Obsessed With Covers #14: Zomburbia, Frozen, Snow Like Ashes

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

This is suuuuch a creepy cover! I love it!! The blood, the slash on her cheek that gives the illusion that she's half grinning, her light-colored eyes are staring directly at you, it seems like she's looking at your soul. Or eyeing her next meal. Then there's the blood, the wound on her forehead and her creepy color...It all makes this cover amazing.










Zomburbia - Adam Gallardo

This is such a simple cover, which is actually why I like it. Of course, looking at the different editions, I found another one that I loved, that I had to include in this post as well...Now I'm torn, because if I ever decide to read this series, I'll have to seriously ponder on which edition to buy. There's the first version, which is more appropriate for the title, with the icy background and the icy-blue dragon that looks like he's very, very cold, poor thing. Then there's the second version, where the dragon looks like a pendant and it's rising over the sea or it's a portal to a different world / dimension.... So yeah, I've no idea what should I choose... The important part is that both covers are amazing and beautiful and maybe I'll buy both versions, just for the prettiness of them both.

Frozen: Heart of Dread by Melissa De La Cruz & Michael Johnston

I love the duality of this cover. The yin-yang showing both summer/spring and winter landscapes and the ashes on the ground that look almost like waves. I'm also curious about the title and how the cover fits with it... I might add this book on my TBR based solely on the cover.










Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch

August Random Reads (2): The Outsider by Melinda Metz

I decided to join in on Sarah's meme and I'll let Random.org choose my books for me because I seriously need to make a dent in my TBR mountain. Though I secretly believe my TBR mountain is a direct descendant of the Hydra, because no matter how many books I read from it, the pile keeps getting bigger and bigger. Anyway...

The rules are pretty simple:

1. If you’re on Goodreads enable sorting to your to-read shelf
2. Go to Random.org and type in the Min as 1 and the Max as how many ever books are on your to-read shelf.
3. Scroll down to the book matching the number Random.org picks.
4. Link up to your Random Reads post. If you choose more than one book per month, be sure to put a number by your name in the list so it doesn’t look like a duplicate.
5. Read and be merry.

Here's what Random.org chose for me: 75 *drum roll* That means I'm going to read The Outsider by Melinda Metz. Nice! I've had this on my TBR since I saw Roswell and found out that it's based on a series of books. Now I'm really excited.

Release Blitz: Upside Down by Lia Riley

Title: Upside Down
Author: Lia Riley
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Series: Off the Map #1
Publication: August 5th, 2014 by Grand Central

If You Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found

Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she'll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.

Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He's never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.

Purchase

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

About Lia

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live in Northern California.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Excerpt

“That’s it, Talia,” Bran’s voice is encouraging. “You’re holding tight, that’s great. Now, I’m going to need you to release your left hand and reach up a few inches to grab the next hold.”

I grit my teeth. The way he talks, you’d think I’m scaling Everest. Or at least Kilimanjaro. Instead—

“’Scuse, us, we’ll be by in a tic. That’s the way, Andy, right around the lady.”

I’m the lady. Andy is a kid who doesn’t look a day over seven who scrambles past me in a flurry of Spider-Man shoes and gap-toothed smiles. His parents bring up the rear, smiling up at their wild monkey child with obvious pride.

And they aren’t the first group to pass me.

Five Swedish women, a couple, and a guy who looked to be in his mid-seventies have also shot past me during the course of the last quarter hour.

The top is so close I can taste it. Bran is being nothing but encouraging, but below me is a twenty-foot drop. Not enough to kill me, unless I fall with some sort of suicidal intent, but enough to make me feel incredibly uneasy about the boulder field.

Bran eases toward me. “Talia, take my hand.”

“Can’t let go.”

“Talia.”

“No.” This is it; this is the reason. Bran isn’t going to admit it here, while I’m bordering on a panic attack on a trail being conquered by elementary school children and senior citizens, but there’s no doubt this is A REASON to lose interest in me. I’m giving him a big capital-lettered reason, but I can’t stop. I physically can’t let go.

“Talia. Take a deep breath.”

“Breath taken.”

“Another.”

“Okay.”

“Give me your hand, no bullshit. I want your fingers in mine. You’ll be safe. I’m going to keep you safe. I need you to trust me.”

Somehow I do it. I give him my fingers. He assists me up. We’re doing this together. My head clears the boulder and I can see the steel marker that identifies the summit ahead. Holy shit, he’s right. I’m going to reach the top.

A few more steps, easy now, and we’re there. The kid in the Spider-Man shoes munches a Vegemite sandwich. I want to scoop him up in a smooshy squeeze. Except his parents would likely object, so I switch gears to give Bran a long and passionate kiss.

“I knew you’d get here,” he says.

“I didn’t.”

He turns me to see the view, his hands tight around my waist. “Your place is here, Captain, in the sun,” he whispers in my ear. “Don’t ever forget that.”

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by Good Choice Reading Blog Tours

Top Ten Tuesday #5: Top eight authors I own the most books of

Top Ten Tuesday is weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
Each week, they will post a new Top Ten list that one of the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join, just link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top eight authors I own the most books of

I'm not going to include digital copies here, or else I'd never finish counting. Only physical copies count on my list. 

               1. Marc Levy

He is one of my favorite authors of all time, actually. I own 13 of his books and I hope he'll keep on writing for a long time to come. He's one of the authors I rely on to make me laugh and cry and also teach me something with every book. He's also one of the few authors I don't get tired of rereading, even if I already know his books by heart.

               2. Sophie Kinsella

Another amazing author. I own 12 of her books and they actually have a special shelf that no other author's books is "allowed" to sit on. Yeah, it might seem strange, but the publisher I got them from made the smart choice to print all of her books with matching covers, so my OCD is tickled ten times more than it's used to :P 

               3. Charlaine Harris

For those who don't know she wrote the Southern Vampires Mysteries, the first big series I ever read and the one that introduced me to the magical world of urban fantasy. It was also the very first series I read in which many of my hopes came true when it came about vampires (if you're wondering, all of the vampires I've previously read about couldn't have sex. Poor guys, right?) I own the entire series (13 books). I don't see myself finishing it (because I heard how the series ended and honestly I've been rooting for that Viking vampire for so long, I can't bring myself to read anything else than a HEA for him), but this series will always hold a special place in my heart.

               4. J. R. R. Tolkien

I can't not mention another of my favorite authors. I own 7 of his books and I am anxiously waiting to get my hands on his other books. 

               5. Anne Rice

This is the author that started my love for vampires. I picked up one of her books out of curiosity and her vampires made me love them and fear them at the same time. It's also why I love these creatures so much. I own 7 of her books. Unfortunately I don't have her entire Vampire Chronicles series, but I hope one day I'll own the ones that I'm missing.

               6. J. K. Rowling

I think it's only natural Rowling is on this list. I own 8 of her books and I'm starting to warm up to the idea of getting the newer books as well. I hope I'll like them, I don't know yet. I'm also one of those people that still hope she'll one day return to Hogwarts :D

               7. William Shakespeare

These are actually my grandmother's books and they're actually older than me. I think they're older than my Mom, too. They're on a big shelf in my hallway and they're taking up an entire row. I have no idea how many books there are, really. But they're old and they smell like heaven to me :D

               8.  Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Ok, I think I flooded Twitter with my love for The Caster Chronicles series, but I do. I love it so much. I own the entire series and I'm now waiting for the nice people working at the post office to deliver me the Dangerous Creatures book.

What authors take up the most shelf space in your house?

Book Review: Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Covenant #1
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: September 19th 2011
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi—pure-bloods—have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals—well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem—staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

I've had this book on my TBR for so long, it's actually slightly embarrassing. I told myself it was time to read it when that's what Random Generator chose when I did the January Random Reads hosted by the awesome Sarah. I'm very glad I read this book.

If you know me, you know I'm pretty obsessed with Armentrout's books. Not only are the heroes incredibly hot (and let's be honest here, some of her villains too) but they are really, really good. The one reason I tried to stay away from this series is that it has ancient gods and their offspring. I love ancient mythology and there are few authors that managed to write about the amazing creatures the ancient people believed in. It's a difficult task, when you think about it, or so it seems to me, and I've had a few disappointments along the way. Granted, I've read some very good books that I'll probably reread until I'm old and wrinkly, but those are few. I'm happy to tell you that the series Covenant is now part of that "very good books" list.

I have to mention that I loved this book so much, I could not help myself from binge reading the entire series. I read it in like a week and obviously I regretted my decision when I realized there's a certain character that gets his own book, so I basically wanted to smack myself because I now have to *gasp* wait for it's release. I mention this because I'll try really hard not to give away anything from the next books, so my review might seem a little...weird. Anyway, back to the review.

I loved Alex. She's the type of character that I love reading about. She has a big mouth and that sometimes gets her into a lot more trouble than she expects, she rarely has a filter so basically she just blurts out whatever it is that she has on her mind. She's also brave and she'd do a lot of things for the people she loves. And as the story goes on I just liked her more and more and more. She has a temper and that also gets her into a lot of trouble. But she's loyal and she rarely backs down from a fight, even though it might be what she should do at times.

Aiden is interesting as well. He's easy to like, even though he plays hard to get. I understood his reasons very well though, and in the books that follow the reasons for why he's so cold at times will be explained in detail (sometimes painfully so). He's strong and daring, but he's cautious and sometimes he's the voice of reason. He is a really good character and he grows on you the more you read the book.

And then there's Seth. I'm afraid I can't give you a description of this character without sounding like a lunatic baboon trying to pass on as a human. But he was... he was amazing. He's the kind of anti-hero you just have to love. You can realize he'll have a huge role to play in this series early on. And it's obvious he's tortured and he's hiding stuff, but he just gets under your skin so fast, you just can't help but love the guy.

Before I end this review, I have to talk about something. I noticed there are a lot of  readers that talked about the similarities between Half-Blood and another book, namely Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Did I notice any similarities? Yes, there were a few moments. The story takes place at a school for special people and the heroine falls for the wrong guy and there are a few other details as well. However, Alexandra had her own voice and I never actually even thought about Rose while reading this book. And let me tell you, I didn't notice anything similar between Aiden and Dimitri, aside from the fact that both are trying really hard to be cautious when it comes to the heroines. And they're both men (d'oh). Other than that I did not see other similarities, or I was able to get over them, because the story developed in ways I did not expect at all. I just noticed the fact that I loved the book so much I just had to read the rest of the series and that I had to read it fast.

All in all, I adored this book and I would definitely recommend this to anyone that: 1) loves Jennifer L. Armentrout's books and 2) loves smart-mouthed heroines and silent, sexy heroes and lots of adventures and danger and lots of twists and turns of events that will leave you open-mouthed and on the edge of your seat.

Book Review: The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines #4
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: November 19th 2013
My Rating: 4 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure — and re-education — looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this smoldering fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

You know, I was waiting for this book with my heart in my throat. I was almost scared to pick it up. I was sure at least one of the main characters will have a hard time during this book (because let's face it here, we are talking about a Richelle Mead book here). The ending wasn't surprising, what was a major surprise though was the person who caused the ending to be the way it was. I'm getting ahead of myself though.

I loved being in Adrian's head and seeing things from his POV. It was a fantastic change and I thought he sounded just the way I imagined he would. He saw the world the exact same way I believed he did. If possible, this book made me love him more. I also have to say I was very proud of him. I've seen a lot of readers angry at Rose when she broke his heart and I do understand their opinion, I really do. While I wasn't happy with the way things ended between them, because of Rose's actions, I think in the end, it helped him get to the point he is in this book. There's a scene that is stuck in my head, when he shocks everyone, including Lissa, his cousin, and Sydney that made me feel so damn proud of him. And it shows how much he's grown and it shows that not only did he want to change for Sydney, the woman he loves, but also for himself. 

Sydney also gave me a very good impression. There's such a huge change from when she was at the beginning of this series. She's more mature, she manages to think beyond what the Alchemists told her all her life. And I thought that was a great thing. Her only flaw? Her sister. I cannot stand Zoe. I would've been able to forgive her annoying attitude and just her entire presence in the story, but the ending and the role she played in it killed me. Now I'm 100% against her and I'd like to step inside the book and slap her into the next century if I could. Alas, I cannot do that *unhappy sigh*

It's weird, because after The Indigo Spell, I thought this book would be worth more than just 5 stars. I was sure it was going to require an entire galaxy for it's rating. Instead it left me a little... how do I put this? I feel like disappointed is too harsh. Maybe waiting for more? I was in shock by the ending, yes, but also, when I got to the ending  and to the very last page, it didn't exactly feel like the book gave me everything I wanted it to give me. Maybe I just got used to each book having more big moments. There were a few, but not enough for me to give it 5 stars. 

I'm also a little worried. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the gang will be able to rescue Sydney before any real damage is done to her mind and spirit, but I also have to wonder what will happen if they don't and if she'll have enough time to recover from this. I am excited for new adventures and for being able to see things from Adrian's POV again. Also, I'm already stocking up on Kleenex, because I'm sure I'll start bawling like a baby once I read those chapters and seeing him hurting and struggling to find the love of his life.