Hide - Book Review

 

Hide

by Kiersten White

What is it about:

The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get caught.

The prize: enough money to change everything.

Even though everyone is desperate to win--to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts--Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at that.

It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't.

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to run.

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

What did I think of it:

Once again this is a book for the Horror Book Club that I'm reading way too early, but it sounded too cool to wait.

Mack is down on her luck, and out of options, so when she's offered the chance to enter a hide-and-seek competition where the winner gets $50k she enters the competition.

From the start it's clear something is up: the secrecy, the remote location, the last minute bonus task... But all 14 participants have their reasons to want to win this competition, and are too invested to notice the signs, or ignore them.

Although Mack is the main viewpoint character, the viewpoint switches to the others at times, so you get more information about them and about what's going on. I must say that events and what's behind the competition get telegraphed well before they're revealed, but I can't say I minded. I was having too much fun with the story to mind the predictability and it's clear political message, which I could mostly agree with.

I really liked Mack, I could understand why she doesn't want to get close to others, but loved seeing her slowly open up to my other favorite character, Ava. I was rooting for them to discover what was going on and to find a way to survive.

All in all a very cool read. It will end up on my keeper shelves for sure.

Why should you read it:

It's a cool and enjoyable thriller

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Teaser Tuesdays - Queen of the Tiles

 

I sit back and let their chatter wash over me. The Tweedles have melted back into the crowd. The cement blockades around my heart lie in ruins, shattered, exposing the tender flesh beneath.

(page 36, Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf)

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously 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!

The Storm Princess and the Raven King - Release Day Book Review

 

The Storm Princess and the Raven King (Heirs of Magic #4)

byJeffe Kennedy

What is it about:

A Broken Heart

Princess Salena Nakoa KauPo thought she was over her broken heart. She’d put her first love and childhood sweetheart, Rhyian, firmly in the past where he belonged. His bitter betrayal of her was locked away deep inside, along with her foolishly innocent hopes and dreams. Now Lena has been thrust together with him, the prince of shadows, the one man she could never resist, on a mission to save the world from a terrible cataclysm. Worse, Rhyian refuses to believe her when she says there’s no hope for them.

An Irresistible Longing

Rhyian is rather accustomed to being a failure. Goddesses know, he’s not magical enough for his sorcerous mother and not alpha enough for his father, the King of Annfwn. It hasn’t helped that he’s spent the last seven years trying to drown his sorrows—and to forget the one woman he ever loved, whose heart he carelessly shattered in a moment of weakness. Rhy knows he has to change to win back Lena’s trust, but how?

A Love That Can’t Die

As Lena and Rhy struggle to overcome the wounds of the past, they and their friends approach the final confrontation with the strange intelligence intent on rending apart the very fabric of their world. And it looks like it will come down to the pair of them to strike the final blow.

But only if they can build a new trust on the bitter past.

What did I think of it:

Me and Voodoo Bride loved the other books in this series, and even though each book had a happy ending for each couple, the threat to the 13 Kingdoms is not gone yet. So you bet  we were eager to dive into this book.

And this is an awesome read!

Rhy has been a bit of an ass throughout the series. Hung up on Lena and anything else he can feel hung up about, we were very curious how he would turn from ass to hero. I can tell you that it was very cool to see his transformation in this book. There had been small moments of clarity in the earlier books that showed he could learn and change, but it's here that things finally stick and he decides to stop moping and start taking responsibility. He turned from an ass into someone who might be worth being called Raven King.

Lena was awesome as well. She grows into her powers even more and when things get hairy she will have to make scary and difficult choices, including deciding if she can trust Rhy with her heart. 

This being the concluding book, there's lots of action, fights, discoveries, and possible heartbreak. We were eager to see how the strange intelligence that's been causing the destruction and chaos that's threatening the 13 Kingdoms would be stopped. And the climax of this book and this series is epic! 

And the epilogues! They are so good! Voodoo Bride immediately wanted to reread the entire series after finishing those.

All in all a wonderful read and an awesome conclusion to this series.

Why should you read it:

It's awesome Epic Fantasy Romance

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Rogue's Pawn - Book Review by Voodoo Bride (repost and reread)

The Covenant of Thorns trilogy will be polished and then rereleased after the rights were returned to Jeffe Kennedy. Time for a reread before the new shiny versions will be released later this year. (And yes: You bet I'll be posting about it when they're available.)

Rogue's Pawn (Covenant of Thorns #1)

by Jeffe Kennedy

What is it about:

This is no fairy tale…

Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, sick to death of my mind-numbing career and heart-numbing fiancé, I impulsively walked out of my life—and fell into Faerie. Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a power I can't control: my wishes come true. After an all-too-real attack by the animal from my dreams, I wake to find myself the captive of the seductive and ruthless fae lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he demands an extravagant price—my firstborn child, which he intends to sire himself…

With no hope of escaping this world, I must learn to harness my magic and build a new life despite the perils—including my own inexplicable and debilitating desire for Rogue. I swear I will never submit to his demands, no matter what erotic torment he subjects me to…

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:

I love this book!

Kennedy creates a wonderful, yet dark world where wishes come true, but also might destroy you.

Jennifer/Gwynne is a heroine I really could relate to. She's practical and rational and I loved seeing her adapt to a world full of magic. She doesn't give up even when things get really tough and keeps looking for possibilities to turn the tables on those who wrong her.

Rogue on the other hand is dark and mysterious with a ruthlessness to him that makes him both sexy and a bit scary. I could totally understand why Jennifer/Gwynne can't make up her mind about Rogue. The relationship that builds between them is intense and believable and I can't wait to see how things between them will develop in the next two books.

Kennedy also did a really good job at characterizing the minor characters in this book. I especially fell in love with Blackbird and her daughter Starling and hope they will be in the next book as well.

The story itself was very different from what I expected when I started the book. There was lots more action and intrigue than I thought there would be and this was a pleasant surprise. Most Paranormal/Fantasy Romances focus just on the romance and are a bit sloppy on the story around that romance, but Rogue's Pawn luckily didn't have this flaw and instead delivers on both romance and story.

All in all this is a delightful read and I'm already longing for the next book in this trilogy to see what's next for Jennifer/Gwynne and the people close to her.

Why should you read it:

It's a beautiful and dark Fantasy Romance

Thoughts on rereading:

Still as awesome as the first time I read this. I must confess there was one event that I remembered as being longer and darker than it came across on this reread. Still an impactful scene though. 

Dead Silence - Book Review

 

Dead Silence

by S.A. Barnes

What is it about:

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

What did I think of it:

When I saw this book on the schedule of the Horror Book Club I'm in I hadn't heard about it before, so decided to investigate. And immediately bought it and read it way ahead of the book club schedule.

This book is so good!

I loved Claire and her crew, even the antagonistic Voller, so I was eager to find out what they would encounter on the Aurora. The story starts with Claire being asked to recount what happens on the Aurora, so you know she survived whatever they encountered, but from the context you also know her crew most likely didn't survive.

So I was on edge from the moment they entered the Aurora, I can tell you. Strange things seemed to have happened there and might still be happening. The mood is spooky and atmospheric. I could easily imagine this luxury space liner and the creepy things Claire and her crew encounter.

It's not often that a horror book spooks me, but this one came really close. I feared for the lives of my favorite crew members and as there wasn't an immediate body count I secretly hoped that maybe they would survive. The things they find on the Aurora seemed to mock my hopes though.

At a certain point in the story the mood changed and it became more action-packed than eerie, but I didn't mind at all. I loved where the story was taking me and couldn't put the book down at that point: I had to know how things would end.

All in al this is an amazing and haunting story that creeps you out as well as gives you cool action. You bet I'll reread this pearl. I'll also investigate what else Barnes has written.

Why should you read it:

It's a really cool atmospheric SF Horror Read 

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On McPig's Wishlist - Queen of the Tiles

 

Queen of the Tiles

by Hanna Alkaf

They Wish They Were Us meets The Queen’s Gambit in the world of competitive Scrabble when a teen girl is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend a year after the fact when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.

CATALYST

13 points

noun: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change

When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.

But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.

As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.

Bitten & Smitten - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

 

Bitten & Smitten (Immortality Bites #1)

What is it about:

My name is Sarah Dearly, and I’m having a week from hell—literally. My blind date bit me and made me into a vampire, and now I’m being chased all over the city by vampire hunters who want to introduce me to their wooden stakes.

While fleeing for my life on four-inch stilettos, my path crossed with the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met. Thierry de Bennicoeur is a sexy, 600-year-old master vampire with a death wish. And here’s my plan: I’m going to convince him to guide me in my dangerous and unpredictable new vampire life, and in return, I’ll show him that life’s still worth living. To complicate matters, a vampire hunter named Quinn is after me, and he can’t seem to decide if he wants to kill me or kiss me.

Being a vampire sucks, but it sure isn’t boring!

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:

This is a fun read.

I will confess that if I hadn't liked the writing style so much, I might have DNFed early on. Sarah is too stupid to live at times and slow to learn. The humor and the overall story do make up for her stupidity luckily enough, and once I accepted she isn't the brightest new vampire out there I had tons of fun with this book. Had Sarah been any smarter, this book wouldn't have been this long or entertaining.

There's a bit of a love triangle thing going on, but that's almost a given in this genre. It seemed like it was resolved by the end of the book, but I won't be surprised if it gets revived for the next one. For now I'm happy as my favorite guy gets the girls for once.

All in all a very entertaining book that you shouldn't take serious for even one moment. I'll pick up the next book soon.

Why should you read it:

It's a fun and enjoyable Paranormal read

buy from amazon