Sunday 30 June 2013

June Wrap Up

June Wrap Up:
Challenges
Yipee! I love having all this free time on my hands and actually being able to read again, I've been favouring a lot of shorter books lately as I'm reading A Clash of Kings too which is rather long, hehe, but as you can see I have a few reviews to catch up on now because of this but I have a few in process and queued up for July.

Total: 17 / 10

Total: 3 / 6

Total: 19 / 16
*Please note: I'm unsure whether to count this book because she has been published before but this particular book was self-published so?

Total: 10 / 20

(Ongoing) Millionaire Challenge:
19,813 (+ 7 unknown) pages down!

A-Z Book Challenge:
B - Beauty Never Dies 25.01
D - Dahlia 25.03
E - Extras 08.01
G - Geek Girl 07.03
H - Hot Ticket 05.04
I - Imaginable 05.05
P - Pandora Hearts, #2 08.01
R - Rowan 14.06
U - The Unwords 03.01
W - Warm Bodies 12.01
Total: 17 / 26

Shelf Stacking
Again, only freebies and one review c:
When Smiles FadeA Dark Kiss of Rapture (Renegade Angels, #0.5)Marked (Soul Guardians, #1)Her Mad HatterHer Dark Angel (Her Angel #1)Everblue (Mer Tales, #1)Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace, #1)Scary MaryBranded (Fall of Angels, #1)The War of the WorldsVampire Origins - The Strigoi Book 1 - Project IchorousGen 1Gen 2Gen 3Gen 4Stitch (Stitch Trilogy #1)Frey (The Frey Saga, #1)Never Too Far

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Wishlist Wednesday (52)

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)
I've had Cinder by Marissa Meyer on my wishlsit since I first heard about it, I saw it on sale in Waterstones once but the cover was bent, it was a very sad day.

GRHumans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl... 
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.



Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop hosted by Pen to Paper where we share and post about a book that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added, that we can't wait to get off the wishlist.

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Are you on tumblr?

I’m asking this because the following post is for tumblr book blogs only, in hope to bring such a wide spread community together but I figured there are still a few of you that are hiding out on tumblr that I’m not aware of and this may interest you. I’m simply going to copy and paste the post that Rae has written for myself and her, I hope you will stop by! The original post can be found here.

DEAR BOOK BLOGGERS OF TUMBLR
Both myself and Lauren (of Books and Tea) are working to create the first ever Tumblr Book Awards this summer. We’re starting this project in the hopes of creating a hunger games like scenario for our favourite books to see which fans fight the strongest fight but also to create new connections between the community of book bloggers on Tumblr.
To do this we’re planning, as a group, deciding on categories of questions, and asking our followers to vote on which are the strongest books in each category then putting these books in a head to head battle. We will be hosting this competition on different blogs so that we can direct our combined audiences to blogs they wouldn’t normally visit and help each other by reblogging and posting links to where ever each stage of the awards are being held. Eventually we will end up with a winner of each category and we will then make a rebloggable list of our winners so that we have a tumblr decided reading list which we can all post and share.
This plan can only work if we have enough people to collaborate with, and this is why we need you it doesn’t matter how old your blog is, or how many followers you have if you love books, you can help us. To get involved you will need to join our skype meetings so you will need to send us your skype ID HERE, and we will then add you to our group and communicate to you the time of our first meeting

Thanks Guys

(I will be happy to answer any questions via my ask if you have any)




Monday 24 June 2013

Cover Reveal: NOMAD by JL Bryan

It's cover reveal time!
Thanks to Bookish Brunette Book Tours I am able to share with you the cover for...

NOMAD by J.L. Bryan
Cover by PhatPuppy Art

Expected Publication: July 26th 2013
Synopsis: They took everything: her family, her home, her childhood.
By the age of nineteen, Raven has spent most of her life in the sprawling slums of America, fighting as a rebel against the dictatorship. When the rebellion steals an experimental time-travel device, she travels back five decades to the year 2013. Her plan: assassinate the future dictator when he is still young and vulnerable, long before he comes to power. She must move fast to reshape history, because agents from her own time are on her trail, ready to execute her on sight.

Author Bio:
J.L Bryan
J.L. Bryan studied English literature at the University of Georgia and at Oxford, with a focus on English Renaissance and Romantic literature. He also studied screenwriting at UCLA. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Christina, dogs Violet and Tiger Lily, and cats Shadow and Sue.
BB Book Tours

Saturday 22 June 2013

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (47)

ad
BB&B (Bought, Borrowed and Bagged) is a weekly meme hosted by Braine and  Debbie @ Talk Supe where we share with you the books that we have bought, borrowed or bagged (won or gifted) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, on going events and book movie or television news and The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news; a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. As you can see I've decided to link on another weekly haul/wrap up meme because I'd like to start visiting some new blogs on the atmosphere and I find meme's are the best way to do so!

- Bagged -
Stitch by Samantha Durante, Frey by Melissa Wright and Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher.
All these were Kindle freebies!
Stitch (Stitch Trilogy #1)Frey (The Frey Saga, #1)Never Too Far
Vampire Origins: The Strigoi Book 1: Project Ichorous by Riley Banks
Free copy from the author.
Vampire Origins - The Strigoi Book 1 - Project Ichorous


This fortnight on Northern Plunder:
Wishlist Wednesday
Cover Reveal: Never Too Far
Review: Imaginable by J. Meyers
Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Book Tour Review: Rowan by Christina Channelle


Upcoming on Northern Plunder:
Cover Characteristics: Curly Hair
Excerpt: Praefratio
 Cover Reveal: NOMAD
Wishlist Wednesday
June Wrap Up
Cover Characteristics: Greyscale/B&W
Review: The Grimm Diaries Prequels #4 – #6
Cover Reveal: Reap
Cover Characteristics: Different coloured hair


Progress:
Read in 2013: 28 / 60
Rowan by Christina Channelle
A Unique Rabbit by Red Tash
Pandora Hearts Volume 3 by Jun Mochizuki

Currently Reading:
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (re-reading)
Marked by P.C Cast
The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (audiobook)


News from Lauren:
Okay so it’s pretty much official now, I have far too much time on my hands now I’m not in college. I’ve even volunteered helping to garden, I really dislike gardening because I hate my hands getting dirty. I go on holiday in a few weeks too which will be a nice trip abroad too and I intend to do a lot of poolside reading! I also un-tagged all my posts here and re-tagged them so its a much neater and easier to navigate and at some point I’ll be getting a new custom made design implemented but I’ll let you know more about next time around hopefully. I'm posting a day early this week because I have another two posts going up tomorrow! Other than that I have very little to report so I’m going to provide you with a few events I’ve been invited too on Goodreads that you may be interested in:

Talk Supe 2nd Blogoversary eBook Giveaway – Ends 30th June
Tin God Super Sale – Ends 3rd July
Riley Banks is offering a copy of Vampire Origins to all her Goodreads friends – Ends 30th July
Ellen has started up a new blog ranging from book review to travel to Korean drama quotes.
Amber is hosting a Debut-a-Thon from June 27th - 30th 

Friday 21 June 2013

Book Tour Review: Rowan by Christina Channelle


Rowan (Blood Crave, #2)Rowan by Christina Channelle
First Published: 26th April 2013
Publisher: Christina Channelle
Genre: Young Adult: Fiction
Series: Blood Tears #1

Looking for my other reviews of the series?DahliaBlood Tears #1 [Here]
Fallen TearsBlood Tears #1.5 [Here]
Synopsis: Dark. Night. Death.
Things Rowan has been trying to avoid for many years since she was first turned. Her choice: to sleep away the darkness; it beats having to deal with the craziness of life. Or rather, death. However soon after awakening, she stumbles upon a lone figure whose presence is shrouded with mystery.
She assists him in his search for answers making it even more difficult for Rowan to forget her past. She realizes she can't hide forever as she is literally being sucked back into her chaotic world: a world where both fallen angels and vampires exist, manifested on earth as lapsus and lamia.
Not particularly... friendly with one another.
Rowan struggles to resist her hunger as a demon vampire whilst dealing with unwanted desires for a fallen angel from the past: a relationship that could only spell trouble. Not to mention the unresolved feelings she still has for a loved one from long ago. While all of this is happening, they much all seek the hidden evil that hunts them - for there's an ancient fighting to wake up and destroy everything Rowan holds dear.
Review: 4 / 5 stars
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Rowan by Christina Channelle for review as part of a book tour, this has in no way reflected my opinion. Please note: I will try and keep this review as spoiler free as possible for those of you who haven’t read the series, but I can’t promise there will be zero spoilers.
I say lucky enough because after I finished the other novel and novella in this series I predicted that the second book would be even better and most likely my favourite of the three and I was in fact correct – though of course I may be a little bias as this book is from the point of view of Rowan who is a vampire and vampires are indeed my favourite mythical beings, but shhh. Any how back to the review, as I mentioned this is all from Rowan’s point of view and after four years of sleeping away the pain and need to feed – which hey does not seem like too bad of an idea at times to me, I mean we all have those days we’d rather just sleep through, but of course it also means that she’s ignoring other things and people that probably shouldn’t be ignored – she resurfaces into the city of Fallen and starts off by what any vamp would do, finding some food. Once full and refreshed with life/food she takes a proper look around where she is, and to those of you who aren’t as big of a fan as vampire’s as I am, I guess this is the part it gets interesting, because not far from her is a body. A body which isn’t alive but also not quiet dead, a body who we’ve previously met – Sam! Which if you forgotten like uh well I did (d’oh) is Dahlia’s brother from the first book, I blame reading at 1am for not making the connection. So Rowan does what any vampire with their humanity in tact does with a body that is neither dead or alive, yeah you guessed it, she turns Sam into a vampire.
So that is two of the main characters mentioned, the third is Remy and if you’ve read Fallen Tears you’ll know that he is one of the fallen angels, but one of the good ones, part of a family that have helped the last remaining vampires survive and stay hidden, and he’s also a total babe with the hots for Rowan. Of course. Everyone needs some form of romance in their lives.
This unlikely trio have to work together to find answers to questions, some of which they’re not even aware of. Why was Sam in such an odd state? Who has the power to do that to a person? Why does he have no memory of what happened to him and what was so important or scary that someone had to remove these memories from him? Why is a bear attacking them in the sewers? and what has happened to Sam’s family? Finding answers to only a few of these questions opens up a larger can of worms that none of them could ever be prepared for.
We eventually meet up with Dahlia and Greyson and their stories start to tie together and we get some long needed development of Rowan and Remy’s relationship as well as some unfortunate and deathly events. Like I said I don’t want to give too much away but I did really enjoy this book, there wasn’t a dull moment in it for me and seeing how the two books come together was very nice and left open an interesting chain of events to follow for the sequel. I felt like a few scenes were a little rushed towards the ending but this didn’t effect my opinion too drastically. Overall a lovely read and hasn’t suffered the terrible two’s that can often follow with series.
Goodreads
Amazon: UK | US
Christina Channelle: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook
A dreamer, Christina Channelle holds two degrees in health sciences but has always had a passion for writing. You will find her reading other young adult novels, or typing up a new story on her computer. Outside of writing, she enjoys movies, music and has recently embraced a new-found love for sushi. She resides in Ontario, Canada.
Virtual Book Tour Rowan

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Nia's Review: Delirium


Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

First Published: February 3rd 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Delirium #1
Page count: 441
Synopsis:  They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever, And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed.
Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.
Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.



Review: It took me awhile to pick up this book even though I bought it over six months ago on a whim. It took me this long because the blurb led me to believe that this book was going to be all about one girls love, but it really surprised me with a much deeper and interesting plot than I first expected. I did think it took awhile to get interesting and the beginning was rather boring, but the end really grabbed me and without giving anything away I'll definitely be reading the next one.  
I loved both Lena and Alex they worked well as characters and you didn't think of them as your typical YA boy meets girl, boys hot, girls awkward and the author pushes them together. I also loved Hana especially in the beginning of the novel when Lena is still a little boring. I will admit that I didn't like Lena in the beginning mostly because I like my heroine to be strong and fearless, but the more Lauren Oliver developed her character the more I started to like her.
All in all I really enjoyed this book, it did take awhile to get into but I'm glad I carried on reading because I think this book series could become one of my favorites. 
Amazon: UK | US
Lauren Oliver: Website | Goodreads | Twitter         


Saturday 15 June 2013

Review: Imaginable by J. Meyers



Imaginable by J. Meyers

Imaginable (Intangible, #2)

Published: April 16th 2013
Publisher: J. Meyers
Genre: Young Adult: Fantasy/Paranormal
Page Count: 342 

Synopsis: Twins Sera and Luke Raine’s unusual abilities are growing. Sera is healing vampires now, making them human again. And, at times, Luke can actually change the future he Sees. 
But Sera’s healing has dangerous consequences, and though Luke is altering the outcome of more visions, he can’t control them yet. 
Now Sera is in danger as the dark creatures of the Realm seek to use her. As Luke struggles to master his gift in order to save his sister, he discovers even more about his powers. 
And what he learns just may put him in greater danger than Sera has ever been. 



Series:
Intuition (Intangible #0.5)
Indomitable (Intangible #0.75)
Intangible (Intangible #1)
Imaginable (Intangible #2)

Review:
5 / 5 stars

As I'm sure many of you know I've been reading all the books J. Meyers has written for us and fallen completely in love with her fantasy world and even paid for a signed copy of Intangible to be shipped out to the UK where it now sits and looks beautiful on my shelf, maybe I'll end up with a copy of Imaginable too? Well I certainly hope so because this sequel was not a let down.
Imaginable continues to follow twins, Luke and Sera, and almost instantly pulls you into their fast paced adventure as Sera uses her healing powers to help heal vampires back into humans ...or is she? And if she isn't, what danger could these new being hold? These are the problems they're faced with as a team of no-longer-vampires-but-not-quiet-humans step into their lives and certainly not for anything good.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the development of not only the characters but their powers too, only when the twins were at their personal worst were they aware of exactly how limited their knowledge of their powers were and we got to see their powers grow and experience it with them which really helps you get attached to Luke and Sera alike. We also got to explore and spend a lot more time in the Realm; the home of the Light Elves and meeting of The Good Mother Keren was particularly amazing, and J Meyer's descriptions of this new world made it easy to visualise and believe it could truly exist. It was beautiful. Of course we also got to learn more about the Dark Elves too which is a little less on the beautiful side of things but not an ounce less interesting, they may be the "bad" guys to the other Elves but they have a range of mythical creatures on their side which was certainly interesting to read about, I just couldn't put the book down and I really can not do it justice.
On that note I want to sign out with letting you know this isn't a YA book to pass up but of course I haven't spoke about my favourite vampire Jonas, so I'll keep it short and spoiler free: he's as awesome as ever with some great moments, and I truly can not wait to see what is in store for him and the others next time round. I'm sure J Meyers will not be one to disappoint. 

Amazon: UK | US
J Meyers: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Thursday 13 June 2013

Cover Reveal: Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher

It's cover reveal time!
Thanks to IMR Blog Tours I am able to share with you the cover for... 


Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher
Publication Date: 13th June 2013
Genre: Young Adult: Action/Adventure, Dystopian & Sci-Fi
Synopsis: A harrowing story of love and survival. In a future of scarce resources, where the possession of gas and diesel is punishable by death, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl must save their impoverished family. They risk their lives on a terrifying journey to sell stolen fuel on the black market.
Goodreads / Amazon: UK | US

Excerpt:
Joe turned and ran back into the gully, but he didn't get very far. A sudden blast of wind shoved him to the ground. Flat on his face, he heard the wind whistling and screeching past his ears. When he lifted his head, he couldn't see the pregnant girl any more. All the dust whirled and whipped into a blinding black blizzard. He thought for sure she’d gotten snatched up in the dust storm. The wind lashed at his face. He went to call out to her, but he didn't know what to say because he didn't know her name. And even if he did, his voice would've gotten lost in the snarling wind. Nevertheless, he had to find her.

Author Bio

Thomas Christopher

Thomas Christopher grew up in Iowa. He received his MFA from Western Michigan University. His short stories have appeared in The Louisville Review, The MacGuffin, Redivider, and Cooweescoowee. He was also awarded an Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant and was a finalist for the Matthew Clark Prize in Fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and son.

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Wishlist Wednesday (51)


Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Pen to Paper where we can share books that are on our wishlist.


Frey (The Frey Saga, #1)A lot of my friends on Goodreads have got Frey by Melissa Wright on their to-read shelf but only one has read it but I do really like the sound of it.

GRUnaware she's been bound from using magic, Frey leads a small, miserable life in the village where she's sent after the death of her mother. But a tiny spark starts a fury of changes and she finds hersef running from everything she's ever known. 

Hunted by council for practicing dark magic, she is certain she's been wrongfully accused. She flees, and is forced to rely on strangers for protection. But the farther she strays from home, the more her magic and forgotten memories return and she begins to suspect all is not as it seems.

Sunday 9 June 2013

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged (46)

Bought, Borrowed and Bagged is a weekly event hosted by Talk Supe where you can share the books you have bought, borrowed or bagged (won) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews and on going events. 
Bagged:
Chosen by Jolea M. Harrison, The Iron Butterfly by Chanda Hahn, Demon Possession by Kiersten Fay, Dealing With it by Christina Channelle, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, Gen #1-4 by Shige Nakamura and others, Branded by Keary Taylor, Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter, Shattered Grace by K Anne Raines, Everblue by Brenda Pandos, Her Dark Angel by Felicity Heaton, Her Mad Hatter by Marie Hall, Marked by Kim Richardson and A Dark Kiss of Rapture by Sylvia Day.
Amazon freebies as per usual.
Dealing With It (Two Short Stories)The War of the WorldsGen 1Gen 2Gen 3Gen 4Branded (Fall of Angels, #1)Scary Mary
Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace, #1)Everblue (Mer Tales, #1)
Her Dark Angel (Her Angel #1)Her Mad HatterMarked (Soul Guardians, #1)A Dark Kiss of Rapture (Renegade Angels, #0.5)

This fortnight catch up on Northern Plunder:

Progress:
Read in 2013: 25 / 60

Currently Reading:
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Rowan by Christina Channelle
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (re-reading)


Hello guys! So I'm back for good now, I've used this catch up on all books I've grabbed since April and share any posts that haven't been linked up too. Apologies for all my absences but I officially finish college tomorrow so I'm back on my feet here and looking forward to returning to my blogging routine. I've also adopted a slight change to my posting for the time being, for now Wishlist Wednesday and Bought, Borrowed and Bagged will be fortnightly posts as I'm on a book buying ban it seems pointless for it to be weekly for now. Hope everyone is having a good time!