ARC Review: Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

Title: Stolen Nights
Series: Vampire Queen #2
Author: Rebecca Maizel
Pub. Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Blurb:

Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human—and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss.

With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead...

ARC Review: Broken by A.E. Rought

Title: Broken
Series: Broken #1
Author: A.E. Rought
Pub. Date: January 8th, 2013
Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Blurb:

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely…familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks.

And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

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ARC Review: Timeless by Michelle Madow

Title: Timeless
Series: Transcend Time Saga #3
Author: Michelle Madow
Pub. Date: November 20th, 2012
Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing

Blurb:

IT'S A RACE AGAINST TIME.

In Remembrance, Lizzie and Drew changed the course of fate so they could be together.

In Vengeance, Chelsea set fate back on its original, deadly path.

Now, strange things keep happening to Lizzie. Things that are omens of darkness to come. A curse has doomed her to die an early death, just as she did in her past life. To make things worse, even if she can figure out who cast the curse, it's irreversible. There's only one option left for her to save herself. It's crazier than anything she's heard yet, and to do it, she'll need Drew and Chelsea's help.

Because to make things right, they must go back to when it all began...

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ARC Review: "Midnight City" by J. Barton Mitchell

Title: Midnight City
Series: Conquered Earth #1
Author: J. Barton Mitchell
Publication Date: October 30th, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

About the book:

Earth has been conquered. An extraterrestrial race known as The Assembly has abducted the adult population, leaving the planet’s youth to fend for themselves. In this treacherous landscape, Holt, a bounty hunter, is transporting his prisoner Mira when they discover Zoey, a young girl with powerful abilities who could be the key to stopping The Assembly. As they make their way to the cavernous metropolis of Midnight City, the trio must contend with freedom fighters, mutants, otherworldly artifacts, pirates, feuding alien armies, and perhaps most perilous of all: Holt and Mira’s growing attraction to each other.

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My Thoughts:

Review: "Ironskin" by Tina Connolly

Title: Ironskin
Author: Tina Connolly
Series: Ironskin #1
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: October 2nd, 2012

About the book:

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It's the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn't expect to fall for the girl's father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her scars and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio...and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things are true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of a new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

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My thoughts:

ARC Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Lost Prince
Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1
Author: Julie Kagawa
Expected Publication Date: October 23rd 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

About the book:

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

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Review: "The White Forest" by Adam McOmber

Title: The White Forest
Author: Adam McOmber
Publisher: Touchstone
Expected Publication: September 11th, 2012

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Synopsis:

In the bestselling tradition of The Night Circus and Sarah Waters’s The Little Stranger, Adam McOmber’s hauntingly original debut novel follows a young woman in Victorian England whose peculiar abilities help her infiltrate a mysterious secret society.

Young Jane Silverlake lives with her father at a crumbling family estate on the edge of Hampstead Heath. Jane has a secret—an unexplainable gift that allows her to see the souls of manmade objects—and this talent isolates her from the outside world. Her greatest joy is wandering the wild heath with her neighbors, Madeline and Nathan. But as the friends come of age, their idyll is shattered by the feelings both girls develop for Nathan, and by Nathan’s interest in a cult led by Ariston Day, a charismatic mystic popular with London's elite. Day encourages his followers to explore dream manipulation, with the goal of discovering a new virtual reality, a place he calls the Empyrean.

A year later, Nathan has vanished, and the famed Inspector Vidocq arrives in London to untangle the events that led up to Nathan’s disappearance. As a sinister truth emerges, Jane realizes she must discover the origins of her talent and use it to find Nathan herself, before it’s too late.

Adam McOmber, whose short story collection This New and Poisonous Air earned glowing praise for its evocative prose, here reveals a gift for fantastical twists and dark turns that literary fans will relish.

Review:

"The White Forest” it’s a dark and mysterious tale, but I had a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand, I loved McOmber's enthralling writing style, but on the other I really disliked what seemed to be his main storytelling device in this story, flashbacks.

