No Strings Attached GIVEAWAY HOP

No Strings Attached Giveaway Hop

May 21st – 27th

RULES : 

1. There will be only One Winner (subjected to change). 

2. Winner will be informed via email and *must* reply within 48 hours else I won't have a choice but to select another winner. 

3. All entries would be verified. 

4. Just fill in the rafflecopter below :

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring Fling GIVEAWAY HOP

Spring Fling Giveaway Hop

May 1st – 7th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Eve’s Fan Garden

RULES : 

1. There will be only One Winner (subjected to change). 

2. Winner will be informed via email and *must* reply within 48 hours else I won't have a choice but to select another winner. 

3. All entries would be verified. 

4. Just fill in the rafflecopter below :

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Owl Post #8 [April, 2013]

Guys, today I'm doing something new on my blog....been coming on for a long time. This meme, called Owl Post is created by Brodie of Eleusinian Mysteries inspired by In My Mailbox by The Story Siren. Been meaning to do this since forever and I just love this idea. I'm being a Ravenclaw since at the age of eleven and couldn't seem to remember to do this....kudos to Brodie for thinking about this!

Before you all proceed further, let me make something clear:-

1. Just like my IMM posts, this will not be done every Sunday but on the last Sunday of each month... the reason why you'll see a lot more books in here than normal.

2. This first Owl Post will have all the books that I received in April, 2013.

3. Also it will feature a list of recap link at the bottom of the page, which enlists all the review, interviews and tour posts I have done that particular month. Now I expect you all to visit each link and give out a comment here and there(would very much appreciate it) and you all can link your reviews too, i'd love to comment.

4. You are all welcome to share what you all got in the comment section below....i'd love to visit....

For Review

Netgalley

Paper Gods #1 Ink - Amanda Sun

Doctor Who: Prisoner of Time Vol I

Elemental #3 Spirit - Brigid Kemmerer

The Selection #2 The Elite - Kiera Cass

Edelweiss

Hollow Earth #1 Hollow Earth - John Barrowman & Carole E. Barrowman

The Brokenhearted - Amelia Kahaney

Bought

Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion
Immortal City #2 Natural Born Angel - Scott Speer
His Fair Assassin #2 Dark Triumph - Robin LaFevers
The Guardians (Books #1-3) - William Joyce



Recap Links


Soul Screamers #1 My Soul To Take - Rachel Vincent
 Bannon & Clare #1 The Iron Wyrm Affair - Lilith Saintcrow
Dance of Shadows #1 Dance of Shadows - Yelena Black
Ex-heroes #1 Ex-heroes - Peter Clines
Poison - Bridget Zinn
Coveted #2 Kept - Shawntelle Madison
Harbinger - Sara Wilson Etienne
Fateful - Claudia Gray
The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1 Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood
Double Crossed : A Spies and Thieves Story - Ally Carter
Lies Beneath #2 Deep Betrayal - Anne Greenwood Brown
The Lotus War #1 Stormdancer - Jay Kristoff
Towering - Alex Flinn
Born of Illusion - Teri Brown

Born of Illusion

Flapper-era new York, magic shows, illusion acts and séances. Presenting Born of Illusion by Teri Brown.

Here is the summary of the book:

Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

Magic, mystery, drama, the act of illusions, escapists.... oh don't you just love it when a magician produces such wondrous magic infront of you. You are just awed aren't you. It is there in your mind somewhere, that little corner of truth that all this is not real, just that the person on stage uses some well made props to execute such marvel and is a really good actor but we don't really care do we! We are just looking to be entertained,to forget reality for a short while, and while in this fantasy. Brown's Born of Illusion transcends all of this perfectly within ts pages pretty well.

Anna Anna Anna..... oh I totally loved her. She is a worthy protagonist. In this cut throat world of performers, she is but one of them. Living under the shadow of her mother, she has learned to hide her abilities well. Se knows her mother wouldn't hesitate to throw her out of the show, if for a slightest chance it becomes apparent that she is getting more attention than her mother, who is the main act of their show.

Her supernatural abilities or should I say psychic abilities also gives her an edge of mysticism. She truly wants to control it but can't seem to know how to as they have a tendency of attacking her in broad daylight.

Then enters Cole. Handsome Cole. He moves in next door and in an old England sort of way has an air of an even greater mystery to himself. His chance collision (literally) with Anna and his suspicious behavior makes it difficult for Anna to trust him at first but in time she finds out that they are more like her out there and that Cole is actually trying to help her.

Besides the magic and coming into your abilities part which form the core of the tale. It is clear enough with this 1920s, Flapper-era New York tale that romance takes an almost back seat. Dealing with the supernatural is what form the core of the book but love is present too but not dominant. And just like the magic shows providing a good time for us Ms. Brown's book provides for a good time too. I definitely had a very good time reading it.

"Magic, Mystery, Drama, and facing the unknown Teri Brown's Born of Illusion provides it all in spades"

Genre :      Young Adult, Historical Ficiton, Paranormal, Romance


Publisher: Balzer & Bray


My Copy:  Publisher and edelweiss


Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)

Towering

As impressive as the other books of Flinn. Presenting Towering by Alex Flinn.

Here is the summary of the book:

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Alex Flinn knows her fairy tales, and Towering is her most mind-bending interpretation yet. Dark and mysterious, this reimagining of Rapunzel will have readers on the edge of their seats wondering where Alex will take them next!

Technically Book 3 of the Kendra Chronicles but can be treated as standalone nonetheless. I'm sure the cover is self-explanatory nonetheless. Rapunzel. This is a modern day Rapunzel. And Ms. Flinn has made it a tale of the ages. Granted i've not read Bewitching yet but this is another good fairy-tale re-telling that makes the list.

Rachel's been locked up all her life in her tower as long as she has known with just her mama, her song and her book. And golden hair that grows so fast that it needs cutting weekly. Singing songs from her childhood hoping someone would come up and rescue her from her lonely existence. Naive, pure, innocent and ethereal, words that define our Rapunzel of this story perfectly..... still not the damsel in distress though.

Wyatt comes to live in that almost scarce town to escape the tragic experience of his home town moving in with a Mrs. Greenwood. A friend of his mother. There, Wyatt gets entangled in another mystery, of the disappearance of her daughter, Danielle. With just a dairy for clue, the spooky climate and the odd singing in the air that only Wyatt could hear, this is a stay he is so not going to forget as he and Rachel find their way to one another and discover the mystery shrouded in the mists of the desolate town.

There is nothing more that can be said and I'm not going to spoil this story but Ms. Flinn is sure the maestro of modern fairytale re-tellings. Its as modern as can be and yet retaining the characteristics of the classic tale with the twists and turns giving it its fresh spin.

"Towering is a classic, fresh, a quick read and truly beautiful in its innocence.... Brava Ms. Flinn. Brava"

Genre :      Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fairytale Re-telling


Publisher: HarperTeen


My Copy:  Publisher and edelweiss


Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)

The Lotus War #1 Stormdancer

Oh! finally.... oh! it was so good...... as good as they said....... oh! I love it! Presenting The Lotus War #1 Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff.

Here is the summary of the book:

A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A HIDDEN GIFT
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

In literature, Japanese customs, the jargon, the mannerism and the history.....most specifically Oriental tradition..... without a good foundation and goo explanation don't bode well....but by God Mr. Kristoff made sure to maintain a brilliant ratio throughout his book and procured success with us. You want Japanese, you want dystopian, you want mythology, you want steampunk...... or you want the post-apocalyptic.... well then this is the book for you..... Yes I mentioned all these sub-genre.... may be sounding weird but God Kristoff makes it bloody amazing.

A dystopian-post-apocalyptic Japan, destroyed by war, and the materialistic greed to gain comfort even if it leads to the destruction of the mankind itself. A chance adventure. A chance capture(or hunt or whatever). A chance airship crash. A chance bonding, braving the storm, over throwing the tyranny. Yukiko's chance encounter, befriending and bonding of the arashitora and eventually becoming the stormdancerwas vivid  dazzling, sometimes hilarious and highly engaging. Jay Kristoff not only gave life to an incredible idea but created some amazingcharacters to go alongwith the motion that made it so amazing. Yukiko, Buruu, Kin, Masaru, Akihito and Kasumi. Oh! amazing you....... But most of all the bond between Yukko and the storm tiger she named Buruu..... The bond they developed, the common understanding, their endeavor in this lotus war... it was simply excellent and so engaging. Stormdancer simply..... just amazing. You can actually visualize what takes place through the lines from Mr. Kristoff's pen...... Amazing.

"Steampunk, mythical creatures, strong female protagonist, Dystopia and a growing civil unrest.... AROUND JAPAN? IS THAT RIGHT?..... OF COURSE ITS RIGHT..... ITS BLOODY BRILLIANT IT IS"

Genre :     Historical Fiction, Steampunk, Dystopia, Paranormal, Fantasy


Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books


Rate:             5 /5 (It was Amazing)

Lies Beneath #2 Deep Betrayal

Truth revealed and stakes raised high. Presenting Lies Beneath #2 Deep Betrayal by Anne Greenwood Brown.

Here is the summary of the book:

It's been thirty days, two hours, and seventeen minutes since Calder left Lily standing on the shores of Lake Superior. Not that she's counting. And when Calder does return, it's not quite the reunion Lily hoped for. Especially after she lets her father in on a huge secret: he, like Calder, is a merman. Obsessed with his new identity, Lily's dad monopolizes Calder's time as the two of them spend every day in the water, leaving Lily behind. Then dead bodies start washing ashore. Calder blames his mermaid sisters, but Lily fears her father has embraced the merman's natural need to kill. As the body count grows, everyone is pointing fingers. Lily doesn't know what to believe—only that whoever's responsible is sure to strike again. . . .

Dark and sinister like the mer-folk of the mythologies. Anne Greenwood Brown's Lies Beneath, first scored huge points with us for a marvelous portrayal of the mer-folk as the mythologies proclaimed. The dark tones, the evil intentions of Calder and the three sisters...... oh tantalizing!

While Lies Beneath was totally in Calder's point of view (it was the first of its kind too); Deep Betrayal has a perspective change - to Lily's. the not-so-human girl Calder left behind to protect her. Quite an interesting perspective it had too. Now her dad knows, who he really is and when he adheres to his calling - he ends up  monopolizing Calder's time as the handsome hunk in question tries to teach Jason the know-hows of being a merman. but dead bodies are coming up, blames are thrown around but Lily fears the worst...... They say 'neglect' can be an ugly emotion.... (there.....somehow or the other I gave out a spoiler..... * sighs then wink*).

In someways, Deep betrayal was much more than just. A new story of its own. Delving deeper into Brown's mer-folk territory. Don't get me wrong, the dark tones is still there more than ever but there is a ray of hope as well. Lily and Calder prove even more stronger. Come what may but they stand in the face of danger and help uncover the traitor at the end. I particularly liked the way Ms. Greenwood Brown approached the conclusion to the book in the twisty way. Still feel the chills......

"Tantalizing dark with the thrill of the unknown - Deep Betrayal stand in a  league of its own"

Genre :      Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Mythology, Urban Fantasy


Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers


My Copy:  Publisher and netgalley


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

Double Crossed : A Spies and Thieves Story

Gallahar Girls and Heist Society collision......wow. Presenting Gallahar Girls #5.5, Heist Society #2.5 Double Crossed : A Spies and Thieves Story by Ally Carter.

Here is the summary of the book:

Macey McHenry—Glamorous society girl or spy-in-training?

W.W. Hale V—Heir to an American dynasty or master thief?

There are two sides to every coin. Whether these two can work together is a tossup.

Born into privilege, Macey and Hale are experts at mingling with the upper class. But even if they’ve never raised an eyebrow at the glitz, neither teenager has ever felt at home with the glamour.

When Macey and Hale meet at a society gala, the party takes a dangerous turn. Suddenly they’re at the center of a hostage situation, and it’s up to them to stop the thugs from becoming hostile. Will Macey’s spy skills and Hale’s con-man ways be enough to outsmart a ruthless gang? Or will they have to seek out the ultimate inside girl to help?

The worlds of Heist Society and the Gallagher Girls collide in Ally Carter’s fast-paced, high-stakes and tantalizing new story. Get a behind the scenes glimpse as Ally delivers an irresistible thriller that is full of her signature style and savvy twists.

Lets be honest, I haven't really read any book from Gallahar Girls or Heist Society yet but I requested this on a whim. It is only rarely that Disney allows bloggers to request on Netgalley and I was like why not lets see what this is about. Now that I have read it and am writing the review, let me tell you, you are looking at a fan. Man this was simply brilliant.

I don't normally start reading books that come in between the series. If the foundation is not clear then reading about them certainly doesn't make sense one bit at all. But Double Crossed, let me tell you was in a league of its own. It can almost be treated as a standalone story. A connection between Gallahar Girls series and Heist Society series both popular in their own right.

Features Macy, Hale and Kat. A high profile auction, a prize jewelry  masked robbers, a spy and a thief, and a battle of wits. Brought back a few good memories of spy kids, although this is more of the fashion of rich heirs and heiresses but more than meets the eye type thing. Action with a cool use of intellect..... double crossed has double crossed me into being a fan.

"Action and adventure in the most unlikely of places - Ally Carter's Double Crossed created a perfect blend of Gallahar girls and Heist Society"

Genre :      Young Adult, Contemporary


Publisher: Disney Hyperion


My Copy:  Publisher and netgalley


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1 Born Wicked

Wasn't my favorite but I quite liked it. Presenting The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1 Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood.

Here is the summary of the book:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave. Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Set in 19th century, of the time when society and being prim and proper was the norm. While this book didn't dazzle me but it was likeable. And since this is historic London with the witchy twist so you can't expect action and adventure but as Victorian way of life suggests calm and demure, a way of dong everything the curtains.

The first half of the book was pretty boring and slow. Since Spotswood's book follows Victorian mannerism and fashion. there is a deep suspicion in the air. And people like our lead characters Cate, Tess and Maura, the Cahill sisters run great risk of being found out as born witches and taken away to an asylum or penalty of death. 

A good start to the series. A little slow at first but picks up speed at the middle.

"The Cahill Witches were quite likeable in Victorian London"

Genre :     Historical Fiction, Paranormal Romance


Publisher: Putnam Juvenile


Rate:             3 /5 (Liked It)