Stacking the Shelves (43)

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews.  Clicking on the book should take you to the Goodreads page.

This week, a wonderful author reached out to me and asked if I would like an ARC of her new book.  Since I had just added it to my wishlist, I said "Yes, of course!"  So here it is in all it's glory:

Of Light and Darkness (#1): Releases January 11, 2016

 Thanks so much Shayne.  I can't wait to get to this one!

I also received what I think looks like a wonderful book from Edelweiss and William Morrow:

Releases March 29, 2016

I grabbed a few books from Amazon in the last 2 weeks (didn't feel like adding them at the last minute last week).  I think they were all either free or under $5.00 - that's about the most I will ever go for an ebook unless it is one I REALLY REALLY want:





So, you can blame Black Friday or you can blame Kindle sales...or you can just accept that book buying happens!

What did you add to your shelves this week? Leave a comment so I can make sure to stop by your blog!

Christmas Horror? - Maybe a Tad

TITLE: The Three Sisters (The Krampus Chronicles #1)
AUTHOR: Sonia Halbach
PUBLISHER: Curiosity Quills Press
PUBLISHING DATE: November 4, 2015

FROM GOODREADS: Fourteen-year-old Maggie Ogden thinks she knows everything there is to Grandfather Clement Clarke Moore and his legendary poem,’Twas the Night Before Christmas. But all this changes Christmas Eve 1854 when Chelsea Manor receives an unexpected visitor - Henry Livingston; who’s searching for evidence to prove that his grandfather, Major Henry, is the true author of the famous holiday poem.

The night takes a strange turn when Maggie and Henry come across another intruder in Chelsea Manor. After following the peculiar boy down a secret opening within the fireplace and through an underground tunnel full of mechanical sleighs, Maggie and Henry discover Poppel, a hidden village under New York City.

Faced with the deadly challenges presented by the legend of The Three Sisters, Maggie and Henry are forced to play by Poppel’s rules and those who run the cursed village. And they quickly learn that not only is leaving Poppel harder than arriving, but there are even more dangerous lies and mysterious truths to Clement Clarke Moore, Christmas, and a menacing creature called Krampus than anyone could have known.

MY THOUGHTS:   I have been looking forward to reading this book since I first learned of it and actually bought a copy on the day it was released. Maybe I am falling into all of the Krampus hype (he does seem to be everywhere this holiday season) but I couldn't wait to dive into this once Thanksgiving passed.

While I went into this thinking "scary, Christmas horror story" it was more of a mystery/adventure tale. Maggie's grandfather is Clement Clarke Moore, the creator of "Twas Night Before Christmas"...or was he? Maggie meets Henry, who claims his father actually wrote the piece and while the entire extended family is gathered at Moore's home in 1854, he confronts the grumpy old man, angering the whole family. After everyone goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, Henry breaks in the home, Maggie spies him, and then together the see a young child climb down the furnace/chimney duct. So what do they do? They follow him of course and are transported to the magical land of Poppel, a cursed Christmas village, where they set about saving the Foundlings (child-like slaves) and the town from evil.

This book is rich with Christmas lore. Drawing its inspiration from the beloved Christmas poem, the reader encounters all kinds of magical Christmas elements. I especially enjoyed the enchanted sugarplums which are used to send the person eating them secret messages. There were a few slower points in the book, but for the most part, it is pretty action-packed.

My main disappointment just happened to be the main reason I picked the book up to begin with - Krampus. He makes an appearance or two, but really isn't a huge player in the tale. However, I will say that the ending of the book, which I assume is a trilogy, sets the way for a big appearance from him in the next installment.

I am not a "traditional" Christmas gal and this book really changed the pace on my holiday reading. I believe this is the author's first novel and I enjoy her style and pacing. I also respect the amount of research she must have put into this work due to all the historical and literary references - yet she made the story her own. I will definitely be looking out for the next in this series and if you are looking to shake up Christmas a little, I would recommend you pick up this book.

RATING: 4 PAWS

 

2016 Horror Reading Challenge - My Last Year-Long One! (maybe)

Tracy @ Cornerfolds and Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! are hosting this year-long challenge and I can't wait to get started on it.  That being said, I believe this will be my last year-long one to sign up for as I have plenty on my plate now and want to be able to do some small ones here and there.  I will post the rules below but  head over to their sites if you are interested in participating. 

The will be CHALLENGE BADGES awarded by completing the highest number of books read from a certain level.  Also, there will be MONTHLY POSTS where participants can link up their reviews.  Plus. mid-year there will be GIVEAWAYS of some physical books for US residents, with the more you read, the better your chances. 

GUIDELINES:  Challenge runs from January 1, 2016 - December 1, 2016
                        *  You can join anytime before October 15, 2016
                        *  Books must be read and reviewed in 2016
                        *  Audio books, re-reads, short stories
                            and crossovers are fine
                        * You don't have to be a blogger - just have a
                            way to track progress
                        *  Sign up on the hosts blogs
                        *  Link up your reviews monthly

There are 4 challenge levels:

RUNNING SCARED: 1-5 books

BRAVE READER: 6-10 books

 FEARLESS: 11-15 books

HORROR HOUND:  16+ books








Now, although I read a lot of different genres, my love of reading began oh so many years ago with Stephen King so this challenge is a must for me.  And is it any surprise, with my love of my pups, that I am striving to be..............................

 A HORROR HOUND!!!!!!!

Please visit Stormi and Tracy's blog if you want to sign up so we can all have tons of fun!

December 2015 TBR(P) - One More Month To Read All the Books!!!!

Last month I rocked my TBR finishing 8 of the 12 I placed on the list.  That's the best I have done all year.  So what do I do this month?  I fear I am setting myself up for failure.  I am starting 2015 Winter COYER on December 19, so some of these are in anticipation of that challenge.  Anyway, here we go!





Now I know that unless Santa Claus is bringing me two extra weeks in December for Christmas that I will never get all of this done.  Especially not in the busiest month of the year.  However, this does help me outline what I need to get read so I can look at the big picture here and prioritize.

So, what are your December plans?

Waiting on Wednesday (32)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming anticipated releases. 






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May 10 , 2016

From Goodreads:
For the first time since we launched Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Random House Canada is thrilled to announce the debut of a new urban fantasy series. Kristi Charish's The Voodoo Killings introduces Kincaid Strange, not your average voodoo practitioner...

For starters, she's only 27. Then there's the fact that she lives in rain-soaked Seattle, which is not exactly Haiti. And she's broke. With raising zombies outlawed throughout the continental USA, Kincaid has to eke out a living running seances for university students with more money than brains who are desperate for guitar lessons with the ghost of a Seattle grunge rocker--who happens to be Kincaid's on-again, off-again roommate.

Then a stray zombie turns up outside her neighborhood bar: Cameron Wight, an up-and-coming visual artist with no recollection of how he died or who raised him. Not only is it dangerous for Kincaid to be caught with an unauthorized zombie, she soon realizes he's tied to a spate of murders: someone is targeting the zombies and voodoo practitioners in Seattle's infamous Underground City, a paranormal hub. When the police refuse to investigate, the City's oldest and foremost zombie asks Kincaid to help. Raising ghosts and zombies is one thing, but finding a murderer? She's broke, but she's not stupid.

And then she becomes the target...As the saying goes, when it rains it pours, especially in Seattle.

WHY I'M WAITING:  I absolutely love books about voodoo and this one sounds awesome  Also, it's by the same people that launched Kelley Armstrong's first series so they must know what they are doing.  I don't know if I can wait until May!!!!!

What are you waiting for this week and does this sound good to you???? 

Top Ten Tuesday - 2016 Debut Novels I Can't Wait to Get My Hands On!

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading. This week we are focusing on 2016 Debut Novels we are anticipating.  I think this list is pretty much made up of YA authors, which is odd for me, but if I want to read a book, I don't care how it is classified. So here we go!

March 1, 2016

September 2016

March 1, 2016

February 23, 2016

2016 (how's that for vague)

May 3, 2016

January 26, 2016

March 8, 2016

February 23, 2016

February 9, 2016

I have had all of these on my radar for quite some time and can't wait to get my hands on them.  What made your Top Ten list and are you looking forward to any of the same??? Leave a comment so I can make sure to stop by your blog!