Monday 30 July 2012

♥Cover Candie of the Month♥

This Month's Cover Candie-The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Release Date: April 2nd/2013
Pages: 352
Goodreads

Here is August's Cover Candie! I fell in love with the cover as soon as I seen it, so I decided right then and there that was going to be the next month's Cover Candie. Since August is only like a day a half away (for us Canadians, anyway!) I thought I might as well post it now, rather than later :) I can't wait to get my hands on this one for sure! Hope you guys like it just as much as I do!

What It's About!

Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.

England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny.

Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.

Filled with lush atmosphere, thrilling romance, and ancient magic, The Sweetest Dark brilliantly captures a rich historical era while unfolding an enchanting love story that defies time.



 

Friday 27 July 2012

Stacking The Shelves
 Meme hosted and created by Tynga's Reviews
Here are the books I have received within the last month. Some I have already read and reviewed, so you should check them out :) Hopefully I can get a good few books read on my holidays coming up soon!
What did you get in your mailbox in the past little while? Anything exciting? Leave a comment below and let me know! :)
Purchased: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
For Review: Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer ARC (Huge thanks to Penguin Canada!)


For Review:  
The Possesion of Cassie Quinn by Kathryn Knutson (Huge thanks to the author!)
Vision by Galen Snowden & Cathy Newcomb (Huge thanks to the authors!)
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (Huge thanks to Penguin Canada!)




Purchased:
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Supernaturally by Kiersten White

From Netgalley:
Mystic City by Theo Lawrence
The Pack-Retribution by LM Preston
Covet (Crave #2) by Melissa Darnell
Better Than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass
Spellbinding by Maya Gold
Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Confessions of An Angry Girl by Louise Rozett
Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry



Thursday 26 July 2012

Mystic City Review

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Publisher: Random House Children's Books 
Release Date: October 9th/2012
Pages: 366 
*An ARC was provided by Netgalley for review*

What It's About! 

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.  
Review

This is the BEST book I have read since the Hunger Games! Mystic City has also been compared to Matched, X-Men and Blade Runner, but I think it can also be compared to Divergent. It's kind of funny, because I didn't look at this book on goodreads or anywhere else until I read it, for I was so excited when I got the chance to read and review it, that I didn't want to come across any spoilers or bad reviews that would dampen my excitement. So when I looked on goodreads and it had been compared to these books, I totally agreed because the Hunger Games and Matched, had also come to mind mind as soon as I started reading it.

Holy. Freaking. EPIC!

I fell in love so hard with Mystic City. It took me for a whirlwind that I wasn't expecting and I loved every minute of it. Aria was a very well done, thought out, strong lead character. In the beginning of the book, she can't remember anything from the past 2 weeks or so, and even though everyone tells her one thing, it just doesn't add up to how she feels and her memories don't feel quite like her own. As I got further into the novel, truths start to unfold and lies begin to unravel. Aria learns the truth about her parents, her family, and who her real feelings are really for, along with everything else that's going on. It's a war between "species" in this whirlwind action-packed laced with romance novel.

Not everyone turns out to be who we think they are, one or two even bounce back and forth. Like for instance, this one character who appears to be someone, makes us think they are something totally different but at the very end, reveals who they really are. It's a whole roller coaster of knowing who's who and who can actually be trusted.  The whole novel as a whole was such a fast paced, fun ride with some forbidden romance thrown in. The romance between Aria and Hunter was one of the main things I loved about this book, it made me want to keep turning the page because I was so eager for more. I would trade Aria places any day! Their romance is so deep and passionate but it didn't make you wanna hurl. We lose some beloved characters, which made me almost cry, and some of the trusted ones really warmed me from the inside out in what they did to protect Aria.
It seemed like there were secrets around every corner and almost nothing was as it seemed. Even Aria's memories were not as they seemed. There were many surprises, some predictable, with some that weren't. Together they made for the perfect story. When I got to the last chapter or two, I really tried to drag it out because of how badly I didn't want it to end. I'm not positive yet, if there is going to be a second novel to Mystic City, but by the way this one ended, it sounds like there will be. I really hope to freaking god there's going to be a second one, or someone is going to lose a limb! I MUST find out what is going to become of Aria and Hunter and if their love will survive what they are probably gonna have to go through.

If you love the Hunger Games, or any of the other novels listed above, you will for sure probably fall in love just as much with Mystic City! At least give it a try, I couldn't put it down! 





