Bourne, River of Time 3.1 by Lisa T. Bergren

• Received for review
• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 381 KB
• Publisher: Bergren Creative Group, Inc.; 1 edition (26 Feb 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Cover:  As you all know by now, green is my favourite cover and so to me this cover is gorgeous!  And Lord Greco is looking quite fine here (although I'm Team Marcello all the way!)
• Plot: It seems as if Gabi and Lia may be in danger once more when lethal assassins start to target the men in the secret brotherhood that Marcello, Luca and Rodolfo are a part of.  Can those loyal to Sienna stop them or will they become their next victims?

When Lisa very kindly offered me the chance to review  Bourne I jumped at the chance, as I have been eagerly awaiting its release, as the River of Time has taken its place among my all time favourite series.  What can I say, I'm a fan girl.  A shameless fan girl for this series. 

5/5 stars!  This was a perfect novella to tide me over until Tributary is  released.  I read this in two hours - it's fast paced and I simply devoured it!

Lisa didn't disappoint, despite this being a novella it was still as action packed as the previous three books.

I was also immensely pleased that we had Gabi AND Lia's perspective.  The only thing I was slightly disappointed (and I do mean SLIGHTLY) with the previous books was I was left wanting to know more of what was going on between Lia and Luca- but I got that in this novella which more than made up for it.  And...it was AMAZING, and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops further.

In Torrent I didn't like Lord Greco at all, but Bourne has made me soften towards him a little, and I want to see his story continue and hope that he has a happy ending (just not with Gabi, I am not that forgiving).

These books are a must read.  Don't miss out on them! They captivated me from the very start, and Bourne is no exception.  Now begins my pining for Tributary.

Carpe Corpus, Morganville Vampires Book 6 by Rachel Caine

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: ALLISON & BUSBY; Reprint edition (12 Oct 2009)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 074900777X
• ISBN-13: 978-0749007775

This title includes a brand new and exclusive morganville short story only available in this edition. In the small town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace - until all the rules got rewritten when the evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He's kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants - the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules, after having had such a taste of power?


Cover:  I love the black and dark, metallic pink on this cover, but the girl (I don't want to say she's ugly because hey, I can't talk) just ruins it for me.


4.5/5 stars!  This is one of my favs of the series so far.  So much happens in this book.  I felt that Lord of Misrule was basically just a filler until this one.
Again you're not 100% sure who's good or bad, so one minute you're rooting for someone and the next you're booing them.
I was so pleased Claire and Shane finally did IT in this book.  Which may sound weird but the UST was killing me.
I got upset in this book as one of my favourite characters died.  I actually cried.  Which is rare for me.
Definitely check this series out and stick with because it's worth it. 

Lord of Misrule, Morganville Vampires Book 5 by Rachel Caine

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: ALLISON & BUSBY; Reprint edition (10 July 2009)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0749007575
• ISBN-13: 978-0749007577

In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relitively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, a master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let the chaos rule. But Bishop isn't the only threat. Violent black clouds promise a storm in devastating proportions. As student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against the elements - both natural and unnatural - the unexpected happens: Morganvilles vampires begin to vanish one by one. Discovering why leads Claire to one last choice: swear allegiance to Bishop... or die.

I'm really loving this series.  I know some readers are now fed up with vampires but I'd definitely recommend giving this series a try.  It's not all 'vampires are the bad guys' and it's not 'ohhh vampires are the tortured heroes' either.  It's a much more complex and 3D picture.  You never really know who's good or bad or what's coming next, which is what's so great about this series.  In this book I was taken completely by surprise by one character in particular (but for the sake of spoilers won't say anything).
I love the relationships in this series- Eve and Michael and Claire and Shane, although I'm always left wanting more of that particular aspect.
As with the previous books, it ends on a killer cliff-hanger that made me pick up the next book Carpe Corpus straight away!
4/5 stars!

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.  


What do you look for when reading a book blog? Does the blogger have to read the same genre? Do you like reviews? Personal posts? Memes? Giveaways? What attracts you to a book blog?


The blogger doesn't have to read the same genre, but that's normally how I come across them.  I like a blog with a  lot of variety, so memes etc.  A pretty blog is always good too, my technical skills are zero which is hy my blog design is not great, but some are amazing.

The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (3 Nov 2011)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 1407129899
• ISBN-13: 978-1407129891

Amy is in love with someone who doesn't exist: Alexander Banks, the dashing hero in a popular series of vampire novels. Then one night, Amy meets a boy who bears an eerie resemblance to Alexander. In fact, he IS Alexander, who has escaped from the pages of the book and is in hot pursuit of a wicked vampire named Vigo. Togeher, Amy and Alexander set out to track Vigo and learn how and why Alexander crossed over. But when she and Alexander begin to fall for each other, Amy wonders if she even wants him to ever return to the realm of fiction.

Cover: I'm not overly fond of this cover, it's just OK.  Don't love it.  Don't hate it.

This was a book I was majorly excited for but I was a bit disappointed.  This book appealed to me because th main character Amy is in love with the fictional character of Alexander, and let's face it, us book lovers DO love fictional characters, especially guys because guys in books are just better.  So she's incredibly relatable.  I loved the premise of this book so much but I just never got to the point where I couldn't put it down, and it's only a small book of 250 pages so I should have blazed through it, but I didn't so I'm glad that at the moment, this is a stand alone.

The plot works really well but I found the end was rushed.

I did love Alexander and the romance element but I wish there as been MORE of it.

Overall I gave this book a 3/5 stars.  It wasn't awful but my expectations were too high.

Persuade Me by Juliet Archer

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Choc Lit (15 Sep 2011)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 1906931216
• ISBN-13: 978-1906931216

The second in Juliet Archer's Darcy & Friends series. When do you let your heart rule your head? As far as men are concerned, Anna Elliot is stuck in the past. No one can compare to Rick Wentworth, the man she was persuaded to give up ten years ago. Meanwhile, Rick's moved on - and up. He's got a successful career and a carefully controlled love life where his heart doesn't get a look in. The words 'forgive and forget' aren't in Rick's vocabulary. The word 'regret' is definitely in Anna's. When they meet again, can she persuade him that their lost love is worth a second chance?


Cover: I am a big fan of this cover!  Not only is it a gorgeous shade of purple but the woman on the cover is a perfect Anna- beautiful yet haunted.


4.5/5 stars!  Persuasion is my favourite Austen novel but there are not enough adaptations or re-tellings- there are hundreds of Pride and Prejudice adaptations.  So when I saw this modern Persuasion I pounced.  
I have to be honest- I wasn't totally convinced a modernisation of Persuasion could work and just bought it because it was Persuasion related (sad but true) but I'm so glad that I did because Juliet Archer has successfully updated it to contemporary chick-lit (which I have to say I am really fussy with-not a HUGE chick-lit reader).  
This is book 2 in Archer's Darcy and friends series but Persuade Me works perfectly fine by itself.  I have not read book 1 in the series 'The Importance of Being Emma' but now I definitely want to check it out and soon!  As soon as I can hunt down a copy!
I loved Persuade Me.  Anne and Frederick are both brought up to date wonderfully in Anna and Rick, and I particularly appreciated that the story was told in both Anna and Rick's perspective.  I really felt both characters anguish and Rick's mixed emotions.  And Anna's family are just as infuriating as they should be- I wanted to reach through the pages and give Walter, Lisa and Mona (genius name for that character by the way) a good seeing to!!!
I would definitely recommend this book (in fact I already have to a friend).  Of course not all Austen fans love adaptations- BUT if you do you can't miss out on this one.
You don't have to be be an Austen fan to enjoy this either as it stands as a chick lit novel in its own right but you may get more out of the book if you know Austen's original.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.  

Have you every written any fan-fiction? If yes, why and for which book(s)? If no, would you like to and for which books(s)?

For that matter, do you ever READ fan-fiction??

I haven't ever written any fan fiction.  Sometimes I like to THINK about what happens next to characters after a book finishes, or maybe alternative endings but I've never written any.  I don't think I would write any because I don't feel like they're MY characters or my place to take an authors characters and mess around with them and produce something anyone would wanna read.

I have read some fan fiction for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R.  Ward that was really good (I can't get enough of Wrath and Beth from that series!!!!)

If I Die & Interview with Rachel Vincent

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Mira Ink (3 Feb 2012)
Language English

ISBN-10: 1848450613

ISBN-13: 978-1848450615

Kaylee can see death coming. But how will she face her own? Teen banshee Kaylee and her friends have barely recovered from the violent chaos unleashed the last time their school was invaded by Netherworld entities when she recieves the news she s top of a reapear s list and scheduled to die within days! But contemplating her own impending demise will have to wait, when it s revealled that new maths teach Mr. Beck s an incubus who s just come into his once-acentury fertile period. And he s looking for a few healthy young girls capable of carrying a non-human infant to full term and Kaylee s mortal best friend Emma fits the bill perfectly. But as Kaylee fights to save her female classmates, her dark fate is closing in. And as Kaylee s borrowed lifeline nears its end, and the men who love her will do anything to save her life. Even if it costs their own...

Cover: I love this cover, perfecting match for the first four in the series, and I have to say I really like the striking orange- not enough orange on books covers!

4/5 stars! I don't want to say TOO much about this book, as it is book 5 in the series, and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.  However I will say that I love this series and I think it should stand out in the paranormal YA genre as it brings a whole new paranormal being to the genre that I hadn't even considered before I picked up this series! But not many of my friends have read it, so I'll say this, if you love the Ya paranormal genre you need to pick this up.  However if you are not big on love triangles this MAY not be the book for you (think Vampire Diaries at this point).  Now I am not a big fan of love triangles, and I'm not going to lie and say I like it in this series because I don't, BUT I do really like both love interests and it is really hard to pick a fav (evil Rachel Vincent for making them both so yummy).
So definitely give this series a try if you're looking for a great series that gives a little something different.  They're quick read and you'll blaze through them in no time at all.


Interview

Erin:   What drew you to writing about bean sidhes?

 Rachel: The fact that there were so many wonderfully convenient holes in the folklore. Plenty of places for me to embellish and kind of make them my own. ;)

Erin:  Did you always want to be a writer?

Rachel: Yes, though I didn’t think it’d actually be possible for me to make a living writing until I was around twenty-five or so.

Erin:  How do you come up with your character names?

Rachel: Some of the names just come to me. The characters seem born with them. Some are a real struggle, and I wind up going through list after list of possibilities. Sometimes I even ask my online followers to make suggestions.

The reapers, though, have names that are variations on foreign words for death. All except Levi. ;)

Erin:  If you could work with any author who would it be?

Rachel: Oh, I’d love to work with Kim Harrison on an adult novel. She likes action as much as I do. ;) If I wrote contemporary, I’d love to write with Courtney Summers in YA. Her gritty style and willingness to take the story where it needs to go really works for me. But truthfully, I’ve never co-written anything before, so I don’t know how easy I’d be to work with. ;)

Erin:  Who/ What inspires you?

Rachel: Working parents. People willing to suffer immediate sacrifices of their own to promote the greater good. People who put their lives on the line for others, with no expectation of a reward. People who are good and selfless because they can’t live with themselves otherwise.

Reading Routine Tag

The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Headline (5 Jan 2012)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0755392175
• ISBN-13: 978-0755392179

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Imagine if she hadn't forgotten the book. Or if there hadn't been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn't fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she'd run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else - the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn't sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it's the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver...

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Cover: I LOVE this cover!  As you all know I am a sucker for romance, and so this airport-kiss-scene just makes me go awwwwwww.

Plot: Hadley doesn't want to go to her father's wedding.  Her mum practically has to force her to the airport.  But she still manages to miss her flight by four minutes.  Of course she's not all that bothered and has to get the next one.  But she meets Oliver, and missing her plane by four minutes may have lead her to true love...

I had been seeing this book everywhere, and it sounded super cute so I decided to check it out.  What really intrigued me is that the whole book takes place in just 24 hours, so I wanted to see if the 'love at first sight' could be pulled off.

For me this book is a 3.5/5 stars.  While I was reading I did enjoy the book, and it really fast paced (being only 214 pages) but for me I was just left needing a little bit something more.  The characters connection was great, I definitely felt that spark of true love but then the end fell a little flat.

Hadley was a really convincing character.  She's angry and her dad for leaving, which came off as real.

Oliver was a sweet guy.  An intelligent gentleman, and I'm a little in love with him myself, truth be known.

Overall I feel like the character WERE in love, but the execution left me wanting.  I think, for me, the book would have been enriched if it alternated perspectives between Hadley and Oliver, like in Perfect Chemistry for example, so we get a better all-round picture of what BOTH characters are really feeling.

I would recommend this for die-hard contemporary fans, but otherwise I don't feel it is a must read.

Book Haul/In My Mailbox 10/02/12

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

If you had to pick only 5 books to read ever again, what would they be and why?

First off- EVIL QUESTION!!!!!
Ok I got that off my chest...

But in all seriousness this is a toughie.  I don't very often re-read books but I have a few that a re-read a fair bit-

1) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.  Fairytale re-retelllings are amazing and this Cinderella one is so beautifully done.  If you've seen the movie and not read the book, you seriously need to.  The movie was one of the biggest disappointments of my entire life, I kid you not.

2) Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot.  This books never fails to make me laugh.

3)  Dark lover by J.R. Ward. Ok so technically I could re-read all of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series but that would be cheating so I chose book 1 which still remains my favourite.  Bad-ass sexy vamps people!!!  Strictly adult here.

4) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  My favourite classic.  Such a beautiful story that gets me everytime.

5) Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands.  I really light-hearted, funny vampires book/chit lit.

Beautiful Creatures Movie...

So I just came across this article saying that Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is going to become a movie.

There are going to be five books in the series and Richard LaGravenese has adapted the script for Beautiful Creatures and will direct from it for Warner Bros.
Now I have the first three the books that are already out but I have only read book 1 BUT I loved it.  I think I'm saving them up because I hate having to wait so long for the next book to come out.



Jack O'Connell is set to play Ethan

 

Alice Englert is set to play Lena



So what do you all think about a Beatiful Creatures movie?  A good idea or just another Twilight wannabe?  I wanna hear hear thoughts!

I'm kind of excited...but hesitant at the same time.  I know I'll definitely check it out!

Illuminated by Erica Orloff

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Speak; Original edition (8 Dec 2011)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0142413763

ISBN-13: 978-0142413760

Some loves are not made to last . . . Like Romeo and Juliet, Heloise and Abelard were doomed from the start, and their romance was destined to pass into history. Yet when sixteen-year-old Callie Martin discovers a diary hidden within an antique book, their story—and hers—takes on another life. For the diary leads Callie to the brilliant and handsome August, who is just as mysterious as the secret the diary hides. Their attraction is undeniable. As the two hunt down the truth behind the diary—and that of Heloise and Abelard’s ancient romance—their romance becomes all-consuming. But Callie knows it can’t last . . . love never does. Will their love that burns as bright as a shooting star flame out, or will these star-crossed lovers be able to defy history?

Cover: This cover if just lovely.  So pretty. And I think quite a good match for August.

Plot: The discover of a rare palimpsest draws Callie and August together.  Together they search for answers about the books origins and learn the tragic story of Heloise and Abelard.  Will their love last or will they be torn apart like the ancient lovers?

Overall this is a really light and sweet romance.  It was a very quick read, and I found myself really enjoying it.  I definitely recommend it for fans of romance.  I thought that perhaps I wanted a little bit more from August, we knew that he's smart, sweet and good looking but I thought that was shown enough.  I have to say that, definite props for creative and unique charqacter names, Calliope and August.  I'll remember those characters for books to come.
I rated this 4/5 stars. 

Stealing Phoenix by Joss Stirling

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: OUP Oxford (1 Sep 2011)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0192756583
ISBN-13: 978-0192756589

This is about getting you out...I'm stealing you.

Phoenix belongs to the Community - a gang of thieves with paranormal powers. Yves Benedict - an American student visiting London - is her mark. But Yves turns out to be more than just a target. He is her destiny. Her soulmate. But the Community owns Phoenix's past and it wants her future too.

Cover:  The cover is ok.  I don't love and I don't hate it.  The symbolism is great-Phoenix rising from the ashes, with not only her name but also Yves savant ability.

Plot:  Phoenix thought he was an ordinary mark.  She'd carry out the Seer's orders, steal the guy's stuff and that would be it.  She was wrong.  It was far more complicated than that, and Yves is her soul finder.  That fairy tale other half of her.  But Phoenix belongs to the community and are not going to let her go...and she might end up dragging Yves down with her because he won't let her go.

This was quite a short book but the character development is really great for the protagonist Phoenix.
I loved the first book Finding Sky, it stood out against other paranormal YA and the romance between Sky and Zed was great.  However as much as I loved Yves and Phoenix I didn't think there was enough romance between the two of them considering there are supposed to be soulfinders.  That left the whole book lacking for me.  Having said that I did enjoy the book, Phoenix past and life in the community were intriguing but I can only give the book 3.5/5 stars because the key element was missing for me.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

Have you ever read a random book left in a waiting room or on a park bench, etc., and did you like it?

I've never found a random book and picked it up because to be honest, you don't know who on earth has touched it.  But I remember once on holiday with my family, my grandad and brother were doing a maize maze and it was taking some time and me, my mum and nan were waiting in the car.  They were both asleep and I was bored so I picked up my mum's book and started reading it.  I loved it.  It was Before Sunrise by Diana Palmer.  A romance book.  A hadn't read one before but it was so cute, and fast paced that I got about halfway through before my brother and grandad got back.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book I'm anticipating is Legend by Marie Lu, released here in the UK tomorrow.