Review: The Heart of Hannen by Fawn Bonning

I'm reposting this review because the book now has a new cover!!! (Much improved!). The plot is really good, so give this baby a try. :) (Remember what they say... don't judge it by its cover.)

The Heart of Hannen
by Fawn Bonning

Paperback, 484 pages

Published March 22nd 2011 by Old Line Publishing, LLC

Christine, a troubled teen with a dark past, is miserable in her small town. Shadowed in shame, she feels destined to live her lonely life as an outcast. She has no idea that her true destiny lies in a different town, in a different world; a most brutal world called Atriia. There she learns the true meaning of misery, the true meaning of loneliness, the true meaning of shame. But she also learns that her bravery is boundless as she battles against a formidable foe, a dark shadow that tries to smother the land. And in the arms of a most unlikely candidate, she also learns the true meaning of love. He is Hannen Fallier, the one they call the foul fraigen dropper, revered by men for his fearless feats, but looked upon by women with open disdain. With a face horribly mauled, he hides behind a mask of shame, deeming himself unworthy of love. That he would seek acceptance from Christine is irony in its purest form. That he would seek her love . . . the ultimate betrayal.

_____________________________

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book! I won it from my first Goodreads giveaway! *-*

I must admit I first judged it by its cover. I thought it might not be so well-written, but I was very mistaken. It was fantastic. I loved the story and the characters.

I really enjoyed seeing how the main character, Christine, grew up! She suddenly finds herself alone in this strange, unknown place called Atriia, where everything is different from Earth. She deals with rude, aggresive, male-chauvinists and strange social costumes, not to mention the weird food and language, but manages to adapt quickly, and very well. I'm not sure I would've been as strong as she was.

Hannen found his way into my heart from the very start. (and when you read it, you'll see exactly what I mean with 'from the very start'). Such a complicated, strong, sweet character. Very well thought of and developed.

I was a bit confused at first with the new 'language' the author introduces to us, but eventually I got the hang of it. (It was only afterwards that I noticed there was a glossary at the end of the book. Silly, slow little me. >.<)

It was a dark, dramatic and sad book, but also very touching. Needless to say, I cried. Hard.

Of course, I wish I could have changed the ending and maybe have seen a bit more of a couple of characters, but it was still great. The book is a bit long, but it's not tiring at all! This one is a keeper. :)

I'm SO glad I had the chance to review it, otherwise I might have never heard of it. Thank you, Fawn Bonning!!!

Now, you! Go ahead and get it, you'll love it too. It's an excellent pick for romance and fantasy lovers.

'Melted' Bookcase

'Melted' bookcase inspired by the art of Salvador Dali.

Digital Library at Bucharest Metro Station

Here's something nice for you guys to look at:

Nice, huh? I wonder if it's just excerpts or if the books are free. 

But it's still a great idea, regardless. Not to mention nice to look at. :)

Back cover of Ellen's book

Now I have to buy it. XD

Looky Looky at this Booky

 I wasn't aware Ellen presented this! It's brilliant. 

Those are some awesome books!

One sentence can change the whole Harry Potter story

Indeed. That would be disappointing. And incredibly sad.

My thoughts on: Shift (Shade #2) by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shift (Shade #2)
by Jeri Smith-Ready

Published May 3rd 2011 by Simon Pulse

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural

Publication Date: May 3rd 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Hardcover, 367 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Won from giveaway

____________________________

WARNING!!! There might be spoilers ahead. As a matter of fact, there are SOME.

I won this copy on a giveaway sometime last year. I then purchased a copy if the first book in the series, Shade, which I promptly read and loved. However, I somehow became very busy with college and review books and kept forgetting to read Shift. Last week I finally forced myself to get to it already. LOL. I quickly reread Shade and cracked the spine of this pretty baby... I gulped it all up in one afternoon.

I'm crazy about Logan. Truly am. So the minute his ghostly body became living flesh for a short period of time, I was all "YAAAAAAAY!!! He's BACK! Finally we're gonna have some action." Nah. It was another almost for Aura and Logan. Zach totally won this round. LOL.

I love Zach, too, don't get me wrong. His accent, kilt and green eyes are all very dreamy... but I can't resist a bad boy. Especially a rockstar. :P Oh, and Zach can be very cold sometimes... and not all these times are Aura's fault.

Anyway, Shift starts with Logan still as a runaway Shade. Aura keeps trying to call him back, and, after 3 months, he finally appears. Aura then manages to bring him back to normal ghost state, again. Then the solstice/flesh and blood momentarily thing happens and they almost have at it... but not. Logan becomes very excited about the prospect of being 'alive' again and starts to plan a final final performance (again) the next time he turns human. He can't wait to play his guitar one last time.

Aura is torn between living, breathing, tempting Zach, and sort-of living, but still dead, Logan. Zach is also at his limit, and he makes it very clear to Aura. She needs to choose already.

After a misunderstanding between them, Zach ends up asking Aura's nemesis, Becca Goldman, for the prom. And Aura has the brilliant idea of asking Dylan, Logan's younger brother, who has a serious crush on her.

The love triangles are clearly very strong in this book, and so are Aura's indecisions and screw-ups. She continuously decides to let go of Logan, but every time something reinforces how much he loves her, she's not sure what to do. Zach also keeps sends her some very mixed signals...

All the while, the DMP investigations continue as Aura and Zach get closer and closer to revealing her mother's secrets and unveiling the Last/First mystery, with the help of Eowyn. We finally see what happened on the day of the Shift, we finally understand how they were the only ones to be born in those minutes... and who Aura's father is. Now we just need to know what exactly the Shine was, and why the DMP are working so hard trying to detain them.

Shift was a lovely read, even if sometimes it made my head spin. LOL. But that's love: confusing, indecisive, hot then cold... it's just that the ending was so 'perfect', and filled me with such a sense of 'completion', that I am not sure a third book was really necessary. I mean, all my questions were answered (well, all the important ones) and it's very clear who Aura'll end up with... anyway, I'll still check Shine out, but I'm very satisfied with the way things ended in Shift. :)

If you like complicated YA love stories with paranormal twists to it, then you'll love this series.

Best Book Ever!

I need to get a copy for my future children. :) Along with a gun, of course. 

New bookish religion

Oh, the irony of this... do you guys remember all that ruckus some parents made over their children reading these books about evil, dark forces and the devil's magic? LOL. If reading Harry Potter is evil, then I am so going to hell.

And, yes, today I turn 21 years old, so I'm feeling pretty bold. :P
(Would you like to give me a simple gift? Then would you please follow the blog anyway you can? 
Be it GFC, Networked Blogs, or e-mail, everybody loves new followers. 
Let me know and I'll follow you back. :D )

Let me know what you think about the HP thing.

Portal Bookends

Oooh, that looks like a fun thing to add to a bookshelf. :)

Mine already has so much useless stuff... one more wouldn't hurt.

"Spoiler Alert" troll billboard

There's always someone to ruin the surprise... even if it is just a bit late. LOL.

Random Wednesday / Shut Up and Take My Money!! #2

Donkey Kong Bookshelf!!! *-*

Very stylish. LOL. I'd love one. Too bad I don't have the space. Or the money. >.>

Early Review: Undead by Kirsty McKay

Undead (Undead #1)
by Kirsty McKay

Expected publication: September 1st 2012 by Scholastic Inc.

Out of sight, out of their minds: It's a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty.

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back.

But they've changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they're zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin' fast, because that's the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates' next meal. It's kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

Combining the chill of THE SHINING, the thrill ride of SPEED, the humor of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and the angst of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Kirsty McKay's UNDEAD is a bloody mad mash-up, a school-trip splatter-fest, a funny, gory, frighteningly good debut!

Genre: Young Adult, Zombies

Publication Date: September 1st 2012

Publisher: Scholastic

Format: eARC, 272 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

_____________

My Review

First line: I would rather die than face them all again.

Last line: "We need to get off this bus - now!"

Favorite quote: "Zombie parkour. Don't think that's been done before. Better film this, Alice, it could go viral."