This might seem like a weird comparison, but if you are a fan, and are slightly addicted, to Asian dramas, like I am, you might notice a big similarity between this book and those; the flashbacks. I don't like flashbacks. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say I don't like the misuse and/or abuse of flashbacks and this book did just that. There were so many of those, and although I could follow what was happening, it was sort of frustrating to finally get into the story only to be pulled back out of it because another one reared it’s head. I honestly didn’t think anything would ever beat Korean dramas in the flashback department, but this did.

The story was also slow paced and it felt even slower because of all the flashbacks. But when Jane lived in her here and now the story and mystery behind Nathan’s disappearance was actually thrilling and engaging and I was able to enjoy it. The flashbacks do finally tone down and any references to the past that are made it’s done through stories they get out of people in their search for the truth of , both, Nathan’s vanishing and Jane’s existence.

I liked Jane, she was a dark character who was drawn to whom she thought was a bright one. But in the end, I thought she was actually the brightest of them all, even if she didn’t realize it.

I had a hard time rating this, and to be honest, I was ready to rate it 2 stars. But the ending of the book is really good and I got caught up in the flow of the story. The ending is sort of bittersweet. It left me with feelings of longing and nostalgia, even when I thought the ending was perfect for the story and it wouldn’t have had it any other way.

My rating

*I received a digital ARC copy from the publisher through Edelweiss. Thanks for the opportunity.
* I received no compensation for this review.

ARC Review: "Stormdancer" by Jay Kristoff

Title: Stormdancer
Author: Jay Kristoff
Series: The Lotus War #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Expected Publication Date: September 18, 2012

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Stormdancer has been one of the few books for which I didn’t have cover lust. Well, at least not until I saw the USA version of the cover. That cover was truly lust worthy and it was so much more detailed and spot on than the UK version, but that's just my opinion. I actually wanted to read this book from the moment I saw the review/overview written by the author. I will not go into a plot summary since he explained it better than anyone ever could. If you still haven't read it, you can do so here. Now that I’ve said this…

I had already posted that my reading experience was like a rollercoaster and now I’ll go into details.

When I read the first chapter I thought it was awesome! It was that very high point from which you start and I wanted more. Then chapter two happened and I realized chapter one was a prologue chapter kind of thing to get the readers hooked. However, that was alright because it accomplished its mission. The following chapters go through the introduction of the other characters: Masaru, Akihito, Yoritomo, and so on, and the description of the steampunk, dystopian world we are going to be visiting while reading this book. And that is when the drop comes.

Why? Well, there was so much description being thrown my way that I might have gone into sensory overload once or twice before I got used to it and started to fully enjoy it. It was around chapter ten, possibly eleven, when I was finally totally immersed in the story. It was also when the "ashitora", later known as Buruu, made his entrance. Now, this does not mean, in any way, the writing in the book is horrible, it is quite the contrary. I dare say it's a curse and a blessing since I did feel overwhelmed, but at the same time I wanted to know more about the world he was building.

Some of the plot events were predictable, like the object of her infatuation. I mean, he did have a chapter named after him and she did keep dreaming about him. But others really caught me by surprise, to the point I literally went "Oh...". And that's how the twists and turns happened.

I really liked the way the characters in this book are written. The author introduces us to a few amazing women and men. All of them strong in different ways.

Yukiko was badass. She had always had moments when she didn’t believe in the “system” and even questioned it; still, those had always been internal monologues. So, when she was confronted with the option of actually doing something, she was a little bit apprehensive about it. And that was totally understandable. It’s not easy to try to change the world when you are still a teenager. I also loved the fact that she didn't turn into a lovesick puppy who loses all sense of self-preservation like so many YA "heroines" do when they fall in love or are around a guy. She knew what she had to do and why she had to do it, even when she was presented with hard choices.

Lady Aisha was oh-so-very-smart. She knew how to move the pieces in the chess board to her advantage. She might have also been a surprise, for a few, since why would she, the most powerful female in Shima, want to leave her comfortable and opulent life? Honestly, I can think of one, just one, very good reason from a few lines dropped here and there in the story. BUT! Jay Kristoff, what happened? I was disappointed with what happened with this character. She showed such great potential and could have been used in so many other great ways. Did she really...? Just like that? I am still finding that a little hard to believe...

