Dystopia Challenge Wrap-up Part 1

And... you can click on the picture to go to the reviews :)

Why I Love Wednesdays... Favorite New Author

I am returning with my feature... Why I love which takes place on Wednesdays. Today's proclamation of love concerns our Favorite New Author

Why I Love...Kevin Hearne

Ohhh!  This week's topic is particularly hard because I read many new to me authors this year and had a fabulous experience.  It was so hard to choose between Sophie Kinsella, Kevin, Hearne, J.D. Robb, Christopher Grant, or Neil Shusterman.  All these authors were so great.

Ultimately I had to go with Kevin Hearne who writes the Iron Druid series.  Urban fantasy is just not my favorite genre and I would have never picked up this book if it wasn't for fellow book review bloggers.  Kevin Hearne changed my entire perspective on this genre.  I'm continuously amazed at how I consistently love the books in this series.  I haven't been disappointed yet.  This series is full of action, magic, folklore, humor, and all around fun.

Which new author do you love? Feel free to create your own post and link up.  Don't want to create an entire post?  Tell me your favorites in the comments.  Thanks for stopping by for another week of Why I Love Wednesdays!!

If you want to play along, feel free to grab the image (there is a button on the right sidebar now) and link your post in the linky. Here goes.

LINKY INSTRUCTIONS:

When naming your link, please choose the name of your post. Mine would say "Why I Love...Rhett Butler."

Please link directly to your post and not your blog.

Please participate :)

Previous Why I Love Wednesday Posts

Review: Cinder (Audiobook)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fairy Tales
Length: 10 hours and 6 minutes
Narrator: Rebecca Soler
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future

My Rating:

My Review:

Review: Home Front

Home Front by Kristin Hannah
Genre: Women's Fiction, Military, Contemporary
Pages: 388 (Hardcover)
Source: Publisher
Author's Website | Blog | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.

My Rating:

My Review:

Mini-Review: Immortal in Death

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #3
Genre: Mystery, Romantic Suspense
Pages: 345 (eBook)
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

She was one of the most sought-after women in the world. A top model who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted -even another woman's man. And now she's dead, the victim of a brutal murder.

Police lieutenant Eve Dallas puts her life on the line to take the case when suspicion falls on her best friend, the other woman in the fatal love triangle. Beneath the facade of glamor, Eve finds that the world of high fashion thrives on an all-consuming obsession with youth and fame-one that leads her from the lights of the runway to the dark underworld of New York City, where drugs can fulfill any desire, for a price.

Quote:

“What other thing, Eve?"
"I love you. Sometimes it makes my stomach hurt, but I kind of like it. Tired now, come to bed. Love you.”

~Eve to Roarke 

Dystopia Challenge COMPLETE!!

I've finally completed the dystopia challenge and I'm happy to say that it was such fun.  The Hunger Games was the first dystopia I had read since The Giver in 6th grade.  Though I noticed some trends, they are all so different so I never really knew what I would find.  I realized that within the genre there are some distinct categories.  Those of you who do not like dystopia might not like the violent dystopia reads of The Hunger Games  and Divergent but might like the dystopia's that are more focused on the love and romance like The Selection and Matched.

Anywho... I'll be creating a wrap up post to break down this challenge even further.  But for now, take a look at the books I read and the reviews.  Just click on the book cover and it'll take you to the review.

..

Review: The Selection (Audiobook)

Well this one completes the Dystopian challenge and I have to say this is a great one to end on. I didn't think I would like this because of the Goodreads drama, the cover that reminded me of Shatter Me, and a description that reminded me of The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Whelp, I was wrong. The cover is beautiful and it is connected to the book. This one turned out to be refreshing and wonderful. Shame on me for making such assumptions.

The Selection by Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #1
Genre: Dystopia, YA
Length: 8 hours and 7 minutes
Narrator: Amy Rubinate
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined

My Rating:

My Review:

Review: Lucky Bunny

Lucky Bunny by Jill Dawson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 349 (Paperback)
Source: TLC Book Tours
Author's Website
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

'Crime's a man's business. So they say. Who was that small figure then, slender enough to trot along the moonlit track, swift and low, virtually invisible? Who was it that covered the green signal with a glove to stop the train, while the two others took care of the driver and his mate? Could it have been one Queenie Dove, survivor of the Depression and the Blitz, not to mention any number of scrapes with the law?'

Queenie Dove is a self-proclaimed genius when it comes to thieving and escape. Daring, clever and sexy, she ducked and dived through the streets of London from the East End through Soho to Mayfair, graduating from childhood shop-lifting to more glamorous crimes in the post-war decades. So was she wicked through and through, or more sinned against than sinning? Here she tells a vivacious tale of trickery and adventure, but one with more pain and heartbreak than its heroine cares to admit. Yes, luck often favoured her, but that is only part of the story.

My Rating:

My Review:

I Took A Week Off...Oh AND I Passed the Texas Bar!!

I took a week off the blog.  It seemed time.

Well let me tell you what I've been up to.

I PASSED THE TEXAS BAR!!  Yep, total craziness.

Then... the Hubby and I talked and decided that living together was more important than living comfortably.

Or something like that.

