Wednesday 24 February 2016

Waiting on Wednesday #120: Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that I am anxiously awaiting is:

Rebel of the Sands
by Alwyn Hamilton

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She's more gunpowder than girl - and the fate of the desert lies in her hands. 

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. 

Destined to wind up "wed or dead", Amani's counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he's the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him... or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.


Why I Can't Wait


Amani sounds like a badass main character and I can't wait to find out more about Jin. What kind of treason did he actually commit? This book sounds really good and I can't wait to get a chance to read it!

Publication date: March 8th 2016

Elien

Monday 22 February 2016

Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

12294652Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Dial Books For Young Readers
Publication date: June 14th 2012
Pages: 394 (Hardcover)
Source: Netgalley







"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them... until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.


Recently I am really into contemporary Young Adult books I cannot seem to get enough of them. But often I am a bit of a snob when I read them. But this book knew exactly how to hit the right feelings.

Often I feel like people seem to rush into relationships in contemporary novels but this one was different. Samantha and Jase took things slowly; they got to know each other first before rushing into things. They first formed a friendship and their romance burned slowly and steadily. Another thing that I liked so much about this book was that all of the characters felt so real, even the secondary characters. I loved some of those secondary characters so much that I wish that they would get their own book like Tim and Alice. At first I was not their biggest fan but they grew so much on me!

I really adored Jase. He is such a loving guy, probably because his whole family is so loving and caring. He is someone who always thinks first of other people and only after that about himself. Jase never has to think twice when someone asks for his help. Samantha has always been the good girl. Her sister was the one who always caused the problems so she always felt like she had to please her mother to keep the peace. And I could totally relate to that because I have felt like that as well. But after she meets Jase she realizes that she is also allowed to live her life like she wants too. Sam is a nice girl, while she grew up in a judging family she never did it herself and she sees the Garrett’s for what they are: a loving and caring family.

The plotline of this book was really good. Fitzpatrick her writing style is quite detailed but in a way that you soak everything in without it being too overwhelming. There were so many feelings and emotions that I sometimes had to put the book aside to collect myself. It not only showed the story of the two main characters and their problems but also that of the ones surrounding them. And then the ending of the book, I cannot say that I saw that twist coming.


Overall I really liked this book. It had the right amount of romance, drama and friendship. It was one of the better contemporary novels that I had read in a while. And I cannot wait to read the next book by Huntley Fitzpatrick!


Elien

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Waiting on Wednesday #119: Firstlife (Everlife #1) by Gena Showalter


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that I am anxiously awaiting is:

Firstlife 
by Gena Showalter

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ONE CHOICE.

TWO REALMS.

NO SECOND CHANCE.

Tenley "Ten" Lockwood is an average seventeen-year-old girl.. who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she'll live - after she dies.

There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she's drawn to isn't home to the boy she's falling for? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision...

Goodreads

Why I Can't Wait


This book just sounds amazing! That's all I need :)

Publication date: February 23rd 2016

Elien



Tuesday 16 February 2016

Release Day Blitz: Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully (The Ceruleans #5) by Megan Tayte




28468307Title: Dark, Deeply, Beautifully
Author: Megan Tayte
Series: The Ceruleans
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Heaven Afire
Publication date: February 16th 2016
Pages: 313 (Kindle)
Buy links: Amazon UK | Amazon





DARKNESS HAS FALLEN, AND SHE ALONE WILL SEE THE LIGHT.
With her mother’s life hanging in the balance, Scarlett is devastated – and done with being in the dark. She wants answers, all of them.
But when was her pursuit of the truth ever straightforward?
Pulling a single thread impels a great unravelling. And each revelation will force Scarlett to rethink what she thought she knew about the Ceruleans, the Fallen, her family – herself.
All that came before was a mere prelude to this, the last journey. From London to Twycombe to Hollythwaite to Cerulea, Scarlett will be stalked by the ghosts of what has been, what may have been and what may come to pass. Until she reaches the place where it all began, and it all must end.
But in the final reckoning, none will survive unscathed. And some will not survive at all.
In this explosive conclusion to The Ceruleans series, all must be defined by their actions: sinner, saint… or something more beautiful entirely?



