Stacking the Shelves #81

This feature is hosted by Tynga’s Review. It’s a way to show our readers what books we’ve added to our shelves.

This week, I bought a book, I got a book from Edelweiss and I picked up a book from the library. A nice small haul for the second week in a row.

Go forth and see what I added to my shelves.

Bought

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Received for Review
-Edelweiss-

An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

Library

Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu

I hope you all have a fabulous week! I’ll be out of town all week, but the blog will be active with Disney related guest posts. Be sure to leave links to your haul posts so I can check them out when I get back home.

Stacking the Shelves #59

This feature is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Hi guys! This week my brand new computer arrived. I am still learning how to use it as I had never used Windows 8 before so I’m struggling with mastering it. I hope I master it quickly so I’m no longer all thumbs with it.

I got 2 books from Edelweiss, 2 books from NetGalley and I was gifted a book from a friend as well. Thank you so much Bekka! I received a book for an ARC Tour. I also bought a book using a gift card I got. On Saturday, I was surprised with a package from Bloomsbury.

Here’s what I added to my shelves.

Bought

The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi

Received for Review

-NetGalley

Chaos Theory by M. Evonne Dobson

Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman

-Edelweiss-

All Broke Down (Rusk University #2) by Cora Cormack
On the Edge by Allison van Diepen

ARC Tour

Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Mackie

-From Publisher-

Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills

Gifted

The Vault of Dreamers (Untitled #1) by Caragh M. O’Brien

Bloggers Mentioned
Bekka

So be sure to tell me if you’ve read any of these or if you are planning on it. I am hopeful this reading slump will end soon as I am frustrated with my lack of blogging lately. Don’t forget to leave me links to your book haul posts!

Review: Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell

Book Title: Summer on the Short Bus

Author: Bethany Crandell

Published Date: April 1st, 2014

Publisher: Roaring Press Books

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Spoiled, Versace-clad Cricket Montgomery has seventeen years of pampering under her belt. So when her father decides to ship her off to a summer camp for disabled teens to help her learn some accountability, Cricket resigns herself to three weeks of handicapped hell. 

Her sentence takes a bearable turn as she discovers the humor and likeability of the campers and grows close to fellow counselors. Now, if she can just convince a certain Zac Efron look-alike with amazing blue eyes that she finally realizes there’s life after Gucci, this summer could turn out to be the best she’s ever had.

Summer on the Short Bus is a very non-P.C., contemporary YA with a lot of attitude, tons of laughs, and a little life lesson along the way.

Disclaimer: This was a personal purchase.

Review:

There are so few books about kids with disabilities, so as soon as I saw the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to have it. As a teenager, I attended an aquatics summer camp for teens with disabilities, so Summer on the Short Bus really excited me and I was so hoping this book wouldn’t disappoint me. I wasn’t even concerned with the non-P.C. qualities that it was supposed to possess.

Yes, Cricket was a pain in the butt. She was a spoiled, pampered princess who really had no idea what it was like to grow up in the normal world. Was she ignorant, rude and, at times, downright mean? Yes, she was. It was clear to me that she was not comfortable around kids with disabilities. Truth be told, I was not very comfortable around kids with disabilities even though I have my own disability, but I honestly think that for me, it’s because I never really saw myself as disabled. So I really didn’t crucify her for feeling uncomfortable around these teenagers.

Quinn was an awesome surprise and I was really glad we got to know his story as I thought it was really important. It was important to find out how he had come to work at Camp I Can, and what inspired him to do so. I loved how Cricket slowly began to soften around him. It wasn’t a quick turnaround for Cricket, which made sense to me. It was more realistic for Cricket to be physically attracted to Quinn early on, but to have their relationship slowly grow and develop. I love the slow burn so I was excited to see it here, with these two.

This book was really an awesome surprise, but I really wish there had been more character development for the secondary characters. Especially Colin, Fantine, Aidan, Meredith and Claire. We ended up getting more than I expected about Rainbow, so big kudos to Crandell for that one. Had there been more overall character development I know I would have loved this book. With that said, I really did enjoy this book and will be giving it 4 stars.

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Book Title: She Is Not Invisible

Author: Marcus Sedgewick

Release Date: April 22nd, 2014

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Genre: YA/Contemporary/Mystery

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Laureth Peak’s father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers–a skill at which she’s remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.

Disclaimer:I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. 

Review:

I was very excited about this book and jumped into it as soon as I could. I loved the idea of a blind protagonist as that is something that is not seen in many, if any, literature. So I was curious to see how it would be written. I was not expecting it to be written in the way that it was written. It pretty much ruined the book for me. I read for pleasure and the last thing I want to feel while I’m reading is that I am in a philosophy lecture. Unfortunately that’s exactly the way I felt while reading this.

Not only that, but you really have to suspend reality for a little while. Now I don’t have any problems with Laureth being blind and traveling. I know lots of blind people who travel. But having it be so easy for Laureth and Ben to travel from London to New York without having hardly any issues at all? Um, no. So not possible. Especially when they have never traveled on their own before.

Ben and Laureth I really enjoyed.There aren’t enough books that have a sister and brother that really enjoy being around each other. They were my favorite part of the book but even they weren’t enough to make me enjoy the book. The writing style was really weird and I think that if there wasn’t a philosophy lecture at every chapter, I could have overlooked the strange writing.

The ending was really anticlimactic. I was expecting something quite different from what I got and I was left feeling very disappointed. This book was just not one that I enjoyed. Hopefully others will find it enjoyable but I did not. I’ll be giving it 2 stars. The overabundance of philosophy just really ruined the book for me.