Reader Rising

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Review: School Spirits

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as theNew York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

I will just say right out that I am a huge Hex Hall fan, and while this spin-off wasn’t quite as good, the novel definitely did not disappoint. Rachel Hawkins has her humor and sarcasm at the ready and her awesome characters to save the day.

While Izzy was no Sophie and Dex was no Archer, I loved both if them lots. Izzy was fun and Dex made me laugh frequently. I also enjoyed learning more about Torin, a centuries old guy in a mirror, who also had me laughing despite the fact I had huge trust issues with him.

One part I liked was that Dex's story was unpredictable, some of his secrets came out (some even he didn't know about) and I was just, like, "woah, did not see that coming"! Also, some of the other friend's Izzy made were fun, although they didn't have any of the cool magicky stuff Dexter did.

The story was quite short, and moved very quickly. I am pretty sure I finished School Spirits in only a couple hours. Also, this book seemed a lot lighter than Hex Hall. I think the circumstances were more dire in the Hex Hall trilogy and Sophie seemed much older than Izzy. Plus, I think I got Sophie's humor so well, and with Izzy, well we just have different personalities! Still, the book is laugh-out-loud funny. I do love the Hawkin Sarcasm, as I have said before.

I enjoyed how the family aspects were handled. Izzy is part of the Brannick family where she is taught to fight and fend for herself. Her father, however, is absent and her mother is more like a trainer most of the time. Also, Izzy’s sister is missing. The point is Izzy’s family is a little strained and hanging out with her first friends at school is good for her. I also loved the character growth between Izzy and her mother.

Hauntings were very intriguing in this book, ghosts and spirits are another specialty of Hawkins. There is a lot of foreshadowing before the actual spirit events, though. This was kind of cool, as we got to spend more time with the characters and got all these clues to the mystery, but then again Rachel Hawkins always makes a good ghost and I would like to see more of each!

I am looking forward to anther book to the series, but I have heard that if there is another one coming, it won’t be very soon. Rachel Hawkins is working on a different book that I am excited for though. So, at least I can read more by her in the future even if it is not in the Hex Hall/Prodigum world! Is anyone else who read this sad there won't be a sequel next year though?

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone, but only second to Hex Hall. I miss Archer and Sophie! School Spirits in light and fun though. And definitely still highly recommended!

4/5 bookcases

Please check out the giveaway of 5 copies of Perception, and my 150 follower giveaway, ending soon!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #12

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

Wow, it feels good to be getting back in the swing of things here at Counting in Bookcases, since my vacation! Anyways,

My WOW pick this week is...

Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Sixteen-year-old Samantha D’Angelo has death on the brain. Her summer internship at the local newspaper has her writing obituaries instead of soaking up the sun at the beach.

Between Shelby, Sam’s boy-crazy best friend; her boss Harry, a true-blue newspaper man; and AJ, her fellow “intern scum” (aka the cute drummer for a band called Love Gas), Sam has her hands full. But once she figures out what—or who—is the best part of her summer, will she mess it all up?

As Sam learns her way around both the news room and the real world, she starts to make some momentous realizations about politics, ethics, her family, romance, and most important—herself.

I just read and 100% loved the debut How My Summer Went Up in Flames by the same author! I hope this novel is as good as the author's first! The synopsis does sound epic though, doesn't it? What are you waiting on this week?

And please check out my 150 followers giveaway, ending soon! Also, I just had my first author interview and giveaway, so, if you want to, have a look!

Review: Guardian of the Realm

Guardian of the Realm by Krystal George

The Darkness
Taken when she was just seven years old, Esmeralda has very little memory of her life before the Realm. Power has always been her constant companion, protection has been her only goal, and acceptance by the magic she guards has always been her only wish. That is until the darkness comes... and with it comes the one person who can give her the greatest power of all... love.

The Light
Losing his mother at a young age, Eric has always been the responsible one; the strong one. He'd had to be. His sister Kaitlyn had needed him. Now with Kaitlyn missing he is thrown into a world of secrets and deception. A world that until this moment he knew nothing about... a world that he is more a part of than he could have ever known. With darkness descending and time running out, can he become the man he is destined to be? Or will he fail and lose the girl he has come to love?

The Realm
Beyond the doorway is a World of Enchantment and Myth. A world that once entered will grant you any wish your heart may desire... but only if you can get beyond... the Guardian.

This novel was a perfect little escape. From beginning to finish I was sucked into the world of guardians, faeries, pixies, and other mythical creatures. I am so glad I got the chance to read this, and I hope more people pick up The Guardian of the Realm.

This book stands out, from start to finish. The writing and descriptions I thought were especially unique! The whole dark world was very vivid and blew my mind from the the very first mention of faeries. I would definitely reccomend this to readers looking for an absorbing read.

The whole concept of light and dark intrigued me. And the author kept the audience constantly focused on the war against one another, in characters, places, battles, and thoughts. My only complaint is that once in a while the characters would get a flat feeling for a page or two. Esmeralda was always great and unique (I really enjoyed her perspective), just Eric sometimes felt like a background character in the beginning. By the end he was great though!

The other characters such as Kaitlyn and Agatha were very intriguing. Just the things they said drew me in. Also, I enjoyed reading about Fidelious, a magic stallion and Essie's friend! The authors interpretation of how magical creatures think and act made the book so different from others. This book was just so different and interesting, that if it had any real faults they were overlooked because of my heightened interest.

While this was no way a long book, I still think the length is perfect and adds to the uniqueness of the faerie tale. Also, I never was bored! The book was action packed with the bonus of interesting dialogue. I also loved how the author brought up emotion so much. And what the faeries think of them.

The conclusion was done masterfully and left me satisfied, smiling, and heart pounding still after what had happened a couple chapter before. Overall, Guardian of the Realm is a great and kind of different read.

4/5 bookcases

*received in exchange for an honest review*

Book Blitz (Excerpt): PODs

PODs

by Michelle K. Pickett

Release Date: 06/24/13

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Paperback/ebook

312 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Books that include traveling...

Such an awesome topic this week, although I could barely come up with an ideas! However, I did include Paris (twice), India, Norway, the circus, and road trips!

What is your Top Ten? :) Or (in my case) Top Six?

Also, please, please, please check out my 150 follower giveaway, which is ending soon!

Also, check out my first author interview and giveaway if you want!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Bloglovin' Blog Hop #1

Hosted by Blkosiners Book Blog

Question:
What are your blogging pet peeves?

Er, well a lot of times HTML gets on my nerves. (Other times I think it is really cool though, and I pretend I am one of those cool spies with codes.) And, on other blogs, CAPTCHA, can get a teensy bit annoying even though I know it is there for a reason. Oh, and I hate when you accidentally delete an image or part of a post that you worked on for forever to get just right!

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Wow, okay, I just want to get across how much this book sucked me in. I received Another Little Piece in the mail Tuesday and finished it Wednesday . This was so unique and stood so far apart from all the other books I have read. So refreshing. Wow.

This book is mentally exhausting. There is so much to take in, plus I cried a lot. And, at the end, I was frantically reading and rereading pages trying to take it all in and figure out what was going to happen. Also, there are all these plot and characters you have to keep track of. If you read the book carefully though, the book seems beautiful. After completing the book I flipped to random pages and just slowly reread, the writing is that good. Another Little Piece is definitely book you can read again and again and again and always get something out of it.

The characters are unlike any characters I have ever read, and so it the dialogue. I would call this book almost lyrical in the way it is told. I would go more into characters but I can't really, most of the plot is preventing me. Although I can say all of them were fully formed and memorable. Dex, Logan, Frankie, the mom and the dad, Gwen... all these characters are frighteningly vivid. And the narrative and poems are stunningly powerful.

The content within is not for the faint hearted, I can clearly see how this could fall under YA horror/suspense. However, the gore and horror is another little piece that makes the book stand out. I also loved the supernatural aspect. There are some dark monsters, and this book defines exactly what a monster is, and what it is not.

Overall, I loved this book so much more than I expected to! I would totally recommend Another Little Piece to anyone looking for a shockingly lyrical and gory read. Read slowly and carefully though, otherwise you will be lost. And prepare to be brain dead after you finish, in a good way that rarely ever happens with all of those cliche, easier books circling around!