Stacking the Shelves #13 – First of 2014!

Posted 4 January, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Memes, Stacking the Shelves / 58 Comments

Stacking the Shelves - (un)Conventional Bookviews

Stacking The Shelves #13

Stacking The Shelves, hosted by Tynga’s Reviews 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! Since this is the first Stacking The Shelves post for 2014, I also want to wish everyone a very happy New Year, I hope you are in good health, and that 2014 will be prosperous, fun, successful and filled with love and happiness – and of course great books!

Participating in Stacking The Shelves has helped me to keep better track of books I’m adding to my huge TBR pile every week, and I think I have gotten a little better at not adding too many books every single week. Participating in this blog-hop has also introduced me to more new blogs, and some weeks, I add more books to my ‘might-read-one-day’ shelf than I should, but before I actually have the books on my kindle, nothing has been decided yet.

Netgalley ARCs:
Once in a Lifetime coverOnce in a Lifetime (Lucky Harbor #9) – Jill Shalvis

Summary: SOMETIMES WRONG IS OH-SO-RIGHT
After a wrenching loss, Ben McDaniel tried to escape his grief by working in dangerous, war-torn places like Africa and the Middle East. Now he’s back in his hometown and face-to-face with Aubrey Wellington, the hot-as-hell woman who is trouble with a capital T. Family and friends insist she’s not the one to ease his pain, but Aubrey sparks an intense desire that gives Ben hope for the future.
Determined to right the wrongs of her past, Aubrey is working hard to make amends. But by far, the toughest challenge to her plan is sexy, brooding Ben – even though he has absolutely no idea what she’s done . . .
Can this unlikely couple defy the odds and win over the little town of Lucky Harbor?

The Professional - Part Two cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsThe Professional Part 2 – Kresley Cole I was happy-dancing when I received an e-mail from the publisher on New Year’s Eve telling me I could log in to Netgalley and download this title!

Summary: He makes the rules . . .
Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr “The Siberian” Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss’s long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.
Rules are made to be broken . . .
PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell.
Are you ready to play?
Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true…

Layers Peeled cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsLayers Peeled (Layers Trilogy #2) – Lacey Silks

Summary: New life binds them,
Past ghosts haunt her,
Fresh secrets distract him,
…and history repeats itself.
Allie, a rookie cop hired and desired by a private investigator, is about to knock the wind out of Tristan with the biggest news of her life… … right after the announcement that he fired her sinks in.
Tristan, the owner of Cross Enterprises, has a few surprises for Allie as well. And she won’t see them coming.
While the couple tries to deal with their predicament and growing romance, ghosts from Allie’s past haunt her, slowly calculating the timing of their return.
With new assignments distracting Tristan, fate has stacked a threat against them. Can Allie and Tristan peel away their protective layers for long enough to see the danger brewing at their doorstep? If they don’t work together, trusting and sharing information, it may be too late.
And history may repeat itself.

The Sheriff Catches a Bride cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsThe Sheriff Catches a Bride (The Cowboys of Chance Creek #5) – Cora Seton

Summary: When county sheriff Cab Johnson gets a hunch, he’s learned to trust it, and his hunch tells him Rose Bellingham is in a peck of trouble. Bad enough he’s in love with her, bad enough she’s already engaged to Jason Thayer. He’s got to figure out what she’s hiding before he loses her for good.
Rose can’t stand one more person meddling in her business, even if that person is a handsome, eligible sheriff. She’s been controlled for far too long. But since her fiancé’s father is both her boss and landlord, she can’t dump Jason until she’s got somewhere to run. She’s found the perfect place: a patch of forest outside town. But with Cab watching her every move, she’s hard pressed to finish her hideaway so she can make her escape. Meanwhile, she’s not the only one with problems. Can she find a way to help her friends, too?
Just when Cab solves one mystery, more pop up. Where does Rose keep disappearing to? What’s wrong with Mia Start? Why is Hannah Chatham lying to her fiancé? At least he’s let Rose know he’s interested. And if he’s not mistaken, she’s interested, too.
Rose’s hideaway is perfect, until her friends invade it to escape their own troubles. Can she trust them to keep its whereabouts a secret? Does she want to hide from Cab anymore? Now that Jason’s out of the picture, is it safe to follow her heart?
When two unexpected visitors arrive with secrets of their own, Chance Creek must brace for its deadliest night ever. Can Cab figure out the connections between all the mysteries fast enough?
Or will Rose and her friends pay the ultimate price?

