Follow Friday [2]

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host {Parajunkee.com} and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. LINKY TOOLS IS BACK!I paid for the subscription – finally so now you can add the links to your own post!!! To add the code to your own post click on GET THE CODE here under the list of names.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
7. If you’re new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog! ~ excerpt from parajunkee.com

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Featured Blogger is Mickey!

Q. In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer…let’s talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?

My favorite is The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa. 🙂 Need I say more? Let’s go, TEAM ASH!

 

I kinda lika The Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, but I’m not Team Seth so the ending was moot for me. Ha! But it is one of the good fey series out there, just not my favorite.

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.: maria :.

“giving up is the ultimate tragedy.”

In My Mailbox [4]

Hosted by The Story Siren

Every week I’d share the books I received that week… ones I’d bought, or gotten at the library, and ones that I’d receive to review on the blog. That way I could mention titles that might not otherwise get some face-time on The Story Siren.

In My Mailbox is a great way for bloggers to socialize and network their blogs, it’s also a great way for bloggers to share upcoming releases! – excerpt from The Story Siren website

 

I got a MAJOR haul this week! Why? Because the books i ordered from Amazon and The Book Depository came in! So prepare yourself, this is one massive In My Mailbox!

HB/PB Grabs

From Local Bookstores:

Kiss the Girls, James Patterson

Natural Born Charmer, Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Ransom, Julie Garwood

The Halo Effect, M.J. Rose

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Brother Odd and Odd Hours, Dean Koontz

The Third Secret, Steve Berry

Killjoy, Julie Garwood (not captured in pic, boo!)

From The Book Depository:

I’ve read The Iron Fey series (and loved it!)  but i just gotta have the real books with me! And the covers are so very pretty!

I keep on jumping and yelling when i got this package. My husband looked at me like i was crazy. 🙂

Don’t they looked fabulous in my shelf? 😉 Ooh, i can’t wait to get my hands on The Iron Knight! You bet that will be my favorite book cover among the series. Team Ash!

From Amazon:

Girl in the Arena, Lise Haines

Ashes, Ashes, Jo Treggiari

Blood Red Road, Moira Young

NetGalley Grabs

Another Dystopia grab from NetGalley!

It could happen tomorrow…

A cataclysmic event. An army of “The Changed.”
Can one teen really survive on her own?

An electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky, destroying every electronic device and killing billions. For those spared, it’s a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human…

Desperate to find out what happened and to avoid the Changed, Alex meets up with Tom—a young army veteran—and Ellie, a young girl whose grandfather was killed by the electromagnetic pulse.

This improvised family will have to use every ounce of courage they have just to survive.

“Gripped me from the beginning to end—-dark, creepy and suspenseful. I loved it” – James Dashner

“A haunting and epic story of survival in a shattered world. ASHES is a must read.” – Michael Grant

Ebook Grabs

Realistic Teen Romance

Oh yeah, i’ve been reading a lot of Contemporary genre lately. and they don’t disappoint!

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer–they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Have you read some of them? Which do you recommend i read first? 🙂

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.: maria :.

“giving up is the ultimate tragedy.”

Book Review: Eon by Alison Goodman

Rating:

(Eon #1)

She has a powerful secret . . . with deadly consequences.

For years, Eon’s life has been focused on magical study and sword-work, with one goal: that he be chosen as a Dragoneye, an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.
But Eon has a dangerous secret: he is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; the penalty is death.
When Eona’s secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a struggle for the Imperial throne. Eona must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic . . . and her life.

***** ***** *****

This is a great story, but Eon (or Eona) being the heroine and the center of it all is just too painful for me. In short, i don’t like her. If i was the dragon, i would find her unworthy of my powers. Despite my misgivings on the main character, the book is commendable for fantasy readers out there.

Eon is susceptible to emotional blackmail and manipulation. I agree that she is just a teenage girl living in a society where women do not hold power in any way, but her years in training should’ve given her nerves of steel, but it didn’t. She isn’t as strong and likeable as i thought she would be. I wanted to slap and strangle her most of the time i was reading her story.

The strongest character for me would be Ryko, followed by Lady Dela. I’ve underestimated their role due to their social ranking, but when i get past that, i was in awe of their courage and devotion to fight for what is right.

The storyline was built around palace intrigue and dragon lore. Unfortunately, it was focused more on the former rather than the latter which made half of my reading Eon boring and dragging. I was so looking forward to lots of DRAGON MAGIC! But there was only a few. I was elated during the choosing ceremony (ascending dragon will pick his worthy apprentice). Then I was dulled by the palace scenes. It only picked up during Eon’s trial with the King Monsoon. And i was pysched that FINALLY, the author was in a roll. There is no time to put the book down after that.

The twist was a shocking realization for me. The scenes before arriving to that climax finally made sense to me, and it was thrilling! So simple yet clever on the author’s part.

Only after closing the book did i say that i enjoyed Eon’s story. I hope there’s more of Prince Kygo in book two, though. Then i want to smack Dillon full in the face.

Eon inclined more on palace politics than the dragon fantasy it implied on the book cover and blurb. But i would still recommend it for the unique plot.

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.: maria :.

“giving up is the ultimate tragedy.”