Epic Recs: February 2014

A few months ago, Judith and I started up an impromptu book club called Epic Recs. The aim of this was to force each other to read books that we have previously loved. You know, because Judith is a self proclaimed book pusher, and I just like forcing people to do things.

A couple of months ago, we opened Epic Recs up to the public, and in December a hell of a lot of people signed up, either to be paired by us or after pairing themselves. Judith and I are so pleased at Epic Rec's success. We truly hope everyone enjoys this as much as we do!

This month we're doing the same thing, there's a form you can fill in if you want to be paired with another person, or you can sign up right away with someone of your choosing using the Linky.

Debut Showcase: February 2014

The purpose of this feature is to show you guys which YA debuts I'm most looking forward to, and which ones I've enjoyed. Hopefully it'll also help build some buzz around some of these debuts. There will be one post at the beginning of each month, this time showing all the debuts that are being released in that month. I'll also be linking to my reviews of debuts from the previous month so you can see which ones were a hit!

Monthly Wrap Up and TBR: January - February 2014

Reading wise, January was a very average month for me. I read some very good books, but nothing blew my mind like it has in the past, which is unfortunate because a lot of these books had such potential. Even though I said I wasn't going to, I did end up reading mostly review copies. This is good, because it means I'm getting through the giant stack, but I also want to try to balance my reading with my own books as well. Hopefully that will improve in February.

On the Blog

Tatum and I reviewed a bunch of books: No One Else Can Have You, Erased, Avalon, Taste of Darkness, Eleanor & Park, And We Stay, White Cat, Bitten, Fugitive X, and Cress.

January was also the month that I relaunched my Debut Showcase feature, which had been on hiatus for a while. Speaking of relaunching, I also posted my first book haul post in forever.

Judith and I hosted Epic Recs, which was once again open for the public. As far as we can tell, everyone has been having a great time, especially Gaby and Lisa, who are so enthusiastic about this project. Love it!

Me in January

Nothing much happened out in the real world. It's now only six weeks until I visit Dee in Virginia, which is so exciting that I can't handle it. I am currently on a random health kick, and am trying to eat healthily. Well, I'm trying not to snack so much. Healthy is subjective. I watched The Wolf of Wall Street, and it kicked off my intense adoration for Leo DiCaprio again. I kept up with my new year's resolution to comment on other blogs more often - I hope the people that I'm following are appreciating the new me!

Book Haul: January 2014

I haven't done a book haul post on my blog in ages, but I thought that I would bring it back this year because I always love seeing what other people have got in the mail, and I hope that people will be interested in my hauls too. I have a lot of books here, most of which were bought or gifted to me during December (not even this month!), so prepare yourselves.

Women of the Otherworld #2-6, by Kelley Armstrong

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles #3

Release Date: February 6, 2014

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Source: Christina!

Star Rating: ★★★★

Rating: Essential

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

Scarlet was one of my favourite reads of 2013, and I had been looking forward to Cress for a year prior to its release. The lovely Christina let me and a bunch of other European bloggers borrow her ARC, and I almost fainted when it arrived here from Judith's house. It was the best belated Christmas gift ever.