Winner!

The winner for:

is...

Melissa of My World... In Words and Pages!

Congraties Mel!

Don't forget that this book is available now! You'll love it!

Indigo Awakening (The Hunted #1) by Jordan Dane

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her. 

A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only “the Believers” know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.

This was an interesting take on children born with various psychic powers. There is actually a theory about indigo children that this book takes and then builds a nail bitting story around. In this book Rayne is a girl with a troubled past. Her brother who means everything to her has run away from the mental institution their older sister has put him in due to his "peculiarities".  She does what she can to find him and runs into another like him and becomes involved in Luke, her brother's new found world. You also find yourself running from the bad guys who are quite evil and have no problems killing kids. This puts you on the edge of your seat several times trying to figure out if they will make it or not.

You also get involved in a lot of secondary characters as well. Most of these are the kids, but you also get a glimpse into the evil that hunts these kids. Although you never really find out why... exactly... they want these kids, you are convinced that they are evil nonetheless.

I have to say that this was an interesting book. However, I have to say that although I did connect to some of the characters, I ended up disconnecting with them in the end. When any of them found their powers they seemed to become more aloof rather than more sensitive and that distanced themselves from me quickly. I also found myself becoming distant from Rayne who had no powers because she was constantly in fear, but her actions did not reflect it. It was a odd contradiction. I also have to say that although the plot is gripping, it is also predictable. Still, it has some good ideas which I think can be fixed within the coming books.

I give this book 3 stars. It's interesting and entertaining and might be good for those that want a fast intense ride.

I received this eARC from the publisher and NetGalley and no compensation for my review was given.

Throwback Thursday

Meme hosted by Melissa My World in Words and Pages. It's about books that are already on the shelves and are waiting to be read. Go to her website to join in!

This weeks submission:

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. 

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work. 

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is also a confession. I have had this one on audio for some time now. I won it and did want to read it after it was recommended to me by a friend. The confession? I don't know if I want to hear it. I can see it being so much more emotional hearing it from a child's voice. A child! In danger! Oh I can so see me throwing it across the room. I can see this being so emotional. 

Hold me? 

Do you have an emotional tbr book waiting for you to read?

Audio review: Hammered (Iron Druid Chronicles #3) by Kevin Hearne

Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully—he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare.

One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.

Another good audio with Luke Daniels again narrating the book. Luke does an excellent job and I swear I've become to hear Atticus's voice as Luke's voice. He also does an excellent job of the other characterizations as well.

As for the story. Hm... well there were, of course, many moments of levity in which I LOL'd. I also had a few moments of geeky happiness with the Spock/Kirk playing Devil and Angel on Atticus's shoulders. I also had that same moment of geeky-ness when my fave line from The Princess Bride (hint: it was said by someone named Inigo Montoya...) was also said. Yes, I did have quite a few of these moments that ended up putting a smile on my face. Not to mention his moments of levity with Jesus (yes, that Jesus). However...

The battle this whole thing leads up to was, from the beginning, an extremely bad fight. Why it came about made sense, but not how. To fight in Thor's territory was quite stupid for a paranoid druid and I just couldn't figure out why he would go without a better well thought out plan. They had time... all involved were quite long lived so why go through it with such poor planing? Still, I do believe that this will set us up for what is to come in the next novels and at least even Atticus felt that his involvement was unwise... even if the realization came too late. Kind of rounds out his character a bit with him making mistakes of this kind. Still, the questions of their plan still make me wonder...

Even though I was very disappointed in Atticus (especially when it involved Freya) I admit I lost some of my shine to his character. However, in a series I find this interesting because people are neither wholly good or bad but are somewhere in between. Perhaps this will give him a bit more complexity to his character. The next books, I guess, will determine if that pans out that way. I will be reading or listening to them as this one ended with a bit of mystery and I have to know what is next.

Just One Day (Just One Day #1) by Gayle Forman

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

Okay, I totally confess... I judged a character by the blurb. I was all ready to totally hate on Willem that I admit it took some doing to get me into the book. I read a couple of chapters slowly, but then just decided to read. I found myself not hating the guy, but I still admit I was still quite skeptical of his character. There was just so much we didn't know and that leads to very easy conclusions. The author uses this for Allyson's character growth so I found it an interesting twist.

It's also a book surrounded by Shakespeare. Much of her life is compared through his plays and it becomes intertwined with her story as well. Not just the romance aspect, but the natural growth Allyson goes through to find out who she is without her parents dictating every aspect of her life. She forces herself to find out who she is and meets some real interesting characters along the way. Dee, her bestie in college is my fave character. He is hilarious and also a complex character for being a secondary character. He loves to play with masks that people try to judge him by and only Allyson is the first one to truly see who he is and he sees Allyson even though she is quite closed to him at first. (PS... no love triangle)

I enjoyed Allyson's growth. She also explores the possibilities that jumping to conclusions without sufficient information is quite easy to accomplish. In fact, the theme of masks and simple conclusions abound in this novel as well as happy accidents.

In the end we get a HEA but not necessarily the one we are seeking. I suspected that would be the case, but it also ends in a way I want to know more. I was upset with not knowing more until I realized that Willem's book comes out later. Oh yea... I want to know his story. He is way too mysterious for me in this book and I really want to know what went on with him as well as finding out what happens to both even if it is a few years later. I became invested in these characters so I must know!

I give this book 4 stars. It's a good coming of age new adult type of book. I enjoyed the Shakespeare analogies as well as the adventure Allyson becomes brave enough to undertake. I recommend the book to those that enjoy contemporary new adult (older YA)... and Shakespeare. :)

I received this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's program and the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.