Winner: Blood and Bullets by James R Tuck

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Prize:ARC of Blood and Bullets

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Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder
Author:Marissa Meyer
Release Date: January 5, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Lunar Chronicles Book #1
ISBN:   0312641893
ISBN13:  9780312641894
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling

I was pretty skeptical about CINDER. The cover is neat but the blurb really didn't get me super excited to read the book. I held out for quite a while before even picking it up out of my TBR pile but I'm glad I did finally decide to read it. When reading the blurb and seeing that the main character Cinder was a Cyborg I figured that meant she was a manufactured robot but in reality it just meant that she was hurt and had metal parts put into her to save her life. Because of that people pretty much treat her like a diseased second class citizen.  Her evil stepmother has guardianship (aka ownership) of her and can treat her pretty much however she wants. She doesnt remember anything about herself or her life before her accident when she became a cyborg and was adopted by a man that died right afterwords leaving her with her stepmother and the story leads us to find out who she really is and what she is destined to do.

Cinder was a great character to get to know. Even though she is treated like crap she goes along her daily business doing what she has to do with her head held high. While working the Prince comes to her for help fixing his android and they seem to instantly have an attraction but because of what she is she doesn't let him get close to her for a long time no matter how hard he tries. I really enjoyed Kai. He did some pretty crappy things towards the end but I think he will redeem himself in future books.

CINDER ended up being an awesome debut novel that I hard a hard time putting down. There is a lot of emotion, There is a lot of creativity, there is a lot of mystery and suspense and Marissa did a really good job of revealing things at a great pace. I did find a few things predictable but I cant wait to see what comes next. SCARLET isn't set to release until 2013 boo ;)

I gave it 4/5 stars

 

Winner: Immortal Hope by Claire Ashgrove

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Prize:Paperback copy of Immortal Hope

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Review: Banshee Charmer by Tiffany Allee

Banshee Charmer
Author:Tiffany Allee
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
From the Files of the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency Book #1
ISBN13: 9781937044992
Genre:Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Publisher

When she’s sent to a crime scene and finds her second dead woman in as many weeks, half-banshee detective Kiera “Mac” McLoughlin is convinced a serial killer is on the loose. Incubi are extinct, her boss insists. But what else can kill a woman in the throes of pleasure? When her partner is murdered after using witchcraft to locate the killer and Mac is thrown off the case, her frustration turns to desperation.

Certain the killer is an incubus, Mac works behind her department’s back to chase down slim, sometimes perilous leads. While the killer eludes her, she does discover handsome Aidan Byrne, an investigative counterpart from the enigmatic Otherworlder Enforcement Agency. Mac typically runs her investigations fast and hard, but with Aidan at her side, she’s running this one “hot” as well. But Aidan knows more than he’s letting on—something that could shatter their blazing romance and add Mac to the killer’s growing body count…

BANSHEE CHARMER was an easy to read, fast paced paranormal Romance. The length of the book is kinda short. I didn't feel like information was lacking but I would have liked to have a little longer of a book.

Kiera is a half Banshee detective who can use her scream to harm, kill or stun someone. There are not a lot of Banshee type books out at the moment and it was nice to read about a different paranormal type. The romance part of the book was kinda lacking. Kiera was easy to like and get to know. There was a love interest (sexy mysterious Aidan) and there was some nice hot scenes but there was more investigating and mystery than there was romance and getting to know each other. I love investigation types book so I really enjoyed the "police investigation" parts of BANSHEE CHARMER. I liked following the evidence that was revealed and trying to follow along in where Kiera thought the leads were.I didn't feel like the mystery of the story was predictable. I knew what Aidan was from a pretty early point but the bad guy was a mystery throughout.

BANSHEE CHARMER ended up being a great mystery and I will read book 2 to hopefully get some more romance between Kiera and Aidan.

I gave it 3/5 stars

Review: Untraceable by S.R.Johannes

Untraceable
Author:S.R. Johannes
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Coleman & Stott
The Nature of Grace Book #1
ISBN:  0765328089
ISBN13: 9780765328083
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Teen Book Scene Tour

16 year old Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.

When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.

Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves.

I had a hard time getting into UNTRACEABLE in the beginning. I had a hard time connecting with Grace and figuring out where she was going with all her nature talk and investigating. It is definitely written a little different than the other books I normally read.  After a few chapters I got to know Grace's situation and personality a little better and grew to like her back to nature attitude, the way she doesn't give up on things and the fact that she could take care of herself.

The story ended up getting a little dark and intense, and there are a few cringe worthy moments. The story definitely had a way of throwing the unexpected at you which I enjoyed. Some of the situations seem a bit unbelievable at times but other times you get into the groove and the scenes make more sense and flow a little better. I never guessed who some of the bad guys were as well as getting some of the bad guy guesses completely wrong and it was nice to be surprised at their reveals. By the end I was thoroughly engrossed in the plot and just when I thought the story would would be ending one way Ms Johannes threw in another curve ball at the story. UNTRACEABLE ending with a nice little cliffhanger that makes me want to see what comes of some new information. UNTRACEABLE doesn't have any paranormal or fantasy like situations but It was still a nice read for those looking for a YA novel.

I gave it 3/5 stars

New Releases Jan 22-28

Tue Jan 24

A Devil Named Desire (The Devil's Bargain #2) by Terri Garey
All Things Wicked (Dark Mission #3) by Karina Cooper
Fallen in Love (Fallen, #3.5) by Lauren Kate

Forbidden by Syrie James

Horizon (Aftertime, #3) by Sophie Littlefield

Happy Reading =)

Promotional Post & Giveaway: Undone Deeds by Mark Del Franco

*Available Jan 31 by ACE*

Undone Deeds
Author:Mark Del Franco
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Ace
Connor Grey Book #6
ISBN:  1937007251
ISBN13: 9781937007256
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Connor Grey is a druid consultant for the Boston PD on their "strange" cases. So his world is turned upside down when he suddenly finds that he himself has become one. Wrongly accused of a terrorist attack that rocked the city to its core, Connor evades arrest by going underground, where rumors of war are roiling. A final confrontation between the Celtic and Teutonic fey looks inevitable—with Boston as the battlefield...

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