The Whimsical Mama

<3 Such is the life of a stay at home mommy and Army wife (:

Top Ten Tuesday #101: Ten Books That Have Been On Your Shelf (Or TBR) From Before You Started Blogging That You STILL Haven’t Read Yet August 23, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Ten Books That Have Been On Your Shelf (Or TBR) From Before You Started Blogging That You STILL Haven’t Read Yet

  1. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

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2. The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

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3. Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

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4. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

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5. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

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6. The Book of Dreams by OR Melling

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7. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

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8. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

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9. Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

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10. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

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Top Ten Tuesday #100: Top Ten Books With X Setting (Settings I Want to Visit) August 16, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books With X Setting (Settings I Want to Visit)

1.Russia – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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2. Edinburgh – The Falconer by Elizabeth May

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3. Ireland – Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

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4. London – Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

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5. Paris – Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

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6. Prague – Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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7. Romania – And I Darken by Kiersten White

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8. Middle East – The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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9. San Diego – Waterfell by Amalie Howard

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10. China – Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

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Top Ten Tuesday #99: Top Ten Tuesday REWIND – Villains/Criminals/Other Nasties August 9, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND – Villains/Criminals/Other Nasties

Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas 

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Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter by JK Rowling

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Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter by JK Rowling

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Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter by JK Rowling

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Loki, God of Mischief from Thor

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Black Knife from The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

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Khalid from The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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Arin from The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

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The Darkling from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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Sturmhond from Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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Top Ten Tuesday #98: Ten Books You’d Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card August 2, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Ten Books You’d Buy Right This Second If Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card

  1. Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory

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2. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

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3. Lament by Maggie Stiefvater

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4. Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

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5. Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

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6. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

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7. A Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard

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8. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

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9. Kiss Me Deadly by Trisha Telep

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10. Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke

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What would you buy? I need all of these except Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory for YALLFest in November! haha.

 

Top Ten Tuesday #97: Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do or Learn About After Reading Them July 26, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do or Learn About After Reading Them

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  1. Archery. Now, I won archery in high school gym class, but I would love to learn and practice the skill to rival Katniss. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

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2. Quidditch. True Harry Potter Quidditch. While the Muggle Quidditch looks entertaining, I would much rather play real Quidditch! Harry Potter by JK Rowling

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3. Epic Road Trip with Friends. I’ve gone on tons of road trips and tons of band trips, but I would love to go on a road trip with friends that doesn’t involve a school bus! Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

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4. Help a soldier/servicemember with PTSD. My step-dad has PTSD and my husband is in the service. PTSD is close to my heart and I think more awareness needs to be raised. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

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5. Explore Prague. I would absolutely love to go to Prague! Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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6. Travel to different Londons. I love our London (Grey London). It would be fascinating to explore the other Londons too. Even if they are fantasy! A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab.

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7. Find Glendower. Not with the intention of obtaining a wish, but just to find him. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

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8. Explore Paris. I would love to go back to Paris. I would get on a plane in a heartbeat. Die for Me by Amy Plum

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9. Learn the violin. Well, this made me want to learn more. I’ve wanted to learn how to play the violin for ages. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

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10. Do marching band again. Oh, heavens do I miss marching band! Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols.

What are some things books have left you wanting to learn or do?

 

Top Ten Tuesday #96: Top Ten Books Set Outside the US July 19, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books Set Outside the US

I decided to go with actual locations other than fantastical realms for this week.

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  1. Die for Me by Amy Plum. Oh, Paris. I love you.

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2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. This book only strengthened by desire to visit Prague!

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3. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. Historical (fantasy) England, but England nonetheless!

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4. Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz. Various locations around Europe, South America, and even Tartarus.

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5. The Falconer trilogy by Elizabeth May. Victorian Scotland!

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6. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. England and Scotland (with visitors from other nations too)

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7. Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Ireland, England, Russia, and some other locations too!

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8. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Scotland and France!

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9. His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers. Duchy of Brittany and France.

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10. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Beijing, France, Africa, the Moon.

 

Where have books taken you?

