Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Title: Faking Normal
Author: Courtney C. Stevens
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: February 25th 2014
Source: Edelweiss
Format: egalley

Rating: 5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

I have said more than once that I like realistic books that break my heart into little pieces but with a more or less happy ending and this is not the first book I read about sexual assault, but one of the few who once I start reading it, I couldn't put it down and once I finished reading it, couldn't get it out of my mind.

Faking Normal tells the story of Alexi, a girl that her life has not been the same since summer, because that was when she was sexually assaulted, but she pretends to be fine and acts normal in front of her family, friends and classmates, but every day she sits inside her closet and compulsively scratches her neck until it bleeds and then she counts compulsively the vents in her bedroom, all this allows her to calm down somehow. Because after all she is not sure if she really was abused, because she never said no, she just froze in panic, so she blamed herself for letting it happen and all the blame lies with her ​​and not her attacker.

Then Bodee comes into her life, he´s a guy from school whom she´d never has crossed a word, he´s the weird kid and everyone knows him as the "Kool-aid kid", because he dyes his hair with Kool-aid; Bodee comes to live at her house, he is going through a very difficult time in his life and Alexi¨s family invite him to live with them temporarily. I must say that Bodee is my favorite character of the book, despite also having his own problems and been broken, he's kind, very protective and knows that something is going on with Alexi and tries to be there for her.

Also as part of the plot and something that makes Alexi´s days bearable and that is the mystery of Captain Lyric, a guy who writes songs phrases or quotes everyday on her desk and Alexi completes the verse of the song and she challenge him by leaving another verse of a song so that he completes it, they only communicate through songs and she does not know who he is.

Overall, Faking Normal is a very beautifully written contemporary novel with a powerful, heart wrenching, poignant and realistic plot, with unforgettable characters and that broke my heart to teeny tiny bits. Definitely a MUST read book.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.

Favorites quotes

I say a little prayer of thankfulness. Mom and Dad believe they invited Bodee into our home to help him, but the truth is, he´s helping me.

"..this´ll sound weird, but when I was a kid I believed in monsters. You know, like vampires. Werewolves. Ghosts. And I believed in them because I knew at least one monster existed. He wore a shirt with his name stiched across the pocket. And carried a fifth for a weapon. And sometimes a knife."

Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

Title: Alienated (Alienated #1)
Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release date: February 4th 2014
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 4.5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Interplanetary relations have never been more exciting! The first in a funny, romantic YA sci-fi series.

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.
But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

I 've always liked stories about aliens and especially the love stories between humans and aliens, I don´t know if someone remember Roswell (TV series)? it was one of my favorite series about aliens, so when I saw this book, I'll be honest the first thing that caught my eye was the beautiful cover (yes, I love books with beautiful covers), but after reading the synopsis really interested me.

Alienated tells the story of Cara, a girl in her senior year of high school and valedictorian. She´s chosen from thousands of students (valediactorians) in the U.S. to host one of the first exchange students from Planet L ' eihr because Aelyx will go to the USA, Syrine to France and Eron to China, in order to be a school year on earth and thus interact with humans and appear in a weekly talk show on TV (at least Aelyx), so that humans gradually got used to the idea of interacting with aliens, because the governments plans to make an alliance with the L'eihrs, and at the end of the school year, it is planned to be the human hosts the ones that would travel to planet L'eihr.

So once on earth Aelyx and Cara must lead an almost normal school life, or at least that is until the people living in the city begins to get paranoia and do not want Aelyx on earth and start making protest in front of their high school and Cara´s house and she starts receiving threatening and insulting messages and things start to spiral out of control.

The book is told from the point of view of Cara and Aelyx, and something I like the story is that there isn´t instant love because the first impression she has of Aelyx is that he´s extremely handsome, but that's it, she doesn´t declared her undying love or anything like that. Aelix is very distant and apparently on plant L'eihr they aren´t used to physical contact (he doesn´t like to be touched), or any type of demonstration affection. Initially Aelyx is a know-all, that says what he thinks without sugar coating or censored himself, but the more time he spends on earth and Cara, he tries to adapt and be a little more friendly.

Overall, I really liked Alienated, it´s a funny, very entertaining book with a fresh idea and some mysteries that had their answers in this book, with a good ending (without cliffhanger...yay!) and cannot wait for the next book - Invaded. I highly recommended this book for fans of YA sci-fi books with a budding romance.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Book trailer

Waiting On Wednesday (112): On the Fence

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I´m waiting this week is

On the Fence by Kasie West 

Release date: July 1st 2014

She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.

Why I'm Waiting?

I loved Pivot Point and I´ve heard great things about The Distance Between Us, so this one is going to my TBR list.

What book are you waiting this week?

Leave your WOW links 

Don´t forget to enter my current giveaway:

February New Release Giveaway Hop (INTL) - HERE.

Top Ten Tuesday (33): Final Book In A Series or Trilogy I'm Dying To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Final Book In A Series/Trilogy I'm Dying To Read
(in no particular order)

This list is to kill two birds with one stone, because that way I make a list of the books that I plan to read for the 2014 Don’t Let It End Reading Challenge and make my Top Ten of this week, because even though it was supposed to be a Rewind topic, I decided to do a freebie topic.

These are books that will be published in 2014.

1. The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa

2. Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor

3. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare 

4. Sacrifice (Elemental #5) by Brigid Kemmerer 

5. Sunrise (Ashfall #3) by Mike Mullin

6. The Traitor Son (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #3) by Julie Kagawa

These books I already bought them but they´re still sitting on my bookshelf (or kindle) because I didn´t read them when they were released and been putting them off and kind of dread their ending.

7. Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3) by Veronica Rossi 

8. With All My Soul (Soul Screamers #7) by Rachel Vincent

9. If I Should Die (Revenants #3) by Amy Plum
10. Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand

I had other final books sitting of my bookshelf that didn´t make it to this list because I haven´t read its previous book, such as Allegiant by Veronica Roth, Champion by Marie Lu .

Honorable mentions : 

Ashes to Ashes (Burn for Burn #3) by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

What final book in a series/trilogy are you dying to read?
Leave me your link in the comments.

Don´t forget to enter my current giveaway:
February New Release Giveaway Hop (INTL) - HERE.

Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Title: Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: January 28th 2014
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 4/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Life. Death. And...Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

Heartbeat tells the story of Emma, a girl that everyday visit her mother in the hospital, she´s brain dead but she´s kept on life support because her mother was pregnant at the time of her death and all this cause deep pain to Emma, because she is aware that her mother is dead and is not coming back, but every day she sees her breathing, so she haven´t  had time to assimilate her lost or had time to mourn the lost of her mother. And because of this she spends all her time angry with her stepfather Dan, to which she used to loved as a father, but now she hates due to his decision to keep alive the body of her mother to try to save the baby she was expecting.

Emma used to be a straight A student, and was planning to apply to the Top 20 colleges, but now that her mother died she doesn´t know what to do anymore, she doesn´t see sense to keep going to school or do her homework, she´s failing badly in her exams and her life line to the world is her best friend Olivia, because she can distract her of the pain.

While she´s feeling lost and in deep pain caused by her mother's death; she meets Caleb, a schoolfellow with a bad reputation, but in him she discovers someone who understands and knows her pain, so they start a friendship, that later on turns into something more.

With this book I had mixed feelings for about the first part of the book, because I understood both parties, and the way Emma and her stepfather Dan were dealing with their grief; I understand the tremendous pain that Emma was feeling because of her mother´s death and the fact that she thought she knew what her mother would want to do with her body; and also the fact that she has to see her every day isn´t helping her to heal her wounds, so she takes all her anger and hatred against Dan because he is the cause of her pain because she thinks her mother would not have liked to continue to be kept that way, so she´s very hostile toward him. But as parent, I fully understand Dan´s side of the story, I understand that he would do everything to save the life of his unborn child.

Something that I really liked was that Dan truly cares for Emma, at least in her basic needs such as food, rides to school and to take her everyday to the hospital and it is obvious that he cares about her with a lot of his actions, but something I did not understand is that a few weeks have passed since the death of Emma´s mother and she has not received any kind of intervention from either the school counsel/psychologist or any other kind of help, since it is obvious that she is not doing well and nobody does anything to help her in that sense. But something that I liked was that there were several flashbacks in which we see Emma with her mom and Dan and see the kind of family they were, how they loved each other and the kind of relationship that Emma and Dan had before her mother´s death and also the first weeks her mother´s pregnancy.

Heartbeat is realistic and heartbreaking contemporary novel, it´s a roller-coaster of emotions that deals grief, and with the pain of losing a loved one but it´s also about love and has a bittersweet ending.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Favorite quote

“When someone you love...when they die, you want it undone. You'd do anything to have them back, and it's easy to believe that if only this had happened or that had happened, everything would be fine. And that's what makes you angry. What makes you hate. You don't want to believe that sometimes bad things happen just because they do.”

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Journey.

Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Click on the image to look description in Goodreads.

Finished reading

Last week I only read Faking Normal, it´s an intense, poignant and heartbreaking book, it made me cry and is the kind of book I like. This book (for me) it has a rating of 5/5, but the bad thing (or good?) about it was that after I finishing it, I could not read what I had planned for that week, because I could not get out of my head Alexi´s and Bodee´s story. 

Review to come.

Currently reading

What I´m going to read next?

What are you reading today? 

Leave me your links!

Have a great week!

Don´t forget to enter my current giveaway:
February New Release Giveaway Hop (INTL) - HERE.

Waiting On Wednesday (111): Snow Like Ashes

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The book I´m waiting this week is

Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) de Sara Raasch

Fecha de publicación: 14 de Octubre de 2014. EUA

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

Sara Raasch’s debut fantasy is a lightning-fast tale of loyalty, love, and finding one’s destiny.

Why I'm Waiting?

Love the cover! and the synopsis sounds really amazing. Last year I read several great epic fantasy books and I want to read more of this genre.

What book are you waiting this week?

Leave your WOW links 

Don´t forget to enter my current giveaway:

February New Release Giveaway Hop (INTL) - HERE.

[Blog Tour] Review + Giveaway: A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers

Title: A Little Too Hot (A Little Too Far #3)
Author: Lisa Desrochers
Publisher: William Morrow Impulse
Release date: January 21st, 2014
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Format: egalley

Rating: 4/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | BookDepository

BOOK SUMMARY:

From USA Today bestselling author Lisa Desrochers comes the third book in her sizzling new adult series.

If you play with fire …

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen's club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny's: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he's got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming. Because Harrison Yates isn't who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.

"Every page is deliciously breathtaking, wickedly sexy and sensational. A LITTLE TOO HOT is wonderfully unique and a LOT HOT! I am a HUGE Lisa Desrochers fan."
   -- KATY EVANS, New York Times bestselling author of REAL

"Lisa is brilliant at creating sizzling sexual tension and impossible circumstances that make the reader hold their breath all the way to happy ever after. Sam and Harrison are more than A Little Too Hot, they are scorching!"
   -- JAY CROWNOVER, New York Times bestselling author of RULE

"Lisa Desrochers' best yet! A LITTLE TOO HOT is hotter than hot with all the emotional punch to back it up!"
   -- SOPHIE JORDAN, New York Times bestselling author

REVIEW:

A Little Too Hot is the third book in the A Little Too Far series but can be read without reading the previous books, it´s considered a stand-alone.

This book tells Samantha´s story, her life is a mess at the moment, she was expelled from college, her parents kicked her out and she just lost her job, so she ask her best friend Jonathan for help, who suggests her a work in a gentleman's club as a dancer. And once she realizes that it isn´t an actual strip club, but a place where she must dance with scantily-clad clothes (but she doesn´t have to strip) so she decides to take a chance on this new job and ends up loving it because she starts earning enough to solve her immediate problems. There she meets Harrison, an attractive man on her first day one, and he shows interest in her and no one can deny the strong attraction between them, but they can´t break the rules of the club, he cannot touch her and he must stay at a distance from her.

But don´t worry because it is not instant-love, because the first time she dances for Harrison, she mistakes him with her ex-boyfriend, so she dances for him while trying to seduce him, but once she realizes her error, they just flirt and then in the private dances they get to talk and sort of know each other, and after several private dances, things get out of control and from then her life changes forever.

The book is told from Sam´s POV, she´s very honest, strong, sexy but she hasn't got over her ex boyfriend. While Harrison is a confident man, who feels a great attraction for Sam, but he has a secret that threatens will complicate Sam´s life.

Overall, I loved it! This book is fast-paced, with a plot full of action, suspense, danger and of course romance (which initially was sexual tension) and must say I really did not expect the twist that takes the story. I highly recommended this book and I will definitely read the other books in the series.

AUTHOR BIO:

LISA DESROCHERS is the USA Today bestselling author of the A Little Too Far series, courtesy of HarperCollins, and the young adult Personal Demons trilogy from Macmillan. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. Find her online at www.lisadwrites.com , on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor.

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY: 

A LITTLE TOO HOT blurb pack: REAL, MINE, and REMY signed by Katy Evans; RULE, JET, and ROME signed by Jay Crownover; and FORPLAY signed by Sophie Jordan plus signed swag.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Journey.

Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Click on the image to look description in Goodreads.

Finished reading

Last week, I read and really enjoyed Heartbeat, A Little Too Hot and Alienated. Reviews to come.

Currently reading

What I´m going to read next?

What I´m going to read next?

What are you reading today? 

Leave me your links!

Have a great week!

Don´t forget to enter my current giveaway:
February New Release Giveaway Hop (INTL) - HERE.

Review: Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

Title: Secret (Elemental #4)
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Kensington Teen
Release date: January 28th 2014
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 4/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

You can read my review of  Elemental - here, Storm - here, Spark - here, Breathless - here & Spirit - here.

Nick Merrick is stretched to the breaking point.

Keep his brother's business going or the Merricks will be out on the street.

Keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his own twin--or he'll lose his family.

Keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who's supposed to be his "girlfriend's" partner.

Of course there's also the homicidal freak Quinn has taken to hanging around, and the Elemental Guide counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers.

There's a storm coming. From all sides. And then some.

Nick Merrick, can you keep it together?

If you have read my previous reviews you will know that I LOVE THIS SERIES! and that my favorites are the Merrick twins, so of course I was dying to read Nick Merrick´s book for some time but since I read Breathless, Nick´s novella and I saw where his story was heading I knew that this was a must for me.

And you must wonder why this series is so AMAZING? First because its main characters, the Merrick brothers (which each one of them have an affinity with the elements : water, fire, air and earth) and Hunter, are real, flawed, with vulnerabilities and good guys. And something that I love about this series is that each book is the story of one of them and a girl, but every book is not the same formula with different details but each story is unique, and after reading Spirit the previous book, I no longer know with what new surprise I ´ll face in the next book.

So Secret is the story of Nick Merrick and Quinn Briscoe, told from the point of view of both, and for everyone they are dating but in Breathless novella, I really saw how was their relationship in reality. So in this book Nick continues struggling with his sexuality, and with the feelings he´s starting to have for Quinn´s dance partner and apparently the guy is also interested in Nick but besides that he still doesn´t know what to do regarding his sexuality, because Nick is trying to be the perfect brother as he has been so far....he always do the right thing, he helps his older brother with his landscaping company and worries about not having enough money, he´s the peacemaker of the family, he has excellent grades and he usually does what all that´s expected of him, so he doesn´t know what to do about Adam.

Meanwhile Quinn is having strong family problems, so she tries to be away as long as possible, so she spends her time in a parking lot or in the woods until she starts spending time with Tyler, the archenemy of the Merrick brothers. I´ve known Quinn since the first book of the series, but I´ve never liked her and this book did not improve much my impression of her. She's still one of my least favorite characters of the series.

I´ve always liked Nick, but after reading his story, my heart is with him, it made ​​me very sad to see his fear of speaking to his brothers about how he really feels and about his sexuality, but he especially dreads to the reaction of his twin brother Gabriel.

And Adam ( insert scream), he´s so cute!!! I loved him, because that despite the fact that he´s completely open with his sexuality, he never pressured or forced Nick to do anything, and he has tremendous patience with him. I loved this couple! and I would recommend you to read Breathless before reading this book.

As I said before I LOVE this series and I really liked this book (Quinn´s part of the book notwithstanding), because it has great characters that I'm fond of them, besides of being a paranormal novel with lots of action scenes and romance, but it also has realistic themes. I highly recommend this series, it´s highly addictive.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

February New Release Giveaway Hop - INTL

February New Release Giveaway Hop

Hosted by Book Nerd

February 15 - 28, 2014

The giveaway is International.

Win a book of your choice from the new releases below or one February New Release book of your choice up to 20 Dlls from TBD.

Burn (Pure #3) by Julianna Baggott 

Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Alienated (Alienated #1) by Melissa Landers

All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor 

Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Split Second (Pivot Point #2) by Kasie West

White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

 Details

• There will be one winner.
• Win one February New Release book of your choice up to 20 US Dlls from TBD (must have been published in February 2014).
• You must be a follower via GFC.
• You must be 13 or older to enter for the YA books. 
• You must be 18 or older to enter for the NA or Adult book.
• International as long as Book Depository delivers to your country, check here.
• Giveaway ends on February 28.
• Winner will be announced on March 5th in this post, twitter and facebook.

WINNER: Ratri

Congratulations!

The winner have been notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond.

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Review: Defy by Sara B. Larson

Title: Defy (Defy #1)
Author: Sara B. Larson
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release date: January 7th 2014
Source: Netgalley
Format: egalley

Rating: 3.5/5

Buy on: Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

I have always liked stories where a girl has to dress as a boy for some reason that only she knows and to see all the things she has to do to not be discovered..So I really enjoyed Alexa´s story.

In the prologue we see fourteen years old Alexa and her twin brother Marcel, in front of their house on fire and devastated by the murder of their parents, so at that moment as orphans there is only one future for them, because when the king´s army arrives, Marcel will be "recruited" in the army and Alexa will be forced to "serve" in the breeding house, and because that´s a future that none of them wants for Alexa, they decide to disguise her as a boy and so they can join the army. Three years later in the present Alex and Marcel are in the elite guard of Prince Damian and despite having seventeen years old, everyone believes they actually have twenty and Alex is the best swordsman in their group, that´s why after an attempt on the life of prince Damian, she is assigned to stand guard all the time out of his bedroom, so when Damian prince is kidnapped, Alex and Rylan end up being taken hostage along with him.

Alex is strong, smart, agile and the more skilled with a sword in Principe Damian´s elite guard, she has to pretends to be a guy to not end up in the "breeding house"; at the beginning of the book this place is described and only remembering about it gives me chills, because all orphan girls of all ages must be brought to the house and once they reach their reproductive age, they´re forced to have sex with the soldiers, in order to get pregnant and have so many future soldiers as they can. So despite being a girl, Alexa does her best to control her feelings and not let them compromise her, so despite being surrounded by men (some of them very attractive), she tries to feel nothing for any of them especially her best friend Rylan, which she has begun to notice but try not to think about him much, since her main concern is to not be discovered.

Something I did not like about the book is the love triangle ... because it always has to be the best friend the odd one because al though Alex has been attracted to Rylan for some time, she had never allowed herself to do anything with that feeling for obvious reasons, so when she begins to interact more with Prince Damian inside and outside of the palace she gets to know a new facet of him, so Alex feels attracted to Damian.

Overall, the book is action-packed with intrigue, romance and  very entertaining. The story has potential to improve in the following books and I liked the addition of the sorcerers .... when they make references to fire sorcerers I had a flashback and I remembered the Invernos of the trilogy Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, but not as good as the latter.
Something that annoyed to many, but I didn´t mind much was that ...

Is that when they finally discover that Alex is a woman, she ceases to be so tough and starts to behave like a girl and begins to blush (a lot) every time she´s near Prince Damian.

But in the end I really enjoyed it and I would like to read the next book.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: The Queen of Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter

Today is the day! The cover of Gena Showalter's THE QUEEN OF ZOMBIE HEARTS is here! We're so excited to be able to share this with you as it joins an already stunning set! Ready to see it? Not quite yet lets take a look a the first two covers in the series!

First there was ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND...

Then came THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS...

Now get ready to EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!!!

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Official White Rabbit Chronicles website

On-sale date: Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Add it to your TBR!  Goodreads

Pre-order your copy! Amazon, Barnes & Noble

       

      

  Official book description:

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll destroy us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice "Ali" Bell thinks the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Cole Holland, the leader of the zombie slayers…until Anima Industries, the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous than monsters…and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discovers she, too, can control the zombies…and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing—and turning—Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken or killed, Ali will fight harder than ever to bring down Anima—even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.

About Gena:

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, the Angels of the Dark, the Lords of the Underworld, and the Otherworld Assassins series.  In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazine, and have been translated in multiple languages.  She lives in Oklahoma with her family and menagerie of dogs, and truly believes love conquers all.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/The White Rabbit Chronicles Facebook

Giveaway Details:

1 complete set of The White Rabbit Chronicles (first 2 sent as soon as the giveaway is over and the winner will get the first hardcover of book 3 when it's available!) US/Canada Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway