12 February 2014

Book Club: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My crazy friends and I decided to start a book club for 2014, and The Naturals was our first read. We had a lot of fun reading it, even though there were some stumbling blocks when Lauren and Dee thought a weekly goal was a good idea, and just as much fun discussing it, even though it took bloody ages to get everyone together in one spot. Here is a spoiler-free discussion post for you to enjoy! Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

10 February 2014

New Releases: February 11 - 17, 2014

There are so many interesting releases out this week, but hands down the one that I'm most excited about is SPLIT SECOND. FINALLY. I have been waiting over a year for this book to come out, and the day is almost upon us. I can't wait to get stuck in.

07 February 2014

Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Flame by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Sky Chasers #3
Release Date: January 16, 2014
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books UK
Source: Publisher
Star Rating: 
Rating: Essential

Waverly and the other members of the Empyrean have been scattered, and their home ship destroyed. The mission to rescue their parents didn't go quite as planned, and now they're at an even greater disadvantage: trapped with their enemies on the New Horizon, trying to find a way to survive. Will Seth's health hold out long enough to help Waverly topple their enemy? And will Waverly find a way to unite her friends before the final battle? Nothing is certain and every second is a risk in this explosive finale.

The wait between the end of Spark, and Flame's release has been torturous. Spark, the second book in the Sky Chasers series, pretty much broke me. I had a breakdown on Goodreads, cried all over Twitter, and basically didn't want to go on. I've been anticipating Flame for a year now, and I am happy to confirm that it lived up to my expectations. 

06 February 2014

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Publisher: Balzar + Bray
Source: Publisher (Edelweiss)
Star Rating: 
Rating: Bland

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I went into Cruel Beauty expecting great things. It's been talked about all over the blogosphere. Every time I go onto Twitter people are fangirling over it, and recommending it to others. I was expecting a wonderfully dark story with Beauty and the Beast connections. Instead, all I got was a confusing novel that almost seemed nonsensical at times.