Everneath - Review

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Everneath book one.
Available now.

What's it about?
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.
She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

My review

(2.5)

I'll be honest, I found this book difficult to get through, though I found Ashton's take on The Persephone myth to be refreshingly different to anything else I've read before it didn't save the book for me. I like some mystery in a book, it keeps me guessing but I felt the author just left it to long to explain the little details about what the Everneath is and what happens there, and I was so bored with the rest of the book that I didn't feel like trying to guess what it all meant, the only character I felt had any personality was the "bad guy" Cole. The protag Nikki just didn't have anything about her, in her flashbacks to before she went to the Everneath it's all about her boyfriend, does he really love her? Will he cheat on her? She doesn't trust him or understand why he wants to be with her, nevermind they've been best friends for years and he's told her he loves her, I just found it all so frustrating. I was also frustrated with Jack, he's just to understanding, he admits later he knew Nikki couldn't be strung out on drugs when she disappeared, but he doesn't question her either, he's never mad about her disappearence, there are hardly any emotional responses from him throughout the book and I was also annoyed that Nikki chose to go back for the six months to make things right and say goodbye to everyone but she wastes half the time ignoring everyone. I also don't understand why she had to go back, it's repay a debt, a debt because she got to go back to earth for six months? Because if she hadn't gone back she'd still be in there, and she was in there in the first place so an Everliving could feed off her emotions for a century, how did she work up a debt? I just don't get it.

As you can tell I didn't really like this book, there was just to much that didn't make sense for me, and it's unlikely, though not completely impossible, that I'll read the next one.

My thoughts on the cover

This cover is just stunning, the clouds and the smoke coming off the girls gorgeous red dress, it's just a beautiful image and suits the story so well.

Favourite quotes



'I closed my eyes and pictured the boy with the brown hair, and as I took in my first really deep breath of Surface air, a name to match the face came to me. A name I'd been trying to cling to for a century.
"Jack."'

'Cole had been right that first night he came into my bedroom,althought it'd taken me this long to realise it. I did have hope. Somewhere, in the pit  of my soul, I believed that I could get out of my debt. That I could stay here.'

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Same difference (24)

The marked son by Shea Berkley (Keepers of life book one) and

Rex rising by Chrystalla Thoma (Elei's chronicles book one)

Same hot guy, two slightly different angles, personally I prefer the first cover, the cover for Rex rising is cool but is photoshopped to death and he doesn't look real, I also prefer the font of The Marked Son and the green backgroud is nice :)

Which do you prefer?



UK vs. THE WORLD! (11)

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.                 Romania

Eve by Anna Carey

Eve book one.

Mist: Hmm well I do like the Romanian cover but I don't think it suits the book, whereas the UK one does and it's a lot more animated and I like the colours better, definitely a UK win for me.

Ninfa: So difficult to choose, both covers are lovely and so similar in concept. The UK one is really haunting, we can mostly see this bridge stretching in front of the model and the greenish colour almost makes me feel like she's walking through a mist. The Romanian cover has again the bridge, though you can see the model's face. I love her hair and the windswept look, as well as the faint image of the moon above. I think by a small fraction it's a Romanian win.

UK                               vs.                    France

 Fire and thorns by Rae Carson
Fire and thorns book one.
('La fille de braises et de ronces' translates to 'The daughter or embers and brambles' - According to Google translate.)

Mist: I really don't like the UK cover at all, I mean the desert is nice but the rest I just don't like. The French cover is much prettier and intriguing, even if the model has forgotten to put her top on lol. I love the hand with the light on it, makes you want to know what that is all about.

Ninfa: Oh it's got to be a French win! The cover is very "Fantasy" inspired and I love the outfit, the jewelled dagger and the little light effects that suggests something special is happening. The UK cover is okay I guess, just not to my taste thought the desert shot behind the model's eyes is pretty cool. French win

Which do you prefer?

Legend - Review

Legend by Marie Lu

Legend book one.

Available now

http://www.penguin.co.uk/

What's it about?

The United States is gone, along with its flooded coasts. North America's two warring nations, the western Republic and the eastern Colonies, have reached a breaking point. In the midst of this broken continent and dark new world are two teenagers who will go down in history....
Born into the slums of Los Angeles, fifteen-year old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. A mysterious boy with no recorded image or fingerprints. A boy who should no longer exist. A boy who watches over his family until one evening, when the plague patrols mark his family's door with an X--the sign of plague infection. A death sentence for any family too poor to afford the antidote. Desperate, Day has no choice; he must steal it.
Born to an elite family in Los Angeles' wealthy Ruby sector, fifteen-year old June is the Republic's most promising prodigy. A superintelligent girl destined for great things in the country's highest military circles. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country--until the day her brother Metias is murdered while on patrol during a break-in at the plague hospital.
Only one person could be responsible.
Day.
And now it's June's mission to hunt him down.
The truth they'll uncover will become legend.

My review

I really liked this book, it's written well, moves at a good pace and I liked that it was told from both June and Day's perspectives so I got an insight into both worlds, as the way they both live is completely opposite, yet they have simlair character traits, they're both great, strong characters. There were lots of parts of this book that could've been dragged out and I'm so glad they weren't, it was straight to the point and to the action so I was never bored, my only complaint is that I thought the characters should've been older than 15, even though I know they would be more mature because of what they've both been through in their lives I still felt they were to mature for 15 year olds. But other than that I really loved it, there plenty of twists, some I guessed, some I didn't and a fabulous ending. It was all just so well written and tied up nicely at the end but gives me an idea of what will happen next which has left me thirsting for the next one!
I loed both the main characters of June and Day, Day because he's strong and brave, he tries to only take care of himself but I can't help caring for others and will help at risk to himself. And June, well she's bad ass! She's clever and quick thinking, together they make a great team! There were also a couple of smaller characters that I liked, Tess and Kaede, both for different reasons!
So, all in all a great start to what I hope will be an awesome series, I can't wait for the next one!

My thoughts on the cover
I love this cover (so much more than the US one!) It's really dark and the girl looks strong, I love the city scape in the backgroud and the dusky sunlight and the 'R' symbol in the corner. It's just a great cover!

Sorry, no favourite quotes for this one as I read an ARC copy and don't have a final copy to compare it with.

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Immortal beloved and Darkness falls - Double review

Immortal beloved by Cate Tiernan
Immortal beloved book one.

Available now.

http://www.hodder.co.uk/

What's it about?

Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

My review

Whilst I did enjoy this book and found the back story and history really interesting, I have to say I didn't find it very exciting, it felt more like the set-up for book two (which I'm starting once this review is written!) which I hope will be a bit more fast paced.

I did like Nastasya, though I found her pretty immature at times for a 500 year old woman! As we go through the book we learn about the terrible things she's been through and has been working to block out for a long time and I felt for her more as the story went along, and really feel I'd gotten to know her by the end.

There are a lot of characters to meet in this book though some get more 'face time' than others, I didn't find I disliked any of the characters but there weren't any I'd call my favourite either. I think what I'm trying to say is, this was a pretty avergae book for me, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either, I'm intrigued to read the next one to find out what happens next and hopefully get some answers to the questions I was left with and the action I think it coming.

My thoughts on the cover

This is a gorgeous cover! It has a dark and eerie forest in the middle, surrounding by gorgeous colourful flower and vine drawings that stand out a mile, the black of the book is also soft to the touch giving it an extra depth, it really sits pretty on my shelf.

Darkness falls by Cate Tiernan

Immortal beloved book two
Available now.
http://www.hodder.co.uk/

What's it about?
Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?

My review

(2.5)

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me, I found it to be even slower than the first one and it took me a long time to finish because I just wasn't hooked in and kept putting it down. I loved the use of history and lots of research has obviously gone into it but the story itself I wasn't excited by.

In this addition to the series we see Nas get led astray again by the 'dark' except it doesn't happen until past halfway into the book and even then she doesn't really go as 'dark' as I was expecting from the description. I also found her inner monologue to be quite repetative which got a little annoying at times. I also felt not enough time was spent on the romance side of the book between Nas and Reyn, I struggled to feel her attraction to him because they don't actually really talk much, there's obviously bigger forces at work that have bought the two together but mostly all Nas thinks about is how she hates him but thinks he's gorgeous at the same time and she can't deny the attraction yet she never questions it, never tries to find out what's behind it all. Personally I won't be trying the next book in the series but I would be happy to try more books by the author as I think it's just this particular storyline I don't like and the main character annoys me a bit, but the writing itself is great.

My thoughts on the cover

I like this one even more than the first cover mostly because I'm more partial to blue than red lol I'm not sure what the birds and the nest are all about but they're really cool.

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If I die UK blog tour - Review and quickie interview with Rachel Vincent

If I die by Rachel Vincent

Soul screamers book five.

Available now.

http://www.miraink.co.uk/

What's it about?

No one wants to be this teacher's pet…

The entire school’s talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr Beck. That is, everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee’s no ordinary high-school junior. She’s a banshee — she screams when someone dies.
But the next scream might be for Kaylee.
Yeah — it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee’s going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine — her boyfriend’s needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human, either.
But Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life. Anything.

My review

I'm a big fan of Vincents work and of the soul screamers world, the first book in the series is my favourite, at least it was until I read this! Now I'm not so sure because If I die was soooo good! The story is so gripping right from the shocking reveal at the start until the conclusion in the last pages, and if I don't get my hands on the next book Before I wake soon I might die myself!
If you're reading this then you've likely already read the previous books and I don't need to go to in depth about the characters or the authors writing, you already know they're awesome! I liked Kaylee a lot in this book, she's extremely brave and despite what she has waiting for her, she still puts others first, I'm not sure if that's something I could do!
I'm also definitely more warmed up to Tod after this book to, I'd never really noticed him until the last couple of books but he is a great character (If you haven't read the short story Reaper yet, you should!) I certainly found myself swooning over him as we got to know him more personally. I was a little disappointed that Alec was barely in this one but the book was already chock-full of bookish goodness there wasn't really room for him, maybe in the next one!
If I die really did keep me on the edge of my seat, guessing until the end, there was no way I could predict how it would go and I'm eagerly anticipating the next installment.

My thoughts on the cover
Stunning as ever, the UK covers for this series are some of my favourites ever and this ones no exception, though I'm not sure what the dragonfly has to do with the story it's still gorgeous and the smoke and the title, ahhh I just love it!

Favourite quotes

'He shrugged, looking right into my eyes. "Right now, this is all I feel." He held our intertwined hands up for me to see and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't break the hold his gaze had on me, like he could see more than anyone else saw. Things I couldn't even see myself.'

  "Kaylee, I would do anything for the girl who granted my dying wish." - Tod

Quickie interview

How do you go about writing a book? Do you map it first or do you just start writing and see where your characters take you?

-I have to plot the book first, because I have to turn in a synopsis to my editor. But things often change during the actual writing process.

When is it you first decided you wanted to be a writer?

-That wasn’t really a conscious decision. I’ve just…always written. From the time I was five years old and could first hold a pencil. Once I realized it might actually be possible to make my living with my pen (though it’s actually a computer), I was full-steam ahead. Unfortunately, that realization didn’t come until my mid-twenties.

If you weren't a writer, what do you think you'd be instead?

-I suspect I’d still be teaching English.

Do you think when Kaylee’s story is told you'll write more in the world of the soul screamers or will you end it there?

-I honestly don’t know. Maybe. But that depends a lot on what both my publisher and my readers want. And what I feel like writing at the time. But that point is a full year away.

You use a lot of mythology in the series, do you have a particular favourite mythological character/creature or story?

-I have lots of favorites! I love the Persephone/Demeter myth. I’ve always wanted to do something with the Tantalus myth (though I’m not sure what, yet. I LOVE the concept of oracles and I’ve mentioned and even shown them in the Soul Screamers universe (in “Niederwald) but have yet to write an entire story about them. But even more than particular myths, I’m drawn to particular themes and concepts.

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Giveaway - Win Click: An online love story (Int)

Click: an online love story

by Lisa Becker.

Renee Greene is approaching her 30th birthday and dreading it. Although a succesfull PR agent in LA,she's still single and tired of the dating scene.

Enters her friend Mark,who convinces her to try Online Dating...

Between the fun and the heinous dates,Renee will discover that love can really be found in the weirdest places,and that true friendship is a precious gift.

Sounds good right? If your still not sure then check out My review, or even Ninfa's review, I read this book last year and really enjoyed it, now the lovely Lisa Becker is offering an ecopy, in your preferred format, to one lucky winner.
This giveaway is replacing the monthly giveaways for February which I just couldn't afford to run this month, sorry! so it will end 29th Feb and it's International.

Charity book auction - Guests posts wanted!

Hi guys, so you may or may not know that I'm planning a big charity auction next month during the week of World Down syndrome day.

If you don't know you can find all the details (including how you can help if you want to) on the tab up top or clicking on the WDSD image in the sidebar.

I'm looking to post a few guest posts during that week as well so I'm looking for people who have been touched by Down Syndrome in some way in their lives who'd be willing to write a short (or long!) guest post about their experience....

If that sounds like you please contact me at bookaholics@live.co.uk or you can even tweet me or whatever!

Thanks!

Same difference (23)

Cicada by Belle Whittington and

The mind readers by Lori Brighton (Mind readers book one)

These are both so similair and pretty it's hard to say which I like more, I love the darker blue of Cicada and the watermarked patterns on The mind readers and both fonts are pretty cool.

Which do you prefer?

UK vs. THE WORLD! (10)

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.                    Poland

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Evernight book four.

 ('Powrót Do Wiecznej Nocy' translates to 'Back to eternal night' - According to Google translate)



Mist: These are both so different and lovely, I really like the colour of the UK cover and the font but I love the Polish cover as well, it's kinda haunting but it has that random flower lol I think I prefer the UK cover but only by an incy bit.

Ninfa: Oh, the Polish cover is really pretty, dark with the splash of colour from the petals. I really like the model and the doorway behind her, kinda makes me wonder what's on the other side. The UK cover is okay, nothing very exciting to be honest, so it's gotta be a Polish win :)



UK                           vs.                            US

Black swan rising by Lee Carroll 
Black swan rising book one.

Mist: This one is easy, UK!! Oh it's so gorgeous with the sweeping dress and the street and creepy bare trees, the US cover is kinda boring in comparison, I do like the pattern on it though.

Ninfa: I love the UK cover, the model walking down the road whilst the swans shadows in the distance. Very atmospheric! The US cover in my opinion is something we've seen before, model face, swirls like tattoos. A little creepy for me as well...UK wins.

Which do you prefer?