Saturday 13 December 2014

I'm A Blogger...Get Me Out Of Here



So, I'm out of here, apart from one or two scheduled blitz's, I'll be gone until the New Year probably, since I need a break, it's been a rather weird year, but a mostly okay one for me, so just a quick note to say Merry Christmas and hope you all enjoy the holidays. :)
Seeing as I won't be back until then, I'm extending my Birthday/Christmas giveaway, so don't forget to enter!


Merry Christmas!






Friday 12 December 2014

Review: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless





Top Ten Clues You're Clueless
Author:
Publication Date: December 9th 2014         
Publisher: Harper Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day

5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market

4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi

3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm

2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)

1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000

Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments


Top Ten Clues You're Clueless can be summed up in one sentence. 6 Teen employees get accused of stealing the Christmas Charity Fund and have to wait in store until the police get there. It's pretty simple. It's not complicated stuff and the whole story is told within a few hours. There's not a lot going on, and it plays like a heart-warming Christmas film, which is why I'm surprised I liked it so much. I like Christmas as much as the next person, but since Christmas films are on in November all the way up to Christmas and New Year, I want to stab myself in the eye by the 25th, except for Home Alone, I'll watch them every day. Which is why I don't usually read anything festive, not that this is exactly an overly festive book, you can read it at any time and it wouldn't make a difference, since it is set on Christmas Eve, but it's not focused around that.

There's just something about Liz Czukas books that leave me smiling all the way through, relatable characters and situations, realistic characters and situations and something just so normal about the books that make them feel real.
Now, since In the style of Chloe, who likes making lists, here's my Top Ten Reasons you should read Top Ten Clues You're Clueless.

1) Say that ten times fast. It's fun.

Thursday 11 December 2014

Blitz: A Breed Apart: The Token





A Breed Apart: The Token by Natasha Rogue
Publication date: December 2nd 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult GoodreadsAmazon

Callie Michaels isn’t pretty or popular, but her singing more than makes up for all she lacks. And as long as she focuses on what’s really important, she can survive high school. But how can she focus with all the drama? Between her best friend’s odd issues and a daily dose of weirdness from the social elite, she’s starting to wonder if she’s the only normal one around.
He pulled the front door open. “That’s how it’s done.”
I rolled my eyes and made my way through the crowd that had spilled into the hall, muttering. “That’s how it’s done. Yeah? Where? In the jungle?”
“Yeah.” James’ breath on my nape sent a chill down my spine. “Something like that.”
Just as her life begins spiraling out of control, the answer comes to her in a dream. In exchange for a token of blood, a demon will give her everything she desires. She says “yes.” From that point on, she finds herself changing, becoming something far from normal. Something dangerous.
No one is what they seem—least of all her. While the supernatural creatures around her struggle to maintain their humanity, Callie slowly loses hers. She doesn’t even know what’s important anymore. Friendship, the future, love? And is there anyone who can make her care?

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Natasha Rogue is a Canadian author who's been writing for most of her life. After penning novels behind math textbooks all through high school, she attended Dawson College in Creative Arts with dreams of becoming a screenwriter. The best teacher she ever had took her aside and told her to go back where she belonged. To her roots with the books she loved to write.

Eternal Neverland (Steps Before the Fall) was one of her first complete novels. There are seven books in draft form completed in the series, but they gathered dust until experience and contacts with the right editors and crit partners gave them what they needed to be shared. However, A Breed Apart: The Token, was released through a small press in 2012. The book will be rereleased shortly.

You may find Natasha at several signings throughout the year as she writes multiple genres. Don't worry, she doesn't bite. But she will happily chat with you about the hotties who do. And shamelessly admit to liking Charlie way more than she should.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (#76)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.



Expected publication: June 9th 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers





In the third and final instalment in the Unknown Assassin trilogy, Boy Nobody is on the run from The Program and uncovers a secret about his past that forces him to decide where his loyalties lie.

The Program has sent Boy Nobody on countless missions, instructed to kill whichever target he was given. But now, after going rogue, he is on his own mission to rescue his friend Howard who was captured by The Program. Boy Nobody manages to free Howard as well as Tanya, a mysterious girl who was being held with him. Howard and Tanya help Boy Nobody collect information about his father, eventually revealing a dangerous secret that teaches Boy Nobody a valuable lesson -- he can't trust anyone.

Allen Zadoff packs the third book of the Unknown Assassin series with even more action, higher stakes, and mind-blowing reveals that will leave readers riveted


I loved the previous two in the Unknown Assassin trilogy, fast paced, quick read, and I just love the way they're written, sad it's going to end though. :(


What're you waiting on?

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Review: Beware the Wild







Beware the Wild
Author:
Publication Date: October 21st 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

It's an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp -- the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn't return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp's done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance -- and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her.

This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance




Beware the Wild was everything I hoped and wanted The Drowned Forest to be, enough strange to be charming, enough weird to be strange and enough just is to not be religious. There is religion, it's set in a very religious town, but it wasn't exactly present in the story or focus of it. To which, I'm thankful of.  It  started off pretty quick, a lot quicker than I was expecting, and maybe that's why it dipped in the middle a little, it started the engine before you'd even shut the door, but it got me hooked so it done its job, and I'm not faulting it on that. The story was great , and the idea of it was fun, someone close to you disappearing and you being the only one to remember them, and the fact that the whole town and their lives carrying on as if that person never even existed, and in Sterling's case, having someone replacing her brother- as a sister, It also very authentic to the setting. But,  I am however, faulting it on a few things.

Monday 8 December 2014

Review: Compulsion





Compulsion
Author:
Publication Date: October 28th 2014         
Publisher: Simon Pulse
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~


Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.


Hmmm, I had high hopes for Compulsion, three  families, magic, gifts, a curse. A line that goes back, a story that no one really knows but assume to. Dejá vu, anyone? Compulsion is a story that's already been told, in a manner that isn't anything new, but I was expecting and hoping it would have a twist, something that sets it apart from its preceders. Unfortunately, there wasn't.

Sunday 7 December 2014

Stacking the Shelves (74) & Recap




Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.
So, how was everybody's week? I'm getting into the holiday spirit a little. It's been cold, but I want it to snow! Snow please. Then it'll feel all Christmas-y. Anybody like The Veronicas? I've been listening to the new album non-stop for the past two weeks, love it.






Friday 5 December 2014

Review: Snow Like Ashes




Snow Like Ashes
Author:
Publication Date: December 4th 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own


The similarities to the Throne of Glass series are there, I'm not going to lie. But it's the same with other genres, things are always going to be familiar, and I guess with Snow Like Ashes and binge reading the Throne of Glass series over a week ago, It took me a good 30% to get into it. I wouldn't say it's better or less than Throne of Glass, because in a way they are similar, they're also not.

Thursday 4 December 2014

Review: On the Edge



On the Edge
Author:
Publication Date: November 25th 2014 by
Publisher: HarperCollins 
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

From Allison van Diepen, author of Snitch and Street Pharm, comes a sexy, dangerous novel about a teen who witnesses a murder and gets caught up in the seedy world of Miami’s gangs.

Maddie Diaz never should have taken that shortcut through the park. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have seen two members of the Reyes gang attacking a homeless man. Now, as the only witness, she knows there’s a target on her back.

But when the Reyes jump her on the street, Maddie is protected by a second gang and their secretive leader, Lobo, who is determined to take down the Reyes himself. Lobo is mysterious and passionate, and Maddie begins to fall for him. But when they live this close to the edge, can their love survive?

On the Edge is a compelling story about fighting for what’s right and figuring out where you belong. The novel showcases a gritty, realistic voice and earth–shattering romance that will intrigue readers of Simone Elkeles and Paul Griffin and captivate fans of Allison van Diepen's other novels.


On the Edge really surprised me, I didn't think it would totally be for me since it is to do with gangs and all that lovely stuff, and really, I watch enough of that on TV since I watch every type of Cop shows out there, right now I'm pretty addicted to Chicago PD, which, if you haven't seen it, is one of the best portrayals of blurred lines I've seen, in my opinion, especially when it comes to Voight.. But, reading about it? I usually find them cheesy, I don't know why, but it's the same with music and art in books that just do for me. But, YES. I freaking loved it.

