{Arc Review} Becoming Alphay by Aileen Erin

Series: Alpha Girl #1

Publication date: December 17, 2013

Publisher:  Ink Monster, LLC

ISBN-13: 9780989405010

Synopsis  

A life of perpetual abnormality was not really a life, no matter where we moved my curse would follow. I can’t touch anyone without listening and seen what they are feeling, what they are thinking. Sadly things can always turn for the worst.

My one opportunity to start fresh and to have contact with people like me was in Texas, and yet one stupid silly sexy kiss turned my world… or should I say myself into something I was not expecting… a werewolf.

Review

I am guilty of picking up this book from Netgalley because it satisfies my guilty pleasure of werewolves finding their mates, their destined lovers. You see it is only with this paranormal creatures that I can accept the idea of insta love and meant to be’s. And let me tell you that this book filled up to my expectations.

This is the story of Tessa, a girl with a supernatural ability that lets her know by touch what others are feeling or thinking, haunted by this reality her family decides to relocate to a place they hope will bring better opportunities to Tessa and a fresh start, sadly this two don’t come in the way her family was hoping for.

Both Tessa and the reader get pushed around into a world that goes from the boarder from normality and makes us deep into urban fantasy. Tessa is turned into a werewolf, a shifter and now her school life goes from high school into a secret boarding school for werewolves.

The world we go into is not perfect, the rules at first come like things we know but little by little we see little shifts and little changes on the rules of the world. Soon enemies come and new allies start to show their faces.

Tessa is a girl that respects herself, a girl that will try to do the right thing even if life has not treated her. I like the fact that she is loved in her family circle and that compared to other books she has a healthy relationships with them.

Dastien on the other hand was a character that I had some issues with, he is the main lead and the reason Tessa’s destiny is changed forever. But even though his logic might have been correct his actions make him sketchy and not as lovable as I feel the author was trying to make him.

I want the next installment to come out soon, Avoiding Alpha, there were some shifts near the end of the book that lead me to make assumptions and speculations about how the next book will turn up and hopefully that there will be no regression with the characters and more evolution in the story and characters will take place.

Rating:

3.5 Broken TV’s.

{Audio Book Review} Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy #1

Narrator: Tara Sands

Publication date: August 1st 2011

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

ISBN-13: 9781469283876

Synopsis  

Mom was a great cop, a strong woman that fought for justice and loved her family. Now she is gone, she left me and grandma behind and now thanks to an invitation to join Mythos academy now we can’t be together.

In the academy I am not like the others, here where Vikings, Spartans and descendants of other great warriors come to train and perfect their crafts I am still a freak. Call it a blessing, call it a curse but we see the story behind the things, they talk to us, share with us more than I would like to know. Don’t get me wrong it comes in handy here and there but it comes with a big side dish of  TMI.

Now in a school that loves to give classes about mythological history and trains younglings in the ways of the warriors a murder has happened, the place that was said to be the safest for us has been violated, the strange thing was that this person died while I lived, both of us in the library practically alone and only one of us made it out. Don’t get me wrong I am happy to be alive, but why her? Why me?

Review

First Frost had a Veronica Mars kind of feel to it, sadly the narrator took that a little too far, she limited the inflections of her voice to a smart-ass Veronica that kill my Genna Frost buzz at the beginning of the book, I am not going to lie it took a while to get over it.

Besides that, the story was fun and honestly I just couldn’t wait to see how Genna really fitted into this mythological world and the actual mythology. If you are in the market for some evil Loki then you might want to give touch of frost a go.

There were some things that were easy to decipher but there were others that gave me a good surprise and spiced up the story.

Character wise Genna had some good moments, but sadly there was a point in her grieving that got repetitive as we heard about the circumstances that lead to her mother’s demise, which she takes full blame but from the beginning, at least for me, it didn’t feel that she was guilty at all.

The secondary characters I would say that the author is giving us a shy approach in presenting them to us, you see who is important, but because Genna is an outcast she isn’t ready to open up to them and to let us get more time with them. Yet I am looking forward to the second book to explore more of the characters and hopefully Tara Sands will learn from her mistakes and put more life into the life of Genna Frost and the world of Mythos Academy.

Rating:

{Blog Tour Review} Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson

Series: Hetty Feather #1

Publication date: October 15, 2013

Publisher: Montlake Romance

ISBN-13: 9781477807590

Synopsis  

No baby cried like Hetty Feather, a restless little sprout that when it came down to size it wasn’t looked over twice, but when it came to her crying no one could controller. Life decided to be as kind as it was cruel to the child.

First they let her out of the hospital and give her a family, a mother, a father, brothers, sisters and her dearest Jem. Only to be taken back to that horrid place, but the fire that has been in her will not let her settle.

Her new life of uniforms and strict rules doesn’t diminish Hetty’s ability to make believe or to remember that she was loved in her foster home, which mixed with her passionate character, sets her apart like a sour thumb.

 The fact that she was abandoned at birth doesn’t diminish Hetty’s hopes to find her real mother, but even with vague memories of her babyhood she doesn’t have much to go by. An she really find the woman that left her and find the truth about her origins?

Review

This was my first experience with an unreliable narrator that was full of imagination yet at the same time didn’t get to hide her own little childish selfishness or how strong she can really be.

Hetty’s story takes you through the ups and downs of life, how she was loved even when her personality got the best of her and out of her mother, how even when life was hard Hetty could be strong for others and how can a girl that went by her own code fit in a place such as the hospital.

This is a book that talks about lost, about adoption and being an orphan. It is not a Disney version book but it is not a book full of darkness and tragedy, it is stuck somewhere in the middle.

The way Jacqueline Wilson gave voice and took us throughout the story was one of my favorite things about this book, the narration just made this book an entertaining read, never giving you more then you should know but in a way showing enough that you could make theories as to what could happen next in the story.

Rating:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Blog Tour Review} First Bite by Dani Harper

Series: Dark Wolf #1

Publication date: October 15, 2013

Publisher: Montlake Romance

ISBN-13: 9781477807590

Synopsis  

Neva was trying to end things before she became a killer, before she lost her identity, before she became like them. But sadly her hopes to save humanity from herself don’t go as planned, especially when Travis Williamson comes along to save her preaching that her life isn’t over.

Now Neva will learn to trust this stranger that has helped her more than once, while they keep moving away from her sire and all the messed up things she entitles. While learning that the guy with the permanent scold may not be as bad as the alternative, and that maybe the life she was forced into isn’t as bad as she was made to believe.

Review

First Bite is a story told from different perspectives in a way that you don’t really need a main title every time the point of view changes from character, it has been a long while since I’ve read something with more than two different P.O.V.’s and I don’t feel like I am trying to figure out just who the hell is the owner of the voice I am reading.

I liked Neva, she may have found it really hard to trust Travis but honestly that just added to the excitement and thankfully she got over it before it got old. Travis on the other hand is hunted by his past and may be in denial of some of the things happening right in front of him, he is strong and refuses to leave Neva until she is no longer a danger to society and he shows her that being a changeling doesn’t equal being a murderer.

Most of the characters that come into play where fun to read, I do have some issues with the villain and her relationship whit our heroin, the foundation of it all leaves to believe some of the things wouldn’t have developed the way they did if their past was truly what we end up learning.

Sometimes this story would throw me of my game with some of the revelations or plot twists it we got, sometimes it was really on the safe side of thing when I feel that this story could have taken some of those opportunities to shine.

Rating: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Audio Book Review} Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #1

Publication date: December 23, 2010

Publisher: Tantor Audio

ISBN-13: 978140014936000

Synopsis

Merit was a 27 year old grad student in the University of Chicago, happy with her life and 100% human. But one night it all changed... after being attacked and ends up being transformed into a vampire against her will, the explication she got was... "it's the only way we could have saved your life" but Merit isn't sure it was for the best when she is forced to make her academic life come to a sudden end while all her dreams and plans jump out the window.

She is put to the test right away as the only "survivor" of a series of murders and she feels its her responsibility to help put an end to them, the only problem is she has to play nice with her Lord, the extremely attractive and charming Ethan Sullivan who isn't afraid to accept the attraction between them nor is he afraid to say he isn't the least pleased with it.

Merits to do list is a little extreme for a newly turned vamp, she has to accept the fact that she is now a vampire, drink blood, remember to stay away from the sun, stay alive, find out who was the person that attacked her and not to kill or succumb to the charm of her Lord.

Review

If you are thinking of starting the Chicagoland Vampires series in its audio book version you may want to listen to the sampler, Cynthia Holloway the narrator of this audio book, isn’t the best person to give a voice to this story and believe you want to know what you are getting yourself into.

I read this story and suddenly I wanted to try another version of this book hoping that it would feel like I was reading this book for the first time, get to hear the phrases I love and get to see the first interactions between Merit and Ethan Sullivan.

All those expectations of dynamism and the narrator’s voice inviting the listener to get lost in this book where lost at the first chapter, there weren’t really any inflections on her voice, any intentions while this book was being read or any life as she walked us around the Some Girls Bite.

I dared review this DNF book because I have a base, I read the book then tried the audio book and between us guys I am sticking with the books, I prefer to listen to the characters in this series interact in my head then the work that Cynthia Holloway voiced them.

In case that your first try on the Chicagoland Vampires series was the audio book I would strongly recommend blacking out that experience and giving the physical or e-book version of this book a try.

Rating:

{ARC Review} The Treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White

Publication date:  August 27^th, 2013

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

ISBN-13: 9780374380670

Synopsis

In 1954 Ruby Jolene Hurley turned thirteen, while blowing the candles to her cake she made the a far out wish, to find the treasure of Way Down Deep that was hidden by the towns founder in hopes of escaping the pirates he had stolen it from.

Finding the treasure could change a lot of things for Way Down Deep, its neighbors after mining sites start to close and an evil wind starts to blow on the town’s direction.

Review

The treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White is not your typical children’s book, it touches some a subject that a lot of children’s books try to stay away from death, in this case the death of a pet, so you as a parent should be aware of all the questions this might lead to and in my opinion it isn’t a subject you would want to leave up in the air.

I like that even if the story revolves around Ruby not everything in the story is about her, in this short book we get to know a lot of the inhabitants of Way Down Deep, be it educators, towns people, people that live in the same boarding house as Ruby and some of Ruby’s classmates.

For being such a small book I feel it not only lets us know other characters but it also handles more than one subject, such as death, the attitude of some adults, greed and how one can better oneself if one really wishes to do so.

Adults and kids can enjoy this book and even compare some of the points given here, so if you are looking for a book that will help you interact with your child you may want to consider this one.

Rating:

{Blog Tour Review} Before Midnight by Jennifer Blackstream

Series: Blood Prince #1

Publication date: July 1st, 2013

Publisher: Key Publishing

ASIN: B00DPYZZXA

Synopsis

After a weird event in a land that connects different planes where a werewolf, a vampire, a demon, an angel and a god meet under a mysterious tree there only lies hope for a prophecy to come to life.

After each of the men part our story follows Etienne the werewolf prince that carries the consequences of a blessing gone wrong that has left him being half of what he once was now he is the future heir of a kingdom he can no longer protect the way he was destined to.

As faith would have it there is a solution for his terrible “blessing” but he must act fast yet a stop on the woods marks an encounter with a creature that makes him find the peace he has not known since the day marked him.

Review

Before midnight is an entertaining story that from the very beginning lets you know that if you wish to truly discover all the secrets this book hides you will have to continue with this series up until the very end.

The way Jennifer Blackstream blended and twisted the story we all know as Cinderella was beyond my expectations, she made this story feel original, fresh and at times as if I was reading it for the first time.

Loupe the gentle creature that catches Etienne’s eye was entertaining to get to know, the way her circumstances changed and her dreams came crumbling down on her don’t present her as a truly weak women but as a strong woman in the making.

My main issue with this book would be the sex scene in this book, for me if there is going to be a scene giving a lot of importance on the sexy times it better be relevant to the story and in my opinion it wasn’t relevant to dedicate such a word count to this event but also the time it took place wasn’t the smartest one.

Before Midnight is a fast and interesting read that will let you feeling that there is more about this Cinderella then you think you knew perfect for those that don’t mind an explicit sex scene.

Rating:

 3.5 Broken TV's

{Blog Tour Audio Book Review} The Gatekeeper's Sons by Eva Pohler

Series: Gatekeeper's Trilogy #1

Publication date: August 13, 2012
Publisher: Green Press/Eva Pohler

ISBN-13: 9780615685960

Synopsis

After being on a horrible accident that left 15 year old Therese partentless she goes into a come where she meets the sons of Hades, Hipnos and Thanatos, events that happened on during her coma dreams lead up to a deal with Hades himself and a hunt to find her parents killers.
This deal pushes Therese into the gods radar in a good and in a bad way. 

