Monday 30 June 2014

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini - Review

Title:              Dreamless
Series:            Starcrossed
#:                    2
Author:          Josephine Angelini
Publisher:      MacMillan Children's Books
Date:             July 2012


 Can true love be forgotten?
As the only scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.
Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out. A ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies' cry for blood is growing louder.
As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen's sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.


Again, this is beautifully written, just like the first. I completely forgot that it is third person because I was so lost in the story, the characters and the world that Josephine Angelini created.

In this next book we see more of the underworld as we travel there quite a bit. To me it's a real place that I should be able to visit (not that I'd want to) based on how real it all felt to me.

In the previous novel Helen's mum revealed that Lucas is her brother, eww she kissed him! Not the first time we have seen this in books but I do kind of get fed up with "oh no he's my cousin, I can't love him, but I do, what do I do". Luckily these weren't too long and I could easily wash over them.

I never knew what was coming in this book and I look forward to the excitement and journey still left to be had in the trilogy's final soon.



Still to come...

Sunday 29 June 2014

July New Releases 2014



Outcast by C. J Redwine
Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
Oceanborn by Amalie Howard


Endless by Kate Brian
Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard
Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead


Where Silence Gathers by Kelsey Sutton
Unravel by Imogen Howson
The Defiant by Lisa M. Stasse


Earthquake by Aprilynne Pike
Idols by Margaret Stohl
Wild by Alex Mallory


A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson


One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington

clicking on the titles will send you to Goodreads.com

What a beautiful line up for July!!

So many books I want to add to my shelves.

Everyone can finally read One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington which Aussies know as Between the Lives! I really enjoyed this one and look forward to seeing what others think of it.

More Wolves of Mercy Falls! I would squeal but I'm not that kind of girl.. I will just clap instead! *claps* I have wanted to go back to this world since I finished the trilogy. I am so glad that Maggie Stiefvater wrote more for us!

Now I know I won't have time to read all of these. But a girl can dream!

What book are you looking forward to most in July?



Friday 27 June 2014

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini - Review

Title:              Starcrossed
Series:            Starcrossed
#:                    1
Author:          Josephine Angelini
Publisher:      MacMillan Children's Books
Date:             June 2011


 Destiny brought them together.
The gods will keep them apart.

When shy, awkward Helen Hamilton meets Lucas Delos for the first time, she thinks two things: the first, that he is the most ridiculously beautiful boy she has seen in her life; the second, that she wants to kill him with her bare hands.
An ancient curse means Lucas and Helen are destined to loathe one another. But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen next...










This is the start of a beautiful trilogy full of greek mythology that becomes real. Helen has always been different but she's about to learn just how different she is from everyone around her.

Just so you know this book is written in third person. Normally I would say that is a bad thing. But not today! In the past when a book has been written in third person I did not connect at all. Except with this I completely forgot! I was lost in this book somewhere between the pages and I did not want to get out. This book had me. It is wonderfully written, I felt for all the characters in this book

My favourite part of this book is when we're lying flat on the beach, and I mean flat. I wouldn't mind rereading this scene a couple of times…

It didn't take me long to read this book, it is filled with likeable characters and a story that I want to believe. And I look forward to more of this series.


Still to come….


Wednesday 25 June 2014

Waiting On Wednesday ~ Trial By Fire



A weekly meme brought to you by Breaking The Spine where we get to show off some of the books we are waiting to be released.




This week I am waiting on Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini, book 1 of the Worldwalker Trilogy

Expected publication: August 28th 2014 by Macmillan Children's Books

The exhilaratingly seductive new series from the author of the bestselling Starcrossed series

Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted...which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.

Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?


Find out more about the book HERE

Why am I waiting? Well really I am waiting on the whole series to be complete but anywhoo…. I recently read the Starcrossed series and can't wait to read this next set! I just want more!

What are you waiting for?



Tuesday 24 June 2014

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout ~ Review

Title:                  Cursed
Author:             Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher:          Spencer Hill Press
Date:                 18 September 2012


Dying sucks
...and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. 

After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life.

For real this time



Do we really believe adults are so quick to judge and dismiss teenagers?

Do we have the right to judge people around us?

So in this book Ember has the ability to kill with a single touch. For two years she has managed to keep this secret from everyone and not kill anyone. But one day someone touches her and then her world comes undone, with the boys death comes a lot of change, distrust with herself and others.

I enjoyed this story, it was well written and easy to follow. Since there aren't many characters in this book to point the finger at it is easy to learn who wants her dead.

People can be so mean, they're quick to judge based on appearance and what they've heard. This book looks at what it's like when you believe you have no one……. It also looks into the way teenagers see adults, the big bad people that don't listen to them and do as they please, at least in this book anyway.

This story features a bit of instalove and stalkerish behaviour. I don't believe we should turn around and love creepy stalkers… Just to warn you all.

By the way her hair is a frizzy mess Mr cover maker

This was my first book by Jennifer L. Armentrout, but it won't be my last!





Friday 20 June 2014

Pretty Revealing (10)

There have been soooo many cover releases lately! I don't know if you've seen them all, and they're not all here, but I thought I'd post a few here that have caught my eye. All links will send you to Goodreads.com

First up we have Tether by Anna Jarzab, book two of the Many-Worlds Trilogy. I do like that the covers are matching, a face within a bird. But this bird is in a different position and the colours are different.

Find out more about the book Here


The Orphan Queen by Jodie Meadows is the start of a new series. This cover is so pretty and shiny! Can I have it yet?

Find out more about the book HERE


Next we have Fairest by Marissa Meyer. This is 0.1 of her Lunar Chronicles. I think the cover is quite pretty and I just want to pick it up and look at it some more. It's a bit different to all the others I have seen; Cinder, Scarlet and Cress all have a bluer background with just a touch of red as the feature.

Find out more about the book Here


A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd is her series final. This cover isn't saying much to me, There are no grabby hands right now.

Find out more about the book HERE


Polaris by Mindee Arnett, the next and last book of the series. This cover seems to be Proxy with it's colours reversed.. white background now instead of black.

Find out more about the book HERE



King by Ellen Oh, book 3 of the Dragon King Chronicles. I am very excited about this book! Silly me didn't do all the research before starting Prophecy, and well now I have to wait for this book! So this book follows suit with the rest of the series, the pretty colour with a picture of the object we need in the book. I do prefer Warrior, but I think I'm partial to the red.

Find out more about the book HERE


Have you seen any new covers lately that you just had to have? or piqued your interest?


Wednesday 18 June 2014

Waiting on Wednesday ~ The Orphan Queen


A weekly meme brought to you by Breaking The Spine where we get to show off some of the books we are waiting to be released.


This week I am waiting on The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows. This is the first book in a new series!

Expected publication: March 10th 2015 by Katherine Tegen Books

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Find out more HERE

Why am I waiting? Ok I haven't actually read any thing by Jodi Meadows, they are still waiting to be read BUT I saw this cover and I just had to have the book. Magic, Mystery and Mayhem I want to read it!

What are you waiting for this week?

Sunday 15 June 2014

Maleficent ~ Short Movie Review




What can I say?

I loved it!

I got the chance to see this in 3D and really enjoyed the whole experience, I laughed and I cried. It has me wanting to watch more and read more. More Disney! More retellings of fairy tales.

I really like Angelina Jolie in this. She is beautiful, and beautifully creepy at the same time. Her cry once she had been betrayed had tingles running down my spine.

The special effects were done nicely too. There were no "this is obviously done on a computer' moments for me. Which is great! Because too many movies are getting so dodgy in that area.



<iframe src="http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2867309849/imdb/embed?autoplay=false&width=480" width="480" height="270" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>


lets see if this link actually makes a video box! or gibberish on my page (happens a lot)

So yes, to all I say 'Go watch'

I enjoyed myself and would watch it again and probably again some more.




Wednesday 11 June 2014

Waiting on Wednesday - Strange and Ever After


A weekly meme brought to you by Breaking The Spine where we get to show off some of the books we are waiting to be released.



This week I am waiting on Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard, book three of The Strange and Deadly series.

Expected publication: July 22nd 2014 by HarperTeen

Why am I waiting? Another series is coming to an end with this pretty little book. This is yet another series I have been watching ever since I saw the first book. Call me Interested.

What are you waiting on this week?




Monday 9 June 2014

Tigers On The Beach by Doug MacLeod ~ Review

Title:                 Tigers On The Beach
Author:             Doug MacLeod
Publisher:         Penguin Australia
Date:                01 March 2014

Have you heard the one about the guy who lost a grandfather, but found a girlfriend? It's funny. It's also kind of sad. And some of the bits that are sad are also kind of funny (but only if you laugh at that sort of thing).


Adam thinks Samantha could be the one for him. But first he has to sort out his parents' crumbling marriage, stop getting into embarrassing situations involving public nudity, find out what's making his gran so angry, stop his little brother doing something really, really dangerous and work out what's so funny about two tigers on a beach. It can't be that hard, can it?





A quick enjoyable read.

Just in case you were wondering, this book is not about Tigers.
"A novel about how comedy unites us and divides us"
I wasn't sure what year this was set, some of the story reminded me of the 70's or 80's then it referred to present tense technology. While I was reading this book the scenes kept flipping by as if I was watching an old comedy sit com on tv.

I did find myself laughing with the book, it did have some good jokes and a few funny moments. The  jokes were trying to lighten the mood of how serious this book was. Some of the topics in this book are very strong after all; parents fighting, family deaths and how people cope differently, and Aspergers syndrome.
That is the question here, when is it ok to have a laugh and not be so serious.
     Apparently I don't think it's ok to make light of them, so that is why this book and I didn't hit it off, we got along ok, but we're not going to jump into each others arms again in a hurry.