Harry Potter Moment of the Week [31]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! She is picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All she asks is to link back to her blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come here.

    FREE WEEK

I want to play:

WHO SAID IT

#1 

"Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them -- gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks."

#2

“IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!” 

#3

“I think I'll just go down and have some pudding and wait for it all to turn up - it always does in the end.” 

#4

“Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.” 

#5

"You’ve got strengths if I say you’ve got them. Think now. What are you best at?” 

#6

“Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have.” 

#7

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” 

#8

"There's no need to call me "sir" Professor."

Tell me your guesses in the comments below :D

Review: Dangerous Reflections (Adventures of Alexis Davenport #1) by Shay West

Published: June 17th 2014 by Booktrope Editions
Genre: YA, Time Travel
Format: ebook
Source: provided for honest review

Goodreads Summary

Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out.

To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

"Alex, I have no choice. We have no money for rent and I can't find work. Your aunt Karen is giving me a job in her store but only if we can get to Grand Junction this weekend."

The Good

For starters, the development of the characters was believable to me. In particular, our heroine, Alex. Right away, I felt a connection with her, having to leave her best friends right as the dreaded freshman year was about to start. This wasn't an over the top high school environment bullying wise. It was the type of bullying your parents would expect you to deal with. I like how her time travel gift works. I love that she doesn't have any real control and just kind of waits and dreads when her next trip will be.

The Bad

Let's just say Alex's mom is not my favorite book mom ever. She's a little strict and a bit over bearing for me, but oh well.

The Romance

The romance is fun as you get to experience that first love, first date and first kiss all through Alex eye's.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed Dangerous Reflections. I liked the particular places chosen to visit in the past. There wasn't much down time with this book at all. Once I started reading it, I was able to stay involved in the story and lose track of a Saturday afternoon.

Excerpts

I can't believe I am actually in sixteenth-century Venice about to hear the Veronica Franco recite some of her very own poetry.

"Alex... this is beginning to sound a lot less romantic than it did last time. You could have been hurt, or killed." Jennifer ran her hands over her face. "I wonder what would have happened if he had managed to cut your throat." Jennifer gulped audibly.


"Legend has it that there are travelers born that have extraordinary abilities. They can travel without the use of a mirror if need be. They are knowledgeable about history. It is this gift that enables them to preserve the time line."

Review: Freak Show (Episode 1: The Nightshade Cases) by Patti Larsen

Published: June 13, 2014, Patti Larsen Books/Purely Paranormal Press
Genre: Paranormal Thriller | Short Stories (Episode format)
Format: ebook (e-pub)
Source: provided for honest review

Goodreads Summary

When transsexual starlet Aisling is murdered, Detective Geraldine Meyers is assigned the case. With help from medical examiner Dr. Rachel Hunter, Gerri realizes this is no ordinary killing. While she might not want to call in over-eager anthropologist Dr. Kinsey DanAllart, the detective is forced to trust her friend’s expertise in symbology, even though doing so means admitting “weird” things might be happening in Silver City. As the three friends unravel the mystery of the dancer’s death, one thing is made absolutely apparent—something isn’t right in their new hometown. And someone is doing everything they can to make sure the truth doesn’t come out.


In Silver City, sometimes friendship can be murder.


Welcome to the first Nightshade Case, a series of twenty-one episodes in twenty-one weeks. Please note: this episodic series is based on the television show model, with screenwriting notations and shorter formats. There will be a complete mystery each week, with cliffhangers only occurring in the full season story line.

"Sometimes friendship can be murder"

The Good

This book is my first paranormal thriller read and I must say that it was a great first experience. Freak Show is about three friends dealing with their personal and professional life and at the same time also dealing with their "weird" gifts. Gerri is in denial of the paranormal involvement but due to circumstances, Rachel and Kinsey think otherwise. One by one weird stuff happens, forcing the trio to investigate the case from their POV.

The three main characters have strong and well-established personalities and connect with the reader without much difficulty. It's a quick read and ends on a great note. A very unexpected character plays a very important role and that is where I realized that this book is far better than a lot of best-seller books.

