Top Ten Tuesday

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is..

Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

Tina

A.G. Howard- Read her entire Splintered series and then hated myself for waiting so long.

Rainbow Rowell- I hate myself for only just discovering the greatest that is Rowell!!

Milka

Julie Murphy

Becky Albertalli

Crystal

Morgan Rhodes--If you haven't read her Falling Kingdoms books you need to do so ASAP!

Jennifer Donnelly--She is an amazing writer and I can't believe I didn't find out sooner!

Arlene

Amy Engel author of The Book of Ivy

Aaron Hartzler author of What We Saw

Review: Hellraisers (The Devil's Engine #1) by Alexander Gordon Smith

Hellraisers (The Devil's Engine #1) by Alexander Gordon Smith
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Release Date: December 1st 2015
Purchase: Amazon

From the author of the Escape from Furnace series, an explosive new horror trilogy about an ordinary American kid caught up in an invisible war against the very worst enemy imaginable.

There is a machine from the darkest parts of history, concealed in an impossible location, that can make any wish come true, and the only price you have to pay is your soul. Known as the Devil’s Engine, this device powers a brutal war between good and evil that will decide the fate of every living thing on Earth. When a 16-year-old asthmatic kid named Marlow Green unwittingly rescues an ass-kicking secret soldier from a demonic attack in the middle of his Staten Island neighborhood, he finds himself following her into a centuries-old conflict between a group of mysterious protectors and the legions of the Devil himself. Faced with superpowers, monsters, machine guns, and a lot worse, Marlow knows it's going to be a breathless ride—and not just because he’s lost his inhaler along the way.

My Thoughts:
This book is a great example of why I still finish every book I start.  I've always had this problem and I've tried to stop, but then I pick up a book like this one and realize if I had stopped at 50 pages or so I would have seriously missed out.  Is this book great...no but by the end it did grabbed me and the story line is pretty interesting so I'm glad I didn't put it down.

In the beginning, we the reader stay pretty much in the dark about what's going on in this world that Smith has created.  At first I was okay with this because the story starts off really action packed and had a lot of adrenaline coursing through the words.  At one point I felt like I was in some crazy Transformers from hell movie!  After awhile though I just wanted to know what was going on. Contracts, Engines, souls, demons it all just didn't make sense and after 100 pages something should make sense.  This was why I almost put the book down.  I didn't get enough in the beginning to pull me in even though there was so much action.

Pan is who kept me reading.  She is one bad a$$ character and I just wanted to see what she would do next.  I wish the book would have been told in just her POV.  The flipping back and forth got to be a tad confusing and I didn't like reading Marlow's thoughts as much.  His constant thoughts on his asthma got to be annoying and he wasn't a strong enough character for me.  He started out strong, but as the story went on we learn really quickly that he is just a coward and runs from everything.  He does try and make this up by the end, but even with that I still wasn't connected to him like I was Pan. She was interesting from the get go and like I said the reason why I kept reading. 

The story really took off after we learn about the Engine and the world that's been created.  This happens in the last third of the book and for some this will be too late.  I wish the author would have moved things around because the ending was so explosive and actually had me on the edge of my seat, but people won't get to this point if they aren't captivated from the get go.  I hope more people are like me and will refuse to put down a book because this world is unique and one that I think a lot of people will find interesting.

One thing though if you don't like gore turn away mow.  Things really got icky at the end and I even had to take a moment or two while I was reading.  It was gore galore and the visuals I got were just down right gross.  So be prepared if you decide to read this.  You can of course skip over the grossness, but A what's the fun in that and B you will miss some things so just read with one eye open.

All in all like I said I did enjoy this.  I liked the cast of characters (minus Marlow which is shame because he's a main character), I enjoyed the unique story line and am interested to see where it is going, and I liked the lack of romance.  Yes there is one brewing, but the world is the main focus which is just what I like in my reads these days. 

3.5 snowflakes

Review: Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty

Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty

Publisher-Simon & Schuster Books

Released- Sept 15th 2015

Purchase- Amazon / B & N

In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students—one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James “Mori” Moriarty—meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.
Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more…
FACT: Someone has been murdered in London’s Regent’s Park. The police have no leads.
FACT: Miss James “Mori” Moriarty and Sherlock “Lock” Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.
FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.
FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock’s one rule—they must share every clue with each other—Mori is keeping secrets.
OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can’t trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.

My Thoughts:

I may not read many books from this genre, but when the mood strikes, there is nothing like a whodunit mystery to keep me well entertained, and I'm happy to say Lock & Mori did just that!

