Thursday, July 30, 2015

Extraction by Stephanie Diaz


Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life.

What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon's lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet's leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too.

Trapped by the steel walls of the underground and the lies that keep her safe, Clementine must find a way to escape and rescue Logan and the rest of the planet. But the planet leaders don't want her running—they want her subdued.

This book started out very slow. I couldn't seem to get into it and was constantly bored. Eventually it sped up and I'm really glad I stuck with it. I really enjoyed the rest of the series, especially Evolution, the final book.

When I first started reading this, I just thought it was a copy of Divergent since there are many similarities between the two. When it comes down to it though, it had better world building than Divergent and the things that I thought were so similar between the two really were quite different. Sure, there were simulations, very similar characters, a brave, selfless character... but when it really comes down to it a lot of books are really similar to other ones and most of the time its just because its impossible to write a book that is unlike any other one in all ways. For that reason, the similarities between Extraction and Divergent can be overlooked.

The main idea behind the book, the poisonous moon, was completely original. At first it seemed really weird and random, but it does really make sense once you figure out why its poisonous. The writing was also really good and I loved how it made me feel like I was really watching in on the story take place. There was a lot of showing instead of telling and that was good.

All in all, this was a great read for me. Stay tuned for my reviews of Rebellion and Evolution!!!

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Waiting on Wednessday #2

This weeks waiting on Wednesday is The Rose Society by Marie Lu. Even though I wasn't a big fan of her "Legend" series I absolutely loved The Young Elites and cannot wait for its sequel!

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu comes the second book in the exhilarating Young Elites series

Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.

Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis, the white-cloaked soldiers that murdered her love, the Crown Prince Enzo Valenciano.

But Adelina is no heroine. Her powers, fed only by fear and hate, have started to grow beyond her control. She does not trust her newfound Elite friends. Teren Santoro, leader of the Inquisition, wants her dead. And her former friends, Raffaele and the Dagger Society, want to stop her thirst for vengeance. Adelina struggles to cling to the good within her. But how can someone be good, when her very existence depends on darkness?


Are you impatiently waiting October 13th when The Rose Society is released? Did the first book's cliffhanger kill you as much as it killed me? What other books are you waiting for? Leave a comment and be sure to follow this blog!!!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Crossing into Brooklyn by Mary Ann McGuigan

 To Find Your Future, You Have to Face Your Past

At sixteen, Morgan Lindstrum has the life that every other girl wants--at least from the outside. A privileged only child, she has everything she could ever want, except her parents' attention. A Princeton physicist and a high-powered executive, they barely have any time for each other, much less for Morgan. Then her beloved grandfather dies, depriving Morgan of the only stable figure in her life. If that's not enough, she suddenly finds out he was never her grandfather at all. To find out the truth about her family, Morgan makes her way to Brooklyn, where she meets Terence Mulvaney, the Irish immigrant father who her mother disowned. Morgan wants answers; but instead of just satisfying her curiosity, Mulvaney shows her the people in his condemned tenement building, who are suffering and have nowhere to go. He challenges her to help them, by tearing away the veil of shame, and showing her wealthy parents and her advantaged circle of friends a world they don't want to know exists. The temptation to walk away from this ugly reality, as her mother did, is strong. But if she does, can Morgan ever really leave behind what she learned when she crossed into Brooklyn?

 I had mixed feelings with this book. I loved how close Morgan was to most of her family and how she was trying to find answers as to why her mother didn't want her to meet her real grandfather. On the other hand, I thought it was kind of confusing and weird how her mother wouldn't really talk about her real family and how she wouldn't let her daughter meet her father.

I was completely wrong about what this book was about. I thought it might have some romance, and maybe some relationship drama. Instead I got a girl trying to meet her grandfather and her lying to almost everyone in her life- her mother about going to see her grandfather, her crush/boyfriend about having been with other people before... Morgan started to really annoy me and I continually wished that she would just come clean with EVERYTHING. There was WAAAYYYY to much drama.

I would have been fine with this book being about a girl meeting her grandfather and getting to know him. I actually would have loved to read a book like that but it seemed like the author kept adding more plot lines into it and just got in over her head. This made the plot jumbled and confusing and it just didn't work very well for me. I also feel not all the loose ends were tied up at the end and I really hated the ending. It seemed like the author just sort of gave up on wanting the characters to be happy and sort of gave them all really depressing futures. I don't want to give out spoilers so that's all I will say but it just seemed like a non-memorable ending that I know for a fact I will not remember a month from now. For most books a year from the day that I read them the only thing I will remember about the book is how the characters ended up. With this book I'm not sure I'll even remember anything about it. I might be happy rereading it though, especially to see if I like it more the second time around.

Overall, I might recommend this. I'm really not sure. It was an average book for me but you might like it more, or you might not like it all so much. All I can say is it really depends on your personal preferences and that if the synopsis sounds good to you then you should really try it out!

***I received this book from the publisher via a giveaway on Goodreads. A huge thank you goes out!***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Stacking the Shelves #3

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!
 
 
Books I received for review:
 
 
I requested this book from Bethany House's monthly email that has books available for review. I was ecstatic when I found that I was chosen to be able to read this and I devoured it. I found it to be a very entertaining read and the link for my review is above. A huge thank you goes out to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book for them!!!
 
 
 
 
I got this book in the mail from Penguin Random House. A huge thank you goes out to them for this book!! I saw that it was at BEA and I was so bummed when I was unable to go because of monetary reasons. The plane ticket would have been way too expensive, but since its going to be in Chicago next year I have a very good chance that I can go (fingers crossed big-time!!!) I originally requested a different ARC, but I'm pretty sure it was unavailable so they sent this one instead which I was super excited about. I really liked this one guys so be sure to read it!!!
 
Books I won!!!:
 
Crossing into Brooklyn by Mary Ann McGuigan
 
I was so happy when I won this on Goodreads. I entered the giveaway for it 100% sure I wasn't going to win and I guess it was my lucky day because I did along with two other books all within a week and a half. I have finished this one and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't one of my favorites, but the family relationships were so touching and sometimes heartbreaking that I did enjoy it quite a bit. My review will be up sometime soon, hopefully tomorrow.
 
 
 
 
So that was the books that I got in the past few weeks (maybe a month, I'm not sure). I did buy quite a few books too (sorry, I'm weak when it comes to not buying books) and I did not include those on here since I'm not quite sure when I'll get to them. Stay tuned and please follow!
 
~Bri

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Max the Brave Trailer!!!!

Be one of the first people to view the Max the Brave trailer RIGHT HERE!!!!!!!

Max the Brave is scheduled to be released September 8th, 2015 by Sourcebooks!! All of the pages are so adorable and obviously it is going to be a hit with little kids. I hope to be part of the blog tour this September so stay tuned for that!!! In the meantime, the website for the book, the activity kit, and the educators guide's URLs can be viewed with the links below.

Website:
http://books.sourcebooks.com/maxthebrave/
Activity Kit:
http://sourcebooksftp.com/Email/MaxTheBrave/MaxTheBrave-ActivityKit.pdf
Educator's Guide: http://sourcebooksftp.com/Email/MaxTheBrave/MaxTheBrave-ActivityKit.pdf

Be sure to read this book when it comes out!! I'm so happy to share the trailer for it with you and I think it is going to be a great book. I just wish it would have been released when I was a kid!!!



Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Waiting on Wednesday

This is my first week writing a Waiting on Wednesday post. It is hosted by the blog Breaking the Spine and I'm planning on participating most weeks unless I forget or I have a different post to do that day. Stay tuned and please follow!!!

This week is going to be The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski!!! I loved all the other books in the series and I absolutely cannot wait for this one to come out!!! The cover is so beautiful and I can only hope that Kestrel and Arin get their happy ending in it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it, with the East as his ally and the empire as his enemy. He’s finally managed to dismiss the memory of Kestrel, even if he can’t quite forget her. Kestrel turned into someone he could no longer recognize: someone who cared more for the empire than for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she cared for him. At least, that’s what he thinks.

But far north lies a work camp where Kestrel is a prisoner. Can she manage to escape before she loses herself? As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover unexpected roles in battle, terrible secrets, and a fragile hope. The world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and Kestrel and Arin are caught between. In a game like this, can anybody really win?


Doesn't that sound awesome? I need this book now and I don't think I'm going to survive the wait!!! The book is released March 2016 so be sure to read the first two books before then! I promise you will love them!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody's games--or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade? This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl--as a friend?
On Valentine's Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight?
  


When I first got this book in the mail (thank you Penguin and Random House!) I had no idea what it was about. I had seen it on other blogs as part of BEA hauls but that's the only time I had every really heard about it. I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed it but I also had a few issues.

For a middle grade novel, this is really deep and realistic. It confronts the types of issues that tweens/teens are facing today and I loved how it didn't sugarcoat anything. It dealt with bullying, both cyber and otherwise, boy issues, and other things that come with growing up and changing. The author really seemed to know what she was talking about and actually seemed to have experienced these things. I have not read any of her other books, but after how great this one was I definitely will be.

My one main problem with this book was how naïve some of the characters were. Emily should have been more responsible with the pictures she took and I  also wish that Bridge would have been smarter concerning that event.  I understand that they are teens still finding out about the world but still. I think that they make this a good book for teens finding out what they maybe shouldn't do and its a good coming of age story. Yea, I know, my one negative with this book is sort of a learning experience type thing but still.

My favorite character had to be Sherm. I loved how he was still learning about himself and trying to forgive his grandfather for leaving him. I think this book had a cool angle on divorce and the whole "9,000 things about you" idea and it really helped me think about people breaking up and why they do it. I've never really thought about really WHY people get divorced since in this day and age it is a very common thing. It opened my eyes to the actual reasons there might be, other than just an argument or finding someone else. Its sometimes much deeper than that, things you didn't know about the other person until now, or things you just found you dislike. This is the perfect book for kids whose parents are divorced or getting divorced and it will not make them feel like it is their fault in any way.
This was a very moving book that I absolutely loved. I highly recommend it!!!

***I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Random House in exchange for my honest review. Huge thanks go out!!!***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Friday, July 17, 2015

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender
 
Synopsis from Goodreads:
 
Delia's new house isn't just a house. It used to be an insane asylum, a place to lock up "troubled" young women long ago. And a restless, wicked spirit is still at play--and it doesn't want defiant girls like Delia to go anywhere. So the house kills her.Now Delia is a ghost, trapped in her creepy home forever. As she meets the other ghost girls who haunt the narrow hallways, as well as the handsome ghost boy on the grounds, she learns shocking truths about the house's history. Delia also realizes that her alive and grieving sister might be the house's next target. Can Delia unlock the mystery of the old asylum, save her sister, and free herself?
 
Wow. That is basically the best word that I can find to describe this book. I'm always in the mood to find a great book with some horror elements and this was perfect. It was a little scary for me but not over the top and after Delia becomes a ghost its not scary at all. I really enjoyed it.
 
I read this author's other series a couple years ago and really enjoyed it so when I went into this one I had VERY high expectations. It did not disappoint at all. The plot moved the perfect pace and I felt it was thought out really well.
 
I was okay with most of the characters except Delia's so called "best friend" and her ex. It might make me a bad person but I was sort of happy when Delia got her revenge on them. I would be extremely mad if I was in Delia's place and I found out that my BEST FRIEND was dating my ex boyfriend, even if I was dead. I'm sorry but that's sort of crossing some sort of weird line. That was honestly the only part of the story that made me really mad at the characters, except for when Delia's parents locked her in her room the night she died. I felt that was a really stupid move on their part.
 
My favorite character was Maria. I felt so sorry for her; her death was so sad and then even as a ghost she was treated horribly. I also really liked Eliza and Theo. There was a little bit of ghost romance, but it was barely any and it leaves an open ending. Overall it was so little romance it could even be considered an older middle grade novel.
 
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a horror-ish YA book.
 
