Review: The Rule of Mirrors (The Vault of Dreamers #2) by Caragh M. O'Brien

First, thanks to Roaring Brook Press and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book.  I was lucky enough to get an ARC  of the first book, The Vault of Dreamers, and meet the author when I went to BEA in 2014.  So unfortunately I won't have matching ARCs since I only had an egalley of this, but hey, that's life!  I had skimmed a few reviews before I got around to reading this myself, and one or two of them made me a little concerned I wouldn't enjoy this one.  But actually, there were several things in this that I did like even a little better than the first book.  Now, obviously if you haven't read the first book, you need to stop reading my review now, because I can't keep from any spoilers for that book.  Go click the link above and read the review of the first book if you think you might be interested in this series.

We pick up with Rosie, but Rosie in two different places.  One of those places is back in a dream vault, like where we left off in the last book.  In the place where she still sleeps most of the time, there is a creepy guy who works there.  And this guy seems to be in love with her.  So she chooses to use this obsession of his to get him to help her get awake more often. To learn things about where she is and what is going on.  And eventually, hopefully, she can get him to help her escape. 

The "other" Rosie is waking up in another girl's body, a pregnant girl's body.  Thea has been in a coma, and her parents have used the dream seeds suggested by the doctor to bring their daughter back, really they've wanted to keep her alive even with no hope, just to save the baby.  But when Thea wakes up, she's not Thea, she's Rosie.  The doctor has told the family that this happens sometimes, and that she will need to keep her in the hospital until it stops.  But Thea/Rosie is able to convince her parents that she will do better at home.  Before she leaves though, she is able to get back into the lab, and find lots of her dream seeds in jars.  And she meets someone else, someone she recognizes from her past, that now lends a whole other aspect to the story.  When she goes home with her family, to Texas, she meets the father of Thea's baby, and there is just an instant connection, seemingly out of nowhere.  Many other relatives are there as well, including her grandparents.  But Rosie wants to know about Linus, the boy she was in love with before, who also betrayed her.  She calls to try to talk to him, but of course she doesn't have Rosie's voice, it is Thea's voice, making him not believe it is her, even with the things she tells him that only the two of them would know.  She tries calling her mom and stepdad and little sister, but same issue, they don't believe her.

The "real" Rosie is able to escape when some things do happen that lead her to be able to sneak out.  At first she is able to get away with it, and the creepy guy doesn't find her.  She jumps into the back of a truck with two young women, and they promise to keep her at their home in secret for awhile, with the promise that she will let them claim the reward when she is ready to come out.  She also tries to contact Linus and others, and they do believe her.  But then Berg, the head of the school, contacts her.  And now she feels like she is no longer safe.  This is about the time she realizes that the creepy guy is out in his truck outside the house where she is hiding.  So she leaves, and goes with the creepy guy to try to get back to her family.  She finds that he has been stealing the sleep vials from the vault, and she steals some herself, to save to use for when they might be able to help her out.  Of course she must escape from him, but she doesn't trust Linus, not after his betrayal.  So she goes to another of her friends from the Forge school, Burnham.  Burnham lives in a very nice house, his parents being the ones who own the company that makes the drugs the Forge school was using.  Burnham wants to find out what exactly is being done, for his parents' company's sake at least.  So Rosie uses Burnham's computer hacking skills to try to figure more out as well as get help to get back to take her revenge on Berg. 

I won't tell you anymore.  Just that Rosie will have to meet up with Linus, she will need him to do what she wants to do, plus, she still loves him, and can't resist going to him.  But will all of it be worked out?  Even if she can get in and get the proof, does Rosie now exist in two places?  Or will Thea ever be able to come back out and take her life back?  All I can tell you is that this isn't the end, there is going to be one more book.  And I need to know more!  I need to know how everything can be wrapped up.  It gets close in this book, but not all the details are wrapped up, and there is so much more to happen. 

Audiobook Review: Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Once again I checked another audiobook out from my public library.  Pretty sure that all the audiobooks I'll review will come from the library. Without a CD player in my car, I doubt I'd buy any.  But anyway, I have been wanting to read/listen to this one since it came out, especially as much as I loved listening to her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, which if you click on the title, you can go read my review of that.  Now when I first started listening to this one, it started out in a way I was afraid I might not enjoy it as much.  The first few bits were more "Hollywood" seeming, like she'd left behind the charming "normal" persona that made me fall in love with her in the first book. But then, I kept listening, and once again, I feel like Mindy Kaling is my "sister from another mister" or at least we should be BFFs (a term she and her real best friend are not fans of though).

