Review - Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (audio CD)

Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances.

The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

This is the much-anticipated, astonishing conclusion to the worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle.

I have to say... most of Inheritance by Christopher Paolini did not disappoint. I was looking for an epic conclusion to the series and epic is what I got.
I have never heard a more descriptive story in all my life. It may not have been as grotesque in some spots if I'd read it instead of listened to it, but the lovely Gerard Doyle read the whole thing to me. I mean it went in to great GREAT detail about the horrific deaths of certain people and it turned my stomach.
So in this final installment of the Inheritance Cycle, Eragon has to find a way to defeat Galbatorix and keep the Varden and his family alive. He faces the sick and twisted priests of Helgrind who are looking to sacrifice him to their "gods" as a form of punishment. And he fights against soldiers who feel no pain and are protected from magical use and therefore are incredibly hard to kill unless you can get close enough to kill them by hand. He goes on a journey to find his true name in a last ditch effort to find a way to end the reign of the cruelest king Alagaesia has ever seen.

There are definitely tests of will in this story. Tests of courage and heart, love and loyalty. It had a lot of surprises, some good some not. And it focused, not only on Eragon, but on Roran (his cousin) and Nasuada (leader of the Varden). Roran seems to have grown leaps and bounds from the young man he was at the start of Eragon into a man who has earned the respect of the entire village he came from along with the rest of the Varden and it's leaders. And we find out Nasuada has an iron will that not even the strongest evil can break.

I enjoyed the book a lot. Minus the grotesque parts that I had a hard time listening to (and I have a strong stomach). The only thing I DISLIKED was the end. And I'm not going to tell you why. You'll have to read it or listen to it to find out.

I'd recommend this book, obviously first and foremost to fans of the first 3 novels in the series. To epic fantasy lovers. Fans of dragons and elves. Maybe not for younger people... as in 13 or under. But it should be ok for an older crowd.

Hunger Games Gifts

If you know a Hunger Games fan who's got a birthday or some kind of special occasion coming up... why not get them a gift you KNOW they'll love?

Here are a few examples:

From chasingatstarlight - Real Or Not Real Double Sided Hand Stamped Aluminum Bracelet

"You love me. Real or not real?"

From MajaBoutique - LOVE Changes the Games - Hoodie in Black w Metallic Gold

From JenArtCreation - Mockingjay Charm Bracelet with Peeta's Pearl

From touchsoul - The Hunger Games Inspired Katniss BOW with Peeta Pearl bracelet

From joevetoe - Limited Edition Movie Poster

From pattyofurniture - Hunger Games Inspired Charm Bracelet

From NovelCreations - The Hunger Games Book Purse

There you go! Hope if you were stuck with no ideas that you have some now! :-)

And may the odds be ever in your favor.

Review - Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren

Brodie Hayes is a former rodeo star, now a rancher--a cowboy, through and through. But when he finds out some shocking news about the circumstances of his birth, he begins to question his identity. Luckily, private investigator Alexandra Donovan is there to help him find the truth about who he is. Along the way, he discovers that even a man who thought he'd be alone for the rest of his life can fall in love.
For Brodie, love was something you did once--and for always. But is Alex the type of woman who can take on a stubborn man like him? Because there's one thing about him that will never change, no matter what they find out about his past--once a cowboy, always a cowboy.

I got Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren as a free Kindle read a while back. I have absolutely zero romance going on in my life so I figured why not live vicariously through someone else. Hehe. This someone else happened to be Alexandra Donovan, a private investigator who finds herself falling for the hunky cowboy who just so happens to be the subject of one of her investigations.

Helen Braxton comes in to Alex's office asking her to check out rodeo star Brodie Hayes, claiming he's the son she had 40 years ago that was stolen from the hospital not too long after birth. Alex tries to be discreet and not stir up too much in Brodie's life but it doesn't quite work out the way she'd planned. Now she's bulldozed her way in to his goings on and he doesn't know which way is up anymore.

Once all is said and done with Brodie, though, Alex gets a shock of her own that she has to figure out how to come to terms with. And does surprisingly well for someone whose world has just been turned upside down. Brodie seems to have rubbed off on her.

*

Alex Donovan is a no BS character. She doesn't expect people to take care of her and she's opinionated and straight forward. Extremely likeable and refreshing. She's blunt but caring and can tell you what's what with tact. Brodie sounds like a handsome cowboy who knows exactly who he is. Until Alex comes along. Despite that, though, he takes the news as well as can be expected.

This was a quick read and not quite what I'd expected. I was pleasantly surprised. And I enjoyed it a lot. I think I would have liked to see the relationship between Alex and Brodie develop a bit more before diving right in, but it wasn't too hurried to be at least a little realistic I suppose. Although it's always frustrating when you know what's going to happen long before it does and then you have to spend the rest of the book waiting for the character to figure it out as well. The love scenes between the two were tasetful. Not overdone or poorly done.

I loved Alex's grandmother. One reviewer on Goodreads said the author should write "The Many Adventures of Naddy". I completely agree. Naddy is definitely not your typical grandma. And it sounds like she'd be a fun character to follow for a while. Alex's father, Buck, was not what he'd been made out to be though. I did not get the sense that he was the bulldog she claimed he was. But that's ok. He was a minor character and didn't really play a huge part in the book.

The ending, in my opinion, was a little "You've got to be kidding me". Still a great book, but I didn't like the development in Alex's life. The blow she was dealt after she'd helped Brodie and the Braxtons. And reading the epilogue, even though I knew that all of the characters had been mentioned, at least in passing, there were still a lot of names to try and keep straight and I had to read it a few times to get it figured out. It made me smile though.

I'd recommend this for anyone looking for something new to read. Or anyone who loves cowboys and romance. Probably not anyone under the age of 17, simply because there ARE some love scenes. It really was a good book to read.

Hunger Games Movie

I got to go and see the movie today.

It was amazing. Obviously there were some parts left out... but you can't fit the entire book in a 2.5 hour movie. I really only had two issues. Rue and Katniss weren't together long enough for the friendship to develop enough. And I wish they had said something about the muttations looking familiar when they were on the cornucopia. I KIND of wish they had developed Peeta and Katniss's relationship a bit better, but I was happy with it.

The movie was definitely exciting and suspenseful, even though I already knew what was going to happen. I'm glad I decided against re-reading the book. If I had I would have picked apart the movie because it would have been completely fresh in my mind. I may read it again now though.

I will say that I was, and always will be, a Peeta fan. Ever since book one. I love Peeta.

If you haven't yet, I hope you go see the movie and enjoy it as much as I did. I didn't want to say too much because, even though I know many of you have read the movie, it's still that much better to go see it without knowing every detail.

Book Trailer - Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

A Week of Reviews

So here's the deal. What I'm trying to do right now is get a week's worth of reviews up on my blog before posting another meme. Which is proving more difficult than I had anticipated because I'm trying to read all of those books at once. I am significantly behind in my reading challenge for the year (by 12 books according to Goodreads) but I am trying to remedy that as much as I can.

I am currently reading Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren, Luthiel's Song: War of Mists by Robert Fanney, and I'm listening to Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. I will be done with at least one of those in the next few days. Two of those are extremely massive books. Well, I'm listening to Inheritance rather than reading it. I love Gerard Doyle (the narrator). But it's 24 CDs long and I'm on disc 21. So... almost there.

I want to thank everyone for visiting my page this month (and every other month). The amount of visits/pageviews this month has MORE than doubled ANY other month this blog has been active. And I really appreciate every one of you.

Here's to a week's worth of reviews!

Movie Trailer - Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Incase you missed this on Facebook or YouTube:




Just a short teaser. What do you think?

Review - Ember by Bettie Sharpe

Everyone loves Prince Charming. They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.

Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.

Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.

Ember by Bettie Sharpe is a retelling of the classic fairytale, Cinderella. It is not, however, a book for anyone under the age of 18. It's got lots of foul language, violence, and sex.

Ember's mother, a wise woman, dies. Leaving Ember, now a witch, and her Father sad and trying to make ends meet. After one of his business trips he brings home a woman to be his wife, along with her two "daughters" to be friends with Ember. However, they are not really related. And they're not the noble women her father thinks them to be. They're courtesans running from the law.

That doesn't much bother Ember though. They get along well and they take care of each other. Ember gladly bestows her finer clothing on her new family members and goes back to wearing her comfortable woolen dresses (the neighbors think that the new step-family is being unreasonable to Ember and forcing her to dress poorly).

Prince Charming has a name in this re-telling. Adrian Juste. And he's been cursed. Although some find it hard to view it as such, that's exactly what it is. Everyone loves him. And not because they want to, but because they have to. They take one look at him and their minds are overwhelmed by the power of his affliction. They have no choice but to fall head over heals all over themselves. Except for Ember. She refuses to look at him. After one mistake early on in life she will not make another. And he desires her all the more because of that.

But she will not let him have her.

Unfortunately, Ember's father dies and after paying off debts they're left with little more than the home they live in. So her "sisters" resume their prior business as courtesans and Ember becomes their bookkeeper. This business decision, however, brings her dangerously close to the one person she doesn't want to be around. The prince.

*

This was an interesting re-telling of Cinderella. I liked how the step-sisters and the step-mother weren't haughty and unkind. That it was just the way the neighbors perceived things that made it seem so. Adrian Juste wasn't the dashing, debonair, and chivalrous Prince this time. He was demanding, rude, and spoiled (sometimes he was evil, in my opinion, forcing people to let him have his way with them when he knew good and well that they didn't want it). And Ember... Ember wasn't the golden haired, fair voiced beauty who made friends with mice and had a fairy godmother. She was a fiery red-head with a face plastered in freckles, a twisted foot, and a finger missing. She was intimidating to most men, and she knew it.
The characters were relateable, and believable (even though some of them were less than savory in their business endeavors). They were loyal to each other and truly had good hearts. And the prince... he had some secrets of his own.

Those secrets, unfortunately, were quite easy to predict. I personally knew what was going on long before the end of the book and then spent the rest of the book wondering when everyone else was going to figure it out too. The sex scenes, while not supposed to be loving and poetic, were repetitive and crass. I realize a lot of the other parts of the book were not exactly tasteful, and that was fine, but a pet peeve of mine is repeating the same thing over and over and.... you get the point. Regardless of whether it's crass and vulgar or sweet and syrupy.

Over all, I liked the book. It was a short read and kept me engaged for the majority of the time. I did skip over a few bits that just seemed to draw on longer than my attention span wanted to let them, but it was an interesting read. A good contrast to the original fairytale.

Again, I would not recommend this to anyone under the age of 18. But fans of fairytales in general, and fairytale retellings might find this a good one to read.

In My Mailbox #33

Thanks to Kristi, The Story Siren, for hosting In My Mailbox every week.

This week, well, actually for the last couple of weeks, all my books have been on my Kindle. No hard copies for me to brag about yet.

Ember by Bettie Sharpe

Everyone loves Prince Charming. They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.

Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.

Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.

In Dreams by J. Sterling

When Katherine Johns starts dreaming about a boy she doesn't know, her college roommate Taylor is determined to find him. Convinced he must exist, Taylor is relentless... until she finds out exactly WHO the mysterious stranger really is.

The realization rocks the girls to their core and sends them down a path of unimaginable heartbreak as they learn to navigate their new reality.

Follow Katherine & Taylor's journey through love, friendship and tragedy in this emotionally captivating debut novel by J. Sterling.

Dark Waters by Shannon Mayer

The bonds of family are stretched to the breaking point as legendary monsters, a deadly prophecy, and soul swallowing fears threaten to destroy them. Magic, secrets, sensuality and mind numbing terror all rolled into one to keep the pages flying.

Dragon Aster by S.J. Wist

Sybl has endured the first years of being a teenager both unloved and forgotten. When an Awl takes her from Earth to the realm of Aster, she will discover a place where fantasy is the reality. A world of dragons. But that will not be all that she finds.

Still distraught from having lost his best friend, Cirrus has tried to move on with his life. His world is falling apart, and it is a fight the High Guard cannot win. All that remains is a Prophecy from the ghostly memories of those he loved. A Prophecy that a Fay would return to Aster, restoring the balance of life and death. For without her, his kind will side with the forces of war. An onslaught of destruction would follow, and he is a dragon tired of death.

When he finds Sybl, he takes it on himself to become her protector. Within her memories, she holds one from the friend he lost. She may be the last hope that the Prophecy has yet to come about. But he will have to outfly the shadows from his past first, for the demon who is after them does not fear a death it can weave.

Wake to a world tangled in the Threads of Fate.

Dream back the memories that can save it.

Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman

The story behind Lewis Carroll's masterpiece poem. You know how it ends, but you won't believe how it happens.

Awakening by Karice Bolton

Alone in snowy, remote Whistler village, Ana tries to build a new life since losing her parents. With a cozy condo, a sweet-faced bulldog and an evening job to leave the days free for the slopes, life slips into a great routine. If only she could shake the guilt for not remembering anything about her parents and banish the night terrors that haunt her every dream.
On a whim, Ana goes out with Athen, a guy she's just met in the Grizzly Pub... The only problem is that she feels like she already knows him.

