Hot Cover Reveal: Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Goodreads

"I dare you..." 

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does.... 

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

FANTASTIC COVER! My, look at that guy, the wet clothes, the kissing... eeeks o.o I absolutely loved Pushing the Limits. I think Katie McGarry is my favorite contemporary author by far and I am expecting this book to pretty much rock.

I just want this story to be told as well as Echo and Noah's story. I am sure Katie McGarry won't disappoint!

Review: Darkfever (Fever, #1) by Karen Marie Moning

Title: DarkFever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever
Book #: 1
Pages: 309
Reading Level: Adult
Book Rating: 
Goodreads Rating: 4.18
Published: Oct. 31st, 2006

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands…

Taschima's POV:

People kept telling me to pick up this book. Holy cow I should learn to listen. I've been in a book slump this past month and this baby sprang me right out of it! This was a great first book. Intriguing enough to leave you wanting more. I bought the second book, Bloodfever, seconds after finishing Darkfever. Didn't even need to think about it too much, the $7 in my mind seemed well worth it.

Darkfever is this great introduction into the dangerously bad ass world of MacKayla Lane and the Fae. MacKayla Lane is your average spoiled girl. She is blonde, pretty, without a care in the world. She likes to spend her summers outside, sunbathing and swimming in lakes. Reminds me a bit of how Sookie Stackhouse was at first, only younger and way more naive. That is until her sister, Laina, gets killed hundreds of miles away from home (Georgia). Mac decides then to go to Ireland and find her sister's killer, having no idea that stepping foot in that place would seal her fate forever.

I really liked everything about this book. I liked MacKayla, she was just so sunny and happy. But I like her way more as the novel progresses and her brain starts to awaken. She becomes more clever and less Naive. Once in Ireland Mac meets the most interesting set of characters. Let's just start with the most intriguing one, Barron. I am still on the fence about him  being "good" (I mean yeah he is good but at the same time he could be more of a gentleman, jeez... or so my mind keeps insisting while another part of me is like "ravish me now!") but no one can deny he is just incredibly sexy and overwhelming... even just on paper. Full of mystery and a complete ASS. That is not the part that attracts me about him, other than his sheer presence you can tell that he is the type of guy that will keep a promise. Plus those flashes into his warm side are so much more precious... Off track! I can keep talking about Barron all day long but there are more characters than just him and Mac. There are also a football team of bad guys, plus a few sprinkled good guys in the mix. But in Darkfever Mac and Barron are pretty much it. You either love these two or don't love the series at all.

Low on the romance, but I am hoping this will change sometime soon.

Also the Fae in this book? Oh, trust me you are not prepared for them. They are less True Blood more unnaturally scary monster under your bed who wants to eat you whole with its 6 mouths. They are scary, and they are out for blood. I was actually a little unsettled by them. I have come to expect the Fae being tricky sure but not looking and being truly evil. All expectations now? Out the window.

The whole book is a race. Everybody is looking for something super extremely powerful and the first one to get his/her hands on it wins. The world. Yeah, it's that powerful. So Mac and Barron team up to find this super powerful team and together they must defeat every single person that gets in their way. I am selling the book short, trust me it's so good. At first it was a little slow when she gets to Ireland, true, going to grief and all, but after Mac starts uncovering who she truly is (which happens fairly quickly) the plot starts picking up speed.

WARNING: It has some adult content, very adult content. Cussing, sex, nakedness in the middle of public places... Yeah. You have been warned.

Cover Revealed: Fall of Night (Morganville Vampires #14) by Rachel Caine!

Goodreads

No summary yet.
Publication Date: May 7th 2013

Ta da! Who is this girl? I have no idea! Maybe Claire? Who knows! I want to interview Rachel Caine about her covers, see who she says is in each cover. Anyways, 14th book! This is a good series once you pass those not so good titles. I'd recommend it.

Do you like it?

The Realities of Owning A Nook; Pros and Cons, is it for you?

So I'd been debating for months on whether to get a Nook or not. I even made a post about it and asked for your guys opinions, mentioning the advantages of possibly having a Nook and my utter dismay at possesing one. Well it seems the decision has been taken out of my hands folks because my mother got me a Nook Tablet (16gb) for my birthday. That wonderful woman.

So here I have decided to write a filthy dirty report on the realities of owning a Nook for newbies and the people out there who are, like I was, agaisnt the very mention of the word.

Step 1: Open it.

I get in my mother's car after a 12 hour ride on the Greyhonund bus and what is the first thing presented to me? A hug, a kiss, and a Nook. Happy birthday to me! I look at the box and it is breathtaking. I feel like it's Christmas day. I stare at it, ogle it, pretty much devour it with my eyes alone. Next I open it.

 

Step 2: Configure it.

 

And so first things first. You mustn't try to turn on your Nook because guess what? It needs to charge silly! So go to the nearest wall plug and charge it. Now you can turn it on. Once you turn it on it'll go through the normal configuring steps, until you hit your first bump.

 

You need Wi Fi in order to continue configuring your Nook. This is not an option! Without it you might as well not have opened the Nook at all. Once you set up the Wi Fi (which really can be with any Wi Fi spot, doesn't have to be one designated one so I don't get the point of this MANDATORY step) you have the option of putting in your credit card info. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing, and this is why:

 

Good thing: once you put in your credit card info all you have to do to get a book is go to the Shop option in your menu and with a simple touch of a button you can instantly have a new book!

 

Bad thing: once you put in your credit card info all you have to do to get a book is go to the Shop option in your menu and with a simple touch of a button you can instantly have a new book...

 

Now more than ever you will need to master self-control cause it'll be so easy to spend all this money and all these books you want to have. So easy...

 

TADA! You are done configuring your Nook... so what now?

 

Now you go buy a book and read. Unless you are a blogger and you have an account on Netgalley, then go request books! As I did. I downloaded Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor and already started reading it.

 

Step 3: Play with it!

 

Disadvantages when owning a Nook:

• In order to buy books, or do anything with the Nook you need an Internet connection. So make sure you buy plenty of books before you go to the dessert or the moon (but maybe there's wi fi there too?).
• You have such a small amount of books at the beginning is discouraging. I swear I just want to have all MY books (books I own for goodness sakes) in my Nook! I mean, I have books I've bought that I haven't even read (huge list). I want a time machine in order to tell myself to hold out for my brand new Nook ("Don't buy anything girl! Buy them later at a cheaper price and then you can carry them all around with you all the time!"). It's just not fair, you'd think they would have come up with a solution to this, a program or something.
• Look at that, APPS! We all love those! Wait a second... you have to buy all your apps. You can't even get the basics for free like a calculator app, calendar app, etc. Way to go Nook, way to go... Apps you get for free: Chess, Contacts (?), crossword, email (actually helpful, need Internet connection for this of course), Hulu Plus (advertising much? I have an account though so thanks for letting me have an app for a program I already pay for), music player (add music! Oh wait, buy a micro SD card first though!), My Media (pictures/videos/ etc), Netflix (Hulu Plus rinse and repeat), Pandora, Sodoku, and finally Nook Friends which reminds me...

Nook Friends, how the hell is this suppose to work anyways!? Every time I try to login through facebook so it looks for contacts there with Nooks it just doesn't do it.

 

Advantages when owning a Nook:

• You get to carry AS MANY BOOKS with you as you want/have.
• Hey! It seems I have more space in my room now! Won't have to give my bed to my books in the near future.
• The fricking thing is like a mini computer (at least the Tablet one) so I can access the internets whenever Wi Fi is available (these days where is Wi Fi NOT available?).
• Pretty... Shiny...

Sure it has it's annoying things but nevertheless I am in love with mine. What can I say? As my last name suggests I am a sucker for shiny things.

 



Catching Fire Movie News: THE FRICKING POSTER!

It's like the universe said "Here you go Taschima, a gift for your birthday!" Look at this magnificent gift:

Do it again, DO IT AGAIN!

OMG!!! EXCITED!!! I know it looks like the Hunger Games one, but I mean come on! Look at that beauty! What do you think? IT'S LITERALLY CATCHING FIRE!!!

Movie Trailer: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, The reason why you should watch the movie/read the book for people who hadn't heard of either.

Book - Movie

I am not a big zombie fan. I don't read zombie books, even when they tried to be the new thing for a mili second there. Vampires, werewolves (ah, some times), ghosts, other supernatural creatures I can dig, just not zombies. Or so I thought.

After watching the trailer for the movie Warm Bodies (adapted from the book titled Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion) the first thing I thought was "wow, I gotta read the book". The movie seems so funny, and different from every other zombie novel out there. It's a love story. The main character even though a zombie also manages to be relatable. The concept kind of reminded me of Black City by Elizabeth Richards, how the zombie's heart kick starts when he "has a connection/falls in love". I don't know, I just saw in the trailer that he saw a chick that he liked and his heart started beating (but maybe zombies are also led by another anatomical part of their bodies?).

Who knows! But nonetheless I invite you all to watch the trailer (which I posted below for your convenience). I shall get it in e-book format soon enough, once I get my new Nook Tablet (birthday present from the parental units). So expect a review soon enough for the book, and once the movie comes out expect one as well for the movie.

What do you think? Zombies for those who are on the fence about zombies?

The Mortal Instruments Movie: City of Bones TRAILER!

"Everything you heard about monsters, about nightmares, legends whispered around camp fires... all the stories are true."

God that guy who's narrating has an epic voice. So yeah, trailer looks good, but I am going to have to re read the book before watching the movie. It has been a while. Jace looks weird. Clary looks perfect. How did you like it? Do you think they are just going to do the original trilogy? Or do you see them expanding into the newest, yet unnecessary, titles (City of Fallen Angels, etc)?

Review: Reached (Matched #3) by Allie Condie

Title: Reached
Author: Allie Condie
Series: Matched Trilogy
Book #: 3
Pages: 512
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating:
Goodreads Rating: 4.21
Published: Nov. 12th, 2012

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.(

Taschima's POV:

Let me give it to you all cut and dry... it was okay, entertaining, but not what I was expecting.

That was... unexpected [key word] to say the least. Every time I think of Matched, the first book in the series, I get this happy feeling in my head because it was a book I really loved. And that book was about love, plain and simple. Forbidden love found in a hopeless place (HA, to quote Rhianna). Sure Crossed dropped the ball a tad, but that usually happens with the second book. I was hoping that Reached would go back to its roots and blossom once more, but I feel like it doesn't even belong in the same series. The story took a turn that was just weird and not so much unexpected like "Woah! That would never happen" as in "Wow, I really thought something else was going to be the focus of the story".

Cassia, Ky, and Xander are all playing their parts to bring the Society down. Cassia is sorting, Ky is flying planes of some sorts, and Xander is working with the medicine peoples. The shit hits the fan pretty early on in the story so we are left in the rest of the story dealing with the repercussions. This is all good really, until a plague breaks out in the Society, a plague brought by the Rebellion in their twisted plan to be the saviors of this new world. Only, the plague gets worse and worse, and there is nobody able to provide a cure.

And that is basically what the whole story focuses on for the entire book. A race to find the cure. It's just, it seems like a whole new series after a certain point. I thought The Matched trilogy dealt more with the characters, and how they are and how they think and feel. Matched was more character driven and Reached is a lot more plot driven than anything. At the beginning the story was about Cassia and Ky, and, let's face it, love. By the end the story has something about love, but the character are yet again separated throughout the novel and the plague is all the rave, front and center.

The book is more about Xander than anything else really. Xander, Cassia and their friendship. But more just Xander. In my mind Matched was more Cassia, Crossed was more Ky, and Reached was more Xander. I think that's why I liked Matched more because I like who Cassia is more. The quiet rebel. But I love me some Xander too, so I was thrilled to learn about his story, I just didn't expect the story to be more about him.

So at the end my veridict is I liked/enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I had come to expect from the series. I am sure a lot of people will love/enjoy it though. The writing is still beautiful, there are some passages that take your breath away, but that wasn't enough to distract me from the fact that the path Reached ended up taking didn't feel right. I am open to the suggestion of making a fourth book/novella and giving the finale another go.

Cover Winner of October; New Covers for November!

Best cover of October, according to my fabulous followers, was...

Breakdown:

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence - 29 (34%)

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa - 20 (24%)

  The Evolution of Mara Dyer - 20 (24%)
 
Crewel by Gennifer Albin - 8 (9%)

Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson - 6 (7%)

Votes so far: 83

My mini hiatus is officially over. Sometimes you just need some time to re charge your batteries and get your head back in the game.

November is a tricky month when it comes to covers, but other than that is the best month ever. I am drowning in school work and actual work so I haven't had much time to read (not to mention the book that I'm surrently reading seems to take forever to get anywhere). But alas I shall end this book soon and then get back into the game. I am not one to quit books.

 

November Covers!

As always the voting in on the left sidebar, remember to vote! I also made a slideshow (it's on the top of the page) with January to October 2012 releases, with each passing month I increase the number of covers. It shows the date the books are released as well. You are welcome.

Which is your favorite? Also, you can leave suggestion in the comment box for covers for next month. Suggestions are always welcomed.

PS; All of these covers, and many many more, you can find at Bloody Bookaholic's Facebook Page. Check it out and you are welcome to "like" it. (Seriously, like it!)

PPS; Also my 20th birthday is this month, so it's extra awesome.

 





So I started reading Strange Places by Jefferson Smith...

Goodreads

Eliza:

"Eliza's shoulders sagged. Why did anybody trust her to do anything important? She went to the window and leaned against the coat rack, burying her face in the folds of Regalia's old habit. She should have followed her usual Pylon Law: When you get confused, just stand still. When you're in danger or you don't know what's going on, pretend to be a deaf mute and wait. Sooner or later, the situation will reveal itself and tell you everything you need to know, so long as everybody thinks you're an idiot."

