FCSS - Some Awesome Sequels

I am going to share with you some of my favourite Sequels/Series.

 The Riddle by Alison Croggon - Book 2 in the Pellinor series.
I absolutely loved the first book in this series and devoured all the rest quite quickly, full of magic, danger and mystery, these are definite must reads!!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - Book 2 in the Hunger Games series.
I LOVE this series, and for me book 2 was just as good if not better than book 1. I could see what was going to happen for some of it, but i was still hooked and there were a few surprises. Collins is a LEGEND. Check my 'Readings So Far' list for a link to my review.

 
 
 Furnace: Solitary by Alexander Gordan-Smith - Book 2 in the Furnace series.


I read this last year, we were given book one as a nomination for 'Book of the Year' that we hold in our libraries and i was not looking forward to reading it. But once i had started i could not stop, and i very quickly made my way through the entire series. I also got to meet the author as he came to voting day, a special event held for Library Staff, he did a talk and a t-shirt design session.
These books are different and quite dark, but fascinating.

 

Hero.Com - Virus Attack by Andy Briggs - Book 2 in the Hero.Com series.


Again I read book 1 of this series for 'Book of The Year', also read 'Villain.Net' a partner novel. 
This series is amazing, a completely different idea to have tow series written side by side telling both views of the story. I liked the Hero series a bit more though, must be my good nature :D
Very easy to read with exciting plots, i would recommend to anyone.

What are you're favourite sequels???

FCSS - Giveaway!!! Fragile Eternity

I am holding a Giveaway to Celebrate 'First Come Second Served Month, the month where we enjoy those lovely sequels we have sitting around.

All this week i have been enjoying the 'Wicked Lovely' series by Melissa Marr, and writing about Book 3 - 'Fragile Eternity'. Now here is your chance to win a copy.

I also wanted to do a Giveaway when i reached 50 followers, so i thought i would combine it and make it a Double Giveaway - That's right you can win 2 books.

The second book to win is 'Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones' which is also book 3 in that series.

              Both Books are Brand New Paperbacks.  And yes you are seeing it right Skulduggery Pleasant has Blue Page Edges! Isn't it pretty!

The Rules for the competition are:

1) Competition opens Wednesday 8th December
2) Competition closes on Wednesday 15th December Midnight GMT
3) Enter your Name, E-mail and Blog Link in the Linky List Below
4) You must be a Follower to enter!
5) One Name will be selected at random from the list.
6) Contest open to UK & US only
7) Winner will receive both books shown above, and will be contacted by e-mail
8) Winner will have 3 days to reply or another winner will be selected.

Enjoy!!!

FCSS - Waiting On Wednesday Awakened

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where you can post about upcoming books you're looking forward to.

I am most looking forward to 'Awakened' by P.C & Kristen Cast

I signed up to their newsletter on their website which you should visit and check out here
They keep sending me updates, and yesterday they sent a sample chapter and i got hooked in all over again.
 This is released on the 4th January 2011 in the UK and I am counting down the days.

Zoey and the gang are back fighting evil (well, duh, that's what being a High Priestess is all about) but with a variety of romantic intrigues to distract them it's a wonder they can get anything done! Zoey's got some serious work to do at the House of Night if only she could concentrate ... 

 So, what is everyone else waiting for???

 

FCSS - Teaser Tuesday Fragile Eternity

TEAser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles!

My Teasers:

1)

"So she ran - through the streets, across the railroad yard, and to his door. She heard the guards trailing behind her, but she didn't stop to speak to them. Let them think i'm impulsive. All that mattered was reaching Seth."

Page 228 Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

2)

"She left the room and went to check Boomer's heat rock. The snake wasn't coiled in his terrarium."

Page 229 Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

Anyone else got some good Teasers?

The Versatile Blogger Award

So, a comment on my last post notified me that I had won an award. The blogger who gave it to me was Lulu @ The Bookworm is Here Check out her the blog, it rocks!

This is the Award:

There are rules that go along with the award which are:

1. Share 7 things about yourself.
2. Pass the award to 15 bloggers recently discovered.
3. Notify the blogger recipients.
4. Link to the blogger who gave the award.

Here I go:

1) I can purr like a cat. No really!
2) My favourite animals are Tigers
3) I love to make cakes, especially Chocolate
4) I love to write, and would love to be an author
5) I do a sporting activity every night of the week after work (it's amazing i find time to do this!!!)
6) I Love Dragons!
7) I am 22 but still love Disney! You're never too old. :D


Bloggers:
1) Alison Can Read
2) Book Geek Central
3) Daisy Chain Book Reviews
4) Dog Eared & Bookmarked
5) Eep! Geek!
6) Emma Michaels
7) Every Little Thing
8) Forever Young
9) Girls With Books
10) I Swim For Oceans
11) Icey Books
12) Good Golly Miss Holly
13) Lost In Y.A. Wonderland
14) Must Love Books
15) Super Librarian

Thanks for all your great blogs, there are many more i follow, but can't list them all.

FCSS - Fragile Eternity Fantasy Cast

I've never done one of these Fantasy Casts before, but it is something i have thought about. Some books i can clearly picture the characters and who i want to play them. With this book i had some vague ideas, but not sure i'm entirely happy, but here's what I've got:

Aislinn - Brown hair with Golden Highlights.

Michelle Trachtenberg
I really like Michelle and think she would be good at the fiery temper and the sweet lost girl too. She's versatile and has the look.







Seth - Rebel, lots of peircings.

Trace Cyrus
I know he's not really an actor, but he looks the part and could be good.
  






Keenan - The Summer King

   
Alex Pettyfer
What can i say, perfect or what? 










Donia - The Winter Queen

   
Amanda Seyfried
She has the sweet look and i think that she could do the winter queen thing well. 






Leslie - Ash's friend,  

Annasophia Robb
I love Annasophia and think she is a great actress and could play this part very well.









Any other opinions on characters, what about the ones i haven't done? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Book Review - Ink Exchange

Synopsis
After suffering a terrible trauma at the hands of her brother's dealer friends, Leslie becomes obsessed with the idea of getting a tattoo -- it's the one thing that will allow her to reclaim her body, renew her self-confidence. And when Rabbit, her local tattoo artist, shows her a secret book of his own designs, she finds one of them irresistible. Soon, her back is adorned with a pair of mysterious eyes, framed by black wings. Leslie feels good -- more than good. Nothing bad can touch her. But what she doesn't know is that her new tattoo binds her tightly to the faery whose symbol she chose: Irial, the exquisitely dangerous king of the Dark Court!

My Review 

This is set in the same world as Wicked Lovely and sort of carries on, but is from the point of view of Ash's friend Leslie, Her father is an alcoholic and her brother has got into drugs in a bad way and has used Leslie for his own means. Traumatized and embarrassed Leslie looks for an escape, she gets consumed by the need for a tattoo, but when she gets it done it changes her more than she ever imagined it would, as she gets tangled up with Irial of the Dark Court, she has to work out who are her friends and if Faeries really exist.This book is a lot darker than the first, and let's you know a bit more about the surrounding characters like Seth and Niall, however in places i was bored. I found Irial very moany and pathetic for a supposed ruler of a court. Torn between his Court and Leslie he is often confused and miserable, he just got on my nerves a bit.

I can't imagine some of the things Leslie went through, but she also annoyed me in places, one minute she was ignoring everything then getting angry and upset, then saying she feels too much, then when the Dark shadows take her emotions, she moans she doesn't feel enough. In many ways i kept waiting for Ash and Keenan to burst in and rescue her, but it never happened and i found myself disappointed by them, i expected more!

I know it sounds like i am totally negative about this book, but i actually didn't hate it, in the end i rather enjoyed it. I still love the world Marr has created, the way Faeries blur between our world and theirs. I am still wanting more and looking forward to the next installment.

My Rating

I would give this book 7/10. A good read but not the best. worth a go though!

First Come Second Served Month Begins!!!

This is a special Month run by Amber over at 'Down The Rabbit Hole'

It is about reading those sequels that we have sitting on our shelves but never get round to reading.



For my First week of the Month I will be Reading

"Fragile Eternity" by Melissa Marr

After the terrible events of Ink Exchange, the Dark Court has a new ruler. But will Niall's kindness survive his new responsibility to the most violent of Faerie courts? Meanwhile, Seth and Aislinn attempt to mend their relationship. But Aislinn is the Summer Queen and Keenan is her king -- and as summer approaches, their chemistry sparks. Will Seth's mortality lose him the one thing he loves above all others? As Niall seeks to control his new Court, Aislinn attempts to resist the seduction of summer, and Seth searches desperately for the gift of immortality, a delicate balance is threatened, and a terrible plot is revealed!



Head over to Amber's site to check it all out, and look back here everyday for updates and more!

Happy reading. :D

Book Blogger Hop: December 3rd - 6th

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy-for-Books and is an awesome way to for book bloggers to interact and find each other. Such a wonderful idea! There's a new question every week that all the participating blogs have to answer. 


This week's question comes from Marce who blogs at Tea Time With Marce:

 

 "What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"

 

 Ooh this is quite a hard question, but the one that springs to mind is 'Fallen' by Lauren Kate, although it was an ok read, i didn't enjoy it as  much as the hype around it led me to believe i would. I struggled through it in places and found it a bit slow, whereas Torment (book 2) i really enjoyed and sped through. It was a disappointment, if it had just been a book i had plucked off the shelf that i hadn't really heard of, i wouldn't have had such high expectations and i might have enjoyed it more, but as it was so hyped i felt let down.

 

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, go back later and join the fun!  This is a weekly event!  And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added

If you've stopped by my blog from the hop, welcome, it's great to have you here, please feel free to look around, and follow. I will then visit you in turn. :D     

Book Review - Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Synopsis
Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world, and would blind her if they knew of her Sight. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King and has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost! Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working any more, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything. 

My Review
I had read this book before, but it was a very long time ago. I really enjoyed this book and read it quite quickly. The story is well written and it feels magical. Aislinn has always been able to see Faeries, she has grown up trying to ignore their presence, if they knew of her Sight, they would blind her or worse if they knew she could see them. Faeries are always there and she has to try not to panic when she sees them around her or tricking humans, but then she notices two faeries are following her, why are they interested in her? will they ever go away. As Aislinn begins to fall in the faery world she clings onto everything she has. Her boyfriend Seth will do anything to keep her with him, but the Faeries are powerful, especially Keenan the Summer King, who is following Aislinn, hoping she will be his new Queen.
I loved how this was written, the faeries unseen by everyone but Aislinn and yet still there. I could really feel her pain in decisions and the fear of her change. Seth is a great character and so supportive of Aislinn, Keenan got on my nerves a bit, one minute he is self assured and a bit cocky, they next he's whiny and needy. For a King he's a bit of a drip, but i didn't dislike him, and in fact i was hoping things would work out for him.
This was a good read and I want to know more and will read the next one in the series, it's definitely worth a look at. Good for a cold afternoon cuddled up in the warm.

My Rating
I would give this book 7.5/10 - good but not great.