Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Published: 2nd October 2012
By: Harper Collins
Source: Purchased copy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Shatter Me was a book that hadn't reached my radar until the wonderful reviews for Unravel Me started to flood in and I decided I needed to see what all the fuss was about.

Unfortunately, this book didn't appeal to me in the same way it did to others. First off, the writing style. I felt it was long winded, drawn out and sometimes just ridiculous. It made Juliette's inner monologue quite tedious, and hindered my building a real likeness for her character. I didn't completely dislike her either. She didn't really bring any strong emotion out in me, except for times when I wanted to shake her.

While I liked Adam, the romance was uninteresting. It just didn't excite me, no goosebumps or chills up my spine. Unfortunately, no swoonworthy moments over Adam. Warner was a lot more passionate a character than Adam.

But, Warner wasn't without fault either. While it was plain that he was an evil guy, it just didn't come through enough with Juliette. His attraction to her was immediate, there was no tension between them. He was mostly nice to her. While he made her use her touch a couple of times against her will, other than that, he was kind of sweet to her. I felt a few mean, aggressive scenes would have worked well here, (yeah, I'm a bit twisted like that lol) and slower build up to him falling all over Juliette would have made things more interesting for me.

Kenji, in my opinion, was the star of this book. A light hearted character who brought some humour to an otherwise bland read. It always surprises me how one character can completely change the dynamics of a book. But with Kenji, came some fun and banter, which up to this point, was sorely missing. And my interest in this book increased in folds once Kenji took them to his 'safe place'.

Despite my negativity about this book, I do feel there's an underlying good plot. I plan to pick up Destroy Me soon as I feel Warner's head might be an interesting place to be. And then, Unravel Me. I'm interested in seeing what other gifts people are going to have and finding out some other things that I was left wondering about. One being Adam and his brother. Maybe I can block out this dreadful writing style somehow and just get to the roots of the story.

I've had Shatter Me on my shelf for a while now and chose now to pick it up as part of a challenge I'm taking part in with the NTOFYAB group on Goodreads. If it wasn't for this, I doubt I would have finished this book as I felt it really waned in the middle and I had really little interest in reading it. I had to force myself to pick it up.

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Purchase links: The Book Depository/Amazon

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Angelfall by Susan Ee

Published: 23rd May 2013
By: Hodder & Stoughton
Source: Publisher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Angelfall is an angel book unlike no other. Six weeks ago, the angels arrived and earth as we know it has been destroyed. The angel who led them here was shot on arrival, now none of them seem to know why they're there, or what's going to happen next. Gangs now roam the streets during daylight hours, looting stores, houses and anywhere else they can find food and supplies. There's a danger of being killed by a gang member by day, and at night, even the gangs are scared to venture out to the streets.

Penryn decides to avoid the gangs and take a change with whatever's out there at night as she makes a break for it with her schizophrenic mother and disabled sister Paige, leaving their home in search for somewhere safer. When they come across an angel being attacked and having his wings cut off, and one of the attackers flies off, taking Paige with him, Penryn has to ally herself with the injured angel in order to get her back. If he takes her to Aerie to save Paige, she'll help him getting there by foot, something entirely new to him now that he can no longer fly, but hopes that someone there can fix his wings.

Penryn is a tough girl, having looked after her mother and sister since their father left them. And after being enrolled in every form of self defence lesson possible, for protection against her mother, Penryn is putting them to good use and herself and Raffe save each other several times on their journey to San Francisco.

Raffe, the angel, doesn't see himself as evil, or the enemy, though he doesn't seem to have very much interest in humans. He doesn't volunteer too much information about himself as they travel, though we do get some hints to more once he reaches Aerie. I'm looking forward to finding out more about him in the sequel. The interactions between Raffe and Penryn were fantastic, I found myself reading some pages twice just to absorb it fully.

There's already been so many fantastic reviews written for this book that I feel there's little more that I can add. I found excitement on every page, and didn't want to leave it out of my hands. There's no cliffhanger and no love triangle, just fantastic writing and a brilliant story that'll keep you glued to the pages.

So, what are you waiting for? If you haven't already done so, then read this now!!! If you don't love it, I'll eat my hat lol.

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Buy: The Book Depository/Amazon UK

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Netgalley/Edelweiss Month with Book Passion for Life

I decided to take part in this Netgalley/Edelweiss month because I have so many review books to get through and this would give me a little bit of a kick. I still have books from 2012 so I'm really behind. I'm also taking part in a challenge for the month of May with a "Villains we Love to Hate" theme. I would love to be able to combine these two but I'm not sure if any of the review books I have would qualify, and I don't want to read reviews and risk spoiling any of them. So, I'm going to ask you, my lovely readers, for some help. If you have an extra minute, could you please look at my list of books below, and if you've read them, let me know if they'll fit with my challenge. I thank you all so much :)

Netgalley/Edelweiss Shelf

So, anyway, here are a list of books that I definitely plan to read

    

   

I'm looking forward to each of these books a lot. 

Are you taking part? If you are, leave me a comment to your post/shelf so I can see what books you plan to read this month.

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Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi

Published: 8th January 2013
By: Atom
Source: Gifted

My rating: 4.5 stars

Through the Ever Night is a fantastic sequel to Under the Never Sky. Aria and Perry have spent some months apart, and we see them reunited. Perry takes Aria back to the Tides, of which he's now the Bloodlord. While hoping that his people will accept Aria, he's doubtful. But I don't think he has any idea how bad it'll actually be.

We learn more about the cause of the devastation of the world. About three hundred years before, a solar flare corrupted the earth's magnetosphere, causing the aether storms, and bringing about the Unity, where through a form of lottery, people were brought onto the pods, the rest being left to fend for themselves outside. But now, with an increase in the storms, which sees them occur more frequently, even in summer, not even the pods are safe anymore.

Farms and woodlands are being destroyed cutting off the food source, and the ocean is not much safer for the fishermen. Things are very difficult for Perry, and with the Tides perceiving him to have chosen Aria over them, Perry knows he needs to find a safe place for what remains of his tribe. Being Bloodlord is a lot harder than he expected.

There's a race on for the Still Blue. A rumoured place with blue skies and no aether storms. Outsiders and dwellers alike want to find it. But it seems only the lucky ones will make it, the rest are being left behind. An awesome rescue sees the two groups having to come together and I can't wait to see the results.

At times I was anxious read this book. Perry and Aria are separated again and I worried a love triangle was on the cards, in the form of another girl for Perry. If this had been the case, I honestly don't think I could have continued on with this book, it would have been too frustrating. I had to stop reading and look to Goodreads friends for confirmation, and thankfully, no love triangle forms. Sometimes, I can enjoy a love triangle, but this most definitely wouldn't have been one of those times.

Soren, who we hadn't seen since the beginning of Under the Never Sky makes a reappearance in this book, and I found him quite enjoyable. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the future, he has great potential as a guy I'll love to hate lol.

This series has become a firm favourite for me. I love the world that Veronica has developed and I love the characters that she's brought to life. I'm already looking forward to reading these books again.

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The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Published: 7th May 2013
By: Penguin UK
Source: Publisher

My rating: 5+ stars

How can I describe a book with words, when there are no words to describe how fantastic this book was. From the first time I read the blurb of The 5th Wave, I wanted it.

The earth has been visited by aliens, and they don't come in peace. And it's not like in the movies, where prominent cities are destroyed but we fight back with nuclear weapons and then we win, no the humans are losing. 7 billion of us are already dead, we're extremely close to becoming extinct, which is apparently, the plan.

The 1st wave hit 11 days after the ship appeared above. After a 2nd, 3rd and 4th wave, the few humans who are left, are waiting on a 5th wave, with no idea what it's going to be. They've turned us against each other. The aliens are now in the guise of humans. There's one rule; trust no one!

Cassie believes she may be the last human left on the planet. She's alone in the woods, believing her father and brother to be dead, her mother having been killed by the 3rd wave, an airborne virus, The Red Death. But a promise made to her brother keeps her going. With his teddy bear in hand, she won't give up until she finds him. Through flash backs into Cassie's past, we glimpse how she was affected by the previous waves. Sitting in school when the 1st wave came, not realising it would be the last time she'd ever see her best friend, her mother's death, leaving home with her father to search for other survivors, and maybe a safer place to survive.

This book isn't just told from the POV of Cassie, though her's is the main voice, we also have the POV from Ben Parish, who was once Cassie's crush, but who has now been taken to an army barracks and trained to fight. And the POV of little Sammy, Cassie's five year old brother, who has been taken to the same place as Ben. There's also an interesting POV from a Silencer, the 4th wave, a silent killer, named Evan Walker. I enjoyed each and every one of these perspectives, but I always looked forward to coming back to Cassie. She is tough, she is snarky and sarcastic, adding a touch of humour to an otherwise dismal narrative. These characters are all doing what they can to survive this hopeless situation, but they aren't very optimistic that they will survive for too much longer.

Yancey built the world around these characters flawlessly, easily going from past to the present, and voice to voice without affecting the flow of the story. I don't usually enjoy books that dip into the past and back again, but it really worked for me here. I loved how he effortlessly brought all these characters together at the end. Myself, I found the ending to be quite traumatic, and as I finished up reading this book, I was left with a feeling of despair.

To say I loved this book is probably an understatement, if you haven't picked it up already, you really need to. It's my favourite book of 2013, so far.

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Buy: The Book Depository/Amazon

About this author
aka Richard Yancey

Rick is a native Floridian and a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago. He earned a B.A. in English which he put to use as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. Inspired and encouraged by his wife, he decided his degree might also be useful in writing books and in 2004 he began writing full-time.

Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.

Website/Twitter

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Blog Tour: Day After by Emi Gayle - Excerpt and Giveaway

Published: 6th May 2013
By: J. Taylor Publishing
Series: The 19th Year (Book #2)

Demon crypts. Vampire lairs. Glowing angels. Sexy sirens. The stuff of fiction.
Or so Winn Thomas always thought.
Since being accepted into the fold of the supernatural, he knows better. None of what he imagined is true, but everything he feared is, and binding himself to his Changeling girlfriend until her nineteenth birthday will give him an education far beyond what he’d get at his human high school.
Luckily, Winn’s not giving up, he won’t back down, and he definitely isn’t going to run away with his tail between his legs. After all, only werewolves have tails. Right?
In this, the second of the 19th Year trilogy, Winn’s facing the challenge of one lifetime. If he doesn’t learn the truth about mythological creatures, his girlfriend Mac Thorne won’t either. That means, in six months, when she chooses her final form, she won’t know what to pick.
Winn, though, has his own ideas about Mac’s final selection—plans she knows nothing of.
He intends to have her pick human.
Whether she can or not.

Excerpt
Sitting in front of the twelve most powerful non-humans on the earth would have shaken a lesser guy. In my case, I’d almost thrown up. Twice.

‘Don’t worry,’ Mackenzie Thorne, my girlfriend, had said. ’'It’s just a formality.

She hadn’t known I’d have to go alone.

Only the intake and exhalation of air in the room made any sound. Eerie light flickered from the tips of candles mounted along dark, oak-paneled walls.

I refused to look anywhere but ahead of me. To the long, wooden, medieval-length table.

Waiting.

Watching.

Holding my own breath.

For a moment, it seemed the walls began to close in on me.

At almost midnight on the first day of the year, I prepared to accept a fate no other human had ever taken on, been given or even offered. In response, sweat pooled under my armpits as alternating cold and hot ran through me.

The scratch of wood against wood had heads turning. Mine included.

Nahir, the oldest of the twelve, rose from his chair. “Winford Richmond Thomas, please rise.” His voice had a gravelly, hoarse sound.

I did as requested, my knees pressing against each other.

Nahir moved closer to me, his grandfatherly, human form disappearing under protruding scales of deep green. His arms lengthened into dinosaur-like paws and hit the rock floor, making the room around us shake. Thick wings extended from his body, and a tail lashed out against the wall behind him, rattling the candles.

A dragon, in the color of tropical ocean water, stood before me, huffing air from horse-sized nostrils.

Oh. God. I’m going to die.

Not going to die. It’s part of the test. Remember, you have to see them all. Mac’s words flowed through my mind.

Keep breathing.

“Master Thomas.” Josie, a siren and one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met, rose, her long flowing gown matching the color of her reddish-gold hair. I couldn’t help but stare at her. “You’ve been asked by our current changeling, Miss Maya Mackenzie Thorne, to be her teacher. Have you willingly agreed to take on this duty?” As Josie talked, she stalked forward, shimmering, shifting, the already-pretty woman becoming deadly man-hunting female—according to the legends I’d read.

Vibes ebbed from her like the rocking tide. If she sang, throwing up would be the least of my worries. I’d be dead by sexual self-implosion.

With a rough cough, I gathered my wits. “Yes. I have accepted. Willingly.” Every nerve ending in my body urged me to go to Josie, to let her take me and do with me whatever she wanted. A groan built in my throat, tension straining my limbs, most particularly, my crotch. Not now! The need to shift what grew sent heat to my cheeks even as Mac’s words played through again. Force yourself not to react to any of them. They’ll think you’re stronger than you are since you’re only human.

Only human. Problem number one.

So, let me know what you think :)

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Buy: Amazon/The Book Depository

And a Giveaway :)

Unfortunately, the rafflecopter code wouldn't work for me so for the moment, you can enter the giveaway HERE

About the author:

Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years.

Ironically, those years were some of Emi's favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she's still in love with him to this day. She'll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.

Website/Twitter/Facebook

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Stacking the Shelves #29

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, (and filling our kindle) sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process! Hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews

Hi guys. Hope you're all doing well. It's been a month since I last did a STS post, so I've quite a few books to show you. 

You can click the book title for more information :)

Bought: 

 

The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

For review:

   

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

In the After by Demitria Lunetta

Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Nowhere by Jon Robinson

   

This Girl (Slammed #3) by Colleen Hoover

Blood and Snow (1-12) by RaShelle Workman

Shadow Embraced by Cheree Smith

The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch

  

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Angelfall by Susan Ee

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Gifted:

 

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Alliance by Shannon Dermott and Danyele Johnson

I've already read, and loved, Through the Ever Night, The Fifth Wave and Angelfall. They are three awesome books! 

So, what goodies are on your shelf this week? Leave me your link so I can stop by and check them out.

Thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, Random House, Templar Publishing, Hodder, Shannon Dermott and Eleanor

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