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*If the title chosen happens to become unavailable at The Book Depository, the winner will have to choose another*
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The Cover Madness Giveaway!
Stacking The Shelves (10)
Another week has come and gone and I can't believe that June is over already! Where the heck did June go people?! The reviews you may have missed this week were my 5 star reviews of Where She Went by Gayle Foreman & Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick, both of those are must reads so be sure to check those out. I also reviewed Hate List by Jennifer Brown as well as Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton. Also, the Call of the Sea blog tour stopped by which featured a review as well as a fantastic guest post by author Rebecca Hart. Along with that one guys, is a giveaway of a signed paperback copy which has very few entries so make sure you enter, your odds are good!! And now for the books:
Books mentioned (click title for Goodreads):
Strange Angels & Betrayals (Strange Angels #1 & 2) by Lili St. Crow
A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1) by Abbi Glines
The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski
Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1) by Jay Kristoff
Bloggers mentioned:
Giselle from Xpresso Reads
A big thank you goes out to Macmillan and St. Martins Press this week, thanks so very much!
So what goodies did you get this week? Link me up!
Oh yeah, and to all my fellow Canadians; Happy Canada Day long weekend!!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Drowning Instinct Review
TITLE Drowning InstinctAUTHOR Ilsa J. Bick
PUBLICATION February 1, 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group
READ June 23 - 24, 2012
There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)
Jenna Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.
There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)
Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain... magnetism.
And there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)
Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.
"..this is a fairy tale with teeth and claws, and here's what completely sucks: you're going to want black and white, right and wrong, I'm not sure I can give that to you. That's the problem with the truth."
I don't want to go into too much in this review because this is another one that I think you should read without knowing too much about it. Every character in this novel is a villain in their own way, they are all flawed and their motives are always a bit of a mystery. I will say that I connected with Jenna, she had a very dry sense of humor and she was brutally honest (I think...) I wanted to laugh out loud with her at times, I wanted to hug her at times and I wanted to reach out and shake her at times, you will feel a vast array of emotions as you read through her story. Jenna's story is depressing, she comes from a broken home, she has an absent, cheating father and a mother who numbs her pain with a bottle of Stoli. She finds solace in Mr. Anderson, a teacher at her new school who takes an intense interest in her well being.
Mitch Anderson is a caring teacher who has a tendency to want to "fix" people, he gravitates to broken girls and attempts to put the pieces of their life back together. As Jenna says in the quote I used nothing is black and white and the lines between right and wrong are often blurred when it comes to Mitch (and many other relationships in the story.) The most fascinating part of Drowning Instinct is that it will be interpreted by everyone differently, Ilsa gives us just enough information o get our minds working.
In the end what was I feeling? Well, I still don't really know. I have so many questions running through my head and there is so much I still want to know. But I'm happy that I don't have all the answers because I know that I will think about Drowning Instinct for a long time to come. Ilsa J. Bick is an author that I will be looking for in the future and I will be picking up her past work as soon as possible.
P.S. Could I possibly have been more vague in this review? No, probably not. But I went into this virtually blind and I think that's how it should be read.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Darkness Becomes Her Review
TITLE Darkness Becomes Her (Gods & Monsters #1)AUTHOR Kelly Keaton
PUBLICATION February 22, 2011 by Simon Pulse
READ June 21, 2012
Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.I don't know how to classify Darkness Becomes her, it's a paranormal/mythological, thriller/romance set in a semi-dystopian setting. That's a lot right? Believe it or not, all of that worked so well! This was a fast paced read that was packed to the brim with action and I could not tear my eyes away! The characters were unique and varied and they were all very well developed. I do have one issue with it but it's quite small and is definitely resolved by the end of the novel.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
Let's start with the characters; Ari kicked some serious butt. She was sassy, strong and smart, I loved her. She cussed like a sailor (which I really connected with) and she didn't take crap from anyone. When we first meet her she is completely clueless about her family history and very curious. From the very first chapter I could tell that we had a strong heroine on our hands and that got me excited. Her hunt to uncover why she is so different takes her into New 2 which is the rebuilt city of New Orleans following a series of earth shattering hurricanes. The setting feels like a character of it's own. The way New Orleans is described from the plantations, the swamps and the city alive with the buzz of Mardi Gras was so interesting. A lot of the times I find myself bored with the scenery descriptions in books but in this one I longed for them! She meets some interesting people in New 2, she hitches a ride with Crank (the 12 year old UPS delivery girl) and stays in the Garden District at a dilapidated house that's been taken over by a group of... different kids. Everyone she meets is so unique that I was dying to know their stories. Violet stuck out for sure, the little girl who was always in a gown, with a mask on who smiled and bared tiny fangs. Ari finally finds a setting where she fits in and they become a little family which was a great addition to the story.
She also meets her warlock/vampire love interest, Sebastian. This is where my one issue comes into play. I did feel that their romance was a little insta-lovey. I mean it was one day and they were making out and running around town holding each others hands. I understand that they were both different and finally had someone to connect with and be themselves with but at the beginning it felt like a bit too much to me and I didn't buy it. However, by the end of the story, I totally bought it and loved the romance. So, there could have been a bit more of a progression there for me but that felt quite minor with the slew of events driving the story.
I think that fans of Brodi Ashton's Everneath will most definitely love Darkness Becomes Her. There is something for everyone in this book, and if you are looking for a story chalk full of action and a fair share of twists, Darkness Becomes Her is definitely for you. I will most definitely be recommending this one in the future.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday (20)
Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1)by Jay Kristoff
expected publication September 18, 2012 by Thomas Dunne Books
A DYING LANDI used to have a strong aversion to steampunk because I had zero luck with the genre but I have read some really good steampunks lately and I think this one will blow my freaking mind. And not to mention thunder tigers sound pretty epic. I. Need. This. Now!
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.
AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.
A HIDDEN GIFT
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.
But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Hate List Review
TITLE Hate ListAUTHOR Jennifer Brown
PUBLICATION September 1, 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
READ June 17 - 20, 2012
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.Hate List by Jennifer Brown was a book that I wanted to read because I can remember the Columbine shooting so vividly and I can remember feeling so affected by the incident just because I was a high school student myself. I remember walking down the hallways for months afterward watching all the bullying going on around me and thinking "that could happen here." There were so many kids at my school that were bugged relentlessly, that would walk down the hallway and avoid eye contact by staring at the floor just trying to make it without incident to their next class. I have said it so many times before but I'm going to say it again, high school is a scary place that's full of hate.
Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.
Jennifer Brown has excellently portrayed the dirty high school politics in this novel. I felt like I was brought back to that time and watching the bullying happening right before my eyes. Valerie broke my heart so many times throughout, she had it so rough at school as well as at home. She was full of anger when she made the hate list, and she made it just to have an outlet for that anger. For her that's all it was, an outlet, but for her boyfriend Nick it was so much more, it was a list of potential targets. The relationships portrayed in Hate List are so hard to read, I didn't agree with most people but I understood how they would feel the way that they did.
Valerie's parents were the worst for me, they were in no way supportive of their daughter. It was difficult for me to believe, because I at least come from a family where a conversation would be had. Her parents jumped to some pretty damning conclusions and were quite cold to her after she went through the shooting. I can see their motives for feeling that way, and maybe there are some parents out there like that, but I didn't believe it and the whole thing made me really mad. They were terrible parents living in a loveless marriage and I hated them. A LOT.
Hate list is very character driven, it is all about people dealing with the shooting and learning from it. One thing that I really wanted out of this, that I don't feel I got enough of was Nick's feelings & motives. I wanted to get inside his head a little more to see what made him tick. I liked the approach Jennifer took at conveying the story, we have the present day which is Valerie dealing with going back to school after the shooting, and we have the past which tells us the story of the shooting and the days following. Interspersed with those two timeframes are newspaper articles from the local newspaper. It was all very emotional and left me feeling pretty depressed, but I feel it's a very gritty, realistic approach to a really tough subject.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Where She Went Review
TITLE Where She Went (If I Stay #2)AUTHOR Gayle Forman
PUBLICATION April 5, 2011 by Dutton Juvenile
READ June 14 - 16, 2012
It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.Where She Went is the sequel to Gayle Forman's New York Times Bestseller If I Stay. This was a more than worthy follow up to a fantastic novel. For me, Where She Went, was even more heartfelt and evoked so much emotion from me that I had to sit there and collect myself after reading the final page. I fell in love with Adam and Mia all over again, and the honesty with which their emotions was conveyed had me eating up the pages hungrily.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.
Where She Went picks up 3 years after the debut and we are re-introduced to Adam, the loving boyfriend who was fighting to see Mia throughout If I stay. It's told from Adam's perspective which I think was a great choice for this novel. He's gone through a lot since Mia's car accident, being there through her rehabilitation and then her slowly phasing him out of her life once she went to Julliard has taken its toll on him. After his bout with depression from her absence he pulls his emotions out of him and writes a record that catapults Shooting Star to the top of the charts. With their new found success comes awards, groupies, tension within the band and world tours.The night before he takes off for London to kick off Shooting Star's latest tour Adam runs into Mia and they spend the night on a farewell tour of New York.
The writing in this novel was so beautiful, Gayle Forman knows how to convey her characters emotions in a way that makes you feel as if you are standing in their shoes and having your own heart ripped out. In the beginning I couldn't understand how Mia could have done what she did to Adam, they were so in love and he was the perfect man helping her through the accident as well as the aftermath. Adam's grief was so sad to read and at times I was mad at Mia for handling the situation the way that she did.
On their farewell tour to the city they open up to one another and release a lot of their demons. At that time I realised I couldn't be angry with anyone, both of them handled a terrible situation in the way that felt right at the time, and in real life, that's all you can do. This is a beautiful novel full of heartbreak, finding yourself and starting to rebuild. This is most definitely a must read and a series that I will be recommending to anyone willing to listen.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Call of the Sea Blog Tour (Review/Guest Post/Giveaway)
TITLE Call of the SeaAUTHOR Rebecca Hart
PUBLICATION June 21, 2012 by Inkspell Publishing
READ June 14, 2012
BUY IT Amazon / Inkspell Store
Elysandra Winters has always yearned for a life of adventure on the rolling seas and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill her dream. When her Privateer father continually refuses to allow his only daughter to sail, Ellie defies him, disguises herself as a boy, and goes in search of a captain who will give her a chance to prove her worth.
Thanks to the cursed selkie blood coursing through his veins, Daniel O'Rourke needs the sea to survive. After giving up on his humanity and spending three years in seal form, he decides to give his human side another chance. Daniel goes in search of a job and a sense of normalcy, earning himself a position aboard Captain Winter’s ship, The Siren's Call. However, his new captain’s first assignment has nothing at all to do with sailing, and everything to do with his headstrong young daughter.
Years later, when the leader of a band of bloodthirsty pirates murders Captain Winters, Daniel and Elysandra’s lives come crashing back together with the force of a hurricane. Both experts in deception, they must find a way to trust each other if they are to have any hope of hunting down the captain’s killer.
A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have to be honest here, I went into this not expecting much, that cover was a total turn off for me. I'm still not a fan of the cover, and it's really too bad because I do think that it will be a turn off for potential readers (covers matter!) The story behind this cover was exceptionally good, I'll admit I had a hard time walking away from it to get stuff done around my house. Within these pages is a great paranormal romance tale that will most definitely take you by surprise.
I am not one for historical books, as a matter of fact I tend to run from them like the plague but the idea of pirates and a kickass heroine sucked me in. To show how little I knew going into this novel I'll let you in on a secret; I thought "selkie" was another name for a pirate! Well, as you can deduce, when I realised that one of our MC's was a seal and he shifted into a human I was more than a little surprised.
As I mentioned the thing that drew me to this story was how strong I pictured Elysandra Winters to be and she was just that. Ellie had the strength to go after what she wanted even though she had an immense amount of obstacles in her way. In that time women were seen as bad luck on a ship and her dream was to work on a ship, despite this she went after her dream and became a well respected privateer. She was also very protective of her heart, she wasn't about to give it to just anyone and in my eyes Daniel was the right guy for that. Daniel was a sweet, caring character that I fell for almost immediately. Yes, he was half seal and that was kind of weird but his intense need to protect Ellie at all cost's was endearing. The romance between these two is quite sweet and it grows very strong, leading to a very 18+ scene, so this one is definitely not for the kiddos! One thing that I longed for in this character was more knowledge of his selkie side. Often Daniel thought about how, when in his seal form, he was paying his debt for the year, but this debt is never explained. I would have liked to have known more of the selkie lore so that I knew exactly what he was referring to.
The novel has great pacing and it keeps you sucked in but the ending felt quite abrupt and rushed. There was so much substance in the middle when they were back in Newquay and then their final mission is limited to very few pages. I would have liked to have seen more of a struggle to achieve their goal, after all that build up I felt a little robbed by the ending. Despite my few complaints I still recommend this one to anyone looking for something a little different. The premise was unique and the story was engrossing.
Five Things I Learned as a Pirate (Daniel’s POV)
First off, I want to make clear we were, I am, a privateer, not a pirate. Captain Winters, rest his soul, had a Letter of Marque from King Charles II, giving him the King’s blessing to attack enemies of England on site. One that passed to Ellie upon his death, and to me upon our marriage. With that settled, *grins* I’m happy to share with you what I’ve learned in my years on the ocean.
1. When they say “keep a weather eye on the horizon”, they mean it. The enemy can come from any direction, as can conditions. You can be steering down the barrel of forty-foot seas before you know it. *chuckles softly* The same can be said for relationships, too, especially when you’re dealing with someone known to be volatile. *winks* It’s good to be vigilant.
2. It’s important to have someone at your side you can trust with your life, because you -will- need to.
3. Government backing doesn’t guarantee honorability, and sometimes valor is found amongst the refuse.
4. Never drink straight rum through a straw. This one should be fairly self explanatory.
5. Trust your heart. Even when the road is obscure and the situation is bleak, your heart will never lie to you. In the end, you may just find you’ve gotten everything you’ve ever wished for just by being true to it. *smiles* If you’re lucky.
As part of the blog tour Inkspell Publishing & Rebecca Hart are offering up a signed paperback copy of the novel. This giveaway will run until June 30, 2012 and is open to US residents only, just fill out the rafflecopter below to enter!
This has been a part of the Call of the Sea blog tour brought to you by Inkslinger PR. Click here to see the other great stops on this tour.
* Call of the Sea will be on sale at the Inkspell Store for 30% off from June 21st - 30th so now is the perfect time to grab a copy!
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