Review

The narrator at times made the book look as if it was parts that where just wrote in a very simple manner, she would move away from the natural flow she was using and move her voice I don't know if in an effort to hide the fact or she felt there was something there to move but she only made those times more obvious  I will be reading this book on another time to see who is really at fault.
When the narrator did some of the voices that weren't Therese and her part as a narrator she sounded at times mechanical, read and killed the flow of the story.
When the Debbie Andreen didn't commit some of this flaws the story had a really amiable flow, and I could do some light stuff around while enjoying this audio book.
From the story Therese unnerved me at the beginning of the story and I was afraid she would go the same path that Bella did in New Moon by Stephanie Meyer when she was saying that she wanted to die, I am glad to report Therese didn't go into the self-harm rout.
I loved Eva Pohler's choice of gods for this book, as much as I like Persephone's retellings I like that Eva is trying to expand the number of gods that get some "camera time". Seen a god in the human world for the first time was interesting I was expecting a more arrogant or a more in control kind of situation but I like the angle that Eve Pohler used on The Gatekeeper's Sons she is truly making this story her own.

Rating:
3.5

{Review} Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller

Publication date: June 04, 2013

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

ISBN-13: 9780805090765

Synopsis

Fresh out of the baker and into Mr. Bing's life comes Arnie the Doughnut how is half of the time a regular doughnut and the other half just a chocolate covered sprinkle doughnut.
This time we follow Arnie the Doughnut in his life at the bowlling alley where he goes from karaoke enthusiast to crime solving doughnut. Follow Arnie as she show's us why he loves the bowling alley so much and how he tries to keep it a safe place.

Review

If you like to read books from the first book and then mover from there then you might want to check out the first Arnie the Doughnut book by Laurie Keeller, but if you don't mind I don't think it would be hard at all to feel up the holes in the story.
This story is more limited on the age range, I like middle grade books that both me and my little cousins can enjoy but this one is more for the little little ones and even if it was amusing to see a doughnut survive a bowling alley it was really obvious at times.
Little kids, in my opinion, will enjoy this story it is accompanied by good art work that makes the story more dynamic and I can imagine little kids having a blast during a little reading time accompanied by a great narrator.
The thing that made this book shine for me is that it doesn't paint Mr. Bing as an old man without energy, no Mr. Bing goes out for walks with Arnie, he bowls and enters tournaments. Mr. Bing is by no means the primary character yet I love the fact that he is in a children's story and that he breaks the old man mold.

Rating:
For adults

For kids

{Audio Book Review} World War Z by Max Brooks

Publication date: August 30, 2006

Publisher: Random House Audio

ISBN-13: 9781415933510

Synopsis

The world is settling back again, I’ve been hired to get the stories of what happened to let the world know and hopefully never forget what we’ve been through.

Now I am trying to keep the voices of the survivors from getting lost forever, after all the data and stories I’ve collected throughout the United States and the world has been crushed down into facts and statistics, that left my boss happy and me feeling like the “human factor” should never be lost, especially after all we’ve been through, especially when that is what separates us from the Z’s.

Review

I really enjoyed the audio book version of this book, it only had one mayor flaw this version is abridged, for those of you that don’t know what that means it is fairly simple when you see an audiobook saying it is abridged it means it is shortened so you don’t get the full story.

This is really a pity because if this audiobook had been unabridged with this type of production it would have been perfect!!

When I saw the number of voice actors that where working on this book and got into the first our I thought “this is what I’ve always wanted in an audiobook” I’m not saying that other narrators haven’t done a good job with their own books, all I am saying is that when I first started listening to audiobooks this is what I was expecting, more than one voice sucking the listener in and making him/her feel what the characters are experimenting.

I loved every minute of it, each survival story was unique Max Brooks did a great job writing this story and I believe that it’s in part because he is involved in the audiobook that this story has such an impact to it. I love the goosebumps it gave me and how I ended up wishing the person telling his/her story would survive when it was obvious they did because hey they are telling their story (yes it might just have been my having an airhead moment, but still…).

I would really recommend this book, but remember this is not an unabridged version, so you won’t get the full scoop like all the cool kids that decided to read the book.

Rating:

            Production:

            Because it’s an abridged version: