Waiting on Wedensday #5 The Selection by Kiera Cass

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly
event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,
that spotlights upcoming releases that
we're eagerly anticipating.


This week I am eagerly awaiting the release of....

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publication Date: April 24, 2012

I have seen this book around for a while now. The cover really sucks me in and the story sounds amazing....

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Review: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Title: Finnikin of the Rock
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Date: August 9th 2011
Pages: 416
Genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy
Series: Lumatere Chronicles
Source: Paperback


Goodreads Summary:
Finnikin was only a child during the five days of the unspeakable, when the royal family of Lumatere were brutally murdered, and an imposter seized the throne. Now a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere’s walls, and those who escaped roam the surrounding lands as exiles, persecuted and despairing, dying by the thousands in fever camps. In a narrative crackling with the tension of an imminent storm, Finnikin, now on the cusp of manhood, is compelled to join forces with an arrogant and enigmatic young novice named Evanjalin, who claims that her dark dreams will lead the exiles to a surviving royal child and a way to pierce the cursed barrier and regain the land of Lumatere. But Evanjalin’s unpredictable behavior suggests that she is not what she seems — and the startling truth will test Finnikin’s faith not only in her, but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

Review:

I have not read too many deep fantasies and did not know what to expect. This book was recommended to me, so I took the chance. I am jumping for joy over this book. It was amazing. It did start off a bit slow, as most fantasies do for me. There is a lot of worlds and history to describe and explain before the story can begin. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I find myself staying away from true fantasy. I also find myself getting a little confused with the different worlds and races. Melina Marchetta did an excellent job at this part of the book. I was able to follow, understand, and enjoy the beauty of the worlds. I fell deeply in love with the story pretty quickly.

As with many true fantasies, there are many characters that are met along the way of the journey. The main character in this book is Finnikin and it is his journey we are wrapped into. His world was turned upside down when the five days of the unspeakable happened. This horrible time in his past left him an orphan and left the kingdom that he loved in shambles. The day that he meets Evanjalin, his world is turned upside down once more. Finnikin is one of my all time favorite characters. He is snarky, strong, intelligent, determined, and brave. In fact I love so many of the characters. I really can’t get into the characters too much as it may give aspects of the story away. I can say that they are all amazing and easy to love in their own way.

The author did a fantastic job on the setting, the characters, the story, and the writing. One of my new favorites to add to my will reread collection. This book is full of surprises, bonding, testing of faith, secrets, adventure, and of course a little bit of romance. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book and did not want to put the book down. The ending was great but it did end me wanting for more. I am not ready to give up the characters I fell in love with. Lucky me it is a series and I will get more. The next book is “Froi of the Exiles” and I was lucky enough to get a copy from Netgalley.com and I am going to read this book ASAP! 

Rating:

Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Title: Lies Beneath
Author: Anne Greenwood Brown
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Date: Expected publication: June 12th 2012
Pages: 303
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Series: Lies Beneath #1 Source: Kindle ARC

Goodreads Summary:

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Review:

I really enjoy reading about mermaids. I have always been a fan of the mystery and myth. I think it is hard to find a good mermaid book. This is an awesome book. I absolutely love the story behind these mermaids. First off the story tells the tale of mermaids that are not sweet, pretty, and fairytales. These mermaids are killers who want revenge. There is nothing sweet, pretty, and fairytales about these sea creatures…. Well maybe nothing sweet and fairytales, they are described to be quite pretty.

The characters really spoke to me in this book. I found Calder amazing, the bad boy who wants to do the right thing. In this story, the mermaids and merman kill humans to survive off their emotions. Calder does not like to kill and does whatever he can to go as long as he can without killing. I like this about him. He is a monster who wants to go against his nature and do the right thing. I enjoyed getting into his head; it was a nice change to read from the boy’s point of view.

Lily is great too. She is spunky, sarcastic, realistic, courageous, and curious. She senses something is not right about Calder, but she cannot stay away. Everything in her tells her to be afraid of him, but she does not choose to run. The longer she knows him the more she opens up to him and the more she senses something is different about him.

The villains in this story are Calder’s sister. Everything about them screams villain. There were a couple times I almost very myself liking one of the sisters, Tallulah. I wanted to like her, she seems so sweet at times, but she is still a villain. The evil flows off of the sisters. They are out for blood, they don’t care who gets in the way, even Calder.

This story has it all, romance, suspense, a little mystery, adventure, and fantasy. I was wrapped up by the first couple of chapters and found myself stealing pages whenever I could. I anxiously wait for the next installment. 

Rating:

Mailbox Monday #6

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by
The Story Siren. 




Netgalley.com




Amazon Kindle


Library:




Audible.com

Follow Friday #6

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel of Parajunkeeand Alison ofAlison Can Read!

Q: Activity!!! Take a picture or describe where you love to read the most…

I don't have one post I like to read I have three. At night I like to read in my bed, during the day on weekends I am in my overstuffed really comfy chair, at work I like to sit outside and read on my lunch.  Don't have a camera at this moment, so no picture, sorry. 

What about you.... 

Waiting on Wednesday #4 The Savage Grace by Bree Despain

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly
event, hosted by Breaking the Spine,
that spotlights upcoming releases that
we're eagerly anticipating.


This week I am eagerly awaiting the release of....

The Savage Grace by Bree Despain 

Release date of March 13, 2012

I love this series and cannot wait to read the final installment!

A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything.

With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.

Review: Camille by Tess Oliver

Title: Camille
Author: Tess Oliver
Publisher: Createspace
Date: March 1st 2011
Pages: 252
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Series: Camille #1
Source: Paperback


Goodreads Summary: 


At a time when society conforms to the strictest rules and most proper etiquette, sixteen-year-old Camille Kennecott and her guardian, Dr. Bennett, lives a most unconventional life. They hunt werewolves.


