Review: Into The Still Blue

Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3)

by Veronica Rossi

BLURB: The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece" Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Timesbestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

Source: Edelweiss (Thanks HarperCollins!)

My Thoughts:

I've been waiting for this book for a long time. I ADORED the previous book in the series Through The Ever Night (TTEN). The last book in the series are tough to read and usually do not live upto expectations.

Into The Still Blue was an interesting and good book but it didn't wow me like TTEN. Through The Ever Night in my opinion took this series to another level and even though this is a fantastic book it doesn't sweep me off my feet.I guess the book didn't live upto my expectations.

I loved Perry and Aria in this book.Aria has changed so much and Perry is as great as ever but he still hasn't learnt to trust people close to him.Both characters have shown such incredible growth over this series . Roar in this book broke my heart.

The plot is interesting and manages to keep you engrossed and there are a lot of unexpected twists but the pacing was a little problematic in this novel. This is definitely the darkest story in this series and there is a sense of foreboding throughout the novel. For some reason I just didn't get lost in the atmosphere or felt the anticipation, I have no idea why.I was surprised by the twists but I knew what would happen somehow.

Overall, this is a great series and I would recommend it to people . I wasn't wowed by the ending but I enjoyed it.

My Rating:

Toss up between 3.5 and 4 

bending more towards the 4. 

B2W2014 : Ignite Me & Unite Me GIVEAWAY!! (US only)

Today I'm giving away a book that I am personally DYING to get my hands on. 

I mean the previous book in the series WAS AHMAZING!! 

Unfortunately it's US only so even I can't get my hands on it 

BUT you guys can!!! 

Today I'm featuring

Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)

by Tahereh Mafi

 BLURB: The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, called "a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love"  SEE FULL BLURB ON GOODREADS

Expected publication: February 4th 2014

My original plan was to feature only Ignite Me but the wonderful publicist was amazing enough to point out that another book(?) in the series is coming out.

Unite Me: The Shatter Me Stories (Shatter Me #1.5, 2.5)

by Tahereh Mafi

BLURB: Perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi’s New York Times bestselling Shatter Me trilogy, this book collects her two companion novellas, Fracture Meand Destroy Me, in print for the first time ever. It also features an exclusive look into Juliette’s journal and a preview of Ignite Me, the hotly anticipated final novel of the series.Destroy Me tells the events between Shatter Me and Unravel Me from Warner’s point of view .Fracture Me is told from Adam’s perspective and bridges the gap between Unravel Me and Ignite Me.

Expected publication: February 4th 2014

The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent and The Hunger Games. This captivating story, which combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, was praised as “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love” by Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. (From Goodreads blurb of Unite Me) 

GIVEAWAY

HarperCollins has been amazing enough to offer ONE finished physical copy of both Ignite Me and Unite Me.

U.S only. 

(Maybe it's time to call your uncle/aunt/friend/acquaintance in the states. Huh? *wink*)

Thanks HarperCollins

@HarperCollins

@harperchildrens

Website

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B2W2014: Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young (Excerpt+ GIVEAWAY!)

THIS BOOK IS FOR ADULTS

Today I'm featuring 

Before Jamaica Lane (On Dublin Street #3)

by Samantha Young 

One simple lesson in seduction between two friends can turn into so much more… 

Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left broken-hearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever…

Publication: Already Available (7th January 2014)

EXCERPT

If you can't see the above excerpt clearly please click here

GIVEAWAY

The publisher has been kind enough to offer a physical copy of this book for giveaway. 

U.S. ONLY!

Thank you Penguin Group U.S.A.

Twitter : @PenguinUSA

WEBSITE

Author Twitter: @SYoungSFAuthor

WEBSITE

Side Note: This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. Also, this is one of the few books I'm highlighting that I've read already and I really enjoyed it. If you love romance definitely check out this series! (I'll post my review soon )

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Review+GIVEAWAY: Rome by Jay Crownover

THIS BOOK IS FOR ADULTS

Title: Rome (Marked Men #3)

Author: Jay Crownover

Genre: New Adult

Publication Date: January 7, 2014

Publisher: William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing

Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.

Synopsis

Cora Lewis is a whole lot of fun, and she knows how to keep her tattooed bad boy friends in line. But all that flash and sass hide the fact that she’s never gotten over the way her first love broke her heart. Now she has a plan to make sure that never happens again: She’s only going to fall in love with someone perfect.

Rome Archer is as far from perfect as a man can be. He’s stubborn and rigid, he’s bossy and has come back from his final tour of duty fundamentally broken. Rome’s used to filling a role: big brother, doting son, super soldier; and now none of these fit anymore. Now he’s just a man trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life while keeping the demons of war and loss at bay. He would have been glad to suffer it alone, until Cora comes sweeping into his life and becomes the only color on his bleak horizon.

Perfect isn’t in the cards for these two, but imperfect might just last forever . . .

Add to Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound

Source: Edelweiss (Thanks HarperCollins!)

My Thoughts:

I'm addicted to this series. I loved Rule (Book #1) and was disappointed with Jet(Book #2) but finished it in record time and I've been dying to read this book. 

Rome is an entertaining read with quite a few twists and turns. I did enjoy it more than Jet but if I'm being honest I didn't enjoy it as much as Rule. That saddens me as I really thought I would like this much more than Rule. I mean come on Rome and Cora , they're the bomb! 

The book deals with more serious issues and I loved getting insight into the mind of an honorable guy who's served his country. I also liked Cora A LOT! She's spunky and stands up for herself. The characters in this book are just amazing and I loved how they were developed. 

I think my main problem with this book was the direction the plot took. I think the plot did not bring out the best in the characters. (I hope I'm making sense!) It's also possible that I had this entire story built up in my head and when it deviated from that I didn't enjoy it anymore. 

One of my favourite things about this series is that the alternate chapters are from the male's point of view and Jay Crownover writes great male POV! This series has it's faults but I'm hooked and it doesn't seem like I'm going to stop anytime soon. Nash is already on my TBR pile. 

My Rating:

3.5/5

Guilty pleasure I'm hooked to! 

About the Author

I’m supposed to share interesting details about myself so that my readers get to know me so here we go in no particular order: I’m an natural redhead even though I haven’t seen my real hair color in years, I’m a big fan of tattoos and have a half sleeve on either arm and various other pieces all over the place, I’ve been in the bar industry since I was in college and it has always offered interesting insight into how men and women interact with each other, I have 3 dogs that are all crazy, I live in Colorado and love the snow, I love music and in all reality wish I could be a rock star not a writer or a bartender but I have zero talent so there is that.

I love to write, love to read and all I’m interested in is a good story with interesting characters that make the reader feel something.

Connect with Jay:  Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads

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B2W2014: Unhinged by A.G.Howard (Excerpt + GIVEAWAY)

Today I'm featuring

Unhinged (Splintered #2)

by A.G. Howard

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head

publication: January 7th 2014

EXCERPT

If you can't read the above excerpt clearly click here 

GIVEAWAY

The publisher has been kind enough to offer a HARDCOVER copy of Unhinged for Giveaway! 

Thank you Abrams!! 

Follow @AbramsKids on Twitter

Search @AbramsKids on Instagram

Like Amulet Books & Abrams Appleseed on Facebook

Visit blog.abramsbooks.com

US/Canada ONLY

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Review: Jet by Jay Crownover

THIS BOOK IS CLASSIFIED AS ADULT.

Jet (Marked Men #2)

by Jay Crownover

With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?

Source: Edelweiss (Thanks HarperCollins!)


My Thoughts:

I loved Rule by Jay Crownover and I was dying to read this book. This book was good but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't had such high expectations from this novel.


Jet was HAWT and a jerk but not as much as Rule so I liked him. I really like reading the male point of view in these novels because they seem realistic and I don't have a hard time keeping track of whose point of view I'm reading.

Unlike Rule, My main problem with this novel is that I wasn't a huge fan of the female protagonist. It's not because I'm a prude and didn't like her sketchy past it had more to do with how stupidly she acted sometimes. Her inner monologue and point of view was a little too much to stand sometimes.

The plot of this one wasn't as predictable as Rule's but that's not necessarily a good thing. I used to think that the story is over but it wasn't .The author  did manage to keep me hooked till the end so I'll give her props for that. 

Overall, this is a good book but it's not as great as Rule . I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't expected more from the novel. I'm still VERY excited for the sequel though. Rome and Cora in one novel. It's gonna be .. WAIT FOR IT...

My Rating: 

3/5

B2W2014: Salt by Danielle Ellison (GIVEAWAY + Interview & Excerpt )

The book I'm featuring today is 

Salt (Salt #1)

by Danielle Ellison

Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away.

When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find "her" demon. To take back what was stolen.

Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own. 

Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

Publication: January 7th 2014 

The author of Salt was kind enough to provide an excerpt , giveaway and even answered a few of my questions.

EXCERPT

 “Penelope, I knew you’d be here,” Connie says, walking up to us. Her voice trails off when she sees Carter. I don’t know how much longer we stand that way before he breaks our gaze.

“Who’s this?” Connie asks in our silence. She’s got that singsong tone to her voice like when she was up to something as a kid.

“Carter,” he says. He reaches out for my sister’s hand and kisses it awkwardly. She cocks an eyebrow while I just roll my eyes.

“And you are?” he asks.

“Connie,” she says.

“My little sister,” I add.

Carter nods toward her. She eyes me suspiciously as he lets go of her hand and clears his throat. “Tomorrow afternoon then?” he asks me.

Connie narrows her eyes in my direction. I see the question brewing in her mind. I don’t want another incident like the time I told her how Mike O’Connor kept borrowing my pencil when he had a whole bag full, and then she convinced him to ask me out because he obviously liked me. He didn’t; he liked my mechanical pencils.

I nod quickly. Please go away now. He flashes another bright smile from the corner of this mouth and he’s gone at least three minutes before Connie speaks.

“How do you know him?”

“I don’t,” I say. “He’s a stranger.”

“A hot one.”

“He could be crazy. I think he’s a stalker.”

“Again, a hot one.” She pauses. I shrug. “And you like him,” she says in my ear.

I shake my head and swat her away. It must be a rule that little sisters have to be irritating. “No. I don’t even know him, Con.”

She does this little huff like she doesn’t believe me. I stick my tongue out at her because I’m mature like that.

INTERVIEW

Why Salt? 

Why did I write SALT? Because it was fun and Penelope was loud and she had a story that she wanted to tell. 

Why is SALT the title? Penelope is a witch, and in her world, salt is one of the tools used against demons. 

I have to ask are you an Angelina Jolie fan?

You know, I’ve honestly only seen like 1-2 of her movies (love Mr. & Mrs. Smith) but I did hear after the fact that she’s in a movie called SALT. I haven’t seen it, but I can promise that it’s nothing like my book at all. 

Salt in one line?

Sassy, magical romance with kick-ass fighting, sarcasm, creepy demons, a hot boy and kissing.

Your favourite book?

It’s constantly changing depending on my mood, but I love HARRY POTTER, A NORTHERN LIGHT by Jennifer Donnelly and anything by Neil Gaiman.

Your favourite movie or/and TV show?

My favorite TV show is Supernatural! But I love TV—love it. I talk about it a lot, and watch more than one person should. 

GIVEAWAY

The author was kind enough to offer up an ecopy of Salt and a Salt necklace for giveaway. 

As there are different restrictions on both the prizes please fill in whether you are US/Canada or INTERNATIONAL in the rafflecopter below. 

The ecopy of Salt is INTERNATIONAL.

The necklace can be won only by US/Canada.

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