Cover Reveal: The Beast by Lindsay Mead

  THE SYNOPSIS (The book is set to release this spring.) Demon possession has swept through Glace's neighboring kingdom, turning humans into Hellhounds. These great, fanged wolves are wild, desperate, and hungry. Only the sworn Hunters have kept them back for five long, bloody years. At the young age of fifteen, Belle LeClair became a Hunter. She no longer remembers how many hounds she's killed, or how many friends she's buried. Still, Belle leads the hunt till a tragedy forces her deep into the dark kingdom. Her heart will be turned, her loyalty tested— and fate will intervene. Amid a backdrop of Steampunk inventions and a harsh winter landscape, The Beast is a re-imagining of the infamous love between a beauty and a beast.

Link to Video Cover Reveal  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2F6TMaHynA

    

 Author Bio: Lindsay Mead lives in her home state, Michigan, with a small demon-dog named Suzie Q. She has obsessively made videos for YouTube since 2007 and can't seem to stop. THE BEAST is her debut into the world of writing. 

 Author Links: 

Main YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/1ag5dGm 

Website & Blog: http://lindsaymead.blogspot.com/ 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lindsay_Mead 

The Beast on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/17WVJ6t  

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February Wrap Up

February Wrap Up

Here is a video discussing all of the books I read last month which will be a sneak peak of the reviews in the coming weeks on the blog!

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February Book Hauls Part 1 & 2

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Review: Nil by Lynne Matson

Title: Nil 
Author: Lynne Matson
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Received: For Review From Publisher (Thank You Macmillan!!)
Stars: 3/5
Published: March 4th 2014 from Henry Holt & Co.

Book Description: 
On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days--to escape, or you die.

Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review:

Lynne Matson has developed a really unique and interesting concept with Nil. I did enjoy it but it wasn't what I expected from the blurb. The blurb is rather misleading about what is actually going on.  I also wasn't a big fan of the writing and I found some of the figurative language used to be more corny than sarcastic and compelling. 

First off, I have to say this is one of those books that I had put down in the middle of it. I didn't do this because I wasn't enjoying it but because of other books that I had to read right away. I think that this lends to my dislike of specific parts of this book. I think this book started off really strong but after the repetition of certain things, I started enjoying it less. 

Nil really feels like a mix of The Maze Runner and Lost, you have a bunch of teens who have been dumped basically on an island and are forced to survive; with the addition of strange animals on this island. I think the concept and the conflict is really great and the fact that there was this count down on their lives made for lower inhibitions for some characters.  But I feel like the blurb made me think that these characters weren't quite sure of how to escape but they do, the only problem is that the escape comes at one time everyday. As well as the fact that this is actually a dual point of view novel, I only expected Charley's narration.

The world building of how this all came about or at least what the characters seem to think is why Nil happened felt very convoluted and very much an after thought. I think I would have liked it more it was just a mystery that was never going to be solved that to have some off the wall explanation that didn't make much sense at all. 

One if my biggest problems was the fact that Nil was personified in Thad's point of view. It was interesting at first and a nice addition but after awhile it got on my nerves. I didn't care what Thad thought an ISLAND would be saying or doing. 

As far as the characters go I really liked Charley and Thad as well as some of the minor characters such as Rives and Natalie. I couldn't really relate to Charley but she was one of those characters that you could easily sympathize for and the same is true for Thad.  Lynne Matson was able to show the different personalities that thrive in this environment and which that do not. There is romance in this book but it was very insta-love for me. Obviously they only have 365 days to fall in love if they do but it was one of those love at first sight instances. 

I was also really glad that the number of days each character had been there (Charley or Thad) were written with their name at the beginning of each chapter. I would not have been able to keep up with the story with out that.

Overall the concept of Nil is fantastic but the follow through leads a bit to be desired, especially with the misleading blurb. It has really great characters who you definitely find yourself rooting for. If you are a fan of survival type stories such as The Maze Runner ( book one I haven't read the others), Lost (TV Show), and Lord of The Flies; you will really enjoy this one. I did have my problems with this book but they weren't that bad that I completely despised it. Nil is a good read and I think it would make a great pool side read.

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Review: Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci

Title: Tin Star
Series: Tin Star #1
Author: Cecil Castellucci
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Pages: 240
Format: ARC
Received: For Review From Publisher (Thank You Macmillan!!)
Stars: 4/5
Published: February 25th 2014 from Roaring Brook Press

Book Description:
On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.

When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind. 

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review:

Tin Star starts off with a bang. This book was definitely not what I was expecting it to be but I really enjoyed it anyway. Cecil Castellucci has created an entire galaxy and I think she did it spectacularly. Usually I find that really out there typed of alien creatures tend to not work well in books because of the visual but Castellucci's imagination captured me. I didn't know this was a series until now and I am so excited because that ending threw me for a loop. Tin Star is a fast read that will bring you into the far reaches of the galaxy.

Tula Bane is this darker heroine that we don't see very often in YA. Castellucci really captured that in Tula's voice through out the novel. She has her whole world turned up side down when she gets abandoned on a space station having to learn to survive. Tula Bane is a survivor and sometimes we get to see her make difficult choices. She is very goal oriented and determined to kill Brother Blue, the man who left her behind.

I think this story had some really great conflicts that were dealt with great. There were parts of this story though that were very predictable but then there were twists that I never saw coming. Tula does experience a bit of an insta-love but for me it was more of an insta-love because she hasn't seen another human being in years, I think it was a hormone thing. But what confused me was that out of the blue she made out with a girl, I have zero problem with what happened but it made no sense to the plot. They literally just started to kiss because one girl was trying to blackmail Tula. It was just an odd event because Tula had a boyfriend. 

The entire book though I shipped Tula with an alien and the abrupt ending bothered me. It felt rushed and because I thought it was a standalone it had bothered me. But I am really glad that the conflicts will get fully resolved. I really want to see Tula grow into a better person. I also want to see the romance that I am dying for between her and an unexpected character for someone reading it.

I recommend this book to fans of Doctor Who.( I am on a Doctor Who binge I am at the middle of season 7) If you like out there science fiction with crazy aliens and lots of action, this is definitely the book for you. It is a quick read that will have you hooked. 

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