Tag Archives: book

Jul 8 2015
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Coming Soon: All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

all inTitle: All In

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Naturals #3

Genre: Teen Fiction

Release Date: November 3, 2015

The Overview: Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days…. After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team’s unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes. Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there’s been a break in her mother’s case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible choices.

Waiting on Wednesday
Hosted by Breaking the Spine

 The Naturals landed itself in the #1 spot as my favorite book of 2013. Killer Instinct was just as good, and I am simply beside myself with excitement for All In. I love the premise, I love the characters, I love the mystery, and I love the psychology behind everything. I’ve always been fascinated with shows like Criminal Minds and CSI but have always been too squeamish to actually watch them. The Naturals series satisfies all of my morbid fascinations, but does so with a charming YA flair! I strongly recommend the series – read it… READ IT NOW!

What book are you waiting on?

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 6 2015
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Book Review: Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig

Under the Empyrian Sky by Chuck Wendig

Title: Under the Empyrean Sky

Author: Chuck Wendig

Series: The Heartland Trilogy #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Corn is king in the Heartland, and Cael McAvoy has had enough of it. It’s the only crop the Empyrean government allows the people of the Heartland to grow? And the genetically modified strain is so aggressive that it takes everything the Heartlanders have just to control it. As captain of the Big Sky Scavengers, Cael and his crew sail their rickety ship over the corn day after day, scavenging for valuables, trying to earn much-needed ace notes for their families. But Cael’s tired of surviving life on the ground while the Empyrean elite drift by above in their extravagant sky flotillas. He’s sick of the mayor’s son besting Cael’s crew in the scavenging game. And he’s worried about losing Gwennie? his first mate and the love of his life? forever when their government-chosen spouses are revealed. But most of all, Cael is angry? angry that their lot in life will never get better and that his father doesn’t seem upset about any of it. Cael’s ready to make his own luck . . . even if it means bringing down the wrath of the Empyrean elite and changing life in the Heartland forever.  

The Review:

I’ve been interested in this book for a while because of its major cover appeal and interesting premise, but didn’t expect to like it nearly as much as I did. Under the Empyrean Sky offered a unique voice, immersive world building, and characters who were as vibrant as they were gritty.

The story starts out with a clear perspective and only gets stronger from there. The book was front-loaded with a lot of profanity, which might bother some readers. I actually like profanity in books as long as it does one of two things: provides comic relief or helps developed character. Even though it wasn’t totally apparent from the start, I believe Wendig’s use of language positively added to the great atmosphere, character profiles, and world building of the novel. All of these elements are what left me feeling like the book was a cool experience.

I liked the plot because it surprised me. I thought I could see the predictable trajectory right from the beginning, but was proven wrong at every turn. There’s something oddly compelling about a clearly conveyed story that lacks plot transparency (meaning you always understand what’s going on, but the plot isn’t easy to see through). I give major kudos to Wendig for coming up with so many twists… It was refreshing. My only issue with the entire book was with pacing, as in I wish the story had clipped along a tad faster. Other than that, it was great.

Overall, Under the Empyrean Sky was a cool (albeit weird) book that I enjoyed thoroughly. It gave off a sort of Maze Runner vibe (sort of like the Maize Runner… eh? eh?) but with a lot more sass. I don’t feel the need to pick up the next one right away, but I am definitely interested in seeing where it goes within the next couple of months.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 1 2015
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Tackling the TBR [3]: July 2015!

tackling the TBR

I started this feature in May as a possible solution to my desperate need for a good TBR system. And you know what? I’m LOVING it so far! It has allowed me to stop stressing about all the unread books in my life because it channels my focus onto the authors I deemed the highest priority. I rest assured that, despite the fact I’m not making my way through my collection as quickly as I’d like, I am at least focusing on the best books first. It also takes away a little bit of that “I’m overwhelmed” factor because there’s usually only twenty books at most in my shortlist (which also gives me a remarkable sense of achievement every time I get to check one off that list). Finally, I love it because I still feel like I get to follow my reading whims – there is a lot of variety within my smaller pool of choices. I think I’ll keep this feature around for a while!

