Tuesday 28 July 2015

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Crow's Rest by Angelica R. Jackson



Crow's Rest
by Angelica R. Jackson
Release Date: May 12th 2015

Summary from Goodreads:

Avery Flynn arrives for a visit at her Uncle Tam's, eager to rekindle her summertime romance with her crush-next-door, Daniel.

But Daniel’s not the sweet, neurotic guy she remembers—and she wonders if this is her Daniel at all. Or if someone—some thing—has taken his place.

Her quest to find the real Daniel—and get him back—plunges Avery into a world of Fae and changelings, where creatures swap bodies like humans change their socks, and magic lives much closer to home than she ever imagined. 

 photo addtogoodreads.png


Buy Links:


Crow’s Rest Book Trailer:


And check out the illustrated companion, A Compendium of the Faer Folke! Available as a free download!

Top Ten Places Where the Border Between Our World and Faerie Is Weak 

1. Las Vegas: think about it—it would explain so much. What better place for the Fae to hide in plain sight than where people walk around in elaborate costumes every day? 
2. Arch in Balboa Park: okay, so I can’t remember exactly where this was, but as teenagers, some friends and I were wandering around by the outdoor theater in Balboa Park at dusk. I swear that one of the arches was not just an arch, but a doorway. 
3. Barton Woods: with views like this, how could it not be a glimpse into Faerie? 
Image

4. The cave on Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland: our family had annual passes to Disneyland, and lots of summer days were spent on the island (partly because I didn’t have much patience for lines at the rides). Back when it was known as a racially insensitive _____ Joe’s Cave instead of Dead Man’s Grotto (as I believe it’s now called), all kinds of spooky, unexplainable things happened in there 
5. Belvedere Castle in Central Park: you might think this is just a 19th-century folly, but I’ve always suspected that it’s a mirror castle, meaning there’s a corresponding (but oh so much better) castle on the Fae side of the border 
6. Davis Arboretum: the arboretum on the campus of University of California, Davis, is a pleasant-enough place to stroll and study plants, but there’s this one spot where the path passes under the road, and I don’t think it’s just empty shadows under there… 
7. Hope Valley Aspens: the aspen trees around Carson Pass and Hope Valley truly do have an otherworldly beauty about them. This spot is actually near a main road, but within a few short steps all you can hear is the sound of trickling water and twirling leaves 
Image
  
8. White Wells baths: this historic bath house in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, has a documented visit from the Little People, back in the 19th century. They scampered about the walls like squirrels when they were interrupted. 
9. Preston Castle: Built as the Preston School of Industry in Ione, California, the hauntings at this castle could also be signs of a weakened Faerie border 
Image 
10. Hollywood: same situation as Las Vegas—it explains so much about the beautiful, Hollyweird celebrities, that they’re actually from Faerie 
(All photos by Angelica R. Jackson) 


About the Author:

In keeping with her scattered Gemini nature, Angelica R. Jackson has far too many interests to list here.

She has an obsession with creating more writing nooks in the home she shares with her husband and two corpulent cats in California's Gold Country. Fortunately, the writing nooks serve for reading and cat cuddling too.

Other pastimes include cooking for food allergies (not necessarily by choice, but she’s come to terms with it), photography, and volunteering at a local no-kill sanctuary.

She blogs at Angelic Muse, and is a contributing member of Operation Awesome and the Fearless Fifteeners.

Author Links:
 photo iconwebsite-32x32_zpsxu00rcxl.png  photo icongoodreads32_zpsagjcxxa1.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsys9vmakl.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps515gyzbq.png


GIVEAWAY:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday 27 July 2015

DNF Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA, paranormal??
Blurb: Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can. 

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. 
There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. 
She's wrong.

REVIEW:
I was unbelievably disappointed in this book.  It had so much potential, such an interesting premise, and then it just went full blown YA cliche.  You've got the girl without personality moving to a new town and the bad boy/playboy takes an immediate interest.  She becomes the only person he's ever felt anything for, and she doesn't like him but she likes him.  Queue the eye roll!

I really tried to give this book a chance because of the plot.  The time gaps that Mara had were intriguing and I kept waiting for that moment that things might begin to form into an actual event or conclusion (even just a hint).  But it ended up with a string of weird events that always brought Mara back to Noah (the bad boy love interest).

I got about 25% through before I just gave it up.  This book wouldn't come out with anything other than a controlling and unlikable love interest that of course is irresistible and mysterious and somehow knows something "more" about Mara.  If you liked Twilight or Hush, Hush then you would probably enjoy this book, but it really wasn't for me.

Sunday 26 July 2015

Sunday's Song (1) July 26

I will never not love this song, and I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the lyrics tattooed somewhere someday :)
 

Saturday 25 July 2015

Stacking the Shelves (2) July 25

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books 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!
If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

This week I didn't get much, just a couple downloads from Netgalley :)  Still looking forward to them though!



Friday 24 July 2015

Friday Finds (1) July 24


FRIDAY FINDS (hosted at adailyrhythm.comshowcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).


I found a few I want to read, but I'm not sure when I'll ever be able to get to them! (The curse of a bookworm, right?).  Also book cover artists are just so amazing?  How do they do it?!

   
  



Wednesday 22 July 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (July 22)


"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Title: Crystal Kingdom
Author: Amanda Hocking
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Cast out by her kingdom and far from home, she's the Kanin people's only hope.

