Saturday, January 12, 2013

Review: Goddess Interrupted, by Aimee Carter (Godess Test #2)

Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test, #2)
Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it. Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry's first wife, Persephone. -Goodreads


Title: Goddess Interrupted
Author: Aimee Carter
Publication Date: March 27, 2012

Props go to the author, Aimee Carter, for making the second book a lot better than the first one. This is basically what I thought while reading this book: What the heck happened to this author? 

I loved this novel - no, wait - I adored this novel. All the problems I had with the first book and the stuff that nagged me throughout reading it were deftly avoided in this second installment.

What really stood out for me in this book was Henry and Kate's relationship. I mean, damn, the romance going on between them was way more romantic than before. It wasn't awkward or forced, and it actually felt real. I have taken a liking to Henry (that's an understatement) and I finally understand his character, because I have to admit that in Goddess Test he was a bit boring and flat.

Kate matured a lot in this book. She had some flaws, which made her easy to relate to. I could easily empathize with her and I could feel all the emotions that she was feeling. She was very emotional in this book, maybe too emotional, but I began to respect her more towards the ending.

The pacing was just... Wow. Not exactly ninja-paced, but interesting enough to keep the reader reading throughout the night (am I the only one that has the unhealthy habit of doing this?). The books starts out all calm, and then... Boom! The action begins and doesn't end until that frustrating cliffhanger. The plot was okay in the first one, but in Goddess Interrupted, the plot was fantastic.

A lot of people are complaining about the Greek Mythology in this book. I, personally, had no issues with it. I applaud the author for adding her own twist to Greek Mythology, showing her creativity and individuality.

Gahh! That cliffhanger! Wth?!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Scarlet Woods by Brooke Passmore Excerpt

YANR_BlogTour_SW

Author Brooke Passmore has stopped by today with an excerpt from her new book Scarlet Woods!

Title: Scarlet Woods

Author: Brooke Passmore

Publisher: Self Published

Blub: Past, future, and love all exist in the door through time.

Modern and independent seventeen year old Morgan Westbrook thought she had seen all there was to her home town of Scarlet, Georgia, but one day while walking in the woods behind her house she discovers a mysterious door masked behind the trees. After admiring the door’s timeless beauty she walks through its entrance to venture into more woods, but what she doesn’t know is that the door is a gateway through time that takes her back to the year 1863 during the days of the Civil War in Scarlet. 

Without knowing that she had traveled back in time, she stumbles upon Danny Carson, an attractive young man who is appalled to see that Morgan is wearing skimpy modern clothes instead of a nineteenth century dress. Although they find each other completely different than anyone they’ve ever known, they cannot help but feel drawn to one another. After spending time in another century, she discovers that she's time traveled back to the year 1863 and that the door took her there. For months she and Danny journey back and forth through the door to experience the joys of traveling to both of their centuries. When dilemmas of unwanted marriage, slavery, and war are thrown at them, they must face the perils that time travel has delivered them in both the future and the past.

Excerpt

March 14, 1863, Danny Carson was riding his black horse underneath the budding trees of the woods. He heard the crackle of rushing water hit against the pebbles and sharp rocks in the creek as the orange sun descended from the face of Scarlet, Georgia.

Winter had disappeared and Danny was thrilled. He hated winter; it was always a cold and lifeless season. Dull brown trails and naked branches weren’t a welcoming atmosphere, but now since spring had finally arrived, color had returned to the trees. Spring brought out so much greenery and life in the woods with its ivy spiraling up trunks, weeds and wild flowers blooming at tree roots, and the sun tanning the leaves while birds zipped through the branches.

People in Scarlet didn’t dare enter the woods late in the evening. They feared the idea of foul killers or fictional monsters haunting the trees at night. But when it came to the woods Danny was fearless. He’d visit at any time of day to get away from things just for a little while. He found the depths of the trees, the forever running creek, and the prowling Spanish moss to be an escape from his regular routine. Plus, he being practically the only visitor at any time of day gave him the full run of the place. The woods were his.

As soon as the sun winked at the ground and was about to depart from the sky, the storm had begun. The dark night clouds began to mix with purring thunder. Noticing how gloomy the day had become, Danny tensed up in his saddle. “Oh no…” He grumbled.

His horse Nashville was a handful when it came to storms and was terrified of loud thunder.

Then the lightning started ripping through the sky. Danny tightened his grip on the reins as the first set of thunder stung his ears. Nashville came to a halt on the dirt trail and let out a few worried neighs at the feel of raindrops plopping against his coat.

Danny rolled his eyes. “Whiny baby,” He stroked Nashville’s neck to help calm him down.

As more lightning nicked the gray sky, rain showered onto the forest floor. In a matter of seconds Danny and Nashville were drenched. Rapid rain pounded onto the creek and the thunder produced a drummed even beat that taunted the black horse.

Skittish and now ill tempered from the storm, Nashville scooted his burly legs back in reverse and shuffled his hooves on the dirt path. Danny had a firm hold on the reins trying to control him. “Calm down Nash! It’s only a bit of loud noise. Toughen up!”

The thunder became more prominent in the endless dark sky. Nashville gave out a loud neigh and began to buck in the air, unbalancing Danny’s weight on the saddle. “Steady! Stop it Nashville!” He said to his horse as he began to feel his feet start to slip out of the stirrups.

One large wave of lightning slashed through the clouds with a bright bolt. Thunder roared out like a hungry lion about to attack its prey, nearly shattering Danny’s eardrums.

Nashville couldn’t take it any longer. His front legs kicked off the ground, arching his back into the air. Danny lost his balance and accidentally let go of his reins while being thrown off his saddle. “No Nash!” He yelled as he fell into the wet mud below.

The second he was out of the saddle Nashville took off running into the rain.
Danny tasted chunky bits of mud as he sat up in a small pool of brown slush. He snarled seeing his horse run off into the distance. “Nashville! Come back you dumb horse!”

Nashville didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Danny stood up cursing under his breath as he chased his horse down the trail he had taken.

“Stop Nashville!” Danny yelled through the feverish raindrops.

He darted through bushes and stepped on thorns with his wet boots. Every other step of his chase he spat out dirt that had crept in between his teeth. “Stupid horse, stupid horse!” He kept muttering to himself.

With one last echoing neigh, Nashville took a sharp turn behind a hill and was out of sight. Danny ran a bit faster, hoping that he wouldn’t lose his horse’s tracks. After he took the same turn behind the hill, he came upon three possible paths that Nashville could have taken. 

He looked for hoof tracks in the mud but this area of the forest was rockier than the rest of the woods and left no footprints to be seen. There was no telling which way Nashville went. 

Placing the tips of his fingers to his mouth, Danny let out a high pitched whistle that screamed through the trees. Usually when he would whistle Nashville would instantly come to his side, but this time he didn’t show. Danny whistled three more times, but all that was around him were the trees and the rain. 

With his head hung low, he began to walk back the way he came, realizing that his horse wasn’t coming back to him. He was covered in mud and was expecting a plum colored bruise on his rear from being bucked off his saddle. Now that he lost Nashville in the woods, he had to walk back home soaked in the rain. 

Danny hoped that Nashville would be smart and find his way back home whenever the storm settled. He didn’t want his horse to go too far from home, but little did he know how far away his horse would run off to. 

Running as fast as his hooves could take him, neighs burst from Nashville’s lips at each strike of thunder. He dodged past the wooded trees with remarkable speed as the rain penetrated his sight. Feeling frightened, he wanted coverage from the rain and desired to escape the storm. 

He slowed down to a steady trot, but his legs were still fidgety. He needed to find shelter. Coming upon a hill he didn’t recognize, Nashville staggered up the hill in hopes of evading the thunder that seemed to loom over him. 

He came to find more green oaks and weeping willows with saggy limbs that suspended just inches off the ground at the top of the hill. His hooves left tracks in the mud as he jogged around to view his new surroundings. His hooves stomped on wild flowers that sprouted all over the ground. The rain seemed tamer up on higher ground. Even with the gloomy sky hanging overhead, this part of the woods felt like a more positive environment. The gallant trees that encircled him gave Nashville a strange comfort and made him feel safe for some reason. 

Nashville quickly stopped in his tracks to admire a massive object standing before him. It was a door, but not just an ordinary door. It was a rich chocolate brown that had two doors in one just like an entrance of a grand church. It didn’t belong to any building structure, wall, or fence and stood alone. 

One of its doors was partially open. Nashville inched up to it and nudged the opened door back further to create a bigger opening. 

What he saw inside the entrance was the exact same forest, or was it? The ground he stood on was wet and miserable with rain attacking the earth. On Nashville’s side of the door the sky was a lifeless color with drained out clouds, but looking through the door was the setting sun shining its warm rays on the dry ground. The grass wasn’t wet and the trees didn’t drip rain off their leaves. Everything through the door was light and calm. It was as if the other side of the forest was a completely different place and was free from the vicious storm. How was that possible? 

This other side of the door was definitely odd with its drastic weather differences, but since Nashville was a horse he didn’t think too much of it. He entered the peaceful atmosphere through the door’s opening. A warm wind blew a light breeze against his wet coat after his first step through to the other side. There was no harsh rain and no loud thunder ringing in his ears. He was positive that this was the better side of the woods.

Nashville turned his soaked body back to face the door he came out of. It was ajar and he could see the unbearable rain continue to pour onto the grass on the side he just exited from. One final thunder erupted but it was contained inside the door sounding distant and far away, even though he stood only a few feet away from the entrance of the storm. 

Nashville shook his head from side to side, slapping his long mane against his neck trying to get every raindrop off of him. He neighed out a happy tune and trotted through the dryer parts of Scarlet Woods.


Buy Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble Media Links: Website


About Brooke Passmore



I live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and am a 22 year old young woman who probably will never fully grow up. As a kid I played with Polly Pockets, swam in my swimming pool practically every day during the summer, and went on vacations to Disney World with my family (favorite days of my life). I loved telling stories as a kid by playing with my Polly’s and dressing up like princesses with my friends. Eventually everything that went on in my busy imagination I wrote down on paper in the late hours of the night. 

When I was in sixth grade I moved into a new house with woods directly behind my backyard. I’d walk about the woods and loved trampling through the creek or getting lost in the trees. These trips through the woods gave me my inspiration for my book trilogy Scarlet Woods. My main character in my book is Morgan who lives in a house where the woods are right behind her backyard. My love for trees and anything woodsy definitely shows in my book and I hope I painted a pretty picture in readers’ heads about what Scarlet Woods looks like. 

My favorite candies are Skittles and M&M’s. I put ketchup on practically anything with meat (even with chicken quesadillas). I’m a great fan of Florence and the Machine, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Birdie, and recently The Civil Wars. My favorite books are The Hunger Games, Shiver, and Wither. My favorite movies are Titanic and Gone with the Wind. The Vampire Diaries is the wonderful TV show I’m obsessed with (I’m a Delena lover!!). I hate ads on youtube that I repeatedly have to skip every single time I want to listen to the newest song from Glee. I love to smile, laugh, and purposefully sing loud and off key whenever my brother is around just to pester him. I have a cat named Phoebe who we named after Phoebe from Friends, a yorkie named Coco who we named because he likes to eat Cocoa Puffs, and a shih tzu maltese we named Indy after Indiana Jones. My favorite princess is Cinderella but I think my personality is a tie between Ariel and Belle so they’re all my ultimate faves. If I could choose a century to time travel to I’d probably choose the Victorian age, the roaring 20’s, the 1950’s, or the 1940’s. I think the Victorian age and the 1940’s were probably the most romantic eras in history and the 20’s and 50’s would probably the most fun!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Waiting On Wednesday #2: Harken by Kaleb Nation

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine



Publication Date: January 13, 2013 (4 MORE DAYS!)
Genre: YA fantasy

Harken (Harken, #1)
"After surviving an assassination attempt, teenager Michael Asher discovers that he is at the center of a worldwide conspiracy reaching higher than any earthly power. A supernatural organization desperately wants him dead. He doesn't know why. Everyone who might have the answers has already been killed.

