Wednesday, December 7, 2011

No More Waiting (7)

 

No More Waiting is a feature I periodically do here to highlight books that have recently been released. 
I also highlight book-related sales that are currently available.

Click here to see previous No More Waiting posts




Books I've Read and Recommend




Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
A modern girl gets transported into Little Women and runs through the events of the original book with lots of snarky commentary. I especially enjoyed Lauren Baratz-Logsted's clever twist at the end.
Check out Lauren's interview!
My review


 


Just Your Average Princess by Kristina Springer
Jamie's snooty cousin Milan comes to stay at Jamie's farm and the two compete for Pumpkin Princess. A sweet contemporary with a main character who is genuinely nice. I enjoyed it.
My review

 




Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
An adorable MG story about three siblings and their anthropomorphic castle. I loved this book and can't wait for more!
My review





 
Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2) by Jennifer Estep
The sequel to Touch of Frost, follow Gwen Frost as she continues to learn about her psychometry gift and fights Reapers. I adore these characters, especially Vic the talking sword!
My review of book 1
My review of book 2
Enter the giveaway to win a copy!

 


Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore
A story about a mermaid girl who falls in love with a winged-guy while searching for her missing sister. A sweet book with a strong fairy-tale vibe. Today is the last day to enter our giveaway!
My review




Books I Want to Read


The Death Cure (Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner
Finally! I haven't read this series yet because I've been waiting for the whole series to be published first. And now is is. This is (I'm pretty sure) a fast-paced action/dystopian.

Fetching by Kiera Stewart
About a girl who uses the principles of behaviorism to gain popularity. I'm pretty sure this is a MG book.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
I did not like Shiver at all. So much so that I DNF-ed it and swore off Maggie Stiefvater. But this book sounds so exciting. And it's about a horse race! I love horse race stories! But...I also hear the book is slow and doesn't focus all that much on the race. So I'm torn.


Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough
A girl discovers she is a fairy godmother. I LOVE fairy godmother stories! This looks like it will be a nice mix of funny and heartwarming.

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
A humorous murder mystery set in high school. I'm game! 

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
A girl who is half-god and half-mortal learns to use her powers. I'm firmly in the camp that thinks this storyline never gets old. I've read nothing but great reviews, too.


Liar's Moon (Thief Errant #2) by Elizabeth C. Bunce
I Special Shelved the first book and I've been counting down the days for the sequel ever since. Court fantasy with double doses of intrigue.
My review of book 1

Lightbringer by K. D. McEntire
About a girl who can see ghosts. I've read some pretty fantastic reviews for this one. Most have been mixed on the MC (I hear she has a bit of an attitude), but all mentioned the fabulously creepy villain and I'm always on the lookout for a truly BAD villain!

Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby
Snowed in for the winter, a princess and her siblings must ferret out the vipers in their midst. Two words: COURT INTRIGUE. I am sold.



Legend by Marie Lu
A dystopian, but honestly I passed on this for a while until I heard about the romantic lead. He sounds super swoon-worthy. I have my fingers crossed! 

The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4) by Julie Kagawa
I'm fully expecting an EPIC conclusion with lots of "brothers in arms" bonding between Puck, Ash, and Grim. Meghan who?

Destined by Jessie Harrell
A retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth. That's all I really need to know, but the positive reviews I've been reading lately have increased my interest even more. (And now I know how to properly pronounce "Psyche". I was totally off base!)


Free e-books!


The Soulkeepers by G. P. Ching
I don't really know much about this book. It's a paranormal and the first in a series. I also remember seeing someone on some blog somewhere say they really liked this series, so why not give it a try for free? 

First Frost by Jennifer Estep
Just in time for the release of the second book! A prequel to the series. You can download this short story for free to see if you like the series. Edit: This is no longer free, but it's super cheap!

Summer's Passage by Julie Kagawa
Now that The Iron Knight is out, make sure you download this short story and read it first! This is set between the end of The Iron Queen and the beginning of The Iron Knight.

On Sale Now! The E-Book Edition!

Last I checked, these books were significantly discounted on Amazon (and possible elsewhere). I am not affiliated with Amazon, so I won't be profiting in any way if you do decide to buy these books through them. I'm just a reader who likes a good deal and thought I'd share.


Get the whole series for under $7.00 total!

What books are you going to spend your hard earned money on? (Or use your well-worn library card on?)


Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts? Feel free to link me your reviews in the comments!

Posted by Small Review at 12:01 AM 10 comments
Labels:

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Author Interview: Jennifer Estep + Giveaway! (US)

Please Welcome Jennifer Estep!


Jennifer Estep is well known for her adult urban fantasy Elemental Assassin series, but I know her from her YA Mythos Academy series. I offered up my BFF bracelet to the snarky Gwen Frost in the first book Touch of Frost and I'm giving her another sleepover party invitation after her continued total awesomeness in Kiss of Frost. Jennifer has stopped by today to answer some of my questions about the important things in life: like kissing, slapping, brain-picking, and food. 


There are NO spoilers in this interview! 

Which one of your characters would you most want to kiss?

JE: I’ll have to say Nickamedes. The librarian may be a little fussy and uptight, but he’s still a handsome guy. Plus, I’m way too old for Logan, no matter how cute he is. LOL.

I'm probably too old to be kissing Logan, too, but I can't help but swoon over him anyway! *sigh* That comes with the adult-reading-YA territory. I can see potential with Nickamedes though, especially after finding out what I found out in Kiss of Frost.

Which one of your characters do you most want to slap or give a verbal tongue lashing to?

JE: All of them, from time to time. But in Kiss of Frost, I’ll say Helena Paxton, a new character who likes to make catty comments about everyone else, including Gwen.

Yup, I wanted to smack her, too.

If you were transported into your book, which scene would you most want to reenact?

JE: I think it would be fun to hang out at the Winter Carnival that the Mythos Academy students go to in Kiss of Frost. Play the games, win some prizes, eat a couple of funnel cakes, that sort of thing.

You had me at "funnel cakes." Yum.

Which one of your character’s brains would you want to pick the most?

JE: Vic. The talking sword has been around a long time, and I imagine that he’d know quite a bit about a lot of different and interesting topics. Besides, Vic is so confident and mouthy, he’d be happy to talk your ear off.

I would LOVE to chat with Vic! I get the feeling he has a lot of exciting stories to share. I'd also ask him about the origins of his slogan (a phrase like "bathed in their blood and hungry for more!" has GOT to have a good story attached to it). 

Which scene do you think will surprise readers the most?

JE: Well, I can’t say too much, but I hope several of the characters surprise readers. As an author, you always want there to be more to your characters than meets the eye. I just hope readers will enjoy the twists and turns in the story and characters in KISS OF FROST.

Well this reader certainly enjoyed them! One of the characters totally surprised me, and that other reveal at the end! I didn't see that coming AT ALL.

Gwen always has the tastiest snacks. Which is your favorite, and can you share the recipe?

JE: Cakes, cookies, pies, ice cream … I like them all. This recipe isn’t really a dessert, but it’s something that my mom and grandma do every summer when strawberries are in season:

Sweet Summer Strawberries
  • 1 gallon fresh strawberries
  • Sugar, to taste
Wash and cap strawberries. Let strawberries dry, then cut them into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Starting with about a cup of sugar, add sugar to strawberries until desired sweetness is reached. (The more sugar you add, the sweeter they will be.) Stir the sugar until it is dissolved and has formed a syrup over the strawberries. Serve immediately, or ladle strawberries and syrup into airtight containers and freeze until ready to use.

Note: These strawberries are great on toast, as part of a PB&J, or over vanilla ice cream.

You can go wrong with some sugary strawberries! Whenever I eat that I tell myself it's a guilt-free healthy snack, but with the amount of sugar I end up putting on them, I don't think "healthy" is the most accurate description! I've never put them over ice cream before--that sounds great!

Thank you for stopping by, Jennifer!

Have you read the first book in the series? Does this interview pique your interest in the series? If you've read the first book, how would YOU answer these questions? 
If you haven't started this series, what are you waiting for? Cute guys, tasty snacks, a snarky MC with super powers, and a talking sword! What more do you need? Kiss of Frost is available now!




I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. 
One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. 
And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword...






Jennifer Estep is generously providing a copy of Kiss of Frost for giveaway



Info for the giveaway:
  • As always, you do NOT have to be a follower
  • You must have a US mailing address
  • You must be 13 years of age or older
  • One entry per person
  • Your address is not required, but including it will help with sending the book out to you sooner
  • I will contact the winner through email and the winner will have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen 
  • This giveaway closes on December 28th
Posted by Small Review at 12:01 AM 11 comments
Labels: , ,

Monday, December 5, 2011

Book Review: Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Series: Mythos Academy #2 
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Kensington
Pages: 368
Received: ARC from author 
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Page


There are NO spoilers here, but if you see that a character is mentioned then you kinda know they didn't die in the first book!

Still not sure? Check out my review of Touch of Frost instead!




Summary

From Goodreads:

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle...

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword...


Review

I missed you so much!!

Opening Kiss of Frost was like hanging out with an old friend after a too-long separation. I know it hadn't really been all that long in the grand scheme of things (it's only been about five months since I reviewed Touch of Frost), but I missed Gwen and all of her friends so much.

Kiss of Frost picks up shortly after Touch of Frost with Logan giving Gwen fighting lessons. I was REALLY looking forward to getting some charged scenes between the two of them during these lessons, but alas, Logan Quinn rarely does what I want him to do (and I love that about him).

But don't worry, those scenes DO come later.

I think I have a girl crush

Much as I love Logan and learning all about the Reapers and the war between the Greek gods, the real draw for me is Gwen.

Gosh do I love Gwen. I just want to invite her over for endless sleepover parties. She's sarcastic and brittle, but she's rarely annoying about it and when she does cross the line she immediately recognizes it.

But what I really love about Gwen is her combination of vulnerability and courage. She's the type of character that makes me want to reach out to her and say things like "Oh honey!" while wrapping her in a hug and giving her a cookie and some hot cocoa. She's a little sad and a little dorky, but underneath it all she has a backbone of steel and she WILL do what needs to be done.

It's a good thing I love Gwen so much

Because otherwise I probably would have been bored with a good part of the book. There wasn't nearly as much action and mystery as there was in the first book and it was pretty much just my very strong love of the characters that kept me engaged.

A few seeds of mystery are planted early on, but then the kids leave on a school ski trip and not much happens for about 100 pages. Even though the action was low, I still had fun tagging along with Gwen at the ritzy ski resort (they had funnel cake and a carnival!). After about 100 pages, though, the action does pick up a bit and Gwen is back to her sleuthing ways.

And can I just say her psychometry gift? TOTALLY COOL! Gwen learns a bunch of new things she can do with her ability, and it is really one of the more awesome abilities I've read about. I would be touching as many people as I could (and probably get a lot of really weird looks in the process because, yeah, that makes me sound kinda perverted, but it's not and it would be so worth it!)

My whiz kid gift must be precognition

There were a few red herrings that did keep me on my toes and one surprise I didn't expect, but, sadly, I saw the Big Bad coming wwaaaaayy too soon. And the solution. I hate it when that happens. It's like accidentally stumbling on where your parents hid your Christmas presents.

It wasn't until the final 60 pages or so that my precog sputtered and died. This is where the real meat and potatoes of the story came in, and to think I assumed this would be the part of the book where everything would wind down after the big climax!

Oh no, that's not what happened at all! Gwen discovers some pretty interesting things that really start to flesh out her understanding of this whole Reaper/Gods war thing. She also BROUGH IT and laid out a really spectacular fist-pump-inducing line.

Because it just needs to be said

Vic, the talking sword, is still MADE OF WIN. A new fenrir wolf character is also introduced and he's so cool! I'll take one of each, please.

Bottom line

I cannot wait to find out what happens in the third book now! The ending is wonderfully frustrating because it promises some really cool things in book three, but it's a cliffhanger. I am so ready for Gwen to go after the Reapers until she and Vic are "bathed in their blood and hungry for more!" (as Vic would say).

I wish the action had been a little more consistent and I'm super impatient to find out more about the Reapers and the Gods, but I love every single one of these characters so even if they did nothing but eat cookies all day I would be happy to tag along (and not just because the cookies sound fantastic!)


Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 


Do you have any questions about Kiss of Frost that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!



Looking for another book like this? 
You might like: 
  
Click on the covers to go to my reviews.
Posted by Small Review at 12:01 AM 11 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, December 4, 2011

In My Mailbox (29)

In My Mailbox is a meme started by Kristi at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie where we get to post about the books we receive each week through publishers/authors, our own purchases, contests won, and libraries.

This mailbox is for the past MONTH. 
Why? Because I was too busy with the Historical Fantasy Jubilee to share what I was getting in the mail.
Haven't seen the Historical Fantasy Jubilee? Check it out!
Tons of author guest posts, interviews, giveaways and more!

Click here to see my previous mailboxes.  



For Review

Whenever I see people's mailboxes and I look at what they got for review, I'm always curious HOW they got them, especially since I feel sorta like I'm stumbling around in the dark without a map when it comes to acquiring review books. Did they ask for them? Did the books magically appear on their doorstep? Are they e-books? HOW DO I GET THEM???

Ahem, so in case anyone else is wondering the same things, I am going to write how I received each review book. Hopefully this will help clear up some of the mystery surrounding the sometimes seemingly mystical appearance of review books. I hope I'm not breaking some taboo rule (is it like Fight Club? The first rule of acquiring review books is we do not talk about acquiring review books)??

Please note: I am NOT offering advice on how you should go about getting review books. I'm only sharing what I did. Really, I'm so far from knowing what I'm doing that I can't give advice.

Click to make larger. Sorry about the bad lighting with Slayers! It's all shiny an holographic in person.


This is about modern kids who are born to be dragon slayers (because dragons are coming back to kill us all!). 

I had originally requested and received this book through NetGalley, but I'm really slow at reading e-books (don't have an e-reader!) I didn't get to this one before it was "archived." Archived? Yes, apparently NetGalley titles CAN disappear. 

I was SO looking forward to reading this book so I emailed the publisher and asked what "archived" meant and if the title was no longer available. It means what it sounds like it means: the title is no longer available. BUT the person I emailed was super nice and offered to send me a finished copy for review and I, of course, jumped at the chance.


This is kind of a weird story. I first requested this through NetGalley (look for it under the publisher HarperCollins--NOT HarperTeen), but I was denied. Then I saw an ad through Shelf Awareness where you could send a request to the publisher for a physical ARC. I sent the request, but figured I wouldn't get it because I didn't even get the e-galley. Then a few weeks later this showed up on my doorstep. So, I am confused, but happy.



The sequel to the beyond adorable Kat, Incorrigible about a girl, her sisters, magic, and secret societies all set in Regency England. Haven't read Kat, Incorrigible? Don't worry, I've got you covered with this giveaway! (Ends December 7th, US only)

I fell in love with Kat in the first book--so much so that I screwed up my courage and sent a request to Simon and Schuster to see if I could get a review copy of the sequel. I was sent a link to download an e-galley! It was a Galley Grab link, so I'm thinking this title might appear in the newsletter as well.


This is a NetGalley book. You can find it under the HarlequinTeen imprint. Even though I complained, a lot, about the first book, I've actually been eagerly awaiting the release of the sequel. Weird, I know. All I can say is this series is a total guilty pleasure for me. Maybe it's the harem of hot body guards? I'll go with that. 

Allegiance comes out in February, but I couldn't wait and I've already devoured it. If you liked Legacy, then you should be happy with Allegiance. (Although if you're a Narin fan, don't expect to see much of him. He gets very little page time).


I got this through NetGalley, but I don't think it's available anymore. It was under Bloomsbury Children's Books and it will be released on January 31st, 2012 (I'm pretty sure it's already out in the UK). This is a Gothic horror--complete with secrets, hauntings, an a creepy house!

Click to make larger
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo
Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood

I got both of these books for the Historical Fantasy Jubilee, but we got them a little too late in the game to properly include them in the event. SO, Ruby and I are sharing them and will review them closer to their publication dates (and you may see at least one of these authors on Small Review again. Just saying...)

I peeked at Shadow and Bone and it looks beyond fantastic. Like, this might even have the potential to be a Special Shelf book. Yeah, that good. I can't wait to find out! Oh, and if my peek didn't already tempt me, Leigh's awesome interview from our Historical Fantasy Jubilee is really making me want to read her book NOW.

I also peeked at Born Wicked, and oh swoon! But don't worry, you can peek at that one too! Have you read Jessica Spotswood's Historical Fantasy Jubilee guest post? Not only does she share some of her favorite book boyfriends, but she also gave us an excerpt of Born Wicked to post! I'll give you three reasons to check it out: 
  1. The guy's name is Finn. Points for having a hot guy name. 
  2. Finn leans. Points for Hot Guy Action #2 (quirking one eyebrow is Hot Guy Action #1 and giving a lopsided smile is #3).
  3. Finn is sweetly sarcastic. Points for hot guy personality trait!
 
Gifted/Swapped/Won


Click to make larger



The first three all came from Heather at Buried in Books. Thank you so much, Heather!!! I started reading Once a Witch about a year ago and I DNF-ed because I wasn't feeling it at the time. Then I read Heather's review and saw that, while she had very similar issues with Once a Witch, she absolutely loved the sequel. That's enough for me! 

Going Too Far is one of the few contemporaries that I rave about as much as I rave about fantasies. I just, oh my, Officer John After! The swoon is so strong that I really can't speak anymore.

I swapped my copy of Between the Sea and Sky with Tayte from Reading in Paradise for her copy of Deadly Cool. Thank you Tayte!

I won The Trust from Bewitched Bookworms during their Enter the Fall Clearing giveaway. I love secret societies, but it was Pushy's awesome review of the first book that prompted me to enter. Thank you ladies!

 
Library

Click to make larger

Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris (Theodosia Throckmorton #2) by R. L. LaFevers 

I loved the first book and after reading Robin's guest post (+ currently running giveaway!), I really couldn't stop myself from diving back into Theodosia's world. I think I may have enjoyed the second book even more than the first!

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (not pictured)

I ordered these four after writing this post. I've since read two and I'm currently reading a third. So far so good! Reviews will come.
Click to make larger
 Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn

You may have noticed during the Historical Fantasy Jubilee that there was a day when Ruby deviated from our schedule. She was originally going to write a post on why she loves Juliet Marillier so much (to go along with our Juliet Marillier guest post), but instead she wrote a call out post to me challenging me to read one of Juliet Marillier's books. She event sent me Wildwood Dancing in the mail. 

So I read it. And I LOVED it. Ruby is equally emphatic over the awesomeness that is Summers at Castle Auburn, and between the fact that I will now blindly follow Ruby anywhere based on her Juliet Marillier endorsement and the fact that I am pretty much in love with Sharon Shinn's book The Truth-teller's Tale, I decided to order this one. Will I have time to read it? Hopefully!

Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby

 I was browsing my TBR (I think I was putting together a Spotlight List) when I came across Icefall again. The blurb grabbed me and I couldn't stop myself from placing a hold on it through the library. A few days later I read Pica's review and knew I had made the right call. Self-control is for suckas.

The Legend of Holly Clause by Brittney Ryan

I originally put this book on my TBR after reading Sierra from Yearning to Read's review. Well, 'tis the season, and Sierra prompted me to get my hands on a copy now. It came through the library and I'm hoping I can schedule in some time to read it around Christmas. It's gigantic (over 500 pages!) but the font is pretty big and there are (beautiful) illustrations (Pica also says it goes by fast and she enjoyed it, so what am I waiting for??).

Click to make larger. Check out those "horror" stickers on the spine. Yep, libraries are totally cool.

What did you get this week? Has anyone read any of these books yet? Did you like them? 

Feel free to comment with links to your mailboxes or your reviews of these books! 

I'm still kinda sick, so I probably won't be able to comment as much as I usually do, but I'd love to see your books! 


 
Posted by Small Review at 12:01 AM 23 comments
Labels:

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Small Hiatus



I'll be back again on Sunday with the no-self-control mailbox I've accumulated throughout the month of November. 
See you then!

In case you're going through Small-withrawal (perfectly understandable), you can check out all of the posts from the month-long
(lots of giveaways still going on!)


or you could help make the next event even better by
sharing your feedback!






.
Posted by Small Review at 12:01 AM 7 comments
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...