Stacking The Shelves (28): Library Book Sale & Dollar Tree

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page! Stacking The Shelves now has a new host and check out that new image!!

Paperbackswap

Whispered Promises by Brenda Jackson

The Best Man (Anthology) got it because of Brenda Jackson, it's awesome!!

Motherhood & Feminism by Amber Kinser

Purchased

I snagged these from the local Dollar Tree while hunting for some washi tape (which I found).

Out of Sight, Out of Time (The Gallagher Girl)  by Ally Carter

How To Break A Heart by Kiera Stewart

Then I hit up the local library book sale when I went to my eye doctor in another town.  I went in with a budget of $15. I ended up with 30 books, I went over budget by $1.75.

Thanks For the Memories by Cecelia Ahern

Nora Roberts:

Hot Ice 

Language of Love: Treasures Lost, Treasures Found 

Wolf Fever (Heart of the Wolf 6)  by Terry Spear

Brighter Than The Sun (KGI 11) by Maya Banks

Colder Than Ice ( Mordecai Young 2)  by Maggie Shayne

No Girl Nees a Husband Seven Days A Week by Nina Foxx

You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston

Catalyst Laurie Halse Anderson

The Darkest Secret  (Lords of the Underworld 7) by Gena Showalter

Something Wild (Remington Family 3) by Pattie Berg, going back to an older series that I have on my shelves this is the final book I didn't own.

Apache Summer ( Slater Brothers) by Heather Graham

Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Twice (Farrel Sisters 1) by Kimberly Raye

Butterscotch Blues by Margaret Johnson-Hodge

The Heart of A Woman by Maya Angelou

Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

Sula by Toni Morrison

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Gallagher Girls 3)  by Ally Carter

Queen of Dragons (Drakon 3) by Shana Abe' trying to complete another of the series I have on my read shelves.

Boy Shopping by Nia Stephens this is the first book in the series and I was going to read the second book for the Contemporaryathon.  That's when I discovered I needed to get this one.

For nostalgia purpose I picked up these two books:

R.L Stine

The New Girl

Cheerleasers: First Evil

For The Holiday List: I added these on to the Holiday Reading List that I'll be sharing starting November 1st to January 6th. 

The Gift ( Anthology) by Nora Roberts

First Impressions by Nora Roberts

Mistletoe and Molly by Janet Dailey

Santa in Montana by Janet Dailey (Calder Saga) Discovered that this is the final book in the series. Oops.

Searching For Santa by Janet Dailey

The Holiday Inn (Anthology) 

Jingle All The Way  (Anthology)

Once Upon A Holiday (Anthology)

Charms, Spells & Formulas by Ray T Malbrough


What'd you get in your haul this week?? Share in the comments down below and I'll see you next week.

Happy Reading & Haulin' my loves

October 2018 To Be Read

My goal this year is 150  books, if I break that down it comes out to 13 books per month, with 3 to 4  books a week. Totally doable in my books, so as the proverb says, you can eat an elephant one bite at a time, so here are my first few bites:

Read So Far this Year: 

100!!!

TBR Pile 

150

TBR Balance:
50

Lemonade Syllabus:

1. .
2. .

Perpetual Author Challenge:

• Christine Feehan
• Christine Feehan
• JD Robb/ Nora Roberts
• Nora Roberts
• Nora Roberts

Finish Series Challenge:

• Black Rose by Nora Roberts
• Do Not Disturb The Girl In 6E by Alessandra Torre'
• Rogue (Croak 3) Gina Damico

ARC

• 
  
• .
• .
• .
• .

Black Out Challenge: from LA Banks

• Bad Blood (Crimson Moon 1)
• Bite THe Bullet (2)
• Undead On Arrival 3
• Cursed to Death 4
• Never Cry Werewolf 5
• Left For Undead 6.

Erotica books:

• .
• .
• .

What are you going to be reading my loves?? Share in the comments down below if you have read any of these and as always

Happy Reading

Book #Review: First Frost (Waverley Sisters 2) by Sarah Addison Allen

Book Title:  First Frost ( Waverley Sisters 2)
Author:  Sarah Addison Allen |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher:   St. Martin's Press
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Magical Realism
Series/Standalone:  Book 2
Format: Hardcover

Cost: $25.99

Pages: 300

How I got it: Purchased 

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Publication Date: Jan 20th, 2015
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells comes a story of the Waverley family, in a novel as sparkling as the first dusting of frost on new-fallen leaves..

It's October in Bascom, North Carolina, and autumn will not go quietly. As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, the Waverley women are made restless by the whims of their mischievous apple tree... and all the magic that swirls around it. But this year, first frost has much more in store.

Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley’s Candies. Though her handcrafted confections — rose to recall lost love, lavender to promote happiness and lemon verbena to soothe throats and minds — are singularly effective, the business of selling them is costing her the everyday joys of her family, and her belief in her own precious gifts.

Sydney Waverley, too, is losing her balance. With each passing day she longs more for a baby — a namesake for her wonderful Henry. Yet the longer she tries, the more her desire becomes an unquenchable thirst, stealing the pleasu
re out of the life she already has.
Sydney’s daughter, Bay, has lost her heart to the boy she knows it belongs to.. if only he could see it, too. But how can he, when he is so far outside her grasp that he appears to her as little more than a puff of smoke?

When a mysterious stranger shows up and challenges the very heart of their family, each of them must make choices they have never confronted before. And through it all, the Waverley sisters must search for a way to hold their family together through their troublesome season of change, waiting for that extraordinary event that is First Frost.

Lose yourself in Sarah Addison Allen's enchanting world and fall for her charmed characters in this captivating story that proves that a happily-ever-after is never the real ending to a story. It’s where the real story begins

We go back into the Waverly sisters lives to see what their happy ever after looks like 10 years post Garden Spells.  This story picks up years after Garden Spells and shows how their lives progressed since the last book. I really enjoyed seeing the relationships and how the women found their happiness not in just in finding their partners but in finding their homes and their places in their life. Sydney came home to the town to hide and found that she could bloom her and make a success of being there.  Claire's business has taken off with success especially in her candy business, and yet the success is beginning to make her doubt herself. Bay knows where she belongs but like most people who a confidant she unwittingly opens herself up to scrutiny when she tries to share that certainty with someone who is lost.

This time the main focus is Sydney's daughter Bay who is in high school and has figured out what her Waverly magic is, she's able to tell where something or someone belongs. She's figured out where she belongs as well and this is driving her mother crazy. Sydney hasn't really embraced her magic, she's still hesitant to believe that her daughter has it she wants her to be normal and have normal high school memories and associations and when they begin to happen she is now hesitant because this means her daughter won't be hers any longer.

As the women all struggle with finding that sense of home once again, they also deal with Clair'es fear that her uncertainty has made her daughter too much like her father. Bay wonders if she can make her mother understand why she needs what she needs. Sydney is trying to save her daughter from her own mistakes and embrace the changes coming into her life.

There is a moment within the book here their elder cousin points out that the girls are trying so hard because they are attempting to make up for what their mother lacked, and it truly hit home how even though leaving them with their Grandmother was the smartest and safest thing she could have done, Lorelei's flight from her destiny damaged her children in so many ways.  The secrets we keep as adults to 'protect' our children only hurt them when they are old enough to understand.  By leaving them with her mother, the girls never got to know her and never even knew the simplest things that a child should about heir parent.  Without good examples, the girls are left floundering as they try to parent their own children and find their sense of home and family.

It's a wonderful read and I found myself returning to it when I should have done chores just so I could know how it all ended.  As the mystery of certain characters unfolded we learned that the magic the Waverly's have goes deeper than they thought and that history doesn't have to repeat itself.  It was great to see how the relationships between the sisters healed and how without realizing it their example influenced their children.  I loved seeing Mariah, Claire's daughter and how she simply accepted the strangeness that made her home the way it was. I loved that the house and the apple tree had personalities and had to be bribed to behave or to let people it was mad at into the space.  I loved the way the men in their lives loved them and gave them what they needed while they themselves received all the love the women could give.

It's a great story about love, family and finding and embracing your sense of self. I highly recommend.

 ★★★★☆

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Practical Magic Alice Hoffman
• Garden Spells Sarah Addison Allen

Happy Reading my loves, 

Cover #Reveal: Stripped Down by Erin McCarthy . .@authorerin

Y'all know of my love of Erin McCarthy, so when the tour hosts asked if I wanted to participate in sharing the cover of her newest book I jumped so fast.  I am so excited to see the cover and to also dive into the book when it comes out. I've loved her stories for years and her True Believers series is still one of my all-time favorite reads. 

For those who don't know who Erin is here's a little bit about her:


USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy first published in 2002 and has since written over sixty novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult romance, paranormal, and contemporary romance. Erin is a RITA finalist and an ALA Reluctant Young Reader award recipient, and is both traditionally and indie published. When she’s not writing she can be found sipping martinis in high heels or eating ice cream in fleece pajamas depending on the day, and herding her animals, kids, and amazing renovation-addicted husband.

And as for the book:

Book Title: Stripped Down
Author:  Erin McCarthy |Website| Twitter| Facebook|

Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Ebook

Cost: $

Pages: 240

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: October 29th 2018
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

His best friend’s hot older sister.
Her younger brother’s annoying sidekick.
And one forbidden kiss in a bathroom in high school…

Sloane O’Sullivan is returning home to Minnesota, dreading turning thirty. Once the Mean Girl, she’s a lot more humble these days. And shocked to see how Little Dickie is all grown up and hot as hell, stripping at a charity event like he was born with biceps.

Working out has shed Rick Ryder of his despised childhood nickname. Now he leads a simple life. Work on cars, take care of his kid sister, have casual hookups. But when Sloane comes back to town single, he wants to finish what they started in that bathroom twelve years earlier.

It was complicated back then. It’s even more so now.

Because Sloane wrecks his bike.
And he’s her landlord.
And her brother will murder him if he has sex with her.

But sometimes you have to strip it all down to see what was there all along… even if it’s a secret.

STRIPPED DOWN releases later this month at a special limited time release price! Sign up for Erin’s newsletter or like her on facebook to find out when it goes live!

Connect With Erin:

Instagram |  Goodreads | BookHub

Make sure to be on the look out for this one and I'll see you tomorrow.  

Book #Spotlight & #Excerpt : After The End by Natasha Preston .@InkSlingerPR .@NatashaVPreston

Book Title: After The End
Author:  Natasha Preston |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram
Publisher: Natasha Preston

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: ebook

Cost: $3.99

Pages: 

How I got it: Blog Tour

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Publication Date: Sept 25th 2018
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

One fatal mistake changes Tilly and Linc’s lives forever.

After the tragedy, Linc and his family fled a town they were no longer welcome in.

Still grieving the death of her brother, Tilly’s world is rocked again when, three years later, Lincoln Reid has to come home.

Linc tries to stay away from Tilly, but once he sees her fighting feelings for him, he can’t stay in the shadows.

Excerpt

“Tilly,” I groan as she leans flush against my chest.

The alcohol has given her permission to let go of the reservations she has over us being something.

The beach has now cleared completely, everyone has gone, and I’m supposed to take Tilly to Hanna and Jack’s, but she’s making it very difficult.

I want to take her back to mine.

She looks up at me, and her amber eyes lose focus. “It’s you, isn’t it?” Her voice is barely a whisper, but I feel the fear in each word.

“What’s me, Tilly? You really should have stopped drinking about an hour ago.”

“I couldn’t stop.”

“Drinking? Why not?”

“Because I know this is the only way that I won’t feel immediately guilty for being this close to you.” Her eyes flit closed. “I want so badly to be this close to you.”

My breath catches. I want to pull away because her words are gutting me, but my body needs to be closer to her, too. My fingers dig further into her flesh, holding her closer, tighter, never wanting to let go.
“Tilly, there is no need for you to feel guilty. Robbie would have been okay with this.”

“I know. It’s not him I’m worried about.” She leans forward and lays her head against my chest. “My parents are having a hard time with you being here.”

I rest my chin on her head. She’s tucked so closely into me. “Have they told you that?”

“They don’t need to.” Her arms wrap around my back like she’s scared I’ll walk away after hearing this. There is nothing she could ever say to scare me off. I love her unconditionally.

“I don’t want to hurt them, but I don’t want to hurt you either. It’s such a mess, Linc. I wish we were just two normal people without a past.”

“Everyone has a past.”

“Not everyone’s past is all mixed together,” she replies. Her voice is a little slurred, but our conversation seems to be sobering her quickly. “Ours is messy.”

“Yeah, it’s messy.”

But she is admitting she wants me!

With raw emotion clogging her throat, she breathes, “I don’t want our families to fight.”

I bend my head and whisper in her ear, “I’m not giving up on us. It’s worth the fight, Tilly.”

“Then, fight hard, Linc, because I don’t know how to stay.”

These are some quick thoughts I'll do a full gushing review later.

A slow burn romance about friends finding their way back to each other after a tragedy strikes their families. It's told from dual perspectives, of Tilly who is stuck in the same place trying not to hurt her remaining family but beginning to feel stifled and Linc who thought he had gained enough distance that he wasn't going to hurt as much as he was.  Coming back to town may bring the change they both need in their lives.  

Filled with great friends who want to stand with and for them, grieving family learning to stand as a unit again, survivor's guilt and the desire to live for the person who is gone as well as for oneself. I enjoyed the read.  I loved that therapy was discussed the use of medication to aide in getting through the grieving process the discussion on how grief doesn't really go away. I loved that it was discussed so richly and even normalized. Showing how the process works differently for everyone.  While at the same time that grief was both a burden and an excuse. For Tilly and her family they couldn't navigate the after, the what happens next phase even with the therapy; much of the steps that needed to be taken weren't done because Tilly was afraid to hurt those that were left.   I loved that Linc was a catalyst for change, much like he was apart of the problem before.  

I did have a few issues with some of the characters like her friend Greg, I wanted to slap him so bad like boy get off your high horse and come live down here with the rest of us mortals struggling with doing what's right.   I loved the other friends who were great for her and wanted better for her especially Hanna, even when Tilly wasn't ready to hear it.  

A great romance and I loved the way it ended. I must confess when I first saw the preview I was expecting some great mystery to pop up because I had read several of her previous works and know her that way. It took a second to realize nope this is just an emotional rollercoaster and wasn't about some crazy psycho kidnapping people, still a good read though.  

Happy Reading