Friday, January 31, 2014

Book Blitz: Lost Soul (Dark World #2) by T.G. Ayer

Happy Release Day!



Lost Soul
(DarkWorld #2)
by
T.G. Ayer



With her sister missing and her mother and Anjelo stuck in the Wraith World, Kai must find a way to save them all. But the Wraith poison has brought her to her knees and only Logan's fire can help ease her pain.



Uncertain who to rescue first, Kai's decision is made for her when she discovers her sister Greer is stuck in the Greylands and slowly going insane. Desperate to save her, Kai will go to incredible lengths to obtain a portal key to the land of the dead - and maybe, she’ll go one step too far.



From deathtalkers to demons, trackers to ghosts, Kai must fight against betrayal and evade the clutches of danger to set her sister free. Can she save Greer from a horrific death - and will she ever be able to forgive herself if she can’t?



Add to Goodreads



Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords


Teasers




My
ears lifted, pointed, flared out. My eyes burned, the particular
sensation of my panther eyes coming forth. Another growl and my jaw
lengthened, hardened, my nose now picking up every odor surrounding me,
including the sickly odor of the poison flowing thick and strong beneath
my skin.
My hands transitioned smoothly into paws, my fingernails
curving into deadly-sharp claws. I stretched out, lengthened my back,
and let the panther take control.




~~~~~



The lab was cold and silent as Logan breathed deep, drawing the fire
through his body and centering the molten energy within his mind. The
mouse shivered in his hand, its sickly green eyes staring up at him, its
expression sad and seemingly pleading. The little, large-eyed
white-furred creature had been shaved to reveal its bare skin, enabling
Logan and the lab-techs to assess how well the fire was progressing in
killing the poison.



~~~~~



As the glass hit the ground, water burst from it like a geyser, spraying droplets all over the kitchen. And all over me.

Good job, Odel. Now who's going to clean up this mess?

Lying where I fell, my face rested close to my poison-wreathed arm. I
stared at it as it throbbed and pulsed, as if the poison had taken on a
life of its own and was just waiting for the next moment to advance
farther into my flesh.

Who knew a tiny piece of Wraith-sword could be this deadly?



~~~~~



Meet the Author



I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognise that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practise given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes… I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It’s a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each other's loves – it works wonderfully…



My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.



Facebook
Twitter


~~~~~

 

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

FEATURE: Teaser Tuesday (#4)



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at 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 of they like your teasers!

Hi Swooners! Here's my "teaser" for this week...

 "Unfortunately the corn that was produced by the plant-sperm-and-grasshopper-semen experiment at McKeon Industries also caused an undesirable side effect in teenage boys: Their balls dissolved.

Testicular dissolution among developing adolescent males, is how Dr. Grady McKeon described it.

That sounded nicer.

If a doctor told me, 'You are merely experiencing testicular dissolution,' it would not frighten me nearly as much as if he said, 'Your balls are going to dissolve, Austin.'"




Pg. 233, Grasshopper Jungle (ARC) by Andrew Smith

REVIEW: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower  by Stephen Chbosky
Publication Date: February 1, 1999
Publisher: MTV Books and Pocket Books
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

My rating: out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through unchartered territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he cant stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

I'm in a weird place about this book. I wasn't 100% impressed with it, but I didn't completely dislike it either. Overall, I feel that there were tons of things that the author could've (and should've!) done differently but there were also a few things that I know he did well. Let's discuss!

Charlie , as an overall main character, is a mess! That's right! I said it! He's a MESS! This poor kid has got some serious stuff going on and we don't know exactly what it is. I believe that Charlie has some form of Autism, but I don't know for certain. I feel like the author should have confirmed (or denied) my suspicions. For some reason, he didn't touch on Charlie's "issue" so much as other life factors that could also have contributed to the way Charlie is. Maybe the purpose of that was to take away the focus of Charlie with "a mental issue" and focus on all the life events that have happened to him. I'm not sure, but I do know that this definitely could've been handled differently.

I absolutely LOVED Charlie's two best friends, Patrick and Sam! They were both such fun characters to read. Especially the love interest between Charlie and Sam. She was older than him, but saw him for who he was and appreciated that he saw her the same way. Even aside from all the "issues" she saw him have she managed to keep her cool and still be by his side which shows strength and love on her part.

And Patrick! Ahhh love Patrick! Getting to see his character and his relationships was great. He's such a fun person and so loving to Sam and Charlie (and Brad!) I loved that we got to see a gay character in a book. I feel like I never see enough of it and honestly, it's a great side to read. Seeing his struggles with Brad and the fight that happened was tough but necessary. Unfortunately, these are issues that still happen to people today and it's sad that Brad was so embarrassed by the situation that he played out the only person he actually loved, Patrick!

There is actually only ONE thing that I really hated about this book...Charlie cried for everything. EVERYTHING! I mean, I get that he has some emotional issues to work through and he wasn't even aware of them in the beginning, but he really needs to work on THAT! he cried for every little thing. Someone smiled- he cried, something smelled good- he cried, the sky was blue- he cried. Dude, WTF!?!? So yea, that was an epic fail!

But, overall, after writing all review I have to say that I liked it way more than I realized. Obviously there's way more going on that I didn't write about an you can make your own opinions about those, but I think this was a decent book and there were some good moral issues going on that really make you think. So go forth and read, swooners!

SIDE NOTE: I saw the movie and LOVED it! The author did the screen play for it and I guess he realized that some things didn't need to transfer over (read: Charlie stopped crying!) I highly recommend seeing the movie and reading the book. Both were good. Overall, the movie was way better though!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

FEATURE: Waiting on Wednesday (#13)


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

Hi Swooners :-)

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" pre-publication selection is:

Expected release date: January 30, 2014
Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



Expected release date: February 4, 2014
Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



Both of these books sound amazing and I absolutely love the covers. I just can't wait to get my hands on them (insert: grabby hands)


Monday, January 20, 2014

FEATURE: It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (#2)




***It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey***

Hi Swooners!

Here's my list of what I Finished, am Currently Reading, and what is Next in Line:


FINISHED:




CURRENTLY READING:




NEXT IN LINE:




Wednesday, January 15, 2014

FEATURE: Waiting on Wednesday (#12)


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

Hi Swooners :-)

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" pre-publication selection is:

Expected release date: August 14, 2014
Links: Amazon



Summary from Goodreads:

A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without revealing their powers – as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she’s torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she’s certain she can never forgive Maura’s betrayal. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

So I may or may not have posted this before. I honestly don't remember but I have been such a huge fan of this series from day one and CAN'T WAIT for this finale to come out already so it's ok if I accidentally re-post on this one...trust me. IT'S WORTH IT!! I mean seriously...that ending was just too much for me...I need answers...like NOW!!! 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

FEATURE: Waiting on Wednesday (#11)


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

Hi Swooners :-)

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" pre-publication selection is:

Expected release date: April 1, 2014
Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



Summary from Goodreads:

I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of here.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado-taking you with it-you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still the yellow brick road, though-but even that’s crumbling.

What happened?
Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. they say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm-and I’m the other girl from Kansas.
I’ve been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman’s heart.
Steal the scarecrows brain.
Take the Lions courage.
Then and only then-Dorothy must die!

Got my hands on an excerpt of this book that I received from YALLFest and it sounds awesome!!! Can't wait to read the full book!!!