Bobby is on the School Trip from Hell. She was born in the UK, but thanks to her mother's job they had to move to the US. Now, she's back the UK again. On a skiing trip to Scotland before the start of the new school year. The thing is, everyone is making fun of her 'hybrid' accent. She, herself, needs to police her lingo, always trying to sound as properly british as possible. She's also avoiding every single one of her new school mates, because they are all so annoying to new kids, especially ex-american ones, and he really just wants to kick those losers' butts. I mean, their bums. 

That's why she was the only inside the bus when everyone got off to venture the snow storm and eat something at the café by the road. Well, her, the driver and Rob Smitty, rebel without a pause. And hottie. Their teacher forbade him from leaving the bus after he got caught bying booze and cigs with a fake ID. So they were the only ones who didn't get to taste the nice free samples of Carrot Juice, being given away by a man in a carrot costume. And so they didn't see what happened to those who did, inside the café. Until a bloody hand hit one of the bus' windows and the driver went outside to check it out... and the proverbial sh*t started to hit the fan.

Now it's Bobby, the 'freak hybrid', Smitty, the smartass bad boy, Alice, the annoying b*tch--I mean, popular brainless girl and Pete, the cowardly, brainy weirdo. It's just them. Against a whole lot of Zs.

As they try to stay alive and survive constant zombie attacks (and quite a few dangerous humans, too), they also need to learn to deal with each other while trying to find shelter and a way to contact someone. But things aren't really looking good... and little do they know, they just might get worse. And personal.

I LOVED this book!!! There was never ONE boring moment! I mean it, the whole thing was, well... words fail me right now, so I'll just have to go with AWEEEEEESOME! ;P

Those zombies really went all-out! Kirsty McKay got them doing some pretty interesting stuff. Brand new, too. Same goes for the surviving group of teenage humans. Those guys actually managed to survive while NOT working as group or even really caring about each other much (it was pretty realistic, if you start thinking about it. People are selfish. Especially in difficult situations), with a small romantic exception, of course (which worked great, if you ask me!). So...

Oh, and, man!! That miraculous bus driving through a snow storm on an empty tank? WOW! And the hidden dungeon/booze/dumbwaiter inside that Scotland castle? Mah Lawd!

Hey, did I mention the cellphone actually working when they were almost -literally- fried? Yowtch.

Also, the zombies walking UNDER the iced-over loch? SU-weeeet! O.O

I laughed so hard with this book. Almost during the whole thing. It also made me slightly nauseated at times, which makes sense in a zombie book. ;P Oh, and my heart went all a-flutter during a couple of cute scenes, too, which is always a good thing. And I so, SO wanted Alice and Pete to die... but, oh, well. There's always the next book, huh? :D And let me tell you how glad that makes me! I'm dying and un-dying (no pun intended) to read what happens next! Like, I need it right now! OR I'LL GET YOUR BRAINS, Miss McKay!!

LOL.

(that's the last one, I promise)

Hey, you! Yeah, you. Go and pre-order this baby right away!! Thou shall not regret this, my friend.

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

Sorry, Twilight fans. But it's true. / Random Wednesday

Thanks for reminding me! I did the -almost- exact same thing! Only I used a hardcover copy and made it into a 'hollow book', and now hide things inside it. :P No one EVER touches it. It's a good place to hide money during trips. Who would look inside a book, especially a TWILIGHT book? LOL. :3

Shut up and take my money!!!

 

Ooooh, I want one of those!!! *-*

Spoiler Alert! :P / Just had to repost it #4 / Randomness

I don't have a problem with spoilers, but here's something totally random/funny for those who do...

I can't be the only one: How to read a book.

I usually just shift between position #2 and #3.  But #6 might happen once in a while. LOL. I guess that's why my neck is always killing me.

 Saw it here. But there's also a video! *-*

Me Wants #SuperCoolPhoneBooth/Bookself

Me wants it so bad. Saw it here. (BTW, have you noticed the Harry Potter collection up there? Sweet.)

Serious reading problem. (or Just Had to Repost part III)

Oh, 9gag. You really do make my day. 

Books are Magic -or- Just had to repost it ²

You gotta love 9gag. :D