My Expanding Bookshelf

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of  Parajunkee’s View  and Alison of  Alison Can Read . Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs! I'm one of the featured blogs this week! Along with Amanda of  The Darling Bookworm . This week’s Question: How many books have you got on your TBR list? I recently had a bit of a cull of my TBR list so now it is sitting at 269. I'm trying my hardest to get it below 200 by the end of the year but I really don't see it happening. I'd currently be happy if I managed to get it below 225. However, I did recently have a look through my TBR on Goodreads and deleted a few books that I don't think I will actually ever read - I'm not even to sure how they got there anyway. Follow me via  Goodreads ,  Facebook ,  Bloglovin  and  Pinterest  and also via email to myexpandingbookshelf@gmail.com.  Feel fre...

Title: Woman of the Dead Series: Blum Trilogy #1 Author: Bernhard Aichner Published: 12 April 2015 (originally 14 October 2014), Orion Publishing Ltd Pages: 258 Source: Goodreads Firstreads Format: Hardback Rating: 4/5 How far would you go to avenge the one you love? Blum has a secret buried deep in her past. She thought she'd left the past behind. But then Mark, the man she loves, dies. His death looks like a hit-and-run. It isn't a hit and run. Mark was killed by the men he was investigating. And then, suddenly, Blum rediscovers what she's capable of... Kill Bill meets Dexter via The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Woman of the Dead is a wild ride of a thriller where the first stage of grief is revenge. And revenge is a dish best served bloody.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and The Bookish . This week's topic is top ten great beach/summer reads. I will read anything at any time of the year and I haven't been near a beach in six years so I'm just going to make a top ten of books I plan to read in the next month or so. Of course, there is a high probability that his may change slightly.

Thanks so much to Emma @ The Book Brief for nominating me for this award.  I was nominated back in April but I completely forgot about it until last week, so it's safe to say it has taken me a while to get this up. The Rules: Nominate 15-20 blogs and notify all nominees via their social media/blogs Thank and post the link of the blog that nominated you (very important) Share 5 facts about yourself to your readers Pass these rules on to them The Nominees (I've only put 5 as I've been nominated for a few awards and don't want to keep nominating the same people over and over): Ranu @ The Bookish Life Kristine & Terri@ Twin Spin Aditi @Book Stop Corner Andrea @ Mountain Rhinestones Silvy @ Books Are My Life The Facts: I’m a bit OCD when it comes to keeping organised. My books, DVDs, CDs, etc are all in alpabetical order. My clothes are organised by type and then colour, i.e. all my skirts are together and then all my blue skirt...

Book Beginnings is a meme hosted every Friday by  Rose City Reader  where you share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.  Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Title: '89 Walls Author: Katie Pierson Published: 5 June 2015, Wise Ink Source: Netgalley and Wise Ink Format: Ebook Rating: 3.5/5 College is not on the cards for Seth. He spends his minimum wage on groceries and fake happiness to distract his mom from the MS they both know will kill her. It's agony to carry around a frayed loved note for a girl who's both out of his league and beneath his dignity. Quinn's finishing high school on top. But that cynical, liberal guy in her social studies class makes her old assumptions. Challenging the rules, though, would a) squander her last summer at home, b) antagonize her conservative dad, and c) make her a hypocrite. Seth and Quinn's passionate new romance takes them both by surprise. They keep it a secret: it's too early to make plans and too late not to care. But it's 1989. As politics suddenly gets personal, they find themselves fighting bare-fisted for their beliefs - and each other - in the clear light of d...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish .  This week's topic is  freebie.  Therefore, my topic is the top ten books I own a physical copy of but haven't read yet.

Title: Dracula Author: Bram Stoker Published: I June 2008, Oxford University Press (originally 26 May 1897) Pages: 389 Source: Bought Format: Paperback Rating: 5/5 In 1897, at the age of 50, Bram Stoker was a touring manager to the actor Henry Irving and was enjoying a modest success as a journalist and writer. Publication in that year of Dracula was to bring him international fame. The Dracula mythology has inspired a cast subculture, but the story has never been better told than by Stoker. His myth is powerful because it allows evil to remain mysterious. Virtuous action has no more impact than Jonathan Harker's shovel. The high virtue of Lucy can simply be drained away, as her blood is drained away, until she too joins the vampire brood. Van Helsing's high-thinking and scientific skill cannot resist the dreadful potency of the undead. Only the old magic - a crucifix, garlic, a wooden stake - can provide effective weapons against the Count's appalling power.

Book Beginnings is a meme hosted every Friday by  Rose City Reader  where you share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.  Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Title: Darkest Light Author: Alex Taylor Published: January 2015, Xlibiris UK Pages: 255 Source: Goodreads Group Read Format: Ebook Rating: DNF (at page 80) The weather is stormy, and the room is dark and cold. Michael dreams about a woman in the comfort of his bed, missing her warm against his naked body, he ponders, wondering what he can do to change his lifestyle and crummy house. He hates his job and his daily routine. This isn't just any morning, though. Michael is about to embark on a journey that will change his perspective of life. Darkest Light is a fantasy and a romance, full of mystical creatures, magical scenes and a beautiful alternative world, which will set your imagination loose.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish .  This week's topic is the top ten authors I really want to meet.  There is so many authors out there that I would love to meet so it's been hard to narrow it down to ten.

Title: Of Love and Distance Author: Divya Jyoti Randev Published: March 2015, Amazon Digital Services Pages: 249 Source: Review copy from author Format: Ebook Rating 4/5 Robert Brown, a movie star, is abducted for ransom in a strange country. Lisa, an ordinary girl, is the unintended, unwanted abductee. They develop a beautiful relationship during the ordeal. Will Robert and Lisa overcome the physical and cultural distance and get together after the nightmare? Will they be able to keep their closely guarded secret from the world?

Title: The Mystical Backpacker Author: Hannah Papp Published: 05/05/2015, Beyond Words Publishing Source: Netgalley Format: Ebook Rating: 2/5 Part memoir, part guidebook, The Mystical Backpacker invites you to explore your inner terrain and learn how to create your own unique version of a modern-day vision quest or walkabout. Tired of living a life based on others expectations, Hannah Papp quit her job, bought a Eurorail ticket and a map, notified her landlady, and left town. Embarking on a journey across Europe with no plan and no direction, Hannah stumbled into becoming a modern-day Mystical Backpacker. Along the way her discoveries and the teachers she encountered allowed her to go on a deeper journey into the self and the spirit; revealing the real self she had long been missing. The Mystical Backpacker shows you how to identify the signs along the road that will lead to teachers and experiences that will reorient your life map. Ultimately, The Mystical Backpacker offers a ...

Book Beginnings is a meme hosted every Friday by  Rose City Reader  where you share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.  Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish .  This week's topic is the top ten books I will probably never read.  I didn't like this topic as I don't like saying I will never read something.  I like to give everything a go.

Title: The Selection Series: The Selection Author: Kiera Cass Published: 24/04/12, HarperTeen Source: Netgalley Format: Ebook Rating: 4/5 For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks. Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually she starts to question all the plans that she's made for herself - and realises that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Books I have read this month: Into the Darkness (Darkness Falls #1), Kira Adams The Tears of the Unicorns I - Temptation, Stephanie Rose All Is Bright: A Short Story, Sarah Pekkanen Stolen, Dawn Kopman Whidden Dracula, Bram Stoker

Book Beginnings is a meme hosted every Friday by  Rose City Reader  where you share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.  Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.