There is of course less about her life before all of her stardom, but there is still some there. Talking about her college life, and wanting to join a sorority. I think it was about the time she started talking about the sorority that she pulled me back in.  I can't remember if she really discussed how she became friends with BJ Novak, but I loved hearing about their friendship.  Her talk about having a mentor was also really interesting as well as humorous.  Her beginning that seemed more Hollywood-starlet to me, soon turned back to the way I wanted to hear about it, when she shared all the secrets about how they make you look good.  I also really loved hearing her talk about sex scenes, and how she enjoyed them, even if other actors and actresses talked about how awkward they were.

Now I've met BJ Novak, got to meet him back at BEA in 2014.  Here is my picture with him.

Now I feel like I need to meet Mindy as well.  I think she might have been at BEA this past summer and I missed her.  :-(

Another great book, and so much fun to listen to the author read it herself.  There's one part where she imagines if her life was different and she'd been a teacher. And so we get to hear a bunch of emails that are supposedly written as part of this life. The email signatures she has are so funny.  Once again I want to share all the little updates I posted on Goodreads as I was listening to the book.

So many laughs for this book, and so much love for this actress/comedian/author.

Review: The White Rose (The Lone City #2) by Amy Ewing (September Sequel Challenge #3)

I actually got an ARC of this book through Books for Trade on Twitter, but originally I got an e-galley from HarperTeen and Edelweiss.  I really wanted a physical ARC though, to match the physical ARC I have of the first book, The Jewel, which I got at BEA in 2014.  So thanks to all of those I've listed, I finally got around to reading it, and enjoyed it!  It was still good, although not as great as the first one.  But it was good enough, and I still can't wait to read the 3rd one.  If you haven't read the first one, there will be spoilers here unfortunately.  In that case, click the link above taking you to my review of the first book, and stop reading this review NOW.  :-)

Where we left off, the Duchess had just caught Violet in bed with Ash, the male companion.  And what is in store for Violet and Ash is something she just can't stand to happen.  So she must run away, but instead of taking the potion that will make her appear dead, she gives it to her friend Raven, who seems to be in an even worse situation.  The two of them end up in the morgue after she's helped Ash escape with the help of Garnet, the Duchesses son, and even Garnet's sister, Carnelian.  But Carnelian loves Ash, even though she hates Violet, so she helps them because of that.  On the run they find out that the Duchess accused Ash of rape and so he is wanted everywhere for that.  Supposedly she still has Violet sequestered away and has signed a contract for her daughter, not yet born, to the Exetor's son.  Something that has never been done.  Violet had been rescued by the Black Key group, but her trip out of the city to the Farm is filled with dangers and chances of being caught.  Once Lucien finally helps them get to the Farm, she will meet Sil.  Sil was a surrogate at one time, and she escaped and is now living and helping try to take back the Island they live on.  She will help Violet figure out her powers, and how she can use them to help the cause. 

Both Violet and Ash's families will come into play in parts of this story, in very sad ways. We learn more about Ash's life as a companion, as well as what led up to the way the city is these days.  There's a lot of information in this story, although I still feel there is more to know.  We also get to meet some of the surrogates that we'd only heard mentioned at the Auction in the first book. 

I really liked that Ash was a pretty realistic character, I felt.  There was definitely some interesting new aspects to the auguries that we learned about, that caused the sicknesses back in The Jewel, that made the surrogates sick.  I'm also very intrigued about the history of the island and the people who were there before.  This definitely one you must read to go on in the story and find out what will happen in this world.

Review: The Walled City by Ryan Graudin (TBR Challenge #11)

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this when I went to BEA a year ago.  I also got to meet the author and get an autograph.  As you can see though, I didn't get to it for over a year.  So it is #11 on my TBR Challenge list for the year.  It was a pretty good book, had some definite unique parts to the story, and reading the author's note at the end about a real walled city made it even better after I was done reading it.

There are three main characters that we get the story from, and their stories are all interwoven.  First we meet Jin Ling.  Jin Ling is a girl who has disguised herself as a boy in the Walled City in order to try to find her sister who she knows was taken to be in a brothel.  Life on the streets for her is dangerous.  But she is fast, and being able to get away really is what keeps her alive.  Until she steals brand new boots from another street kid, a big bully.  As he is trying to get his boots back, and probably kill Jin Ling in the process, we meet Dai, our next character.  Dai isn't a normal kid living on his own in the Walled City.  He is there to find information about one of the biggest gangsters for the authorities outside the city.  If he can do this, he will not be thrown in jail for crimes he committed before.  A crime that ended in the death of his own brother.  He comes across Jin Ling, and decides to help her, a boy as he thinks, in order to get Jin Ling to be a runner for him, and help him get into the gangster's headquarters to get the info he needs.  It is in this headquarters, which has a brothel, that we meet the third character, Mei Yee.  She is a prostitute, but she doesn't have to be with a lot of customers as there is an ambassador that pays very well to keep her only for himself.  He treats her pretty well, other than the prostitute part, but she wants more.  And when she sees the handsome boy outside her window, Dai, she knows what she might want and what might be out there.  You may have guessed the Mei Yee is Jin Ling's sister.  But the connection isn't made until the end of the story.  Dai has 18 days, and the story is told by the days.  The last day will be New Year's Eve, when the authorities are planning a raid, and they need the info that Dai is supposed to find. 

Of course there will be lots of obstacles along the way.  Jin Ling will get a very serious wound and Dai will find out that she is a girl.  But Jin Ling won't let that wound keep her from helping Dai earn his freedom from his past crimes, and it should all work out to hopefully free them all.  Mei Yee will have to deal with the danger that comes from trying to help Dai as well, only hers will be the threat of being hooked on heroin for betraying the gangster.  Not to mention that her ambassador will not be happy when he detects her thinking of someone else. 

Really a good story, and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Ryan Graudin and I at BEA 2014

Waiting on Wednesday - The Rule of Mirrors (The Vault of Dreamers #2) by Caragh M. O'Brien

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  My choice this week is the sequel to a book I got at BEA back in the summer of 2014, The Vault of Dreamers.  It was an interesting story, even if it wasn't quite what I'd expected, and I'd really like to see where the story goes next.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

The fast-paced, psychologically thrilling sequel to The Vault of Dreamers follows Rosie after her consciousness has been split in two.

The entire country was watching when Rosie Sinclair was expelled from Forge, the prestigious arts school that doubles as a reality TV show. But few know how Dean Berg was mining students' dreams in laboratories deep below the school. And no one, least of all the Dean himself, knows that when Rosie's dreams were seeded into the mind of another patient, Rosie's consciousness woke up in that body--a girl far from Forge, a girl with a completely different life from Rosie, a girl who is pregnant.

Told from alternating points of view between Rosie as she makes sense of her new identity and the shattered subconscious that still exists in her old body, this sequel to The Vault of Dreamers will keep readers on the edge of their seats and leave them hungry for more.

I'm really excited to see just how this story will go on.  Because it seemed as if Rosie was gone at the end, yet here it seems like she will get a new chance, even if not as herself really, or at least not in her own body.  

So, what book are you eagerly awaiting this week?

Review: Talon by Julie Kagawa

This was a book I was so disappointed when I was unable to get an ARC at BEA the summer of 2014, but then I believe I was able to finally get it this past year through YA Book Exchange.  I have to say I did enjoy it, it was different from what I guess I thought it was going into it.  And now I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, Rogue. Anyone have an ARC of that to trade me?  :-)

The story is told through the view points of two people at first, and then we add a third person towards the second half.  The main character though, I believe, is Ember.  Ember is a member of Talon, which means she is a dragon hatchling. When they reach a certain age, around 16, they get to go out and live with humans and have a "normal" life, since they are able to be in human form.  Ember and her twin brother Dante, have been sent to live near a beach.  Twins are rare for dragons, and so Ember has been lucky enough to have a brother with her in all stages of her life.  Once they get to where they are staying, they find out that their training is going to begin a bit earlier than planned.  Ember and Dante are trained separately, and Ember's trainer seems to be the trainer from hell.  And some of the exercises she is doing remind me of what Mr. Miyagi had Daniel doing in the Karate Kid movie.  Although her trainer is nothing like the kindly old Mr. Miyagi.  And after they are done training, or during their training, they will find out which sect of the Talon they will be training to join. 

The 2nd person is Garrett.  He is a member of the Order of St. George, soldiers who hunt and kill dragons.  He has been put on assignment to try to catch a hatchling that they know will be in the same town where Ember is.  And Ember is one of the possible suspects since she is new to town.  He is sent to infiltrate the groups of teens and determine who is his target.  And while he has always been loyal in all ways, after hanging out with Ember for awhile, and getting to know her as a girl, without finding out if she is a dragon, he wonders if dragons are all as bad as he has been told. 

And towards the end a character that we do meet early on, a rogue dragon named Riley, begins to get his own chapters.  Any dragon who does not want to follow the Talon's rules and fall in line in one of their sects, well they have to go into hiding and are called rogues.  Only Riley lets Ember in on some things that she's never known about Talon, and even shows her proof of some of the things he tells her.

In the end Ember must decide if Talon is still where she belongs, and Garrett must decide if he will follow through with his mission. 

Another great, and unique, story by Kagawa.

Waiting on Wednesday - The White Rose (The Lone City #2) by Amy Ewing

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  I started seeing this book on other WOWs in March, and so had to add it to my schedule as soon as I could!  I loved the first book, The Jewel, and got the ARC at BEA last summer when I met the author.  So now I will be waiting even longer to read it I'm sure as I won't get the ARC since I'm not going to BEA this year.  Anyway, here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.

But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.

But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments.

Sounds good and I can't wait to find out what happens next!  How about you?  What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Mania (The Night Walkers #3) by J.R. Johansson (Series Ender Challenge #2)

First, I have to thank the author, as well as Netgalley and Flux publishing.  I first came to love this series back in January of 2014 when I read Insomnia, the first one, after winning it in a giveaway.  I got the 2nd book, Paranoia, as an egalley from Netgalley last summer, when I was not fortunate enough to get to meet the author on the last day of BEA.  A couple weeks ago I got an email from the author asking if I was still interested in reading and reviewing this third and final book in the series.  Of course I hopped on the chance!!  She emailed me a copy, and right about the same time I remembered that I'd also seen it on Netgalley and requested it there as well.  And I have to say I loved this book as much as I loved the first two, which if you click on their titles, you can go to my reviews.  Obviously if you haven't read those two, most of what I say her won't make sense, and will be spoilery. But if you have read the first two, then I shouldn't be giving anything away with my summary.

This book not only is back in Parker's life, but we get to also see from his brother Jack's viewpoint.  When the last book ended, the Takers' headquarters had been destroyed by Parker's and Jack's father.  Unfortunately their father also died.  The good news is that supposedly their father had figured out a new type of vaccine that would help the Takers to be able to dream and sleep.  So that they wouldn't have to take over people's lives like they did.   Unfortunately the leader of the Takers, Cooper now that his father is dead, still wants the elixir they had been given that would help them to be able to take over people for good and as they put it, be gods.  Chloe, Cooper's sister, also a Taker, has now started to go along with Jack and Parker and Finn. When she let Finn go, her family basically disowned her.  And now all she wants is to help make the serum that will give her a normal life.  But their dad didn't just leave instructions.  He left clues to get to bits and pieces of it until they had it all added together.  And along the way they get one more thing to deal with, Parker gets kidnapped and taken by Cooper and his group.  Once there the scientists start injecting him with all kinds of things that make his life miserable, to the point where he can only hope to die.  Jack is given 10 days to make the original serum, which his dad didn't leave any instructions for.  So of course the time is spent doing their best to find all that is needed for the new "cure" in time to save Parker.

Another great story.  I like both viewpoints, really helped to see just what was going on, as well as getting a look inside some of the characters you might not otherwise have had time to learn about.  And it was so great getting back to Finn.  I love Finn.  His funny t-shirts, all of it.  So it was really fun to have him back.  There is lots of danger in this.  Times we don't know for sure if someone has betrayed the group.  Or if someone else might be able to help even though they are on the wrong side.  I liked all the different/new ways they were able to do things in dreams, and even finding more about what started all of the different things they're dealing with.  The ending was pretty set, although I can see that maybe, some day, there could be another book, and I would not be opposed to that!  A great finish to a favorite series of mine.   

Review: Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant (TBR Challenge #9)

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this at BEA in the summer of 2014.  I also got to meet the author last summer, who I have been a huge fan of ever since I first read his book Gone. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure I was a big fan of this book.

The main character is Mara, although she doesn't quite remember who she is when the book first starts.  She wakes up in a field that she doesn't recognize and has no idea how she got there or where she is.  As she begins to try to make her way out of the foggy field, she comes across a coffin with a girl inside. But as she looks at the girl, she knows it is not her.  She turns around and sees a cute boy, who will only tell her that he is the Messenger of Fear.  And he shows her how the girl in the coffin died.  She shot herself.  So then they follow back in time to the bullying that led to her death.  But it's not only this that he shows Mara.  She also sees a boy and girl that run over a dog.  I almost quit at that point.  But since the book was portraying what they'd done as bad, I went ahead and read on.  There was another bullying type of situation that Mara saw.  She also saw the people get punished, or tested in a game.  Soon, Mara will find out why she is there with the Messenger, she will learn what he does. She will meet other people that he deals with.  Some not quite so nice.  Some that she can't quite figure out.

The people are all bad, and for the most part they get what they deserve. And I wondered if the little twist at the end would be what was going to happen early on, but it was done in a very good way.  I don't know if I'll read on or not.  Will see if I feel like it and can fit the next one in.  I think I saw an egalley of it on Edelweiss.

I wanted so bad to like it since I've loved Grant's other books, and since I met him when I got this one.  I remember when I saw him at BEA last summer.  I'd come back and got in line pretty early, before anyone else, and it was during the time when they were having a lunch break for the workers, so there weren't any authors there at the time.  When he came up I was first in line, and he called  us up and said he'd sign whatever we had. Well, I felt greedy, but I asked him if there were any books because we'd thought we were supposed to get Messenger of Fear.  So he went in the back and helped them bring his books up front to be signed.  He was really cool!

Review: The Hunted (The Living #2) by Matt De La Pena

 

First thanks to Edelweiss and Delacorte Press for allowing me to read an egalley of the sequel to The Living.  I read the first book as an egalley over a year ago, and then was lucky enough to get to meet the author and get an autographed copy of the first book.  Here I am at BEA last summer with the author.

Anyway, on with my review.  Now, of course if you haven't read the first book, I can't promise any spoilers for that book.  In fact I'll have to start out with that in my summary!

We're back with Shy, Carmen, Marcus, and Shoeshine.  Their boat has finally made it to the coast of California from the island where they almost died. They have run out of food and water, and are so glad to be back on land.  Until the get off the boat and are immediately met by one of the gangs that patrols its section.  They are told they must get out, even if they are not sick, no one is allowed in a different section.  So as they hurry out they end up in another section, and this time someone tries to burn them out of the trailer they find to spend the night in.  It turns out there is a biker gang that tries to kill them for entering their area.  But something strange happens. One guy stops when he gets a close up look at Shy's face.  He gives Shy an envelope and tells him to take his friends to the movie lot where it seems to be a kind of safe place.  Shy and his friends are still immune to the disease that has taken people out because of the vaccine they got back on the island.  Their goal, even with the safe place to stay, is to get the extra vials of the vaccine they have to scientists in Arizona.  Not only the vaccine though, they have proof of the pharmaceutical company that caused the disease in the first place, and they want to make sure they have to pay for it.  While at first they want to get to their families, when they see the devastation from the earthquake, tsunami, and the disease, they know they must first get the vaccines to those who can get it to save people left. 

Along the way Shy will run into his deadbeat dad, who will try to win his son back by being a better father, his way anyway.  People will get shot, Shoeshine and Marcus.  They will run into Addie, the daughter of the scientist from the company that caused the whole thing, and while she seems to be on her side, her dad will show up at one point and throw a bit of a wrench into their plans.  They will have to try to make it to Arizona while being tracked by helicopters, humvees, and other military/secret agent types of guys. They even have a guy on a motorcycle following them part of the way.  One of them won't make it till the end alive, and only two will make it to Arizona to pass on the vaccine.  Once there they hope to also be reunited with their families, or at least know what has happened.

I won't tell anymore.  Just that while it definitely had what could be an ending, I feel there could definitely be a sequel as I want to know what happened for sure to the person who didn't make it to the end.  And I want to know about the family members we don't know for sure about. 

Those of you who want more diverse characters, Matt de la Pena is one of the authors that does it very well.  His stories usually are more contemporary types of stories, and I loved the extra Sci-Fi and disaster parts of this story. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Alive by Scott Sigler

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. I've chosen a book by an author that I don't think of with YA normally, but I'm pleased to see one.  I've really enjoyed his Infected series, and was so excited when I got to meet him last summer at BEA.  It looks like a bit of a dystopian type of story, although from the first few lines, I feel like they left out one book for comparison, The Maze Runner.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

For fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising comes a gripping sci-fi adventure in which a group of teenagers wake up in a mysterious corridor with no knowledge of who they are or how they got trapped. Their only hope lies with an indomitable young woman who must lead them not only to answers but to survival.

“I open my eyes to darkness. Total darkness. I hear my own breathing, but nothing else. I lift my head . . . it thumps against something solid and unmoving. There is a board right in front of my face. No, not a board . . . a lid.”

A teenage girl awakens to find herself trapped in a coffin. She has no idea who she is, where she is, or how she got there. Fighting her way free brings little relief—she discovers only a room lined with caskets and a handful of equally mystified survivors. Beyond their room lies a corridor filled with bones and dust, but no people . . . and no answers.

She knows only one thing about herself—her name, M. Savage, which was engraved on the foot of her coffin—yet she finds herself in charge. She is not the biggest among them, or the boldest, but for some reason the others trust her. Now, if they’re to have any chance, she must get them to trust each other.

Whatever the truth is, she is determined to find it and confront it. If she has to lead, she will make sure they survive. Maybe there’s a way out, a rational explanation, and a fighting chance against the dangers to come. Or maybe a reality they cannot comprehend lies just beyond the next turn. 

I don't know about you, but I think it sounds really good! And I know I enjoyed his writing in the other books I've read, so I can't wait for this one.

So tell me what book or books you are eagerly awaiting this week!! 

A to Z April: I Reviews - It Had to Be You by Sarah Webb/Infected by Scott Sigler

Today I've got another chick lit title, along with an adult science fiction title to share.  Once again I'll share the synopsis from Goodreads along with a few sentences about what I remember liking about the book.

First is It Had To Be You by Sarah Webb.  It's set in Ireland, where I'm sure my perfect man must be just waiting to speak to me in his sexy Irish accent.  The main character is an aspiring author (kinda like me, I like to write) who works at a bookstore (also like me as I do work at a bookstore!).  It's a story about actually three friends and how their lives and love lives will get better or take a new turn.  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
Still-unpublished author Molly Harper would die for a passion like those depicted in the novels sold at Happily Ever After, the bookshop she manages in the Irish village of Burnaby that specializes in romance fiction. And she'd love a boss—any boss—other than her store's detestable, super-smooth new owner, Milo Jones . . . though Milo's very attractive son may be the one good reason why Molly should not take flight.

Molly's best friend, Paige Brady, is a happily married mother of two and running for local office. But suddenly she faces two unanticipated challenges: an opponent's stingingly personal attacks . . . and a surprise pregnancy.

Kate Bowan sells trendy designer shoes by day, and potential matches-made-in-heaven by night. Because of her hectic schedule, the determined dating service entrepreneur has no time to pencil in for loneliness. What she does have, however, is a client who's proving to be a lot more than she can handle.

Welcome to modern life and love in tiny Burnaby, Ireland, where three very different women with big dreams, the closest of friends, are about to discover that "happily ever after" could be only a heartbeat—or a heartbreak—away.

Second is Infected by Scott Sigler.  I first discovered him with this book.  I loved the cover, and it immediately grabbed my attention.  I was reading a lot more adult science fiction at the time, and so this fit right into that niche.  I also got to meet him at  BEA last summer, but I don't think I got my picture taken with him.  :-(
The characters in the story are interesting, and the whole basis for infection is really scary as well.  Here's the blurb for this one:
Across America a mysterious disease is turning ordinary people into raving, paranoid murderers who inflict brutal horrors on strangers, themselves, and even their own families.

Working under the government’s shroud of secrecy, CIA operative Dew Phillips crisscrosses the country trying in vain to capture a live victim. With only decomposing corpses for clues, CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya races to analyze the science behind this deadly contagion. She discovers that these killers all have one thing in common – they’ve been contaminated by a bioengineered parasite, shaped by a complexity far beyond the limits of known science.

Meanwhile Perry Dawsey – a hulking former football star now resigned to life as a cubicle-bound desk jockey – awakens one morning to find several mysterious welts growing on his body. Soon Perry finds himself acting and thinking strangely, hearing voices . . . he is infected.

The fate of the human race may well depend on the bloody war Perry must wage with his own body, because the parasites want something from him, something that goes beyond mere murder.

So those are the two books I'm sharing today for my I Reviews.  Have you read either of these, or anything by either of the authors?  Have any similar titles to recommend for me to add to my TBR list?

And of course, don't forget to enter my month long giveaway below!


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Review: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer (TBR Challenge #3)

This is an ARC that I was lucky enough to pick up last summer at BEA.  I could have sworn I'd met the author, but it's not autographed and I don't have a picture with her.  :-(  I finally got back around to it in order to work on my TBR Pile Challenge.  It was definitely an interesting read.  I knew there would be some kind of big reveal at the end, but I didn't figure out what the twist was going to be, and I feel like it was a really good one.  Don't worry, I won't give it away!

The main character is Jam Gallahue.  Jam has just been sent to a special school called The Wooden Barn.  This is a boarding school for teens with emotional problems.  Jam is there because she lost her British foreign exchange student boyfriend.  Now, we don't know till the very end how she lost him.  So you'll speculate until the very end.  Jam is one of only a few students selected to be in a special honors English class.  In this class they are given journals to write in as the study an author, and this semester the author is Sylvia Plath.  The title of this book, Belzhar, is pronounced basically like the name of Plath's book, The Bell Jar.  But what Belzhar is in the book is kind of a different dimension, one where Jam and her friends in the class get to go and things are like they were before whatever their big traumatic event was.  In Jam's world, her boyfriend Reeve is there, and they get to spend every time together.  One girl who is now paralyzed gets to run and walk, and use her legs again.  Another person in the class gets to go back and spend time with her brother before he disappeared.  While they are in this other dimension, they write five pages in their journal.  They have figured out that by the end of the class, they will have written on every page in their journal.  And when they reach the final time? Well now they must come to terms with this big event, and they must decide how they will go on to live their lives. Will they continue to let whatever happened to them define the rest of their lives, will they choose to try to keep the wonderful times in this world, or will they move on and give themselves another chance?

I love when we learn about all the other students' past experiences, and I love the ways their final journal entry affects them.  And the way they choose, some are very emotional, and again, I have to say wow at the twist in what really happened with Jam's boyfriend.

A good read, pick it up if it sparks your interest!

Waiting on Wednesday - Persuasion (The Heirs of Watson Island #2) by Martina Boone

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  I was so excited earlier this month when they released the cover for this one. I immediately went and added this to the next open WOW spot on my calendar.  I got an ARC of the first book, Compulsion, at BEA last summer, and loved it.  Here is the blurb, and the pretty, pretty cover for the sequel from Goodreads:

Grieving the death of her godfather and haunted by her cousin Cassie’s betrayal, Barrie returns from a trip to San Francisco to find the Watson plantation besieged by reporters and ghost-hunters. Some are hoping to see the ancient spirit who sets the river on fire each night, while others are chasing rumors of a stolen shipment of Civil War gold that may be hidden at Colesworth Place. Chaos descends as Cassie hires a team of archeologists to excavate beneath the mansion ruins. But more is buried there than treasure.

A mysterious, magical man appears at Watson’s Landing, claiming the key to the Watson and Beaufort gifts and the Colesworth curse also lies beneath the mansion. With a mix of threats and promises, he engages Barrie and Cassie in a midnight visit, but the spell he conjurs has potentially deadly consequences.

While Barrie and dreamy Eight Beaufort struggle to make sense of the escalating danger and their growing feelings for each other, Barrie has to figure out not only whom to trust, but which gift is more reliable—Eight’s or her own. With millions of dollars and the fate of the founding families at stake, she must choose between what she feels deep in her heart and what will keep her loved ones safe.

I'm so excited to read on in this world.  I love Eight, he's such a good book boyfriend!!  So, what book are you eagerly awaiting this week? 

Cover Characteristic/Top Ten Tuesday: Just Words

The Cover Characteristic meme is hosted at  Sugar and Snark.  Since I wasn't sure about the Top 10 Tuesday theme this week, I chose to do it this way instead.  Here are the guidelines for how it works if you want to join in:
Each week we will post a characteristic and choose 5 of our favorite covers with that characteristic. If you want to join in and share your 5 favorite covers with the weeks particular characteristic, then just make a post, grab the meme picture (or make your own) and leave your URL in Linky (so we can visit).
You don’t even need to participate, just stopping by and saying hi would be great! Don’t forget to stop by the other participants!

I try to pick books I've already read, and all but one will be ones that I've read for this week. And I'll be doing 10 instead of 5.


 And the number one book I'm picking, I haven't actually read all the way through, but I think it is the best one for this theme:

An ulterior motive I had for picking this book is that I can share the picture of me getting to meet the author last summer at BEA. I was one of the first in line, so I think he still was friendly and not bored or anything.

 

Review: The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith (COYER Challenge #5)

First of course I have to thank Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read an e-galley of this.  I'd actually hoped to get an ARC last summer at BEA.  I did get to meet the author, but he was just signing the first book, Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter.  I'll admit I didn't read the first book, even though it was sitting on my shelf since before the movie came out.  I did see the movie though, and loved it.  So of course I know there were things left out from the book in the movie.  But it was still enough to help me read this book.  I did enjoy the book. There were some predictable things, but it was still a fun read.  With all the different historical figure cameos, it reminded me a bit of Forrest Gump.  The main character, Henry, just happened to be at all these big events, and somehow have a hand in them.  Again, I'm not complaining, just pointing out what it reminded me of.

Henry Sturges is the man, scratch that, vampire, that helped turn Abraham Lincoln into a vampire hunter.  He is the main character, or "The Last American Vampire," although he's not really the last one, at least not where the story ends.  But the book is pretty much about his life.  It starts off with memories of Lincoln's last days.  And how hard it was for Henry to let go of Abe.  And then we pretty much jump back to a quick bit about his life before he became a vampire.  Henry was one of the people in the Roanoke Colony.  He only survived because the vampire who slaughtered all the other settlers saw something that he thought was unique and worthy in Henry, and so turned him instead.  There are many flashes back to the times right after that throughout the more modern stories.  There are visits back to London during the times of Jack the Ripper.  Guess what, he was a vampire.  Then we get the story of Anastasia, again vampires involved.  For the most part we jump over the Civil War since that was the main part of the first book.  But Henry helps out the government of the United States, working for several of the presidents of the United States.  It's fun to get a look at him with both Roosevelts, JFK, and with others like J. Edgar Hoover.  There's an attempt on Hitler's life.  Henry gets to be friends with other famous people like Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain.  Of course there are some famous people that are vampires, Howard Hughes for instance.  All of it is woven into a very fun story.

In the end it is kind of left open.  Not sure how they could go much further into the future, as it ends shortly after September 11th, 2001 I think.  But I'm sure there could be other stories from the past to share.  Another fun read from this author, who I have read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which is by him as well.  And to finish the review off, here is a picture of me with the author last June at BEA in NYC.

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

This is an ARC I was lucky enough to get at BEA.  I didn't get to meet the author unfortunately, but still was able to get ahold of the ARC, and I'm glad I did.  I believe this is the first book by this author that I've read. But now I know that I need to read more!  And not just because there was a dachshund in the book. 

The main character is Hazel.  She and her brother live in a town where the forest nearby has a glass casket with a horned boy inside of it.  Now this glass is impossible to break.  People have tried over the years.  And it's not just the boy in the casket, there are fairies and other types of creatures in the forest.  For the most part their tricks are just scary, mostly harmless. Although if you are a tourist and don't know the rules, things might happen to you.  Deadly things.  Hazel and her brother Ben have lived in a house near the forest their whole lives.  They've gone to see the boy in the casket all the time.  Told him their secrets, fallen in love with him, both of them.  Before Ben was born, their mother painted a picture of one of the fairies, and the fairy woman blessed Ben to be musical.  When one of the fairies attack Hazel, he is able to play music in a way that saves her, and then they kill the fairy. They decide from that point on that they will hunt fairies.  At least they do until Ben questions his control of his musical ability.  So Hazel makes a deal so that Ben is able to get scholarships to go to a school where he wants to go to learn to control his music.  They move away from the forest.  Only things don't quite go as planned, and they move back, with Ben not wanting to play music ever again. 

The fairy folk don't just grant wishes like that without taking something in return.  And what Hazel had to promise was 7 years of her life. Which as a child she figured meant she'd die 7 years early, or at least they'd come from the end of her life.  But when the prince is broken out of the glass box, and the fairy begin attacking the town in different ways, she learns that maybe the 7 years will be taken in a much different manner than she could have ever expected.  Together with the freed prince, and a changeling that has been raised as a human, along with his human brother, (a great story!  But read it for yourself), they must figure out what they can do to save their town, Fairfold, from the Alderking and his plans. 

Such a great story.  Hazel is the knight, she will fight for her friends and family and town.  Ben is a great character as well.  Jack, the changeling, love him!  And the prince, Severin, is perfectly written.  A really great story, and I'm so glad it was my introduction to this author's work. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 New-to-me Authors I Read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.   In trying to go with the spirit of the theme this week, I've chosen authors who are not brand new, just ones I haven't read before.

1.  Jennifer L. Armentrout -  I had heard so much about this author, and had wanted to try her books, but just never got around to it until I got an ARC from a Disney Summer of Chills package.  I loved that book, Don't Look Back, and now I am ready to begin reading all things JLA.

2.  Kelley Armstrong - My first book of hers was Sea of Shadows which I read because I met her last May and really enjoyed hearing her talk about it.

3.  Kimberly Derting - I met her back in May of 2013 at the RT Convention, but didn't get around to reading her books until I got an e-galley of The Taking, which I loved, so then I finally went and read the book I got from her at the convention, The Body Finder.  I also got to meet her again this past May.  

4.  Bethany Griffin - I finally read this author when I got an e-galley of The Fall.  Now I need to go back and read her Masque of Red Death books.

5.   Melissa Marr - It's possible I've read a short story of this author before, but I'm not sure that I have.  I finally read a whole book by here though, Made for You.  It was of course the gorgeous cover that drew me in, but when the girls on Epic Reads were talking about it on Tea Time one day, I knew I had to read it.  I have met this author, again at the RT Convention, but did not get a picture, and I have two ARCs of hers from a couple years ago.  I need to bump them up on my reading list!

6.  Caragh O'Brien - I have a friend who has mentioned the Birthmarked series by this author.  But I never got around to reading it.  I did get to meet the author at BEA this past summer when I got an ARC of The Vault of Dreamers, but I can't seem to find the picture!
 

 7.  Rainbow Rowell - I downloaded Eleanor and Park probably last year around Christmas I think, for a really good deal. But I could just never get into it.  So I checked out the book Attachments, and did really enjoy that.  I had hoped to get a chance to meet the author at BEA and get an ARC of Landlines, but I wasn't able to.

 
8.  Megan Shull - I got to meet her this summer at BEA, and got a copy of the ARC of The Swap, which I LOVED!!!  So glad to have met her and read her book, I can recommend her books very highly now. 

9.  Andrew Smith - I had seen a lot about his book Grasshopper Jungle over the past year, and so I had to finally get ahold of it, which I did by checking it out from the library and then reading it while I was recovering from surgery this summer.  I loved it, and need to read more!

10.  Rick Yancey - I have had several of this author's books on my TBR list for a long time. But it wasn't until I finally got around to reading The 5th Wave this past year that I became a huge fan.  Now I do have to go back and pick up all those other books I wanted to read.

So, those are my top 10 "new" authors for 2014.  Have you read any of them?  If not, are they on your TBR list?  Because I highly recommend them!