I loved Kin, since the first time he appeared. Yes, I knew who he was all along. And yes, even after imagining how he looked like as a result of his…accident. I think these three characters show how different sections, even within the government, are unsatisfied with the way things are. They wanted change to one day have a better way of life.

Buruu, was great! I thought the way he evolved as time passed was very well portrayed. He was also grumpily cute.

I have to mention Yoritomo. I have given him an endearing nickname: Yoritomo, the psychotic brat. He can go right ahead and add it to the rest of his titles. He was cruel and a few screws short up there. Because of this every one of his temper tantrums ended in blood and tears or lots and lots of begging, if he was in a good mood.

There were a few things that made me raise my eyebrows, literally...

For starters, I'm assuming, even though the book is in English, that the characters are speaking Japanese. It didn't even cross my mind they would be talking in any other language since foreigners to them are savages. Yet, every so often, a "hai" pops up. If the characters are speaking Japanese, there really wasn't any need to incorporate that. Unless the characters were actually speaking in English and the author wanted to show a particular character's ethnicity. I've read books which are set in English speaking countries and there's a, let's say, Hispanic character. In that case, it is totally understandable why the author would incorporate a Spanish word, or phrase, here and there in the dialogue.

Secondly, the use of "-sama" all by its lonely self. I want to make clear, that I am in no way well acquainted with the Japanese language. I probably know the meaning of, and how to say from the top of my head, a grand total of five words, possibly a few more than that. But I don't remember the honorific ever being used by itself in all the anime and Japanese dramas that I've watched. So, that was a bit surprising.

Thirdly, Hiro, specifically the color of his eyes. Wouldn't he have become an outcast, or worse, because of that, or was it because of the people he "knew" in high places that he was running around freely? I decided, at some point in the story, to let all of that go and just went along for the ride.

The moments leading to the ending of the book were action and surprise filled and emotionally charged. So much happened and I was eating it all up. Also, the way Kristoff used that girl in the epilogue was very good. It showed how Yukiko's past actions will, very possibly, help her gain supporters in her future endeavors .

I actually had a hard time deciding whether to rate this 3.5 or 4 stars. On one hand, there were those chapters that didn't really do anything for me. On the other, there were those when I thought, "Wow, this is really good!". At the end, the latter chapters won and I rated it a four.

So...when is the second book coming?


My Rating:


Disclosure:
I received a review ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity!
I am not affiliated with Amazon or any other online vendors.

Teaser Tuesday #5: "Poltergeeks"

...............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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! ...............

Title: Poltergeeks
Author: Sean Cummings
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Expected publication date: October 2nd 2012

My teasers

*Wiccans are a breakaway sect of witchcraft. Like us, they have covens, but they’re more into pagan rituals and practicing ceremonial magic. A true witch is someone born into a family of witches who can trace their lineage back for hundreds of years.

*If martial arts masters have a dojo to practice their craft and train a worthy apprentice, our shed is a supernatural dojo where Mom does everything from experimenting with new spells and potions to teaching me to control my magic; which tends to go a little bit nuts if I blow my concentration.

About the book (from GR):

"15-year-old Julie Richardson is about to learn that being the daughter of a witch isn't all it's cracked up to be. When she and her best friend, Marcus, witness an elderly lady jettisoned out the front door of her home, it's pretty obvious to Julie there's a supernatural connection.

In fact, there's a whisper of menace behind increasing levels of poltergeist activity all over town. After a large-scale paranormal assault on Julie's high school, her mother falls victim to the spell Endless Night. Now it's a race against time to find out who is responsible or Julie won't just lose her mother's soul, she'll lose her mother's life."

Showcase Sunday

Showcase Sunday's aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. This Sunday meme is hosted by Book, Biscuits and Tea. Click the link to find out how to join in.

Mail

ARC
(Netgalley)

Title: The Lost Prince
Author: Julie Kagawa

Giveaway
(Blog: **QWERTY**)

Title: The Moon Dwellers
Author: David Estes


I have downloaded free ones from Amazon, Good Reads & Smashwords, but I don't remember all I got this week. I do have a bookshelf called free. If you want to see all of those click here. You may only be able to view it if you have Good Reads account and are logged in.