It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (20)

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through Books.

In the past week I read:

Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 5/5 - review
Alex Scarrow - TimeRiders: Day Of The Predator 4/5

At the moment I'm reading:

Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer et al - Prom Nights From Hell

In the next week I hope to read:

Pittacus Lore - I Am Number Four
Alyson Noel - Shadowland

In My Mailbox (18)

In My Mailbox is a meme created by The Story Siren, and sums up my past week in book purchases!

So this week I bought 6 books:

Rachel Vincent - Rogue / Prey / Shift

Okay, so cats don't always land on their feet. I know that better than most. Since rejoining the Pride, I've made big decisions and even bigger mistakes: the kind paid for with innocent lives. As the first and only female enforcer, I have plenty to prove to my father, the Pride, and myself.

~~~~~

Claudia Gray - Evernight

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

~~~~~

Meg Cabot/Stephenie Meyer et al - Prom Nights From Hell

In this exciting collection, bestselling authors Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer, and Lauren Myracle take bad prom nights to a whole new level—a paranormally bad level. Wardrobe malfunctions and two left feet don't hold a candle to discovering your date is the Grim Reaper—and he isn't here to tell you how hot you look.

From angels fighting demons to a creepy take on getting what you wish for, these five stories will entertain better than any DJ in a bad tux. No corsage or limo rental necessary. Just good, scary fun.

~~~~~

Dean Koontz - Relentless

Hostile reviews may have hastened the deaths of some writers, but Cubby Greenwich is made of sterner stuff. At least this is what he tells himself, meanwhile obsessing about the scathing review of his latest bestseller by Shearman Waxx in a national newspaper. A feared and therefore revered critic, Waxx has an aura of mystery about him that has carried him far as an arbiter of taste, but the mystery itself is about to break cover. In an unexpected encounter with Waxx, Cubby says one innocent word, but it is the wrong word, and it seems to trigger an inhuman fury in the critic, who becomes bent on destroying Cubby and everything he loves. For it soon becomes apparent that Waxx is not merely a ferocious literary enemy, but a ruthless sociopath. When Cubby finally learns the truth, can he save himself and his family from the appalling danger they are in?

~~~~~

And I also received 2 books from a friend as a gift:

Adam L G Nevill - Banquet For The Damned

Few believed Professor Coldwell was in touch with an unseen world and could commune with spirits. But in Scotland’s oldest university town something has passed from darkness into light, and now the students are being haunted by night terrors. And those who are visited mysteriously disappear. This is no place for outsiders, especially at night, so what chance do a rootless musician and burnt-out explorer have of surviving their entanglement with an ageless supernatural evil and the ruthless cult that worships it? This chilling occult thriller is both a homage to the great age of British ghost stories and a fast-paced modern tale of diabolism and witchcraft.

~~~~~

Adam Nevill - Apartment 16

Some doors are better left closed...In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it's been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever. A young American woman, Apryl, arrives at Barrington House. She's been left an apartment by her mysterious Great Aunt Lillian who died in strange circumstances. Rumours claim Lillian was mad. But her diary suggests she was implicated in a horrific and inexplicable event decades ago. Determined to learn something of this eccentric woman, Apryl begins to unravel the hidden story of Barrington House. She discovers that a transforming, evil force still inhabits the building. And the doorway to Apartment 16 is a gateway to something altogether more terrifying...

~~~~~

And I also received a book from Pump Up Your Book for review as part of a tour:

Christopher Stookey - Terminal Care

Phil Pescoe, the 37-year-old emergency physician at Deaconess Hospital in San Francisco, becomes alarmed by a dramatic increase in the number of deaths on the East Annex (the Alzheimer's Ward). The deaths coincide with the initiation of a new drug study on the annex where a team of neurologists have been administering "NAF"—an experimental and highly promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease—to half of the patients on the ward. Mysteriously, the hospital pushes forward with the study even though six patients have died since the start of the trial. Pescoe teams up with Clara Wong—a brilliant internist with a troubled past—to investigate the situation. Their inquiries lead them unwittingly into the cutthroat world of big-business pharmaceuticals, where they are threatened to be swept up and lost before they have the opportunity to discover the truth behind the elaborate cover-up.With the death count mounting, Pescoe and Wong race against time to save the patients on the ward and to stop the drug manufacturer from unleashing a dangerous new drug on the general populace.

Book Blogger Hop (9)

Welcome hoppers from the book blogger hop! In case you don't know what I'm talking about, this is a weekly event hosted by Crazy for Books where bloggers and readers can find each other and share their love for books!

If you're hopping by here, leave a comment and I'll be sure to visit you in return! :)

Do you judge a book by its cover? Yeah, I guess I do sometimes, I won't necessarily when it comes to recommendations, but when I'm browing in a store, covers do matter.

Top Ten Picks: Book Covers

Top Ten Picks is a weekly meme by Jillian about your top 10 picks! Each week, there will be a different theme and this weeks theme is 'book covers'. So here are my top 10 book covers (in no particular order) ~

1. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I think these books are just so pretty and eye catching. My favourite is the first book, I love that it has Katniss on the cover. In person the HG monogram is raised, so gives the cover a nice feel.

2. Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda



This is one of the prettiest covers I've ever seen, and I love how it completely ties in with the story in every way. It also has pretty shiny gel like swirls all over the cover which is a nice extra.

3. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick



A falling half-naked angel, need I say more? I also love the fact the background is metallic silver.

4. Memoirs Of A Geisha by Arthur Golden



I love anything that is Geisha related, so this naturally falls into that catagory. Her face is just so pretty, I find this cover almost mesmerising.

5. The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon



I love the colour, and the almost haunting picture of the shadowed man walking alone through the streets.

6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger



Again, this cover depicts the story so well, plus I just think it's kind of intriguing. When I first saw this cover I couldn't stop wondering why the little girl was stood by a pile of clothes and shoes, obviously when I read the book it became apparant.

7. The Arena (The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins)



I think I was around 14 when I first saw this cover, and the it drew me in instantly. I have a thing for covers with faces on, and the girl mixed with the sepia tone, the great title font and the title all mixed together make a great cover.

8. Fallen by Lauren Kate



Not only do you have the mysterious girl at the front who's covering her face, but you have the kind of creepy blue and black background, the whole thing just intrigues me.

9. Fairytale Of New York by Miranda Dickinson



I'm not a massive fan of chick-lit, and I don't read it that often, but this book cover is just so pretty that I had to have it! With the pink and purples, and the girl on the bridge with her face to the sky, I just think it's lovely.

10. The Death And Life Of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood



This cover just seems so care free, two brothers playing and having fun and that reflects the aspect of the book about Charlie and Sam being such close brothers and not being able to let go of each other.

So what are your favourite book covers?

August Summary

Books completed ~ 10
Sarwat Chadda - Dark Goddess 4/5 - review
Kelley Armstrong - Waking The Witch 5/5 - review
Linwood Barclay - Fear The Worst 4/5 - review
Eve Edwards - The Other Countess 3.5/5 - review
Carol Lynch Williams - The Chosen One 4/5 - review
Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love 4/5 - review
Sebastian Fitzek - Therapy 5/5 - review
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games 5/5 - review
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 4.5/5 - review
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 5/5 - review

Books bought ~ 12
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love
Carol Lynch Williams - The Chosen One
Stephenie Meyer - Breaking Dawn
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Rachel Vincent - Pride
Charlaine Harris, et al - Night's Edge
Tess Gerritsen - Whistleblower
Tess Gerritsen - Presumed Guilty
Meg Cabot - Love You To Death & High Stakes
Rick Riordan - The Lightening Thief

Other posts ~
# Teaser Tuesdays - Dark Goddess / The Other Countess / Eat, Pray, Love / Therapy / TimeRiders: Day Of The Predator
# Top Ten Picks - Favourite Book Quotes / Fictional Places
# Bookish Survey

Overall ~
I'm quite pleased by how many I ended up reading in August, because I had a pretty rough month illness wise, and went quite long periods without reading anything at all, so I'm glad that despite that, I managed to rack up 10 books this month. My favourite reads were undoubtedly The Hunger Games trilogy, I adored them and thought it was a fantastic series of books. But I also really loved Waking The Witch and Therapy and would definitely recommend them both too. My least favourite was The Other Countess, but I still enjoyed that one, so I consider this month to be a success! I'm glad summer is finally coming to an end though, I always read more when it's cooler, purely because there's nothing more I love than snuggling in bed with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book when it's cold outside, so fingers crossed that in the last few months before the end of the year I manage to get my reading close to my goal of 150.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

No. of pages: 455
Rating: 10/10
Series: The Hunger Games trilogy (Book 3)

Synopsis: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge...

Review: Still recovering from the events of the second Hunger Games, Katniss doesn't really understand what's going on. That's until they tell her about the uprising in all the districts, and how she, as the Mockingjay, has become the face of the revolution. But war is never easy, and Katniss is about to find that out firsthand...

I wasn't sure what to expect from Mockingjay, and in a way I was a bit apprehensive, after all, what if this one book came to ruin a series I had quickly come to adore. But I need not have worried, as Mockingjay was fantastic, and even exceeded my highest hopes for ending this series. I loved the plot of the uprising, and how Katniss stood up as the Mockingjay to give everyone hope that they could win. Character wise, there were a few things I wasn't expecting, such as what happens to Peeta, and also seeing Prim mature so much and come in to her role as healer. I found quite a few of the deaths devestating, and in a way I hate Collins for killing them off, but the story is about war, and good people die in wars so I guess she had to show that. The ending was exactly what I expected of Katniss, and I was glad she ended up with the person she did. In a way I feel like it was always going to be inevitable from the first page. A fantastic ending to an amazing series, I would definitely recommend this series to everyone!