May 13, 2015

Review: Winter Falls (Twin Willows Trilogy #1) by Nicole Maggi

Summary-

Alessia Jacobs is a typical sixteen-year-old, dying to get out of her small town of Twin Willows, Maine. Things look up when a new family comes to town, but when she falls for the hot, mysterious son, Jonah, her life turns upside down.
Weird visions of transforming into an otherworldly falcon are just the beginning. Soon she learns she’s part of the Benandanti, an ancient cult of warriors with the unique power to separate their souls from their bodies and take on the forms of magnificent animals.
Alessia never would’ve suspected it, but her boring town is the site of an epic struggle between the Benandanti and the Malandanti to control powerful magic in the surrounding forest.
As Alessia is drawn into the Benandanti’s mission, her relationship with Jonah intensifies. When her two worlds collide, Alessia’s forced to weigh choices a sixteen-year-old should never have to make.

Review-

My one and only complaint about Winter Falls is that it was TOO SHORT!! I wanted more, more, more--More of Alessia and Jonah with their Romeo and Juliet forbidden love, more of Heath the attractive and lonely protector, more of the Malandanti and Benandanti rivalry, and definitely more of the exciting battles to save the ancient magic portals around the world! Luckily, this is book one of the Twin Willows Trilogy. I will be adding the other two to my TBR list.

So if you like mean girls, forbidden love, shape-shifting, and a roller-coaster ride of adventure, Winter Falls is the perfect book for you!!

Publisher-Medallion Press

Reviewer Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Jace Vega has finally landed her dream job—working for Omnibus, an up-and-coming tech firm. But a mysterious message from her future self sets Jace and her old friend Corey racing to piece together clues before Omnibus destroys their future—and their past. This fast-paced thriller will keep you guessing till the very last page.

Review-

Eruption is book one in a series by Adrienne Quintana. And I am EXCITED that there are more books to follow because this first book was amazing! Jace Vega is the protagonist who lives a life full of confusion and misery. Two attractive men like her but she doesn't know which one to trust. Her beloved mother recently died and her father is a cold, military man, only happy with Jace when she is achieving incredible goals. Unfortunately, Jace is a hot mess. She doesn't know how to get close to people, has horrible nightmares about disasters and death, and doesn't know who to trust or confide in.

Author Quintana has woven a tight plot that leaves the reader saying ʺWhat?!ʺ at the end, which, by the way, is a terrific cliff-hanger. Every time the reader thinks that he or she has figured out who the bad guy is and what exactly is going on, Quintana throws a monkey-wrench into the story. It's an exhilarating ride and a very cool sci-fi read. Just imagine charging your tablet by an energy-powered charger embedded into your hand! Or seeing your life in the future, complete with pictures of yourself and loved ones that you haven't met yet. A total five star read!

Publisher-Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!

Summary-

Nothing's simple when you run with werewolves. Jess Gillmansen thinks she's seen it all but her eyes are about to be opened to even more danger and a reality far more paranormal than she's suspected. With Jess's realization that the Rusakovas' mother is still alive and imprisoned, the group's choices become harder and trust more important. Lines are drawn and relationships change as the broken Rusakova family struggles to reunite long enough to free their mother and people who Jess always just took to be normal people show themselves to be much, much more.

Review-

The book is one that I can say I truly liked. When i first started to read it It took me about a week to get about 50 pages in. But after that I finished it in 3 days. When I had free time my face was in the book. causing most people to think I'm a nerd. It surprised me because I wasn't suspecting the turn of event that happen.

Publisher-St. Martin's Griffin

Reviewer Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewed by~Destiny Bethel (Student at Franklin High School)

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Nova Reed can't forget him-Quinton Carter, the boy with the honey-brown eyes who made her realize she deserved more than an empty life. His pain was so similar to her own. But Nova has been coming to terms with her past and healing, while Quinton is out there somewhere, sinking deeper. She's determined to find him and help him . . . before it's too late.
Nova has haunted his dreams for nearly a year-but Quinton never thought a sweet, kind person like her would care enough about a person like him. To Quinton, a dark, dangerous life is exactly what he deserves. And Nova has no place in it. But Nova has followed him to Las Vegas, and now he must do whatever it takes to keep her away, to maintain his self-imposed punishment for the unforgivable things he's done. But there's one flaw in his plan: Nova isn't going anywhere . .