Excerpt


I kissed Luke then. I kissed him. Like I hadn’t kissed him in more than a week – since before London, since before Hollythwaite, since Barcelona: when we’d been just a regular couple on a city break, wrapped up in each other. Through the kiss I heard his sigh, the release of emotion. And then he pulled me to him, onto his lap, and I kissed his lips, his jaw, his collarbone, his shoulder, and he kissed my lips, my earlobe, my neck, my –
     ‘No!’
     My robe had slipped, exposing my back, and I struggled off him and wrestled with the fabric entangled at my waist.
     He stood up. Put his hands on my shoulders. Said my name with so much tenderness that I had to stop. Had to look at him. The room was steamy, the glass doors occluded. No one could see. Only him.
     ‘Trust me,’ he said.
     I did.
     Slowly, he turned me. I steeled myself as he took it in, the brand I now wore. Non Serviam. I will not serve. Emblazoned on my back in the form of angry, jagged scar tissue.
     When I felt his lips on the nape of my neck, I jerked in shock. But his hands on my hips held me still as he traced the path of the scar, one kiss at a time, from its very top to its termination just above my bikini bottoms.
     ‘Beautiful,’ he said.
     I turned to him. He smiled up at me.
     Sinking down so that we were both kneeling, I said, ‘How could you…?’
     ‘How could I not?’ was his answer. ‘I was there, Scarlett. I saw what you did for your mother.     That scar: it’s beautiful.’
     ‘But it’s a punishment, Luke. Because I sinned. That’s not beautiful. It’s dark. Wrong.’
     ‘No! Don’t you say that. Trying to save your mother – that could never be wrong. If I’d had the chance, I’d have done it. My mum, my dad, Cara… I’d have saved them all. And you. I would always save you.’
     His eyes were glistening, and I lunged for him and hugged him hard.
     ‘So stop hiding it from me,’ he finished, his voice muffled in my hair. ‘Please. Because I love that scar on you so goddam much.’
     I nodded into his shoulder and he squeezed me.
     It was calm in our little haven. Still. Warm. Nothing existed but Luke and me. We held each other for a long time, drifting in the haze.
     And then Luke sat back and said, ‘So, you and me. We’re good?’
     ‘We’re good,’ I told him. Then I frowned and added: ‘For now. You know, Gabe, the Fallen: I have no idea what we’re getting into.’
     ‘Me either.’ He reached out a finger and drew, in the condensation on the glass door, a little lightbulb. ‘But whatever lies ahead,’ he said, ‘it has to be better than living in the dark.’

Giveaway


 a Rafflecopter giveaway



Author Bio


Once upon a time a little girl told her grandmother that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer. Or a lollipop lady. Or a fairy princess fireman. ‘Write, Megan,’ her grandmother advised. So that’s what she did. Thirty-odd years later, Megan is a professional writer and published author by day, and an indie novelist by night. Her fiction – young adult romance with soul – recently earned her the SPR’s Independent Woman Author of the Year award. Megan grew up in the Royal County, a hop, skip and a (very long) jump from Windsor Castle, but these days she makes her home in a village of Greater Manchester. She lives with her husband, a proud Scot who occasionally kicks back in a kilt; her son, a budding artist with the soul of a palaeontologist; and her baby daughter, a keen pan-and-spoon drummer who sings in her sleep. When she's not writing, you'll find her walking someplace green, reading by the fire, or creating carnage in the kitchen as she pursues her impossible dream: of baking something edible. You can find Megan online at: http://megantayte.com/ 
Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Elien

Thursday 4 February 2016

New Book Releases in February


This month is a month in which some amazing books are released. I'm so excited for some of them and I can't wait to read them! 

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Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers (February 2nd)
The Queen of Night by Alexander Chee (February 2nd)
Assassin's Heart (Assassin's Heart #1) by Sarah Ahiers (February 2nd)
Doll Face (Baby Doll #3) by Heidi Acosta (February 2nd)

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Raging Sea (Undertow #1) by Michael Buckley (February 2nd)
Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den (Simon Thorn #1) by Aimee Carter (February 2nd)
Time for the Lost (The Call for Search Everywhen #3) by Chess Desalls (February 9th)
A Spy's Devotion (The Regency Spies of London #1) by Melanie Dickerson (February 9th)

24657660231742742543774723430471 

Reign of Shadows (Reign of Shadows #1) by Sophie Jordan (February 9th)
Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard (February 9th)
Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard (February 11th)
Riders (Riders #1) by Veronica Rossi (February 16th)

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The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine (February 16th)
The Power (Titan #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (February 23rd)
Last Defense (I Am Number Four: The Lost Files #14) by Pittacus Lore (February 23rd)
Firstlife (Everlife #1) by Gena Showalter (February 23rd)

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A Gathering of Shadows (A Darker Shade of Magic #2) by Victoria Schwab (February 23rd)
Night Study (Soulfinders #2) by Maria V. Snyder (February 25th)
Head Over Heels (Geek Girl #5) by Holly Smale (February 25th)

Elien

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Waiting on Wednesday #118: Broken Sky (Broken #1) by L.A. Weatherly


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that I am anxiously awaiting is:

Broken Sky
by L.A. Weatherly

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Welcome to a 'perfect' world.
Where war is illegal, where harmony rules. 
And where your date of birth marks your destiny.
But nothing is perfect. 
And in a world this broken, who can Amity trust?

From the bestselling author of the Angel trilogy comes Broken Sky - an exhilarating epic set in a daring and distorted echo of 1940s America and first in a new trilogy.

Goodreads

Why I Can't Wait

I loved Weatherly her Angel trilogy so I am excited that she will be releasing a new series. And this series sounds really intriguing. How can War be illegal? And how can your birthday mark your destiny? Can't wait to read this one. 

Release day: 1st March 2016

Elien


Tuesday 2 February 2016

Top Ten Tuesday #80: Top Ten Historical Settings I Love


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Broke and Bookish. This week is a freebie and I chose Top Ten Historical Settings I Love


  1. Victorian England
  2. Tudor England
  3. WWII France, England and Germany
  4. 1920's
  5. Ancient Greece
  6. Ancient Rome
  7. Medieval Europe
  8. Bolshevik era in Russia
  9. Ancient Egypt
  10. Italian Renaissance

Elien