Within 48 hours of meeting Athen and his family, Ana's world implodes. She falls for Athen quickly and before she knows it, a past life begins to resurface. As thrilling as the revelations appear at first, she fights against the chilling information that Athen is from the underworld. Soon she begins to struggle as her own supernatural gifts are slowly unveiled, and she realizes that the nightmares she's been having might be premonitions and not dreams at all.
It is up to Ana to decipher between fact and fiction before it is too late, and her new love, Athen, follows in her same fate - one that is lost between two worlds.

That's it for now. There's more but I'm being summoned to play Lego Harry Potter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Being of Irish descent (for real, not just because it's St. Patrick's Day), I am in love with all things Irish. So I have a few recommendations for you all today.

Now, the book that was written after this movie came out is exTREMELY hard to find (as in, I can't anymore... luckily I already have it). It's not exactly an... expensively made movie. But it's fun to watch.

The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns

American businessman Jack Woods rents a cottage on the enchanted Emerald Isle which is occupied by a family of leprechauns. Leprechaun Seamus Muldoon's son and son's friends crash the fairies' costume ball and Muldoon's son falls in love with fairy Princess Jessica. Their love re-ignites a feud between the leprechauns and the fairies, which escalates into a war. The Grand Banshee warns of terrible consequences and Jack Woods is chosen to make peace. Woods interrupts his own romance with an Irish beauty to help, and becomes involved in a strange and wonderful magical adventure.

I absolutely adore Maureen O'Hara. This is next one is one of my favorite movies of hers. The trailer doesn't really do it justice. And makes John Wayne look extremely violent. Coincidentally, this is also the movie ET is watching when Elliott is in science class letting all the frogs go.

The Quiet Man

Blarney and bliss, mixed in equal proportions. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to the Emerald Isle, his native land. What he finds there is a fiery prospective spouse (Maureen O'Hara) and a country greener than any Ireland seen before or since--it's no surprise The Quiet Man won an Oscar for cinematography. It also won an Oscar for John Ford's direction, his fourth such award. The film was a deeply personal project for Ford (whose birth name was Sean Aloysius O'Fearna), and he lavished all of his affection for the Irish landscape and Irish people on this film. He also stages perhaps the greatest donnybrook in the history of movies, an epic fistfight between Wayne and the truculent Victor McLaglen--that's Ford's brother, Francis, as the elderly man on his deathbed who miraculously revives when he hears word of the dustup. Barry Fitzgerald, the original Irish elf, gets the movie's biggest laugh when he walks into the newlyweds' bedroom the morning after their wedding, and spots a broken bed. The look on his face says everything. The Quiet Man isn't the real Ireland, but as a delicious never-never land of Ford's imagination, it will do very nicely. --Robert Horton

Last, but certainly not least, is one of my all time favorite childhood movies. Sean Connery is divine in this movie and I love Janet Munro and Albert Sharp.

Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Take a wee bit of ancient folklore, mix in some spectacular special effects and a magical cast (including Sean Connery) -- and you've got one of the most enchanting fantasies of all time! A frisky old storyteller named Darby O'Gill is desperately seeking the proverbial pot of gold. There's just one tiny thing standing in his way: a 21-inch leprechaun named King Brian. In order to get the gold, Darby must match his wits against the shrewd little trickster -- which proves no small task, indeed! Fall under the spell of DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE for a fun-filled evening of magic, mirth, and nonstop shenanigans!

There you go! Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Review - The Knight of the Rose by A.M. Hudson

I finished The Knight of the Rose by A.M. Hudson last night. It's book two in The Dark Secret Series. It was an awesome book.

Love was only the beginning of her nightmares.
...
When Ara discovered the existence of vampires, she was given the choice between a life as one of them, or a life without her true love.

But fate has a funny way of making choices for you.

After breaking the heart of the boy she loves with a truth he cannot bear, Ara will find herself in the arms of a predator who will steal her innocence and force the hand of fate.

Will David Knight become her rescuer once again, or will he be too late.

Yes, there is another cover. And when you read the book you'll understand what it represents.

This book was an up and down roller coaster. First, there's David and Ara. With a romance akin to Edward and Bella these two are totally and completely in love and it seems nothing can separate them. Unfortunately, it only seems that way. David is all but begging Ara to let him change her, but Ara doesn't want to lose her human life... her chance to see her mother and brother - who died in a brutal car accident - again.

