Sunday Post - 176 & Stacking the Shelves - 127

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Lots happened this past week. Monday I took Baby Girl to see Santa. It was past naptime, but she was doing great until 2 people ahead of us in line and then she lost it. The picture with Santa turned out pretty hilarious. Then we hung out with my sister at her house. Tuesday my sister dropped by our house so that I could get some house cleaning done while she watched that baby. Wednesday night we had a small party with church. Thursday we celebrated Christmas with Husband's family. And Friday was Christmas with my family. Saturday we were in recovery mode. But it was a lovely week. I'm looking forward to things calming back down a bit this coming week though.

THIS PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of War (True Reign, # 3) by Jennifer Anne Davis (4 Stars)
Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want Santa to Bring
Wednesday: 2015 Series Enders Reading Challenge - December Wrap Up & 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge - Sign Up
Saturday: 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge - Goals

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of Cage of Deceit (Reign of Secrets, # 1) by Jennifer Anne Davis
Tuesday: Top Ten Anticipated Releases for January-June 2016
Wednesday: December 2015 EOM Wrap Up
Thursday: No Blog Posts
Friday: 2015 EOY Wrap Up & 2015 EOY Book Survey (maybe...if I can get these post prepped in time)

Don’t forget to sign up for the 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge! You have until December 15, 2016 to sign up. Each month there will be a giveaway for those participating with an end of the year giveaway too! Click on the picture below or the link above to find out more!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Their Fractured Light (Starbound, # 3)

By: Aimee Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Publication: December 1st 2015 by Disney-Hyperion

400 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present from Holly)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.

Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.

Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.

When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.

Winter (Lunar Chronicles, # 4)

By: Marissa Meyer

Publication: November 10th 2015 by Feiwel and Friends

800 pages

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Personal Library (Christmas present from my mom)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Here is the stunning conclusion to the national bestselling Lunar Chronicles, inspired by Snow White.

When Princess Winter was thirteen, the rumor around the Lunar court was that her glamour would soon be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. In a fit of jealousy, Levana disfigured Winter. Four years later, Winter has sworn off the use of her glamour altogether. Despite her scars, Winter’s natural beauty, her grace, and her gentleness are winning admiration from the Lunar people that no amount of mind-control could achieve.

Winter despises her stepmother, but has never dreamed of standing up to her. That is, until she realizes that she may be the only one with the power to confront the queen.

Can Cinder, Prince Kai, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, Thorne, Princess Winter, and the palace guard Jacin find their happily ever afters? Fans will LOVE this amazing conclusion to the series.

Split Second (Pivot Point, # 2)

By: Kasie West

Published: February 11th 2014 by HarperTeen

360 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present from my sister-in-law)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too... but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories... once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot... and a future that could change everything.

The Certainty of Violet & Luke (The Coincidence, # 5)

By: Jessica Sorensen

Publication: September 16th 2014

300 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present from Husband)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Amazon description--Violet Hayes’s life is a mess. Between her stalker, Preston, refusing to leave her alone, her parents’ case still being unsolved, and falling behind in school, she always feels on the verge of losing it. When some unexpected news comes her way, it’s the final straw and she ends up doing something that almost costs her life. Thankfully, she survives and makes a promise to herself to put her life back together and to try and figure out exactly how she feels about Luke Price, the one person that’s always there for her.

But as a recovering alcoholic and gambler, Luke has his own struggles to overcome. He’s also fallen in love with Violet, but fears telling her the truth, that it will scare her away or worse, she won’t reciprocate the feeling. Plus, there never seems to be a right time to say it, either the case, Preston, or life getting in the way.

Can the two of them ever get enough peace in their lives to conquer their fears and finally tell each other the truth about how they feel?

The Resolution of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, # 6)

By: Jessica Sorensen

Publication: September 30th 2014

300 pages

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present from Husband)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Things are going good for Callie and Kayden. They’re still dealing with their past and the pain connected to it, but for the most part they’ve moved on. The biggest decision they have at the moment is what they want to do with their lives in the future.

Eventually, though, the past catches up with them and it leaves them with a choice no one wants to make. But Callie and Kayden learn that as long as they have each other, they can make it through just about anything. And in the end, they discover what they really want out of life.

End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days, # 3)

By: Susan Ee

Publication: May 12th 2015 by Skyscape

344 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Angels, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present from Husband)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

Esther: A Royal Beauty (Dangerous Beauty, # 1)

By: Angela Elwell Hunt

Published: January 6th 2015 by Bethany House Publishers

348 pages

Genre: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction

Source: Personal Kindle Library (Christmas present from my sister-in-law)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--An ambitious tyrant threatens genocide against the Jews in ancient Persia, so an inexperienced beautiful young queen must take a stand for her people.

