The Beat THAT Sentence Challenge TAG

During THE FEAST OF FOOLS a sudden UNEARTHLY FIRESTORM from ACROSS THE UNIVERSE brought with it a BLACK DAWN that made everyone SHIVER, EVERLASTING SILENCE followed creating a CITY OF LOST SOULS, starting a CHAIN REACTION until the world was like a GHOST TOWN, and people were DREAMLESS, their lives turned INSIDE OUT until A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES walked the BLOOD RED ROAD willing to fight until their LAST BREATH, used BLOOD MAGIC and a TOUCH OF POWER to banish the SWEET EVIL, with PRIDE, to THE VICIOUS DEEP, 20 THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, where it was WRECKED, and will FOREVER LINGER, while the world is ILLUMINATED and full of DREAMS HEREAFTER, it won't forget the TEMPEST that now LIES BENEATH that almost caused humanity to FADE OUT.

Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 671 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Publisher: Omnific Publishing; 1st edition (21 Nov 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She’s the same as a million other girls—certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe.
  
  When the moment comes that Livia must do more than smile, without hesitation she steps into the fray to defend the homeless man. And she's surprised to discover an inexplicable connection with her new friend. After danger subsides, their smiles become conversation. Their words usher in a friendship, which awakens something in each of them. But it’s not long before their bond must prove its strength. Entanglements from the past challenge both their love and their lives.
  
  Blake’s heart beats for Livia’s, even if her hands have to keep its rhythm. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. Love never fails, right?
  
  In an interwoven tale of unlikely loves and relationships forged by fire, Debra Anastasia takes readers into the darkest corners of human existence, only to show them the radiant power of pure adoration and true sacrifice. Complicated families and confused souls find their way to light in this novel, which manages to be racy, profane, funny, and reverent all at once.
• Cover: Dark, simple and relevant.  Exactly what I like in a cover.
• I really enjoyed this book. It's a fairly dark and gritty contemporary that still managed to incorporate a beautiful romance.
• Blake is homeless, and no one gives him the time of day, but Livia stands up for him against thugs.  They then develop a friendship which transforms into a romance.
• Blake was so sweet, you couldn't help but love him.
• We also get to see his 'brothers'.  Cole, a would be priest, and Beckett, a hardened criminal- we really get three romances in this book.  Blake and Livia, Cole and Livia's sister Kyle, and Beckett and Eve.  
• The second two aren't as developed as Blake and Livia's.
• I didn't really buy into Cole and Kyle's romance, it was just too sudden and implausible, plus I wasn't overly keen on either of their characters, Kyle in particular really grated on my nerves.
• Beckett and Eve I enjoyed more.  Beckett has done some terrible things, but to survive and protect his fraternal 'brothers', and Eve's backstory broke my heart, but she totally kicks butt!  I can't wait for the sequel to see what happens to them because it can't end the way it did for them.
• A lot happens in this book!  Just when you think it must be drawing to a close...BAM!  Plot twist.
• The pacing was great- I was never bored, and was hooked.
• I do highly recommend this book!  However, be warned of mature content- drugs, sex, violence and language.  So if you find this things offensive or just don't like to read about them, this may not be the book for you.
• But I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
• 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. 

Do you bring the book(s) you’re reading with you when you go out? How?
Physically, or in an e-reader of some kind? Have your habits in this
regard changed? (I know I carried books with me more when I was in
school than I do now–I can’t read while I’m driving to work, after
all.)

Whether I'm reading a physical book or a book on my Kindle, it goes with me when I go out.  
I've always done this.  I just...can't leave it behind.  If I can I will snatch a minute to read it.  Of course If I'm on the bus or something I will read the whole journey instead of just sitting there...vacant.

The Impressions TAG

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables send for a boy orphan to help them out at their farm, they mistakenly get Anne Shirley, a feisty, independent, but warm-hearted eleven-year-old girl. Fortunately, her sunny nature and quirky imagination win the hearts of her reluctant foster parents and everyone in the community. But not a day goes by without some memorable adventure or prank in the tragicomedy of her life.

Cover: I love this centenary edition.  It's bright, sweet and relevant.  In other words, it's perfect.

I enjoyed every single moment of reading this book.
It's a charming book that readers of all ages will love.
Anne is such a vibrant character, she practically leaps off of the page, and the reader grows to love her as much as the characters around her do.  Anne's imagination and exuberance, and knack for getting herself into trouble just...cheered me up.  
I loved Mathew Cuthbert's character- he's painfully shy but Anne finds a kindred spirit in him, and he became my favourite character.
There's not much more I can say about this amazing classic.
The beautiful setting, the array fun characters and the all round feel good read that will appeal to most readers.
Anne of Green Gables made me smile, laugh and even shed a tear.
I highly recommend reading this! 5/5 stars!  And I will be reading the other books in the series.

