INFINITE by Jodi Meadows Cover Reveal!

I can't wait for this book to be released!!! After Asunder, I have been counting the days until Infinite's release. Is it 2014 yet?!

Infinite
By: Jodi Meadows
Release Date: 2014
Synopsis:
DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

WILD THINGS by Chloe Neill Cover Reveal!

SQUEE! I am so excited to share this with you guys!

Wild Things
By: Chloe Neill
Release Date: February 2014
Synopsis:
Since Merit was turned into a vampire, and the protector of Chicago’s Cadogan House, it’s been a wild ride. She and Master vampire Ethan Sullivan have helped make Cadogan’s vampires the strongest in North America, and forged ties with paranormal folk of all breeds and creeds, living or dead…or both.

But now those alliances are about to be tested. A strange and twisted magic has ripped through the North American Central Pack, and Merit’s closest friends are caught in the crosshairs. Gabriel Keene, the Pack Apex, looks to Merit and Ethan for help. But who—or what—could possibly be powerful enough to out-magic a shifter?

Merit is about to go toe to toe, and cold steel to cold heart, to find out.

LINKED by Imogen Howsen

Linked
Imogen Howsen

Rating: D
Release Date: 06/11/13
Synopsis:
Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere. 

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes. 

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed. 

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world. 

Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.

My thoughts on the book:
Linked had so much going on that I was expecting it to be super interesting, but instead it fell flat. I was bored the entire time. The relationships were stilted and awkward, the characters were dull and lifeless, the plot had potential but ended up boring, and the writing was bland. The only two things I enjoyed about this book were the concept and the world-building. I know a lot of people have enjoyed this book, but sadly I wasn't one of them. 

Elissa was an extremely dull main character, and because of that, I didn't really care what happened to her. Her parents were equally dull, and their relationship was awkward and stilted and not at all believable. Lin, while a bit more intriguing because of the mystery surrounding her, still somehow managed to be dull. Her relationship with Elissa was strange and didn't make much sense; therefore it wasn't too believable. Cadan (I think that was his name, I can't remember), the love interest was the biggest brat ever. I really couldn't stand him. He was way too immature. 

The plot had a lot of potential, but the writing made it dull as well. I know I'm overusing that word, but I can't help it. Also the boring (trying to mix it up a bit) characters made me not care what happened next. I made myself finish it, but I fell asleep while reading (when I wasn't even tired) a few times. The sci-fi elements were cool ideas, but again didn't shine as they should. The romance didn't work for me, either. 

Overall, I say give this book a try because a lot of people seem to like it. It bored me, but it may not bore you! If you're hesitant, then try it out at the library first. I wish I'd liked it more than I had, but I don't want to turn anyone away from a book that has such a cool concept, even if the execution, in my opinion, was lacking. 

BORN OF ILLUSION by Teri Brown

Born of Illusion
Teri Brown

Rating: B+
Release Date: 06/11/13
Synopsis:
Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

My thoughts on the book:
Born of Illusion is a unique addition to both the historical fiction and paranormal genres. Brown explores one of my favorite time periods, the roaring 20's, in this intriguing novel. Along with the fantastic setting, the world-building is pretty well done and the characterization is top notch. The pacing is a bit slow to start, but things quickly pick up. The mystery is complex, and while I saw a lot of things coming, there were also a few surprises. The relationships are natural and evolve organically throughout the course of the novel, and the secondary characters are filled with personality. Born of Illusion is a terrific, fun, and touching summer read. 

Anna is a complex, flawed, but sympathetic character. I really enjoyed learning about her life and all of her gifts. She is likable and easy to relate to in some ways, but extremely complicated in others. She's a good narrator, even if it is hard to trust her take on things. I think the fact that Anna isn't completely trustworthy adds some friction to the narrative, which  makes the story more interesting. Marguerite, Anna's mother, is a character in every sense of the word. She's extremely interesting, and her relationship with Anna, while strained, is touching. The dynamic between them is something you don't see every day, that's for sure. I absolutely adored Cole (one of the love interests). On the surface, he seems a bit dull, but he is full of surprises. He, in my opinion, is a welcome change from the typical angsty, snarky YA male leads. Owen, on the other hand, irritated me. He's supposed to be fun, but to me he was just annoying. Jacques and Mr. Darby are interesting secondary characters, and extremely well-developed. I felt as if I knew them almost as well as the main characters, which is something that is sorely lacking in most literature. 

My only real complaint about the book is that sometimes I forgot the setting and pictured it occurring in modern times. While Brown does a good job painting the setting, I think more reminders needed to be inserted to keep the reader's focus on the 1920's instead of present-day. At least, in my mind, that needed to occur. I automatically revert to "normal times" for me when I get engrossed in a novel, unless the setting is constantly shoved in my face. That being said, when Brown does talk about 1920's New York, I can fully picture it. Also, the world-building is done pretty well. I felt like some of it was revealed too slowly, but that's probably just because I'm impatient. Anna has a pretty good grasp on what's going on, considering she doesn't have anyone to talk to about what's happening to her. 

The relationships between the characters are extremely natural and happen organically. I never felt that Brown forced anything. Also, the relationships are all complex. Furthermore, there is no insta-love, for a change. Anna's relationship with her mother is complicated and touching. It really illustrates the depth of the mother-daughter bond. 

The pacing starts out a bit slow with world-building and setting establishment, but as soon as it picks up, the story is extremely engrossing. I didn't know exactly where Brown was going with the plot, and the book definitely held my interest. I had the "bad guys" figured out by about 2/3 of the way through, but I didn't know exactly what they were going to do or why. Because of that, I kept reading, and I'm glad I did. The ending is satisfying, but leaves room for a sequel, which I am looking forward to. 

Overall, I'd recommend this for anyone who is looking for a unique, fun, and touching summer read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and can't wait for the sequel!

Pre-order Born of Illusion!

CRASH INTO YOU by Katie McGarry Cover Reveal!!

As you guys probably know by now, I LOVE Katie McGarry's work. She is my absolute favorite contemporary author, so I am super excited to share this cover with you!

Crash Into You
By: Katie McGarry
Release Date: 11/26/13
Synopsis:
From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a good girl with a reckless streak, a street-smart guy with nothing to lose, and a romance forged in the fast lane The girl with straight As, designer clothes and the perfect life-that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private-school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy parents and overbearing brothers...and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker-a guy she has no business even talking to. But when the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 

Isaiah has secrets, too. About where he lives, and how he really feels about Rachel. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks-no matter how angelic she might look. 

But when their shared love of street racing puts both their lives in jeopardy, they have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other. 

Okay, this cover and the synopsis are H-O-T! I can't wait until November!!!

ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE by Kate Karyus Quinn

Another Little Piece
Kate Karyus Quinn

Rating: B+
Release Date: 06/11/13
Synopsis:
The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

My thoughts on the book:
I went into Another Little Piece thinking that it'd be a mystery more than a horror story... I was mistaken. This book seriously creeped me out! It was well-written, and the character-development and world-building were unbelievably good, but it was creepy. If you don't like scary books, I'd say stay away from this one. For the rest of you, if you're looking for something unique and intriguing, then this is definitely the book for you. 

Annaliese is an extremely complex and flawed character. I was able to achieve a willing suspension of disbelief, so I bought who she was, but I couldn't really relate to her. Even though this book was narrated first person, I couldn't connect to Annaliese enough to feel like I was living vicariously through her. Also, the more I learned about her, the less I liked her and sympathized with her. That being said, I had to know what happened to her, so she was an interesting character, at least. I liked Dex quite a bit, but like Annaliese, he was not how he seemed at first. The rest of the characters were also believable and well-developed. 

The plot was unique, mysterious, and captivating. The pacing was pretty spot-on. Quinn kept the bits of information pretty evenly spaced through Annaliese's memories, though I felt like things were revealed a little slowly at times. While that maintained the mystery, it also made me want to "cheat" and skip ahead to see what was going on. The character relationships, in my opinion, were a bit under-developed, but the novel held my interest. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good horror/mystery story with a supernatural twist. This will surely be one of the most popular horror novels of the summer. 

Pre-order Another Little Piece!

DARK CHILD by Adina West

Dark Child
Adina West

Rating: D
Synopsis:
Perfect for fans of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, this intriguing urban fantasy follows the story of Kat Chanter, who discovers that the world she knows is controlled by ancient creatures who feed on blood. And she might just be one of them ...

Lately things have been getting weird for pathology technician Kat Chanter. She’s been craving raw meat, and having dreams so realistic they’re scary. When she accepts a job offer from the prestigious Hema Castus Research Institute, she hopes she’ll have the chance to discover what’s wrong with her, but instead, her move to New York thrusts her headlong into a treacherous hidden world, where the wrong move could be fatal . . .

Tarot, witchcraft and astrology all take on a frightening resonance in Dark Child's richly imagined alternative reality where vampiric beings live among us, hidden by magic. Dark romance tangles with paranormal fantasy and page-turning suspense in this enthralling tale of ‘dark child’ Kat Chanter, half-human and half-vampire, who has woken an ancient prophecy and must face a formidable destiny.

My thoughts on the book:
Dark Child: The Omnibus Edition is a collection of the four small installments that make up this series. While the concept is unique and intriguing, and the pacing is pretty spot on, this novel lacks in character and relationship development. Also, the writing is lackluster at best, and the plot is scattered and illogical at times. I didn't have the highest hopes for this book, but I thought it would be better than it was. 

The character development was non-existent, as was the relationship growth. I still don't feel like I got to know Kat at all, and she was supposedly the main character. Likewise, the romantic interest, Alek, also remained a mystery, as did their relationship. I didn't care what happened with them because I didn't feel like I knew them. Also, the whole attraction thing seemed like a waste of time. Then there was Amarok, and I'm not sure what he had to do with anything either. The only thing I know is that he somehow had even LESS of a personality than Kat and Alek. The characters clumsily navigated their spaces, but they were just a series of actions. The characters personalities and physical characteristics were lacking to the point that I couldn't even picture them in my mind. So much more could have been done with these characters to make them believable and at least somewhat easy to relate to. 

The narration style is third person limited at times and third person omniscient at others. Unlike Jane Austen who used free indirect discourse and switched seamlessly through the characters' consciousnesses, West clumsily navigates the narrative, leaving the reader unsure of who they are supposed to be following at the time. Furthermore, West uses many British/Australian English colloquialisms, yet the book is set in West Virginia and New York for the majority of the story. I could not obtain a willing suspension of disbelief due to the fact that these colloquialisms caused me to think, "this can't be set in America with an American citizen as the main character." Additionally, some of the phrases, such as "pot plant" instead of "potted plant" left me thinking that people were growing illegal drugs in corporate offices. All of this detracted from the story. 

The plot itself was scattered, and I'm not entirely sure that West actually knew where she was going with this book. It was clear early on that the story had not been outlined in the slightest, and the world-building was completely lacking. West tried her best to explain things, but her explanations were not clear, concise, or believable. The pacing was all right, but the ending was awful. Instead of having a satisfying conclusion for the series, the story just stopped. Nothing much was really resolved, and I felt like the point at which the narrative stopped should have been in the middle of the book, not the end. Obviously this ending irritated me, and at that point (after wasting 3 days reading this novel), I decided that I will not read anything else by this author. 

Overall, I'd say steer clear of this book. While I read the entire thing because the concept intrigued me, and I kept hoping things would actually develop and make sense, the ending left me feeling as if I wasted way too much time on a book that has no development or conclusion. Unfortunately, this is a book that needs to be missed. The only reason I gave it a D rating instead of an F is because it somehow managed to hold my interest until the end.