08 January 2014

Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Avalon by Mindee Arnett
Avalon #1
Release Date: January 21, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Publisher (Edelweiss)
Star Rating: ★★★★
Rating: Essential
A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.
Stealing a spaceship shouldn't be this easy.
---
Avalon is on a lot of people's most anticipated books for this year, and I can say that I am almost certain that most people will end up really enjoying it. Science fiction is my favourite genre, and Avalon is packed full of space-y goodness. You sci-fi fans should definitely give it a go, and even if you're hesitant towards the genre, you should know that it's not necessarily the sci-fi element that makes it fantastic. Sure, it's set in space and there are spaceships, but the most important part of the plot is the family part. The action is pretty good too. 

07 January 2014

Top Ten Goals for 2014

Top Ten Goals for 2014

1. Take more blogging breaks
After taking a blogging break at the end of 2013 after posting almost every day for 50 weeks, I realised that I should do it more often. I definitely do not need to be posting consistently all year. It's tiring, somewhat stressful at times, and I think it's one of the reasons I get into reading slumps so often. So in 2014 I'm going to take more frequent blogging breaks, perhaps four times a year or something. Just whenever I need to so that I can rest, relax, and read!

Giveaway: Altered or Erased by Jennifer Rush

In order to celebrate Erased finally being released, I'm hosting a giveaway! Woo! Cheers! Applause! Altered was one of my favourite reads last year, and Erased was just as good. There's a lot more Nick, which is enough to make anybody excited. 

You can enter to win either a paperback copy of Altered or a hardback of Erased. There will be one winner. Giveaway is international, and will run for two weeks. All terms and conditions and other fancy things can be found in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck everyone, and happy release day!

06 January 2014

New Releases: January 7 - 13, 2014

I do love January! It's always full of so many releases. I've read a few of these, and I can say that Erased by Jennifer Rush is freakin' amazing! SO GOOD, YOU GUYS. You have to check it out. Aside from Erased (obviously), which new releases are you looking forward to?

Bout of Books 9.0

I'm doing Bout of Books again! Hopefully this will go well, although I am at work all week this week so who knows. I'm still going to try! And I can't have Judith @ Paper Riot showing me up, since she has exams and is still taking part.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team