COVER REVEAL: FRAGMENTS by Dan Wells and REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver

I just saw these two awesome covers, so I had to share!!

Fragments by Dan Wells

February 13, 2013

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is only just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues as to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence—it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that Kira knows she is a part of, a plan that could save both races. Her allies are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what’s left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira’s journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and they will both discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn’t even know existed.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

March 5th, 2012

No synopsis

Partials and Pandemonium are two of my favorite reads this year! I love that both series kept the theme of the covers. I love the style of the Partials cover, but I'm not sure about the Requiem one. I don't really get the whole face thing going on, but since I loved Pandemonium, I actually can't wait for the book. And it always helps that the cover always looks prettier in real life than on a computer screen.

So what do you think of these new covers? Are you excited for the books? I know I can't wait! 

UF Review: DESTINED FOR AN EARLY GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Destined for an Early Grave

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Series: Night Huntress #4

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: July 28, 2009

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
Her dreams leave her in grave danger…

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they’ve fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it’s time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She’s having visions of a vampire named Gregor who’s more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn’t know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won’t stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who has her heart, only Cat can break Gregor’s hold over her. She’ll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she’s ever faced … even if getting that power will result in an early grave. 

Review:
There’s just never a day of peace in the lives of Cat and Bones. Their romantic vacation is interrupted when Cat begins to have strange dreams about Gregor, another vampire who claims to be Cat’s husband before she met Bones. Gregor’s claim, if substantiated, means that Cat belongs to him and not Bones under vampire law. Now Cat must find out what happened in her past and stop Gregor if she wants to stay with Bones.

A lot of things happened in this book that made me laugh and cry and just plain want to kick and hug the characters at the same time. I loved this book because I just couldn’t stop reading once I started. Forget chores, forget work, forget real life, there is only Cat and Bones and how they’re going to solve this new obstacle in their relationship.

Cat and Bones have their differences, and they’ve definitely had their relationship spats over the last few books, but never as bad as this one. In this book when they’re mad, they’re furious and crazy and threw insults at each other like there’s no tomorrow, like they’re mortal enemies instead of lovers. I was really worried for their relationship. Halfway through I wanted to throw the book away because I was so mad, but I couldn’t, because I cared too much and I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next.

I love how strong Cat and Bones are as a couple. They stick with one another, no matter their differences. Yeah, both of them are stubborn and protective, and their personality might sometimes drive a wedge between them, but in the end they always come back because they love the other person. There’s no one else for them. I love that about them.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the same series without some humor despite all the bad times. I love Vlad, who shows up a lot. He and Bones do not get along! Hehe. Then there’re all the vampire laws that makes my head spin. Damn these vampires have more rules than humans, with their bloodlines and hierarchies. Not to mention the twists near the end and everything that happens that will change the rest of this series. I can’t wait to see what Jeaniene Frost has up her sleeves and what’s in the future for Cat and Bones.

Anyhow, this one is a great addition to the series and my new favorite. Yeah, parts of it made me mad, but in a good way because I was so invested in the characters and what happens in their lives that I have to cheer for them, not because I hated anyone or anything. I do recommend that you set aside some free time when reading this because once you start, you won’t want to stop until you’re finished!

Rating: 5/5

Other books in the series:
1. Halfway to the Grave (Review)

2. One Foot in the Grave  (Review) 

3. At Grave's End (Review)

4. Destined for an Early Grave

5. This Side of the Grave

6. One Grave at a Time

Feature and Follow Friday #21

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can read. Each week there're two featured blogs. This week's featured blogs are Fighting Dreamer and Novel Sounds.

Question of the week:
Birthday Wishes — Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake…who is it and what book are they from??
Answer: Is it only one? Well, my top one would be Acheron from the Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Some others include (to consider in case Acheron is indisposed):
Kyrian (from Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon) - my first ever PNR crush
Barrons 
Bones
William the Ever Randy

Dirty Little Secret #26: Favorite Books this year!

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets. We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link below.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!! Let us know your answer in the comments!

We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

" Half of the year has gone by already! Tell us your favorite book! "

Answer: has it really been half a year? No way!
Anyway, here's my list:
YA:
Partials by Dan Wells
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa


Adult:
Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh
Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost
At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost
To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries
The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter
Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh
Lothaire by Kresley Cole


Oh wow, so I haven't read as many romances as I usually do, but that's a pretty great line up. I also like that it's a mix of new and old releases, so I'm catching up a bit on my TBR list.

YA Review: BEWITCHING by Alex Flinn

Title: Bewitching

Author: Alex Flinn

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: February 14, 2012

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
Bewitching can be a beast. . . .

Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t.

I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age.

You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out.

