Friday, March 11, 2016

Review: The Power by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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The Power by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher- Spencer Hill Press
Released- Feb 23rd 2016
Purchase- Amazon / B & N


With any great change, there is always strife, and the Covenant University has become the frontline between pure-bloods who want the Breed Order reinstated and the half-bloods who want the right to control their own destinies.Fate has other plans.
The violence is escalating and war between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Hyperion may be out of commission, but Josie and Seth know they have only earned a reprieve. Seth must get Josie fully prepared, which means controlling her newfound abilities, and they need to find the other demigods before the Titans do.But the gods are sensing a greater threat.
Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that’s an out-of-control Apollyon. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is not only dangerous to her, but to everyone around them, but letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn’t Seth’s style.
The paths taken in the past are becoming the roads of the future.
Just as chaos breaks out, familiar faces from the past return, complicating the already strained bond between Josie and Seth, and when the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again, but this time Josie might not be able to pull him back.
And when the struggle between power and love becomes the deadliest battleground, there may be no salvation.
My Thoughts:
There is something to say after waiting a year to read this book and go into it like no time has actually pasted. JLA has that gift that she gives to her readers. Where her stories are so filled with exceptional storytelling that your right back in that world pinned on the lives of these characters and never ever wanting it to end. The Power, is another sensational installment in the Titan series that is pitched perfect with punched action, witty characters, laugh out loud moments and dripping with delicious sizzling romance to swoon over.

There is so much going on this time around, but everything is pretty laid out for us to process so it was great to sink into this book and simply enjoy. The Titans are still on the loose and after the demigods, the pure-blood hatred over the half-bloods are at full force and then we have Seth training Josie at the University and helping her control her new found elemental demigod powers. I have to say, I'm loving the storylines here, it's filled with a lot of action and the mythology of it all is amazingly pieced together and thought out and yes, the romance is indeed, hot as hell. But it's all of these characters; Seth, Josie, Deacon, Luke and crew that keep reigning it in. There is also a lot of unexpected character depth that I didn't think was possible, or at least I didn't expect it when it came to Seth. So good!

I'm seeing a different side to Seth that makes me want to hug him. I still want to smack him mind you. A lot. But he's showing us a side to himself that I would never have thought twice when reading the Covenant books. He doesn't actually believe he deserves happiness or even to be loved. Dame. I knew he felt guilty for Alex's fate and sure he's never had the best childhood, but Seth has always radiated confidence and power without him using his actual powers. I never expected to see such vulnerability, desperation and this fear in him that quite frankly looks dame good on him. Seth is struggling. He's struggles with the need and want of aether pulling him in, he struggles with his relationship with Josie, what he wants and doesn't want for her and he struggles with his past and his doomed future. But the question is, has Seth really changed? Yes, in ways, but no, I don't think he's changed at all. He wants to be a better person but I think he want to be a better version of himself for Josie and only Josie. It's true, when he's with Josie he's a whole different man. Someone warm and protective and kind (most of the time) but with everyone else....yeah, he's still his old infuriating jackass Apollyon-self. But even though some serious shi...stuff went down in this installment, I still believe that Seth has the power in himself to change for the good no matter what he's done.

I liked Josie in the first book but I think I was still a little unsure about how I felt about her, but she really steps up in this book in the best way possible. I enjoyed her training sessions and even though she isn't exactly mastering elements at first, I loved her determination and spunk. She reminds me of Alex in a lot of ways and one of them is her unwillingness to really hurt another soul, even an evil soul. But eventually Josie gets her confidence and proves that she can more then handle her own. But what I loved the most about her is her undeniably and unshakable faith and belief in Seth. No matter what's he's said or did, Josie is his number one fan. She loves him and that love may be the only thing that can save Seth. I do think she's slightly naive about Seth in certain aspects. I remember what Seth is capable of and so do these other characters, so I would have to agree that Josie, while I admire her belief in the Apollyon, I think needs a reality check when it comes to her Sethie. But, she has hope and yeah, here's to her proving them and me wrong.
As for the other characters, I had a total blast with Luke and Deacon and a couple of other familiar faces that returned from a certain underworld that I went cray-cray fangirling for. Seriously didn't expect to see them and I freaken screamed for joy when I did. Loved every second with them! I was sad to see a great characters die by the hands of a Titan though, but at the same time I was relieved it wasn't someone else. That sounds bad, but if say, Apollo, Luke, Deacon or the obvious four died, I don't think I'd take that very well. Like, at all.

