Review ~ "Frozen" by Erin Bowman

Title: "Frozen"
Series: Taken, #2
Author: Erin Bowman
 
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Published: April 15, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Adventure
Pages: 359
Format: Hardcover
Source: MeL Cat
 
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The Heists were only the beginning.

Gray Weathersby escaped from the primitive town of Claysoot expecting to find answers, but what he discovered shook him to the core: A ruthless dictator with absolute power. An army of young soldiers blinded by lies. And a growing rebellion determined to fight back.

Now Gray has joined a team of rebels on a harsh, icy journey in search of allies who can help them set things right. But in a world built on lies, Gray must constantly question whether any ally—or enemy—is truly what they seem…

Review ~ "Starflight" by Melissa Landers

Title: "Starflight"
Series: Starflight, #1
Author: Melissa Landers

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Published: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Adventure
Pages: 369
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought

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Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

Top Ten Tuesday #54: Ten Bookworm Delights

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 
This Week's Topic:

Ten Bookworm Delights

 

1.

Seeing people pick up a book you love at a bookstore.

 

2.

Seeing people read a book you love in public.

 

3.

Watching the mailperson drop off a package that you know is a book. (I'm not creepy. I promise.)

 

4.

Tearing said package open and squealing like a sugar-crazed toddler.

 

5.

Smelling said book.

 

6.

Stroking said book.

 

7.

Barely opening said book as to not break the spine.

 

8.

When the title is referenced in the book.

 

9.

Finding a book that's not popular that you absolutely love. (It sucks that not many people know about it, but it's like the book is your little secret.)

 

10.

Saying: "Just one more chapter" 20 times until you reach the end of the book and it's 3 AM.

There are so many other things that I could say that make my little black, shrunken heart feel a tiny bit of life. I've been incredibly stressed the past couple of months, so creating this list has made me feel a little better, even if it's just thinking about the bookish things I love.

 

What are you bookish delights?

Review ~ "Never Fade" by Alexandra Bracken

Title: "Never Fade"
Series: The Darkest Minds, #2
Author: Alexandra Bracken
 
Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Tumblr ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest 

Published: October 15, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 512
Format: Hardcover
Source: MeL Cat
 
Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
 

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

Blog Tour ~ "Once Upon a Dream" by Liz Braswell

What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dreammarks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.

It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

Most fairytales have a ‘moral to the story’ – do these re-writings also have a message for readers?

There’s an old quote by Samuel Goldwyn about this sort of thing. Allegedly he told one of his producers that when it came to movie making “If you want to send a message, use Western Union.” Which is both funny and heartbreaking at the same time. 

Everyone writes for different reasons and certainly you can write a fun story with no moral or message in it whatsoever… But there is, however, a third option: you can include a message without beating the reader over the head with it. Readers will have to judge for themselves how successful I have been with that. 

SPOILER ALERT:

Once Upon a Dream is really about being trapped in depression, something that affects far too many teens, especially teen girls. One of the most tragic aspects of depression is that the solutions and exits to whatever problem the victim feels mired in may seem obvious to outside observers (Prince Philip, eg)—but don’t even occur to the person who is affected. It takes a staggering amount of strength to overcome the feeling of impossibility of everything, to grab life by the horns and take charge.

This book is Aurora Rose’s journey through that grey haze of lassitude and sadness and how, with a little help from her friends—and even enemy!—she manages to pull herself out and become the queen she was meant to be.


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After the sort of introverted childhood you would expect from a writer, Liz earned a degree in Egyptology at Brown University and then promptly spent the next ten years producing video games. Finally she caved into fate and wrote Snow and Rx under the name Tracy Lynn, followed by The Nine Lives of Chloe King series under her real name, because by then the assassins hunting her were all dead. She also has short stories in Geektastic and Who Done It and a new series of reimagined fairy tales coming out, starting with A Whole New World—a retelling of Aladdin.

She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, two children, a cat, a part-time dog, three fish and five coffee trees she insists will start producing beans any day. You can email her at me@lizbraswell.com.

Top Ten Tuesday #53: Ten Bookish People You Should Follow

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 
This Week's Topic:

Ten Bookish People You Should Follow

1.

Sarah K.~She's super nice, writes great reviews, and makes amazing book trailers!

2.

Mish~She's so sweet and her blog is glorious!

3.

Karina~She has a fantastic blog and her bookstagram is stunning!

4.

Nori~She's one of the nicest bloggers I know and is incredibly creative!

5.

Ashley~While I'm not on Wordpress (hopefully one day I will), she gives amazing advice for that platform and has a great blog!

6.

CJ~She's super cool and I've been lucky enough to meet her in person, and her blog not only has an awesome name, but has a ton of great features (including discussions of character psychology)!
 
7.

Shannon~She's really nice and her posts are so much fun and have awesome graphics!
 
8.

Melissa~She's super sweet (and an amazing Clan leader) and has a great blog with her two co-bloggers.
 
9.

Jamie~She's been blogging for years and is a huge inspiration for me and is one of the creators of this weekly meme!
 
10.

Alexa~She's another blogger that's been a around for a while and is another inspiration. Plus she created the #opsupportgroup, and if you read The Orphan Queen, you know it was needed.

There are a ton of bloggers that you need to follow, so if you aren't following these ten, then you need to NOW!