Book Nerds Across America

Book Summary
Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

Flo's Review
I am super behind on this one. I really enjoyed the first book in this quartet An Ember in the Ashes. (See my review here.) I got this book as soon as it published, but it dropped down on my TBR list. Eventually, I found that my local library had the audiobook, so I grabbed it with the intention of reading it that way. The audiobook is 15 hours long. I've talked before about how my audiobook limit tends to be around 8-9 hours. I thought I would be okay with this longer one, but I wasn't. 

About halfway through, I returned it to the library. That probably would have been that, except I learned that my favorite local bookstore Books & Books will be hosting Sabaa Tahir for her A Reaper at the Gates tour. I definitely needed to have Torch finished. I returned to the library for the audiobook and just finished it last week.

I know I struggled with the length of the audiobook, but I don't think that was the only reason. I was also not loving Laia in this book. She's just so annoyingly stubborn. It's a good trait for her, I guess, because it helps her do things. Otherwise, she might be paralyzed by fear. But so often I found myself thinking, "UGH Laia!" as I read. 

Secondly, the books are so....brutal. I mean, it's a brutal world. This isn't a surprise by any means. It's a hard world, and it was a hard world in the first book, too. I don't know if the change is in me? I need a bit more sunshine and less blood. More fluffy romance and less ... Kauf. I pretty much cringed any time I reading about something the Warden was doing.

But there's a lot to love about this book, too. Steve West reads Elias, and as I talked about before, he is quite delightful to listen to. I am forever #TeamHelene. I hate that being the Blood Shrike has to make her so brutal, too. But she stays true to goodness and to herself in it all, and I admire her for doing so. Even though so many of her scenes made me almost physically hurt. Oh Helene! I think of the three main characters, I am most excited to see what happens with her in Reaper.

Whose story are you most excited to follow in Reaper? Let us know in the comments.

Book Summary
A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. 

Flo's Review
This book spoke to me on many levels. Mostly, as a poet. It has been awhile since I've done so, but I used to write a good deal of poetry. Xiomara's story took me back to the summer between high school and college, when I finally felt confident enough to actually share my words for the first time. It was slam poetry, but I did read a poem aloud. So as I was reading about The Poet X, the Poet Flo was relating.

 I love poetry because of the beauty in the assembly of words. With a poem, you can have no idle ones -- every word counts. And when you read them aloud, how they come together, the rhythm they make, counts too. This is an entire book of verse and I was here for it for 100%.

Especially the audiobook! The audiobook is read by Elizabeth Avecedo, so I really felt like I was hearing things the way she heard them when she first wrote them down. Want to see what I mean? Elizabeth Acevedo came to my favorite local bookstore Books & Books and I snagged this video of her reading from The Poet X. Enjoy!

Book Summary
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...

Flo's Review
From the moment I heard this book was a cross between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones in space, I was intrigued. What a great concept! I don't know much about Lara Croft, but the Indiana Jones movies were definitely a part of my childhood.

This book was fast-paced and a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing how Jules and Mia figured out the various   puzzles that the Undying left behind. And I adored Mia and Jules together. I loved their relationship, from beginning to end.

Amie and Meagan came to my local bookstore, Books & Books, and I couldn't have been more excited. The two of them together are the best, and they are both so sweet, fun, and approachable.

I just love them, though!

They talked about the audiobook at the event and how they were excited to have Steve West narrating Jules. I knew him from the A Torch Against the Night audiobook and he does have a very enjoyable voice. (Seriously, though. Find a sample to listen to if you can!) Needless to say, he did a great job here as well. And so did Alex McKenna, who read Mia. But one thing I know about myself is that I have an audiobook limit. I can only do about 8 CDs max before it starts to seem too long. And this one was ten. Maybe that's why I struggled with the end. The last bit of the book seemed to drag a little bit for me? Or maybe I just enjoyed being with Jules and Mia and the puzzles and their brains better than anything else.

This is a duology, which is refreshing. I am looking forward to seeing everything wrap up in the next book.

Book Summary
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Flo's Review
First of all -- HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO GEMINA! The second book of The Illuminae Files releases today, so I thought this would be a good time to post my review of book #1, which I just finished yesterday. What a unique and creative book! I never see twists, so the twists (two big ones that I'm thinking of) stopped me cold. I don't read a lot of sci fi because I tend to lose focus when it gets to technical. But Illuminae never did that for me. The story was always about the characters and their relationships. 

I actually listened to this on audio, and it was very good. I had heard from a friend that it was, but I was admittedly skeptical -- if you have seen this book, you know that its layout and formatting is non-traditional. I thought I would lose some of the experience by simply listening to the audio. But I don't think I did. The audio was great because it had noises that fit with what was going on. I didn't just read about the screams - I heard them. I loved the reader for the surveillance guy and also for Ezra. Honestly, all the voices were great. (Even the creepy "Briefing Note" voice of Illuminae.) But I think I will read the second book to get that experience as well.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are coming to my favorite local bookstore, Books & Books, on November 10th and I couldn't be more excited to see them! (Click here for more information about that event.)

Alison Goodman, Alwyn Hamilton, Rachel Hawkins, Sabaa Tahir, and April Genevieve Tucholke came to my favorite bookstore Books and Books on Tuesday, Mach 22nd and I was able to attend. These ladies were all fantastic and I had such a great time! The stop was the first one on the tour and some great questions were asked and answered. I took some fun pictures that I'm just now pulling off my phone and wanted to share. I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture with Rachel :( #FloFail

With Sabaa Tahir. If you haven't read An Ember in the Ashes, drop what you're doing so and read it immediately!

Love this pic with April Genevieve Tucholke!

With Alwyn Hamilton

Alison Goodman is so adorable!

If you live in the South Florida area do we have some amazing news for you. The ever amazing Richelle Mead is going on tour and guess what she will be stopping by our favorite indie book store! Richelle will be at at Books & Books on Sunday, November 15th at 1:00pm. The event will be held at their Coral Gables location.

---

---

Book Summary
If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be  at home in New Jersey with her sweet British  boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching  old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing  him in the library stacks.

She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.

From New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer comes a breathtaking and surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance.

Flo's Review
I have to be honest: I saw a copy of this book at some book event, available for me to take. But I read the book summary and didn't think I would be into it. So I left it. Fast forward to about a month or so ago when I learned that author Meg Wolitzer would be coming to my favorite bookstore Books & Books. I decided to give Belzhar a chance before meeting her. (Which actually didn't end up happening because I got a flat tire and missed the event! Boo. But at least I still read the book. :)

I can honestly say that I'm not quite sure how I feel about the book. I don't know how many stars to give it. 3.5 maybe? Right in the middle? 

I liked it. The stories unfolded slowly and Meg definitely kept me invested until the end because I wanted to know everyone's story in Special Topics in English. I listened to this one on audiobook and the reader was good. But I didn't like the way Griffin did a complete 180 because of one single event. And Jam...if you've read the book and want to know my thoughts on her and why she brought down my rating of the book, I'll post it under Spoilers on Goodreads.

This book was outside of what I would usually read, so I am glad that I had an opportunity to do so.

I (Flo) decided to jump on the Stacking the Shelves train! As Tynga explains, Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!"

Yes, I have multiple copies of this book. But it's one of my favorites, and for awhile there it was $2 on Amazon. And it's so pretty! How could I say no?!

These are all audiobooks. Jandy Nelson and Meg Wolitzer are coming to Books and Books on Monday, November 2. I just finished reading Jandy's book The Sky is Everywhere and I loved it, so I'm eager to start on I'll Give You the Sun. I'm participating in the TLCReadAlong to read all the Lunar Chronicle books before Winter, so I'm hoping to catch up with Cress.  

Book Summary
Adrift after her sister Bailey's sudden death, Lennie finds herself torn between quiet, seductive Toby—Bailey's boyfriend who shares her grief—and Joe, the new boy in town who bursts with life and musical genius. Each offers Lennie something she desperately needs... though she knows if the two of them collide her whole world will explode.

Join Lennie on this heartbreaking and hilarious journey of profound sorrow and mad love, as she makes colossal mistakes and colossal discoveries, as she traipses through band rooms and forest bedrooms and ultimately right into your heart.

As much a celebration of love as a poignant portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often uproarious, and absolutely unforgettable.

Flo's Review
Warning: Full on gushing to commence. I'd certainly heard about this book before. I remember one particular tweet from one of my Twitter followers: "Who hasn't read The Sky Is Everywhere? I just want to know for unfollowing purposes." Next Monday, author Jandy Nelson will be coming to my favorite book store Books and Books in Miami, so I wanted to read this before meeting her. Wow. Wow. Wow. What a beautifully written story. It is very honest, which I love. Lennie is not all pain and she's not all happiness. Her thoughts her hilarious and very realistic. Teenagers are not in one place, and especially one going through everything Lennie has been through as of late. 

Joe Fontaine made me smile every single time I read about him. What a happy, lovely boy. I want that happy boy in my life. Even though there was a scene that I knew was coming, it still hurt me right in the feels having to read it. Gram and Big are the best, and I loved reading about those two quirky characters. I listened to this on audiobook, and at the beginning and end of each disc there was clarinet music. Beautiful, perfect clarinet music. And the audio narrator, Julia Whelan, is full of expression and was a perfect Lennie. 

I could go on, but it would just be me continuing to gush. I've heard nothing but great things about Jandy Nelson's other book, I'll Give You the Sun, so I may have to dive into that next.

You've seen me post on here time and time again about many great author events and signings that I (Flo) am fortunate enough to attend. Let me tell you, a large number of these happened at my favorite bookstore in Miami: Books and Books. Next Monday, October 12th they are bringing us the Fierce Reads Fall 2015 tour and we all are super excited! So for this week, a few of the Books and Books South Florida Bloggers are going to spotlighting the authors on our blogs. (Check out some of other others: Owl Always be Reading, Books & Swoon, Bookcrastinators In Wonderland, Dapper Animals blog, and Once Upon a Twilight.)

Today, we have the opportunity to ask Josephine Angelini a few questions about Firewalker. Without sharing spoilers, I have to say this book left me with some massive feels at the end! Here's Josie:

You've seen me post on here time and time again about many great author events and signings that I (Flo) am fortunate enough to attend. Let me tell you, a large number of these happened at my favorite bookstore in Miami: Books and Books. Next Monday, October 12th they are bringing us the Fierce Reads Fall 2015 tour and we all are super excited! So for this week, a few of the Books and Books South Florida Bloggers are going to spotlighting the authors on our blogs. (Check out some of other others: Owl Always be Reading, Books & Swoon, Bookcrastinators In Wonderland, Dapper Animals blog, and Once Upon a Twilight.)

Today, we have the opportunity to ask Leila Sales a few questions about Tonight the Streets Are Ours. Here's Leila:

1. What are 5 random facts about yourself?

2. If you were hosting a literary dinner party, which six authors or characters would you invite?

3. What can you tell us about your new book, Tonight the Streets Are Ours and what do you hope readers take from it?

You've seen me post on here time and time again about many great author events and signings that I (Flo) am fortunate enough to attend. Let me tell you, a large number of these happened at my favorite bookstore in Miami: Books and Books. Next Monday, October 12th they are bringing us the Fierce Reads Fall 2015 tour and we all are super excited! So for this week, a few of the Books and Books South Florida Bloggers are going to spotlighting the authors on our blogs. (Check out some of other others: Owl Always be Reading, Books & Swoon, Bookcrastinators In Wonderland, Dapper Animals blog, and Once Upon a Twilight.)

Today, we have the opportunity to ask Emma Mills a few questions about her new book First and Then. This will be released right around our event on the 12th and it sounds like a great story! Here's Emma:

You've seen me post on here time and time again about many great author events and signings that I (Flo) am fortunate enough to attend. Let me tell you, a large number of these happened at my favorite bookstore in Miami: Books and Books. Next Monday, October 12th they are bringing us the Fierce Reads Fall 2015 tour and we all are super excited! So for this week, a few of the Books and Books South Florida Bloggers are going to spotlighting the authors on our blogs. (Check out some of other others: Owl Always be Reading, Books & Swoon, Bookcrastinators In Wonderland, Dapper Animals blog, and Once Upon a Twilight.)

Today, we had the opportunity to ask Leigh Bardugo a few questions about the amazing Six of Crows! I loved this book so, so much! If you haven't had the chance to read it yet, I suggest you remedy that situation ASAP! For now, here's Leigh:

Six of Crow was EPIC! I am however curious about the total of the main characters. Why SIX? Not four nor five? 

For those of you who don't know, I am a HUGE Matched trilogy fan. So much so that I am actually on staff at a fansite for the series: The Matched Department. So when I found out that my favorite local bookstore Books and Books was hosting her as part of her tour for Reached -- the last book in the Matched trilogy that was released this month -- I was SUPER EXCITED.

Ally did not disappoint! She talked for a few minutes about the question she gets the most often: "Where did you get the idea for Matched?" and then she opened up the floor to questions. There were a lot of good questions asked, and I walked away feeling like I knew much more about Ally as a person. (To see what some of the questions were, check out my post over at The Matched Department.)

Book signing, pictures and swag ended the evening! I got the chance to catch up with Isalys and Vanessa from Book Soulmates while we were in line, so that was an added bonus. (Also, the fact that I wasn't driving through a tropical storm was a bonus.)

I really felt like I got to know Ally much more through the questions that she answered and also through talking with her one-on-one at the end. She is every bit as sweet as I thought she was, and that is just a really great thing to discover about someone.


It's nifty trilogy buttons! You want? Comment on this post and I'll randomly select someone to send them to.

I'm obsessed with Sex and the City.

The fashion. The hot men. And most importantly, the relationship between the four girlfriends.  When one of the Blockbusters near me closed, I was able to buy almost every single DVD from the HBO series. And when I heard that Candace Bushnell, author of the Sex and the City book that inspired the TV show, was coming to my area, I simply had to go.