Sophie Reads YA: September 2018

monthly summary

September Summary

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September

Stacking the Shelves: September 29th 2018

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Alison Goodman

Waiting on Wednesday: The Dark Days Deceit (Lady Helen #3) by Alison Goodman

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September

Stacking the Shelves: September 22nd 2018

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An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason

Waiting on Wednesday: An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker

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September

Stacking the Shelves: September 15th 2018

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A Rose in the Highlands

Excerpt Blitz: A Rose in the Highlands by Heather McCollum (+US giveaway)

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I am so excited that I get to share an exclusive excerpt from A ROSE IN THE HIGHLANDS by Heather McCollum!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Heather McCollum, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a $15 Amazon Gift Card, International, courtesy of Entangled Publishing and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About the Book:

Title: A ROSE IN THE HIGHLANDS (Highland Roses School)

Author: Heather McCollum

Pub. Date: September 24, 2018

Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 399

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo

1684, Scottish Highlands

Englishwoman Evelyn Worthington is resolved to build a school for ladies in her brother's newly purchased Scottish castle. But when she arrives, not only does she find the castle scorched by fire, but a brawny Highlander bars her entry.

Clan chief Grey Campbell would rather die than see his family home, Finlarig Castle, fall into English hands, so Grey must win the battle of wills with the beautiful Sassenach who flashes a bill of sale before him.

When the war between Evelyn and Grey escalates, passions flare. But outsiders have their own plans for Finlarig. After secrets are revealed, and muskets are lit, the fates of the Campbell Clan, the school, and a possible future for Grey and Evelyn are in as much jeopardy as their lives.

Excerpt:

Black soot scorched upward around the door, the glass windows burst out, the remaining shards like jagged teeth set in a series of open-mouthed screams. Had the captain mistakenly set her castle ablaze? She flattened her hand to her chest and straightened as James came to the door.

“The storm is upon us, milady. Best to get you three inside. I will help ye in while Thomas holds the horses.”

“Thomas won’t be able to hold the horses by himself if they spook,” Evelyn said, placing her hand in James’s. “We will be fine.” Had he not seen the soot? Perhaps it had been a trick of the shadows. But the smell of smoke was no shadow.

“Scarlet,” Evelyn said as a sprinkling of rain misted her face. “The school… the castle…”

Astonishment made her mind race faster than her mouth could form words. What had happened? How could she make a profitable school and sheep farm if the castle was uninhabitable? Please let only the outside be scorched.

Her sister climbed out, Molly bringing up the rear, and then James and Thomas hurried to the horses. With the storm upon them, they would unhook and shelter the animals, retrieving the carriage when it had passed.

Evelyn stood waiting for another flash of lightning. “’Tis impossible to see anything,” Scarlet called as more rain shot down. “Hurry.” She linked her arm in Evelyn’s as they strode toward the steps leading into the keep. Large pines and winter-bare trees, which grew just outside the wall, bowed and bucked overhead. The horses whinnied as Thomas and James led them around to what looked to be stables. Rocks bruised Evelyn’s feet through her slippers, and she shot up the first step, her bare fingers on the wet stone.

Looking up, Evelyn stopped.

“God’s teeth,” Scarlet said beside her.

God’s teeth, indeed. Standing at the top of the steps, illuminated by a flaming torch, was a man dressed in a kilt, his arms and chest bare. Perhaps it was the darkness around him, or the fact that she stood below on the steps, but the man looked larger than any human she’d ever seen, like a Scottish legend come to life. Broad across the shoulders and tall, power radiated out from his braced stance. His arms were corded with muscle. She couldn’t tell the color of his hair, but it was dark and free of the wigs that were so popular in England. Her heart sped at the obvious strength and finely wrought features of his fierce face. With this man at the school, they’d have no worries about bandits or thieves. Perhaps she could hire him.

“Hello, sir. I am Lady Evelyn Worthington of Hollings Estate in Lincolnshire.” He held a torch where he stood under the eaves, frowning. Had she woken him? She blinked against the brightness of the flame and the rain in her eyes but managed a smile. “Are you the caretaker of the castle?”

His voice came as if from the storm above: hard, cold and booming. “Get the bloody hell out of my bailey.”

