May 11, 2011

WWW Wednesdays #35


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?
This weekly meme is being hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading!
 
 
 
What are you currently reading?
 
 
 
What did you recently finish reading?
 
 
 
What do you think you’ll read next?
 
 

"Waiting On" Wednesday #46: Hourglass, Supernaturally, Forbidden & Just Like Heaven!




"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hourglass 
(Hourglass, book 1)
by 
Myra McEntire

Publication date:
June 14, 2011

Summary:
One hour to rewrite the past . . .
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.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.
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?

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.
 
 
 
 Supernaturally
(Paranormalcy, book 2)
by
Kiersten White

Publication date:
July 26, 2011


Summary:
A lot has changed in the six months since Evie escaped from the International Paranormal Containment Agency with her shape-shifter boyfriend, Lend. She finally has the blissfully normal life she’s always dreamed of, including:
1) A real live high school
2) A perfectly ordinary after-school job
3) Her very own locker (and by the way, rusted metal is every bit as awesome as she imagined)

But Evie’s not-so-normal past keeps creeping up on her...and things get pretty complicated when you factor in:
1) A centuries-old, seriously decaying vampire stalker
2) A crazy faerie ex-boyfriend who is the perpetual bearer of really bad news
3) A major battle brewing between the faerie courts where the prize in question happens to be...Evie herself.

So much for normal.
 
 
 
Forbidden
(The Demon Trappers, book 2)
by
Jana Oliver

Publication date:
August 5, 2011


Summary: 
Hell has a plan for Riley Blackthorne… 
Riley’s beginning to think being a demon trapper isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Her dad’s been stolen by a necromancer, her boyfriend’s gone all weird and she’s getting warm and fuzzy feelings for someone who’s got more secrets than the C.I.A. It’s tempting to give it all up and try to be normal, but that's not an option with Hell watching her every move. One mistake will cost her everything - and that's the one she's about to make...
 
 
 
Just Like Heaven
(Smythe-Smith Quartet, book 1)
by
Julia Quinn

Publication date:
May 31, 2011


Summary:
Honoria Smythe-Smith is: 
A) a really bad violinist
B) still miffed at being nicknamed "Bug" as a child
C) not in love with her older brother's best friend
D) all of the above

Marcus Holroyd is: 
A) the Earl of Chatteris
B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles
C) not in love with his best friend's younger sister
D) all of the above

Together they: 
A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake
B) survive a deadly fever and the world's worst musical performance
C) fall quite desperately in love

It's Julia Quinn at her best, so you know the answer is . . .

D) all of the above

May 4, 2011

"Waiting On" Wednesday #45: The Gray Wolf Throne, Dust & Decay, In the Forests of the Night & Witchlanders!




"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
 
 
 
 




The Gray Wolf Throne
(Seven Realms, Book 3)
by
Cinda Williams Chima

Publication date:
August 30, 2011


WARNING: 
Spoilers in the summary below if you haven't read the previous books, or at least the 1st book, The Demon King!

Summary:
Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. The costs of his efforts are steep, but nothing can prepare him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is none other than Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to the Queendom of the Fells. Han is hurt and betrayed. He knows he has no future with a blueblood. And, as far as he’s concerned, the princess’s family killed his own mother and sister. But if Han is to fulfill his end of an old bargain, he must do everything in his power to see Raisa crowned queen.
Meanwhile, some people will stop at nothing to prevent Raisa from ascending. With each attempt on her life, she wonders how long it will be before her enemies succeed. Her heart tells her that the thief-turned-wizard Han Alister can be trusted. She wants to believe it—he’s saved her life more than once. But with danger coming at her from every direction, Raisa can only rely on her wits and her iron-hard will to survive—and even that might not be enough.
The Gray Wolf Throne is an epic tale of fierce loyalty, unbearable sacrifice, and the heartless hand of fate.



Dust & Decay
(Benny Imura, Book 2)
by
Jonathan Maberry

Publication date:
August 30, 2011
Summary:
Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It's also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny's zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny's best friend Lou Chong are going with them.
Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland -where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all.could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?
In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything - and not everyone in Benny's small band of travelers will make it out alive.
 
 
 
In the Forests of the Night
(Goblin Wars, Book 2)
by
Kersten Hamilton
 
Publication date:
November 19, 2011
 
WARNING:
Spoilers in the summary below if you haven't read Tyger, Tyger!

Summary:
The battle against goblinkind continues . . . but which side will Teagan be on?
Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it out of Mag Mell alive, but the Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Tea’s goblin cousins show up at her school, sure she will come back to Mag Mell, as goblin blood is never passive once awoken. Soon she will belong to Fear Doirich and join them. In the meantime, they are happy to entertain themselves by trying to seduce, kidnap, or kill Tea’s family and friends. Tea knows she doesn’t have much time left, and she refuses to leave Finn or her family to be tortured and killed. A wild Stormrider, born to rule and reign, is growing stronger inside her. But as long as she can hold on, she’s still Teagan Wylltson, who plans to be a veterinarian and who heals the sick and hurting. The disease that’s destroying her—that’s destroying them all—has a name: Fear Doirich. And Teagan Wylltson is not going to let him win.



Witchlanders
by
Lena Coakley
Publication date:
August 30, 2011

Summary:
High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.
It’s all a fake.
At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?
But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned - are about him.

WWW Wednesdays #34


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?
This weekly meme is being hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading!
 
 
 
What are you currently reading?
 
 

What did you recently finish reading?




What do you think you’ll read next?

May 3, 2011

#60 - "The Diviner's Tale" by Bradford Morrow (ARC)


Title: The Diviner's Tale
Author: Bradford Morrow
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780547382630 

Summary:
Walking a lonely forested valley on a spring morning in upstate New York, having been hired by a developer to dowse the land, Cassandra Brooks comes upon the shocking vision of a young girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with authorities to the site, the body has vanished, leaving in question Cassandra’s credibility if not her sanity. The next day, on a return visit with the sheriff to have another look, a dazed, mute missing girl emerges from the woods, alive and the very picture of Cassandra’s hanged girl.
What follows is the narrative of ever-deepening and increasingly bizarre divinations that will lead this gifted young woman, the struggling single mother of twin boys, hurtling toward a past she’d long since thought was behind her. The Diviner’s Tale is at once a journey of self-discovery and an unorthodox murder mystery, a tale of the fantastic and a family chronicle told by an otherwise ordinary woman.
When Cassandra’s dark forebodings take on tangible form, she is forced to confront a life spiraling out of control. And soon she is locked in a mortal chess match with a real-life killer who has haunted her since before she can remember. 
 
My rating: 5 of 5

My thoughts on the book:
This is really good book. It's a mystery, but quite different kind of mystery. This was the first book by Bradford Morrow I've read, but definitely won't be the last. The best thing about this book was the writing style, it was just so powerful, the words just stay with you. At least, that's what happened to me. It took me around 2 months to read this book, but it wasn't because I found it boring or the pacing slow or some other reason, but I think it was because of the writing, it was just so powerful, I'd read a few chapters & then I took a break & even if it was long break, I always remembered what happened previously in details & although I usually remember the books if & when I take longer breaks while reading them, with this one was just different. Cassandra is quite unique & strong character & we learn about her past, present & future. I really loved her sons as characters, I can just imagine them becoming amazing adults. Amazing book & although maybe not for everyone, I highly recommend it!

Challenges:

#59 - "Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk


Title: Lullaby
Author: Chuck Palahniuk

Summary:
Carl Streator is a solitary widower and a fortyish newspaper reporter who is assigned to do a series of articles on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In the course of this investigation he discovers an ominous thread: the presence at the death scenes of the anthology Poems and Rhymes Around the World, all opened to the page where there appears an African chant, or “culling song.” This song turns out to be lethal when spoken or even thought in anyone's direction–and once it lodges in Streator's brain he finds himself becoming an involuntary serial killer. So he teams up with a real estate broker, one Helen Hoover Boyle–who specializes in selling haunted (or “distressed”) houses (wonderfully high turnover), and who lost a child to the culling song years before–for a cross-country odyssey to remove all copies of the book from libraries, lest this deadly verbal virus spread and wipe out human life. Accompanying them on this road trip are Helen's assistant, Mona Sabbat, an exquisitely earnest Wiccan, and her sardonic ecoterrorist boyfriend Oyster, who is running a scam involving fake liability claims and business blackmail. Welcome to the new nuclear family.

My rating: 4 of 5

My thoughts on the book:
Where do I start? I have to say that I was surprised by this book. I expected something quite different, but not this, but it was good. It was definitely weird, also sad, yet unexpectedly funny at times, & with lots of twists & turns. Although it's short book - a little over 200 pages, I have to admit that it needed time for me to get through it. I just got confused with some of the chapters here and there, but after finishing the book, they weren't confusing anymore ;) If you love reading something different, than I recommend this book, although I think it's not for everyone. What I'll say is that I'm already looking forward to re-reading it, although of course that won't be soon, but I think that I'll enjoy it even more when I'll be reading it again.

Challenges:

#58 - "Dark Oracle" by Alayna Williams


Title: Dark Oracle
Author: Alayna Williams
Series: Delphic Oracle, Book 1

Summary:
TARA SHERIDAN HAS A GIFT . . . 
...AND IT ALMOST KILLED HER. 
 
As a criminal profiler, Tara used science and her intuitive skill at Tarot card divination to track down the dangerous and depraved, including the serial killer who left her scarred from head to toe. Since that savage attack, Tara has been a recluse. But now an ancient secret society known as Delphi's Daughters has asked for her help in locating missing scientist Lowell Magnusson. And Tara, armed with her Tarot deck, her .38, and a stack of misgivings, agrees to try.
Tara immediately senses there is far more at stake than one man's life. At his government lab in the New Mexico desert, Magnusson had developed groundbreaking technology with terrifying potential. Working alongside the brusque but charismatic agent Harry Li, Tara discovers that Magnusson's daughter, Cassie, has knowledge that makes her a target too. The more Tara sees into the future, the more there is to fear. She knows she has to protect Cassie. But there may be no way to protect herself - from the enemies circling around her, or from the long-buried powers stirring to life within. . . .

My rating: 4.5 of 5

My thoughts on the book:
I loved this book. From the beginning I was enveloped with the story, so I finished the book soon & I enjoyed every second of it! I loved everything about it: the story, the mystery, the characters - both good & bad, the romance, the writing style, I just enjoyed everything & I'm already looking forward to getting & reading the sequel & I highly recommend this book!

Challenges: