It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Sunday Post #74
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week! Let's get started!
Friday, June 26, 2015
Review: Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin #1) by Jennifer Estep
Title: Spider's Bite
Series: Elemental Assassin #1
Previous short stories in this series: Poison (#0.1) | Web of Deceit (#0.2) | Spider's Bargain (#0.5)
Author: Jennifer Estep
Genre: Adult, urban fantasy
Publication date: January 2010
Published by: Pocket Books
Source: Library Book
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis:
My name is Gin, and I kill people.
They call me the Spider. I'm the most feared assassin in the South — when I'm not busy at the Pork Pit cooking up the best barbecue in Ashland. As a Stone elemental, I can hear everything from the whispers of the gravel beneath my feet to the vibrations of the soaring Appalachian Mountains above me. My Ice magic also comes in handy for making the occasional knife. But I don't use my powers on the job unless I absolutely have to. Call it professional pride.
Now that a ruthless Air elemental has double-crossed me and killed my handler, I'm out for revenge. And I'll exterminate anyone who gets in my way — good or bad. I may look hot, but I'm still one of the bad guys. Which is why I'm in trouble, since irresistibly rugged Detective Donovan Caine has agreed to help me. The last thing this coldhearted killer needs when I'm battling a magic more powerful than my own is a sexy distraction... especially when Donovan wants me dead just as much as the enemy.
If you've been around for a while, you may have realized that I don’t actually read many books in the Adult genre. But seeing as how I've loved every other book I've read by Jennifer Estep, (Mythos Academy is one of my favorite series ever, and I had just finished reading Cold Burn of Magic before starting this one--which was also awesome!), I knew I had to at least give her other series a chance. And boy was I not disappointed! This Elemental Assassin series just has a very complex and interesting world with equally interesting and likable characters.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Summer 2015 Mythology Review Link-Up
Hey guys! Wow, is it Summer already? That means we're halfway done with the challenge! How are you guys doing?
Happy summer! :)
Happy summer! :)
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Review: Forget Me by K.A. Harrington
Title: Forget Me
Author: Kim Harrington (as K.A. Harrington)
Genre: YA, mystery
Publication date: August 2014
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
Source: Library book
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis:
On the three-month anniversary of her boyfriend Flynn’s death, Morgan uploads her only photo of him to FriendShare to get some closure—but she’s shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as "Evan Murphy." She’s never heard of Evan, but a quick search tells her that he lives in a nearby town and looks exactly like Flynn. Only this boy is very much alive.
Digging through layers of secrets and lies, Morgan is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her boyfriend, her town, and even her parents' involvement in this massive web of lies.
So this little book is written by Kim Harrington under the pen name K.A. Harrington. It's a bit different than her other books in that it is a more contemporary with no supernatural components. And if you know me at all, you know I don't read contemporaries, like, at all. These realistic-type books are just to every-day-life for me! I need a little paranormal stuff in my life! However, because I read and loved every other of Kim's books and I just happened to be in the mood to read something specifically by her (and this was the only YA book by her that I had left to read and I actually love mysteries), I knew I had to read Forget Me! And after having read it, I will pretty much read anything by Kim Harrington and under any pen name! She is amazing! *Forget Me* is amazing!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Review: Forgive My Fins (Fins #1) by Tera Lynn Childs
Title: Forgive My Fins
Series: Fins #1
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Genre: YA, paranormal
Publication date: May 2010
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Book Outlet
Synopsis:
Unrequited love is hard enough when you're a normal teenage girl, but for Lily Sanderson, there's no such thing as a simple crush.
Lily has a secret, and it's not her huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Lily's mermaid identity is a secret that can't get out, since she's not just any mermaid--she's a Thalassinian princess. When she discovered three years ago that her mother was actually a human, Lily finally realized why she didn't feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she's been going to Seaview High ever since. Living on land has its problems--like her obnoxious biker-boy neighbor, Quince Fletcher--but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating type--when they bond, it's for life.When Lily's attempt to win Brody's love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily ever after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
Lily, a half-human, half-mermaid princess from the underwater kingdom Thalassinia, is head over heels infatuated with her classmate Brody, which let me tell you was absolutely annoying! Yeah he's a nice guy, and gorgeous apparently, but come on Lily! Just no. Quince kept telling her and telling her that Brody was not for her and that her constant swooning over the guy was ridiculous. I cannot tell you how right Quince was about everything.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Cover Reveal: Children of the Gods by Jessica Therrien
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Sunday Post #73: Me, Music-Obsessed? Nahhh
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week! Let's get started!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Review: When Lightning Strikes (1-800-Where-R-You #1) by Jenny Carroll
Title: When Lightning Strikes
Series: 1-800-Where-R-You #1
Author: Meg Cabot (as Jenny Carroll)
Genre: YA, paranormal, mystery
Publication date: February 2001
Published by: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Source: Borrowed from library
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
Jess Mastriani has never been what you'd call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fist-fights with the football team and month-long stints in detention. A part of Jess would like to be the prom queen her mother has always envisioned her being, but another part is secretly counting the days until she's saved up enough money to buy her own Harley.
Then something happens that guarantees Jess will be one of the in-crowd... at least until her newfound talent ends up getting her dead.
It's a typical day at school for Jess--beating up guys bigger than her, going to detention, that sort of thing. But on her typical walk home from school, things take a weird turn... Jess gets struck by lightning! Shocking, I know. (see what I did there? Eh? Ehhh? Oh, I give up...) Anyway, Jess wasn't majorly hurt or anything, so that's great! Until she wakes up the next morning knowing where a missing kid is... Turns out the lightning strike gave her the weird ability to find people who are missing. Useful, but it could also put her in danger under the right (or wrong) circumstances.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Review: Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1) by Jennifer Estep
Title: Cold Burn of Magic
Series: Black Blade #1
Author: Jennifer Estep
Genre: YA, urban fantasy
Publication date: April 2015
Published by: Kensington
Source: From publishers via Netgalley
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis:
There Be Monsters Here...
It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.
I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.
But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her...
So, I'll admit that at first I was a bit hesitant about this book. Don't get me wrong, I love Jennifer Estep's other books--Mythos Academy is one of my favorite series! But I think the thing that may have put me off a little was the whole mobster, "Families" thing. I am pretty sure this stemmed from the season nine episode on Supernatural called Bloodlines, which was actually very similar to this. That episode sounded very interesting--a town ran by "Families" of monsters, shifters, werewolves, all sorts of creatures previously seen on the show. Anyway, this episode left much to be desired. Loving Supernatural as much as I do, this was a total disappointment.
At the time I didn't know this episode was this sort of pilot that was supposed to lead into a Supernatural spin-off series called Bloodlines, but I can see why that ended up not happening.
So that's why I was just the tiniest bit hesitant with the whole mob thing--I hadn't had a great experience with it in the past. But I should've known better, Cold Burn of Magic was absolutely amazing! I mean, hello! This is Jennifer Estep! After delving into three of her series (Mythos Academy, Elemental Assassin, and this one), I am convinced anything she writes will be pure gold!
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Genre: YA, mystery thriller, horror
Publication date: September 2012
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis:
SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?
In this thrilling story, ten kids are invited to a weekend long party on Henry Island. The only way to get there is by boat or ferry, and it's pretty much deserted, with only one other house on the island. No parents and an island practically all to themselves--it's supposed to be fun, right? Wrong! The day after they all arrive, they start dying one by one. Could one of them be the killer? Or is someone else in the house with them, picking them off? *cue suspenseful music*
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Review: Shinigami Eyes by Cheree & Adam Smith
Title: Shinigami Eyes
Series: Book #1
Author: Cheree & Adam Smith
Genre: YA, paranormal, horror
Publication date: October 2014
Published by: Dark Cherry Press
Source: E-book for review from publishers via Netgalley
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
Most children hope to grow out of their imaginary friends.
17-year-old Rin Waters’ only hope is that hers doesn’t kill someone, especially when said imaginary friend puts a boy in a coma. Finding herself shipped half-way around the world—to Japan, of all places—she is forced to live with grandparents she hasn’t seen for ten years and a cousin she can’t even remember.
Rin would rather just forget about the one night that ruined her life and pretend her imaginary friend doesn’t exist—if it was only that easy. When manga-obsessed otaku, Matt, won’t stop pestering her about a manga that sees the future and the tragic accident she’ll be involved in if she doesn’t listen to him, pretending becomes quite a challenge.
Suddenly mysterious accidents begin to happen to students in her school, and Rin has to wonder what length Matt is willing to go to prove his manga is real. Is it all a sham or is there really something that wants to see Rin and her new friends dead?
After a freak accident surrounding one of her classmates (where everyone blames her, but it was really her "imaginary" friend), Rin's mother sends her to live in Japan with her grandparents and cousin. Her grandfather is super strict and her grandmother is distant. Rin doesn't feel welcome at all, but at least her cousin, Haruka, seems happy to have her there. Things go from miserable to plain weird when she meets Matt, one of her classmates at her new school who claims to have a manga that can tell the future. Said manga actually seems to be focusing around Rin's life, with freak accidents and deaths coming at them left and right. What is going on? Rin and Matt team up to figure out what the hell is going on before either one of them, or any of their friends, is next.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Review: Terminal (Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #4) by J.L. Bryan
Title: Terminal
Series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper #4
Previous books in this series: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper (#1) | Cold Shadows (#2) | The Crawling Darkness (#3)
Author: J.L. Bryan
Genre: Adult, paranormal, horror
Publication date: May 2015
Published by: J.L. Bryan
Source: E-book for review from author
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
Ellie Jordan and her apprentice Stacey investigate a house in an elaborate planned community that was only half-built before it went bankrupt, leaving an instant ghost town with only a few residents. The entity haunting this house is a banshee that feeds on sadness and misery.
Unfortunately for Ellie, this is no simple haunting, but just one symptom of the cursed land on which the suburban community was built. The old railroad line running through the nearby woods might just be a conduit for lost souls, including dark spirits with ill intentions toward the living. Ellie soon finds herself facing one of the most complex and difficult hauntings she’s seen in her career.
Ellie Jordan's next job takes her to this neighborhood that was abandoned in the middle of building due to insufficient funds. Now, there are just a couple of people here and there, living in some of the complete houses. But it's all for the best, I suppose, seeing as how it turns out that the whole place is pretty much haunted--an abandoned railroad nearby, particularly.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Monthly Wrap-Up: April & May 2015
Well, helloooo there stranger! Long time no see! So, here is my excuse for being gone so long: reading slump. I don't know what it is about these stupid things, but they've been hanging around me WAY too often! It is why these two months will be sparse as you will see below. I really hope I can keep these slumps away for a while...