Thursday, July 12, 2012

Book Review: Elemental (Elementals #0.5) by Brigid Kemmerer

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: March 27, 2012
Publisher: K Teen (Kensington)
50 Pages

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they are more than you dream.

As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do.

Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family.

But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him.

They want him dead.

VISIT THE AUTHOR:
FIND THE BOOK:

Review:
This series, Elementals, has been big in my circle of friends lately. They made it sounds like each book was perfect and I would love them from the very first page. I decided to start out with book "0.5"  and from that snippet, I don't understand what all the fuss is about. I was really excited to read this series. I really hyped up to read these books because love for this series crazy high, not just just in my group of friends, but it seems like it's everywhere! The idea of it is so interesting. I've honestly never read anything like it before, besides in a fanfiction. The fanfiction story that I read was phenomenal and it made me expect a lot from the start of this series.

The plot was interesting, but it wasn't very clear. I never understood why it was so bad that Michael was powerful, or how anyone knew his strength in the first place. It's very obvious to me that the truly dangerous ones are those like Tyler, Seth and Emily's dad. Why no one else saw that? I don't understand. Much of this novella didn't make sense to me and the way it ended just annoyed me. In my opinion, this was too short to really give background details and that may be the main reason I didn't enjoy it. After reading Elemental, I feel like I should've read the first book before this one and it would've made more sense.

It didn't help that the characters weren't ones that I really enjoyed reading about. Emily was annoying and ridiculously immature. Her family is full of complete jerks! I honestly hate them. They were rude, awful and totally evil and she made no move to object to what they were doing to Michael and his family. I know she wasn't happy, but in my opinion allowing it to happen and not trying to stop it is just as bad as condoning it. Michael was very… meh. I didn't love him, but I didn't hate him. He was just another "bad boy" in a long line. The characters could have had a lot more depth and the story could have gone a lot farther and still been a novella. 

Even though I didn't enjoy this novella, I will be continuing on with the first book. I hope as the plot develops and I get to know the characters better, I will fall in love with the series. We'll see, I guess.


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Desperately Wanting Wednesday (4)

Desperatly Wanting Wednesday, hosted by Parajunkee's View
Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View. It is based off of the meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, Waiting on Wednesday. Since the "On My Wishlist" meme is no longer active, Ed and I have decided to switch to this meme so we can talk about books (and movies) that we want - both released and to-be-released.

This week's theme is:
Hot Books I Missed

Our Young-Adult Pick:

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
358 Pages

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

I've wanted to read this since I heard of it! And now that it's released, I'm only buying my time. If I stopped finding books I want to read on Netgalley, it would be a faster process. Grr!

Our Adult Pick:

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: July 26, 2005
Publisher: Dell
629 Pages


The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.


Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.


*gasp* I know, I know! It's on my list! Very high up there, I swear. I've heard only awesome things, plus the residence hall Ed and I will be living in next year is named for the author. (She attended my school! a;sdjnfal;sdkfna;lsdkfhgfds SO FREAKING AWESOME)


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (18)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
The prompt for this week's post is a freebie so I chose : Top Ten Authors I Would DIE to Meet!

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Find his work HERE.
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Find her work HERE.

What authors are you dying to meet?

Teaser Tuesday: On Fire: A Teen Wolf Novel by Nancy Holder

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!
To participate all you have to do is:

•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 what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!) 


 Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


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"She had a funny look on her face, like she was about to say something but wasn't sure if she should. He couldn't read it and he surreptitiously checked his nose for souvenirs by pretending to cough and ran his tongue along his teeth."
Chapter 8, Page 95


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Monday, July 9, 2012

Cover Reveal

Today on Ed and Em's Reviews, we are happy to host a book cover reveal from Toni Aleo! She is debuting the cover of her third book, Empty Nest!


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It's gorgeous, right? I love it and I can't wait to read the book! The embracing couple is so sweet and the fact that the book stars a sexy, brooding hockey player? Sign me up!

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The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
353 Pages

Definition of an Empty Net: When a team pulls the goalie for an extra attacker, desperately seeking a goal.

Audrey Parker was in a horrible place.
She hated her job, her sister was getting married and moving out, but worst of all, she was in love with a total jerk. No matter what she did, every guy she met hurt her. All she wanted was her happily ever after. Her Prince Charming. Her Lucas Brooks! She didn’t know how to change her life but she knew she needed too.
Feeling like she was about to hit rock bottom, Audrey wakes up next to Tate Odder.

