Juliababyjen's Reading Room

Saturday, April 27, 2013

In My Mailbox #28

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Us bloggers feature any new books we've received in the past week, either bought, borrowed, or received for review.

I'm back! Feels like its been forever since I've blogged! I need to get with it!

Books mentioned in this vlog:

Fragments
Crewel
Shattered Grace
Ever Shade
Ember X
Defiance
Awakened
What I Didn't Say
The Reptile Room
Variant
Zom B
Being Henry David
Bzrk
Infatuate
Beautiful Redemption
Dead Silence

Enjoy your week everyone, and thanks for watching!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday #8

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at Broke and Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Today's topic is Top Ten Books Before I Was A Blogger! This has actually not changed much, except I would probably take off the last two and add in Catching Fire and maybe Incarnate! Today's Top Ten is a vlog!

Sorry about the background noise, my daughter was extremely loud in the kitchen!

Books mentioned in the vlog

Peachtree Road
Odd Thomas
Wicked
Kindred
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Pride and Prejudice
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Poisonwood Bible
Gone With the Wind
Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance

What's on your top ten list? Comment or leave me a link below!

Monday, April 8, 2013

April Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

Giveaway Details
1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 4/30/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $199 US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Goodreads
393 pages, YA Paranormal Dystopian
Standalone
My rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

My 2 cents

This book hit all the right marks for me! I love dystopians, especially when it combines other elements with it. This one had a paranormal flavor to it with a bit of sci-fi, and I really loved it! It was a great concept with great characters!

So this society is exactly like our own, except there is a secret organization that is behind the scenes. They call themselves "The Society." They were founded in the 50s and are mostly a scientific entity. They have discovered that all beings use energy in their environment, but there are some humans that are not normal. The ones they destroy are call Nulls, and for all purposes, they are not good. I wouldn't call them evil--they just have no empathy or compassion for other human beings. Everything is a toy to be played with for them. They also have the ability to make people do things, and bend them to their will.

Then there are the Nobodies. They are even fewer, and they use a lot less energy...so they can walk through the world almost unnoticed. The Society rescued Nix when he was younger, and have trained him to carry out their work. He has been told he has no purpose, except as a killer.

Claire is also a Nobody, but the Society missed her. They tell Nix she is a Null, and must be eliminated. Things don't go well, though, and suddenly Nix isn't sure The Society hasn't been lying to him this whole time.

The bulk of the story is all about Claire and Nix trying to find a place, and at the same time, take down The Society. There aren't a lot of characters, and most of the character development is about Claire and Nix. Like I said, the concept of this is really interesting, and things get really strange--but I was able to keep up without a problem.

The ending was a nail biter! This book does have a clear cut ending, but the epilogue leaves room for a sequel. Right now, I haven't found anything about a sequel, but I'm hoping Barnes writes one! I would scoop it right up!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

In My Mailbox #27

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Us bloggers feature any new books we've received in the past week, either bought, borrowed, or received for review.

I'm out of town this weekend visiting my Grandma, who isn't doing so well. So this week I didn't have time for a vlog.

ebooks I bought

Always and Forever was free on Amazon, and Double Crossed was free on B&N! Double Crossed is a short story in the Heist Society series.

Ice Country is on sale right now for $2.99!

eBooks I received from Netgalley

And finally, books I checked out from the library!

I was so excited to find Perfect Scoundrels, the newest book in the Heist Society series! I've been wanting to read this one for awhile!

Shards & Ashes is 9 short stories about dystopian worlds from some of my favorite authors: Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, Melissa Marr, Beth Revis, Veronica Roth, Carrie Ryan, and Margaret Stohl! That's a pretty impressive list!

So that's it for me this week. It was a much smaller week than normal, but that's okay! Got some books I really want to read!

Have a great week, everyone!

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

Goodreads
352 pages, YA Fairytale Retellings
Strands of Bronze and Gold #1
My rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis

The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . .

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

Glowing strands of romance, mystery, and suspense are woven into this breathtaking debut—a thrilling retelling of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale.

My 2 cents

I have not ever read the "Bluebeard" fairy tale, but I know the general gist of it, and it is definitely one of the creepier fairy tales I have heard! I expected this book to kind of match that, but it took awhile before the real creepiness happened.

It starts of with the arrival of Sophia to her Godfather's house. Our estate, I should say! He is a charming, good looking man who lavishes Sophia with all kinds of presents. She loves the attention and makes herself at home fairy quickly. Things start off very well, but shes' smart and realizes he wants her to stay forever.

Slowly, Sophia starts unraveling the mystery of de Cressac, and realizes he's not a perfect man--but she doesn't truly feel alarmed in his presence until almost the very end. She was able to delude herself very well, because her family really did need his money.

I have to say I was a little bored for the first half of the story. What kept me engaged was I knew that this was an evil man, and I wanted to see how it would all come about. Sophia also meets a young preacher whom she starts to fall in love with, so there is a hint of romance for awhile. But if you are looking for a story with lots of romance, this one isn't it. I would classify this as more historical suspense. It was a good read for me, but I was expecting a bit more!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Ixeos Blog Tour + Giveaway!

The McClellands are enjoying a lazy summer vacation at the beach when they are lured from our world into Ixeos, an alternate Earth. Finding themselves lost in a maze of tunnels under Paris and surrounded by strangers, they discover that they have been brought to Ixeos for one purpose: to take the planet back from humanoid aliens who have claimed it. With the aid of the tunnels and a mysterious man named Landon, the teens travel the world seeking the key that will allow them to free Darian, the long-imprisoned rebel leader. But the aliens aren’t the only problem on Ixeos — the McClellands have to deal with brutal gangs, desperate junkies, and a world without power, where all the technology is owned by the aliens, and where most of the population has been killed or enslaved. The worst part? There’s no way home.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Author Jennings Wright

Born and raised in Florida, Jennings spent her early years reading anything she could get her hands on, when she wasn’t spending time in and on the water. She won a prize in the 6th grade for her science fiction stories.

Jennings attended the University of Tampa, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, and almost enough credits for B.A.s in both English and History. She attended graduate school at the University of West Florida, studying Psychology. She spent time over the years doing various kinds of business writing, editing, and teaching writing, but mostly having and raising her family, homeschooling her children, owning and running a business with her husband, and starting a non-profit.

Thanks to a crazy idea called NaNoWriMo Jennings got back into creative writing in 2011 and hasn’t stopped since. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, also a business owner and writer, and two children, and travels extensively with her family, and her non-profit in Uganda.

Facebook * Twitter * Website * Blog * Amazon * Goodreads

My 2 cents

My rating: 4 stars

This was a very gripping read from start to finish! We start off right in the middle of the action. Clay, his younger sister Neahle, and their cousin, Marty, are kayaking on the beach and exploring sand dunes when they find a pipe they decide to explore. They end up in an alternate universe, and another version of our planet Earth. In this version, though, creepy and evil aliens who look a lot like us have taken over our planet and enslaved what is left of the human race. The McClellands meet up with a group of rebels from our current universe whose mission is to take back the planet.

The three kids are put to use right away. This book was almost complete action from start to finish. Also a lot of spying and intel gathering goes on. The pipes they are in connect to the entire world, so they can travel anywhere very quickly. Its a really cool concept, and combines sci-fi with a dystopian vibe. Very clever!

My biggest complain is the big cliff hanger ending. The story ends rather abruptly. It made me itch for the next book! The characters are very well done, and the events and effects of the rebels seem realistic, which is hard to do in a sci-fi theme! I really enjoyed this one, and will be looking for the release of the next book!

And now, for the giveaway! $25 gift card to Amazon!

Enter on the link below, and good luck!

A rafflecopter Giveaway

Tour Schedule

March 20th

Book Blast

March 21st

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer – Interview

Crafty Zoo with Monkeys – Guest Post

The Opinionated Consumer – Review

March 22nd

White Sky Project – Tens List