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (#75)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.



Expected publication: September 15th 2015 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)












Tonight the Streets Are Ours is a YA novel about a teen girl living in the suburbs who becomes obsessed with a blogger in New York City, and sets out to track him down in real life.

I will not lie. This is all Shannon's (It Starts At Midnight) fault.
What're you waiting on?

Cover Reveal: Whispers from the Dead







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 Synopsis

Some Amish communities aren't so cozy.
Whispers From The Dead is the powerful and thrilling sequel to Lamb to the Slaughter, in the Amish mystery series, Serenity’s Plain Secrets.
Sheriff Serenity Adams and Daniel Bachman are once again partnered up in a criminal investigation, when they travel to a northern Amish settlement that has been riddled by arsons for the past two decades. Serenity quickly discovers that there is much more going on than just barns being set on fire in the touristy community, and that the new group of Amish has their own secrets to hide. She begins to unravel an extensive criminal underworld that threatens to destroy everything that the simple people of Poplar Springs hold dear and once again puts her own life in jeopardy.
And even though Serenity tries desperately to avoid it, things begin heating up between her and Daniel, making her wonder if true love and happiness are really within her grasp.



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Tuesday 2 December 2014

I Don't Know about You, but I'm Feeling 22


I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22...and thanks Taylor Swift, I've been dying to say that all year. It's December, which is my birthday month, and you know, Christmas, but whatever, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY. SOON. SOTHEREWILLBEAGIVEAWAY. I was planning to go back to the WB Harry Potter Studio Tour, but the best thing I've learned about having a birthday so close to Christmas is, to not plan anything. They usually get ruined, either because of ice on the roads, snowing or raining. I love snow, I do, but going to see 30 Seconds to Mars with boots is a problem. Ask Amber.




I was going to post this up on the 23rd, but I'm on hiatus then so thought I'd run it now up until the 29th, when I'll be back.

Now, endure 4:04 minutes of Taylor Swift and you will be rewarded!




Giveaway!



Cover Reveal: New World Order




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 Synopsis
The Biodome has been liberated, the slaves are now free, and a new democratic government has been formed. Yet tensions between the Pit and the Dome have never been higher. With the disappearance of Senator Jack Kenner, the old regime makes a political move to reestablish their government.
In the third book of the Sunset Rising trilogy, Sunny O’Donnell is determined to find Jack and bring him home. With the high-tech assistance of Doc, Sunny teams up with Summer, Reyes and friends from the Nation and sets out into a lawless post apocalyptic world in search of the kidnapped men. But as the ruthlessness of the recruiters unfolds amidst the discovery of betrayals within their own group, friends will become enemies and enemies will become friends on a journey that will end in a New World Order.
 



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Monday 1 December 2014

Review: Captive








Captive
Author:
Publication Date: November 25th 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate the Prime Minister's niece, her frustration grows as her trust in her fake fiancé cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoats keep her in the dark more than ever.

But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape.

As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?


Bear with me, I'm probably going to ramble. It's pretty simple. One word. Whoa. Aimee Carter has stepped up her game in Captive, no doubt. Don't get me wrong, I loved Pawn, but I was a little worried wondering where it would go from the ending, I didn't want it to be the same thing, in the same position, but it so wasn't. Captive has brought it's gloves and the action starts straight away with a lot of whoa moments and doesn't hold back the punches.

Sunday 30 November 2014

Stacking the Shelves (73)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


So, how was everybody's week? Mines been eh. I believe I'm getting into a blogging funk and haven't felt like reading much since finishing Anna, Lola & Isla, and my two current reads are going sloooooow, not that the books are slow (okay, The Bone Season is) but everything seems to be dragging and blah, maybe it's the holidays? I always seem to get into a depressive mood for some reason. But anyway, books!




Friday 28 November 2014

DNF Review: Get Even (Oh-so-fucking-believable)




Get Even
Author:
Publication Date: September 16th 2014        
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers.

