Sunday, June 30, 2013

Top 5 Sundays - Best Books of 2013 so far!

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa's Bookish Life
Rules:


1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Feel free to use the Features image
4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.
5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)    

Top 5 Sundays - Best Books of 2013 so far!
 
I love each of these books because of how unique the stories and characters all are.  This group has some of the best characters that I’ve read in quite a while.  These stories are all surprising and I highly recommend reading all of them.



Saturday, June 29, 2013

Happy Birthday Tiny Reverse Vampire :)

Happy Birthday
Tiny Reverse Vampire :)

Here’s hoping you have a year of awesomeness, good things, and plenty of adventures.

Tiny Reverse Vampire and Bibliognome, the early years :)

Friday, June 28, 2013

Fairy Fable


Wish by Beth Bracken and Kay Fraser

* Provided by the publisher for review

3 out of 5 tiara wearing bats

This is a cute story.  I like the background it gives for the fae and some of the character explanations.  The artwork is amazing.  The plot is slightly simple and predictable but it is still an enjoyable read.

The main guy in the book is a neat character, a trickster type who kind of reminds me of Puck from Shakespeare.  I would definitely recommend this book for the younger crowd.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Sentence Sneak Peek - Wish

Wish by Beth Bracken and Kay Fraser

The first sentence from each chapter of Invisibility, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.
 
* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)
* ARC provided by the publisher for review

We are always together, Lucy and I.

Soli is like my sister.

After school, I run home through our shortcut in the woods.

It started when Jaleel and I walked home together.

In the woods, Soli was angry.

The faeries aren’t at all how I imagined them.

My whole life, my mother has left the faeries offerings.

There’s a rock in my hand when I wake up.

When we were five, we promised we’d be best friends forever.

Why are you here?

Lucy’s mother looks terrible.

Once we were in the woods, Lucy and I, playing a game.

When you think of faeries, you think of light.

In the forest, I stop running.

The guard throws me back into the cold stone room where Kheelan still waits.

I cry myself to sleep on the stone floor of Queen Calandra’s prison.

I’m here.

It seems like hours pass in the cold, cobwebby silence of our cell.

After Kheelan escapes, the guards take me to Queen Calandra.

She sends me back to my cell, empty now without Kheelan there.

Kheelan and I walk for miles.

The queen shoots angry looks at me as the guard pushes me into her chambers.

Night is falling again.

Here is the story the willow queen tells me.

I’m starting to think we’ll never reach the Black Lake.

The water is cold.

Here is the story Caro tells me.

I am soaking wet when I climb out of the water.

Kheelan and I run.

At first, the queen looks shocked.


I look my mother in the eye, but she can’t meet my gaze.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

"Waiting On" Wednesday - White Trash Zombie Apocalypse

"Waiting On"  Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on...  

White Trash Zombie Apocalypse by Diana Rowland
 

Release Date - July 2, 2013

Check out the description from Barnes & Noble:

"Our favorite white trash zombie, Angel Crawford, has enough problems of her own, what with dealing with her alcoholic, deadbeat dad, issues with her not-quite boyfriend, the zombie mafia, industrial espionage and evil corporations. Oh, and it’s raining, and won’t let up.

But things get even crazier when a zombie movie starts filming in town, and Angel begins to suspect that it’s not just the plot of the movie that's rotten. Soon she's fighting her way through mud, blood, bullets and intrigue, even as zombies, both real and fake, prowl the streets.

Angel’s been through more than her share of crap, but this time she’s in way over her head. She’ll need plenty of brainpower to fit all the pieces—and body parts—together in order to save herself, her town, and quite possibly the human race."

Now this is such a fun series. I love how these books pretty much rewrite how zombies work and really make the zombie main character into somebody to root for.  I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in this epic sounding book.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Unremembered - A Memorable Tale

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

*spoilers are highlighted like so :)
 
3 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes

This book has a great concept.  Memories are a lot of what makes us who we are and imagining just everything being a blank slate is pretty crazy.  When she starts finding out more about who she is, things get 

Having this all encompassing amnesia where you don’t even remember things like grocery stories would be downright terrifying but that’s what the main character in this story goes through.  She has a hard time connecting with anyone and understanding some basic concepts.  Her character continues to grow though into someone that you can really root for.  I hope this character succeeds but the odds are not exactly in her favor.

The Good
How she interacts with people.  She looks like a supermodel and has violet eyes so she’s noticed wherever she goes and she's more or less a walking fantasy for any thirteen year old boy.  There's a reason she doesn't want to be noticed though, people are after her. 

The Okay
Some of the reasoning behind what she does and why she does it is a tad weird.  I wish things had been explained sooner and that the hint about something of importance at the end wasn't so very obvious.  Plus why on earth if you're from the future would you choose the year 1609, I don't care if it's romantic just think of the horrible hygiene and medical care.  With there luck she'll probably be burned as a witch or something.

The ending...let’s just say that it either leads into an awesome sequel or a rather messy beginning.  This book is definitely worth checking out especially if you like stories with plenty of twists. 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Sentence Sneak Peek - Unremembered

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

The first sentence from each chapter of Unremembered, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

The water is  cold and ruthless, lapping against my cheek.

Today is the only day I remember.

Mystery continues to cloud the tragic crash of Freedom Airlines flight 121, which went down over the Pacific Ocean yesterday evening after taking off from Los Angeles Interna-tional Airport on a nonstop journey to Tokyo, Japan.”

I wake up the next morning feeling drowsy.

“The only reason we didn’t tell you about it,” Dr. Schatzel says as he dances his hands around in some kind of apologetic gesture, “is that we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

It takes a little over an hour, but my locket is finally brought to me in the late morning.”

It’s been five days since the crash and they’ve finally agreed to release me.”

The Carlsons tell me they live in an old ranch house that was built in the early 1900s.”

I am back in the crowd.

Today Heather has to go to something called a supermarket to buy food for Cody’s return.”

Heather and Scott’s son is home when we return from the supermarket.”

Heather and Scott try to make conversation with me during dinner but I’m not really there.”

It’s still dark outside when we leave the house.

The bus isn’t smooth like the car we took from the hospital.

From the station in downtown Los Angeles, we take a public bus to the airport.”

Cody has not stopped talking since we left the airport.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”

The mall is a crazy place.

My instincts take over and I do the first thing that comes to mind.”

Heather says Scott wants us to meet him in town for dinner.

Night has long since fallen but the house is still awake.

I don’t know where to go so I just start down the road that Cody and I took to the bus station yesterday morning and Heather drove to get to the supermarket and to the mall.”

I hear a voice.

I wake to the sound of clanking metal.

The dry, faded leaves crunch beneath my feet as they pound the dirt floor of the forest.”

The gun slips from my hand and lands on the floor with a loud thud.”

“Close your eyes,” Zen instructs me.

My body and mind are exhausted and craving sleep but I don’t want to stop.”

His answer punches me in the chest.

I’m on a beach.

The sun is bright in the sky when I awake.

I watch as Cody carefully steps over several unconscious bodies lying on the floor, bending down to examine each of their faces.”

“Where are we going?”

I heed his advice.

I don’t have any sort of disguise to shield myself from inquisitive stares and wandering eyes, so I find a table in the back, pull my hair down around my face, and try to keep my head low to avoid eye contact with anyone.”

My heart is pounding.

“Are you going to answer it?”

I rise from my chair and dash toward the front door of the coffee shop, shoving it open with my shoulder and exiting onto the street.”

The air outside is warm and dry.

I wake to the feeling of the cold hard ground beneath me.

1609.

“For the last time,”I hear a voice yell, “I’m not a kid!

Maxxer’s car is parked in a dimly lit garage next to the storage facility.”

As I start to run, gaining speed by the second, I feel the cool prick of moisture on my cheeks.”

I close my eyes and surrender to the pull of the abyss.

I stare, aghast, at Rio’s lifeless figure.

When I open my eyes we’re standing at the mouth of the cave, looking over the edge into the abyss.”