Review: Genius by Leopoldo Gout

Genius by Leopoldo Gout 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: May 3rd, 2016
Purchase: Amazon

Trust no one. Every camera is an eye. Every microphone an ear. Find me and we can stop him together.

The Game: Get ready for Zero Hour as 200 geniuses from around the world go head to head in a competition hand-devised by India's youngest CEO and visionary.

The Players:
Rex- One of the best programmers/hackers in the world, this 16-year-old Mexican-American is determined to find his missing brother.
Tunde-This14-year-old self-taught engineering genius has drawn the attention of a ruthless military warlord by single-handedly bringing electricity and internet to his small Nigerian village.
Painted Wolf-One of China's most respected activist bloggers, this mysterious 16-year-old is being pulled into the spotlight by her father's new deal with a corrupt Chinese official.

The Stakes: Are higher than you can imagine. Like life and death. Welcome to the revolution. And get ready to run.

My Thoughts:
Genius was definitely not my normal read, but you know what I totally got into it.  It was for the most part fast paced and really got me thinking about technology.

I think the author did a great job at keeping his readers connected to the characters.  Genius is told through three POVs Painted Wolf, Rex, and Tunde.  These are our main characters and I think they fit pretty well.  I had a hard time connecting with Tunde and I think it's because his chapters felt cold.  This is a shame because his story was the one that was most devastating and one who the most to lose.  I liked him but his voice didn't work for me.  I also found that when the author would break into Tunde's chapter with what I am guessing is language from Tunde's culture it totally killed the chapter for me.  I didn't understand it and it wasn't because it was in a different language like Spanish or French.  Nope it was English, but the wording and spelling totally threw me off and I didn't like it.  Maybe if this strange language would have been explained I could have let it go, but as it is I'm left feeling nothing but confusion. 

Painted Wolf and Rex definitely made up for what connection I was lacking with Tunde.  I found them both incredibly intriguing and very fun to read.  They both brought something different to the table and it was really fun watching them work their mad skills.  When they all finally got together everything clicked into place and it was explosive.  They were all brilliant and I found myself drawn in to the story even more.  Was it realistic, not to my knowledge but you I have learned to let those things go with these types of books.  I mean they are meant to be fun right?  What's fun in being completely accurate??  Give me mad genius coders, special badass spies, and brilliant inventors!!

I will say that I loved how the author took his book down a level with the way he went about the competition. I am very high strung person and I know if I had to read the last half of the book worrying if these three characters were going to win would have killed the book to me.  It's too much pressure and I think letting the Game rule the book would have taken away from the bigger story line.  Some will disagree with me and I get that, I understand a lot of people like the fast, furious competition story lines, but I'm not one of them so I liked that he chose to go about the Game the way he did.  The competition is still in there, it's just not as important in the end as you think.

All in all I have to say this one was fun.  I think the sequel if there is a sequel will be a lot of fun because this one did end in a cliff hanger that was crazy!  I would definitely pick up the sequel because like I said it was a crazy ending and also because we finally got to see what Painted Wolf could do.  It's her turn to shine and I can't wait!

4 snowflakes

 

 

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: The Novice by Taran Matharu

The Novice by Taran Matharu

Publisher- Feiwel and Friends

Released- May 5th 2015

Pre-Order- Amazon / B & N

When blacksmith apprentice Fletcher discovers that he has the ability to summon demons from another world, he travels to Adept Military Academy. There the gifted are trained in the art of summoning. Fletcher is put through grueling training as a battlemage to fight in the Hominum Empire’s war against orcs. He must tread carefully while training alongside children of powerful nobles. The power hungry, those seeking alliances, and the fear of betrayal surround him. Fletcher finds himself caught in the middle of powerful forces, with only his demon Ignatius for help.As the pieces on the board maneuver for supremacy, Fletcher must decide where his loyalties lie. The fate of an empire is in his hands. The Novice is the first in a trilogy about Fletcher, his demon Ignatius, and the war against the Orcs.

My Thoughts:

The Novice, is a fun filled high fantasy adventure that was an impressive entertaining escape. I had a lot of fun reading this book and really enjoyed the concept. It has it's share of politics and war between the commoners, nobles and fantastical beings such as; orcs, elvens, germlines, summoners and demons, but the flow and pace of the story was even and always intriguing, the world building was rich and vivid, the writing was crisp and the character were all witty and wonderfully likeable.

Fifteen year old, Fletcher Wulf was abandoned at the gates of Pelt when he was just a baby, but was raised by Berdon, the villagers blacksmith when no one else would take him in. He's never forgiven his mother for leaving him, but he's got a good home where he is given affection and respect and even though some of the villagers are arrogant, Fletcher can more then handle his own. But his whole life changes the moment he receives a parting gift, a Summoner's book. When Fletcher manages to summon a rare demon and gets in some trouble, he finds himself landing at the Vocans Adept Academy where he will learn spellcrafting and be trained as a battlemage.

A little LotR, some GoT and a dash of HP, this particular escape has just about everything I love in a fantasy book. Though, for those who know me wont find it surprising that my favorite part of this book was the academy. I have a thing for academy books and this one is just as fun as I imagined . I loved learning along with Fletcher and the students about how to connect, control and channel their demons, the history, the Ether and the magic of it all.  It was really cool to see the training and different races throughout the school while Matharu throws in a few twist and turns to keep it suspenseful, gripping and exciting. I also really enjoyed the characters, Fletcher, Genevieve, Rory, Othello and Sylva and of course all their demons, but Ignatius was my favorite. They all brought something fun and unique to the storyline. The ending left us on a bit of a cliffy, so I'm really looking forward to the next book and there isn't any really romance in this one, but the action and intrigue more then makes up for it that it's not an element I missed.

In all, The Novice turned out to be a great story that combines fantasy, paranormal and magic that was intense, captivating and wildly entertaining. This was indeed a promising start to a series I greatly look forward to continuing. Well done!

Find the author:

Goodreads / Twitter                               4  Snowflakes

Giveaway!  The wonderful people at Macmillan have graciously offered to send one lucky reader their very own copy of The Novice!  Enter for a chance below!
US Only
a Rafflecopter giveaway

To find out more about Novice visit these links which include an excerpt!

-Become a fan of the series on Facebook.

-Read an excerpt!

-Follow Taran Matharu on Twitter.

-Discover novellas and more content on Wattpad!

Be sure to visit the rest of the tour stops!

Tuesday May 5

Bookish Antics

Wednesday May 6

A Life Bound By Books

Thursday May 7

SciFiChick

Friday May 8

MundieMoms

Monday May 11

WinterHavenBooks

Tuesday May 12

Forever Young Adult

Thursday May 14

MacTeenBooks Blog

Friday May 15

Working for the Mandroid

Review: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstien

Becoming Jinn (Becoming Jinn #1) by Lori Goldstein
Expected publication: April 21st 2015
by Feiwel & Friends 

Forget everything you thought you knew about genies! 
Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit. To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny. Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, She realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.

My Thoughts

A Jinni who just got her powers coming into her own yet she is much more powerful than even her Zar sisters could imagine! Sounds promising right?? If only that was the way it actually played out. Instead the blurb should have read this. Selfish teen isolates herself from family and friends and mopes about when she finally is able to do some good in the world with granting wishes. Okay so maybe that is a bit harsh but when you dislike the M.C. as much as I disliked Azra, it's hard to be diplomatic while writing a review.  Let me explain a bit.

The blurb made this book sound very different to my ears. I don't quite know what i was expecting but it wasn't this high school drama that I got. I thought I was in for tons of Jinni politics and watching a new Jinn learn to harness this colossal power that she suddenly has. There was some politics involved for sure and Azra does have more power than most but the execution of this plot line was distinctly lacking. Choppy writing aside let's discuss the plot. Azra becomes a full jinn on her 16th birthday, She is definitely not pleased by this. She wakes up suddenly gorgeous with long hair, flawless skin, even a perfect manicure...aesthetically perfect in everyway possible and all she can think to do it bitch about it. GIRL OWN IT!! You knew your whole life this was coming.

Azra's mother is a very powerful "model" jinn so she feels a ton of pressure to live up to her mother's expectations. Instead of trying to bond with her Zar "sisters", other Jinn who come into their power the same time & will be linked to her for the rest of her life, all Azra does is isolate and exclude herself from them, then sits around and mopes and complains how she has no friends. I get that you may not feel like you have to much of a bond with them but if you don't speak to them and avoid all of their special 16th birthdays you can't be mad when they are not thrilled to be at yours. She has a backstory of some traumatic stuff but it just never felt genuine enough to rationalize her behavior with her family and sisters.

Once the wish granting starts all Azra can seem to do is stumble further and faster into trouble than she ever thought possible. If there is one thing I can't stand in a character it's impulsiveness. Sometimes this quality can be endearing when the person really does have best interests at heart but in Ezra's case, its sheer laziness and stupidity that get her into most of her jams. Let me give you an example... the time sent a tired woman on a vacation instead of doing her background work & realizing the reason she was so tired was from her newborn child whom Azra did NOT send on vacation with her mother. I'm sorry but if you don't follow the rules and mess things up you don't have a right to feel sorry for yourself. If you push away your friends and steal from them, you don't get to mope about how no one likes you and how you have nothing in common with them. Azra is immature and selfish, blaming everyone else for her problems. She even goes so far as to lash out at her mother for "not telling her" what the consequences of rule breaking would be. There was much room for growth and very very sadly I saw very little if any.

