tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39543032335363001412024-02-20T18:22:33.492+00:00Karla ReadsKarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-4023291978720011382011-11-21T09:15:00.001+00:002011-11-21T09:21:26.516+00:00Review: The Dig (Zoe and Zeus #1) by Audrey Hart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Dig (Zoe and Zeus #1) </b>by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1068037.Audrey_Hart">Audrey Hart</a><br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>November 11, 2011<br />
<b>Format: </b>eBook<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Source:</b> Author Review Request<br />
<b>Publisher: </b>Backlit Fiction<br />
<b>Pages: </b>N/A<br />
<b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0064GU2AM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=karrea-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0064GU2AM">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=karrea-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B0064GU2AM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<b>Rating: </b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjscYL4OuSDOnqTPu3DnwchECfHb1_G0kcMj7CGInaOeOo2k5hLihu6zJ_8p_YYISohZn0V8JakH5rctK6wBu_CPZel6IqHm4BoOTjc3Bdr4UgwupzH0O7-rwd4drrj8XkyyICl8nO2cPk/s1600/4star.png" /><br />
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Zoe Calder has always been an outsider. Stashed away in boarding schools since her parents died, Zoe buries herself in the study of ancient worlds. Her greatest thrill is spending her summers with her archeologist aunt and uncle on digs around the world. And one day, while investigating a newly unearthed temple in Crete, Zoe discovers a luminous artifact that transports her to ancient Greece.
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As Zoe quickly learns, the Olympian Gods are real, living people—humans with mysterious powers… Powers that Zoe quickly realizes she has come to possess, as well. However, when the people of ancient Greece mistake Zoe for an Olympian, the Gods must restore the balance of the ancient world… No matter what.
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Zoe is forced to play a confusing and dangerous game as Hera rallies the gods against her—all except for Zeus, the beautiful, winged young god who risks everything to save her.
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Out of time and out of her element, teenager Zoe Calder finds herself in ancient Greece, battling against the power of the Olympians and the vengeance of a scorned goddess—all for the strange and mysterious boy she has come to love.</blockquote>
<i>“You really can’t live life worrying about what other people might think of you, because then you find yourself swimming to save your life and knowing that you would be swimming a lot faster if you had mastered the crawl”.</i><BR><BR>
Under all of the fun, romance and adventure that this novel holds, really does lay a deeper meaning, or at least that’s what I picked up on when reading it! <br />
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Zoe, the main female in Hart’s story is a character that most girls have lived through in their life, she’s a little insecure, feels that she doesn’t really fit in, and is surrounded by groups of girls at her school who she doesn’t understand – even her best friend is slightly alien to her! Until one day, on an archaeological dig, Zoe travels back in time to the world of the Greek Gods, there she finds out a lot of new things about herself that she never thought she had in her. <br />
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<i>The Dig</i> is full of major adventure; time travel, mythical demons, angry teenage girls etc etc … all of which brought back some awesome memories when reading (not because I’m a time traveller, though that would be pretty awesome!) because when I was younger I used to love the ‘tweeny’ movies that involved some kind of adventure, Mary-Kate and Ashley were just one of my favourites and this book really reminded me of the excitement I used to feel when watching their films – another twist was always around the corner. <br />
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Hart also adds in some major humour, modern pop culture references GALLOR! Rhianna is mentioned, an iPhone is pretty much the driving force of the story, and I can’t actually remember any more specifically (Dammit, I should have written them down as I read) but believe me there are loads, and it’s totally hilarious to hear them mentioned and see the characters reactions in the setting of ancient Greece.<br />
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Like I mentioned at the beginning however, underneath all of this awesome sauce, there is an underlying moral to this story, basically ‘who gives a crap what other people think!?’ You’ll never be anyone else other than yourself, and when you finally accept who you are is when your life and everything about your character will come together. Believe me, it works for Zoe, so I’m all for it!Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-72054255367175009682011-11-09T08:00:00.000+00:002011-11-09T08:00:14.028+00:00Waiting on Wednesday (#17)Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at <a href="http://www.breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking the Spine</a>, that showcases upcoming releases that we are excited about. <br />
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<b>Revived </b>by Cat Patrick<br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>May 8, 2012<br />
<b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/home">Little Brown</a><br />
<b>Format: </b>Hardback<br />
<b>Pages: </b>304<br />
<b>Age Group: </b>Young Adult<br />
<b>Interest: </b>Author<br />
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As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.
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A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger — and more sinister — than she ever imagined.</blockquote>
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<b>About Cat Patrick:</b><br />
Cat Patrick is an author of books for teens. Her debut novel, FORGOTTEN (available now), is about a girl who can remember the future instead of the past, and was praised by NYT bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher, as a "mindbending," one-sitting read. The book is being translated into 21 languages and Paramount bought the movie rights, with True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld attached to star as the main character, London Lane. <br />
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Patrick's second (unrelated) novel, REVIVED, is about a girl who's part of a secret government program to test a drug that brings people back from the dead. REVIVED will be available in the US May 2012, and in the UK and Australia Summer 2012. <br />
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Patrick lives near Seattle with her husband and twin 3-year-olds, and is afraid of zombies, planes, and zombies on planes.
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Find Cat here: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/seecatwrite">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4254441.Cat_Patrick">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.catpatrick.com/">Blog </a><br />
<br /></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-49406881789266513212011-11-08T11:38:00.000+00:002011-11-08T12:06:36.724+00:00Cover Reveal (Fallen in Love, Fallen #3.5 and Rapture, Fallen #4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Rapture (Fallen #4)</b> by <a href="http://laurenkatebooks.net/">Lauren Kate</a><br />
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<b>Release Date</b>: 12 June, 2012</div>
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<b>Format:</b> Hardback</div>
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<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult</div>
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<b>Pages:</b> 432</div>
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<b>Publisher: </b>Delacorte Books for Young Readers<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The sky is dark with wings. . . .
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In RAPTURE, the highly anticipated fourth and final novel in the FALLEN series, Luce and Daniel are together . . . but for how long? Can history be rewritten? Or are some punishments eternal?</blockquote>
By far my favourite cover in the series! I love the muted tones of blue and grey and adore the models dress! I haven't read the first three, because unfortunately, I'm still looking for a decently priced hardback copy of Fallen (Fallen #1) - I own the second and third novel in hardback and would like to complete the collection that way! - I will get round to them eventually.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">Previous books in this series: </span></b><br />
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<b>Fallen In Love (Fallen #3.5)</b> by <a href="http://laurenkatebooks.net/">Lauren Kate</a><br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>24 January, 2012</div>
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<b>Format:</b> Hardback</div>
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<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult</div>
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<b>Pages:</b> 160</div>
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<b>Publisher: </b>Delacorte Books for Young Readers</div>
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Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.
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And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other.
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Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for.
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True love never says goodbye . . .</blockquote>
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">And now for a very special treat thanks to Random House Publishing Group ... keep reading after the jump for an extract from <i>Fallen In Love</i>..</span></b><br />
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<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="http://www.scribd.com/embeds/72033920/content?start_page=1&view_mode=list&access_key=key-19ulp2vezax5mi9ch0rg" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.665217391304348" scrolling="no" id="doc_84744" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();</script>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-62832780858243983352011-11-04T20:58:00.001+00:002011-11-04T20:58:15.335+00:00Cover Reveal (Endlessly, Paranormalcy #3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3)</b> by <a href="http://www.kierstenwhite.com/">Kiersten White</a><br />
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<b>Release Date</b>: 24 July, 2012<br />
<b>Format:</b> Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Pages:</b> 320<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Harper Teen<br />
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The third book in the Paranormalcy trilogy.
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The final chapter of Evie's adventures. Old friends, new ones, all wrapped up in impossible decisions. And some ball gowns. Because what's a life of normal and paranormal drama without a ball gown or two?</blockquote>
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Possibly THE most stunning cover of next year so far! I haven't read any of this series yet - they're on my Wish List - but boy, if I didn't want to read them before, I certainly do now ... I know, I know ... don't judge a book by it's cover ;)<br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">Previous books in this series: </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0ZPRnUKurxC08b9DVBbcEG4-TrWN69A2xzWrnWm5Suf2LztqvYG-RoaMuYTlkvoZrHENF0Cm3MqSs8rwE9aiKrvOoWjlxbUl2BIVR0f_bE0npufoGC2b5ov99Hhx-25SIX1m2PQDXyng/s1600/7719245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0ZPRnUKurxC08b9DVBbcEG4-TrWN69A2xzWrnWm5Suf2LztqvYG-RoaMuYTlkvoZrHENF0Cm3MqSs8rwE9aiKrvOoWjlxbUl2BIVR0f_bE0npufoGC2b5ov99Hhx-25SIX1m2PQDXyng/s200/7719245.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1)</b> </b>by <a href="http://www.kierstenwhite.com/">Kiersten White</a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Release Date</b>: </b>31 August, 2010</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Format:</b> </b>Hardback</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Age Group:</b> </b>Young Adult</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Pages:</b> 335</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Publisher:</b> </b>Harper Teen</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.
