Review: One Thing Stolen

One Thing Stolen
Author: Beth Kephart
Publication Date: April 14th 2015
Publisher: Chronicle Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Something is not right with Nadia Cara. While spending a year in Florence, Italy, she's become a thief. She has secrets. And when she tries to speak, the words seem far away. Nadia finds herself trapped by her own obsessions and following the trail of an elusive Italian boy whom only she has seen. Can Nadia be rescued or will she simply lose herself altogether?
Set against the backdrop of a glimmering city, One Thing Stolen is an exploration of obsession, art and a rare neurological disorder. It is a celebration of language, beauty, imagination and the salvation of love.

The first thing you need to know about One Thing Stolen is that the writing is beautiful, the whole thing is beautiful, in fact. But, while I do like the way it's written, it's also confusing at times, since it's jumps from real time to, well, what's going on in Nadia's head. But, that confusion creates the atmosphere and makes you feel and really see the condition, it also leads to an unreliable narrator considering we don't know what is real, who is real, and who is not.

Announcement!

Hello,  you (yes, you) just a little announcement, Amber has been on the blog off an on with Edible Books and Cosplay Antics, she hasn't had time to do anything for those two features for...well, a while but let's not focus on that. and as she told me...

Like the terminator.

And now she's back...as a reviewer!I did ask Amber a while back if she wanted to start reviewing, but at the time she wasn't reading as much so we came up with Edible Books and Cosplay Antics.

 If you've forgotten her, here's a little reminder.

Review: Denton Little's Deathdate

Denton Little's Deathdate
Author: Lance Rubin
Publication Date: April 14th 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Fans of John Green and Matthew Quick: Get ready to die laughing.

Denton Little's Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day they will die. For 17-year-old Denton Little, that's tomorrow, the day of his senior prom.

Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle (as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend's hostile sister. Though he's not totally sure. See: first hangover.) His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton's long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters…. Suddenly Denton's life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.

Debut author Lance Rubin takes us on a fast, furious, and outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager's life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and (just maybe) a way to live on.

You know, I really love coming across books that have a sense of humour, especially my sense of humour. Denton Little's Deathdate is hilarious. Ridiculously hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing all the way through it, and yeah, there's issues, which I'll get to in a minute, and there were some awkward-did-you-really-go-there scenes, especially when it comes to, I don't know how to even phrase this, so let's just say, the sexual parts of the story, yeah? Okay. And some of the maybe familial relationships, It's hilarious, too. I know I'm saying hilarious a lot, but it was hilarious. it was so entertaining I didn't even care. It made me bypass. Keeping that in mind, I'm struggling to actually rate it, head v's heart kind of thing, because for me, the book did its job. I couldn't stop reading. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It made me want to know more.  But I can't rate it the way I want to, because though it did make me look away from some issues, I  can't review it that way.

Waiting on Wednesday (#87)

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

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Expected publication: May 12th 2015 by Putnam Juvenile

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all

Because it sounds bloody awesome, that is all.

What're you waiting on? 

DNF Review: How to Win at High School (AKA: How to be a Dick in High School)

How to Win at High School How to be a Dick in High School
Author: Owen Matthews
Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Using Scarface as his guide to life, Adam Higgs is going from zero to high school hero.

Adam Higgs is a loser, and he’s not okay with it.

But starting as a junior in a new high school seems like exactly the right time to change things. He brainstorms with his best friend, Brian: What will it take for him to take over Nixon Collegiate?

Adam searches for the A-listers’ weak spot and strikes gold when he gets queen bee Sara Bryant to pay him for doing her physics homework. One part nerd, two parts badass, Adam ditches his legit job and turns to full-time cheating. His clients? All the Nixon Collegiate gods and goddesses.

But soon his homework business becomes a booze business, which becomes a fake ID business. Adam’s popularity soars as he unlocks high school achievements left and right, from his first kiss to his first rebound hookup. But something else is haunting him—a dark memory from his past, driving him to keep climbing. What is it? And will he go too far?

How to Win at High School’s honest portrayal of high school hierarchy is paired with an adrenaline-charged narrative and an over-the-top story line, creating a book that will appeal to guys, girls, and reluctant readers of every stripe. Adam’s rocket ride to the top of the social order and subsequent flameout is both emotionally resonant and laugh-out-loud funny

Oh, How to Win at High School, should be appropriately renamed How to Be a Dick in High School. I will keep this unusually short for my ranting reviews, unlike this book, have you seen how many pages it has?  It wouldn't have been so annoying if it had been productive and given character development, or, you know, actually gave it some, you know, what's that thing books have? Oh yeah, a story to tell. A plot. Both were rather none existent.

Review: Half Wild

 Half Wild
Author: Sally Green
Publication Date: March 25th 2015
Publisher: Penguin UK
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

After finally meeting his elusive father, Marcus, and receiving the three gifts that confirm him as a full adult witch, Nathan is still on the run. He needs to find his friend Gabriel and rescue Annalise, now a prisoner of the powerful Black witch Mercury. Most of all he needs to learn how to control his Gift – a strange, wild new power that threatens to overwhelm him.

Meanwhile, Soul O'Brien has seized control of the Council of White Witches and is expanding his war against Black witches into Europe. In response, an unprecedented alliance has formed between Black and White witches determined to resist him. Drawn into the rebellion by the enigmatic Black witch Van Dal, Nathan finds himself fighting alongside both old friends and old enemies. But can all the rebels be trusted, or is Nathan walking into a trap?

You know how much I loved Half Bad last year, right? It was just everything I'd been waiting for when it comes to the witches/magic genre since Harry Potter. With an original magical system, and prejudice that mirror's real life, and characters you're going to love and champion on and characters you're going to hate and want to stab, it set-up the Half Bad world and gave us a glimpse into how life is for the Half Codes and Black Witches. To describe Half Bad in one word, brutal. It was absolutely brutal, which of course, means Half Wild is no different and is absolutely brutal, too. Half Wild is darker, and if you thought Half Bad was bad with some of the actions against Nathan, the whole line between White and Black witches get's desperate, and intense and you get the impact of fight or be killed. We also get more than a glimpse into just how deep that prejudice runs and how quickly the world can go to hell with someone dangerous in charge.

Review: Homecoming

Homecoming
Author: Kass Morgan
Publication Date: February 26th 2015
Publisher: Hodder

~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Weeks after crash-landing onto a rugged, nearly unpopulated planet Earth, the Hundred have managed to create a sense of order amidst their wild, chaotic surroundings. They work together to feed, shelter, and protect one another from countless dangers, including attacks by violent Earthborns. But their delicate balance comes crashing down with the arrival of new dropships from home--dropships carrying Glass and Luke, as well as the Vice Chancellor and his armed guards.


Suddenly, Bellamy must flee transgressions he thought he had left behind in space, as Wells struggles to maintain his authority on Earth. And while Clark searches for clues about her parent's whereabouts, she finds herself torn between finding them and helping the injured new arrivals in camp. Lives hang in the balance, as the Colonists find themselves fighting not just attackers from the outside, but also enemies from within

It's an end of an era. Well, for the book series, anyway. I'm sad to see it end, it's a sort of guilty pleasure for me, since if you've read the books, you know it's more character driven than Sci-Fi,or anything else. Like the show, the series goes into depth in the characters, how they change, how they think when they're in a dire situation. It's like an experiment into ones psyche. Unfortunately, for the books, there are too many characters being focused on for you to really get to know them.

Waiting on Wednesday (#86)

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

 Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Expected publication: October 13th 2015 by Balzer + Bray

It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell.

Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?

Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?

As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.

I loved Snow Like Ashes, so obviously this is going to be awesome.



What're you waiting on?

Review: The Orphan Queen (!!!!!!!!!!)

The Orphan Queen
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publication Date: March 10th 2015 (US) April 9th 2015 (UK)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. That was pretty much me through the last half of The Orphan Queen. I know, I know, I'm being amazingly subtle at how amazing The Orphan Queen is. I will try to resemble my thoughts into something coherent, but you know how it goes with books you love, you never know how to review it. So here's four words to accurately describe The Orphan Queen.

Damn, Jodi Meadows, damn.

Review: Liars, Inc.

Liars, Inc.
Author: Paula Stokes
Publication Date: March 24th 2015        
Publisher:  HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters

Liars, Inc. You really surprised me, in all ways, characters, the plot, the holyshitwhatjusthappened parts. You know I like those parts. It's my kind of book, and if you know me, you know what that means. Some psycho twisted shit just went down and I loved every minute of it, and the best thing of all? I didn't see any of that coming at all, okay, I had my suspicions but I didn't guess the whole story behind it, and holy crap. So. Much. Fun. It was so addictive, I read it in three hours, the writings just so easy to get into and as things start happening, you need to know what the hell is going on. I won't say much about the plot in case of giving anything away, but I will say, aha! I didn't even pick up on the hints along the way, so bravo, and whatever you think might happen or who it is, just sit back and enjoy the read, there's a good chance you won't get it right anyway, and if you do, kudo's to you.