***I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. The book is available to buy August 25th, 2015.***
 
Thanks for reading!
~Bri


Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel
Synopsis from Goodreads:

Lorrie Hollander used to be a rich girl, but now she’s lost everything because of the secrets and lies of the people around her. It’s been 12 years since Lorrie’s mother skipped town and left Lorrie in the care of her unstable aunt Gigi. Together they live in a neglected, decrepit mansion called Edgewater, the eyesore in a town of extraordinary wealth and privilege.When Charlie, the son of an esteemed senator, takes an interest in Lorrie, her shame for her family and lifestyle runs deep. But what she doesn’t know is that Charlie’s family is hiding something, too, and that their secrets are inextricably tied. Now Lorrie must confront the truth about her family—and everything she ever thought she knew about herself.

I really enjoyed this book. It was sort of a mix between realistic fiction and mystery and in my opinion it was very unique. Full of secrets, I needed to know answers and couldn't read fast enough!

The plot moved sort of slow at a few points, but once I got past them I couldn't put it down. Overall it was fast-paced though and I loved how descriptive the writing style was. I will definitely be reading more by this author!

At first I really didn't trust Charlie, I didn't really know if he truly liked Lorrie or if he was just playing her but over time he became my favorite character. I loved how he wasn't the rich, snobby politician's son that he seemed to be on the outside, and he actually had problems much like Lorrie's. I think that they were very alike, and I really liked them together as a couple. The romance didn't take over the whole plot and it helped me pay attention and remember all the things that Lorrie was trying to find out concerning her mom who left years before. It seemed like the perfect amount of romance for this specific book.

Aunt Gigi really started to annoy me, what with her not being a good guardian and not telling Lorrie what really happened to her mom. This is a story where all the characters made at least one mistake, but I feel that it was the author's intention to show that no one in the world is really who they seem to be and you should forgive and forget.

I really liked how Lorrie's passion was horses. It showed that she was actually very 3D and made her seem like a real person to me. Sometimes I just can't connect with characters in books if they don't have any personality, but luckily that wasn't the case with this book.

I would really recommend this to almost anyone. It has something in it for almost everyone and I can assure you that it is an edge-of-your-seat story that will keep you interested throughout the whole book.

***I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Beyond Clueless by Linas Alsenas

Synopsis from Goodreads:
 
Marty Sullivan’s life ends, basically, when her parents enroll her in a private high school. A private, Catholic, girls-only high school. Meanwhile, at their local public school, her best friend, Jimmy, comes out of the closet and finds himself a boyfriend and a new group of friends. Marty feels left out and alone, until she gets a part in the school musical, Into the Woods, and Jimmy and his new crew are in it, too! Things start looking even better when Marty falls for foxy fellow cast member Felix Peroni. And Felix seems to like her back. But the drama is just beginning. Can Marty and Jimmy keep up their friendship? And is Marty’s new beau everything he appears to be? Or is Marty too clueless to figure it all out before it’s too late?
 
I really enjoyed this book. I could really relate to Marty and understand all her problems. I felt the author did a good job writing about a girl going to a new school, not knowing anyone and seemingly losing her best friend. It was very realistic in those ways and the bits of humor helped to make me stay entranced with the book.
 
I loved the writing style. It had hints of humor in it even in the most sad or stressed times. I loved how it was sort of sarcastic and yet stayed in tune to the story and never strayed off track. That is what caused me to finish the book in a day and not feel like I skimmed anything. It kept my attention easily and was very original.
 
The plot moved fairly quickly. I was completely caught up in all of Marty's drama surrounding her friends and boyfriend and the author did an exceptional job of actually keeping me interested.
 
The one main problem I had with this book was how gullible Marty was. I could tell from the beginning that Felix was just using her and as you can tell from the title she was beyond clueless about any of his real intentions. I was glad when she found out and ended it though, and didn't just expect him to be able to change. I say that if he made the mistake that he did (I'm not going to say so there aren't really bad spoilers) he doesn't deserve another chance. I liked how strong Marty was when it came to that and how she was thinking about everyone involved and not just herself. I feel like she handled most things maturely and I really respected her for that. I also respected how she found time to goof around and be a teen at the same time.
 
I don't know much about acting or plays, but I liked how that was Marty's hobby and how committed she was to it. I love it when characters in books have unique hobbies and are proud of them. I also loved how cute it was that Oscar joined just to spend more time with her and that made me like his character even more.
 
