#FridayReads

Good evening my bookish lovelies,
I know it's been a while since i've done any updating, however i promise you, it's for good reason! Not only am i now in full swing of Fall semester at University, but i've recently begun writing my very first novel. On top of all that i've been spending my days as a mum and girlfriend (while also sneaking in as many naps and NetFlix TV shows as i can.) Now that you're in the know, how about a post on what i plan on reading this weekend:






1. First, i'll be trying to finish up the last couple hundred pages i have left in The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. I am really quite obsessed with this read and can't wait to read more of Brown's work.










2. If i've got any other spare time, i'll be hoping to start Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness. The first book in this trilogy, A Discovery of Witches, was one of my favorite books of 2012. I am more than thrilled to continue on see what happens!





How about you? What are your #FridayReads? 
Follow #FridayReads hashtag on Twitter. My handle: @hmmcw

Bout of Books 8.0 Read-a-thon

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My Bout of Books TBR:

1. Juliet by Anne Fortier

2. DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

3. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

4. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

If i finish these 4, ill be sure to add another boom or two to the list. Whats on your Bout of Books TBR?

#30dayread Challenge

There's a current book challenge ensuing through the BookTube-ing community that's quickly picking up steam.. the 30 Day Reads Challenge.  Of course the moment i heard about this, everything in me was screaming I MUST PARTICIPATE. Lately i've been in a bit of reading slump, so what better way to remedy such a tragedy. I'll be following BookTuber SHOUTAME, and her 30 day plan. Find below a quick YouTube link to her video discussing her TBR pile and a little more about the challenge...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI8NeIj8KPo

Here's some quick info:

1. Challenge starts today (June 17) and runs through July 16.
2. Read at least 200 pages a day for 30 days
3. Read any book you fancy, whether short or long (a fantastic way to knock out some of those massive novels we all have sitting on our shelves.)
4. By the end of the 30 days, you will have read at least 6,000 pages
5. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram with #30dayread

You can follow my progress here on the blog as well as...

Twitter: hmmcw

Instagram: hmmcw



Waiting On Wednesday: The Bone Season.

Weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.

Showcase which books you're going crazy over to be released!

The Bone Season

by Samantha Shannon

Release Date: August 20, 2013

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

The honest to god truth as to why i am utterly thrilled to start this book? Critics have hailed Shannon as the next J.K. Rowling. I MEAN SERIOUSLY?! Quite honestly i'll probably go into this story with a bit too much expectation... but my goodness am i excited to see if it truly lives up to the hype. 

REVIEW: The Bookman's Tale

The Bookman's Tale
by Charlie Lovett
Pages: 369-US Hardback
Publisher: Viking Adult
Release Date: May 28, 2013
My Rating: 4/5
Book Summary: Hay-on-Wye, 1995. Peter Byerly isn’t sure what drew him into this particular bookshop. Nine months earlier, the death of his beloved wife, Amanda, had left him shattered. The young antiquarian bookseller relocated from North Carolina to the English countryside, hoping to rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. But upon opening an eighteenth-century study of Shakespeare forgeries, Peter is shocked when a portrait of Amanda tumbles out of its pages. Of course, it isn’t really her. The watercolor is clearly Victorian. Yet the resemblance is uncanny, and Peter becomes obsessed with learning the picture’s origins.

As he follows the trail back first to the Victorian era and then to Shakespeare’s time, Peter communes with Amanda’s spirit, learns the truth about his own past, and discovers a book that might definitively prove Shakespeare was, indeed, the author of all his plays.

My Thoughts:

I am always a total sucker when it comes to any sort of historical fiction, especially a story that jumps back and forth between present time and the past. The Bookman's Tale did an absolutely fabulous job of doing just so...smoothly and in such a way that flowed with ease and such intrigue. You can tell that Mr. Lovett really did his homework, and researched every bit of information to make this fiction story so unbelievably.. well, believable. Whether it was the intense description of book binding, Victorian art, Shakespeare, or rare books, you felt your brain growing bigger by the page.

You really connect with our main character Peter, in such a way that towards the end of the book (MUST.KEEP.AWAY.SPOILERS!), i found myself weeping uncontrollably. And my god that has only happened to me on two other occasions from a story. That moment right there is what solidified that this was a great story indeed. 

The only flaw i could possibly find, was that sometimes there was too many characters. You easily forgot about some when they were first introduced, and as they made appearances later on you couldn't remember who the hell they were or what significance they had.

I whole heartedly recommend this new release to ANYONE who loves books, and loves to collect books. It's fun, it's fast paced, and it truly kept me up until all hours of the night. I just HAD TO KNOW how the mystery wrapped itself up.

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Here's where you share what you've recently read, are currently reading, and what you're about to read.

Read:

The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett

Currently Reading:

Faefever (Fever #3) by Karen Marie Moning

Up Next:

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

(Netgalley ARC-Release Date: August 20, 2013)

Bout of Books Read-a-thon 7.0

Whoo hoo! I'm finally participating in my first read-a-thon... and my goodness, 7 days?! I'll be able to knock out some books that have been lingering in my TBR for quite some time. Unsure what this read-a-thon is all about? Have a little looksie and the below paragraph and join on in!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. 

- From the Bout of Books team

My Bout of Books TBR:

1. House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe

2. (finish) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

3. Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I've still got quite a bit to go in the the monster that is The Name of the Wind, so hopefully i'll be able to breeze through that over the next day or two... while also indulging in my X-Files TV marathon. This is for sure going to be the best week ever.