Cover Love (16)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My picks this week:

*sigh* Now that I've read the book, I love the cover even more. Or maybe I should say Kaidan, but *shhh* Don't tell!

Seriously though, the book is amazing and it has a great cover too. Just look at that dress! It's a creepy-sexy cover if you ask me ;)














Aw, how can I not like this cover? I saw that all books in the Hex Hall series are like this. Half-student, half-something else. I like that. Sort of like "look beyond the surface and you'll be surprised of what you find". I also like the fact that the title and author's name are reflected in the purple-ish lake.

Also, LOVE the black cat!!









What's your pick this week?

Book Review: The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner

Author:Theodore Wessner

Source: review copy offered by publisher (check it out here)

My Rating: 3 cups

Blurb: (from Goodreads)

It’s 1959. Sixteen year-old Alex Housman has just stolen his fourteenth car and frankly doesn’t know why. His divorced, working class father grinds out the night shift at the local Chevy Plant in Detroit, kept afloat by the flask in his glove compartment and the open bottles in his Flint, Michigan home.
Abandoned and alone, father and son struggle to express a deep love for each other, even as Alex fills his day juggling cheap thrills and a crushing depression. He cruises and steals, running from, and to, the police, compelled by reasons he frustratingly can’t put into words. And then there’s Irene Shaeffer, the pretty girl in school whose admiration Alex needs like a drug in order to get by. Broke and fighting to survive, Alex and his father face the realities of estrangement, incarceration, and even violence as their lives hurtle toward the climactic episode that a New York Times reviewer called “one of the most profoundly powerful in American fiction.”
In this rich, beautifully crafted story, Weesner accomplishes a rare feat: He’s written a transcendent piece of literature in deceptively plain language, painting a gripping portrait of a father and a son, otherwise invisible among the mundane, everyday details of life in blue collar America. A true and enduring American classic.

When I read the blurb my ears perked up a bit. I mean, really. A young boy, Alex, abandoned by his mother, his father was either working night shifts or drinking. So Alex starts skipping school, stealing cars, smoking. I thought it was really interesting.

And it was, don't get me wrong. It was an interesting story. The reader gets to see Alex grow up from a troubled teenager to a young man enlisted in the Army. And you get to see the struggles he overcomes. Stealing cars, getting arrested, being released from detention and going back to school where he's just as alone as before. You get to see all that.

I felt the pacing was a little too slow for me. The inner monologue at times dragged a little too much for my comfort.

Also, there where moments where I didn't connect at all with Alex. I mean, I understood his reasons for doing what he did. He wanted attention, he needed to fit in and he did whatever it took. But there were too many moments of "he didn't want to do this, but he kept doing it", "he didn't want to be here, but he didn't leave", "he didn't want to eat, but he kept eating" and other similar moments. It was in those moments that I couldn't help but think "well, if you don't want to..., don't". Those moments pulled me out of the story a few times.

It is possible that I had high expectations to begin with. My experience with coming-of-age stories isn't that big, so maybe that's a factor.

If you like coming-of-age stories, this could be the book for you.

Cover Reveal: Denied by Kinley Baker

I'm happy to share Kinley Baker's shiny new cover for her book Denied. It's the second book in her Shadowed Love series.

 

 BLURB:

When invaders brutally massacred the women and children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who challenges his limits.

Refused the right to join the king’s guard because of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the foundation of his culture.

When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb must come together not only to fight, but to find the strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they revere most--including each other.

Add DENIED as To-Read on GoodReads!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13646204-denied

www.kinleybaker.com

http://authorkinleybaker.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/kinleybaker

www.facebook.com/kinleybaker

http://www.goodreads.com/kinleybaker

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kinley-Baker/196649877015210


BIO:


Kinley Baker is the author of the fantasy romance novel, Ruined. She read her first romance at the age of thirteen and immediately fell in love with the hero and the genre. She lives with her husband and her dog, Joker, in the Pacific Northwest. As a firm supporter of all supernatural lifestyles, she writes fantasy romance, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. You can find Kinley at www.kinleybaker.com

Dirty Little Secret (9)

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under The Covers.

The rules are simple:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image and copy instructions.
3. Answer the weekly question.

For more information and for signing up, go to the Under The Covers blog.


This week's question:


If you could read one book again for the first time, which one would you pick and why?


Harry Potter and Queen Of The Damned by Anne Rice. Harry Potter because it was an amazing book, one that taught me that reading was fun and cool.

Queen Of The Damned because it was my favorite book of the series The Vampire Chronicles. Well, so far at least, because I haven't gotten around finishing it. But out of the 6 books I read, this one was my favorite :)


What about you?

Book Review: Dead End Deal by Allen Wyler

Author: Allen Wyler

Source: review copy offered by publisher (check it out here)

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Blurb: (from Goodreads)

World renowned neurosurgeon Jon Ritter is on the verge of a medical breakthrough that will change the world. His groundbreaking surgical treatment, using transplanted non-human stem cells, is set to eradicate the scourge of Alzheimer’s disease and give hope to millions. But when the procedure is slated for testing, it all comes to an abrupt and terrifying halt. Ritter’s colleague is gunned down and Ritter himself is threatened by a radical anti-abortion group that not only claims responsibility, but promises more of the same.
Faced with a dangerous reality but determined to succeed, Ritter turns to his long-time colleague, corporate biotech CEO Richard Stillman, for help. Together, they conspire to conduct a clandestine clinical trial in Seoul, Korea. But the danger is more determined, and more lethal, than Ritter could have imagined.
After successful surgical trials, Ritter and his allies are thrown into a horrifying nightmare scenario: The trial patients have been murdered and Ritter is the number one suspect. Aided by his beautiful lab assistant, Yeonhee, Ritter flees the country, now the target of an international manhunt involving Interpol, the FBI, zealous fanatics and a coldly efficient assassin named Fiest.

What worked for me:

• Medical thriller -  I liked the idea of a neurosurgeon finding the cure for Alzheimer's disease. And the idea of using stem cells was brilliant. It was a new, fresh idea. I also enjoyed the fact that the reader gets to learn some history on stem cells. My knowledge on that subject is limited, so it was very interesting finding out more about the subject.
• Multiple POVs - Like I said in the past, multiple characters and their POV make me see the big picture and to see the plots in a lot more detail than usually. So I loved that every major character in this boom got to "share" his side of the story.
• Pacing - This book is really fast-paced. I didn't get bored reading it, there wasn't a moment where the plot stopped developing or where the action wasn't moving forward. It's not too fast that you lose some important detail, it's just the right kind of fast, if that makes sense. 

What didn't work for me:

• Because there were multiple POVs, you know from the very start who, why, when and how is trying to intimidate Jon Ritter. That made the suspense sort of fade for me. It made me anticipate more than I felt comfortable. I would've wanted more mystery surrounding the person who tried to make Jon Ritter not continue with his research. 

I liked this book and I'm sure I would've liked it even more had it not been for the fact that we find out from the very start who is doing what. Even so, the story was great and it kept me reading and it kept me wanting to know how the book ended. So if you're a thriller fan, you should check this book out :)

Guest Post and Giveaway: Allie Jean

Please welcome Allie Jean, the author of Legacy Of A Dreamer (read my review here).

Legacy of a Dreamer was spawned from an idea I've had in my head since I was very little. I must have been somewhat disturbed as a child, because I'd have horrible, violent nightmares that had so much vivid detail to them, it felt like I was stuck in a horror film. No, I didn't have any major trauma when I was young, but my mother attributes my unnatrual fear and creative imagination to Michael Jackson, oddly enough.

When I was three years old, my parents allowed me to watch Thriller for the first time, and let me tell you, I still remember the spine curdling fear I'd experienced when his eyes turned yellow at the end, followed by that horribly creepy laugh. Lord, I thought the devil himself was going to pop out of the that TV and come get me. My mother laughs to this day, retelling the look in my eyes when the music video had finished. She could tell right away that allowing me to watch that may have not been the best idea.

And yes, that is when the nightmares began. It was also around that time that I had an imaginary friend who was a werewolf, but I digress.

The premise of my book is about a girl who suffers from debilitating, terrifying nightmares since she was very young. She doesn't remember much about her past, only having a small recollection of being dragged away from her childhood home only to be put into foster care. She attributes the nightmares to something that happened in her past, something so terrifying, her mind has chosen her sleeping hours to play it out in the most twisted ways.

Giveaway Time!!

I have one ebook copy of Legacy Of A Dreamer to give away. All you have to do is fill out the form below. Comments are welcome, but you have to fill the form to enter the contest.You have until Thursday (May 31)* to enter. I will announce the lucky winner on Friday, June 1st. Be sure to check back here to see if you won. I will be emailing the winner as soon as possible to let him/her know how to claim the prize.

This giveaway is open internationally!

NOTE! Winner must respond to my email in 72 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

Please read the Giveaway/Contest Policy before entering.

*UPDATE: due to personal reasons, I extended the period of this giveaway. 

About the Author
Allie Jean was born with an overactive imagination. At a very early age, a child, her days were spent inventing stories, directing her sisters in made-up plays or telling elaborate ghost stories. Her mind never took breaks, or shutdown, even when she slept. When her eyes shut at night, she would have vivid dreams complete with extensive, elaborate plot lines, and good overcoming evil villains.

She was encouraged by her parents, even at a young age, to write down her tales, and it has remained a somewhat secret hobby. It became a means to escape from the drama of real life into one of the many worlds she created.

Now, living in California with her husband of ten years, her love of storytelling had taken a back seat with the arrival of their four children. Though, she always found time to write down her thoughts on whatever was handy, including a stray diaper or two while rocking a sleeping child in the middle of the night when her character's begged for attention as well.

As a busy wife, mother and working full-time outside the home, somehow she has been able to write down her relentless character's story. Her once secret hobby and private world, is now released for other's to enjoy. Nothing would make Allie happier that to continue writing and spend more time at home with her family on a more full-time basis.