Spring 2014 - To read list - Tiffany

     Wow! We have had just a few days of amazing weather here in Austin, Texas and I cannot wait for spring to push winter out the door and stick around for a while!  We barely have a typical "winter" in Texas and I get pretty close to crazy while being stuck inside because its 50 degrees outside everyday.  LoL. I have no idea how anyone can stand a real Winter in all the places north of us! =)
     With the long sunny days comes beautiful green grasses, freshly bloomed trees and my most favorite colors that the mother earth grants us each year.  There is almost nothing better than taking the kids out to play and laying down to read my newest book or an old favorite.  In fact the only thing better than that is our family camping trips and laying in the hammocks reading for hours.  I'm sure you will hear all about those trips and favorite reads in the summer edition. =)
     So without further ado, lovely Spring is officially here!!! This is my list of what I hope to be reading.  I have tried to include somewhat of a range of genres to recommend, however, lately I have been reading A LOT of young adult.  As always I highly encourage reading something out of your comfort zone.  You never know what amazing world you will discover!  Enjoy!!!

(Please note - I have included a lot of links in the post! These are to author sites and for purchasing the books.  I hope you will take a few minutes to check some of them out!)

• City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare | Young Adult Fantasy | 05/27/14 at Amazon, Ibooks, and B&N. Pre-order now!
  From The Mortal Instruments website - Erchomai, Sebastian had said.  I am coming.  Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world.  As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary's own brother.  Nothing in the world can defeat him -- must they journey to another world to find the chance?  Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

• The Course of True Love (and First Dates) | The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare | Young Adult Fantasy | 03/18/14 at Amazon, Ibooks & B&N. Pre-order now!
  From The Shadowhunters website - When Magnus Bane, warlock, meets Alec Lightwood, Shadowhunter, sparks fly.  And what happens on their first date lights a flame...
     The Bane Chronicles are a series of 10 ebook short stories for your enjoyment.  This is the newest one and although I haven't read any of them yet I am looking forward to knocking them all out ASAP!

• Panic by Lauren Oliver | Young Adult Dystopia/Science Fiction | Available now in Ebook format at Amazon, Ibooks and B&N.
  From Lauren Oliver's site - From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes an extraordinary novel of fear, friendship, courage, and hope.  Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.  Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.  Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.  For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.
     CHILL BUMPS!

• Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl | Young Adult | 05/20/14 at Amazon, IBooks and B&N. Pre-order now!
  From the website of Kami Garcia - A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed…others are dangerous.
  Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she’s a bad girl. She’s Dark. She’s a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she’s around. Lucky for her, Wesley “Link” Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn’t hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

• Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong | Young Adult Fantasy | 04/08/14 available for pre-order at Amazon, IBooks and B&N.
  From Kelley Armstrong's site - In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.  Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.  Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.
     I have read only one book of Kelley's and enjoyed it.  I honestly have several of her books sitting on my book shelf right now so I imagine I will be reading a lot of books by this lady all Spring and Summer.

• Nash by Jay Crownover | New Adult/Romance | 04/29/14 at Amazon, IBooks and B&N.  Pre-order yours now!
  From the blog of Jay - Will their past determine their future?
  Saint Ford has worked hard to achieve her childhood dream of becoming of nurse. Focused on her work and devoted to her patients, there’s no room for love. She doesn’t need a guy making waves in her calm, serene life—especially when he’s the unforgettable hottie who nearly destroyed her in high school. Dark, brooding Nash Donovan might not remember her or the terrible pain he caused. But he turned her world upside down . . . and now he’s trying to do it again.  Saint has no idea that Nash isn’t the cocky player he once was. Uncovering a devastating family secret has rocked his world, and now he’s struggling to figure out his future. He can’t be distracted by the pretty nurse he seems to meet everywhere. Still, he can’t ignore the sparks that fly between them —or how she seems so desperate to get away from him. But the funny, sweet, and drop-dead gorgeous Saint is far too amazing to give up on—especially since she’s the only thing in his life that seems to make sense.  When Nash discovers the truth about their past, he realizes he may have lost her heart before he could even fight for it. Now, Saint has to decide: is Nash worth risking herself for all over again?
  
     The covers to these books make me lose my breath!  The Marked Men series is full of sexy! This is another series that I already have the first book on my bookshelf and I can't wait to get started. Also had the pleasure of meeting this beautiful, unique author at an event and LOVED her!

• Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson | Epic Fantasy | Available now at Amazon, IBooks, B&N and should be at your local bookstore also.
  From the back cover - The Knights Radiant must stand again.  The ancient oaths have at last been spoken; the spren return. Men seek that which was lost. I fear the struggle will destroy them.  It is the nature of the magic. A broken soul has cracks into which something else can be fit.  Surgebindings, the powers of creation themselves.  They can brace a broken soul; but they can also widen its fissures.  The Windrunner, lost in a shattered land, balanced upon the boundary between  vengeance and honor. The Lightweaver, slowly being consumed by her past, searching for the lie that she must become. The Bondsmith, born in blood and death, striving to rebuild what was destroyed. The Explorer, straddling the fates of two peoples, forced to  choose between slow death and a terrible betrayal of all she believes.
  
  It is past time for them to awaken, for the Everstorm looms.
  
  And the Assassin has arrived.
  
     I first read a novel by Brandon Sanderson when he completed the Wheel of Time series (which I highly recommend to everyone on Earth) and since my husband has spoken highly of all of his other work.  I look forward to sunshine filled afternoons and getting lost in the amazing thoughts of Mr. Sanderson.

• Night Broken by Patricia Briggs | Urban Fantasy | Available now from Amazon, IBooks, B&N and should be available at your local bookstore.
  From Amazon - An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from a stalker.
  Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.  Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
  Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s stalker is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.
  This is the 8th book in the Mercy Thompson series and I've already purchased the first two, I will let you know what I think soon!
  
     What will you be reading this season?  Feel free to share in the comments or check out our Facebook page and leave your favorite choices there.
  <3 Tiffany <3