Weekly Highlights: the 'Birthday Plus' edition

Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things! 

So I might have sort of forgotten to do this last week, partly because I had work all weekend, partly because it was my birthday! I had a lovely day off on Thursday, went shopping and spent the evening with my boyfriend. Oh, speaking of, I have news. I feel a little weird putting it out like this because you are my friends but I do want you to know: Jordan proposed on my birthday! He got down on one knee and had a ring and everything! Needless to say I - we - are deliriously happy and I haven't really stopped smiling. 

On The Blog

Review of Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz (4 stars)
Review of Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes (4 stars)
Review of Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (5 stars)
Review of The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard (4 stars)
Review of Breakdown by Sarah Mussi (4 stars)

Currently Reading

The Mediator series by Meg Cabot - a nice little trip down memory lane for the Lucky 14 Challenge.

On My Bookshelf

Captive by Aimee Carter
The truth can set her free. For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, in a hostile meritocracy on the verge of revolution, Kitty sees her frustration grow as her trust in her fake fiancé cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoat rebels she is secretly supporting keep her in the dark more than ever.

But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape.

As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?

The sequel to Pawn, which I read last year and loved. Can't remember many of the details but still really looking forward to it. Thank you to Netgalley and MiraInk!
 
The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
When madness stalks the streets of London, no one is safe…

There's a creepy new terror haunting modern-day London.
Fresh from defeating a Jack the Ripper killer, Rory must put her new-found hunting skills to the test before all hell breaks loose… But enemies are not always who you expect them to be and crazy times call for crazy solutions. A thrilling teen mystery.

I've read it already and I fell in love all over again with Johnson's hilarious writing style. It's also the only book I got for my birthday. Well that's a lie, I also got a bound Grimm's fairy tales collection from my brother, which is very pretty.

Dark of The Moon by Siobhan Curham
This time, there’s no fire in the dream. All I see is a hazy yellow glow. Then a beautiful girl’s face slowly appears. She’s smiling at me, but a tear is trickling down her cheek. She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can say a word a snake slithers out from between her lips, its fangs bared.

For Grace, being shipwrecked on a deserted island has brought two good things: new friendships . . . and Cruz, her soulmate. But as her romance with Cruz intensifies, so do the strange happenings on the island. A girl haunts Grace’s dreams – but what does she want? And will she ever let Grace leave?
 
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgement.

These two I bought during our Bath shopping trip - the first because I needed the sequel, which I've already read and it was amazing! The second because my Waterstones is doing an event with Becca Fitzpatrick and I haven't read anything of hers. I will be working it as well, my first book signing on the other side of the tape.
 
In the Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin
Anya Balanchine is a teenager with the responsibilities of a grown woman. Now eighteen, life has been more bitter than sweet for Anya. She has lost her parents and her grandmother, and has spent the better part of her high school years in trouble with the law. Perhaps hardest of all, her decision to open a nightclub with her old nemesis Charles Delacroix has cost Anya her relationship with Win.
Against the odds, the nightclub becomes an enormous success, and Anya feels like she is on her way and that nothing will ever go wrong for her again. Until a terrible misjudgment leaves Anya fighting for her life...

The final book in the Birthright trilogy, I am really looking forward to this one and seeing how it all ends.
 
Terminated by Rachel Caine
Already addicted to the pharmaceutical drug that keeps her body from decomposing, Bryn Davis has survived Pharmadene's attempts to destroy her. But in doing so she may have sacrificed something massive - her own humanity. Made even more dangerous than before, even to her own friends, Bryn must stop a group of rich and powerful investors from eliminating Returne addicts altogether. And meanwhile, the investors' undead assassin is on the hunt for anyone who stands in their way. It's time to terminate the oncoming corporate zombie apocalypse for good ...even if it means terminating herself along with it. 

Another final book in the series - sensing a theme, huh? I read the first two books year before last do details are foggy but I need to know what happens!