Review | Red Hill by Jamie McGuire

Format: ARC
Source: Won
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When the world ends, can love survive?

For Scarlet, raising her two daughters alone makes fighting for tomorrow an everyday battle. Nathan has a wife, but can’t remember what it’s like to be in love; only his young daughter Zoe makes coming home worthwhile. Miranda’s biggest concern is whether her new VW Bug is big enough to carry her sister and their boyfriends on a weekend escape from college finals.

When reports of a widespread, deadly “outbreak” begin to surface, these ordinary people face extraordinary circumstances and suddenly their fates are intertwined. Recognizing they can’t outrun the danger, Scarlet, Nathan, and Miranda desperately seek shelter at the same secluded ranch, Red Hill. Emotions run high while old and new relationships are tested in the face of a terrifying enemy—an enemy who no longer remembers what it’s like to be human.

Set against the backdrop of a brilliantly realized apocalyptic world, love somehow finds a way to survive. But what happens when the one you’d die for becomes the one who could destroy you?

Red Hill grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go until its stunning conclusion. This is #1 New York Times bestselling author Jamie McGuire at her unforgettable best.

My Thoughts:

I know the world ended on a Friday. It was the last day I saw my children.

When I picked up Red Hill I honestly didn’t think that I would be shedding any tears, although the last line above was the ending of the prologue so that should have been a slap in the face that this book was going to be emotional. But I had never read a zombie book before that had made me cry. Sure, I knew that people would die, but in previous zombie books that I have read it wasn’t characters that I had grown attached to or it was those certain characters that weren’t written so well and you really didn’t form any sort of connection to them.

Well, Red Hill is nothing like those previous zombie books that I had read, no one is safe from death and the characters are all written so well that it’s so hard not to form any sort of connection with them. Of course, that just makes it sooo much more devastating when someone succumbs to the infection.

I wasn’t sure how long we could survive, but I knew I wasn’t dying on day one of the fucking zombie apocalypse.

Like I said above, the character development was amazing, especially since this book was told in three different POVs. Usually when there are more than two different characters narrating, I would either like one of them the best and find myself skimming the others or I just wouldn’t connect to any of them at all. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with this book at all. I felt a connection with each of the characters from the beginning, and I found myself interested in what was happening with all of them, instead of just one and that was a huge plus for me.

This book also tore at my heart, maybe it’s because I’m a mother and I couldn’t imagine the pain that Scarlett was going through not knowing where her children where and if they were even still alive. Every day without seeing them must have been agony, but her hope never faltered and I think that made me like her so much more.

Overall, Red Hill is one hell of a rollercoaster, I laughed and I cried. McGuire is one hell of a writer and I have loved every book that I have read by her and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

---Christy

Waiting on Wednesday | Creed by Trisha Leaver & Lindsay Currie

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

 

My Pick

 

Creed by Trisha Leaver & Lindsay Currie

 

Expected Publication Date: November 8, 2014 by Flux

 

 

 

 

Three went in. Three came out. None even a shadow of who they once were.

When their car breaks down, Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and his brother Mike walk through a winter storm to take refuge in a nearby town called Purity Springs. When they arrive, the emergency sirens are blaring and the small farming town seems abandoned. With no other shelter, they spend the night in an empty house.

But they soon discover that not everything in Purity Springs is as it seems. When the town's inhabitants suddenly appear the next morning, Dee, Luke, and Mike find themselves at the mercy of the charismatic leader, Elijah Hawkins, who plans to make Dee his new wife. Elijah's son, Joseph, offers to help them escape . . . but the price of his help may be more than Dee and her friends can bear.

 

 

 

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Books Everyone Loves....Except Me

Books It Seems that Everyone Loves....Except Me

 

 

I know that we all have those books that we just don't like and that's ok, but for me, it seems like the ones that I'm just not into to, everyone else LOVES THEM. 

 

Need examples?  Here you go:

 

 

 

See, there's not just one or two, there's a ton.  I could've added more but I figured would try to keep some of my dignity. 

 

And if you're wondering what the point of this post is, I'm just hoping to find someone who didn't really care for these books either just to make myself feel better.  I was supposed to be studying for finals but I was procrastinating so...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Book Review | Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sophie Winters nearly died. Twice.


The first time, she's fourteen, and escapes a near-fatal car accident with scars, a bum leg, and an addiction to Oxy that'll take years to kick.

The second time, she's seventeen, and it's no accident. Sophie and her best friend Mina are confronted by a masked man in the woods. Sophie survives, but Mina is not so lucky. When the cops deem Mina's murder a drug deal gone wrong, casting partial blame on Sophie, no one will believe the truth: Sophie has been clean for months, and it was Mina who led her into the woods that night for a meeting shrouded in mystery.

After a forced stint in rehab, Sophie returns home to a chilly new reality. Mina's brother won't speak to her, her parents fear she'll relapse, old friends have become enemies, and Sophie has to learn how to live without her other half. To make matters worse, no one is looking in the right places and Sophie must search for Mina's murderer on her own. But with every step, Sophie comes closer to revealing all: about herself, about Mina and about the secret they shared.

My Thoughts:

I’m not sure where to even start with my review for this book. It seems like the more I liked a book the harder it is to review, and I loved this one so you can imagine my struggle as I’m trying to put my thoughts and feelings about the awesomeness that is Far From You into words. So, forgive me if my review seems a little unhinged.

Do you ever go through phases where you just want to read a bunch of the same genre? Well, this is what’s happening to me right now, and my drug of choice (pun intended) is thrillers. So, what do I do? I go to Goodreads and ask for thriller recommendations and this little gem shows up as a recommended book (Thanks, Tonyalee!) and I’m glad that this book got my attention because it was amazing.

At seventeen years old, Sophie has been through more in her short life than a lot of people go through in a lifetime. She was in an accident when she was only fourteen years old that left her with pain that doesn’t go away, this in turn leads to an addiction.

Sophie is a recovering addict and she has been clean for months, but when she is the only witness to her best friend, Mina’s, murder, no one believes that the drugs found in her jacket wasn’t hers. The police have written Mina’s murder down as a drug deal gone wrong, but Sophie knows there’s more to the story, Mina never would have taken her to buy drugs, and Sophie is determined to figure out what Mina was involved in that got her killed. But the closer Sophie gets to the truth, the more danger she’s in.

Sophie is such a strong character, I can’t imagine the strength it would take to deal with the loss of her best friend without turning to the one thing that has comforted her for the past few years. But Sophie is determined to keep her sobriety no matter how much pain, physical and emotional, she’s in and this made it so easy for me to like her. Yes, she has a past, but who doesn’t? I know that I’ve done things in my teenage years that I’m not proud of but I’m not that same person, and neither is Sophie. Her struggle was real and raw and that made this book so much MORE, you know?

Sharpe’s writing style was impeccable, the transition between past and present was so flawless, you knew exactly which time frame you were in, there’s was no confusion whatsoever. In my opinion, the switch between past and present added so much more to the story. It was so fascinating to go back and see not only how the relationship between Sophie and Mina developed, but also what their relationship was like. It just made Mina’s death and Sophie’s loss feel more vast.

Overall, Far From You is an amazing story about loss, recovery and staying true to who you are. I applaud Sharpe for tackling such emotional and tough subjects and I look forward to reading more by this author.

---- Christy

Sunday Showdown (13) Mary Lindsey

 

For today's Showdown I'm putting Mary Lindsey's covers against one another to see which one comes out on top!

 

 

 

 

Let the Showdown begin!!

Which cover is your favorite?
	Shattered Souls
	Ashes on the Waves
	Fragile Spirits
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Stacking the Shelves (49)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tygna's Reviews!

 

My Haul:

 

Kindle Books

 

 

For Review:

 

 

 

What did you get?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Focus | NEW FEATURE!

Hello my dear readers and welcome to my first Friday Focus! I’ve been wanting to have a feature here on the blog where I can showcase a book that I’ve read, want to read or am currently reading but I didn’t want to just have the cover and the summary. I wanted to come up with something that would make my readers that maybe haven’t heard of that certain book before think…"hmmm, I might check that out." So, I came up with Friday Focus.

Like I said above I will pick one book to ‘focus’ on whether it be quotes from the book, pictures of the gorgeous cover, excerpts or whatever else I can think of. Like with any new feature, I would love to hear your thoughts so be sure to leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

So, without further ado, here is my first Friday Focus!

　

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

　

　

　

Quotes

"I didn’t know what was worse: to have your shot and screw it up, or to never have had a shot in the first place."

--------

　

"Be brave. Be angry. Don't trust anyone."

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"Sometimes only pain can heal"

--------

　

"Like dipping me under the spring, she did what she thought she needed to do. But this time she’d gone too far."

--------

　

"He just stared at me, his gaze intense. I couldn’t look away any more than I could move my arm. Energy crackled between us, and I felt a strange pull to him. Moth to flame. Magnet to magnet. Stupid girl to impossible, slightly mean witch boy. Wizard. Whatever."

　

　

　

Why I decided to "Focus" on this book:

While I haven’t read this book yet, it’s one that I plan to get to in the next few weeks. It sounds really good and those quotes just make me want to pick it up that much more.  

Have you read this book before? What do you think of this new feature?  Leave me a comment and let me know!



ARC Book Review | The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: August 5, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A dead girl walks the streets.

She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.

And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.

Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just kill to get out.

The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as "Dexter" meets "The Grudge", based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.

My Thoughts:

I am where the dead children go

Yep, that is the first line in this uniquely haunting book. How freaking creepy is that?!? VERY! Am I right?? Of course I am ;)

BUT…even though, that first line gave me the chills with its eeriness, it also really intrigued me. What does that mean?? Where do the dead children go?? I want to know! Well…..kind of. Ok, not so much, but I still had to find out.

The Girl from the Well is based on a very well-known Japanese ghost story, one that I wish I would have researched before I picked this book up as I did get a teeny bit confused at times, but it wasn’t enough to make me put this book down. Okiku is a ‘vengeful’ spirit, one that has been hunting child murderers for a very long time. Her story begins over three hundred years ago when she was thrown down a well to her death, only her spirit never left and she has been wandering around seeking vengeance on those who murder kids, much like the man who killed her.

You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night.

Like I said above, Okiku has spent her timing unconcerned with those around her, unless of course they have dead children attached to them. However, all of this changes when a tattooed boy crosses her path and Okiku finds herself drawn to him and she doesn’t know why. The plot only grows from there but since I don’t want to give anything away I’ll just say that the tattooed boy is more than meets the ‘human’ eye. Yes, I know that’s kind of vague and you probably won’t understand it until you read the book ;)

Although I enjoyed this story, I wish I would have put it off for a few days only because the day that I finished this book, I came home from class and had NO electricity, which means I had to sleep in the dark! After reading this! Needless to say that I didn’t sleep well that night. I kept waking up and imagining a Japanese dead girl standing beside my bed *shudders*

Overall, The Girl from the Well is a disturbingly unique, haunting book. It will give you chills and you’ll probably never look at a ceiling the same way again. If you like to be scared then you should definitely give this one a try.

--- Christy

Waiting on Wednesday | Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

 

My Pick

 

Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

 

Expected Publication Date: July 22, 2014 by Disney-Hyperion

 

 

 

What’s your worst nightmare?

For Ivy Jensen, it’s the eyes of a killer that haunt her nights. For Parker Bradley, it’s bloodthirsty sea serpents that slither in his dreams.

And for seven essay contestants, it’s their worst nightmares that win them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at director Justin Blake’s latest, confidential project. Ivy doesn’t even like scary movies, but she’s ready to face her real-world fears. Parker’s sympathetic words and perfect smile help keep her spirits up. . . at least for now.

Not everyone is so charming, though. Horror-film fanatic Garth Vader wants to stir up trouble. It’s bad enough he has to stay in the middle of nowhere with this group—the girl who locks herself in her room; the know-it-all roommate; “Mister Sensitive”; and the one who’s too cheery for her own good. Someone has to make things interesting.

Except, things are already a little weird. The hostess is a serial-killer look-alike, the dream-stealing Nightmare Elf is lurking about, and the seventh member of the group is missing.

By the time Ivy and Parker realize what’s really at stake, it’s too late to wake up and run.

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Hidden Treasures (4)

 

I'm sure we all have those books that we absolutely LOVED but it seems like they aren't very popular. So I decided to start a feature here on the blog that will allow me to spotlight some books that I have loved that I feel don't get a lot of recognition. My plan for this feature is to share the cover and summary of the book along with the first sentences or paragraphs and if it's a book that I didn't write a review for, I will probably also throw in a few reasons why I loved the book along with links to find out more about the book.

 

This week's Hidden Treasure is:

 

Steel Lily by Megan Curd

 

 

 

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.

 

Steam hissed, billowing from the brushed steel teapot my mother always used.  Within seconds the vapors wrapped around me like wispy tendrils and tickled my arms.  The mist left a dewy spider web that sunk into my tattered suede gloves, creating a miniature constellation of droplets.  Student stopped what they were doing at their own stations and watched as I waved the evidence of my ability away.

 

Do your best, they'd said.

 

It'll help us survive, they'd said.

 

But what good did it do to survive, if you were stuck being exhausted and your classmates thought you were a freak because of your "gift"?

 

Professor Evans, my Elemental Concepts professor, clapped her hands together and then shook my shoulders excitedly.  Her silver bangles clinked and clanked, and her soprano voice trilled through the air. 

 

"Excellent, Avery, excellent! I've never had a student embrace their abilities so quickly!  You'll help our society rebuild what the war took from us.  Be proud, be proud!  Dome Four needs more students like you, ready to keep our rations up."

 

I glanced at the rest of the class.  Their haughty glares and eye rolling made me think they weren't as impressed.  One of the many perks of being in an advanced class.  "Showoff," my desk partner muttered as she wiped the condensation off of her goggles.  She flicked the water in my direction, and I flinched as it hit me in the eye.

 

 

Here's a piece from my review:

 

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? 

 

 

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