"The Eternity Cure" by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 30, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 446

From Goodreads: "Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike."

Though I wasn't a major fan of "The Immortal Rules", I was still quite interested to see how Julie would continue on with Allison's story. Furthermore, I had hopes that this book would be better than the first, as Julie came into her own, growing as an author with each passing book. However, after having finished it, I must admit that I didn't find it to be a stronger book than the first. In fact, I think that it may be a bit weaker of a book, and I would go so far as to say that it suffers from "second book syndrome".

My two main complaints about this book are the overall storyline and the predictability. In all honesty, I feel like very little happened/ was accomplished in this novel- the large majority of it felt like filler. It felt like a recap of the previous book, with Allie travelling from her home to Eden (though in the opposite direction in this), facing down Sarren, Sarren once again going psycho-vamp on everyone, and Sarren eventually making a dramatic exit. Furthermore, I found the large majority of the book, the ending especially, to be extremely predictable. I think that Julie had intended it to take the reader by surprise, but I think that it did anything but.

That being said, I did appreciate that questions weren't answered with more questions in this book- we actually got concrete answers (well, assuming that you can trust the word of a psycho vampire). Furthermore, I loved Jackal in this book, I thought that he provided a lot of much needed comic relief- his dry wit is second to none.

All in all, while I personally was not a massive fan of this, I do believe that those who loved the first book will be more than pleased with this latest installment. Furthermore, despite my complaints I do think that I will continue on with it, if only to see how it is wrapped up.

Rating: 3/5

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.

ARC Review: "Dare You To" by Katie McGarry

Release Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 462

From Goodreads: "Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all..." 

"Pushing the Limits" was one of the most emotional books I can ever recall reading, the entire time while reading the book I had a stomachache because of THE FEELS. Therefore, when I learned that this book was to be about Beth, arguably one of the most broken and mysterious characters I have ever encountered before, I had expected it to be just as emotional, if not more so, than "Pushing the Limits". However, I must admit that I found it anything but.

Overall, the large majority of this story felt fairly flat to me (even despite being able to personally relate more to Beth than to Echo)- the romance especially. Though Beth and Ryan did know one another for a fair while before getting together, I still felt that there was insta-love going on. Furthermore, while this book is about Beth and Ryan's story I couldn't help but find that it was too much focused on them- I wish that the secondary characters had played larger roles in the story as I found each and everyone of them to be intriguing (even Gwen).

That being said, I did very much appreciate that this book had something which I very rarely encounter in other books of this nature- character growth. And from BOTH characters. Gone is the old broken, pessimistic Beth, hello to the, at times, bubbly and hopeful Beth. Whereas, gone is the old Ryan who allowed everyone else to dictate his life, hello to the Ryan who truly takes the reins, in the process learning more about himself than he could have ever imagined (and who picks up a skill or two along the way).

All in all, despite my complaints I did enjoy the book overall and I think that diehards of this series will more than likely be pleased with this installment. Furthermore, despite my complaints, I will continue on with this series, if only to see how Isiah's story wraps up.

Rating: 3/5

I received this book from the author to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way.

"Pushing the Limits" by Katie McGarry

Release Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 384

From Goodreads: "I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty muchimpossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again."

While I oft SQUEE about books, it isn't often that I feel what could be considered legitimate emotions of a book (RE: not superficial emotions- such as "OMG HE IS SO SWOON-WORTHY!"- about a book) and I almost never have a physical reaction to a book (aside from a few teary moments here and there, again, usually superficial teary moments)- however, that was the case whatsoever when it came to this book. I cannot recall ever having been so emotionally involved in one before. At times while reading it I became concerned that I was joining Emerson in her psychotic break and because of all of the continuously changing emotions that I was experiencing while reading it I developed a stomachache. After finishing it I was legitimately emotionally spent- despite it fairly early when I finished this (around 4 PM), all I could do was veg out on the couch for the rest of the night as I was too tired to do anything otherwise.

This isn't your typical YA contemporary, something fun and lighthearted in the vein of Stephanie Perkins. It's raw, emotional, and heavy- I would go so far to say that it is not for the faint of heart (because as mentioned, I,  who has quite a strong stomach, even developed a stomachache from some of the scenes- some of which involved blood, others of which involved emotional and mental turmoil like you wouldn't believe).

Echo and Noah are quite literally unlike any characters I have ever read before- like the book both are so raw and emotional, but even more than that they are broken. Being as such they are potentially the most relateable characters I have ever encountered before, Echo who is quite literally trying to figure out where she belongs in life, not to mention piecing together her past, and Noah doing everything in his power to ensure that what little family he has sticks together. Furthermore, the secondary characters were bar none some of the most complex I have ever read of before- from Echo's mom and dad, to her stepmother, to Noah's brothers foster parents.

All in all, this is one of the most stunning debuts I have ever had the pleasure of reading before. I have no doubt that Katie has an amazing career ahead of her- I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in "Dare You To", a companion novel to this book told from Beth's POV.

Rating: 10/10

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.

"Pushing the Limits" GIVEAWAY

Harlequin TEEN has been generous enough to supply a copy of "Pushing The Limits" for a giveaway here in the blog! 

Release Date: July 31, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 384

From Goodreads: "I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty muchimpossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again."

Giveaway Details: 

• One entry per person 
• US/ Canada Only 
• Giveaway ends September 19, 2012

To enter fill out the Rafflecopter below 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can purchase "Pushing the Limits" at: 

AMAZON/ BARNES AND NOBLE/ INDIE BOUND

Stacking the Shelves

To support my fellow Canadian bloggers I have decided to participate in Stacking the Shelves created by Tygna over at Tygna's Reviews. As Tygna writes, "Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!" 

For Review

• "Pushing The Limits" by Katie McGarry (special thanks to Harlequin Teen!): I recently read this- be sure to check out my review that will go live in a few weeks. This is one book that YOU MUST check out y'all!. 
• "Venom" by Fiona Paul (special thanks to Razorbill!)

Bought

• "Sirensong" by Jenna Black

Traded (Special thanks to Ashley over at Book Labyrinth!)

• "Thief's Covenant" by Ari Marmell 
• "False Covenant" by Ari Marmell 
• "Cursed" ARC by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
• "Auracle" by Gina Rosati 

What did you get in your mailbox?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating...
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Title: "Through To You"
Author: Emily Hainsworth
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Balzer and Bray
Pages: 272

From Goodreads: "Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he’d give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn’t Viv. 

The apparition’s name is Nina, and she’s not a ghost. She’s a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can’t believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn’t the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he’s forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all."

"The Immortal Rules" by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 480

From Goodreads: "In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for." 

I have read a number of reviews where people have stated that this book has been their most favourite of 2012- unfortunately I am not amongst those people. That is not to say that this is a bad book- far from it! In fact, I believe this book to be Julie's strongest book to date. However, I just don't feel that it fully reached its potential on the vampire front. I wish that Julie had brought something new to the table, showed us a completely new race of vampires, vampires literally unlike any we have ever seen fore and not the stereotypical bad-ass, all black/ leather wearing female who wields a katana (seriously, off of the top of my head I can name at least 5 female vampires who wield one of these- I wish that Allie *had* been able to convince Kanin to let her use a flail) she presented in this story. 

Furthermore, I also had a problem with the the romance aspect of it- namely being, I didn't buy it. Nothing about Zeke and Allie screamed "Sparks!" and "Chemistry!" to me, which I find quite strange because if there is any even a tiny of inclination of romance in a book I AM ALL OVER IT (me= hopeless romantic). I personally found that they made a better team being friends/ comrades than girlfriend/ boyfriend. 

That being said, I think that this book (specifically Allie as a character) has one of the strongest voices I have ever read (in all honesty I don't usually pay attention to things like this, but I couldn't help but not notice this as I read the book). Allie was not only a complex and beautifully constructed character, but a real one at that.

Furthermore, I did enjoy the pacing of the story and the setting- both were so well crafted and finely tuned that it I believe it impossible to not easily situate yourself into the dilapidated and run-down vampire city teeming with rats, mole-men, and vampires, and into the those areas outside of the city that were slowly becoming reclaimed by nature and which were slowly becoming more and more overrun with rapids.

All in all, despite my complaints, I thought that this was a great debut to a new series from author Julie Kagawa- it becomes evident that Julie grows more and more as an author with each book she writes and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us in the second book in this series!

Rating: 8/10

I received this book from the publisher to read and review. I was not compensated in any way for said review. 

Memorable lines from the book: 

'"If you're going to bite me, just get it over with." Though don't expect me to lie down and take it. You'll have a pocketknife shoved through your eye before I'm done, I swear' (8%). 

"I wished I could've said that I would rather die than become a bloodsucker. I wished I had the courage, the strength, to stick with my convictions. But in reality, when faced with death and the great unknown that came after, my survival instinct snatched wildly at whatever lifeline was offered. I didn't want to die. Even if it meant becoming something I loathed, my nature was, first and always, to survive" (14%). 

"Hey, what was that?" Easing forward, I tried peering into the box on tiptoe, but he shouldered me away. "Oh, come on. I want to see the big-spiky-ball thing." 
"You do *not* need a flail," Kanin scowled' (24%). 

"Charming," I muttered under my breath and felt my fangs poking my gums. "Well, we know who's going to get bitten first now, don't we?" (44%). 

"You make me question everything I've learned, everything I know" (81%).