When unwitting victim, Nathaniel Strider, wanders into one of their full moon pursuits, Camille and Dr. Bennett believe they have found a specimen for their study. Finding a scientific key to unlocking the mystery of lycanthropy would end their late night excursions. Yet beneath the irresistible exterior, Nathaniel is transforming into a flesh-tearing monster, and as each experiment fails, Camille loses another inch of her soul to him. She knows that in a month’s time she must face the prospect of destroying the boy who has stolen her heart.


Camille is a young adult, paranormal romance set in Victorian England.


Review:


I accidently came across this book searching through kindle books on Amazon. I didn’t have prior knowledge of this book’s existence. I am usually hesitant at reading new books without seeing a rating on Goodreads or reading a review. I know book snob. I read the synopsis on Amazon and thought it sounded like my kind of book. Werewolves, Romance, Suspense, I couldn’t ask for more, even though it did have the bonus of being a historical fiction, which I love. SO… I nabbed it and downloaded it. I read it fairly quickly after purchasing it and I fell in love within the first couple of chapters.


The world in which this story takes place is not really the ideal for many current running werewolf books but it fit really well. The author is great at creating the atmosphere and setting to understand what Camille’s world is like and hard it is for her to fit in. Her parents both died when she was young and she was left in the care of a kooky scientist. This man, Dr. Bennett, has never been married and never raised a child. He really doesn’t have a clue how to raise a girl. That doesn’t stop him from trying and in the process drags Camille into the life of science and werewolves.


Dr. Bennett and Camille have a ritual of searching the paper for dog bitten victims and then go on a hunt to kill before the werewolf takes over completely. Camille often dresses as a boy because of the life they live and even though she knows etiquette, she is more concerned with the hunt and the science then catching a future husband. She is very independent yet still young in much of her thinking.


On one of the hunts they see a boy get bitten and decide to chase him down to see if they can help him and also study him to try to find a cure. Camille is not happy about this. She has seen more than enough death by werewolves and does not want one her home… So she thought, until she meets Strider. This is when Camille’s life as she knows it begins to unravel.


The characters in this book are so much fun. Dr. Bennett is nuts and obsessed with finding a cure, but he also very much cares for Camille and is seen throughout the book. Strider is arrogant but charming. It’s very hard not to love him. The relationships between all three feel real nd I wanted nothing but happy ending for all three of them. The interactions between Camille and Dr. Bennett are unorthodox but sweet. They take care of each and share their knowledge and their fears. The relationship between Camille and Strider is quite entertaining. They can banter with the best of them.

I really loved this book. I cannot wait to read the next one. This will be a keep and reread for me.


Rating:

Mailbox Monday #5

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

For Review

Library:

Purchased:

Follow Friday #5

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read!





Q: I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What's the most unique character name you've come across?


A: This is a really hard question. The first issue being, I read a lot of books and can't recall off hand all the names, the second issue is that I read a lot of paranormal and fantasy books. These always seem to have strange names. I did just get done reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and one of the characters name was Aech, pronounced like the letter H. I thought that was unique and kinda cool.


What about you?

Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Title:  Ready Player One 

Author: Ernest Cline
Publisher: Broadway Books
Publishing Date: January 1st 2011
Pages: 372
Genre: Sci/Fi Cyberpunk Thriller (Adult/YA)
Series: Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

  

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune — and remarkable power — to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved — that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt — among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life — and love — in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

I don’t usually read too many books that are targeted to the adult crowd, even though this one is I could see many young adult readers enjoying this book. I would definitely classify as YA. This book was great. Action packed, suspenseful, humorous, intense… I could go on. 

The plot of the story was so original from anything I have read in the past. I wasn’t sure how I would receive the story but it has some great reviews, so I decided to give it a try.

The story is told from a 17 going on 18 year old boy, Wade, who spends all his time in an online simulated world in the year 2044. He goes to school, socializes, and works in this alternate online reality. At the beginning one of his icons, the inventor of this online world dies. Before he dies he creates a video will that announces a contest in which the winner will receive his legacy… the online world and his billions. From there the contest begins and the race is on.

I loved wade. He is smart, committed, a little crazy, and very geeky. I found myself deep in his story and I never ceased to be amazed and surprised at what he accomplishes. Other characters are introduced in the story, but we do not get to know them too well, what we do get to know was enough to make me adore them. 

The world the author created was mystifying. I could see how things today could progress into this world in the future. Everything technical and computerized. The author didn’t just create a new world for me to visit but also made me nostalgic for the past. The entire book is like a dedication to the 80’s, from the commercials to the movies and games.

The writing is very detailed and at some points a little confusing with the futuristic jargons, but it did not take away from the enjoyment of the book. It is a little slow at the beginning but once it takes off about a quarter of way through the book, it’s becomes a page turner. I did not want to put it down. 

I really liked the narrator of the audio version. He brought the voices to life and did a great job with the feel for the evil and the cyberpunk atmosphere.  He brought everything to life for me, vividly I might add. 

At the end I found myself happy and satisfied but I still couldn’t help to want a little bit more. This will be a book I am sure I will find myself reading multiple times.

 

ERNEST CLINE has worked as a short-order cook, fish gutter, plasma donor, elitist video store clerk, and tech support drone. His primary occupation, however, has always been geeking out, and he eventually threw aside those other promising career paths to express his love of pop culture fulltime as a spoken word artist and screenwriter. His 2009 film Fanboys, much to his surprise, became a cult phenomenon. These days Ernie lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, their daughter, and a large collection of classic video games. READY PLAYER ONE is his first novel.