In My Mailbox (87)

In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:

 Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Michelle Rowen with Richelle Mead

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (#1 Lunar Chronicles)

Thank you to Penguin Australia for sending these to me!

Bought:

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

(#4 in the Inheritence series) 

The Name f The Star by Maureen Johnson.

(Shades of London #1)

The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan

(The Homelanders #1)

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich.

(Stephanie Plum #17)

So, that's my IMM this week.  What did you get in yours?

TGIF (3) Love-Hate Relationships

TGIF is a weekly feature created and hosted by Ginger at GReads! that re-caps the week’s posts and has different question each week.

This Friday's Question:
Love-Hate Relationships: Which characters from a book do you love or hate?

Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Caine

One person pops up in the Morganville Vampire series that I kind of dislike/hate.  Monica Morell.  She's a queen bee.  She flaunts her status and really butts heads with Claire.  I still think she's necessary for the storyline!

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley 

Ed.
He's a down to earth aussie character who I really did fall in love with in Graffiti Moon.  There wasn't anything really special that stood out that I could say why.  Maybe it was the way Cath portrays him.  It could the secret he's hiding.. I'm not sure.  I just knew that this was a book I would most definitely be re-reading in the future because of him :) 

Shadow Falls Series by C.C. Hunter

Frederika.
She's an "Super bitch".  No nice way to say that!  I think we get to see more of this S.B in Awake at Dawn more-so than Born at Midnight but she does get her comeuppance in the second book which I found absolutely hilarious.  Again, a character that I find necessary for the storyline.

This Weeks Posts (From Saturday):

Sticky Beak (70)

In My Mailbox (86)

Review: Last Breath by Rachel Caine

Waiting on Wednesday (79)

Review: Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn

Which characters from a book do YOU love or hate?

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn

Title:  Open Minds

Author:  Susan Kaye Quinn

Genre:  Young Adult/Sci Fi/Paranormal with dystopian elements

Publisher:  CreateSpace

Publication Date:  1st November 2011

Stand alone or series:   Mindjack Trilogy #1

Pages:  241 pages

Book Received from:  Susan Kaye Quinn (Author

First Lines:  A zero like me shouldn’t take public transportation.  The hunched driver wrinkled a frown before I even got on the bus.

Synopsis:
When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

My Thoughts:
After reading the synopsis for Open Minds, I knew I had to read this. I really liked the idea of people being able to read minds (but thankfully it's not possible in real life!) and a world where everyone is able to do that but a certain few is the opposite of how most YA stories I've come across are told.

Right from the beginning I was hooked with the story. Kira the main character is a zero. In a world where everyone is an open book, a zero is looked down upon as untrustworthy and others give them a wide berth. As if it is their fault that they didn't change. I think I identified with her right then and there, as the underdog always wins my heart over more often than not.

Susan has done an amazing job at creating well rounded characters. Each character including the ones I disliked had both traits that I admired as well as loathed. It was also quite hard distinguishing the 'bad' guys from the good guys since most fell into that gray area in between.

Open Minds is full of action too, shocking at times with a few twists and turns I honestly didn't see coming. Kira stays strong throughout the book, even when things look bleak. Another trait I loved about the main character.

I recommend this read to others who enjoy YA Paranormal/Sci Fi reads with dystopian elements (Whoa! that's a lot of genres, but it fits all of these!). If that's you give it a go!

I look forward to reading Closed Hearts the second book in the Mindjack Trilogy!

Original review posted on Book Lovers Inc

Waiting on Wednesday (79)

Waiting on Wednesday was brought to you by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!

This week I'd like to share the latest addition to my wishlist.  Above by Leah Bobet will be released the 1st of April 2012.  Can't wait!

Synopsis

Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee's wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above--like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.

But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe's history and the shadows' attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home--not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.

Pre-order Above at Book Depository!

What are you waiting on?

Last Breath by Rachel Caine

Title:  Last Breath

Author:  Rachel Caine

Genre:  Young Adult/Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  Penguin Aus (Imprint: Razorbill) 

Publication Date:  26th October 2011

ISBN:  9781921880100

Stand alone or series:  Morganville Vampires #11 

Pages:  456 pages

Book Received from:  Penguin Australia (Publisher)

First Lines:  Shane's lips felt like velvet against the nape of her neck, and Claire shivered in delight as his breath warmed the skin there.

Possible spoilers if you haven't read the other ten books. 

Synopsis:
Claire Danvers is concerned when three vampires vanish from Morganville without a trace. The last person seen with them is someone new to town – a mysterious individual named Magnus. Claire is convinced creepy Magnus isn't human . . . but is he a vampire, or something else entirely?
Claire's hunt for answers leads her to solving another mystery that's long been puzzling her: why do vampires live so far out in a sunny desert when they're sensitive to sunlight? The answer has nothing to do with sunlight, but with water – and an ancient enemy who has finally found a way to invade the vampires' landlocked community. Vampires aren't the top predator on earth. There's something worse that preys on them . . . something much worse. Which means if Claire, and Morganville, want to live, they will have to fight on to the last breath . . .

My Thoughts:
The Morganville Vampire series has been up on my favourites list for quite some time.  After I was given the opportunity (along with two other bloggers) to have breakfast with Rachel Caine (see here), a few little hints were dropped about book 11, so I had been waiting impatiently for Last Breath!  So naturally when I did get this I devoured it in one night.

In Bite Club Rachel Caine had introduced Shane's POV to the story line, but in Last Breath we get to see the story unfold from not only Claire's POV (who still remains the Main character) but also Amelie, Eve, Michael and Shane's this time.  I liked how she's done this because it gives the storyline so much more depth and you can see how each character comes to the decisions they make throughout.

By far this is my favourite book in the series so far.  Right from the beginning with an unexpected visitor to the Glass House I couldn't put the book down at all.  As always, my all time favourite character Myrnin really did surprise me in this book.  He would go to the ends of the earth for Claire!  Even though at times it doesn't seem like it.

There are plot turns and surprises.. okay SHOCKS!  that I did not see coming at all.  Rachel Caine has done a good job of keeping the reader on their toes especially with introducing Magnus the creepy character to the series.  And I will admit, without (hopefully) spoiling it, that there is one moment about halfway through where I'm like OMG!  Noooo! So if you are following the series and haven't read this book.  It is a must!

As always another beautifully crafted story from Rachel Caine and I so can't wait to find out how the Morganville characters will deal with the changing circumstances in Black Dawn.

In My Mailbox (86)

In My Mailbox is a weekly post created by The Story Siren.

For Review:

Switched by Amanda Hocking - Proof Copy
(Trylle Trilogy #1)
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending this to me!

Cedardale Court by Nathan Lee Christensen
Thanks to Nathan for sending this to me!

Bought:

A Tale of Two Goblins by H.P. Mallory
(Book 2 in the Dulcie O'Neil series)

That's all from me this week.  What did you get in your IMM?

Sticky Beak (70)

Sticky Beak is all about sharing. Sometimes we can't all get around to every single blog and website available so that's where Sticky Beak comes in. By word of mouth (well you get what I mean) we are more likely to get to those blogs that we wouldn't have normally seen without someone pointing them out to us.

The links could be to your own post, a favourite blog post you would love to share, an authors blog/website, book/writing contests, reviews you really enjoyed, tour info or anything you would love to share with others. Just use the comments below to add your link!


Here's Mine:


Cool Stuff To Check Out:
Pure-Book:  Check out the Prologue to Pure by Julianna Baggott.  Released in February 2012
NeatoShop:  Weird and wonderful stuff to buy here.  Bacon Mints? Not sure about those lol
The Story Siren: Books to Pine For (59) .. love these posts!


For Writers:
Novel Novice: Nanowrimo Posts.  Pretty cool stuff here
Random Magic Tour - The Coven: Take Five.  Cool stuff to check out here if you are participating in the nanowrimo!!

New Authors:
Susan Kaye Quinn: Author of Open Minds.  I absolutely loved this book!  Interesting storyline!  Keep an eye out for my review on Book Lovers Inc next week ;)
C.C. Hunter: Author of Born at Midnight and Awake At Dawn, both books I've read and recommend to others!

Hope you all enjoy these and feel free to include your own in the comments!