Book Review | Steel Lily by Megan Curd

Series: Periodic # 1

Format: e-ARC

Source: Provided by the author for an honest review

Publication Date: August 15, 2013

Pages: 315

Goodreads | Amazon

 

*I was provided a free copy of the book by the author in exchange for an honest review*

 

 

AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.

She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.

Or so she thinks.

That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued. But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.

…Which means digging deeper.

When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, she learns that while some secrets are better left concealed, humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.

 

 

When I get asked to review a book, the first thing I do is check out Goodreads to see if it sounds like something that I would like.  Needless to say, when I first read the summary for Steel Lily I was very intrigued since I am a huge fan of the dystopian genre.  And when I saw that Steel Lily is a dystopian book that centers on elementalists, it sealed the deal, I wanted to read this book.

After World War III breaks out and destroys everything, Domes are formed by the Government.  The Domes are created for people to live in, in order to protect them from the destruction on the outside world, or so they say. 

Fifteen year old, Avery Pike, a steam elementalist lives in Dome Four.  Avery is one of the most prominent elementalist that provides the Dome with energy so she is kept on a short leash, until a strange man offers her a way out.  But the way out may have more consequences than she realizes. 

One thing I loved about Steel Lily was that it has such amazing characters.  Avery is such a strong and caring person, she would do anything to protect those she cares about.  I also really liked Alice and Sari, they both are incredible friends and they are also badass in their own ways. 

But Jaxon was by far my favorite.  Jaxon…*swoons* is my new book boyfriend.  I absolutely loved his confidence and his witty personality.  Seriously, if you’re ever in the mood for an exceptionally hot, drool-worthy guy, then pick up this book, Jaxon will not disappoint you.

Overall, Steel Lily is an amazing dystopian with just enough mystery and humor to keep you intrigued until the very last page.  Steel Lily was beautifully written, I literally highlighted a TON of amazing lines in this book and it was hell trying to choose only a few to use for my favorite quotes.  And did I mention Jaxon? 

 

 

Favorite Quotes

”Are you finished checking me out? If you’re not, that’s okay; I allow every new woman I meet a free five-minute gawking period.  After that, it’ll cost you.”

*************

“I would lay down my life for you to live one more hour.”

*************

“There’s no way you’re leading.  If something bad is going to happen, I’m going to see it first so you have time to run.”

 

Southern Book Carnival | Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the Southern Book Carnival

 

Today I want to talk a little bit about aliens.  

This is what my son thinks aliens look like:

 

And this is what I think aliens look like:

 

 The Lux series is not only my favorite alien series, but it’s also one of my favorite series ever! Jennifer L. Armentrout is a genius and if you haven’t read any of her books, you really need to pick them up, you won’t be disappointed.

The Challenge

For today’s challenge I want you to unscramble the words below (all words come from the Lux series) enter your guesses in the Day 2 option on the rafflecopter.  Also, there's still time to sign up to host a challenge on your blog! Just add your name to the linky list below!

1.   elnxu

2.   niosdaib

3.   mdenao klcba

4.   etws iirgaivn

5.   ysatk zaykr ieosbonss

The Giveaway Details

While I will be posting a challenge each day of the Carnival, I’m going to do one giveaway.  I will be using the same rafflecopter on each post and the rafflecopter will have an option for each challenge.

 This giveaway will be INT as long as The Book Depository ships to you.

If you are participating in the Carnival, you will get an extra entry in the giveaway.

The Prize

1 person will win their choice of one of the books featured during the Carnival. 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 3!



Stacking the Shelves (25) & Weekly Recap

 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

 

 

Here's what happened on the blog this week:

 

Monday: I reviewed 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper for the Blog Tour (There's a giveaway)

Tuesday: I listed 10 books that I wish was taught in schools

Wednesday: I reviewed Gated by Amy Christine Parker

Thursday: I reviewed Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Friday: I discussed how I blog

 

 

Here's what I got this week:

 

 

 

Purchased:

 

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

 

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout  (Already read and LOVED! Review coming soon!)

 

Anomaly by Krista McGee

 

Netgalley:

 

 

Sick by Tom Leveen

 

 

What did you get this week?  Have you read any of these books?

 



CBA Discussion | How Do You Blog?

Today I want to talk about blogging.  I have always been curious to know how all the other bloggers out there handle their blog along with their daily life.  So, I thought this would be a great discussion post. 

 Personally, I blog every single day.  As soon as I get home from work, I’m on my laptop checking my comments, transferring my posts from my flashdrive (that I use to write posts while I’m at work), returning comments, changing my currently reading picture, etc. 

When I started this blog in the summer of 2012, I didn’t realize how much work actually goes into blogging.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my blog and if I could go back in time with the knowledge that I have now, I still would have started it.  This has become a hobby for me, one that I really and truly enjoy. I just love meeting other bloggers and readers that have the same passion for books that I do since I don’t have any friends IRL that does. 

{I love my followers}

 

But, I think I’m getting a little too preoccupied with blogging, because lately my husband has been making comments like “You’re always on the computer” or “That’s all you do”.  And truthfully it does seem like I’m always on the computer.  But that’s because blogging does take up a lot of my time. 

 

I’m also getting ready to start nursing school in a few weeks and I know that my life is going to get even more hectic.  Therefore, I’m trying to come up with a solution that will make my husband happy but also one that will keep me blogging, because there is no way that I can give this up.

So, what I think I’m going to do is, continue writing most of my posts at work *Shhh, don’t tell my boss* and setting aside 1 hour in the evenings during the week to do blog stuff and then putting the laptop aside for family/study time.  I will give myself a little more time on the weekends to blog even if I have to stay up after everyone else has gone to sleep.

 

 

My question to you is: How do you blog? Do you have a certain day of the week that you do blog stuff? Do you blog every day?



Book Review | Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Format: e-ARC

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: September 24, 2013

Pages: 304

Goodreads | Amazon

 

 



 Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger . . .

Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer was one of my most highly anticipated fall books and I was so excited when I got approved for an e-ARC through Netgalley.  I couldn’t wait to get started on it.  Unfortunately, Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer didn’t live up to my expectations.

Colette Iselin is excited when she gets the chance to go to Paris, France for nine days with her French class.  She has this fantasy that the trip will change her, but she never expected a string of killings to be the force behind the change.

The thing that bothered me the most was all of the grammatical mistakes that I encountered.  Now, this could just be because this was an advanced reader copy and it’s very likely that these grammar issues will not be in the finished copy.  And normally I wouldn’t comment on this because of that reason.  But, at times this book was very hard to read because I just kept wanting to take a pen and correct all of the mistakes that I came across.

Another thing that disappointed me about this book was my lack of connection with the characters.  And if you’ve read any of my past reviews then you know how important that connection is to me when reading a book.

 At the beginning it was very easy to see that Colette’s ‘rich’ friends were the mean, shallow girls, especially Hannah.  Hannah is the kind of person that will cut you out and make your life miserable if you go against her.

I really didn’t like the way that Colette let her so-called friends dictate the way that she acted in the beginning, I just wanted to smack her and tell her to stand up for herself. I know that she kind of found her backbone later in the book but by then it was a little too late for me.

 

Book Review | Gated by Amy Christine Parker

 

Format: e-ARC

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Random House Children’s Books

Publication Date: August 27, 2013

Pages: 352

Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

Do the gates keep the unchosen out or the chosen in?

In Mandrodage Meadows, life seems perfect. The members of this isolated suburban community have thrived under Pioneer, the charismatic leader who saved them from their sad, damaged lives. Lyla Hamilton and her parents are original members of the flock. They moved here following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, looking to escape the evil in the world. Now seventeen, Lyla knows certain facts are not to be questioned:

Pioneer is her leader.

Will is her Intended.

The end of the world is near.

Like Noah before him, Pioneer has been told of the imminent destruction of humanity. He says his chosen must arm themselves to fight off the unchosen people, who will surely seek refuge in the compound's underground fortress--the Silo.

Lyla loves her family and friends, but given the choice, she prefers painting to target practice. And lately she'd rather think about a certain boy outside the compound than plan for married life in the Silo with Will. But with the end of days drawing near, she will have to pick up a gun, take a side, and let everyone know where she stands.

 On the outside, Mandrodage Meadows looks like your ordinary suburban community.  But, Mandrodage Meadows isn’t as suburban as it looks.  All of the residents that reside there were hand-picked by a guy called Charles Manson Pioneer. 

Pioneer is a prophet and he was given visions of the future and impending apocalypse by the ‘Brethren’.  Supposedly, the Brethren has sent him on a mission to gather certain people to live in The Community in order to build an underground bunker for when the end comes.  Or so he says. 
 

Lyla and her family moved to the Community after her sister, Karen, was kidnapped.  Pioneer came to them after Karen’s disappearance and offered them a way to escape the ‘evils’ of the outside world.  And since Lyla’s parents were very vulnerable and impressionable at that time, they accepted.  This made me wonder if that was the way Pioneer got other families to join the community as well.   
 

I could tell from the beginning of this story that Lyla was a lot stronger than everybody realized.  She’s also much more questioning than the rest of the Community and she quickly realizes how dangerous it is to question Pioneer and their way of life.  So, she puts all of her doubts aside and tries to do what is expected of her, but all of that changes when she meets Cody.  
 

Lyla shouldn’t have any feelings for Cody at all, after all she is Intended to Will.  An Intended is the person that Pioneer chooses for them to marry.  But Will doesn’t make her feel things like Cody does.  And that surprises and scares her.  
 

I loved the characters in this book.  Lyla is such a courageous and caring person.  She wants to do the right thing, but she’s just not sure what that is anymore.  I really liked Marie, I loved her rebellious streak and the friendship between her and Lyla.  I also really enjoyed the growing relationship between Cody and Lyla.  Cody was very sweet and charming.  I was rooting for him from the beginning. 

 

Overall, Gated is a very chilling and captivating book that completely took me by surprise.

 

Top Ten Tuesday (16) Books I Wish Were Taught In School

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

 

This weeks topic is: Books I Wish Were Taught In School

 

 

What are some books you wish were taught in school?



 

Blog Tour: Review | 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper

 

Book Information:

Release date: June 15, 2013 

Age Group: Young Adult 

Genre: Thriller, Scifi

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

 

I have 15 minutes to save my mother’s life….

15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it’s enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.

But that’s not how it happened. The story she’s been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.

The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.

Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.

15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he’s family.

 

 

I don’t read too many time travel books, because a lot of the time I end up getting confused if it isn’t written perfectly.  And because of that reason, I had second thoughts about reading this book.  But I’m so glad that I gave it a chance because 15 Minutes is a beautifully written book that is filled with non-stop action.  After reading this book, I think I’m going to be more open with time travel books.

If you could go back in time to change something, would you?  I know that there are things in my past that I wish I could undo.  Unfortunately, time travel isn’t available in the real world so I can’t actually go back in time and change anything.  But in Lara’s world, time travel is available.  And while most people are just a hologram without the ability to change anything when they go back in time, Lara is different.

Lara is planning on going back to the night that her mother was murdered and stopping it from happening.  But Lara doesn’t realize how much her life will change by stopping one thing from happening.

Lara’s world is now is completely different from her previous one and there are some things in this world that she doesn’t like and it’s up to her to fix them.  But she’s not sure if she will be able to change anything before it’s too late.

I really liked how compassionate and determined Lara was.  She could have just gave up and let things fall where they may, but she is such a caring person that she had to help the people she cared about in any way that she could, regardless of the consequences to herself.  I also really liked Donovan.  This really surprised me because when he was introduced to the story I really didn’t think that I would like him at all.

Overall, 15 Minutes is an amazing adventure with lots of twists that you won’t see coming.  It will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.  And that ending!!! I can honestly say that I am impatiently waiting the next book in this series and I will devour it the day I get my hands on it.

 

About the Author:

 

 

I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.

But instead, I'll say I don't want to write like everyone else. I don't want to craft stories you've read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you've ever read. 

I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad. 

If you do, then I'll have succeeded. If not, I'll keep trying.

Author Social Media Links:

www.twitter.com/jillybug

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jill-Cooper/319251368110396

 www.jillacooper.com

 

Book Links: 

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17881862-15-minutes

 Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/15-Minutes-Travel-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00DB7RV60 

Kobo - http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/15-Minutes-YA-Time-Travel/book-VvcK3tjs5EGJXQVlhBejgQ/page1.html?s=7naDbHc9ZU-WkzB8ZEKUwA&r=1

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/15-minutes-jill-cooper/1115554023?ean=2940016564319

 

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HN6VS8Fspis

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour!

http://atomrbookblogtours.com/2013/07/25/tour-15-minutes-by-jill-cooper/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 



Book Review | Stealing Parker by Miranda Keaneally

Series: Hundred Oaks # 2

Format: Kindle

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: October 1, 2012

Pages: 251

Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

When I decided to pick up Stealing Parker, I had been in a reading rut for a few days and every book I picked up, I couldn’t get into.  So, based on previous experiences, I knew that I needed something light and fun in order to get me out the funk I was in and since I read Catching Jordan a little while ago and loved it, I figured Stealing Parker would the perfect book to bring me back to life.  Of course, I was right.

First, I would like to give Miranda Kenneally a round of applause *claps* for making me love a book in which baseball is such a big part of the story.  I am surprised by how much I love her books when I know NOTHING about sports.  That just shows me how amazing her writing actually is. 

Parker Shelton’s world changed when her mom revealed that she was a lesbian and that she was leaving Parker’s dad in order to be in a relationship with a woman.  When a girl on Parker’s softball team starts a rumor that Parker is a lesbian just like her mom, Parker decides to change who she is just so she can show everyone that this isn’t true.  So she loses a bunch of weight, quits the softball team, and starts hooking up with a bunch of different guys.

Parker’s best friend Drew convinces her to sign up to be the statistician/manager for the baseball team.  This is where Parker meets the new assistant coach Brian Hoffman and a very inappropriate relationship begins.  I must admit that even though I understand that this relationship and the consequences that Parker faces helps her grow as a person; I really didn’t enjoy the scenes when they were together.    

I was surprised how much I came to like Will, aka Corndog.  When we first meet him in the beginning of this book, he seems like a real jerk.  But as the story goes on, we find out that he is actually really sweet and any girl would be lucky to go for a ride on his lawnmower (I know that sounds dirty, but it’s really not  )

Stealing Parker was definitely a page-turner and I would have finished it in one day had I not left my Kindle at work.  If you enjoyed Catching Jordan then you will love Stealing Parker.