In My Mailbox (4)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren where you can share what books you got this week.

I only got one book this week an ARC from Netgalley:

Pure by Julianna Baggott

What did you get in your Mailbox this week?

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where you can showcase the book you are eagerly waiting for.

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Series: Across the Universe #2
Expected Publication Date: January 10, 2012 - Razorbill

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. 


It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

 I really loved Across the Universe, plus it was the first Science Fiction YA book I read. I'm eager to see what happens next with Amy and Elder. 

What are you waiting for?

In My Mailbox (3)

 In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren where you can share the books you got during the week. 

I went to the library again! I really do love the library even if I might not have a change to read all of these it's nice to know I can check them out again.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephani Perkins

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

Corsets & Clockwork Anthology

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

Dear Bully Anthology

I won one book from a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway:

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

What books did you get in your mailbox this week?

Tempest Review

Tempest by Julie Cross

Series: Tempest #1

Expected Publication Date: January 17, 2012 - St. Martin's Griffin 

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

*I received this ARC through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

When I first began Tempest I thought "Oh, this is like Jumper" (the movie with Hayden Christenson) then I thought "Wait, no it's definitely not!".  Trust me the only thing remotely similar is that Jackson calls time-traveling "jumping" other than that there really is no similarity. Jackson is moving through time not just from location to location. Tempest is like a YA version of The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (which I highly recommend). There is so much more to this book than the love story between Jackson and Holly. There is a struggle between Jackson and his father as well as Jackson coming to terms with his sister Courtney's death. Jackson having to come to terms with his own abilities and what those abilities mean for him and the people around him. There are underlying issues of morality and ethics; war and the significance of human life.

If you thought Tempest would be just another YA book with some supernatural aspect, then you were wrong. Although the supernatural aspect is at the forefront of the book (a huge element of the plot) it is not the only thing that defines the main character. Jackson is a very compassionate boy and we go through a large series of emotions with him. Even though this is the beginning of a Trilogy Jackson is already growing within the first book, and I find that amazing and a sign of a great author. Usually the beginning of a character's growth starts at the end of the first book within a series, but with Jackson it is through out the first book and the start of a significant change at the end (I really hope that makes sense).

I cried and laughed (out loud) and my heart really went out to Jackson for everything he has to go through. I'm not sure I would be able to handle the same choices that he has to make, because he has to consider more than just how he will be affected by his decisions. Tempest truly stands alone in the sea of YA books on the market right now. I haven't experienced anything like it, and I believe readers will appreciate something different. 

The only fault in Tempest is that we are thrown into the middle of chaos (small chaos) at the beginning of the book and it was very confusing as to what was going on. Plus, I was let down that we didn't have a real description of what Jackson looks like. We know what the other characters look like because Jackson describes them, and we have small hints of what he looks like but I had trouble trying to imagine him in the way the author wanted me to. Although, maybe it's better that we get to imagine him in the way we want to.

Overall, I can see why this book is creating such buzz, and why Summit Entertainment would buy the book even though it hasn't been released yet. It will be interesting to see what a film adaptation will bring to this book. 

Will you read Tempest?

Cover News

Kiersten White shares the cover of Endlessly!

 What do you think of Endlessly's cover?

I really, REALLY love it!! I love Evie's dress and the background. The color is beautiful. Out of all three it's probably my favorite!

Diana Peterfreund shares the cover of For Darkness Shows the Stars!

 

What do you think of this cover?

I think it's gorgeous! I love how her dress blends in with the starry background. Very, very pretty!

 

The Pledge Swag Giveaway

I have something very exciting for everyone!! 

Kimberly Derting was kind enough to allow me to be apart of her Street Team for The Pledge. That means I have some awesome swag to give away! Here's what's going to happen, two people are going to win some awesome swag and one person will win a paperback copy of The Body Finder plus some swag. So how do you win? Easy! Just enter the Giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below! 

Here's the swag:

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Series: The Pledge #1

Expected Publication Date: November 15th 2011

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime

Sirensong Review

Sirensong by Jenna Black

Series: Faeriewalker #3

Published: July 5th 2011 - St. Martin's Press

Rating: ♥♥♥

When Dana is invited to Faerie to be officially presented at the Seelie Court, it’s no easy decision. After all, everyone knows Titania, the Seelie Queen, wants her dead. But Titania claims not to be the one behind the death threats; and her son, Prince Henry, makes the decision a whole lot easier when he suggests Dana might be arrested for (supposedly) conspiring with her aunt Grace to usurp the Seelie throne. So she and her father better do as they're told . . . 

The journey through Faerie is long—and treacherous. Dana thought it would be a good idea to have friends along, but her sort-of-boyfriend, Ethan, and her bodyguard’s son, Keane, just can’t seem to get along, and Kimber’s crush on Keane isn’t making things any easier. When a violent attack separates Dana from their caravan, the sexy Erlking saves her just in the nick of time . . . and makes it clear that he hasn’t given up on making her his own. 

Arriving at Titania’s beautiful palace should be a relief. But Dana is soon implicated in an assassination attempt against Titania’s granddaughter, and is suddenly a fugitive, forced to leave her father behind as she and her friends flee for their lives. Will she be able to prove her innocence before the forces of the Seelie Court—or, worse, the Erlking—catch up with her? And will she save her father before he pays the ultimate price in her stead?

 I loved the first two books in the Faeriewalker trilogy by Jenna Black so I had high hopes for Sirensong. I waited impatiently for my local library to acquire a copy so that I could check it out at the first chance I got (which was way later than I anticipated). So you can see how much I wanted to read this book. I will try not to be spoilery in this review but if you haven't read the first two books then this is my warning because I will be talking about the first two books.

I was eager to find out what would happen between Ethan and Dana because of the Erlking's agreement with Dana. How are they going to get around that? Will Dana eventually give in to the Erlking and give up her Faeriewalker powers? This book starts off with Dana finding out that she has been requested to visit Titania at the Seelie Court. Even though she doesn't want to go her father insists. While at court Dana is accused of trying to kill Titania's granddaughter. Dana, Ethan, Kimber and Keane flee in the hopes of making it to Avalon before the Knights can catch them.

There were some very good moments between Ethan and Dana but they didn't give me the same fluttery feeling I got from their encounters in the previous books. It was still cute and flirty but just not the same for me. There is a new development between Kimber and Keane which I have some odd feelings about. I'm not sure if I really believe what the book is trying to sell me. There was plenty of action to keep me on the edge of my seat because of their journey away from the castle. I felt like there was something missing, it wasn't predictable exactly but it felt generic. 

The climax and resolution of the book didn't do a lot for me. I didn't experience any intense emotions like I did in Shadowspell. Everything seemed to happen very easily. There wasn't a lot of struggle for everything to be resolved, almost as if it wasn't planned out very well. Also it happened within a few pages. Since this is the last book I expected everything to end with a bang! The good thing about the ending is that we do see Dana complete her arch as a character. She grows and changes through out the series and we see her finally accept things at the end of the book. 

Overall, it was fun to read and I'm still glad I found out how it ended. Plus I really like the cover of this book. I liked all of the covers but this one is my favorite. If you haven't read this series I do recommend it because it is different from any other Fae book I've read.