My favorite character had to be Oscar. I loved how he stayed with Marty through everything and I just wish that she could have gotten together with him instead of Felix in the beginning. For some reason I really disliked Jimmy though, Marty's best friend. It sort of made me mad how he and Marty were supposed to hang out but he invited his new boyfriend and his other new friends and didn't even tell her. I would be sort of mad about that, if I didn't know the other people and if there was no warning. He was an okay character.
 
I would strongly recommend this book. Honestly, I have never read anything else like it and it was definitely unique. Go read it if you want some funny, quality realistic fiction.
 
***I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my rating or review in any way.***
 
Thanks for reading!
~Bri


Monday, July 13, 2015

Irish Meadows by Susan Anne Mason
Synopsis from Goodreads:

Brianna and Colleen O’Leary know their father expects them to marry well. Yet despite his wishes, Brianna, the quieter sister, dreams of attending college. Vivacious Colleen, meanwhile, is happy to marry–as long as her father’s choice meets her exacting standards. When stable hand Gilbert Whelan returns from college and distant family member Rylan Montgomery stops in on his way to the seminary in Boston, the two men quickly complicate everyone’s plans. It will take every ounce of courage for both sisters to follow their hearts. And even if they do, will they inevitably find their dreams too distant to reach?

I have mixed feelings with this book. In some ways I absolutely loved it but I had quite a few problems with it too. Overall, the enjoyable things outnumbered my problems with the book and that helped me to not give the book a lower rating.

The thing that I disliked most was the characters. They all seemed to have no backbone and just went along with whatever Mr. O'Leary wanted them to do. It just about ruined quite a few of the characters lifes by making them marry people they didn't want to. Luckily it all got straightened out, or else my rating might have been even lower. Also I really did not like Colleen. She was so stuck-up and shallow. I'm just glad that by the end of the book she realized it and changed with help from the orphans that she helped.

I had no issues with the plot. It moved smoothly and I never got bored with it. For that reason I finished it fairly quickly and I feel like I didn't miss anything. It's a quick read even though it might look a little longer.

Rylan was probably my favorite character out of all of them with Brianna being a close second. They seemed to not listen to Mr. O'Leary as much as Gil and Colleen did and I liked that about them. 

There was a fair amount of romance, but it wasn't anything over PG-13 since this is Christian fiction. Brianna and Gil's relationship was very complicated, what with her father making him court someone else so that he could try and get a loan from her father. Overall I liked their relationship much more than Colleen and Rylan's, only because I didn't like Colleen in general. I can see why people might like them together though.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants some historical fiction as a nice change of pace or to anyone who wants to read some good Christian fiction.

***I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my rating or review in any way.***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Tracked by Jenny Martin
Phee lives in Castra, a corporately controlled planet. When her car racing gets noticed, she is soon blackmailed into joining  Benroyal Corp, along with her best friend, Bear. When she finds out that Benroyal murdered her father years before, she joins a rebellion to try and make Castra a free planet. Will they be able to succeed or will she meet the same fate as her father?

I enjoyed nearly every aspect of this book. I feel the best part was how unique it was. I have never read a book anything like this. Sure, the competing sort of reminded me of The Hunger Games but it wasn't a fight to the death (obviously) and I think that the author did a good job writing a new book in terms of originality. That's seemingly getting very hard in the YA age group these days and I love seeing debut authors being able to do that successfully.

The plot moved faster than the cars in the book! I really couldn't put this book down and when I found myself needing to, I couldn't stop thinking about what might happen next. It grips you from the beginning and won't let go. I absolutely loved it.

It sort of had a love-triangle (ugghhhhhh), but I actually wasn't that bothered by it. Phee did the right thing and made it clear that she wasn't interested in Bear that way and wouldn't want to ruin their friendship. I really found myself rooting for Cash and I just hope that what happened at the end of this book can be proven to happen differently (fingers crossed!!!).

I would strongly recommend this to anyone who likes dystopian books or racing books. Go read it right away!!!

Thanks for reading!
~Bri




Friday, July 10, 2015

Blood of Toma by Lauren Lee Merewether

Toma has known her whole life that when she is older she will be sacrificed so that her village can live in peace for 50 years and the Gods will be satisfied. But after her father, the ruler, is assassinated, she escapes to the jungle. There she finds explorers from Europe. Unbeknownst to Toma, they want all the gold in her city- and more. Will she be able to save her people and overthrow her father's assassin? Or will she fall in love with one of the explorers and let them have all her villages gold?

I loved the Aztec aspects of this story. Before I read this, I honestly didn't know anything about that part of history, or of Mexico's history at all. I feel that this is what made me keep reading, and not want to put the book down constantly.

Now for the parts I didn't like. I hated how it had insti-love. It felt like the second that she met Arrio they were in love. It wasn't just attraction or a crush, it was LOVE. It annoys me to no end when this happens in YA books. I feel that this is a reason that more people don't read YA- they want a realistic relationship that is also healthy. Its very rare to find that and I just wish that more/all YA books would have it.

The plot was well-paced but it was a bit confusing with the changing of perspectives. I had trouble remembering all the names of the characters so I kept on forgetting who the bad guys were and what they said about some things. That being said, I didn't really connect with many of the characters and they seemed one-dimensional. I also didn't like how selfish some of them were and how they didn't think about how the things they were doing might affect other people.

I might recommend this if you want a read with some romance and history. You might enjoy it more than I did if you are okay with insti-love, so go give it a try!

***I received this book from the author via bookblogging.net in exchange for my honest review.***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri


Thursday, July 9, 2015

Nothing But Your Memories by H.B. Clementine
To avoid overcrowding and poverty, the government decided to let people live one year out of every ten, forever. Mira would give anything to be back in her old life with her family so when she finally wakes up she immediately joins a rebel group to try and escape the city. But when her only friend endangers herself trying to disconnect her memory chip, Mira knows she must do something before she seriously hurts herself. Is freedom worth giving up everything?

The best aspect of this book was the world-building. I feel that's what really made the book stand out for me. Without that it would have just been another average dystopian and it would have honestly been very boring. I liked how it included the back story of what the world was like for Mira before "The Shift" and I feel that added depth to the story.

I wasn't a big fan of most of the characters and they sort of got on my nerves especially West and Faustino who were the leaders of the rebel group Mira joins. Alexis, Mira's only friend, was okay, but at times I didn't like her either. I felt it was really unrealistic that there weren't any more groups rebelling and how everyone seemed to find new friends the day they woke up. I feel like it would take longer for everyone to adjust and get used to their new lifes without their families.

One thing I really did not like about this book was the fact that Mira did not have much of a reason to hate the government. I mean sure, they separated her from her family, but they could have somehow resisted. The only reason that I could think of was that maybe it was because they didn't wake kids up, but it seems like she hated them even before she woke up when she didn't even know about that. The ending was also a little confusing, what with changing the perspective for the first time in the book with no warning. I felt it would have been better if it had at least said the name of the new character or something like that. I felt really confused and reread the pages before it, making sure I didn't miss anything. Overall though, I didn't have very many problems with this book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a unique dystopia with good world building that might not be as well known as The Hunger Games or Divergent. If you enjoyed either of those, I can almost guarantee that this would be some good entertainment!!

***I received this book from the publisher via bookblogging.net in exchange for my honest feedback. This did not influence my rating or review in any way.***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Book Tour!!!

The Summer the World Ended by Matthew Cox


Genre: contemporary family drama
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date of Release­­: June 29, 2015
Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky
Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Description:

As far as Riley McCullough is concerned, her best friend getting ‘dragged’ off to Puerto Vallarta for the first two weeks of summer vacation was the end of the world―at least until the bombs fell.
Life in suburban New Jersey with her mother has been comfortable, not to mention boring, to an introverted fourteen year old. As if her friend’s surprise trip wasn’t bad enough, her expectations for the ‘best summer ever’ disintegrate when she gets sent across the country to stay with a father she hasn’t seen in six years. Adjusting to a tiny, desert town where everyone stares at them like they don’t belong proves difficult, and leaves her feeling more isolated than ever. To make matters worse, her secretive father won’t tell the truth about why he left―or what he’s hiding.
Her luck takes an unexpected turn for the better when she meets a boy who shares her interest in video games and contempt for small town boredom. In him, she finds a kindred spirit who might just make the middle of nowhere tolerable.
Happiness is short lived; fleeing nuclear Armageddon, she takes shelter with her dad in an underground bunker he’d spent years preparing. After fourteen days without sun, Riley must overcome the sorrow of losing everything to save the one person she cares about most.

About The Author:


Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.


Hobbies and Interests: Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems (Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour (<- deliberate), and intellectual science fiction that questions the nature of reality, life, and what happens after it. He is also fond of cats.

Find Matthew Cox Online:





Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.

Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!




 
 
I was lucky enough to be picked as part of the June book tour for The Summer the World Ended. I really wanted to read it, but whenever I would open it and start reading my computer would randomly exit out of it. It really started to frustrate me until I finally got fed up of trying to find my page again and just gave up. It wasn't just this book that my computer has been doing that to though, I have had it happen numerous other times with different books. The first 30 pages seemed really good though and its possible that I would recommend it to some friends just based off that.
 
Thanks for reading!
~Bri
 
 

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Endangered by Kate Jaimet
All Hayley wants to do over the summer is to write articles in her father's newspaper. Finally getting a big case with a possible murder, she is extremely excited, but quickly disappointed when she is forced to go on a boat trip so that she can pass the class preventing her from graduating. What seems like a boring trip to find a turtle soon turns into a full-out police case with drug-dealing and shootings. Is the endangered turtle somehow connected to the murder?

I requested this book the same time as I requested The Shadow of Seth and to be completely honest I was way more interested in this book. The other one sounded good, but this one attracted me with all the talk of the rare, endangered turtle. Endangered sort of disappointed me while The Shadow of Seth really surprised me. For some reason this one just really fell flat for me.

The main character, Hayley, sort of annoyed me. I didn't really like how it didn't really faze her that she was so very close to graduating and she would rather be a reporter than graduate from high school. I'm sorry to say it, but if in 20 years her father doesn't have his newspaper business she will never be able to get a job at another one without at least a high school diploma. She would be broke with no job. I know this isn't a real story, but sometimes characters annoy me when stuff like this happens.

I might have enjoyed this more if I had some background knowledge in reporting or the newspaper business, but since I do not I found myself getting a little bored. Overall it was an okay book for me but I can honestly say that I liked The Shadow of Seth more. I might recommend this to you because of what your interests might be, but I think I would be more likely to recommend The Shadow of Seth if you are looking for a fast-paced YA mystery.

***Thanks go out to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for sending me an ARC of this book and The Shadow of Seth to read and review. This did not influence either review or rating in any way.***

Thanks for reading!
~Bri

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The Shadow of Seth by Tom Llewellyn
When Seth finds his mother dead, he knows it wasn't an accident. With barely any help from the police, he goes out to solve the mystery. Along the way he meets a girl that isn't as perfect as she seems, and he learns that barely anyone can be trusted. Can he find his mom's killer before he gets killed too?
 
I was really surprised with this book. Full of twists and turns, it grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. Sure, I had my problems with it but at the end of the day those can be overlooked and you can still really enjoy the book.
 
I really did not like how the police treated Seth in this book. I hope that in real life they are a bit more caring and less concerned with what neighborhood Seth just happens to live in. I really respected him and his mom and how they got through everything together. I know for a fact that if I was in his shoes, after his mom got murdered, I definitely would not have handled it so well. Overall, he was a great character that I could really connect with.
 
Azura was a so-so character. I liked how she had a backstory and wasn't what she seemed, but at the same time I didn't like how she never seemed to have a backbone and just went with everything. I also didn't like how there wasn't much of a closure at the end between her and Seth. It leaves room for a possible sequel though, so that might be the reason for the semi-cliffhanger.
 
The mystery was okay. I could sort of see who killed his mom from the beginning, but at the same time I was sort of doubting myself throughout. This would be a really good book for people out there who love the Nancy Drew books. I, for one, used to be obsessed and I think I read every single one of them so this was a page-turner for me.
 
***Thanks go out to Poisoned Pen Press for supplying me with an ARC for reviewing purposes. This did not influence my rating or review in any way.***
 
Thanks for reading!
~Bri