Review: No Parking at the End Times

No Parking at the End Times
Author: Bryan Bliss
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Abigail’s parents have made mistake after mistake, and now they've lost everything. She’s left to decide: Does she still believe in them? Or is it time to believe in herself? Fans of Sara Zarr, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell will connect with this moving debut.

Abigail doesn't know how her dad found Brother John. Maybe it was the billboards. Or the radio. What she does know is that he never should have made that first donation. Or the next, or the next. Her parents shouldn't have sold their house. Or packed Abigail and her twin brother, Aaron, into their old van to drive across the country to San Francisco, to be there with Brother John for the "end of the world." Because of course the end didn't come. And now they're living in their van. And Aaron’s disappearing to who-knows-where every night. Their family is falling apart. All Abigail wants is to hold them together, to get them back to the place where things were right. But maybe it’s too big a task for one teenage girl. Bryan Bliss’s thoughtful, literary debut novel is about losing everything—and about what you will do for the people you love.

I give No Parking at the End Times props for being different. Different it definitely was. I don't read that many religious centred books, I usually stay far away from ones I know are going to be so, but every now and then they sneak up on me. What drew me to this one though is the cult-like fashion it was handled. The religious aspect wasn't bible-bashing, but in a way a little bible-bashing but not overbearing, and it's delves into faith verses religion. Can you have faith without having religion? When you think about it, faith and religion go together, but faith does exist out of religion. You don't have to have a religion to believe in God, to believe and have faith in something unknown. Whether that's God, life, the future, it's still faith.

Review: A Wicked Thing

A Wicked Thing
Author: Rhiannon Thomas
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.

A Wicked Thing is a perfectly okay book. The characters are okay. The writing is okay. The whole feel of a fairytale is good. But for me, that's all it was. Not great. Not bad. But good. Good. That's where the problem lies. There were a lot of doors that were open during the story that were never really closed, and if it would've taken one of those open doors and ran with it, I think it would've made it a lot stronger than it was, because I felt like it didn't go anywhere as such. Stuck in the palace. The Queen spewing some commands and lies at her. Aurora complaining and bitching in her head but nodding and acting like the doll they tell her to be. Sneaking out at night. Next day. Stuck in the palace. The Queen spewing some commands and lies at her. Aurora complaining and bitching in her head but nodding and acting like the doll they tell her to be. Sneaking out at night. How entertaining.

Review: Mr. Kiss and Tell (Rejoice, Logan!)

Mr. Kiss and Tell 
Authors: Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Publication Date: January 20th 2015
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~

In the second book in the New York Times bestselling mystery series, Veronica Mars is back with a case that will expose the hidden workings of one of Neptune’s most murderous locations.

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

I loved The Thousand Dollar Tan Line, I'd put off from reading it for a while since I didn't think it could hold up to the show-or even the movie-and while it doesn't replace either, it was a good fix to be with the characters again, the snark and wit and the sleuth ways. But, it wasn't perfect. What was missing in The Thousand Dollar Tan Line was present in Mr. Kiss and Tell, and by "what was missing" I mean who. And by whom, I mean Logan. Logan, Logan, Logan. Also, Weevil has more of a role this time around too, since the beginning is all about his trial from the aftermath of what happened in the movie.

Waiting on Wednesday (#82)

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

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

 Expected publication: September 10th 2015 by Bloomsbury UK

Sarah J. Maas's New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series reaches new heights in this sweeping fourth volume.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past . . .

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena’s epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena’s story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world

Review: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line

The Thousand Dollar Tan Line
Author: Rob Thomas and  Jennifer Graham
Publication Date: June 30th 2014         
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From Rob Thomas, the creator of groundbreaking television series and movie Veronica Mars, comes the first book in a thrilling new mystery series.

Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She's traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.
Now it's spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is not a simple missing person's case. The house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and soon Veronica is plunged into a dangerous underworld of drugs and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to Veronica's past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined

Veronicas Mars was one of the best shows on TV when I was in high school, and as we all know where the best shows go: TV Gold Heaven.  And then there was the movie. Finally. And we got everything we didn't get in the non-ending of season three. And now we have book versions! Book. Versions. Okay, I was a little apprehensive because Veronicas one of those characters you either get...or don't. And would that still show? Her voice still sound like her voice? It's all how it translates on the page, despite Rob Thomas. I don't know what I was worried about really.

Review: Soulprint

Soulprint
Author: Megan Miranda
Publication Date: February 12th 2015                    
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens 
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

A new literary, sci-fi thriller from acclaimed author Megan Miranda.

With the science of soul-fingerprinting a reality, Alina Chase has spent her entire life imprisoned for the crimes her past-self committed. In an attempt to clear her name, Alina unintentionally trades one prison for another when she escapes, aided by a group of teens whose intentions and motivations are a mystery to her. As she gets to know one of the boys, sparks fly, and Alina believes she may finally be able to trust someone. But when she uncovers clues left behind from her past life that only she can decipher, secrets begin to unravel. Alina must figure out whether she’s more than the soul she inherited, or if she’s fated to repeat the past.

This compelling story will leave readers wondering if this fictional world could become a reality

Oh Soulprint, you are my kind of weird.  It delves into one of my favourite debates. No, not reincarnation, or a type of reincarnation, even though that is a similar factor in Soulprint, but the subject of criminal DNA and the whole are criminal's born vs are criminals made? I could read so many of them and not get bored, it's what I loved abut Uninvited and it's what I loved about Soulprint., and as with both, they go to the extreme. They're quite similar in a way, in the way of the reaction and effects it has on the way people perceive it. But, they are different, considering Uninvited is to do with a Criminal Gene, and Soul Print is to do with past criminals souls being reborn. There's a database proves the distinction between past life crimes linking to a present life crimes, a likely hood that that soul will possibly do that crime again as someone else. So does that automatically make that person a criminal, though they haven't done anything yet? Or does the fact they know they have a soul of a past criminal that makes them think, well, might as well. There's a test, tapping into your spinal fluid that can prove who's soul is in you., and you're judged before you even do anything, it's like a ticking time bomb. Alina has the soul of one half of the notorious criminal duo of June Calahan and Liam White.