I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it.

Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . bewitching.

Review:
Through the story of Emma and her sister, Kendra retells some of the failures of her little interferences in other people’s lives. Kendra is a witch, a good witch, and she means well, most of the time. It’s just that she can never be sure her spell works the way she want them to, which is why she’s hesitant to help her newest case, Emma.

Bewitching is almost like a collection of little stories, but not quite, for Emma and Lisette’s story still takes precedence. However, the beginning tells us how Kendra became a witch in 1666, a long time ago, and why she’s determined to be a good witch. Very early on we see that Kendra is a smart girl who can think on her feet. It was nice to see Kendra in the beginning of her witch “career” because you get to appreciate her little quirks in the later story a lot more.

Then we get to Emma and Lisette. This was the part that slowed down and had me almost changing to a different book. Emma is just so meek and insecure, and she stays that way till the very end. The book is about her changing and becoming stronger, being able to stand up for herself and gaining confidence, but it took a while to get there, so I almost gave up on the book. The problem was that everyone knew her sister obviously was faking all that goodwill, even the blurb said so, so I wished it hadn’t taken Emma as long to figure it out, but since Emma and Lisette’s relationship was fleshed out so well, it made all the later events so much more believable.

I’m glad I didn’t give up on the book, because it picked up after 100 pages or so. It got to the point that I had to tear myself away from the book to do other things instead of finishing it in one sitting.

My favorite part of this book is definitely how Alex Flinn deftly weaves all the different fairy tales together. First you have Hansel and Gretel. Then the Little Mermaid, which is the version I read as a kid by the way, not the Disney version (plus Titanic references). And lastly, a different version of Cinderella, where Emma is the stepsister, but she’s actually the good one. I’m not sure where France fits in though.

I love how Emma’s story turned out. A lot of it was predictable at first, but I definitely did not expect the ending! It seemed too perfect, but we really saw how much Emma had grown since we first meet her! I’m so happy everything turned out well in the end. The ending was really sweet. I think it might be one of my new favorite scenes from any book!

Anyway, Bewitching started out OK for me but turned out to be awesome in the end! I’m so happy I didn’t give up on it! I think part of the problem I had was that I’m stressed about other things too so I really just wanted a fast-paced action book, but Bewitching isn’t that kind of book.

If you enjoy fairy tales retellings and a heart-warming story about growing up and family and friendship, then definitely read Bewitching!

Rating: 4/5

Teaser Tuesday #26: Wicked Nights

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read 
• Open to a random page 
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

Here's my teaser for the week:

"Look, Winged Wonder. Get me out of here, then we'll hammer out the details about where I'm staying. Okay?"
"Winged Wonder," he said, nodding. "I find that I do not mind that one. It fits." 
"Captain Modesty fits better," she muttered.
"I disagree. Winged Wonder is clearly the better choice for a man such as me, and we will discuss the details now." He could hardly believe he was having a conversation such as this one. 


-Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter, pg 61


I actually haven't started this yet, but I couldn't resist flipping through it and teasing myself. When I read the above teaser, I couldn't quite believe Zacharel is having that conversation either lol. It seems so unlike him. I can't wait to get started on the book! 

YA Review: BEASTLY by Alex Flinn

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flinn

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
I am a beast.
 

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Review:
There’re two reasons I read this one. First, I love fairy tale retellings. Second, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney fairy tale. So when I found out about this book a while ago, when Alex Flinn came out with Bewitching, I immediately added this to my TBR. I’m so happy to finally read it!

Kyle Kingsbury had it all – looks, money, smarts. But one day he took his joke too far and angers a witch, who turned himinto a beast as ugly as he is on the inside. Now, shunned by his family and his former friends, he must find a way to live and change himself, and maybe find the way to end his curse.

Alex Flinn portrayed perfectly Kyle’s awful personality in the beginning. I seriously wanted to punch the guy because he looked down on everyone and thought everyone else should worship the ground he walked on. So when he was turned into a beast, I actually felt pretty good about it. He deserved it! My favorite parts are seeing Kyle slowly change throughout the book. This book is as much about the romance as about him being able to live as a beast and becoming a better person, seeing beyond just looks and money.

Since we only see Lindy from Kyle’s POV, I don’t feel like I got know her very well. She’s a sweet and nerdy girl who slowly warmed up to the beast. She was the perfect match for Kyle. Having led a hard life herself, she’s not easily impressed by money, but instead only asks for simple things. Though she’d led a completely different life than Kyle, they’re similar in many ways. It was why their connection felt so realistic.

The other characters made this story a lot richer. Magda, whom we saw very little of, still left a deep impression. So did Will, Kyle’s tutor. It made me smile seeing Kyle thinking about others instead of himself for once. I’m definitely a lot more curious and Kendra and can’t wait to read more about her in Bewitching. Most importantly, I love the little tidbits of other fairy tales Alex Flinn incorporated into the story and how they stuck true to the original ones, not the happy ones Disney tells children.

Beastly was a very quick read. I actually finished it in a few hours in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Part of it is definitely the fairy tale appeal. Another part is that it’s a very sweet love story and I wanted to see Kyle succeed and was with him every step of the way.

I definitely recommend this one to lovers of fairy tales or just those who enjoy a sweet and modern love story with believable characters.

Rating: 4/5

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon wrap-up!

I actually finished my goals of reading the following books during the read-a-thon! Yay!!

I didn't really have time to participate in a lot of the challenges, especially not the ones that required blog posts lol. 
Also, sadly, I wasn't on Twitter that much. I caught the last 30 minutes of the first Twitter party. I thought for sure that I could make the one on Saturday night, but something came up. I had access to the internet, but I just couldn't sit down and actually have a conversation during the party. *sad*
So I met my reading goals, but I didn't get to participate in the other events. *sigh* This is going to be the same for the rest of my summer. Because I'm preparing for the CPA exam, I have no life. I only have time to read because if I studied accounting all the time I'd be out of my mind.
Anyway, better luck to me next time I guess.

Bunch of Giveaways!!

Hi, there're always a bunch of awesome giveaways going on in the blogosphere. Today I thought I'd share some of them with you in case you missed them!

1. Krystal at Live to Read is having an awesome BEA giveaway. There're a bunch of upcoming books she's giving away to 5 winners. Each winner will receive 3-5 books each! Can't get any better than that!

2. Hippies, Books, and Beauty is having a great summer giveaway! There're 12 prize packs each with 3 books! Head over there to win some awesome upcoming release as well!

3. Anna at Literary Exploration is giving out 4 signed ARCs from the Fierce Reads tour!! On a personal note, I'm super jealous, because the four authors were in Houston two weeks ago, but I couldn't go because I had a night class!!

YA Review: WHITE CAT by Holly Black

Title: White Cat

Author: Holly Black
Series: The Curse Workers #1

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: May 4, 2010

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
The first in a trilogy, this gritty, fast-paced fantasy is rife with the unexpected. Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn’t fit in at home or at school, so he’s used to feeling like an outsider. He’s also used to feeling guilty—he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas—and a plan to con the conmen.

Review:
In Cassel’s world, some people are born “workers”, meaning they can somehow influence other people through touch. “Working”, or using those powers, is illegal in the US and in the background we see a bit of the politics around it. Cassel’s born into a family of workers, but he alone isn’t one, so all of his life he’s felt left out.

White Cat reminds me so much of the Godfather, with its focus on worker crime families and the con. Its dark and gritty atmosphere reminds me of some noir films I’ve seen. This setting is perfect for the complicated story and characters Ms. Black has created.

Ms. Black created a complex cast of characters who all have some agendas. No one is what they seem at first glance. It also helps that Cassel isn’t an omnipotent narrator, and he purposely kept things from the readers, even though the story is told from a 1st person POV, therefore we get plenty of surprises at the end.

I do have to say that it took a while for the book to pick up though. It started with a bang, but then it slowed down from there. There was a lot of world-building involved and introducing us to the cast of characters before the mystery really begun to unravel. A lot of it was predictable. I was almost disappointed to find out about Cassel, just because I guessed it immediately, but I’m glad the story didn’t end there. I was still plenty surprised by twist at the end.

I think the main reason I wasn’t awed by this one is because I read this immediately after Shatter Me. After the emotional tour-de-force of Shatter Me, Cassel’s narration felt detached. There were a lot of the same sentence structures. I just couldn’t form an emotional connection with Cassel or the other characters, so it was difficult for me to get into the story. I didn’t dislike it, but I don’t particularly like it either. I guess the best judge is that I don’t think I will read the sequels, even though I have all of them from the library.

If you like a good complicated and intricate plot with plenty of suspense, then you should give this a try. I’m sad that I didn’t like this so much because I’ve heard so many great things about Holly Black’s work.

Rating: 2.5/5

Feature & Follow Friday #20

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can read. Each week there're two featured blogs. This week's featured blogs are Head Stuck in a Book and Books and Blossoms.

Question of the week:

If you could "unread" a book, which one would it be? Is it because you want to start over and experience again for the first time? Or because it was THAT bad? 

Answer: It would definitely have to be Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning! I loved the book and there were just so many surprises and twists in that book that I wish I could go back and experience it all over again! 

YA Review: SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me #1

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Review:
This book came out around the time I started my blog, so it was always on the back of my mind. Because at that time, I was just getting into the blogging community, and I would see this book everywhere. It really stuck with me, not to mention the cover also left a huge impression behind. It conveyed so much power and that was what I expected from the main character of the book, but it wasn’t what I got.

First, I love the writing! It conveys such a sense of urgency behind all the action and thought and really drives the story forward! If Juliette is insane, then the writing conveyed an insane person’s thoughts really well. But it was also just beautiful and powerful. It drew me in with the intensity of it and never let go. The writing is the reason this book is getting a four. I think if the writing had been more “normal” and less unconventional I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much.

Other than the writing, the rest of this book leaves something to be desired. I don’t like Juliette at all. If I take a step back from the writing, she’s a whiny and cowardly girl who complains endlessly about her life and her powers. Yeah, she’s been mistreated all of her life, but instead of fighting back, she just hides and thinks about killing herself all the time. I think the only reason she didn’t get on my last nerves was because of the writing. It gave different words and images to every time she broke down, so it didn’t feel very repetitive.

I’m also so disappointed with Juliette because of the cover. Like I said, the cover gave an impression of a powerful girl whom no one should mess with. Instead we’re given a sniveling heroine who’s afraid to death of herself. All the time I’m reading this I just imagine Juliette hiding in a corner and crying her eyes out while the rest of the world falls to ashes around her. Well, until the end when she finally decides to do something about her fate.

Warner is probably the person I like the most in the book, and that’s saying something because he’s a psychotic murderer who’s obsessed with Juliette. I like him because he’s the opposite of Juliette. Where Juliette hides in a corner feeling sorry for herself, he’s fighting for what he believes in and curses anyone who gets in his way. Yeah, he’s as evil as Hitler and maybe worse and I’m not supporting his actions, but I wish Juliette would at least have some of his spirit in fighting for herself instead of praying and waiting for to save her.

I like Adam because he is the perfect, model boyfriend. I do have a bit of a crush on him, because Tahereh Mafi really knows what she’s doing when describing male characters. Heck, I have a crush on Warner just because Juliette has a weird fascination with him as well. Anyway, Adam is the strong and supportive kind of boyfriend. The fact he loves Juliette when he’s never talked to her is kind of strange, but at least it wasn’t really insta-love. I just wish their relationship was a bit more developed in book instead of just telling us what happened between them in the past.

In retrospect, the plot could have moved a bit faster, but once again, because of the writing and how intense and erratic sometimes things were, the plot didn’t feel slow. It was only afterwards I realized half of the book was mostly spent on Juliette complaining.

Anyhow, the 4 rating is definitely because of how much I love the writing style. I’m definitely going to read book 2 just because I can’t get enough of the writing. I’m hoping that Juliette will be more likeable in the next one, because in the end of this one it sounds like she’s gained a bit more backbone. We’ll see. 

Btw, what do guys think of the new cover? It looks kind of creepy and eerie, but in a good way that reflects the book very well. I love the color scheme for it, but it lacks that intensity of the first cover, I think. Or maybe it is just reflecting a different part of the book, the crazy and insane part of it, including Juliette, Warner, and just the rest of the world spinning out of control.

Rating: 4/5

Dirty Little Secret #25

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets. We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link below.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!! Let us know your answer in the comments!

We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

" What book would you recommend to heat up your summer?"

Answer: Do I only get to pick one? I haven't read that many romances this year, mostly young adult. However, I'd definitely say read the Play by Play series by Jaci Burton! Just look at those covers!! I'm not quite caught up myself. I only read the first too, but my favorite is definitely the Taking a Shot cover!

If YA is your thing, then you can't miss out on Obsidian! The chemistry between the characters was just wow... Even better than some romance I've read! 

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon Post! #WWReadathon

If you haven't heard, today is the start of the Wicked Wildfire Readathon hosted by the two awesome ladies: Rebecca at Kindle Fever and April at My Shelf Confessions! It's still not too late to sign up since you can join us any day you want, even if it's only one day! There're plenty of challenges to keep you occupied, plus two Twitter chats. The full schedule can be found at either Rebecca or April's blog!

When I signed up for this, I didn't think I'd be so busy, but I am. Sadly, I won't get to read all day every day, but I'm going to push back some things and read more than I should. My goal for the Readathon is to at least complete Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost, the 4th book in her Night Huntress series. I'm not going to read anything else for the next week or so until I finish this series!

I'm not going to post any update just because I'll be busy, but don't be surprised if you see a challenge or two appearing on the blog (or not). At this point I have no idea. 

YA Review: NIGHT OF THE PURPLE MOON by Scott Cramer

Title: Night of the Purple Moon

Author: Scott Cramer

Publisher: self-published

Publication Date: March 25, 2012

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

*Disclaimer: Review copy was provided by author for an honest and fair review.

Synopsis:
Space germs decimate the adult population. Who will survive?

For months, astronomers have been predicting that Earth will pass through the tail of a comet. They say that people will see colorful sunsets and, best of all, a purple moon.

But nobody has predicted the lightning-fast epidemic that sweeps across the planet on the night of the purple moon. The comet brings space dust with it that contains germs that attack human hormones. Older teens and adults die within hours of exposure.

On a small island off the coast of Maine, a group of teens and children struggle to survive in this new world, but all the while they have inside them a ticking time bomb — adolescence.

Review:
On the night Earth passed through the tail of a comet, all the adult population died of space germs that invaded the atmosphere. Left behind are millions of kids. Abby and her brother woke up one morning to find their dad dead. They gathered up all the other surviving kids on their island and made use of everything to live the best life they could.

I like the concept of this book and it was delivered very well. I have nothing to say against the writing itself. One part that felt super unrealistic about this book is that the kids are no older than thirteen, but somehow they seem a lot older. They act like they’re teens mostly instead of middle school kids taking care of younger kids. However, once you get past that point, which is pretty easy, the book is quite enjoyable.

I really liked the cast of characters Mr. Cramer created. Each kid had a skill that united their little party together. Abby was the sweet and caring person who stayed strong throughout the book. Jordan the sailor. Kevin the smart one who allowed them access to all the information.

I also like that this book isn’t about a group of kids out to save the world. No, they’re just trying to live the best life possible with all the resources that are available to them. Yes, their life is hard, but they also find things to celebrate, like birthdays, even if getting older means being closer to death. I enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations these kids faced and the solutions they came up.

One thing I didn’t like was how death was handled. It’s definitely not gratuitous. Actually, for those little kids, they handled it pretty well, and they cleaned up pretty well. They were solemn and experienced sadness and loss that they shouldn’t know as such young kids. It really makes them grow up and be mature. However, the impact of the death to me felt diminished because of the large number of them. When one person dies, it is quite shocking to the reader, but when a lot of them die, then it is just a plot device to remind readers of the danger without the emotional punch behind it.

Overall, I hand a lot of fun reading Night of the Purple Moon and would recommend it to readers who enjoy a well-written middle-grade novel about growth, survival, family, and friendship.

Rating: 3/5

Giveaway Winners!

So I had some exciting giveaways in the last month! Thanks everyone for entering both the #FF100 Giveaway and My Graduation Giveaway! There're 3 winners in total! Please join me in congratulating them!

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday #25: Bewitching

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read 
• Open to a random page 
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

Here's my teaser for the week:

"What will you do with Lady Agnes?"
"Something temporary," Kendra replied. "The only payment I ask is that I be invited to your wedding. It would please me to see your mother required to entertain a witch."


-Bewitching by Alex Flinn, p. 143


*I love anything related to fairy tales. This book was a bit slow to start but it's picked up and I'm finally getting more into it. 

Contemporary Romance Review: CHANGING THE GAME by Jaci Burton

Title: Changing the Game
Author: Jaci Burton
Series: Play by Play #2
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Publication Date: August 2, 2011
Links: Goodreads | Amazon
*Warning: This book is not recommended to those age 18 and younger. 

Synopsis:
Win at any cost. That's always been the mantra of sports agent Liz Darnell. When she carries things too far and risks losing her number-one client, baseball pro Gavin Riley, Liz realizes that she'll have to work extra innings to win him back. It might not be too much of a stretch. She's had a thing for this player's moves since she first laid eyes on him, and by the looks of it, he wants her just as bad.

Gavin's more than ready—especially when Liz is offering herself as part of the bargain. And as much of her as Gavin wants. For added thrills, he decides to throw a little curve ball Liz's way to see just how far she's truly willing to go to keep him as a client. But when love unexpectedly enters the playing field, neither Liz nor Gavin are ready for the biggest game-changer of them all.

Review:
In the last book we met Elizabeth, who is a sports agent. In a world dominated by men, she’d made a name for herself and became one of the top agents in her field. But after a big mistake on her part, she lost Mick Riley. Now she’s avoiding Gavin, Mick’s brother, afraid that he’ll fire her as well. However, one night spent with Gavin changed the purely business relationship between the two to something more complicated than both of them realize.

I really didn’t like Elizabeth in the first book. She acted exactly like a heartless and vicious shark in the way she treated Tara and Nathan. However, in this one we see why she’s the way she is. There’s a vulnerable part of her we never saw in the first book and only came out when it comes to Gavin and the Riley families. We see how badly the break with Mick had hurt her and how close she’d become with the Riley family over the years. I really felt bad for her and cheered for her from the start.

I didn’t really feel like I got to know Gavin really well. Before Elizabeth came along, he’s definitely a player. With money and looks and a successful career, women threw themselves at him. But it was good as always to see him fall for one girl. And he can cook! Actually, I can forgive most of his faults since he makes really good food! (Yeah, here you give me a hot and delicious guy and all I care about is his culinary skills. Way too go, Ning) Anyhow, I liked the he wasn’t a smooth-talking charmer but stumbled his way around in their relationship. I love the way they got together in the end. It’s like another dream come true.

There were also a lot of sex scenes in this one,. Sometimes these scenes could get tedious, but this isn’t the case with this one. Jaci Burton really knows her stuff when it comes to those scenes. She knows it almost too well, if you know what I mean. Gavin just blew my socks off and there were some scenes in the book that had steam coming out of my ears.

This one is just a pure romance, meaning it’s not like we have to save the world while falling in love action-packed story, but I still enjoyed every minute of it. I loved that they have normal lives and have normal problems and have find a normal way of dealing with it, instead of killing the problem like most paranormal books.

One thing I didn’t like was Mick. I liked him in his book, but in this one he was a giant a-hole! It totally changed my opinion of him since from the first one. He started to sound like a broken record and I wish someone would’ve just punched him in the face and tell him to get over himself, but no, everyone had to wait till the end to put him in his place.

Rating: 3.5/5

Other Books in this series:

1). The Perfect Play (Review)

2). Changing the Game

3). Taking a Shot

4). Playing to Win

5). Thrown by a Curve

[Blog Tour] SARA'S SMILE by Sandra Bunino

Title: Sara's Smile

Author: Sandra Bunino

Publisher: Bradley Publishing

Publication Date: May 17, 2012

Source: From Author for review purposes

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
As an architect who specializes in restorations, Sara Wiley is a genius at returning neglected structures to their former glory. But when it comes to her own life, she has no idea how to reclaim the ruins, which are all that remain of her first true love.

When the biggest opportunity of her career and a sexy contractor comes her way, she’s thrilled…until she learns that the client is the long-ago boy who captured her heart and continues to invade her dreams. Is it a bittersweet coincidence or might there be a chance, after all, for Sara to revisit the mistakes of her past and build the future she has wanted for so long?

Review:
First thing I want to say is that this one is so short. I know, I know, it’s a novella, why do I have to mention that? I guess I just wasn’t mentally prepared when I read this, so when some things became so condensed and there were parts that were more telling instead of showing, I just didn’t feel like I got the full extent of the story. There’s so much potential to this story, especially as I am a big lover of second chance stories.

Sara’s Smile centers around Sara (you guessed it), a young architect. She’d just received a big responsibility at the job to restore an old house for an important client. At first I had a bit of a problem with her getting the job considering her age, but it was explained very well later on. Because of her current job, she meets her old love Will and has to decide if it is worth reigniting their old relationship.

This book was heartbreaking because Sara and Will’s relationship really touched me. The subject is a very personal one to me, so it spoke to me deeply. Personally, I don’t agree with Sara and Will’s choices, because they didn’t really fight for their relationship and just gave up, so it kind of diminished the impact of how they felt about one another. The story was still very enjoyable and I’m happy they ended up together.

With how short this book was, I felt that the extra part about Michael could be taken out to better develop Sara and Will’s relationship instead of the superficial love triangle. I enjoyed reading about Michael as a character though, since he sounds like one hot and delicious hunk!

Sara’s Smile is an enjoyable short read that I recommend to people who love contemporary romance and second-chance love stories.

Rating: 3/5

Cover Reveal: MIND GAMES by Kiersten White

I saw this while going through my Google Reader! I just had to share! Whoever designed this hit the jackpot!  I'm sold!

In a world where psychics and mind-readers are the ultimate tools in corporate espionage, two teen girls try to save themselves and their future.

Release Date: February 19, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Dirty Little Secret #25: Cast your own Magic Mike!

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets. We hope that you will all join us!

To participate in the meme all you need to do is:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image (code above) and copy instructions.
3. Answer the question we propose! This can be done in any way you like, post a video, write a post etc.
4. Then add your link below.

Non-bloggers: We want to hear from you as well!!! Let us know your answer in the comments!

We hope you join us and let us know your Dirty Little Secrets!

" With the upcoming release of MAGIC MIKE where some of the hottest guys strip nekkid and shake their ummmm assets, we want to know YOUR fantasy cast! If you could choose six of the hottest stars to shake their moneymakers for you, which guys would it be? "

Answer: 
So I had to look up what this show is. For real guys, I'd keep Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, and Alex Pettyfer. I'd definitely add Alexander Skarsgaard, Henry Cavill, and Chris Hemsworth. 
The 6th one was soo hard to pick, since there were so many other candidates! 
And because this is my all-time favorite picture ever: 

Contemporary Review: THE PERFECT PLAY by Jaci Burton

Title: The Perfect Play

Author: Jaci Burton

Series: Play by Play #1

Publisher: Berkley Heat

Publication Date: February 1, 2011

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Warning: This book is not recommended for anyone 18 and younger.

Synopsis:
Football pro Mick Riley is an all-star, both on the field and in the bedroom. But a sexy, determinedly single mom just might be the one to throw him off his game...

For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara's not interested in getting to know football's most notorious playboy any better.

As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara's life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick's latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.

But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.

Review:
I confess. I totally read this because of the cover (and of course the great reviews I read). Look at that deliciously hot and sexy model on that cover and tell me you don’t want a piece of that! I don’t read contemporary romance a lot, but it’s great once in a while to read romance about people instead of you know, vampires or werewolves. If every contemporary romance had a smoking hot dude like this, I’d read them more often.

This is definitely one of those guilty pleasure reads that I devoured from beginning to end quickly. My first impression when reading this is that it’s a high school girl’s dreams come true. It’s like 18+ version of Cinderella. In fact the heroine even referenced it. Why do I say this? Because the book is basically about sexy and famous athlete that notices a “nobody” woman and takes her on a wild ride into his rich and famous lifestyle, rubbing elbows with movie stars and vacationing on a private island. Tell me that isn’t every girl’s dream come true!

Anyway, our hero is Mick Riley, one of the best NFL quarterbacks. With that athletic body and his reputation, women flock to him, but Mick finds himself looking for something different. At the beginning, the way he thought about women was a bit callous. He was just a bit too confident and cocky, but with that body, who wouldn’t, right? Nonetheless, Mick surprised me because he’s actually a really nice and down-to-earth guy who hasn’t partied away all his money and let the fame go to his head. Whenever he was with Tara he just seemed like a normal guy, minus the money. The part I liked best is his confusion in not really knowing what to do in dating a woman since he hasn’t dated in a while.

As for Tara, at first I really liked her. She’s really independent and strong. You have to be to build up a business from scratch like her. However, she’s a really pessimistic and negative person. She had been with Mick for a while and had known what kind of person Mick was, but she’s so quick to jump to conclusions and wouldn’t let Mick explain. I hate misunderstandings in the plot like that because one character was too stupid or too quick to judge. I just felt Tara didn’t really deserve Mick’s forgiveness for the many times she misjudged him. I also don’t like how she used the single mom excuse to push Mick away. While I haven’t been a single mom, this always happens in books where there is a single mom. I just wish authors would do something differently.

With all that said, I have to say that their chemistry in bed is great. This book isn’t quite erotica, I think, but it’s not like regular romances that uses nice phrases and metaphors when it comes to sex. No, the characters are very blunt in what they want from one another and that makes the sex even steamier. There’re lots and lots of sex that I was a bit surprised, but in a very good way! Just be prepared for it when you read the book.

Rating: 4/5

YA Release Day Review: LIES BENEATH by Anne Greenwood Brown

Title: Lies Beneath

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown

Series: Lies Beneath #1

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Publication Date: June 12, 2012
Source: NetGalley

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

Review:
I’m pleasantly surprised by this book. Lies Beneath is told from a male protagonist’s POV, in this case Calder White. I find that I really enjoy male POV’s because they just seem less sappy and whiny than the females. Anyhow, Calder belongs to a family of mermaids who are out to kill Jason Hancock because Hancock’s dad killed their mother. To get to Hancock, Calder has to try to lure him into the water, but first he has to get enough to Hancock’s daughter, Lily. It should be easy, except for one problem – Lily doesn’t like him.

I never thought mermaids could be bloodthirsty. Calder and his sisters are like one of those crazy creatures from Greek mythology, ready to bite your head off or tear you into pieces if you get near them. I liked this version of mermaids a lot, but Calder isn’t completely a monster. He tries to resist those urges to kill and acted as normal as possible.

I really like the dark atmosphere of the story. This book is perfect for a rainy night, I think. I liked that it wasn’t love at first sight between Calder and Lily. Lily really was suspicious of Calder and it was interesting to see Calder trying to figure her out and understand her to get into her good graces. Since Calder did come off as a bit too arrogant for my liking, it’s good that Lily didn’t just fall for him like all the other girls that he presumes. The slow blossoming romance between the two was really sweet and very well done.

All the characters in the book really stood out to me different. Each of Calder’s sisters were different and left an impression on me and didn’t just blend together into one vengeful being, as groups tend to do in books. I love Lily’s family, especially her parents. I didn’t really like Sophie since she just seemed to be the stereotypical whiny and annoying little girl.

With that said, I almost feel bad reading this right after Obsidian, because nothing can really compare. The romance between Calder and Lily is tragic and sweet, but just not as exciting as I would’ve liked. I also wish there was a bit more background on the merpeople, like their origin and how many there are and all their different powers.

Overall, Lies Beneath is a very solid book and romance with a bit of suspense and danger thrown in. If you’re sick of vampires and werewolves, definitely give these blood-thirsty mermaids a try!

Rating: 3.5/5

Teaser Tuesday #24: Night of the Purple Moon

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. 

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read 
• Open to a random page 
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

Here's my teaser for the week:

"Come inside," she said again and reached out her hand.
Perhaps it was her expression this time, or that Toby felt too weak to keep searching for his friend, or that he was finally ready to join them - he took her hand and entered the mansion without question.

-Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer
*Disclaimer: Author provided copy for an honest and fair review.

PNR Review: TANGLE OF NEED by Nalini Singh

Title: Tangle of Need

Author: Nalini Singh

Series: Psy-Changeling #11

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: May 29, 2012

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis: Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past--one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

Review:
I wasn’t too impressed with either Riaz or Adria in the previous books, but Nalini Singh quickly changed my mind as I found myself sucked back into the amazing world she’d created involving 3 races: the changelings, the Psy, and humans. There’re so much more to this book than just the romance between Riaz and Adria, so I’ll have to split this review into parts.

Riaz and Adria
Riaz is a dominant lone wolf who’d lost his mate before he ever had her. Coming back to the pack to heal, he never expected to run into the cold-eyed Adria who didn’t seem to like him from their first meeting. What he didn’t realize was that Adria’s temper came from her sexual attraction to him.

After her bad breakup with a less-than stellar boyfriend, Adria wanted nothing to do with the man that stirred the deepest and wildest desire within her. So instead, she used her icy temper to drive him away, except it only drew him closer to finding out why she didn’t like him.

No one writes sexual tension and frustration like Nalini Singh. Adria’s sexual frustration was evident, as was her self-control. I really like her because despite her bad breakup, she’s a strong and caring woman who knows her worth and won’t take anything less than what she deserves. She also knows when to back down and is extremely mature about things. When facing difficult decisions, she didn’t just stomp away but instead faced her problems head on. She really had a spine of steel.

After reading this book, I now want Riaz to be my boyfriend (this happens after every Psy-changeling book). I don’t know how Ms. Singh does it, but she writes these really dangerous and sexy and delectable men who are the sweetest and most protective when it comes to their women and always knows what they’re doing in the bedroom. I fall in love with them one after another, and Riaz is no different! The little gift things they do just melt my heart.

Riaz and Adria’s romance might have taken a backburner to the other events in the book, but in no way was I actually unsatisfied with how their relationship developed. While a lot of other things went on, I felt that Adria and Riaz’s relationship went through the usual ups and downs without missing a beat. They were overshadowed by the main series arc not because their part was short, but only because the main plot had a lot more relevance in the greater picture.

Sienna and Hawke
A large part of this book is devoted to these two, including their official mating celebration with the pack. It’s a bit unfair to Riaz and Adria, but I loved reading about them. I can never get enough of Hawke, the super alpha! I love seeing previous characters in these series romance so it was great to see that despite their HEA, they still deal with real-life problems. It’s ever better to read how their love grows for one another, as if that was possible after the last book!

The Psy
Most of the book centers around the civil war and the breaking of the Silence Protocol among the Psy race. I’ve found myself heavily invested in Vasic, Aden, Kaleb, and the Ghost. I hope they each get their own book. I love the mystery surrounding Kaleb and the identity of the Ghost! While I would be severely disappointed if they don’t each get their book, I’m sure Ms. Singh will have a perfect explanation for each. If any author can close all loopholes in a story, Ms. Singh is the one to do it!

World-Building
I might’ve mentioned this in reviews of earlier books, but Ms. Singh always shocks me with this complex world she’s created that has so many subtleties. Every race has a well-flushed history. The Psy has the Net and their problems associated with that and how the Net functions. Then there are the groups of Changelings each with their own different habits and pack rules and structures. Just thinking about these things gives me a headache. I can’t imagine how hard it was to expand this world consistently through this long of a series. I’m very impressed.

While this book served more as a transition for the series, as Ms. Singh has stated that the main plot for the Psy-Changelings will be over in the next few books, it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of this book. If you have not read this yet, I highly recommend this series!

Rating: 4/5