Waiting On Wednesday!

Hey guys! It's that time again...! Hosted by Breaking The Spine, This week's pre-publication is...

Partials

by Dan Wells

Expected Publication Date: February 28, 2012

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.

-- From Goodreads

I'm usually not one for science fiction type novels, but this one sounds really interesting and it also seems to have a hint of dystopian which I've just recently gotten more into. Plus the cover looks pretty awesome too. Be sure to leave a link to let me know what pre-publication you are waiting for.

Review: Angelina's Secret by Lisa Rogers

Book: Angelina's Secret by Lisa Rogers

Pages: 186

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Source: Sent by Spencer Hill Press

Short Synopsis: Ever since Angelina has been a young child, she had an imaginary friend named Josie. Years later, Angelina starts to have premonitions which comes true, and in turn also brings back her friend Josie. Angelina is forced to either accept that she can see ghosts or that she has gone insane.

My Thoughts: An interesting read, with a psychology aspect and great characters that leave you wondering for more.

Angelina has always been able to see her friend Josie at a very young age, when others couldn't. Her family had always just written it off as an imaginary friend. But what if Angelina's imaginary friend wasn't what everyone thought it was?

Years later, as a teen, Angelina starts to have weird premonitions which actually come true, and her friend Josie comes back to haunt Angelina. Angelina doesn't know what to believe and who to trust. She now has two options to choose. Either she has gone insane, or she can actually see ghosts.

Angelina chooses the latter, and accept her gift for who she is. But not everyone is on Angelina's side. Her family, especially her mother, believes that Angelina has definitely gone insane, and has Angelina admitted to a psychiatric facility. Angelina must devise a plan to convince her mother that she can in fact see ghosts, and to get out of the mental institution.

I was originally attracted to the story because it had both elements of psychological and paranormal which I found to be really intriguing. It was interesting to read the how the main character struggles with trying accept the fact that she is in fact sane and can see ghosts as well as dealing with people who can't wrap their minds around that particular subject.

Rogers did a great job of really wanting to dislike Angelina's mother, and though she does redeem herself, it was rather annoying that her mother didn't believe her, and couldn't accept the fact there are in fact ghosts in the world.

The ghosts were interesting as well. I liked reading about the background information on each of the ghosts and how they came into the position they are now in. It was also interesting to read how supportive the ghosts were of Angelina's situation. I was a little disappointed with the fact that it wasn't really as scary as I'd hoped it would be, and it had a light upbeat tone through out the story, considering the situation was pretty serious. Overall, it was still an entertaining read, with an interesting plot.

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 3/5.

Review: Notes To Self by Avery Sawyer

E-book: Notes To Self by Avery Sawyer

Pages: 103

Genre: Young Adult

Source: Sent from author

Short Synopsis: After experiencing a horrible accident leading to amnesia and her best friend in a coma, in order to stay sane, Robin tries to put the pieces back in order and find out what happened that awful night.

My Thoughts: A surprisingly interesting read. A bit slow in some areas but still kept me entertained.

After spending a day with her best friend, Robin and Emma wind up in a terrible accident. Robin wakes to discover her best friend is still in a coma. After being released from the hospital, Robin decides to go back to school.

Due to amnesia, Robin's doctor has given Robin an assignment to write down things that she remembers from her past, in order to try to gain her memory back. As Robin returns to school, her classmates aren't as kind and assumes that Robin is the reason that Emma is in her condition.

Robin struggles each day to remember the tiniest normal details as well as what happened that awful night, Robin turns to a long lost friend, Reno, to help her remember. Can Robin get her memory back along with her best friend?

Interesting characters, and an intriguing plot that left me curious for more. The audience takes a ride along with Robin as she struggles to remember what went wrong that awful night. We start feeling sympathetic to Robin and her situation and try to figure out the events leading up to the accident along side with her. The only problem I had with this novel was that I wasn't too fond of her classmates that made fun of her and assumed that she was to blame when they didn't even know the whole story. The ending was left at a cliffhanger as well, and hopefully there will be more to follow. Overall, an entertaining read, with a surprising ending.

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 3.5/5.

In My Mailbox!

Hey all! It's a posting of In My Mailbox, hosted by The Story Siren. This week I got...

For Review:

Notes To Self -- Avery Sawyer (E-book)

Ugly To Start With -- John Michael Cummings

From Library:

The Name Of The Star -- Maureen Johnson.

That's all the books that I got this week. Be sure to leave a link to let me know what you got in your mailbox. Hope you all had a great weekend. :)

Review: The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson

Book: The Name Of The Star

Pages: 273

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Source: Library

Short Synopsis: Aurora, a.k.a. Rory and her family move to London due to her family's job opportunities, and is forced to attend a boarding school. But as soon as Rory is starting to adjust in a foreign place, a horrific murder takes place, and in turn, leads to a string of horrible killings.

My Thoughts: It was okay. It kept my attention long enough, but I was kind of disappointed in the end.

Rory and her family move to London, and Rory is forced to attend a boarding school for the first time. She has a roommate named Jazza, and is adjusting to school on Saturdays, and playing hockey in any weather. There's also a boy named Jerome whom Rory has a strong attraction to.

But just as soon as Rory starts to adjust to life over broad, there is a horrific killing, and rumors are starting to spread about there being a new Jack the ripper. And with a series of killings becoming more graphic and horrible, the streets of London are no longer safe, and all students and teachers are forced to retire before nightfall.

As the enforced curfew takes place, students become more daring and restless. Rory is also starting to have weird occurrences as well. Rory has an experience where she can see other people, but no one else can. Rory starts to figure out that because of her "near death" experience, she has the ability to see ghosts. Rory must find out more of her special ability, and find out who are killing these innocent people, before the killer comes after her.

I was initially attracted to the story because of the plot, and I love ghost thrillers, but I was a little disappointed with this one. I felt the pace was a bit slow in some areas, and there were a few unanswered questions.

I loved reading about the relationship between Rory and Jerome, but was also disappointed that it didn't amount to much, and from the middle of the story, it just seemed like he just dropped off, like Johnson either forgot about him, or didn't want to elaborate on their relationship.

Jack the ripper also didn't really make much sense to me either, as it was never really explained how he was able to have so much power and hold on Rory, than other ghosts. It was also left unexplained with the situation of Boo's crew and her feelings for Lucas. All in all, it was an okay read, but it also kind of felt like there might be another sequel, which I hope will happen.

Would I recommend this book: Eh

Rating: I give this book a 3/5.

Review: The Power Of Six by Pittacus Lore

*May Contain Spoilers

ARC: The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Pages: 406

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Source: Won from contest from Harper Collins

Short Synopsis: John is now considered a terrorist with a price on his head, and is on the run now from government officials and the Mogadorians. Paradise, Ohio is facing the after affects of the chaos that John has caused. And Number Six is planning an escape to meet John.

My Thoughts: I was kept interested in the story, but the point of views switched so often, it was a bit hard to keep up.

After finding shelter in an nunnery, Six and her cepan have now changed their identities to Marina and Adelina. Marina and Adelina grow accustomed to life in a nunnery, and Adelina has been convinced that they are safe from the Mogadorians.

Meanwhile, John is faced with an unfortunate dilemma, as his cepan has died from the chaos that happened in Paradise, Ohio, there is now a price on his head, and considered armed and dangerous by government officials. Sam, John's best friend is sticking with John no matter what, and is still adamant about finding out what has happened with his father.

Six is starting to become restless in the nunnery with girls that torment her, Six searches for any information she can on John and his current situation. She also has a sinking feeling that someone is watching her, and fears the Mogadorians have found her hiding place.

Six must try to find John and the others in order to unite together to start training and developing their legacies if they have any chance of survival against the Mogadorians.

It was an interesting fast paced read, with a plot that left me hanging for more. The one major problem I had with this story was the fact that there was a lot of point of views and none of them were actually labeled, with only a hint of change in format, so you didn't really know who was narrating and if it was past or present.

I loved reading about the characters and what they were going through. It felt as if this was more Six's story than anyone else's. I was also a bit confused by the character Ella and what she was supposed to do. My favorite character was the dog, that is able to shape shift into different animals, Bernie Kosar.

Some other things that bothered me, was the fact that we still do not learn too much about why the Mogadorians are hunting them, and the reasons given are pretty vague. I wasn't too pleased that Sarah was the one to turn John and Sam in. And it also seemed kind of a mess that Six liked both Sam and John. Overall, just too many unanswered questions and the change of points of view was too many and too inconsistent.

Would I recommend this book: Maybe

Rating: I give this book a 3/5.

Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Book: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Pages: 293

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Source: Won for review from The LibraryThing

Short Synopsis: Ever since her mother tried to kill her when she was just six years old, claiming that she was an evil monster, Wendy's life has never been the same. But she discovers that not everything is as it seems, and maybe her mother might've known the truth.

My Thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed this novel!

Ever since Wendy was a little girl, she always knew she was different from the rest of her family. And things didn't help much either when her mother tried to kill her when she was just six years old, claiming that Wendy is in fact a monster.

Eleven years later, Wendy now lives with her older brother, and aunt in a new place, and their mother is locked in a mental institution. As she continues through life, she becomes involved with a classmate named Finn.

Finn discovers that Wendy has a special ability, the power to persuade people's minds, and tells Wendy the truth. That she is in fact a changeling, a baby switched at birth to live amongst the humans until she becomes of age to learn the truth, that she is a troll.

Finn and Wendy return back the trolls' home town, Trylle, so that Wendy can adjust to the reality of what she is, and learn their ways. But Wendy also learns that on top of being a troll, she is also royalty, and the only living heir to the trolls' kingdom. As if things weren't bad enough for Wendy, there is a group called the Vittra who are after changelings, and have decided that Wendy is their next target. Can Wendy survive the life of being a troll and royalty, and stop the Vittra from coming after her?

I really loved this novel. Which is definitely surprising, due to the fact that I do not normally read fantasy genres. This is actually the first book I've read by Amanda Hocking, and I was completely hooked! I usually can't get through novels with different worlds, and weird names, and special abilities, but I have to say that Hocking did not over do it, like most fantasy authors do.

I loved how realistic most of the situations were and nothing was too overdone. It was a nice change to read a novel where the characters actually had to drive to get to the place they needed to be, rather than being "transported" magically.

It was really interesting to read the monarchy aspect of the trolls, and how things were done differently in their world, as opposed to the humans. I loved the paranormal angle of the novel, and can't wait to find out what crazy powers Wendy might develop. I really enjoyed reading the relationship between Finn and Wendy, and am dying to read what happens next. With entertaining characters, a fast paced read, and an enjoyable plot, be sure to add Switched to your reading pile.

Would I recommend this book: Absolutely!

Rating: I give this book a 5/5.