Waking up Pregnant cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsWaking up Pregnant – Mira Lyn Kelly

Summary: The night that changed everything!
Waitress Darcy Penn is the smart, sensible type—flirting with the extremely cute guy in the bar just isn’t her usual style. As for ending up in his hotel room? Definitely not! Sneaking out while he’s in the bathroom to avoid the post-sex awkwardness? Much more like it….
If Darcy had stuck around, Jeff Norton could have told her about their “epic latex fail.” So he shouldn’t be quite so shocked when months later, Darcy turns up at his classy L.A. office and throws up in his wastepaper basket. She’s got a bad case of morning sickness, and she’s here to find out what he’s going to do about it!

Edelweiss ARCs:

Fair Play cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsFair Play (It Happened at the Fair #2) – Deanne Gist

Summary: Saddled with a man’s name, the captivating Billy Jack Tate makes no apologies for taking on a man’s profession. As a doctor at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, she is one step closer to having her very own medical practice—until Hunter Scott asks her to give it all up to become his wife.
Hunter is one of the elite. A Texas Ranger and World’s Fair guard specifically chosen for his height, physique, character, and skill. Hailed as the toughest man west of any place east, he has no patience for big cities and women who think they belong anywhere but home…
Despite their difference of opinion on the role of women, Hunter and Billy find a growing attraction between them—until Hunter discovers an abandoned baby in the corner of a White City exhibit. He and Billy team up to make sure this foundling isn’t left in the slums of Chicago with only the flea-riddled, garbage-infested streets for a playground. As they fight for the underprivileged children in the Nineteenth Ward, an entire Playground Movement is birthed. But when the Fair comes to an end, one of them will have to give up their dream.
Will Billy exchange her doctor’s shingle for the domesticated role of a southern wife, or will Hunter abandon the wide open spaces of home for a life in the “gray city,” a woman who insists on being the wage earner, and a group of ragamuffins who need more than a playground for breathing space?

Kindle Freebies:

Deeper cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsDeeper – Blue Ashcroft

Summary: Rain Wilson isn’t ever going to love again.
It’s a promise she made the day her boyfriend died in a water park accident, one she still blames herself for. Now she’s a senior lifeguard in a new town with a new pool and she’s just going to keep her head down and everyone safe.
Until a mysterious guy follows her into the waves at the pre-season bonfire and kisses her senseless. It’s just one mistake, and Rain is determined to put it behind her, until the dark haired, blue eyed hottie turns out to be her new co-supervisor Knight Mcallister.
Knight is hot, tatted, and carrying baggage of his own. He’s not happy about having Rain for a co-supervisor, and he’s even less happy about his attraction to her.
But between lifeguard drama, hot underwater kisses, and a growing attraction between them that can’t be stopped, Knight and Rain are being pulled deeper into their pasts, and realizing that sometimes too much broken can make a relationship impossible.
Then again sometimes it’s the broken parts of us that fit together best.

Lila and Ethan cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsLila and Ethan: Forever and Always (The Secret #4.5) – Jessica Sorensen

Summary: Lila Summers just wants to know one thing for certain: that Ethan Gregory will be with her always. Once her friend, he’s become so much more, melting the pain of her past away with each kiss. Now Lila is on a road trip with Ethan, in the wilderness under the stars, and she can’t imagine her life without him. But when she talks about the future, something in Ethan changes . . .
Ethan has no doubts about his feelings for Lila. His life with her gets better every day-and that’s the scary part. How can he walk into a future where he has everything to lose? With Lila, his whole heart is on the line for the very first time. But if Ethan can’t give her the promise she needs, his greatest fear might come true: he’ll lose Lila for good.

Ruin cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsRuin (Summer in Winter #1) – C.J. Scott

Summary: Kate Bell isn’t perfect. Not even close. The things she got up to in college would cause her parents to fall off their pedestals in shock. Home for the summer vacation, Kate settles in for a long, boring break in the tiny backwater of Winter with folks who still treat her like she’s twelve.
Then Ben Parker arrives and suddenly Winter gets interesting. He’s hot, mysterious and good with his hands. Kate falls for him instantly, but her cop father warns her to stay away. But how can she stay away from someone as compelling as Ben? Someone who thinks she’s perfect just the way she is?
When Ben’s secrets catch up to him, not only is Kate’s heart in danger of being broken, but Ben’s entire future could be ruined.
RUIN is a new adult contemporary romance intended for mature readers. It contains strong language and sexual situations.

Say When cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsSay When (Something More #1) – Tara West

Summary: He told me to say when, but I can’t. Not with Andrés. It’s so hard to say anything when he’s trailing feather soft kisses down my neck, or when his touch sends hot currents of lust rippling across my skin.
Then there’s the way he smiles and offers soft words of encouragement when I’m creating art, almost like he believes I have talent.
He’s not like any guy I’ve ever met. Not like my ex-fiancée. Not like my father. He’s got me thinking that maybe we can have something more. More than just lust, degradation, and abuse.
And now I’m scared, because that means I’ll have to trust him with more than just my body, but with my heart, too.

His Wicked Games cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsHis Wicked Games (His Wicked Games #1) – Ember Casey

Summary: Trapped with a billionaire in his mysterious mansion… Can she beat him at his own game?
Lily Frazer would do anything to save the Frazer Center for the Arts–even take on the infamous billionaire Calder Cunningham. When Lily breaks onto the Cunningham estate, she only wants to find and reason with Calder. (All right, all right, she wants to punch him in the face, too, but that’s Plan B.) As it turns out, the arrogant billionaire is willing to give her the money he promised, but there’s a catch: she must win it from him.
And the games he has in mind aren’t exactly… innocent.
Lily isn’t about to give up the money without a fight (or let some haughty bastard seduce her), but she quickly discovers that there might be more to the brooding Calder than she initially perceived. As their games of cat and mouse become increasingly intense, she suddenly finds herself confused by her own emotions. Can she deny her attraction long enough to win the money she needs?
A contemporary, steamy take on Beauty and the Beast, His Wicked Games is a tale of devilish deeds, wild passions, and wicked romance.

Kindle Purchases:

It Had to be You cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsIt Had to be You (Lucky Harbor #7) – Jill Shalvis

Summary: Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she’s a thief, and now she’s about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who’s as sexy as he is stern….
After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke’s own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

Always on my Mind CoverAlways on my Mind (Lucky Harbor #8) – Jill Shalvis

Summary: After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack’s ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib – that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . .
No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine – perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their “just friends” rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

Free novellas (from author websites):

Giveaway Wins:

One Death at a Time cover - (un)Conventional BookviewsOne Death at a Time (Twelve Stakes #1) – Thomas M. Hewlett
I was lucky enough to win a kindle copy from Braine at Talk Supe, and I’m really excited to read this!

Summary: “People think Alcoholics Anonymous is for drunks. It’s not. It’s for us, the real drinkers. The blood drinkers. All the rest of those meetings are just for show.”
Los Angeles, 1948. Detective Jack Strayhorn is killed while chasing down a suspect in the Black Dahlia murders all by himself.
Los Angeles, 2010. Jack Strayhorn is back in L.A. as a private investigator with a simple mission: catch the bad guys and try not to kill any innocent people along the way.
To him and his kind, human blood is the strongest drug in the world. Fortunately for Jack, he found the secret group within AA dedicated to helping Vampires survive the madness and destruction of their disease.
When a city councilmember with ties to a drug-dealing Fae clan is found dead in his home and the woman lying next to him is Jack’s current missing person’s case, tracking down the ghostlike hitman will test him like nothing before.
But this time, Jack won’t be alone. With the help of his unique powers of investigation, his magically talented friends, and a Medical Examiner with a few secrets of her own, Jack will face down a gang of outlaw biker werewolves, spell-casting Fae high on pixie dust, and an underground order of Vampires intent on ruling the world.
As Jack learned long ago, the only way to get through eternity is one death a time.

 

Don’t forget to stop by my Merry Christmas giveaway – it’s international, and the winner will get a $25 amazon GC 🙂 It is only open until January 6th, and there are no hoops to jump through, really, in order to participate.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a spectacular Saturday.

Lexxie signature (un)Conventional Bookviews

 

 

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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58 responses to “Stacking the Shelves #13 – First of 2014!

    • I guess in a way it’s a good thing they’re not on your TBR, Melanie, as most of them are not books you should really be reading yet 😉 There are no YA stories, but Fair Play is a Christian historical romance… we’ll see.

