Stacking the Shelves 78

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, every Weekend. This is to share books I have acquired from various sources. Physical books & ebooks both are welcome. If its something being sent to me by mail, I will not mention it until I actually receive it.

 

 

♥  ♦  ♣  ♠

Library 

 

"Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back."

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

  

"If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

  

"Every girl who had taken the test has died. Now it's Kate's turn.
It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.
If she fails..."

 

 

 

♥  ♦  ♣  ♠

Purchases/Swaps 

"The ages of Myst are worlds of adventure and awe; of mystery and beauty; of intrigue and betrayal; the world's best-selling CD-ROM game is just a piece of the picture. Now, take a step into the fictional legend of Myst.

These pages are your link to the story of Atrus, son of Gehn, and the last of the race of the D'Ni--the masters of The Art, the craft of linking to other worlds through the descriptive art of writing in special books. For most of his young life, Atrus thought the stories his grandmother told were just strange legends. Then his time came to explore the magnificent underground realm . . . .

The Book of Atrus is a tale of son against father; of truth versus evil; and of love and redemption. You will travel to wonderful new ages and have all your questions answered--for this story ends where the world of the MYST game just begins."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Amazing Agent Luna is the story of Luna, the perfect secret agent. Grown in a lab from the finest genetic material, fifteen-year-old Luna has been trained since birth to be the U.S. government's ultimate espionage weapon. Now she has been given an assignment that will test her abilities to the utmost--high school.
Posing as an ordinary student at an elite high school, Luna must keep her head down and her grades up while trying to uncover an evil plot. Luna's training has left her completely unprepared to handle the stresses and strains of ordinary teenage relationships--making friends, battling rivals, and having her first big crush on bad boy Jonah, the son of her arch-nemesis, Count Von Brucken Making matters worse, Luna's fake father is the overly warm-and-fuzzy Dr. Andy and her so-called mother is the always businesslike, unemotional "Control." Parental pressure combined with having to stay up late while spying are taking a toll on Luna, and it's only a matter of time before she slips and blows her cover"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

  

"Akira Toriyama's groundbreaking, iconic, bestselling series now in an omnibus edition!

A seminal series from a legendary creator. Dragon Ball, a wry update on the Chinese "Monkey King" myth, introduces us to Son Goku, a young monkey-tailed boy whose quiet life is turned upside-down when he meets Bulma, a girl determined to collect the seven "Dragon Balls." If she gathers them all, an incredibly powerful dragon will appear and grant her one wish. But the precious orbs are scattered all over the world, and to get them she needs the help of a certain super-strong boy...

Son Goku has made it to the Tenka’ichi Budo-kai, the world’s number-one martial arts tournament, where the competitors vie for the title of “Strongest Under the Heavens.” Goku may have strength on his side, but even the training of martial arts master Kame- Sen’nin hasn’t prepared him for what he’s about to face.

Only seven finalists remain, each with their own special moves. Will the champion be Goku? His fellow student Kuririn? Yamcha, the master of “Fist of the Wolf Fang”? Fighting woman Ran Fuan? Giran, a rubbery monster who’s part dinosaur? Namu, an Indian mystic? Or Jackie Chun, the mysterious old man who may be the toughest fighter of all?"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry, love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Jack and Schuyler are over. Oliver's brokenhearted. And only the cunning Mimi seems to be happily engaged."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Whose house was it?

Greg Hartly's deed proved the house was his. But Marisa Bennett had a lease good for a whole year. Besides, Marisa had Rutherford--an overprotective guard dog who took her side in every argument. So they agreed to share.

When someone started stealing designs from his high-tech company, Greg began to think that having a private investigator like Marisa in his house might have advantages. And before long, he realized he'd be happy if Marisa stayed forever.

But a few things still came between them--Rutherford for one and, for another, Marisa's wacky roommate, who also expected to join the household!"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"The second novel by Chevy Stevens, author of bestseller STILL MISSING.

At thirty-three Sara Gallagher is finally happy. Her antique furniture restoration business is taking off and she’s engaged to a wonderful man. But there’s one big question that still haunts her — who are her birth parents? Sara is finally ready to find out.

Sara’s birth mother rejects her—again. Then she discovers her biological father is an infamous killer who’s been hunting women every summer for almost forty years. Sara tries to come to terms with her horrifying parentage — and her fears that she’s inherited more than his looks — with her therapist, Nadine, who we first met in "Still Missing." But soon Sara realizes the only thing worse than finding out your father is a killer is him finding out about you.

Some questions are better left unanswered.