So, the worst thing about this book is waiting another excruciating year to get my greedy reading ready hands on the next installment, cause guys, after that ending?
Dame. Dame. Dammmme! Another epic win for JLA books. She keeps giving us timeless entertainment and kickass characters that are completely freaken amazing. Fans will be begging for more! Bravo!


Find the author:
Goodreads / Website                                  5 Snowflakes

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
This weeks topic is..
Ten Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don't Get

Tina
Pretty much all the characters from:
-Sookie Stackhouse books
-Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Milka
Augustus Waters (while I thought he was alright in the book, the film kind of destroyed him for me...)

Crystal
Barron from Darkfever...too much to say for this one so I'll just leave it at I really don't get it!
Cam from Wait for You...He was just WAY to good to be true and I ended up with 30 cavities after reading this
Sam from Linger...he was way to emo for me!

Arlene
Miles Archer from Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. He was a jerk… That is all…
Travis Maddox from Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. He’s an even
bigger jerk… Okay now I'm really done…

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Review & Giveaway: Some of the Parts by Hannah Barnaby

Published: February 16, 2016
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Purchase Links:  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble
Sometimes bad things happen, and we are not the same when they are over.

For months, Tallie McGovern has been coping with the death of her older brother the only way she knows how: by smiling bravely and pretending that she's okay. She’s managed to fool her friends, her parents, and her teachers so far, yet she can’t even say his name out loud: “N—” is as far as she can go. But when Tallie comes across a letter in the mail, it only takes two words to crack the careful façade she’s built around herself:

ORGAN DONOR.

Two words that had apparently been checked off on her brother’s driver’s license; two words that her parents knew about—and never confided to her. All at once, everything Tallie thought she understood about her brother’s death feels like a lie. And although a part of her knows he’s gone forever, another part of her wonders if finding the letter might be a sign. That if she can just track down the people on the other end of those two words, it might somehow bring him back.

Hannah Barnaby’s deeply moving novel asks questions there are no easy answers to as it follows a family struggling to pick up the pieces, and a girl determined to find the brother she wasn’t ready to let go of. 
My Thoughts
“Maybe this is the ultimate puzzle. Maybe, knowing there are pieces of Nate still in the world, I can find a way to fix what I did.”
A heartfelt story about loss, grief and the road to recovery. Some of the Parts by Hannah Barnaby sacrifices no expense at sharing a poignant story about a girl who tirelessly searches for ways to recover from the death of her brother.

Tallie McGovern lives is very different life than six months prior. She’s working at a job that requires little engagement from her. Her friends are no longer a part of her life, and mostly importantly she attends a grief counseling group at school to attempt to find ways to recover from the lose of her older brother.

The accident that took Nate’s life plagues Tallie with an overwhelming guilt because she was driving the car the day it happened. Then, months after that horrific event, Tallie comes across a correspondence that reveals her brother’s organs were donate the day he died. That leads Tallie on a quest, with the help of Chase, to find the organ recipients in an attempt to put the pieces of Nate together and find some comfort in knowing a part of him is still out there.

Throughout the story, I had to keep reminding myself that Tallie was young, grief stricken and well young… Some of her choices would have bothered me if she were older, wiser and in a different frame of mind. For example, I struggled with the lies and deceit that got her through the day, such as going through her dad’s history browser, reading her mom’s journal, skipping class, falsifying who she was to the possible donor recipients and doctors, and pretty much disregarding the two people who really cared about her. I found it ironic that she was upset her father read her email when Tallie was guilty of much worse.