About Heather:

Heather McCollum is an award winning, historical romance writer. She currently has seventeen published novels and is a member of the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood of 2009 Golden Heart finalists. She is a 2015 Readers’ Choice winner and a member of Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

The ancient magic and lush beauty of Great Britain entranced Ms. McCollum’s heart and imagination when she visited there years ago. The country’s history and landscape have been a backdrop for her writing ever since.

When she is not creating vivid characters and settings, she spends her time educating women on the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer. She has recently slayed the cancer beast and resides with her very own Highland hero and three spirited children in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast.

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $15 Amazon Gift Card, INTERNATIONAL.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Sorrow Fierce and Falling

Waiting on Wednesday: A Sorrow Fierce and Falling (Kingdom on Fire #3) by Jessica Cluess

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2018 Contemporary Romance Challenge

ARC Review: Perfect Harmony by Emily Albright

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Perfect Harmony
Series: None
Author: Emily Albright
Published September 18th 2018 by Amberjack Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
Pippa Wyndham is a top cellist―she’d never settle for anything less. Determined to get into the nation’s most prestigious music college, nothing’s going to stand in her way . . . Until her senior year of high school when a new guy from a fancy New York conservatory transfers to her school.

Declan Brogan’s cocky, and he knows how amazing he is at the cello. He has every intention of knocking Pippa out of first chair and showing her who really belongs on top. Forced together when assigned a duet, their personal competition and mutual dislike transform into a teasing friendship.

Torn between her childhood crush and the boy who threatens her dreams, Pippa finds herself at risk of losing her best friend, her future, and the boy who makes her heart melt. Struggling to make things right, Pippa discovers that sometimes the thing you want the most doesn’t always end up being the thing you need.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

When I first saw this book on NetGalley, initially it was the synopsis that drew me in, and I hadn't even noticed who the author was, but when I realised this was by Emily Albright, whose debut, The Heir and the Spare, remains one of my favourite books, I knew it was for me. Perfect Harmony follows Pippa, who is preparing for her auditions to get into the top music college in the country, and everything is thrown for a loop when another cellist arrives at her school, and is her competition in anything and everything. Wanting nothing to do with Declan, she finds her music teacher is working against her, and they are having to work together on a duet for their final exam, and for a prestigious competition, that could open more doors for her than she'd ever hoped. However, Declan is cocky, and seems to know just how to push Pippa's buttons, and she finds herself torn between hating him, and falling for him.

I'm going to admit it now, I'm not musical, at all. I mean, when I was in primary school, and we had a 'music week', I was the girl who asked if she could do extra maths or something, rather than play an instrument. That's not to say I don't appreciate how hard musicians work, especially classical musicians, and this book helped me to see just how much work musicians put into being the best, and making themselves proud, if not anyone else. Pippa's life seemed to revolve around her cello, but it was her passion, and it was good to see when she struggled, but also when she simply adored the art and all the hard work paid off.

If you hadn't guessed from the synopsis, this book has the classic 'enemies to lovers' trope, and I adore that trope more than any others, I think. As soon as Pippa and Declan met, you could just see the chemistry and sparks jump off the page, and I was rooting for them from the get go. One problem for them was Pippa's long time crush, and her twin brother's best friend, Noah, who suddenly decided that he'd liked Pippa all along, and wanted to be with her. Yeah, we hate Noah. He'd never seen Pippa as anything other than his friend's sister, and his friend too, until there was some competition there, and he'd known about her crush all along. Whenever Pippa and Noah were together, I just couldn't see anything between them, and wanted nothing more than for him to go away.

That love triangle wasn't the only one, it ended up more like a love square, or even pentagon, at one point, and that's what made me only give the book 4 stars. Pippa's friend Quinn decides she likes Declan, and then Pippa's brother Philip decides he likes Quinn. Honestly, it got a bit too complicated at one point, and if I hadn't been invested in Pippa and Declan's journey, I might've DNFed, but I didn't. That all being said, Pippa and Declan's relationship, once it got past the ups and downs of other prospective beaus, and the drama of being in competition with each other, was really sweet. Declan had a troubled home life, with divorced parents, and an estranged relationship with his father, and we slowly saw him open up to Pippa, and open himself up to working with his dad on rebuilding their relationship after a trip to New York.

All in all, Perfect Harmony was a perfect (pun intended) contemporary book for the summer autumn, especially if you're a fan of the enemy to lovers trope, or even if you aren't. I look forward to more from Emily in the future.

Dates Read:

July 11-13, 2018

Rating
4 Stars

Grim Lovelies

Waiting on Wednesday: Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

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books on my radar

September books on my radar

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The Leading Edge of Now
Series: None
Author: Marci Lyn Curtis
September 4th 2018 by Kids Can Press
Just when Grace is beginning to get used to being an orphan, her estranged uncle suddenly comes forward to claim her. That might have been okay if he'd spoken to her even once since her father died. Or if moving in with Uncle Rusty didn't mean returning to New Harbor.
Grace once spent the best summers of her life in New Harbor. Now the place just reminds her of all she's lost: her best friend, her boyfriend and any memory of the night that changed her forever.
People say the truth will set you free, but Grace isn't sure about that. Once she starts looking for it, the truth about that night is hard to find --- and what happens when her healing hurts the people she cares about the most?
Goodreads

Kiss Me in Paris
Series: None
Author: Catherine Rider
September 4th 2018 by Kids Can Press

Serena has just flown all the way to Paris for a special pre-Christmas weekend with her sister, Lara. They plan to retrace the steps of their parents' long-ago honeymoon in Paris, and create a scrapbook for their bereaved mother to remember it by.
It's supposed to be serious sister bonding...until Lara takes off with her boyfriend instead.
Jean-Luc is Serena's Plan B, a friend of a friend of Lara's, who has some space in a place where Serena can stay. Just like his latest relationship, his photography final has been an epic fail. He has one night to retake all his pictures if he is to stay in school.
Jean-Luc can't stand Serena's loud voice or her bright orange sneakers.
Serena can't stand his haughty manners or the way his camera is always in her face.
Together, though, they set out into a cold night that will warm their hearts, creating unforgettable photos and fresh romantic sparks in the City of Lights.

Goodreads

As She Ascends
Series: Fallen Isles #2
Author: Jodi Meadows
September 11th 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books
MIRA, THE HOPEBEARER
Mira Minkoba is on the run with her friends after a fiery escape from the Pit, where she’d been imprisoned for defending the dragons she loves. And she wants answers. Where have all the dragons been taken? Why are powerful noorestones being shipped to the mainland? And did the treaty she’s been defending her whole life truly sell out the Fallen Isles to their enemies?
MIRA, THE DRAGONHEARTED
As her connection to the dragons—and their power—grows stronger, so does Mira’s fear that she might lose control and hurt someone she loves. But the only way to find the truth is to go home again, to Damina, to face the people who betrayed her and the parents she’s not sure she can trust.
Home, where she must rise above her fears. Or be consumed.
The second page-turning novel in Jodi Meadows’ Fallen Isles trilogy scorches with mysterious magic and riveting romance as one girl kindles a spark into a flame.
Goodreads

Unclaimed Baggage
Series: None
Author: Jen Doll
September 18th 2018 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
In Jen Doll's young adult debut novel, Unclaimed Baggage, Doris—a lone liberal in a conservative small town—has mostly kept to herself since the terrible waterslide incident a few years ago. Nell had to leave behind her best friends, perfect life, and too-good-to-be-true boyfriend in Chicago to move to Alabama. Grant was the star quarterback and epitome of "Mr. Popular" whose drinking problem has all but destroyed his life. What do these three have in common? A summer job working in a store called Unclaimed Baggage cataloging and selling other people's lost luggage. Together they find that through friendship, they can unpack some of their own emotional baggage and move on into the future.
Goodreads

Wildcard
Series: Warcross #2
Author: Marie Lu
September 18th 2018 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
All bets are off. This time the gamble is survival.
Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.
Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems—and his protection comes at a price.
Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?
Goodreads

Escaping from Houdini
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
September 18th 2018 by Jimmy Patterson

In this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer. .
Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.
But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?

Goodreads

Perfect Harmony
Series: None
Author: Emily Albright
September 18th 2018 by Amberjack Publishing
Pippa Wyndham is a top cellist―she’d never settle for anything less. Determined to get into the nation’s most prestigious music college, nothing’s going to stand in her way . . . Until her senior year of high school when a new guy from a fancy New York conservatory transfers to her school.
Declan Brogan’s cocky, and he knows how amazing he is at the cello. He has every intention of knocking Pippa out of first chair and showing her who really belongs on top. Forced together when assigned a duet, their personal competition and mutual dislike transform into a teasing friendship.
Torn between her childhood crush and the boy who threatens her dreams, Pippa finds herself at risk of losing her best friend, her future, and the boy who makes her heart melt. Struggling to make things right, Pippa discovers that sometimes the thing you want the most doesn’t always end up being the thing you need.
Goodreads

Tempests and Slaughter
Series: The Numair Chronicles #1
Author: Tamora Pierce
September 20th 2018 by HarperVoyager
Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate . . . fated for trouble.
Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.
In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.
Goodreads

Confessions of a Teenage Leper
Series: None
Author: Ashley Little
September 25th 2018 by Penguin Teen
Abby Furlowe has plans. Big plans. She's hot, she's popular, she's a cheerleader and she's going to break out of her small Texas town and make it big. Fame and fortune, adoration and accolades. It'll all be hers.
But then she notices some spots on her skin. She writes them off as a rash, but things only get worse. She's tired all the time, her hands and feet are numb and her face starts to look like day-old pizza. By the time her seventeenth birthday rolls around, she's tried every cream and medication the doctors have thrown at her, but nothing works. When she falls doing a routine cheerleading stunt and slips into a coma, her mystery illness goes into overdrive and finally gets diagnosed: Hansen's Disease, aka leprosy.
Abby is sent to a facility to recover and deal with this new reality. Her many misdiagnoses mean that some permanent damage has been done, and all of her plans suddenly come tumbling down. If she can't even wear high heels anymore, what is the point of living? Cheerleading is out the window, and she might not even make it to prom. PROM!
But it's during this recovery that Abby has to learn to live with something even more difficult than Hansen's Disease. She's becoming aware of who she really was before and what her behavior was doing to others; now she's on the other side of the fence looking in, and she doesn't like what she sees. . .
Goodreads

Give the Dark My Love
Series: Give the Dark My Love #1
Author: Beth Revis
September 25th 2018 by Razorbill

When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island's wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn't quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her.
All, except for Greggori "Grey" Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that's for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it's making its way toward the cities. With her family's life--and the lives of all of Lunar Island's citizens--on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague.
Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy's most dangerous corners--and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.

Goodreads

What has caught your eye for September? Have you read any of these? Let me know :)

September

Stacking the Shelves: September 1st 2018

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September Summary

Stacking the Shelves: September 29th 2018

What did you receive? Let me know.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Dark Days Deceit (Lady Helen #3) by Alison Goodman

Stacking the Shelves: September 22nd 2018

Waiting on Wednesday: An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker

Stacking the Shelves: September 15th 2018

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail.

This week (September 9th-15th) I received:

For review (via NetGalley):

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

What did you receive? Let me know.

Excerpt Blitz: A Rose in the Highlands by Heather McCollum (+US giveaway)

Waiting on Wednesday: A Sorrow Fierce and Falling (Kingdom on Fire #3) by Jessica Cluess

ARC Review: Perfect Harmony by Emily Albright

Waiting on Wednesday: Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd

September books on my radar

Stacking the Shelves: September 1st 2018

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail.

This week (August 26th-September 1st) I received:

Nothing this week, as I’m in London.

What did you receive? Let me know.

Contact Form

About Me

Search

Twitter

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Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

Review Scale

Blog Archive

What did you receive? Let me know.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail. This week (September 16th-22nd) I received: Traded: Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) by Kerri Maniscalco What did you receive? Let me know.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail. This week (September 9th-15th) I received: For review (via NetGalley): Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean What did you receive? Let me know.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail. This week (August 26th-September 1st) I received: Nothing this week, as I’m in London. What did you receive? Let me know.

Contact Form

About Me

Search

Twitter

Bloglovin'

Reading Challenge

Review Scale

Blog Archive

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail.

This week (September 9th-15th) I received:

For review (via NetGalley):

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

What did you receive? Let me know.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, which showcases the books we've purchased, won, borrowed and received in the mail.

This week (August 26th-September 1st) I received:

Nothing this week, as I’m in London.

What did you receive? Let me know.