If you missed the Introductory Post, here’s how Tackling the TBR works:

1. At the beginning of each month, I select an author from each of my favorite genres
2. I compile all of their unread books onto my TBR Tackler shelves (physical & digital)
3. I pick from that pile throughout the month as the mood strikes me

Here is my TBR Tackler Shelf for July 2015:

Science Fiction: Rachel Bach
Fantasy: Elizabeth Haydon
Middle Grade: Chad Morris
New Adult: Colleen Hoover
Young Adult: Ann Aguirre
Urban Fantasy: Jim Butcher
Book Club: Michael J. Sullivan

Last month I made it through more than half the titles on my list. There’s definitely a lot of variety on my TBR tackler shelf this month, which should help keep me from getting bored. There are more unread Jim Butcher books than I included, but I figured six novels was a lofty enough goal. I don’t see any reason why I can’t read and enjoy all of these by the end of July! :-) I included a new “Book Club” category because in some ways it’s the most important TBR for the month, but I didn’t wanted to take the place of my other priority authors. As you can see, my system is still adapting… hopefully for the better.

I will be sharing this post on the first of each month at least until the end of the year (we will see how it goes). I am also going to include a linky on each post so we can support each other in Tackling our TBRs! Even if you don’t specifically use my system, feel free to share your versions of how you manage your TBR pile… Maybe we can help make each other’s systems even better. :)

What authors are you Tackling this month?

^ You actually have to click on the blue frog to enter and see links… It seems simple, but it took me a full three weeks before I finally figured that out. #fail

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 30 2015
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Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Thanks to my “read the best books 1st” philosophy, I’ve had an amazing 6 months of reading so far. Here’s a look at some of my favorites:

Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015!

Some of these titles will definitely end up on my “Best of 2015” list! I didn’t do this on purpose, but I’m happy to see there is a little bit of every genre I love on this list. Picking an absolute favorite is kind of like comparing apples to oranges, but I’m leaning towards Havoc by Ann Aguirre. Here’s to another six months of awesome reading!

What books made your list?

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 24 2015
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Coming Soon: Tarnished by Kate Jarvik Birch

December 1, 2015

Title: Tarnished

Author: Kate Jarvik Birch

Series: Perfected #2

Genre: Teen Dystopian [sort of]

Release Date: December 1, 2015

The Overview: Ella may have escaped to Canada, but she’s hardly free. Stuck in refugee housing for liberated pets, she’s just as trapped as she was at the congressman’s house—only now she has to live without Penn. But she’s determined to get out. And to make matters worse, there are rumors circulating that pets like Ella are turning up dead all over the U.S., not to mention that she might be to blame. When her old acquaintance, Missy, shows up in Canada, the two of them set off together, thrusting them back into the dangerous life they just left behind. Now, they must navigate the seedy world of the black markets to uncover the dark secrets that the Kennels have been hiding, and rescue the boy she loves.

Waiting on Wednesday
Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Perfected was my favorite YA read of 2014, and I loved it so much that I haven’t even been able to compose a review for it yet. Have you ever enjoyed something so much that no matter how much you gush about it in a review it won’t do it justice? That’s how I feel about Perfected – it was such an experience! The best comparison I can make is to DeStefano’s Chemical Garden Trilogy – a slightly dystopic society with a lot of messed up, somewhat dark practices; fascinating female protagonists who find themselves at the center of it all; and beautiful, poetic writing that never seems flowery or overdone. Perfected was one of the few books I will definitely be rereading, and I hope to say the same about Tarnished. December can’t come too soon!

What book are you waiting on? :-)

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 23 2015
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Series Review: The 2B Trilogy by Ann Aguirre

I Want it That Way by Ann Aguirre
As Long as You Love Me by Ann Aguirre
The Shape of My Heart by Ann Aguirre

Series: The 2B Trilogy
Author: Ann Aguirre
 Rating: 4.25/5 stars

I’d like to start out by reiterating how much I love Ann Aguirre. Ever since I discovered her Sirantha Jax series a couple of years ago I have been eager to read anything she writes. My favorite thing about her has always been how well she writes relationships, so you can see why I was tickled pink to read her New Adult Romance novels. And you know what? The relationships were every bit as wonderful as I’d hoped they’d be.

I was chosen to receive a review copy of As Long as You Love Me after entering the Ann Aguirre’s Reviewer giveaway. I would just like to thank Ann Aguirre and Mel Jolly over at Author RX for selecting me as a winner. As it turns out, As Long as You Love Me ended up being my favorite book of the trilogy! But I’m getting a little ahead of myself…
                                                                                                                                                      

I Want it That Way

Of the three female leads in this series, I probably relate to Nadia’s personality the most. She’s a very determined and goal-oriented person, traits which helped her achieve her dreams and fight for what she wanted… Even if what she wanted was a studious/sexy single father who lived in the apartment below her. That’s a goal I can really get behind. :-) I thought the love story was really sweet, especially so because of the added element of Nadia’s relationship with Ty’s son (which was almost as fulfilling as the main romance itself). I’ll say it again: I love how Aguirre writes relationships, even the ones that aren’t amorous. I came away from this series loving the platonic relationships as much as the romantic ones.

I struggled with the rating of this one because I really enjoyed it, but at the end of the day there were a couple of things I wish had been done a tad differently. The pacing in certain places was a little off for me, dragging out conflicts a bit longer than I thought necessary. Because of that, I think it gave me more time to focus on my least favorite plot element. I tend to get a little frustrated with the “I love you, but I can’t be with you because of X,” where “X” is often a foolish reason fabricated in the character’s mind solely to keep the conflict drawn out. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it, and it likely won’t be the last, but it wears on me a little bit. That said, I’ve never seen it handled quite as well as it was in I Want it That Way, so that’s something. I still came away from the novel with the feel goods and the satisfaction I’d hoped for.

4/5 stars
                                                                                                                                                      

As Long as You Love Me

While I related to Nadia in the first book personality-wise the most, the love story between Lauren and Rob was the one that really sang to me. Most of us have that person we crushed on throughout grade school – the one we would go out of our way to pass in the hallway, doodle his/her initials in our notebooks, and daydream about romantic possibilities with every spare moment (or was it just me?). Well, what if you got the chance to see what could have been with that person? That’s what Lauren got to do, and I got to live vicariously through her. It was awesome! All of the little moments she had with Rob were like little sparks of electricity flashing off the pages and I felt the emotional tingle of every last one of them. Perhaps this one appealed to me so much because of my specific ideal for a fantasy relationship, but the way it sits, As Long as You Love Me is now one of my favorite books ever. Okay, I’m done gushing.

…almost. I love this one so much it almost raises my ratings of the other two by extension – as I look back on the trilogy, I do so with a ton of affection and I think that’s in no small part due to book #2.

5/5 stars
                                                                                                                                                      

The Shape of My Heart

This one was my least favorite of the trilogy, but only because I found parts of it a tad depressing. The first third of the book focuses on Courtney and Max as they attend a funeral and, having suffered a loss in the family relatively recently, it made me a little sad. On top of that, we learned about all of the hardships Max went through as a kid and I basically just felt bad… until the romance started kicking in. I am confident, though, that the negative feels I had were specific to my circumstances, and I don’t think other readers will be similarly affected. Aguirre does a great job focusing on the relationship first, and on all of the peripheral events second, and if I hadn’t been so fixated, I would’ve enjoyed the story a lot more (although I enjoyed the love story from the very first moment). The awesome thing about Aguirre is, even when elements of the book made me sad, I still had that oddly addictive urge to keep reading. All of her books do that to me, though – she’s just such a great writer!

Fast forward to the last 2/3 of the book, and it was nothing but pure New Adult entertainment all the way through. Courtney was such a cool girl to read about, and I love that her personality stood out as distinct from the other two heroines. She is also one of the first bisexual characters I’ve ever seen as the main POV, so it’s nice to see a bit of diversity. I found her to be the least relatable of the three, and not because  she was bisexual, but because she approached life in a very “zen” way. It would drive me nuts not knowing what I was going to do next, yet she managed to tackle all of her problems without constantly stressing about them. She was always very true to herself, and getting to immerse myself in her perspective was easily my favorite element to the story.

3.5/5 stars
                                                                                                                                                      

Overall, if you’re a New Adult fan, I deem this series definitely worth your time. The romance is evoking, the characters are memorable, and the writing is superb! The 2B Trilogy will go down as three very compelling reasons why Ann Aguirre remains one of my all-time favorites!

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes