Oct 31, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we cannot wait to read.



"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time. "


Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate..




I am excitedly awaiting the release of this book.  I loved the other books in the Covenant Series, Daimon: A Prequel to Half-Blood, Half-Blood, and Pure. The relationship, or lack thereof, between Alex and Aiden is one that keeps me coming back to this series.  Throw into that, Seth and what is happening in the books, and I'm hooked.

Deity is set for release on 04 November 2012.






If you've read Pure, then you know about the Brew scene.  Armentrout released Aiden's POV of that scene.  Here it is for your reading pleasure.  Jennifer also put on her post a picture of what she thinks Aiden looks like.



The Brew Edited















Oct 30, 2012

Update

I have had a few busy months and unfortunately, my review blog has suffered because of it.  I recently started school to finish up my bachelor's in nursing.  That was added to working full time + and all the obligtions that having a registered nurse license requires.  I have been trying to post reviews as often as I can.  I haven't been able to read as much as I would like, but I am keeping up with writing my reviews.  They just haven't made it to my blog.  I hope that you will be patient with me as I am going through this crazy busy time.


Oct 23, 2012

The Raven Boys


Title:  The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publish Date:  12 September 2012
Pages: 408
ISBN:  978-0-545-42492-9
Source:  bought
Genre:  YA, romance, paranormal
Series:  The Raven Cycle
Other books in series:  tbd
Rating: LOVED

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.




What if a chance encounter brought you in contact with the people that you swore you would never be around?  That is what happened with Blue Sargent.  Her family is one that has supernatural gifts.  Her mother is clairvoyant.  She lives with two other women who are also clairvoyant.  Not that she doesn't have gifts, her just isn't as obvious as the others.  She magnifies their gifts whenever she is around them.  One of the jobs that her mother and the two other women do is write down names of the spirits that they see at the church on St. Marks Eve and because of Blue's gift, she accompanies them.  Blue never sees the dead.  Except this time she sees a boy.

The caveat in all this is that because she sees the boy’s spirit on St. Marks Eve on the corpse road, it means he will die in the upcoming year.  She is told that there “are only two reason a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Marks Eve.  Either you’re his true love…or you killed him.”  This doesn’t make Blue too happy.  Ever since she was little, she has been told that she will kill her true love with a kiss and because of this, she’s never kissed anyone.

The boy that she sees is Gansey.  When she asks him his name, he tells her “that’s all there is.”  She is so shocked about seeing him that she doesn’t understand it at first.  She soon realizes that he is a boy from the local Aglionby Academy, the school for the rich boys.  They are called the raven boys because on their uniform, their sweater had a raven emblem on it.  That is the first instance in which she sees Gansey, but it isn’t the last.  In a “coincidence,” Gansey and his friends schedule a reading with Blue’s mother.    She isn’t too happy with them and tells Blue that if she ever sees them again to run the other way.

Gansey, on the other hand, is searching for something.  He is into old legends and wants to find the ley line in Henrietta to find the resting place of a Welsh King with the help of his friends, Ronan, Adam and Noah.  This is a big undertaking and Gansey spends a lot of his free time on it.   During this investigation, his path intersects with Blue’s.  What will happen between Gansey and Blue?  Why did she see him on the corpse road?

I was really excited to read this book as soon as I heard that Stiefvater was writing a new series.  That was even before I read the synopsis of it.  I loved the Shiver series and was hoping for another one that enveloped me in the plot like that series did.  I wasn’t disappointed with The Raven Boys.  I loved it!  Just from reading what the book was about, I knew that it would be something I’d be interested in.  One of the things that I love best about Stiefvater’s writing is that you can really get into her characters.  I can see how Blue wouldn’t like the Raven Boys from some of the stories.  On the flip side, I can also see the good in them. 

As far as whether or not Gansey and Blue will get together and will she kill him, well, this IS the first book in a series.  Did you really think the answer was going to be given away that quickly?  I will say that there are a lot of clues in The Raven Boys about their relationship and where it is heading.  I like how she shows that the characters are real by the things that they experience.  You’ll understand that more after you read the book.

I think that this book is so awesome that I wanted to share it with everyone.  Well, I really cannot afford THAT, but I did buy two extra copies and took them with me when I went to Maggie’s book signing in Lansing.  So they are up for grabs in this contest.  More on how to enter later.

“It’s an all-boys school.   For politician’s sons and oil barons’ sons and for” – Blue struggled the think of who else might be rich enough to send their kids to Aglionby – “the sons of mistresses living off hush money.” … “They think they’re better than us and that we’re all falling all over ourselves for them, and they drink themselves senseless every weekend and spray paint the Henrietta exit sign.”


 












This contest is for two hardcover copies of The Raven Boys autographed by Maggie Stiefvater.







Rules

  • You will have 48 hours to respond or you will forfeit your prize.
  •  I reserve the right to cancel the contest at any time without reason.  
  •  I am not responsible for parcels lost or damaged in the postal system.  I will make every attempt to avoid this.
  • You must be 13 years or older to participate.
  • Contest is international.
  • Names will be drawn by Random.org that is within rafflecopter.  
  • Winner will be announced in this blog post at the conclusion of the contest and notified by the e-mail provided to enter the contest.  Make sure this is the e-mail that you want me to contact you! I am not responsible for e-mails that were sent to accounts that you don't normally check. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Oct 17, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we cannot wait to read.



Fates unfurl in the gripping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush saga.Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean they are fated to be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. Now Nora and Patch must gather their strength to face one last, perilous trial. Old enemies return, new enemies are made, and a friend's ultimate betrayal threatens the peace Patch and Nora so desperately want. The battle lines are drawn—but which sides are they on? And in the end, are there some obstacles even love can't conquer?

Series: Hush Hush
Other Books in the Series: Hush Hush, Crescendo, Silence


I started reading the Hush Hush series when it first came out in 2009 and am very excited to read this final chapter.  This was the first book series that I had read about fallen angels and by far is my favorite.  Finale is set to be released on October 23rd and I cannot wait to read it.  I am hoping to be able to re-read the previous books in the series before I read finale.  I will let you know how that goes.