Review-

Brutally honest and real, Saving Quinton is an excellent book for teens to learn exactly how drug addiction can change lives, not just their own but the lives of others around them. Nova and Quinton are star-crossed lovers who meet one summer and fall for each other. Both characters have had people very close to them die in tragic circumstances. Where Nova took the high road, Quinton let his guilt drown him in drugs, very heavy drugs. This book/episode details the demise of Quinton as he loses himself in the world of drugs: prostitution, theft, drug-dealing, guns, and violence.

This book is number two in the Nova and Quinton Series. Book one, Breaking Nova, really should be read first. All of the books are stand-alones but the reader is going to get very involved in this series (like I did!) and will want to know the backstory. So read them in order! Definitely a five star because author Jessica Sorensen draws her readers in and makes them feel the same roller coaster of emotions that her characters are feeling--and THAT is good writing!

Publisher-Grand Central Publishing

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Following the death of her best friend, Iris and her family move to Oregon for a fresh start in this middle-grade story of miracles, magic, rain, hope, and a hairless cat named Charles.

Sixth-grader Iris Abernathy hates life in Corvallis, Oregon, where her family just moved. It's always raining, and everything is so wet. Besides, nothing has felt right since Iris's best friend, Sarah, died.
When Iris meets Boris, an awkward mouth-breather with a know-it-all personality, she's not looking to make a new friend, but it beats eating lunch alone. Then she learns that Boris's very existence is a medical mystery, maybe even a miracle, and Iris starts to wonder why some people get miracles and others don't. And if one miracle is possible, can another one be too? Can she possibly communicate with Sarah again?

Review-

Iris, an 11-year-old girl, has just moved to Oregon from California after her best friend, Sarah's, death. She's in a state of depression and denial so her parents move the family in order to help her heal. Unfortunately, starting a new school in a city that is more rainy than sunny makes Iris retreat into herself and believe that her friend's ghost is with her. Iris becomes friends with a boy she thinks is a freak solely because she's lonely. When she finds out he's some sort of miracle child, according to the Vatican, she begins to be more friendly. She believes that if she can find out that miracles are real, then her best friend's ghost could actually have followed her to Oregon.
There is not a lot of action. Basically, the book follows Iris as she hangs out with her hairless cat, Charles, who is her best friend, goes to a new school, learns to play Magic with Boris, and helps her father raise baby chicks. There is a very good life lesson in the story, though, that makes it a four star book. Iris finally understands that life changes, perhaps miracles happen, and despite tragedies, we all go on living the best we can.

Publisher-HMH Books for Young Readers

Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Jordan Clubbs

Thank you to the author for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!!

Summary-

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.
Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

Review-

This is one of those books that make you feel sad when it's over. Luckily, it's only the first in Janeal Falor's Mine series so I have more awesome reading to look forward to. The story takes place in Chardonia, a mythical city where women are so devalued that they have less status than an animal. They are used and abused for any reason or no reason at all. Unfortunately, the men are mostly warlocks so punishment is inventive and brutal.

Most of the women are submissive in Chardonia are submissive, those that aren't become outcasts. Our heroine, Serena, eldest of fourteen sisters and daughter to a particularly evil and brutal man, begins to question why these laws are in effect and why women aren't equal to men. While she is exploring the possibilities of women's rights, she is falling in love with the 'barbarian' from another country who has worn Serena in a magic tournament.
Falor packs this book with magic, mystery, action, adventure, love, and a subtle look at inequality between the sexes. You Are Mine was such an excellent read that I devoured all 359 pages in two days. Besides a fantastic plot, tormented heroine, and hot, hulking hero, the writing was phenomenal. Falor certainly knows how to entertain! Five stars!

Publisher-Chardonian Press

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Cindi

Thank you to the author for her donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review!!

It's Monday! What Are YOU Reading?

This is a fun meme that allows bloggers to get an idea of what everyone else is reading and perhaps help to find our next must-read. So check out what WE are reading and tell us what YOU are reading!!

Lora is Reading:

Inheritance

(Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday, #1)

by Victoria Wilcox
......

The name Doc Holliday conjures images of the Wild West and the shootout at the OK Corral, but before he was a Western legend he was a Southern son, born in the last days of the Old South with family links to the author of Gone with the Wind. Now this amazing story is told for the first time in a trilogy of novels entitled Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday. The story begins with Inheritance, set during the turbulent times of the American Civil War, as young John Henry Holliday welcomes home his heroic father and learns a terrible secret about his beloved mother. Inheritance is the first novel in an epic tale of heroes and villains, dreams lost and found, families broken and reconciled, of sin and recompense and the redeeming power of love.

(goodreads summary)

......

Cindi is Reading:

The Invisible
(Brokenhearted, #2)

by Amelia Kahaney

......

In the riveting sequel to the reimagined superhero story, The Brokenhearted, Anthem Fleet takes on a powerful new villain and makes some startling discoveries about her family and her past that will forever change her.

Taking up where The Brokenhearted ended, the sequel finds Anthem Fleet attempting to return to a normal life after an experimental surgery that left her with a bionic hummingbird heart and a terrifying new strength. But she can’t shake her suspicions about her father’s connection to the Syndicate and she can’t ignore the cries of help in the crime-ridden city of Bedlam. She finds new promise in her relationship with Ford, but after his lifesaving surgery, the Ford Anthem knew slips away.
When a mysterious new group called “The Invisible” starts attacking the privileged North Siders, Anthem has to step up and be the New Hope that Bedlam needs, or Bedlam will fall…once and for all.

Publishers Weekly called The Brokenhearted an “atmospheric, adventure-laced debut” with “graceful world-building, strong characterizations, and an enveloping plot.” (goodreads summary)

May 5, 2015

Review: See Jane Run by Hannah Jane

Summary-

I know who you are.

When Riley first gets the postcard tucked into her bag, she thinks it's a joke. Then she finds a birth certificate for a girl named Jane Elizabeth O'Leary hidden inside her baby book.
Riley's parents have always been pretty overprotective. What if it wasn't for her safety...but fear of her finding out their secret? What have they been hiding? The more Riley digs for answers, the more questions she has.
The only way to know the truth? Find out what happened to Jane O'Leary.

Review-

I loved this book. It had an unexpected twist. I did not expect her brother to kidnap her nor for her to be sheltered from the situation she was in.

Publisher-Sourcebooks Fire

Reviewer Rating: 5 STARS!!!

Reviewed by~Student at Franklin High School

Thank you to the publisher for the donation of this book to the Read for your Future book program in exchange for a honest review

Summary-

Beautiful Lily Branson learns that her wayward father has lost his Wyoming cattle ranch in a card game to handsome cowboy Jack Sinclair, no less! When a series of deadly winter storms sets in, Lily and Jack must work together to save the cattle—as well as their hearts.

Review-

I've always loved a good historical romance, especially those set in the West--cowboys, Indians, settlers, farmers. Reading about the hardships fought and lands won usually makes a reader appreciate the civility that we live in now. Falling Softly is a historical romance set in the West with an unusual twist. Lily Carteret, the heroine, is mixed race. Of Barbados and British heritage, Lily is beautiful, brave, strong, and on her own in the Wyoming Territory. Her alcoholic father has lost his ranch in a poker game and is now the bookkeeper for another rancher.

Luckily for Lily, she doesn't have to fight a lot of racism. The other people living on the ranch are French, Indian, American, and British. The ultimate melting pot of nationalities that characterized America during the 1800's. As Lily tries to help her father stop drinking, she must also figure out what her new role in this wild country will be. While doing so, she becomes the glue that holds the ranch hands together during an unusually harsh winter.

Very well-written, well-researched, and entertaining story. I hope that our readers will grab a copy of Softly Falling and enjoy it as much as I did.

Publisher-Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewed by~Cindi