Bryn Aven - unjustly charged with murder and treason - is on the run. The one person who can help is her greatest enemy, the enigmatic Konstantin Black. Konstantin is her only ally against those who have taken over her kingdom and threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. But can she trust him?
As Bryn fights to clear her name, the Kanin rulers’ darkest secrets are coming to light… and now the entire troll world is on the brink of war. Will it tear Bryn from Ridley Dresden, the only guy she’s ever loved? And can she join forces with Finn Holmes and the Trylle kingdom? One thing is certain: an epic battle is underway—and when it’s complete, nothing will ever be the same… 

Monday 20 July 2015

Review: The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa

*I received a copy of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Title: The Vanishing Girl
Author: Laura Thalassa
Genre: YA, paranormal, fantasy
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Blurb: Every night after Ember Pierce falls asleep, she disappears. She can teleport anywhere in the world—London, Paris, her crush’s bedroom—wherever her dreams lead her. Ten minutes is all she gets, and once time’s up, she returns to her bed. It's a secret she’s successfully kept for the last five years. But now someone knows.

A week after her eighteenth birthday, when frustratingly handsome Caden Hawthorne captures her, delivers her to the government, and then disappears before her eyes, Ember realizes two things: One, she is not alone. And two, people like her—teleporters—are being used as weapons.

Dragged off to a remote facility where others like her live, Ember’s forced to pair up with her former captor, Caden, to learn how to survive inside until she can escape. Only Caden’s making escape seem less and less appealing.

But even as Ember falls for the boy who got her into this mess, she knows that she is running out of time. Because the government has plans for those like her, and those plans might just cost Ember her life.

REVIEW:
The Vanishing Girl was a good read, but the romance left a bit to be desired.  As much as I love a cocky love interest that only has eyes for the main character, his movements were a little too predictable.  Caden was sweet but there were quite a few moments that just made me go "come on, seriously?".  Of course, he was constantly trying to catch Ember naked (which happened quite a bit I might add), and there were some not-so-sublte hints that he loved her.

Romance aside, however, The Vanishing Girl had a good mystery about it.  I was constantly trying to figure out exactly what was going on when Ember kept teleporting to strange/dangerous areas with only a sentence to instruct her what to do, and it wasn't the government sending her there.  Thalassa did a good job keeping everything a secret through the novel!

Other than that I didn't feel one way or the other about the book.  It featured a good heroine that didn't take anything lying down, and had a nice "evil government" feel about it. 


Friday 17 July 2015

Song of the Day (Friday, July 17)

This song has been on repeat at my work (someone that controls the music certainly loves it!). I'm quite fond of it, too :) So it's today's song of the day!

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:


Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: YA, SciFi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Blurb: Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 
Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

Note: These book covers will be the death of me.  And then I'll come back to read the words, and die all over again.  I'm still not sure I've fully recovered from the first book in the series, A Thousand Pieces of You.  Either way, I cannot wait to get this book this November!




Tuesday 14 July 2015

TBR Tuesday (1)

As is normal, I went to the bookstore for one book and somehow came out with more.  I have very little (if none at all) control over myself and my wallet when perusing the aisles in an Indigo/Chapters.  I saw somebody post about Bill Gates' Summer Reading List and wanted to check some of them out, and ended up getting a couple.  I'm really looking forward to reading The Magic of Reality!






Monday 13 July 2015

Review: The Astrologer's Daughter by Rebecca Lim

*I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Title: The Astrologer's Daughter
Author: Rebecca Lim
Publisher: Text Publishing
Genre:YA, Paranormal
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Blurb: Avicenna Crowe’s mother, Joanne, is an astrologer with uncanny predictive powers and a history of being stalked. Now she is missing.
The police are called, but they’re not asking the right questions. Like why Joanne lied about her past, and what she saw in her stars that made her so afraid.
But Avicenna has inherited her mother’s gift. Finding an unlikely ally in the brooding Simon Thorn, she begins to piece together the mystery. And when she uncovers a link between Joanne’s disappearance and a cold-case murder, Avicenna is led deep into the city’s dark and seedy underbelly, unaware how far she is placing her own life in danger.

REVIEW:
The mystery is intriguing, and you go through Avicenna's investigation into her mother's death.   The entire novel was a large setup to an intense ending.  However, it left the main plot unresolved.  Avicenna spends the novel worried about her missing mother, the entire plot is about what could have happened to her mother, as well as a cold case murder.  In the end the murder is solved and wrapped up but her mother isn't exactly.  Without getting into too many spoilers, it leaves it open-ended, with almost a cop-out, leading to an unsatisfactory ending.  It's not happy but not sad either.  It doesn't appear that there's going to be a second book, so what you get in book one is it.

Of course, as many YA books do, there's a love triangle.  In the beginning Avicenna is focused on Simon, who disappears for a while only to come back and sort of win her heart.  However half way through Avicenna suddenly falls for a guy she just met, Hugh.  It was odd how quickly she fell for him, and it seems rather superficial; she only ever talks about how she likes how this guy looks, and how rich he is, or how nice his car is.  She never states she likes anything else, but calls him her "dream guy".  I think the story tries to justify her feelings with her pain; she's never had anything handed to her and this is her chance to be with a rich guy that seems to like her.  No matter the reasoning, I thought less of her, and they way it's resolved in the end was rather quick and unusual.

Overall, a good mystery with some paranormal aspects to it.  The details and second mystery were what saved this book for me; the way it delved into the astrological charts and kept the story moving was what kept me reading.  That said, if you read the author's review on Goodreads it sheds a little light into what she was doing with her non-ending.  I was going to give this book a 3.5/5, but once I read her review I decided to give it a full 4/5.


Saturday 11 July 2015

The First Post

Hello blogging world!  I thought my first post should be a small introduction to what this blog will be.  If you couldn't guess from the title, this is a book blog!  There will be reviews mostly, with a few other things here and there (memes, cover reveals, etc).  I'm not sure on a posting schedule yet, but I'm hoping for at least once a week for reviews.

So be sure to check back!  New stuff is coming soon :)