Where reading is a way of life

Friday, January 25, 2013

Cocoa and Hype Make Every Book Nice Read A Thon Update--Day 7


My Reading List:

Gates of Pardise by Melissa De La Cruz--Finished! My Review
What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang--Finished! My Review
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark--on page 80--I don't think I'll finish this one.
Ten by Gretchen McNeil--Finished! My Review
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry--on page 199
Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison--Finished!  My Review
The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater
Clairty by Kim Harrington--Finished! Review Coming Soon
If I Stay by Gayle Forman--Finished!  My Review
Breathe by Sarah Crossan--Finished! Review Coming Soon
The Diviners by Libby Bray--on page 326
A Million Suns by Beth Revis--Finished!  My Review
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis--on page 298

OMG, I am loving Shades of Earth! This is such a great series, if you haven't read it, you need to!

If you'd like to join the Read A Thon, click HERE

Feed My Reader Friday


Feed My Reader is a blog hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

I recognize I have an Ebook addiction.  There is no way I will ever be able to read all the great ebooks I have but I love having my Kindle full of wonderful books that I can choose from.  I will never be able to keep up and share all the great ebooks I receive but I'm going to attempt to share as many as I can.

I received a lot of ebooks I wanted from Negalley this week, which is wonderful!  I also got hold of Daynight when it was free for a few days!



Goodreads
Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex.

Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.

Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.

Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.

Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, humor, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.



The Ascendence Trilgoy #2
A kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Find out in the highly anticipated sequel to Jennifer A. Nielsen's blockbuster THE FALSE PRINCE!

Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?

The stunning second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of treason and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the Runaway King!


A compelling US debut about family, forgiveness, and hope

Despite having a depressed alcoholic mother and a little brother who's convinced he's a dog, fifteen year-old Laurence Roach is trying to live a normal life. But when his mom doesn't come home after work one night, Laurence is terrified that child services will find out she's gone and separate him from his brother.

For two weeks, Laurence does whatever he can to keep her disappearance a secret. Spinning a web of complicated lies for friends, neighbors, and the authorities, Laurence even dresses like his mother to convince everyone she's still around. By following clues, the brothers are finally able to track down their mother's whereabouts. And that's when the real trouble begins in this powerful story about what it means to be a family.




Fractured Light #2

Llona will do whatever it takes to protect her new found friends and 
home, but the dark plot that is threatening Lucent Academy, a school that’s supposed to be a safe place for Auras, may be too powerful for even Llona to defeat. This fast-paced tale of love, loyalty, and overcoming the darkness will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page









When New York City jewelry designer Garet James stumbles into a strange antiques shop in her neighborhood, her life is about to be turned upside down. John Dee, the enigmatic shopkeeper, commissions her to open a vintage silver box for a generous sum of money. Oddly, the symbol of a swan on the box exactly matches the ring given to her by her deceased mother. Garet can’t believe her luck and this eerie coincidence until she opens the box and otherworldly things start happening. . . . 
That evening, the precious silver box is stolen. When Garet begins to investigate, she learns that she has been pulled into a prophecy that is hundreds of years old, and opening the box has unleashed an evil force onto the streets of Manhattan and the world at large. Gradually, Garet pieces together her true identity—one that her deceased mother desperately tried to protect her from. Generations of women in Garet’s family, including her beloved mother, suffered and died at the hands of this prevailing evil. Does Garet possess the power to reclaim the box and defeat this devastating force? 
On her journey, she will meet the fey folk who walk unnoticed among humans and a sexy vampire who also happens to be a hedge fund manager that she can’t stop thinking about. But the fairies reveal a desire to overpower mere humans and the seductive vampire has the power to steal the life from her body. Whom can Garet trust to guide her? Using her newfound powers and sharp wit, Garet will muster everything she’s got to shut down the evil taking over her friends, family, New York City, and the world.


She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

The following I received for review from the author or publisher


Goodreads
"I half-turned to her and shrugged, still processing what I'd seen, or at least what I thought I'd seen, in Ms. Neal's eyes—like they weren't hers. Obviously, they were her eyes, but it looked like she'd plucked them from someone else's head. A dead someone else's head."

