Friday Reads| 13/10/16

Hi                                                                                                                                 In this post I will be talking about the books I have read in the last week, the books I will be reading over the weekend/into next week as well as the Books I have received for Review. Hope you enjoy it and as soon as I have written my Goodreads reviews for each books I have read  I will add the links for each one with their relevant bookThe

Books that are included in this post are:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Cover of Wonder

Book Information                                                                     Reading Status:   Read from 28/9-9/10                               Star Rating: 5/5  stars

Pre Review Thoughts:  This was an amazingly heartfelt thought provoking, laugh out loud and tear rendingely poignient piece of fiction which I thoroughly enjoyed from cover to cover so I am glad I finally read it because i ‘d been wanting to read it for a long time. I absolutely fell in love with Auggie who was the main character because he was so well written and his stealey determination and steadfastness were simply amazing.                              Links: Goodreads | Review   

 ∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Fool For Love (The McCarthy’s of Gansett Island Boxed Set             Books 1-3 #2/3) by Marie Force 

Fool for Love (The McCarthys of Gansett Island, #2)

Book information                                                                Reading Period: 6-10 October                                         Star Rating:  5/5 Stars                                                      Final Thoughts: I loved this book from cover to cover. The characters were so well written and believable that it was impossible to connect with them on different levels and for different reasons. I thoroughly enjoyed the further development of characters that appeared in the first book (Maddie and Mac) as well as the introduction of new characters (macs Brothers and Maddie’s mum). The plot was very strong because rather than it just being a romance booked based around sex there was a strong emphasis on character back stories which was great. To my mind this was a very strong 5 star rated book because not only was it a strong book in its own right but it was also a good second book in a series. It was also a strong 5 star book because its a book that I will read again in the future as well as being one that I would both recommend to others as well as buy as a gift for anyone I know who I believe would enjoy it.                                                        Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post |Review 

 ∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

The Governess Was Wanton (Governess #2/3) by Julia Kelly

The Governess Was Wanton (Governess, #2) Book Information                                                  Final Thoughts: Although I have only read the first few chapters of this book at the moment I am already enjoying it as much as I did the previous one. I am going to love learning more about Mary and her friends as well as well as all the other characters in the book. If you want to know the star rating as well as my final views on the book then look out for my mini review for it on next weeks Friday reads Post which will also include a line to my Goodreads review.                                       Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post | Review

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

The Girl With the Red Coat by Kate Harmer

Cover of The Girl in the Red Coat

Book Information                                                                    Source:   overdrive                                                                 Format: EBook                                                                       Reading Status:   Currently Reading (started 25/9) MIDWAY THOUGHTS: I have never read any of Kate’s work before but due to the ease of read that I’m experiencing with this book at the moment I will read her other books in the future.  The little girl () who’s the main character in the book is really lovable and is so well written so far so she’s believable and easy to connect with. I can also see how well the other characters will develop through the book. Currently I would say that when I finish reading this book I will  give a five star rating because it is such a heartwarmigly well written book so look out for my review if your interested in knowing what I thought of it and the star rating I gave it.                                                 Links: Goodreads | Review   

 ∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Salt to the Sea Rueta Sepetys  

Cover of Salt to the Sea

Source:  Netgalley                                                              Format: DARC                                                                     Reading Status: Currently Reading, to 20% (stared 3/3)                                                             Source:  overdrive                                                          Format: Audio Book                                                        Reading Status: Currently Reading, from 20% (stared 10/10)                                                                       Narrators:  Jorjeana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris and Michael Crouch                                                                                               Synopsis: New York Times Bestseller! “Masterly crafted”—The Wall Street Journal

For readers of Between Shades of Gray and All the Light We Cannot See, bestselling author Ruta Sepetysreturns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war’s most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies.

World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff.Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety.
Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people—adults and children alike—aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
Told in alternating points of view and perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning All the Light We Cannot See, Erik Larson’s Dead Wake, and Elizabeth Wein’s Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, this masterful work of historical fiction is inspired by the real-life tragedy that was the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff—the greatest maritime disaster in history. As she did inBetween Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys unearths a shockingly little-known casualty of a gruesome war, and proves that humanity and love can prevail, even in the darkest of hours.

Initial Thoughts: Although I enjoyed this book in EBook format until th 20% mark I really was finding it difficult to build a report with Anu of the characters so as soon as I was able to get it in audio book format from Overdrive I did and I am so glad I did. Now I am reading it via audio book I am really feeling that I am immersed and invested in the story, so am able to see why so many people love Rueta’s work although I am fairly sure of her books that I read in the future will be in audio book format as well. I am now slowly connecting to all the characters thanks to the skill of the Narrators in voicing the characters.

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Ready for Love (McCarthys of Gansett Island Boxed set 1 Books 1-3 #3/3) by Marie Force

Ready for Love (The McCarthys of Gansett Island, #3)
Source:  Amazon

Format: Kindle                                                           Reading Status: Started,                                         Links: Friday Read’s Post | Review |Book Info Post                                                                               Synopsis: The McCarthys of Gansett Island, sBook 3

For four of the best summers of his young life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy’s Gansett Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved. Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her husband and children, she’s returned to Gansett to figure out what’s next, and that may very well be a rekindled love affair with the one man from her past she’s never forgotten. But is she ready for a second chance at love?                                                                Initial Thoughts:  I am not that far in to this book at the moment but I am enjoying it as much as the other books in the series so far. I know that I am going to love the main characters in this book as much as the ones in the other books as well as enjoying the daily happenings on the island as well.

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

The McCarthy’s of Gansett Island Boxed Set 1 books 1-3 #1/3) by Marie Force

Product Details

Book Information                                              Reading Period:  Currently Reading (Started 13/9)                                               Mid Way Thoughts: Now I have read the first two books in this bind I can officially say that I love Marie’s writing and that this series is one that I will truly enjoy from beginning to end. I am really glad that I purchased these first three books as a bind up because it has meant that as soon as I have read the one book I have immediately been able to  go on and read the next one without having to wait to buy it.                                                                                  Links: Goodreads | Review   

 ∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Insanity the Complete Books 1-3 by Cameron Jace

Insanity: The Complete Books 1-3                                                                                Book information                                                        Mid Way Thoughts: I am going to enjoy this series. See the short review for insanity and my     initial thoughts about figment below.                                   Links: Goodreads | Review   

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩
   
The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1/3)                                          by Soman Chainani      
The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil, #1)
Book information
Reading Status: Currently Reading (Started 19/6)
Mid Way Thoughts: I am still enjoying this book and the characters are keeping me enthralled. I am looking forward to reading the other two books in the series. Links: Goodreads | Review   
∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩   
The Thousandth Floor (The Thousandth Floor #1) by Katherine McGee
The Thousandth Floor (The Thousandth Floor, #1)

Book information                                                     Reading Status:  Currently Reading                                   Mid Year Thoughts:  I am just over half way through this book now and the plot is really capturing me now as I know the characters well. The plot is really unravelling really well now which is capturing me and I can’t wait to see how it develops more in the future books.                                                                                                                  Links: Goodreads | Review   

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩ 

Lucky in Love (Lucky Harbor #4/ ) by Jill Shalvis

Lucky in Love (Lucky Harbor, #4)
Source: Amazon                                                               Format: Kindle
Series: Lucky Harbor #4/                                                 Other Books in Series:  Simply Irrisistible, The Sweetest Thing, Head over Heels, At Last,                     Reading Period:  
Links: Friday Read’s Post |Review                        Synopsis: Mallory Quinn has had enough of playing it safe. As a nurse and devoted daughter, she takes care of everyone but herself. And as the local good girl, she’s expected to date Mr. Right. But for once, she’d like to take a risk on Mr. Wrong. And who could be more wrong than Ty Garrison? The mysterious new guy in town has made it clear that he’s only passing through, which suits Mallory just fine. Besides, his lean, hard body and sexy smile will give her plenty to remember once he’s gone . . .
For the first time in his life, Ty can’t bear to leave. Helping this sexy seductress-in-training walk on the wild side is making him desire things he shouldn?t?including leaving the military for good. As their just-for-fun fling becomes something more, Mallory and Ty wonder if they could really be this lucky in love. After all . . . anything can happen in a town called Lucky Harbor.                                                                                                             Initial Thoughts: I am not that far into this book yet but so far I am loving it as much as I have the last 3 books. The book is centred around Mallory and Ty who are great characters. When I finish reading this boo I am sure that I will give it a five star rating as I have the other books I’ve read in the series because I am enjoying it as much as I have them. I am loving being back in Lucky Harbor again as I love reading about the small town community.

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

The Night Circus by Erin Morgerstern

The Night Circus

Book Information                                                  Initial Thoughts:  I started this book in EBook format and although I was enjoying it  only managed to reach the 20% read mark as I struggled to get into it so I got the audio book from Overdrive. I am so glad i got the audio book because the Narrator is so good at voicing all the different characters it has really caught my attention now so I am finally going to be able to finish it. Already I can’t wait to see where the story goes and how it all winds up. If your interested in my final thoughts about the book then you may want to look out for my mini review in next weeks Friday reads post which will include a link to my Goodreads review.

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

The Trouble with Sheep and Goats by Joanna Cannon

Cover of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

Book Information                                                                    Source:   overdrive                                                                 Format: EBook                                                                         Reading Status:   Currently Reading (2/9)                         MIDWAY THOUGHTS: I am at the point I the book now where it’s really catching my attention and making me sit up and want to know whats going to happen next, probably because I have got to know the characters a little more now. However I am finding it hard to read a lot in one go because as I am reading it on my mobile some of the chapters are coming out really long so its difficult to read them in one sitting. I am thoroughly enjoying the writing style and the plot.                                                                             Links: Goodreads | Review   

 ∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow #1) by Danielle Paige
                                                                     
Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow, #1)

Source: Netgalley                                                           Format:  EBook                                                               Reading Status: Currently Reading (started 9/9)     Synopsis:  From New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die comes a thrilling, Maleficent-esque twist on The Snow Queen, from the “villain’s” point of view that’s equal parts love story and Frozen—all grown up.Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent the majority of her life within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she’s not crazy and doesn’t belong there. When she meets a mysterious, handsome new orderly and dreams about a strange twisted tree she realizes she must escape and figure out who she really is.

Using her trusting friend Bale as a distraction, Snow breaks free and races into the nearby woods. Suddenly, everything isn’t what it seems, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur, and she finds herself in icy Algid–her true home–with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai, none of whom she’s sure she can trust. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she’s destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change the fate of everything . . . including Snow’s return to the world she once knew.

This breathtaking first volume begins the story of how Snow becomes a villain, a queen, and ultimately a hero.

Mid-way Thoughts: I am thoroughly enjoying this well written and intriguing book. in fact I am enjoying it so much that its making me want to read The Snow Queen the book that its a re imagining of. Snow is s fantastic character who I fell in love with immediately and I can’t wait to see how she develops more in this and future books. Look out for my mini review for this book in next weeks Friday reads which will also contain a link to my Goodreads review for the book.
 Links: Goodreads | Review | Friday Read’s Post
 ∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4/4) by Maggie Stiefvatterh

Click here to view Audiobook details for The Raven King by Maggie StiefvaterSource:  Overdrive                                                           Format: Audio book                                                       Series: The Raven Cycle #4/4                                         Narrator (s):   Will Patton                                              Reading Status:  Currently Reading, Started  4/10     Synopsis: The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater. All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love’s death. She doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. In a starred review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Kirkus Reviews declared: “Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close.”

Mid-way Thoughts:  Now I am further into this book I can honestly say that I am lovig it and think that its going to                                                         Links: Goodreads |Friday Read’s Post | Review

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Love in a Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Click here to view Audiobook details for Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

Source: Overdrive                                                            Format:  Audio Book                                                         Narrator (s): Armando Durán                                         Reading Status: Currently Reading, Started 5/10         Synopsis: From the Nobel Prize–winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude comes a masterly evocation of an unrequited passion so strong that it binds two people’s lives together for more than half a century.

In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career, he whiles away the years in 622 affairs—yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he does so again.

With humorous sagacity and consummate craft, Gabriel García Márquez traces an exceptional half-century of unrequited love. Though it seems never to be conveniently contained, love flows through the novel in many wonderful guises—joyful, melancholy, enriching, and ever surprising.

From the Nobel Prize–winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude comes a masterly evocation of an unrequited passion so strong that it binds two people’s lives together for more than half a century.

In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career, he whiles away the years in 622 affairs—yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he does so again.

With humorous sagacity and consummate craft, Gabriel García Márquez traces an exceptional half-century of unrequited love. Though it seems never to be conveniently contained, love flows through the novel in many wonderful guises—joyful, melancholy, enriching, and ever surprising.

