On McPig's Wishlist - Trailer Park Fae

This sounds really cool, and that cover is awesome as well.


Trailer Park Fae (Gallow and Ragged #1)
by Lilith Saintcrow

Jeremy Gallow is just another construction worker, and that's the way he likes it. He's left his past behind, but some things cannot be erased. Like the tattoos on his arms that transform into a weapon, or that he was once closer to the Queen of Summer than any half-human should be. Now the half-sidhe all in Summer once feared is dragged back into the world of enchantment, danger, and fickle fae—by a woman who looks uncannily like his dead wife. Her name is Robin, and her secrets are more than enough to get them both killed. A plague has come, the fullborn-fae are dying, and the dark answer to Summer's Court is breaking loose.

Be afraid, for Unwinter is riding...


Expected publication: June 23rd 2015

Alienated - Book Review

Alienated (Alienated #1)
by Melissa Landers

What is it about:
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.

What did I think of it:
And again this is a book where the aliens are human in appearance, but I knew that going in, so it wasn't a disappointment this time.

As for the rest of this book:
It's a pretty compelling read.

The anti-L'eihr feelings of people were uncomfortable to read, because the word L'eihr could have been easily swapped with another, and this would just as easily have been a contemporary read about intolerance.

Cara and her family were a breath of fresh air compared to most other humans in this book. And maybe that's my one grumble: I don't want to believe that so many people would be so biased. I had wanted there to be just a few more people to take the L'eihr's side.

That being said: Aelyx sure doesn't make it easy at first to be liked. Even in the scenes that were told from his viewpoint he sounded like he had a big stick up his ass. But luckily he loosened up a bit and he started to grow on me eventually.

All in all I very much enjoyed this book. I had wanted to see a bit more acceptance, or at least a spark of hope that humans can learn to be less intolerant, but maybe that will happen in the next book. I will most probably try to get my trotters on it to see what happens next for Cara and Aelyx.

Why should you read it:
It's a compelling YA SciFi read.

Teaser Tuesdays - The Diviners

The song made Tommy break out in a cold sweat and he took the last few steps at a clip till he reached the stick. It had been shoved in the ground like a sword.

(page 172, The Diviners by Libba Bray)




===

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - 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 that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Graceling - Book Review

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)
by Kristin Cashore

What is it about:
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

What did I think of it:
This is a really cool read.

I wasn't so sure about Katsa at first, she seemed to act a bit too much as a victim when I thought that wasn't necessary. But it turned out that her behavior and the role she lets herself be put into were big parts of the story, which is as much about the mystery Katsa and Po try to solve, as it is about Katsa's transformation.

And Katsa's transformation is a really beautiful story to read. I liked how Cashore doesn't shy away from touchy subjects like premarital sex, and a woman's place in a medieval/fantasy marriage without it taking away from the flow of the story. She doesn't treat her YA readers as if they're too fragile to handle these issues.

The mystery Katsa and Po have to solve, and the journey they take is also very intriguing. I liked how they became friends along the way and how they interacted. There was heartache, cool action, intrigue and more. Everything I could wish for in a good Fantasy adventure. There were some things you could see coming from miles and miles away, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment.

The world building fell a bit short at times. There's all these people with graces, skills that are so advanced and better than in normal people, but I felt that they weren't explained enough. How common or uncommon are they exactly? Are some graces more common than others? I think they were supposed to be very uncommon, but Katsa keeps running into graced people once she leaves the castle she grew up in. I wanted to know more than was told.

But that one grumbling aside I really liked this book, and I will most certainly read the other books in this series as well.

Why should you read it:
It's a very enjoyable YA Fantasy read.

TBR Orphans2015 - Update 1

Just as last year I'm trying to read at least on book a month that's been on my shelves for more than 3 months.

In January I indeed managed to read 1 orphan:
Blackout by Sam Mills

Sadly enough it wasn't a book I enjoyed.
I hope February's Orphan(s) will be better.

How did your challenges go?

The Sound of Useless Wings - Free Short Story Alert

You might have heard me rave about the awesomeness of Cecil Castellucci's books. The first of her books I read was Tin Star . My favorite character in that book was Heckleck, so you can understand I was over the moon to discover Cecil Castellucci wrote a short story about him for Tor.com.

It is a beautiful story in my opinion.

And you can read it for free!


The Sound of Useless Wings
CECIL CASTELLUCCI
illustration by DOMINICK SAPONARO

In this prequel to Tin Star, we meet Heckleck, the Hort alien who befriends Tula Bane on the space station Yertina Feray in her fight for survival. In his modest beginnings, Heckleck is raised to understand that breeding and propagating his own kind is the sole reason for living. When he is called upon to settle on a new planet, he meets the daughter of a politician, Goglu, with whom he falls helplessly in love, and is determined to win over. But nothing is easy in love and space exploration, and when his plans become thwarted, he must find a new way of life.

This short story was acquired and edited for Tor.com by Connie Hsu.

Read it here

Snake Eyes - Release Day Promo Post

~NEW RELEASE~


Snake Eyes by Melissa Pearl

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1wGtgJ7
SW: http://bit.ly/1tBKlsu
iBOOKS: http://bit.ly/1ySy6YZ
BN: http://bit.ly/1zFMqXl

Caitlyn Davis expects her sophomore year at UCLA to be perfect...until she walks into her dorm room to find Special Agent Zoey Kaplan of the FBI waiting for her. In that instant, she knows her idyllic year with new best friends, Nicole and Dale, along with her super hot boyfriend, Eric, is about to fall apart.

Having been forced to work with the FBI months earlier, Caity accidentally gave away her special ability to read people's emotions and know whether they were telling the truth. Now, Kaplan wants Caity to go undercover again for a secret operation that will bring her close to the sadistic Diego Mendez, a man believed to be involved in human trafficking.

Eric Shore is not a man who trusts easily. Having been burned multiple times, it’s hard for him to open up completely, but his love for Caity makes him want to try. Yet, her sudden withdrawal worries him, particularly when she chooses to spend time with her new roommate, Quella Mendez, over him. When Caity’s behavior begins to match that of her wild roommate, Eric wonders if their relationship is as strong as he believed.

As Caity struggles to maintain her relationship and do her job, she finds herself pulled further into a dangerous world that could take away everything she holds dear. Will Eric learn the truth in time to save her? Or will the man with the eyes of a snake destroy their perfect romance?