In the fight between good and evil, Light is your only weapon.

Crystal Scott finally feels like a normal teenager. She has a lead in the high school play, a best friend, and a gorgeous boyfriend. With prom only a few days away, Crystal’s ordinary life seems perfect.

Endowed with great Light because of her virtuous choices and her inherent gifts, Crystal’s aura has become visible to those with the ability to see auras. Unfortunately, her power has also attracted the attention of demons intent on destroying all Light.

When Vincent Crandall, the human host for a powerful demon, discovers that Crystal’s Light is strong enough to disrupt the connection between demons and their hosts, he realizes she may be able to sever the connection altogether. Determined to stop her from interfering with his plans to rule the world, he sends operatives to neutralize her Light.

After the operatives fail to disable Crystal, Vincent decides he must harness her power for himself. He kidnaps her parents, and Crystal is thrust into battle against a demon army she didn’t even know existed. With the help of a mysterious young man and his mother, Crystal must learn to use the power within her before Vincent kills her parents and exploits her Light.





Life should be simple for Cassie. 

For the small population of Earth survivors who live on the Space Station Hope everything they do is planned and scheduled, down to the cyclical food menus, their roles in the station, even how many children they have.

Despite rigid controls directing her life, Cassie feels more out of synch than ever and worries she won’t find a place for herself within the station community. Perhaps that’s because she’s hearing things inside her head that can’t possibly be real. Or maybe it’s the regular elopements of her peers, heading off to a romantic future in the Married Quarter of the space station, whilst she’s never even been attracted to a boy – no matter how hard her best friend Ami pushes them at her. Then there are the odd questions her work placement partner Balik keeps raising. His questions are just as troubling for her as his distracting smiles and eyes that seem to see inside her.

As Cassie draws closer to Balik she finds that everything else in her life begins to shift. He tells her things that call into question the system they live within. She can't believe he is right, but at the same time she finds it hard to deny the sincerity of his ideas. Could there be a connection between Cassie’s problems and Balik’s questions? The truth will drag them both to a terrifying and deadly conclusion beyond anything they could have imagined.


So that's it for this week, Roomies!  What did you feed your reader? Feel free to leave me a link!


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Cocoa and Hype Makes Every Book Nice Update--Day 6


My Reading List:

Gates of Pardise by Melissa De La Cruz--Finished! My Review
What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang--Finished! My Review
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark--on page 80--I don't think I'll finish this one.
Ten by Gretchen McNeil--Finished! My Review
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry--on page 119
Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison--Finished!  My Review
The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater
Clairty by Kim Harrington--Finished! Review Coming Soon
If I Stay by Gayle Forman--Finished!  My Review
Breathe by Sarah Crossan--Finished! Review Coming Soon
The Diviners by Libby Bray--on page 191
A Million Suns by Beth Revis--Finished!  My Review
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Trucking right along I think! I love that I'm getting so much reading done! 

Challenge #1--List a Book that's worth the hype, and one that's not!

Worth the Hype!

This book was an amazing contemporary read, and I've already checked the sequel out from the library! It's also a fairly quick read, which is great for a read a thon!






NOT Worth the Hype!

Okay, this book could have been great.  I just can't get myself to finish it.  It has the mysterious creepy factor, but the whole idea of a demon that manifests in moonlight and rapes the main character, who secretly loves it--just plain weird! I don't have a problem with erotica, but this one made me feel icky!




If you'd like to join the Read A Thon, click HERE

A Million Suns by Beth Revis


Goodreads
386 pages, YA Dystopian
Across the Universe #2
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

Godspeed was once fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It’s been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceshipGodspeed.

But there may be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision—no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder learns shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a mystery that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier. Their success—or failure—will determine the fate of the 2,298 passengers aboard Godspeed. But with each step, the journey becomes more perilous, the ship more chaotic, and the love between them more impossible to fight.

Beth Revis catapulted readers into the far reaches of space with her New York Times bestselling debut, Across the Universe. In A Million Suns, Beth deepens the mystery with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.