      Thanks for stopping by, and Happy reading.

    • I know all about the time thing. Jill Shalvis writes really nice contemporary romances, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy her stories.

      Thanks for stopping by, Melliane.

  1. Jessica @ a GREAT read

    Now that is how you start the New Year! With LOTS of books! Hope you enjoy them all!

    My STS will be up tomorrow, so be sure to stop by then!

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower 🙂

    • Yeah, I went a little overboard – and also, I suddenly got approved for books I requested quite a while ago.

      Thanks for stopping by, Grace 🙂

    • I am looking forward to starting to read Jessica Sorenson, I haven’t read any books by her yet. And I love Jill Shalvis, too 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by Jessica 🙂

  2. Thanks for your comment on my sts.
    And I see you got a lot of books. I hope you enjoy reading all of them.

    Mariska

    mariska recently posted: STS
    • I enjoyed the first book in the series, and I think the 2nd will be good, too.

      Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer 🙂

    • Thanks, Chrissi. I hope I’ll enjoy all these books, too, but I have no idea when I’ll get to them all – apart from the Professional Part 2, which I’ve already read 🙂

  3. My goodness, that’s quite a haul, Lexxie! There are quite a few on your list that I’m interested it. *gasps* I know you’re shocked! 😉 I guess I’ll just wait to see what you think of them…and then you can spend even more of my GCs! *grins*

    I hope you’re enjoying your Saturday. It’s snowing here, so I’m enjoying the quiet solitude. 🙂

    Bookworm Brandee recently posted: **Sidekick Showcase #26 ~ Party Time**
    • Oh, how I wish it would snow here, too! It’s been raining non-stop for two days, and it doesn’t really seem like winter 🙁

      Yes, this week’s haul is quite amazing – and I hope I’ll enjoy all of these books. Then I can help you get rid of your GC 😉

      Have a great weekend, Brandee *hugs*

    • Oh my goodness, how long are you going to be punished for, Braine? I keep telling myself I need to stay away, but I can’t really do it. I’m like a zombie – *boooooooooks boooooooooks*

      I already read KC book, and I loved it.

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

    • LOL, yes, that’s me going a little overboard once more, Jaclyn 🙂 But I’m reading a lot these days 😉

      Thanks for stopping by.

    • The Professional Part 2 was wickedly sinful, delightful, dark and hot! So there.

      I love Jill Shalvis and her whole Lucky Harbor universe, I look forward to catching up with all of them 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by, Lindy.

    • I actually haven’t read any of JS’s books yet, but I do look forward to them, since some of my trusted blogging friends have enjoyed her books.

      Thanks for stopping by, Janina.

    • I love Lucky Harbor. And I can’t wait to curl up with three of them and just enjoy the friendships and the romance for a while.

      Thanks for stopping by, Jessica.

    • That series by Cora Seton is awesome, her cowboys are so sexy 🙂 I love Jill Shalvis, too, but I’ve never read any Deanne Gist yet.

      Thanks for stopping by Molly 🙂

    • I haven’t read any Jessica Sorenson yet, but I agree about Kresley Cole and Jill Shalvis 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by, Fi.

    • I’m almost a little sorry for making you want to go click-crazy 😀 I hope you managed to not click on too many 😉

      Thanks for stopping by!

    • Yeah, I went a little click-happy there 🙂 I love Jill Shalvis – she’s my go-to for pick-me-up reads 🙂

      I’m glad you’re enjoying your current read, Wendy, I have been lucky so far this year (hehe) more than one 5 star, and a few 4 star reads as well.

      Thanks for stopping by.

  4. I’ve had this post of yours bookmarked since it came out – I apologize for the lateness of my comment. I’d been doing an ‘ok’ job catching up on my blog visiting and then the holidays threw me off again haha >.< Anyways Happy New Year Lexie xx I wish you nothing but the best for 2014!! You have a lovely haul here, most of these are new to me but they certainly look HOT 😀 I hope you enjoy all of these – happy reading ♥

    Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews recently posted: Stacking the Shelves *31* - Holiday Haul!
  5. Don’t worry about it, Micheline, I know how it is – and it’s necessary to have a break and just stay off-line for a while, too. I hope you had a good holiday season, and that 2014 is off to a good start 🙂

    Among the books in this haul that I’ve already read, I’ve been quite happy with everything 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!

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