Bookish Updates!

Darkest Minds: 99 cents

I just finished my hardback copy of The Darkest Minds and I LOVED the story so much! Alexandra Bracken has written such a powerful story. I might have gotten a little, okay a lot. emotionally involved in the story. Thankfully, Never Fade is coming out on October 15th!

So, while I was looking up the release date I also noticed that The Darkest Minds is for sale for 99 cents for all e-readers!

I do not know how long this sale will last so go grab your copy while you can!

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Goodreads / Official Website 

Also there is a novella, In Time, that is only $1.99.  I would recommend buying the novella with The Darkest Minds.

Viviana Ware's Perception

I just recently received an email from Viviana, the author of Perception, with some exciting news!

Goodreads

"I recently launched a blog and tumblr to help promote Perception and open the novel up to a wider audience. On both the blog and tumblr sites, I will be posting my novel for free in its entirety, releasing one chapter per week over the next few months. Each week, the chapters will be accompanied by behind the scenes info including photos of the characters, scenes, and fashion featured in the book. I will be posting the music that inspired and helped to mold Perception, as well. In addition, I’ve recently launched a line of beanies inspired by Perception and other pop culture references. I have included the links to all of the new content if you think your readers might be interested in checking them out!"

Here are the links:

Official Website: www.vivianaware.com

Blogger: vivianaware.blogspot.com (This is the spot you want to go!)

Tumblr: vwnovelist.tumblr.com

Here is my review of Perception, I loved it and the novel the perfect Halloween read. Trust me when I say the novel is super creepy, depressing, and very dark. Trust me. I would recommend going and checking out the links, reading the novel for free, and getting awesome extra content!

Gemini Rising/Ethereal Fury: First Seven Chapters FREE on Wattpad

I don't know if any of you have a Wattpad account (I don't) however, if you do, this is the perfect chance to sample Gemini Rising. Also, quick question, do any of you use Wattpad? Do you like the site? I am not sure if I should sign up!

Goodreads

Here is my review of Gemini Rising: Ethereal Fury. This book is an amazing read and I strongly recommend you go check it out! And,  now, go get a taste of the series on Wattpad!

 Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/21320013-gemin...

The original message from Jessica O'Gorek:

 "Hiya my lovely fans! I was just wondering if all of you have read my book. I wanted to let you know I have Chapters 1-7 posted free on Watt-pad and could use your reads! Did you know E.L. James was discovered in part because she has over 100,000 reads on Watt-pad? A publisher approached her for this simple fact! I know I already have a publisher, but the recognition couldn't hurt, right? 

 So... if you have a half an hour, take a look and if you like it, please recommend it!"

I hope you look into one of these books! Thanks for reading!

-Emily 

Review: The Bagman

The Bagman by Rachael Rippon

Publication Date: June 25th, 2013
Genre: Darker Middle Grade
Amazon/Barnes and Noble
(Received for free in exchange for an honest review)

In the midst of the Second World War, Abigail is deposited at St Winifred's Orphanage for Willful, Wayward and Wicked Children. As soon as she arrives, Abigail is warned of the Bagman and what will happen if she misbehaves. But Abigail is too busy trying to escape to listen. Her estranged twin, Tabitha, is close by and Abigail has to find her before their 16th birthdays. Besides, she doesn't believe in the Bagman.

He believes in her though. Appearing when she least expects it; he asks her to play his Game. He will give her seven wishes to be used in seven days. But the Game is not as easy as Abigail supposes, and the wishes not as nice…

Soon, Abigail is getting exactly what she wished for. And the effects are catastrophic.

If you loved 'Coraline' or 'Alice in Wonderland', then you're sure to love 'The Bagman'.

I was going to review The Bagman in August, but I just found out I accidentally marked it in for December on my calendar! My reviewing schedule runs by my calendar. *sigh* Thankfully, I caught my error yesterday while I was scrolling through the months and today I am writing a review for the book. I cannot believe I didn't realize my big mistake sooner.  The Bagman blew my mind. I would definitely recommend this to fans of middle grade or young adult lovers looking for a refreshing read. The book in unputdownable and I was sucked into the story immediately. 

I loved the author's tone in the Bagman. The writing is dark, humorous, and compulsively readable. Even the chapter titles are superb. For example, one of the first chapter names is "In Which Abigail Arrives, a Tree is Climbed, and the Incident with the Pig is not Explained." After merely reading the chapter title I knew I would love the book.

Also, I really enjoyed the dialogue. The bicker between children is entertaining and the words coming out of The Bagman's mouth sometimes caused me to shudder or become suspicious. Speaking of the Bagman, I must say he is a very intriguing character. I mean, the book is named after him. The chapters narrated by him were awesome. 

Suspense and mystery fill the pages of The Bagman. Even The Bagman himself has some mysteries to unravel. "Something was going on. And he was going to find out what." (tentatively page 60). The Bagman knows there is something different about Abigail. Why is she different?  Also we have the mystery of Abigail's fate. What does The Bagman want? Will he succeed? The little game of his seems to be pretty dangerous, and near impossible to win.

The setting, the rotten school/orphanage, and the time period, the second world war, made the novel even more unique. I always was a sucker for books set in orphanages or schools. The classes Abigail had were pretty awful but they made for an enjoyable read, although I had a lot of sympathy for Abigail. There was also plenty of "magic"! The Bagman had his tricks and supernatural powers that added to the danger, darkness, and adventure of the book.

Overall, The Bagman is an amazing read that I would highly recommend! And, oh yeah, be careful what you wish for or The Bagman with his deadly game will twist your words...  

And I will leave on that happy note! See you later, guys!


4/5 Stars

Thanks for Reading!

-Emily

Truth or Dare #1

Hosted by Jenna Does Books!

Truth: Aside from reading or blogging, do you have a hobby or skill?

Why yes, I do have a hobby! I take ballet classes after school a few days a week. Sometimes the classes are three hours! *cough* That was the reason I was a bad blogger yesterday and didn't post *cough* My mom was a very serious ballerina and I guess she passed on her passion to me! Right now the studio is preparing for The Nutcracker... and I'll be in snow scene! I'm so excited.

I have other hobbies such as violin, jewelry making, bell playing, singing, and writing (I want to be an author when I grow up. It's been my dream since I was five.) Also, does hanging out with friends count as a hobby?

Overall, ballet is my main hobby beside reading and blogging. I love the feeling of extreme concentration and control. Also, I think ballet is the closest feeling I will ever come to flying. It's even better than planes, although planes are pretty cool. Also, I always feel better after a ballet class. Unfortunately, I am always sore all the time, but I feel refreshed so it's worth it! Just a fun fact!

What are you hobbies?

-Emily

Review: Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road by Moira Young (Dust Lands Book One)

Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Genre: YA Dystopian
Amazon/Barnes and Noble

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba’s unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Wow! I was blown away by Blood Red Road. (Also known simply as Dust Lands in my head. Look at the giant font for the series' title in comparison to the actual title!) Not only did I find the novel to indeed be better than The Hunger Games, I also would rank the book as one of the better dystopians and even at the top of the list!

At first, I wasn't sure if I would like the dialect. There are no quotations marks and a lot of pretty bad grammar. There are misspelled words aplenty and you will find a lot of choppy sentences. However, all this makes this book one of the most realistic dystopians out there. Have you ever wondered why a character with supposedly no education can speak with perfect grammar and acquire such a large vocabulary? I certainly have, particularly in dystopians, and I am so glad Dust Lands fixes that problem.

I know a lot of people are still apprehensive of the writing of the novel. Will it be too hard to get into the novel with the bad grammar and lack of punctuation and spelling? For me, the dialect did not prevent me from getting sucked into Saba's world. In fact, the uncommon but smartly planned writing made me love the book so much more, and after a while I barely noticed the "errors". I was just in Saba's head and thinking the way she thought.

Also, I love the fact that Dust Lands is a dystopian without an overload of technonlgy. In all honesty, I was kind of getting bored with all the computer-y electronic-y aspects in some novels. Blood Red Road is simply a survival story in a world with a harsh terrain and plenty of fighting and cruel conditions. I also loved the lack of control the setting has. Everyone is out to keep only their heads on their necks and most are back stabbers that don't care about the fate of others.

The characters are superb. While I found Saba to occasionly be thick headed and mean, she was a unique character and her story of survival is also one about self discovery. The character I felt for most was Saba's sister Emmi. Saba treats her badly as she blames Emmi for the mother's death, and she goes through a lot of pain and trauma for a seven year old. Also, I found the brother, Lugh, to be a very interesting character. Although we don't see much of him, he has a big presence throughout the book and I hope we see more of him in the second book.

Jack, the love interest, was not a "wow" character for me, although I did like him. I was intrigued by him and I was on edge to hear his story. Unfortunately, we don't seem to learn enough about Jack and I was disappointed. Hopefully more will be revealed in the next book. Next, we have the Free Hawks. They were so awesome! Who can't love a "gang of girl warriors and revolutionaries"?

Finally, we have the adventure and plot. Well, it was amazingly paced and I really hated every time I had to set the book down. There is so much action from fights to storms to daring escapes. Along with the action there is also great, to-the-point descriptions that have you imagining the setting. Overall, I really enjoyed the journey Blood Red Road sucked me into. The characters, plot, setting, and dialect were amazing and realictic. Don't let this book scare you. Give Dust Lands a try.

4/5 Stars

Thanks for reading!

-Emily

Waiting on Wednesday #26

Hosted by Breaking the Spine

This week I am waiting on...

After The End by Amy Plum

Publication Date: May 6th, 2014
Genre: Young Adult
Series: Unnamed #1

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They’ve survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she’s trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

I have never read anything by Amy Plum, but I want to! Plus, I love the fact that the book supposedly takes place in Alaska. Or maybe I just chose this book because of the dogs on the cover...

What are you waiting on?

-Emily

Top Ten Tuesday #25

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Six Best Series Enders

Yeah, I could only think of six!!!


1. Clockwork Princess
The book was such a beautiful conclusion to the trilogy!

2. The Last Olympian
Rick Riordan is a genius. I love all the characters so much and I was holding my breath throughout the entire novel. Also, the last chapter was awesome.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J.K. Rowling can do no bad in my book... I loved reading about Harry's seventh year away from Hogwarts. Also, I may have read this book at least eight times.

4. Last Sacrifice
What an amazing ending! I read all of the Vampire Academy books a month ago and this was one of the best of a epic series. Also, I loved how we are introduced to characters from Bloodlines.

5. Ascend 
The Trylle Trilogy exceeded my expectations, and I especially loved the third and final one, Ascend.

6. Realms of the Gods
This book blew my mind. That is all.

What's on your list?

-Emily

Just One More Chapter!

Yeah about that...

Common Bookish Thoughts:

"Just a couple more pages!"

"One more chapter! That's it! Then I will shut my book."

"I need to know why that happened... Um, maybe just a tiny, tiny bit more?"





We all have those times when we are reading a really, really good book and tell ourselves "I'll just read to the end of this chapter..." As you probably know, this never works. I can almost guarantee you will end up reading, well, nearly the whole book. Also, you will get nothing useful done.

Most of the time, this isn't such a bad trait. However, there are times when my mom pops her head into my room and reminds me I have to sweep before ballet. My response is, "Just one more chapter! Then I will sweep." Needless to say, the sweeping gets done very hurriedly at the last second.

Now, you may be wondering why I chose to write about this topic today. Well, I was actually planning on writing a review today. The key word in that sentence was planning...  Anyway, I started reading Crash Into You by Katie McGarry and, instead of penning up a review like a good little book blogger, I read the whole entire book. Now, I am doing a discussion post because they are quicker and I tend to spend a lot of time on my reviews.

Other "Just One More Page" Books.

Another time I read the entire sixth Harry Potter book. Yeah, there was no sleep that night, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself to put the book down and get some shut-eye.

Also, one weekend I spent an entire day reading Through the Zombie Glass. I was a sad excuse for a blogger that Saturday too, just like today.

How could I have almost forgotten Fangirl? I stayed up 'till two am reading that jewel. I fell asleep on a pile of laundry that I probably should have hung up and I was still in my jeans.

Do you have the same habits? Have you had the same experience?

-Emily

Stacking the Shelves #25

Hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

I had two pretty awesome weeks in books! Also, this week has been pretty exciting all around; my mom came back from Chicago, my best friend had her birthday, and, this is the best part, I got sick again! (Please note Emily's use of sarcasm.)

Bought

I also snuck The 5th Wave into the picture... I couldn't resist! I just finished the book, and boy was it amazing! I hope to have a review up soon, if I can ever find the words to do it justice.

The other books I got at Powells with the credit I got from selling used books. So far, all I have read is Through The Zombie Glass and Wildefire. Steelheart is up next!

For Review

 Pawn by Aimee Carter

Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

(Thank you Harlequin Teen!)

American Girl on Saturn (received for tour!)

The Faerie War (Thank you Rachel Morgan!)

How was your week in books?

-Emily