When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose



Here's some advice while reading Get Even. Get Lost.
Okay, that's mean. The DGM team might try and pay me back by finding some humiliating video of me (there's none of the sort, unless I was drunk. Moving on...) So here's a nicer way of saying it.
When your brain tells you to stop.
STOP.

Thursday 27 November 2014

On What People Call "Gay" Music







This post was originally for #LGBTApril month but I couldn't seem to get it finished in time, and I was going through my draft posts the other day and while it's not longer #LGBTApril or about books, and while I love book blogging, why not add a little something different? (And okay, any excuse to talk about music really.) So I'm combining another one of my loves, music. I read an interview ages ago, and I'm not sure which one it is so I've linked the two that I re-found today, with Tegan and Sara, where they're asked about their sexuality effecting their music, and how others see that music because of being gay.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (#74)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.




Expected publication: January 8th 2015 by Penguin



  
The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this compelling, exhilarating, and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven


Excuse me while I cheat. I already have this, and already read it, and will hug my ARC forever and ever because. This. Book. It's beautiful and sad and just everything.
What're you waiting on?


Tuesday 25 November 2014

DNF Round-Up: September & October




Wow, going through my reading schedule, I haven't DNF'D that many (okay, I've DNF'D a few more than just one, but these are the ones that I didn't really give a chance, when I usually read up until at least 50%, and therefore to a DNF review.)





Apparently, I'm feeling really mean today, because this was the book that inspired my Bad Taste in Words post, which I did say I wouldn't name the book. Oops?






Can't even remember why with these two.





Monday 24 November 2014

Review: Sweet Unrest (Voodoo, who?)





Sweet Unrest
Author:
Publication Date: October 8th 2014         
Publisher: Flux
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Lucy Aimes has always been practical. But try as she might, she can’t come up with a logical explanation for the recurring dreams that have always haunted her. Dark dreams. Dreams of a long-ago place filled with people she shouldn’t know…but does.

When her family moves to a New Orleans plantation, Lucy’s dreams become more intense, and her search for answers draws her reluctantly into the old city’s world of Voodoo and mysticism. There, Lucy finds Alex, a mysterious boy who behaves as if they’ve known each other forever. Lucy knows Alex is hiding something, and her rational side doesn’t want to be drawn to him. But she is.

As she tries to uncover Alex’s secrets, a killer strikes close to home, and Lucy finds herself ensnared in a century-old vendetta. With the lives of everyone she loves in danger, Lucy will have to unravel the mystery of her dreams before it all comes to a deadly finish.



That's it, you and me Voodoo, are breaking up. I'm done. I give up trying to find a good Voodoo book. You win, YA.
We were promised a Murder mystery, there wasn't much of one. Century-old vendetta? I'll give you that, though what was the reason of the vendetta? Deadly finish? Nope. You'd think it would be intense and dark and scary with Vooodoo and all, but it didn't feel like danger or anything.

Sunday 23 November 2014

Stacking the Shelves (#72) & Recap

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.


So, how was everybody's week? Mines been okay stressful, but it's sorted itself out and phew because I hate being a ball of stress, which is also why I've had a cute and fluffy reading week. I'm on my third one. In a row. I don't do that, ever. I'm not a cute and fluffy type of reader until I need one, but I finally got around to reading another Kasie West, and Anna and the French Kiss and of course after Anna I had to read Lola, because Stephanie Perkins.

Also, uhm, I was being really good about not picking up so many e-arcs, had around 4 in two weeks. And this thing happened. Called the Harper Collins upload.



Friday 21 November 2014

Review: The Walled City






The Walled City
Author:
Publication Date: November 6th 2014
Publisher: Orion
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

730. That's how many days I've been trapped.
18. That's how many days I have left to find a way out.

DAI, trying to escape a haunting past, traffics drugs for the most ruthless kingpin in the Walled City. But in order to find the key to his freedom, he needs help from someone with the power to be invisible....

JIN hides under the radar, afraid the wild street gangs will discover her biggest secret: Jin passes as a boy to stay safe. Still, every chance she gets, she searches for her lost sister....

MEI YEE has been trapped in a brothel for the past two years, dreaming of getting out while watching the girls who try fail one by one. She's about to give up, when one day she sees an unexpected face at her window.....

In this innovative and adrenaline-fueled novel, they all come together in a desperate attempt to escape a lawless labyrinth before the clock runs out.



The Walled City is not a bad story. It has an important story to tell. Keep that in mind throughout this, but I don't think that story was highlighted as much as it should have been and was dragged down by other perspectives and a lot of inner monologue we didn't really need. For the first half, from each perspective, we basically had the same things happening, the same thoughts going on a loop that didn't seem to end up going anywhere. Like I said, it isn't a bad story, it has the foundations there to be that important story, but instead it only touched upon it.

Thursday 20 November 2014

Bad Taste in Words




Bad Taste in Words



I've read a lot of books with colourful language. I've read my fair share of books that have had a few bad taste in words, but none that have bothered me that much. You cringe. You move on. None have really bothered me that much. And I'm not saying that it should be censored in any way, but (you knew that was coming) I came across this book, a book that inspired this post, because it affected my reading experience. And once it does affect my reading experience that's when I'm done. The book? I'm not going to name it, because I'm not mean but just a few pages in I knew I wouldn't like it because of the way it's written, the words that are used. I'm not squeaky clean with language, okay? I swear, a lot. It's a problem, and I like swearing in books, especially in YA because what teen doesn't swear in high school?

Spotlight: Court Q&A with Cat Patrick



Title: Court
Author:
Date of Publication: October 23rd 2014


For more than 400 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with external struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.

Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?


Q&A


1) Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I feel like the red thread in all of my books is that people should be who they are and not who someone else wants them to be. Life is much more interesting that way.
2) Writing mentors?
I find inspiration from every good book I read. I’d recently finished Justin Cronin’s The Passage as I was getting going on Court, and it inspired me to be more thoughtful about description of landscapes, for example.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (#73)


"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.


  Expected publication: May 5th 2015 by Balzer + Bray
 
 



When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)


Okay, I know Cruel Beauty was confusing, but I loved it. Sad this isn't in the same Universe as Cruel Beauty (especially with that cover!) but so excited about it!


What're you waiting on?

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Novella Review: Half Lies (The Half Blood Trilogy #0.5)







Half Life
Author:
Publication Date: November 13th 2014        
Publisher:  Penguin ~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~



Set in the months before Half Bad, Half Lies takes the form of a diary written by Michele, the sister of Gabriel, Nathan’s Black witch friend. Having fled Europe for Florida, Michele falls in love with a local White witch boy. There, she finds that the divide between the Black and White witch communities is just as dangerous as it was in the life she's left behind.


HALF WILD, the sequel to HALF BAD will be published in March 2015. You can pre-order your copy now here! and read the first chapter here.

I don't usually read any novella's, mainly I only read the ones from my favourite series, and I can count on one hand how many I have, Half Lies being one of them. As you can gather, I loved Half Bad, and Gabriel was one of my favourite characters, so it was nice to be able to get to see more of him before he became the Gabriel in Half Bad, and since this was focusing on his sister, Michele, and getting to know her through the diary entries, and seeing how her end came to be.

Monday 17 November 2014

Review: Court





Court
Author:
Publication Date: October 23rd 2014
~A copy was provided by Rock Star Lit PR in exchange for an honest review~

For more than 400 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that's survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn't. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon -- and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon's lifelong best friend, already grapples with external struggles when he's assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve -- or destroy -- everything, depending on your bloodline.

Money. Love. Power. Community. What's your motivation?



I've read every Cat Patrick, which is why I was so excited to read Court, unfortunately, it didn't live up to her others. You could say that's because it's different to what she's done before, and it is, but it's not because of that. It's because there's not much going on. Court, in one word, is boring. I'm sorry to say it, but it is, and I can see why it wasn't picked up by the same publisher. I'm not saying Court is bad per say, but it doesn't seem up to her usual standard, and maybe that's just because it's something completely different or what, I don't know, but I wanted to root for it, but I couldn't.