Booking Through Thursday

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

Quick–what are you reading right now? (Other than this question onthis website, of course.) Would you recommend it? What’s it about? 

Right now I'm reading The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan, and it's the story of a relationship told in dictionary form.  It's really interesting.

Take Me There by Carolee Dean

• Paperback: 327 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; 1 edition (20 July 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416989501
• ISBN-13: 978-1416989509
• Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. He knows that rich, beautiful Jess is way too good for him—but she has always been the one person who sees through his tough exterior and straight to his heart, and he has been hopelessly in love with her from the first time they met. He would change his life for a chance with her.
  
  But trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He’s on the run and in search of answers—answers to questions he wishes he’d never asked.

Cover: Love the sweet, romantic cover and the awesome font.

I liked the sound of the over all premise of this book, but it didn't turn out to be what I expected.

To be honest I was left feeling depressed.

Dylan tries so hard to lead an honest life for Jess, but trouble finds him while his 'friend' Wade that causes the trouble gets to live a great life while Dylan loses everything.

I just felt that,OK, while this may be realistic...but where was the justice??  There was none.  And the unfairness just made me feel sick and depressed.

The timeline also bothered me.  It wasn't linear, it jumped back and forth and was just confusing for the first half of the book.

The writing didn't particularly engage me.

However I did enjoy the poetry that Dylan wrote, it was really good and that was the part I liked the most about this book.

The romance was also good, between Dylan and Jess but it just didn't end up the way I wanted it to, which I know is naive and immature but as a reader that's what I wanted, so I felt cheated.  

If I wanted depressing realism I'd have watched the news instead of picking up a YA book. 

Over all this wasn't a bad book, but it just wasn't what I was looking for.

2.5/5 stars- the poetry gave it and extra 0.5.

Book Haul/In My Mailbox 13/09/12

Booking Through Thursday

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

How do you organize/store your books? Do you go through them often? Or
do you pretty much just shelve them and then leave them alone until
you need them?

I keep series and authors together, and try as much as possible to keep genre's together, so I have all my YA contemporary on one shelf, dystopian and fantasy, historical,paranormal on others, etc etc.  

One of my bookshelves

Poison Study (Yelena Zaltana Book 1) by Maria V. Snyder

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Mira Books; Young adult edition (22 Dec 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848451164
• ISBN-13: 978-1848451162
• Choose:
  A quick death
  Or slow poison...
  
  Yelena has a choice – be executed for murder, or become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. She leaps at the chance for survival, but her relief may be short-lived.
  
  Life in the palace is full of hazards and secrets. Wily and smart, Yelena must learn to identify poisons before they kill her, recognise whom she can trust and how to spy on those she can’t. And who is the mysterious Southern sorceress who can reach into her head?
  
  When Yelena realises she has extraordinary powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death...
• Cover:  I love the purple cover, as well as all of the relevant images incorporated- the poison bottles, the castle, the bow that Yelena learns to fight with and a girl that matches Yelena's description really well.

I first read a Maria V. Snyder book back in January.  I read A Touch of Power, and I fell in love with it.  Not even a third of the way through I knew I had to get all her other books - which I've done bar one.

When my best friend bought me the Yelena Zaltana Trilogy for my birthday I was over the moon!  She is so awesome!

Anyway...that was back in March and I've been putting off starting them because I wanted to save them.  But I decided I couldn't resist anymore. 

I was worried I'd created the bench mark for this book so high after reading A Touch Of Power and that I'd be disappointed.  My worries were unfounded. 

I enjoyed Poison Study just as much, giving it 5/5 stars. 

I loved the premise of this book - Yelena is given the choice of a quick execution or the chance to become the Commander's food taster, having to learn how to identify a series of poisons and having to face the possibility of death.  Immediately I wanted to know what had made her kill a man, what drove this character who actually came across as genuine and nice to murder, knowing she'd face death as punishment.

A lot is going on in this book, and even more is set up for the next books!

There''s mystery, danger, action and intrigue.  People want Yelena dead...who can she trust?  You really feel for Yelena, she wants a friend after everything she has endured but betrayal seems constant and inevitable.

However, she does develop s friendship with Ari and Janco.  Two soldiers that become steadfast and loyal friends, even going so far as to help teach her self defence.  They were two funny, light hearted characters that gave this book some light relief that was needed.

There is a romance but it's definitely slow building, no insta-love here.  While I think this book needed some form of romance to lighten it up a bit and give it another dimension, I don't know if I 100% bought into their romance.  Would you fall for a guy that's poisoned you?

Valek for most of the book is too cold and distant, I don't fesl that I really got to know him as a character very well, and his love for Yelena seemingly comes out of nowhere.  On the rare occasions he jokes and smiles we see a different side to him and I liked him more, but I didn't feel there was enough of that kind of interaction between them.  I look forward to seeing his character develop in the next two books.

I definitely recommend Poison Study for fantasy fans!  I loved the world building, characterisation and the overall feel of the book.  If you're a reluctant fantasy reader I would still say give this one a try.

On My Kindle #13

Instead of cluttering up my Book Haul/IMM's with books for my Kindle, I've decided to do a separate post,  hosted by Totally Bookalicious.


This week On My Kindle:

My 'Book Tube' Story TAG

Booking Through Thursday

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

We all had to read things in school that we didn’t like … but what
about something you read for a class that you ended up liking (or
loving)? An author you discovered that you might not have found? A
genre you hadn’t thought about?

I can honestly say I have never really ended up loving a book that I had to read for school.  I just finished my A-Levels, and I took English Language and Literature.  I had to read Hamlet for coursework and Hard Times for my exam, partnered with a text of my choosing.  Hamlet was ok but I didn't love it, Hard Times was a chore, while I liked Dicken's purpose for writing it, I still didn't enjoy reading it.

Damien (Nightwalkers book 4) by Jacquelyn Frank

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 531 KB
• Print Length: 385 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0821780689
• Publisher: Hachette Digital (1 Mar 2012)
• They are the Nightwalkers, mysterious beings who dwell in the shadows of our world, and Damien, the Vampire Prince, is among the most powerful of them all. But one woman will tempt him with a desire unlike anything he has known, and together they will face a terrifying and relentless foe...
  
  HE'D NEVER LOVED. BUT SHE WAS IRRESISTIBLE.
  
  As reigning Vampire Prince, Damien has tasted every pleasure the world has to offer--consorting with kings and queens and delighting in sensual adventure. Now, tired of such pursuits, he devotes his energies to protecting his people. The war between human necromancers and Nightwalkers has escalated, and when the enemy makes a daring move, kidnapping Syreena, a Lycanthrope Princess, Damien boldly follows. He succeeds in rescuing her, but is unprepared for the erotic longing her lush sensuality awakens in him.
  
  Gifted with rare abilities, Syreena grew up in a cloistered setting and was forbidden to form attachments to others, yet the connection Damien feels with her is immediate, intoxicating, and impossible for either to resist. But claiming Syreena as his mate could have shattering repercussions for every Nightwalker--and leave their enemies more dangerous than ever before...
  
  Temptation tastes sweetest at night.
• Cover:  I've said it before and I'll just say it again, these covers are simply disappointing.  The could be so much more.  This is the kind of cover I wouldn't want to be seen reading.
• After really enjoying book 1, books 2 and 3 were so disappointing by comparison but I'm happy that I pushed on with the series because book 4, Damien, was back to being as good as book 1.
• I felt that books 2 and 3 dragged and hardly kept my attention but I didn't have that issue with this book.
• The Vampire Prince and the Lycanthrope Princess.
• Damien is the oldest vampire, used to being fickle and not always seeking pleasure but unable to find it in anything for long.  He was so sweet.  His initial confusion over the mating but then his total conviction to it.
• I think I enjoyed their romance the most so far in the series.  He is definitely the best hero so far.  It''s not 'insta-love' but he wants to find out if he can love (of course he does).
• This series has a great villain in Ruth- a Demon traitor but we don't get to see enough of her.
• I didn't like Damien's best friend, Jasmine.  She was horrible to Syreena throughout the book but Damien just stands for it. No.  He should correct Jasmine but he never does.  He then breaks a promise to Syreena by doing something Jasmine convinces him to.  I was also disappointed that the epilogue was in her POV.  I wanted the end in Damien's POV.  Basically Jasmine had to large a role in this book and I disliked her immensely. 
• Overall I give Damien 4/5 stars.
• I do look forward to reading Noah's book.
• 
  

August 2012- Reading Wrap Up

A wrap up of all the books that I read in August.

INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY- http://wrathsqueensbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/giveaway-unlovable-by-sherry-gammon.html

Blog reviews:
The Land of Stories-http://wrathsqueensbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-land-of-stories-wishing-spell-by.html

Unlovable by Sherry Gammon- http://wrathsqueensbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/unlovable-by-sherry-gammon.html

Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer- http://wrathsqueensbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/between-lines-by-jodi-picoult-samantha.html

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick-http://wrathsqueensbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/my-life-next-door-by-huntley-fitzpatrick.html