The Bone Season

Author: Samantha Shannon

Goodreads Rating: 4.02

Pages: 480

Format: ARC from BEA13

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.
But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.
Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.
The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

The Inventor's Secret

Author: Chad Morris
Goodreads Rating: 4.43
Pages: 256
Format: Finished Copy from BEA13

         CONGRATULATIONS! You've been admitted to Cragbridge Hall!

          Imagine a school in the year 2084 where students don't just read history, but watch it happen around them; where running in gym class isn't around a track, but up a virtual mountain; and where learning about animals means becoming one through and avatar. Welcome to Cragbridge Hall, the most advanced and prestigious school in the world.
          Twins Abby and Derick Cragbridge are excited as new students to use their grandfather's inventions that make Cragbridge Hall so incredible. But when their grandfather and parents go missing, the twins must follow a mysterious trail of clues left by their grandfather. They must find out where their family is, learn who they can trust, and discover what secrets are hidden within Cragbridge Hall.
           Abby and Derick soon realize they are caught in a race with a fierce adversary to discover their grandfather's greatest secret -- a dangerous discovery that could alter both history and reality.

OCD Love Story

Author: Corey Ann Haydu
Goodreads Rating: 3.98
Pages: 352
Format: ARC from ALA13

When Bea meets Beck, she knows instantly that he's her kind of crazy. Sweet, strong, kinda-messed-up Beck understands her like no one else can. He makes her feel almost normal. He makes her feel like she could fall in love again. But despite her feelings for Beck, Bea can't stop thinking about someone else: a guy who is gorgeous and magnetic... and has no idea Bea even exists. But Bea knows a ton about him. She spends a lot of time watching him. She has a journal full of notes. Some might even say she's obsessed. Bea tells herself she's got it all under control, but this isn't a choice, it's a compulsion. The truth is, she's breaking down... and she might end up breaking her own heart.

The Yellow Birds

Author: Kevin Powers

Goodreads Rating: 3.79

Pages: 226

"The war tried to kill us in the spring," begins this breathtaking account of friendship and loss. In Al Tafar, Iraq, twenty-one-year old Private Bartle and eighteen-year-old Private Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. In the endless days that follow, the two young soldiers do everything to protect each other from the forces that press in on every side: the insurgents, physical fatigue, and the mental stress that comes from constant danger.
Bound together since basic training when their tough-as-nails Sergeant ordered Bartle to watch over Murphy, the two have been dropped into a war neither is prepared for. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes impossible actions.
With profound emotional insight, especially into the effects of a hidden war on mothers and families at home, THE YELLOW BIRDS is a groundbreaking novel about the costs of war that is destined to become a classic.

Untold (The Lyburn Legacy #2)

Author: Sarah Rees Brenna
Goodreads Rating: 3.96
Pages: 356
Format: ARC from ALA13

Free from bonds, but not each other
It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.
But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

The Infinite Moment of Us

Author: Lauren Myracle
Goodreads Rating: 3.72
Pages: 336
Format: ARC from BEA13

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them . . .Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

The Queen's Vow

Author: C.W. Gortner
Goodreads Rating: 3.84
Pages: 400
Format: Finished Copy for Blog Tour

No one believed I was destined for greatness. So begins Isabella’s story, in this evocative, vividly imagined novel about one of history’s most famous and controversial queens—the warrior who united a fractured country, the champion of the faith whose reign gave rise to the Inquisition, and the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a New World. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner envisages the turbulent early years of a woman whose mythic rise to power would go on to transform a monarchy, a nation, and the world.  Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragon. As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny. From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and the intrigue-laden gardens of Seville, The Queen’s Vow sweeps us into the tumultuous forging of a nation and the complex, fascinating heart of the woman who overcame all odds to become Isabella of Castile.

Showcase Sunday #IDR

I know, I know, its been a long time since I did a post like this, but better late than never night? I had originally been working on this post to go live last Sunday, June 30th, but sadly, Google decided to be a butt and stop working and so here were are, posting on a Thursday. This meme is brought to you by Books, Biscuits, and Tea.

Secret Readers

The other day while Hannah and I were having our daily bookish chat, we came to a few realizations"
1. She needs to read some sequels.
2. We both have a ton of books on our physical shelves that we never seem to get around to.

I think she needs to read Unravel Me and I really need to read Obsidian. At first I proposed a full month where we read 5-10 books picked by the other that we think need to be read. But instead, we're opening this to everyone for a new Monthly Meme.

How this works:

You sign up below on the Google Survey. You have until July 15th.
Then you hang out and wait while Hannah and I pair you someone. This is where the secret part comes in. On July 20th we will give you your assignment, and then you have to keep it a secret! You can't go around telling everyone who you got. We will include the person's name and the link to their blog and other various information. By July 25th, you have to tell Hannah and I what book you have selected for your chosen partner. Once we have been informed, we'll let your partners know, and then you have until August 31st to post your review.

Sound fair? We think so to.

This is for reviews to be posted in the month of August. And just for clarification purposes, you're only picking one book, and your TBR shelf should be books that you currently have or can easily get to. IE. I don't own Adaptation by Malinda Lo, but I can just hit my library to get it because they have it, or I can borrow it from a friend. If the library isn't easy to get to (Mine is around the corner from my house) then don't add it unless its a book you really want to read, but need to have a good little shove.

Makes Sense? I tried, if I didn't, please feel free to email cleanmyshelves@gmail.com with any questions, and I'll make a Q&A post so everyone is on the same page. I'll add a link to a sample list of mine later in the day. So what are you waiting for friends? If you can't access the form below go ahead and click this link!