"Never knowing" is a complex and compelling portrayal of one woman’s quest to understand where she comes from. That is, if she can survive…" 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

  "BOY CRAZY

Junior high schooler Nina is ready to fall in love. She’s looking for a boy who’s cute and sweet–and strong enough to support her when the chips are down. But what happens when Nina’s dream comes true . . . twice? One day, two cute boys literally fall from the sky: they’re both wizards and they’ve come to the Human World to take the Magic Exam. The boys’ success on this test depends on protecting Nina from evil, so now Nina has a pair of cute magical boys chasing her everywhere she goes! One of these wizards just might be the boy of her dreams . . . but which one?"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

  "From best-selling author Richard Knaak comes a tale of the Grey. They are the shadows we see out of the corner of our eyes, the visions flickering past in the middle of the night. They are the elves, the fairies, and the other legends of our minds. They are the Grey.


They are all around us, and they are a part of us, forever tied to our innermost thoughts. They seek to be truly real, to truly live, and for that they need a human anchor, a false king–one who can give them substance.


In Chicago, unsuspecting Jeremiah Todtmann has been chosen for that role. But even as he tries to come to grips with the existence of the Grey themselves, he will soon discover that while some represent the harmless dreams of men...there are others that are men’s most deadly nightmares."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

"The Knights of Solamnia were the greatest order of chivalry in the history of Krynn.

All those who wish to become Solamnic Knights must first enter as squires of the Knights of the Crown, with whom they begin their training in the virtue of loyalty.

This is the story of Sir Pirvan the Wayward, whose reluctant and inauspicious beginnings as Pirvan the Spell Thief bore few clues to his potential as a Knight of the Crown." 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

  "If nobody wants him, that's fine.He'll just take care of himself.

When his father dies, Dave knows nothing will ever be thesame. And then it happens. Dave lands in an orphanage—the cold and strict Hebrew Home for Boys in Harlem—far from the life he knew on the Lower East Side. But he's not so worried. He knows he'll be okay. He always is. If it doesn't work out, he'll just leave, find a better place to stay. But it's not that simple.

Outside the gates of the orphanage, the nighttime streets of Harlem buzz with jazz musicians and swindlers; exclusive parties and mystifying strangers. Inside, another world unfolds, thick with rare friendships and bitter enemies. Perhaps somewhere, among it all, Dave can find a place that feels like home."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
 

"Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby.
He is going to save the world.
And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.
If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning...."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"In L. E. Modesitt's The Magic Engineer, we return to the magical island of Recluce, where Dorrin, a young scion of the Order magicians, is interested in forbidden knowledge, in the working of machines. Promising, intelligent, but determined to follow his passion for scientific knowledge, Dorrin can invent machines. He is the Leonardo da Vinci of his age, but his insights violate the rules of the Order magic of Recluce. Now he must go into exile in the lands of Chaos to pursue his dangerous inventions.

Yet Darrin remains loyal to the idea of Order, and is tortured by the knowledge that to preserve it he must constantly create new devices for war. For the forces of the Chaos wizards are moving across the land, devouring whole countries and creating an empire—and their ultimate goal is the destruction of Recluce."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

"Acorna's people, the Linyaari, have begun reclaiming their homeworld from the ravages of the brutal Khleevi. But the first wave of explorers has unlocked a larger mystery about the origins of the Linyaari -- one that has led Aari, Acorna's beloved lifemate, on a dangerous journey from which he may never return.

Setting off on a quest to find Aari, Acorna and her friends -- Captain Becker, Mac, Nadhari, and RK -- are forced to crash land on the beautiful and barbaric exotic jungle world of Makahomia, home of the mysterious Temple Cats. But an evil scheme threatens to destroy the sacred felines. To save the cats, Acorna will lead a band of rebels on a journey into Makahomia's temples and hidden sanctuaries.

And there, within one sacred shrine, she will discover shocking information that could lead to Aari . . .or to disaster."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

  "What would you do to inherit a million dollars? Would you be willing to change your life? Jason Stevens is about to find out in Jim Stovall's The Ultimate Gift.

Red Stevens has died, and the older members of his family receive their millions with greedy anticipation. But a different fate awaits young Jason, whom Stevens, his great-uncle, believes may be the last vestige of hope in the family.

"Although to date your life seems to be a sorry excuse for anything I would call promising, there does seem to be a spark of something in you that I hope we can fan into a flame. For that reason, I am not making you an instant millionaire."

What Stevens does give Jason leads to The Ultimate Gift. Young and old will take this timeless tale to heart."

 

♥  ♦  ♣  ♠

For Review
 

"Akin to Jennifer McMahon’s The Winter People and Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box, House of Echoes is a debut thriller populated by achingly sympathetic characters, charged with psychological suspense, and rich with a small town’s strange history.

A young New York City couple with a boy and a baby in tow, Ben and Caroline Tierney had it all…until Ben’s second novel missed the mark, Caroline lost her lucrative banking job, and something went wrong with 8-year-old Charlie. When Ben inherits land way upstate from his grandmother, the two of them began to believe in second chances. But upon arriving in Swannhaven, a town that seems to have been forgotten by time, they’re beset by strange sights and disconcerting developments…and they begin to realize they might have made their worst mistake yet. But what dark secret is buried in this odd place? And will Ben and Caroline figure it out soon enough to save their young family?"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

  

"When everything you thought you knew about your life turns out to be a lie, who can you trust?


After witnessing his mother’s death Gabriel Smith finds himself orphaned and surrounded by strangers. Under the guardianship of an uncle he had never heard of, and convinced his mother was killed, Gabe struggles to deal with the loss of the life he knew. Thrown into the centre of a prophecy, in a world where power is everything, only his friendship with Emma gives him the strength he needs to face his future. Who are The Centurions? What is the Resurrection Prophecy? And what is the sacrifice Gabe will be asked to make?"

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

  "In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

"In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?"

 

♥  ♦  ♣  ♠

Ebook Nabs

  "An epic adventure in a life-long pursuit of the truth. What is the mystery that Lance Cutter’s DNA is hiding? Whatever the secret is, they had it, they lost it, and now they will do anything to get it back... Time is running out. Lance Cutter is born out of a horrific experiment by a deranged scientist. Presumed dead in an explosion at birth, Lance and his mother create a quiet, normal life. But what is normal for others is not so for Lance. He is faster, smarter and more agile than other children. When Lance and his mother go to Washington seeking answers, they are greeted by deadly force.
Barely escaping the clutches of government agents, the plane they are traveling on crashes into the icy Potomac river. Thought dead for the second time in his life, Lance grows up and finds a quiet, secluded existence working as an arson investigator in Florida. But when innocent people begin to spontaneously combust, Lance must use all of his extraordinary talents to stop the deranged killer.
Cutter now finds himself front page news. It’s these headlines that will finally bring him face to face with the truth about his birthright and put him in a life and death struggle to survive."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

  "Ten year old Courtney Cromwell’s favorite person in the world isn’t a person, it’s a dog. Theo, her lovable chocolate Lab, has been her faithful companion since she was born. But now, as a result of the Great Recession, Courtney’s world is unraveling. Her father has been unemployed for a long time and the bank is about to foreclose on their home. Soon her family will be moving into an apartment that doesn’t allow dogs. Heartbreakingly for Courtney that means Theo won’t be able to come along.

After unsuccessfully trying to find someone to take the old dog, Courtney’s parents decide to take Theo to a no-kill animal shelter as a last resort. But when the day of reckoning arrives something completely unexpected occurs. It ends up leading Courtney on an extraordinary journey, which teaches her important life lessons and makes her understand that a dog’s love is forever."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  

"A thousand years ago, the last grandson of Arthur Pendragon led the survivors of Britain through a magical gate to a new world, a world of magic and high elves, of orcs and kobolds and stranger, darker creatures. Now the descendants of the exiles rule a mighty kingdom, peaceful and prosperous under the rule of the High King.

But dangers stir that the realm is not ready to face.

RIDMARK ARBAN is a new-made knight and Swordbearer of the realm. When the archmage of the high elves asks for aid against the dread Warden of Urd Morlemoch, Ridmark volunteers for the quest, eager to prove himself and win glory and renown.

But terrible evil awaits in Urd Morlemoch, and those who enter the Warden's clutches rarely escape them..."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  

  "Rebecca Andrews knows she is lucky to be hired as a private nurse for an elderly lady who is going on a one-month trip aboard a luxury cruise ship. But there's one big problem. The client is the grandmother of her ex-boyfriend--the guy she is still in love with, but who doesn't love her back.

Zach Carmichael can't say no to his grandmother's plea to join her on a month-long cruise for her eightieth birthday. But he doesn't expect his spritely gran to bring two private nurses with her. One of them happens to be the woman who broke his heart--the one he believes lied to him about her feelings.

Aboard a luxury liner, their passion for each other flares again. Is it just a temporary flame brought about by the romance of being on a cruise? How can they give love another chance when they're both afraid to put their hearts back on the line?"