Sunday, June 30, 2013

Cover Reveal: Origin (Lux Series #4) by Jennifer Armentrout


Origin (Lux Series #4) by Jennifer Armentrout


OK guys, I am beyond excited for this book to come out! That cover :D Different from the others so far, but I'm loving it! What do you think?

Expected Publication: August 27, 2013 by Entangled Teen
Genre: Science Fiction, YA, Paranormal

Official Blurb:

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?

Amazon: Origin (Lux Series #4) (Entangled Teen)
Barnes and Noble: Origin (Lux Series #4) (Entangled Teen)

About Jennifer Armentrout:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Find Jennifer:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Sunday Cover Scramble [23]



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 the next day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:




Friday, June 28, 2013

Sidekick Saturday [29] - Cocky

Sidekick Saturday
Sidekick Saturday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in this week's type
• Share a picture (if possible) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• Put your link in the Linky thing and comment

July 6th - Soldier
July 13th - Strange
July 19th - Mentor
July 26th - Cowboy

This week is Cocky

My choice is Daemon Black
The Lux Series by Jennifer Armentrout
Daemon Black picture created by Jaclyn Canada

Daemon is very good-looking and he knows it. Some of my favorite parts of the story though are when he's teasing Kat about how hot he is and that he's telling her that he knows that she wants him. When I was first introduced to him in the story, my thought was, "man this guy is cocky". Funny thing is, it becomes a trait I appreciate about him when I get to know him more. I love what Katy says about him, "Beautiful face. Beautiful body. Horrible attitude." He really has some redeeming qualities though since I know while reading that he cares deeply for his sister, is fiercely protective of the people that he loves, and genuinely wants to be a good person and do the right things. He helps Kat become more secure and confident in herself and I like that he brings this strength out in her. 

Quotes:


"I don’t think we got the chance to introduce ourselves the other night at the diner. My name is Blake Saunders.” He offered his free hand.
Daemon glanced at Blake’s hand before returning his gaze to me. “I know who you are.”
Oh, geez. I twisted toward Blake. “This is Daemon Black.”
His smile faltered. “Yeah, I know who he is, too.”
Laughing under his breath, Daemon straightened. At his full height, he was a good head taller than Blake. “It’s always nice to meet another fan.”
Yeah, Blake had no idea what to say to that.



“Surprise widened his eyes as he stepped back. "Caving in so easily?"
"Caving in?" I laughed without feeling. "I just want you out of my face."
Daemon chuckled deeply. "Keep telling yourself that, Kitten."
"Keep using your ego steroids.”



"Stalking me again, I see. Do I need to get a restraining order?"
"In your dreams Kitten." He smirked. "Oh wait, I'm already starring in those, aren't I?"
I rolled my eyes. "Nightmares, Daemon. Nightmares."




"His voice was deep and firm. The kind of voice accustomed to people listening and obeying without question. His lashes lifted, revealing eyes so green and brilliant they couldn't be real. They were an intense emerald color that stood out in vibrant contrast against his tan skin."

If you've read Obsidian, here is the laptop scene from Daemon's POV, and the Homecoming scene from Daemon's POV. Plus some more wonderful extras from Jennifer Armentrout.

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday [24] - Preferred Reading Method


Alison Can Read Feature & Follow

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by  and Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - This week's feature is:Paperback Princess  and Got Fiction
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Question: What is your preferred reading format? Hardcover, eBooks, paperback etc?


I really like paperbacks over hardcovers because they're easier to hold in one hand to read. I do buy e-books more often than anything now. It saves me space in my house since I already have 6 bookcases full of books and it's easier for me to carry all my books everywhere in one convenient package. I'm not one of those people that collect the same kind of book for every title. In some series, I have some paperbacks, hardcovers, and e-books for the same series.

It all depends on what I was in the mood for when the book came out. E-books are so much easier for reviewing though because I take a lot of notes with paperbacks and hardcovers, and in my e-books I can just highlight, highlight, highlight. Though I will say that if the book has a gorgeous cover, I usually want a paperback to put on my shelf so I can see it more often.




Harry Potter Moment of the Week [3] - Favorite HP Memory


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.

