ARC Review: The Immortal Rules

Title: The Immortal Rules
Series: Blood of Eden, Book 1
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Length: 504 Pages
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Reviewed Format: eGalley
My Rating: ★★★½☆☆

Description:
Allison Sekemoto has lived her entire life on the Fringe, one of the last bastions of humanity among a world plagued by the diseased-afflicted rabids. Unfortunately for her, the city is controlled by vampires who exchange protection for a blood quota. As an unregistered, Allie doesn’t have to provide the monthly blood fix as is customary of the registered people. However, that also means that she has no rights, no food rations and no one to turn to should things get ugly. As such, she has lived a good portion of her life as a scavenger; survival is the name of the game. And as if trying to find food and staying alive everyday wasn’t complicated enough, things take a turn for the worse when a series of events force Allie to turn into the one creature she despises the most; a vampire.

This is my first book by Julie Kagawa (author of the Iron Fey Series) and I love to find such a strong female as the lead character. Allie is a tough, no nonsense, 17 year old survivor that begins the story as a badass individual and ends it as a poster child for kickass heroines. Although brave and selfless, Allie is far from perfect, which helps grounds the character as well as helps the reader connect with her. As proven by her headstrong and rash tendencies that, at times, become downright infuriating.

Books in News #4

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Welcome back again my amazing followers and lurkers. I ended up posting this week’s wrap-up a bit later than I wanted, but here it finally is. Here are the news that took center stage in between Sunday April 15, 2012 and Saturday April 21, 2012.

So on Monday Karen Marie Moning posted on her Facebook Page that she will do a one-quote-a-day type of mini event in celebration of Into the Dreaming hitting shelves on April 24, 2012. If you want to catch up with them head over to my Into the Dreaming Teaser Post.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday we were treated to the official book trailer for City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare; judging by the trailer seems like this time we are going to hear more from Sebastian’s POV; I have to say, the trailer is a bit creepy.





If you wanted to watch the movie Underworld: Awakening at the theater, but for some reason you couldn’t, fret not, the Blu-ray and DVD will be hitting shelves on May 8, 2012.

Speaking of vampires, Julie Kagawa’s new series, Blood of Eden Series, has been sold to Palomar Pictures and it all points out that the first book, The Immortal Rules, will be getting the Hollywood treatment and will be turned into a movie.

Into the Dreaming Teaser Quotes

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers. Are you a fan of Karen Marie Moning? If you are, and in case you didn’t knew, Into the Dreaming –a novella from the Highlander Series– is being re-released as a hardcover book and with a bunch of bonus material on the 24th of this month. In light of this, Miss Moning has decided to treat us fans with a series of quotes (a quote a day) leading up to the release day.

The quotes will be posted on her Facebook Page; you can keep on coming here, I’ll keep this post up to date as new quotes are unveiled.

For some ICED Teasers follow this link.

Monday (April 16, 2012)

I'm going to be doing a quote a day from INTO THE DREAMING, leading up to its release on April 24th. Some are from the bonus material, like today's. It was a blast re-visiting my Highlander notes and old files, sorting through deleted scenes. They were totally fresh to me, I'd forgotten I'd even written them. Here's a little about one I chose to use in ITD: 

On Deleted Scenes from KISS OF THE HIGHLANDER: 

“Halfway through Kiss of the Highlander, I took a wrong turn. In these deleted scenes, rather than confronting Dustan with the truth, Gwen claims amnesia—and nearly has sex with the laird of the castle up against the wall in a corridor shortly after arriving! In this version, she doesn’t get confronted by both Dageus and Drustan the first morning she’s there, and still believes Dageus is dead . . .”

Tuesday (April 17, 2012)

ICED Teaser Quotes

So far (or rather, as far as I know) Karen Marie Moning has given us three teaser quotes from her next novel ICED, a continuation of the Fever Series from Dani’s POV. Today, she gave us a short (fourth) quote. So I decided to dedicate a post to the torturing times that are sure to come with a series of quotes; October can’t get here soon enough!

I’ll be reposting the first three quotes plus today’s quote and any future one as well, so stay tune…

For some Into the Dreaming Teaser follow this link.

First ICED Teaser

Four nights he’s come to me, murmuring my name, making it an exquisite melody with which not even the divine orchestral choir of all the angels in heaven could compete.  He chimes my name in the language of the Unseelie and it makes my ears ring until my mind is emptied of all thought, until my eyes are incapable of beholding any vision other than him. He is so beautiful that merely looking at him makes me weep and when I brush tears from my cheeks, my hands come away stained red with blood. He wakes me but doesn’t wake me. He takes me to a place that is so perfect and serene and free of worry that I want to stay there forever. My name is Cruce, he says. Not V’lane. I was so weary of wearing his golden shining face. He was never half the Fae I am. I have you in the Dreaming, is it not beautiful? Do you not feel divine here with me? You need not fear me. I am not what I seem.
 I’m in danger.

Second ICED Teaser

Books in News #3

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, belated Happy Easter and Passover and my most sincere Congratulations to all librarians on this past week; National Library Week.
Today’s meme collects news for the week between Saturday, April 7, 2012 and Friday, April 13, 2012. And what a busy week this one has been.

I know today’s post is a bit long but stick with it; there are some interesting news (and some infuriating ones) coming up. If you’d like to skip most of the regular news, please search for the eBook news near the end. I want as much people knowing about this as possible.

Let’s kick things off with The Hunger Games News. There’s been a back and forth about the movie sequel and whether or not director Gary Ross will continue and work on Catching Fire. Some say that he was negotiating with the studio. But in the end it was not meant to be, and it is official; Catching Fire is looking for a new director. Regardless of this, The Hunger Games has continued to do amazingly at the box office, passing the $300 million mark; remaining in the number 1 spot.

But apparently driving throngs of teenagers to discover the wonderful world of books isn’t enough for some people. Some parents want to ban the Hunger Games Trilogy from schools and libraries; both book and movie shelves. I don’t understand how could they find the books to be satanic but apparently they do. Like everything that attracts the masses, various spoofs and satirical videos have sprung on YouTube; this one is just a taste of what people are laughing about:






Now, in case you heard/read the rumors that Jamie Campbell-Bower had bowed out from The Mortal Instruments, rest assure that he is very much so still on board (whether we like it or not). Cassandra Clare has confirmed it on her website in a post titled “Jamie is Jace”.

Speaking of movie magic; did you know that they were making a movie about one of the top fairytale evil characters? They are! And not only have they chosen an Evil Queen capable of turning into a dragon, they have cast Angelina Jolie to play her role. Maleficent is a re-tale of the classic Sleeping Beauty from the Mistress of All Evil’s perspective and will be hitting theaters near you on March 14, 2014.

Back to books:

Review: Faefever by Karen Marie Moning

Title: Faefever
Series: The Fever Series, Book 2
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Source: Bought
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Get it @: Amazon | Book Depository

NOTE: I read this book a little over a month ago in a back-to-back fashion and I didn’t had time to review it at that moment, but I did promised to reviewed it here on my blog. The review is short and more of an overall feel of the book because, at the moment, I don’t remember all the specifics of the story; sorry, the elements of all five books have sort of blend in together.

Mac has finally learn how the Sinsar Dubh is moving, and with an ever increasing crime rate and the ever approaching possibility of the Lord Master releasing the Fae into our world the stakes are even higher. The only option remaining is to stop the LM’s plans, but will Mac be able to do so? Would she be able to outsmart this terrible foe all by herself or should she trust in the help of others? And of all the players in this twisted chess board, who can she trust?

VOTE for Journey with Words!!

I'm so excited for this! The Association of American Publishers and Goodreads have partner up to bring the first Independent Book Blogger Awards to celebrate us bloggers all around.