When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king's heart and a queen's crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king's permission to exterminate all Jews--young and old, powerful and helpless. Purposely violating an ancient Persian law, she risks her life in order to save her people...and bind her husband's heart.

Esther marks bestselling author Angela Hunt's return to biblical fiction. In each novel she explores an example of a Hebrew Old Testament tob woman: a woman whose physical beauty influences those around her--and can change the course of history.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge - Goals

This challenge is for all of you series readers who are scared to death of that last book in the series. You anxiously await it. You stalk it. You get your hands on it as soon as possible. But then…you put off reading it for fear that it might not be everything you thought it would be. Or, maybe you just have a backlog of series started and you need to finish that last book.

Join us in knocking out those pesky last books in a series. This is your chance. Here’s your motivation. Better than that, we have prizes!

Levels: (how many series enders you are planning to read)

Level 1: 1 – 5
Level 2: 5 – 10
Level 3: 10 – 15
Level 4: 15+

Check out the the sign up post to join!

This challenge is hosted by Somewhere Only We Know and Words Fueled by Love.

<a border="0" href="http://sandyfarmer.blogspot.com/2015/12/2016-series-enders-reading-challenge.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrwroRZOkvu2fC6A_2hVT_8xcaQAHWV1Ti9iaBmljvj42KNPvyaPAJdbsMXWHEoHLJ41KzrHZzswbOCiVazC2b55Fg7UPp5SuBeqRSaZqmw7Q6z6dRsQfDTbejiEypoaMBtCvGZ4pNKk/s320/2016SeriesEnders.gif" height="225" width="225" /></a>

My Goals:

1. Forever Summer (Summer, # 4) by CJ Duggan
2. Winter (Lunar Chronicles, # 4) by Marissa Meyer
3. Split Second (Pivot Point, # 2) by Kasie West
4. Opposition (Lux, # 5) by Jennifer L Armtentrout
5. Their Fractured Light (Starbound, # 3) by Aime Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
6. Morning Star (Red Rising Trilogy, # 3) by Pierce Brown
7. Beautiful Burn (The Maddox Brothers, # 4) by Jamie McGuire
8. The Crown (The Selection, # 5) by Kiera Cass
9. The Natural History of Us (The Fine Art of Pretending, # 2) by Rachel Harris
10. The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy, # 3) by Marie Rutkoski
11. Return to Paradise (Leaving Paradise, # 2) by Simone Elkeles
12. Finding It (Losing It, # 3) by Cora Carmack
13. November Snow (Bad Bloods, # 2) by Shannon A Thompson
14. Finale (Hush, Hush, # 4) by Becca Fitzpatrick
15. Unforgiven (Fallen, # 4) by Lauren Kate
16. Ruins (Partials, # 3) by Dan Wells
17. Ruin & Rising (The Grisha, # 3) by Leigh Bardugo
18. Until We Fly (Beautifully Broken, # 4) by Courtney Cole
19. The Eye of Andromeda (Age of X, # 3) by Richelle Mead
20. The Raven King (The Raven Cycle, # 4) by Maggie Stiefvater
21. The Last Star (The 5th Wave, # 3) by Rick Yancey
22. End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days, # 3) by Susan Ee
23. Never Never Part 3 by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
24. The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles, # 3) by Mary E Pearson
25. Inspiring You (Unraveling You, # 4) by Jessica Sorensen
26. Emerald Green (The Ruby Red Trilogy, # 3) by Kerstin Gier

Of course, there's always the possibility that I'll not get to some of these )a few of them have been on my goals list for the last two years), or I'll come across a new/new-to-me series that I read the entire series during 2016. So we'll see what happens. These are just the enders on my radar right now.

2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge

The 2015 Series Enders Reading Challenge was another success, and so Holly and I decided we're going to keep it up. We have updated a few of the rules this year, so please be sure to check them out for any changes if you participated last year.

This challenge is for all of you series readers who are scared to death of that last book in the series. You anxiously await it. You stalk it. You get your hands on it as soon as possible. But then…you put off reading it for fear that it might not be everything you thought it would be. Or, maybe you just have a backlog of series started and you need to finish that last book.

Join us in knocking out those pesky last books in a series. This is your chance. Here’s your motivation. Better than that, we have prizes!