This week is Favorite Harry Potter Memory


No doubt that would be the trip that I took Zane on for his 9th birthday to Universal Studios in Florida.


You may have already seen me mention this before on one of my Feature and Follow Fridays. On Zane's 9th birthday,  there were cast members on site at Harry Potter World and we got to go to panels and listen to them answer questions about the movies and their lives. Not only was going to Florida, seeing Universal Studios, and having this wonderful vacation an amazing time, but the most fantastic part was getting to see Harry Potter World and being up close to these actors that I have loved since watching these films. The first panel we saw had Mr. Weasley, Bill Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Mr. Flitwick.



The second panel we got to see had Seamus Finnigin, Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, Fred Weasley, and George Weasley


It was absolutely fantastic! Zane and I are big fans of Luna and the Weasley brothers so we had so much fun getting to hear them answer fan questions and say some of their favorite quotes from the movies.




Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahme-Smith

Publisher: May 1, 2009 Quirk Classics
Genre: Historial Fiction, Humor, Horror
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased

Goodreads Summary
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—-and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers-—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read



Elizabeth Bennett wields a katana


So Pride and Prejudice is actually the only classic novel that I enjoy. It's also the only book that doesn't have any kind of magical aspect, no supernatural creatures, and no fantasy that I fell in love with. What  makes it even more strange is that I started with the movie starring Kiera Knightley after becoming a fan of hers from Pirates of the Caribbean. I generally don't watch what I consider 'girly movies'. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good Rom-Com every now and then, but a truly girly movie has never been my thing. However, I will watch Pride and Prejudice over and over again, and can guarantee you that I know majority of the lines by heart. Something about this story grabbed a hold of me and just won't let go. So this month is zombie month for my Paranormal Challenge and I thought I'd give this classic story with the added benefit of zombies a go.

The Good

I got to read the story that I love again and hear about Elizabeth with her hang-ups on thinking that Mr. Darcy is stuck up and too prideful and how Mr. Darcy is slowly and gradually beginning to see more in Elizabeth than a woman who is lower than him with a family that is disgraceful. Truly, I will never get enough of this story over and over again.

There were some really funny moments thrown in with the addition of zombies and ninjas, katanas and daggers. The girls are trained in the arts to fight zombies and Catherine De Bourgh has ninjas at her disposal. Some funny 'asides' were in there about how people should be stabbed and beheaded and Elizabeth lifting her skirt despite decorum to dispatch zombies was just comical. Mr. Wickam getting a little more karma dealt to him than he did in the original was nice to read as well, though I actually would have enjoyed seeing that go a little further. Why couldn't he have been turned into a zombie? I would've liked that.

The Bad

Really, the writing is not that great other than the original Austen parts. This isn't a true book, it's a funny rendition of it that has zombies included. Take that as you will. If you LOVE Austen and would hate to see her work touched, you would definitely not enjoy this. If you LOVE Austen and want to hear the story again with crazy twists thrown in, then you can give it a go. Sadly, the characters did begin to lose a bit of themselves due to the extras because their main focus had turned into killing, and more killing and who are the better zombie killers. They stopped being true to form after a while since, of course, Austen's characters weren't prioritized with this. So while this was a funny novelty at first, I will warn that it begins to wear off except for some truly bigger moments after the first 3 chapters or so.


The Romance

Some of the romance scenes were changed to include physical altercations and after professing feelings for each other the pair had the opportunity to fight side-by-side at the end.


Conclusion

I'm glad that I read this, but I wouldn't read it a second time. It certainly had funny moments and was a neat twist on a story that I love, but I think I would have preferred more of a re-telling than this parody if truth be told.


Excerpts

"Certainly, my dear; but as to not meeting with many people in this neighborhood, I believe there are few neighborhoods larger. I know we dine with four-and-twenty families. Well, three-and-twenty, I suppose - God rest poor Mrs. Long's soul."