Tate Odder had lost everything.
After being brought up from the Assassins’ farm team, the Florida Rays to the Nashville Assassins, Tate hopes he’ll forget everything he has lost. He doesn’t. Each day gets harder to live in a place he doesn’t know. Even being the first rookie goalie to shut out an opposing team three times during the Lord Stanly Cup Finals, he still felt empty. With the loss of his parents and sister still heavy on his heart, Tate isn’t sure how to live like everything is okay.

But when he wakes up beside Audrey Parker, things start to change. She turns his life upside down with her kooky sense of humor and her bright clothing. She is intelligent and beautiful, and for once, he doesn’t feel empty.
Will Audrey be the person to fill the holes in Tate’s heart, making him whole again?
Or will another player ruin everything, leaving him feeling forever like an empty net?

Read the first chapter of Tate and Audrey's story HERE!

Enjoy the Empty Nest playlist!
MusicPlaylistView Profile
Create a playlist at MixPod.com


VISIT THE AUTHOR:
FIND THE BOOK:
FIND BOOKS ONE AND TWO:
Taking Shots (Assassins #1) Goodreads.Amazon.Barnes & Noble
Trying to Score (Assassins #2) Goodreads.Amazon.Barnes & Noble

Thank you to Toni for allowing us to participate and to Tara for setting up the cover reveal!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Cover Reveals

Two of my favorite authors have released the covers of their next books!

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
464 Pages
This book will feature Cinder and Little Red Riding Hood and will take place in France.
Update

"Book two, Scarlet, is based on Little Red Riding Hood. It continues Cinder’s story as she attempts to escape Queen Levana’s vengeance and learn more about her past. The story also introduces readers to Scarlet, a girl living in southern France whose grandmother has mysteriously disappeared. In order to find her, Scarlet seeks the help of Wolf, a street fighter with more than a few mysteries of his own."

SCARLET HAS A COVER. OH DEAR GOD, THAT MEANS THAT TIME IS CLOSING IN. THANK JOHN TRAVOLTA.
Seriously, Scarlet is one of the books I'm most excited about that releases next year, if not the number one. I adored the first novel and have been not-so-patiently waiting for Scarlet's release. Plus the cover of book two matches that of book one. THANK YOU, FEIWEL AND FRIENDS, FOR STAYING ON THE PATH. Sorry about the shouty caps - they are quite addicting!

And the second reveal:

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Walker Children's
336 Pages
Mallory's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can't remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear . . . 

When Mallory's parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There's the hand that touches her shoulder when she's drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory's name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it's never gone. Can Mallory live with that?

LOVE, LOVE, LOVED Fracture by Megan and I'm dying to get my hands on book two of that series, but Hysteria looks just as awesome and if it's anything like Fracture, I'll love it!

Stacking the Shelves (10)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

Edwin Didn't Get Anything To Put On His Shelves This Week

Emily's Stack For the Shelves:

From Netgalley:
Release Date: August 14, 2012

Release Date: October 9, 2012

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Gifted/Won:

A Caricature of Myself! I won it from Gay at Blogger's Tech from her birthday giveaway! I love it! It's so adorable. The pictures captures me in cartoon perfectly! Thank you so much, Gay!

Release Date: 2012

I really need to keep track of where I enter giveaways because for the life of me, I cannot not remember who I won this book from. So thank you to everyone!

Release Date: June 1, 2011

I won a signed copy of this book from Quill Café. I can't wait to read it! Check out Quill Café, they always have insightful posts! And some great giveaways, too!

Release Date: June 5, 2012

This is one of the best books that I've read this year. I love everything Elizabeth has ever written. When I saw that Simon & Schuster Education Library was offering copies, I jumped at the chance to get it. This one will be going to my local library. It's small and could use some great books for Young Adults. Hopefully, teens will enjoy it as much as I did! (Also, after receiving this, I now have three copies of Miracle on my hands - one will definitely go to a reader in our next giveaway!)

What did you get for your shelves this week?

Friday, July 6, 2012

Follow Friday (21)

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View!

Q. Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don't like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.

A. Huh... You know, I had a great one for this and now I don't remember it.
...
I JUST HAD AN AHA MOMENT.
Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake
I never ever never read horror. I am already terrified of the dark. I can't even watch Supernatural without having to leave a light on in my bedroom for a week. So when I picked this up, I was pretty nervous. Pretty. Freaking. Nervous. And I shouldn't have been, because while it was scary, it was such a fun and enjoyable read! Now, I'm not going to go buy a ton of horror novels now, but I will not rule them out (AS LONG AS THERE IS SOME ROMANCE AND COMEDIC RELIEF.)

What about you?

 
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