Initial Thoughts: Although I haven’t  listened to much of this Book so far I am really enjoying it so far and think that it is going to be very informative as well. As it stands now I will give the book a five star rating but if your interested in my final thoughts on the book along with its star rating then look out for my mini review on next weeks Friday reads post as well as my Goodreads review who’s link will be included with the afore mentioned mini review.                                                                                                               Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post | Review

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Cover of Beauty Queens

Source: Overdrive                                                    Format:  Audio Book                                               Narrator (s): Armando Durán                               Reading Status: Currently Reading (Started 4/10)                                                          Synopsis:  The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program — or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan — or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up? Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Initial Thoughts:   I have only listened to the first couple of chapters of this book so far I am really enjoying it so far. As it stands now I will give the book a four star rating but if your interested in my final thoughts on the book along with its star rating then look out for my mini review on next weeks Friday reads post as well as my Goodreads review who’s link will be included with the afore mentioned mini review.                                                 Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post| Review

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Knife Edge (Noughts and Crosses #2/4) by Malorie Blackman

Cover of Knife Edge

Source:  overdrive                                                     Narrator (s):  Syan Blake & Paul Chequer           Series:  Noughts and Crosses #2/4                       Other books in series: Noughts and Crosses, Checkmate, Double Cross                                       Reading Status: Currently Reading (started 5/10)                                                             Synopsis:  WHEN TRUTH AND JUSTICE ARE NO LONGER BLACK AND WHITE ISSUES . . .

Sephy is a Cross, one of the privileged in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts as inferiors. But her baby daughter has a nought father . . . Jude is a Nought. Eaten up with bitterness, he blames Sephy for the terrible losses his family has suffered . . .

Now Jude’s life rests on a knife edge. Will Sephy be forced, once again, to take sides?

A razor-sharp and intensely moving novel, the second in the Noughts & Crosses sequence.

Initial thoughts:  I haven’t read much of this book so far but I am really enjoying it so far and I think it  will be a solid continuation to this series. As it stands now I will give the book a five star rating but if your interested in my final thoughts on the book along with its star rating then look out for my mini review on next weeks Friday reads post as well as my Goodreads review who’s link will be included with the afore mentioned mini review.       Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post | Review

∩   ∩   ∩   ∩  ∩   ∩

Figment (Insanity: The Complete Books 1-3 #1/3) by Cameron Jace

Product Details

Source: Amazon                                                  Format:  Kindle Book                                         Reading Status: Currently Reading, (started 7/10)                                            Synopsis: After her encounter with the Cheshire Cat, Alice Wonder can hardly tell reality from imagination. But when kids have their head chopped off and stuffed in watermelons all over the city, it’s clear that another Wonderland Monster has arrived, possibly scarier than the Cheshire. Alice, along with Professor Pillar, have to solve the killer’s puzzles before a horrible event th...more

Initial Thoughts: I am not that far into this book yet but I am enjoying it just as much as I did the first one. Already I can’t wait to see the adventures that Alice goes on and how her character is developed futher as well.  If you want to know what star rating I gave this book as well as my final thoughts on it then look out for my mini review in a future Friday Read’s post which will also include the link to my Goodreads Review.                               Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post | Review   

The Governess Was Wild (Governess #3/3) by Julia Kelly


The Governess Was Wild (Governess, #3)Format:                                                                  Source:                                                                 Reading Status: Currently reading (started 12/10) Synopsis: Travel through the English countryside in this third delightful historical Regency romance in the Governesses series by award-winning author Julia Kelly!

When Lady Margaret Rawson is caught trying to elope with the thoroughly unsuitable James Lawrence, Lord and Lady Rawson decide it’s time to send their daughter away from the temptations of London. The job of delivering the headstrong girl to the family’s isolated Yorkshire estate naturally falls to her governess, Jane Ephram. It should be an easy task, but with the wild Lady Margaret, nothing ever goes according to plan. To make matters worse, Lord Rawson has made it clear that if anything happens to his daughter along the way, Jane will be dismissed without a letter of reference. When Jane finds Lady Margaret’s inn room empty and the charming Sir Nicholas Hollings’s horse missing one morning, she must embark on an adventure of her own with the devilishly handsome baron. Will Jane and Nicholas find Lady Margaret, the scheming Mr. Lawrence, and the missing horse, or will they discover something else entirely?                                                                                                              Initial Thoughts: Although I haven’t read that much of this book yet I know I am going to enjoy it as much as I have the others. I am going to love learning more about Jane (the governess) and about the family she works for as well as about any new characters that are introduced in this book.                                                                                                Links: Goodreads | Friday Read’s Post | Review