Sunday, September 15, 2013

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)Title:The Raven Boys (Click Title for Synopsis)
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Scholastic, September 18, 2012




My Thoughts:

     It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve been in a pretty bad reading slump as of late, which is evident in the lack of reviews showing up on the blog.  So, I’ve been searching around for a book to get me interested in reading again.  In the end I decided to give something that a lot of people seemed to love, a try.  That’s how I ended up buying The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.

     The Raven Boys, for me, teetered on the edge between just ok and absolutely spectacular, but just couldn’t tip the scales in its favor.  Don’t get me wrong.  The Raven Boys by far is not the worst book I’ve read this year, but it just didn’t wow me.  I liked it well enough, but the first half of the story felt a little slow and the descriptions just weren’t there for me.  I had a hard time visualizing what was going on and where it was happening. 

     Now on to what I did like about The Raven Boys.  Stiefvater did a nice job with the characterization, and I was immediately interested in finding out more about Gansey and his friends.  Noah was mysterious to say the least, Ronan was just angry about something we seemingly know nothing about yet, and Adam, well his life is less than exultant.  Blue’s family was also a nice addition to the story, and I liked seeing the way they conducted themselves…as psychics.  But by far, my favorite character in the story was Chainsaw, she was adorable.

     There were a few twists, but nothing that I wasn’t already suspicious of.  I think the overall idea surrounding the events in The Raven Boys was ok.  Would I read the sequel The Dream Thieves?  Hmm I’m not sure, possibly, but only because I want to know more about Ronan and how Chainsaw fits into all of this. {Actual rating is 3.5}

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Excerpt &Giveaway: Fire and Flood by VIctoria Scott

     So, today we have the opportunity of revealing the first look at Victoria Scott's upcoming book, Fire and Flood.  Scroll down to reach the excerpt & the giveaway below.
 

Fire & Flood
FIRE & FLOOD by Victoria Scott
Scholastic, February 2014
First Excerpt

I drove across the US of A, left my family without an explanation, and now I’m either too late or there was never anything here to begin with. F my life. Rearing back, I kick the door as hard as I can. Then I wrap both hands around the door handles and release a noise like a wild banshee as I pull back. 

The doors swing open.
I’m not sure whether to celebrate or freak out. I decide to do neither and slip inside. As I walk around the inside of the museum, listening to the sound of my footsteps echo off the walls, I imagine I am moments from death. It’s sad, I think, that this is all it takes to break my sanity.

Two curling flights of stairs bow out from the first-floor lobby, and red and white tiles cover the floors. There are gilded picture frames everywhere. So many that I think the placement of the frames — and not their contents — is the real art. Everything, absolutely everything, smells like wax. I mosey up to an abandoned reception desk and leaf through the glossy pamphlets littering the surface. I hold one of the pamphlets up to my nose. Yep, wax.

I glance around, having no idea what to look for. Will there be a sign like at school registration? Students with last names A–K this way?
On my left, I notice a long hallway dotted with doors on either side. Nothing looks particularly unusual. But when I glance to my right, I spot something. There’s a door at the end of the corridor that has a sliver of light glowing beneath it. I’m sure it’s just an administration office, one where someone forgot to flip the switch. But I’ve got nothing better to go on, so I head toward it. 

I pause outside the door, wondering if I’m about to get busted for B&E. Then I turn the handle and find myself at the top of another winding staircase. 

You’ve got to be kidding me. What is this, Dracula’s bachelor pad?

I’ve watched a lot of scary movies, and I’ve learned nothing good is ever at the bottom of a winding staircase. Pulling in a breath and preparing myself to be eaten alive, I head down. My shoes are loud against the steps. So loud, I imagine they are intentionally trying to get me killed. 

When I reach the final few stairs, I ready myself to look around the bend. My heart is racing, and I secretly pray the worst I encounter is an angry janitor with a wax addiction. I turn the bend — and my eyes nearly pop from my skull.

The enormous room is perfectly circular, dotted with candles to light the space. Surrounding the walls are rows and rows of dark, rich mahogany bookshelves. A large round table stands in the center of the red-and-white-tiled floor. The room is spectacular, but what it holds is so jarring, my ears ring. 

Across every shelf, every spot on the table, every tile on the floor — are small sculptures of hands. And in a few of those hands — the ones still performing their duty — are eggs. There are only nine eggs left, it seems. For a moment, I imagine how amazing it would have been to see each hand holding an egg, but it’s enough just to see these nine. 

The eggs seem to dance in the candle flame, and as I move closer, I realize why. The surfaces of the eggs are almost iridescent, their colors changing depending on how you look at them. They are different sizes, too; some as big as a basketball, others as small as a peach. 

I don’t need the device in my pocket to tell me what my gut already knows. 

This is the Pandora Selection Process.

     Wasn't that fantastic?  I thought so. So below is a Rafflecopter form, and all you have to do is follow the instructions to be entered.  Up for grabs is a finished copy of THE DARK UNWINDING (US only) from Scholastic & THE KILLING WOODS (UK only) from Chicken House!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Allure by Lea Nolan

Today, we're celebrating the cover reveal of Allure, the sequel to Lea Nolan's Conjure, coming October 1st from Entangled Teen!


Eek, oh my god, I absolutely love this cover!  It should come as no surprise that I’m a total sucker for gorgeous covers, and Allure by Lea Nolan is in no shortage of gorgeousness. 

Synopsis


Worst. Summer. Ever.

Emma Guthrie races to learn the hoodoo magic needed to break The Beaumont Curse before her marked boyfriend Cooper's sixteenth birthday. But deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry, dark, mysterious forces encroach, conspiring to separate Emma and Cooper forever. When Cooper starts to change, turning cold and indifferent, Emma discovers that both his heart and body are marked for possession by competing but equally powerful adversaries.

Desperate to save him, Emma and her twin brother, Jack, risk their lives to uncover the source of the black magic that has allured Cooper and holds him in its grip. Face with the horror of a soul-eating boohag, Emma and Jack must fight to resist its fiendish power to free Cooper long enough to join their strengths and face it together, before it destroys them all.


Praise for Conjure

"Richly filled with exquisite imagery, a compelling story, and a strong, smart heroine, Conjure will keep you up way past your bedtime." ~ Trinity Faegen, author of The Mephisto Covenant series

"A true adventure, complete with pirates, romance, a flesh-eating curse, and ancient magic. I couldn't put it down!" ~ Inara Scott, author of The Talents (Delcroix Academy) series

"Ifthere is one book teens and adults should have on their must read list, Conjure is it! Fans of young love and adventure will hurry to the end of each chapter, in anticipation of what will happen next. Unfolding at an easy pace, this tale is magical and spellbinding. Nolan is one to watch!" ~ RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Stars Top Pick

"Conjure is a sweet, adventure-packed romp for young teen readers... There are pirates, lost treasure, curses, and ancient curses, chases, narrow escapes, and secret letters galore." ~ New York Journal of Books

"This is an unexpected read: exciting, dangerous, adventurous - everything we want from a good book. Yet Nolan puts that creative twist on all the elements, making Conjure something special. Conjure is recommended, 4 out of 5 stars." ~ Teen Librarian's Toolbox

About the Author

Lea Nolan couldn’t read until the third grade. After a lot of hard work she finally got the hang of it and quickly learned the best way to get out of doing chores was to tell her parents she was reading. Soon she was hooked, devouring books by Roald Dahl, E.B. White, Judy Blume, C.S. Lewis, and anything with a shiny Newberry Award sticker on the cover. Books provided a portal to enchanted lands where anything was possible and characters relied on their wits to wiggle out of sticky situations. Today, even though she’s all grown up, Lea writes the kinds of stories she sought as a teen--smart paranormals with bright heroines, crazy-hot heroes, diabolical plot twists, plus a dose of magic, a draft of romance, and a sprinkle of history. She holds degrees in history and women’s studies concentrating in public policy and spent fifteen years as a health policy analyst and researcher. She lives in Maryland with her heroically supportive husband and three clever children, who’ve figured out how to get out of doing their chores.


Giveaway

Enter the giveaway below to win one of the first five electronic ARCs of Allure from Entangled Teen!

 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Blog Blitz: Sweet Legacy by Tera Lynn Childs Mini Excerpt & Giveaway

     Hi everybody, welcome to the Blog Blitz for Sweet Legacy by Tera Lynn Childs! Before we get to the good stuff, I want to say a huge thank you to Tera Lynn Childs for allowing me to be one of the Blog Blitz hosts. So yeah, thank you! And now for why you’re here, below you’ll find information on Sweet Legacy, buy links, author links, a mini excerpt, and finally a massive giveaway. Excited yet? I know I am. Scroll down for more…
 

Sweet Legacy

Blurb
Greer has always known she was privileged, though she had no idea how special her second sight made her, even among her triplet monster-fighting sisters. But when a god starts playing with her mind, can Greer step up in her pretty high heels to prevent anything from stopping her sisters’ mission?

Grace loves her adopted brother, Thane, but now that he’s back and has joined her sisters’ team, it’s clear his past is full of dark mysteries. She wants to trust him, but will Thane’s secret put the girls in even more danger?

Gretchen knows she can rely on her sisters to help her stop the monsters. But after getting to know some of the beasties in the abyss, she finds her role as a huntress comes with more responsibility than she ever imagined. How can she know what her birthright demands of her now?

The girls cannot hesitate as they seek the location of the lost door between the realms, even as monsters and gods descend on San Francisco in battle-ready droves. In this exciting conclusion to the Sweet Venom trilogy, these teenage heirs of Medusa must seek the truth, answer the ancient riddles, and claim their immortal legacy

Buy Links 
Indiebound (hardcover) Amazon (hardcover | kindle) Apple (ibookstore)
Barnes & Noble (hardcover | nook) Books-a-Million (hardcover) Book Depository (hardcover)
Links for Tera Lynn Childs
 
Mini Excerpt
“I saw it.“ My voice is barely a whisper. I don’t want Grace to overhear, but I need to say it out loud to Thane.
Even if he already knows.
I can’t stop the tears stinging at eyes. “I saw you save her. Back in the apartment, when you said you wanted to come with us. I saw precisely what just happened. I knew you were going to save Grace.“ I blink away the moisture. “I didn’t know you were going to save me.“
“I know.“
That is the craziest part. He does know.
“But how?“ I ask.
I have no idea how or why I see what I see. The entire process is a mystery that feels more like chance than skill. I know I inherited Medusa’s power of second sight, while Gretchen got Sthenno’s super strength and Grace got Euryale’s autoporting ability. I know that I have visions of things and those visions are coming true. I have no control over it, not yet. And I have no idea how Thane fits into the picture.
“How?” I repeat.
“Greer, I—“ His gray eyes shadow over. “It’s complicated.”
“I have an IQ of 154. Try me.”
He takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye. “I … don’t know how to.”
 

     Ok, and now for the giveaway which is US/Canada only. Just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win one of the awesome prizes from Tera Lynn Childs! 

 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

ARC Review: Relic by Renee Collins

RelicTitle: Relic
Author: Renee Collins
Publisher/Publication Date:  Entangled Teen, August 27, 2013
Format/Source: E-ARC, Publisher
Age Range: YA

AMAZON     BARNES & NOBLE     GOODREADS





Summary from Goodreads

After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries. Read More

My Thoughts

After reading the summary of Relic by Renee Collins, I was really excited to read the book. I was intrigued by the Old West setting, so I eagerly took the plunge but was disappointed to find that the story wasn’t as I’d imagined. The history pertaining to the power of  relics was interesting, but when considering that this book was categorized as a young adult novel, I just couldn’t get over some of the content. In the beginning it seemed like Maggie was evolving into a strong heroine. After she was faced with the tragedy of losing her parents, it seemed that Maggie had started to overcome adversity as she found a job as a hostess at a saloon and cared for her sister. Okay, so here’s the problem, Maggie was only 16, and she worked in a saloon that employed dancers who also worked as prostitutes. The behavior of her boss, Connelly, can be described as nothing less than repugnant. He had a crass attitude and treated the young female employees like property and a paycheck. I personally found Connelly’s behavior so distasteful that I did not finish this book.
 
I received an e-arc of Relic by Renee Collins from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, thank you.
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