Review: Made for Two by Karen Lenfestey

This is an e-novella that I was alerted to for 99 cents on Amazon and it sounded pretty good.  It was about a teacher, who went back home after an issue she had at the inner city school in Chicago where she taught.  She tried to reconnect with her old love while she was there.  They had broken up when she moved to Chicago to teach, because he didn't want to leave.  He wanted to stay and run the family bakery.  Well, she had also been best friends with his sister.  And when Diane goes to the bakery to see Tim, his sister is very hateful and doesn't want her to even talk to him.  It seems that Tim has been in a pretty big almost depression since Diane left.  And he kind of hides out in the back of the bakery.  Diane also is home with her mother, who has been alone since her dad died.  And she finds out that her mom isn't really leaving the house much, even to the point of having her groceries delivered.  So Diane sets out to find the love that her mother lost before her dad, and reconnect them, even as she tries to get Tim back.  All while trying to get her teaching job in Chicago back, even if it might cause problems for her and Tim.

A quick read.  Not bad.  A pretty predictable story, other than one thing that had happened to Tim was not really what I'd expected exactly, but it definitely gave the story its little bit of uniqueness I guess.

While you're here, don't forget to enter my 5th Blogoversary Giveaway, just click on the picture below.

The September Sequels Giveaway Blog Hop is open for sign ups for one more day by clicking the left button below, and my September is for Sequels Challenge you still have until September 15th to get signed up for with the button on the right.

Review: No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die 0.5) by Danielle Paige

When I saw this was available as an e-novella, I had to purchase it right away.  I bought it before I got ahold of the ARC of Dorothy Must Die, but just didn't get around to it until after I read it.  It was nice to read this because it did kind of answer some questions I had as I read Dorothy Must Die.  If you go back to my review that I liked to above, you can see what my questions were.

As it says, this is a prequel.  In No Place Like Oz we join Dorothy about 6 months I believe after she returned from Oz.  But when she gets back, she finds that she really, really misses Oz.  In fact, you kind of see a connection in the way she feels about Kansas compared to the way Amy Gumm felt about it in the first book.  It is just about time for Dorothy's birthday, and at the party she begins to feel like she misses Oz even more.  Her Uncle Henry and Auntie Em are having some issues with raising money with the farm these days, and so the cake doesn't turn out so great.  And when her best friend shows up, she sees that her tales of Oz may have lost her to other, more well-to-do girls in the town.  Dorothy gets upset at one of her gifts and runs to shut herself in her room.  Under her bed is a gift from Glinda!  Some bright red shoes.  When she puts them on, she makes a wish, and she is back in Oz.  Only, not alone.  Her aunt and uncle end up there as well.  And they are not happy to be there.  They want to get back to take care of the farm.  But they land right by the old house, and there is a message from Glinda that she is in trouble.  So Dorothy sets off on a journey to find and help Glinda.  While many years have passed in Oz compared to the short time that passed in Kansas, she is still able to find all her friends, as well as meet the Princess Ozma, and begin looking for Glinda.  But she gets a taste of magic, and loving the life she lives as a hero there, and gets really irritated about her aunt and uncle who just keep harping about going back.

It's a different Dorothy than we know from The Wizard of Oz, but that's okay.  A trip like she had would change anyone.  Another great read, that while it gives you an idea of what is to come, it doesn't tell us every detail leading up to Dorothy Must Die, and that is just done perfectly.  Read it before or after, you won't be disappointed either way.

Sunday Post #4 and Stacking the Shelves January 26, 2014

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme. 

Last Week on My Blog:

• Teaser Tuesday
• Waiting on Wednesday:  The one where I whine about lost books
• Review:  Die for Me by Amy Plum
• Cover Characteristic
• Review:  Pandemic by Scott Sigler

Looks like I made my goal of making sure I had two book reviews this week.  One is starting a series that I could use for my Prequel and Sequel Challenge, and the other is one for finishing a series, even though I wasn't blogging to review the first two in the series, so can't get full points for it.  Now something that won't actually appear on my blog, is a DNF.  I received the ARC of the 2nd book in the Patrick Carman Pulse series, so I checked out the first one to read.  I got about 100 pages in, and found it just wasn't for me.  Which is sad because I normally like Patrick Carman a lot.  But, I have so many other things to read, that I will pass on it for now.  It also means I'll be posting it on YA Book Exchange probably, and hoping that I can make a trade next time where I don't get the book stolen.  I may have to start having books sent to my work place so I know they will be safe.

This Week on My Blog:

• Review of And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
• A Tuesday Meme (not sure which one yet)
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Review of:  either Light by Michael Grant or else a book by a friend's wife called:  Docket No. 76
• Friday Meme (not sure which one yet)
• Stacking the Shelves

The reviews will depend on what books arrive this week, and there may be one less of the memes, just depends how busy the week is.  I'm happy if I blog 6 out of 7 days, as long as 2 are reviews.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.   Quite a bit this week!

E-galleys from Edelweiss:

Very excited for this sequel to The Lost Sun, even though not sure I like this cover much.

E-galleys from Netgalley:

I love the cover of Insanity, so spooky looking! And the 2nd one just sounds interesting as someone like me who wants to be able to run sometime.

E-novellas Purchased:

I'm really excited to read Dorothy Must Die, so when I saw this prequel, No Place Like Oz, cheap for my Nook, I had to buy it.  And then, as I said earlier, I'm normally a fan of Patrick Carman, so when I saw this prequel also available for cheap for my Nook, I bought it.

E-book Purchased:

Another really cheap e-book I found for my Nook.  And the first page even had the use of a term I've only heard my friend Kim say before, so I knew I had to buy it for cheap.

So, what are your plans for the week?  And what fun things did you add to your shelves?

Stacking the Shelves - January 11th, 2014

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  I'm doing this today because I have to work tomorrow at my part time job, plus, maybe, just maybe, if I get a bunch of reading done today and tomorrow, I can actually do a review of the book I'm reading.  I hope.  This week I got a physical ARC in the mail, one that made me squeal with excitement!!

ARC:

When the author of the Ashfall series, Mike Mullin, posted on Facebook about emailing his agent at Tanglewood Press for an ARC of the finale in the Ashfall series, Sunrise, I immediately did just that.  Then the book came in the mail on Wednesday, and when I opened the manila envelope in my car, I squealed out loud with excitement!!  Can't wait to read it.

Free e-book:

This was an e-novella that went along with an e-galley I read earlier this week.  Now, it was only like 20 pages, so it was something I thought should be free.  You can read my review of it HERE.  

E-book/novella purchased:

Downloaded this short story that goes with the last Dean Koontz book I read, Innocence.  I think this is a prequel to that book.  Which I'm interested to read more about the main character and his past.

So really, not a ton of things this week, but I did request several e-galleys from Edelweiss that I'm waiting on, so that will come later.  And this was an awesome week with this awesome ARC I got!!  So what have you added to your bookshelf this week?

Brooke (Under the Never Sky 2.5) by Veronica Rossi

Well, I feel like I've not been doing as many reviews as I should be, but I know I've been reading constantly.  But when some of them don't come out until next year, and I have to wait 30 days before they are published to post my review, it means that some weeks even though I've finished a book, I can't post a review of it that week.  I actually intended to read and review A Death Struck Year e-galley that I have, but for some reason, I can't find it on my Nook.  And at the time I planned to start, I was away from my home computer, and so was unable to try to see why I didn't have it.  So I had to choose something else on my Nook to read, and since I'd just finished Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky 2) by Veronica Rossi, I decided to go ahead and read on in the story.  Well unfortunately I can't post my review of Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky 3) until the end of December, which would have left me with only one book review this week.  Which made me decide to go ahead and read the e-novella of the story about the character Brook in order to get a  2nd review done this week. 
Now, this was another good story.  The only problem being that I'm not a fan of Brooke.  Even though I did understand her a little bit better when I read the prequel e-novella, Roar And Liv, a while ago, she still isn't a fan of Aria's.  For good reason, Perry was kind of Brooke's before he met Aria.  The e-novella Brooke basically starts up at the very end of book 2.  Since I'd already started book 3, I knew a bit of what was going on for this.  But now we see it all from Brooke's point of view.  And again, it makes you a bit more sympathetic to her plight.  As I said in my review of book 2, or somewhere, I kind of hope that Brooke will end up with Soren, but who knows. After reading her own story, she may still end up with one of her own tribe members, and that would be okay. 
While this story isn't definitely needed to make the series complete, it is a very good complement to the overall story and character development.  And I recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the books.  Now, to go finish book 3, so that I can move on to some other books that could be reviewed sooner.

Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi

I enjoyed this series when I got to read the first one, Under the Never Sky, as an e-galley, almost exactly 2 years ago.  Not sure if I wasn't able to get this 2nd book as an e-galley or what happened, but I was able to get the 3rd one as an e-galley.  So I had to go to the library to check out this second book to get ready for reading the 3rd e-galley.  Is that confusing?  I don't know, but it's what is going on.  I feel like having read the little e-novella, Roar and Liv, as part of my November is for Novellas challenge, really got me back into the mood and ready to jump back into this world.
In this 2nd book we start back with Perry at the Tides.  As the leader he is finding it not to be that easy.  There are those that still question him.  And when it comes to Aria, a Dweller, coming back into his life, even his loyal men caution him not to let the people know of their relationship.  Aria is back for many reasons.  Of course she is so happy to see Perry, but she agrees and understands that they must keep their relationship neutral in front of his tribe.  But she also wants to help get Perry's nephew Talon back from the Realm she came from.  And to do this, she has made a deal with the father of her friend Soren from the first book.  The very man who kicked her out of her Pod after the fire.  To keep her end of the bargain, she is to help him find where the Still Blue is. This is supposedly a land where the Aether that makes living outside the pods almost impossible.  Something Perry's people as well as other outsiders have had to learn to live with when they were not allowed into the Pods or else chose not to go.  As the Aether storms are getting worse, Perry knows he must do something for his people.  He wants to go with Aria to find the Still Blue.  And there is someone who supposedly knows where it is.  Sable, the man that Perry's brother traded his sister Liv to.  As far as we knew before this though, Liv had taken off, and never made it to Sable.  We learn that she is there though.  Aria and Roar leave to go find Sable and Liv.  Back at the Tides, Perry realizes that the compound isn't going to keep them as safe as possible from the storms.  And so he finds a cave down by the beach, a large cave that he feels the whole tribe can fit in comfortable and live safely.  At least until something else can be done.  Because now they are running out of food as their farmland is destroyed by the storms.  And other tribes try to attack and take over when they hear of the dissension and problems for the Tides.  Shortly after Aria and Roar leave, a woman named Kirra shows up with food and supplies.  She says that she is from Sable and he is sending the rest of the deal for Liv, who he will be marrying.  There is also the boy Cinder that may have something to do with the Aether, or maybe some kind of power for dealing with it.  I would have to say that as with the last few 2nd books I've read, this one isn't a disappointing one that is just bridging the gap.  So much happens in this one.  Yes, we learn a lot more information that will help us to finish the story, but we don't just learn it with people sitting around talking.  Things are happening, people die.  It's an emotional story.  Really another good story.  And while it is kind of a cliffhanger, it does have what could be an ending.  We can stop here, but we won't, and that is good.  Because we will need to know what happens with all the different players in the story.  And it has left off in a way that we will be able to see Perry and Aria and Roar do some planning to try to make things work out for themselves, their family, friends, and tribes.  And I look forward to seeing how it ends in the 3rd book.  Although now I need to go download the 2.5 novella Brooke before I think.  I'm hoping that Brooke will find love, and maybe with one of Aria's friends from the Pod.  Soren maybe?  That's my guess and kind of a hope I have.

November is for Novellas Challenge #7: Tooth and Nail (Benny Imura 3.5) by Jonathan Maberry

Now there are actually several other novellas earlier in the series, many of which were free, I just need to get them onto my Nook and read them!  But this is one that is near and dear to my heart, even before I read it.  If you've been following me for awhile, you've probably heard me talk about how I got to help name this one!  In fact, as I was reading, and I got to page 3, where I saw this:

That's me that it says special thanks to first!!!  And let me say, I am so glad this is the novella I get to have my name in, it was soooo good!  Totally left me hanging at the end, wanting to keep reading!  I haven't read book number 4, so now I'm probably going to have to check it out from school and go ahead and read it so I can see what happens and if anything else from this short novella will make its way into the story.

In this story we meet up with Benny and Nix and Lilah and kind of with Chong at the Area 51 Sanctuary that we left them at in the last book.  They're training, but Benny is having trouble dealing with their trainer.  We also meet a group of girls that are all that is left of a once larger group of survivors.  We meet them as they come across the reapers, Saint John's group, who are traveling to try to find the towns that Benny and his friends came from.  They've met another one of the Zombie card characters we've heard about Iron Mike Sweeney.  They think they've killed him in trying to get answers about the towns.  Only when Brother Marty goes back to check, he's gone.  The whole time Saint John and Brother Marty talked to him, they both felt there was something very strange about the man.  He had red eyes first off, so right away weird.  It also seems the reapers have made it to the Sanctuary as Benny finds when he goes off on his own after a frustrating training session.  And something that is really cool?  I haven't read the Joe Ledger series, but he shows up in this book, as well as I believe he was in book 3.
A really good in between story.  Can't wait to read book 4 now, although I'm almost scared to, as I'm not sure I want the story to end!  And because I have to share it every time I read one of his books, here is my photo of when I met the author at BEA back in the summer of 2012.

November is for Novellas Challenge #6: The Prince (The Selection 0.5) by Kiera Cass

I really enjoyed this novella as well as most of the others that I've read this month.  And it made me so ready to read #3.  Just a quick review.  We get to know Maxon for the short time up until the girls come for The Selection.  We also learn that there was kind of a girl in his life.  A princess from another country.  Unfortunately Maxon's father, the king, doesn't want that kind of a connection, he wants Maxon to get married the same way he did.  Although it seems as if maybe his father is having more input into choosing the first selection than other kings had in the past.  We get to see how he interacts with his mother, as well as his view of the first meeting he had with America in the first book, The Selection.  It was such a neat thing to get that side of the story.  It reminds me of how much I enjoyed Midnight Sun, Edward's viewpoint of Twilight, until of course someone leaked it and we didn't get to read anymore.  This novella left me wanting more.  I see that there will be a 2.5 called The Guard, which of course will be about Aspen.  America's love before the selection took place.  But how about a 1.5 giving us more information about Maxon?  I want his point of view on what happens with him and the other girls.  All the things we're wondering about in book 2.  If anyone knows Kiera Cass, could you tell her I want that?  Thanks!
And, hey, while you're here, if you're going to be reading at least 4 novellas yourself this month, be sure to go join my November is for Novellas Challenge, only 2 weeks left, you can do it!

Flesh and Bone (Benny Imura #3) by Jonathan Maberry

I have to say thanks to Mr. Jonathan Maberry himself for this book, because when I won the contest to help name one of his e-novellas, my prize was an autographed ARC of this very book!  I had intended to read it as part of my 2nd Annual September is for Sequels Challenge, and while I did start it in September, I didn't actually finish it until the 1st of October.  It was a good lead up to really get me back in the mood for The Walking Dead to start up again.  The only reason it took me so long to read it was because of how busy I seem to be.  Not because it wasn't good.  Because as usual with this series, as soon as I picked it up, I could barely put it down again to do the things that needed to be done.  I just love this world, and finding out what happens to the characters.  Now unfortunately there will be some spoilers in the next paragraph if you haven't read the two books before this one, so you may want to stop reading now, knowing that the series just keeps getting better!
Where we left off, there were only four of the crew left, Benny of course, his girlfriend (?) Nix, his best friend Chong, and The Lost Girl, or Lilah as everyone now knows her name.  Benny's older brother Tom having been shot in the last book, and fortunately not coming back as a zombie, so that Benny wouldn't have to quiet his brother, like he and Tom had been forced to do to their own parents.  Chong and Lilah seem to have a bit of a relationship.  Well, we know Chong has a crush on her, even though Lilah calls him a boy from the city who can't take care of himself.  But she does show that she has feeling for him in return when as she leaves to go find the parents of a little girl, she unexpectedly kisses Chong.  Now this little girl is named Eve, and she got separated from her parents by some people that we come to learn are called The Reapers.  They are basically a death cult.  People who don't see the reason for going on after all that has happened, and so they go around trying to get people to either join them, or they will usher them into the next life, or "the darkness" as they call it.  They do this by "opening red mouths into their skin".  Wounds, fatal wounds obviously.  The leader of this cult, well there are kind of two.  We do find out later that one leader was a serial killer before all the zombie plague started.  The other leader, a woman, well, not sure exactly what her deal is, other than she wants to get to the Sanctuary.  A place she's heard has food and doctors and everything to take care of people.  Throughout the story all four of them get separated at some point.  We learn about all the wild animals from zoos that escaped.  And that animals up until now haven't gotten the virus.  Although that may be changing as Lilah finds out in the story.  We also get to meet one of the people from the Zombie cards as well.  Where the book leaves off is kind of disheartening in a way.  I'm not sure that I liked it.  I'm hoping we can pick up from that ending with the fourth, and what I believe is the final book in the series.  Although I will be sad to leave the characters and this world behind.  I guess that means I will soon have to move over to the other zombie series by this author.
If you're a fan of zombie books, this is a definite read for you.  All four of the books in the series are now out, and the e-novella that I got to help name, Tooth and Nail, is now available.  Below I've shared two pictures.  Me with the author, Jonathan Maberry, at BEA 2012.  And 2nd is the autograph inside my copy of this book, proving my part in helping with naming the novella.