Book Review: Hunger by Michael Grant ( Gone #2 )

Title: Hunger
Author: Michael Grant
Series: Gone #2
Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Youtube
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 6th 2010
Format: Paperback
Pages: 590
Buy it: Barnes & Noble | Amazon
Add it: Goodreads | Library Thing
Summary from Goodreads;
It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.
Three months since all the adults disappeared. GONE.
Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers. Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town. It's the normal kids against the mutants. Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous.
But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them.
The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.
Review:
4.5 stars, really enjoyed it and I might recommend it to some.
I really enjoyed this book considering I had to trudge through the first book, Gone. The titles totally make sense in this series since in this book, Hunger the food in the FAYZ has been quickly been eaten away and the kids are left to eat cabbage and other sorts of foods left in the fields.The pacing picked up a lot since the first book. The first book sort of dragged but the series gets better, promise. Starting from the first few pages, Hunger had action all throughout the novel. I loved it!
You got to know the characters more and see how they've changed since the beginning of the series. More characters get involved and pieces slowly start make sense as they're pieced together. Michael Grant has the ability to give you an inside on what everyone is thinking but also shock you at the same time. For example, there were some events that happened and I was shocked but the characters were clueless even after I pieced the pieces together. I can't wait to get to the next book in the series, Lies and find out more about FAYZ and the characters. If you haven't read any of these books, I suggest you pick them up and read them.
Trailer: Woah, check out the effects! Brilliant work!

“I am the gaiaphage.” 
― Michael Grant, Hunger

Follow Friday ( 7 )

RULES
To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow the Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers

Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your favorite author?
This is a hard question, honest. My favorite authors change about as much as the books themselves but I wish I could tell J.K. Rowling and John Green how much their writing has inspired me to start writing and reading even more than previously.

Book Review: Someone Else's Fairytale by E.M. Tippetts

Title: Someone Else's Fairytale
Author: E.M. Tippetts
Author Links: Website
Publication Date: December 8th 2011
Source: Author
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it: Goodreads | Library Thing
Summary from Goodreads;
Jason Vanderholt, Hollywood's hottest actor, falls head over heels for everygirl, Chloe Winters, who hasn't gotten around to watching most of his movies. It's the ideal fairytale... for most people. The last thing Chloe needs is public attention. It brings back dangers from the past that she's worked her whole life to escape.
Review:
5 stars, recommend to everyone.
I'm not a huge fan of the cover, I mean, I like it but it's just not "it" for me. However, I do think what the designer did with the paparazzi was rather creative.
You know that warm feeling you get when you read a too-cute or too-hilarious book? Like Anna and The French Kiss or any similar books? Someone Else's Fairytale made me feel just that and I loved it. This book has such depth with the characters and the world that I felt like I was there, not just reading the book but actually there. Yes, the characters had their own flaws but that made the book even better. The characters were so realistic yet hilarious and easy to get close and relate to. Also, it's not just a story about her falling for the actor or vise versa. There's actually a lot of background information and sub plots throughout the book. It was filled with humor which had me smiling and laughing while reading the book.

The writing was detailed enough to draw my attention and paint me a picture but not enough to bore me to death. I learned to expect the unexpected while reading this novel. Someone Else's Fairytale was a quick and refreshing read for me, considering the twists and turns I did not expect. One thing that bothered me for a tad was how Chloe didn't "like" Jason at first then a bit to quickly for my taste, fell for him but that was it. The rest of the novel was fun and so riveting that I couldn't stop grinning and flipping the pages to find out what happened next. I might or might have not recommended this book to everyone on Goodreads.. ;D

I recommend Someone's Else's Fairytale to anyone who wants a fun and quick read . Someone Else's Fairytale will have you grinning and enjoying the novel from the front cover to the last page.
Click here to check out her new project

Giveaway . . Sort of ( 5 books )

On Wednesday, May 2nd and Thursday, May 3rd the following titles will be released for free to purchase on Kindle! Just click on the caption below the cover/ picture to go to Amazon & Amazon UK.

