Yearly Archives:: 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012

Review: Chimera by B.D. Swan

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Chimera
B.D. Swan
Release date: November 16th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

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. In her reality, Kyanna is a simple girl in love with the baseball star and trying to figure out her future plans. Her relationship with Lincon is incredibly romantic. I adored him – he’s sweet, talented, and visibly in love with Kyanna. They’ve been together for a little while already, too, so there’s no awkwardness of getting to know each other, or worse: insta-love. Kyanna, however, during her fainting spells, finds herself fiercely attracted to Koden – defender of the king in this alternate world right out of a fantasy novel. Koden is old world gentlemanly with a personality you can’t help but admire. I could never decide who I wanted Kyanna to be with, or which reality I wanted her to live in. I was super intrigued by her actual life – what exactly is happening to her to cause her to faint. However, I couldn’t help but become fascinated by the exciting events she was thrown in inside these dreams: We’ve got beasts who prey on women, vengeful princesses, and a fantastically beautiful scenery.

Kyanna herself is a bit hard to relate to at first. I felt the author, being male, was trying a bit too hard to get inside the head of a teenage girl. Making a few stereotypical girly remarks and pointing out the obvious. It did get better after a while, though, and I was able to make a better connection with her during the second half where she seemed to get a more solid personality.

This journey is not fast-paced. It’s a slow process building up to Kyanna’s dream, to have her discover everything this bizarre world has to offer. Nevertheless, I was so captivated by the beauty, the mystery of it all that I was not too bothered by the slow movement. I felt it was designed to give a gradual introduction into the unknown. It also helps that we get thrown from Kyanna’s reality to her dreams, constantly leaving us with fresh intrigue.

All in all the unique story easily won me over, plus the writing flows surprisingly well for a debut author. We’ve got a gorgeous setting and an easy to follow prose that will suit especially those reluctant to get into heavy fantasy.


4 Hot Espressos

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…

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

Goodreads / Purchase

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?…

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…

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Posted by on 03/14/2012 • 57 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.  My pick this week:

Nerve Jeanne Ryan Release date: September 13th, 2012 by Dial Books (Penguin) Add it to your Goodreads

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game *knows* her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it’s exhilarating—Vee and Ian’s fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn. Suddenly they’re playing all or nothing, and the prize might be their lives.

I love the sounds of…

Review: Dark Eyes by William Richter

Posted by on 03/13/2012 • 30 Comments

Dark EyesWilliam RichterRelease date: March 15th, 2012by Razorbill

Goodreads / Purchase

Wally was adopted from a Russian orphanage as a child and grew up in a wealthy New York City family. At 15, her obsessive need to rebel led her to life on the streets. Now the 16-year-old is beautiful and hardened, and she’s just stumbled across the possibility of discovering who she really is. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” for teens, this debut thriller introduces a new heroine.

*A copy was provided by Penguin Canada for review purposes* When I see a book being compared to another, especially a well loved one such as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I’m always skeptical on how it can actually live up to such a claim. Fast paced and…

Review: Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Posted by on 03/12/2012 • 30 Comments

Pretty CrookedElisa LudwigRelease date: March 13th, 2012by Katherine Tegen Books

Goodreads / Purchase

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa…

In My Mailbox (26)

Posted by on 03/11/2012 • 99 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. 

How are all my lovely peeps? Hope you didn’t forget to change your clocks! It’s almost spring! Know what this means? HUNGER GAMES in less than 2 weeks! *dies* It will be epic! So in case you missed it, I’m celebrating reaching 2000 followers here! I also had the Embrace Blog Tour drop by on Friday. You can find my review, a sweet guest post, and a giveaway here.

Questions for me?

I registered for this a while back to follow Story Siren, but more people are using it now so I thought I’d let you know I’m on Formspring. If you ever have any…