Cover reveal- Requiem by Lauren Oliver

I have no idea how I missed the initial reveal for this, but AWESOME!!!

*STARE*

I am even more excited to read it now!!! The conclusion to one of my favorite trilogies...and Lauren Oliver sure loves her cliffhangers, jeezo. ;) But Requiem still doesn't have a summary on Goodreads. :P

I'm still not sure if I'm on team Alex, or Julian. I honestly have no idea. That's never really happened to me before in a YA love triangle. Usually I know right away who I like best. But Alex was just so awesome and different and free in the first one...and Julian was just there for Lena for the entire second book when Alex, er, wasn't...anyway, it's just tough! Or maybe it's just me...

Which team are you on?

TEN: review

Title: TEN (or Ten? The first way looks scarier.)

Author: Gretchen McNeil

Genres: thriller, retelling, mystery

Summary: And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off the from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I am basing lots of my views on the assumed fact that this is actually a retelling of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (or Ten Little Indians) because the plot line and everything are just too close to be a coincidence. But if this book is in fact not based off that amazing masterpiece of a novel...then you can pretty much ignore most of my rant.

I'm giving this book a good three-almost-four stars...

The first page hooked me. But when I turned to the next one, and really the whole first three chapters, I wasn't really feelin the love. The two main characters are Meg (the third person narrator) and her best friend Minnie. Those are two very similar names, aren't they? Yes. 

I did not like that one bit. 

Eventually, I could remember the differences between them, who was who, because they have two very different personalities. But it wasn't really a promising start for me. It got better from there, I can happily report.

A few quirks in the writing that I found...almost every time someone dies, someone else says "Oh my God!" (You'd think people would be slightly less surprised after the sixth person dies??) And there are a lot of "um."s. And last, Meg's internal dialog had frequent phrases like "Not so much" at least a dozen times. Just gotta mention that.

I am a huge HUGE fan of And Then There Were None. It's hands down the best and scariest mystery book I've ever read. She was a genius. So the fact that TEN is a retelling of that epic plot, made me a bit apprehensive, but excited all the same. The main characters are teenagers, and there is Facebook mentioned, since this is current day, not the 1930s. There are differences. The main difference is the poem the original is based upon. In various lines, the people in the poem die, and it corresponds with the character deaths in the book. And in other places you see the "essence of the original" here and there. It was sort of fun to try to point those out while reading along.

In TEN, she takes more liberty with that, not basing it off the poem like I'd kind of hoped, but basing it on another type of writing thing, which I can't really say, because that could spoil a few things. I think it was good she changed it, to keep her new story distinctly separate, but the original is better.

There is a lot of teen drama. Mostly that is why my stars are a little lowered. The relationships between the characters are tight, even if it's not at first obvious. Most of the deaths are like "oh no, not my boyfriend! *sob*" so there was a little eye rolling...and the ending was just a TINY BIT too cheesy for me. Ten people did die though. In quite gruesome ways. (The evil side in me is clapping her hands a little.)

Small spoiler, don't worry, you'll be thinking the same thing early on. 

I wish that Minnie died first. Is that mean? I'm sorry, she bugged the bajeezers out of me. What a drama queen!! And that she had to keep the fact that she was bipolar so secretive? Many people have it. Lots of people take meds for it. Go faint already and never get up. Or stab yourself with your eyeliner.

Minnie doesn't die first. But by the end, I liked her slightly more.

To sum up, if you're a fan of AC like me, you might not like TEN. But if you haven't in fact, heard the story before, I promise you will totally love it! For lots of it, I was not sure I liked it, but I kept going, and by the time people started dropping like flies, and I promise I was trying hard to figure out who the killer is! I read the rest right through.

Summer Lovin Giveaway Hop!

HERE is the link to ALL the other blogs participating in this hop, hosted by:

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Tifferz Book Review.

You can start entering July 11th! Ends July 17th!

So I am giving away an ARC of:

(US shipping only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy reading!

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop!

Welcome!

This is my first giveaway! So bear with me. :)

I am participating in the Freedom to Read giveaway hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, so go check their awesome blog out while you're passing by here; and Mundie Moms.

You can start entering on June 29th, I think. Till 5th of July. Let's all tap our heels and hope everything goes smoothly.

HERE is a link to her site, to see all the other blogs participating in this blog hop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'd really love it if you follow me via Blogger, and if this giveaway goes well, then I'll do more in the future!

Have a fantastical day,

Jane

The Immortal Rules: review

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Genres: urban fantasy, vampires, dystopia,

Summary: In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. 

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

I can easily say this is the best vampire book I’ve ever read. I mean, I enjoy a good many, and a few here and there are pretty great, but even so, they’re all just a little indulgent distraction from better books out there. But The Immortal Rules is just awesome.

Now I will try to convey its awesomeness. It came out a couple months ago now, and I’ve read probably over 30 reviews on various blogs raving about it. So if I’m repeating lots of what you’ve heard already about the book, I’m just backing up the claims. ;)

One of the capturing aspects of The Immortal Rules is the switching of classic ya gender roles. Allie is the scary monster capable of killing and all that jazz. And Zeke is the gentle and too-kind human Allie kind of falls for. She is all crazy cool with her katana flying through the air and beheading bad guys, while Zeke hates to kill when he is faced with the choice. Those are just a couple of examples I can recall at the moment.

Another unique part, is that this is technically a dystopian novel as well. If you think about it, paranormal and dystopia don’t usually mix. Does it work? Yes it does! It allowed her to write the rules of her own world without it being fantasy or anything, or limiting the situations to everyday problems, like sparklyness on sunny days at school, (cough).

The mythology Allie is a part of (the vampires!), is fantastic. And my favorite detail makes my whole view of the book cover change. But I don’t really want to say, because it’s fun to learn alongside her; the ways vampires unlive, and survive, and how they can be killed, or tortured. I can tell Kagawa was having lots of fun creating it all.

The Immortal Rules is on the longer side, for general ya books. Almost 500 pages. But I found myself trying to slow down my reading, because it was so exciting to read, I didn’t want it to be over. I loved every page, and I hope the next book is as good as this one.

Julie Kagawa is apparently pretty a pretty established author in the faerie genre already. A fact, I sadly admit, I had never even heard of, before seeing all the publicity for this book. Now after reading this, I am definitely going to check out her Iron Fey series.

------

Post Script:

I have a copy of Crossed by Ally Condie that I want to do a giveaway for soon. For any blogger who reads this, who is possibly interested in hosting a giveaway for me, please shoot me an email! 

-Jane

Favorite 5 releases for June that I can't wait to read!

Greetings fellow book addicts,

This month, there are a few new releases that stand out to me. All sorts of genres, so read on no matter what kind of books you enjoy. And surprisingly, none of them are debuts. I'll even include summaries from Goodreads for ya, no extra charge.

#1 Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo (June 5th. Why aren't you at the bookstore right now? It's already on the shelves!)

Veronica Roth blurbed it, so hey it's worth at least a double take.

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

#2  For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (June 12th)

I'm a *huge* fan of Jane Austen (hence part of my nom de plume), and this is a fantastical retelling of her Persuasion. Intriguing? I think yes.

Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

#3 This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (June 19th)

Wait, is that blood spatter on the top left corner? I remember why I added it now. Oh, and it looks like a great horror-zombie novel.

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually wantto live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what doyou hold on to? 

#4 My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend (June 28th)

See? I do like a good contemporary book now and then. But I'm pretty picky. This looks good though, if not that uplifting. I think it has a moral lesson. :)

What if you lost the thing that made you who you are?

Lexi has always been stunning. Her butter-colored hair and perfect features have helped her attract friends, a boyfriend, and the attention of a modeling scout. But everything changes the night Lexi's face goes through a windshield. Now she's not sure what's worse: the scars she'll have to live with forever, or what she saw going on between her best friend and her boyfriend right before the accident. With the help of her trombone-playing, defiantly uncool older sister and a guy at school recovering from his own recent trauma, Lexi learns she's much more than just a pretty face.

#5 Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson (June 5th, Aka- now.)

Doesn't this sound super interesting and different and crazy exciting?!

Old ways are pitted against new horrors in this compellingly crafted dystopian tale about a girl who is both healer and seer.

Two hundred years from now, blood has become the most valuable commodity on the planet—especially the blood of aboriginal peoples, for it contains antibodies that protect them from the Plague ravaging the rest of the world.

Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Mercredi might be immune to Plague, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe—government forces are searching for those of aboriginal heritage to harvest their blood. When a search threatens Cassandra and her family, they flee to the Island: a mysterious and idyllic territory protected by the Band, a group of guerilla warriors—and by an enigmatic energy barrier that keeps outsiders out and the spirit world in. And though the village healer has taken her under her wing, and the tribal leader’s son into his heart, the creatures of the spirit world are angry, and they have chosen Cassandra to be their voice and instrument…

These are of course just a few of the books I'm looking forward to this month. There are plenty more! I would include Arise, and Flirting in Italian which also come out this month, but I've already read those. (Click on them for my review.)

Also, I'm going to create a database of my reviews, and add a page to the blog with them in alphabetical order, for easy access. Soon.

Happy reading!

-Jane

Dearly, Beloved cover reveal! If a little belated.

I don't know how in the world I missed this cover reveal a week or so ago. I've been waiting for this one for a while!

IT LOOKS GREAT. Like, seriously. Even better than the first one, in my opinion. :)

For those who haven't actually started this series by Lia Habel yet, with Dearly, Departed; seriously you should get right on it. It's full of steampunk awesomeness and crawling with zombies.

I really hope I can get a hold of this soon. Comes out in September! Not too far away... :P

What do you think of it? Really liking the vintagey lace corners. It's just so VERY! Ten points to those who get that reference.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Or Tuesday night, if you like to stay up late on your computer, like me.