The contest will have two rounds. The first one opens up today April 10, 2012 @ 12:00am EST until 11:59pm EST on April 23, 2012. The first round is for public voting and you most be a member of Goodreads in order to vote; the following is taken from the Contest Terms:

Voters are limited to one vote per person per category. Voters will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite Independent Blogger during the Voting Period by reviewing the Posts each blog, using as a suggested guide the following criteria:

• quality of writing (well-written, cohesive, succinct, without spelling or grammatical errors),

• quality of analysis (illustrates blogger’s knowledge and comfort with the topic at hand),

• visual design and presentation (design and layout of the blog should be aesthetically pleasing without detracting from the focus of the content),

• audience tone (dialogue reflects intended audience), and

• reader discussion/impact (relative concentration of the types of discussion that the blog prompts among its readers, regardless of whether the discussion is positive or negative in nature).

Blog Tour Hosting

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Attention my amazing followers and lurkers! 

If you have a book reviewing blog and you want to host some blog tours head over to Innovative Online Book Tours and fill out their Tour Host Application. They are a new company which is endeavoring to connect reviewers with what they love to do the most, read and talk about books. There has been an influx of authors asking for the company's services and an "all hands on deck" call has been shouted. If you want to discover new authors and new amazing reads drop by and check them out. With them you can "Explore the possibilities... On Your Terms".




The following is a list of the genres supported by Innovative Online Book Tours:

• Paranormal Romance 
• Urban Fantasy 
• Horror 
• Contemporary 
• Historical Romance 
• Romance 
• Historical Fiction* different from Historical Romance 
• Mystery 
• Fantasy 
• Sci-Fi 
• Thriller 
• Steampunk 

Books in News #2

A wrap-up of recent events, announcements, releases, or other news circulating the web.

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers. Another week has gone by and that means the Books in News meme is now up and running. This one will cover news from Saturday, March 31, 2012 to Friday, April 6, 2012.

This was a busy week, so here it is:

Saturday, March 31

The WARDen made an important announcement on her Facebook Page:

“THEIR TIME HAS COME. 2013- NEXT BDB HARDCOVER.....BLAY & QHUINN!!!!”

Seems official enough, the next book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood will feature Qhuinn and Blay and hopefully their long (and I mean loooooooooooong) awaited Happily Ever After.

Sunday (April 1, 2012)

Ilona Andrews (celebrating April's Fools Day) decided to play a little joke to their fan base. Looks like they are no longer going to write Urban Fantasy.

Monday (April 2, 2012)

The official trailer of the movie Total Recall made its online debut and boy does it looks good!!

Meanwhile, some True Blood News, There is a new Season 5 clip teaser; enjoy!

Review: Lover Reborn (Minor Spoilers)

Title: Lovern Reborn
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 10
Author: J.R. Ward
Publisher: Penguin Group
Length: 593 pages, File Size: 948 KB
Publication Date: March 27, 2012
Reviewed Format: Kindle Edition
My Rating: ★★★★★

WARNING: Some of the spoilers in this review reference to events from previous books, namely Lover Awakened, Lover Mine and Lover Unleashed.

Talk about an emotional roller coaster.

Book 10 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series tells the story of Tohrment (Tohr). Tohr’s wife, Wellsie, was killed by a lesser while she was pregnant of their first son. Tohr hasn’t being the same vampire since. First he was seeking to end his life, now he is trying to quench his thirst for revenge by mutilating before killing every single lesser possible. However, fate has other plans for this Brother. Queue the lights over to Lassiter, an angel; literary sent from above with one mission –“get this vampire back on track” (Kindle Locations 1229-1230)

Just so you know, the rumors are true; get yourselves a few tissues or something to stop the waterworks, this book is sad. The book is divided according to the seasons; a full year goes by throughout the story, both beginning and ending on winter.

Let me tell you, Tohr has always hold a dear corner in my heart, he is my third favorite of the brothers, Zsadist being #1 and Rehv, even though not a brother per se, being #2. Still, Tohr has always being that father figure and not just for John Mathews, but for everyone at the Brotherhood. Which is why some of his actions in this book made me want to slap the shit out of him; I wanted to reach in and shake him so bad, maybe even slam him against a wall to see if he still had any reasoning capabilities left in him; yeah, it gets that bad. I mean, there is no way I would have been happy if he had just woken up and completely forgotten about Wellsie, but come on, did he had to be that huge jackass? Apparently yes.

Interview with Nicola Black

Hello my amazing followers and lurkers, today I'm hosting my very first Blog Tour courtesy of Making Connections. To celebrate the fourth stop on the Tour we are welcoming author Nicola Black and her debut work A Story Not Wished to be Read, a collection of reflective poems.

For my review of the book you can click this link.

Nicola Black has always been a very creative young woman. When she was younger, she and her mother would make up stories together. As Nicola got older, she started writing them down. However, she would never finish anything. Throughout school, she had to write poems for English. She was homeschooled and her patient mother taught her how to write well. Eventually, Nicola started writing poems outside of school projects. At first she did not think they were very good, but after a while, she finally published her first set of poems on Smashwords. After receiving some very good reviews, she finally realized that she could write. Nicola Black is currently working on three novels and a compilation of short stories.

Nicola Black has been to Scotland three times, but is currently living in the South. She has also joined the Navy and is going to boot camp in September. She also enjoys writing music.

Q&A Interview with Nicola Black:

Q: Tell me a bit about yourself and about your writing.

Nicola: Well I’m just a young woman with a huge imagination. My childhood was a bit rough, and I think that helped me to sympathize with people and situations. I have a huge imagination and could probably dream up just about anything. I think my writing reflects a lot of that.

Q: What inspired you to make a poetry book?

Nicola: I actually didn’t start my poetry for a book. I just wrote down ideas that would pop into my head, and it sort of accumulated over the years. Then I put it up on Smashwords to see what kind of response it would have. I was surprised at all of the great feedback.

Review: A Story Not Wish to be Read

Title: A Story Not Wished to be Read
Series: Standalone
Author: Nicola Black
Publisher: Self Published
Length: 8 pages
Publication Date: February 2, 2012
Reviewed Format: PDF (supplied by the author)
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

A Story Not Wished to be Read is a collection of poems that reflect on everyday issues and experiences looking for a way to understand the normal chaos that surrounds our lives. The book contains 21 short poems that deal with themes such as love, pain, faith, promises, engagements, and mostly the mental trappings that we tend to cover ourselves with. The book is a quick read, with it being only 8 pages long.

Want to know more? Read the interview with the author.

Excerpt from the book:

Dark Passages
Don’t follow me
Down the dark passages of my mind.
Though I need you near,
Would you stay with me
To find my dark secrets?
Are you willing to risk
Getting lost in the shadows
To bring me light?

Come follow me
Down the dark passages of my mind.
I want to lure you and keep you
Forever mine.
To get entangled in my sinister thoughts
And never get free...
Would you want to be mine then?

Save me from
The cruel dark passages of my mind.
Teach me how to love, how to trust.
Take my hand and
Lead me to the light.
Give me yourself
And I’ll give you everything.

Polls During April

Hello my followers and lurkers!

For a while now I've been considering adding a newsletter to my blog. Something simple that maybe runs on a monthly basis, or when necessary (like when I make changes to the blog or such).

But before I embark on making a newsletter I will love to have your opinions on the matter. So, during the month of April I will be running two polls on the matter. You can find them both on the sidebar.

UPDATE: This poll has been replaced. The poll remains but the images are different.

The first poll (the one on the top of the image on the right) is on whether or not you'll join the newsletter if the option were to be available. Would you? Would you not? Any other thoughts on the matter?