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[Update] - 4/29/2014

     The May Viewers Choice poll has been updated and uploaded. I am glad to say that a few books that I have been looking forward to reading are on that list. I want to read them all, and I figured I would give you all the chance to choose which book I am would read this week.

     Furthermore I have updated the Reviews and Reviews by Series pages so that it would be current. I am glad to finally get that caught up to date and I will get the new Review up on Thurs. I am looking at posting those on Amazon and Goodreads as well. I have explained why I choose to post to Amazon, it's just an easier place to post my honest opinion and I don't have to worry about character limits.

     Last for this update. I have finally created a Facebook page, (Here) feel free to join it and keep up to date or comment on some of the reviews or other features. I'll keep it up to date with everything that's on the page. I wanted to do this long time ago, I just haven't gotten around to it. I am now on the update to site to that the whole view will look different, but it will take a bit of time to get it up to date.

[Waiting on Wednesday] - #51

     Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!


Title: After the End
   Author: Amy Plum
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 6th, 2014

     She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

     World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

     At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

     When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

     Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

My Stance:

     Amy Plum creates a world in which reminds me of a different story, Hanna. I know it's a movie and all, but the story is somewhat similar. Okay no, not really. While Hanna is about a girl whose father has isolated her for the sole reason of revenge; Juneau in this case is isolated by a group for what reason is unsure. I like Juneau's story better; there seems to be a better reason for them to keep her isolated. I am confused as to why the didn't tell her the reason, but that's the story.

     The story is great, and while I am looking forward to seeing Juneau. Her journey around the country that she thought was once destroyed. It will be fun to see her reaction to all the new events and what she has been kept from. I wonder if she was trained to fight like Hanna was, however that wouldn't really be as fun, and what would the point of her fighting be. It looks so good, I am on high on high alert though. It seems to good to be true.

[Teaser Tuesday] - #9

Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
  1. Take your Current Read.
  2. Grab 2 Teaser sentences from the book (please be sure to avoid spoilers)
  3. Post it on your blog with the title and author, so other Teasing Tuesday participants can add it to their To Be Read list.
  4. When visiting other Teasing Tuesday participants, leave a link with your current TT in their comments.

Title: Into the Still Blue
   Author: Veronica Rossi
   Release Date: January 28th, 2014

     Quote: "Two weeks ago, for about half an instant, he'd considered kissing those lips. He'd been insane then, rejected by his tribe and Aria. Missing Liv and Talon. Kirra had kicked him at the lowest point in his life. She'd almost destroyed him."

--- Page 116


[Stacking the Shelves] - #54

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your bookshelf, be it the physical one or your digital one!


     Greetings everyone, I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and that over the week/weekend a few of your highly sought after books came in. I look forward to seeing some of the books that came in and ultimately add to my TBR list as well. I am always looking for new suggestions (like Sabriel this week). Furthermore, I completed a book I thought was my April Viewers Choice book; however, when I looked back it was wrong. I read the wrong book, figures. I will read another book and get to the correct one. I also noticed that I didn't do a May Viewers Choice poll, I apologize for that, I'll get Junes up quickly. In it's place I hope to do a build up for The Fault In Our Stars movie, because frankly that should be great as well.

     So without further adieu:

Belladonna
Another Little Piece
Surrender
Vortex
Red Rising
What I Thought
Was True
Dreams of Gods
and Monsters
The Forever Song

Older Shelf Additions:

Title: Belladonna
   Author: Fiona Paul
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: July 16th, 2013

     In Renaissance Italy, love, lust, intrigue and secret societies converge to stunning results!


     In the second in the stunning Secrets of the Eternal Rose series, Cassandra Caravello is trying to forget Falco, the wild artist who ran off with her heart, as she grows closer to her strong, steady fiancĂ©, Luca. But Luca seems to have his own secrets. When he’s arrested by soldiers in the middle of the night, Cass’s life is once again thrown into chaos. She must save Luca, and that means finding the Book of the Eternal Rose—the only evidence that will prove he’s innocent.

     So begins her journey to Florence, a city haunted by whispers of vampirism, secret soirees and clandestine meetings of the Order of the Eternal Rose. And home to Falco, who is working for the Order’s eerily stunning leader, the Belladonna herself.

     Can Cass trust her heart to lead her to the truth this time?
Nothing is as it seems in this seductive thriller, where the truth may be the deadliest poison of all.






Title:  Another Little Piece
   Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: June 11th, 2013

     The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

     On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

     A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

     Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.






Title: Surrender
   Author: Elana Johnson
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: January 19th, 2012

     The thrilling and seductive sequel to Possession puts love on the line in a dystopian struggle for independent thought.

     Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

     Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

     All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn.

     Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque….






Title:  Vortex
   Author: S.J. Kincaid
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: July 2nd, 2013

     The impossible was just the beginning. Now in their second year as superhuman government weapons-in-training at the Pentagonal Spire, Tom Raines and his friends are mid-level cadets in the elite combat corps known as the Intrasolar Forces. But as training intensifies and a moment arrives that could make or break his entire career, Tom’s loyalties are again put to the test.

     Encouraged to betray his ideals and friendships for the sake of his country, Tom is convinced there must be another way. And the more aware he becomes of the corruption surrounding him, the more determined he becomes to fight it, even if he sabotages his own future in the process.

     Drawn into a power struggle more dramatic than he has ever faced before, Tom stays a hyperintelligent step ahead of everyone, like the exceptional gamer he is—or so he believes. But when he learns that he and his friends have unwittingly made the most grievous error imaginable, Tom must find a way to outwit an enemy so nefarious that victory seems hopeless. Will his idealism and bravado cost him everything—and everyone that matters to him?

     Filled with action and intelligence, camaraderie and humor, the second book in S.J. Kincaid’s futuristic World War III Insignia trilogy continues to explore fascinating and timely questions about power, politics, technology, loyalty, and friendship.






Title: Red Rising
   Author: Pierce Brown
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: January 28th, 2014

     The war begins...

     Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

     Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

     With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

     But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda...






Title: What I Thought Was True
   Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: April 15th, 2014

     From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.

     Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

     A magnetic, push-me-pull-me romance with depth, this is for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Deb Caletti.






Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters
   Author: Laini Taylor
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: April 1st, 2014

     By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

     Common enemy, common cause.

     When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

     And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

     But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

     What power can bruise the sky?

     From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

     At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?






Title: The Forever Song
   Author: Julie Kagawa
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: March 4th, 2014

     VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS

     Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?

     With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

     MONSTER

     Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

     In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

[Flashback Friday] - #52

Flashback Friday is a weekly event, hosted here, that highlights a past release that we're dying to get our hands on...

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!



Title: Darkness Before Dawn
   Author: J.A. London
   Release Date: May 29th, 2012

     Only sunlight can save us.

     We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.

     After the death of my parents, it's up to me—as the newest delegate for humanity—to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine . . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe to let one in.

     Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.


My Stance:

     I have had this on my wishlist for a while now and mainly I believe it was for the cover. I love the cover and frankly just by looking at it, there is no way you could tell just what the story is even about. Something about the girl in this long pillowing dress and her pale/white skin contrasting with the dress just puts her into complete focus, it's great. However, the cover doesn't say a whole lot about the story either, so the fact that I enjoy it, is also the downfall of the cover as well.

     I understand that the story is told from a girls perspective, and how her world is on the brink of a war with Vampires. However, at the same time I am curious to know more about her and less about the person she is going to have to delegate with. I forsee a budding romance there, and while I understand that it's prolly where the book headed when she started writing, but I don't see anything original in it. It's so overdone in paranormal novels that I wanted something new, but with how old this book is, maybe it was at the time.

    Looking back on this and through goodreads, this book recently has been getting some rather low ratings. I am still curious on it, and its still on my wishlist. There is just some reservations I have with the book, but that's the same with any book, so we'll see when I get my hands on it.

