Burning Midnight {Review}

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publishing Date: February 2, 2016

Goodreads Summary:

Seventeen-year-old David Sullivan’s life is about to change—all because of one tiny, priceless item found in the murky bottom of a Brooklyn water tower.

Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much—Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers—but it helps him and his mom make rent.

No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the more expensive—and the greater the improvement.

When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold—a color no one has ever seen. And when Alex Holliday learns what they have, he will go to any lengths, will use all of his wealth and power, to take it from them.

There’s no question the Gold is worth millions, but what does it actually do? None of them is aware of it yet, but the fate of the world rests on this little golden orb. Because all the world fights over the spheres, but no one knows where they come from, what their powers are, or why they’re here. 

Escape from the Past: The Duke's Wrath {Book Blast}

Winter {Sneak Peek}

Welcome to Sneak Peek Saturday!

Current book:
Winter
by Marissa Meyer

Ten Thousand Skies Above You {Review}

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publishing Date: November 3, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

Spinning Starlight {Review}

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publishing Date: October 6, 2015

Goodreads Summary: 

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home—a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow.

Sneak Peek Link Up #11

Welcome to Sneak Peek Saturday on Sunrise Avenue! 

This is a link up with me and Marissa from The Reading List!

Current book:

Ten Thousand Skies Above You
by Claudia Gray

The Five Times I Met Myself {Review}

The Five Time I Met Myself by James L. Rubart

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publishing Date: November 10, 2015

Goodreads Summary:

What if you met your twenty-three year old self in a dream? What would you say?

Brock Matthews’ once promising life is unraveling. His coffee company. His marriage.

So when he discovers his vivid dreams—where he encounters his younger self—might let him change his past mistakes, he jumps at the chance. The results are astonishing, but also disturbing.

Because getting what Brock wants most in the world will force him to give up the one thing he doesn’t know how to let go of . . . and his greatest fear is it’s already too late.

Sneak Peek Link Up (#4)

Welcome to Sneak Peek Saturday on Sunrise Avenue! 

This is a link up with me and Marissa from The Reading List!

Current book:

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)

Marissa Meyer

Seasons of Wonder {INSPY Review}

Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren

Remnants #1

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Zondervan

Publishing Date: April 8, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

THEIR ARRIVAL WAS FORETOLD FOR YEARS . . .

Andriana is a Remnant, gifted as an empath and one of the Ailith, destined to act as humanity’s last shield against the horrors that now plague those who remain.

After years of training in stealth and warfare, Andriana and her Knight protector, Ronan, are finally ready to answer the Call and begin the life they were designed for. But as they embark with the other Remnants on the first of their assignments, they quickly discover that the world beyond their protected Valley is more dangerous than they imagined.

The Sons of Sheol will stop at nothing to prevent Dri and Ronan from rescuing anyone sympathetic to the Remnants’ cause. And as the Remnants battle the demonic forces, still other enemies close in. Dangers intensity, but so do Dri’s feelings for Ronan–the one emotion she is not meant to feel. In the midst of their mission, Andriana must find a way to master her feelings. Or risk compromising everything . . .

Jupiter Winds {INSPY Review}

Jupiter Winds by C.J. Darlington

Visit the Author's Website HERE

Publisher: Mountainview Books, LLC

Publishing Date: May 15, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

In 2160, a teenager becomes the bait to capture her missing revolutionary parents she thinks are long dead.

Grey Alexander has one goal—to keep herself and her younger sister Orinda alive. Not an easy feat living unconnected in the North American Wildlife Preserve, where they survive by smuggling contraband into the Mazdaar government's city zones. If the invisible electric border fence doesn't kill them, a human-like patrol drone could.

When her worst fear comes true, Grey questions everything she thought she knew about life, her missing parents, and God. Could another planet, whose sky swirls with orange vapors and where extinct-on-Earth creatures roam free, hold the key to reuniting her family?

Top Five Fave Sci Fi Shows

I confess loudly and proudly that I am a NERD (Is anyone still surprised??). And I don't just mean 'book nerd', though I am surely that as well. I mean SCI-FI nerd!

It probably started when I was a wee young lass watching Disney movies. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White...you bet they are fantasy movies!! Soon, I graduated into Star Trek watching Voyager episodes with my dad. Then it migrated into my reading--The Animorphs Series, then Terry Brooks' epic fantasy series Shannara. The true goldmine came in 6th grade when Harry Potter was first published. I devoured them, and the movies.

I feel compelled to share my Top Five Fave Sci-Fi Shows with you so that you will may love them too!

Cinder {Review}

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Lunar Chronicles Book #1

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publishing Date: January 3, 2012

Goodreads Summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 

I checked out a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy today! 

A Thousand Pieces of You Review

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Book One in the Firebird Series

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publishing Date: November 4, 2014

Goodreads Summary:

Stitching Snow Review

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis 

Visit the author's website HERE

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publishing Date: October 14, 2014

Goodreads Summary: 

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

Garden Cover Reveal

Welcome to the cover reveal for Garden by Jane Yates! Garden is a middle grade steampunk that releases in February 2015 by Autumn Orchard.

These Broken Stars Review

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Visit their websites are HERE and HERE
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publishing Date: December 10, 2013
Goodreads Summary:

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone. 

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. 

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

I checked out a copy from the library. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy today.

My Thoughts:
Two and half words describe my joy with this book: SPACE TRAVEL...kinda. Knowing 'Beyond the Stars' would fit in with my (failed) Sci Fi November attempt, I eagerly checked it out from the library. So while I was quite looking forward to a lot of space travel, I wasn't all that disappointed to find out it only lasts a few chapters. Lilac's father's ship crashes into a mysterious planet and miraculously, Lilac and Tarver are the only survivors.

Once I overlooked the easy coincidence of just the two surviving amongst thousands, I was quite able to fall in love with the whole story. The authors created a whole galaxy from planet to far out planet with a military and social caste complete. It feels a bit odd to pull attention to this as the majority of the novel revolves around a single, isolated planet. But I truly admired how easily the authors built a world without spending much time actually world-building. The small glimpses we do get say a lot.

And Lilac and Tarver? A great love story. Realistic. Believable. And absolutely adorable. I love how they both slowly change and learn to trust, first just to survive but then morphing into something deeper. And what I truly appreciated? No insta-love! The book does begin with an initial attraction, but Lilac was more than ready to kick him to the curb permanently before fate threw them back together. As a result we get plenty of friction and personality clashes, which just makes the read that much more fun ;)

Each character has a strong and identifiable voice which works perfectly for the dual perspective and effortlessly draws the reader in. I wasn't sure I was going to like Lilac at all as she seemed too wrapped in herself and her (overly rich) world. Being stranded on the planet helps Lilac become real, both to the reader and in the story. She learns so much about herself. It is truly beautiful.

I can easily admit that I am petrified to read book two. It features a different couple, which is good because I'm not sure I could handle what comes next for Lilac and Tarver. What we were given was good enough. But I'm also worried it is going to be so wildly different. And I will have high expectations. As much as I love 'These Broken Stars', a part of me still feels torn giving this book the full five stars. That is why reading the review is so important! 4.5 Stars. ...for now :D

Obsidian Mirror Review

Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher
Visit the Author's website HERE
Publisher: Dial
Publishing Date: October 4, 2012
Goodreads Summary: 

Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.

I checked out a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy from Barnes and Noble today. 

My Thoughts:
Let's just dive in: There was just too much going on. 'Obsidian' includes a bunch of characters, most of the them playing large parts. Each character had backstory or ulterior motives, 'Obsidian' just felt like an overwhelming tangle of mysteries and storylines trying to unwind. I could tell almost immediately that this novel was too short for what the author was trying to accomplish with all these characters. Telling the story from the different viewpoints of these many characters left me feeling disconnected and I found myself reading too quickly through the chapters.

Wharton and Summer are two characters I just didn't understand. We meet Wharton first as a professor at Jake's boarding school. He has hated Jake all year because of Jake's obvious disobedience and intent on getting expelled. Wharton was just an odd puzzle piece that didn't fit into the rest of the story. He is forced to accompany Jake 'home', ends up staying on a while and then suddenly becomes fiercely loyal and protective of Jake and all this 'friends'.

Summer was just a bummer. Haha I know I rhymed, but sorry it is true. Reading that this book was supposed to include a 'tribe of elemental beings' was one of the bigger draws to this novel, but they play such an inconsequential piece to the larger picture. Fisher could have omitted them completely and the story would have carried on just fine. Summer herself was confusing. The leader of these elemental beings, she appears ancient and powerful. But in the end? She has done squat. Perhaps she plays a larger role in book two?

So why did I keep reading through this giant mess of character and mystery? I wanted to enjoy more of the sci fi elements! Time travel? The overall mystery of the mirror? Umm..YES. This is what I wanted more of.

'Obsidian' is my first Fisher novel and while this particular novel has definitely turned me off of the rest of the series, I don't think it has turned me away from Fisher herself. I'm willing to still try 'Incarceron'. This piece, however, was like an overly long, confusing intro to something I just don't feel inclined to continue. I could only recommend this one to those who are fans of Fisher already. I give it 2 stars. 

Feuds Review

This review is part of SciFi Month, hosted by Rinn Reads and Oh, The Books. 

Feuds by Avery Hastings
Visit the Author's website HERE
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin
Publishing Date: September 2, 2014
Goodreads Summary:

In this breathless story of impossible love, perfection comes at a deadly cost.

For Davis Morrow, perfection is a daily reality. Like all Priors, Davis has spent her whole life primed to be smarter, stronger, and more graceful than the lowly Imperfects, or “Imps.” A fiercely ambitious ballerina, Davis is only a few weeks away from qualifying for the Olympiads and finally living up to her mother’s legacy when she meets Cole, a mysterious boy who leaves her with more questions each time he disappears.

Davis has no idea that Cole has his own agenda, or that he’s a rising star in the FEUDS, an underground fighting ring where Priors gamble on Imps. Cole has every reason to hate Davis—her father’s campaign hinges on the total segregation of the Imps and Priors—but despite his best efforts, Cole finds himself as drawn to Davis as she is to him.

Then Narxis, a deadly virus, takes its hold--and Davis’s friends start dying. When the Priors refuse to acknowledge the epidemic, Davis has no one to turn to but Cole. Falling in love was never part of their plan, but their love may be the only thing that can save her world...in Avery Hastings's Feuds.

I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Buy the book HERE.

My Thoughts:
Let's face it: the cover is what drew me in. I'm a sucker for a good ballerina and this one calls out to be read. But this cute dance element is about all that I found to save this novel.

'Feuds' reads as a futuristic Romeo and Juliet complete with insta-love, imminent war/battle, and crazy decisions to fake suicide. Add in a manufactured drug, a designer-baby generation, and a dash of Fight Club and you have 'Feuds'. Unfortunately, it was just all too much for the author and story to take on.

Our main character, Davis, didn't have enough 'oomph'. She was one dimensional, shallow, and although she shows more compassion than her fellow Priors, Davis' heart is selfish. Some may argue that this is the nature of a Prior but I find it just doesn't make for a good female, main character. Cole felt a tad more real, like a favorite pair of jeans, but the plot flew by too quickly to appreciate him and his role. And the FEUDS play too small a role to appreciate it being made the title of the book.

'Feuds' was not a favorite book of mine by any means. However, it wasn't poorly written enough for me to 'DNF'. I managed to read through it quickly and had my interest held well enough. Once I realized the Romeo and Juliet storyline I was interested in reaching the end of the story to see how it would play out. Hastings did do a good job of setting up for the second book; this novel's ending leads to the possibility of a better second novel.

Overall, the characters needed more development, Davis and Cole needed to slow down the relationship a *wee* bit, and the world needed so much more time to be truly appreciated. I could recommend this one to someone looking for futuristic Shakespeare tragedy with a slight ballet theme. Only 2 stars from me. I'll keep my eye out for something else to fit the bill.

Author Interview with Will McIntosh

This interview is part of SciFi Month, hosted by Rinn Reads and Oh, The Books. Today I'm thrilled to interview Will McIntosh, who is best known for his Love Minus Eighty book. I'm so excited to get my hands on this ALA winner. Library hurry up!! 

Tell us about yourself!

I was a psychology professor before resigning to become a full-time writer. I still teach one large (300 student) section of Introductory Psychology each semester at William and Mary. My wife, our twins and I moved to Williamsburg, Virginia from southeast Georgia a few years ago. I’m originally from suburban New York.

To date I've published four novels. I tend to write near-future SF. On SF Book Reviews, Nate Hawthorne characterized my work by saying I write “love stories with high body counts”, and I kind of like that. I won a Hugo Award for my short story “Bridesicle”, which is the basis for the novel, Love Minus Eighty.

                                     

How did you get started writing?

It was basically just on a lark. I was in my mid-thirties, and I had a cool SF dream and thought, that would make a good story! So I wrote it. It was terrible, because I had absolutely no experience writing fiction, but I had such a blast writing it that immediately began another, and pretty much haven’t stopped since then.

Why Science Fiction?

I’m of the mind that loving SF is linked to some specific chromosome. I’ve loved monsters, robots, and elves for as long as I can remember.

Who or what are your influences as a writer?

The SF/F masters, like Ray Bradbury, Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison. Classic SF films, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Planet of the Apes. And periodicals like The New York Times, and The Atlantic Magazine, which provide fodder for ideas, by describing recent scientific breakthroughs in words I can understand.

You write a lot of (great) short stories. Do you prefer short or full length? 

Thanks! At this point I think I prefer novels, because I get to spend plenty of time with a cast of characters and can develop them more fully. Short stories provide a nice break between novels, and for me they very often serve as tryouts for ideas I might want to pursue at novel length.

Your third novel, Love Minus Eighty, was named the best sci fi novel of the year by ALA, how does that feel? :)

Awesome. To have librarians single out my work is very, very cool.

I always love seeing the behind-the-scenes of authors and bloggers, so tell us: What does your writing space look like?

I write in a recliner, believe it or not. I had serious back issues that have mostly subsided, but by now it feels strange to sit at a desk. I prop my laptop on a little lap desk, with the recliner facing a bank of windows looking into our back yard. It’s a pretty view, with a weeping willow, bird feeders, and beyond that a county-maintained hiking trail through the woods, so I catch glimpses of people walking and jogging by all day.

Can you tell us about what you have coming up next?

My first young adult novel, Burning Midnight, is coming out via Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House) in early 2016. It’s based on “Midnight Blue”, a short story published in Asimov’s. I should have news very soon regarding my next adult novel, titled Faller.

What 5 sci fi novels would you recommend to the readers?

Hyperion, Dan Simmons

Brittle Innings, Michael Bishop

Replay, Ken Grimwood

A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge

Doomsday Book, Connie Willis

Tell us your favorite sci fi movie/TV recommendations!

Some indy/sleeper films that SF fans might have missed: Perfect Sense, Vanishing on Seventh Street, Dark City, The Host, Miracle Mile, The Nines, The Prestige.

***
Well I know my reading list just greatly expanded! Thanks Will for stopping by and sharing about your work and passion!! 

Favorite Who Quotes Pinterest Style

I. LOVE. DOCTOR. WHO.

Ten is my favorite and I am still against Twelve. That is me in a nutshell :)

But I also love Pinterest. I save all my favorites on my most popular board. So of course the only natural thing to do during Sci-Fi November is to share my favorite combinations with you. Here. Now.

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Don't they just make you happy?? If you have a favorite quote, or awesome Pinterest board, share it below in the comments!