Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Giveaway: Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell

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Undercurrent
Paul Blackwell
Genre: YA Thriller
Publication date: July 23rd 2013
by Doubleday Canada 

Sixteen-year-old Callum Harris never wanted to move to Crystal Falls. Neither did Cole, his brawny and fearless older brother. With the recent separation of their parents, the brothers have had quite enough change of late.

But the move turns out to be only the first of many changes in Callum’s life. After he plunges headlong over the falls, he wakes up in the hospital to find that life is no longer what it once was: his squabbling parents appear to have reconciled; his brother, an unrepentant jock and serial dater, is paralyzed and bed-ridden in a makeshift hospital room at home; and even Callum himself, always studious and unpopular, is now the object of desire for the two hottest girls in school.

As he adjusts to this surreal new life–a life both exhilarating and terrifying–Callum struggles to reconcile his past memories with a dangerous and uncertain present. Who is he? Where is he? And what, exactly, has he become?

Are you excited for this pretty as much as I am? Well good news for ya! The lovely people at Random House of Canada have generously offered up one finished copy of Undercurrent for giveaway to one lucky Canadian reader!

 Giveaway
One finished copy of Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell–Thanks to Random House Canada 

Open to Canadian addresses only
Giveaway ends on July 3rd, 2013
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter
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Review: A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger

Posted by on 06/18/2013 • 20 Comments

What a strange little book this was. Narrated by anorexia, A Trick of the Light is a lightning fast story about a boy who’s has a run-in with this illness. I felt it was a little like an afternoon special on fast forward, but I did enjoy the book nonetheless. It touches on a topic that is so often misunderstood, told in the unique voice of the illness itself. Because for someone with anorexia, it becomes exactly that: an entity that takes over your thoughts, your life.

This choice of narrator is excellent as it shows the aggressive nature of the disease. It puts in the forefront how brutally insistent it becomes and I appreciated the ugly truth of it all. Mike, like so many teenagers, has problems with…

Review: In the After by Demitria Lunetta

Posted by on 06/17/2013 • 39 Comments

A stronger first half than the second, but overall this is a highly entertaining post apocalyptic book! I mean: zombie aliens! The world in In the After has just been attacked by an alien species who are terrifyingly similar to zombies. These creatures eat humans, they’re dumb, and they’re relentless (they keep trying to get at you no matter how painful it may be to them). It is a tad reminiscent of The 5th Wave, although that book philosophizes more on what it means to be human and the consequences of such an event on humanity as a whole, whereas In the After concentrates on the main characters’ direct survival story. It’s fascinating to see the adaptive capacity of human beings. This book is Amy and Baby’s story, and a…

Stacking the Shelves (59)

Stacking the Shelves (59)

Posted by on 06/16/2013 • 40 Comments

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews featuring the books we got this week, and I also mention blog news/happenings of the past week. 

Hello lovely people! I hope you all had a great week! I’m off to watch Man of Steel tonight so I’m posting this a bit early! 😉 This week on the blog I posted an awesome giveaway of awesome! Don’t miss your chance to win some fab ARCs! Also, since there’s only a couple weeks left until Google Reader goes bye bye and in case you missed it, I compared 2 of the biggest alternatives here.

Tour sign ups closing soon:

   

THIS WEEK’S BOOK HAUL:

 (Click on covers or title links for Goodreads) I received for review:

–Engines of the Broken World…

Fresh Batch (New Releases June 16th – 22nd)

Fresh Batch (New Releases June 16th – 22nd)

Posted by on 06/15/2013 • 13 Comments

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

Star Cursed Jessica Spotswood Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1 Publication date: June 18th, 2013 by Putnam Juvenile

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate’s friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn’t want to be a weapon, and she doesn’t want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood’s schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she’ll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory….

Review: Born of Illusion by Teri Brown

Review: Born of Illusion by Teri Brown

Posted by on 06/14/2013 • 34 Comments

Magicians, mediums, old school theatre entertainment, and a historical New York setting; I absolutely loved the atmosphere in every aspect of this novel!

Anna Van Housen-the opening act of her mother’s magic show-is the real deal: she’s a medium, she has visions of the future, and she can feel others’ emotions. Plus, she’s rumored to be Houdini’s illegitimate daughter. With a premise like that, how can I not be intrigued? Plus, just look at this amazing cover! I was excited to finally sink my teeth into this one and it was definitely worth it. Not only is our protagonist a wonderfully compelling character with a great personality, the book is set in 1920’s New York City which is utterly fantastic in and of itself. I’ve always loved a New York…

Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Review: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Posted by on 06/13/2013 • 26 Comments

Am I maybe getting tired of New Adult a bit? Although I don’t feel I’ve read that many, I did read the top of the crop first. Ten Tiny Breaths was far from a bad book, I just can’t say it’s one of my favorites. The main – and really only – problem was that I got bored with the storyline that seemed to go nowhere for a while.

One thing to note in this New Adult novel is how the setting is not at college – or at any school – like most. Kacey is skipping college to be able to take care of her little sister after her parents died in a car accident. I found this gave a fresh standpoint; Kacey needs to become completely independent,…

Spring Into Summer ARC Giveaway!

Spring Into Summer ARC Giveaway!

Posted by on 06/12/2013 • 33 Comments

Since summer is approaching and I find myself with a few double copies of some epic summer ARCs – mostly hot sequels – I thought it was perfect timing to give back to my amazing followers who motivate me to blog every single day! I won’t keep you in anticipation, here’s what’s up for grabs: –The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater –Altered by Gennifer Albin –Ink by Amanda Sun –False Sight by Dan Krokos