[Book Review] - Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Title: Angel Burn
   Author: L.A. Weatherly
   Series: #1 - Angel
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: May 24th, 2011
   My Rating: 2.5 out of 5.0

     They're out for your soul.
     And they don't have heaven in mind...


     Willow knows she's different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people's dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. she has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself does. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces and that he's one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil.

My Review:

    Angel Burn I frankly wasn't sure what to think when I started this novel and I picked it up shortly on a random happenchance. I was thinking it would be a book about Angels and I thought at first the book would be about these evil Angels that terrorize everything. I was looking for something different and frankly I should have read Angelfire. I wanted something dark, and twisted from the Angels.

     Willow, I frankly fell in love with. She was a mechanic, but also a posing psychic. People come to her, ask her about their future and answers to all their questions. However at times, the answer Willow gives (even if it is true and the future), they aren't willing to accept it. There is more to Willow than meets the eye. Mainly her attitude, it's so genuine, independent, and brutally honest. I enjoyed her chapters time and time again.

     Enter Alex, which is the complete opposite of Willow. That in itself makes the stark contrast in their characters more apparent. Alex is a born and bred, well I guess it's as bred as you can get I guess, to hunt Angels. To the point that even his family, the brothers he loved, came at stake to the ideal. He was a great character, rash and stubborn. His character though stretches that boundary; even though there are realistic bits to his character, I just can't believe about sixty percent of what he does through the novel.

     Then we have the Angels and they did everything but make me feel afraid. Giant glowing sentients that roam around a cathedral. They also have some ability that makes them change into a human form as well. These giant angels feed on happiness, of other people, and that to me doesn't even seem scarey. Well other than the people who are fed upon, walk around and are eerily happy for the rest of their life or frankly just a shell of who they were. I expected to see more of these beings, of these Angels, but it wasn't more of them. I wanted them to be something that's far different than what this book portrayed.

     The world building was rather lackluster, and while I thought there was a scene in the mountains that I liked, the rest of the book was just bland. A common countryside that exists in nearly every book; a school, roadside hotels, etc. Than the chapters with the angels, there was a "magnificent" chapel that was constructed outside of Willow's home town or a nearby town (I got confused constantly on that aspect). The general scenery was overdone, and a good part of the book took part in a car or a hotel. It wasn't what I was looking for in the beginning and let me down, except for a few scenes.

     On another note, the book was just too ordinary. Girl and boy hate each other because of who they are and what different lifestyles they have come from. They run across county and fight a common enemy, however trials and tribulations arise along the way. Its a simple plot, simple goal, however the small details about who they are, the backstory may change. I found myself asking myself if there was something different, something that set this book apart from other books that have a similar style/plot, but frankly in the end and after arguing with myself, I just couldn't find enough of a difference to set it apart.

     Now, I wouldn't recommend this book, and normally I wouldn't read the next in the series. However, I am a dire completionist, so I will more or less complete the series. If you are a more dire completionist like me I would suggest staying away from the series in the first place. I would say this is worth a shot, but looking back on it, I am not sure it left an impression on me enough to warrant that statement. It's sad to say that, I just wanted and expected far more from this book.

[Waiting on Wednesday] - #50

     Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!


Title: Sleep No More
   Author: Aprilynne Pike
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: April 29th, 2014

     The blockbuster film Inception meets Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy in this dark paranormal thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike. This novel is also perfect for fans of Kelley Armstrong, Alyson Noel, and Kimberly Derting.

     Charlotte Westing has a gift. She is an Oracle and has the ability to tell the future. But it doesn't do her much good. Instead of using their miraculous power, modern-day Oracles are told to fight their visions—to refrain from interfering. And Charlotte knows the price of breaking the rules. She sees it every day in her wheelchair-bound mother and the absence of her father. But when a premonition of a classmate's death is too strong for her to ignore, Charlotte is forced to make an impossible decision: continue following the rules or risk everything—even her sanity—to stop the serial killer who is stalking her town.

My Stance:

     I haven't read any of Pike's books and I have heard a lot of good things about her and the novels she writes. I have died to get into Earthbound and the Wings series. I have all of them on my shelf and I have been meaning to start Wings, but at the same time my pile of books that needs to be read. Her books drive me crazy, they are all have some sort of sci-fi aspect. I enjoy how she can twist a normal sci-fi aspect, one that has been overdone and just plain typical, but she twists them into a normal romance/heroine novel.

     Sleep No More caught my eye, mainly because of the cover. I love the girl on the cover, the small phrase above her eye, and how her hair covers her mouth. An oracle that has a moral choice, seeing a future that you aren't supposed to change. However, what happens when it's someone you care about or someone's life is in danger. Do you act and face the wrath of years of rules and preconceptions, but how could you sit and live with yourself afterwards. I couldn't deal with it, I would act and face everything that came with it. The choice is simple, I just hope the novel isn't as easy.

[Teaser Tuesday] - #8

Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
  1. Take your Current Read.
  2. Grab 2 Teaser sentences from the book (please be sure to avoid spoilers)
  3. Post it on your blog with the title and author, so other Teasing Tuesday participants can add it to their To Be Read list.
  4. When visiting other Teasing Tuesday participants, leave a link with your current TT in their comments.

Title: Reboot
   Author: Amy Tintera
   Release Date: May 7th, 2013

     Quote: "A thirteen-year old would probably be more accepting of a Reboot than an adult, given that it could still happen to him at any time. Still, with his parents there I didn't see that going well. 'I don't think you should go.'"

--- Page 205


[Stacking the Shelves] - #53

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your bookshelf, be it the physical one or your digital one!


     Well this is a bit late, but it is here. I will be working on Teaser Tuesday tonight so it's on time, tonight. I am going to try to be better about being on time, but I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up to date with work on the other site and being on night shift. It's just a lack of time and motivation as well. I want to update better though, I am working on it, just means that rolling out the visual (new template) may take me longer than what I thought.

     So without further adieu:

Goddess
XVI
Truth
Starters
Let the Storm Break
Fault Line
Dorothy Must Die
Half Bad

Older Shelf Additions:

Title: Goddesss
   Author: Josephine Angelini
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 28th, 2013

     After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

     To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

     In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.






Title:  XVI
   Author: Julia Karr
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 23rd, 2011

     Every girl gets one.
     An XVI tattoo on the wrist--sixteen.


     Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay.

     Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help--and he just may hold the key to her past.

     But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure...

     For Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.






Title: Truth
   Author: Julia Karr
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: January 19th, 2012

     An exciting dystopian thriller, and sequel to XVI

     Nina Oberon's life has changed enormously in the last few months. When her mother was killed, Nina discovered the truth about her father, the leader of the Resistance. And now she sports the same Governing Council–ordered tattoo of XVI on her wrist that all sixteen-year-old girls have. The one that announces to the world that she is easy prey to predators. But Nina won't be anyone's stereotype. And when she joins an organization of girls working within the Resistance, she knows that they can put an end to one of the most terrifying secret programs the GC has ever conceived. Because the truth always comes out . . . and the consequences can be deadly.






Title:  Starters
   Author: Lissa Price
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: March 13th, 2012

     HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

     Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

     He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . .






Title: Let the Storm Break
   Author: Shannon Messenger
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: March 4th, 2014

     Whirlwind romance and breathtaking action continues in the sequel to Let the Sky Fall, which Becca Fitzpatrick called “charged and romantic."

     Vane Weston is haunted. By the searing pull of his bond to Audra. By the lies he’s told to cover for her disappearance. By the treacherous winds that slip into his mind, trying to trap him in his worst nightmares. And as his enemies grow stronger, Vane doesn’t know how much longer he can last on his own.

     But Audra’s still running. From her past. From the Gales. Even from Vane, who she doesn’t believe she deserves. And the farther she flees, the more danger she finds. She possesses the secret power her enemy craves, and protecting it might be more than she can handle—especially when she discovers Raiden’s newest weapon.

     With the Gale Force weakened by recent attacks, and the power of four collapsing, Vane and Audra are forced to make a choice: keep trusting the failing winds, or turn to the people who’ve betrayed them before. But even if they survive the storms sent to destroy them, will they have anything left to hold on to?






Title: Fault Line
   Author: Christa Desir
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: October 15th, 2013

     Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.

     But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.

     Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?

     Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.






Title: Dorothy Must Die
   Author: Danielle Paige
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: April 1st, 2014

     I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

     Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

     What happened?
     Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

     My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
     I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
     I've been trained to fight.
     And I have a mission:
     Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
     Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
     Take the Lion's courage.
     Then and only then—Dorothy must die!






Title: Half Bad
   Author: Sally Green
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: March 4th, 2014

     Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

     You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

     You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

     You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

     You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

     All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

     Easy.

[Flashback Friday] - #51

Flashback Friday is a weekly event, hosted here, that highlights a past release that we're dying to get our hands on...

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!



Title: Sabriel
   Author: Garth Nix
   Release Date: October 28th, 1996

     Ever since she was a tiny child, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the random power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who won't stay dead. But now her father, the Mage Abhorsen, is missing, and to find him Sabriel must cross back into the nine Gates and Precincts of Death. Though her journey begins alone, she soon finds companions: Mogget, whose seemingly harmless feline form hides a powerful-and perhaps malevolent-spirit, and Touchstone, a younger Charter Mage imprisoned two centuries in a wooden ship-head, still trapped by painful memories. With threats on all sides and only each other to trust, the three must travel deep into the Old Kingdom, toward a battle against vicious Hands, Mordicants, and the evil Kerrigor.


My Stance:

     Well I am going old old on everyone today. 1996, I would have been 11 when this book was out and I doubt I would have read it. I was into thrillers back then, Doomstone, Loch, etc. and Animorphs for those of you know remember them. However what brought this to my eye was on the ARC Party hosted over at Epic Read (Tea Time #59), Clariel was brought out and it caught my eye. Sabriel was talked about quite highly by Margot and I just had to look and see what it was all about.

     Now, frankly from the synopsis I'm not sure what to make of the book, other than it seems like a wizardy fantasy book. I am looking forward to getting it and read it, mainly because frankly I am speechless. I want to know more, but there just isn't a lot I can pick up from the synopsis. It's pretty self explanatory, read it and find for yourself. I just really love the new paperback covers too :P

[Book Review] - This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: This is What Happy Looks Like
   Author: Jennifer E. Smith
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: April 2nd, 2013
   My Rating: 2.5 out of 5.0

     If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

     When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

     Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

My Review:

    I'm going to be eating my words with this review, but I stand behind them. I know a few people that I follow enjoyed this book. What astounds me the most though, was the difference was rather significant. I didn't hate the book, I just appreciate and understand why people may like it. I didn't get into the book when I picked up on a vacation for something to read. I got into the first bit. However, it never kept me into the book at all. I found it hard to get into the characters.

     Well and the odds with e-mail nowadays, what are the odds that you'll type in an incorrect e-mail and magically get someone around your age? I may have to try that, beware world! Furthermore, what's are the odds that on the first e-mail you send out, that you miraculously fall in love with each other, and neither of you think that it is creepy or odd that you're asking all these personal questions? The odds of that happening, almost none, and yet in this book it does.

     At first the novel starts with the e-mails going back and between E and G, as they signed it. They talk about nearly everything. What each other like, favorite colors, poems, what Happy would look like even. It's the kind of first date talks, getting to know each other halfway across the world sort of questions. What I don't think they understood thought was slowly they were falling for each other. From the beginning I saw it, and it was just so cliched and overdone that I wanted something more from it. It was a sad beginning for me.

     Graham Larkin probably one of the most humble actors, I've read about. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those tabloid junkies that reads about what Robert Downey Jr. did last week at a hospital. I just don't think that any actor would act at all like how Graham does, he hates the cameras and wants to run as far away as he can. He even blames the press and the fame to how troubling and "horrid" his family life. To the point where he tries to avoid them constantly, and wanting a normal life. It's almost like he wants to quit acting. I understand his perspective, I just find it hard to believe that someone, a almost mere nobody as he started out, would want to leave and go back to a normal life.

     Ellie O'Neill is a character that I found most reliable and relatable to in this book. A girl that has a secret, I so wish I could say it, but it gives a good part of the book away. While she is desperate to hide that secret, she wants to know more about it and almost at times pursues it further than what she intends. However it's her character that I fell in love with. She is down to earth, works in a local ice cream shop.

     As well, she is the first person to want to question and want to know more about who each other were in the e-mails going back and forth. When she finds out about Graham she is the first to fear the spotlight for her secret. To be honest, forget her secret, any girl in her right mind wouldn't want to be ran through the spotlight of some actor. Their private life airs out all over TV, it just isn't good for a relationship I don't think. Graham wants to be with her, that when she runs of time and time again, he doesn't understand and at times you can tell he's blaming the cameras again. I felt sorry for Graham in the novel, to be honest.

     So why did the book not score so well with me as it did with some of my other bloggers? Well to be honest I found it overall very cliche, there was some originality in it, but overall I've seen it done and it didn't provide me with anything new. I could tell what was going to happen nearly from the beginning and the fact that there was no twist, nothing really to sink my teeth into I felt kinda put off by the book. It was like we'll give you something you've already seen before, in a typical normal girl falls for hot actor and magically they live happily ever after. I wanted more and sought more, it just wasn't there at all.

[Waiting on Wednesday] - #49

     Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!


Title: Sweet Reckoning
   Author: Wendy Higgins
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: April 29th, 2014

     It’s time.

     Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

     The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk.

     In the most sensual and fast-paced installment yet, Sweet Reckoning brings all the beloved Neph together one last time to fight for their freedom.

My Stance:

     Sweet Evil i picked up on a flyby through Barnes and Noble, I thought the book sounded great and while I haven't yet gotten around to read it, it is on my list of books get to this year. I never thought this book would be an angel or a paranormal series. I thought it was a romance novel/series and thought it would be great to get into, boy was I wrong. Looking back though, I may have thought it was a Fallen style series.

     Sweet Reckoning was a book that I have been somewhat looking forward to, for the cover alone. I love the artwork. It's a sensual romance between the two. Yet there seems to be something more, longing in their expressions. The thought in the covers was so throughtout; I appreciate the covers that it looks like some of the artists actually read the book or how the artists envisioned the characters. It's a perspective that gives and drives my first impression and I want it to be good. Higgins books have been a great eye catcher too.

[Teaser Tuesday] - #7

Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
  1. Take your Current Read.
  2. Grab 2 Teaser sentences from the book (please be sure to avoid spoilers)
  3. Post it on your blog with the title and author, so other Teasing Tuesday participants can add it to their To Be Read list.
  4. When visiting other Teasing Tuesday participants, leave a link with your current TT in their comments.

Title: Panic
   Author: Lauren Oliver
   Release Date: March 4th, 2014

     Quote: "Pop. Pop. Pop. Shots exploded-louder, sharper than Dodge had expected, the first thing that had truly thrown him off guard. He'd never been so close to gunfire.

     In the front yard, Trigger-Happy Jack was still screaming. YoucocksuckersdeadasadoornailI'llburyyouallyoufuckers..."

--- Page 95


[Stacking the Shelves] - #52

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your bookshelf, be it the physical one or your digital one!


     I know I haven't been around the last two weeks. Things got shaken up at work, and I haven't had a lot of free time like I thought I would. I apologize for that. I am working on creating a new layout/design for the blog. I am not sure when I will roll it out, I am doing a few testing on a private blog of mine to make sure that all of the small hiccups get taken care of. Furthermore I hope to indulge you all, and see what you think of the new layout. I haven't been getting a lot of response lately, but I am sure that's mainly me not be posting anything. Ah well, on we go.

Sticking with the same format, I bring to you a collect of current books that I am absolutely thrilled to add to my shelves. The older set is a few that I have added, more on impulse (minus Awaken and Middle Road) than anything. I find that most of the good books that I indulge in are impulse buys. I believe that's mainly because I haven't done a lot of research on those books so I don't know what to expect. However, I am not sure the attachment is completely there. I'll have to think on that more and maybe do a write-up on it as well.

     So without further adieu:

Dance of the Red Death
Awaken
Middle Ground
Shutdown
Sea of Shadows
Faking Normal
Panic
Maybe One Day

Older Shelf Additions:

Title: Dance of the Red Death
   Author: Bethany Griffin
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: June 11th, 2013

     Bethany Griffin continues the journey of Araby Worth in Dance of the Red Death—the sequel to her teen novel Masque of the Red Death.

     In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

     Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.

     With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.






Title:  Awaken
   Author: Katie Kacvinsky
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 23rd, 2011

     Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her.

     Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.

     In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.






Title: Middle Ground
   Author: Katie Kacvinsky
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: November 2th, 2012

     For four weeks Maddie has been living in Los Angeles, trying to be good. But no matter how hard she tries, something inside her won't be sated. She can't live a life of half-truths and false pretenses. So one night, she says how she really feels.

     That's all it takes. One night. One bad decision, and Maddie is thrown into a detention center where she's forced to undergo secretive treatment meant to squash her rebellious streak. The powers that be call it rehabilitation. Maddie calls it torture.

     Alone, Maddie will not survive. But if she can find something to hold on to - an image of Justin, their love - maybe she can fight. And if she's really lucky, maybe she'll even win.






Title:  Shutdown
   Author: Heather Anastasiu
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: July 2nd, 2013

     The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution.

     The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands.

     Full of romance, high-adrenaline action and shocking twists, Shutdown is a heart-pounding conclusion to an exciting sci-fi adventure trilogy for young adults.






Title: Sea of Shadows
   Author: Kelley Armstrong
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: April 8th, 2014

     They hear the spirits.They must obey.

     In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire's worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

     Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

     Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters' journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they've ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court--one that will alter the balance of their world forever.

     From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a captivating new series that blends elements of fantasy and horror with the pulse-pounding action and romance that have earned her a devoted readership worldwide.






Title: Faking Normal
   Author: Courtney C. Stevens
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: February 25th, 2014

     An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

     Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

     When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

     A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.






Title: Panic
   Author: Lauren Oliver
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: March 4th, 2014

     Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

     Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

     Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

     For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.






Title: Elusion
   Author: Claudia Gabel & Cheryl Klam
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: March 18th, 2014

     Soon, Elusion® will change the world and life as we know it.

     A new technology called Elusion is sweeping the country. An app, visor and wristband will virtually transport you to an exotic destination where adventure can be pursued without the complications—or consequences—of real life.

     Regan is an Elusion insider. Or at least she used to be. Her father invented the program, and her best friend, Patrick, heir to the tech giant Orexis, is about to release it nationwide. But ever since her father’s unexpected death, Regan can’t bear to Escape, especially since waking up from the dream means crashing back to her grim reality.

     Still, when there are rumors of trouble in Elusion—accusations that it’s addictive and dangerous— Regan is determined to defend it. But the critics of Elusion come from surprising sources, including Josh, the handsome skeptic with his own personal stakes. As Regan investigates the claims, she discovers a disturbing web of secrets. She will soon have to choose between love and loyalty…a decision that will affect the lives of millions.

     Suspense, thrills, and romance fuel this near-future story about the seductive nature of a perfect virtual world, and how far one girl will go to uncover the truth behind the illusions.
 
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