It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #19

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!


I'm Currently Reading:

Blackbirds

Finished:

Reviews posted:

Early Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Early Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Review: Living Proof by Kira Peikoff

Next Reads:

Glitch
_________________________________


What are you reading this week?

Stacking the Shelves #1

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!

I'm starting this new feature, hosted by Tynga from Tynga's Reviews.

This week I got:

From a local bookstore:

Blood Red Road

(This book is fantastic!)

For review, from Netgalley: 


Shadow and Bone (this is unbelievably good!!)
Throne of Glass
______________

I sure didn't get much in numbers, but the quality was just mind-blowing! I really enjoyed Blood Red Road and Shadow and Bone. :)


What did you get this week?

Review: Living Proof by Kira Peikoff

Living Proof
by Kira Peikoff

Published February 28th 2012 by Tor Books

In 2027, destroying an embryo is considered first-degree murder. Fertility clinics still exist, giving hope and new life to thousands of infertile families, but they have to pass rigorous inspections by the United States Department of Embryo Preservation. Fail an inspection, and you will be prosecuted.

Brilliant young doctor Arianna Drake seems to be thriving in the spotlight: her small clinic surpasses every government requirement, and its popularity has spiked—a sudden, rapid growth that leaves the DEP chief mystified. When he discovers Arianna’s radical past as a supporter of an infamous scientist, he sends undercover agent Trent Rowe to investigate her for possible illegal activity.

As Trent is pulled into Arianna’s enigmatic world, his own begins to unravel. The secret he finally uncovers will deeply move him—and jeopardize them both. With the clock ticking her life away, he finds himself questioning everything he knows to be true, and then must summon the courage to take the greatest risk of all. Nothing less than human life—and a major scientific breakthrough—hang in the balance.

A thought-provoking thriller by debut author Kira Peikoff, Living Proof is a celebration of love and life that cuts to the core of a major cultural debate of our time.

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Publication Date: February 28th 2012

Publisher: Tor Books

Format: eARC, 368 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley


____________________________________________________

My Review

It's the year of 2027 and the line separating the Church and the State is growing very thin. 

Dr. Arianna Drake owns a private clinic in Manhattan. A clinic she makes sure never stands out from the others. Why? Because she's doing highly illegal business inside. She buys eggs from donors, fertilizes them and uses the embryos for stem cell research.

She longs to find a cure for many diseases, but especially MS (multiple sclerosis), a disorder that slowly ends thousands of people's lives. However, if her actions are ever discovered, she will ahve to deal with more than just a fine or a bad reputation. She can be accused of manslaughter. Charged with genocide, or worse. What she's doing can be considered the "21st century version of Hitler's ovens.". But she and all of her peers don't see it quite like that.

Trent Rowe, 37, is an inspector at the New York Department of Embryo Preservation (DEP). All DEP inspectors are allowed entrance to any fertility clinic at any time they want, to "ensure that all clinics are preserving the souls of embryos". The DEP considers every single extrauterine embryo as an unborn child. That means that no embryo can ever go missing or, God forbid, be destroyed. If they do, there'll be very serious consequences to the criminals. To avoid that, every single egg and sperm combination is be documented, checked and rechecked every month. Or, depending, every week.

Trent wants to do well o his job and impress his superiors, so when he finds an unusual spike in popularity at Arianna's clinic from his routine reports, he knows it might be his last chance to do so.

Arianna and her fellow doctors see embryos as bundles of cells that can bring cure and change lives. The Church sees them as unborn babies, pure and innocent. Who is right? And to what point?

I've always enjoyed a good controversial subject, so when I saw this book I knew right away I had to read it. And it was fantastic!

The author knew perfectly well how to portray both sides of Science and religion. Their very different and polemic opinions, their strong beliefs and the reasons that propelled them into choosing that side.

Like everybody else, I have my own opinion, but I could very well understand where the other side got theirs. I'm not saying I agreed with them, but I... well, I got to respect their view of things.

I really liked Arianna and Trent. I felt sorry for them and found myself cheering for both (even with them having opposing views and purposes in life).

Trent's religious confusion was fascination to read about. How mad, guilty and safe the church made him feel all the time. Sometimes at the same time. And how disappointed he was with certain things involving religious people. He was such a complex and contradictory character!! I think many catholics would be able to see a bit of themselves in him.

Kira Peikoff delivers an excellent thriller that makes us see how dangerously close reality is getting to fiction.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

#FF - Feature and Follow #20

Feature and Follow is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.


Q: Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then “broke up” with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.


I'm pretty sure quite a few characters have disappointed me before, but I can't think of a single name right now. Not for the life of me. LOL. 
But I can say that all whiny, weak, brainless and too dependent heroines can really ruin a book for me. Oh, and violent/rude/disrespectful male characters.


I'm curious now. What character disappointed you?


Oh, and if you're a new follower, please let me know and I'll follow back. :)

Early Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon
by Anna Banks

Expected publication: May 22nd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Emma and her friend Chloe are spending vacation in Florida. When Emma (literally) runs into a hot guy named Galen on the beach, little does she know he’s a prince of the Syrena. Galen and Emma both feel something strange – is it attraction? – and Galen suspects that Emma might well be the girl he’s heard of – a human who can communicate with fish. 

What follows is a deadly scene with a shark in which Galen witnesses Emma’s gifts. He must know more about her, and follows her back to New Jersey, and high school, to find out for sure if she’s the key to saving his kingdom. Soon, Emma can’t deny her feelings for him, but can’t explain them, either – and both she and Galen must learn more about where she comes from and what her powers are before they can trust one another and their feelings.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: May 22nd 2012

Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends

Format: eARC, 324 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

__________________________________

My Review:

Emma McIntosh was spending her last vacation before college in Florida, along with her childhood friend Chloe, when she ran into the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen. But what really captures her attention is that, against all odds, both him and his sister have purple eyes, just like hers. A color said to be so rare some people even believe is nonexistent.

Galen is very surprised when he sees the eyes of the girl who just tottered into him. Those are the eyes of the Syrenas, most commonly known as merpeople. And even if her skin and hair coloring are all wrong, the tingling sensation he feels when he touches her just make his suspicions that she's one of them grow. Even if his sister, Rayna, doesn't believe him. Any doubts he might have had disappear when he sees her talking to a shark... and the shark actually obeying her. That ability alone proves that she's one Of Poseidon, and she just might be the key to uniting two kingdoms.

Emma is absolutely crushed when her best friend is killed by a shark during their vacation together, and that she couldn't save her, but life must go on. On her first day back to school she can't believe her eyes when she sees Galen, the guy she met on the beach, again. That very, very handsome guy, whom every girl suddeenly wants. Turns out he's in ALL of her classes. And he seems to ALWAYS be around her. Not to mention that he seems to really enjoy annoying her. They just can't stop arguing. But their chemistry is amazing.

Galen starts to feel more and more attracted to Emma, even knowing that if she is of Poseidon, than she should be mated to his older brother, Grom, as their tradition demands. He can't be so selfish as to want her for himself when the other option is uniting and bringing prosperity to two kingdoms.

I thought the story of Of Poseidon was very creative. I liked the characters immensely (even if Emma fainted way too many times for my taste), found a lot of quotes to be absolutely hilarious and many situations very amusing. What I just couldn't take was how long it took them to find out Emma was a freaking half-blood! I mean, seriously? The girl had been living her whole life at the surface, had no idea she could hold her breath for so long, can't grow a fin to save her life, had never even heard of the Syrena people, looks nothing like them (with the exception of her eye color), and they kept thinking she was a full-blooded mermaid all along? Jeez, talk about being blind. Oh, and about her mother? Please. That was a bit too obvious from the very start.

So I wasn't surprised when the ending turned out to be predictable, but I was startled by the abruptness of the way it ended. For a moment I even thought maybe my advanced copy had missing pages. I'm sure the author was trying to build tension and make things more mysterious for the next books, (and I actually really want to know what happens next), but I think the ending for this first volume could have been more, well, complete. I did like the book as a whole, though. I usually don't care much about secondary characters, but they were all so charming and funny! I'm hoping we'll see more of Toraf (horrible name, great guy), Rayna and Rachel. And it was too bad Chloe had to die so soon! She could have made things even more interesting. :(

If you like your fantasy YA with hot mermen, funny heroines and super interesting secondary characters, you'll really dig Of Poseidon.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

"Waiting On" Wednesday #21

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.


Right now what I really want to read is:

 

Skylark (Skylark #1)
by Meagan Spooner

Expected publication: October 1st 2012 by Carolrhoda Lab 

Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.
Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.
Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

__________________


More dystopian! I'm really into the genre right now, and Skylark sounds incredibly good. Human batteries? Oh, dear. *-* Oh, and such a pretty cover!


What are you waiting on this week?

Teaser Tuesday #20

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as 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 any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

"Only when the tip of the knife started to shave against the white of his eye like a scalpel about to pierce a boil, did I realise that I was the one holding it." Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson (That is just the first sentence. So awesome. Like the whole book! :)

“Thou art hunger, yo." Death said. "Time to make with the starvation.” Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler.

Don't you just love this cover? So pretty! And I found the mix of archaic and contemporary language just hilarious!

What's your teaser this week?  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #18

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!


I'm Currently Reading:



Finished:

Reviews posted:

The Immortal Rules by Julia Kagawa

Next Reads:



What are you reading this week?

In My Mailbox #21

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Story Siren.

Mom gave me those for Easter. Yup. Totally chocolate-free, but with new books. :) LOL.

I remember that Wither was super good, now I can't wait to start Fever!

As usual, sorry for horrible picture. :P

What did you get this week?

#FF - Feature and Follow #19

Feature and Follow is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.

Q: Fight! Fight! If you could have two fictional characters battle it out (preferably from books), who would they be and who do you think would win?

Acheron Parthenopaeus (from The Dark-Hunters) could take anyone. He's a freaking God, for goodness' sake! *-* I could even give out a few names, but I'd just be sending them to their certain death. :P 

I'd much rather have him on a pillow fight with me. And let me tell you... we would both win. LOL. But that's just me, not one for violence. I'm all for luuuuuuv. 

Now, what fight would you like to see?

Oh, and if you're a new follower, please let me know and I'll follow back. :)

Early Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa/Reading Romances April Challenge

Reading Romances April Challenge

TOPICS: 

Alternate Realities Month!

1) Read a contemporary book where something is different in the world than what reality reflects. (vampires, magic etc)

2) Read a book set in the future or a historical with an alternative reality (i.e. steampunk).

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
by Julie Kagawa

Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Harlequin Teen

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: April 24th 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Format: eARC, 485 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

____________________________

My Review

Allison Sekemoto is a nonregistered human. That is, in her Vampire ruled world, she technically doesn't exist. And, as a nonexistent citizen, she has no right to food or shelter, which means she has to find other -illegal- ways to get what she needs to survive. That, or get registered and receive a supply of food tickets and protection. But registration means obligatory blood donations, and a physical mark of a Master. To Allie, registration means being marked as cattle, as a slave.

Allie doesn't own much in her life, but what she does, she treasures. Like the book her mother used to read for her, when she was still alive. A book that is now considered illegal, along any other publication, because humans should be mindless, passive, stupid creatures, needing only a good Master to take care of them.

When finding foods start to get even harder than usual, Allie decides to venture outside the walls of the city, in rabid territory. She manages to scavenge a great treasure of food and water, so she brings back her 'gang friends' to help carry it all to their hiding place. But, unfortunately, they are all attacked by rabids. Crazy, bloodthirsty animals that can kill in mere seconds. Allie is about to die when a dark-eyed stranger appears and offers her a choice. A choice between dying forever and being forever dead.

Now Allie is one of the monsters she has abhorred her whole life. And she needs to learn how to control her thirst and not lose her remaining humanity.

I have to admit that I didn't really love Julie Kagawa's other books so much, they being about faeries and all that (not my favorite subject), but I did read them and enjoyed the writing very much. Ash is a total hottie. LOL. The thing is, I just wanted to see what she could do with other subjects, especially the dystopian genre. Well... let's just say I expected more of Immortal Rules. More than was delivered.

I've been reading tons of dystopians, so, in my opinion, this one didn't manage to be a very good dystopian book. But it sure made a nice enough vampire one.

To me, the book dragged quite a bit. The fighting scenes were nice and intense and I liked that the heroine was a strong one, that she didn't just whine and kept getting in the way all the time, but took care of herself and fought back when needed. Most importantly, I loved that she didn't automatically just become a super vampire, that she had to learn many things first and struggle with the training. Oh, and that she was asian. I'm so tired of perfectly blond and blue-eyed Mary Sues! O.o

But, still... the story was getting kind of boring to me. After the first 40% of it, I was just about to give it up, when, finally, something caught my attention. A possible love interest appeared. And a promise of heartbreak and suffering, too. LOL. That spiced things up to me. But not much. I kept expecting Kanin to come after her... or for other vampires to meet her. (Maybe in the next books?)

The Red Lung virus thing is still not very clear, which bothers me a lot. Why do authors even try to explain things if they don't really want to make things clear? (Maybe in the next books? 2). Anyway, the whole thing was just very 'bleh' to me. The kind of book that you forget everything about as soon as you end it. 

The thing is, a lot of people loved it, so there must be something wrong with me. LOL. Maybe I'm just not Kagawa fan material. :P 


So... guys, please don't kill me, it was just my honest opinion. :(

If you enjoyed Kagawa's other books and you like your vampires, katanas and survival situations, then you'll probably love The Immortal Rules.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Dirty Little Secret #13

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!


This week's question: 

If you could visit any country with a fictional character as your guide, who would you pick and why?

I'd pick Acheron, and would love for him to take me to Atlantis. Really, the place doesn't matter, I only really care about the company. LOL. :P

Who would you pick?

"Waiting On" Wednesday #20

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.


Right now what I really want to read is:



Kissing Shakespeare
by Pamela Mingle 

Miranda has Shakespeare in her blood: she hopes one day to become a Shakespearean actor like her famous parents. At least, she does until her disastrous performance in her school's staging of The Taming of the Shrew. Humiliated, Miranda skips the opening-night party. All she wants to do is hide.

Fellow cast member, Stephen Langford, has other plans for Miranda. When he steps out of the backstage shadows and asks if she'd like to meet Shakespeare, Miranda thinks he's a total nutcase. But before she can object, Stephen whisks her back to 16th century England—the world Stephen's really from. He wants Miranda use her acting talents and modern-day charms on the young Will Shakespeare. Without her help, Stephen claims, the world will lost (sic) its greatest playwright.

________

Time travel + Shakespeare = sounds awesome

What are you waiting on this week?

Teaser Tuesday #19

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as 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 any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

"Christians rejected the need for proof to support belief in God, yet dismissed proof altogether when it was there."

 “I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. 

My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

Very nice, isn't it? Mafi certainly has a special way with words.

What's your teaser this week?  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #17

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!


I'm Currently Reading:



Finished:

  

Reviews posted:

Early Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Next Reads:

(I've been meaing to read this for months now! I'll have to squeeze it in somehow. LOL)


What are you reading this week?

In My Mailbox #20

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Story Siren.


From a swap I got:

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

For review, from Netgalley I got: 


Living Proof (This book is insanely good!)

Freebie from Amazon:

Ascension

What did you get this week?