outbreak baffles Scotland Yard and causes protests against the psychic agencies throughout London, Lockwood & Co. continue to demonstrate their effectiveness in exterminating spirits. Anthony is dashing, George insightful, and Lucy dynamic, while the skull in the jar utters sardonic advice from the sidelines. There is a new spirit of openness between the team now that Anthony has shared his childhood story, and Lucy is feeling more and more like her true home is at Portland Row. It comes as a great shock, then, when Lockwood and George introduce her to an annoyingly perky and hyper-efficient new assistant, Holly Munro. Meanwhile, there are reports of many new hauntings, including an old school where bloody handprints and a glowing boy are appearing. But ghosts seem to be the least of Lockwood & Co.'s concerns when a living assassin makes an attempt on Fittes's and Rotwell's lives. Can the team get past their interpersonal issues to save the day on all fronts? Danger abounds, tensions escalate, and new loyalties form in this third delightfully terrifying adventure.

Why I'm Excited

- I have loved this series ever since I read the first book. The characters, the writing, the plots - it's all so wonderfully awesome. I can't wait to see what happens next!! This might be my most anticipated September release!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday #90

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


Top Ten Finished Series I Have YET To Finish. It's a long list. . . . .

  1. Knight & Rogue Series by Hilari Bell: I am one novel short of being finished with this wonderful series. I've been delaying finishing it, in fact, because I don't want it to be over!! I want to keep Fisk and Michael in my life!!!!!
  2. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake: Again, one novel short of being done!! I just need to read it!!
  3. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: I'm deliberately pacing myself with this series. I can only take so much Clary and Jace (they get annoying after a while). And I'm also at the point where I need to read The Infernal Devices next, and I don't want to. . . .
  4. Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray: The next two are just so long!!
  5. The Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer: I loved this trilogy as a kid and I do want to know how it ends. Just haven't gotten around to it yet and now I should just start the entire thing over again.
  6. The Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan: Pretty sure it's done? But I need to read the newest book and I will - eventually.
  7. Hornblower Saga by C. S. Forester: It's so long. But I love it. And it's so long.
  8. Palace Chronicles by Margaret Peterson Haddix: I re-read Just Ella recently so I could finish this series. Now I need to continue with it before I forget what happened!
  9. Redwall Series by Brian Jacques: Now that there's no more being written, I can catch up! I just need to finish buying it so I can do that!
  10. His Fair Assassin by Robin LaFevers: Another case of one book left, then I'll be done!!

Monday, September 7, 2015

2015 TBR Update #6

So it's been a while since I've done one of these updates, but I'm going to try and do them on Mondays on a regular basis. Not only so you can stay up to date on my reading challenges, but also my TBR progress for the months.

So my September TBR has 23 official books. Out of those, I have completed 0 this week.

I have 23 left to read:
  • Empire of Night - Kelley Armstrong
  • Scholar's Plot - Hilari Bell
  • The Dark Hills Divide - Patrick Carmen
  • The Scorch Trials - James Dashner
  • Hopper's Destiny - Lisa Fiedler
  • An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
  • Libriomancer - Jim C. Hines
  • The Prey - Tom Isbell
  • Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Invasion of the Tearling - Erika Johansen
  • The Lost Kingdom - Matthew J. Kirby
  • Ignite - Sara B. Larson
  • Devoted - Jennifer Mathieu
  • Hidden - Donna Jo Napoli
  • The Spindlers - Lauren Oliver
  • The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail - Richard Peck
  • Asylum - Madeleine Roux
  • The Sin Eater's Daughter - Melinda Salisbury
  • The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Circa Now - Amber McRee Turner
  • Of Monsters and Madness - Jessica Verday
  • The Whispering Trees - J. A. White
  • Bad Luck Girl - Sarah Zettel
I have also read:

I am currently reading 2 books:
  • The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
  • A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
I have caught up on 0 series ( ), and I have started 0 new series/trilogies/duologies ( ).


For my 2015 Reading Challenge, I have completed 23 items:
  • A book with more than 500 pages: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
  • A book that became a movie: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
  • A book published this year: Firefight by Brandon Sanderson
  • A book by a female author: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
  • A mystery or thriller: Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
  • A book with a one-word title Ticker by Lisa Mantchev
  • A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet: Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan
  • A book based on a true story: Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz
  • A book at the bottom of your to-read list: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
  • A book based entirely on its cover: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
  • A book you can finish in a day: Beneath the Stone Forest by Jordan Quinn
  • A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
  • A book set in high school: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
  • A book with magic: Thursdays with the Crown by Jessica Day George
  • A book by an author you've never read before: Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne
  • A book you own but have never read: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
  • A book with bad reviews: Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernen
  • A graphic novel: Locke & Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
  • A book that made you cry: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
  • A classic romance: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  • A book you started but never finished: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
I have 13 planned reads that I have yet to complete:
  • A book of short stories: Clockwork Fairy Tales by Various Authors
  • A book with a number in the title: Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin
  • A book written by someone under 30: Wolfsblood by Hazel West
  • A book with nonhuman characters: The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck
  • A book set in a different country: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
  • A nonfiction book: Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
  • A book a friend recommended: Impossible by Nancy Werlin
  • A trilogy: Delirium, Pandemonium, Requiem by Lauren Oliver
  • A book that was originally written in a different language: Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier
  • A popular author's first book: The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver
  • A book that won a prize: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
  • A book set in the future: The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
  • A book that scares you: Asylum by Madeleine Roux 
I have 15 categories to still plan and complete:
  • A book your mom loves
  • A book more than 100 years old
  • A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
  • A memoir
  • A book with antonyms in the title
  • A book that came out the year you were born
  • A book from your childhood
  • A book with a love triangle
  • A book with a color in the title
  • A book that takes place in your hometown
  • A book set during Christmas
  • A book written by an author with your same initials
  • A play
  • A banned book
  • A book based on or turned into a TV show

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Hedgehog Life: 9/1/15 - 9/6/15


You've all probably noticed that I've kind of been absent recently! I apologize; I needed to take an impromptu break from blogging. I just wasn't feeling the reviewing spirit and everything was a chore, so yes - absence explained. But now I'm back!! And hopefully I'll stay up to date on everything!!

This Week I Read:

This Week I (SHOULD HAVE) Reviewed:
- Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

What's In Store For Next Week:
Monday: 2015 TBR Update #6
Tuesday: Top Ten Finished Series I Have YET To Finish
Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday with The Hollow Boy
Thursday: TBA
Friday: TBA
Saturday: N/A

So this week has been crazy. As if the dance lessons I have right now weren't enough, I went and signed myself up for more! Labor Day Weekend saw my friends and I up at Seattle Swing having an absolute blast. We had dinner at The Tin Table - a farm-to-table restaurant that had some of the best food I've ever eaten. So, so good. Then we danced ourselves silly, went swimming the next day, and then hung out in the city until we remembered some of us did have work the next day and should probably head home.

The big news, though, is I'm back into writing. I am giving my "big" novels a rest; I've been working on them for too long and just need a break. The characters aren't talking to me, so I figured I'd turn my attention to something else. Thinking on new projects, I remembered a series of short stories I wrote as a kid that were just pure fun adventures. Sure, they had some weird moments (I was a kid, remember). But they were just a joy to write and I developed some amazing characters and concepts within their boundaries. For the past few months, I've had it in my head to create a fantasy steampunk world - and I even had a vague idea of a set of characters.

Long story short, I'm working on this series - "The Freelance Chronicles" - in earnest now. And it's got to be my favorite project to date. The characters are wonderful and numerous, the world is amazing, the magic system to die for (if I do say so myself; I'm proud of it), and the adventures just so much fun. I'm reminded once more of why I love to write so much. Will this series ever be published? Probably not. But I am considering putting it up on a blog in serial form for people to read. Mostly, though, it's for the fun of it; to share with friends and to develop characters and ideas for future books.

Keep reading, my friends!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday: The Marvels

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.
It's a weekly meme about upcoming books we're excited about!



The Marvels 
by Brian Selznick
Publication Date: September 15, 2015

From Goodreads:
Two seemingly unrelated stories - one in words, the other in pictures - come together. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries.

Why I'm Excited
- It's a new Brian Selznick book! I love Brian Selznick! His illustrations and the way he tells his stories through pictures and words is just wonderful and magical.