My 2 cents

Things I don't like about series,especially trilogies, is the second book.  We now know all of the secrets, and it always seems to be a little less action.  Usually, I don't like the second books nearly as much as the first and final book.  Not the case here! This story felt like an extension of the first book, but the stakes are even higher now!

Orion has left clues for Amy to follow.  He claims he knows a shocking secret, and there is a decision to be made, but he only trusts Amy to make it, since she knows both Earth and the ship, and is the only one who does.  So in this book we get another big mystery to solve! Along with the mystery of the murders, this made for a gripping read!

So all our favorite characters are back, but its basically a couple of teens trying to run a ship.  I really think Elder made a mistake when he cut of the drugs.  I think the people should have been weaned off slowly.  They have never existed without it--they don't know compassion, or love, or brotherhood at all.  When left to their own decisions, how could we expect them to "just get along?"

I felt really sorry for Elder in this story.  It was all he could do to keep his head above water, and nothing was working right!  I think at times, Amy was kind of a pain in the neck.  She was so selfless in the first book, but most of this story she was only thinking of herself.   But  I guess, so were most of the people on the ship!

I was shocked when I learned the big secret, and I'm sure you will be, too!  Even at the end of the book, things are very unclear, which leaves me wanting to read the final book all that much more!

Shadowhunters & Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader by Cassandra Clare



GoodReads
256 pages, YA Paranormal
Mortal Instruments series
My rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, epic urban fantasy set in a richly imagined world of shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves, fairies, and more, has captured the imaginations and loyalty of hundreds of thousands of YA readers. Originally a trilogy (City of BonesCity of AshesCity of Glass), the series has extended to six titles, plus a prequel trilogy, the Infernal Devices, and a planned sequel series, the Dark Artifices. A feature film is planned for 2013.

Shadowhunters and Downworlders, edited by Clare (who provides an introduction to the book and to each piece), is a collection of YA authors writing about the series and its world.


Authors Who Contributed:
Holly Black / Kendare Blake / Gwenda Bond / Sarah Rees Brennan / Rachel Caine / Sarah Cross / Kami Garcia / Michelle Hodkin / Kelly Link / Kate Milford / Diana Peterfreund / Sara Ryan / Scott Tracey / Robin Wasserman

My 2 cents

Overall, this was an interesting read!  I just love the Mortal Instruments series, and this was a nice filler until the next couple of books come out!  Most of the essays in this book were freaking hilarious!  First of all, let me share my love for the series, and then I'll talk more about each essay individually.

The Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices are 2 of the best YA paranormal series that have been written.  The world building and concept is unique, the characters are so real and so developed, and the story is just epic.  Its a hero's journey kind of a series, not just for Clary, but for many other main characters as well.  I love that!  I love each and every single main character--Clary, Jace, Alec, Isabelle, Simon, Maia, Magnus,  and Kyle--they are all so different, with complex relationships and loads of good moments and bad.  I love the complexity between the relationships, and how each one seems to grow with each book.  If you haven't read these books, I don't know what you are waiting for!  I really can't wait for the finale!

This book is a collection of essays by other YA authors, all of them friendly with Clare it seems.  Cassandra does a little intro to each essay, which I loved. And she even is in one of them!

The first essay is called Unhomely Places by Kate Milford.  It is mostly about falling in love with a city, and finding a home there, in connections with the world building that Cassandra builds in the books.  Obviously, its mostly about New York.  I have never been there personally, although I've always wanted to, so I'll have to take Milford's word for her descriptions!

The Art of War was written by Sarah Cross, and talks about how much of a fighter Clary is, and what she ends up meaning to the Shadowhunters.   Sharper Than a Seraph Blade by Diana Peterfreund is even more interesting, as it mostly talks about Jace's wit.  This essay had me laughing at loud, recounting Jace's humor.  I swear, this author knows Jace better than he knows himself!

When Laws Are Made to Be Broken is by Robin Wasserman, and talks about the society of the Shadowhunters, and why the law has so much control.  I'd never really thought on it that hard, but it does make the series feel a little more dystopian when looking at it from that angle!  Simon Lewis: Jewish, Vampire, Hero by Michelle Hodkin was one of my favorite essays in the book.  I would read a whole book on Simon!  I think he is the purest character in the series!

Why the Best Friend Never Gets the Girl by Kami Garcia was really fun, mainly because it compares the books to a whole host of 80s movies that I love!   Brother Love by Kendare Blake was probably the most interesting essay to read.  It delves in deep about incest, and the science behind it.  Normally I'd be like, EWWW on anything like this, but Clare has managed to write this subject matter without turning off all her fans.  Quite an accomplishment! 

Asking For a Friend by Gwenda Bond talks about the friendships involved in the series.  This is totally my element, I love all the connections between characters in the series!  (Not) for Illustration Purposes Only by Rachel Caine talks about the history of tattoos  and the runes the Clare uses in the books.  The Importance of Being Malec by Sara Ryan will be a fan favorite, I'm sure!  The Magnus-Alec relationship is huge deal for fans, myself included!  She also talks about how important it is to have a popular book feature a gay couple.  

Villains, Valentine, and Virtue by Scott Tracey talks about the evil that is Valentine, and also the relationships with him and his children.  This essay was interesting, to look at him more objectively, and compare him to villains we encounter daily!   Immorality and Its Discontents by Kelly Link and Holly Black is really a conversation between the 2 authors and Cassandra Clare on what it really means to be immortal.

Finally, What Does That Deviant Wench Think She's Doing? Or, Shadowhunters Gone Wild by Sarah Rees Brennan will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter.  She talks about the crazy relationships and crazy moments in the series, but she does it by putting her own words in the character's mouths!  For example, here's an exchange Sarah writes between Isabelle and Simon (in place of the actual words they said) when they are making out:

ISABELLE:  You should bite me.
SIMON:  Well, I never.
ISABELLE: It's cool, bro, I'm consenting, and consent is sexy!
SIMON:  But surely I should not treat my lady friend as a handy snack!  You are not string cheese!  You are not a fruit cup!  You are not a macrobiotic yogurt drink!..Sorry, I miss human food sometimes.
ISABELLE: No, you should totally bite me.  The conflation between the vampire bite and sex is totally a literary archetype.
SIMON: But I never fanged a girl before.  I mean, I fanged Jace that one time, but I was all dizzy and we were on a boat--you know how wild those cruises can get--and it meant nothing and he was honestly more into it than I was.
ISABELLE:  I believe it.  Noted pervert, our Jace. Now fang my brains out.

LOL!!!!  I just love her humor!  This was easily my favorite essay!  I would definitely read this one first!  Silly publishers, for putting it in the back!

This was great fix until us fans get our hands on the next 2 Cassandra Clare books--The Clockwork Princess and City of Heavenly Fire!  I hope you get a chance to read it! 4 stars!

   

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Cocoa and Hype Make Every Book Nice Read A Thon Update--Day 5


My Reading List:

Gates of Pardise by Melissa De La Cruz--Finished! My Review
What's Left Of Me by Kat Zhang--Finished! My Review
The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark--on page 80--I don't think I'll finish this one.
Ten by Gretchen McNeil--Finished! My Review
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison--Finished!  My Review
The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater
Clairty by Kim Harrington--Finished! Review Coming Soon
If I Stay by Gayle Forman--Finished!  My Review
Breathe by Sarah Crossan--Finished! Review Coming Soon
The Diviners by Libby Bray--on page 80
A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

I didn't get a lot read last night or today.  I came down with some kind of virus, and my brain is so foggy!  I'm feeling a little better after a nap, so I'm hoping I get some reading in tonight!
I took Last Sacrifice off my list for now--only because I'm dying to read the rest of the Across the Universe series! Book 3 came in the mail a few days ago! YAY!

If you'd like to join the Read A Thon, click HERE

Wishlist Wednesday #3


Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen To Paper

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

Today's choice is 

Goodreads
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.







What is on your wishlist this Wednesday?