Saturday, September 22, 2012

Stacking the shelves #6

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Hosted by Tyngas Reviews http://www.tyngasreviews.com/2012/09/stacking-shelves-22.html. Here is link if you would like to participate.
Claus: Legend of the Fat Man by Tony Bertauski (Goodreads Author) Some legends are forged in fire. Others are born in snow. In the early 1800s, Nicholas, Jessica and Jon Santa attempt the first human trek to the North Pole and stumble upon an ancient race of people left over from the Ice Age. They are short, fat and hairy. They slide across the ice on scaly soles and carve their homes in the ice that floats on the Arctic Ocean. The elven are adapted to life in the extreme cold. They are as wise as they are ancient. Their scientific advancements have yielded great inventions -- time-stopping devices and gravitational spheres that build living snowmen and genetically-modified reindeer that leap great distances. They’ve even unlocked the secrets to aging. For 40,000 years, they have lived in peace. Until now. An elven known as The Cold One has divided his people. He’s tired of their seclusion and wants to conquer the world. Only one elven stands between The Cold One and total chaos. He’s white-bearded and red-coated. The Santa family will help him stop The Cold One. They will come to the aid of a legendary elven known as… Claus.
Incarnate (Newsoul #1) by Jodi Meadows (Goodreads Author) New soul Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why. No soul Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame? Heart Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all? Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life
Spellcaster (Spellbound #2) by Cara Lynn Shultz After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although…it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a seventeen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain—especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close….But something dark and hungry is using Emma's and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in überspells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.
Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (Goodreads Author) Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
My rating: add to my books Illuminate (Gilded Wings #1) by Aimee Agresti (Goodreads Author) Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit. As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel? Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.
Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth (Goodreads Author) One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. "New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Ephemeral by Addison Moore The last thing Laken Stewart remembers is the oncoming car, then bursting through the windshield. Two months dissolve without her knowledge and she finds herself in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers who not only profess to know her but insist she’s someone else entirely. Laken Stewart knows she died on that hot July afternoon, but now she’s alive—or is she?
My rating: add to my books Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton (Goodreads Author) Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen. As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Claus: Legend of a Fat Man

Claus: Legend of the Fat Man by Tony Bertauski (Goodreads Author) Some legends are forged in fire. Others are born in snow. In the early 1800s, Nicholas, Jessica and Jon Santa attempt the first human trek to the North Pole and stumble upon an ancient race of people left over from the Ice Age. They are short, fat and hairy. They slide across the ice on scaly soles and carve their homes in the ice that floats on the Arctic Ocean. The elven are adapted to life in the extreme cold. They are as wise as they are ancient. Their scientific advancements have yielded great inventions -- time-stopping devices and gravitational spheres that build living snowmen and genetically-modified reindeer that leap great distances. They’ve even unlocked the secrets to aging. For 40,000 years, they have lived in peace. Until now. An elven known as The Cold One has divided his people. He’s tired of their seclusion and wants to conquer the world. Only one elven stands between The Cold One and total chaos. He’s white-bearded and red-coated. The Santa family will help him stop The Cold One. They will come to the aid of a legendary elven known as… Claus.

I want to thank Tony for giving me the opportunity to read and review Claus: Legend of the Fat Man. I really enjoyed his take on the becoming of Santa Claus. I do have some pro's and con's of the book. The pro's are that the way everything was described from the elven living quarters to the way Nicholas, Jessica, and Jon transformed to survive in the north pole was very creative and well thought out. I really felt connected to the character's and their issue's. I rooted for the good guy's to win and really hoped Jack got what he deserved. The con's of the book are that it could of been slightly faster paced, It wasnt too slow to the point that I lost interest but I did feel that it dragged in a couple of spots. All in all I think it was a good read and I would recommend it to anyone that want's a good christmas story unlike any that I have read before.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Dust By Devon Ashley

Dust (Of Dust and Darkness, #1) by Devon Ashley (Goodreads Author) 4. The number of times my delicate wings have been broken and clamped behind my back. 68. The number inked upon my skin, marking me the sixty-eighth pixie to be stolen. 87. The number of days I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned. 88. The first day the faeries will regret stealing me. Healthy. Cheery. Vivacious. All traits Rosalie has before becoming enslaved by the faeries to make an endless supply of pixie dust. Now that Rosalie has been traumatized by slave labor, extreme desolate conditions and multiple deaths, this hardened pixie is anything but. When this rebellious teenager attempts an escape, she’s isolated in cramped quarters until she learns her place. Just as she begins to let go of all that hope, she finds an unlikely friend in Jack, the faerie assigned to guard her. Interspecies dating is forbidden in the fae world, so their growing attraction is unacceptable. And even if Jack can find a way to free her, they know the prison is the only place they can truly be together.

Thank you Devon for giving me the opportunity to read and review Dust! It was an awesome book. Hearing that this book was about pixies I didnt know what to expect, wondering if it was going to be more like the pixie's in the need series or the fae in one of the many fae books out there. I was pleasantly surprised that it was kind of dark to be a pixie story. It starts off with Rosalie in her homemade tree house in the Hollow. I love the way Devon was with her imagery throughout the book. When Rosalie gets taken and stuck in the hole its awful, Just the way Devon paints the picture for our imagination makes me cringe and feel sorry for poor Rosalie. I am happy to see that the pixies atleast in some aspects still try to stick it to the man(well faeries in this case) by not caring how pure the mushroom particles are to make the pixie dust. Rosalie was a great MC, She had spunk even though she was being abused and starved she still tried to keep faith with the other pixies to escape. When she gets caught and stuck back in the hole I didnt know what to expect to happen. I am glad Jack came along even though he was kind of immature in the beginning he kind of grew on me towards the end. I cannot wait for the second book to be released so I can devour it just like I did with Dust. Readers who enjoy stories with strong willed MC's will enjoy Dust. Devon is having a rafflecopter while the tour is happening sign up right below this post. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, September 10, 2012

Character Interview!!

4. The number of times my delicate wings have been broken and clamped behind my back. 68. The number inked upon my skin, marking me the sixty-eighth pixie to be stolen. 87. The number of days I’ve been wrongfully imprisoned. 88. The first day the faeries will regret stealing me. Healthy. Cheery. Vivacious. All traits Rosalie has before becoming enslaved by the faeries to make an endless supply of pixie dust. Now that Rosalie has been traumatized by slave labor, extreme desolate conditions and multiple deaths, this hardened pixie is anything but. When this rebellious teenager attempts an escape, she’s isolated in cramped quarters until she learns her place. Just as she begins to let go of all that hope, she finds an unlikely friend in Jack, the faerie assigned to guard her. Interspecies dating is forbidden in the fae world, so their growing attraction is unacceptable. And even if Jack can find a way to free her, they know the prison is the only place they can truly be together.

If you havent read dust yet then you are missing out. :) My character interview is with Jack the main squeeze in the book. Also Devon has a rafflecopter going on during the tour sign up at the bottom of this interview.

When did you realize you had feelings for Rosalie? I don't know. I felt really bad for her...that's why I tried to keep her company every day and sneak things in for her. I was just sitting there next to her in the hole one day, listening to her. When she turned her head and our eyes got caught in a gaze, I just knew. Like a lightning bug just lit up in my brain, and my insides filled with warmth.

How do you feel about your family knowing that they make pixies as their slaves? I'm not so sure my mother knows, but it's just another thing turning me off on following in my father's footsteps. I'm all for prisons and punishing those that trully deserve to be there. But not forced slavery. I'll never be able to condone that the way he has. I know he's not responsible for it directly, but he knows about it, and still does nothing.

Do you have any plans to help Rosalie help the other pixies out of the prison? If I can. I know Rosalie will fight to the bitter end, but she's trying to go up against a lion with numerous lionesses to hunt her down and rip her to shreds in mere seconds. Sometimes you have to find happiness from the small victories, and realize the larger battles would only end in death.

What made you believe Rosalie when she told you about what they were doing to pixies? I don't know. It just seemed twisted enough to be true. And just knowing my father, I completely believe the upper officials are messed up enough to do that. Not to mention the way Rosalie's eyes were boring into me. Dark and determined.

Silly questions

Who do you think would win in a fight, A day old grilled cheese sandwich or a taco? Probably the taco. It's equipped to cause killer heartburn and IBS.

Whats your favorite animal? Hmm....not sure. Think I'm going to go with the rabbit...lightning fast they are, and I love to ride on their backs as they bolt through the forest.

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