Scarlet (Review)

Book: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series:  The Lunar Chronicles, #2
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Format: Hardcover
Pages:  452
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

 

My Rating:

 

I have had this book since February and just finally read it. I loved this book, possibly even more than Cinder. Marissa Meyer is a genius, I love her books and the way she does fairytale retellings is phenomenal. The twist on Little Read Riding Hood was done so well and the plot and story was just as engaging as Cinder.

 

This book follows Scarlet for the most part as she is on a mission to find her grandmother who she believes was kidnapped. We follow her as she searches for her missing grandmother and finds herself in a bit of trouble. We do get to see some of our old favorites such as Cinder and Emperor Kai and even someone who is nobody's favorite by any means, Queen Levana. We also get to meet some new characters as well such as Scarlet, Thorne and Wolf. The combination of the new and the old was interesting and really added well to the storyline.

 

I have to say I found Scarlet to be refreshing. She was totally kick-butt and didn't put up with crap from anyone. She had her own opinions and was not afraid to speak her mind. I loved Cinder, do not get me wrong, but she had the tendency to hide when things got rough. We get introduced to Wolf in this installment and all I can say is I absolutely love him. He's tough and protective. Yet at the same time he's shy and timid. He's just such a complex character and I did not see that twist coming with him. Finally we have Captain Carswell Thorne. I may actually like him more than Emperor Kai. He's funny and is always joking. He has a good time with everything and he may be dirty but it's hard not to laugh when he's talking. I was actually kind of hoping something would blossom between him and Cinder but there's always a chance right?

 

This installment had everything I could ever want. There was action and fight scenes as well as some totally sweet romance. Things got tense in certain parts and I was on the edge of my seat turning pages to find out how things were going to go and what was about to happen next.

 

Like with Cinder last year, I was swept up in the story and had a hard time putting the book down. When it ended I really didn't want it to be over and now I have to wait until 2014 until the next installment into this riveting and wonderful series.

 

 



 

 

Tiger's Curse (Review)

Book: Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Series:  The Tiger Saga, #1
Publisher: Splinter
Format: Paperback
Pages:  403
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?
The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she'd be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world.
But that's exactly what happened.


Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.
Packed with magic, action-adventure, and romance, the epic Tiger's Curse series will keep you breathless and yearning for more.

My Rating:

 



 

I was so excited to read this book, I have never read anything set in India and I was interested in how the author would weave Indian myths into the story. I believe that the myths used in this story were very interesting and worked very well. I just wish I liked the book more than I did. Don't get me wrong I did like it, I just thought that I would love it.

The idea that a curse was put on two Indian princes and they have been trapped as tigers for more than 250 years was definitely intriguing and unique. The author pulled this off very well and placing it in modern times just added an element of understanding to the story. It also made it more difficult for the aforementioned princes.

Overall, I liked the characters. Ren was funny and sweet. He was completely loyal to Kelsey even when she treated him like crap. He refused to give up and even after living with the curse of being in the form of a tiger, he was one of the nicest people. I liked Kelsey in the beginning, she was cool and I could relate to her. As the story went on however she really started to annoy me. Ren was completely in love with her and she started pushing him away because she thought that once he was returned to his human form he wouldn't want her anymore because she's "plain". Even when Ren told her that he loved her she tried pushing him away, when that didn't work she got rather nasty with him. This drove me insane because she kept thinking that she loved him as well, she was being selfish and ridiculous.

My one major issue with this novel was that it was rather slow. The beginning drags a little bit but as the story progresses, there is a lot more action and the speed picks up. The adventure is compelling and it had me on the edge of my seat. Even though I didn't love this story, I liked it enough that I will be purchasing the second book because I can't wait to find out what happens to Ren and Kelsey later on in their adventures.

Waiting on Wednesday #8

Title: Project Cain
Author: Geoffrey Girard
Series: N/A
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Expected Publication: September 3, 2013

Description:

Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?

 

Why I'm Waiting:

I'm actually really interested in serial killers. That sounds pretty bad, I'm just interested in the why, I don't really like what they do. The creation of these children from serial killers' DNA sounds like an interesting aspect and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one plays out. The cover for this one is pretty cool as well.

 

 

What are you guys waiting on this week? Leave me a link below and I'll check it out!

 

 

 

The Raven Boys (Review)

Book: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series:  The Raven Cycle, #1
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format:  Hardcover
Pages:  408
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him."
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

 

My Rating:

 

This was actually my first Maggie Stiefvater book so I had absolutely no idea what to expect when going into it. The cover is what drew me to the novel in the first place and then after reading the description I knew I had to buy it and read it. Unfortunately, it ended up sitting on my shelf for a long time.

 

I can't say I was absolutely blown away by the book, that would be completely false. I did however, enjoy it quite a bit. I had a bit of trouble getting into it for the first third of the book or so. I found it to be pretty slow and there was a ton of description. Once the story started to progress, I found myself completely captivated by the plot and the characters.

 

I had a slight issue with Gansey. He reminded me of a teenage version of Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Just the way he spoke and his actions were very similar. Once I got past that, I absolutely loved Gansey. He was a vulnerable, caring guy and it was really nice to see a YA love interest who wasn't a complete jerk.

 

I honestly found myself frustrated with Blue. One minute she's complaining about Gansey and then the next she's thinking maybe she might be wrong about him. I wish she would have made up her mind because it got old after awhile. Besides that issue, I thought she was a pretty unique and interesting character. Meanwhile I absolutely loved Ronan. I started off disliking him immensely but he ended up growing on me. Who doesn't like the bad boy? Deep underneath that hard shell I think lies a boy who is tormented by his past and vulnerable. He's not a terrible person he just tends to put on a front to push people away.

 

While this was my first book by Maggie Stiefvater, it most definitely will not be my last. The world she created was spellbinding and the storyline was enough to have me coming back for the sequel. Based on this work I will also be checking out some of her other stories.

 

Alice in Zombieland (Review)

Book: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Series:  White Rabbit Chronicles, #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format:  Hardcover
Pages:  404
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.

 

My Rating:

 

I absolutely love Alice in Wonderland retellings. I'm also becoming a huge fan of zombie books and by combining those two things you'd think I would be absolutely in love right? Well only kind of. I did love the second half of the book, I just found the beginning pretty boring.

 

There is only so much you can take when the main character doesn't really do anything. Yes, I know, her family just died, but still the book could have had a lot of the moping, doing nothing part cut out. Once she starts school it gets a little better and then when she finally joins up with Cole's group things get interesting.

 

The idea of teenagers going out and hunting zombies is pretty cool. The thing that really makes this story is what the zombies actually are. They aren't your typical zombies that go around eating human flesh, they're more of a spirit form. I really have never seen zombies done in this way and that really makes this book stand out.

 

I really wasn't a huge fan of Alice in the beginning. I got pretty bored while she moped and did nothing. As the story went on however, she turned out to be a pretty tough character who knew how to kick zombie butt. Then there's Cole, the love interest. He's tall, dark and brooding. Oh and he's major trouble. What isn't to love? He's actually pretty sweet and kind once you break through that bad boy shell of his too. One of my favorite character's was Kat. She was funny and outgoing. Spunky and outspoken. She was just an all around enjoyable character, I found myself looking forward to the parts where she made an appearance.

 

This is definitely a unique twist on the zombie story which I really liked. I am definitely going to be picking up the sequel when it comes out and I can't wait until the next trip into Zombieland.

 



Happy Birthday Stephanie and Giveaway at In Wonderland.

GUYS! The awesome Stephanie over at In Wonderland is having a Birthday Bash Giveaway! Seriously it's really cool. Not one but TWO winners will get to pick a book released in April. Fantastic right? But it's not even the giveaway that is totally amazing, Stephanie is one of the nicest and funniest bloggers I have had to chance to become friends with. So get your awesome book loving selves over there and enter her contest here (and add her, she's the best you won't regret it!)

Steph if you're reading this. You are awesome, happy late birthday girl!

