Monday, November 07, 2011

Review & Giveaway: Become by Ali Cross

Posted by 27 Comments

Become
Ali Cross
Release date: November 11th, 2011

Goodreads / Purchase

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

*A copy was provided by Ali Cross for review purposes*

 
Become is not your average YA paranormal. We’re thrown into an intense novel about the battle between angels and demons. Lucifer’s daughter, Desolation, is our protagonist and against her wishes, she’s being sent back to earth where there are teenagers and people with… feelings.

Desolation has a really unique personality. Being the devil’s daughter she’s very cautious, socially awkward and a bit of a loner. She doesn’t want to fall in her father’s footsteps. In fact, she doesn’t really like him all that much. She also senses that there’s something very different about her; As though she doesn’t belong in Hell. I had a lot of fun with Desolation. She is very critical of herself, but you can tell that underneath it all she’s a great person who is just trying to figure out where she fits in.

I really enjoyed the style of writing throughout the novel. It’s very descriptive and sophisticated; I found it highly intense, and with a lot more depth than most. There are strong messages sent throughout the story about finding oneself and, most importantly, good vs evil. The intensity was a bit of a problem when it came to the theology and the myths behind the angel/demon battles. I found myself getting confused during the explanations. My only knowledge of it comes from the show Supernatural, so the elaborate lore were a bit overwhelming. I had to reread a lot of passages to get the gist. For this reason, I couldn’t entirely get caught up in the story as much as I had hoped.

Despite the complexity, I still enjoyed the plot. Like I mentioned, it was very intense with a lot of action and battle sequences. I did like getting to know why Desolation was seemingly different from the others. The romance also played a big part in the story which did alleviate the seriousness throughout the book.

As an angel/demon book, don’t expect this to be like the YA novels Hush Hush or Fallen. Become goes right to the core of Norse mythology: Asgard, Loki (Lucifer), Odin, Thor. But even if, like me, you don’t know a lot about these myths, it’s still a fun read, however I think people versed in it would absolutely enjoy it to it’s full potential.

3 Hot Espresso

Giveaway
Ali has generously offered up a paperback copy of Become as well as some swag to one of my readers.
Giveaway details:
Open to US/Can residents
Ends November 15th, 2011
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

<a href=”http://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.

In My Mailbox (8)

Posted by on 11/06/2011 • 164 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. So, already November! Ack! We got our first freaky snow fall that was almost blizzard-like. Then the next day it was sunny and 15 (celcius). The fun of living in Canada! =) So, here’s what I got this week! I got for review:     1. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons 2. The Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle 3. Pure by Julianna Baggott Click on cover for Goodreads:

I won:

Thanks to Claire of YA Bookie Monster I bought: 1. Variant by Robison Wells 2. Fury by Shirley Marr 3. Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday I’m pretty happy about my haul 🙂 I want to…

Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Posted by on 11/05/2011 • 20 Comments

The Dead-Tossed Waves(The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #2) Carrie RyanReleased March 9th, 2009by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Goodreads / Purchase

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead….

Fresh Batch (Nov 6th-Nov 12th)

Posted by on 11/05/2011 • 8 Comments

This week’s hot releases

Fresh Batch features some of the hottest releases this upcoming week. The books to feature are exclusively chosen by Giselle.

Flavour of the week:

BecomeAli Cross

Goodreads / Purchase

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

Review: Pyxis by K.C. Neal

Posted by on 11/04/2011 • 21 Comments

PyxisK.C. NealRelease date: November 4th, 2011by 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 search for answers, she tries to ignore the sparks igniting between them, but can’t deny she feels safe only when he’s nearby. Will they find help before their nightmares break free?

*A copy was provided by K.C. Neal for review purposes*

With quite the original premise, Pyxis takes you on a fun and mysterious ride with Corinne and her best friend Mason. All throughout the book, you’re…

Winner of Cicada

Posted by on 11/04/2011 • 1 Comment

Thank you to everyone who has entered! I have selected a winner: Congratulations to Katie of Book Bowl   Be on the lookout for Belle’s email Here’s what Katie has won:

Cicada Belle Whittington Released July 14th, 2011 Goodreads / Purchase

Summertime had always been carefree and fun for Blair Reynolds and her friends–until they came upon something that was not human. As the group of friends band together in a fight for their lives, Blair’s true love becomes something more than human…something unnatural. And their existence relies on their ability to keep a secret.

          

Want to know what I thought of Cicada? Click here for my review. If you didn’t win, make sure to head on over to the purchase link to get your very own copy. Only 2.99$…

Review: Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

Posted by on 11/03/2011 • 24 Comments

Hunting LilaSarah AldersonReleased August 4th, 2011by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads / Purchase

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she’s prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she’s been in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust – her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they’ve found them. Trying to…

Touch Blog Tour Stop

Posted by on 11/02/2011 • 42 Comments

Today, Xpresso Reads is happy to have the Touch Blog Tour stop buy to pay a visit. It consists of my review of Touch with a few extra tidbits, and also maybe… a giveaway?You have not heard of Touch yet? Here’s what it’s all about:

 TouchJus AccardoReleased November 1st,by Entangled Publishing

Goodreads / Purchase

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home. 

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s…