I'm not sure what it is about Sherlock Holmes books, but ever since reading Every Breath by Ellie Marney, I find myself looking for books of it's kind. Heather W. Petty, is a fantastic storyteller who kept this book suspenseful, mysterious and gripping the whole way through. The story starts off with a simple game of  'who can solve the crime first' between Lock and Mori but half way through the book it was already clear who the serial killer was. Now, being this is a mystery book and learning the revelation so soon on would have normally bothered me, but by that point I was already completely absorbed in the separate, heartbreaking, storyline, which was even more disturbing then the horrible murders. I loved the way Petty interlocked the storyline with plot to personal and the inner struggles that both Lock and Mori had to face, it made it more then a simple mystery that had to be solve.

I absolutely adored Lock and Mori. From the moment they met you could feel the tension and chemistry. My favoirte part was watching them observe the clues and learn what the other knows, even in secrets. They have the greatest banter and warm bubbling moments that made me smile. Lock is truly amazing. He's condescending and presumptuous and can be a real pain, but underneath his eccentric behaviour and vast intelligence, he's got a lot of heart.  Mori is also just as wonderful, protective and clever and I hated what she had to go through in this book. Lock and Mori are a perfect match, they understand each other, challenge each other and were a brilliant team.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It did have some content that I usually like to stay away from, it wasn't over graphic, but graphic enough to hurt my heart, but this was a story I wont soon forget. Smart, refreshing and thrilling, this was an incredible debut and I can't wait for the next book!

Find the author:

Goodreads / Website                              4 Snowflakes

Blog Tour Review: Placebo Junkies

Today on WinterHaven Books I am participating in the blog tour for Placebo Junkies by J.C. Carleson hosted buy the publisher.

Placebo Junkies by J.C. Carleson
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 27th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon

Going Bovine meets Trainspotting in this gritty portrait of at-risk teens gaming the prescription drug trial system.

Meet Audie: Professional lab rat. Guinea pig. Serial human test subject. For Audie and her friends, “volunteering” for pharmaceutical drug trials means a quick fix and easy cash.
Sure, there’s the occasional nasty side effect, but Audie’s got things under control. If Monday’s pill causes a rash, Tuesday’s ointment usually clears it right up. Wednesday’s injection soothes the sting from Tuesday’s “cure,” and Thursday’s procedure makes her forget all about Wednesday’s headache. By the time Friday rolls around, there’s plenty of cash in hand and perhaps even a slot in a government-funded psilocybin study, because WEEKEND!

But the best fix of all is her boyfriend, Dylan, whose terminal illness just makes them even more compatible. He’s turning eighteen soon, so Audie is saving up to make it an unforgettable birthday. That means more drug trials than ever before, but Dylan is worth it.
No pain, no gain, Audie tells herself as the pills wear away at her body and mind. No pain, no gain, she repeats as her grip on reality starts to slide….

Raw and irreverent, Placebo Junkies will captivate readers until the very end, when author J. C. Carleson leans in for a final twist of the knife.

My Thoughts:
This book made me feel like I was on one of the trial drugs Audie was taking.  It was crazy and just not at all what I was expecting, but it you it kinda worked.

I will say first that the synopsis is a little misleading.  I totally get why, but I'm sort of shocked that this book is being promoted as a drug trial volunteer taking things too far for her terminally ill boyfriend.  What this book is actually about is so much more intense, so much darker, and so complex.  I think that's why it worked for me, I really fell into the story halfway through when things started to change for Audie and I just couldn't put the book down.  I'm drawn to all things dark and really things don't get much darker than this.  The little glimpses we get throughout the story from a certain persons point of view were just bone chilling and I found myself hoping after each chapter that there would be more. 

I think the story itself was an interesting one.  I can't say I have ever read one like this before which automatically puts it in a fun category, but what really stood out for me was the whole drug trial money making scheme.  I never really thought about all this and after reading Audie's journey I am left wanting to know more about this trial thing.  Do people really do this for a living??  I think in the next few days I will more than likely look into this subject more because I am so intrigued.  When I book makes me want to do research I know I have found a unique read and it's awesome!

The one thing that did bother me a tad was that by the end of the story I felt like there was a certain agenda trying to be thrown at me.  It wasn't too heavy handed but I felt it there in the shadows.  The author gives us a side note at the end saying this wasn't her intention, but I still felt it nevertheless.  I think that should have been left out.  We get to see how terrible these drug trials are for most people without the added few scenes at the end and that was enough for me.  I mean we have all heard the commercials listing millions of horrific symptoms so I didn't really need to hear the campaign against pharmaceutical companies.  I think the message was loud and clear from the get go and so I wish the author would have focused more on wrapping up this dark tale.

All in all I actually really liked this one. It took me for a dark and strange loop, but it totally worked in the context of the story.  I felt for Audie and her predicament and I have to say I love how she went out in a blaze of glory.  No that is not a spoiler I promise, if you read this you will get it I promise. 

Placebo Junkies is for contemporary fans but also for the readers like me that need a side of dark and creepy with their contemporaries.  It will grab you I promise and make you wonder what Audie will do next!

3.5 snowflakes

About the Author:

 J.C. Carleson never intended to be an author. Although she was always a proficient writer of term papers, reports, and other necessary but mundane documents, she didn't consider herself cut out for the creative life.
Nearly a decade as an officer in the CIA's clandestine service changed that.
With her head now brimming with stories of intrigue, scandal, and exotic locales, Carleson was finally ready to give writing a shot. Her fiction and non-fiction works alike tap into her unique experiences, drawing readers into the highly charged, real world of espionage.

 Website / Goodreads / Twitter

 

Review: Shade Me by Jennifer Brown

Shade Me by Jennifer Brown

Publisher- Katherine Tegen Books

Released- Jan 19th 2015

Pre-Order- Amazon / B & N

Nikki Kill does not see the world like everyone else. In her eyes, happiness is pink, sadness is a mixture of brown and green, and lies are gray. Thanks to a rare phenomenon called synesthesia, Nikki’s senses overlap, in a way that both comforts and overwhelms her.Always an outsider, just one ‘D’ shy of flunking out, Nikki’s life is on the fast track to nowhere until the night a mysterious call lights her phone up bright orange—the color of emergencies. It’s the local hospital. They need Nikki to identify a Jane Doe who is barely hanging on to life after a horrible attack.The victim is Peyton Hollis, a popular girl from Nikki’s school who Nikki hardly knows. One thing is clear: Someone wants Peyton dead. But why? And why was Nikki’s cell the only number in Peyton’s phone?As she tries to decipher the strange kaleidoscope of clues, Nikki finds herself thrust into the dark, glittering world of the ultra-rich Hollis family, and drawn towards Peyton’s handsome, never-do-well older brother Dru. While Nikki’s colors seem to help her unravel the puzzle, what she can’t see is that she may be falling into a trap. The only truth she can be sure of is that death is a deep, pulsing crimson.

My Thoughts:

Shade Me, was an interesting whodunit mystery that puts a new spin on your typical thriller. And while this may not be a favorite, it was still entertaining from start to finish. 

Nikki Kill has never been able to fit in, her world isn't exactly like everyone else's. See, Nikki has a rare condition called, Synesthesia. Letters, numbers, objects and even people have a  particular color around them and a particular emotion. So, granted, it was a little hard growing up and hard dealing with school and if that wasn't enough, Nikki also lost her mother when she was little and they were never able to solve her murder. So, Nikki isn't exactly miss popular in school, so why did the most popular girl in school, Peyton Hollis, call Nikki an hour before her attack? Why was she the only contact on her phone and what does this have to do with Nikki Kill?

I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. First off, I had the hardest time connecting with Nikki. From minute one you can feel the attitude and snark dripping from the pages. I get that she's had a hard life and that her condition and her mothers death has made her into this bitter, jaded, distrusting and frustrated person, but it wasn't easy to watch her constantly push people way. However, I did admire her dedication and determination to find Peyton's attacker and I loved the fact that she can totally handle her own in a kickass and confident way. I also really missed my dose of romance, even a light one. I get this was a mystery and most of the time love takes a back seat, but I guess I just didn't care for the insta-attraction we got instead. It was way to fast and there wasn't enough time for a connection or spark between the characters besides the purple-violet-pulsing-glow between them.

Now, what I did like about this book was the concept and mystery. I thought Jennifer Brown did a great job of driving her protagonist into finding clues in coloured hints. It made it more fascinating and unique then your typical whodunit mystery. I also thought the twist was smart and very unexpected. I wasn't exactly blown away with the revelations of who the attacker was, but I was impressed with the motives behind it.

All in all, I thought Shade Me was a decent read. It was a lighter mystery but still has great edge, intriguing characters and smart writing. The ending doesn't exactly leave us hanging, but there are a few loose ends that need to be cleared up, so I might just have to pick up the sequel when it comes out.  An entertaining escape!

Find the author:

Goodreads / Website                                3.5 Snowflakes