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Saturday, April 25, 2015

Fresh Batch (April 26th – May 2nd)

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Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

An Ember in the Ashes
Sabaa Tahir
Publication date: April 28th 2015
by Razorbill

Goodreads Purchase

I WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I TELL EVERY SLAVE.

THE RESISTANCE HAS TRIED TO PENETRATE THIS SCHOOL COUNTLESS TIMES. I HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVERY TIME.

IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE RESISTANCE, IF YOU CONTACT THEM, IF YOU THINK OF CONTACTING THEM, I WILL KNOW

AND I WILL DESTROY YOU.

Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.


Other releases this week:
* In no particular order *




Clipped by Love (Bellevue Bullies #2) by Toni Aleo [Purchase]
The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1) by Melissa Grey [Purchase]
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley [Purchase]
Black Iris by Leah Raeder [Purchase]


Overruled (The Legal Briefs #1) by Emma Chase [Purchase]
Rook by Sharon Cameron [Purchase]
The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver [Purchase]
Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa [Purchase]


Broken Juliet (Starcrossed #2) by Leisa Rayven [Purchase]
Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger [Purchase]
Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1) by Jennifer Estep [Purchase]
Invincible (Invincible #1) by Amy Reed [Purchase]


The Secrets of Attraction by Robin Constantine [Purchase]
The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough [Purchase]
In a World Just Right by Jen Brooks [Purchase]
Valiant by Sarah McGuire [Purchase]


The Other Side of Envy (The Ghost Bird #8) by C.L. Stone [Purchase]
Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures (Pip Bartlett #1) by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater [Purchase]
Hunted (Sinners #2) by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki [Purchase]
The Replaced (The Taking #2) by Kimberly Derting [Purchase]


Omega City (Omega City #1) by Diana Peterfreund [Purchase]
Watch Your Back by Tracy Bilen [Purchase]
Sweet (Contours of the Heart #3) by Tammara Webber [Purchase]
Ferals (Ferals #1) by Jacob Grey [Purchase]


The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste [Purchase]
Deception’s Pawn (Deception’s Princess #2) by Esther M. Friesner [Purchase]
Strange Skies: Burn Out Book Two by Kristi Helvig [Purchase]
The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl [Purchase]


Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman [Purchase]
Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone [Purchase]
Encore to an Empty Room (Exile #2) by Kevin Emerson [Purchase]
Trouble from the Start by Rachel Hawthorne [Purchase]


The Boyfriend Project by Rachel Hawthorne [Purchase]
Diva Rules by Amir Abrams [Purchase]
Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen [Purchase]
One Perfect Summer: Labor of Love and Thrill Ride by Rachel Hawthorne [Purchase]


You’re the Kind of Girl I Write Songs About by Daniel Herborn [Purchase]
Fire & Chasm by Chelsea M. Campbell [Purchase]
A Magic Dark and Bright (The Asylum Saga #1) by Jenny Adams Perinovic [Purchase]
Be Not Afraid by Cecilia Galante [Purchase]


Lois Lane: Fallout (Lois Lane #1) by Gwenda Bond [Purchase]
Drive Me Crazy by Terra Elan McVoy [Purchase]
The Shattered Court (A Novel of the Four Arts #1) by M.J. Scott [Purchase]


Anything that’s catching your eye this week?

 

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Find previous Fresh Batch posts here!

Review: This Shattered Court by M.J. Scott

Review: This Shattered Court by M.J. Scott

Posted by on 04/24/2015 • 4 Comments

Let it be known that if you thought this was a YA Fantasy, turn around now because this is better suited for adult audiences. Unless graphic sex scenes don’t bother you, then you have nothing to fear… well, at least, in that aspect. There were many other factors in this book that I thought were far more concerning than what happens between a male thingy and a female thingy.

First of all, what the fucking hell – was there even a plot in this book?! It was 300 pages of sex, magic, witches and pseudo-court intrigue and none of the substance those themes call upon. It amazed me that so many words were dedicated to almost absolutely nothing, because if there’s one thing this book is, it’s actually 300 pages of setting…

Review: In A World Just Right by Jen Brooks

Review: In A World Just Right by Jen Brooks

Posted by on 04/23/2015 • 12 Comments

This book was interesting. I really enjoyed being in Jonathan’s head and trying to figure out his different worlds and the whole “world making” thing. It was a bit confusing at times, but it kept me interested the whole way through. Especially when his worlds start colliding. I can’t say that I really liked the other characters much, but they weren’t horrible. The main thing that kept me engaged was wanting to know what was going on, and how it would all end up. I didn’t have strong character connection, but enough to want a happy ending for this. I wouldn’t say this is quite a parallel universe, but something kind of like it I guess. It was a unique story and I did enjoy it a lot. More than…

Fearless Playlist!

Fearless Playlist!

Posted by on 04/22/2015 • 2 Comments

The Fearless blog tour is stopping by the blog today with the book’s Playlist! Here’s a little about the book first:

Fearless Playlist Biffy Clyro – Many of Horror

Ludovico Einaudi – I Due Fiumi

Mumford and Sons – I Gave You All

Paramore – Playing God

Erik Satie – Gnossienne no. 1 (Lent)

Mumford and Sons – Awake My Soul

Dustin O’Halloran – Fragile No. 4

Message to Bears – Running Through Woodland

The Temper Trap – Soldier On

Fleet Foxes – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfBqoGVFXc

Miike Snow – Silvia

Ludovico Einaudi – La Nescita Delle Cose Segrete About the Author

Emma Pass grew up at an environmental studies centre near London, went to…

Interview with Sharon Cameron + Giveaway!

Interview with Sharon Cameron + Giveaway!

Posted by on 04/20/2015 • 35 Comments

Sharon Cameron is on the blog today for a conversation on her newest release, Rook! First, let’s see what this book is all about:

Interview with Sharon Cameron

Hi Sharon! Thanks for stopping by today! I was a big fan of The Dark Unwinding and am looking forward to reading Rook!

Hello, and thanks so much for having me. So thrilled that you loved The Dark Unwinding!

Let’s start with giving us a brief description of Rook using a tweet (140 characters or less).

Okay!

In a future without technology Sophia rescues innocents from death during the second French Revolution. Outwitting her fiancé is not so easy.

What was the most interesting part of your research for this novel? Is there something surprising or fascinating that you…

Fresh Batch (April 19th – 25th)

Fresh Batch (April 19th – 25th)

Posted by on 04/18/2015 • 6 Comments

Fresh Batch, posted weekly, keeps you up to date on the hottest releases of the upcoming week.

Flavor of the week:

Things We Know by Heart Jessi Kirby Publication date: April 21st 2015by HarperTeen

Goodreads Purchase

When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she…

Review: Dreamfire by Kit Alloway

Review: Dreamfire by Kit Alloway

Posted by on 04/17/2015 • 14 Comments

“THERE HAS TO BE A BOOK TWO. THE STORY CANNOT END HERE.”

This was my mantra upon finishing this book. And boy, did I keep on repeating this with much fervor and passionate flailing. I mean, guys. GUYS. I found a 5 star book. THIS IS NOT A DRILL: I FOUND A 5 STAR BOOK. Where’s the confetti?! Where are the champagne?! WE NEED A GODDAMN CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN OVER HERE.

I am getting goosebumps all over my skin as I type this. I don’t even know how I’m going to review this book in the most logical, coherent way possible. I usually write my reviews in a calculated, objective (with a tint of emotional bias) manner, but right now, I don’t think that is possible. Warning: I may repeat the words awesome, fantastic, excellent, sublime,…

Interview with Courtney Summers!

Interview with Courtney Summers!

Posted by on 04/15/2015 • 12 Comments

I’m excited to have Courtney Summers on the blog today for a quick conversation on her newest release, All the Rage! Here’s more about the book in case you missed it:

Interview with Courtney Summers

Hi Courtney! I’m excited to have you on the blog today – I’m your biggest fan ever, by the way! 😉 Aw, thank you so much, Giselle! I appreciate that and I’m a fan of yours too. Thank you for having me on your blog. 🙂

Writing about a subject such as rape has to be incredibly difficult, what was the biggest struggle while writing this book?

Just writing it was the biggest struggle for the exact reason you’ve stated—rape is an incredibly difficult and challenging subject to approach. When you write…