Cover Reveal - Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

COGLING

A Steampunk Fairy Tale for Young Adults

who love a little Romance in their Adventures

When fifteen-year-old Edna Mather tears an expensive and unfamiliar pocket watch off her little brother's neck, he crumbles into a pile of cogs right before her eyes. Horrified, Edna flees for help, but encounters Ike, a thief who attempts to steal the watch before he realizes what it is: a device to power Coglings—clockwork changelings left in place of stolen children who have been forced to work in factories.

Desperate to rescue her brother, Edna sets off across the kingdom to the hags' swamp, with Ike in tow. There, they learn Coglings are also replacing nobility so the hags can stage a rebellion and rule over humanity. Edna and Ike must stop the revolt, but the populace believes hags are helpful godmothers and healers. No one wants to believe a lowly servant and a thief, especially when Ike has secrets that label them both as traitors. 

Together, Edna and Ike must make the kingdom trust them or stop the hags themselves, even if Ike is forced to embrace his dark heritage and Edna must surrender her family. 

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COGLING has already gained advanced praise from NY Times Bestselling author Maria V. Snyder!

“This is a fun YA Steampunk novel. It's very different than many other Steampunk stories I've read. Basic plot is Edna's brother is kidnapped by hags and replaced with a "cogling" and she's on a mission to find and rescue her brother. The world is a Victorian-era with a strict class system for the humans and for those with magic. The woman with magic are called hags and the men with magic are orges and they're not nice and are planning to change the system. I really enjoyed learning about the world and the characters are well drawn and engaging.”

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Check out COGLING on GoodReads and Curiosity Quills.  

Meet the author – Jordan Elizabeth Mierek lives in a dream world.  Sometimes she comes out to do her day job, but most of the time she is writing about her favorite people – her characters!  COGLING is her fourth book.  Her previous steampunk series, the Treasure Chronicles, include TREASURE DARKLY and BORN OF TREASURE.  Her debut novel, ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, is a young adult fantasy-horror.  You can find her short stories in numerous anthologies.  Check out her website, JordanElizabethMierek.com, for contests and bonus stories!

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Streetwise George and his big, childlike friend Lennie are drifters, searching for work in the fields and valleys of California. They have nothing except the clothes on their back, and a hope that one day they’ll find a place of their own and live the American dream. But dreams come at a price. Gentle giant Lennie doesn’t know his own strength, and when they find work at a ranch he gets into trouble with the boss’s daughter-in-law. Trouble so bad that even his protector George may not be able to save him…








My Review 
This was a really intriguing book, which I didn't really expect to like.
We read this book for the English lesson and therefore read it as a class, part by part. At first, I was kind of skeptical of the book for various reasons, but mostly because it didn't really seem like the kind of book I would typically read. It is a historical-fiction book based in the time of the Great Depression in America. Two guys named George and Lennie are desperately trying to find a new job to fulfill their Dream of owning their own land.
The book started off very slow. The descriptions were elaborate and went in a lot of detail. That is normally fine with me; however, if there is too much description and the author doesn't actually get on with the story, I would already start to get bored. Further on, the dialogue in the first chapter of the book interested me because of the contrast between George and Lennie's characters and personality, which I will talk about later. Steinbeck makes sure not to reveal too much information in the first chapter of the book, so that the reader will want to read more and find out what actually happened at George's previous job in Weed and how Lennie got him into trouble.
As mentioned beforehand, there is a stark contrast between George and Lennie, both in appearance and personality. George is a rather small guy compared to Lennie. He is described in a way that lets the reader know that he is pretty smart. Then comes Lennie, who always follows George like an obedient dog. Lennie is a big and tall man, who doesn't know his own strength. He is simple-minded and not really bright and therefore follows whatever George says. There were a lot of other characters present in this story as well, like Curley's wife, Candy, Curley, Crooks, Carlson and others. (I just realized that their names all start with the letter C...)
I really liked the way the story flowed and how it made the reader want to know the rest of the story. Knowing that Lennie doesn't know his own strength is an obvious premonition of trouble for the reader and creates suspense because the reader would suspect something to occur. However, I thought that the accents and the way the characters talked was kind of awkward to get into when I first started the book, but I slowly got used to it and also understood what the people were saying. I kind of like the way how the story ended, because it was left open, but I felt that the ending was also a bit abrupt.
Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

First Chapter Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday #2 - "The Magickal Birthday Treat" by Sheelag McGrath

