May 13 2013

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Your Pick for Nik! – June’s Nominations!

To cast your vote, just leave a comment indicating your chosen titles (up to 3) – and may the best book win!

It’s that time again for us to pick our next book! I want to give a special thanks to all of you who nominated titles for June’s Selection – I’m astounded at how many titles I really want to read – phenomenal picks!

Voting starts today (June 13, 2013) and will remain open until Sunday the 19th (Remember: YOU CAN VOTE FOR MORE THAN 1).

For those of you new to the book club, Your Pick for Nik! is a monthly feature where I turn over control of my reading list to you!

Here’s how it works: I will nominate titles from my TBR list (or, at least for this month, YOU nominated the titles) and you will choose which one gets featured. It can be one you’ve already read and want to discuss, one you want to read but wish to see my feedback on first, or – and this is my favorite part – you can read it along with me!

Depicted below are the top 10 nominations I received. Simply vote for your favorites, and let the best book win! At 10:00 am (MST) on Monday the 2oth I will announce the winner. Come the end of June, I will post a thorough review of the chosen title – and hopefully find out what you thought of it as well!

So without further ado…

June’s Nominations:

: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: The 5th Wave

Author: Rick Yancey

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up

#1 Pure by Julianna Baggott

Title: Pure

Author: Julianna Baggott

Genre: Fiction

Overview:We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Genre: Team Fantasy

Overview: What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Title: Throne of Glass

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king’s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Title: Clockwork Angel

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Title: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Author: Douglas Adams

Genre: Science Fiction

Overview: Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Title: Imminent Danger: and How to Fly Straight into It

Author: Michelle Proulx

Genre: Teen Science Fiction

Overview: High school junior Eris Miller thinks she’s having a bad day when her roommate’s boyfriend catches her stepping out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel. Then she gets abducted by scaly six-armed aliens with a strange fondness for the color blue, and her day suddenly gets a whole lot worse. Trapped on a spaceship bound for the slave markets of Sirius B, Eris fears she’ll never see her home again. But then fate whisks her away from her reptilian captors and into the arms of Varrin, a fast-talking space pirate who promises to deliver her safely back to Earth. He claims to have her best interests at heart, but Eris soon discovers that her charming rescuer has a hidden agenda. As they race across the galaxy, outrunning a villainous figure from Varrin’s past, Eris begins to realize that their relationship is putting her planet, her life and her heart in imminent danger. She knows that trusting Varrin could prove deadly … but what other choice does she have?

Title: Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Overview:Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours. But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. So much for normal.

Title: Invisibility

Author: Andrea Cremer

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Overview: Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth.

Title: Sabriel

Author: Garth Nix

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death — and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own hidden destiny. With “Sabriel,” the first installment in the Abhorsen trilogy, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn’t always clear — and sometimes disappears altogether.

May 12 2013

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Coming Soon: Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep

Title: Midnight Frost

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy #5

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Release Date: July 30, 2013

The Overview: Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead.

As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there …

Nik’s Notes:

Fans of House of Night should definitely check this series out – it’s a neat hybrid of mythology and paranormal. While book 3 let me down a bit, I absolutely devoured books 1 and 2 (and thus far, book 4 seems to be redeeming itself). Anyway, it’s a neat concept and I’ve categorized it in my personal “beach-read” favorites list.

May 11 2013

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Book Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Title: Walking Disaster

Author: Jamie McGuire

Series: Beautiful Disaster (Companion Novel)

Genre: Romance/Fiction

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

The Overview: Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees. Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

The Review:

After reading this novel, I’m convinced Jamie McGuire is someone I’m eager to read more from in the future. Her writing style makes you want to stay up all night devouring and her characters make you feel like you’ve known them for years. Walking Disaster was grabbing, and that’s saying something considering I already knew what was going to happen (for those of you who don’t know, it is meant as a companion novel to Beautiful Disaster, following the exact same storyline but from the male lead’s perspective).

Both novels illustrated McGuire’s exceptional writing skills. Not only was the voice in this one a complete contrast, but the observations and emotions she chose to highlight gave it a totally different spin. Even though it was the same basic plot, each character went into situations with different sets of perspective and inner turmoils. All of the issues I had with Abby’s conflicts in the first book were practically nonexistent here because Travis was focused on different things. McGuire managed to make it just as fresh and exciting as the first one, if not more. It kind of blows my mind.

Character development was probably my favorite element of the book. She doesn’t hit you over the head with matter-of-fact statements of each character’s temperament but rather lets them develop organically through their actions. It was really subtle, and she achieved it through compelling dialogue mixed with superb body language and facial expressions. It sounds odd, but the little nuances of physical description really spiced up the characters and overall story.

This is probably the best companion novel I’ve ever read. If you haven’t read the first book, however, it would not be near as compelling. Readers got to know Abby intimately in book one and were able to understand her rationale behind her actions. Not much of that inner dialogue is represented in this book, however, which makes her come off as a self-centered brat. If I didn’t already know and love Abby from her story, I would’ve had a difficult time trying to figure out why Travis found her so appealing.

Recommendations: these books are a little more robust than your average romance novels but I would probably still recommend them to fans of that genre. I would also hand it to anybody looking for a fun, fast read. Fair warning: these books contain a great deal of language and sexual content.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Maguire

: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

: Easy by Tammara Webber

: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

May 10 2013

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Dragon Obsession – The Visual Files

Cadmus and the Dragon of Ares

by Ciruelo

I’ll admit that the first couple of times I saw this painting I didn’t even notice the dragon – that sense of discovery I felt when I finally saw it is probably why this is one of my favorites. Not only is it visually stunning, but it evokes in me feelings of everything I love about dragons and fantasy, indicating that magic is all around us even when we aren’t aware of it. The inspiration from this photo is actually the starting point from which I developed a new breed of forest-dwelling dragons in the novel I’m working on. It always gets me in the mood to write when I see it.

My Dragon Obsession files would not have been complete without this one, and it probably won’t be the last Ciruelo picture I post, either – he has some of the best dragon paintings out there. This is the book I snagged it from:

May 9 2013

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Coming Soon: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

Title: The Fiery Heart

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Bloodlines #4

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Release Date: November 19, 2013

The Overview: In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn’t over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there’s still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure—and re-education—looms larger than ever.

Nik’s Notes:

How excited is everyone else that we don’t have to wait a full year to read this one? This is about the point in the series where the arc of the story takes you on that can’t-catch-your-breath ride to the finale (at least if the VA and Succubus series are anything to go by). These highly character-driven novels are fantastic and I’m betting this is going to be the best one yet! The countdown has begun…

Also, be on the lookout for her latest series (Age of X) available June 4th:

(click the cover to read my review)

May 8 2013

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Book Review: Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Title: Indigo Spell

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Bloodlines #3

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch–a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood–or else she might be next.

The Review:

Okay, okay, I promise this is the last Richelle Mead book I’ll review for a few months – but only because I have finally read everything she’s written. It’s a shame I’m all caught up, too, because these books make my job as a reviewer a whole lot easier. Indigo Spell was so absorbing and well written that I didn’t have time to worry about anything other than just enjoying it. I never once stopped to see how many pages I had left (as I often do with books) and in fact could have continued reading long after the book ended – it was fantastic.

This is a highly character driven novel, and honestly, not much happens with regard to action. Events in this book are more like vehicles to get our characters from one emotional point to the other. Well, that’s not strictly true. Stuff happens, but that stuff is just nowhere near as important as the effect it has on the characters. And what awesome characters they are! Mead always finds a way of developing well-rounded, yet flawed characters that you can’t help but love despite their imperfections. Take the main heroine, Sidney, for example: she’s uptight, controlling, and downright ornery on occasion but she is one of my favorites in any series because she feels real. And she’s found her perfect match in Adrian – his affection and interest towards her is a great writing tool to make them both more appealing.

Speaking of Adrian, the romantic tension in this book is by far my favorite element. It’s been a love story that has been developing over the course of the last three books and I feel like its momentum is getting ready to snowball (in a good way). The love story is not the only thing that is gaining momentum, there were a few discoveries in this book that point towards one heck of a finale. Mead’s ability to carry excitement from one end of the series to the other is why she is my all-time favorite author. She simply doesn’t let you down and I devour her books much faster than I want to (note to self for the next one: read slower – savor it).

Overall, this is an excellent book that has me impatient to pick up the next one.

Recommendations: I would recommend this to those looking for great character development and a sweet love story. For fans of Vampire Academy, this is an absolute must as it’s so much more than a simple spinoff. I would also hand this to someone who enjoys paranormal but doesn’t want to be hit over the head with the supernatural.

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like: