Showcase Sunday (20)

'showcase Sunday' is hosted by Vicky at books, biscuits and tea.

24th Sept - 30th Sept

It's been another quite week for me as I continue to curb my book buying and requesting review copies in an attempt to catch up on the ones I have, I only got one book this week:

The Christmas spirits by Whitley Strieber which was a random book I was sent for review but I actually already read and reviewed an ecopy last year that the publishers sent me, you can see that review HERE if you want to.

I also got myself a cover for my Kindle since its already picked up a few scratches in my bag and I don't want my baby to get ruined!

And I also got season 4 of Fringe on DVD which came out this week! Since its a DVD I won't picture it but I'm so excited I figured I'd at least mention it! lol

What did you get this week?

Same difference (33)

Debutantes by Cora Harrison and 

The summer garden by Paullina Simons - Tatiana and Alexander book three.

Mist: I have to say, hands down I love the Debutantes cover the most here, the colours are just stunning, whilst I do like the sepia on  The summer garden and the girls green eye, its nothing next to the Debutantes cover which is just so pretty and girly.

Which do you prefer?

UK vs THE WORLD (38)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

UK                  vs.                     US

Dearly, beloved by Lia Habel

Gone with the respiration book two.

Mist: Both of these covers are pretty gorgeous but I think the US cover narrowly wins for me, I just like the colours better, the UK cover is more dramatic but I do like the stormy sky.

Ninfa: I must say the UK cover is a little off for me, it looks like the guy was photo shopped badly next to the beautiful woman and unfortunately that kinda puts me off the whole thing. The plus side of this cover for me it's pretty much just the lovely dress :p I do like the US cover though, it's very pretty and feels historical and romantic.I don't love either of them, but having to choose I'd go for the US as it's something I would probably pick up, even just for curiosity's sake :)

Which do you prefer?

Significance - Review

Significance by Shelly Crane

Available now. 

What's it about?

Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating, barely, and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.

Then she meets Caleb. She saves his life and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing but she is supposed to be on her way to a date with his cousin. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.

They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.

Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

My review

After seeing so many great reviews for this I knew I had to pick it up since I'd (shamefully) had sitting on my Kindle for review for months! Unfortunately I just didn't enjoy it as much as others, it was a bit too much love story and not enough of much else for me, I prefer more action in my books and this was just a bit too 'sweet' for me, that being said I do think fans of the romantic contemporary genre will enjoy it.

There were also a lot of typos in the version I was reading (which, as far as I know was a finished one.) which put me off as there were quite a few times I got 'pulled out' of reading because I had to read a line again.

The story itself though was a really unique and intriguing one, it was something I haven't seen before and was what kept me interested in the book when the romance got a bit too much for me.

I thought Maggie and Caleb made a great couple and were pretty hot together, though I'm not usually a fan of the 'insta-love' it worked in this story and actually made sense, Shelly Crane is a great story teller and did a fine job of putting these two characters together and some great secondary characters, I liked them all except Kyle who was just too hostile at times, he seems like such a nice guy to start I thought he'd be more understanding of the situation since he lives in that world.

So, overall, even though I didn't love this book myself I think others will.

My thoughts on the cover

I really like this cover, I like the soft colours and the swirly frame, the font fits in too. Its a really pretty ensemble.

Favourite quotes

'Not like a girly wow-he's-touching-me jolt. I mean an actual jolt. Like it felt as if fire was racing through my veins and I was standing in water with a blow dryer.'

'"I'll always come for you. I'll always find you, I told you, you're everything now, Maggie. I love you so much."'

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Showcase Sunday (19)

'Showcase Sunday' is hosted by Vicky at Books, biscuits and tea.

17th Sept - 23rd Sept

I had a really quiet week this week, but I don't mind since my reading is soooo slow lately! But I did get one book, Harlequin UK sent me Devil's bargain by Rachel Caine for review which I'm excited for since I love her Morganville vampires series. Then my handsome boyfriend got me a Mockingjay pin because he's awesome :)

What did you get this week?

