The Crow Box - Spotlight

I just had to share this book with you. It sounds really cool and I'm very tempted to buy the paperback.


The Crow Box (Shadow and Ink #1)
by Nikki Rae

The small wooden box is dirty, the size of a human fist, and sealed with wax. When Corbin takes it upon herself to clean it and break the seal, a voice she has tried to ignore gathers strength. Shadows play on the walls at night, and with a family history of mental illness, Corbin fears the worst. But the voice tells her it is real. That its name is Six and it will prove it in time.

Drawn to this mysterious entity, Corbin isn't sure what to believe and the line between reality and her imagination blurs more every day.

Some doors should not be opened; can this one be closed?


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Amazon - Bookdepository



About Nikki Rae:
Nikki Rae is an independent author who lives in New Jersey. She explores human nature through fiction, concentrating on making the imaginary as real as possible. Her genres of choice are mainly dark, scary, romantic tales, but she’ll try anything once. When she is not writing, reading, or thinking, you can find her spending time with animals, drawing in a quiet corner, or studying people. Closely.



Links:

Amazon

Goodreads - Facebook

Facebook Group (feel free to join!)

Website - Twitter

Instagram - Tumblr

Firstlife - A DNF Rant

Firstlife (Everlife #1)
by Gena Showalter

What is it about:
ONE CHOICE.
TWO REALMS.
NO SECOND CHANCE.

Tenley “Ten” Lockwood is an average seventeen-year-old girl…who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she’ll live—after she dies.

There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.

In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul. Who can she trust? And what if the realm she’s drawn to isn’t home to the boy she’s falling for? She just has to stay alive long enough to make a decision…

What did I think of it:
I should have known there was a large possibility I would not like the characters in this book. I didn't much care for the characters in Showalter's Alice in Zombieland after all. But the premise sounded intriguing enough that I wanted to give this book a try.

And soon I ran into my first major grumble.

Ten gets a roommate: a girl named Bow. If Bow had actually been a girl she might have been interesting. But the snarky emails that start this book made it clear that Bow is a boy named Archer who has been given a female body to get close to Ten. Knowing this I didn't like Bow/Archer. He's a horny jerk who grabs his own boobs, because: "Look Mommy, I suddenly have boobs! I'm so hot I'd do myself if I could."

Yeah... Moving on.

And as if Bow wasn't annoying enough: soon another boy gets introduced. Killian apparently is Irish, even though the worldbuilding doesn't mention the world this story is set in is our world. Killian doesn't care about that and throws out a "Lass" every opportunity he gets. Yes, Killian, we get it. You're handsome AND Irish. Forgive me that I don't swoon over your overuse of that word. People have names you know. Use those! (And yes: I will confess this is a personal pet peeve.)

Then Ten and Killian get set up for a date and they start making lame jokes about food-babies...
Ten: "I'm eating a lot because I want a food-baby."
Killian: "Then it's a good thing I used my fork to make holes in the chocolate cake."

......

This is when the book got tossed and I decided I didn't care enough about the premise to stand another second of Ten, Boob Boy and Lass Lad.

Maybe other people won't be so annoyed by these characters, but I'm done with Showalter's YA books for now. I still might give Lords of the Underworld a try, because I already have the first book somewhere in my TBR pile.

Why should you read it:
The premise does sound intriguing.


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Teaser Tuesdays - Don of the Dead

"I'm surprised it doesn't bother you. I can't believe you're not upset by the fact that you're-"
"Dead?"

(page 37, Don of the Dead, by Casey Daniels)


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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!

More Than Music - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

More Than Music (Chasing the Dream #1)
by Elizabeth Briggs

What is it about:
Classical musician Maddie Taylor secretly dreams of a louder life, but geeky girls like her don't get to be rock stars. That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition.

Once on the show, Maddie discovers there's more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single, they're forced to keep their relationship secret.

As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
I fell in love with the prequel novella of this series, so had to read more. I wasn't a fan of Jared in the novella, so I was tempted to skip to book two in the series (comic books geeks!). I finally decided to get both books and give Jared a chance.

I love this book!

I will confess Jared wasn't the romantic hero I wanted him to be, and I really think Maddie could do better, but the story was just so good!

Instead of losing myself in the romance I was totally engrossed in the competition and the dynamics of the whole band. Yes: there were some tense scenes between Maddie and Jared, but to be honest I was more curious to find out if the band would win, than if our two lead characters would end up together. To me this story felt much more like it was about Maddie finding out who she is than that it is a romance.

I loved reading more about Kyle and Hector, and the whole competition was really fun to read about as well. I liked getting to know the heroines of later books in the series, and seeing Maddie grow and finding her place in the band and in life. Jared grew on me during the story, but he doesn't hold a candle to Kyle or Hector. Still Briggs writes in a way that made the ending satisfying and that makes me eager to pick up the next book.

Luckily it's already in my TBR pile.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun New Adult read.


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Poison Princess - Book Review

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1)
by Kresley Cole

What is it about:
She could save the world-or destroy it.
Sixteen year old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future-and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Derveaux.

But she can't do either alone.
With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side...

What did I think of it:
This book has it all: an apocalypse, zombies, tarot! I must say I'm wondering why it took me so long to give it a try.

I enjoyed the first 60 to 70 percent of the book the most. It starts with the days leading up to the apocalypse. I liked getting to know Evie and her quirks, and I was intrigued by her visions and her awakening powers. Then the apocalypse happened and it's all about surviving. As you can guess I loved reading how Evie and Jackson try to make their way through a zombie filled wasteland (well, they were sort of zombies anyway).

I will say I did think some of the world building didn't make sense at all, and that for a world where water is scarce people were very wasteful. I told myself to overlook the glaringly obvious flaws in the world building and to just enjoy the story. I mostly succeeded.

The last 30 percent the inevitable teenage love triangle mess started, and there was beard shaving as well. But even with those two things I enjoyed the book enough to pick up book two soon to see what happens next.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool Apocalyptic YA read with zombies and tarot.


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In McPig's TBR Pile - Ruins

Do you know that feeling: you're enjoying the first books in a trilogy so much you keep postponing reading the last book because you're afraid it will be an anticlimax. That's why I still haven't read this book anyway. *glares accusingly at Allegiant*


Ruins (Partials Sequence #3)
by Dan Wells

Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment in the Partials Sequence, a series that combines the thrilling action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Blade Runner and The Stand.

There is no avoiding it—the war to decide the fate of both humans and Partials is at hand. Both sides hold in their possession a weapon that could destroy the other, and Kira Walker has precious little time to prevent that from happening. She has one chance to save both species and the world with them, but it will only come at great personal cost.


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Teaser Tuesdays on a Wednesday - Nobody's Hero

"You mean you shoot them," he said, watching the settlement carefully. "Before the first change."

(page 57, Nobody's Hero by Bec McMaster)


Buy from bookdepository

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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!