Thursday, November 17, 2011

Review: Brightest Kind of Darkness by PT Michelle

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Brightest Kind of Darkness
P.T. Michelle
Released June 27th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate- until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

 *A copy was provided by Patrice Michelle for review purposes*
Nara has a very unusual life. In fact, she lives every day twice. Once in her dreams, and again for real. Sounds awesome right? Wrong! It’s boring in the purest sense of the word! Nara is completely over living her life in déja-vu. She only wants to be surprised for once. However, things change drastically when one day she interferes and stops a bomb from going off at school. Her dreams stop, then people start having strange injuries. What is the price of her meddling with Fate?

If there was any reason to use the word “fantabulous”, defining Brightest Kind of Darkness would be it! It’s rare that I get really hooked in a story until at least one quarter through, but this one had me hooked by page 10! It was Nara that did it. I immediately fell in love with Nara’s character. Above being incredibly likeable, Her voice is so realistic that I found myself entranced by her story. I was so captivated by it that I was contemplating how awful it will be for her to now have to live without seeing her day beforehand… How will she possibly live like that!? Yes, I felt stupid for asking myself that, but it shows how it felt like I had been living her whole life in the hour it took to read to that point.

Nara’s wonderful character is not the only reason I was so captivated by this novel. Patrice’s writing flows so smoothly through the pages that you don’t realize you’ve already read half of the book. It’s the type of simple writing that you can read effortlessly but without any repercussions in the depth of the story. The story is quite elaborate with a lot of twists that I never saw coming and had me riveted. What I thought were a few plot holes at first were ultimately clarified and the reveal of the book’s villain was completely original as well as terrifying; his powers are unstoppable! I’m vastly curious to learn more about him and how Nara is going to deal with him in the second book.

Patrice’s Brightest Kind of Darkness also holds a wonderful and enchanting romance. Ethan is adorable, down to earth and charming. I loved him from the start. The romance builds up gradually making it feel genuine and sent my heart aflutter. Him and Nara have fantastic chemistry.

This novel is a must read to any Young Adult readers who like books with a darker paranormal storyline, a sweet romance and a lot of suspense. It is definitely nothing short of ingenuity.

5 Hot Espressos

Gratitude Giveaway Hop

Posted by on 11/17/2011 • 385 Comments

Xpresso Reads is happy to be a part of the Gratitude Giveaway hop. The hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and All Consuming Books and with over 300 participants, there are a lot of goodies to be won! To thank you all for being so wonderful, a winner will get to pick one of these great November releases.

 

Giveaway details:Open Internationally (as long as The Book Depository ships to you)All you have to do is be a GFC followerLeave a comment with your GFC follower name and email address to enter.  Giveaway ends November 27th, 2011 at 11:59pm AST.

Winner will be picked by random number generator.Winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply before a new…

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

Posted by on 11/16/2011 • 99 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:

                                    Masquerade (Heven & Hell, #1)                                     Cambria Hebert

                                    Release date: December 16th, 2011

Before. Everything was so much better Before. I wasn’t haunted by nightmares, my place at school was secure and my face was flawless. Now, I’m a freak and everything has changed. The worst part is that I can’t remember the night I was sentenced to the shadows. The memory has been stolen from me and I just can’t shake the feeling that someone, something is out there -watching.

Just when I think I have my life handled, Sam, with his intimidating golden stare and shiver inducing voice, makes…

Review: Destined by Jessie Harrell

Posted by on 11/15/2011 • 31 Comments

DestinedJessie HarrellRelease date: November 17th, 2011by Mae Day Publishing

Goodreads / Purchase

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she’s come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined. 

Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.

 *A copy was provided by Jessie Harrell for review purposes*

Since I read Percy Jackson earlier this year, I’ve…

Dusty Reads (8)

Posted by on 11/15/2011 • 25 Comments

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme, hosted here, featuring a book that has been sitting unread on my home shelf for some time. To participate, add your link at the bottom.  If you wish, you can grab the button and find more information here. My pick this week: Paranormalcy Kiersten White Released August 31st, 2010 by HarperTeen Goodreads / Purchase

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie’s dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes…

Winner of my 500 Followers Celebration

Posted by on 11/14/2011 • 7 Comments

Thanks so much to everyone who has entered my giveaway and I adore every one of my followers! I hope your enjoying my blog and I love all the nice people that I have met and made friends with. The book blogging community is so awesome I feel honored to be a part of it!

Congratulations to aloveforbooks Who has chosen The Night Circus

Reminder: There are more chances to win if you head onto my giveaways tab. I also have some great giveaways coming soon – Stay tuned! 😉

*Winner was chosen by random number generator.

*I am not responsible for lost or damaged winnings. 

Pyxis Tour Stop: Interview & Giveaway

Posted by on 11/14/2011 • 14 Comments

Xpresso Reads is thrilled to be part of the Pyxis blog tour and happily welcomes KC Neal today for an interview. She is also offering an ecopy of Pyxis for a giveaway. You don’t want to miss this debut novel, and for those who have read it, read carefully because she gives us some hot teasers about book two!

THE BOOK:

Pyxis (Pyxis, #1)KC NealReleased November 4th, 2011(Paperback released on Dec. 2nd)by StoneHouse Ink

Goodreads / Purchase

Two worlds… one 16-year-old girl must learn to protect them both.

The nightmares haunting Corinne and her friend Mason hint at a universe that exists beyond the one they know. Her destiny is to protect a weakness between the two worlds, but her mentor is dead. As Corinne and Mason…

In My Mailbox (9)

Posted by on 11/13/2011 • 155 Comments

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

How is everyone on this long weekend (at least for Canadians)? We just celebrated my father’s 60th yesterday. Had a family gathering with some yummy Acadian fricot- If you don’t know what fricot is, you’re missing on some awesome grubs! Also, I just realized the next long weekend will be Christmas! Anyone have their tree up already? So, what have we got here… books! *cheer* I have gotten for review (click on cover for Goodreads):    

I have bought: Click here for my review As you can see I’ve already read/reviewed Touch and it was fantastic so I had to get a nice finished…