Stacking the Shelves: 7/12-7/18

First Reads from Goodreads:

Fat Ballet by T. R. Whittier

Merit Badge Murder by Leslie Langtry

The Secrets of Lake Road by Karen Katchur

Swapped for on My Subscription Addiction:

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

The Secret Recipes by Dominique Ansel

Stacking the Shelves: 7/5-7/11

For review:

Frosted Blood by Larry Pellitteri

In the Box: June 2015 Awesome Pack

Late posting on this again!  June, though had an awesome Awesome Pack Big Kid Pack. The subscription is $44.99 a month and you can choose the Big Kid option (for those without kids - like me), or the Family option.  Their site does not have referral links set up yet, nor can you log into your account yet, but they do have a referral program, so if you do decide after reading my review to try it, I would very much appreciate if you told them you heard about it from me, rickimc [at] aol [dot] com.

For June, the main game was Helios (a $64.99 value) from Z-Man Games. I received some Z-Man games last month, and already knew this was a great game publisher.  Helios is based on fantasy/mythology, so I know I will love it!

My smaller game this month was really small!  Karma Mini Round (a $5.00 value) is a mint-tin sized portable card games by the makers of Set (which is one of the best games ever!).  I also received this box of 10 Wild & Wonderful puzzles (a $36.99 value), which I busted open immediately.

The collectible this time was a Series 1 Micro Figure (a $3.95 value).  As they are not LEGO, I really had no interest and already traded them.  However, the Awesome Pack swag this month was a cool bookmark, which I love!

Aside from the colectible which was a bust for me, this month's Awesome Pack was awesome!  The items actually added up t0 an amazing $110.93 value, and I got it all for $44.95, which included shipping.  If you would like to subscribe, once again, I ask that you say you heard it from me, rickimc [at] aol [dot] com.  (Please note: as games and collectibles can vary in price based on demand, I tried to take the price from the manufacturers site whenever possible.)

Blood Music

Title: Blood Music
Editor: Greg Bear
Publisher: Ace

ISBN: 0-441-06797-2

Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: n/a

Thoughts: Interesting concept with some interesting twists, but just did not keep my attention and some parts just did not make sense.

Rating: 2 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 6/28-7/4

For possible review (on Bookloons):

Damage Done by Amanda Panitch

Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr

Swann's Way by Marcel Proust, Stephanie Heuet, & Arthur Goldhammer

First Reads from Goodreads:

The Aries Appointment by Kathy T. Kale

LibraryThing Early Review:

The Salvation of Gabriel Adam by S. L. Duncan

Code Name Verity

Title: Code Name Verity
Editor: Elizabeth Wein
Publisher: B0linda

ISBN: n/a

Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: n/a

Thoughts: Simply amazing!  Tightly woven, full of adventure and intrigue, plenty of fact mixed in, appealing to all ages, this is one of the best WWII fictions I have ever read.

Rating: 5 stars

Arkadium Rising

Title: Arkadium Rising
Editor: Glen Krisch
Publisher: JournalStone

ISBN: 9781940161891

Why Read?: Early Review
Challenges: n/a

Thoughts: Interesting concept, but dragged too much. Plus, there were just a few things that seemed off, like why a girl he picks up outside of Springfield (must be IL since they are talking of crossing the river into STL) is attending Webster at the KC campus instead of the main one, and other local inconsistencies.

Rating: 2 stars