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2016.
2. Anyone can enter. You don’t have to have a blog just as long as you review your books somewhere: on your blog if you have one, Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc.
3. Any genre, length, or format is acceptable as long as it is the last book in a series where all books in the series have been published and no more books are currently intended to be published in the series. If an author makes a decision somewhere during the year to add on to the series, we will count both the original last book in the series and the “new last” book in the series assuming the author isn’t going to write more than one additional book. Last book published in a series doesn’t count if more books are expected to be published.
4. You can list your series enders ahead of time or do a singular wrap up post. If you decide to list them up front, feel free to change them throughout the year as necessary.
5. When you sign up in the linky, please use the direct link to your post about joining the 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge. If you don’t have a blog, please post about it on Facebook or Twitter and include that direct link as your sign up.
6. You can sign up until December 15, 2016. This allows you to join the challenge at any time during the year.
7. On the 25th of every month, we will post a wrap up on both Somewhere Only We Know and Words Fueled by Love with a giveaway and a place for you to link up your reviews for the month. The monthly giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up (ex. From January 25th 2016, to February 25th 2016). For each link to a review, you will get an (1) entry into a drawing for that giveaway. This will be open internationally.
8. Monthly giveaway prizes will be an e-gift card of your choice up to $5 (USD) from Amazon, The Book Depository, or Barnes and Noble.
9. If you miss a wrap-up post and giveaway, you can link your review the next month. Please do not try to link to one review twice. We will be verifying these.
10. December will be the wrap up for the entire year. All reviews linked from January through December will be entered into a Grand Prize giveaway. Also due to Christmas, the December wrap up will post on December 23rd and will be open until January 23rd.
11. You don’t have to follow Somewhere Only We Know or Words Fueled by Love to participate in the challenge, but you do have to follow both of us in order to be entered in the giveaways.

Levels: (how many series enders you are planning to read)

Level 1: 1 – 5
Level 2: 5 – 10
Level 3: 10 – 15
Level 4: 15+

If you have any questions, please contact us at: Sandy's Email or Holly's Email

To join the challenge:

1. Write a blog post about joining the 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge on your blog. For those of you who would like to participate but don’t have a blog, post about it on Facebook or Twitter.
2. In your post, please include: the button, a link back to the sign up page, a link to both Somewhere Only We Know and Words Fueled by Love, the level you hope to achieve, and (optional) a list of the series you hope to complete.
3. Place the button for the challenge in your sidebar (use the “grab this code” at the bottom of the post here).
4. Link up in the linky using the direct link to your post/tweet/etc.

And that’s it! Welcome to the 2016 Series Enders Reading Challenge. Good luck!

This reading challenge is hosted by Somewhere Only We Know & Words Fueled by Love.

<a border="0" href="http://sandyfarmer.blogspot.com/2015/12/2016-series-enders-reading-challenge.html" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrwroRZOkvu2fC6A_2hVT_8xcaQAHWV1Ti9iaBmljvj42KNPvyaPAJdbsMXWHEoHLJ41KzrHZzswbOCiVazC2b55Fg7UPp5SuBeqRSaZqmw7Q6z6dRsQfDTbejiEypoaMBtCvGZ4pNKk/s320/2016SeriesEnders.gif" height="225" width="225" /></a>

Like last year, we had to use Simply-Linked for the yearly sign up linky because InLinkz has made some changes to the basic package. The monthly link ups will be the typical InLinkz linky that we used for the 2014 Series Enders Reading Challenge.

2015 Series Enders Reading Challenge - December Wrap Up

Time for our last Monthly Wrap Up for the 2015 Series Enders Reading Challenge hosted by Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know and Holly @ Words Fueled by Love!

Since posting the 2015 Series Enders Reading Challenge - November Wrap Up, I finished one series ender: Paradise Road (Paradise, # 2) by CJ Duggan. Holly hasn't finished any series enders this month.

Which series enders did you finish? Link the up below. Don't forget to include the title, your name, & your blog name (Ex: Requiem - Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know) Also, the December giveaway is the grand prize giveaway for the year and runs from December 23rd - January 23rd. On January 23rd we will use random.org and the linky entries from all months to pull a winner.

Top Ten Books I Want Santa to Bring Me

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books I Want Santa to Bring Me.

1. Winter (Lunar Chronicles, # 4) by Marissa Meyer
2. Their Fractured Light (Starbound, # 3) by Meagan Spooner & Aime Kaufman
3. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett
4. On Becoming Babywise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nightime Sleep by Gary Ezzo
5. Esther: A Royal Beauty (A Dangerous Beauty, # 1) by Angela Hunt
6. The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles, # 2) by Mary E Pearson (already read but do not own)
7. End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days, # 3) by Susan Ee
8. Split Second (Pivot Point, # 2) by Kasie West
9. Inspiring You (Unraveling You, # 4) by Jessica Sorensen
10. Extreme Wordsearch Puzzle Books by Parragon Books - Is it totally weird that I've been kind of craving a good search-a-word?

Which books are you hoping that Santa brings you? Let me know!