Blog Hop & Follow Friday (4)

It's time for the weekend Hop again!

"If I gave you £50 (or $80) and sent you into a bookshop right now, what would be in your basket when you finally staggered to the till?"


Oh Geez. Let me visit my amazon wishlist....

Luckily I have an educator discount so I am able to pick up a bit more. Several of these are pre-orders I am waiting on that I should be able to get through after my TBR pile is reduced...

Just like Ashley said (love it) "Ashley the girl..." who are 

You the Boy/Girl, instead of You the Blogger?

I am a mother of two beautiful children, a teacher, a wife, a photographer enthusiast and a New Orleans resident. Whew that's a lot to be!

Die For Me by Amy Plum

All I have to say is WOW! My friend over at Embrace Your Oddities did a review on this book and it really got me interested in the book. It wasn’t at all what I first thought it was going to be. I had originally thought that based on the back cover it was going to be a tragic story where the boy died to save the girl. However, it was definitely not tragic and it was fully amazing. I requested a galley after reading the review Mandy posted. Here’s the description from NetGalley:

Kate Mercier’s wonderfully normal teenage life comes crashing down when her parents are killed in a car accident. Suddenly, she and her sister, Georgia, are forced to leave everything they’ve ever known in America and move to Paris to live with their grandparents. For Kate, the only way to survive is by sealing off her heart and escaping into the comforting world of books and beautiful art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate’s guarded heart with just his smile. He also happens to be one of an elite race of paranormal beings known as revenants—undead creatures who exist to sacrifice themselves over and over again in place of other humans whose time to die has not yet come.

As Kate’s attraction to Vincent grows, she must choose between the shattered life she was trying to rebuild, and the risks of loving again. But when she learns that her sister has become involved with a group of evil revenants who exist solely to murder and betray those around them, Kate is thrown into the midst of a centuries-old battle which threatens the lives of everyone she loves.

Die for Me is an exceptionally good book. The setting in Paris brings such a wonderful aspect to the love story and brings so much culture to the story. After reading about many of the places it makes me want to take a trip over there.

I really liked Kate’s character. Instead of falling into the traditional head over heels roll she is very cautious as she decides whether it is a good idea to start a romance with the dangerous and mysterious Vincent. She also has a great relationship with her sister and grandparents. She does not isolate herself with her love interest and that is definitely a plus in my opinion.

Vincent is a great character in the sense that he realizes the complications and comes to a compromise so that Kate might accept to be with him. He doesn’t expect her to change everything for their potential relationship in the story. I know writers don’t usually like being compared to twilight but for those that enjoyed the relationship between Bella and Edward ,but were looking for a little more maturity in the relationship, you will love the story between Kate and Vincent.

I am desperately hoping that Die for Me is a series as I can’t wait to see more of what Amy Plum has come up with. The idea of renevants is a new one for this genre and I find it to be really interesting and different. They are ordinary and yet they aren’t. I give this book a 5/5 and highly recommend it to lovers of this genre. You will not regret this purchase!

**Also on a side note I love what publishers are doing with come of the covers lately. The cover for Die For Me is absolutely gorgeous!**

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Olivier

The demon trappers daughter is an incredibly detailed YA urban fantasy. I came across this book in a goodreads group that I joined and it piqued by curiosity so I picked up a copy on Amazon. Here’s the description from Amazon.com:

The year is 2018, and Riley is no ordinary Atlanta teen. She is training to be a demon trapper like her father. The economy has gone to hell, and so it makes perfect sense that hell would send forth demons to wreak havoc on Earth. The opening scene has Riley trapping a lower level Biblio-fiend that lives in a university library and storing him in a sippy cup until turning him in. This sounds like it is a tongue-in-cheek novel, but it is not. Riley's father is killed by demons, and there is some mysterious link to Riley, placing her life in danger. Her father's hot bad-boy former apprentice, Beck, has a crush on Riley, as does the kinder, wholesome, and religious trapper Simon, creating the romantic angle. There is a mystery involving the potency of the Holy Water used to fight demons and treat the wounds they inflict, and the fact that demons seem to know Riley's name.

The Demon Trappers series is my new favorite urban fantasy series. For those that loved the Immortal Instruments series and world this book will be a part of your favorites. 

Riley is a strong lead character. Some people have cited her to be immature in reviews but I found her to be perfect for a 17 year old girl that has lost those she was closest to. She is loyal, caring and stubborn. A lot of the interesting interactions between Riley and Beck come from both of them being so stubborn.

I love the alternating points of view in this book. Beck puts up a very tough front but is vulnerable on the inside. I think that Olivier does a great job alternating between the leading characters. I really enjoy that style of writing so you can get a glimpse into the more intimate aspects of each leading character.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the love triangle with Simon and Beck. I suspect that Beck would be better suited to Riley since Simon brings up wanting a family several times. In addition, there is another male character that I am unsure what is going to happen. I am hoping his mysterious appearances and comments are explained in the next book. I may even reread this book soon to get some more clues into what is going on.

On a side note: The cover is absolutely AMAZING! It is the first thing that drew me into the book.

I am eagerly awaiting the next installment which is supposed to be released August 30. I give this book a 5/5 and have really high hopes that it is longer than three books because the world Olivier has created is so unique and interesting.

Betrayal (Haunting Emma #2) by Lee Nichols

So Betrayal is the first of the four reviews that will hopefully be coming soon since they were all released this week and I am really excited for all of them! Here’s amazon’s description:

Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle.

Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive-one a snarky teenboy, the other a British scholar-Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.

As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

I was really excited for the continuation of Emma’s story. The plot was still amazing in this book as Nichols has brought a whole new concept to the paranormal genre. I love the world that she has created with the different types of ghostkeepers. The reason Emma is so impressive is that she has all the powers that everyone else has independently and then some. In the second book her powers continue to grow exponentially and she proves what a loyal and protective person she is.

There are several really interesting twists that the plot takes in this story where the “impossible” happens and it leaves the reader shocked. I really enjoy that in a story. No I won’t disclose more but you can read for yourself. The slight unpredicatability of the story is an attractive part of the book.

I do think that the ending strings need to be tied up sooner rather than later. I don’t want this to turn into another drawn out series with the same conflicts spanning 12 or more books. I enjoy seeing different conflicts and resolutions in the series over time. I have no idea what Nichols has planned for the future I am just stating that I hope she has new conflicts in mind for later books.

**Spoiler** I really don’t like Emma and Bennett’s relationship in this book. It’s nothing against the author but I think other readers might have trouble with it as well. The whole idea of staying together no matter what even in a potentially destructive relationship doesn’t sit well with me. Their relationship takes some unhealthy turns and it was hard for me to stomach that with the book.

Overall I give it a 4/5. It didn’t completely wow me but it kept me interested and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series. The storyline is great and the fictional world has the attention to detail that is difficult to achieve.

Friday Five (1)

The Friday Five is a new meme that I am taking from Sarah Dessen's blog. I like how she summarizes her thoughts and activities for the week and find it adds a personal touch. So without further ado here are my five for the week!

1. GLEE was a rerun this week and I FORGOT. After planing my entire Tues night around GLEE my husband reminded me that it wasn't new. I am not sure if it is a testimony to the show that I religiously watch or if it is evidence of my extreme nerdiness. Take your pick.

2. I finished my Ch. 3 and revisions of Ch. 1 of my dissertation. For those of you that don't know a dissertation is a massive undertaking and basically I finished everything but some edits before I actually do a experiment (aka study). Now I get to undertake the fun task of being grilled by a committee to determine if this is a good idea. A nervous breakdown is likely on the way.

3. My daughter's first birthday party is this weekend. This is turning my life upside down. I am having to make her cake because it is Mardi Gras weekend and thus impossible to get a bakery to do anything but a king cake or a wedding cake. In case you don't know I am so right brained I can't even draw stick people. So I'm sticking with making an Ace of hearts cake. Its hearts and they are geometric so I should be able to handle it.. If not she will just be permanently scarred because her mom forgot what weekend was Mardi Gras weekend and made an ugly cake.. not.. at least its a tea party and tea is hard to mess up.

4. There were four releases this week that I am dying to read. I think my husband is likely to have a heart attack if I buy four books in one week. Thus I am having to wait for the library, friends, etc to get them. I did buy one but will have to wait on the others. 40 dollars in a week is understandable to freak out over :)

5. I am OFF work all next week. This is such a beautiful thing. One of the high points of being a teacher other than actually teaching is the fact that right as the kids are getting so restless there is a break where we can all take a breather and come back refreshed. This is also great for me because it has been an insanely busy year and I have a ball to go to this weekend. Which means no sleep Sat. night and then the bday party on Sunday. So I will have all week to catch up on my procrastination and my sleep. 

Blog Hop & Follow Friday (3)

 "Who's your all-time favorite book villain?"

Hmm.... I am usually not about the villain... I guess I would say Keenan and Donia from Melissa Marr's series. Keenan is well meaning but is the villlain in the relationship between Aislinn and Seth. He seems to be a good person aside from trying to sabotage that relationship. Donia is just looking to be loved but is stuck in the winter court.

 Share your current fav television show! Tell us a bit about it...

 

Oh this one is easy peasy GLEE!! See the Friday Five below. I plan my entire Tuesday around Glee. 

Procrastination & Deadlines

So I have been contemplating an author's life recently. I think if I wrote solely for a living I would be poor or would never sleep for weeks at a time :) I do my best work under deadlines and the closer to the deadline the easier it is for me to write. Of course this doesn't translate to fictional writing necessarily. I am a grad student and am currently working on my proposal. I have been trying to force myself to write my third chapter and did it on the day before it was due in a few hours. Not to say I hadn't spent plenty of time thinking about it before it happened. It just seems that things are always easier for me when deadlines loom near.

So what does this have to do with a book blog?? I want to convey the high level of respect that I have for these authors that write their books and for the fact that many of the ones I follow on a blog can create a schedule and stick to it. I would wind up a week before a deadline and give up all contact with the world. I seem to suffer from a case of writers block until circumstances get dire. In fact, I even have the first part of a book started but work on it only on occasion as an outlet. I can't imagine doing that on a regular basis (I also doubt it will ever be published as I am much better at writing research than fiction).

So the procrastination part of this post is my most recent venture in procrastination... The four book release week that happened this week. So far I have only finished one of the four book but I did manage to get a revision done on my first chapter of my dissertation. So thats progress RIGHT!? Next week I will buckle down and revise ch. 2... or so I will tell myself...

What are you currently procrastinating & how??