Waiting on Wednesday #7

 

 

 

Title: Through the Zombie Glass
Author: Gena Showalter
Series: White Rabbit Chronicles, #2
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Expected Publication: September 24, 2013

Description:

Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

 

Why I'm Waiting:

I just read Alice in Zombieland recently and while it wasn't the most fantastic book I have read, I really enjoyed it. It's a new spin on zombies and it's totally cool. I am dying to find out what happens with Alice and Cole and all of their friends. Do you guys see that cover, it is beautiful.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Leave me a link below and I'll check it out!

 

Tap Out (DNF ARC Review)

Book: Tap Out
Author: Eric Devine
Series: N/A
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Format:  ARC
Pages:  320
Source: Received through ARCycling

Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Tony Antioch lives in Pleasant Meadows, a trailer park where questions aren't asked since everyone already knows the answers from their own experience. He dreams of rescuing his mother from her constant stream of abusive boyfriends but in reality can barely duck the punches that are aimed at himself.

When Tony is coerced into joining his friend Rob's Mixed Martial Arts class, he is surprised to find that he has a talent that he actually wants to develop. But with a meth-dealing biker gang that is hungry for recruits and a vicious cycle of poverty and violence that precedes him, Tony is going to need a lot more than blood and guts to find a way out.

Gritty, powerful, and unapologetic, Tap Out explores what it takes to stay true to oneself and the consequences of the choices made along the way in order to do so.

 

 

Guys, I just couldn't bring myself to finish this one. it takes a lot to make me actually not finish a book and I couldn't get through this. Since I didn't finish I will not be rating this book. Who knows, it may have gotten better later on but I will never know.

 

My first major issue with this book is the amount of swearing. Yes I know teenagers swear. That is not a knew concept. When there is a curse word in most of the sentences, it really turns me off. It seemed almost like the author was trying to use cuss words to make the story seem grittier where the subject matter could have done that by itself.

 

I really couldn't even bring myself to care about the characters. I know it makes me sound harsh because of all that they deal with but come on, the main character brings it on himself. He is offered chances and he repeatedly throws them away. From what I read none of the characters really seem to have much of a personality and they were kind of just there.

 

All in all, I will not be picking this book back up in the future. I tried to read it and I admit I failed with this one but I'm totally okay with that.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Review)

Book: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: Mara Dyer, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Format: Paperback
Pages: 452
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

Mara Dyer doesn’t know if she is crazy or haunted—all she knows is that everyone around her is dying in this suspenseful and “strong, inventive tale” (Kirkus Reviews).

 

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

     It can.

     She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

     There is.

     She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

     She’s wrong.

     After Mara survives the traumatizing accident at the old asylum, it makes sense that she has issues. She lost her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s sister, and as if that weren’t enough to cope with, her family moves to a new state in order to give her a fresh start. But that fresh start is quickly filled with hallucinations—or are they premonitions?—and then corpses, and the boundary between reality and nightmare is wavering. At school, there’s Noah, a devastatingly handsome charmer who seems determined to help Mara piece together what’s real, what’s imagined—and what’s very, very dangerous.

     This fast-paced psychological—or is it paranormal?—thriller will leave you breathless for its sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer.

 

My Rating:

I wasn't sure about this book for the longest time. I would always look at it but something would end up preventing me from buying it. I eventually gave in and I absolutely loved it. This is one of those novels that just got into my head and seriously messed with me. Even at the time of writing this review (2 days after I finished the book) I can't stop thinking about it. The twists were intense, the subject was dark at times and it was creepy.

 

I don't know about anything else but I love books where the main character can't remember what happens and they believe that they're crazy. There's just something about seeing things through their twisted perspective that just makes the story creepier than if it was being told through someone else.

 

I loved Mara. Slipping into her head during her descent into madness was absolutely thrilling. Just like Mara, I had trouble telling what was real or a delusion until she figured it out herself and that just made the story because I was constantly left wondering if an event really happened or not. Then thee is Noah Shaw. That boy is just completely swoon worthy. He seems like the typical arrogant bad boy but there is so much more to him. He's actually a pretty deep and caring character. I absolutely did not see the twist with him coming in the story either.

 

If you haven't read this book yet all I have to say is go get a copy. This is one book that even after you turned the last page it will keep you up at night wondering just what exactly is going on. I will be reading the next book in this series as soon as I have a chance and I am absolutely looking forward to it.

 

 



 

Fated (Review)

Book: Fated
Author: Alyson Noel
Series: The Soul Seekers, #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Immortals, Alyson Noël, comes Fated—a breathtaking new saga brimming with magic, mystery, and an intoxicating love story that will steal your heart away. Meet The Soul Seekers.

Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead.

There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the one guy she's meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.

 

My Rating:

 

In the beginning this novel was really slow paced to the point where I almost gave up. I found that I had to actually force myself to get through the first third of the book. After that I really got into the story and I enjoyed it greatly.

 

I found the use of native American beliefs to be extremely interesting and really gave the story something real to focus on. There are also Spanish beliefs mixed into this novel as well and surprisingly the two beliefs compliment each other really well to make the story flow.

 

I loved the whole idea for the book. A teenage girl with mystical powers who has the ability to travel between the three worlds to try and stop an evil force from taking over. And to make the story even better the evil this girl has to battle comes in the form of an attractive teenage guy AND she doesn't go gaga over him which was a major bonus. To make matters worse he has a twin brother who is the complete opposite and has a strong connection with Daire.

 

There are exciting moments in this book where Daire is travelling between the different worlds and she gets put into situations where she could be caught at any moment or even killed. These parts were extremely well done and I found myself on the edge of my seat hoping Daire could get out okay. The points between these exciting adventures are so full of information and description that you can't help but be intrigued.

 

As for the characters I really liked almost all of them. Daire tended to get on my nerves in the beginning. She was always complaining and it really seemed like she only cared what people looked like. The way she acted made me believe that she thought she was better than everyone else. Throughout the story however she really seems to change and actually becomes quite caring and interesting. Dace was such a sweet character. He takes care of the people he cares about and doesn't expect anything in return. Cade on the other hand was a complete jerk. He seems to have ulterior motives whenever he does anything and I found myself really disliking him.

 

I loved the intricate story and the mystical aspects in this book. I am definitely going to be reading the sequel Echo and I hope it is just as exciting and interesting.



 

 

Obsidian (Review)

Book: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: The Lux
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Format:  Paperback
Pages: 335
Source: Purchased

Blurb:

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

 

My Rating:

 

I should probably start off by saying that I had my doubts about this book. I tend to dislike books everyone raves about and the hype surrounding this book (and the entire series thus far) has been insane. The hype almost scared me off from reading this and I'm actually really glad that I picked it up because I absolutely loved it.

 

It was nice to see a book about aliens in YA instead of the usual vampires/werewolves/faeries which make up the stories for a lot of the genre. Really how many alien young adult books are out there? I can't think of many. And the fact that there were good aliens and bad aliens just made the story even better.

 

I loved the plot. Also the story behind the aliens was extremely well thought out and didn't sound ridiculous and was completely original. I loved the fact that different aliens had different powers and no two had the same level of power. Yet even with this they all blended into human society quite well.

 

I loved Katy. She was obsessed with books, had a book review blog and didn't put up with any of Daemon's crap. Because trust me there was a ton of crap from him. That boy seriously got on my nerves in the beginning, to the point where I wanted to smack him. He eventually grew on me when the other, nicer side of him made appearances.

 

When I finished this book I went out and ordered Onyx, the second book in the series. I can't wait to

start it and I hope this series just gets better and better.



 

 

Every Day (ARC Review)

I did a buddy review with the amazing Megan over at  The Book Babe you can check out her awesome review of the book here.

Book: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Series: N/A
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format: ARC
Pages: 322
Source: Bought from Random Buzzers using Buzz Bucks

Blurb:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

 

 

My Rating:

 

I was so excited to start this book, I had been hearing wonderful things about it and the premise sounded really interesting. I just wish that I liked it more than I did. This was a good book, don't get me wrong, but I think the thing that ruined it most for me was that my expectations were too high based on everything I heard. The storyline was still interesting, but I just couldn't dive in as much as I wanted to.

 

There were some issues I had with this. First off the way that A spoke. No teenager speaks the way he does. It was too mature for how old he was and I just couldn't believe it. If anything in a story should be believable it should be the main character. My next biggest issue was the serious case of instant love. A knew Rhiannon for maybe 6 hours and he knew he was in love with her? I think that is kind of forced. No way can anybody fall in love with someone after 6 or so hours. It just does not happen, you can't know anything about the person that has any substance at all.

 

The one part of this story I liked the best was the end. Not because it was over but because of how the story ended. I believe that A made the right choice in the end, both for Rhiannon and himself. I think the decision itself showed how much A cared about her because he knew he wouldn't be able to be what was needed.

 

While this story may not have been the one for me I will definitely be checking out another one of his books.

 

 



 





Waiting on Wednesday #6

Title: Ashes on the Waves
Author: Mary Lindsey
Series: N/A
Publisher: Philomel/Penguin
Expected Publication: June 27, 2013

Description:

Liam MacGregor is cursed. Haunted by the wails of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will never get better for him—until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton arrives on the island and Liam’s fate is changed forever.

With Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied; but, the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea around it, have other plans. They make a wager on the couple’s love, testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. But the tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. Frustrated, the creatures put the couple through one last trial—and this time it’s not only their love that’s in danger of being destroyed.

Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling poem Annabel Lee, Mary Lindsey creates a frighteningly beautiful gothic novel that glorifies the power of true love.

 

Why I'm Waiting:

I read Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey earlier this year and I absolutely loved it and I am looking forward to reading something else by her. I love a story where the characters have to fight for their love to survive and this one just sounds quite creepy. Plus it's based on a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, how awesome is that?

 

 

What are you guys waiting on this week? Leave me a link below and I'll check it out!

 

 

Emilie & the Hollow World (ARC Review)

Book: Emilie & the Hollow World
Author: Martha Wells
Series: N/A
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Format:  ARC
Pages: 287
Source: Received from the publisher.

Blurb:

While running away from home for reasons that are eminently defensible, Emilie’s plans to stow away on the steamship Merry Bell and reach her cousin in the big city go awry, landing her on the wrong ship and at the beginning of a fantastic adventure.

Taken under the protection of Lady Marlende, Emilie learns that the crew hopes to use the aether currents and an experimental engine, and with the assistance of Lord Engal, journey to the interior of the planet in search of Marlende’s missing father.

With the ship damaged on arrival, they attempt to traverse the strange lands on their quest. But when evidence points to sabotage and they encounter the treacherous Lord Ivers, along with the strange race of the sea-lands, Emilie has to make some challenging decisions and take daring action if they are ever to reach the surface world again.

 

My Rating:

 

When I saw this book I got so excited and requested it from the publisher for review, I mean I am a huge fan of steampunk so why shouldn't I be into this one right? Well, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. It was a good book but I guess I went into with expectations that were too high.

 

The world building in this novel was phenomenal. A world within the center of the Earth just sounds exciting right? Well it totally was and somehow the author made it work. The descriptions of this world were magnificent and I could picture them in my head as the story progressed.

 

Now the story line on the other hand had great potential. I was expecting it to be full of danger and suspense, don't get me wrong there was some but just not as much as I thought there would be. The story really dragged in some places, like the times between the exciting adventures, and I found myself having trouble getting through those parts.

 

What redeemed this for me were the characters. Emilie was awesome and wasn't afraid to tell someone off or put them in their place and I loved that about her. Lady Marlende was another great character, she was intelligent and was ready to protect herself and fight anything that came at them. I think my two favorite characters were Kenar and Rani, two cirathi who lived in the world inside of Earth. They had fur and scales but weren't too different from the humans in the story. They showed great compassion and developed a close friendship with the humans they were travelling with.

 

All in all this was an interesting story and I would definitely recommend this for those who like their steampunk with loads of description and interesting worlds.

 

This ARC was received from the publisher for review purposes and did not effect my opinions in any way. The opinions expressed in this review were mine alone.