ARC August Update #2 and Beat the Heat Check in 2

I finished Cuckoo's Calling this week for the Beat the Heat marathon. I have surpassed my goals, which makes me happy! I have read a little more of Hero for the ARC August challenge and reviewed two ARC egalleys, so that is something at least. My excuse for not reading and blogging as much follows this paragraph, but it is a rambling stressful story, so feel free to skip it. Good luck to everyone with the rest of the challenges!

I haven't been blogging as much, because of our poor cat. Our cat is asthmatic and she has had a rough last two weeks. We have been treating her asthma for around 3 years now. We took her to the vet at the end of July, because she had a cold and she took her medicine and seemed a bit better. She never completely kicked the cold and now her allergies have kicked in and she cannot breathe without great effort. She stopped eating and drinking, so we went back to the vet yesterday and Dr. Sherrie gave her two steroid shots and more medicine. Today she is a bit better and is drinking a little on her own, but we are still having to force feed her. If you have ever force fed a cat you know that it is terrible and hopefully you never have to do this. Cats can only go 3 days without food and then their livers will develop fatty tissue and after that the diagnosis is not good. We are hoping we caught the problem with enough time left to really help her. I know with asthma she does not have a long life expectancy, but we want her to live as long as she is comfortable. Since she is only around 4 years old, we are doing all we can to extend her life in healthy ways, but these last two weeks have been awful. The vet thinks she is still in pretty good shape, so no talk of putting her down, but I am still really sad about how the poor cat has to live. Apparently this is just a bad time of year for asthmatic cats with allergies (most asthmatic cats), so we are going to keep treating her in the hope that she does get better. Usually her asthma is fairly manageable and she is like a normal healthy cat, so I am hoping she will return to her usual self soon. She has my almost complete attention now, so I will probably not post as much unless she does start feeling better. Thanks for reading my rant!

The Girl with the Iron Touch and the Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy by Kady Cross

This is the third book in the Steampunk Chronicles and this review will have spoilers for the first two books. I received this as an eARC from Harlequin Teen on Netgalley. This is one of my favorite series and the third book did not disappoint. I love the cover and the fact that this is from Emily's point of view! This will also briefly mention the Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy.

Harlequin Teen

This book picks up shortly after the trip to America. Emily has a way with machines, if only she could get that lug Sam to behave as well as most of her creations. With Griffin distracted by Aether problems, which he refuses to share with Finley, Emily, and Sam. The crew go about their business, up until a visit from Finley's friend Jack Dandy.

At this point in the story it is a good idea to go and read the short novella,the Dark Discovery of Jack Dandy. Told from Dandy's point of view, we learn about his early life, what he thinks and feels, and you come to really like his rakish character. Jack also talks about delivering an automaton to the train station that is as much human as machine. I recommend reading this before finishing The Girl with the Iron Touch.

When Jack tells the crew about the automaton, Emily and Finley investigate. They find nothing, but have the feeling they are being watched in the train station. Shortly after their visit, Emily is captured and meets Jack's automaton along with other automatons who are developing different levels of humanity. Among the automatons is the Victoria one that the Machinist designed. The Machinist who is not completely dead and he has great plans for Emily. Will Emily's friends find her in time and what will she sacrifice to save her friends and the world?

I love the characters in this series and it was great to have some insight into Emily's character and Sam's. Even though Emily has a little more point of view in this one than the other characters, you still get to know more of Finley and Griffin's romance. I also like learning more about Jack Dandy from the novella and he is even more complex than the first book makes out. I liked that this one seemed to be a return to the original plot, although I did like book two, this one seemed more exciting and leaves you wanting to know what will happen next.

Favorite Character: I love both Finley and Emily. They are two strong heroines that will do whatever it takes to protect those they love. Emily's not physically strong, but emotionally strong and very intelligent. Finley is the physically strong one and she embraces both sides of her personality.

Favorite Quote: "A little suspense is good for the digestion." "Happiness is an individual pursuit."
"I don't want him to stand in front of me and shield me. I want him to stand beside me. With me."

I love Cross's writing style and the characters she creates. These books are full of powerful female heroines who are strong in every possible way. Definitely 5 cups of cocoa and I can't wait for the next one!

Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

I received this as an eARC from Penguin on Edelweiss. I loved Pike's Wings series and liked Life After Theft, so I was very excited to read the first book in her new series. This was as good as the Wings series and possibly a bit better. I also love the cover of this one!

Razorbill

Tavia is recovering from a plane crash, a crash in which her parents died and she was the lone survivor. Tavia has severe injuries, but it is a miracle she survived at all, a miracle she may have caused. Sent to live with a step aunt she has never met, Tavia is trying to adjust to a normal life and makes a friend at the library, Benson, whom she would like to be more than friends, until she begins having visions of another guy. Quinn appears out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly. He seems to have a message for Tavia, but she wonders if she can trust him. With Quinn's appearance, Tavia also begins to make things out of nowhere, starting with chapstick. The things disappear in five minutes, but creating them at all is unreal. When Tavia learns from her "aunt and uncle" and her therapist, that she may be other worldly and that there are those who would kill her, she doesn't know who to trust. She turns to Benson and the two struggle to learn what Tavia is and just who Quinn is. Through devastating betrayal, Tavia must embrace who she is in order to save her love and the entire world.

The plot was awesome and the characters were intriguing. I loved the taste of the myth world that Pike has created for this series and the end has me wanting to read the sequel right now! There is sort of a love triangle here and a very interesting one. I also liked the ties to the past and the fact that Tavia still has secrets we haven't learned yet.

Favorite Character: Tavia. She is strong and tries to choose her own path. She continues to fight even when the odds seem against her.

Favorite Quote: "Some people are emotional eaters: apparently Benson is a thinking eater." "Homework, creating things from thin air, the problem of two boys who've each laid claim to half of my heart, whatever you want to call it."

This is one of my favorite reads so far this year. Pike's writing style is addicting and she matures with each book. Definitely 5 cups of cocoa and I can't wait until the sequel!

Stacking the Shelves #6

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a meme for sharing books you've purchased, borrowed, or been sent for review. They can be physical or e-format.

Bought

Poppy

 Shut Out by Kody Keplinger - on sale


Library

    

The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller- I have heard this is really good. I am going to need help with my booktalking skills for this fall.

Infinityglass by Myra McEntire- I am so excited to finally get to read this book! I loved the first two and can't wait to start this one.

Review
From Netgalley and Open Road


Wanted by Caroline B. Cooney

From Edelweiss













From Putnam Juvenile: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins- I liked her Hex Hall series and loved School Spirits.

 











From Viking Juvenile: The Edge of the Water by Elizabeth George and Once Upon a Midnight Eerie by Gordon McAlpine- I really enjoyed the first book in the Misadventures of Edgar and Allan Poe and thought it would be great for upper elementary readers.
 

From Philomel: Starling by Fiona Paul, The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer, and The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin.

From Razorbill: The Lonesome Young by Lucy Connors and The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder.




 










From Kathy Dawson Books: The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler and Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano.
Thanks to all the publishers!

Hope everyone had a great book week!

Beat the Heat Week 1 check in

So far I have completed the two YA mini-challenges on Auntie Spinelli Reads, but I haven't read any NA books and very few adult books, so I did not do very well on the ones on Phantasmic Reads. I finished Earthbound, which was really good and I liked as much as I did her Wings series, which is one of my favorite series. I hope to get the review up this week. I keep book jumping between the other books on my list, but I am still going to try to finish one more book for Week 2. I have read 380 pages so far, so I think I will meet my 500 page goal! This is a busy week with Open Houses for all the schools and I will be home late for the next 3 days, since I will be working the library booth, so not as much reading will be going on.

ARC August Update #1

Well, so far I have only read like 25 pages in Hero by Althea Kontis. I did finish Earthbound, which I had as an egalley, but since I only read a few pages of it in August, I am not counting it for the challenge. I am also reading Girl With the Iron Touch in egalley, but I will probably not count it for the challenge, because I had read almost half of it before August. I have sort of started The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White and hope to get more into it soon! I received an audiobook of Awaken by Meg Cabot to review for SLJ, so I will be removing it from my ARC list. I will start reading more ARCs very soon...hopefully!

Stacking the Shelves #5

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a meme for sharing books you've purchased, borrowed, or been sent for review. They can be physical or e-format. I was not quite as bad this week, although still a little overboard considering the number of books on my Kindle.

Library
  

Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) Mulholland Books
Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor St. Martins

Bought
I purchased a few Kindle books this week.

  
The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler HarperCollins
The First Star to Fall by Diana Peterfreund (a novella) Noise Court Press
The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 1.99 on Amazon now!

Review
I was approved for two books on Netgalley. Thanks to Alfred A. Knopf and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt!
 
The Outside by Laura Bickle
Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt

The Amish paranormal books sound really intriguing and mind-boggling at the same time. I love the covers though!

I will share Edelweiss books next week. Hope you had a great haul!