17 June 2014

Cover reveal: The Utterly Uninteresting...

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant | Drew Hayes
Expected July 2014, from REUTS Publications


Some people are born boring. Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one. Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort.

One fateful night – different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful – Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos that is the parahuman world, a world with chipper zombies, truck driver wereponies, maniacal necromancers, ancient dragons, and now one undead accountant trying his best to “survive.” Because even after it’s over, life can still be a downright bloody mess.



About the Author

Drew Hayes is an aspiring author from Texas who has written several books and found the gumption to publish a few (so far). He graduated from Texas Tech with a B.A. in English, because evidently he’s not familiar with what the term “employable” means. Drew has been called one of the most profound, prolific, and talented authors of his generation, but a table full of drunks will say almost anything when offered a round of free shots. Drew feels kind of like a D-bag writing about himself in the third person like this. He does appreciate that you’re still reading, though.


Drew would like to sit down and have a beer with you. Or a cocktail. He’s not here to judge your preferences. Drew is terrible at being serious, and has no real idea what a snippet biography is meant to convey anyway. Drew thinks you are awesome just the way you are. That part, he meant. Drew is off to go high-five random people, because who doesn’t love a good high-five? No one, that’s who.



The Immortal Crown (Review)

Age of X: The Immortal Crown | Richelle Mead
Published by: Penguin, June 5th 2014
Genre: Adult, Mythology, Dystopia
Pages: 389
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought


The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Vampire Academy and Bloodline series returns with the second installment in her acclaimed Age of X series.

Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.

Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.

Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.




I LOVED Gameboard of The Gods, so I was dying to get my hands on this, its sequel. I pre-ordered it and sat impatiently waiting for that day it would come, then dived straight into reading it. But while I did really enjoy The Immortal Crown, and still loved its characters, I didn't adore it as much as the first book.

The first half feels really slow, like things happen but it still feels slow. And I could really have done without Tessa's POV. I really don't care about her. This book really suffered from the dreaded mid-series curse. But bad things aside, this was still an awesome novel, and I still can't wait for book three.

I really enjoyed the setting of The Immortal Crown. That's one of the major things I loved about GoTG, the world building, the colourful setting of the RUNA and everything involved in it. Going to Arcadia, the bordering country, and learning about its customs and traditions was pretty fun. But it lacked that magic of the RUNA, possibly because it treats women like slaves and sells six year olds as wives/sex slaves. But what I liked about Arcadia, minus its entire Arcadia-ness, was the contrast it provided to the RUNA. You have one world where women are encouraged to flourish, and another where they're taught to make themselves invisible, to be punished for accidentally showing their ankle.

The question that raised, the obvious comparison of both those worlds to the Earth I live in (specifically Britain) was what I enjoyed about that. Especially since I've become more aware of the horrendous inequality of the sexes in my own country and others. The Immortal Crown provides two worlds where, if combined, they would be very close to the world we live in right now. And that's frankly terrifying.

Not to mention the very obvious discussion about religion this book poses.

Also Mae/Justin is my OTP and the amount of times I squealed at this book was UNREAL. (Serious analysis time is officially over) MY BABIES!!!!!!! And the RAVENS!!! Magnus! And Justin being a priest!

(also on the back of my book it says Justine, not Justin, and I think this series could have been vastly improved upon had it been lesbian romance! (Then again, how would they get into Arcadia...? And does Odin stand for LGBT rights...?))

Characters 
Setting/world building 
Writing Style ★★



16 June 2014

Reading round up (30)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress and my thoughts on each book as I read it. I have officially been completing this reading journal for 30 WEEKS!! Woot woot!



9th June

Current page/percent: 59%
Read today: 36%
Thoughts: The cover of this book has more of an urban fantasy vibe than sci fi dystopian. And the book itself is ALL OVER the place. Is it fantasy? It is sci fi? Post apoc? Idk man. I love genre mashing, but this is confusing as hell. And backstory is dumped in five chapters at a time like ... what?? Was that necessary? Man, I'm bored and just skipping huge paragraphs at a time.


10th June

The Immortal Crown is here to save me from dreariness of Ashala Wolf. *hugs the book forever* I've been waiting for you for fourteen months!!! (IN AZKABAN!!!) I read 26 pages of The Immortal Crown, and 16% of Ashala Wolf because I'm trying desperately to finish it. NGL, I'm so bored of it and wishing it was over.

11th June

Skipped the end of Ashala Wolf. I don't care if anyone dies, so why would I bother finishing it? I read Dress Your Marines In White by Emmy Laybourne, a complete train wreck of a novella, with bonus racist content and WTF flash backs (32 pages). So I read The Rise of The Hotel Dumort by Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson (61 pages) to make myself feel better. I'm finding Johnson's writing style less abrasive than I have before, so maybe now is finally the time to give Shades of London another try!! I also read 56 pages of The Immortal Crown and loving it. Can't wait for all the tense action to kick in.


12th June

Current page/percent: page 200
Read today: 118 pages
Thoughts: Ugh. These morons, I swear to God. Stop keeping secrets!!!

13th June
Current page/percent: page 256
Read today: 56 pages
Thoughts: Oh, it's getting worse. Much worse. My poor, fragile heart. TALK TO EACH OTHER!!!!

14th June

I read The Fall of The Hotel Dumort, the last of my Bane Chronicles (40 pages) and it was really great. Loved it. Well, except for Camille. Also read 28 pages of The Immortal Crown. Didn't get too much read today, because of the tennis and the football, but I'm still liking The Immortal Crown, especially now there's a bit more action building.

15th June

Finished The Immortal Crown, reading 105 pages. Didn't love it as much as Gameboard of The Gods, but still loved it a lot. Especially those idiot two characters. The ending pretty much broke me.

Books finished this week: 5

~

Books added to my collection:

  
The Fall of The Hotel Dumort | Cassandra Clare & Maureen Johnson
Madly, Deeply | Erica Crouch
Beware The Wild | Nathalie. C. Parker

The price finally dropped on the last Bane Chronicle I need so I'm happy about that. And Erica Crouch comes highly recommended by a blogger whose opinion I value. Pretty happy to be approved for this RC, especially because it's Poe inspired!! I was waiting for the first reviews before I got a copy of Beware the Wild, and all I've seen are glowing reviews so I'm taking a chance on it.


 What's Left of Me | Kat Zhang
Perfect Ruin | Lauren DeStefano

These were both £0.99 on Kindle. Aw yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Been wanting Perfect Ruin for decades now and everyone rates Kat Zhang's books.

15 June 2014

#ReadWomenMonth mid-month update


Thinking I should possibly have renamed this challenge Read Cassie Month, since that's what it's turning out as. So far I've read 3 novels and 6 novellas. I started the month off pretty strong, but whether I'll keep that up for the rest of it remains to be seen. Hoping though! This challenge is motivating me to read a bit more than usual.

Here's what I've read so far:




I wouldn't recommend Ashala Wolf or Dress Your Marines in White, but the others are all really good and I enjoyed reading them, even if I cried.

13 June 2014

Cover reveal: The Perilous Journey of the...

The Perilous Journey of the Not-So-Innocuous Girl | Leigh Statham
Expected 2015 from Month9Books


Lady Marguerite lives a life most 17th century French girls can only dream of: Money, designer dresses, suitors and a secure future. Except, she suspects her heart may be falling for her best friend Claude, a common smithie in the family's steam forge. When Claude leaves for New France in search of a better life, Marguerite decides to follow him and test her suspicions of love. Only the trip proves to be more harrowing than she anticipated. Love, adventure and restitution await her, if she can survive the voyage.


About the Author


Leigh Statham was raised in the wilds of rural Idaho, but found her heart in New York City. She worked as a waitress, maid, artist, math teacher, nurse, web designer, art director, thirty-foot inflatable pig and mule wrangler before she settled down in the semi-quiet role of wife, mother and writer. She resides in North Carolina with her husband, four children, five chickens and two suspected serial killer cats. If the air is cool and the sun is just coming up over the horizon, you can find her running the streets of her small town, plotting her next novel with the sort of intensity that will one day get her hit by a car.

Connect with the Author: Website |Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads



GIVEAWAY:
One (1) ebook copy of The Perilous Journey of the Not-So-Innocuous Girl by Leigh Statham and a $10 Amazon Gift Card.
Open Internationally
Winner will be drawn June 20, 2014
Winners will receive their book on release day