As if this issue didn't rub me raw, let's go ahead and add an absolutely POINTLESS love triangle. The plot could have gone exactly the same as it did if she was just friends with this "gentleman" the entire book. I usually do not mind triangles, if they further the story somehow or at least give the M.C. some much needed perspective. This was not one of those triangles.
The on shining spot in this story was the rich descriptions of how the Jinn use the powers and where the jinn originated.

I was so very excited by the prospect of another amazing Jinni book since I feel it is one troupe in YA that has not been done to death. Some of my close friends enjoyed this book so I guess it is all a matter of perspective. Once I dislike an M.C. this way its hard for me to reconcile the remainder of the book. I will give this 2 snowflakes out respect for the creative history and Jinni culture. This high school petty drama is not for me.

2 snowflakes

Blog Tour Interview, Giveaway, & Review: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Today on WinterHaven Books I am super excited to be participating in the blog tour for Josephine Angelini!!  I absolutely adored Trial by Fire and yes I am still squeeing over Josephine joining us today!!  I also have a very special giveaway to share with you at the end!!  First though check out her answers to my questions!  Love love love her answers!!!

Welcome Josie!!

1. The world you created was incredibly unique, how did you come up with the idea?
When I’m worldbuilding I always try to make it feel like it’s real, so everything has to be there for a logical reason. The parallel world that I created for the WorldWalker Trilogy was shaped mostly by the system of magic that I developed for that world. First I had to develop the magical system, and then I sat down and thought about what kind of world would be the result of people having that particular skill set.
For example, if magic made licorice out of nothing, than licorice would be a really cheap, and as a result, people would probably live in houses made of licorice, or their cars would run on licorice, or something like that. People make use of what’s around them, and economies, technology, governments, and architecture come out of that. That’s where I start when I create a world—on what’s handy. Simple and logical is always best, and strangely, it can also be a source of originality.

2. If you could be Lillian or Lily which would you chose and why?
Lily, for sure. I feel bad for Lillian. After all, she is the one who lost Rowan.

3. Tristan was a horrible best friend to boyfriend character! I honestly wanted to punch him for Lily! Does he serve a greater purpose in the sequel??
It’s so funny that you had such a strong negative reaction to him! When I finished the first draft I was so surprised when all of my beta readers loved him. They were all expecting Lily to be with Tristan and I couldn’t figure out why. I don’t think Tristan is a bad person, but he’s still immature in the first book. I think it has something to do with the “first guy” principle in YA.
Usually, the first guy we meet in a YA book is assumed to be the one the girl ends up with, but I rarely find that in life. Usually a girl’s first love is a disaster! I wanted to write something that was closer to life. And, to answer your question—yes. Tristan is very important throughout the series.

4. I could honestly gush about your book for days and days! What book have you gushed about recently?
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed it that much! Recently I’ve been recommending Storm Siren by Mary Weber. It’s a really strong debut book, and I LOVE the heroine.

4. Can you tell us a little about the sequel? I'm dying to know something..anything!!
How to do this without giving anything away? I will say that in Trail of Tears we learn a lot more about Lillian, and maybe even come to agree with her. And the love story in the second book gets way steamier.

Thanks Josie for stopping by!

Find the Author:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Trailer / Series Website /  

I have to say that Josie's answer for my Tristan question really blew me away and made me love this book even more.  Such a unique and realistic way of writing a character!  I cannot wait to see what happens with him! 

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Purchase: Amazon

Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted...which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.

Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

My Thoughts:
Macmillan has these books called Fierce Reads and for so long I just thought they were books that have fierce heroines, but now after reading Trial by Fire I understand what a Fierce Read actually is.  This book brought out the fierceness in me.  I wanted to fight for Lily and Rowan, I wanted to just jump right inside this book and fight with all the fierceness my bookies have.  So Fierce Reads aren't just talking about the books characters, which let me assure you Lily and Rowan were two of the fiercest characters ever, they are talking about bringing out the readers inner Fierce and pulling them into a story they will never forget.

Trail by Fire starts out..okay I am just going to say it bad.  Tristan is a horrible childhood BFF/crush ever!  I normally love the childhood friend turn to boyfriend angle but man this guy was just mean and I wanted to kick him out of this book!  Without his stupidity though Lily wouldn't have given in and decided to leave her world though so Tristan did serve a purpose even though I hate to admit it.  I'm glad to also say that his doppelganger was better, but I have a very real suspicion that he will still turn out to be a dirtbag.  When Lily suddenly turns around and finds herself in another version of her world she has no idea what to do.  Her life has always been a little crazy, but this was an all new brand of crazy for her.  She quickly learns that she will have to adapt to her new surroundings before she can find her way home. With doppelgangers, witch craft, multiple versions, and willstones this story is an adventure that takes Lily a girl who could barely keep herself alive to a girl who is one of the strongest witches and can change the world.

I loved this and I don't mean love as in think about the story a bit and then put it back up to never really think of again. No I mean I fiercely love this story to where I will buy a physical copy and pet it everyday and reread my favorite passages for years.  Yes I loved it that much.  It is such a unique spin on witchcraft and omg the world is just amazing!  This author weaves in science and really makes the reader think.  You find out later in the story the reason why Lilian (the original Lily in the new world) brings Lily into her new world and I get it.  We don't know everything because well this is the first book in the trilogy so there is a lot more to come, but we do know that Lily is there to right a wrong and that Lilian thinks she is right by killing everyone who practices science. See at first I was like that's so wrong, but the more you read you see that Lilian has a reason and while killing people is never the answer you do see her point.  I love books that make me think and this one not only does that it makes me really wonder which side I would want to be on.  The obvious one isn't always the answer and I think Lily may realize this sooner rather than later.

Rowan was *squee* amazing.  After hating Tristan with everything and wishing him a painful death it was such a fun ride to fall for Rowan.  Was he easy to like at first, no but he was no where near as bad as Tristan and you have to give him a little leeway too.  When he meets Lily he thinks she is Lilian and well he hates Lilian for various reasons so he can't trust Lily.  Their relationship grows and oh my what a story that was.  I loved every bit of their interaction and I almost swooned when she claimed him.  You will have to read the story to find out exactly what that means hehe.  Such a great pair!  And there is one scene that literally had me fanning myself!  Sorry had to throw that in there!

This was a book that I didn't want to put down, but at the same time I didn't want to finish it.  I kept reading a chapter and then walking away so that I could savor it. I haven't done that it a very long time, maybe not since Twilight so that should tell you how much I adored this story.  This is my first book by Josephine Angelini but it will not be last that's for sure.  I adore her writing, characters, and world building and I am positive I will love everything she writes.  Yep can't say that about most authors, but for Ms.Angelini I am going to say it and own it!

Blizzard Read!!!!!

Giveaway time!! The wonderful people at Macmillan are giving us one copy of Trial by Fire to giveaway to one lucky reader!  Just fill out the form below to enter.
Open to US/Canada residents only
Good Luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also don't forget to check out all the awesome tour stops that happened this week!  I promise you definitely want to check these out!  Click HERE!

Reivew: Eve and Adam by Kathleen Aplegate & Michael Grant

Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate & Michael Grant
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published on: October 22, 2012
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

And girl created boy…

In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he

My thoughts:
I have had this book on my shelf for awhile and I well I have mixed emotions about it.  Some things were good and some were bad and well some weren't really necessary.

The story is about basically playing God.  If you had the opportunity would you create the perfect person?  Evening, having just been in a horrible accident has to stay at her mothers company.  With nothing else to do to keep her busy while she heals her mom gives her the task of creating a perfect person with the help of software.  What Evening doesn't know is that this software might be more real than she knows.

So this part I liked.  I liked the whole Sci-Fi part of the story.  It sounded like maybe it could happen in the future and I believed all the craziness.  Yes there were some parts that I did eye roll at, but for the most part I was invested in the story and I wanted to know what Evening and Solo (the resident hottie who just happens to want to bring down the whole corporation) would do with certain knowledge.  I do wish that this would have been a bigger part of the story.  It is the main plot, but it takes a back seat to the friendship between Evening and her BFF.

Evenings friendship should not have been such a big deal in my opinion.  All the added drama wasn't needed and it didn't add anything to the story.  Evening and Solo risk their lives to help Aislin and her druggie boyfriend only to have to keep helping him.  If Aislin and her boyfriend were taken completely out of the story nothing would have changed.  It felt like filler and when the book is already under 300 pages you can't have filler.  I wanted to know more about project Adam and Solos parents and well just everythng except for Aislin and Madoox.

I'm going with 3 snowflakes for this one because I did enjoy the main story and for once *raises fists in the air* I read a standalone!  I haven't read one of these in forever it seems so it was nice putting the story down and knowing that it was done.  The ending was a bit rushed but with so much filler I guess it had to be.

3 Snowflakes