Review: The Glory

The Glory
Author: Lauren St. John
Publication Date: March 5th 2015        
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

From the bestselling author of The One Dollar Horse trilogy, a sensational, stand-alone equestrian thriller about a gruelling 1,200 mile race, a girl on the run from the law and a boy on a mission to save a life.

A Girl on the Run from the Law

Alexandra Blakewood has everything any teenager could wish for, apart from the horse she'd love, but she won't stop getting into trouble. Sent to a US boot camp, she dreams of escaping. It seems impossible until she's told about a gruelling 1,200 mile horse race across the American West...

A Boy on a Mission to Save a Life

Will Greyton was the star student at his Tennessee high school until his father was laid off. Now Will works at a burger joint. When his dad falls ill, it seems things can't get any worse. An operation will save him, but there's no way to pay for it. Then Will hears about The Glory, a deadly endurance race with a $250,000 purse, open to any rider daring enough to attempt it...

If The Glory would have stuck more to the Race and the Equestrian side of the story, I would've liked it a lot more than I did. Unfortunately, that's probably the only side of the book I did like. From the sub-plots, third person narrative, no connection and somewhat unlikeable characters and a insta-lust and insta-love romance, you could say I have a few issues with the book.

Waiting on Wednesday (#85)

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

 Soundless by Richelle Mead

Expected publication: November 17th 2015 by Razorbill

From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore.

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever

Richelle Mead. Enough said.

What're you waiting on? 

Flesh and Blood Blog Tour: Review & Guest Post

Flesh and Blood
Author: Simon Cheshire
Publication Date: March 2nd 2015
Publisher: Stripes Publishing
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

I must record the facts that have led me to where I am now. So that, when someone reads this, they understand. Sam Hunter's neighbours are pillars of the community, the most influential people in town. But they're liars too. The Greenhills are hiding something and Sam's determined to find out what it is. As his investigation unfolds, he realizes the lies reach further than he ever imagined - is there anyone he can trust? Uncovering the horror is one thing ...escaping is another. A chilling new story in the Red Eye series

Flesh and Blood is not a mild horror book. It's not the horror you expect, or even the Gothic you expect. It's underrated, because it is subtle, and although it is questionable, it's also could be terrifyingly real. It's also not one to skimp on details. Or the gory details. Or the I-think-I'm-going-to-be-sick details and the dear-god-save-me details. Depending on how well your stomach can keep food in it, you might not want to eat whilst reading it.

Review: Unleashed

Unleashed 
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher:  HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Unleashed, the romantic, high-stakes sequel to New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's Uninvited, is perfect for fans of James Patterson's Confessions of a Murder Suspect.

Davy has spent the last few months trying to come to terms with the fact that she tested positive for the kill gene HTS (also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She swore she would not let it change her, and that her DNA did not define her . . . but then she killed a man.

Now on the run, Davy must decide whether she'll be ruled by the kill gene or if she'll follow her heart and fight for her right to live free. But with her own potential for violence lying right beneath the surface, Davy doesn't even know if she can trust herself

If you haven't read Uninvited, there's probably some minor spoilers for it, so ABORT ABORT ABORT. If you don't want to know anything about Uninvited.

Gone?

----

Giveaway: Win One of Two Copies of Mind Games

 To celebrate author of the Slated Trilogy, Teri Terry's newest release, Mind Games, Hachette Children's have given my UK followers two chances to win a copy of Mind Games, details below!

Mind Games
Author: Teri Terry
Publication Date: March 5th 2015
Publisher: Orchard Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late?

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer.

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing

Giveaway!

Two of you can win:

(1) Finished copy of Mind Games

This giveaway is only open to the UK (sorry).

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday (#84)

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

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Expected publication: November 3rd 2015 by Disney-Hyperion

Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days.

After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team's unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes.

Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there's been a break in her mother's case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible choices

I LOVE THIS SERIES, OKAY? IT''S JUST. THIS. SERIES.
I'm All In, (I know, cheap shot.)

What're you waiting on? 

Review: Mind Games

Mind Games
Author: Teri Terry
Publication Date: March 5th 2015
Publisher: Orchard Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late?

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer.

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing

Mind Games is very imaginative-and for me, unique, since I haven't read one like it before-I'm not going to discredit that, but that was the only main good thing I liked about it. I didn't hate it,  it was pretty interesting, so that kept me reading, but there's something quite...off about it, that I can't put my finger on. Overall, I had a few issues with it.