Tayna:

"There was Angiron's car, sitting nonchalantly at the curb, waiting to drag her away to some unimaginable creepy fate. And across the street from that was the alley- to the best of her knowledge, the home and castle of a completely different homicidal maniac- one who wore rubber pants and who has apparently chosen Tayna as his next chew toy. So many choices lay before her. Death by creepy short guy, or death by creepy tall guy. The world was nothing if not generous."

I just want to point out that the story isn't told from two different point of views, it is 3rd person story telling. These two quotes however give you a glimpse into the high point of Strange Places, which is the character's dialogue and way of thinking. Sometimes the main character (Tayna) seems older than mere 13 years old, but maybe that's because she had to grow up quick as an orphan in the worst orphanage ever created. It is a middle grade novel, but that shouldn't deter from it being a good story. I am only on chapter 7. I am really enjoying the character of Tayna and the dialogue, but I am also having trouble going through the novel at a brisk pace. It's kind of slow at times, and thus I start to lose interest. I think it may be because the author is trying to build this whole new world full of magic in which the magic isn't as exciting as I was expecting and it's more about nature and what not. For a middle grade book though I would have liked more off the books kind of magic. It was just a little disappointing to find out the roots of how the magic works. Again I am still in chapter 7 now so maybe the magic part of the story will get better... I can only hope.

Download (for FREE) The Iron King, Iron's Prophecy and The Lost Prince, all by Julie Kagawa!!

 

Only 20 hours left... Hurry and get your e-copies of these Iron Fey books for free!

I already had The Iron King, and The Lost Prince, both fantastic. Now I'm getting Iron's Prophecy! Can't wait to read it... The Iron Fey is basically one of the best series ever so you should definitely give it a try.

Click here to get these books for free.

Remember there is only 20 hours left so you must make haste!

Have you voted yet? Goodreads Choice Awards 2012!!

Okay so I am here to tell you guys that Goodreads has this awards each year and that is pretty fun to vote for your favorite books so I think you should all head over there and vote!

 

Goodreads Author:

 



 

 

I voted for Lauren Oliver for this category. Why would I do this when Richelle Mead is in the listing? Well it's because I met Lauren Oliver once at a signing, and she was just the nicest person ever. Though I would have so voted for Julie Kagawa had she been in the running (because I love that woman! She is also super nice and every time I see her at signings she is kind enough to sign whatever book from her series I bring from home).

 

Graphic Novels and Comics:

 

 

I voted for The Walking Dead. I like that a lot of YAs are here though, Vampire Academy (which was so so on graphic novel form), Soulles by Gail Carriger, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick... My second choice would have been Avatar, gosh I love that series.

 

Young Adult Fiction:

 

 

TOTALLY voted for Pushing the Limits, such a good book! I looved it. I really want to read My Life Next Door, Easy and The Fault in our Stars. There's something about comtemporary this year!

 

Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction:

This one was by far the hardest, as is every year. So many good books, Legend, The Golden Lily, Pandemonium, Insurgent, The Immortal Rules... At the end though, even though I absolutely LOVED Pandemonium and The Immortal Rules (I go gaga for these books), I had to go with Sweet Evil. It was such a good book that didn't receive as much attention as the other two because it was a debut novel and all. Supporting new loves, even though my hand is itching to click on The Immortal Rules picture.

There are many other categories, but I only vote on the ones I actually have read some books on.

Voting is so much fun, so now go and show some love for your favorite titles here.

Hot Cover Recap: Exciting New Covers revealed! Over 15 new titles!

I've been gone for a little while there (college) and I can't believe just how many new covers have come out in the mean time! It's crazy, I'm gonna divide them by piles of "I love", "I Like", "It's Okay", and "Ugh, no, just, no".

I love:

 

 

Do you see how 3 out of four of these are purple? Love the purple. My favorite would have to be A Darkness Strange and Lovely. It's a lovely cover!

I Like:

   

  

I am enthralled by The Ward, the way the water is falling, as if it was at the edge of the world... September Girls is also beautiful, so simple but still beautiful. Icons looks like the Evernight covers, sort of screwed up but I still like it, plus I can't WAIT for the story!

It's Okay:

   

I can't wait for Frozen!!! Shadows of Silence was this close to being in the "like" group, but I don't know, it's okay. After Daybreak is pretty, sure, but I mean I am sort of tired of these type of Fallen covers.

Just, no:

 

Which are your favorites?