Bout of Books To Be Read!

Hello, hello!

I mentioned earlier that I would be posting my TBR pile for Bout of Books 12 and I will now post them below. I've posted a set of smaller novels because I've been in kind of a reading slump for a while now so I'm not used to reading a whole lot of books in one week or even a month. -sigh-

Anyhow, I'll be listing below what books I've chosen for the Bout of Books 12 Read-a-Thon!

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

I'm super excited about Monument 14. I'm really intrigued by the little blurb here that's given. I want to know how this story starts and how it unfolds. I've heard some good things about it so I'm going in with a positive attitude!

Twelve-year-old Clara Dooley has spent her whole life in the Glendoveer mansion, where her mother is a servant to the kind and elderly matron of the house. Clara has never known another home. In fact, she's confined to the grand estate due to a mysterious heart condition. But it's a comfortable life, and if it weren't for the creepy squawking birds in the aviary out back, a completely peaceful one too. 

But once old Mrs. Glendoveer passes away, Clara comes to learn many dark secrets about the family. The Glendoveers suffered a horrific tragedy: their children were kidnapped, then drowned. And their father George Glendoveer, a famous magician and illusionist, stood accused until his death. As Clara digs deeper and deeper into the terrifying events, the five birds in the aviary seem to be trying to tell her something. And Clara comes to wonder: what is their true identity? Clara sets out to solve a decades-old murder mystery—and in doing so, unlocks a secret in her own life, too. Kathleen O'Dell deftly weaves magic, secret identities, evil villians, unlikely heroes, and the wonder of friendship into a mystery adventure with all the charm of an old fashioned classic.

I found The Aviary while roaming around on Book Outlet during the Black Friday Sale to find some new reads. I was really pulled in with the cover design as well as the story. I'm wondering if this story has more of a slice of life feel or a darker feel to it. Either way, I'm very excited to dive into this book.

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago. 

Though I'm not too much into these kinds of novels, the story for this one pulled my curiosity. I'm wondering how this well pan out and even though it's kind of implied that there will be some kind of romance, I'm interested in seeing how it's written.

All of these books will have their own formal reviews after they've been read, but for the most part I'm excited. I've been meaning to get into reading again and I can't wait to kick it off this year with these three books.