Stacking the Shelves #21: Birthday Edition

I'M BACK! Well I was back a week ago but had to catch up with some other stuff but now I'm OFFICIALLY back to book blogging. Research proposal handed in and exams done and dusted - out of sight, out of mind! For now...

Since my last STS I've gone to quite a few bookish events, gotten a mega haul (I need to stop letting them pile up) AND I TURNED 21 - I actually turned 21 on the 10th of November but exams and all so I didn't get to celebrate until last night. Would you believe that this 21st STS coincides with my 21st birthday? What a coincidence... Scary really. Anyway this STS will include my birthday present (books among other things) and the usual means I have of acquiring books. But I'll also have a recap of some bookish events!

Excuse my face in the photos. You can just ignore it. Just look at the awesome authors kthnx.

October 23 - Sydney Allegiant Book Launch

To celebrate the release of the last book in the Divergent trilogy, HarperCollins Australia hosted the book launch at Dymocks George in Sydney. There was Dauntless cake (cupcakes) and a goody bag with lots of swag inside :) There was also Divergent trivia and I got one of the questions so I won a book pack too! For those of you who have read the book, you'll know it's a tough one. I didn't rate it, and I won't - I really can't give it a rating. All I'll say is, it broke me, I can understand that ending, but it still broke me. If you read the rest of my opinion, I have a review on Goodreads you can see here. 

• Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth (Dystopian)
• Goody bag with an Allegiant t-shirt, note from Veronica, an Allegiant poster, and I got the Four Divergent movie poster :D

Book pack I won:

• Geek Girl (Geek Girl #1) by Holly Smale (Contemporary)
• Model Misfit (Geek Girl #2) by Holly Smale (Contemporary)

Thank you HarperCollins Australia for the launch and the book pack <3

November 1 - Meeting Jessica Shirvington and Empower

As part of a small blogger event, Keely (myspinonbooks.blogspot.com) and I, thanks to Kim (twogirlsandanovel.blogspot.com) and Hachette Children's Books Australia, got to meet Jessica Shirvington. Ultimate fangirl because I LOVE Jess and all her books. I've been a fan of hers since 2010 when Embrace, the very first Violet Eden Chapters was released. 3 years later and the final book in the series, Empower was released November 12. I was luckily enough to not only meet Jess, get all my books signed but also get a copy of Empower. I finished it that night and it was FABULOUS. Look out for my review coming soon! Theresa (the children's publicist) also gave us a copy of Shaun Tan's Rules of Summer, a lovely picture book which I gave 4/5 to, check out my review here.

There it is, the completed Violet Eden Chapters!

Jess! :D

• Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan (Children's picture book)
• Empower (The Violet Eden Chapters #5) by Jessica Shirvington (Paranormal Angels) with a survivor pack - tissues + chocolates! It was so amazing I finished it that night.

All the books I have by Jess signed!

• Between the Lives (Sci-Fi) - read my 5/5 review here

The Violet Eden Chapters (Paranormal Angels) in order:

• Embrace
• Enticed
• Emblaze
• Endless
• Empower

That cover <3

Thank you Hachette Children's Books Australia for the amazing opportunity to meet Jessica Shirvington and these lovely books <3

November 13 - Meeting Samantha Shannon and Bloomsbury haul

Samantha Shannon visited Australia week beginning November 11! I was invited by Bloomsbury Australia to meet her and ohmygosh it was so amazing. Samantha is gorgeous inside and out - she's humble, so sweet and such a genuinely nice person I was so honoured to meet such a young, talented writer! Sonia (the children's publicist) also gave me a few lovely books to enjoy!

She's so pretty *O* and one of the loveliest authors I've ever meet

Yes, yes did tackle hug Samantha <333

• The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon (Adult Dystopia)

From Sonia:

• Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman (Children's/Middle Grade picture book)
• Burn Mark (Burn Mark #1) by Laura Powell (Paranormal/Fantasy)
• Stung (Stung #1) by Bethany Wiggins (Sci-fi/Dystopian)

Thank you Bloomsbury Australia for such an awesome night, getting Samantha out to Aus and the lovely books <3

Unsolicited

• The Trap (The Hunt #3) by Andrew Fukuda (Dystopian) - Simon & Schuster Australia. Haven't read the first two LOL!
• Red Hill by Jamie McGuire (Dystopia/Zombies) - Simon & Schuster Australia. I'll be honest I had no idea Jamie McGuire had a new book out until this appeared on my doorstep
• How to Convince a Boy to Kiss You (Aurora Skye #2) by Tara Eglington (Contemporary) - HarperCollins Australia. I haven't read the first one of this either :/

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and HarperCollins Australia for these review copies <3 

Galleys

 

• Fireblood (Fireblood #1) by Trisha Wolfe (Fantasy) - Spencer Hill Press
• Love Letter to the Dead by Ava Dellaira (Contemporay) - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• That One Summer (Summer #3) by CJ Duggan (Aussie Contemporary)

Thanks to Spencer Hill Press, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and CJ Duggan for these eGalleys <3

Requested

• Arclight (Arclight #1) by Josin L. McQuein (Dystopian) - Hardie Grant Egmont
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Historical/War) - Hardie Grant Egmont. I have been waiting FOREVER to read this. So excited!
• These Broken Stars (Starbound Trilogy #1) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Sci-Fi) - Allen & Unwin. HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS THIS IS -THE- DEBUT OF 2013. AMAZING. Read my gushing 5/5 review here and for your chance to win a copy!
• Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron (Sci-Fi) - Allen & Unwin
• Losing Hope (Hopeless #2) by Colleen Hoover (Contemporary/New Adult) - Simon & Schuster Australia
• Just One Year (Just One Day #2) by Gayle Forman (Contemporary) - Random House Australia. HERP NEED I SAY MORE?
• Tape by Steven Camden (Contemporary) - HarperCollins Australia
• After Eden (After Eden #1) by Helen Douglas - Bloomsbury Australia. I have been waiting for this since LAST YEAR omg!

Thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont, Allen & Unwin, Simon & Schuster Australia, Random House Australia, HarperCollins Australia and Bloomsbury Australia for these ARCs/review copies <3

E-books Bought

• Foreplay (The Ivy Chronicles #1) by Sophie Jordan (Contemporary/New Adult) - for all it's hype it was a pretty generic NA. 3/5
• Finding Cinderella (Hopeless #2.5) by Colleen Hoover (Contemporary/New Adult) 

Bought

I have rather OCD tendencies as those of you who know me are familiar with. As such, because the current copies of the Divergent trilogy I own don't match and/or are damaged, I had to get the box set to match. I don't even know if I'll be reading it again after the ending of Allegiant of but whatever you know it looks awesome :D

The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth (Dystopia):

• Divergent
• Insurgent
• Allegiant

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan (Middle-Grade Fantasy/Mythology):

• The Lightning Thief
• The Sea of Monsters
• The Titan's Curse
• The Battle of the Labyrinth
• The Last Olympian

• Inferno (Robert Langdon #4) by Dan Brown (Adult Mystery/Thriller) - I am a Dan Brown fan hehe
• The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines #4) by Richelle Mead (Paranormal)
• Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blade (Horror) - I am finally succumbing to this!
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Adult Contemporary)
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenze (Contemporary)
• The Sultan's Eyes by Kelly Gardiner (Historical Fiction) 
• Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires #1) by Chloe Neill (Adult Urban Fantasy) - I do love an awesome Alpha, and after Barrons in the Fever series I thought I should check out this famous Ethan
• Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Paranormal Fantasy/Mythology) - HOLY DAIMON BABIES THIS WAS OMFGGGGGGG. THE FEELS. AIDEN ST DELPHI. NOT ENOUGH STARS TO RATE THIS ERMAGERD. I got it in the mail and I was supposed to be doing my assignment, I started reading one page... Nek minnit (6 hours) and a whole load of tissues later I finished O_O

Birthday Gifts

• Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis (Dystopian) - thank you Melanie (http://yamidnightreads.com/) for this much coveted book and lovely card <3

The awesome my friends got me. Gifts include Chloe perfume, a necklace, Bose earphones, Chanel soap/stuff, awesome tea stuff from T2 (not pictured, from my colleagues) AN IKEA GIFTCARD TO "help with my book fetish" ANDDD...

• In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (Historical/Horror)
• Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1) by Orson Scott Card (Adult Dystopian)

 Thank you Shirley (http://shiirleyysbookshelf.blogspot.com.au/) and Lana (https://twitter.com/nomnombanana) for In the Shadow of Blackbirds and Ender's Game and to all my lovely friends and colleagues for the gifts <3

Shirley and Lana also went the extra step and made me the most thoughtful card a booklover can ever receive.

LOOK AT ALL THE BOOK BOYFRIENDS OMG. AIDEN, ASH, CHAOL, DIMITRI, ISAIAH <3

If you managed to read your way through that well, kudos to you, have a cookie *gives cookies*

Thank you for all the gifts, birthday wishes and books!