What makes The Night Shade Cases more interesting for me, is that they are released weekly in episodes, which gives the reader enough time to think but not enough time to allow the story to start slipping from the mind.

The end was absolutely brilliant and will make you want to get the next book in the series right away.

(PS- I can't describe this book better than this without the spoilers!)

The Bad

The only thing that made me uncomfortable (only to some extent) was the POV of Rachel, who is a lesbian and some other transgender. At one point, Rachel thinking about Gerri was just awful. Though nothing's wrong with the writing and the story, it's just out of my comfort zone.

Also they could have done a better job with the cover!

The Romance

There was no romantic or love relation in particular, just a loving bond of three friends, who'll do anything for each other, though at times I highly doubted that also! Don't you think?

Conclusion

Freak Show has its ups and downs but what really stood out for me was the mystery involved and the thrill I felt during the entire investigation. A few negatives can be overlooked considering the fact that it's the first book, and establishment of characters and their backgrounds (the basics) was quite important. What earned a 4 1/2 rating for this book? The answer would be the pace of the story, twists, turns and surprises and a cliff-hanger ending.

If you like thriller, this book (or I should say this series) is for you. Considering the time required for reading Freak Show, anyone can give it a try and decide for themselves whether or not to get involved in the series.

Did you enjoy this review? Check out Heena's other reviews at The Reading Bud

Review: The Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Mead

Published: July 29, 2014 Razorbill
Genre: YA, Paranormal Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

Things just got real.

Silver Shadows had all the makings of a final installment, and we haven't even reached that point yet.
Other than the end that is, since it's setting up another huge plot line.

The Good

The whole feeling of this one is different since the setting is off and the characters are torn apart all facing their own issues. Those issues are HUGE. Terrible struggles are placed on my favorite characters to find their way through. I was growling at my kindle. I turned my kindle off in disgust only to turn it back on 45 seconds later because I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. I am so emotionally invested in these characters that I was yelling at them really hoping they'd heed my advice. I winced in pain at some of the dumb decisions that came out of it and cheered when everything went right.

The crazy part is that the middle section is a little on the slow side. What happens though is I'm telling myself, "Something big has to happen in the next chapter." Things just keep building and building slowly into the WAM! about 3/4 of the way through that caused me to not put my kindle down and read on through until finished.

The Bad

Other than that not being as surprised as I normally am with Mead's work, things were fantastic. Except, maybe making me emotional which I don't tend to like. I was more emotional on the angry side though not sad so it's all good.

The Romance

OK Sydrian...swoon. These two together are strong, fierce characters that can take on anything. They make each other better people which is how a great relationship should really work.

Apart, they are a mess. Sydney is constantly jumping into crazy situations that while she is incredibly smart, are very poor choices. She's got that whole saving others thing even at the detriment to herself. Adrian has no real reason to do anything other than party and make ridiculous decisions when Sydney's not around or when he's not trying to keep her happy.

Conclusion

If you haven't started this series, you really should be reading it. There's a good twist in this one, great plot, fantastic characters, charming romance, unique powers, and more.

Excerpts

“But with Sydney... with Sydney, I'd had it all- And lost it all. Love, understanding, respect. The sense that we'd both become better people because of each other and could take on anything so long as we were together. Only we weren't together anymore. They'd ripped us apart, and I didn't know what was going to happen now.” 

“What is it with you and girls, Adrian, dear? Why do they either mean nothing to you or everything? It's always an extreme."
"Because I don't do things in halves, mom. Especially when it comes to love.” 

“Out of old habit, I put my hand on my collarbone, touching a cross that was no longer there. 
Don't let them change me, I prayed silently.Let me keep my mind. Let me endure whatever there is to come.” 

“I know what love is, Mom. I’ve had love that burns in every fiber of my being, that drives me to be a better person and empowers me through each moment of the day. If you’d ever had something like that, you’d hold on to it with every bit of strength you had.” 

“Everything I’d fought for, every challenge, every victory … all of it was empty if anything happened to him. Without him, I wouldn’t have had the courage to become the person I was. Without him, I wouldn’t have realized what it truly was to live and love life. Centrum permanebit. He was my center, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do, nothing I wouldn’t give up, to keep him safe.” 

“Sanity’s overated, my darling.” 

Sunday Cover Scramble [80]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.


I'm changing up the format a little bit! I am going to be pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

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Review: Shadow of the Last Men by J.M. Salyards

Published: August 1st 2013 by Xchyler Publishing
Genre: Dystopia
Format: ebook
Source: provided for honest review

Goodreads Summary

In the bleak Outlands, in the shadow of the Third City, one harrowed soul emerges to deliver his people from their technocratic overlords, the Last Men. The guided missile of a man will go to any lengths to exact his vengeance, and clings to his humanity by fraying threads.

As Harrow prepares to die wreaking havoc for his cause, he discovers allies who change the course of his life—Quintain, a teenage master of the metaphysical on his own quest for justice, and Alouine Morningstar, an outlawed, genetically perfected princess of the Last Men. As wills and fists collide, the unwilling hero must choose between a future beyond his victory, or death as his only chance for peace.

"In times of great crisis and peril, heroes may rise to bring balance to the world," She had told him."Sometimes it is a lone and anonymous hero, a single man or woman, dedicated to overthrowing a corrupt organization. Other times, more driven heroes are needed, and sometimes there is a demand for the most powerful of us to rise."

The Good

I had a good time with this book. The action was somewhat frequent but it didn't overwhelm the book. Salyards did a great job developing the 3 main characters and at the same time bringing them together as a group you could cheer for. He also did a good job evolving the main antagonist into someone you just wanted to see go down in a painful way. You just wanted to reach into the book and throat punch the guy at times. I did enjoy the Mysticism aspect of the book and some of the paranormal fights that occur because of it. The spiritual avatar fights were interesting and different and made for a nice change.

The Bad

My only real issue would be how easy it is for the outlanders in the book to pick up a book and become adept with computers. A good deal of them are becoming almost feral from lack of an education and none of the towns mention schooling, but I decided that this meant she was a natural/genius with such technology and reminded myself that it helped the story line. If you can do that, it probably won't bother you much if at all.

The Romance

There is a slow romance between Harrow and Alouine that starts off with conflict and then slowly grows into something special. They have that 'I won't admit I'm into you cause I'm not sure you're on our side' attraction that they think they hide well but at the same time people are thinking 'why don't you two get a room and get it over with already?'.

Conclusion

I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. It has plenty of action and character development and the story line is interesting enough to keep you reading. Plus, you will want to see if the Carver Delano (the bad guy) gets his well earned pine box or if he sticks you with a cliff hanger.

Excerpts

"I do not require them to be convinced. I require them to die."

"This is the sacred power of 'no'. To live, you must learn to say no to death."

"Only the dead have seen the end of war. Is that it?"
Harrow's ice-blue eyes flashed. "Until the last of the Order is strangled with the guts of the last lictor, yes."

"Take the men who are the most crack shots with you. From there you'll have complete defilade and a clear line of fire into the street."
"What's defilade?" the chief asked flatly.
"Cover. You'll be able to hit them without being exposed to return fire."
"Why didn't you just say that?" Crate hissed.

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [30]

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! She is picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All she asks is to link back to her blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come here.

   If you could be a character for a day, who would you be?

Like most of these topics, this one was hard for me to drill down to one. What would it be like to live in the wonder that's Luna's mind? She looks at everything so blasé, nothing can really get her down. She treats her friends as jewels to be treasured. 

There's something great about all the main characters that would make it fun to be them for a day so I could do this for hours. 

I finally decided on Ginny Weasley.

Here's my reasoning:

1. She's a red-head

2. She plays/loves Quidditch

3. She is funny

4. She is in the Weasley family - arguably the best family in literature

5. She's small, but packs a punch

6. She's smart and confident

7. She gets to let fly the bat-bogey hexes (MAN I WOULD LOVE to give a few people I know a good one-two with a bat-bogey)

8. She bagged The Chosen One as her man

9. She was a valuable member of the DA

10. She had a pet pygmy puff

11. She's best friends with Hermione, Luna, and Neville

Who would you be if you were a character for a day?