"You write uncommonly fast."
    "And you prattle uncommonly much."
"How many letters you must have occasion to write in the course of a year! Letters of business, too! How odious I should think them!"
    "And how odious indeed that I should so often suffer to write them in your company."
"Pray tell your sister that I long to see her."
   "I have already told her so once, by your desire."
"How can you contrive to write so even?"
   He was silent.
"Tell your sister I am delighted to hear her improvement on the harp; and pray let her know that I am quite in raptures with her beautiful little design for a table."
   "Miss Bingley, the groans of a hundred unmentionables would be more pleasing to my ears than one more word from your mouth. Were you not otherwise agreeable, I should be forced to remove your tongue with my saber."

"Mrs. Collins, you must send one of my ninjas with them. You know I always speak my mind, and I cannot bear the idea of two young women travelling by themselves. It is highly improper in times such as these. You must contrive to send somebody. Young women should always be properly guarded and attended, unless they are that rare sort of lady, like myself, who has been trained by the most respected masters in Japan - and not by those appalling Chinese peasants."

Monday, June 24, 2013

Teaser Tuesday [18] - BRAAAAIIIINNNSSS



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion


Teaser:

"You're...different, aren't you," she says. I don't respond. "Because I've never heard a zombie talk, other than 'Brains!' and all that silly groaning."

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Goodreads Summary:

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Review: World War Z by Max Brooks

Publisher: September 12, 2006 Crown
Genre: Dystopia, Horror
Format: Hardback
Source: borrowed from a friend

Goodreads Summary
Soon to be a major motion picture!

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.



"Don't worry, everything's going to be alright."


This book is written as an oral retelling of the history of the zombie war. It's a very different writing style than I'm used to, but worked perfectly for this type of story, making it unique and interesting. The book starts being told 12 years after the continental U.S. celebrated its victory, so you know how the story ends when it begins. The Chapters are laid out as 'Warnings', 'Blame', 'The Great Panic', 'Turning the Tide', 'Home Front USA', 'Around the World and Above', 'Total War', and 'Good-Bye'. Each Chapter has separate sections that are interviews with different survivors that have something to do with the Chapter's title.

The Good

What I liked most about this book is that it is very easy to read. You have these sections in the Chapters so you can read the full Chapters at a time if you'd like or you can easily stop after reading just one small section that's just a few pages long. The way the story is written is so unique because it's all done as a historically accurate view of a war that's happened. Interviews done with Generals, doctors, the Vice President, etc. from all parts of the world that show different viewpoints of what was happening in each field and in each country during the phases of the war.

It was so fascinating getting to learn about patient zero that started it all, the warning signs that were ignored, and the first encounters with something they never thought could exist. The different countries that were examined and the political aspects of everything that happened was incredibly realistic and well-researched. The book is so thought-provoking, making me often wonder what I would do in each of these survivor's situations. I'll tell you now that if zombies ever attack, it will be a terrifying thing. The fact that this enemy doesn't have to eat, breathe, or sleep even when your army has to, is a bad place to be in. Throw in the fact that when they take one of your soldiers, they are increasing their own ranks, then it becomes a spectacularly scary enemy to face. On top of the zombies they were up against, they also had to combat humans going crazy and acting like zombies (called quislings), children raised in the wild with no parents (called ferals), wild animals, rebels, and people called LaMOES that did anything they could to survive including shooting down anyone that came close, no matter if they were friendlies or the living dead.

Then I got to learn about the battle strategies, the zombies taking over the waters because they didn't have to breathe, and overall final skirmishes that ended the war. There was one really intriguing section all about how the army used dogs to help them win. They trained mutts to be scouts and decoys. Things like this were just really interesting to think about.

The Bad

You do already know the outcome of the story when it starts. While this wasn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion because I was invested in finding out what all happened, it could turn some readers off.

Some of the sections were by far more entertaining than others. I'll admit to skimming through a few that just weren't that important to me in terms of the outcome of the war or adding new information for what was happening in their world.


The Romance

Yeah, there's no romance in this book, though there is a section about "the greatest weapon a Russian woman can wield is her uterus." It was about rebuilding the population of the world now that the war was over. So, ummm, that was a little odd.


Conclusion

I was taken aback by how much I liked this book. I don't usually enjoy historical books in general and this is my first zombie book, so I'll admit to not expecting a lot out of it. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of information it held about a world racked by war, and the amazing accounts of survivors that included not just fights, but all aspects of how a world is affected, from the end of DVD players and whales to the population being united in a single shared experience. If you like zombies at all or reading a thought-provoking novel, then this is one you sure don't want to miss.

Excerpts

"Airholes...they really didn't know what was happening to their loved ones."

"Secrecy is a vacuum, and nothing fills a vacuum like paranoid speculation."

"If the rest of the world wasn't ready to believe something so outrageous, why should the men and women in this room?"

"For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth. That's the kind of enemy that was waiting for us beyond the Rockies. That's the kind of war we had to fight."

"Racism is a regrettable by-product of irrational emotion."

"The first casualty of the conflict must be our own sentimentality for its survival will mean our destruction."

"The more work you do, the more money you make, the more peons you hire to free you up to make more money. That's the way the world works. But one day it doesn't. No one needs a contract reviewed or a deal brokered, what it does need is toilets fixed. And suddenly that peon is your teacher, maybe even your boss. For some, this was scarier than the living dead."



I plan on going to see the movie sometime very soon. Will you be watching the movie?

Sunday Cover Scramble [22]



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 the end of the day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Also, let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more throughout the day if no one guesses it correctly. Here we go:


OK here are some hints for this one because I know it's pretty difficult:

1) It was in my Waiting on Wednesdays (I haven't read it yet)
2) The author's last name is something contestants say during game-shows when they don't know the answer
3) It's Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopia


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Sidekick Saturday [28] - Villain Among Villains

Sidekick Saturday
Sidekick Saturday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in this week's type
• Share a picture (if possible) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• Put your link in the Linky thing and comment

June 29th - Cocky (A July schedule will go up on the 29th also)

This week is Villain Among Villains

My choice is Queen Levana
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Queen Levana picture created by Jaclyn Canada

Queen Levana is a spectacular villain. She is so evil and not the least bit phased by it. Described as not being very beautiful naturally, but giving off a glamour that has people see her as the most beautiful person they have ever seen. With this glamour, she has auburn ringlets to her waist and onyx eyes set on a pale face, and she is even more evil simply because she doesn't look it. Attacking her niece in infancy, holding back a cure to a disease that is decimating a population (and thought to have helped start the disease), attacking people for the fun of it, and so much more that I can't say without spoiling the story. She is hard-core evil, holds no qualms about who she hurts just as long as it is not her personally, and doesn't even think twice about it. She also has a glamour that can make people do what she wants them to do immediately, so it is pretty terrifying to be around her.

Quotes:


“They said she knew when people were talking about her even thousands of miles away. Even down on Earth. They said she'd murdered her older sister, Queen Channary, so she could take the throne from her. They said she's had her own husband killed too so she would be free to make a more advantageous match."



“My father has been attempting to secure an alliance with Queen Levana since she first took the throne. She has always declined."



“Eventually, Your Highness, we will have to discuss Queen Levana and what you intend to do about her. It would be wise to have a plan."




“They said she had forced her stepdaughter to mutilate her own face because, at the sweet age of thirteen, she had become more beautiful than the jealous queen could stand. They said she'd killed her niece, her only threat to the throne. Princess Selene had only been three years old when a fire caught in her nursery, killing her nanny."

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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Feature and Follow [23] - Share Favorite Literary Quote


Alison Can Read Feature & Follow

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - This week's feature is: Rotten Apple Reads and Tsuki's Books
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

We have a new feature this week! It's a share. 

This week's share is: Share your favorite literary quote!


I am so often highlighting quotes in my Kindle that sometimes the pages look more yellow than white, but I love great quotes about basically any topic. Before I get into the great literary quotes, I need to give a nod to two quotes that I love that are just cultural quotes - the 'Insanity is...' quote by Albert Einstein and the 'I'm selfish...' quote by Marilyn Monroe.

Now, my favorite literary quote is:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." ~ Albus Dumbledore

and to add another about literature:
“There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature.” 
~ P.G. Wodehouse


If you are a new follower, I prefer Bloglovin or Email please! 
Thank you :D


Guest Post + Blog Tour: The Secret Side of Empty by Maria Andreu


Guest Post by Maria Andreu author of The Secret Side of Empty

Welcome to my stop on the tour for The Secret Side of Empty by Maria Andreu hosted by Worldwind Virtual Book Tours. I have a special guest post for you today and a wonderful entrance into a giveaway for a $250 Amazon gift card simply by liking her Facebook page. Check out the summary for The Secret Side of Empty. There is not a cover just yet.

COMING NEXT SPRING… The Secret Side of Empty
**Read about the book and scroll below for details on how to enter to WIN a $250 Amazon gift card just by liking the author’s Facebook page!**

Summary
You've heard the news stories.  Now hear the real story.
M.T. is starting her senior year with a lot going for her.  She gets great grades, has a best friend she met in kindergarten and a boyfriend who is sweet and into her.  But life – at least as she knows it – is about to end.
M.T. is what the news calls “illegal” – she came to the U.S. with her parents as a baby and never got the right papers that allowed her to stay.  She lives in fear of her family getting deported, in even more fear that she’ll have to go to the home country she doesn’t even remember, of people finding out her ugly secret and of the increasingly volatile situation at home.  When senior year is over, the protected world she’s found in her small parochial school will disappear.  Without a social security number, she won’t be able to go to college, get a job or, maybe worst of all, get a driver’s license.

But she’ll worry about all that later.  First, she’s got a senior year to take on.

The Secret Side of Empty

Guest Post


I like to joke that I was an overnight success that was 20 years in the making.  The “overnight success” part comes from the fact that I was signed by the first agency I pitched my young adult novel, The Secret Side of Empty.  (And what an agency too!  My book got pulled out of the slush pile by the same woman who discovered Twilight).  Once I got my agent, my book was sold in the first round in a multiple-offers situation.  The book will be out Spring, 2014.  The publishing fairy tale of every writer’s dreams.

The back story is a bit of a darker fairy tale, like one of the ones in which a troll comes to steal your first born or something like that.  I first wrote in my diary, “most of all, I want to be a writer,” when I was 12 years old.  I started my first novel then too (I’ll spare us all the indignity of digging that up).  Throughout college and beyond, I made fitful attempts at being a “real writer.”  I submitted short stories that literary journals took 8 months to reject.  I wrote for little local magazines.  I tried to find my way in to the publishing industry.

Success finally came in the most unexpected way.  I had kept a secret my whole life and it was one of the things of which I was most ashamed.  When I was a kid, I was an “illegal” (or, more accurately, an undocumented) immigrant.  My parents brought me over as a baby and overstayed their visa.  So although I had no hand in the decision, I was “illegal” in the only country I’ve ever called home.  That meant no social security number, no college, no job, no driver’s license… no life.  When I was 18 I was unbelievably lucky and became eligible for an amnesty, which put me on a road to citizenship.

For a long time I tried hard to forget it.  But, about 5 years ago, I had one of those “ah-ha” moments.  My dream of being a “real writer” could only come from telling the deepest truths I knew: and the story of what it’s like to be undocumented was one of them.  I was scared, but slowly I started to share my experiences.  I got a piece published in Newsweek, then another in the Washington Post and I finally realized I was on the right track.

I pitched my book first as a memoir, and got over 70 very lovely and polite rejections.  Finally, someone at a writer’s conference pointed out the obvious:  “The problem is that you’re trying to sell this as a book about an adult, but all the action happens when the protagonist is a teenager.”  Looking back on it now, I don’t understand how I didn’t see it sooner!  So I rewrote it as a young adult novel and pitched Writers House.  You read the rest of that fairy tale up above.

My experience with publishing has been many things: bruising, demoralizing, exhilarating, amazing.  I can see now why things were supposed to happen for me exactly the way they did.  I am very excited about sharing my first novel with people, and hope you’ll come Like my Facebook page to join me on the ride.


Author Maria Andreu


Maria Andreu is an author and immigration rights activist.  She lives in beautiful Bergen County, New Jersey with her two wonderful middle schoolers.  At the age of 12, she wrote in her diary, "Most of all, I want to be a writer."  Growing up undocumented and poor, she never imagined that dream might come true one day.  Her work has been published in Newsweek, The Washington Post and The Star Ledger and her first novel, The Secret Side of Empty, will be published by Running Press in Spring, 2014.


Find the Author: Goodreads | Facebook | Website | Twitter

A Note from the Author, Maria Andreu:
The fulfillment of great dreams feels best when shared, which is why I'm inviting people to Like my Facebook page and come along with me on the fabulous and improbable journey of publishing my first novel.  As my thanks, when you like the page by July 31st, you'll be able to enter to win a fan-only sweeps for a $250 Amazon gift card!

Be the first to get updates on the cover, new tour stops, and fan-only content (plus enter a sweeps for a $250 Amazon gift card) by liking the author's Facebook page here:  https://www.facebook.com/maria.andreu.books

The book is already getting industry buzz and news coverage, so Like the FB page to get updates on that as well.

I'd like to thank Maria for taking the time out to give us this wonderful post and opportunity for such a great gift card!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Harry Potter Moment of the Week [2] - Favorite Book 2 Moment


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.

This week is Favorite Book 2 Moment


“Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to get one that hits back.” 

Whomping Willow picture created by Jaclyn Canada


DNF: Pierced by J.C. Mells

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: April 9, 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Format: Kindle
Source: sent by author for honest review
Goodreads Summary
Imagine the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo meets Betty Crocker.

That's Pierce in a nutshell.

Pierce has been on the run for two years from the man who held her captive in a vampire compound for almost a decade. Life on the run would be a lot simpler if she didn't suffer from several social disorders and 'quirks', have a ten-year-old brat in tow, as well as have two characters from a 1945 classic film living in her head and guiding her at every turn.


I've never posted a DNF before, but I saw on Blkosiner's Book Blog, Brandi did a tasteful post about why she didn't necessarily like a book, but others did and felt like I could do something similar to it...so here goes.


Just because I DNF'd a book doesn't necessarily mean that the writing was bad or that someone else wouldn't enjoy it. I'd like to let everyone know why I stopped so that you can make your own mind up.

Pierced


This particular book I stopped at 63% through. In the beginning, I thought that I would really enjoy the character of Pierce. She remembers every single little detail of a memory, and it's very interesting. It started well, but quickly went into a slow-moving 'telling' session about who she is and why she is the way she is. I still easily worked through this part and felt it was probably necessary in the character building so I continued on with the story. When I made it to the action and meeting new characters about 30% of the way through, I was more excited because I felt like more would be coming, and I did get introduced to some unique new characters.

However, what really made me stop wasn't the writing or the characters, it was the subject matter. This was why the book wasn't for me. I don't want to get too spoilery so I will just say that a cursing 10 year-old, raw and tragic nightmares and flashbacks, frequent drug-use and mentions of sexual assault just hit a little too hard for me to continue with. This just wasn't a read for me. Plus, with all the mentions of food because she does really like to cook, and I'll be flat honest, I really don't - I had a hard time connecting with her on a positive level that I wanted to.

I do want to point out that on Goodreads currently there are 9 five-star reviews, 5 four-star reviews, and 1 three-star review for a total of a 4.53 rating right now. To have no reviews under 3 stars at the moment, and for me to be the only DNF is pretty significant. I don't have any personal friend reviews to share at the moment though.

If you have read it or know someone else that has, what are your thoughts on Pierced? If you haven't read it yet, do you think it will still be a book that you will enjoy?

Monday, June 17, 2013

Teaser Tuesday [17] - World War Z by Max Brooks



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

World War Z by Max Brooks


Teaser:

"A lot of drivers were trapped inside. Their doors were shut and, I'm assuming, locked. Their windows were rolled up, it was safety tempered glass. The dead couldn't get in, but the living couldn't get out."

Clutch - Just Junco #1 - by J.A. Huss
Goodreads Summary:

Soon to be a major motion picture!

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.


Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China


“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers


“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.” —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

Review: Fledge (I Am Just Junco #2) by J.A. Huss

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: October 1, 2012 Science Future Press
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Format: Kindle
Source: Won at Bookworm Brandee's

*Please note that it is very hard to review books past the first one in the series without having any spoilers at all. I will try to keep it as spoiler free as I can, but if you haven't read the first book in this series, you may just want to read that review instead of continuing with this one.
Goodreads Summary
Well-trained soldier or genetically engineered monster?

Junco Coot can’t even remember her trip off Earth; she was too busy being morphed into her new avian body. But reality hits her hard when she wakes up to find her new life is not what she expected. Not even close.

Tier is on trial for treason, the avian president wants her dead, her new military team is hostile, her body is being taken over by an illicit AI, and her only friend is a ten-year old throwaway boy.

In most places the avian Fledge ritual would be nothing more than mass murder, but here in the capital city of Amelia, it’s called growing up. Junco has two choices: fight to the death to prove her worth, or get sent back to Earth in the hands of her enemies.

In a foreign culture and surrounded by people she can’t trust or count on, Junco must find a way to save herself and Tier without losing her immortal soul in the process.

CONTENT WARNING - Just like CLUTCH, Book Two has lots of bad language and extreme violence. You've been warned. This series is NOT YOUNG ADULT.


"Trust no one, Junco. Show no weakness."


I agree that Junco cannot be held to a specific genre. This one did feel more sci-fi, but she has an urban fantasy feel to her character and there is a distinctive dystopian setting to Fledge.


The Good


Junco is such a wonderful character, and not because she's perfect because she often tells everyone they think she's something that she's not. She knows her flaws, her weaknesses, her strengths, and she works with all of them as well as she is able.

This story is filled with a lot. A ton of characters, many setting changes, and plenty of action. Some new characters that I greatly enjoyed were Ashur and Layla (though she is not in the story much). Others were just well-written and very mysterious. I never felt like Junco could trust any of them. There's a small undertone to each character that makes me think they could possibly do something crazy or bad to Junco at any moment and I love that 'edge-of-your' seat feeling.

I don't want to give too much of the story away, so I just want to say that there are multiple arena fights set in different places that added a lot of intensity and thrill to the story. Junco is constantly inspecting herself as a person, and questioning everything along the way.

The new world-setting was magical and horrible at the same time, but that's how Huss purposely paints it. There's a scene where Junco is taken to see something 'beautiful' and she winds up crying and heart-wrenched and to me, that's what the world is really about in Fledge - beauty surrounded by harshness.


The Bad


OK I have quite a gripe with Huss for the Tier story-line in this one. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but I love Tier and he's on almost five pages!!

I was also not a fan of how open Junco was with guys. Not that she just slept with a ton of them, but there is random kissing and lovie-dovie. The whole thing with Kush, I could have done without. I may not have followed the progression of his character well, but he's just kinda floating there in the beginning. He saved Junco's life once and by the end it's like they have some special connection I don't understand. There's all these pages of just his name mentioned because he's around and suddenly he's this huge important character. I'm with Ashur, "Why him, Junco?"

The Romance


Junco is apparently the shiny new toy that everyone wants. At one point, a man had to tell her he wasn't coming on to her since he was already attached because it's happened so much. There is some kissing and one scene, plus some fooling around. There is also an attempted sexual assault. However, any true romance is missing from this one.

Conclusion


I am fully immersed into this world and very much looking forward to reading the next one. Junco is a character that refuses to do what she's told, fights with all her heart, and holds nothing back. The world is full and well-written and there is so much action and mystery that it holds attention well. Definitely recommended.


Excerpts


“But for now I'd like to know how you came to be on my habitat when I gave a direct order to kill you two months ago.” 

“Well, Junco, Ashur is not the sanest guy in the Cluster. He's always been a little touched, don't take it personal.

"You can't fix it, Junco. The trial is a formality. He's going to be killed."

"Junco, if you refuse this offer to return to Earth you'll be sent to Fledge. Immediately."

"All warriors can heal, Junco. And you're dressed as one, so I'm assuming you are one." 



Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sunday Cover Scramble [21]



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 the end of the day to let you know if you are right, allowing other to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. If you need hints, I will only post covers of series talked about on my blog previously. Here we go: