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| Boundless by Cynthia Hand |
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| The Archived by Victoria Schwab |
Friday, February 1, 2013
Win ARCs of The Archived and Boundless at The Midnight Garden
Hey friends! Head over to The Midnight Garden to enter to win a couple of ARCs of two popular books!
A Book Blogger's Plea & Phd Valentine's Giveaway!
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| Image courtesy of pixbox77 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Ok, friends. I am going to just be blunt and say that I need your help. My husband has been working on his dissertation and needs 500 people to take his survey. We've had an awesome response from you guys so far (Thank you!), but there is still a little ways to go.
We're in the home stretch, so I am upping the incentive. I'm cleaning off some of my shelves to make space for this year's books and offering them to you as prizes in a giveaway! You can still enter the giveaway without taking the survey, but it would be VERY much appreciated if you are age 18+ and would do so. Helping my grad student hubby get participants would be the ultimate "Phd Valentine" for him!!
If you have any concerns or questions about the survey or its topic (social presence), please do not hesitate to contact Scott Christen at schrist6@utk.edu.
There are four Book Bundles:
Book Bundle #1:
The COMPLETE, 4 book Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick
Book Bundle #2:
The COMPLETE, 4 book Luxe series by Anna Godbersen
Book Bundle #3:
Book Bundle #4:
FOUR winners will be randomly chosen through Rafflecopter. The first winner chosen will get to choose which Book Bundle they want, the second will choose from the remaining three, and so on. I am funding this one, sorry my international friends, so it is US ONLY.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Waiting on Wednesday - January 30, 2013
Love, LOVE this series and author! I really wish Harlequin Teen hadn't started changing the covers, but I can understand their reasons. Check Julie's and Harlequin's Twitter feeds for some more exciting news about the author!
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| The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication:
April 23rd 2013
by Harlequin Teen
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Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.
Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Review: The Iron Legends by Julie Kagawa
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| The Iron Legends by Julie Kagawa
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
August 28th 2012
by Harlequin Teen
Source: Own |
Enter the world of the internationally bestselling Iron Fey series. Dangerous faeries. Heartbreaking romance. Thrilling action and limitless adventure. The world of the fey has never been so powerful. This collection includes three novellas set in the world of the Iron Fey plus the Guide to the Iron Fey with exclusive information about Julie Kagawa's unforgettable world of Faery.Oh, how do I love this series! The book includes two previously released, free novellas from Kagawa that connected Meghan's series and also the new novella that connects Meghan's to Ethan's new series, The Lost Prince: The Call of the Forgotten. As a true Iron Fey fan, I just had to have them all in print and settled on the bookshelf with its family. Not to mention that Iron's Prophecy is another continuation on Meghan and Ash's story. I'll read anything with Ash in it and it is no secret that this novella is where the couple learns to live life as a true couple and, um, expand upon things. I love "connecting" books like this that allow me to see how the characters grow even further and how their story affected their lives. It's been such a long time since I have read Winter's Passage and Summer's Crossing that I will not review them here. Winter's Passage is Ash's novella story that connects the first two books and Summer's Crossing is Puck's Story that connects the third and fourth books. My pick is Ash's story, but Puck's is hilarious due to his POV and sense of humor. I'll let you decide between the two, just be sure to read them! :)
Winter's Passage
Never make a promise to a faery. They always come to collect. Now Meghan Chase must fulfill her promise to Prince Ash of the Winter Court and embark upon a dangerous journey into the heart of enemy territory—while being pursued by a relentless new foe and guarding her own foolish heart.
Summer's Crossing
What can turn enemies into reluctant allies? A call from the Exile Queen, Leanansidhe, ties legendary prankster Puck to his archenemy, Prince Ash, on a journey that may end in betrayal and will set them both on an irreversible path.
Iron's Prophecy
Before she ever knew what she might become, Iron Queen Meghan Chase was warned by the oracle that her firstborn child would bring nothing but grief. And even as Meghan and Ash celebrate their long-awaited union, the prophecy stirs.…
Three Iron Fey novellas for the first time in print!
As previously mentioned, Iron's Prophecy connects The Iron King series to the Call of the Forgotten series, falling in right after The Iron Knight. Here we learn of what life is like post "Ash's Crusade"/marriage to Meghan and find out about a new web that is weaving in the Iron Fey world. The synopsis basically gives away all of it to be honest. However, what you don't see is the maturity and regal persona that Meghan excretes as an experienced Iron Queen. In response to this new level of enlightenment, you also receive a deep relationship between Ash and Meghan as they solidify their life and family together. It truly is a great way to leave their story behind and allows readers to make the transition to Meghan's child and brother Ethan's story...with Puck tucked in for the ride!
The book also includes a Guide to the Iron Fey. I thought it was an awesome addition and would actually highly recommend this concept to other authors. It can help understand the story better and in this case provide some hilarious aspects of the world that you may have not realized otherwise.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Review: The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
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| The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Ebook, 292 pages
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There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.So sad to reach the end of this series, but it has to stop somewhere like all the good ones. Lucky for us, this one ends after a whirlwind set of events and a new, impressive main character. Much like the second book, The Dead-Tossed Waves, it has a "companion" feel rather a sequel. At least this one has a concurrent time frame with its predecessor instead of being a generation after The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?
Annah impressed me from page one. She has lived a tough life and it just got worse after Elias left. Scarred from a childhood incident, she shields herself from human interaction and runs on survival mode. These characteristics make her shine, but do cause issues as she is met with a set of circumstances that she cannot control.They also made the story so great to read from her perspective, especially seeing Gabry in her eyes and recognizing their differences. It is amazing how their different childhoods affected each one of them. One child that is headstrong and the other is more of a "go with the flow" and adjust personality. Additionally, Annah's attitude vastly changes the lives of Tristan, Elias, and Gabry by pushing them over limits they couldn't even fathom and even breaking the mold on some of Tristan's misconceptions.
Due to only hearing about Annah from the other characters' POV, we basically have to spend the first part of the book learning about her and her shaded past. It can be slow at times, but I promise it is interesting and really helps you understand her personality. The groundwork was laid better than with Gabry and I found that this helped me form a connection to Annah that I couldn't with her. After this period, however, the plot explodes and snowballs downhill in a gut-wrenching ride. The architectural descriptions and events in the Dark City were some of my favorites; they actually made me stop and think about "what if" and how our society would react in those situations. I also think that readers may be surprised how the so-called "love triangle/quadrangle" turns out. Yes, it was a little predictable, but it sure wasn't an easy resolution! The only thing I have to squabble about a little is the ending. It almost felt like an afterthought or a conclusion to a "middle of the series" book rather than a finale to a series. I read the last page and thought "That's it?" I think it needed an epilogue or another chapter to solidify it more. Otherwise, this was my favorite book and lead character of the series and definitely worth waiting for!
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