{Review}: Halflings by Heather Burch

Title: Halflings
Author: Heather Burch Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: (Halflings, #1)
Genre: YA Fiction/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Zonderkidz (January, 2012)
Hardcover: 287 pages
ISBN: 9780310728184
Source: *NetGalley
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.
A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

My Review

First Impressions: Talk about an action packed start. In the first pages Nikki is chased by hell hounds.


Plot & Characters: Not one, not two but three supernatural mysterious guys. Mace, Raven, and Vine are trying to find out what it is about Nikki that causes the forces of darkness to want her dead. I enjoyed the love triangle, the strong female character and learning about the history and role of Halflings. The mysterious villain is someone I wish to learn more about in the next installment of this series.


There are many parts where you can predict what will happen next and wonder why it is taking the character so long to figure things out. There are other parts where you are left wondering and trying to figure out what is going on. The writing is good but I just don't feel that Halflings offers anything different from the rest of the YA angel paranormal romance novels that are out there. I enjoyed it and will read the next one mostly because I want to find out more about the villain.


Final Thoughts: If you are a hard core YA paranormal romance reader that cannot get enough  love triangles, mysterious bad boys, "I love you but It's better if we are not together" conflict and demon fighting angels then you will enjoy Halflings.


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Borrow for now, I really have to see where this story is going. The first book was good but nothing stood out.


My Rating:

Book Trailer: 


*Thanks Zondervan and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read Halflings prior to its release in exchange for an honest review.

Feature & Follow 4/20/12

Feature & Follow Friday hosted by parajunkee.com and alisoncanread.com

The main idea behind FF is to discover new blogs, and follow the ones you like (and they’ll follow you back!) It’s a total win/win, so take a peek around and follow me!

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee &Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
• If you’re new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Q: Fight! Fight! If you could have two fictional characters battle it out (preferably from books), who would they be and who do you think would win?

A: Elyse from Opression by Jessica Therrien and Helen from Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. I know the question says fight but I would like these two characters to meet. They both have god-like powers and are new to them. If they did fight I think Helen would end up winning because of her strength. 

{Review}: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Sweet Venom
Author: Tera Lynn Childs Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: (Medusa Girls, #1)
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books ( September, 2011) 
Hardcover: 345 pages
ISBN: 9780062001818 
Source: Borrowed from Library
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

My Review

First Impressions: I heard great things about this author so I was looking forward to reading one of her books. Sweet Venom totally had me at descendants of Medusa. It just sounds extremely cool.


Plot & Characters: Not fallen angels, or vampires but descendants of Medusa. We meet Grace, Gretchen and Greet. Tera Lynn Childs creates another magical world where these three girls from different backgrounds come together to discover their role in an ancient prophecy. The writing is great I was able to distinguish the three personalities and I was never confused as to who was narrating. The multiple narrative was a bit confusing at first but it doesn't take long before you get used to it and enjoy it. 


Sweet Venom was fast paced and left me wanting more. This is one of those times when I was happy that this book was part of a series because I need answers. If you enjoy romance there is a bit of that. The story does not center on the girls love story it is more on meeting them and accompanying them on their discovery of who they are.


Final Thoughts: Recommend to those who like adventure and action packed YA fantasy mixed with mythology. 


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Buy. A great start to a series from an amazing author. A great addition to my library.

My Rating: 

In My Mailbox 4/15/12

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by The Story Siren, held usually on Sundays that encourages bloggers to share what they bought, borrowed, received or won this week.


Only one book last week, the conclusion of the Trylle Trilogy. If you have not checked out this series and you enjoy YA paranormal romance I believe you are missing out on a great one. 
                                                                    Received


Title: Ascend (Trylle Trilogy, #3)
Author: Amanda Hocking Website | Twitter
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (April 24, 2012)
ISBN: 9781250006332 
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself. If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe. But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end. Everything has been leading to this moment. The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it.

* Received from St. Martin's Griffin for an honest review. Thank you!

In My Mailbox 4/8/12

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by The Story Siren, held usually on Sundays that encourages bloggers to share what they bought, borrowed, received or won this week.


                                                                    Received


Title: Above
Author: Leah Bobet
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian
ISBN:  9780545296700 
Publisher:  Arthur A. Levine Books (April 1st 2012)
Source: Publisher for honest review
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

An extraordinary debut urban fantasy about dangers outside and in.


Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee's wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.


But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe's history and the shadows' attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.


ABOVE is the debut of an amazing new voice.

Title: Of Poseidon

Author: Anna  Banks

Genre:YA fiction/Mythology

ISBN: 9781250003324

Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends (May 22nd 2012)

Source: Publisher for honest review

Available on: Amazon| Barnes&Noble| TheBookDepository| Kindle| Nook

Description from GoodReads:

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .
Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

Title: Struck
Author: Jennifer Bosworth

Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian
ISBN:  9780374372835

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR (May 8th 2012)
Source: Publisher for honest review
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.
Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

NetGalley

1. Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown GoodReads|Amazon
2. Endure by Carrie Jones GoodReads|Amazon
3. Yesterday by C.K Kelly Martin GoodReads|Amazon
4. Tempest Unleashed by Tracy Deebs GoodReads|Amazon
5. Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen GoodReads|Amazon
6. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross GoodReads|Amazon

Purchased

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Genre: YA Fiction/Dystopian

ISBN: 9780061978067

Publisher: February 28th 2012 by Harper Teen

Source: Purchased

Description from Goodreads:

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame.

*Thank you to all the publishers! 

What's in your mailbox?

{Book Review}: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Title: Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: Incarnate, #1
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books  (January 31st 2012) 
Hardcover: 374 pages
ISBN:  9780062060754 
Source: NetGalley
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

New soul
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
No soul
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Heart
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

My Review

First Impressions: The cover is beautiful. The idea of reincarnation and soul-mates are common among YA novels so I was hoping that this story stood out among the rest.


Plot & Characters: At first like most post-apocolyptic stories the setting is a bit hard to understand. In Ana's world a predermined number of souls where born and are reborn again and again into different bodies and retain all of  their memories. Which leads to 5,000 year old souls living and crating a community together. 


The problem arises with the birth of Ana. She is a new soul that has replaced one of the old souls. Ana is raised in a world of ancients with no place where she belongs, that is until she meets Sam.


I really enjoyed this story. The connection and relationship between Ana and Sam was great. I really believed their relationship. The other characters such as Sam's friends and Ana's mother where fun to read about. Great character development in this story. The setting was also well developed their community, the rules they lived with, what they believed in. It is all explained so as to bring the reader into Ana's world so they too can feel like a new soul learning everything.


Final Thoughts: if you are looking for a fantasy/dystopian/romance/good book then you should give Incarnate a try. 


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Buy! Great story and beautiful cover. A great addition to any library.


My Rating:

Book Trailer:

{Book Review}: Tempest by Julie Cross

Title: Tempest 
Author: Julie Cross Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: Tempest, #1
Genre: YA Fiction/Sci-fi
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin  (January 17th 2012)
Hardcover:  334 pages
ISBN:  9780312568894 
Source: For honest review from publisher
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.
But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

My Review

First Impressions: I am not an usual reader of this genre but the idea of time-traveling and the motives of trying to save the girl he loves pulled me in to read this book.


Plot & Characters: Jackson is trying to live a normal life and control his time-traveling abilities. That all changes when his girlfriend is shot and he finds himself stuck in the past. 


I enjoyed the adventure Tempest takes you on. However, I was not able to relate to the characters or understand how their world worked. Especially when it came to the rules of time travel I have no clue how they work. I was constantly having to go back and forth trying to figure out what year it was. There were other aspects that were a little hard for me to believe like his friends Adams incredible knowledge.


The pulling force in this story is Jackson's want to save Holly's life. This is what made me want to read this story. Yet, I found their relationship weak and at times a bit strange. 


Final Thoughts: The adventure and suspense where great but the story and character development were a bit weak for my taste. The only other time-traveling story I read was The Time Traveler's Wife and Tempest was very different so I can't compare it. It could be that I am not an usual reader of this genre or that it lacked the romance or connection between Jackson and Holly for me to give this a higher rating. 


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Borrow unless you enjoy action packed sci-fi thrillers and are not looking for the romance between the characters.


My Rating:

Book Trailer:

Feature & Follow 4/6/12

Feature & Follow Friday hosted by parajunkee.com and alisoncanread.com

The main idea behind FF is to discover new blogs, and follow the ones you like (and they’ll follow you back!) It’s a total win/win, so take a peek around and follow me!

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee &Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
• If you’re new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This Week’s Question:
Q: Have you ever bought a book BECAUSE of a bad review? 

A: No, I have not purposely purchased a book because of a bad review. I have bought many books with not so good reviews but I base my books on the synopsis and subject matter. If I read a bad review on a book I try to see if we have similar taste. Maybe the things they didn't enjoy I would love. 

Please follow and leave a link to your blog so I can share the love :)