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Monument 14: Sky on Fire - Excerpt

I really want to read Monument 14: Sky on Fire next. It comes out this Tuesday, May 28th. YAY!!! It's book 2 in the series and while its not the best writing I ever read, the story is very interesting. Plus, I have no idea where the author is going with the series - in a good way. :)

Check out an excerpt:
Monument 14: Sky on Fire - Excerpt 

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

I... sigh... see... sigh... well...

Okay let's start at the beginning. I keep looking at my copy of The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde, really wanting to read something, anything that was that good. I've read some 'fun' books the last few weeks but I wanted something a little more substantial. And then it hit me, Fforde has writing other books. I should just check one of them out.

The Big Over Easy sounds right up my alley. I wish I could say that I loved this book or even liked it. Sadly, it was just okay. It took me almost a month to finish this. It never takes me a month to read a book. Any other author, I would have thrown in the towel. I just kept hoping that things would get better.

The Big Over Easy starts out interestingly enough. Humpty Dumpty is discovered dead outside of his residence at Grimm's Road- fallen off the wall, apparently. Detective Inspector Jack Spratt, from The Nursery Crime Division, is called to the scene. We discover that Dumpty is a shady character, funding revolutions, spending time is prison and having many lovers. And then we discover a whole bunch of other random stuff, that the story gets 'lost'. Fforder has many characters and subplots going in this novel, that it just really turned me off. I had to force myself to finish this book. :/

Apparently, this was the first book that Fforde ever wrote. Thankfully, his writing has IMPROVED. I would not recommend this book. I am still a huge fan of The Last Dragon Slayer Series and recommend that. I guess everyone is allowed to write a bad book, even a favorite author.

Mind Games by Kiersten White

Readers, Feelers and Seers oh my. Mind Games by Kiersten White kind of just starts in the middle and keeps on going. We see Sophia, Fia for short, on a mission to kill Adam. She doesn't know why but she knows that if she doesn't then 'they' will kill Annie, her sister, and Fia must protect her sister.

The book alternates between the present and the past. We find out slowly and in pieces how Annie and her sister have come to this point in their lives. The school that they attend "isn't a school so much as a testing ground for psychic talent. Only girls, too... for whatever reason, boys can't do any of these things." We learn how Fia has been trained to steal bank account information from CEOs and to blackmail judges. Their mysterious boss is well mysterious and is paranoid but that "probably comes with the territory when you have US senators killed."

At first, I thought that Fia was an attempt by White to reinvent Evie from the Paranormalcy trilogy but 30 pages in and you realize that the two are very different. Yet both are very strong female characters that kick butt. :) Although, Fia is a whole lot of crazy but a kind of crazy that I like.

I am a slow reader, so when I say that this was a quick and easy read, it really was. This book was not life changing but it was fun and entertaining. The plot moves quickly and normally I don't like the back and forth between present and past but it works here. A good lazy Sunday read.

Literacy Campaign: Poster Series Wins Major Design Award

Check out the cool literacy ads...

The Huffington Post Book

Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin, #2) by Robin LaFevers

I normally do not like historical fantasy. Honestly, I would have never read the 1st book if it wasn't free. But Grave Mercy was such a entertaining read and I really had no clue who the 'bad' person. I was very pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. In fact, I enjoyed Grave Mercy so much, that I tossed ALL the other books that are my reading list aside and purchased Dark Triumph the day it came out. I have a history background and it usually drives me crazy the liberties that people take. LaFevers does a satisfying job of balancing the history and fantasy aspect in both books. 

Dark Triumph begins with Sybella warning Ismae and the duchess, risking the exposure of her true loyalties. It is not an inviting beginning for new readers. Who the characters are, their relationships to each other, who is important and why is not explained. The religion of LaFevers alternate Brittany is not explained either, thus new readers must puzzle out who Mortain is and how his handmaidens work for themselves. Some may wish for a small refresher on the world, however I thought this was refreshing. Too many authors spend too much times doing recaps when all you want them to do is get to the good stuff.

Sybella isn't instantly likeable like Isame but as her backstory is revealed throughout the book, the reader begins to understand why Sybella is the way that she is. In addition to espionage, murder, and sabotage, Dark Triumph features a daring rescue and perilous fighting across the countryside. Truth be told, the perilous fight scenes are a bit over the top and not very believable. But that does not reduce the entertainment value of this book.

I've said this once and I will say it again, not all books can be The Hunger Games nor do they have to. Was this the BEST book ever? No. But that does not take away how enjoyable it is.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

So I'm sitting here staring at this blank screen trying to figure out what I want to say that would be meaningful about Siege and Storm because there are no words that I can think of that will do this novel justice. Plus, I don’t want to spoil anything. It’s such a fun read. I don’t want to take that away from anyone. I seriously called into work sick because I could not put it down. Yes, it is THAT GOOD!

Siege and Storm quickly picks ups where Shadow and Bone left off, with Alina and Mal on the run. No one is who they seem to be. (See, am I giving too much away?) It is crazy intense, with never a dull moment. The book has some new and exciting characters, as well as some old favorites.

I absolutely LOVE this book. And then the last 50 or so pages happened and Bardugo took me on an emotional roller coaster, which just made me love it even more. And the end… the end was insanely crazy, intense, and emotional. It basically left me thinking –HEY you CANNOT just END it THERE. I WANT MORE!!!!!! Sally, it will be another year before book 3 comes out.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo comes out June 4th 2013 by Henry Holt and Co.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyge

“What if the world’s most notorious serial killer… was your dad?” That is the fate of Jasper Dent in I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyge. His father, Billy Dent, went on a killing spree that last for years. For Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was a year-round event. Jasper has witness crime scenes no child should ever. Like how on his ninth birthday, when his father showed him how to use quicklime to dissolve body parts.

Four years after the arrest and trail of Billy Dent, the story begins with Jasper, Jazz for short, trying to figure out if he more like his father than he would want to admit. “It’s not that I want to or don’t want to. It’s just … I can. I could. It’s like… I imagine it’s like being a great runner. If you knew you could run really fast, wouldn’t you? If you were stuck walking somewhere, wouldn’t you want to let loose and run like hell? That’s how I feel.” While part of that story line was interesting, I must say that it was overall a bit flat, drawn out and unbelievable. Although, how can any really write about being a child of a serial killer and really grasp the horrors that they must go through?

Jazz has to live with his grandmother, the woman who raised a serial killer. “Gramma Dent was never all that sane to begin with, her head packed full with a rotting collection of twisted religious dogma, crackpot conspiracy theories, and just plain wrong, handed down from generation to generation.” Although throughout most of the story Gramma Dent is usually drugged with Benadryl by Jazz so that he can get away.

A body is found in a field and Jazz is compelled to find the killer. Jazz feels that since he grew up with a killer, he can solve the crime faster and better than the police.  I will admit that within the first 80 pages or so, I thought I had it figured out who the killer was. I was shocked by the identity of the killer but for the most part everything else was, eh. Yes, this book was a bit disturbing and demented but in the end it just fell flat. For whatever reason, I could not connect to Jasper Dent as a character and thus I really didn’t care what happened to him, one way or the other. :/

Lyga does a good job setting up the series, and yes this is a series. Even without looking it up, I know that this is a series. Maybe the next book will be better? Games, the 2^nd book in the series, comes out April 16, 2013.

Excerpt - What Tears Us Apart

I'm a fan of the free... check out a free excerpt of What Tears Us Apart by Deborah Cloyed.

Click here

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I am a fan of Stiefvater’s writing. I’ve read and enjoyed all of her books. While the fantasy part of her writings is somewhat a stretch, I think she writes the best characters. They are not only believable, relatable and most importantly lovable, which makes her one of my favorite authors. So, why didn’t I rush out to get The Raven Boys? There is just not enough time to read everything that I want to read. Stupid work gets in the way.

The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent and set in Henrietta, Virginia . Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for something else. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king. Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish. Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. “Aglionby Academy was the number on reason Blue had developed her two rules: One, stay away from boys, because they were trouble. And two, stay away from Aglionby boys, because they were bastards.”

The Raven Boys has everything I want from a great reading experience, a complex narrative, an intriguing and highly developed cast of characters, and an amazing style of writing that just blew me away from the first sentence recounting a dire prophecy. The novel highlights Stiefvater’s dry sense of humor which never once failed to put a stupid grin on my face. I knew I would love this book no matter what from this exchange:

                “Do you see how I’m wearing this apron? It means I’m working. For a living.”

                The unconcerned expression didn’t flag. He [Gansey] said, “I’ll take care of it.”

                She [Blue] echoed, “Take care of it?”

                “Yeah. How much do you make an hour? I’ll take care of it. And I’ll talk to your manger.”

For a moment, Blue was actually lost for words…Then finally, she managed to sputter, “I am not a prosititute.”

Stiefvater has created an enormously complex tale centered on fate and expectations. As I’ve said before, her ‘fantasy’ is a stretch but everything else is beautifully done that I just go with it. I was a bit worried that somehow all these ‘random’ pieces of the story wouldn’t come together but by the end she ties in everything beautifully. I knew about ¾ through the book ‘what’ the sacrifice would be but I was not prepared for its consequences.

With that said, I was not happy that near the end it felt that Stiefvater was trying really, REALLY HARD to set up the stage for the series, it  felt a bit forced and took away some of the awesomeness of this novel. Yet, I am sad that I am done. I miss the characters already and I CANNOT wait for their return in book 2, The Dream Thieves which comes out September 17, 2013. And YES, I have marked my calendar already.

the Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize

Black Balloon Publishing announces the Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize, an award for completed, unpublished manuscripts no less than 50,000 words. The winner will receive $5,000 and a book deal with Black  Balloon.

At Black Balloon Publishing we champion the weird, the unwieldy, and the unclassifiable. We are battle-worn enemies of boredom and we’re looking for books that defy the rules, bend reality, twist preconceptions, and imagine the unimaginable.
More info can be found here.

The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist

Hmm the little blurb on the website about the book makes it sound interesting. And the 1st 15 pages have a me a little interested in where this is going to go. What's the island? When and where are they? Add it to the massive pile that doesn't seem to end and/or get smaller.


"Veronika. Caroline. Isobel. Eleanor. One blond, one brunette, one redhead, one with hair black as tar. Four otherwise identical girls who spend their days in sync, tasked to learn. But when May, a very different kind of girl—the lone survivor of a recent shipwreck—suddenly and mysteriously arrives on the island, an unsettling mirror is about to be held up to the life the girls have never before questioned.Sly and unsettling, Gordon Dahlquist’s timeless and evocative storytelling blurs the lines between contemporary and sci-fi with a story that is sure to linger in readers’ minds long after the final page has been turned." - Blurb from the website.

Check out the 1st 15 pages of The Different Girl

Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

This looks good... free excerpt. :)

Ex-Heroes


3/2/2012 - update I finally had a chance to read the excerpt and the 1st 15 pages are good. Add another one to the list... there is just never enough time to read everything...

Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas

Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas is dark yet captivating novel. Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive. Think Lord of the Files with a modern twist.

The novel begins with the first day of school at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. Truth be told, the disaster scenario, is a bit unrealistic. And the love triangle between David Thorpe, his brother Will and Lucy is a bit cliché. With that said, I really did enjoy this book. “If there was anything to be said for McKinely high, it was that, with enough time, it revealed the truth about everyone.” I think this quote sums up the book nicely. And the many mini-cliffhangers keep the book fun and interesting.

It is not for the faint of heart. There were more than a few times where I had to put the put down because the death and/or mutilation of a student was just enough graphic and senseless that I needed a break. Thomas does a great job of showing how ordinary students in a desperate situation will do extraordinary things. As one kid puts it “yeah, well, none of us are like we used to be, are we?”

“Lucy had assumed that Violent grew up someplace rough, like an evil orphanage or some war-torn foreign country. Maybe in a jungle. But not Hillcreast. It was one town over from Pale Ridge. It was full of yogurt shops and gold clubs and had wide black roads that were repaved every two years. People from Hillcrest weren’t tough.”

I’ve read other reviews of Quarantine where they complain that the scenario of kids being left in a high school to fend for themselves is unbelievable and somehow hurt the credibility of the book. It’s a Sci-Fi fantasy novel. It’s not important whether or not it can or cannot happen in the ‘real’ world. It’s important that the author can sell this idea in the story, which Lex Thomas does and does it well. I can honestly say that I was so engrossed in what was happening in McKinely High that I forgot about the outside world. While reading the book, never once did I think about the ‘adults’ or the outside world because I was too busy dealing with all the stuff happening inside the high school. Thomas does a great job of selling the idea that “graduation was the most important event in a McKinely student’s life. You’d made it through. You’d earned your freedom.” Yet, I have a feeling that freedom isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in this universe and we will get to see what the outside world is like in book 2.

Scarlet Book Tour

I had the pleasure of attending an event at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY. :)

Marissa Meyer was there to promote Scarlet, the 2^nd book in the Lunar Chronicals. Jean Feiwel is the Senior Vice President and Publisher of Feiwel and Friends was there as well as Liz Szabla, Editor-in-Chief of Feiwel and Friends.

The conversation was as much about making books as it was about Cinder and Scarlet, the 1^st two books in the Lunar Chronicles. It was an interesting discussion.  Here are a few highlights. Cinder is the 1st book that Meyer finished. She has written about 7 novels that never went anywhere and are not complete. She mentioned how she never gets writers block because she had detailed outlines and really develops the characters and their personalities way before she ever starts writing. She said that she was inspired by an Anime that I never heard of and Firefly. :))))) Yeah, sorry, she said Firefly and I tuned other stuff out. lol Feiwel and Friends got the book proposal on Friday and Monday they made an offer. Meyer mentioned that she got 3 offers in total but that 1 of the offers was to write each book as a standalone, which she said wasn't an option for her. She knew from the start that it was a 4 book series and Mrs. Feiwel mentioned that Meyer's proposal was so well done, with 50 pages or so of Scarlet submitted and a detailed outline of book 3 and 4 that everyone at Feiwel had no doubt she could keep the series going for 4 books.

Mrs. Feiwel recommended Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

Liz Szabla recommended The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

And Meyers recommended the 2nd book of The Grisha series, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo.

Oblong Books 

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

sigh.... .... .... ....

I liked 30% of Beautiful Darkness. I loved the 'Sisters,' they are funny. Crazy, old ladies at their best. I loved the cat. The other 70% was pretty much bad. While reading parts of it, I found myself thinking 'you cannot be so stupid Ethan Wade'. :| Then why did I finish it? Well, I kept hoping that it would turn around, that it would get better. Uh not so much. And then by the end, I realized that I couldn't stop reading it because I wanted to get my money's worth. I mean I bought the book and everything.

The book deals with Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes recovering from the events from the last book. The authors introduce new characters, Olivia "Liv" Durand, who befriends Ethan quickly and the mysterious John Breed, who tries to separate Lena and Ethan. Liv was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise dull plot.

The book ends with questions about where all the characters go from here. No, I won't be purchasing the next book in the series. I might borrow the 3rd book from the library. What can I say, I am a sucker. The story has so much potential to be a good book/series. The authors have created a new and interesting mythology of magic, sadly they just take in a very predictable direction. :/

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Advertising is evil. This is nothing new. And the ads for the movie Beautiful Creatures made me want to check out the book. I mean the cast and the director, etc are amazing in their own right, so yeah how could my interest not be piqued? I was not expecting Hunger Games good but something to keep me entertained while the world was coming to an end outside (aka Blizzard 2013).

Truth be told, I had never heard of Beautiful Creatures until the movie previews. I had no clue what the book or series was about. The book is set in fictional Gatlin, South Carolina. It is told by protagonist Ethan Wate, who lives with his writer father and housekeeper Amma. The story begins on the first day of Ethan’s sophomore year when he wakes up from a recurring dream he has been having about a girl he does not know. Shocker, the girl in his dreams turns out to be the new girl in school, Lena Duchannes, who happens to be the nice of Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood, the town shut-in.

I’m sad to say that the book was, for the most part, predicable. That does not mean I did not enjoy it because I did. I finished it in about a day and half, so I was entertained enough to where I did not put the book down. But I think that I want to prove to myself that I was right about how it would end rather than I MUST know how this ends because I have no clue. However, I did enjoy all the references to classical novels and stories, as well as all the quotes. Dr. Marian Ashcroft, the town’s librarian, is awesome, and how can anyone not like a book where the librarian is awesome? 

Beautiful Creatures has one or two unexpected twists at the end, as well as a few unanswered questions. I’m curious enough to want to find out how Garcia and Stohl move the series along that I’ve already purchased the 2^nd book in the series, Beautiful Darkness.