So.. the very next day, I moved away from Austin.  We looked for and found a place the next day and then we moved in.  That's what I've been doing.  Moving.  And working.  Because I had to finish my job.  And for some reason, new places don't come with working internet.  You have to order it and stuff like that.  So inconvenient.  We still don't have cable.  But I've unpacked my books so I'll be up and going pretty soon.

P.S.  How do I convince the hubby he doesn't need 5 million poker chips, three printers or a sling shot?  He has so much... junk stuff!

And now... I have to find a job because I didn't really mean it when I said I didn't want to live comfortably.  I want to go back to doing that.  Living comfortably, I mean.

So this is me.  I'm no longer a stressed out law student.  I'm an attorney with my own bar number.  Who saw that one coming?

Can you tell I'm not really excited about taking this picture? My eyebrows...they tell the story.

Coming up this week... more of everything :)  Finishing up and summarizing the dystopia challenge.  And I'll visit your posts and be your blogger friend again.  A more dependable one, I'm thinking.  And I have my own kitchen again so more Foodie Fridays soon.

Double Mini-Reviews: Lover Revealed & Lover Unbound

Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward
Series: The Black Dagger Brotherhood #4
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires
Pages: 455 (paperback)
Source: Bookshelf
Author's Website | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Quote:

“Butch didn't live in his own place. He didn't spend his own money. He had no job, no future. He was a well-kept pet, not a man.”
 ― J.R. Ward, Lover Revealed

My Rating:

Lover Unbound by J.R. WArd 

Series: The Black Dagger Brotherhood #5 

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires 

Pages:  502 (paperback) 

Source: eLibrary 

Author's Website | Facebook

 Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

 Quote:

“V settled back against the pillows and measured the hard line of her chin.
"Take off your coat."
"Excuse me?"
"Take it off."
"No."
"I want it off."
 "Then I suggest you hold your breath. Won't affect me in the slightest, but at least the suffocation will help pass the time for you.”
 ― J.R. Ward, Lover Unbound

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

Me After All Those Dystopian Reads

Source: sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net via Lauren on Pinterest

Dystopian books can be so dark and depressing but I can appreciate the world building.  Plus I'm becoming accustomed to feeling scarred.

Why I Love Wednesdays...Favorite Book Challenge

I am returning with my feature... Why I love which takes place on Wednesdays. Today's proclamation of love concerns our Favorite Book Challenges

Why I Love...The TBR Pile Book Challenge

I've been really into completing my challenges lately and it's been lots of fun.  I've been surprised that my favorite challenge thus far is the TBR Pile Book Challenge hosted by a bunch of folks.  In this challenge, you read books on your very own bookshelf.  I'm sure all of us are guilty of buying books and putting them on our bookshelf to collect dust.  So I joined this challenge determined to correct some bad habits.

I've corrected no bad habits, but I've rediscovered books that I just had to have (though I forgot about them).  There are some amazing books on my bookshelf!  It's like a guaranteed fun read but going to my very own bookshelf. This shouldn't come as a surprise but somehow it has.  While I've had some hits and misses in pursuit of my dystopia challenge, I've only had hits in my TBR Pile challenge.  This challenge probably wins the title of best challenge and best surprise.  Who knew reading the books on your very own bookshelf could be such fun?

Which book challenges do you love? Feel free to create your own post and link up.  Don't want to create an entire post?  Tell me your favorites in the comments.  Thanks for stopping by for another week of Why I Love Wednesdays!!

If you want to play along, feel free to grab the image (there is a button on the right sidebar now) and link your post in the linky. Here goes.

LINKY INSTRUCTIONS:

When naming your link, please choose the name of your post. Mine would say "Why I Love...Rhett Butler."

Please link directly to your post and not your blog.

Please participate :)

Previous Why I Love Wednesday Posts

Review: The Dead and the Gone (Audiobook)

I finished this book shortly before news of Hurricane Sandy began to hit the news. When I heard of the Hurricane, I instantly thought of the public transit system because of this book.  I honestly felt sick to my stomach because I recognized what a big deal the flooding would be to the Subways.  I've lived through a couple of Hurricanes out here in Texas when I lived in Houston.  Though hurricanes are more common out here, we also don't have a real public transportation system so most people have cars.  My heart goes out to those dealing with the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  It can take a long time to get things back up and going.  And with some things, things can't go back to what they were.  You have start anew.

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Series: Last Survivors #2
Genre: Dystopia
Pages/Length: 8 hours and 50 minutes
Narrator: Robertson Dean
Source: eLibary
Author's Blog | Twitter
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event--an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.

With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

My Rating:

My Review:

Review: Glory In Death

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #2
Genre: Mystery, Romantic Suspense
Pages: 296 (eBook)
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

It is 2058, New York City. In a world where technology can reveal the darkest of secrets, there's only one place to hide a crime of passion-in the heart.

Even in the mid-twenty-first century, during a time when genetic testing usually weeds out any violent hereditary traits before they can take over, murder still happens. The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second is murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with a long list of suspects-including her own lover, Roarke.

My Rating:

My Review:

Why Do You Love Books?

Source: carolinacharm.tumblr.com via Robin on Pinterest

I couldn't have said it better myself.  You?  Why do you love them?

Review: Matched (Audiobooks)

Matched by Ally Condie
Series: Matched #1
Genre: Dystopia, YA
Length: 9 hours 54 minutes
Narrator: Kate Simses
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo

Description:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

My Rating:

My Review: