Review: Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie

 

Title: Close My Eyes

Author: Sophie McKenzie

Published: May 9th 2013 by Simon & Schuster UK

Book Description:
 The debut adult thriller from a superstar of the YA world.It's been eight years since Geniver Loxley lost her daughter, Beth. Since that day, Gen has been floundering. While her husband Art builds his business reputation and their fortune, she can't let go of Beth.

And then one day, everything changes. A strange woman shows up on Gen's doorstep, saying the very thing she longs to hear: that Beth is alive. That she is out there somewhere, waiting for Gen to find her . . .

It's insane. Unthinkable. But why would someone make up such a story? Ignoring the warnings of her husband and friends, Gen begins to hope - hope that quickly turns into fear and paranoia.

With questions swirling around her head, Gen is determined to uncover the truth. But who can she trust? Why is Art so reluctant to get involved? To save his wife from further hurt? Or something much more sinister? Is Beth even really out there? And, if so, who is responsible for taking her?

What is the truth about Beth Loxley?

Review: Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1)

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Published: September 11th 2012 by Random House Books for Young Readers

Book Description:

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Goddess Offerings #18 (Stacking the Shelves , In My Mailbox)

Bought

Inferno by Dan Brown

The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
 -Book Hoarder

Gone by Michael Grant

Day of Doom (The 39 Clues: Cahills vs Vespers #6) by David Baldacci
The Trap Door (Infinity Ring #3) by Lisa McMann
                    -Book Hoarder

Shadow 1-4 by Orson Scott Card
-Book Hoarder

Ender's Saga 1-4 by Orson Scott Card
-Book Hoarder

Check out the Amazing MovieTrailer of Ender's Game

"We can't wait for this movie!"

Goddess Offerings is a meme hosted by Amaterasureads 

This will showcase the books we bought, received or borrowed!

What goodies did you get this week? Link us up

Review: Flesh & Bone (Benny Imura #3) by Jonathan Maberry

 

Title: Flesh & Bone (Benny Imura #3) by Jonathan Maberry

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Published: September 11th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Book Description:

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

And what is happening to the zombies? Swarms of them are coming from the east, devouring everything in their paths. These zoms are different. Faster, smarter, infinitely more dangerous. Has the zombie plague mutated, or is there something far more sinister behind this new invasion of the living dead?

In Flesh & Bone, Benny Imura, Nix Riley, Lou Chong and Lilah the Lost Girl are pitted against dangers greater than anything they've ever faced. To survive, each of them must rise to become the warriors Tom trained them to be.

Review: Transparent by Natalie Whipple

 

Title: Transparent

Author: Natalie Whipple

Published: May 21st 2013 by HarperTeen
ARC

Book Description:

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

Spotlight: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Book Description:  

Sixteen-year-old Cia Vale is honoured to be chosen for The Testing – a series of exams set by the United Commonwealth that selects the brightest young adults to become leaders of their war- stricken world. But when candidates start disappearing and Cia witnesses unimaginable horrors done in the United Commonwealth’s name it becomes clear that these are no ordinary exams, and Cia is forced to realise the truth: this is no longer about winning, but surviving.

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Joelle Charbonneau

Interview:

1. Describe The Testing in two sentences?

The Testing in 2 sentences.  YIKES!  

 Cia Vale desperately wants to be chosen for the testing in order to have the chance to be selected for the University and become one of the next leaders of the country.  But she learns that sometimes leadership is about more than who gets the best grades--sometimes it is about how far someone is willing to go to succeed.

2. What inspired you to write it?

 One of my careers is being a private singing teacher.  A great number of my students are high school age.  Because of that, I work closely with them as they go through the college prep and application process.  Every year the bar is set higher.  They need better test scores and better grades.  They have to audition at more schools in order to get accepted at one or two.  It's crazy how much harder the process is now compared to 10 years ago.  2 years ago, one of my students complained about the process and wondered whether it would be worse by the time the freshman in her class were  seniors.  I said - I think this is as bad as it can get.  Of course, after my student left, I wondered if the college process could get worse.  And if it did, how far could the envelope be pushed.  Suddenly, the idea for The Testing was born.

3. Sneak Peek! Can you share a scene or a quote?

Ah!  What a tough question.  There are lots of moments in the book that I really love.  Let's see...how about...

A tear falls on my cheek, but it isn't mine.  My father, who has always been so strong and smart and sure, is crying.  

"So what now?" I squirm out of his arms and jump to my feet, angry.  Angry that never once in all of our walks or conversations did he tell me these things.  Never once when I was studying late into the night so I would do well on a test did he tell me what the consequences might be.  "I leave in the morning.  Why tell me this now?  What good does it do?"

My father doesn't raise his voice to meet mine.  "Maybe none.  Maybe Flint is right and our dreams are just hallucinations.  But if there's a chance they aren't, it is better you know.  Better that you go to Tosu City prepared to question everything you see and everyone you meet.  That might be the difference between success and failure."  He crosses to me and puts his hand on my shoulders.  I start to pull away, but then I notice the light reflecting off the tears pooling in his eyes.  THe fight goes out of me.

"Does Mom know?" I think she must, but at this point I"m not sure of anything.

"Your mother knows about the memory wipe and that I have nightmares, but not what they contain."

I roll the words over in my head, testing them for the truth.  "So, is that why Mom didn't want me to be chosen?"

My father lays a hand on my face and rubs his thumb against my cheek.  "Cia, I haven't seen my parents since the day I left to be tested.  To have a child chosen is an honor, but it also means loss.  Your mother didn't want to lose you."

4 . Book/s you look forward to read this year?

There are so many good books coming out this year.  I am truly excited to read The 5th Wave.  That looks wonderful.  I am also hoping to have time to read Dark Triumph soon since I loved Grave Mercy.

Goddess Offerings #17 (Stacking the Shelves , In My Mailbox)

For Review

In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

The Last Conquest by Berwick Coates

"Special thanks to Amulet books and Jamie of Simon & Schuster UK "

Goddess Offerings is a meme hosted by Amaterasureads 

This will showcase the books we bought, received or borrowed!

What goodies did you get this week? Link us up

Fragments (Partials Sequence #2) by Dan Wells

Title: Fragments (Partials Sequence #2)

Author: Dan Wells

Published: February 26th 2013 by Balzer + Bray
ARC

Book Description:

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence--it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means--and even more important, a reason--for our survival.

Review: A Clash of Kings( A Song of Fire and Ice Book #2) by George R.R. Martin

Title:  A Clash of Kings( A Song of  Fire and Ice Book  #2)

Author:  George R.R. Martin

Published: November 6, 1998 by Bantam Books

Book Description:

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over and age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. 

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard’s son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King’s Landing. Robert’s two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers. 

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and wartime. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors. 

Review: Every Day by David Levithan

 

Title: Every Day

Author: David Levithan

Published: August 28th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Book Description:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Goddess Offerings #16 (Stacking the Shelves , In My Mailbox)

For Review

The ClockWork Scarab (Stoker and Holmes #1) by Colleen Gleason

The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams

  Borrowed and Bought

Requiem (Delerium #3) by Lauren Oliver

 Bound to You  by Christopher Pike

 

 

"Special thanks to Mia @ Chronicles Book and Michelle Sedeno "

Goddess Offerings is a meme hosted by Amaterasureads 

This will showcase the books we bought, received or borrowed!

 

What goodies did you get this week? Link us up

Spotlight: The Outside (The Hallowed Ones #2) by Laura Bickle

   Book Description:  

After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?

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Laura Bickle

Interview:

1.      Tell us a little about yourself.

My background is in criminal justice and library science. When I’m not patrolling the stacks at the public library, I’m dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (I also write contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams). I live in the Midwest with my husband and six mostly-reformed feral cats. THE HALLOWED ONES was my first young adult novel.

2.      Describe The Outside in one sentence?

It’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?

3. What inspired you to write about Amish and Vampires?

I live not too far from a large Amish settlement, one that I visited often as a child. I used to see the Amish girls my age and wonder how their lives were different from mine. I admired how strong and self-sufficient they seemed. It later occurred to me that these traits, combined with their incredibly strong sense of community, could make the Amish uniquely equipped to survive certain types of disasters, such as the one that devastates the world in THE HALLOWED ONES and THE OUTSIDE.

4. Who is your favorite Character? Why?

Katie is my favorite. Katie was an interesting character to write because she's very strong in a quiet, enduring kind of way. She struggles to develop her own moral compass, independent of her parents and community. That requires a great deal of fortitude, just as much fortitude as dealing with the evil creatures in her world.

5. Sneak Peek! Can you share us a scene or a quote from the new book?

One of my favorite quotes is: “The hard part about the end of the world is surviving it, surviving when no angels scoop you up to fly you away to heaven. God doesn’t speak. But I kept asking.”