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Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
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So much for normal.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLTeUMb8awuhsJtaKudnrBfQ0ZkBGMLr5NtXUckGeJBzXzcfkSETbExq9WoBIjWZz6o9BliJNz8V0-9Ai1WTmBLnOz8BdSULx2bqgEDZzJ2jv7BjutwcjqFnMKuR3Ud-6K7H6m7U9xJkQ/s1600/8581936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLTeUMb8awuhsJtaKudnrBfQ0ZkBGMLr5NtXUckGeJBzXzcfkSETbExq9WoBIjWZz6o9BliJNz8V0-9Ai1WTmBLnOz8BdSULx2bqgEDZzJ2jv7BjutwcjqFnMKuR3Ud-6K7H6m7U9xJkQ/s200/8581936.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
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<b>Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)</b> by<b> <a href="http://www.kierstenwhite.com/">Kiersten White</a></b> </div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Release Date</b>: </b>26 July, 2011</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Format:</b> </b>Hardback</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Age Group:</b> </b>Young Adult</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Pages:</b> 336</div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Publisher:</b> </b>Harper Teen</div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.
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<br />
But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.
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So much for normal.</blockquote>
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">What do you think of the newest cover!? I love the fact that they all feature the same model and the fact that each one is a different colour but fits with the last perfectly. I can't wait to read them!</span></b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-79904182320704122032011-11-03T08:00:00.000+00:002011-11-03T08:00:09.084+00:00Review: Unearthly (Unearthly #1) by Cynthia Hand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGgTdFZa-zzhxEOO8lpiqMjoNRZPwlNJ1Z3iD4SBnjJu9yVbL_tAElY_k8Uj6hceacWLajIqaugsUBUBQuFniDa3ePu2Bb1_ESN991mRGwy6QrI0MjXVPb6F_Dg8CF7FBkumOnUrQwVsH/s1600/9975659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGgTdFZa-zzhxEOO8lpiqMjoNRZPwlNJ1Z3iD4SBnjJu9yVbL_tAElY_k8Uj6hceacWLajIqaugsUBUBQuFniDa3ePu2Bb1_ESN991mRGwy6QrI0MjXVPb6F_Dg8CF7FBkumOnUrQwVsH/s320/9975659.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b>Unearthly (Unearthly #1) </b>by <a href="http://cynthiahandbooks.com/">Cynthia Hand</a><br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>May 2, 2011<br />
<b>Format: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Source:</b> Bought<br />
<b>Publisher: </b>Egmont UK Limited<br />
<b>Pages: </b>435<br />
<b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Unearthly-Cynthia-Hand/9781405259644">Bookdepository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&x=0&ref_=nb_sb_noss&y=0&field-keywords=unearthly&url=search-alias%3Daps&_encoding=UTF8&tag=karrea-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=19450">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=karrea-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<b>Rating: </b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjscYL4OuSDOnqTPu3DnwchECfHb1_G0kcMj7CGInaOeOo2k5hLihu6zJ_8p_YYISohZn0V8JakH5rctK6wBu_CPZel6IqHm4BoOTjc3Bdr4UgwupzH0O7-rwd4drrj8XkyyICl8nO2cPk/s1600/4star.png" /><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .<br />
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Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.<br />
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Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.<br />
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As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?<br />
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Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.</blockquote>
I’m just going to start this review off by saying, oh my God, TUCKER AVERY! Little pink love hearts float off me when I think of him… hmm. Anyway..<br />
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This one was actually quite a strange read for me. I picked it up thinking, okay, I’ve heard fantastic things and it’s about Angels so it’s going to be right down my alley right?! Yeah, to an extent it was. All of you will know by now that Angel mythology is one of my ultimate favourites, I just adore the lore and in my experience Angels tend to make for a pretty action packed and exciting story line. This one wasn’t different. It had all of the things that make a novel great; well rounded characters (a big plus in my book) an interesting plot and just enough information to keep the story flowing but the reader guessing. <br />
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So why then, was it a ‘strange’ read for me? Well, I found myself wanting to quickly fly past all of the Angel business, simply for one thing: Tucker Avery. Not since Patch Cipriano has a male love interest gripped me as much as Tucker did. I have this really clear picture of him in my head (hello Cam Gigandet!) and oh boy, was he an interesting character to try and get my head around! I’m totally, unequivocally, TEAM TUCKER... Christian Prescott who? (Gush over)<br />
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I was really happy when I learned that Unearthly was going to be made into a CW TV show (<a href="http://karlareads.blogspot.com/2011/10/unearthly-to-be-tv-series.html">see my post about it here</a>). I think the way in which Cynthia Hand writes the novel allows it to be broken down into some smaller pieces that will make great, and exciting, individual episodes for the TV show! It wasn’t written ‘one-day-after-the-next’, Cynthia picks out the interesting parts in Clara’s journey which really lets the action kick off – the ending was a total twist and I’m dying to read more.<br />
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Unearthly is pretty much for everyone I think. There is a character that everyone can relate to and a plot line that keeps you reading, and to be honest, it was kind of nice to not have to focus too much on the Angel lore – I was totally distracted and still didn’t come out feeling confused!Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-29469254545293715582011-11-02T08:46:00.000+00:002011-11-02T08:46:18.619+00:00Cover Reveal (Dreamless, Starcrossed #2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPF6Lo7DKzhQBTgVQMoiMwjs_WSBwW3heMtmUxdG5OG1NA5QFLff7z5VoV_PJ0fGNSumN33UUIMyziDT3NQ20TrFq_CBi7Q4VbmGl1Rca_LhZ1N-rATwhI-kwx4sB8Tm9IkzVZq6ai7hH/s1600/7849031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPF6Lo7DKzhQBTgVQMoiMwjs_WSBwW3heMtmUxdG5OG1NA5QFLff7z5VoV_PJ0fGNSumN33UUIMyziDT3NQ20TrFq_CBi7Q4VbmGl1Rca_LhZ1N-rATwhI-kwx4sB8Tm9IkzVZq6ai7hH/s320/7849031.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<b>Dreamless (Starcrossed #2)</b> by <a href="http://www.josephineangelini.com/">Josephine Angelini</a><br />
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<b>Release Date</b>: May, 2012<br />
<b>Format:</b> Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Harper Teen<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Wow! The Dreamless cover is STUNNING! I like it so much better than the Starcrossed one. Really, really love the colours that they've used, espesically the purple colours of the girls (I'm assuming Helen) dress. It fits in really well with the US cover of Starcrossed but not at all with the UK cover, so that leaves me wondering what they will do with the UK cover. Looking forward to finding out!</blockquote>
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">Lets take a look at the US and UK cover of Starcrossed and see how they will fit with the Dreamless cover..</span></b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSvQHg_SVUGOmiDFrt7GiZKv8rYU865OJQ2WLq4IQbvFadeAzzju0UC1tSsZyqW6VifrZiJEJzmGJbaVXuzhuqz3U3vqHWjvddYCGjvViF7ReM5TX47ZGKRNg9jSHu6IB_WJWu0BfFAq-/s1600/9462795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSvQHg_SVUGOmiDFrt7GiZKv8rYU865OJQ2WLq4IQbvFadeAzzju0UC1tSsZyqW6VifrZiJEJzmGJbaVXuzhuqz3U3vqHWjvddYCGjvViF7ReM5TX47ZGKRNg9jSHu6IB_WJWu0BfFAq-/s200/9462795.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
US cover of Starcrossed</td></tr>
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<b>Starcrossed</b> by <a href="http://www.josephineangelini.com/">Josephine Angelini</a><br />
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<b>Release Date</b>: June 3, 2012</div>
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<b>Format:</b> Hardback/Paperback</div>
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<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult</div>
<b>Publisher:</b> Harper Teen/MacMillan Children's Books<br />
<b>Pages: </b>514<b> </b><br />
<blockquote>
Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kQMEP0-MV5wo_qWQDMAy_rwspZh2Ta0EU_kCEAlAZGeufwvVmOD0jHvj-1WlHOlKDfp_wAE2vpSq1tgbWKZhRQmcSReGu5WOea0cLZ-QVF4FNfjVbDpgTqdCrPQCP8ry-2A9ChtaBckd/s1600/9721690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kQMEP0-MV5wo_qWQDMAy_rwspZh2Ta0EU_kCEAlAZGeufwvVmOD0jHvj-1WlHOlKDfp_wAE2vpSq1tgbWKZhRQmcSReGu5WOea0cLZ-QVF4FNfjVbDpgTqdCrPQCP8ry-2A9ChtaBckd/s200/9721690.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
UK cover of Starcrossed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?</blockquote>
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I really wish that I could have gotten hold of the US cover of for the book, but I'm quite excited to see what they do to the UK version of Dreamless, hopefully it'll fit in as well with the first cover as the US version does!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">What do you think of the newest cover!? Do you also love how much in theme they have stayed with the first book? Are you from the UK as well and curious as to what they will do with the UK paperback? Let me know!</span></b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-48180836104549951442011-11-02T08:00:00.000+00:002011-11-02T08:00:00.911+00:00Waiting on Wednesday (#16)Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at <a href="http://www.breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking the Spine</a>, that showcases upcoming releases that we are excited about. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyu6frkyFl0iaQbVvAk3yRI2_pZnm4m7tmVwKjM3rj-RB00DwgrKkkrckykgC3_WpLgFM0BKZM0WcuDepnEs8CpRGMHlYhc-kDYB9yP4IMLSHyjUPuoMryQ8RLbdPzhWnglxLd5Z7wFaDZ/s1600/12165008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyu6frkyFl0iaQbVvAk3yRI2_pZnm4m7tmVwKjM3rj-RB00DwgrKkkrckykgC3_WpLgFM0BKZM0WcuDepnEs8CpRGMHlYhc-kDYB9yP4IMLSHyjUPuoMryQ8RLbdPzhWnglxLd5Z7wFaDZ/s320/12165008.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<b>Hallowed (Unearthly #2) </b>by Cynthia Hand<br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>January 2, 2012<br />
<b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.egmont.co.uk/">Egmont Books Ltd</a><br />
<b>Format: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Pages: </b>448<br />
<b>Age Group: </b>Young Adult<br />
<b>Interest: </b>Series<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.