There was a part of the story that I felt was conveniently dropped, and it revolves around her newly acquired friend Mel who has odd interests, such as welding old pieces of farm equipment into dangers sculptures, abstract paintings, and taxidermy. She’s different, but the reason Tallie gravitates to her is because Mel is the only one that doesn’t treat her differently. However, Mel’s true self was never fully explored. She shared something at the end with Tallie (view spoiler) that felt unresolved. I would have liked to see this fleshed out a bit more.

Overall, this story explores the grief of a sibling that harbors intense sadness and guilt over the death of her brother. I appreciated the messages explored throughout the novel. Emotional story…
3.5 Snowflakes
If this sounds like a book you might enjoy, I'm giving away a hardback copy of Some of the Parts by Hannah Barnaby.  Simply fill out the Rafflecopter and share a thoughtful comment. Entries will be reviewed for comments.  Open to US Residents only.

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Saturday, March 5, 2016

Movie Release & Publisher Giveaway: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I am so excited to share this movie release for one of my favorite books of all time!  
Many of you have probably already heard that Me Before You by Jojo Moyes will be hitting the big screen in June 2016. You can bet I will be there opening weekend to see this highly anticipated movie release. 


Enjoy this post to get an overview of the book, my review, movie details, the trailer and a publisher giveaway! 

Published: December 31, 2012
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking
Purchase Links:  Amazon |  Barnes & Noble
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

My Thoughts
Beautiful... unforgettable... heart-breaking. This book will stay with me forever.

Louisa and Will made my face leak. It doesn't happen often and probably won't happen again for a long, long time, but yes this book brought tears to my eyes. Final verdict?? I might not be dead inside. I can safely say that Me Before You will be my pick for Best Book I Read in 2014. Amazing and emotional to such a degree I wasn’t expecting.

You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.

And that is exactly what Will Traynor was doing until a tragic accident left him as a quadriplegic. Before his accident, he was on top of the world, managing a multi-million dollar company and enjoying exotic vacations and dynamic adventures that most of us only dream of. So when his life takes the worst turn anyone can ever imagine, and he’s confined to a wheelchair and dependent on nurses and caregivers around the clock for his basic needs, this character sadly loses his will to live.

When Louisa is hired on for “suicide watch” as Will’s caregiver, she makes it her mission to bring that will to live back to him and teach him to embrace a new life with his reality. She forces him from outside the confines of his home which he hasn’t left in two years, except for doctors’ visits and medical exams. Louisa brings a small semblance of happiness back into Will’s life for the first time since his accident. However, despite the changes Louisa manages to make, his sense of hope and what he wants from life is still in tatters.

Together, they develop a heartfelt relationship that eventually turns into the truest form of love, but sometimes love isn’t enough when you’ve defined your life a certain way and fate has made living to your fullest impossible.

This story really broke me. I was emotional from the very beginning, and as the story continued to unfold, my heart felt like it was carefully coming undone. It was extremely sad to see how a quadriplegic not only has to battle the physical decline of their body as movement is impaired, but also how our world today makes it so difficult for them to access the simplest of places. I never truly knew what a burden they suffer and how much they rely on others for the simple actions I take for granted.

The ending of the story was unbelievable to me. I think I sat there for over an hour stunned and broken. I was not expecting what happened at the end and I applaud Jojo Moyes for her bold storytelling. She refused to sacrifice realism in her fictional world and her execution of the ending was incredible. This story will stay on my mind for a long time and I look forward to picking up other books by this author. She impressed me with her skill of flawless storytelling. Amazed and emotionally moved!
5 Snowflakes
Movie Tie-in Book Edition
Movie Trailer of Me Before You

Exciting news!! The publisher has graciously agreed to give away a copy of Me Before You AND After You by Jojo Moyes to one lucky WinterHaven Books follower. Simply fill out the rafflecopter and share a thoughtful comment about this post for a chance to win. All qualified entries will be verified to include a comment on this post. Open to US Resident only.
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Thursday, March 3, 2016

Review: Dreamology by Lucy Keating

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Dreamology by Lucy Keating
Publisher- Harper Teen
Released- April 12th 2016
Pre-Order- Amazon / B & N


Vibrantly offbeat and utterly original, Lucy Keating’s debut novel combines the unconventional romance of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with the sweetness and heart of Jenny Han.For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together, they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. Real Max is nothing like Dream Max. He’s stubborn and complicated. And he has a whole life Alice isn’t a part of. Getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.Alarmingly, when their dreams start to bleed into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?
My Thoughts: 
Man, I can't seem to wipe this stupid grin from my face. Seriously, I had no idea I'd love Dreamology so much, this was exactly what I needed. It's creative, funny, adorable and the sweetest thing ever. Max and Alice have a very unique connection. They've know each other since they were little kids and grew up exploring the world and creating this amazing bond, but here's the thing, they've never really met. They only know each other from their dreams. That is until Alice and her dad move from New York to Boston and Alice attends Bennett Academy, walks into class and sees the boy of her dreams standing at the door. Max. He's real and it's almost like a dream come true, but it would seem that reality might have a different plan.

Can I just say I'm totally in love with Lucy Keating writing! I absolutely loved how easy it was to sink into this book, her writing is effortless and intelligent. I loved the flow and pace of the story and how everything played out. I kept finding myself  re-reading passages and dialogue multiple times before I could read more, all the while I had a goofy smile plastered from ear to ear. I wasn't sure I wanted to savour this book or devour it in one sitting. I swear, I don't think there is one character that I didn't love. I found it so incredibly refreshing that every character in this book was kind. Flawed, sure, but genuinely nice. I also thought it was wonderful going into a book that wasn't tainted with overly depressing or heart-harded issues. There were moments of sadness, sure, but it was never overly done. Mind you we still have our share of drama and angst, but it was cleverly written and the story always felt light and warm and even magical.

The concept is really quite fascinating and incredibly imaginative. It's a thought provoking story that explores the science and magic behind dreams but it's also a story about family, friends and how to deal with lost. But I think my favorite part of this book were the dreams. Max and Alice's dreams are filled with exotic, wild adventures that are rich, vivid and spectacular. It makes me wish I could dream like that, it was so beautiful. But it was more then how the dreams looked, it was how Max and Alice connected to each other. It took them away from their lonely reality and gave them this dream-like-wonderland, giving them something to hold onto. Each other. Still, Max and Alice find themselves in a very confusing and conflicting situation. It's one thing to know that your dream-childhood friend actually exists, but they have to figure out the why's and how's of it all since it seems that their dreams are bleeding into their reality and their sanity might just be on the line.

There are two versions of Max in this book. Dream Max and real Max. At first, I thought I liked Dream Max more. He's was more spontaneous and silly and well, free, while real Max is more grounded, serious and in control. The back and forth and hot and cold attitude was really killing me and at several points I really wished I could have reached in the book to smack Max straight, but the more I got to understand him, I realized, like Alice, that you can have more then one version of yourself and still love who the person is. As for Alice? I loved her instantly. She's quirky and sweet and I love how alive she always seemed to be despite the issues with her mother and how she clings on to her dreamworld. The romance in this was so flippin' cute. It's those little things that they remembered  about the other that made my heart do flips, it's the tension, banter and uncertainty that made them so irresistible and it was all those dame stolen kisses and tender moments that made me want to read this book forever.
At one point of the story I almost wanted Alice with Oliver. He's this wonderful, funny, carefree guy with contagious energy and a great sense of adventure, but from the start we always knew who owned Alice's heart. I also loved Sophie, she's exactly the kind of support you need and want in a best friend. And last but not least I absolutely loved Jerry and truly believe this book wouldn't be the same without him.

Bottom line, this book was prefect for me. It's the kind of book that just takes you away. It made me think, made me feel and made me laugh and made me smile the entire way through. Loved the concept, the amazing storytelling and all of these unforgettable characters. Instant love and one of my favorite books of 2016. A wonderful debut from Lucy Keating, I greatly look forward to seeing what she comes up with next. She is definitely an author to look out for! Bravo!

Find the author:
Goodreads / Website                                  5 Snowflakes