Stacking the Shelves (May 30)

Stacking the Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves, physical or virtual, and sharing our excitement about our new titles. And why not, maybe also finding a great new read in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Aaaand... another month has come to an end! I am kind of glad that May is over, to be honest, since it has been pretty packed for me. Although June isn't exactly looking too much better to be fair... Oh well! At least I've managed to find quite a bit of time for reading in this past week, so that's good! But now, on with THE BOOKS!

ARC Book Review: The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Melanie Dickerson

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 320

Series: Medieval Fairy Tale Romance #1

Challenges: Women's Challenge

Summary

Swan Lake meets Robin Hood when the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant by day becomes the region's most notorious poacher by night. Jorgen is the forester for the wealthy margrave, and must find and capture the poacher who has been killing and stealing the margrave's game. When he meets the lovely and refined Odette and shares a connection during a dance, he has no idea she is the one who has been poaching the margrave's game. Odette justifies her crime because she thinks the game is going to feed the poor, who are all but starving. But will the discovery of a local poaching ring reveal a terrible secret? The one person Odette knows can help her could also find out her own secret and turn her over to the margrave, but she has no choice. Jorgen and Odette will band together to stop the dangerous poaching ring... and fall in love.

ARC Book Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Pages: 300

Challenges: Women's Challenge

Summary

Beauty really does lie in the eye of the beholder...

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is smart, cynical, loyal - and well aware that she's not the hot one in her group of friends. But when high-school jock and all-round moron Wesley Rush tells her she's a DUFF - a Designated, Ugly, Fat, Friend - Bianca does not see the funny side. She may not be a beauty, but she'd never stoop so low as to go anywhere near the likes of Wesley... Or would she? Bianca is about to find out that attraction defies looks and that sometimes your sworn enemies can become your best friends... With a wry and tell-it-like-it-is voice, The DUFF is a witty and poignant story of a teenager struggling with the rules of high school attraction, along with the breaking down of her relationships with family and friends. It is a novel about what it means to be sexy, in a world where we feel we have to be perfect!

Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: Narrativa Nord

Published: January 2014

Pages: 306

Challenges: Women's Challenge; Library Challenge

   

Summary

On the faded Island Books sign hanging over the porch of the Victorian cottage is the motto "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World." A.J. Fikry, the irascible owner, is about to discover just what that truly means. A.J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly. And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It's a small package, but large in weight. It's that unexpected arrival that gives A.J. the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for the determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.'s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn't see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.