Thing is, if Ara won't let David change her, David has to leave. And he has to leave her behind. It's a thought that she doesn't want to even begin to comprehend but decision time is coming. As soon as the last leaf falls to the ground signalling the coming of cold weather, she has to make up her mind. Will she choose an eternity with her one true love... her soul mate. Or will she choose life and the man she loved before David ever came along?

My heart broke several times over in this book. I know I don't speak for everyone, but I think the majority of people can relate to having someone leave them. Someone you don't want to go. And being completely and utterly devestated at their absence. To wishing they would just magically appear and tell you everything is going to be ok again. Knowing it's not going to happen, but hoping just the same.

Ara suffered a horrible tragedy in the death of her mom and her brother. Coming to the US to live with her father afterward seemed to help put her back together again. Because she met David. He seemed to fill a hole in her heart that she didn't think anyone else could. She was no longer just a shell of a person. She had love again. She'd left behind all the painful memories. The car accident. The boy she loved before who tore her heart to pieces when he rejected her. She had new friends. Emily, Alana... David.

But she experienced a brand new heart ache when she learned that she either had to change, give up her normal, human life in exchange for David's... or she'd lose him forever. At first the answer seems obvious to her, and all the while I'm thinking "You can't just give him up!" She is prepared to do just that. Until the time comes that she may actually have to. And then losing him is unthinkable.

She's a strong but conflicted character. Prone to zoning out and irrational internal debates. I like her. I feel for her. And while I don't have a drop dead gorgeous, hundred year old vampire boyfriend, I sort of understand where she's coming from. Losing someone you love, having to move on with someone you love but in a different way, and not as much (am I even making sense anymore?).

I love David. He's kind of pushy in an Edward-esque way (i.e. Ara wants to pay for her own gown for the high school ball, and does just that, but David buys her another one and puts it in her closet after she specifically told him not to do that) but he's very gentle and kind to her. And understanding. I also love it when he speaks in French to her. ::sigh::

Mike. Her rock. The guy that rejected her and is now trying to redeem himself. He loves her, probably just as much as David does... but like poor Jacob (I love Jacob) ... loving her with all he has may never be enough. He's promised to take care of her and be there for her. He even wants to take her back to Perth, the home she left after the accident. He's completely right for her and she knows it. And he knows it. He's sweet and kind and just incredible.

Emily I always picture as Patty Simcox from Grease for some reason. A modernized version of her anyway. So no poodle skirt. :-P She's peppy and happy and high spirited and a great best friend to Ara. She's always there for her and isn't afraid to tell her when she think she's making a mistake. She may be my favorite character.

This book, like the first, is beautifully written. AM Hudson is incredible in her descriptions of the most mundane things. It makes it so easy to picture everything I'm reading. Her writing is relatable (hence my anxiety over the entire end of the book) and enjoyable. And the characters complement each other well. I also learned something I never knew about the Wizard of Oz, too. :-P

I definitely recommend this book as a read to fans of Twilight, Afterlight, The Vampire Diaries... but it's a great read for just anyone in general. Again, it is book two in the series so I would definitely recommend reading book one, Tears of the Broken, before picking up this one. Mark your calendars for April because that's when book two will be released. And you won't be disappointed if you grab it!

Teaser Tuesday #39

Thank you to MizB of Should Be Reading for giving us Teaser Tuesday every week!
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!

This week's teaser comes from Knight of the Rose (ARC) by A.M. Hudson:

Like when Dorothy made it home from Oz, she learned that she was never really gone in the first place - that all the fear and loneliness she felt in that world was in her own mind. I have control over my own life, and I get to choose what it is that breaks me...

Can't wait to see your teasers!

Playing Catch Up

Hi! Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of days. I'm currently trying to play catch up. I'm reading a bunch of different things and trying to get one of them finished so I can post a review. I'd had a couple of guest posts lined up but I reckon they forgot they were guest posting so those are a no go.

I promise though, by the end of the week I will have a review up!

Cover Reveal - Tempest's Fury by Nicole Peeler

Jane’s not happy. She’s been packed off to England to fight in a war, when she’d much rather be snogging her new boyfriend. Unfortunately, Jane’s enemies have been busy stirring up some major trouble—the kind that attracts a lot of attention. In other words, they’re not making it easy for Jane to get any alone time with Anyan, or to indulge in her penchant for stinky cheese.

Praying she can pull off a Joan of Arc without the whole martyrdom thing, Jane must lead Alfar and halflings alike in a desperate battle to combat an ancient evil. Catapulted into the role of the most unlikely hero ever, Jane has to fight her own insecurities as well as the doubts of those who don’t think she can live up to her new role as Champion.

Along the way Jane learns that some heroes are born, some heroes are made, and some heroes are bribed with promises of food and sex.

Tempest's Fury - Expected Publication: July 2012

Follow Friday #39

Thanks to Parajunkee and Alison Can Read for hosting Follow Friday every week!

This weeks question:

Q: Have you ever looked at book’s cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

A: I have to be honest.... it was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I thought the cover was dull and boring and figured the book would be about the same. Course, now that I've read the book the cover makes total sense.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am, unfortunately, a cover snob. But I am totally glad that I finally broke down and bought this book.

Can't wait to see your answers!

Daring You to Read - Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Daring You to Read is hosted every week by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews.

Here's how it works:

- You choose a book you’ve read, loved and would dare your readers to read!

- The book you choose must be an older release (at least 6 months ago), because let’s be honest, we’re all quite aware of the latest releases.

- Write your own blog post, using the button and linking back to Tynga’s Reviews, inviting your readers to read your chosen book.

- Come back on Tynga’s Reviews and put your link in the linking tool.

- Browse other bloggers Dare and let them know if you’ve read their featured book, or plan on reading it.

- Super easy and an awesome way to discover that special book who might have slipped off your radar!

This week I'm daring you to read Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan (you can read my review for that book here).

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

This was a great book. Surprises with lots of unexpected (hence the surprise :-P) twists and turns. You feel one way about it then something happens and you find yourself going to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. In a way, it kind of reminds me of Lord of the Flies, but in space.

The characters are definitely not perfect. And they don't try to be. There is growth and there are falls. There are struggles to regain footings and battles of will. It was definitely an intriguing read. And a pretty quick one. I think I finished it in a day, which at that point was saying something because I'd been in quite the reading slump.

Glow is the first book in the Sky Chasers series and I totally look forward to reading Spark, book number two in the series.

Here's a peak at book two:

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end...

So go on and pick up book one. I dare you. :-)

Desperately Waiting Wednesday: Books I Want to Buy but Keep Putting Back on the Shelf

I do it every time I go to the store. I spend at least 10-15 minutes in the book aisle, looking at all the books I don't have that I want. I pick them up, marvel at the covers, flip through the pages, and then put them back on the shelf. It's the same books every time. It's always a battle between just piling up my cart with books and the knowledge that I have to buy groceries instead.

The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again.

Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel.

Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

 

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

What about you? Which books do you want?

Teaser Tuesday #38

Thank you to MizB of Should Be Reading for giving us Teaser Tuesday every week!
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!

This week's teaser comes from Luthiel's Song: The War of Mists by Robert Fanney.

"It's not worth it. What if the next one is you? Or Othalas? Or Melkion?" She wanted to throw the sword away. It was supposed to be her promise against death, sacrifice. Instead, sacrifice had become a part of it. But it was a link to her blood father. Even now, its song hummed just beyond understanding. Was it his voice that made the music? she wondered.

I absolutely loved book one when I read it back in... 2005. I've waited forEVER to read book number two! It's definitely starting out great

In My Mailbox #32

Thanks to Kristi, The Story Siren, for hosting IMM every week.

This week my mailbox wasn't really book related. It wasn't really even in my mailbox to be honest. We had to go about an hour away to pick his one up.

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You wanna see what I got this week?
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Her name is Hope. She's a bluetick coonhound/labrador retriever mix. :-P

Cover Reveal - Reached by Ally Condie

Yay! I still have yet to read the second book in the series, but I loved book number one.

So without further ado...

Reached by Ally Condie

Follow Friday #38

Thanks to Parajunkee and Alison Can Read for hosting Follow Friday every week!

This weeks question:

Q: What book would you love to see made into a movie or television show and do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main characters?

A: Easy. Harry Potter. Wait... what? That's already been done? Crap. Ummm.... Wait a minute, lemme think.... Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

The cast:

Katsa - Milla Jovovich

Po - Ben Barnes

King Leck - Rufus Sewell

Bitterblue - Mackenzie Foy

Prince Raffin - Robert Pattinson

King Randa - John Malkovich

Lord Oll - Stephen Lang

Lord Giddon - Patrick Wilson

Grandfather Tealiff - Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa 
















Can't wait to see your choice and your casts!!