Every Tuesday Diane @ Bibliophile By the Sea hosts a weekly meme called First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. Basically, this is when you share the first and maybe the second paragraph of the book you are currently reading or want to read soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a meme hosted by MizB @ A Daily Rhythm, where I need to open my currently-reading book to a random page and pick two spoiler-free sentences.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I got a  request from a publisher to read and review this book. It sounds like an adorable book and I can't wait to start reading! There is more information about it here

CHAPTER ONE
The Ghost in the Computer 
Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared. No, he didn’t leave. Leaving would imply suitcases and empty drawers, and late birthday cards with ten-dollar bills stuffed inside. Leaving would imply he was unhappy with Mom and me, or that he found a new love elsewhere. None of that was true. He also did not die, because we would’ve heard about it. There was no car crash, no body, no police mingling about the scene of a brutal murder. It all happened very quietly. On my sixth birthday, my father took me to the park, one of my favorite places to go at that time. It was a lonely little park in the middle of nowhere, with a running trail and a misty green pond surrounded by pine trees. We were at the edge of the pond, feeding the ducks, when I heard the jingle of an ice cream truck in the parking lot over the hill. When I begged my dad to get me a Creamsicle, he laughed, handed me a few bills, and sent me after the truck. That was the last time I saw him.

TEASER
“Gosh what’s that, Nonni? Sooo bright, brighter than the last!”
“That’s a supernova, they burn very brightly and then they’re gone, Jess.”
“Where do they go?”
“They explode and become debris,” explained Nonni.

What do you think about it? Would you leave it or keep on reading?

First Chapter Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday #1 - "Greenwood" by Alexandra M. Griesinger

Every Tuesday Diane @ Bibliophile By the Sea hosts a weekly meme called First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros. Basically, this is when you share the first and maybe the second paragraph of the book you are currently reading or want to read soon.

Teaser Tuesdays is a meme hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, where I need to open my currently-reading book to a random page and pick two spoiler-free

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is the book I am currently reading and got from a publisher in exchange for an honest review. It was published on September 15th 2015.

THE FIRST CHAPTER
One; The Discovery
I smiled as I wiped blood off my lips and I eyed Kelsey ‘Hit’ Keeper. She had light red hair that reached her man looking shoulders. Her dark brown eyes conspired against me as she raised her man fists. She is like six feet tall and her mouth was twitching as I kept smiling my cocky bloody smile. Her legs were shaking in anger and her yoga pants were stained with mud. Her white shirt was soaked after I’d pushed her into the small pond in my backyard. Her pot belly was sticking out and she was almost out of breath.
“You are not used to having this much excise are you?” I teased as I cocked my head to the side.

TEASER
“My first fight with Kelsey and first encounter with Mr. Keeper. The beginning of my struggle and fight,” I whispered to myself again.
~pg, 227

What do you think about it? Would you leave it or keep on reading?

The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) Kelley Armstrong

Book Blurb (From goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.
Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel...different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

My Review:

This a spin of series from the darkest powers series, or it could be vice versa, I really don't know.
The plot of this was really slow moving. This is probably because it is such a complicated world that it takes up the better half of a book to even start to get a grasp on what it is. This book focused more on Maya's life before everything is going to go to hell. Which is good, because that means that when everything gets real crazy and every possible thing that can go wrong does, we can look back and know where it all started. But it still took a while to get to the main part of the plot and it doesn't really live up to what the blurb says happens in the book. A lot of the things were just glazed over briefly before moving to the next point. You would defiantly need to read the second book to find the action.
Maya is very outgoing in everything that she does and is also very street smart which helps her in more than one situation. She knows what is best for herself and others but she doesn't always act on those instincts. Throughout the book there is not much change in her character because as I said before, this book is the build up. The calm before the storm.
All in all I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars and I will be moving onto the second very soon. Hopefully there will be more to say then...

Book Rainbow Tag

And we're back with a book challenge! We were challenged by Megan and Cat over at Books of Fascination to do the Book Rainbow Challenge. Thank you for challenging us!

This is definitely something we don't usually do, but we are really exited to present to you... our beautiful Book Rainbows!

It is kind of funny to see the size differences between mine and Jessie's book list. Jessie has tons of books to choose from on her shelf and its pretty obvious that she went crazy with them and wasn't sparing any...  Meanwhile I tried to make as good a rainbow as I could with my meager book collection, but lo and behold! Here they are!!!

For anyone who wants to do this tag as well and the bloggers we have tagged, here are the rules:

RULES:  

1. The books you use for creating the rainbow must be your own!

2. If the books you choose are hardcover, you can use it with or without the cover slip on.

3. Colors can be a wide variety-be creative! Just keep the color order of the rainbow in mind!

4. There isn't a specific number of books you can have. Go nuts!

5. Display your book rainbow proudly on the post.

6. Tag whomever! Spread the love! 

Jessica

Avalon (Avalon #1) by Mindee Arnett (black)
The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey (black)
The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey (black)
The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken  (grey)
Asylum (Asylum #1) by Madeleine Roux (Grey)
Witch Hunter (Witch Hunter #1) by Virginia Boecker  (grey)
Override (Glitch #2) by Heather Anastasiu  (red)
The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli (red)
Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy) by Sally Green (red)
Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) by Laini Taylor (Red)
Messenger of Fear (Messenger of Fear #1) by Micheal Grant (Red)
Endgame (Endgame #1) by James Fray (Gold)
Gold (Bandia #2) by Talia Vance (Yellow/Orange)
Shutdown (Glitch #3) by Heather Anastasiu (Yellow/Brown)
Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympions #2) by Rick Riordan (Green)
The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury (Green)
Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie (Green)
Ignite Me (Shatter me #3) by Tahereh Mafi (Blue/Green)
Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi (Blue/Grey)
Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi (Blue/Gray)
The Gathering (Darkness Rising) by Kelly Armstrong (Blue)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Blue)
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (Blue)
Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli (Turquoise)
How to Love by Katie Cotugno (Turquoise)
Rules of Summer (Rules of Summer #1) by Joanna Philbin (Pink)
The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6) by Richelle Mead (Pink/Purple)
Glitch (Glitch #1) by Heather Anastasiu (Pink/purple)
Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White (Purple)
Sliver (Bandia #1) by Talia Vance (Purple)
Sleepless (Red Eye) by Lou Morgan (Purple)
No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale (Purple)

 The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co #2) by Jonathan Stroud (black-red)
Kristallschwert (Chroniken der Dunkelheit #2) by A. J. Lake (red)
I Am Number Four (I Am Number Four #1) by Pittacus Lore (red-orange)
The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner #2) by James Dashner (orange)
Starcrossed (Starcrossed #1) by Josephine Angelini (orange-yellow)
The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner (yellow)
Every Day (Every Day #1) by David Levithan (yellow)
Avalon: Web of Magic by Rachel Roberts (green)
Antigoddess (Goddess War #1) by Kendare Blake (blue)
Eisdrache (Chroniken der Dunkelheit #1) by A. J. Lake (blue)
The Death Cure (The Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner (blue)
The Pharaoh's Cat by Maria Luisa Lang (purple)
Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (black)

WE TAGGED:
- Ashley @ What's Your Story?
-Denise @ The Bibliolater
-The Undomestic Fangirl @ The Bookwhore Diaries

Those are the bloggers we challenged to do the Book Rainbow Tag. But remember, anyone is free to do this tag and show off their lovely rainbows!

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) by Rick Riordan

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he's never met - a man his mother claimed was dangerous. His uncle tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

My Review 
Oh my gosh, this book is AWESOME!!!!!!! *breathes in* ASDFGHJKL. I can't even begin to comprehend the amazingness that is this book! Alright, I have to gather my thoughts about this book, I am still scatter-brained and have no clue where I should start...
Rick Riordan has written another magnificent book which I can't wrap my head around. I feel like I have a massive book hangover. Every time I think it is over, my brain keeps on going back to it and won't let go! Not that I mind of course... Anyways, if you can't tell from the whole rambling at the start, I absolutely loved this book. It has the same take a the Percy Jackson series, just with Norse gods. I didn't mind the similarities though because in some ways, it is still a completely different story. I felt though, that the beginning was a bit slow and the world-building could have done a bit more elegantly because some parts were more of an information dump than anything.
I really loved all of the characters. I don't even know who is my favourite anymore. Samirah was really awesome, even though she is pretty violent at the start. I love all of the gods, they were so awesomely portrayed. Magnus's narration was hilarious to read, especially with that snarky commentary and attitude. However, I did notice, that Magnus's voice is very similar to Percy's voice. I found that to be a bit of a downer even though I absolutely loved the narration. Magnus's commentary has some slight changes though.
Overall, I still loved this book, as I did Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. I think, that I felt that the start was slow because I was superhyped for this book and couldn't wait to read it. Everything, from the writing style to the story, was awesome even though Magnus seems to be very similar to Percy.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

I'm back!!!

Hey guys! I haven't been on this blog in such a long time! Ugh, I feel terrible about it, I'm really sorry. I made a point in  a previous post, that I will not force myself to post if I don't feel up to it or if I am busy. However, I only post once a week on a Wednesday to get my book review up and I have missed that posting day sooooo often in the last couple of weeks due to other activities in school and stuff like that(all the assessments are pouring in before the holidays) despite only having to prepare ONE post!

So, I decided that I would definitely post a review this Wednesday ( I already have a book all picked out and started the review) :)
Jessie and I are also finally going to finish the Book Rainbow Tag sometime this week and I must say that I am very happy with how my book rainbow turned out!

So those are the posts that I planned so far this week. I hope nothing will come in the way, I know this is obvious and I really don't have to say it, but school will always be my first priority no matter how much this blog means to me. So if I don't post my review this week, you can probably guess what I am doing *sigh*

Anyway, see you guys in the next post!!!

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
I have died three times, and three times been reborn, though I am not yet twenty in the old earth years by which it is still the fashion to measure time. This is the story of my three deaths, and my life between. My name is Khemri.

Taken from his parents as a child and equipped with biological and technological improvements, Khemri is now an enhanced human being, trained and prepared for the glory of becoming a Prince of the Empire. Not to mention the ultimate glory: should he die, and be deemed worthy, he will be reborn...Which is just as well, because no sooner has Prince Khemri graduated to full Princehood than he learns the terrible truth behind the Empire: there are ten million princes, and all of them want each other dead. 



My Review
Honestly, I was kind of disappointed by this book.
I think my expectations were too high. So far I loved every single book Garth Nix wrote, especially with that wry sense of humour. However, I didn't really like this book that much.
This is a sci-fi book. Prince Khemri was taken as a baby from his parents and grew up to be Prince. We follow Khemri on his life journey growing up and making decisions that would change his lives.
The first chapter tells us right of the bat, that Prince Khemri died three times and that this book is about his life. This interested me from the start and the first paragraph was very intriguing. Then it went downhill from thereon out. The first couple of chapters, in fact the entire first half of the book was a continuous information dump. I was bored out of my mind and put the book down for quite a while until I decided to finish it. I guess, that I am glad after all that I finished it, because it became really good. The world building was really slow and boring though, but the second half of the book was way better and also exciting to read.
Khemri underwent some serious character development in this book, which I guess was the point. He was spoiled at first and also very, very arrogant. He believed that he was the best of the best and treated everyone else like dirt. However, I really liked Haddad and Raine. Haddad was responsible and you could really see how much he cared for Khemri near the end of the book. Raine was a really refreshing character, especially after reading about how arrogant and spoiled Khemri and the other Princes are.
Overall, Garth Nix finally retained his amazing writing style in the second half of the book. It took the first half of the book to create a very complex world, which I think should have been done more gradually and not dropped like a bombshell.
I was slightly disappointed by this book. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead

Book Blurb (From goodreads)
I wasn't free of my past, not yet.

Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist - one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.

My Review
 Richelle Mead is one of my favourite authors and I can always count on her for a good exciting read and she never fails to impress.
The plot line picked up more or less from where the Vampire Academy series left off and I highly recommend that you read that series first because it gives you a lot of background of all of the characters which you don't see as much of in this series which would help you understand their motives better. That, and it allows you to see exactly where all of these characters started off. The plot of this book only really thickens around half way through we everything isn't quite what it seems and Sydney begins to question her training as an alchemist. The was not a lot of action in this book apart from at the end, which ended up being exciting enough to satisfy me for the lack of action in the other chapters.
Sydney was complicated in this book. She was always conflicted with her duty to the alchemists and the people that she grew up with and her new found friendship to the dhampires and the vampires. She managed to handle herself well enough when Adrien provoked her which made the scenes with him slightly more amusing. Adrien was the same Adrien that we had seen in the other books. He liked to stay drunk and agitate people. But when it came to protecting those he loved he calmed down enough to do what needed to be done.
All in all I give this book four out of five stars.