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Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss. This beautifully woven tale will appeal to fans of Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Aprilynne Pike.</blockquote>
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<b>About Cynthia Hand:</b><br />
Cynthia Hand grew up in southeast Idaho (very near the Wyoming border). Currently she lives in southern California with her husband and two small children. She teaches courses in creative writing at Pepperdine University. Unearthly, her debut YA novel, was published by HarperTeen in January 2011, out in paperback on 11-1-11. The sequel, Hallowed, will be released on January 17.
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Find Jodi here: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/cynthiahand">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3290920">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://cynthiahandbooks.com/">Blog </a><br />
<br /></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-16857492255848640922011-11-01T08:54:00.001+00:002011-11-01T08:54:34.973+00:00NaNoWriMo Starting Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp6qgjliCn0X0JIMM-oIb1yFKh2e4ZTjFBudmqhTjVdJGcCg8rVc6zsII0WaND-91qFnYuHSEk2HN4hPKpsh7aCIDnmsx6W-LqyJ6_0jHn0x1lVQeLs7c-gO2hNvllXopi_iTuuN_o01V/s1600/Neutral2_120_200_white.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp6qgjliCn0X0JIMM-oIb1yFKh2e4ZTjFBudmqhTjVdJGcCg8rVc6zsII0WaND-91qFnYuHSEk2HN4hPKpsh7aCIDnmsx6W-LqyJ6_0jHn0x1lVQeLs7c-gO2hNvllXopi_iTuuN_o01V/s200/Neutral2_120_200_white.png" width="120" /></a></div>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ca3b6c;">For those of you who don't know of, or haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, you can follow </span><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">this link</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ca3b6c;"> and read some more stuff about it!</span></b><br />
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Safe to say I'm terrified guys! I haven't really prepared anything what-so-ever, I've just had an idea in my head for about the past month now. Basically, I'm totally winging it! I know that it's going to be something Young Adult, something Paranormal, and something that will hopefully tap into what I know.<br />
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50,000 words in a month just seems far too daunting to take seriously so I'm just going to do my own thing and hope that it all works out okay. I might write 50,000 in a month, I might only write 10,000 in a month, either way I see that as progress so I'll be happy.<br />
If you'd like to follow my progress more closely (though there will probably be regular-ish updates on here also) you can do so by adding me as a <b>NaNoWriMo</b> buddy or, if you aren't participating, you can keep track of my profile <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/itsmekarlah">here</a> - there's also a button in my sidebar that links to my profile.<br />
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I know a lot of amazing book bloggers are taking part, and I'm so excited to see what they end up writing about! At the end of the day, we all share the same love - the written word! So good luck to anyone participating, may the force (and lots of caffeine) be with you.<br />
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<b>Please do take the time to comment if you are taking part. I'd love to check out all of your profiles!</b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-17437267071060933382011-10-30T09:48:00.000+00:002011-10-30T09:48:51.076+00:00In My Mailbox (#13)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC39lP_dkUdVrOr9Op7z1qg6BrcIicO85ig3LPkP4RjbeRg1AMEwgKFG9UWOUQX4rKyYEU1v4GD2MJE67h3rB9XFNl-JpxzwyM0MuC7rU2ClAgsActhZjYp8AqLIR7U4PpoFhDW6yNYWBx/s1600/mailbox1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC39lP_dkUdVrOr9Op7z1qg6BrcIicO85ig3LPkP4RjbeRg1AMEwgKFG9UWOUQX4rKyYEU1v4GD2MJE67h3rB9XFNl-JpxzwyM0MuC7rU2ClAgsActhZjYp8AqLIR7U4PpoFhDW6yNYWBx/s200/mailbox1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a> It showcases the books that we have received, borrowed, or bought in the last week or so and is a great way for bloggers to interact with one another. I love reading or watching what fellow book bloggers got in their mailboxes during the week, and I try to make my posts as insightful and entertaining (cringe) as possible!</div>
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Go and check out Kristi's blog, there's always something fantastic and exciting to read over there!<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/633446.Runemarks">Runemarks </a>by <b>Joanne Harris</b> (Published 2 August, 2007 by Doubleday)<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12935765-runelight">Runelight</a> by <b>Joanne Harris</b> (Expected publication 3 November, 2011 by Random House)<br />
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I received Runelight via Random House's Blogger Bulletin and instantly set out to find the first in the series! I haven't read much high fantasy but something about the blurb for Runemarks gripped me ... "500 years after the end of the world, and Goblins have been at the cellar again" is the first line to this book - isn't that just awesome!? I managed to get Runemarks online, used but in really good condition for only £2.81 (bargain or what for a hardback!). I just can't wait, I'm SO excited to read both of them.</blockquote>
A massive thank you goes out to <a href="http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/">Random House</a> for the stunning hardback review copy of Runelight! <b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;"> What did you get in your mailbox this week?</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrB9NKZTggkmMLIEquyhetIPF6b3ltxTAGtM3cXRHjeim9haYf8XzRh5tvJvxDKoa01gtQLfxrR6nHEAPIXeBNBZRD7k9Su7iC41C-hhErvDlav9qyc1X7RL7k4e6DAsPOFkoqfZ-8xjt/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrB9NKZTggkmMLIEquyhetIPF6b3ltxTAGtM3cXRHjeim9haYf8XzRh5tvJvxDKoa01gtQLfxrR6nHEAPIXeBNBZRD7k9Su7iC41C-hhErvDlav9qyc1X7RL7k4e6DAsPOFkoqfZ-8xjt/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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PS. Check out my awesome nails - I just did them this morning and I LOVE them! How pretty :)</div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-59045291067411729412011-10-28T09:31:00.000+01:002011-10-28T09:33:40.064+01:00Cover Reveal (Timepiece, Hourglass #2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2un7T6ayMoRusLXTT2Te1fgKKTNgQRjIf8cay26v3H6lK-AvQet7Cg7WY0hCuK3bXwLBfjQHVAHvGPMvSeK78Y_LxMF1dy8fU_wQr2gwgXj9KMw60H_tcG-t_-BgVXEaedc0pwyVD3xg/s1600/12680986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2un7T6ayMoRusLXTT2Te1fgKKTNgQRjIf8cay26v3H6lK-AvQet7Cg7WY0hCuK3bXwLBfjQHVAHvGPMvSeK78Y_LxMF1dy8fU_wQr2gwgXj9KMw60H_tcG-t_-BgVXEaedc0pwyVD3xg/s320/12680986.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>Timepiece </b>by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3228055.Myra_McEntire">Myra McEntire</a><br />
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<b>Release Date:</b> June 12, 2012<br />
<b>Format:</b> Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Publisher: </b>Egmont USA<br />
<b>Pages: </b>336<br />
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Guys, have you seen this cover! Oh my, it's bloody gorgeous! I thought I really loved the first cover but then I saw this one and decided that they've completely outdone themselves. Stunning colour scheme and I really love the fact that they've stuck with the original theme. I think, even if you didn't know that this was the sequel to <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9182478-hourglass">Hourglass</a></i>, you would totally be able to guess from the cover. They will look so pretty together on my bookshelf! I haven't read hourglass yet, but after seeing this I think I might bump it up to the top of my TBR pile. </blockquote>
<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">Now lets have a look at <i>Hourglass'</i> cover and compare the two:</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCn3N1koL4F0GVUGqo54cXLrl9Lc5d488ERs9CpKZEjdS9_orsHdbZrQY77blcPeDl51hmF1RX1VVzIh5uIUwzh5J_hlZzIxw32KaxlzIh5wY0suvVkZzgo0erjVDwZLRVXMVYMf2qAlH/s1600/9182478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCn3N1koL4F0GVUGqo54cXLrl9Lc5d488ERs9CpKZEjdS9_orsHdbZrQY77blcPeDl51hmF1RX1VVzIh5uIUwzh5J_hlZzIxw32KaxlzIh5wY0suvVkZzgo0erjVDwZLRVXMVYMf2qAlH/s320/9182478.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b>Hourglass </b>by Myra McEntire</div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>June 14, 2011</div>
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<b>Format:</b> Hardback</div>
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<b>Age Group: </b>Young Adult</div>
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<b>Publisher: </b>Egmont USA</div>
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<b>Pages: </b>400</div>
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One hour to rewrite the past . . . </div>
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For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
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So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
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Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?</div>
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Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">Which of the two covers do you prefer? Have you read Hourglass, what did you think?</span></b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-91515093728170104192011-10-27T09:30:00.002+01:002011-10-27T09:31:31.190+01:00Unearthly to be a TV series!Okay, so originally when I heard this, I thought it was just going to be another rumour. But no, low and behold Cynthia Hand herself has confirmed it! You can read her entire blog post <a href="http://www.cynthiahand.blogspot.com/">here</a>, but long story short; it's being talked about. CW have expressed an interest but there's nothing to say that it will actually get to the small screen. In Cynthia's words <b>"Unearthly has a lot of hoops to get through before that happens". </b><br /><BR>
Still totally exciting though right?! I'm about half way through the book at the moment and having read this far, I think it will make a flippin' awesome TV show. Over here in the UK we'll get it on ITV2 (I'm assuming) because that's where <i>The Vampire Diaries </i>and <i>The Secret Circle</i> are shown. I love shows that are made by CW, there's always something so real about them and their castings are often spot on! So yeah, safe to say that this news excites me, and I'll be waiting will eager eyes to see the promo advert!<br />
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In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .<br />
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Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.<br />
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Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
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As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?<br />
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Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.</blockquote>
Are you excited about this news? Have you read Unearthly, what did you think? Opinions people, I want opinions :)Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-3642503757850037812011-10-27T08:00:00.000+01:002011-10-27T08:00:06.440+01:00Review: Silence (Hush, Hush #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Silence (Hush, Hush #3) </b>by <a href="http://beccafitzpatrick.com/">Becca Fitzpatrick</a><br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>October 4, 2011<br />
<b>Format: </b>Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Source:</b> Bought<br />
<b>Publisher: </b>Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing<br />
<b>Pages: </b>438<br />
<b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Silence-Becca-Fitzpatrick/9781442426641">Bookdepository</a><br />
<b>Rating: </b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjscYL4OuSDOnqTPu3DnwchECfHb1_G0kcMj7CGInaOeOo2k5hLihu6zJ_8p_YYISohZn0V8JakH5rctK6wBu_CPZel6IqHm4BoOTjc3Bdr4UgwupzH0O7-rwd4drrj8XkyyICl8nO2cPk/s1600/4star.png" /><br />
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The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.</blockquote>
Believe me when I say that this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2011, I could not wait to get my head stuck into this book when Crescendo left me with such a cliff hanger! So imagine my disappointment when I ended up giving Silence only four out of five stars. Don’t get me wrong, the book was really really good and I did enjoy reading it, it just didn’t grip me as much as the other two did – they really were awesome and I would have given them well over five stars if I could! But anyway onto the review..<br />
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Silence picks up right where Crescendo left off except everything isn’t as it seems. Nora has no recollection whatsoever of the past five months – no idea who Patch is, no idea that school and summer have ended and no idea that her mum is dating Hank Miller (SHOCK!). Fitzpatrick does an extremely good job at this point of putting the reader right in Nora’s head, she has no idea, and I had no idea! I found myself completely confused as to what was going on and what had happened because I hadn’t had the chance to read about a lot of it. If that was her goal then kudos to her! <br />
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Nora, of course, then gets herself mixed up in all kinds of trouble once again when she starts to piece bits together to try to get the whole story (sometimes she’s just too oblivious, grrr), and she gets into a scary predicament with some Fallen Angels, one called Jev who bares a likely resemblance to Patch (hmm, yeah, sorry, I totally knew it was him from the minute he was introduced) which is when the plot line really starts to come together and Fitzpatrick starts to fill her readers in (YAY!) It all gets super duper exciting and, long story short, Scott’s now just as much of a fittie as Patch! I TOTALLY CANNOT DECIDE! I actually kind of like Marcie Millar now, go figure! And Hank Millar is possibly one of the most menacing, evil bad guys in fiction; he’s just so sly!<br />
But, when the plot gets going and the story starts taking shape, is unfortunately when I found myself getting a little bit lost though. Having read and loved the first two books, I’d figured that I knew the lore and the characters pretty well, but so much happens in Silence that I found myself really having to think about the other two books to keep afloat – it was all just a little bit too much information too fast, and I had to keep rereading bits to make sure I was getting everything right (sob!). It’s a shame because I really love Becca’s stories and I was hoping this one would live up to my expectations of it.<br />
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However, a plus point to end, and a major one at that; GUYS! It’s not the end! Becca Fitzpatrick has recently released a statement on her website to say that she isn’t finished with Patch and Nora just yet. THERE’S GOING TO BE A FOURTH BOOK! (I know right? Awesomeness with a side of awesome sauce?) If you’re a lover of the series then definitely pick this one up, the awesome characters are still present (major swoonage for the boys), the edge-of-your-seat action is still there and as per usual Becca Fitzpatrick leaves you wanting more. The final chapter is a killer, trust me!Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-7358609934563968182011-10-26T08:00:00.000+01:002011-10-26T08:00:13.323+01:00Waiting on Wednesday (#15)Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at <a href="http://www.breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking the Spine</a>, that showcases upcoming releases that we are excited about. <br />
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<b>Incarnate (Incarnate #1) </b>by Jodi Meadows<br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>January 31, 2012<br />
<b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx">Harper Collins Children's Books</a><br />
<b>Format: </b>Hardback<br />
<b>Pages: </b>384<br />
<b>Age Group: </b>Young Adult<br />
<b>Interest: </b>Debut Author<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
NEWSOUL <br />
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. <br />
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NOSOUL <br />
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 suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
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HEART <br />
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? <br />
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Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNymRKGRl8kJe2OIboq6ax_Xx57O-Wp_BSlDUCdrqyzNIyx_kzY0KJjv-csX6EOY3F4hp2ZzjszM2y9ipB0sX3mNF5ebsYDoCPPkFPyLL0Slrqjc5h7dGwHxoiSIcPcSRdwrdek4PkNwA/s1600/11Meadows-0051-240x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNymRKGRl8kJe2OIboq6ax_Xx57O-Wp_BSlDUCdrqyzNIyx_kzY0KJjv-csX6EOY3F4hp2ZzjszM2y9ipB0sX3mNF5ebsYDoCPPkFPyLL0Slrqjc5h7dGwHxoiSIcPcSRdwrdek4PkNwA/s200/11Meadows-0051-240x300.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
<b>About Jodi Meadows:</b><br />
Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut.
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*A Kippy is a cat.<br />
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Find Jodi here: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/jodimeadows">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4116488.Jodi_Meadows">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.jodimeadows.com/">Blog </a><br />
<br /></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-44950925273492431222011-10-23T22:39:00.001+01:002011-10-26T09:17:07.528+01:00Bout of Books Read-A-Thon Kick Off and Updates!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hiya everyone! As you may have noticed, recently I haven't been posting to my blog, well, this is simply because of what you see before you now. I've been having a <b>major </b>blog re-vamp and once again, thanks to my amazingly talented boyfriend, I have a gorgeous layout. Now, there are still some kinks to be ironed out over the next week or so and some of the links do not yet work, but I'm well on my way to sorting all of that out and getting everything organised (which is why I wanted a new layout in the first place!). So in advance, thank you for being so patient! </div>
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In the mean time I'm going to be taking part in a week long read-a-thon hosted over at <a href="http://onabookbender.com/2011/10/06/bout-of-books-sign-up/">On a Book Bender</a> (you can still sign up!) My expectations aren't high due to blog re-arranging, work and just a general like of time, so I'm setting myself a realistic goal for the week: <b>two books.</b></div>
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That's my goal and anything over that will just be a massive plus! Now, onto the books that I'm going to be choosing from:</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9802372-the-name-of-the-star">Name of the Star</a> by Maureen Johnson</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel">Clockwork Angel</a> by Cassandra Clare</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither">Wither</a> by Lauren DeStefano</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7488244-unearthly">Unearthly</a> by Cynthia Hand</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-and-bone">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a> by Laini Taylor</div>
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I haven't read any of them previously and it's going to be like SUPER hard to choose! So if any of you have read them and would like to recommend a particular one in the comments, then I'd be more than grateful!</div>
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Happy reading, and if you're also taking part then leave me your kick-off post link in the comments and I'll check you out. I'll be updating via twitter and the hash tag #boutofbooks and also I'll be adding updates to this post - I'll put a link in my side bar at some point so this post is easy to find!</div>
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">10/24</span></b><br />
<b>Number of books I’ve read:</b> 0<br />
<b>Total number of pages I’ve read:</b> 20<br />
<b>Books read:</b> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7488244-unearthly">Unearthly</a> by Cynthia Hand<br />
<b>Comments:</b> Today really didn't go well! I'm really busy doing extra hours at work this week unfortunately, so I don't know that I'll even reach two books at this stage! But I'll definitely try my best.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">10/25 </span></b><br />
<b>Number of books I’ve read: </b>0<br />
<b>Total number of pages I’ve read: </b>102<br />
<b>Books read: </b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7488244-unearthly">Unearthly</a> by Cynthia Hand<br />
<b>Comments:</b> Today was a slightly better day because I had different hours at work, but I would still like to have read more. The story's kicking off now so I imagine my reading speed may pick up a little bit also. I also currently working on my story for the <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a> challenge! (Sign up via the link, if you haven't already and let me know if you're participating!)<br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">10/26</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">10/27</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">10/28</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ca3b6c;">10/29</span></b><br />
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<b>Books read:</b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-26355511677543726442011-10-23T22:04:00.000+01:002011-10-23T22:24:07.032+01:00Review: Crescendo (Hush, Hush #2) by Becca Fitzpatrick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2)</b> by <a href="http://beccafitzpatrick.com/">Becca Fitzpatrick</a><br />
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<b>Release Date:</b> October 19, 2010<br />
<b>Format:</b> Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Source:</b> Bought<br />
<b>Pages:</b> 427<br />
<b>Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Crescendo-Becca-Fitzpatrick/9781847387196">Bookdepository </a><br />
<b>Rating:</b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGI3KWxnuMt2X7NfHyvdJ__fpou-A5xTm0MjJBiKwQC-jAyhUvMsiyaI19ZXzHXbAi7cca_unVTGIz3UQAVPFqlCOi87gNyvd0CoM9w-wozZETN1HYjSV-IR81JwZAxI41Hqgxj_vjJ9s_/s1600/5star.png" /><br />
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Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. <br />
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Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something. <br />
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Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperately searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.</blockquote>
Where on earth do I start with this one? The best place would be probably to tell you how I felt about the first one. <i>Hush, Hush,</i> was the first book in this soon to be trilogy, and it was a book that I bought on a whim one day simply because I saw a website selling the hardcover version for £3. The story didn't really speak to me all that much and it took me a while to get around to actually reading it, but when I did eventually start, I couldn't put it down. I finished the book in a day and a half and instantly set out to find out when the second installation was going to be released. When I found <i>Crescendo</i> I was over the moon and pre-ordered it straight away so that I would get it on or before its release date.<br />
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<i>Crescendo</i> arrived and I delved straight in. However, after about 100 pages, I found myself becoming bored with the story and to be honest it felt like I was reading a bad teenage drama at some points, so I gave up. I set the book aside and decided to read something else, hoping, but not knowing, whether I would return to Crescendo or not. This past week, I decided to give it another go.<br />
Again the same thing happened, I got through the first so many pages and wasn't hooked or gripped in any way. This was a major disappointment as I had so much hope on it turing out to be as fantastic as the first. The difference this time was that I decided to persevere with the story, and boy, was I right to do so! As the pages turned and the plot unraveled I found myself becoming more and more hooked; I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen and even found myself pondering over possibilities when I wasn't reading! I just had no clue, and to me this is the sign of a great book and a great writer. The way in which Becca Fitzpatrick tells the story without giving even the slightest bit of information away to the reader is beyond genius sometimes and her story lines of mystery, horror and romance all make for such a thrilling ride. <br />
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I don't want to spoil the ending, or any of the book for that matter, for those people who haven't read the book. But I will say that I had numerous ideas in my head about what might happen and I was wrong on almost all accounts. Some of my predictions about certain characters turned out to be almost correct, but for the most part, I felt as in the dark as Nora does! <br />
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The ending of <i>Hush, Hush</i> satisfied me, but it was the main flow of the novel that really kept me reading, and I think that was part of the problem when starting this follow up - it didn't feel like much of a follow up because <i>Hush, Hush</i> had ended so neatly. It couldn't be more different with <i>Crescendo</i>, the story maybe be slightly slower and Patch, the main bad-boy in the story is absent for a lot of it, but the ending has made me want to know so much more. Never have I experienced a cliffhanger like that of <i>Crescendo</i>!! Bring on <b>Silence</b> (October 4th 2011).Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-50700866276666123802011-10-23T21:56:00.000+01:002011-10-23T22:14:14.149+01:00Review: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner </b>by <a href="http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/">Stephenie Meyer</a><br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>June 5, 2010<br />
<b>Format:</b> Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Source:</b> Bought<br />
<b>Pages: </b>178<br />
<b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Short-Second-Life-Bree-Tanner-Stephenie-Meyer/9781907410369">Bookdepository</a><br />
<b>Rating:</b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyog6p98_tyYRJvofPVMU22N0jCwE5dLTxcZwB9T3rZZT75JHJ42rTRU53qNP6IWaXhpO3XiKfexh2Kuuw8Nwuul41s-Vcq6yh_IPeWKkpMfA8aPgkeLFaQUnKq3fyaIaYwFSh3Dfv0qP_/s1600/3star.png" /><br />
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Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. <br />
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In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion. <br />
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Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood... life before she became a vampire. <br />
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All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out. <br />
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Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as "her". As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?</blockquote>
I have to admit, I was skeptical when Stephenie Meyer announced this book as I hadn't given Bree Tanner a second thought when reading Eclipse - she played such a small part in the story!
I did struggle in the beginning, with the first 50 pages or so not really gripping me, but when I got into the story properly and started reading about the familiar names and places that I knew from the Twilight saga, I found myself becoming extremely attached to Bree (poor kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time). It was nice to experience the world of Twilight from another perspective other than Bella's and it made me realise how much thought the author puts into the back story of a novel when writing it, the stuff we never hear about!<br />
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The only real disappointment with this installation to the Twilight Saga for me, was that we only get to read about Bree for such a small length of time, it would have been nice to know more about her before she became a vampire and her 'normal' life. I think Meyer only mentions Bree's abusive father a couple of times and they are both very brief recollections - although this is understandable and Meyer probably had one goal in her head when writing this novella, that is, to show another side of the vampire world and to give another perspective on the battle in Eclipse that we saw so little of reading from Bella's perspective.<br />
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Overall and in the end, I found The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner a gripping book that I didn't want to put down once it got going. I didn't want it to end the way I knew from experience that it would because Meyer makes the reader fall in love with Bree and really feel compassion toward her!<br />
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It is a definite MUST READ for any Twilight fan, don't give up on it!Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-41628740794763373552011-10-09T09:18:00.000+01:002011-10-24T18:17:28.826+01:00In my Mailbox (#12)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC39lP_dkUdVrOr9Op7z1qg6BrcIicO85ig3LPkP4RjbeRg1AMEwgKFG9UWOUQX4rKyYEU1v4GD2MJE67h3rB9XFNl-JpxzwyM0MuC7rU2ClAgsActhZjYp8AqLIR7U4PpoFhDW6yNYWBx/s1600/mailbox1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC39lP_dkUdVrOr9Op7z1qg6BrcIicO85ig3LPkP4RjbeRg1AMEwgKFG9UWOUQX4rKyYEU1v4GD2MJE67h3rB9XFNl-JpxzwyM0MuC7rU2ClAgsActhZjYp8AqLIR7U4PpoFhDW6yNYWBx/s200/mailbox1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a> It showcases the books that we have received, borrowed, or bought in the last week or so and is a great way for bloggers to interact with one another. I love reading or watching what fellow book bloggers got in their mailboxes during the week, and I try to make my posts as insightful and entertaining (cringe) as possible!</div>
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Go and check out Kristi's blog, there's always something fantastic and exciting to read over there!<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10637766-silence">Silence (Hush, Hush #3)</a> by <b>Becca Fitzpatrick</b> (Published 4 October, 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9802372-the-name-of-the-star">The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1)</a> by <b>Maureen Johnson</b> (Published 29 September, 2011 by Penguin Group USA)<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children">Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</a> by <b>Ransom Riggs </b>(Published 7 June, 2011 by Quirk Publishing<br />
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I seriously need to go on a book buying ban now! I have sooooo many books in my TBR pile but I just couldn't resist these! <b>That's all I got in my mailbox this week, what did you get in your mailbox?</b></div>
</div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-59761607059410498052011-10-05T19:48:00.000+01:002011-10-05T19:48:38.720+01:00Author Interview: J.D. ThompsonJ.D.Thompson has so kindly offered to answer some questions for me for those of you who would like to know a little bit more about her book Silver and Stone! First I'll post the picture and synopsis of the book to fill you in a little further.
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<b>Silver and Stone (Bloodlines #1)</b> by J.D. Thompson<br />
<blockquote>
Welcome to high school high society hell, where last season’s slingbacks can warrant a lunch table demotion, the wrong date will knock you off the it-list and behind every pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses lies a secret people are dying to keep.
<br />
<br />
As if senior year at Weatherford Preparatory School wasn’t hard enough, sixteen year old Alexis Bardolph had to add school outcast to the curriculum.
<br />
<br />
A new found notoriety following a family scandal, her lacrosse star boy-friend dumping her for a former BFF and a string of perpetually bad hair days were among the many things going wrong in her already turbulent teenage life.
<br />
<br />
But when the haunting nightmares that have plagued her since childhood begin to take an eerily tangible form and several Holler Creek residents are reported missing, Alexis can’t help but wonder if there isn’t more to her hellish dreams than meets the eye.
<br />
<br />
The unexpected arrival of a mysterious and dangerously handsome new student ultimately leads Alexis to troubling truths that not even her wildest imagination could have conjured.</blockquote>
Welcome J.D. Thompson!<br />
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<b>Can you describe Silver and Stone (Bloodlines #1) for us in your own words?</b><br />
<br />
First and foremost, Silver and Stone is a love story. Love and fate are major themes throughout the entire novel, and will remain prominent in the books to come. The mysteries surrounding Alexis in the first instalment of the Bloodlines series are only the beginning. Alexis is a sixteen year old girl who has lived through traumas no teenage girl should ever have to experience. Left feeling utterly alone after a major family scandal and having to fend for herself in a school filled with arrogant cruel students does nothing to help her. As she watches her world crumble to pieces, she finds a light amidst the darkness: Lucas Alexander. New to Holler Creek, very little is known about him and as Alexis discovers more about Lucas, truths about her very own existence surface in the most unexpected ways. Without giving too much away, Silver and Stone is a sexy and intriguing new take on paranormal romance.<br />
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<b>So on your Goodreads profile it says that you’re a photographer by day and a closet writer by night, what made you want to write your first book?</b><br />
<br />
I've always enjoyed writing, though in all honesty I had never committed to anything longer than an essay. Being confined indoors for most of my maternity leave I began reading - A LOT. But the more I read, the more I felt like everything I picked up was the same. Vampires were becoming boring to me. Don't get me wrong, there are many vampire novels that I adored. But at one point I'd had enough. That's when I began thinking of what hadn't been overdone yet and what I would like to read instead. That's where Lucas came into play, followed by Alexis and the whole world that revolves around them.<br />
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<b>What made you choose to write a YA Paranormal book?</b><br />
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Though I love many different genres, YA is probably the one I relate most to. It's what I know. I can't imagine myself writing anything else at the moment.<br />
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<b>What are your own personal reading habits like (ie, favourite genre, favourite author, favourite book)?</b><br />
<br />
There are so many books that I had fallen in love with along the way that it's difficult to pinpoint just one. I'm an enormous Harry Potter fan and I think J.K. Rowling is a genius. For a single person to have that broad of an imagination to me is wild. Another author I respect greatly is James Patterson. Each page written is riveting and the pace of his novels is fantastic. One of my favorite books of all time is Wurthering Heights. I remember being required to read it at one point and for the life of me not understanding why all the other students were complaining about it. I may be a total dork, but I loved it. <br />
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<b>Where did the name of your novel come from? (obviously I know after reading it) But did it come to you before or after completion?</b><br />
<br />
Once I decided to write the Bloodlines series, I literally wrote down the storyline in its entirety. Knowing where I was headed made it easy to choose names for all three novels. They just seemed obvious to me. What I enjoy is that all three names can only truly be understood once you're done reading the book.<br />
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<b>Who is your favourite character in Silver and Stone and why?</b><br />
<br />
Choosing a favorite character feels a little bit like picking a favorite child, however I really did enjoy writing Lucas. Having him react to certain situations without giving too much away was a fun challenge. He's an easy character to fall in love with.<br />
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<b>What made you choose the names that you have for your main characters Lucas and Alexis?</b>
<br />
<br />
I named Alexis after my daughter. I wrote Silver and Stone while on maternity leave with her, so it only seemed natural. The greek meaning for Alexis is defender, which I also found appropriate. Lucas took a little more time to determine. Everything I came up with sounded wrong. Ultimately I choose Lucas because it reminded me of the word light.<br />
<br />
<b>Can you tell us about any upcoming projects that you have in line?</b>
<br />
<br />
At the moment I'm wrapping up Blood and Champagne, the second instalment of the Bloodlines series. I'm really excited about this one because I feel as though some characters that hadn't had as big of a hand to play in Silver and Stone finally get to have their voices heard. It's going to be one heck of a rollercoaster.<br />
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<b>
Thanks so much for taking the time out to answer my questions Jennifer! It's really interesting to read where a lot of your ideas stemmed from and why you decided to write the book! I'm eagerly anticipation the second in the series <b>Blood and Champagne,</b> I'm sure it will be just as EPIC as the first :)</b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-18653280577802217372011-10-02T08:00:00.000+01:002011-10-24T18:17:49.412+01:00In my Mailbox (#11)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a> It showcases the books that we have received, borrowed, or bought in the last week or so and is a great way for bloggers to interact with one another. I love reading or watching what fellow book bloggers got in their mailboxes during the week, and I try to make my posts as insightful and entertaining (cringe) as possible!</div>
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Go and check out Kristi's blog, there's always something fantastic and exciting to read over there!<br />
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I took advantage of staff discount and store offers this week, along with just buying some of my most eagerly anticipated books for this year from the Bookdepository! September has been an awesome month for books right!?<br />
I've already read <a href="http://karlareads.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-beautiful-dark.html">A Beautiful Dark (check out my review!)</a> by Jocelyn Davies, I got a eArc from NetGalley a while back and it quickly became one of my favourite books of the year so I just HAD to have a hardback copy sitting on my shelf :)<br />
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That is the only one of these books that I have read though - if you've spotted the bookmark in <b>Across the Universe</b>; my mum has tucked into that one, I haven't yet! I'll probably read either <b>Mara Dyer</b> or <b>Daughter of Smoke and Bone</b> next, though they will be after I've devoured <b>Silence</b> by Becca Fitzpatrick as soon as I can - bring on Tuesday October 4th, I'm dying to know what is going to happen to Nora and Patch!<br />
Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling, here's the list of books that I got this week:<br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10846326-ten-things-we-shouldn-t-have-done">Ten Things We Shouldn't Have Done</a> by <b>Sarah Mlynowski</b> (Published August 4, 2011 by Orchard Books)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9182478-hourglass">Hourglass (Hourglass #1)</a> by <b>Myra McEntire</b> (Published June 14, 2011 by Egmont USA)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429025-a-beautiful-dark">A Beautiful Dark</a> by <b>Jocelyn Davies</b> (Published September 27, 2011 by Harper Teen)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8591107-the-unbecoming-of-mara-dyer">The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)</a> by <b>Michelle Hodkin</b> (Published September 27, 2011 by Simon and Schuster)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11686584-the-fear">The Fear (The Enemy #3)</a> by <b>Charlie Higson</b> (Published September 15, 2011 by Puffin)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9361589-the-night-circus">The Night Circus</a> by <b>Erin Morgenstern</b> (Published September 13, 2011 by DoubleDay)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8235178-across-the-universe">Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)</a> by <b>Beth Revis</b> (Published January 11, 2011 by Razor Bill)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-and-bone">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a> by <b>Laini Taylor</b> (Published September 27, 2011 by Little Brown)</div>
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I also got an eBook sent to me by author <b>P.T. Michelle</b> called <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11948797-brightest-kind-of-darkness">Brightest Kind of Darkness</a> which Donna from <a href="http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/">Book Passion for Life</a> recommended to me and it sounds AWESOME! So look out for a review for that one coming up soon!</div>
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<b>That's all I got in my mailbox this week, what did you get in your mailbox?</b></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-17331958800030847262011-10-01T11:55:00.001+01:002011-10-23T22:26:09.871+01:00Review: Silver and Stone (Bloodlines #1) by J.D. Thompson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Silver and Stone (Bloodlines #1)</b> by <a href="http://www.jdthompson.blog.com/">J.D. Thompson</a><br />
<br />
<b>Release Date: </b>August 3, 2011<br />
<b>Format: </b>eBook<br />
<b>Age Group: </b>Young Adult<br />
<b>Source: </b>Author Review Request<br />
<b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005I5L96Q/ref%3ds9_simh_gw_p351_d0_g351_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=18MFXKX0K0YMPWV8GQ0Y&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">Amazon</a><br />
<b>Rating:</b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGI3KWxnuMt2X7NfHyvdJ__fpou-A5xTm0MjJBiKwQC-jAyhUvMsiyaI19ZXzHXbAi7cca_unVTGIz3UQAVPFqlCOi87gNyvd0CoM9w-wozZETN1HYjSV-IR81JwZAxI41Hqgxj_vjJ9s_/s1600/5star.png" /><br />
<blockquote>
Welcome to high school high society hell, where last season’s slingbacks can warrant a lunch table demotion, the wrong date will knock you off the it-list and behind every pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses lies a secret people are dying to keep.
<br />
<br />
As if senior year at Weatherford Preparatory School wasn’t hard enough, sixteen year old Alexis Bardolph had to add school outcast to the curriculum.
<br />
<br />
A new found notoriety following a family scandal, her lacrosse star boy-friend dumping her for a former BFF and a string of perpetually bad hair days were among the many things going wrong in her already turbulent teenage life.
<br />
<br />
But when the haunting nightmares that have plagued her since childhood begin to take an eerily tangible form and several Holler Creek residents are reported missing, Alexis can’t help but wonder if there isn’t more to her hellish dreams than meets the eye.
<br />
<br />
The unexpected arrival of a mysterious and dangerously handsome new student ultimately leads Alexis to troubling truths that not even her wildest imagination could have conjured.</blockquote>
I am so, so, SO pleased that J.D Thompson asked me to review her book, it was one hell of a roller coaster ride!
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I really like the fact that the blurb to this book gives nothing away, I went into it having no idea whatsoever what the story was going to be about - the element of surprise ROCKS! It didn't take me long at all to get into the book, in fact I was completely engrossed from the very first page. J.D Thompson manages to grip you with that air of mystery that only some authors can portray so well, without letting anything at all slip, and I found myself at work working my way through what I had read in my head, just to see if I could figure anything out; I couldn't and the end blew me away!
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It wasn't until over halfway through that I started getting suspicions over what the book may be about and even then I was only right about one thing (even then not completely right because I linked it to the wrong character!!), and unknowing to me there was another massive twist that was going to take place.
I had in my head that it could be werewolves, and then that changed to witches, and then that changed to ghosts and so on! I'm not going to tell you which one it ended up being, because I loved the fact that I had no clue.
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I loved the main character Alexis, she was such a strong character considering she had so many underlying issues. And ladies, do not worry, there is a more than swoon-worthy guy in the mix who you will instantly fall in love with - Lucas Alexander - he's like the most perfect guy ever! Trust me on that one.
I also really enjoyed the fact that the secondary characters were well thought out and planned as well, it's one of my pet hates when an author just places characters in a story to fill in gaps and doesn't think them through enough. Thompson has definitely worked out who all of her characters are, each one is different and charming in their own unique way.
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Overall, don't pass this book up, it's certainly not one to be missed! I can't wait for the next in the series '<i>Blood and Champagne</i>' and lucky for me, the eBook that Thompson sent me has a excerpt at the end wich just fuelled my excitement for the sequel more!<br />
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Thanks for the opportunity J.D Thompson! I adored your book!Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-84539339768268580802011-09-29T19:31:00.001+01:002011-10-23T22:26:07.660+01:00Review: Fateful by Claudia Gray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Fateful </b>by <a href="http://claudiagray.com/">Claudia Gray</a><br />
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<b>Release Date:</b> September 13, 2011<br />
<b>Publisher: </b>HarperTeen<br />
<b>Format:</b> Hardback<br />
<b>Age Group: </b>Young Adult<br />
<b>Pages: </b>328<br />
<b>Source:</b> Bought<br />
<b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Fateful-Claudia-Gray/9780062006202">Bookdepository</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fateful-ebook/dp/B005LOH0Z8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1317319740&sr=8-4">Amazon</a> (eBook)<br />
<b>Rating:</b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjscYL4OuSDOnqTPu3DnwchECfHb1_G0kcMj7CGInaOeOo2k5hLihu6zJ_8p_YYISohZn0V8JakH5rctK6wBu_CPZel6IqHm4BoOTjc3Bdr4UgwupzH0O7-rwd4drrj8XkyyICl8nO2cPk/s1600/4star.png" /><br />
<blockquote>
In Fateful, eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, overbearing family she works for. Once the ship they’re sailing on reaches the United States, she’ll strike out on her own. Then she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets....
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Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves are real and they’re stalking him—and now Tess, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.
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Featuring the opulent backdrop of the Titanic, Fateful’s publication is poised to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship’s doomed maiden voyage. It is sure to be a hit among Titanic buffs and fans of paranormal romance alike.</blockquote>
I don’t really know
where to begin with this review, I’ve been thinking about what to write all day
and I’m no closer to finding the answer! So I’m just going to start by saying
that I was pleasantly impressed with this novel by the time I had turned the
last page. I’ve always had an interest of sorts in the Titanic and instantly
spotted the premise in Gray’s latest novel when she took history one step
further and added her own awesome twist!<br />
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The main character is
a young girl by the name of Tess, and boy is she a heroine you will route for.
When you consider the time that she is living in (early 1900’s for those of you
who don’t know) and the type of life that she is almost forced to lead, she is
one hell of a strong character; I highly doubt I’d be that strong if I was in
her situation. Her, paired with the hero of the novel, Alec, makes for one
ferocious plot line and I don’t think there has been a fictional pair for a
long time that I have willed on so passionately! These two characters are what
pull the story along and I couldn’t have wished for a better pairing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The historical aspect
of the novel was fascinating to me, although I have to admit that a lot of the
time I did stem from what Gray was describing and into my own little world,
where I would wonder into the film’s depictions of the ship – even though her
descriptions were pretty close. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The story started off
slow but I was so engrossed in all of Tess’ surroundings that I really didn’t
mind – I would love to live in that time period! If you read the book and feel
like the plot is slow then don’t give up, I promise you that the last third (if
not more) of the book really makes up for the slow start and the novel closes
with a high paced action sequence and a twist that I just never saw coming!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think I could write
more, like how I felt about the sub-characters, but I’ll leave it at that
because I think it covers my main thoughts. Never did I think I would be
reading a book about Werewolves on the Titanic, and never did I believe
that it would leave me feeling as warm and fuzzy inside as it has. Fateful, is
a gem of a book!<o:p></o:p></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-32663611370291254172011-09-28T08:00:00.000+01:002011-10-24T18:18:17.373+01:00Waiting on Wednesday (#14)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking the Spine</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, that showcases upcoming releases that we are excited about.</span></span></div>
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<b>Insurgent (Divergent #2) </b>by Veronica Roth<br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>May 28, 2011<br />
<b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx">HaperCollins</a><br />
<b>Format: </b>Hardcover<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Pages:</b> 288<br />
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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.
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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.</blockquote>
I'm sure I don't have to tell you all how exciting the release of this book is! I actually go giddy every time I think about opening the book and reading the first page, it's such a bummer that the release date is still so far away! I think I actually squealed a little when I realised last week that the synopsis was up on good reads - I'm beyond ready to dive into Tris and Four's world again. Hurry up May 2012, you cannot come quickly enough!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqjGAhsMTPnvEXerVdpiO0MIQrc-KqeWOnCb7OXawDsCiof_JhWYvv8EN2YRgpNbsKPniq1QcQnC7MLGjU9YrIsctLQixJP_iX2CeJxgULkP7H84ck8VoRTDqcm2iRWV8ddJNLi7lswlY5/s1600/4039811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqjGAhsMTPnvEXerVdpiO0MIQrc-KqeWOnCb7OXawDsCiof_JhWYvv8EN2YRgpNbsKPniq1QcQnC7MLGjU9YrIsctLQixJP_iX2CeJxgULkP7H84ck8VoRTDqcm2iRWV8ddJNLi7lswlY5/s200/4039811.jpg" width="146" /></a><b>About Veronica Roth:</b><br />
Veronica Roth is only 23, so her bio will be short. She’s from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011). The second book in The Divergent Trilogy, INSURGENT, will come out in May 2012. In the meantime she will spend endless hours browsing Wikipedia in her pajamas as she eats corn flakes. (Or some other kind of bland breakfast cereal.)<br />
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Find Veronica here: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/veronicaroth">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4039811">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/">Blog</a><br />
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<b>Don't forget to check out my 100 follower celebration giveaway <a href="http://karlareads.blogspot.com/2011/09/100-followers-giveaway.html">HERE!</a></b></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-42730447344191685452011-09-25T12:45:00.000+01:002011-10-24T18:18:29.480+01:00In my Mailbox (#10)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC39lP_dkUdVrOr9Op7z1qg6BrcIicO85ig3LPkP4RjbeRg1AMEwgKFG9UWOUQX4rKyYEU1v4GD2MJE67h3rB9XFNl-JpxzwyM0MuC7rU2ClAgsActhZjYp8AqLIR7U4PpoFhDW6yNYWBx/s1600/mailbox1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC39lP_dkUdVrOr9Op7z1qg6BrcIicO85ig3LPkP4RjbeRg1AMEwgKFG9UWOUQX4rKyYEU1v4GD2MJE67h3rB9XFNl-JpxzwyM0MuC7rU2ClAgsActhZjYp8AqLIR7U4PpoFhDW6yNYWBx/s200/mailbox1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at <a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/">The Story Siren.</a> It showcases the books that we have received, borrowed, or bought in the last week or so and is a great way for bloggers to interact with one another. I love reading or watching what fellow book bloggers got in their mailboxes during the week, and I try to make my posts as insightful and entertaining (cringe) as possible!</div>
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Go and check out Kristi's blog, there's always something fantastic and exciting to read over there!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9e2KPYKL5C5JxmamchBY1bDJ8_v2-l7j1Nbd9iQfPthA0lYhdoOJyOvzWbb6LEZVws0ZIvQem5WoVu8Q7Gm2fb2aEboqWibhWQbAVxPMPRcaIfitloj5Gk8I4GT47NdYvjrQ3d6yZq-c/s1600/pghoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9e2KPYKL5C5JxmamchBY1bDJ8_v2-l7j1Nbd9iQfPthA0lYhdoOJyOvzWbb6LEZVws0ZIvQem5WoVu8Q7Gm2fb2aEboqWibhWQbAVxPMPRcaIfitloj5Gk8I4GT47NdYvjrQ3d6yZq-c/s200/pghoto.JPG" width="200" /></a>This week I got two books plus two eBooks. Mist I haven't heard much about to be honest but the cover is just so pretty! It's all metallicy and shiney and I've stood for ages just moving it around in the light and staring at it. Abandon by Meg Cabot I have heard quite a bit about and it's possibly the only occasion where I like the UK cover better than the US one - if there are any other covers where you prefer the UK to the US one then leave me a comment below, I'd love to check some more out! I know Donna and Jess over at <a href="http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/">Book Passion for Life</a> do an awesome meme where they compare covers, I love seeing the difference!</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10321640-mist">Mist (Mist #1)</a> by <b>Kathryn James</b> (Published September 1, 2011 by Hodder Children's Books)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11212855-abandon">Abandon (Abandon Trilogy #1)</a> by <b>Meg Cabot</b> (Published September 1, 2011 by Macmillan)</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10972500-volition">Volition (Volition #1)</a> by <b>Shawn Maravel</b> (Published February 26, 2011 by CreateSpace) - eBook</div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11237606-severance">Severance (Volition #2)</a> by <b>Shawn Maravel</b> (Published April 26, 2011 by CreateSpace) - eBook</div>
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The book titles link to their Goodreads pages as usual, and a massive shout out goes to Shawn Maravel, I've heard such good things about your books and I'm really looking forward to reading them, thanks for contacting me!</div>
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<b>What did you get in your mailbox this week?</b></div>
<br /></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-29110810197967709522011-09-21T08:47:00.000+01:002011-10-24T18:18:50.522+01:00Waiting on Wednesday (#13)<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking the Spine</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">, that showcases upcoming releases that we are excited about.</span></span></div>
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<b>Daughter of Smoke and Bone </b>by <a href="http://www.lainitaylor.com/">Laini Taylor</a><br />
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<b>Release Date: </b>September 27, 2011<br />
<b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/home">Little Brown</a><br />
<b>Format: </b>Hardcover<br />
<b>Age Group:</b> Young Adult<br />
<b>Pages:</b> 420<br />
<b>Pre-order: </b><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/laini+taylor/daughter+of+smoke+and+bone/8355333/">Bookdepository</a> | <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/laini+taylor/daughter+of+smoke+and+bone/8355333/">Waterstones</a><br />
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Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
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In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
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And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.
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Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
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When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?</blockquote>
This is one where I've been staring at the cover for months, I'll totally be pre-ordering the US cover because, well have you seen the difference between UK and US? ...yeah. I haven't seen much around about this and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the plot is about, but it sounds intriguing enough! There are a few chapters available to read on NetGalley and I'm sat there thinking ...should I? But I've pulled out the will power and aren't going to - I'll no doubt just want to keep reading so I'm going to wait for a full hardcopy.<br />
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<b>About Laini Taylor:</b><br />
"Hi there! I'm a writer of fantasy books for young people, but my books can be enjoyed by adults as well. My 'Dreamdark' books, Blackbringer (2007) and Silksinger (2009) are about faeries -- not dainty little flowery things, but warrior-faeries who battle devils. My first young adult book, Lips Touch, is a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award! It's creepy, sensual supernatural romance. . . about kissing. I am also an artist with a licensed gift product line called "Laini's Ladies."" - Taken from Laini's Goodreads page.<br />
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<b>Oh, PS</b>. How awesome is her hair!? Like really, it's 8:42am and that's brightened my upcoming long day! <br />
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Find Laini here: <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/lainitaylor">Twitter</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Laini-Taylor/621437375">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/324620.Laini_Taylor">Goodreads</a> | <a href="http://www.lainitaylor.com/">Website</a></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3954303233536300141.post-33944858183241152132011-09-20T10:36:00.000+01:002011-10-23T22:26:53.162+01:00Review: Pod by Stephen Wallenfels<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1EVNO75OnPN7h76YU8BzDz2J-Ojl-X3TDyRtFZ0C7KbNZ_3elt3k1ziewfpOi2ejS65-VddrPxKLrx3Kf4pAGKsJYtWgEpdFuqbBsnJqzr1KV_F7T-9n6VmoNsW1oDOLo2ZeyaFCfFw9/s1600/12104881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1EVNO75OnPN7h76YU8BzDz2J-Ojl-X3TDyRtFZ0C7KbNZ_3elt3k1ziewfpOi2ejS65-VddrPxKLrx3Kf4pAGKsJYtWgEpdFuqbBsnJqzr1KV_F7T-9n6VmoNsW1oDOLo2ZeyaFCfFw9/s320/12104881.jpg" width="210" /></a><br />
<b>Pod</b> by <a href="http://www.stephenwallenfels.com/">Stephen Wallenfels</a><br />
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<b>Format: </b>Paperback<br />
<b>Source:</b> Bought<br />
<b>Publisher:</b> Templar Publishing<br />
<b>Publication Date:</b> September 1st 2011<br />
<b>Purchase:</b> <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/POD-Stephen-Wallenfels/9781848773899">Bookdepository</a><br />
<b>Rating:</b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjscYL4OuSDOnqTPu3DnwchECfHb1_G0kcMj7CGInaOeOo2k5hLihu6zJ_8p_YYISohZn0V8JakH5rctK6wBu_CPZel6IqHm4BoOTjc3Bdr4UgwupzH0O7-rwd4drrj8XkyyICl8nO2cPk/s1600/4star.png" /><br />
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POD's - strange alien spheres hover menacingly in the sky, zapping anyone who ventures outside.
Josh is 15 and stuck in his house with his OCD dad. They're running out of food... Megs is 12, alone and trapped in a multi-storey carpark. The hotel next door is under the control of dangerous security staff, but Megs has something they want, and they'll do anything to get it...
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When the aliens invade, the real enemy becomes humanity itself. What would you do to survive?</blockquote>
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Pod by Stephen Wallenfels, at first glance would just seem to be a book about an alien invasion on earth. Now I’ve never read any books about alien invasions before so this was my first and I went into it thinking it would be all action and no substance to be brutally honest. If that’s the kind of alien invasion book that you are looking for, then this book is NOT for you.<br />
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The story is told from the perspective of two separate characters, in two separate places, both who are experiencing the same effects of the invasion on the same days. I’ve not experienced a dual narrative told from a first person perspective before and thought that it may get quite confusing to start with, but Wallenfels so effortlessly differentiates between his two main characters that the story flows better than it would if it was just based upon one character! As a reader you get to experience so much more the way he has written it because it is from two very different people’s point of views – Megs, a twelve-year-old girl who it trapped alone in a multi-story car park. And Josh, a fifteen-year-old boy, stuck in his house with his OCD father and old pet dog.<br />
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I said at the beginning that this book is not a fast paced action thriller but it honestly doesn’t need to be. After finishing the book, I thought about it in great detail before writing this review and decided that my final verdict on the book is that it is not a book about an alien invasion, but a book about human survival, trust, love and sacrifice – at no point in the plot does it matter that there are alien spaceships lurking outside of the characters whereabouts, it is holey focused on how certain people would react in certain situations and I think it is that matter that really kept me reading and gripped me to the story. I wanted to see if I felt I would be able to do some of the things that the characters do, if I was in the same situation, and let me tell you now; Megs is one brave twelve-year-old! I’m twenty-one and wouldn’t dare confront situations like she does, she’s the most powerful character in the book … she’s such a well-rounded character.<br />
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If you’re looking for an explanation as to why the aliens have invaded, then you’ll be disappointed again, Wallenfels never gives an explanation. It’s just one of those story’s where you need to make your own mind up, which I actually liked! It had my head running in circles half of the time as to why the aliens were doing what they were doing (dammit, reviews are so hard to write without spoilers!).<br />
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Don’t pass by this book thinking that it will just be your typical invasion story, it’s not, and in fact it’s very far from that. I really hope he plans to write another to continue the story on, because I have a little niggling feeling that the story isn’t over just yet. Pod was a really fun book that kept me reading right until the very last page, with a fantastic hero and an even better heroine. Pick it up; give it a try.<br />
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<b>Check out my 100 follower celebration giveaway <a href="http://karlareads.blogspot.com/2011/09/100-followers-giveaway.html">here</a>!
</b>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09801445174358048913noreply@blogger.com1