Thursday, January 12, 2012

Cover Reveal!!

FINALLY!

It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series.

Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . .

Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.

I feel like this cover reveal took forever! Was it worth the wait? Maybe. I think it might have been. I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of Captivate so I still haven't read Entice, but the promise of "one utterly satisfying romantic finale" sounds like something I would enjoy!

 Help me out here:

Worth putting back on my TBR list; or 
something that can wait or not add on at all??



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Waiting On Wednesday/Cover Reveal..With Bonus!

Have you seen it? Yes? Wanna see it again? Haven't seen it? Oh boy!


Gaw-geous? Love it? I think it's great, but here's what I don't like about it; Clary looks about late 20's instead of 16-17, and I think Jace's hair should be longer. Other than that, perfection! 

But that's not all! I saw the cover reveal on USA Today Books, and as part of the article was this exclusive prologue from City of Lost Souls to whet your appetite:

Simon stood and stared numbly at the front door of his house.

He'd never known another home. This was the place his parents had brought him home to when he was born. He had grown up within the walls of the Brooklyn row house. He'd played on the street under the leafy shade of the trees in the summer, and had made improvised sleds out of garbage can lids in the winter. In this house his whole family had sat shivah after his father had died. Here he had kissed Clary for the first time.

He had never imagined a day when the door of the house would be closed to him. The last time he had seen his mother, she had called him a monster and prayed at him that he would go away. He had made her forget that he was a vampire, using glamour, but he had not known how long the glamour would last. As he stood in the cold autumn air, staring in front of him, he knew it had not lasted long enough.

The door was covered with signs—Stars of David splashed on in paint, the incised shape of the symbol for Chai, life. Tefillin were bound to the doorknob and knocker. A hamesh, the Hand of God, covered the peephole.

Numbly he put his hand to the metal mezuzah affixed to the right side of the doorway. He saw the smoke rise from the place where his hand touched the holy object, but he felt nothing. No pain. Only a terrible empty blankness, rising slowly into a cold rage.

He kicked the bottom of the door and heard the echo through the house. "Mom!" he shouted. "Mom, it's me!"

There was no reply—only the sound of the bolts being turned on the door. His sensitized hearing had recognized his mother's footsteps, her breathing, but she said nothing. He could smell acrid fear and panic even through the wood. "Mom!" His voice broke. "Mom, this is ridiculous! Let me in! It's me, Simon!"

The door juddered, as if she had kicked it. "Go away!" Her voice was rough, unrecognizable with terror. "Murderer!"

"I don't kill people." Simon leaned his head against the door. He knew he could probably kick it down, but what would be the point? "I told you. I drink animal blood."

He heard her whisper, softly, several words in Hebrew. "You killed my son," she said. "You killed him and put a monster in his place."

"I am your son—"

"You wear his face and speak with his voice, but you are not him! You're not Simon!" Her voice rose to almost a scream. "Get away from my house before I kill you, monster!"

"Becky," he said. His face was wet; he put his hands up to touch it, and they came away stained: His tears were bloody. "What have you told Becky?"

"Stay away from your sister." Simon heard a clattering from inside the house, as if something had been knocked over.

"Mom," he said again, but this time his voice wouldn't rise. It came out as a hoarse whisper. His hand had begun to throb. "I need to know—is Becky there? Mom, open the door. Please—"

"Stay away from Becky!" She was backing away from the door; he could hear it. Then came the unmistakeable squeal of the kitchen door swinging open, the creak of the linoleum as she walked on it. The sound of a drawer being opened. Suddenly he imagined his mother grabbing for one of the knives.

Before I kill you, monster.

The thought rocked him back on his heels. If she struck out at him, the Mark would rise. It would destroy her as it had destroyed Lilith.

He dropped his hand and backed up slowly, stumbling down the steps and across the sidewalk, fetching up against the trunk of one of the big trees that shaded the block. He stood where he was, staring at the front door of his house, marked and disfigured with the symbols of his mother's hate for him.

No, he reminded himself. She didn't hate him. She thought he was dead. What she hated was something that didn't exist. I am not what she says I am.

He didn't know how long he would have stood there, staring, if his phone hadn't begun to ring, vibrating his coat pocket.

He reached for it reflexively, noticing that the pattern from the front of the mezuzah—interlocked Stars of David—was burned into the palm of his hand. He switched hands and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Simon?" It was Clary. She sounded breathless. "Where are you?"

"Home," he said, and paused. "My mother's house," he amended. His voice sounded hollow and distant to his own ears. "Why aren't you back at the Institute? Is everyone all right?"

"That's just it," she said. "Just after you left, Maryse came back down from the roof where Jace was supposed to be waiting. There was no one there."

Simon moved. Without quite realizing he was doing it, like a mechanical doll, he began walking up the street, toward the subway station. "What do you mean, there was no one there?"

"Jace was gone," she said, and he could hear the strain in her voice. "And so was Sebastian."

Simon stopped in the shadow of a bare-branched tree. "But he was dead. He's dead, Clary—"

"Then you tell me why he isn't there, because he isn't," she said, her voice finally breaking. "There's nothing up there but a lot of blood and broken glass. They're both gone, Simon. Jace is gone. . . ."



Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tuesday Review Day!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope all of you had fun ringing it in. What did you do? I spent it with my favorite people, my family. Watching the girls get confetti everywhere and spraying the birthday girl with silly string (another one of our weird family traditions) while she ran around screaming was a great time. the best part is that when it's all over, I get to walk home and not have to worry about crazy traffic and drunk drivers.

For Christmas, I received The Iron Knight and started reading it immediately. No really, like while everyone was still milling about and celebrating, I was teasing myself with the prologue. I was very anxious and excited for this one, if you were having a hard time figuring that out. So here's my [SPOILER FREE] review...


Iron Knight (The Iron Fey, #4)
Written by: Julie Kagawa
Publication date: October 25, 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Released in Paperback, Kindle & ebook
361 pages

5 Stars

Synopsis: Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.


To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.


My Review: If that synopsis alone has started your heart racing then you will require some serious preparation before reading this book.


The first thing I love about this book is the dedication: Team Ash, this one is for you - *heart beats a little faster*. As you can see, Ash and Puck are side by side in Ash's quest to earn a soul. Now, you know from the previous three books that these two like to go at it; argue, threaten each other with ice shards to the face or a wild pig on your ass, and insults to each others egos. Well without Meghan around, there's no one to referee their  banter so it just goes on and on. It's great. Grimalkin sure isn't going to take that job, it isn't nearly entertaining enough, therefore not worth his while. Grim is almost my favorite character with all his cat knowledge and dry humor. At the very beginning of their journey Grim offers Ash an ominous warning, 
"You have no idea what you asking, what lies ahead, for all of us"
 Right away you're excited because the kind of situations Puck and Ash find themselves in are always nail biting experiences. The tension between them due to their ancient feud, thickens in this book. Ash's vow to Ariella to kill Puck to avenge her death has been haunting him ever since he spoke the words and now they are coming to a head.

There was, in my opinion, a very unpleasant surprise in this story. It made me wish Kagawa had thought of another way, a different route to the end of the story. Speaking of surprises, a double love triangle?! What? Yeah. The fact that this is even happening is just wrong on so many levels. I did not like that.

Anyhow, it is quite an adventure Ash, Puck and Grimalkin go on; encountering never before seen fey, battling their way through the deepest darkest parts of the Nevernever. The trials Ash has to go through to obtain his soul and a mortal body are seriously intense. He finds out what it truly means to be human; and what I think it all boils down to is feelings. Humans are capable of such deep, passionate emotions that they change our lives and as a Winter Prince, Ash has no idea what to expect!

Overall: I was satisfied with the ending, although it still raised a few questions. It definitely leaves your head spinning having just been on a never ending roller-coaster. And it seriously took me until the end of the book to realize that the guy on the back of the book is Puck!! I think it took me a while because that's not really how I pictured him.



Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012 Reading Challenge

Hey Everyone!
Did any of you make resolutions this year? I didn't really make a specific resolution, just a general one and that is, put simply, is to get sh- uh, stuff done. There are things I want to do and things that need to be done and I'd like to do some of both. Along with that, I've decided to enter the 2012 Reading Challenge.


I don't usually commit to reading a certain list of books because I like to feel my way to my next read, see what I'm in the mood for. But I figured, it's a new year with a ton of great releases I know I'm gonna read, so why not make it a challenge? I chose 20 books and here's my list for the challenge:

By Melissa Marr

By Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia

By Lesley Livingston

By Nina Bangs



Endlessly (Paranormalcy 3) by Kiersten White
Destined (Wings 4) by Aprilynne Pike
Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Wow. It looks like a lot when you lay it all out there like that. All I know is that I am looking forward to reading each and every one of them!


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Tuesday Review Day!

Written by: Melissa Marr
Publication date: May 1, 2008
Released in Hardcover, paperback, Kindle & ebook
325 pages

3.8 stars

Synopsis: To 17-year-old Leslie, the tattoo is a thing of indescribable beauty, a captivating mark that she must make her own. But this subtle web of eyes and wings brings with it a transformation that no sweet young girl would ever imagine or welcome. Like its predecessor, this stand-alone sequel to Wicked Lovely plunges its youthful heroine into a faery world of almost constant peril. A tantalizing urban fantasy that won't let go.

My Review: Leslie is a poor, unfortunate soul; left to fend for herself in a dysfunctional household that isn't even a place she can call home. She's ready to make a change and the perfect tattoo seems like the right place to start. I've got a couple tattoos myself so I get the liberating feel you get when you get one, but I think Leslie takes that meaning of being free to design your body however you want to be a little more profound than it actually is.

We get to see Aislinn although it isn't her story. If you've read Alyxandra Harvey's Drake Chronicles, it's just like that; several books but each one is about a different character from the first one, which is why I do not advise you to read either series out of order. In this sequel we get to know Leslie better and meed the Dark Fey that were mentioned in Wicked Lovely. Irial is the Dark King and has recently become quite interested in Leslie, and I think we all know how things turn out when a faery, light or dark, sets his sights on a human. If a faery decides it wants you, it will have you.

What is with Melissa Marr and her conflicting characters?! Right from the beginning I knew I was going to feel torn about Irial. I was all ready to hate him through out the story, my lip curling with hate every time he came into the story, but I often found that sneer had turned into a very different expression. One more like empathy. I didn't know what to do with myself. On the other hand, I knew I liked Niall from the first book; he seemed a rare find among the fey - he was genuinely kind. At least, he knew how to be and chose to be often. Niall plays a big part in this sequel, the second male lead role, if you will. He is devout in his loyalty to the Summer court but when Leslie comes into his life - everything changes. Leslie is obliviously naive. If she only knew what she was dealing with, she'd be just as brave facing her threat - it took waaay too long for her to finally learn the truth - less than 100pgs left. Smh. The love triangle in this book is very frustrating. Both Irial and Niall are pursuing Leslie in their own, very different ways but by the end, I wanted both of them to have her!

Overall: Although this probably won't be my favorite book in the series, it does have a very strong message. It was profound, a lot of talk about belonging to yourself, reclaiming yourself after someone has tried to hurt you. Leslie went through a tragic ordeal hence her quest to find the perfect tattoo to begin the reclaiming process.

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