Title: Prophecy Girl
Series: Lacuna Valley #1
Author: Faith McKay
Publisher: Faith McKay
Release Date: November 20th 2012
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Dates read: June 16 to 17, 2013
Source: Provided by author
Rating:

Ever since Samantha Winthrop's mother moved them to Lacuna Valley, supposedly in search of better weather, the list of strange questions she has no answers for has been growing out of control.

Does her little sister, Violet, have the ability to make things happen just by "praying" for them? Are Sam's dreams really predicting the future? Is she destined to marry the boy she just met, and what is the mysterious orb that he's guarding? Why does she get the impression that there are dangerous creatures watching from the woods?

While Sam should be focusing on answering those questions, there is one other that makes them seem almost irrelevant: Is her mother planning on killing her and Violet?

Samantha and her family have moved around the country all her life, supposably searching for better weather for her father's severe allergies. Lacuna Valley quickly shows itself to be different than anywhere else. She meets a boy who seems to know more about her and her family and she does, and her sister's praying is starting to look like she really can make things happen just by wishing for them. As Sam learns more about her family, she has to wonder, does her mother really want to kill her?

This novel was really hard for me to review. I was on the fence about a lot of it. The characters were hard to get attached to. I honestly couldn't tell you what Nick looks like. If his description was there, it was rushed so quickly to make it unmemorable. I was able to get more of a visual for some of the side characters than I could for the main characters. But beyond that, Sam and Nick especially were really poorly fleshed out. They were boring. I didn't hate them, but I couldn't root for them either. I just didn't care. I found myself more interested in Violet and Zach than anyone else. Danielle was the hardest to figure out. One minute it felt like she was just mentally unbalanced. Then the next it would seem that she was nothing more than a self absorbed, heartless, monster. She was too hot and cold and it made her difficult to deal with. She felt very one dimensional at that. You could've put in a cardboard box with a knife and you would have just as much of a villain.

The story was nice. Muddled and felt poorly thought out or executed, I'm not sure which, but it was still nice. The plot is intriguing. You want to know what happens. However, when you get to the end of the book, although you kind of want to know what happens next, because of the weak characters and the thin plot, you don't care as much as you should. The plot only feels thin because of the writing. If it had been better written, I think it would've been amazing. But instead it jumps around, confusing you. It was also really really slow to start. You have all these scenes or whining and the characters going back and forth, arguing about the same thing they were in the previous chapter with no new information coming out of them. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that things really pick up, but by then, it's too late to save it. Not enough can be fit into that remaining section to satisfy you. You finish the book and are left with far more questions than you should have and a sense of frustration at the lack of resolution.

It had it's moments, and I will still read the next in the series, but I hope that some of the flaws are fixed for it, because a little gem of a story is hiding in here just waiting to be shined.

Title: Everlost
Series: Mer Tales #3
Author: Brenda Pandos
Publisher: Obsidian Mountain Publishing
Release Date: March 14th 2013
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Dates read: June 15 to 16, 2013
Source: Kindle purchase
Rating:

With one kiss, Tatiana has discovered a love for a man she’d hated—the prince of Natatoria. Through the botched rescue attempt by her father against this union, an army of rebels has revealed their identity and intentions—treason. When the King is fatally injured, Azor takes things into his own hands. No one is safe as mers are forced to take sides. Betamers take the blame, including Tatiana’s family’s closest friend, Badger, and the punishment is death.

Caught between the bond and her true feelings, Tatiana, the future Queen, must overcome the promise to fight for what’s right and uncover the truths of the past or all will become Everlost.

I have found myself unable to write reviews for this series without the possibility of spoilers.

Today is an exciting day - we have FOUR HUGE SURPRISES for you! Jennifer L. Armentrout's (writing as J. Lynn) FRIGID is set to release on e-book at the end of July. If you're anything like us, you're probably on pins and needles and just cannot wait to get your hands on a copy of this book.

FRIGID has already been given the honor of being named a Romantic Times Top Pick and we're super excited for you to be able to read it as well!

Well, there's good news! Are you ready for those four awesome surprises? Here we go!

1. Due to all the excitement surrounding FRIGID, we have decided to run a special e-book preorder promotion. We have worked out a deal with the distributor to release FRIGID a full two weeks early -- on JULY 15th!!! -- if we meet our e-book pre-order goal. EEEEP! That's right, if you are like the rest of us and want to be able to read FRIGID in its entirety before its original release date, all you have to do is PRE-ORDER THE E-BOOK NOW! What are you waiting for? GO! Pre-order it!

Pre-Order Links: Barnes & Noble / Amazon

2. Need something to hold you over until FRIGID releases? Well, starting right now, you can read the first three chapters of FRIGID for free! Just read below!

Frigid Sneak Peek by Jen Armentrout

3. Can’t get enough of the hot FRIGID cover? Want to see some behind the scenes photos that are sure to make you swoon? You’re in luck! Below you can watch a slideshow of all the behind the scenes photos from the photo shoot! Go on and watch it. We’ll wait, because there is still one more great surprise!

4. And last but not least, if you live near Philadelphia, PA, you're in for a very special treat -- Jennifer will be in Philly in November signing not only FRIGID but also the last book in her immensely popular COVENANT series, SENTINEL! But that's not all, Adam, the super hot cover model from FRIGID will be there as well! So, yes, you'll get to meet Jennifer and Adam! Plus, there will be other great prizes that you seriously won't want to miss out on (dinner with the author and model, perhaps?)! Stay tuned for more details to come!

We hope you're as excited as we are! So now....Go pre-order FRIGID! Go read those chapters! Go watch that slideshow! And Enjoy!

Title: Unbreakable
Series: Unraveling #2
Author: Elizabeth Norris
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: April 23rd 2013
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Dates read: June 11 to 12, 2013
Source: Kindle purchase
Rating:

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.

And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?

For four months, Janelle has been trying to rebuild her life from the horrible catastrophes around the world, the loss of her father and best friend, and Ben Michaels left. He promised to return to her, and now time is passing and she is wishing and wishing it would happen soon. People in her world are coming up missing, and when Taylor Barclay shows up, she knows that the cases are more than she expected. Someone is running a human-trafficking ring and Ben is the IA's top suspect. Can her and Barclay join forces and prove Ben's innocence, or will Ben and everyone he loves be executed? When the evidence piles up, she begins to wonder if she really knew Ben like she thought.

First things first, I highly recommend that you go read the novella Undone before you read this. It will help you out quite a bit in the way of not spending most of this novel hating Ben Michaels with a passion.

The great thing about these books, is really the writing style. They are written based on time stamps instead of real chapters, which is rather cool honestly, but it's the tone of things that makes them amazing. The tone of Unraveling was more upbeat. It was a fun story that quickly changed as the plot thickened and the suspense increased. Unbreakable didn't have that upbeat mood. It was dark from the start. If you weren't really paying attention and appreciating things, you would almost think that it was boring to read. But the tone that is set is amazing when you really look at it. It's a dark story and the tone of the novel really reinforces that.

The characters are changed. The world basically fell apart. They have all had to grow and mature faster than they should have. They are all still the characters that we know and love. I think the best part of this novel for me though, was Taylor Barclay. You want to hate him because of what you know of him in Unraveling, but I just couldn't. The more of him I saw, the more I liked, until I reached the point where I kept hoping for some romance between him and Janelle. I adore Barclay now.

The plot was very dark and wonderfully told. Pieces were perfectly woven together so that you had trouble predicting things. The character interactions and conflicts were perfectly timed and never took over the plot unless they were meant to.

If you are just reading through and not the type of person who really gets into a novel, you aren't going to like this. If you are the type who analyses things and commits to a novel until the last page, you will appreciate the nuances and writing style the whole way through. This series seems like it will only keep getting darker, and that might not be for everyone. I, however, will be reading the next installment as soon as possible upon release.

Title: Undone
Series: Unraveling #1.5
Author: Elizabeth Norris
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: March 5th 2013
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Dates read: June 11, 2013
Source: Kindle purchase
Rating:

Before the accident. Before their universes collided. Before they fell in love.

Riveting and romantic, Undone: An Unraveling Novella contains three short stories set in the world of Unraveling, the first book in the gripping sci-fi duology by Elizabeth Norris.

Before Ben Michaels saved Janelle Tenner’s life, Janelle saved Ben when he stumbled through an interuniverse portal into a completely new world. That day, he fell in love with the girl of his dreams. And he never forgot her.

Through three stories told from Ben’s point of view, learn how Ben and his friends discovered their ability to travel between worlds, how Ben first met Janelle, and how he pined for her for years before he actually got the chance to meet her, save her life, and capture her heart. And find out what happens to Ben between the cliff-hanger conclusion to Unraveling and the beginning of its heart-stopping sequel, Unbreakable.

Undone is a novella to help give you more insight into the series, namely, into Ben. Undone is composed of three parts. The first part focuses on Ben's life before Unraveling, showing a bit of his family life and setting up his unquestioning devotion to his friends. I knew that his devotion to his friends was important, but you really don't understand fully how strong that bond is, or why until you really get to see things here.

The second section is, by far, the shortest. It shows some of the scenes from Unraveling from Ben's point of view. These are scenes that he finds to be important to him, things he will always remember. It helps to show some of the tension that Reid and Eli has when it came to Janelle. You could put the pieces together on your own, but this really helps to lay them out for you and set you up for things.

The third, and final, part is the longest and most in depth. This section talks about Ben's life after Unraveling, when he returns home. It quickly becomes apparent to Eli and him that they don't belong in their world anymore. Just as they are making plans to return to Janelle's world, something happens to change their plans.

This novella was actually really somber and heartwrenching. You are left feeling so sorry for Ben. I found it to be a great refresher to set me up to read Unbreakable, but it also leaves you desperate for the next installment. Surely Ben won't be left in such a state. Certainly things will change and a happy ending can be found.

I really find this novella to be an essential read for the series. It gives you such an understanding about Ben and his friends that it will only help you to like them more. Unraveling being told from Janelle's point of view made it harder to like Ben and his friends, and this fills that gap in the character display. You really would be best to read it after Unraveling though. I read a few reviews of people saying they read it first. It isn't listed as #1.5 for nothing. You will spoil yourself horribly if you read it before Unraveling.

Title: ReAwakened
Series: Angel Creek #2
Author: Ada Adams
Publisher: Ada Adams
Release Date: November 27th 2012
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Dates read: June 06 to 08, 2013
Source: Provided by author
Rating:

Becoming a vampire guardian was Dawn Fairchild’s ticket out of the Scarlet House. Fresh off a successful mission, life in Angel Creek should have been great. But when her sort-of-maybe-boyfriend, Sebastian, disappears on a quest to help a beautiful vampire from his past, Dawn finds herself amidst a web of danger, lies, and deceit.

Joining forces with Razor, an enigmatic rebel lacking both a verbal and a physical filter, and her band of Misfits—Brooke, Sophie, Hunter, and Seth—Dawn is thrust into a race against the clock to solve the mystery surrounding brutal Born kidnappings and come to terms with the sudden discovery of her own unique powers. With time ticking away and Born vampires’ lives in jeopardy, it quickly becomes evident that someone—or something—desperately wants Dawn and is willing to shed any amount of blood to get her.

Dawn has only one chance to face her demons and overcome all obstacles standing in her way as she embarks on the biggest mission of her life—one that threatens a deadly outcome for all involved.

Weeks after the tragic death of her father, Dawn's life is coming back together. While she is still dealing with the pain, her and her team of misfits have been officially inducted as Guardians and a new President sits in the Scarlet House. When Sebastian and a beautiful vampire from his past disappear on a rescue mission and Born are being abducted and the President won't do a thing to help, Dawn knows she must act. Teaming up with Razor, a smooth talking rebel, and her team, Dawn sets out to solve the mystery of the missing Born before anymore can be taken. But it soon becomes clear that everything is coming back to her. Someone wants her dead and will do anything to make it happen.

I love when Sophomore novels are better than their predecessors. Just when you think a series couldn't possibly get better, it does and then you have to curse the limiting five star rating system. I did notice that this novel wasn't written as linear as the first one, and that might not even be the right word. ReVamped was written in a fairly straight-forward fashion. It like like walking down a straight road. Now, this road might have had hills, valleys, random roadside explosions, and gone from perfectly paved to rocky in a heartbeat and made you wish you were wearing hiking boots instead of wedges, but it was straight-forward all the same. ReAwakened was not like that. You know when your GPS starts recalculating? That was ReAwakened. Now before you run off screaming into the night, that isn't a bad thing. The writing was frustrating. It was frustrating to the characters and to the reader. Just when you thought they had a real solid clue about what was going on, it became apparent that they knew nothing. Each time you thought you knew where the story was going, it proved you wrong. This works out perfectly with the story. There are questions of health and sanity in this novel and the writing just accented those issues. It made it better. I can't get into detail without spoilers, but it works. It really does.

The characters are still fabulous. You get to really learn a lot about Hunter, Brooke, Sebastian, and especially Dawn. I loved getting to discover more about these side characters and watch their relationships change and grow. Sophie really gets her chance to shine as well, which I loved. She deserves that chance. Then there was Razor. I had seen a bit about Razor thanks to a teaser that Ada Adams had posted on her website which piqued my interest in him, but he was nothing that I expected. His relationship to another character was surprising when it should've been so obvious. Although it will get me shot, I actually found myself liking him more than Sebastian. I know!! Blasphemy! He was a perfect addition to the series and I am so happy he was there. He added the right touch of humor and mischief that was needed to keep the darker tones stable. ReAwakened would not have been as good if not for Razor. He was a necessary balance.

The story was intense and enlightening. I found myself focusing more on the darker tones and background story than I did on the immediate story. The immediate story is the Born kidnappings. I barely paid attention. They weren't exactly a Red Herring, but they were the gentle foundation for a much larger and intense story. The ending revelations were insane. Just as I started to suspect them they twisted by being much worse than I thought they would be. Books that make me scare me cat by yelling out "OMG really?!" are always good ones in my eyes. That is until they end on a cliffhanger. I can name one other series who used such an unfair cliffhanger (*cough*Archers of Avalon*cough*). Cliffhangers are evil. They hook you and force you to read the next installment. Bah, as if Angel Creek needed it! I was addicted already!

This series is proving itself to have more twists and turns than many I have found in a while and I am ensnared into it. If you haven't yet given it a chance, you are being foolish. This series is amazing and Ada Adams is brilliant for writing it. Recommended to all.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a screening of The Last Unicorn in the Alamo Drafthouse in San Antonio as part of the Last Unicorn Screening Tour. The screening is an amazing tour where they play the uncensored and remastered version of the movie in theaters across the country. These screenings have Question and Answer sessions, raffles, and book signings as part of them.

The evening began at 7pm with a quick raffle for four amazing prizes. There was one poster in particular that I was rather hoping to win, but Lady Luck wasn't on my side.

After the raffle, the Q&A began. They took about 10 questions. Mr. Beagle's business manager, Connor Cochran ran around to get the questions while Peter stood up front answering them. Connor was quite the character. Amazing personality and he was nice enough to prod a few extra childhood stories out of Peter.

Of the stories, he told about his life at the time he was writing The Last Unicorn, which was a fun story in itself, and he mentioned something that his uncle had said to him. There was a follow up question about artist's block where he recited something his Uncle Moses, I believe he said, had said to him.
I think this is another quote I need to print on a label to place on my laptop. Sometimes little gems like this are amazing at helping encourage you to get something done.

Shortly after the Q&A, the movie began. I remember cursing under my breath because I was so certain I was going to ruin my makeup. I always tear up at the opening song. I don't know if it is my love for America's work on the soundtrack or just the movie fills me with that much emotion. I have seen it a billion times and yet I still cry every single time I watch the opening, and sometimes when I listen to that song on it's own. It's so much more powerful with the animation along with it. The movie was just as I have always remembered it, but so much better. I don't think even a deluxe home theater system with massive surround sound could duplicate the experience of seeing this on the big screen.

I had never been to an Alamo Drafthouse before, but that is the way to watch a movie! They are like a movie and a restaurant. You can order food and beverages and it is all brought to you right at your seat. The task of paying your tab is a little off in my opinion. They walk through, give you your bill on a tray for you to pay and then pick it up and return it to you to sign your ticket. I think if I was seeing a movie I had never seen before and felt strongly about paying close attention to, that I would have hated it. It was a bit too distracting having them walk around. I did like that, unlike so many other theater experiences I have had of late, everyone was completely polite. No cell phone usage or juvenile behavior in that theater. It was very pleasant.

The showing was sold out, so of course, me having two Mr. Pibbs (Drafthouse!! ;_; Why no Dr. Pepper?!?) during the showing called for a detour before I could get in line for the signing. By the time I got in line, I was very near the back. I got in line at 9:20p. It was rather slow moving. Peter S. Beagle is a bit long-winded. He loves meeting his fans and hearing stories and telling stories and it was just so wonderfully sweet to watch him spend 1-5 minutes with each fan. I don't even care how long it took. It was touching. So, I stood in line and restarted a book I began a few weeks ago and had to put down. I had planned on reading the new book of Beagle's I bought while I was there, but I have a few review requests pending. I needed to knock those out first. So I stood in line, committing blasphemy by reading a book by someone who I wasn't in line to see. I was able to get quite a bit through the book while I was waiting in line.

Finally, around 12:50a, I put my book away because I had reached the front table where Connor told me, and those in line near me, stories about the books on the table for sale, or various cover art of past editions. He complimented my shopping bag (which I carry in my purse with me everywhere because you never know when you might need an extra bag) and that got us onto a conversation about being Brony's and then went over to Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Charmed.

Finally, it was my turn. I felt so bad for having so much for Peter to sign, but he just apologized for the wait and thanked me for coming out. You could tell he truly didn't mind having so much to sign. It was almost like having more to sign made him happier. Maybe "The more I need to sign signifies the more they like me!" was his way of thinking. A brilliant thought, if so. He was so sweet and nice to talk to. He has a wonderful speaking voice as well, so you don't really care or notice so much that he is a long-winded person until you notice how much time has past. His voice is soothing and easy to listen to. It makes you want to hear his stories. I'm long-winded myself, and I just wish my voice was as nice to hear as his is.

It was a wonderful experience and a fantastic night and worth every hour I waited in line for my few minutes of his time. Thank you so much Mr. Beagle for making the night possible! I hope I get the chance to attend another screening during the tour. It is going to last until the end of 2015, so there will be lots of chances for me.