Welcome All Book Lovers

Welcome All Book Lovers

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

THE CARETAKER'S GUIDE TO FABLEHAVEN BY BRANDON MULL, ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRANDON DORMAN

This guidebook to the Fablehaven magical preserve is filled with everything a new Caretaker might need to know in order to survive. There are entries detailing important information about artifacts large and small, a complete bestiary of creatures (from fairies to trolls to satyrs), a guide to identifying demons, dragons, and wizards as well as valuable insights into the other magical preserves.

Immerse yourself into the secret knowledge that has been handed down through the generations by reading the updates and notes written in the margins by the former Caretakers of Fablehaven, including Grandpa Sorenson, Kendra, and Seth. Fully-illustrated, this unique encyclopedia has gathered the world of Fablehaven into one volume.

Scattered throughout the book are colorful fairies that also mark some of the characters, artifacts, and creatures that will be featured in the upcoming sequel series, Dragonwatch. @goodreads 



MY REVIEW:

5 STARS 

I loved the Fablehaven series! I read them years ago and they look beautiful on my shelf to this day. I want to re-read them now after reading this book! I can't wait to get my hands on the actual book.

The illustrations are beautiful and let me tell you, I was taken back to the world just reading about all of the different creatures that I remembered as the book went over them. The book also talks about the different gadgets, potions, places, etc of the book.

If you have never read the Fablehaven series and you like books filled with monsters and all kinds of goodies, you must read them! It doesn't matter how old you are, they are so awesome and this book is too!

*I would like to thank NETGALLEY and SHADOW MOUNTAIN PUBLISHING for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.*

GOODREADS REVIEW:

 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1405082794

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1629720917?keywords=the%20caretakers%20guide%20to%20fablehaven&qid=1443661588&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1





 
I LOVE HUGO!! 





Desolate by Amy Miles

DESOLATE: Book 1 of the Immortal Rose Trilogy
A prequel to the Arotas Series (Forbidden, Reckoning, Redemption and Evermore)

Book Blurb:

A wedding massacre. An innocence stolen. Mortality stripped away.

In a single night, everyone Roseline Dragomir has ever loved is slaughtered before her eyes. Alone in the world and bound by a solemn marriage vow to a vicious murderer, she must find a strength buried deep within her to keep going or risk completely losing herself.

When a mysterious stranger crosses her path, Roseline will discover that not all immortals are evil. Some even bear emotional scars that run just as deep as her own.

Will she uncover a will not just to survive...but to fight back?

***DESOLATE is the first book of the prequel trilogy to my YA paranormal romance AROTAS trilogy. This book contains elements that may be sensitive for some YA readers. Please download a sample before purchasing this book to ensure it is suitable for your teen*** @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

4 STARS 


This book is really gruesome. I had to sort of glaze over a few things, but even still I found the book to be very good. I loved how the author wrote the book, her style, and the way I could picture all of the things she wrote about... uh.. the not so gruesome parts!

This is a book about vampires at their most macabre! There is no lovey dovey, I have feelings and I'm awesome in this book.. wait.. I digress, there is Fane, he is a good guy. Okay, so there is one in the whole group!

You have Vlad, yes "THE" Vlad that is getting married to Roseline Dragomir in the beginning of the book. This is supposed to be a happy, wonderful day for Roseline..NOT. After the nuptials, Vlad and his brother Lucien massacre everyone and turn Rose into a vampire. Okay, that is all of the spoilers, although it says some of that in the blurb.

Rose is not happy to say the least. She doesn't want to be a vampire and there are many atrocities done to her... very bad atrocities.

Like I said, this is a very gruesome book and I would not run out and let your children read it! But, there is some goodness in the book. I mentioned Fane, he is an immortal, but he tends to stay off to himself as a warrior instead of staying at Castle Bran. Vlad has him take care of Roseline when she needs healing and when she needs to train for a tournament. I am not going to tell you about this tournament, you will just have to read the book :)

I loved how the author described the scenery, I just loved so many of the scenes in the forest.

Even though this book is hard to take at times because of the cruelty to women and I have to sort of skim over some of that, I am going to read the other books that will come later. I loved the ending, there was some revenge in there, and I want to see where it's going to go. The author left it at a really good stopping point!


*I would like to thank NETGALLEY and RED COAT PR for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.*

 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1403332117

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Desolate-Immortal-Rose-Trilogy-1/dp/1497543118/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1443642284&sr=8-2

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Invasion Of The Tearling by Erika Johansen

With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion.

But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling —and that of Kelsea’s own soul—may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out.
@goodreads

MY REVIEW:
5 STARS


BLOODY HELL

 :

Okay so I loved the hell out of this book and I was confused about certain things!

Queen Kelsea takes a little walk on the dark side in this book, but that's okay, she's going to rock it. I just know it.... NEED NEXT BOOK!!!!!

Everyone that has read the first book knows that Kelsea sees things. Well she sees a lot of things that have to do with the Crossing! Every damn time she went there and here's this other world so to speak, this my face....


 :

I loved Lily's story, but I'm still stumped. My poor ole head, because it went right over it!

That stupid jerk Anders became the new Holy Father and he did some bad things to people. I so wanted to see someone end him. He was cruel to sweet Father Tyler too!!


 :

I will give a little spoiler and say he didn't get killed but he got a good beat down and trust me, he deserved it when you read some of the stuff he did. I was disgusted and well.. lets just leave it at that!!!!

There is finally the meeting of armies and the meeting of the Queens. Holy crow, we find out so much about the Queens and oh I forgot to mention there was some evil dude appearing to Kelsea, but that's a whole other story.

I don't want to wait until next year for the new book!! :( Gaaaahhhhhh, I want to know what is going on!


 :

Because I'm confused in a way at the end and what the Crossing is....... help!

I loved the book regardless of my stupidity and I think the cover is awesome! Fin!
 


GOODREADS REVIEW:

 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1251084169

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Invasion-Tearling-Novel-Queen/dp/0062290398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443579880&sr=8-1&keywords=the+invasion+of+the+tearling


Monday, September 28, 2015

Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

In this genre-bending YA thriller, will Sarah Merson's shiny new prep school change her life forever or bring it to a dark and sinister end?

When Sarah Merson receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in the country-Sanctuary Bay Academy-it seems almost too good to be true. But, after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home, escaping to its tranquil setting, nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to save herself and discover the dark truth behind Sanctuary Bay's glossy reputation.

In this genre-bending YA thriller, Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz, Sarah's new school may seem like an idyllic temple of learning, but as she unearths years of terrifying history and manipulation, she discovers this "school" is something much more sinister. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

4 STARS 


You know I was thinking this book was going to be about a school for gifted kids.... but I sure was wrong... nope... nope... nope!

The book starts when Sarah is a little girl and she watches her mom get shot and hears her dad get shot..move forward to the future..in and out of foster homes, when suddenly Sarah gets a scholarship to this awesome school on an island. Remote.. no contact with the outside world, the kids don't anyway and kids that come out of this school have great careers for themselves. Sarah has no idea how they got her name and she's afraid it's all a mistake, but it's not.

Sarah meets some really awesome friends when she gets there. She lives with Karina and Izzy who are both great to her. Most of the kids there are great to her accept Ethan, he's a little full of himself.

Sarah is so happy to have friends, real friends for once in her life. She even gets into one of the secret groups on the campus. Then...... all of the fun begins!

There are some secret caves underneath the campus that have cells in them. Who was in those cells? What's the writing on the wall?

It turns out that Sarah and Ethan become friends and find out some really freaked out stuff about this place. Oh, how I wish I could give some spoilers :) I feel like the author did a really good job with this book, I started to think.. God, this could be going on somewhere. Well, you know it's true!!

The book ends with the idea of a continuation and I certainly hope there is a sequel because I need for Sarah to bring this cluster to an end!


*I would like to thank NETGALLEY and mostly to ST. MARTIN'S PRESS for sending me a copy of this book based on my reading material in the past, in exchange for my honest review.*


GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1402580076


AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanctuary-Bay-Laura-J-Burns/dp/1250051363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443473572&sr=8-1&keywords=sanctuary+bay


Sunday, September 27, 2015

Three Tales of Vampires by John Hennessy

A Tale of Vampires is a seven book chronicle about a group of vampires. This edition comprises the first three vampires books of the series in one concise collection.

1: Murderous Little Darlings

Where we are introduced to the vampire siblings Marcus, Rocco and Juliana.

2: The Blood and the Raven

A sinister inn is not all it is supposed to be, but any attempts to avoid prove fruitless as the vampire's web closes in.

3: Innocent While She Sleeps.

A vampire wrestles with her conscience, whilst another seeks to kill the one who made her into one of the undead. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:


4 STARS


These were three little tales about a vampire named Juliana. They are definitely not what they seem, but they all three centerd around Juliana in different situations.

They are little gruesome tales of being a vampire. Nothing fancy about it, just right out there. I think I liked the first one the best because it had some humor in it, well I thought it did anyway!

I liked all of the extra characters in the book, the author did a great job at describing people, places and things in the book with it being short stories.

The last story was a little sad to me, well okay, it was sad but I can't tell you why. I will just say it has to do with a little girl.

I look forward to reading more of this author's bigger books :)

This is not the first short story type book I have read from the author and he does really well with these so far :) I hope I like the "BIG" books too! :)

Fin 

 
 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1402529662

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Tales-Vampires-John-Hennessy/dp/1514117169/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1443390701&sr=8-6

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Circus: Insanity Book 3 by Cameron Jace

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...
There is a loose rabbit with a ticking bomb in the streets of the London.

Come closer, you won'd believe your eyes...
Alice & the Pillar follow a set of clues, meticulously weaved by the most mysterious Wonderland Monster of all.

Here is the Maddest Show on Earth ... The Circus!
Where Alice's most unexpected secret will be revealed.

A secret that will turn tables on good and evil, and complicate Alice's struggles with life, love, and sanity. Will Alice regain part of her sanity back? Catch a bigger monster? Maybe find love in the most unexpected places of all? @goodreads


MY REVIEW:


5 STARS 



"You know how to get to Wonderland?" a kid who was watching the Pillar earlier asks me.
"She's insane, kiddo." The Pillar pats him. "Here, pull my finger." The kid does. The Pillar farts. The kid runs away.


This book is the best one yet, well I haven't read the 4th one, but I digress!

There are so many things going on in the book I almost felt myself going mad. I feel that way every time I read this series, but this book took the cake. No pun intended.

The Queen of Hearts is nutzy cuckoo as always, but this time obsessing over a flamingo!

The Hatter has Alice and Pillar going all over the place looking for a poor little bunny with a bomb in it that is going to blow up London, among other things.

I love Inspector Dormouse, he is hilarious. I won't say anything about his character, you can read that for yourself. I do like the banter between him and Alice.

Alice is training in None Fu and is pretty good. She finds out her sisters, Lorina and Edith have a big ole secret and it's not good... not good at all.

There is a mysterious girl named Mary Ann... who is she? Go find out :)

The end was crazy and threw me for a loop. I'm not sure what all is going on or what all is happening or what all is real!!!!! I'm just as mad as they are!

Another wonderful book by Cameron Jace! 




 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1203536408

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Circus-Insanity-Book-3/dp/151511144X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443311324&sr=1-1&keywords=circus+insanity

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie

In that place where you're more asleep than awake any more, I hear something else. A phrase uttered in a child's voice, no more than a whisper: Night Night.

Something freaky's going on with Sunshine's new house . . . there's the chill that wraps itself around her bones, the giggling she can hear in the dead of night, and then the strange shadows that lurk in her photographs. But the more weird stuff that happens, the less her mum believes her. Sunshine's always had a quirky affiliation with the past, but this time, history is getting much too close for comfort . . .

If there is something, or someone, haunting her house, what do they want? And what will they do if Sunshine can't help them?

As things become more frightening and dangerous, and the giggles she hears turn to sobs and screams, Sunshine has no choice but to accept what she is, face the test before her and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

The first in a frighteningly good new series based on the popular YouTube sensation The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network, created by Paige McKenzie @goodreads


MY REVIEW:


4 STARS 

That was a creepy little ghost story. I liked it a lot. Sunshine and her mother move from Texas to Washington so that Sunshine's mom (Kat) can work at a better position in the town's hospital.

I loved how the author described them first coming to the house, how all of the houses were so quiet and no one in the yards, no kids. Then they get to the house and Sunshine had a weird feeling about it. All of that pulled me right in.

Sunshine starts school not long after that and becomes friends with Nolan. I loved his character in the book, he's not a love interest, he's something else :)

Sunshine is upset the school doesn't have a photography department because she likes to use "old school" cameras, you know.. with REAL film. :) She has a couple of rolls she wanted to develop to see if she caught a ghost from her house on them. That's all I'm saying about that. She sends them to her best friend Ashley back home. There is a really reliable place that Sunshine wants her to get them developed for her. I'm not going to tell you what they reveal!

The story moves on at a good pace and we find out more about the ghost that his haunting the house. Actually, we find out a lot about what's going on in that house. It's way more than I ever thought!

I think this story is a brilliant take on ghosts and other creatures. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the next one!

FYI: Sunshine is not what she seems to be....... :)






GOODEADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1228907231

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1602862729?keywords=the%20haunting%20of%20sunshine%20girl&qid=1443287195&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1


Friday, September 25, 2015

The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati

The international bestselling author of Into the Wilderness makes her highly anticipated return with a remarkable epic about two female doctors in nineteenth-century New York and the transcendent power of courage and love…
The year is 1883, and in New York City, it’s a time of dizzying splendor, crushing poverty, and tremendous change. With the gravity-defying Brooklyn Bridge nearly complete and New York in the grips of anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock, Anna Savard and her cousin Sophie—both graduates of the Woman’s Medical School—treat the city’s most vulnerable, even if doing so may put everything they’ve strived for in jeopardy.

Anna's work has placed her in the path of four children who have lost everything, just as she herself once had. Faced with their helplessness, Anna must make an unexpected choice between holding on to the pain of her past and letting love into her life.

For Sophie, an obstetrician and the orphaned daughter of free people of color, helping a desperate young mother forces her to grapple with the oath she took as a doctor—and thrusts her and Anna into the orbit of Anthony Comstock, a dangerous man who considers himself the enemy of everything indecent and of anyone who dares to defy him.

With its vivid depictions of old New York and its enormously appealing characters, The Gilded Hour is a captivating, emotionally gripping novel that proves Sara Donati is an author at the height of her powers. @goodreads 


MY REVIEW:

5 STARS


I won this book in a GOODREADS GIVEAWAY.

I am so glad I won this book, otherwise I might not have ever seen it. This is the first book I have read from this author and I thought it was wonderful. It took me some time to read it, not because it was boring in the least, but because I read a lot of books at one time and this is a large book you want to take time with.

As you can read from the blurb the time is 1883 in New York City and you have the cousins Anna Savard( who is a physician/surgeon) and Sophie Savard (who is an obstetrician and a woman of color)

As you can imagine these woman have some trials with people that in those days, have issues with women being doctors and a colored woman at that. I think the author made such rich characters out of these two women. Actually, there are many characters in the book that are rich in the story telling.

I forgot to mention the cousins live with their Aunt Quinlan and she is quite a character, I like her a lot.

Sophie has to deal with delivering babies and women wanting to be on birth control, which in those days, is a big no no. You could go to jail and lose your license! And then the horrible abortions women are getting from unsavory people and everyone dies in that case :(

Anne works at a charity hospital and does a lot of work with the poor. She tries to get vaccinations to all of the orphans at St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, and back in that day as well, they are afraid of vaccines but are giving them out as much as possible. There are so many orphans and poor people in the book it's heartbreaking.

There are so many characters in the book and I love how the author puts all of the primary people and some extras in the front of the book in case you get confused. I love that.

There are love interests, great friends, sad situations, and history in this book. I love the vivid descriptions the author gives of everything in the book. This might be tedious to some, but I thought it was wonderful. I don't know, just sometimes those things in certain books grab you and take you into the place and I enjoyed it. At times I felt like I was in an episode of Downtown Abbey and not New York :)

I am definitely looking into this author's previous and future works! 


GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1341123823

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Gilded-Hour-Sara-Donati/dp/0425271811/ref=cm_rdp_product

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Truth: Oleah Chronicles by Michelle Johnson

What would you do if everything you thought to be true in your life was a lie?

Sixteen-year-old Angel Seriki must face overwhelming truths about her family when she meets Zander Black, a new student to her high school who is smart, charming and devastatingly beautiful. The revelations he uncovers to her about her family's past changes everything, and as her relationship and feelings for Zander deepen, so do the risks involved. She must now accept her fate and face the true reality of who and what she is. Even if that means giving up everything, including being human.
@goodreads

MY REVIEW:

3 STARS 

I thought the book was pretty good. I didn't love it or hate it.

The main character Angel is sent to Earth from Uforika (through a portal only a cherub can open) to live her life as a human and be safe. She is actually an Oleah, which is a man/lion person thing :)

So Angel goes to high school and has a blast not knowing anything about her real life. She has a best friend named Julie that she has known since kindergarten. They are typical teenage girls, at this point anyway.

Then we have Zander who is hot and new to the school, but Zander isn't all he seems to be either and he ends up telling Angel everything. Well, I guess someone should by now right?

But of course.... evilness catches up in the name of Sindrell and he puts a damper on everything. The end of the book ends on a cliff hanger with this evil person, so we shall see what's next!


*I would like to thank the author for a free print copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*


GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1400238737

AMAZON BOOK LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Oleah-Chronicles-Truth-Michelle-Johnson/dp/1329267273/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443128600&sr=8-1&keywords=oleah+chronicles


Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes

From the Best-Selling Author of Queen of Hearts comes a dark and mesmerizing twist on the beloved Children's Classic, Peter Pan.

Wendy Darling has a perfectly agreeable life with her parents and brothers in wealthy London, as well as a budding romance with Booth, the neighborhood bookseller’s son. But while their parents are at a ball, the charmingly beautiful Peter Pan comes to the Darling children’s nursery and—dazzled by this flying boy with god-like powers—they follow him out of the window and straight on to morning, to Neverland, a intoxicating island of feral freedom.

As time passes in Neverland, Wendy realizes that this Lost Boy’s paradise of turquoise seas, mermaids, and pirates holds terrible secrets rooted in blood and greed. As Peter’s grasp on her heart tightens, she struggles to remember where she came from—and begins to suspect that this island of dreams, and the boy who desires her—have the potential to transform into an everlasting nightmare. @goodreads 


MY REVIEW:


3 STARS 

I never really liked Peter Pan, but this story is told through Wendy Darling's point of view and I like that, it makes the book different.

I liked the love she had for Booth and I would have liked to see how that played out, maybe in later books.

I still don't like Peter, I just can't help it. He is so nice to Wendy at first of course, but then he turns mean when she can't really love him.

I also love Tink, that is a given.

This book has love in it, some gruesome endings for some nice kids and Captain Hook :)

I want to read book two because of the ending of this one and I want to see where the author is going to go with the next one.

I think all Peter Pan fans would like this book!


*I would like to thank NETGALLEY and SPARKPRESS for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. 

 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1397502820

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Darling-Novel-Colleen-Oakes/dp/1940716950/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443102984&sr=8-1&keywords=wendy+darling

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Debut author Dawn Kurtagich is dead on in this terrifying psychological thriller!

Over two decades have passed since the fire at Elmbridge High, an inferno that took the lives of three teenagers. Not much was known about the events leading up to the tragedy - only that one student, Carly Johnson, vanished without a trace...

...until a diary is found hidden in the ruins.

But the diary, badly scorched, does not belong to Carly Johnson. It belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, a girl who shouldn't exist Who was Kaitlyn? Why did she come out only at night? What is her connection to Carly?

The case has been reopened. Police records are being reexamined: psychiatric reports, video footage, text messages, e-mails. And the diary.

The diary that paints a much more sinister version of events than was ever made publicly known. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

 5 STARS 


I can't believe this is the author's first novel! I'm in love with this book. It's set up like a crime case. The whole thing isn't like that, seeing as how you have to get to know the characters that play out in this creepy book, but it has images of video footage, diaries, police reports, you name it! The book is set up so cool looking. You just have to flip through it to see what I mean!

So you have Carly and Kaitlyn and they are in and out of the Claydon Mental Institute because of their behavior and when it's decent they are allowed to attend Elmbridge High. Now I'm not giving away any spoilers because if you buy the book it will say right on the inside that Kaitlyn is the alter ego of Carly.

But....

What happens in this book goes way beyond any kind of alter ego. Don't think you are going into another book with something like that going on. NOOOOOOO, this is creepy as hell. You see Kait and Carly believe they are really two beings, sisters. They have friends that believe the same thing. I wonder if they could be right? Read the book!

This whole world the author painted is freaky right down to the hoodoo of it all! It reminds me of one of my young adult novels that got smacked with one of my paranormal ghost shows along with some horror movie with demons!

There is really nothing left to say but read the book if you like any of the little things I have mentioned. I would love to go and see the what's left of the old burned school, if it was real that is. 



GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1358060282

AMAZON BOOK LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-House-Dawn-Kurtagich/dp/0316298689/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443034660&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dead+house

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry, her sister seems scared of her, and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out. Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest to find the truth she must travel into the terrifying underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her family-before it's too late . . .

Set in England after World War I, this is a brilliantly creepy but ultimately loving story of the relationship between two sisters who have to band together against a world where nothing is as it seems. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

4 STARS

 
 
Well that book was nutzy cuckoo, no pun intended.

Triss wakes up and can't remember what happened to her, or who her family is, or why she is so hungry. I thought she was some kind of weird monster... well... I'm not telling you!

Triss has a sister named Pen that seems to hate her guts. She runs around calling her a monster... so what in the crap is going on?

Her parents take her to the doctor and he says Triss is fine accept she is losing weight and needs to be allowed to eat all she wants... WELL... she eats almost all of the food in the house at one freaking sitting! I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what in the world is going on.

There are a few strange characters in the book, but I can't really talk about them or it might give something away. I think this is a good, dark little book. It's not gross or anything, it's just strange and creepy. But there is something that I just really like about it. I guess because I'm weird and strange... I'm not creepy though!!

Fin 


 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1203542084

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuckoo-Song-Frances-Hardinge/dp/1419714805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442966198&sr=8-1&keywords=cuckoo+song

Stealing Destiny by J.D. Selmser

It took one kiss for Destiny to steal his heart and Damien lived his life for another one from the woman he loved. If he only knew that that one kiss would lead to his death and eternal damnation, would he still have kissed her? In one mere second of time, Damien loses his life because of a supernatural twist. On a stormy night in the back roads of nowhere his car careens out of control and into a field claiming his life. Suddenly, everything he ever thought about heaven, hell and angels takes on a whole new meaning as he struggles to get his life back. Falling from heaven, Zahir makes the ultimate sacrifice but who is to benefit from it? When Zahir stole Damien’s future, his destiny and his body, he decides it’s time to steal it back. But then he is offered a choice between the life he was destined to live and the one Death offers him, putting him at a crossroad. Damien wants to make the best choice he can so that he can carry out his plans to marry Destiny. However, what Damien fails to recognize is that getting his life back is going to take him into a whole new dimension of what the afterlife means. In every lovers triangle there has to be someone who loses. No romance ever truly sees the happily ever after. One fell from heaven, someone is headed for hell and Destiny is the prize. When your heart and soul hang in the balance, is there ever really any second chances? @goodreads 


MY REVIEW:

3 STARS 


This is a book between humans, angels and demons.

You have Zahir that is the Guardian Angel of Destiny. He is worried that she is going to be killed by Damien in the future. They are both humans.

Damien has a Guardian Angel named Davorian who shows Zahir that things are not what they seem.

Zahir is in love with Destiny himself and will do anything to protect her. He even saves Damien's life as he finally sees how much Damien loves her. But Zahir does something he shouldn't have done as well and this costs him everything.

There are some other secrets in the book that I'm not going to share, no spoilers :)

It was a very different story from what I have read. I'm not sure who I like the most. I was on Zahir's side at first, but I just don't know. I also like some of the other characters in the book. Bane who is a fallen angel for falling in love with the half angel Raven, I like her too. Then there is Mike, he is a priest, a choice he made when he was young when a stupid decision he made almost cost someone their life.

I look forward to seeing where this is going in the next installment! 



GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1397971021

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Destiny-Immortal-Obsession-1/dp/0994814747/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442929257&sr=1-1&keywords=stealing+destiny+in+books

Stenibelle by Ren Garcia

THE 3rd TURN OF THE SHADOW TECH GODDESS The quest of Paymaster Stenstrom spans the planes, taking a bizarre turn in the 3rd universe, as there he is not an affluent man but a woman in desperate circumstances. Lady Stenibelle is imprisoned for her role in the Seeker Affair, is penniless, and her House of Belmont-South Tyrol is on the verge of extinction. Her spirit broken, Stenibelle is resigned to perform her sentence without fuss, do as she is told, and fade away in obscurity. However, fate is not yet finished with her. Stenibelle is in the gaze of hidden benefactors with ulterior motives. People claiming to be her dear friends come forward, yet she does not know them. The Quests of the Shadow tech Goddess proceed, and she must discover the hero that lies within or face total oblivion. The disgraced 30th daughter of the House of Belmont will either be the final stake driven into its dying heart, or the ray of light that comes to save it and all else that follows.. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1381200730             4 STARS


I love Stenibelle, she is awesome. She is so much more complex than I thought. When I was first reading the book I thought I was losing my mind, but no.... this book delves in alternate realities. And Stenibelle is an Extra-Planner Entity, meaning she exists on every plane!

Stenibelle's title in this book is Lady of Belmont, they call her Bel for short. Also, in the opening scenes she is in jail and I won't tell you why :)

She has some friends get her out of prison. They are A-Ram and Alesta, I fell in love with them later on in the book.

She is taken out of jail to work for an evil professor who is a force to be reckoned with herself. She sort of blackmails Bel, but isn't that always the case!

I like the author had graphics put into the book as well. They are brilliant. The book is full of floating rock cities, floating rock prisons, automatons, flying fleet vessels, and so much more.

When Bel finds out some of her alternate personalities she doesn't believe it at first and is shocked. I was shocked too!

I think a lot of people that love graphic novel and steampunk books would like this one. 


AMAZON LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Stenibelle-Turn-Shadow-Goddess-Turns/dp/194046630X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442247842&sr=1-1&keywords=stenibelle

BOOK/BLOG TOUR FOR STENIBELLE BY REN GARCIA

About The Book:
      STENIBELLE    by Ren Garcia    Pages: 184    Date published: July 18, 2015    Publisher: Loconeal
   THE 3rd TURN OF THE SHADOW TECH GODDESS The quest of Paymaster Stenstrom spans the planes, taking a bizarre turn in the 3rd universe, as there he is not an affluent man but a woman in desperate circumstances. Lady Stenibelle is imprisoned for her role in the Seeker Affair, is penniless, and her House of Belmont-South Tyrol is on the verge of extinction. Her spirit broken, Stenibelle is resigned to perform her sentence without fuss, do as she is told, and fade away in obscurity.     However, fate is not yet finished with her. Stenibelle is in the gaze of hidden benefactors with ulterior motives. People claiming to be her dear friends come forward, yet she does not know them. The Quests of the Shadow tech Goddess proceed, and she must discover the hero that lies within or face total oblivion. The disgraced 30th daughter of the House of Belmont will either be the final stake driven into its dying heart, or the ray of light that comes to save it and all else that follows.
B&N | Amazon | Goodreads
About The Author:
  
Ren Garcia is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author and Texas native who grew up in western Ohio. He has been writing since before he could write, often scribbling alien lingo on any available wall or floor with assorted crayons. He attended The Ohio State University and majored in English Literature. Ren has been an avid lover of anything surreal since childhood; he also has a passion for caving, urban archaeology and architecture. His books are published by Loconeal. He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, and their three dogs.
Website | Twitter | Facebook |Blog

MY REVIEW: 
 
 4 STARS


I love Stenibelle, she is awesome. She is so much more complex than I thought. When I was first reading the book I thought I was losing my mind, but no.... this book delves in alternate realities. And Stenibelle is an Extra-Planner Entity, meaning she exists on every plane!

Stenibelle's title in this book is Lady of Belmont, they call her Bel for short. Also, in the opening scenes she is in jail and I won't tell you why :)

She has some friends get her out of prison. They are A-Ram and Alesta, I fell in love with them later on in the book.

She is taken out of jail to work for an evil professor who is a force to be reckoned with herself. She sort of blackmails Bel, but isn't that always the case!

I like the author had graphics put into the book as well. They are brilliant. The book is full of floating rock cities, floating rock prisons, automatons, flying fleet vessels, and so much more.

When Bel finds out some of her alternate personalities she doesn't believe it at first and is shocked. I was shocked too!

I think a lot of people that love graphic novel and steampunk books would like this one. 


Follow The Tour:
September 21st Christine Abee – Review
September 21st Marian Allen – Guest Post
September 22nd Melissa Martin's Reading List – Review
September 23rd TBA
September 24th Cabin Goddess – Recipe & Review
September 25th Room With Books – Playlist
September 28th Atomic Pirate Girl's Book Worm Booty – Review
September 29thThe Renegade Zombie Reviews – Review
September 30thA Diary Of A Book Addict – Review 
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Monday, September 21, 2015

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

5 STARS


Holy freaking hell! How do I write a review for this book without spoilers! I can't give out spoilers! This book must be read!! Oh. My. God. I CAN NOT believe what Maddy goes through. And the ending! I thought I was going to have a panic attack reading what happens!!!!

Madeline Whittier (Maddy) has SCID, basically meaning she is allergic to everything and has been sealed inside of her house since she was four-years-old or she will die. Her mother is a doctor and they have a woman named Carla that watches her when her mom is out. She has to take her vitals every few hours. They stand in an air-lock at the door until they are safely decontaminated. The house has filters, well you name it. This girl is 18 and doesn't know the real world.... until.... Ollie moves in next door. He's hot, he's sweet and he is really good with Maddy.

You know that they are going to fall in love and it's so sweet, it's so sweet and so damn sad. I can't take it!!!!!

Hmmmm... what else can I say... shit... let me just say a little about the end but not too much. Maddy decides she wants to get out and see the world. She lies to Olly, gets him to go on a trip and things happen and she almost dies, but if these things didn't happen... if Ollie didn't come into her life.... she wouldn't have found out the biggest thing she needed to learn about her life. And it made me cry damn it!!

I love this book. Kudos to the author! 


 MY GOODREADS LINK:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1362394330

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Nicola-Yoon/dp/0553496646/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442879455&sr=8-1&keywords=everything+everything


The Bones of the Earth by Scott Hale

Is it wrong to kill a human …
when you’re not human yourself?

It’s been two hundred years since the Trauma, a catastrophic event of a now forgotten origin, wreaked havoc upon the Earth, reducing the human population from billions to thousands, and leaving the survivors as prey to humanoid hunters. Vrana of the Raven is one of these hunters. Her tribe has made killing humans, now known as the Corrupted, its purpose—to “keep the balance”—to ensure that the Corrupted do not rise to power and lay the Earth to ruin once more.

But, one night, in the great northern city-state of Geharra, over ten thousand Corrupted disappear. And if so many can disappear so quickly, what’s to stop it from happening again elsewhere, or to Vrana’s own?

Geharra, however, is not the only place to suffer from strange happenings. In Caldera, Vrana sleeps fitfully, dreaming of a Void and the Witch trapped within. When she is called upon to travel with Serra, Lucan, and Deimos to the abandoned city, she accepts, but only to get away from Caldera, because the Witch that haunts her nightmares has begun to haunt her days. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

4 STARS 



Well that was a crazy ride in a crazy world!

Vrana is the main character and the books starts with her out on her eighteenth birthday doing the tribal rituals all of the people do in order to become an official tribe member.

This books is fantasy/horror/something else. I felt like I was in an alternate universe and it was so weird to read about people like this when there was the normal human world years ago. It didn't seem like that world even existed until Vrana was in a river kicking garbage and cell phones away from her feet. Cell phones? LoL, I was like wait.. and had to read the blurb again. This book is so intricate in the telling of the new world you totally forget there was an old world, our world as we know it today.

You never know what kinds of horrors or strange things could happen if our world ceased to exist. This one has monsters and crazy things I would never have thought of, I mean Vrana is Vrana of the Raven because she wears a Raven skull on her head as you can see on the cover of the book. But there are people in her tribe that wear different skulls so it's not just the one group.

There is magic in the book as well, along with battles and gruesome parts. There is also a little bit of love going on between Vrana and Aeson but you never really get the full on with so much stuff going happening, who has time.

Like I said before this book is very different and I really want to know where this is going. I want to find out where they go from this book, all of the characters that are left to go anywhere. 


GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1345658118

AMAZON LINK TO BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Bones-Earth-Scott-Hale/dp/099644890X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442843173&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bones+of+the+earth+in+books

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching...for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.

Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story -- a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"
 @goodreads

MY REVIEW:
 
5 STARS 

Damn. All of Ellen's books are rough as hell. I love them, but they get right into your bones and tear you apart!

I have to share an excerpt from the book that I'm all too familiar with:


Some People
Never find the right kind of love.
You know, the kind that steals

your breathe away, like diving into snowmelt.
The kind that jolts your heart,

sets it beating apace, an anxious
hiccuping of hummingbird wings.

The kind that makes every terrible
minute apart feel like hours. Days.

Some people flit from one possibility
to the next, never experiencing the incredible

connection of two people, rocked by destiny.
Never knowing what it means to love

someone else more than themselves.
More than life itself, or the promise

of something better, beyond this world.
More even (forgive me) than God.

Lucky me. I found the right kind
of love. With the wrong person.


I feel so bad for these kids, it's so hard to be a child. I am going to tell you the names of these 5 kids, but I'm not saying which one is going through what exactly. You have Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger, and Cody.

Each of these children have a shitty home life, but in different ways.

One has a mother who is a hooker and there are 6 children which includes one of them. They all live with their grandma, two of them have the same dad, the others all have different dads, no dad comes around. One child is sold by their mother to their boyfriends for sex.. after the second time and the realization of this comes out, they run away with their best friend.

One child is gay, but can't tell their father or they will be shunned until the day the father reads a letter and kicks the kid out.

Another kid has a history of drugs in the family, loses a family member and has to find a way to pay all of the bills.

One child has a father that is a preacher and not the nice real preacher kind, the brimstone and.. well from what I read... torture kind of preacher.

And the final child has a mother that ignores them and lavishes their sister and a dad that comes home occasionally.

Now a couple of these kids are mistreated by their boyfriend or girlfriend.

All of these things lead to one thing... these kids are all on the run and they all in up in the most horrible of situations, hence the name of the book.

It's a vicious book, but great none-the-less. FYI: I would like to beat the shit out of every jerk in the book.. just saying. 


 GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1393702575

AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:

http://www.amazon.com/Tricks-Ellen-Hopkins/dp/1416950087/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442775076&sr=1-1&keywords=tricks+in+books

Saturday, September 19, 2015

One by Sarah Crossan

Tippi and Grace share everything—clothes, friends . . . even their body. Writing in free verse, Sarah Crossan tells the sensitive and moving story of conjoined twin sisters, which will find fans in readers of Gayle Forman, Jodi Picoult, and Jandy Nelson.

Tippi and Grace. Grace and Tippi. For them, it’s normal to step into the same skirt. To hook their arms around each other for balance. To fall asleep listening to the other breathing. To share. And to keep some things private. The two sixteen-year-old girls have two heads, two hearts, and each has two arms, but at the belly, they join. And they are happy, never wanting to risk the dangerous separation surgery.

But the girls’ body is beginning to fight against them. And soon they will have to face the impossible choice they have avoided for their entire lives. @goodreads


MY REVIEW:

  4 STARS

Wow. This was a really good story about conjoined twins Grace and Tippi, and it was sad. Before I start I want to add an excerpt from the book that I thought was funny and Tippi is the one with the snarky attitude :)

A guy with a gray beard and
a teardrop tattoo below his eye
emerges from a bathroom door
in the corner of the kitchen.


"Fuck me," he says,
dropping a cigarette onto the tiled floor
and grinding it down into tobacco dust
with the heel of his boot.
"I mean...
fuck me," he repeats,
and
as sweetly as if we'd been offered
pumpkin pie,
Tippi replies,
"No.
But thank you anyway."


This is a book of fiction but we all know there are conjoined twins out in the world. This is a wonderful story about Tippi and Grace and the things they go through as one, but two.

The girls parents are quickly running out of money from all of the medical bills it takes for Tippi and Grace. Their father lost his teaching job, can't seem to find another, and has turned into an alcoholic. Their mom works at the bank and much as she can and their sister whom they call "Dragon" is a ballerina in training. Their grandma lives with them as well trying to help out with her small check.

The girls mom tell them they have to start going to high school this year since she has to work so much, etc. They are freaked out of course because they try to keep hidden away from people. As you can imagine they are not very nice to them, saying mean and hurtful things. I will never understand people like this, but anyway..

Tippi and Grace end up with two wonderful friends in the school who have issues of their own. This would be Jon, who Grace has a little crush on, and Yasmeen. They are very good to the girls and even get them to do things they shouldn't really. I won't go into too much since you should read the book! :)

Everything seems to be going good until their mom loses her job as well and since their dad can't find work and just drinks and drinks it seems like they are going to have to move. But Grace finally talks Tippi into doing a documentary of their lives. This producer has been hounding them for years to do this, but Tippi never wanted to... but now it's dire straits and if they want to stay where they are with their friends and keep their sister happy in her ballet studio they will have to do this. So... on with the reality show.

Things take a drastic and crushing turn not long after the show starts. The end of this book is very sad, that's all I'm going to say. It's also very much worth reading in my opinion.

Fin 



MY GOODREADS REVIEW:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1354780799

AMAZON BOOK LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/One-Sarah-Crossan/dp/0062118757/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442683761&sr=1-3&keywords=one+in+books