The Reading Perusals of Rose Summers

I haven't done one of these posts in a while, but I figure I'd try to highlight some of the potential reads I'm looking forward to perusing in the coming weeks/months as I've been approved for them on NetGalley.  Granted, I think I might do something a bit differently than what I've been doing in the past because at one point, this was just a showcase of covers and just the mention of the titles and such that I'm going to read.

But I want to be a little more involved than that.  Maybe add some commentary?  Tell people why I requested it?  Feature the premise and react to it?  There are probably a number of things that I can do, but I'm going to limit the list to ten, and then maybe to give myself a bit more of a goal, give an ETA of when exactly I'll be reading them.  That should also give a gauge when I'll be posting a review for them.

Part of the reason for this is because I have so many ARCs now it's something I want to start paring down and set a goal to get somewhere close to 100% (Right now, that's kind of a far cry and not something I'll be able to accomplish by the end of the year, but I do read fast - I mentioned I can read a 250 page book in an hour and a half or two, but that's if I'm focused and I'm not dead tired by the end of the day from doing other things - like the day job, like writing on my WIPs - which I'm still trying to get just one project finished despite the three I planned for this year, like marathoning shows on Netflix or Hulu - heh. :) )  I mean, I'll be very lucky to get close to 70% by the end of the year.  I don't know if it'll happen, but I can do my best.  And I've got NaNoWriMo to think about in the scheme of that.

That said, here's the haul for this week's ten featured titles, 7 of them are newer approvals, and the rest are ones that have been archived for a while - I think I might keep to that system.  So as to not clutter up anyone's feed, I'll do this once a week. However many books I finish in a week will vary (some weeks I finish a book or two a day on average, some I'm lucky just to get a book or two in for the week if I'm listening to them on audio).

Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) In Song by Sara Bareilles

Publisher: Simon and Schuester

Release Date: October 6th, 2015

Rose's Read Date: Week of September 14th

I love Sara Bareilles.  I think I knew from the moment I heard her album "Little Voice" that it would be one that made an impact (and later my sister told me "How the heck do you know/hear this stuff so far ahead of time?"  Comes with being somewhat passionate about media in general, whether it's books, movies, music or otherwise.)  I attended my first concert of hers last year just before my 30th birthday during her Little Black Dress tour. (Best birthday present ever!)  So I'm definitely interested in hearing about her musical journey and life thus far.  I'm not sure what to expect, but then again, she's full of surprises, and a fun personality at that. :)

True Yoga by Jennie Lee

Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide

Publishing date: 1/8/2016

Rose's Read Date: Week of 12/28

Probably a good time to put this on the reading list just before the new year comes in (I suppose that's fitting to many people's new year's resolutions for health and wellness).  I think it's no secret that I'm passionate about health/fitness/wellness, not just from my educational background but for genuinely putting forward more investment in my own practices.  So definitely want to see what this book has to contribute to the conversation about yoga practice.  I feel like whatever resources I can pull about yoga and pilates - whether from a physical practice point, the mental part of it, or simply the history of it - the better.

Academy Girls by Nora Carroll

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Release Date: 9/15/2015

Rose's Read Date: Week of 9/14

Figure I'd better get on this one soon since it releases next week.  The reason I requested this one was because I was all for the premise.  Think Carol Goodman's "The Lake of Dead Languages."  A former student returns to teach at the school she left behind only to discover that her past comes back to haunt her through the unearthings of her students?  That might be something to see.

Surviving Ice by K.A. Tucker

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: 10/27/2015

Read date: Week of 10/5

I'll have to read the others in this series before touching this one, so it'll take me a little time.  In sum, I think the only book out of the "Ten Tiny Breaths" series I liked was the very last one: "Five Ways to Fall" and the ones in the "Burying Water" series have me curious.  The premise is a bit cliche because you can find a ton of tattooed protagonists in New Adult (sometimes too many).  But I'm curious to see if this book makes me sympathetic to a girl on the run after a murder hits close to home.  We'll see.

Need by Joelle Charboneau

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group

Publishing Date: 11/3/2015

Rose's Read Date: Week of 9/21

So this is more or less me giving the author another shot, because I wasn't that impressed with "The Testing" (it had some awesome concepts, but the first book lost me.)  I'm actually really excited about this one, because it involves the obsessive and evil use of a new social networking site.  Digital chaos, I can see in the forthcoming future.

First Time With A Highlander by Gwyn Cready

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: 10/6/2015

Rose's Read Date: 9/14/2015

I've actually been sitting on this one a while.  Premise intrigued me initially when I read the words "time travel" and "Scottish romance".  I'm totally fine with time travel books, I'm definitely fine with Scottish historicals.  I haven't read the author before, and I know this could go very well or be a trainwreck waiting to happen.  But for another aspect that intrigues me: the hero's actually the one coming from the future, and the heroine's from the past.  You would think it'd be the reverse (I'm at least glad to see that factor being a change of pace from some romances I've picked up).

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: 10/6/2015

Rose's Read Date: Week of 9/28

A contemporary romance set in Paris, with a troubled (and well-to-do) teen protagonist who's been kicked out of several schools and has to shape up so she doesn't lose her well-to-do status.  Gets drawn between two guys, one guy friend who encourages her to get herself together (Moony) and another who seems to be way out of her league (older male love interest).

This could go a few ways: I'm glad there isn't the immediate juxtaposition to "Anna and the French Kiss", but I'm wondering how it's going to treat its themes.  I think I'll figure that out when I tackle this read in another couple of weeks.  This is the author's debut novel.

Six Feet Over It by Jennifer Longo

Publisher: Random House BFYR

Release Date: 8/26/2014

Rose's Read Date: Currently reading

I definitely was drawn to this read by the premise of a caretaker's daughter and it's dark humored approach on her working the family business.  I'm enjoying it thus far, though I'm not far into it.

Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books/Walker Children's

Release Date: 9/3/2013

Rose's Read Date: Currently Reading

I think the concept of a magic wielding serial killer and a young woman with no memories of her past on the run attracted me to this read.  I'm just not sure why it took me so long to pick this book up, considering I read and loved one of the author's former works, "Vessel."

The Devil's Only Friend by Dan Wells

Publisher: Tor/Forge

Release Date: 6/15/2015

Rose's Read Date: Currently Reading

I've said before that I'll read anything that Dan Wells writes (really enjoyed the original John Cleaver trilogy and the first book in the Partials series).  This latest book in the John Cleaver series has everything: action, humor, intrigue, a diverse cast of supporting characters and a compelling protagonist.  I'm just slow about finishing it because I don't want it to end (and because I've been trading off between many reads, including library books). >___<

That's all for this week's entry.  Until next entry,

~Rose