July 2015 TBR


July 2015

I'm starting out the month of July with a few books that have been on my TBR Pile for a long while now. I've actually started two of them before, but put them down due to a fickle mood.



Hell and High Water (THIRDS #1) by Charlie Cochet 
When homicide detective Dexter J. Daley’s testimony helps send his partner away for murder, the consequences—and the media frenzy—aren’t far behind. He soon finds himself sans boyfriend, sans friends, and, after an unpleasant encounter in a parking garage after the trial, he’s lucky he doesn’t find himself sans teeth. Dex fears he’ll get transferred from the Human Police Force’s Sixth Precinct, or worse, get dismissed. Instead, his adoptive father—a sergeant at the Therian-Human Intelligence Recon Defense Squadron otherwise known as the THIRDS—pulls a few strings, and Dex gets recruited as a Defense Agent.  
Dex is determined to get his life back on track and eager to get started in his new job. But his first meeting with Team Leader Sloane Brodie, who also happens to be his new jaguar Therian partner, turns disastrous. When the team is called to investigate the murders of three HumaniTherian activists, it soon becomes clear to Dex that getting his partner and the rest of the tightknit team to accept him will be a lot harder than catching the killer—and every bit as dangerous.

Downtime by Tamara Allen
On assignment in London, FBI Agent Morgan Nash finds himself moments away from a bullet through the heart when the case he's working goes awry. But fate has other plans, he discovers when he wakes in a world far removed from his own. 
At work cataloguing ancient manuscripts in the British Museum, Ezra Glacenbie inadvertently creates the magic that pulls Morgan out of the twenty-first century and into the nineteenth. It's an impromptu vacation which may become permanent when the spellbook goes missing. Further upsetting Morgan's search for a way home is the irresistible temptation to investigate the most notorious crime of the nineteenth century. But it's the unexpected romance blossoming between Morgan and Ezra that becomes the most dangerous complication of all.

Brute by Kim Fielding
Brute leads a lonely life in a world where magic is commonplace. He is seven and a half feet of ugly, and of disreputable descent. No one, including Brute, expects him to be more than a laborer. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and when he is maimed while rescuing a prince, Brute’s life changes abruptly. He is summoned to serve at the palace in Tellomer as a guard for a single prisoner. It sounds easy but turns out to be the challenge of his life.

Rumors say the prisoner, Gray Leynham, is a witch and a traitor. What is certain is that he has spent years in misery: blind, chained, and rendered nearly mute by an extreme stutter. And he dreams of people’s deaths—dreams that come true.

As Brute becomes accustomed to palace life and gets to know Gray, he discovers his own worth, first as a friend and a man and then as a lover. But Brute also learns heroes sometimes face difficult choices and that doing what is right can bring danger of its own.

Five years ago, Benji Green lost his beloved father, Big Eddie, who drowned when his truck crashed into a river. All called it an accident, but Benji thought it more. However, even years later, he is buried deep in his grief, throwing himself into taking over Big Eddie's convenience store in the small town of Roseland, Oregon. Surrounded by his mother and three aunts, he lives day by day, struggling to keep his head above water.

But Roseland is no ordinary place.

With ever-increasing dreams of his father's death and waking visions of feathers on the surface of a river, Benji's definition of reality is starting to bend. He thinks himself haunted, but whether by ghosts or memories, he can no longer tell. It's not until the impossible happens and a man falls from the sky and leaves the burning imprint of wings on the ground that he begins to understand that the world around him is more mysterious than he could have possibly imagined. It's also more dangerous, as forces beyond anyone's control are descending on Roseland, revealing long hidden truths about friends, family, and the man named Calliel who Benji is finding he can no longer live without.

What do you hope to read this month?






Monthly Wrap Up: June 2015


June 2015


June Reads


June Posts


My TBR Pile

  • Books Added: 6 
  • Books Read: 1 
  • Total Books: 154 


Stats

  • Books Read: 3 
  • Pages Read: 419 
  • Books Purchased: 52

So, not as much reading this month as I would like. More buying than reading, even if most of my purchases were freebies. I hope to do better in July!

How was your month?






Review: A Case of Possession by K.J. Charles

Title: A Case of Possession
Series: A Charm of Magpies #2
Author: K.J. Charles
Genre: Paranormal M/M Romance
Length: 156 pages
Source: Purchased
Published: January 28th 2014 Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Lord Crane has never had a lover quite as elusive as Stephen Day. True, Stephen’s job as justiciar requires secrecy, but the magician’s disappearing act bothers Crane more than it should. When a blackmailer threatens to expose their illicit relationship, Crane knows a smart man would hop the first ship bound for China. But something unexpectedly stops him. His heart.

Stephen has problems of his own. As he investigates a plague of giant rats sweeping London, his sudden increase in power, boosted by his blood-and-sex bond with Crane, is rousing suspicion that he’s turned warlock. With all eyes watching him, the threat of exposure grows. Stephen could lose his friends, his job and his liberty over his relationship with Crane. He’s not sure if he can take that risk much longer. And Crane isn’t sure if he can ask him to.

The rats are closing in, and something has to give…

Review: Final Admission by Sue Brown

Title: Final Admission
Series: N/A
Author: Sue Brown
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Length: 230 pages
Source: Purchased
Published: February 26th 2014 Dreamspinner Press (2nd Edition)
Links: Amazon | Goodreads

When Ethan Williams lands a job at Bingwell, Brock and Bacon, he realizes his coworkers aren’t exaggerating about James Trenchard. He really is a dick. But after Ethan is forced to work closely with James, he realizes there’s more to the lawyer than meets the eye.

Vibrant Ethan is a desperate reason to live again as James endures silent guilt and abuse from his husband after an accident. He calls Ethan for help after a beating, and stolen moments soon become the norm, but they can’t hide forever.

Ethan’s coworkers think he got his promotion because James is sweet on him, James is still being beaten despite his family’s concern, and the situation is swiftly becoming intolerable. Ethan and James need to find a way out of the cycle that’s hurting them both before their brand new love suffers as well.

Stacking the Shelves [002]


Stacking The Shelves 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 stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

Here's what I got this week!

Purchased

      


Borrowed via Library

  


What did you add to your shelves this week?


Stacking the Shelves [001]


Stacking The Shelves 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 stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

Here's what I got this week!

Purchased


The Devil Lancer by Astrid Amara
Final Admission by Sue Brown

Borrowed via Library



The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
The Martian by Andy Weir
Song of the Navigator by Astrid Amara
Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan

Kindle Unlimited


A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest


What did you add to your shelves this week?


Tag: Newbie (BookBlog Edition)

Hello! My name is Christina! For my first post here at Milky Tea Books, I thought I’d do a book blog edition of the Newbie tag from YouTube.
Why did you start this blog?
I had a book blog a few years ago, but I shut it down due to things that were happening in RL. I missed it and really wanted to get back into blogging. I didn’t want to resurrect my old blog, so here I am with a new one! A fresh start after a long time away. I am very excited about this new venture!
What are some fun and unique things you can bring to the book blogging world?
Most of the book blogs I have come across deal mostly with YA fiction. And while I do read YA fiction, it is not the only thing I read. I hope I can offer something for those of you who, like me, have more varied reading tastes. There’s nothing wrong with reading or reviewing YA fiction or any other genre you like, of course! I just can’t choose one genre of the many out there as a niche for this blog. I read what I read, be it YA, romance, science fiction, m/m romance, whatever. It might be better if I do choose a genre and stick to it for this blog, but that’s just not me. Why limit myself like that, you know?
What are you most excited for about this new blog?
I am excited about reading more and sharing my thoughts with others! I love to read and I don’t always have someone to talk to about what I read or about books in general.
Why do you love reading?
Escapism! Sometimes real life can be tough and you just need a break. If you are tired and want to step away from your life for awhile, you can open a book and step into someone else’s! I love books that you can get so into while reading that when you look up from the page you are disoriented for a moment because that life isn’t yours.
What book or book series got you into reading?
Grimm’s Fairytales. The original gory ones with the blood and the non-Disney endings! I loved those when I was a kid. My elementary school library had a beautiful hardback copy of them and no one else got to read it because I kept checking it out.
What questions would you ask your favorite book blogger?
What book(s) have made you cry? From happiness? Sadness? The pure joy of reading beautiful words? What books have emotionally impacted you the most in your life?
What challenges do you think starting a book blog will be the hardest to overcome?
Anxiety! I am nervous about starting a new blog, about choosing topics to discuss, etc. I have the usual things going through my head right now: What if no one reads my blog? What if the books I love aren’t interesting to anyone else? What could I possibly say that no one else has already said better? But I’m trying to rein all that in because I do enjoy blogging and talking about books. I enjoy reading books. I hope that my love of those things will overcome my anxieties.
Well, that was my version of the Newbie tag! Since this is a new blog, I won’t tag anyone else specifically, but if you’d like to answer these questions as well, please consider yourself tagged!

Thanks for visiting my blog!