Review: White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat (The Curse Workers, #1)

by Holly Black

Published by Indigo

Paperback (purchased)

YA, urban fantasy, mystery

 



Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There may be some ranting in this review, so bear me. I'll start with the good parts and the things I liked

 

World-building was amazing. I mean, the curse workers? Absolutely brilliant idea, and I loved how it all worked: the criminal aspect, the criminal families, the different types of magic/talent... It was amazingly brilliant and I fell in love with the idea straight away. The world-building awesomeness was probably the main thing that got me hanging until the very end. Black's writing style was fast paced and it felt effordless, which I liked very much.

 

But then. The characters. Cassel was adorable. Maybe wrong word to descripe him but Cassel was smart, loyal and yeah, conman. His taste in girls might have been questionable but otherwise Cassel was great main character and he made the story worth to read. However, Cassel, his friends Sam and Daneca (who were awesome too, loyal, smart and yeah, adorable), and his Grandfather were only characters I liked. I'm big on characters and if they irritate me, it pretty much ruins the story. Was I even supposed to like or even feel for these characters? Honestly? Lila was bully and got forgiven everything because she was 'victim', Cassel's brothers and mother were abusive and pretty much everyone who got introduced were, well, abusive in one way or another. I get, this was book about criminals and hey, I'm all for that, but most of the characters were abusive towards Cassel and it wasn't even acknowledged during the story. It's like, his mother made them feel whatever she wanted and didn't care about her sons feelings, Cassel's brothers did some horrible things and Lila was practically bully, and Cassel still was their side? I don't get it. I don't even want to get it. Being loyal to those who aren't loyal to you and your feelings, I just don't get it.

 

So yeah. The world-building was brilliant, the writing was good and I loved Cassel even though his taste in girls and loaylty to family were quite questionable. I really wanted to like this story but I couldn't because of the characters and how the abuse wasn't even acknowledged properly. I won't be continuing this trilogy (because can we talk what happened in the end of White Cat? That's not right and nothing good could come from reading the sequel). I will give the two stars for the world-building, Cassel and because there was nothing structually wrong in the book. It could have been amazing if the characters and abuse didn't irk me so much.

 

2 of 5 stars.

 

White Cat on Goodreads.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight
by Jennifer E. Smith
Published by Hachette Little Brown Company
Paperback (purchased)
YA, contemporary, romance

Four minutes changes everything. Hadley Sullivan, 17, misses her flight at JFK airport, is late to her father's second wedding in London with never-met stepmother. Hadley meets the perfect boy. Oliver is British, sits in her row. A long night on the plane passes in a blink, but the two lose track in arrival chaos. Can fate bring them together again?

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight takes over only 24 hours but it felt like a lifetime - in a good way. It was adorable, fun and absolutely sweet but there still was difficult subjects it dealt with such like father getting married second time, stepmother and losing someone. It was also wonderful that even though the synopsis suggest it's a love story, there was much more than the main couple. Actually, I think most of the book consisted Hadley's and his fathers relationship, how Hadley felt her father getting married to person she hadn't even met and all the emotions that comes with it.

 

Hadley was good, solid and pretty wonderful main character. She was realistic and easily to identify with. There was some points where I'd liked to see a little more reaction, a little more drama if so to say, but it was respectable how Hadley eventually handled meeting her father and new stepmother. Oliver was utterly lovable. He was smart, adorable, funny and yeah, I swooned. But it was great how he was so much more than that. Hadley and Oliver were a cute couple, so cute that the romance made me smile (and usually that doesn't happen).

 

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight is quick to read, thoroughly enjoyable story about love and family. It's fast paced but the flashbacks slows the story a little bit and gives valuable insight. Smith captured both the moment and the past, and it was utterly wonderful. Such a good story and I can highly recommend it to everyone who likes YA contemporary romance. It's perfect pick-up read after a reading slump or some heavy story.

 

4 of 5 stars.

 

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight on Goodreads.

Book Blitz + Author Interview: The Queen’s Gift by T.R. Allardice

 

The Queen’s Gift

by T.R. Allardice
Publication date: December 15th 2014
YA, fantasy

 

Fifteen-year-old, late-bloomer Jean Elliott dreams of becoming a Genie like her mom. When her family relocates to Tokyo, Jean is forced to use sleight-of-hand tricks to fool everyone at school into believing that she’s a normal Preternatural or risk expulsion. When her power finally appears, it comes in the form of the Queen’s Gift–an unspeakable magic that strips power from all Preternaturals and heralds the arrival of the new queen.

After an absence of two hundred years, not everyone wants the monarchy to return and they’re willing to go to great lengths to keep the status quo. When buried secrets rip Jean’s family apart, she has a choice to make: Walk away and hope for the best or embrace the power that’s known to lead to madness in order to save her family.

Jean’s greatest dream has turned into her biggest nightmare and no matter how hard she tries, there’ll be no wishing the Queen’s Gift away.

The Queen's Gift on Goodreads.

 

Purchase your copy!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

 

Author bio

T.R. Allardice writes young adult, new adult, and humorous horror stories. Most of what she writes incorporates several genres. The content won't always be 'safe'. What's the fun in that? She is a member of the Horror Writer's Association, Novelist Inc. and the Author's Guild. She has thirty-one books published under another pen name. To find out more about her upcoming work, go to: www.trallardice.com

 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

 

 

T.R. Allardice Interview

 

1. How did you come up with the idea for The Queen’s Gift?

I actually came up with the idea after a trip to Tokyo, Japan. I felt so out of my depth there, yet utterly fascinated by the culture. I wondered what would happen if you sent a teenager there and she had to deal with school plus the cultural divide. Throw in some magic—or lack thereof, and you have a lot of potential conflict.

2. How many books will be in the series?

Right now, I have two more books planned, but honestly, it depends on what it takes to tell the story. I’d always planned for it to be a trilogy, but I knew there could possibly be four books in the series.

3. Are you working on any other books?

Yes, I’m currently working on two more young adult books that will be the start of two more series. They have boy lead characters and contain an ensemble cast much like The Queen’s Gift. One is set in Scotland and the other is in New York.

4. How do you pick the settings?

I tend to go with places I’ve been to so that I have a real feel for the location. Most of the time, I’m traveling someplace and suddenly a story idea comes to me. That’s what happened when I was in London last year. The story that came to me there is currently stewing in my subconscious. 

5. Who are your favorite Young Adult authors?

There are so many great young adult authors out there. It’s going to be hard to name them all. Off the top of my head (and I know I’ll be forgetting some), my favorites are: Melissa Marr, J.A. Templeton, Holly Black, Tawny Stokes, Neil Gaiman, Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, J.K. Rowling, Maggie Stiefvater, Rachel Vincent, and Jennifer Armentrout.

6. Which Winchester brother would you pick? 

Dean, but I do love Sam’s dimples. LOL!

7. If you could be any character, who would you be?

Probably Superman, but I am tempted by Iron Man and Spiderman. 

8. What do you do when you’re not writing?

I try to spend time with real people, though it doesn’t always work. Characters can be very demanding. ;)

9. If you weren’t a writer, what would you do?

I’d probably go back to school and finish my degree. Not sure what kind of job I could get with a mythology degree though.

10. Last question. If you could have lunch with any writer, who would it be?

That’s easy. J.K. Rowling. Hands down. Thank you for having me.



Stacking the Shelves (27)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

Purchased

 

Inked by Eric Smith

 

ARCs / Review Copies

 

I Heart Robot by Suzanne van Rooyen

Possess by Sarah Dalton

I'm super happy to get I Heart Robot and Possess to read and review! I loved van Rooyen's Obscura Burning, and I really liked Mary Hades (Possess is book two in Mary Hades series) so yeah, I'm glad I got them. Also Inked. It sounds so freaking good and I just had to get it.

Quick info to all my lovely followers

You may have already noticed that I haven't posted that frequently, and probably won't in the near future (until the end of March). School's taking a lot (almost all) of my time during the next months as I'm writing a baccalaureate paper, studying for a couple of exams I have left, and retaking three of my matriculation exams. So yeah, I might have set myself a killer schedule (live dangerously and challenge yourself, or how it did go). But my goal is to get into university this year as well as complete my Open University Advanced History studies, so spring is going to be busy.

 

I still read when I have time but I don't have a lot time to write reviews. I will try when I have time to schedule some posts, write reviews and answer your lovely comments, and all that but school goes first. I'm still checking my email, Twitter and Goodreads frequently so feel free to message me!

 

Let's hope I'll master my paper, exams and have some time to blog! :)

 

(And just saying, waiting for universities decisions is killing me. It's been over a week since I send my application and I keep checking my email. I might be a little bit obsessed, hah.)

 

Hugs,

Henna

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Blood, Milk, and Chocolate by Cameron Jace

 

Blood, Milk, and Chocolate (The Grimm Diaries, #3) 

by Cameron Jace
Publication date: January 19th 2015
YA, fantasy, fairytale retelling

 

I have been accused of being malicious and evil.
I, the Snow White Queen, have a story to tell.
The true story and what has really happened. How it all happened. Why the Brothers Grimm altered the truth, letting you think it was a fairy tale. When and how the tale took place. And above all, why I did what I did. Why you haven’t been told the truth for centuries. The truth about me and the truth about the not-so-innocent Snow White.
Here is my side of the story. You will never look at Snow White the same way again.

Goodreads.

 

Purchase your copy!

Amazon

 

Author bio

Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters. I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV - it connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth about fairy tales.

 

I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.

 

Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

 

Giveaway! (INTL)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Reader Problems Tag

I snatched this from Charnell @ Review from Bookworm. Originally the tag was created by About To Read.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

Well, lucky me, I don't have 20,000 books on my TBR. However, I do have enough to make it hard to decide what to read next (and let me tell you, I'm complex person when it comes to that!) I'm a mood reader so I will probably go with my mood: I stand by my shelves and pick up what I feel like. Or then I have this new book I'm dying to read so I pick it. However, review copies makes this harder. If it's due, I read it (this apply to RC's I got via NetGalley). It's hard only when a) I don't feel like reading the review copy I have at that moment or b) it's been there for a while and I need to read it before it expires. And I have nasty habit of pushing myself to read the RC even though I'd want to read some other book. I should be more confident or something but I just don't want to disappoint authors and publisher who I promised to review the book (I'm perfectly aware that it's not my job to try and please them [especially since I'm not getting paid] but I'm twisted like that).

I really should learn how to not ramble.

2. You're halfway through a book and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I'll probably force myself to read it. I know, it's not making anyone happy (especially myself) doing that but what can I do? Usually I don't have any problems with books I've purchased since I'm quite obsessive when I'm researching everything about the book, because I don't want to buy a book I wouldn't enjoy. But review copies, oh boy. I don't get them that lot and when I do, I want to read and review them. But it's hard if I'm not enjoying it. I don't want to quit but I also hate forcing myself to read it (mostly because I probably won't love it if I'm forced to read it, I'll just dislike it more). Luckily that hasn't happened that often, maybe two RC's I've had seriously to consider whether to finish it or not.

3. The end of the year is coming and you're so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

Last year I finished somewhere on October/November so I didn't have that problem. Even now I'm two books ahead the schedule. So yeah. Hypothetical situation, well, then I'd probably just try to read as much as I can (or have time, because being a full time student with shit load to do, I don't have that much time to read. Or sleep).

4. The covers of a series you love do not match. How do you cope?

I probably don't. I try to avoid that by being careful what covers I buy and it's easy to choose when ordering online. Sometimes they change covers and that sucks but luckily I've avoided that mostly. I think only covers I own and don't match is Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux series - four first books match but they change the fifth's cover (and I'm so pissed off because it's quite ugly and glitters and I don't want to my covers to glitter and yeah, I'm not forgiving that).

5. Everyone and their mothers love a book you really don't like. Who do you bond with over their shared feelings?

Couple of my friends have quite similar taste than I have so I bond with them. Goodreads and twitter are good places, too.

6. You're reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I don't read in public. Never. I'm not comfortable reading in public and most of the time, I don't even need to. I mean, only places in public I could read is long bus and train drives to home from school, but I get travel sickness so reading is not an option. So yeah. I also dread to cry in public so in hypotherical situation I'd probably try to cover it and not to read more until I'd get home.

7. A sequel of a book you love just came out, but you've forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?

Happens too often to me. I won't re-read the book so I either try my luck and just start reading the sequel (often I remember about the prior novel as I read the sequel) or then I head over to Wikipedia, Goodreads etc. and try to find summary about what happened earlier.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people no when they ask?

Well, I do tend to borrow my books. But only for a few, trusted friends who knows how obsessed I'm with my books (and they're aware that if the book comes back damaged, they must buy new for me). However, my friends are careful and as I put contact paper on my paperbacks (same kind libraries uses, it's perfect for paperbacks because then the spine won't break no matter what and the cover will always look good!) so my books are safe. Sometimes I do get asked to lend a book for a person a) I don't know that well b) know they treat books badly c) I don't generally trust with my stuff, I just say I don't borrow my books. Sometimes I get stinky-eye or something but I'm pretty good ignoring it. My stuff, my rules and if someone isn't happy about it, then it's their problem.

(I do know I sound like an asshole but it's my books and I'm major asshole when it comes to my book collection.)

9. Reading ADD. You've picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

I try to find some book I'm dying to read and try to get over my reading slump that way. Old, trusted book is another way but luckily I haven't had that bad reading slumps where I couldn't find the right book to get over it.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you're dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

It depends how much money I have to spend at the time. However, I probably wouldn't buy all of them right away (especially if they're only available on hardbacks - then I'll just wait for the paperback come out and then it's cheaper and I can get two to three books for the price of one hardback).

11. After you've bought the new books you can't wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Honestly, it depends so many things and variates. There's books I was dying to get over a year ago and I haven't still read them. Then there's books like my newest order that came last week and I've read two out of three already. So it's days, weeks or months, depending on my mood, how much time I have to read (school dominates a lot of my time) and how many review copies I have that I need to read.

If you want to do this, go ahead and feel free to consider yourself tagged by me. I'll tag following people (if you don't feel like doing this, just don't):

Saruuh @ Syntax Reviews

Kirsty-Marie @ Studio Reads

Azee @ The Book Ponderer

Review: I Am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff

I Am the Weapon (The Unknown Assassin, #1)
by Allen Zadoff
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Paperback (purchased)
YA, contemporary, mystery, thriller

They needed the perfect assassin.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.

But when The Program assigns him to the mayor of New York City, things change. Somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and a girlfriend; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.

In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.

Well, if this isn't a book with many names then nothing is. Previously published under the name Boy Nobody, then under The Hit and I Am the Weapon (if I'm right, UK the previous and US the latter).

I Am the Weapon is unique and unlike anything else I've read so far. It's gripping story about Boy Nobody who's assassin, a nameless weapon against those who The Program deems dangerous. In a way the story was amazing and genious, and Zadoff's writing style was interesting; short sentences, to the point and unembellished. Just like Boy Nobody's character. I read hundred pages without even realizing I did that, and it happens almost never.

Boy Nobody didn't have high morals, so to speak. If honest, I liked that a lot. I waited for the whole book the moral speech and the usual high moral act every YA book seems to have. But there wasn't one. Boy Nobody was a weapon; he did what he was told to do, didn't question things (much) and yes, practically he was a perfect assassin, a perfect human robot, without emotions and feelings. I liked that. It was different, intriguing and so addicting. I Am the Weapon truly is a story about unforgettable antihero.

Besides Boy Nobody there was some interesting characters. The hit, mayor of New York, was quite interesting persona and I liked scenes with him as his words made me really think. However, the mayor's daughter, Sam, wasn't much my liking. In a way she was the love interest but let me tell you, there was nothing traditional in it and there's some big twists at the end that I won't spoil but it's huge and genious. Sam was good, solid character and really intriguing but somehow she was a little hypocrite and there was something that irked me through the story so Sam definitely wasn't my favourites during the story. However, I liked Erica very much and I loved the banter between her and Boy Nobody.

I Am the Weapon was truly good, gripping story and I loved it with all the twists, and I'm so glad I finally got to read great story about unforgetable antihero! I'm itching to read the sequel and you can be sure I'll read it as soon as I get my hands on it. So yes, I highly recommend this book to everyone because it's just one of those books that needs to be read. Although I gave four stars it was quite perfect. There was just some aspects I didn't like that much, mostly they had to do with Sam and the romance but I can't say much without spoiling anything. Although, the ending almost made up everything because it truly was unexpected and blew my mind.

Worthy read, definitely.

4 of 5 stars.

 

I Am the Weapon on Goodreads.

My Current TBR Shelf

I thought it would be fun to show you my current TBR books - well, at least the one's I have on campus. Most of my books are at my parent's home as I'm temporary living on school's campus, and pretty much all books I have here is my TBR books (since when I visit home I take read books there). There are some TBR books at home, too, since I don't have place for all at campus and it's nice to have something to read when I'm on holidays and random weekends at home.

 

So without any more explaining, here are (most of) my TBR (consisting physical books):

 

 

Left stack from top to bottom:

This Books Is Gay by James Dawson

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Earth Flight by Janet Edwards

Earth Star by Janet Edwards

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

Why We Took The Car by Wolfgang Herrndorf

Run by Gregg Olsen

White Cat by Holly Black

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Close Range by Annie Proulx

The Other Me by Suzanne van Rooyen

Kamikaze Boys by Jay Bell

Dirty London by Kelley York

 

Right stack from top to bottom:

The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice

Älä Koskaan Pyyhi Kyyneleitä Paljain Käsin by Jonas Gardell

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Sweet Escape by Bailey Ardisone

Hollowed by Kelley York

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Shadow & Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The Kill Order by James Dashner

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley

Powerless by Tony Cooper

The Stolen Dragon of Quanx by Becca Mann

 

(Excuse me for being lazy and not linking the books to Goodreads but there's too many of them.)



Stacking the Shelves (26)

 

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

Purchased

 

 

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Kamikaze Boys by Jay Bell
Dirty London by Kelley York

 

ARCs

 

 

 

Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan

 

Thank you, Samhain Publishing, for the review copy!

I know, I know, I hauled Dirty London during my b-day haul. But that was e-copy, and then I found out there was paperback available and I ordered it. I had to. It's Kelley York after all. Also, I'm super excited about More Than This and Kamikaze Boys - and Carry the Ocean, too! So hard time picking up what to read next since I want to read them all!

Feature & Follow Friday #21

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by two different hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! This meme is here for bloggers to gain new blogger friends and followers.

 

This weeks topic:

Do you own any doubles of your books? What led to getting that second...or third or fourth...copy?

I do own multiple copies of some of my books. For instance, I have three copies of The Maze Runner by James Dashner: the original US paperback, the US movie tie-in and the signed limited edition hardback. Then I have two copies of Half Bad by Sally Green (original UK paperback and exclusive, signed hardback), and Insurgent by Veronica Roth (original UK paperback and the hardback Collector's edition). I also have two copies of Escape From Hell! by Hal Duncan and third coming in the mail (I have two paperbacks in Finnish, other one is signed, and the third will be in English). I do have two sets of Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan since I have the whole series both in Finnish and English. Oh, I almost forgot! I have three copies of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: in Finnish, the classic line edition (it's gorgeous!) and one printed in 1947. I'm pretty sure I will buy other copies of it because it's my favourite classic (and as history freak, I yearn to find and own old copies of Wuthering Heights).

So, I'm not against getting multiple copies within reason. Mostly I either get some signed or limited edition along the original, or in case of Escape From Hell!, I got my original one signed and I just had to get other copy that I can take with me if I travel - and I have been hunting the English version of it for years and now I finally found it, and I'm so excited to get it!

I'd like to get other copies of Harry Potter in English (I only own the Finnish versions) but I can't to decide what covers I want. I don't like the new ones and I want the original UK covers but they're hard to get so I haven't (yet).

Oh, and I'd love to had other copy of Hushed by Kelley York but it's out of print and they're not printing it more. Sadly, the sellers of used ones asks ridicilous price. Maybe one day I will find another copy of it (it's my favourite book!)

 

Waiting on Wednesday #25

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

This week's cannot-wait book is:

Duplicity by N.K. Traver!

Duplicity

by N.K. Traver

Published by Thomas Dunne Books

Expected publication: March 17th 2015

YA, sci-fi

 

A computer-hacking teen. The girl who wants to save him. And a rogue mirror reflection that might be the death of them both.

In private, seventeen-year-old Brandon hacks bank accounts just for the thrill of it. In public, he looks like any other tattooed bad boy with a fast car and devil-may-care attitude. He should know: he’s worked hard to maintain that façade. With inattentive parents who move constantly from city to city, he’s learned not to get tangled up in things like friends and relationships. So he’ll just keep living like a machine, all gears and wires.

Then two things shatter his carefully-built image: Emma, the kind, stubborn girl who insists on looking beneath the surface – and the small matter of a mirror reflection that starts moving by itself. Not only does Brandon’s reflection have a mind of its own, but it seems to be grooming him for something—washing the dye from his hair, yanking out his piercings, swapping his black shirts for … pastels. Then it tells him: it thinks it can live his life better, and it’s preparing to trade places.

And when it pulls Brandon through the looking-glass, not only will he need all his ill-gotten hacking skills to escape, but he’s going to have to face some hard truths about who he’s become. Otherwise he’ll be stuck in a digital hell until he’s old and gray, and no one will even know he's gone.

 

 

I need Duplicity now. It sounds stunning and I have been overly excited since I read the synopsis first time. And the cover is so gorgeous!

 

Duplicity on Goodreads.

Stacking the Shelves (25) Birthday Edition

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

 

I had birthday this week and got a couple of books and huge giftcard to local bookstore. I'm saving the giftcard so there's not so many on this haul but I'm still happy about every lovely book I got :)

Birthday presents

 

 

Angelfall by Susan Ee
This Book Is Gay by James Dawson
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
The Lucky Ones by Anna Godbersen
The Other Me by Suzanne van Rooyen

Purchased

Dirty London by Kelley York

ARCs / Review Copies

 

Uncross the Stars by Janell Rhiannon
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Thank you, Penguin and Janell Rhiannon, for the review copies!

Feature & Follow Friday #20

 

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by two different hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! This meme is here for bloggers to gain new blogger friends and followers.

 

This weeks topic:

Do you have any fun collections (other than books)?

Well, I've always collected something but recently besides my studies, books takes my free time (and money) so that's my main collection. I do have lots of DVDs and CDs, though. And of course, I have saved every movie ticket since 2006 so that counts as a collection, right? I haven't counted how many but probably close to hundred movie tickets.

And postcards. I've postcards from every country I've visited and several others as I always ask for a postcard if my friends or relatives travels. I wish someday I'd have at least one postcard from every country in Europe!

 

Waiting on Wednesday #24

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

This week's cannot-wait book is:

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black!

 

The Darkest Part of the Forest

by Holly Black

Expected publication: January 13th 2015

YA, fantasy, paranormal

 

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

 

The Darkest Part of the Forest on Goodreads.

 

I'm so excited about this one because it sounds so good! I haven't read anything from Holly Black before even though I own White Cat. Luckily this one come out soon!

 

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Hell on Wheels by Z.A. Maxfield

Hell on Wheels (Bluewater Bay, #3)
by Z.A. Maxfield
Published by Riptide Publishing
Ebook (received from publisher via NetGalley)
Adult, LGBT, contemporary, romance

Nash is the reliable one in the Holly family, the guy everyone counts on to keep things going. His genius twin brother is off at university, so Nash runs the family’s auto repair business and cares for his partially-paralyzed little sister while his crackpot father invents. His life seems mapped out for the foreseeable future, however much that might chafe.

So when Wolf’s Landing actor Spencer Kepler-Constantine lands in his life, Nash is ready for a diversion. Spencer is in the middle of a very painful, very public divorce and isn’t ready for a relationship—not that Nash wants one. But they both need a friend, especially one with benefits.

As they grow closer, Nash starts to see his family in a whole new light. Do they really need him so badly? Or does he simply need to be needed? Then Spencer’s ex reappears with a grand romantic gesture, and Nash has to figure out what he wants—and how to get it—before Spencer’s gone for good.

Hell on Wheels was everything I expected to read: delightful, fun and full of romance. It was well written and there was different kinds of characters, and the setting was so good - I could imagine myself in Bluewater Bay alongside the various characters in the story.

I fell in love with the characters. Nash was the imagine of bad boy on the outside: bike, tattoos, worked with cars and mischavious smile. However, he was everything but. He took care of his family, the business and he was kind, gentle and unselfish. Spencer was an actor, kind of big star, but he was down to Earth and kind as well. The supporting characters had intriguing personalities as well - Nash's father and little sister especially, and Spencer's personal assistent Bash and bodyguard Tick, were quite characteries and made the story colourful. Hell on Wheels had an antagonist, so to speak, in form of Spencer's ex-husband Peter. However, Peter wasn't bad per say even though he left Spencer. I loved how Maxfield didn't make Peter ultimate bad ex-husband but more real - Peter and Spencer just had different expectations from their marriage.

Hell on Wheels was fast paced without being rushed and jumping from place to place. It was good entirety with plot, intriguing characters and romance. Nash and Spencer had spark but their relationship wasn't only aspect in the story which was good as both of them grew as characters, and Nash defined his place in his family and Spencer dealt with his divorse. I don't want to spoil anyone so I won't discuss profoundly about Nash's growth as a character but I was delighted to read how he dealt with the changes within his family. Only thing I was a little disappointed was the ending which came a little too soon and was a little too short. It was good ending for Nash and Spencer's journey but I felt unsatisfied as the last chapter was little too short for my taste. I would have loved to read more, so maybe that's the main reason why I felt like that about the ending.

I devoured Hell on Wheels within one day and lived every moment with Nash and Spencer. Maxfield told such wonderful story and her writing style was easy to immerse oneself in, so flowing. I highly recommend this one to everyone who enjoys LGBT contemporary romance!

4 of 5 stars.

 

Hell on Wheels on Goodreads.

Thank you, Riptide Publishing, for giving me a chance to read and review Hell on Wheels!

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Feature & Follow Friday #19

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by two different hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read! This meme is here for bloggers to gain new blogger friends and followers.

 

This weeks topic:

Happy New Year!!!! What was your favorite book of 2014 - or books if you can't name just one?

I think it's impossible to me mention just one, so here we come, my favourite books of 2014:
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Absolutely amazing. I cried for joy and sorrow and everything between.
- Half Bad by Sally Green. It was just so good and different.
- Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi. Perfect ending for a perfect trilogy.
- Rush by Nyrae Dawn. So realistic and so good and I was so taken by the story.

 

Review: The Body Electric by Beth Revis

The Body Electric
by Beth Revis
Published by Scripturient Books
Ebook (received from publisher via NetGalley)
YA, sci-fi

The future world is at peace.

Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories.

But not all is at it seems.

Ella starts seeing impossible things—images of her dead father, warnings of who she cannot trust. Her government recruits her to spy on a rebel group, using her ability to experience—and influence—the memories of traitors. But the leader of the rebels claims they used to be in love—even though Ella’s never met him before in her life. Which can only mean one thing…

Someone’s altered her memory.

Ella’s gift is enough to overthrow a corrupt government or crush a growing rebel group. She is the key to stopping a war she didn’t even know was happening. But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings.

So who can she trust?  

The Body Electric was one of the books I just had to have and I was so excited about it. However, it turned out to be quite different from what I had imagined it to be from various snippets Revis has given. It's not neccessarily a bad thing, especially since I did enjoy the story greatly. It took me some time to warm up to the story and I struggled little while doing it. Although when the plot and action really kicked in, I was thrilled and devoured the story. There was some slow points but mostly after the beginning the story was fast paced and I was into it.

 

When it comes to characters, I didn't really connect with the main character, Ella, even though I really wanted to. She was smart and intriguing and I liked how much she cared for her parents, and how independent she was. However, for all that she was smart, her actions were quite foolish at times. When it seemed like she would do something - mostly the thing that would be smart thing to do - she went and did the opposit, especially when it didn't even make any sense! Her character developement was slow and almost nonexisted until the very end, and that's when I really started liking her. Other characters were intriguing and I connected better with them - well, with Jack and even Ms. White. The character dynamic between them was also one thing I liked and made the story even better. The mystery in the story was captivating and kept me guessing during the whole story. It was surprising what truly had happened, and I was glad that the suspension lasted through the book.

The world building was one of the things I absolutely loved. And the setting! Blurb didn't give the setting away and I expected it to be somewhere in America where most YA sci-fi/dystopia books takes place. The Body Electric takes place in Malta. I was so glad when it came up and Revis did good descriping the colourful island - I've been there before and it felt just as magical as when I was there. Also I can't give large enough shoutout for the book taking place somewhere outside of America. It was so perfect. The world building was the best thing in the book, I think. There was history, the current situation, some politics and hints of future. It was so good! Definitely worth to read just based on the world building (and setting).

Overall, I enjoyed the story, and even though Ella and I didn't get along a lot, I liked other characters. I confess that some of the science part in this book went so over my head that I just accepted what was given. The last part of the story felt a little hurried and some things weren't explained as well as I would have liked them, but overall it was very good, enjoyable story. I do recommend to everyone who likes young adult science fiction (and amazing world building and setting that's not America).

4 of 5 stars.

The Body Electric on Goodreads.

Thank you, Scripturient Books, for giving me a chance to read and review The Body Electric!

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)