Tag: Simon Pulse

Fury by Elizabeth Miles + Giveaway

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf3 Comments
Fury
Elizabeth Miles
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: August 30,
2011
Series or Standalone: Fury
#1
ISBN: 1442422246
Format: ARC
Pages: 352
Source: BEA
Websites:
Elizabeth Miles – Website
Elizabeth Miles – Twitter
Fury – Book Site
Rating: 3 Stars
I really wanted to like this
book a lot more than I actually did. The premise sounded awesome, I mean a
modern retelling of the Furies myth, count me in! Unfortunately, this book was
not what I expected.
Fury for
me was a kind of meh of for me, I did not love it but I did not hate it. There
were certain parts of this book I liked and others that I did not like.
For me, I really liked that
this book focused on a different aspect of mythology. I did not know a lot
about the Furies besides the basics before reading this book. I really like how
Miles used the Furies in this book. And I really liked that the Furies were
targeting the teens for their actions. For one of the main characters in this
book, Chase, we are not really sure what he did to warrant the Furies to target
him and I really liked slowly learning the thing that the Furies deemed bad.
The two main characters for
me were a hit and a miss. I really liked Chase as a character. He had depth and
felt I could understand him more than Em. Chase is one of the poor students at
Ascension High but the star quarterback. He is obsessed acting the right way
and appearing the right way so as to be accept and for me that struck a cord
because that’s what most people try to do in high school. Em on the other hand,
I did not like. Just something about her did not click with me. She seemed at
times incredibly naïve and sometimes just downright stupid. I wanted to slap
her in the face once or twice when she was convinced that her best friends boyfriend
truly loved her. I feel if I liked Em more I would have enjoyed this book a lot
more because a majority of the book is told from her point of view and focuses
on her.
I really liked the first
three-fourths of the book. Elizabeth Miles did a great job building up the
characters and the plot to the turning point when the Furies begin to strike
back. There was this part right at the end of the part two in the book that
literally shocked me. Everything was slowly building up to that and I loved it.
However, for the last quarter of the book, I started to just want the book to
finish already. I think this came partly from my dislike of Em, but I really
did just want the book to hurry up and finish around the last 20 pages.
However, I really did like the ending and am interested to see what will happen
next in the series. Em made a decision that is likely going to have some unforeseen
consequences later.
Fury
really made think about the tagline of this book, “Sometimes sorry isn’t
enough.” The Furies enact retribution for the teens in Ascension for the
actions they committed that they deem wrong. It made me really think about
justice and what deserves punishment. Towards the end of the book, I was not
sure if I viewed the Furies as good or evil. They do something things that can
be viewed as evil and cruel, but so do the people they are punishing. It provides
an interesting dilemma.
I really hope in the sequel
that we see more of the Furies and get to know a bit more about them, because
their characters truly fascinate me. I just hope in the sequel Em is a bit less
annoying to me, or I do not if I will be able to finish it. Overall, Fury had it’s ups and downs but was
still an okay read. I am definitely intrigued enough by the mythology of it to
pick up the sequel and find out what happens next.

You guys can check out the Fury playlist below. I really like the songs on this playlist!



And now we have some Quickfire Questions answered by Em and Chase from Fury. 

If the world were to end tomorrow, I would…
Em: Call Zach and tell him how I feel—and Gabby wouldn’t care.
Chase: Rob a bank—just to see what it feels like to have money.

Would you rather be able to hear any conversation or take back anything you say? 
Em: Take things back.
Chase: I’d like to hear what chicks say about me behind my back… so, the first option.

Would you rather go to jail for the rest of your life or get hit by a truck and die on impact?
Em: Die on impact—I wouldn’t want to be alone with my thoughts for the rest of my life.
Chase: Die on impact—I’m too restless to sit around in a cell.

And now it’s GIVEAWAY TIME. Rules are below. Enter to win a SIGNED copy of Fury thanks to the lovely people and Simon and Schuster.

Giveaway Rules:

-Fill out the form below completely

-Open to US residents only

-Must be 13 years or old to enter. If under 13, parental consent is required.

-One entry per person. Multiple entries will be deleted

-Ends September 1, 2011

Review: Darkness Becomes Her

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf4 Comments

Darkness Becomes Her

Kelly Keaton
Publisher: Simon
Pulse
Release Date: February
22, 2011
Pages: 288
Source: GalleyGrab
Ratings: 4 Stars
Summary (from
Goodreads):
Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish
silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And
after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she
came from and who she is.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long
dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer
than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know
what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New
2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New
2 is very…different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she
encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too
haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
When I started Darkness Becomes Her, I expected it to
be another typical supernatural YA book. I was mistaken. Instead, Kelly Keaton
created something new, this time using other creates then the typical vampires,
werewolves and fairies.
I loved the
setting of this book. It took me a little bit to realize that the book took
place in what I could only describe as an alternate time line, one where New
Orleans was destroyed by a horrible natural disaster and New 2 was established
in it’s place. I really liked New 2. It was such a great place, exactly what I
imagined a supernatural New Orleans would be like. It was such a mystical,
mysterious, it was great unraveling the secrets of the place and meeting the
people who lived in New 2.
I really liked
Ari. She was searching for who she was and was extremely strong. She took
everything in stride, all the twists and turns that were thrown at her as she
was unraveling her mother’s past and unraveling who she really was as well. The
people Ari meets in New 2 are great too. Each one was different had their own
personality.
I did have one
issue with this book and that was the pacing. I felt that the time span of the
book could have been lengthened. Everything happened very quickly. Within a day
Ari was falling in love with Sebastian, one of the guys Ari meets in New 2, and
she was unraveling everything within a week. If the time span was longer, the
relationships and the plot wouldn’t have seemed so rushed.
One of the great
things about this book was it had twists that I didn’t see. There was one twist
that I literally gasped out loud because I did not seeing coming. I really like
that this book incorporated mythology and put a new twist on it. I really love
Greek mythology and I loved the twist Kelly Keaton put on it to make certain
myths her own.
The ending of
this book wrapped up the issue of the first book nicely, with Ari discovering
who she was and about her parents past, but was open enough for a new book. I
really cannot wait to read this second one because once everything happened it
happened quickly and big things happened. I want to go back to Ari’s world and
New 2 and I cannot wait to see what happens next in this series.

Vlog Review: Haven

Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Haven

Kristi Cook
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Pages: 416
Source: Simon and Schuster’s Galley Grab
Ratings: 2 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
One month into her junior year, sixteen-year-old Violet McKenna transfers to the Winterhaven School in New York’s Hudson Valley, inexplicably drawn to the boarding school with high hopes. Leaving Atlanta behind, she’s looking forward to a fresh start–a new school, and new classmates who will not know her deepest, darkest secret, the one she’s tried to hide all her life: strange, foreboding visions of the future.
But Winterhaven has secrets of its own, secrets that run far deeper than Violet’s. Everyone there–every student, every teacher–has psychic abilities, ‘gifts and talents,’ they like to call them. Once the initial shock of discovery wears off, Violet realizes that the school is a safe haven for people like her. Soon, Violet has a new circle of friends, a new life, and maybe even a boyfriend–Aidan Gray, perhaps the smartest, hottest guy at Winterhaven.
Only there’s more to Aidan than meets the eye–much, much more. And once she learns the horrible truth, there’s no turning back from her destiny. Their destiny. Together, Violet and Aidan must face a common enemy–if only they can do so without destroying each other first.
Review in the vlog below. WARNING!!! CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS!!




Somethings in the vlog I didn’t mention. I didn’t hate this book, I just had a lot of issues with it that made me not enjoy it. I felt Haven was well written with the exception of the “you knows”. I liked that Violet was all moody and gloomy like Bella Swan, and instead was her own character.  I failed to mention that I hated the hot and cold of Violet and Aidan’s relationship. One moment Violet was all lovey dovey and then would completely ignore Aidan and then wonder why he isn’t talking to her. That was extremely annoying. 


Here are some highlights from my Goodreads feed for Haven that basically sum up my feelings on this book:

Page 42 – I find myself talking to this book.   

Page 230 – Beautiful use of the phrase “you know”: “Well, I figured she was jealous of you anyway. You know, about Aidan. Not that they’ve ever…you know.”

Page 243 – WTF!! “I was supposed to be frightened. But there was no denying that I was totally turned on.” This is seriously wrong. 

Page 272- “I guess my breaching his mind had cured the vampire version of a hard-on he’d been suffering from.” WTF 

Page 347- (AFTER THE LICKING) “By the time he finished, I was reduced to a quivering mass on the bed, panting and squirming.” This girl has serious issues.

Page 387 – That was fast. And anti-climatic

Here’s what people who thought differently from me said: 
Miss Page Turner’s City of Books – “In my opinion, a very good novel is always marked by a very good writing style. Cook applied a writing style that supported the story very well. Although I noticed serval word repetitions, I find Cook’s writing just right.”
My Reading Room – “Fun characters, a plot that sucks you in and great storytelling make Haven one of my favorite YA books this year.”
The Book Sp(l)ot – “The beginning of the book was  a fast, engrossing read that really drew me in. Then, a little bit of the middle did go a little slower, but definitely stick with it because the ending (and middle/end) really gets going again and draws you right back in!”
The Crazy Bookworm – “Haven is very magical. It wisps you away from the hustle and bustle of ordinary life and transports you into this whimsical place. Not all of it is lollipops and rainbows though, there is a great deal of suspense.
Between the Covers –  “Haven was a quick, enjoyable read. Cook’s writing easily engages the reader, finding just the right balance of description and action and refined style and teen voice that brings the story to life. 

Review: Cryer’s Cross

Dani @ Overflowing Shelf2 Comments

Cryer’s Cross

Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Pages: 240
Source: Borrowed from Danielle B
Ratings: 4 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on… until Kendall’s boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it’s crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear…and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating…and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico’s mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.
This book was creepy. It takes a lot for a book to actually creep me out, but this book was able to do that.
Cryer’s Cross was an excellent blend of creepy, mystery, suspense and even romance. I loved how Lisa McMann unveiled the story and mystery. The mystery is unveiled slowly, but not too slowly, just slow enough to keep you on the edge of your seat wonder who, or what, is behind the disappearance of two students. I was unsure who or what was the cause of the disappearances until the end, and when I found out I was extra creeped out.
I love how Lisa McMann writes. I writing was perfect in this book. The writing for the “WE” was perfect, creepy yet adding to the story. You’ll understand what I mean when you read the book. I also loved how she unveiled the story. It was perfect.
Kendall was such a great character. Not only does she struggle daily with her OCD, but add to that the fact that her best friend, and sort of boyfriend that she has know her who life, has disappeared. Kendall’s emotions were raw. I loved how her OCD, the thing she was most embarrassed about was the thing that helped save her the most. I loved how through the book Kendall grew as a character, with the help of Jacian. Jacian and Kendall had great chemistry and I loved how there relationship progressed. It was perfect.
I recommend that when you read this book, don’t stay up late at night reading it because it will leave you creeped out. I definitely will be picking up a finished copy of this book when it is released.