Tumbling into a web of international secrets, Michael is forced to fight back and dig up the truth. He begins to question how much of the world is truly as people are led to believe it is. Are there things that humanity is not being told? Who is the puppet master? And how far into the maze can he venture before he is lost forever?"
-Goodreads


About the Author

KALEB NATION is an author and online personality. His blogs and videos have received over 50 million hits online, and he has been featured on NPR, Entertainment Weekly, The Huffington Post and more.
While writing Harken, Kaleb documented his progress through video blogs at Youtube.com/KalebNation. A black belt in taekwondo, Kaleb lives in California with his chinchilla, Chilla. Harken is his first novel for teens.
Kaleb regularly posts on Twitter (@KalebNation) and blogs at KalebNation.com.

I found out about Kaleb from his vlog on YouTube. From what I have heard about this book, I am totally psyched! 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday #1: My Top Ten Bookish Goals For 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the The Broke and the Bookish

I am horrible at keeping goals, but hopefully this year I will be able to keep them. ( I say that every year, but I always end up breaking them). But I'll give it my best shot. So, here are my Top Ten Bookish Goals For 2013:

1. Read at least 100 books this year.
2. Update my blog consistently.
3. Stop judging books by their cover. (Come on, how many of you have decided to read a book by how its cover looks- I have done this more times than I can count)
4. Finish series that I started, even if I didn't like it.
5. Read and appreciate more classics.
6. Read the Lord of the Rings.
7. Write more reviews for the books I read.
8. Listen to an audiobook for the first time.
9. Read the book before I watch the movie.
10. Organize my bookshelf. ( Most of the physical copies of books I own are scattered throughout my house; under my bed, in the garage, in my closet, ect.) 

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Review: The Lost Prince, by Julie Kagawa


Title: The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #1)
"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." -Goodreads


I had a major problem with the main character in this book, Ethan. He got on my nerves! I was not expecting cute little 4-year old Ethan from the Iron King to grow up into this irritating, mean, annoying jerk.

You know how its the trend today in the YA genre to make the main guy character to be a total jerk and then later we find out why he was acting in this jerky way, and sometimes they have a good reason? Well, in this book, Ethan's reason was just so stupid. I mean, it was understandable why he did it in the beginning, but later on, it got old. Very old, to the point where it made me want to rip my hair out. It was torture.

I loved Keirran. I found myself wishing that he was the main character, so I wouldn't have to put up with Ethan's constant brooding that he was doing for 99% of the book. And Kenzie was likable too. I liked when she would try to straighten Ethan out. You go girl! I don't really feel anything for Annwyl, since we didn't get to know much about her.

Ah, Puck. My favorite trickster. You never cease to humor me. Too bad he was only present for like 10 pages, total. I am happy that him and Ash get along now, but I missed their fighting. It was entertaining to read.

If I ever get a cat, I will name him Grimalkin. I adore this little kitty! (He would not be pleased if he heard me, a dumb human, say this.) Thankfully, he was in this book a lot. I was literally rolling on the floor laughing when he said his famous line, "I am a cat."

The concept of the Forgotten is an interesting one. The fighting scenes were epic, and the action was nonstop. If there was an award for most action-packed YA book, The Lost Prince would win it. No, scratch that, all of Kagawa's books would win that award.

Julie Kagawa's storytelling didn't fall short in this book. The world-building, character development, is perfect as always. It is as good as the Iron Fey series. Julie, you will always be a beloved author to me. But please, if you are reading this, can you please make Keirran the main character of the next book? Pretty please, with Puck awesomesauce on top?

Publication date: October 23rd, 2012
Page count: 379 pages

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Cover Reveal #1: Retribution, by Amy Thompson (The Lost Souls #1)

Title: Retribution (The Lost Souls #1) 

Author: Amy Thompson 

One curse, one exception, one chance at redemption. Regan Edison has just moved from California, to enter her first year at Georgia State. Jacked up Chevy trucks and hunting were a way of life in Georgia. On the evening of her first day of school, Regan was walking back to her dorm when she was viciously attacked by three men. Regan was convinced she was going to die that night. Colter Hayes is a member of the Collectors and the first wrongfully punished soul. Colter and the rest of his team, Finn, Kaiden and Devon, work for the Requiem Council whose job it is to pass judgment onto souls and reincarnate them so that the souls may fix past indiscretions. Agro, an ex-councilman, and his soulless Exiles have other plans. Agro steals souls and hands down his own type of judgment, retribution. He punished those members of the Collectors and has now set his sights on Regan. The Requiem Council dispatches the Collectors to Georgia to work as protectors for Regan. The Collectors must fight to keep Regan safe from Agro and work to earn back their chance at redemption, but when Colter meets Regan his world changes. Everything he thought he knew about his curse is turned upside down and Regan seems to be the cause. 

Can the Collectors find out why Regan is being targeted in time to save her from a fate they know all too well? And is Colter’s curse as final as he thought or will Regan prove to be his exception? 


About Amy Thompson
 
Amy Thompson graduated from Randolph-Macon College with her B.S. in Biology. She currently works as a high school teacher and is earning her M.S. in Higher Education from Drexel University. Amy is a first time, self-published author of Retribution, a mature young adult paranormal romance novel that is the first in the Lost Souls series. She lives in southern Virginia with her family and two lazy cats. Amy Thompson is currently working on the next book in the Lost Souls series and continues to be an avid reader of young adult books. 

Find her: Goodreads/Website


YANR_BlogTour_CR_Retribution

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #1: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine


Prodigy (Legend, #2)
June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action. -Goodreads

I feel compelled to point out how freakin awesome that cover looks! Way better than the first one!
This book comes out in 27 more days (AHH the agony) and I cannot wait until that day comes. Especially when it says "high stakes" and "cinematic action" in the synopsis. 

Don't tell anyone (hehe I just did), but since I read the first book in November of 2011, I kind of forgot about the plot and pretty much all the important stuff that occurred in Legend (let's just say I wasn't blessed with a very good memory). All I remember is loving the book a lot and dying inside when I found out the next book would be released in 2013. So, I will probably be re-reading the first book, or I won't understand anything this book is talking about. Yay for re-reads!  

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Review & Giveaway: Oath of Servitude, by C.E. Wilson (The Punishment Sequence, #1)

Oath of Servitude (The Punishment Sequence)Title: Oath of Servitude
Author: C.E. Wilson
"This is the story of Teague and Cailin, two teenagers who have been brought together by fate. Teague, a human, struggles to come to terms with the consequences of a recent accident that has destroyed the happy life that he had once enjoyed. Cailin, a pixi, is trying to stay true to herself while fighting against forces beyond her control that have exiled her from her home into this strange world of humans. She fears the darkness. He cannot escape it. But when the two of them are thrown together, they begin to discover the light inside of themselves."  -Goodreads

First of all, I want to thank C.E. Wilson for providing me with a copy of this book.

This was a fun read, not exactly action-packed, adventurous, or anything else you'd expect from a book in the paranormal genre, but it was still entertaining.

I'll start with the not-so-good qualities of this book. Firstly, the writing, at times, was kind of awkward. There were a few instances when the wording didn't make sense. Another thing about this book was that some secondary characters were a bit...dry. I wish that the author had developed those characters more, so that the readers would have understood them more.

The ending would have affected me more if the author had explained the pixis and Cailin's family better. I know that the author left questions unanswered to give the book more suspense and to make us want to read the next installment, but leaving that much information unknown just confused me.

Since I have stated what I disliked about this book, I will now go on to what made me like this book. I loved the idea of pixis and the author's originality. With the YA genre being taken over by vampires, its nice to have a different type of paranormal creature being introduced.

I also liked Cailin's character. She is not what anyone would expect a pixi to be like; she has a lot of pride and is very stubborn. Her ignorance of modern day things is amusing to read about (her explanation of baseball is hilarious). Teague was a character that I didn't love, nor did I hate. I felt bad for him, but at the same time, he didn't exactly act like a normal 19-year old. He was too whiny and acted more like a twelve year old. Cailin and Teague's relationship was cute, and I liked how Teague depended on Cailin a lot, not the other way around (unlike other YA couples).The nonstop banter that was a common occurence between Teague and Cailin was enjoyable to read.

Personally, I thought that this book was okay. I was looking forward to read a book with a fresh take on pixis. Sadly, it didn't go in depth about this topic. Most of the novel was Teague and Cailin's relationship and their gradual acceptance of each other. This is a book for people looking for a quick, short read. It had moments when it shined, but it also had some mediocre moments, so I will give this book a 3.5/5 stars.

Release Date: September 2012
Page Count: 159
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars