Harry Potter Moment of the Week [21] - Most Anger Inducing Scene

This is a meme hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.The aim of this meme is to share with fellow bloggers a character, spell, chapter, object or quote from the books/ films/ J. K. Rowling herself or anything Potter related! She is picking a topic within HP for us to focus on each week and then if anyone wants to take part feel free! All she asks is to link back to her blog :). There is now a full list of the topics to come here.

Most Anger Inducing Scene

The first one that comes to mind is Harry sitting there in detention for absolutely no reason at all but speaking the truth, and finding himself scribbling into his skin with an evil quill that sketched the words "I must not tell lies" in blood in the back of his hand. Steam out of the ears I'm telling you!

Book Review: Alice in Zombieland (The White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter

Published: September 25, 2012 Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA, Paranormal Fantasy
Format: e-book
Source: Won through Blkosiner's Book Blog - Thank you!!

Goodreads Summary

She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….


I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I'd tell my sister no.
I'd never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I'd zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I'd hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I'd tell them I love them.
I wish... Yeah, I wish.

I have been in cover-love with this one forever...and now I can say that I'm in book-love as well

Having read this one now, I'm furious with myself that I didn't read it sooner.

The Good

Are there monsters in the dark? While Ali's dad sure thought there was, Ali wasn't buying it. Cue tragic and traumatizing events and Ali finds herself in a whole different world.

The characterization in this book was astounding. I fell in love with them right away. Not only is Ali such a wonderfully woven girl, but all of the side characters are fantastic. When she meets Kat, the first thing I think is, "Wow, I'm going to love her." She's blunt, she's sarcastic, she's a little damaged, and she has a way of magnetically drawing you in. What is it about characters named Kat or nicknamed Kitten that I love so much? It's a formula that has worked so far.

Bad boy Cole is much more of a mystery. There is a lot of fog surrounding him in the initial meetings, but Ali can't seem to keep away. That is until she has to and this girl is good at shutting people out when the time comes. Good for you, Ali!

THE STORY THOUGH...I had no idea where this book was going to take me, and I'm actually glad to have been so much in the dark. I loved every single minute of it. I read it in one sitting, not able to pull myself away. I absolutely had to know how it went, and I was not disappointed. It's set up so well to go even further and I immediately went in search of book 2.

The Bad

I'm worried about Kat...enough said.

Also, I FINALLY read my name in a book...spelled the way that I spell it...and let's just say that I didn't care for the character at all.

The Romance

The romance was very well-written. No jumping in immediately into a relationship, but there was a great spark and interest that led into getting to know each other better. I find myself invested in their lives, and waiting to see how it turns out.

Conclusion

With Alice in Zombieland, I was completely immersed in the story, the world, and the characters. I feel invested in everything that happens. This book was written so smoothly and I can't wait to continue this series. Very recommended.

Excerpt

His confident facade faded, but still he said, "I'll change your mind and I'll win you back. It's just a matter of time."
"Actually, it's just a matter of time before I feed your balls to my dog." In an aside to me, she said,"Remind me that I need to buy a dog."

Just like that, I knew. Kat was the best friend I'd ever had. She supported me, believed in me, no matter what. And I wanted to be an awesome friend to her, too. I wanted to keep her forever.

"I can't promise we'll ever use you for a hasty getaway," Cole said, "but with a little work, you might be able to race my grandmother - while she's on her scooter."
"Im not usually that bad. I'm sorry. I just...the accident...on top of seeing the rabbit..."

"Besides, life's too short to pretend and play games like that. I want to spend my time hanging out with people who make me feel good about myself. People who make me happy."

Teaser Tuesday [24] - The World is Flat

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

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Teaser:

The world is flat.

I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I've been trying to hold on for 17 years. I've been trying to climb back up for 17 years but it's nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand.

When no one wants to risk touching you.

Goodreads Summary:

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Book Review: Undead Pool (The Hollows #12) by Kim Harrison

Published: February 24, 2014 Voyager
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: e-book
Source: Purchased

*Since this one is so far into the series, you may not want to continue with this review as no matter how hard I try, it may contain spoilers

Goodreads Summary

Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan has managed to save the demonic ever after from shrinking, but at a high cost. Now strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering. 

Rachel must stop the occurrences before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and it becomes all-out supernatural war. However, the only way to do so is through the ancient elven wild magic, which carries its own perils.

Well worth the wait.

I am now craving the final installment to this series. The best thing ever is that it will be released in a matter of months.

The Good

The magic in The Hollows for Rachel in particular has been on this upward slide making her more and more powerful with each book. I loved where the magic went this time around. So different, and yet something that she can relate to. I enjoyed seeing her vulnerable and strong all at the same time. She is a very complicated character, and I love her more for it. She's grown exponentially since the first book. Watching her apologize for things that she used to snap back some sassy comment to was endearing, but what's the greatest is that she didn't lose that side of her either. You just better watch who you are and how you are coming at her. She's making tougher, and BETTER choices.

The intricate world that Harrison has created becomes even more evolved. All the pieces, from the different species she has crafted to the specific individuals that I've come to love of those species were well represented in Undead Pool. I adore how the threads are coming together in this one to tie up for the finale. Rachel has grown to the point where accepting help from others if they want to offer it is second nature. She knows her friend's and allies' strengths and she has no problem utilizing them. This might be one instance where everyone has to come together. The big bad in Undead Pool is unpredictable at best, loony, and very hard to combat. If you thought Kusox was tough, just wait.

The pacing and the general 'What is it? What's happening?' moved the story along well. Almost to the point where I was whining when I'd see my percentage bar on the Kindle way past the point I'd like it to be. I could've continued on for quite some time, but where it ended was good and settled...for now.

The Bad

*Neither of these kept me from ADORING the book...just a heads up to potential readers.

I'm honestly not sure how readers are going to feel about Al in Undead Pool. I know that I am a fan of Al as well as many others so I'm hoping his story is followed up well from this one. Basically, I'm not seeing how this can be where it stays for him so I'm looking forward to how he's brought to me in the last one.

I will say that there were moments of confusion for me. I caught on quickly so it passed, but I did have scrunched eyebrows trying to work out things that are explained better later on.

The Romance

For many books now, readers have been greatly anticipating Rachel's HEA with a certain man...er...yeah. I know I've been on the edge of my seat waiting and waiting to see how this will turn out. I'm not going to tell you though...this really is something that you have to read for yourself.

Conclusion

Reading The Hollows is like coming home and getting into my p.j.'s after work. So comfortable and a happy moment that I am thrilled to enjoy. Undead Pool definitely did not disappoint. Everything about this read impressed me. Recommended beyond a doubt.

Excerpt

I was confusing work with everything else - and I was done with being confused.

Why had it  gone white, and right before the misfire? 
"Edden, I had nothing to do with it," I complained, not entirely sure anymore. "I can't tap a line over the water, and the I.S. knows it. If I could, I wouldn't have gotten stuck in that...whatever it was. It was all I could do to get out. This is the second misfire I've been in today, and I want my car!"

Forty years of carefully built coexistence gone in five terrifying minutes. We were that close to losing it all.

Shoulders stiffening, I twisted my lips as something not altogether unpleasant slowly crept through me. 
"Ah," Jenks said as he hovered beside Ivy. "Should your auras be glowing like that?"
"My aura is glowing?" I said panicking.

Sunday Cover Scramble [64]

Let's have some fun! I am going to post covers on here every Sunday that are scrambled up graphically, making it hard to tell what cover it is. I would like your guesses on what cover you think I've posted. I won't answer you until I'm posting the next one to let you know if you are right, allowing others to guess as well. Some will be hard, and others may be easy. Let me know in the comments if you'd like some more hints and I'll offer some more if no one guesses it correctly.

I'm changing up the format a little bit! I am going to be pulling covers off the Most Popular Page on Goodreads.

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Sidekick Showcase [73] - Bring on the Snark

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

Sidekick Showcase April - silly, joker, prankster, comedic relief, outrageous, and the like.

For May let's honor thy Mother. We'll choose some awesome moms and also those characters that are mom-like or mentor-like that are females for Mother's Day May :D

My choice is Betsy

A Touched Girl Series by Robyn Jones

Betsy picture created by Jaclyn Canada

Snark and sass are my favorite kind of humor and Betsy has it in spades. She is absolutely my favorite side character in this series along with Ella. It's almost like she doesn't have a filter at all and her honesty is very refreshing even while it may be a bit on the sharp side at times. In a way, Anna uses Betsy as a sort of conscience voice along with Sarah and Ella so we get to 'see' her a lot even while she may not have any dialogue for chapters.

Quotes:

"That rude one in there is Betsy. If you call her Elizabeth, you're asking for trouble. She's also your cousin, but you are under no obligation to like her."

---

"I'm torn. Do I want to see you crash Ell's car as a passenger, or do I want to follow you and catch it all on my phone and YouTube it?" Betsy chose to ride along, mostly for the thrill of experiencing what she deemed "a dance with death." Sara came too, though I worried about her being in the car with me behind the wheel.

---

I thought Betsy's brain was going to explode with snarky comments, but she shook it off, literally; she stood and wiggled her whole body. "This is me behaving, El."

---

I peaked out of the kitchen to see Betsy standing next to the ironing board. "You people are like birds." When my only response was to stare, she threw her arms up. "You know, you wake up at the crack of dawn?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Superb conversational skills, weird girl. El, how about ironing Anna's PE uniform?" I turned around to see if Ella was midway flipping Betsy off. My grandmother continued her happy domestic glow as she plowed through making breakfast for three girls on their way to school.

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New Release - Salted by Aaron Galvin

I'm so excited to share this with you all. I'll be reading and reviewing Salted soon and it's already in the Top 50 of Amazon's Hot New Releases for Urban Fantasy!

Goodreads Summary

Life isn’t better under the sea.

Lenny Dolan is all too familiar with this reality. A Selkie slave in the realm beneath the waves, he has no choice when charged with leading a crew ashore to capture an elusive runaway. If unsuccessful, the loved ones kept behind will pay for his failure with their lives.

But when their target leads Lenny and his crew to deeper, darker secrets, the Selkies are faced with a moral dilemma. Secure their own freedom at the expense of others, or return empty-handed to face the grisly consequences?

How Lenny and his crew answer the question will teach them the harshest truth of all. Only through the loss of innocence does one become Salted.

Early Praise:

It's always hard to find a unique novel on mermaids. I've seen a spin or two from time to time, but nothing really original, and certainly nothing I'd really describe as 'cool'. That was until I got the chance to read Salted.

 - Steampunk Sparrow Book Blog

I totally bought into the Salted world Galvin created. Not an easy read but a unique one, I would recommend Salted by Aaron Galvin for people who are looking for something beyond the typical mermaid and selkie tales.    

- Cherie Reich, author of The Foxwick Chronicles

Salted was an intriguing read that kept me hooked. It is a different spin on the underwater world and creatures, which I found brought quite a bit of originality to the genre.    

- Lost To Books

Salted is sure to grab your interest at the onset.

- Let There Be Movies

Buy Now Links:

Amazon | Smashwords

About Aaron Galvin:

Salted is Aaron Galvin's debut novel. He first cut his chops writing original stand-up comedy routines at age thirteen. His early works paid off years later when he co-wrote and executive produced the 2013 award-winning indie feature film, Wedding Bells & Shotgun Shells.

He is also an accomplished actor. Aaron has worked in Hollywood blockbusters, (Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers), and starred in dozens of indie films.

Aaron is a proud member of SCBWI. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter.

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