Book Review - The Trouble With Flying

Title: The Trouble With Flying
Author: Rachel Morgan
Release Date: 20th June 2014
ASIN: B00L8A3BMK
ISBN13: 9780992233914

Synopsis
When nineteen-year-old introvert Sarah boards a plane to fly home after an overseas holiday, the last thing she expects is Aiden, the guy sitting next to her who’s never flown anywhere before and refuses to shut up. Hours of random conversation later, they part ways. Sarah can’t stop thinking about Aiden, though, and wondering if she made a terrible mistake letting him go. Should she abandon her safe, predictable life and go in search of him, or would she be chasing a happily ever after that could never exist in real life? 

My Review
I was offered the chance to review this and was sent a copy in exchange for an honest review. Although not my typical read I do like the odd contemporary romance and light read so I agreed and at only 256 pages I thought it was worth a shot.
Sarah lives in Africa but has been in the UK visiting her sister, all she wants now is a quiet journey home. She's very shy and introverted and prays the seat next to her stays empty so she doesn't have to talk to anyone, so when Aiden sits down and begins a long conversation she's frustrated. Aiden has never flown before and has a terrible fear of flying, so he gets Sarah to distract him, talk to him, keep him calm. Although uncomfortable at first Sarah begins to enjoy herself and she feels a connection to him. But when the plane lands they must go their separate ways, after all Africa is a big place - right!?
This book was slightly predictable, it was obvious to me that they would meet up again - otherwise what would be the point of their meeting! But saying that, I enjoyed the inevitability of it and once they did find each other again I enjoyed the development of both of their characters individually and coming together. They both have pasts - we all do, and finding out about theirs was interesting and added a bit of a twist in places.
I really liked Sarah as a character, shy and quiet but willing to try for the right thing and change her life for the positive. In a way she reminded me of myself and I was rooting for her to stand up and take control. She definitely develops throughout the story and I love the character she becomes too.
Aiden is one of those characters you can't help but like right from the start, he may be a bit annoying but he has a cheeky personality with an obvious caring side that you just have to like him. 
The imagery of the book was fabulous, I could picture everything as I read, especially the climb up the mountains, I could almost fool myself that I was there.
So although a very simple book, it was very well written and ended up being a very enjoyable read, I read it all in about 2 hours non stop and it flew by.

My Rating

       

Cover Reveal - Destiny Disrupted

Book Cover Reveal

Today author, Sherry Soule has some exciting news to share with us! The next book in the epic Spellbound series, DESTINY DISRUPTED (older YA paranormal romance) will be published in November 2014.

To help promote these thrilling serial novels, Sherry is doing this guest post to share the news with fellow booklovers.

For information on the Spellbound Series visit: www.thespellboundseries.blogspot.com

Hunting Demons is One Thing…Dating Them is Another.

Life sucks for Shiloh Trudell. And being a demon hunter who’s in love with a cocky half-demon makes things even suckier.

Especially when she discovers that Trent, her sinfully hot boyfriend, is hiding a few dangerous secrets. Like the fact that he’s losing his humanity.

To complicate matters, witches from the local coven are mysteriously turning up dead, and as Shiloh searches for answers, she confronts her worst nightmare…Trent is being blackmailed into becoming the next leader of the Underworld.

But Shiloh is still convinced that she can save him, even after the impossibly gorgeous, fallen angel Raze tells her that a relationship with Trent is forbidden now. Warned to stay away from the only boy she’s ever loved, she can’t ignore the sizzling attraction that ignites whenever they’re around one another. Especially after a swoon-inducing night of stolen passion.

As Shiloh’s world begins to unravel around her, it soon becomes obvious that her destiny lies in one of two choices: vanquish Trent or join him in the Underworld.

DESTINY DISRUPTED (book 5) ASIN: B00OJQHU5O

Pre-Order your copy today and get it delivered to your reading device on November 28th! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJQHU5O

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/destiny-disrupted-1

Apple iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id930482995

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1120565438?ean=2940046330205&itm=1&usri=2940046330205

Please “mark to read” on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13570561-destiny-disrupted

Book Blast - Spell for Sophia

Spell for Sophia

Sophia Perez-Hidalgo’s survival depends upon her mastering magic and the supernatural before her lawless parents and their vengeful boss catch up to her. How far must she flee to escape them forever? Sophia runs until she’s out of stolen money, then…Fate delivers her into the arms of Louisiana teen Shiloh Breaux Martine, and his grand-mère, a voodoo priestess living deep in the bayou.

Breaux knows Sophia is trouble — but he’ll travel through time, battle zombies, and risk his bright future to protect her. While Ainslie, best friend extraordinaire, will jeopardize her sanity to find and aid Sophia. When friendship, magic, and love are not enough, Sophia will have to save herself. But first, she must believe she’s worth saving.
Sometimes the worst scars are the ones you cannot see.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords * Kobo

Book Trailer:






The Teen Wytche Saga by Ariella Moon

Think magic will solve your problems?

Bring you love? Cure you? Protect you? Help you find someone who is lost?

Think again.

Magic tests friendships. It hisses, chirps, stinks up the room, backfires, and explodes. Magic forces you to make tough decisions. Shatter limitations. Discover your true self. When you use magic, expect results in the ultimate triple-un—unpredictable, uncontrollable, and so undeniable.

And you thought navigating high school was tough.

Watch for the upcoming blog tour hosted by I Am A Reader

Blog Tour Schedule

Author Ariella Moon

Ariella Moon is the author of the Teen Wytche Saga, a sweet Young Adult paranormal series. Ariella writes about magic, friendship, high school, secrets, and love in Spell Check, Spell Struck, and Spell Fire from Astraea Press.

Ariella spent her childhood searching for a magical wardrobe that would transport her to Narnia. Extreme math anxiety, and taller students who mistook her for a leaning post, marred her youth. Despite these horrors, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Davis. Ariella is a Reiki Master, author, and shaman. She lives a nearly normal life with her extraordinary daughter, two shamelessly spoiled dogs, and an enormous dragon.





Book Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 12/23/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Release Day Blitz - The Soul Thief

The Soul Thief (The Angel of Death Series #1)

by Majanka Verstraete

Publisher: Booktrope

Genre: YA, Paranormal

When sixteen-year-old Riley is injured in a car crash and sees a girl stealing a boy’s soul, she’s convinced she’s hallucinating. But when she sees the same girl at the hospital later, she knows she wasn’t dreaming. That’s when Riley learns her secret heritage and who she really is: a halfling Angel of Death.

Riley must come to terms with her new reality and supernatural abilities, but before she can do this, girls her age start dying in mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Riley to figure out why, what the innocent victims have in common, and what she can do to stop them.

Goodreads

Amazon

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/soul-thief-majanka-verstraete/1120726556?ean=2940150529212

 

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Thief-Angel-Death-Book-ebook/dp/B00PGUMLB0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415720086&sr=8-1&keywords=majanka+verstraete+soul+thief

Excerpt

About the Author

Majanka Verstraete begged her Mom to teach her how to read while she was still in kindergarten. By the time she finished fifth grade, she had read through the entire children’s section of her hometown library.

She wrote her first story when she was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped writing since. With an imagination that never sleeps, and hundreds of possible book characters screaming for her attention, writing is more than a passion for her.

She writes about all things supernatural for children of all ages. She’s tried to write contemporary novels before, but something paranormal always manages to crawl in.

Majanka is currently studying for her Master of Laws degree, and hopes one day to be able to combine her passions for law and writing. When she’s not writing, reading or studying, she likes watching “The Vampire Diaries” and “Game of Thrones,” spending time with her friends, or playing “World of Warcraft.”

Book Review - Sleep of Death

Title: Sleep of Death
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Series: Charlotte Westing Chronicles (Book 2)
Publisher: Imaginary Properties LLC
Release Date: 8 Jun 2014
ASIN: B00KV6LGRO

Synopsis
Oracles can see the future, but are sworn to never interfere. Charlotte Westing learned this lesson the hard way--but after a series of murders in her small town, she's beginning to wonder if she learned too well. Are there some futures Charlotte as a responsibility to change?

When a new girl with strange powers shows up at school on the same day Charlotte has a vision of a grisly double homicide, Charlotte must decide whether the time has come to free herself from the rules of the Sisters of Delphi once and for all. But what will be the price?

My Review
After finishing book 1 and discovering that there was another one to follow I knew I had to download it - it's only currently available on Kindle.
Charlotte is still trying to get over the murders of her classmates and the discovery that she was being used by John. A lesson she had to learn the hard way, but even so she still wants to try and help people, but she has to decide whether to follow the rules and resist her visions or if she should let them come and try to change the future. Then she sees a vision of a grisly double homicide and things start getting complicated, especially when the new girl at school finds out about Charlotte's powers and reveals some unusual gifts of her own.
As the girls dig further into the future and try to figure out just who is behind the murders things start to get more and more complicated and soon one of them may be in just as much trouble.
Again these books are not my usual taste in books, the mere mention of a homicide let alone a gruesome one would have me running a mile, but I love Pike's writing and wanted to know what happened to Charlotte next so I got stuck in.
It was quite gory in places and very violent, in fact I jumped in my seat a few times but I did figure out who was responsible as soon as the character was introduced - it was so obvious to me, so instead of being surprised by the revelation I was still waiting for them to attack again, I knew more would come and man I was not wrong. This took a seriously creepy turn but yet I still had to keep reading. 
I have to admit that after reading this book I did have nightmares that night but I am a wimp so it's only to be expected I suppose. I'm still glad I read it, as it was such a gripping read, Pike does it so well, a true horror master - if you can get someone so involved they physically can't turn away from the story!

I am even hoping that there will be a third book in the series, I can't help it - I want more. (I think I'm mad) :)

My Rating

     

FF (183)

Follow Friday is an opportunity to discover and follow other book related blogs! Want to join? Check it out at Parajunkee or Alison Can Read

 

This week's question feature is Boarding with Books

Craziest thing you’d be willing to do for an ARC you are dying to read (aka what would you doooo-ooo for that ARC you want? *think of the Klondike Bar music*)
via A Great Read

My Answer: I don't tend to do anything for ARC's, I know that no amount of begging, pleading, bribery or violence will get me one so I don't really do anything. Publishers have lists of people they use and if you are lucky there will be extras so at most I send an email asking or would consider making a youtube video if they asked for it, but overall I wouldn't do anything extreme. Maybe I have become jaded over my years as a blogger, but sometimes you have to know when you are beaten.


Happy Hopping and Blogging!

Book Review - Dystopia

Title: Dystopia
Author: Anthony Ergo
Series: Dystopia (Book 1)
Release Date: 7 July 2014
ASIN: B00LMAWUYG
ISBN-13: 978-0956121318

Synopsis
It's Friday the Thirteenth and it's Sasha Hunter's birthday. It's also the anniversary of Dystopia day; a catastrophic world-wide blackout, and the day Sasha's mother disappeared. Three years on, the world has started to recover. But for Sasha, everything is falling apart... 

My Review
I picked this book up in the Summer at the London Film and Comic Con- they had a massive author festival alongside it and Anthony Ergo was there. This book looked good and I had a quick chat with him, then decided to give this book a try. But I've been manic busy ever since so only just got round to reading it.
Sasha is very superstitious and she hates the number 13, this isn't helped by the fact that there was a world wide disaster on the 13th three years ago, a disaster that caused her mother to disappear and the world to go mad. 
But now Sasha's life is going to change again, she finds herself in a world she could never have imagined, facing things she never thought she would have to face.
I wasn't really sure about the book when I first started it, but soon found myself wanting to know more and racing through the pages, I found myself liking Sasha and enjoying her narrative, she's got a good sense of humour and is quite down to earth. 
The story took a few twists and turns that I didn't expect but each time it pulled me deeper into the story. Although I have to admit that I sussed out the bad guy pretty quickly, he was the perfect villain presented as a good guy. Maybe it was supposed to be that easy to work out but it meant that there wasn't really a surprise, although the side-kick did become more than i expected.
I really liked Sasha's companions, Zara and Aaron they made a great team and broadened out the world. They all work really well together but like any teenagers still have the odd fights and make some mistakes.

There is a real mystery element to the book and it's quite creepy in places but I really enjoyed it, the atmosphere of the book really draws you in and helps set the scene. And in the end I have to say I really enjoyed the book. The second one in the series 'Hysteria' has just come out and I have downloaded it on my kindle app ready to read, I want to know where Sasha ends up next.

My Rating

 
   

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Winner

5th Annual Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

October 15th to 31st

 

This hop is run by Kathy at 'I Am A Reader, Not A Writer'

 

The prize on offer is your choice of one of these books from the Book Depository:

- Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

- Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy 

- The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith  

 

There were 327 entries to the Giveaway in total which is awesome!
So now it's time to pick the lucky winner

Using Rafflecopter's 'Select a Random Winner' button :-

'Chrystina W' 
has been selected as the winner

She has been emailed and has 3 days to reply.

Thanks to everyone that entered.

FF (182)

Follow Friday is an opportunity to discover and follow other book related blogs! Want to join? Check it out at Parajunkee or Alison Can Read

 

This week's question feature is Little Book Pixie

Characters, sometimes our favorites, die during books. If you’d get to choose, who would you bring back? via Howling for Books 

My Answer: I would definitely say Ghastly from the Skulduggery Pleasant books, he was such a great character and he had real heart too. I loved his sarcastic humour and bluntness but also his sweet and caring side. I was so sad when he was killed.

Of course there are other obvious answers like Dobby from Harry Potter, and even Sirius - I cried buckets when both of them went. Imagine what Harry's life would have been like if he could have moved in with Sirius - a proper family.  ;'(


Happy Hopping and Blogging!

Book Review - City of Ember

Title: City of Ember
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Series: Book of Ember (book 1)
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
Release Date: 6 Jan 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0552552387

Synopsis
Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked - but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all - the lights are failing. Soon Ember could be engulfed by darkness-But when two children, Lina and Doon, discover fragments of an ancient parchment, they begin to wonder if there could be a way out of Ember. Can they decipher the words from long ago and find a new future for everyone? Will the people of Ember listen to them?

My Review
I have had this book on my shelf for absolutely ages, I found it in my local discount bookshop and thought it was worth a try. I knew there was a movie too and it sounded good so I picked it up. I actually ended up watching the film sometime last year and rather enjoyed it although there were a few things that didn't quite add up- a few plot holes, but overall it was enjoyable. But still I didn't read the book. Then last week my mum saw the DVD on my shelf and asked if we could watch it, I didn't enjoy it as much the second time but still thought it was a fairly good story, so I decided it was time to dig the book out. 
I kind of wish I hadn't, maybe if I had read the book first or even left it a bit longer after seeing the movie I might have enjoyed it more, but as it was I found the book very slow. It starts off pretty much identical to the film and I got straight into the story, but it went downhill from there. 
The world is set up well and is very well described, Jeanne DePrau has a was with imagery but the story itself was just lacking for me.
I kept waiting for a bit of excitement, something to get my heart pounding and the story moving, but it was just Lena trying to solve the mystery of the paper she found, and she certainly struggles with that. 
Although only 269 pages it seemed longer and yet there didn't seem to be that much content. I know there is a second book and I am slightly curious as to what becomes of them all I don't think I will be reading it. I just wasn't overly inspired by it. 
Who knows, maybe the film influenced me and I would have enjoyed this book better if I didn't have that version in my head, but as it was I have to say, although it's a very rare confession from me, but the movie was better.

My Rating