Monthly Archives:: March 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

Review: Fighting to Survive by Rhiannon Frater

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Fighting to Survive
Rhiannon Frater
Series: As The World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy #2
Release date: November 8th, 2011
by Tor Books

Goodreads / Purchase

Picking up where The First Days ends, Fighting to Survive features the further zombie-killing, civilization-saving adventures of a pair of sexy, kick butt heroines and the men who love them. A hundred or so survivors of the zombie plague have found tenuous safety in the walled off center of a small Texas town. Now the hard work of survival begins—finding enough food; creating safe, weather-resistant shelter; establishing laws; and fighting off both the undead who want to eat them and the living bandits who want to rob and kill them.

Spoiler free even for those new to the series.

Zombies. They’re freaking scary aren’t they? They eat your flesh, they don’t feel pain, and they never EVER stop. But what about humans? Humans who are dead set on surviving? Humans who have a screwed up sense of humanity in this dying world? And these humans, they may not eat your face, or pound themselves on a wall for days on end to get a taste of you, but they have intelligence, they have strength… and they have weapons. Zombies are NOT the only enemy anymore! I’m not even sure which I fear the most.

Fighting to Survive continues the story of our exceptional heroines Katie and Jenni. They’re surviving at the fort, making a new life for themselves behind the safety of the walls. As in The First Days, Fighting to Survive gives us incredible character development. We get acquainted with a lot of the survivors; even if only briefly, these people could not be any more real. I know them, with all my heart I love them, and this makes everything especially terrifying. It’s a zombocalypse, people die, and it matters! Even when it’s the less important characters who we barely know – It matters! In this sequel we really get to see the day to day events of what it takes to survive and build a new community after disaster strikes. There are all kinds of people with different views, different opinions; It’s a whole planet in a nutshell. But don’t get too comfortable!

It’s not all peace and quiet – that’s not really Rhiannon’s style now, is it? (how boring would that be!) – zombies are aplenty, in addition, we still have a vigilante to find, as well as new bandits to deal with. Tension is, again, high from start to finish. Even during the peaceful times, the underlying mood is constantly ominous with an always present gut feeling that a storm is brewing. I LOVE it!

A mastermind in suspense, Rhiannon knows how to build excruciating anticipation where you just want to read until your eyes bleed. It’s such an extraordinary adrenaline rush I had to stop mid-ending to scream at her, let it out a little. The ending: foreboding, exciting, terrifying. Siege, the third and final book in this epic series, will undoubtedly be a thing of legend!

If you haven’t started this series yet, you have no idea what you’re missing. It’s the most amazing story about survival that I have ever read, with scenes so haunting, characters so vivid, that I will be hearing their words and remembering their fears for a very, very long time.

5 Hot Espressos (x1000)
As The World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy:
Curious on my thoughts on The First Days?

Cover Reveal: Cataclysm

Posted by on 03/19/2012 • 21 Comments

CataclysmKarice BoltonSeries: The Watchers Trilogy, #3Release date: April 2nd, 2012

Add it to your Goodreads

When it becomes obvious that the dark side will stop at nothing to control the mortal world, Ana is faced with a decision that could determine the fate of Fallen Angels everywhere. Determined to not use mortals as pawns, Ana does her best to prepare for the battles ahead while protecting the innocent souls around the world. As danger looms at every turn, she realizes that the ones she thought were prey might actually be the predators, and it will take an army like never before to stop the wickedness from spreading throughout the world.

The Watchers Trilogy: I LOVE the covers of this whole series. The first two were redesigned not too long ago…

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In My Mailbox (26)

Posted by on 03/18/2012 • 97 Comments

“In My Mailbox” is a meme, created by Kristi at The Story Siren, that features books I have received/ purchased/ borrowed during the week. 

I don’t know about you all but I’ve had a fabulous week. I’m just in an awesome mood for some reason. You know, just all around giddy – I’m sure some may have noticed on Twitter I guess my tweets have been a bit random and full of epicness, and I  LOVE you guys for joining along in my happy dance mood! *ahem* So yeah, did you miss anything awesome this week at Xpresso Reads? Well there was the Channeler’s Choice blog tour stop – a series I’m really enjoying and you can maybe win something! There was also a cover reveal with TWO gorgeous…

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Fresh Batch (March 18th – 24th)

Posted by on 03/17/2012 • 21 Comments

Exclusively titled for Xpresso Reads, Fresh Batch features the hottest releases of this upcoming week. Flavor of the week:

Croak

Gina Damico Release date: March 20th, 2012by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Goodreads / Purchase 

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach her the family business.

Lex quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated entirely by reapers who deliver souls…

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Review: Chimera by B.D. Swan

Posted by on 03/16/2012 • 31 Comments

ChimeraB.D. SwanRelease date: November 16th, 2011

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Kyanna Kash has a problem: she’s fallen for two guys, but one of them lives only in her mind. At least, that’s what makes sense. But, when she discovers shocking evidence that the man living inside her dreams is real, and is now missing, she is forced to choose which reality to pursue. Her decision, however, might cost her everything; even her life.

*A copy was provided by B.D. Swan for review purposes*

Definitely original, absolutely intriguing: Battling a dual reality, Kyanna is suffering from fainting spells where she lands into a fantasy world with kings, battles, deadly beasts, and a gorgeous soldier.

Chimera throws us into not one, but two story-lines which are both full of mystery and romance….

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Cover Reveal: Wings of Arian & Between

Posted by on 03/16/2012 • 23 Comments

Wings of Arian Devri Walls Release date: May, 2012 by Stonehouse Ink Add it to your Goodreads

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life. She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants…

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Review: Life Is But a Dream by Brian James

Posted by on 03/15/2012 • 31 Comments

Life Is But a DreamBrian JamesRelease date: March 27th, 2012by Feiwel & Friends

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Sabrina, an artist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and her parents check her into the Wellness Center. There she meets Alec, who is convinced it’s the world that’s crazy, not the two of them. They are meant to be together; they are special. But when Alec starts to convince Sabrina that her treatment will wipe out everything that makes her creative, she worries that she’ll lose hold of her dreams and herself. Should she listen to her doctor? her decision may have fatal consequences.

*A copy was provided by Raincoast Books for review purposes* Did you know that Schizophrenia typically appears between the ages of 16 and 25? How old are you? Scary, huh?…

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Channeler’s Choice Tour Stop

Posted by on 03/14/2012 • 33 Comments

I really enjoyed The Secret of Spruce Knoll last year, so I was happy and excited to be part of the blog tour for its sequel, Channeler’s Choice. If you haven’t checked this series out yet you really should, it’s great. I have Heather here today for a quick interview & giveaway, and you’ll have a chance to check out the series!

The Books

 The Secret of Spruce Knoll Heather McCorkle Release date: November 15th, 2011 by Compass Press Goodreads / Purchase

Following the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with an aunt she’s never met. Little does Eren know the entire town of Spruce Knoll is filled with “channelers”—a magical group of people who immigrated to the small Colorado town…

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