Wednesday 25 July 2012

♥Wishlist Wednesday♥

Cold Fury (Book #1) by T.M. Goeglein 

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: July 24/2012
Pages: 313 

What It's About! 

Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos in this breathtaking adventure
Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).
Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.
Action packed, with fresh, cinematic writing, Cold Fury is a riveting and imaginative adventure readers will devour. 


 

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Guest Post: A Review by Ellen Wookey

Ellen's Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Publisher: Clay Grouse Press 
Release Date: March 5th/2012
Pages: 204

What It's About!

In Troubled Times, a Song of Hope At the age of seven, during Hitler's rise to power, Sonia Korn-Grimani was officially declared an enemy of the German State. After a perilous escape to the Belgian border, she witnessed the chaos and carnage of the Battle of Belgium. She lived with her family in the shadows, fleeing and hiding from persecution until being placed in an orphanage. There she lived with more than twenty other Jewish children, all disguised as a Catholic orphans, and all kept near starvation.

Sonia forged triumph out from these tragedies with unshakable tenacity and beguiling charm, a life chronicled in the new book Sonia's Song. She sang to the delight of audiences throughout the world, became an international sensation of radio and television, tutored French to a Queen, and was named a Chevalier by the French Government.

Sonia's Song follows this remarkable woman's transformation, starting from her childhood in Germany and Belgium in the 1930's and 40's, continuing post-war to Australia and Malaysia, and touching on her life in modern France and the Americas.

"Sonia Korn-Grimani has told the story of courage and the incredible indomitable spirit of a mother who refused to have her children become victims," said Congressman Tom Lantos about the foreign-language editions of the book in 1999. "As a Holocaust survivor, myself, I lived many moments of this powerful tale. The sights, sounds, and smells were very real."

As current events remind us, morality and the fundamental convictions of individuals are severely tested by the chaos of war. At a tender age, as Sonia witnessed the horrific struggles of Jews, she was confronted with the complex philosophical question: is a person who saves lives while exploiting them praiseworthy? This dilemma is one of many in this compelling narrative, where innocence and evil battle for control. Sonia's Song is the complex, true story of one refugee's success over all odds, and shows us how heroes may not always be what they seem.

Ellen's Review

 Sonia is Holocaust survivor. Sonia’s Song is not about the camps that so many people were shipped off to and slaughtered. Sonia’s Song is an adventure of survival in a world full of fear and death. Sonia Korn-Grimani tells of her life from the age of three to present day.
I felt part of Sonia‘s life while reading. I had no right to feel part of it as I will never know the pain that Sonia experienced as she grew up in a world full of WAR.
I balled my eyes out. It hurts my heart to see how the world was. There are many photographs in Sonia’s Song that brings the book so much closer to reality as you get to know each new person and place.
This book brings a new view to the world of survival during troubled times. If you read it you will be taken back in time, and truly get to know what Sonia has gone through and how she and her family physically survived the Holocaust.



You can follow and/or add Ellen Wookey to Goodreads, Twitter, and follow her on our Addicted To Novels facebook page! 


Monday 23 July 2012

Someone Like You Review

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: May 11th/2004
Pages: 281

What It's About!
 

  Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

                                    
  
 Review

Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors and she never lets me down. I've had this book sitting on my shelf for (literally..sadly..) a few years, and I just now read it. I've read most of her other books except for one or two. Someone Like You turned out to be one of my favorites out of all her books, and that's saying something, considering how much I freaking love her other books! 

Someone Like You isn't totally what I was expecting. I guess I expected to be more like the cover (silly me!) but it was still really good. As with most of her books, the main character, Halley, went through a couple life lessons that she definitely had to learn the hard way. One she learned through her best friend, but others she learned for herself. Like the "amazing" Macon, her new boyfriend. Ya, he turns out to not be so amazing. It was totally predictable, but so relate-able too, since it seems like every girl has to go through the experience with that One Guy, you know, the one that's a total jerk and everyone but you can see it? And of course your parents hate him but you just like him so much you can't listen to anything anybody says, therefore finding out the hard way he's not who you thought he was. Well, that's what happens to Halley. I felt like I went right through that experience with her.

While that little drama was unfolding, Halley's best friend Scarlett is going through a pregnancy, and her boyfriend died right at the beginning of the book so she goes through the whole thing alone, with Halley. So we pretty much get to know Scarlett's boyfriend through her, in a way. 

This book really tugged at my heart, with everything Scarlett and Halley go through. Especially the way Halley got crushed after Macon turned out to be such a jerk. It wasn't as slow as I was expecting it to be. It really pulled me in, made me feel everything the characters were feeling and I just loved it. It was the perfect summer novel. By the end I was practically in tears, it was just so beautiful. Everything came together so well at the end. It even ended pretty nicely for the characters. It's for sure a must-read if your a Sarah Dessen fan :)



Monday 16 July 2012

The Mystic Wolves Review

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Publisher: Moonstruck Media
Release Date: January 19th/2012
Pages: 300

What It's About!

What would you do if a simple errand takes a deadly twist, turning you from cautious prey to dangerous predator?

Someone is trying to send a deadly message to Mason, arranging the deaths of those he loves and it puts the entire pack and Alpha on high alert. Darcy understands the primal instincts driving her beloved Mason's commands. With the help of those he sets as protectors, she learns about herself and the things she'll need to help support her Alpha and pack. When events turn dire however, one truth offers her strength - once given, oaths are unbreakable ... even if it means risking it all.

Review


The Mystic Wolves almost earned a 5 star rating, but because of the lack of story building in the beginning of the book, it only got 4. When I started reading it, I felt disconnected from the characters and the story, for the lack of back story. I kept waiting to find out how the pack came to be, why things were the way they were, etc, but it just never really happened. Going deeper into the book, though, the story started to build up and I was able to get into it more. By the middle of the book, I was fully hooked.

The pace of the book overall was very good. It had just the right amount of events to keep you on your toes. Almost right away, we lost a beloved character, and although we didn't know her for very long, I still felt like I lost a favorite character, just because of what the main character, Darcy, was going through. Mason and Darcy were the perfect couple, I couldn't flip the pages fast enough sometimes to see what was going to happen next.

As with every good story, we had a few little events that eventually led up to the big climax near the end, and everything flowed and came together really well. I read the last half of the book in one sitting, things just got so juicy I literally couldn't put the book down. I especially was NOT expecting the ending, which btw, is a total cliffhanger! I had originally read this first book because it was free on amazon and it was about werewolves (LOVE them!). I hadn't planned on reading the second book since it wasn't free (haha) but I bought the second book almost as soon as I finished The Mystic Wolves. The ending is so juicy and ended just when it was getting super good. The author did an amazing job sucking me in to having to read the second book.



 

Sunday 15 July 2012

Book Reveal!

Neferet's Curse (House of Night Novella #3) by P.C. + Kristin Cast

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 19th/2013
Pages: N/A
What It's About!

With more than 12 million books in print, rights sold in almost 40 countries, and over two years on the New York Times bestseller list, the House of Night series is an international publishing sensation. Now, the excitement continues as the Cast mother-daughter duo shares the back stories of a few of the House of Night's most important – and mysterious – characters.


In the third House of Night novella, the secret history we've all been waiting for is finally revealed...  Neferet, the Tulsa House of Night's darkly seductive High Priestess, wasn't always a powerful vampyre, but she has always been beautiful. Raised in turn-of-the-century Chicago in a motherless home, her beauty makes her the prey of unwanted attention and abuse, leaving her with scars that will never heal – and a Darkness that will eventually need to find its way out. But when she is Marked and gains strength, both physical and magickal, she turns her anger into power and looks for a way to regain what was stolen from her. From victim to High Priestess, beautiful young woman to powerful seductress, Neferet's journey begins...


 

Saturday 14 July 2012

♥Cover Candie of the Month♥

This Month's Cover Candie: For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: June 12th/2012
Pages: 402
Goodreads

What It's About!

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's "Persuasion", "For Darkness Shows the Stars" is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.
 

Thursday 12 July 2012

Cover Reveal!

Cover Reveal: Doomed by Tracy Deebs

Publisher: Bloomsbury Walker
Release Date: Jan. 8th/2012
Pages: N/A

What It's About!

Beat the game. Save the world.

Pandora’s just your average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. 

Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father, her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.
 

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Wicked Jealous: A Love Story Review

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Publisher: Speak
Release Date: July 19th/2012
Pages: 272

What It's About!

Simone never saw herself as the “cute girl”—she was always the chunky, band tee wearing, France-obsessed smart girl. But now that Simone’s a few pounds lighter and sporting a new retro style, things have gotten, well, weird. Her crush Jason seems to actually know she exists. And when Simone’s soon-to-be stepmonster Hillary stops ignoring her, Simone knows something is up. When Simone’s brother offers to let her move in with him and his six roommates on the beach for the summer, Simone jumps at the chance. But living with seven very different college boys isn’t exactly helping her land her very own happily ever after.

ARC was provided by Penguin Canada
  
Review

I haven't had much time to read lately, but this book has been one of the few that has gotten onto my summer reading list so far. It was a highly enjoyable, good summer read. When I had first started reading, I my first impression of Simone was that she was this wimpy, overweight girl that would do nothing for herself. Actually though, she took control of her life, and her bad eating habits and did something about it.

Simone wasn't the only character we got to know. We also got to know bitch Hillary, her dad's new 28 yr old girlfriend with a BAD case of jealous-bitchitous. She did everything she could to ruin Simone, and I do mean in the literal sense. Hillary was well aware of the fact that Simone was deathly allergic to apples, so she would constantly "forget", always trying to shove some kind of apply thing down the poor girl's throat. While I hated Hillary, she did make a good character, and helped add some juicy drama to the story. Then there is Nicola, Simone's BFF/wingwoman, the 7 college guys she meets when she moves in with them and her brother, and Jason.

Jason was your typical jock-just-wanna-get-in-your-pants type jerk, who she falls for, for a little while, until she starts to realize what he's really into her for, and ends up realizing who was there for her all along even when she didn't quite know it yet. I was SO glad she actually had a brain and knew how to use it when it came to Jason, even if it took a little bit for her to get there.

I loved the way the book ended, it was a perfect ending. Hillary got what she deserved all along, Simone ended up with the right guy AND got her dad back on track, and a few other pretty good things brought the story to a close. Wicked Jealous is definitely a book to go on your summer reading list, if your looking for a light, fun, easy read to read on the beach or just out in the sun. 



 

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Cover Reveal!

Book Name: The Violet Fox
Author: Clare C. Marshall
Publisher: Faery Ink Press (http://www.faeryinkpress.com)
Release date: October 13, 2012
Genre: YA Fantasy
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Violet Fox Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14743283-the-violet-fox

Social Media Links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareMarshall13
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faeryinkpress
 

What It's About!

There are two kinds of people in the land of Marlenia.

The Marlenians, who live on the surface, and the Freetors, who are forced to live underground. The war between them ended two hundred years ago, but the Freetors still fight for the right to live under the sun. Fifteen-year-old Kiera Driscoll embodies the Freetors' hopes as the Violet Fox. In a violet cape and mask, she sneaks around Marlenia City stealing food and freeing her people from slavery.

Then the Elders task her with a secret mission: retrieve a stolen tome that contains the secrets of Freetor magic, something the Marlnians both fear and covet. Kiera must disguise herself as a noblewoman and infiltrate the Marlenian castle. 
Before the Freetor-hating Advisor finds out her real identity.

Before her brother is imprisoned because of the secrets he hides.

And before she falls any more in love with the prince she's supposed to hate.

More is happening in the castle than she realizes, and Kiera is faced with a difficult choice. Will she be loyal to her people and their fight for freedom, or will she be loyal to her heart?


Bloodlines Review

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥


Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 23rd/2011
Pages: 421

What It's About!

The first book in Richelle Mead's brand-new teen fiction series - set in the same world as Vampire Academy.

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive - this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.
Review 

Even though I haven't read the Vampire Academy series, it was very easy to slip into the world of Bloodlines. After hearing so much buzz about this new series, I knew I had to read it!

I really enjoyed reading Bloodlines, it has a nice pace, with just the right amount of events and characters. Everything flowed very well, and the relationships between the characters was very realistic. Lately it seems it doesn't matter what book I read, the characters meet one day then next thing you know they're totally in love, and it's like..did I miss something?? But with Bloodlines this was not the case.

Sydney is an amazing main character, she's strong, and down to earth and at no point did I get even a little bit annoyed with her. She knew how to think for herself and knew how to solve problems instead of just sitting there and complaining about it. Another character I ended up really liking was Adrian. Gradually he started proving more and more that he could be there for Sydney and that he wasn't just another stupid guy.

I had no idea what to expect before reading this book, but it turned out to be a really enjoyable read. I really didn't see the ending of the book coming, which was a nice element of surprise. I can't wait to read the next book!




 
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