Morning Star

Title: Morning Star
Author: Desiree Finkbeiner
Series: Ethos #1
When a mysterious stranger interrupts Brianna’s mundane routine, her eyes are opened to the dark underbelly of reality… immortal rogues, ancient conspiracies, prophetic revelations, savage tribes, mammoth dragonflies… 
She’s thrust into a race for her life when Kalen, a warrior from Ethos, discovers that she is harboring a secret… a secret that he’d give his life to protect. 
There’s just one little problem… they are tempted by a forbidden romance, which threatens to compromise a divinely appointed mission. They are faced with a choice… love eternal, or the end of the world…

Andraste

Title: Andraste

Author: Marisa Mills

Andraste, the daughter of an elfin prince and fairy queen is Fate’s Beloved, blessed with an incredible prophecy naming her as the one who can vanquish the Abatu Empire. She has spent her life preparing for the day when she would leave her homeland and fulfill her destiny. That day has come, but there are a few things Andraste doesn’t know. Her prophecy is a carefully-constructed lie, and beneath the beauty and civilization of her mother’s fairy country, there lie ancient prejudices and secrets. Traitors live within the castle walls, but Andraste can’t help but wonder who’s worse: the vampire empress conquering the world, or the deceitful fairies she’s fighting to save.

Bridgeworld

Title: Bridgeworld
Author: Travis Mcbee
Summary;
William Haynes was the type of guy that everyone either wanted, or wanted to be. He was an honor roll student and captain of his middle school football team. He was dating the most popular girl in the school and had dozens of friends. Yes, life was perfect for Will…that is until a strange man shows up and forces his parents to reveal a secret they have kept hidden since he was born. He is told that he has been given a scholarship to a prestigious private school that his parents attended, a private school that happens to be in space. Will must choose between a life many would die for and a life none could imagine. A life where he is no longer perfect, where he must make new friends, and where he must survive a school rivalry like no other.

The Universal Mirror

Title: The Universal Mirror

Author: Gwen Perkins

Summary:

On the island of Cercia, the gods are dead, killed by their followers and replaced with the study of magic. Magicians are forbidden to leave their homeland. Laws bind these men that prevent them from casting spells on the living—whether to harm or to heal.
Quentin, a young nobleman, challenges these laws out of love for his wife. His best friend, Asahel, defies authority at his side, unaware that the search for this lost magic will bring them both to the edge of reason, threatening their very souls. The Universal Mirror shows how far two men are willing to go for the sake of knowledge and what they will destroy to obtain it.

Ukishima

Title: 

Ukishima

Author: Nigel Sellars
Summary:

In the waning days of World War II, dying Japanese fight pilot Minamoto Ichiro joins a kamikaze flight with plans to die honorably by sinking an American warship. At the last moment, however, Ichiro is plucked from his plane by Hachiman, the Japanese god of war. It seems Hachiman needs Ichiro to save the universe.

Ichiro, now a samurai, finds himself in a parallel Japan—Nihon—where magic is real and Europeans have not yet arrived. He soon learns of Lord Taira, a warlord in league with dark forces. Taira has already stolen two of Nihon’s sacred icons, the sacred jewel and sacred mirror The warlord now only needs the sacred sword, the legendary Kusinagi, the Grass-Mower, in order to control the universe. But sword is in Ichiro’s hands, as only a member of the powerful Minamoto clan can wield the sword safely.

With the aid of a female ninja named Shizuka and Yukio, a naïve young Buddhist monk, Ichiro must battle a series of evil forces, including dragons, undead warriors, river demons, a giant spider and a Dutch vampire sea captain in order to rescue the imprisoned young emperor.

But rescuing the emperor is not enough. Ichiro soon realizes the only way to save the universe is to reach the Bridge of Heaven, located on the island of Hokkaido, the home of the barbarian Ainu. Only then can he hope to bring the sacred sword, the sacred mirror, and the sacred jewel together to restore the Emperor’s power and divine status. Assuming, of course, that he can defeat Taira’s naval forces and somehow close the demonic gateway through which the forces of chaos might escape to overwhelm everything. That, however, will require Ichiro to enter Yomi, the very domain of Death itself…

Free Promo Day. Visit Hydra Publications for more info. and more titles.

Teaser Tuesday ( 2 ) : Someone Else's Fairytale by E.M. Tippetts

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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Title: Someone Else's Fairytale
Author: E.M. Tippetts
Summary from Goodreads;
Jason Vanderholt, Hollywood's hottest actor, falls head over heels for everygirl, Chloe Winters, who hasn't gotten around to watching most of his movies. She becomes the woman every other woman in America is dying to be, but it just isn't her fairytale.
Teaser;

"Wait... what?" I said. "Am I missing something? Because the whole myth about females being able to read minds? We can't." Page 97

"I just hope they don't mistake me for him," said Steve.

 "Mmm-hmm. Sure, honey."
"You hear that?" He turned around in his seat. "My own wife!"
"You're much better looking, my dear."
"Nice one. Very smooth. You taking notes on this, Chloe?"
I rarely met people who were more sarcastic than me. It was great." - Page 71 

This book is hilarious so far and a quick read. ^.^

Book Review: Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Title: Once A Witch
Author: Carolyn MacCullough
Author Links: Website | Book(s) | Twitter
Series: Witch #1
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: September 14th 2009
Format: Hardback
Pages: 292
Add it: Goodreads | Library Thing
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles
Summary from Goodreads;
Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.
Review: 
3 stars, enjoyable but lacked some things.
Once A Witch's cover is such an eye catching cover. I love how she's holding the book in her hand, makes it somewhat more mysterious and made me even more curious to find out what it mean.
This was a really enjoyable read that reminded me a tad of The HoN series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. Once a Witch was a quick and somewhat light read. The romance was cute but I wished there had been more development to it. I felt that the characters rushed into the romance to quickly although they did know each other before when they were younger but hey, people tend to change over time. The pace was consistent but picked up towards the middle where the action mostly occurred.
As I read the book I found myself ticked at the family for keeping some things from the main character and wanting to grab them by the shoulders and have them apologize to her. Also, there was not much character development, the characters didn't develop they mostly just stayed the same. I could really relate to the main character at times although I wished I could have gotten to meet the characters a tad more. The plot was really interesting and I especially enjoyed how the author managed to weave in the aspect of the elements and the talents into the novel.
Overall, Once A Witch was a quick read that has aspects of magic weaved into it, which will capture the reader's attention.
Other cover:

Book Trailer: I really enjoyed watching this trailer, and the music made it more dramatic. ^.^

ARC Book Review: Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen

Title: Dark Kiss
Author: Michelle Rowen
Series: Nightwatchers #1
Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Publisher: Harlequin
Expected Publication Date: May 22, 2012
Summary from Goodreads;
I don't do DANGEROUS. 

Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha—that’s me. But I just couldn’t pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It’s like part of me is missing—and I don’t know if I can get it back. 
Then there’s Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he’s keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he’s what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... 
Nightwatchers: When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...
Review:
3 stars, enjoyable but lacked some things.
I requested this book because I liked the synopsis and the cover looked awesome, I mean, look at his wings! They look so cool!

Angels and Demons working together, definetly an enjoyable and interesting story. Michelle managed to keep a consistent pace throughout the whole book but some parts were definitely action-filled. The characters were interesting to read about, but I didn't really like the main character. I mean, yeah, she gets all this crazy overload of information but I wanted to grab her by the shoulders, tell her to calm down and take a deep breath.
Now, the other characters I loved. Bishop has to find others like him to fix something that's going on in the city, and since Sam is the only one who can guide him, he drags her into the action. I liked the people they had to find, although I wished I'd gotten to know them more. I definitely want to read the next book to find out more about what happens to Bishop and Sam. I really enjoyed the ending though, that was my favorite part. It's one of those books that satisfies yet has you yearning for more.

Dark Kiss is an action-filled, suspenseful read that will have you gripping the edge of your seats to know what happens next. A novel that will have you anticipating the next book in Michelle's Nightwatchers series.