UK vs THE WORLD (37)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

UK                           vs                     France

The heir of night by Helen Lowe

Wall of night book one.

('Si la nuit tombe... tout tombe' translates to 'If night falls ... everything falls.' - According to Google translate.)

Mist: Definitely a UK win for me this week, I just love the whole set-up of the cover, its intriguing and eye catching. The French cover is kind of boring and I don't like the way the girl is washed out.

Ninfa: No contest here, it's a UK win all the way! The French cover is literally the same model slapped on a red and faded background which takes all the epic feeling out of the cover.
 The UK cover is fabulous, I love the storm/battle feeling behind the girl, and she looks ready to fight, and fierce.
 UK wins 100%!

Which do you prefer?

Diary of a one-night stand - Review

Diary of a one-night stand by Alexandrea Weis 

What's it about? 

Resilient and practical, Kara Barton has continually strived to live a respectable life. She went to college, embarked on a promising career as an attorney, married a great guy, and always appeared to be the perfect wife and mother. But all is not what it seems, and the troubling past Kara has been running from her entire life is about to catch up with her. Urged on by her insecurities about growing older, and desperately wanting to feel one more night of passion, Kara agrees to share a tryst in a hotel room with a sexy business associate, Scott Ellsworth. But Scott wants more than one night together, and Kara quickly discovers it is impossible to resist him. Soon Kara finds herself transformed into the kind of woman she vowed never to become, and the secure world she has struggled all her life to build begins to fall apart. Kara Barton is about to find out how a one-night stand can change everything.

My review

Whilst I wouldn't say I loved Diary of one-night stand I did find it to be an enjoyable quick read and I really liked the message it ended with. This is an adult read so there are some steamy scenes throughout the book, there's nothing 'hardcore' though so I think anyone that likes a little bit extra to their novels will enjoy it.
I found it easy to get through and enjoyed the story, Kara was an interesting character but there were so many times I wished she'd stand up for herself more, never the less, her journey was an interesting one and I enjoyed taking it with her and wondering how things would end up for her.
I thought it ended perfectly, I wasn't sure if it would go that way or a completely different direction but I'm glad for the way it turned out.
I would definitely be interested to see more work by this author in the future and would recommend Diary of a one-night stand to anyone looking for an easy read.

My thoughts on the cover
I do like what's been done with this cover, its a nice clean image that's attractive but it looks too computerized, I think an actual image of this scene would look amazing!

Favourite quotes

'"Yes, you can. Life has no rules, Kara. We're all just makin' it up as we go along, so grab whatever you have with that man who has put a twinkle back in your eye. You've got the rest of your life to think about your mistakes. So you'd better try and make some while you're still young enough to enjoy them."'

'He ran his fingers through her silky hair. "Because what would be the fun in that? Takes all of the mystery out of it. Life has got to have mystery, otherwise it gets boring."'

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The colour of Grace - Review

The colour of Grace by Linda Kage

Available now. 

What's it about?

Meet sixteen-year-old Grace Indigo:

Hey. When my mother remarried after thirteen years of being a widow, I had to move to a new town and enroll in a new school. Suddenly thrust into an entirely different kind of life, I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to meet new people, didn’t want to leave my old friends, didn’t want to become a third wheel to my mom and her husband...and I really didn’t want to see Ryder Yates again. Ugh, I still don’t know why I turned down that too-good-to-be-true boy who flirted with me when we were attending separate schools.

But honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was worse.

Who knew becoming lost in a new life could help a girl find her true colors?

My review

The colour of Grace was an enjoyable, emotional read and I really enjoyed it. I'll be honest I've read a number of indie books to date and only a couple have really stuck out to me as great so I'm always wary starting one but I need not have worried with The colour of Grace (or 'color' to American readers!) It was fabulously written and I was hooked into Grace's world right away. Grace was a lovely character and I enjoyed getting to know her, she's someone I'd love to have as a friend. And I also loved Ryder, on the surface he's just the popular guy with the cheerleader girlfriend but as the book goes on you find out he's just so much more than that and it was great to see the relationship develop between him and Grace.
The story itself was interesting with some events I was not expecting! It kept me reading right until the end always wanting to know what was coming next.
I'd definitely recommend this book to any fans of the YA contemporary genre because it represents it so well, its well written, full of great characters and even skims on a difficult subject, I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author.

My thoughts on the cover
This is a lovely bright cover and represents a key scene really well, I like the simple text too as it doesn't crowd the picture and make it feel too 'busy.'

Favourite quotes

'His beauty was unreal. I had to blink repeatedly to make sure my fall hadn't jostled my eyesight. But every time my lashes flickered open, I saw the boy clearly, in faultless, spectacular detail.'

'Up to the point, all his attention toward me had felt like one big spoof. Someone had to be playing a joke. No way deep inside me did I honestly believe he was truly that interested. But from the way he looked into my eyes at that very moment, I began to wonder - really wonder. Was I wrong?'

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Showcase Sunday (18)

'Showcase Sunday' is hosted by Vicky at Books, biscuits and tea.

10th Sept - 16th Sept

Books mentioned

Bought

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

The heir of night by Helen Lowe

For review

Ruthless by Sara Shepard

Tiger's destiny by Colleen houck

Tomorrow the killing by Daniel Polansky

eBooks

For review

Diary of a one-night stand by Alexandra Weis - I'm currently half way through this one and its not bad.

The grey cat by Toryn Chapman

What did you get this week?

Blog tour: Definance - Guest post

The inspiration for Defiance.

By C.J. Redwine.

Defiance was the product of two very separate ideas suddenly colliding. For years, I'd had the idea of a Leviathon-like creature who lived underground instead of in the sea. I didn't have a world, a conflict, or a plot to go with the creature, so it just sat in the back of my mind and waited.

One day, I was searching for something on the internet, and I saw a picture of a fortress that reminded me of a city-state. I've always been very interested in medieval times, and I was immediately intrigued by the idea of writing a story where my characters once again lived in city-states.

Of course, to put my characters in city-states, I needed a plausible reason why. I began asking myself "What if people lived in city-states again? Why would they do that? What could destroy the infrastructure of our society so thoroughly that city-states are all that is left?" The sleeping idea of the Leviathon-like creature woke up with a vengeance, collided with the city-state idea, and the world of Defiance was born.

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Published as a paperback original by Atom on the 6th September 2012, £6.99.

Rachel’s world is confined to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain, and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.

When Rachel’s father goes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.

Her only chance at escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice, and now her only protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.

Cover reveal: the game changer by Marie Landry

The game changer by Marie Landry

Melody Cartwright has never had a problem with change, but for the first time in her life the changes are beyond her control—she suddenly has a niece she never knew, but has to prove herself to; her best friend is making huge life changes of her own; and she has to deal with her ex and his crazy new girlfriend who has stalker tendencies. 

When Melody meets confident, sexy Julian, she’s not interested in a relationship. He tells her it’s possible for a man and a woman to just be friends, and despite his ultra-charming ways there’s something about him that makes Melody believe he could be right. 

During a time of change and turmoil, it doesn’t take long for Julian to become everything Melody never knew she needed in her life. But is it possible for them to remain ‘just friends’ or will Melody be a game changer for Julian the playboy?

Here is the cover for Marie Landrys new novel The game changer, due out in November 2012.

What do you think? Personally I love it!

Maries debut novel, Blue sky days was released at the start of the year and you can check out my 5* review HERE.

UK vs THE WORLD (36)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

UK                            vs.                 Germany

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Sky chasers book two.

('Sternenfeuer - Vertraue niemandem' translates to 'Starfire - Trust no one.' - According to Google translate.)

Mist: Both of these covers are pretty but I think I prefer the UK cover, it has a slightly older feel than then the Germany cover which I think gives off a slight paranormal feel to it even though the book isn't paranormal. The colours in both are lovely though and I do like the pendant on the German cover.

Ninfa: Oh, I really like the German cover, the necklace is so pretty and the cover is very eye catching. I love the title as well translated as Starfire which obviously reflects in the stars on the cover.
 The UK cover is nice enough, but the images in the background are a little too blurry and confused to make much sense of it and the overall cover looses a little because of the muted colours in my opinion.
 Germany wins :)

Which do you prefer?

Showcase Sunday (17)

'Showcase Sunday' is hosted by Vicky at Books, biscuits and tea.

3rd Sept - 9th Sept

Books mentioned

Bought

Beautiful disaster by Jamie McGuire

Gifts

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

This is so not happening by Kieran Scott

So close to you by Rachel Carter

What books did you get this week?

UK vs THE WORLD! (35)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

UK                           vs.                  Portugal

Perfect chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Perfect chemistry book one.

('Química Perfeita' translates to 'Perfect chimstry.' - According to Google translate.)

Mist: The Portuguese cover is nice but personally I don't like the expressions the models are pulling so its a UK win for me, the image is just so much more enticing and a little bit hot lol Though I do love the font on the Portuguese cover.

Ninfa: I'm not a fan of either I'm afraid, but if I have to pick one it'll be UK, simply because of the tag line which is kinda interesting.
 I think both covers are very standard, with the two models, but there isn't anything that grabs me straight away...they're just a little samey...

Which do you prefer?

What I read in... August + RCC wrap-up

Hey guys! Another month gone already!

During the month of August I signed-up to the 'Review copy cleanup' challenge hosted b Vicky at Books, biscuits and tea and Celine at Nyx book reviews. I did really well the first couple of weeks and read six books but I was in a bit of a reading slump the rest of the month and didn't get through anymore and gave up on one book :(

Books mentioned

(Links to my reviews or Goodreads if I haven't reviewed the book yet.)

The summer I turned pretty (4/5), Its not summer without you (4/5) and We'll always have summer (5/5) by Jenny Han.

Earthfall by Mark Walden - 3/5

Alice in zombieland by Gena Showalter - 4/5

Unfed by Kirsty McKay - 4/5

Carnival of souls by Melissa Marr - DNF

The kill order by James Dashner - 3/5

What did you read?

Alice in zombieland - Review

Alice in zombieland by Gena Showalter

The white rabbit chronicles book one.

Available 5th October 2012

www.miraink.co.uk 

What's it about?

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….

My review

Although Gena Showalter has an extensive back catalogue I've only read one other book by her before so I wasn't sure what I would be getting with Alice in zombieland. It turned out that what I got was a fabulous book, full of action, suspense, some laugh out loud one liners and great characters.
I really loved Gena's concept on zombies and it's like nothing I've seen before which gave this book a really unique spin.
I wouldn't say that this is an Alice in wonderland retelling, more of a parody if anything, but I loved the little bits she pulled from the original classic and put into this story, it was a lot of fun to try and 'spot' them.
Alice was a great leading lady, despite her traumatic experience she manages to keep her head held high and moves on. I loved how funny and feisty she was, she could definitely kick my butt lol and her curious nature.
Cole was awesome too, he was totally hot - of course! - Gena manages to give such vivid descriptions of him, I often found myself wishing I was Alice! He's also strong and protective and lots of other swoon worthy things.
The other character I loved was best friend Kat, she oozes confidence but not in an arrogant way, she's caring and just a great best friend, I hope everything works out for her as much as I hope it does for Alice and Cole.
I really can't fault the story or the writing of this book at all, it was a wonderful read, it had the right amount of humour, action and romance. It's not too gory so I think people who aren't usually fans of zombie books might enjoy it as much as I did.
I can't wait for book two and to see where this tale goes next.

My thoughts on the cover
I LOVE this cover! It's creepy and has a gorgeous dress, the brightness of the girls blonde hair and pale skin really stand out against the dark forest and even though it looks like a scary place, she looks for curious than worried. And the frame is really cool too with the different playing card suits at the corners and on the middle of each border.

Sorry, no favourite quotes as I read an uncorrected proof copy of the book that cannot be quoted from.

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