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday #95: Ten Facts About Me July 12, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Facts About Me

  1. I’m a photographer. I love photography. I really should get off my butt and shoot more photography!
  2. I wanted to get a PhD in French and work as an interpreter for the UN or State Department when I was in high school.
  3. My internet on campus was frozen once when I was researching the Iranian nuclear program for a Model UN assignment. I’m probably still on some watch list for that assignment too haha!
  4. I’m a history glutton. I love studying history. There is so much to be learned from the past to help shape our future.
  5. My favourite colours are cerulean and emerald green.
  6. I hated reading as a child. I liked when people read to me, but I hated reading for myself.
  7. I used to tell people my name was Kimberly cause I wanted to be the Pink Power Ranger so badly.
  8. I’ve been to Europe three times, and want to go back. I love Edinburgh, Paris, London, and Rome.
  9. I want to live on a farm, but I don’t want to work on a farm. I also like living close to town.
  10. Being a mom has been the biggest blessing I never knew I couldn’t live without.

 

Tell me about yourself!

 

Top Ten Tuesday #94: Top Ten Books I Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads July 5, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Top Ten Books I Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads

This isn’t a pure list as I skipped books from the same series.

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  1. The Prophecy by Erin Rhew (all the books in this trilogy are under a dollar on Amazon!) My reviews for The Prophecy, The Outlanders, and The Fulfillment.

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2. Waterfell by Amalie Howard (This duology is a great quick beachy read!) My reviews for Waterfell and Oceanborn.

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3. Napoleon & Josephine The Sword and The Hummingbird by Gerald & Loretta Hausman. I read this back in high school and fell in love with it!

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4. Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano. The other series I started with book one, but it has over 2k views. Books two and three don’t. This series is fantastic!

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5. Rite of Conquest by Judith Tarr. I stumbled across this at our used bookstore in high school. I absolutely loved it! I should do a reread soon!

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6. In Defense of the Queen by Michelle Diener. While this is the third book, it can easily be read as a standalone. My review of In Defense of the Queen.

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7. The Hidden Prince by Jodi Meadows. Plus the other Black Knife novellas! I would suggest reading The Orphan Queen first though. SPOILERS and all that. (;

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8. Artemis Fowl The Arctic Incident: The Graphic Novel by Eoin Colfer. My love for Artemis Fowl goes deep and I finally read the graphic novels last summer.

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9. Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz. Companion to the Blue Bloods series. My review for Blue Bloods

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10. A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris. I adore Rachel and her books. The My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century series is so cute and a quick read. My reviews for My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, A Tale of Two Centuries, and My Not So Super Sweet Life.

 

What are some of your under 2k rating reads?

 

Top Ten Tuesday #93: Freebie (Summer TBR) June 28, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR

Here’s what I’ve selected on previous TBR lists: Winter 2013 6/10 Fall 2013 3/10 Spring TBR 2014 6/11  Summer 2014 3/10 Fall 2014 2/10 Winter 2014 6/10 Spring 2015 5/10 Summer 2015 6/10 Fall 2015 6/10

This week is actually a freebie, but I decided I would share my Summer TBR since I haven’t shared one since back in the fall. Here’s hoping for a 10/10!

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  1. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

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2. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

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3. The Last Star by Rick Yancey

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4. Lois Lane Fallout by Gwenda Bond

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5. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

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6. And I Darken by Kiersten White

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7. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

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8. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne, & John Tiffany

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9. DC SuperHero Girls: Finals Crisis by Shea Fontana

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10. Aftermath by Chuck Wendig

What are you planning on reading this summer?

 

Top Ten Tuesday #92: Favourite 2016 Releases June 21, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten (More like six so far) Favourite 2016 Releases

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  1. The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh. Sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn.

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2. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi. Standalone fantasy!

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3. The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski. Finale of The Winner’s Curse trilogy.

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4. When We Collided by Emery Lord. Contemporary standalone.

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5. The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows. Finale of The Orphan Queen duology.

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6. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir. Finale of An Ember in the Ashes duology. Currently reading or recently finished.

I haven’t read them yet, but I know I will enjoy these 2016 releases!

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7. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas. Sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses.

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8. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows. I’m SO excited about this one! I know it’s gonna be great!

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9. The Last Star by Rick Yancey. The final book in The 5th Wave trilogy. I adored The 5th Wave, and I can’t wait to read the other two books! I think this will be what I take to the beach this year!

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10. A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab. Sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic. I’ve heard through the grapevine that this ends on an EPIC cliffhanger, so I’m currently waiting until A Conjuring of Light comes out to read books two and three at the same time! I HATE cliffhangers!

What have been your favourite 2016 reads so far this year? What are you looking forward to for the rest of the year?