Top Ten Tuesday (22)

/ beckireads / 6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They’d love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

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This weeks Top Ten topic is …

Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way

Epic fantasies seem to be the only books I read that really feature travel, I’d never thought about that before. Here’s my list in no particular order.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Fleabag and the Ring Fire by Beth Webb

Sabriel (Abhorsen #1) by Garth Nix

Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad #1) by David Eddings

The Ambassador’s Mission (Traitor Spy Trilogy #1) by Trudi Canavan

The Magic in the Weaving (Circle of Magic #1) by Tamora Pierce

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Magic Study (Study #2) by Maria V. Snyder

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (The League of Princes #1) by Christopher Healy

Fire (Graceling Realms #2) by Kristin Cashore

What are your top ten books which feature travel in some way? Let me know in the comments below, or link back to your Top Ten post so I can see what makes your list.

Review: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

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PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE DARKNESS RISING SERIES AS THE RISING IS THE FINAL BOOK IN THE SERIES.

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong (UK cover)

Title: The Rising (Darkness Rising Book 3)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (2nd April 2013)
Blurb:

Maya Delaney is a skin-walker – a supernatural who can “Shift” into the shape of a cougar. But her gift comes with a terrible cost. With every transformation, she risks losing touch with her human nature – for ever.

Maya and her friends are on the run from the people who experimented on them and transformed them into supernaturals in the first place. They know they must confront their enemies if they are to have any hope of a future. In order to succeed, Maya will need to use her dangerous, unpredictable powers – but they price for freedom could be too high a price to pay . . .

Rating: **** (4 star)
Review:

The Rising brings to an end The Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong. In the previous book The Calling Maya and her friends were involved in a helicopter crash and ended up on the run as they try to reunite with their families. In The Rising Armstrong brings The Darkness Rising series to a conclusion as we witness Maya and her friends struggle to remain free and plot what to do next, as they contemplate their futures – can they go back to a normal life, or if they will be on the run forever?

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Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

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Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, Book 1)
Author: Robin LaFevers
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Publisher: Andersen Press (7th June 2012)
Blurb:

YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL AND DEADLY.

Trained as an assassin by the god of death, Ismae is sent to the court of Brittany, where she finds herself underprepared – not only for the games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

A dangerous romance full of intrigue, poison and ultimately finding one’s way.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Gave Mercy is the first book in the His Fair Assassin series by Robin LaFevers. It tells the story of Ismae who is taken to the abbess of St. Mortain to train to be an assassin. The story takes place in Brittany before it became part of France, and it follows Ismae as she takes the final steps to become a member of the abbey.

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Review: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

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Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt (UK cover)

Title: Going Vintage
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic (4th April 2013)
Blurb:

Mallory loves her boyfriend and she’s sure he loves her back. Until she accidentally logs on to his Authentic Life profile, that is.

He’s been cheating on her … online!

Mallory’s relationship is ruined and the internet is to blame.

And then Mallory finds a list, written by her grandma as a teenager. Things were so much simpler in the 1960s – it was all about sewing dresses and planning dinner parties.

Maybe it’s time for Mallory to go vintage…

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt is a stand-alone novel. It tells the story of Mallory who discovers by accident that her boyfriend Jeremy has a completely different fake life on Authentic Life – he even has a cyberwife! When she breaks up with him, Mallory decides to break with modern technology and live a simpler life based on a list she discovers, that her Grandma wrote in the early 1960s. Going vintage isn’t as easy as Mallory thinks it is.

Continue reading →

Sunday Post (5)

/ beckireads / 7 Comments

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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It was inspired in part by the In My Mailbox meme. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
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What happened on The Flutterby Room this week?

What’s happening on The Flutterby Room next week?

  • 27th May – Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
  • 31st May – Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Any new books?

Not for me this week, I’m still playing catch-up with all the new ones I got over the last couple of weeks.

That’s it from me this week. Hopefully there will be more than two posts on The Flutterby Room this week, but I’m not willing to make promises I might not keep. Let me know in the comments what you got this week and what happened on your blog and I will try to reply.

See you next week.

Review: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

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PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE PSY-CHANGELING SERIES AS TANGLE OF NEED IS THE ELEVENTH BOOK IN THAT SERIES.

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Title: Tangle of Need (A Psy-Changeling Novel, 11)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz (7th June 2012)
Source: Local Library
Blurb:

Adria, a wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to someone else.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion towards one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno . . . and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realise they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must ame a decision that might just break them both.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Tangle of Need is the eleventh book in the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh (I cannot believe that there are eleven books, it doesn’t feel that many).  It tells the story of Adria and Riaz who are both part of the wolf pack SnowDancer. Neither have had an easy time, and have returned to the centre of the SnowDancer pack to try and move on. Singh helpfully provides a list of characters and their designations at the beginning of the book so that if you’ve forgotten at a glance you will know who the character is connected to.

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Top Ten Tuesday (21)

/ beckireads / 7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They’d love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

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This weeks Top Ten topic is …

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I’ve Read

Here they are in no particular order…

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan*

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman*

Temeraire by Naomi Novik

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Black Heart by Holly Black

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Debutantes by Cora Harrison

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

What are your top ten favourite book covers of books you’ve read? Let me know in the comments below, or link back to your Top Ten post so I can see what makes your list.

* These are US covers, so the books I read didn’t have them BUT I think they look awesome.

Bout of Books 7.0 Wrap-Up

/ beckireads / 2 Comments

So this is my final post for Bout of Books 7.0, and honestly I’m kinda sad that it is all over. I had a great time, and it really helped me to get back on track with my reviews and escape my “reading-slump-of-doom” which I couldn’t seem to outrun for long.

I guess you want to know how it went, if you haven’t been keeping up to date with my updates post. I was waaaay too lazy to do a post a day – it would eat into my reading time!

Time Devoted to Reading ended up being quite a lot. I’m not sure of the exact hours, I didn’t keep track, but I think I managed to read for about 6 hours a day. I’m very pleased with this because I was also the only one cooking that week as Mum has an essay due asap, and I had to do some cleaning around the house and that so there wasn’t too much to do on Sunday when the family came over.

My Goals were admittedly easy, but I completed reading 4 books by Thursday and in fact I ended up reading 6 books this week which I am super proud of. I would have loved to have read seven, but Sunday was a lost cause reading wise. I also aimed to take part in one Twitter Chat and I ended up taking part in two of the three Twitter Chats – the first and the last, unfortunately the second one took place at 2am and I needed to sleep!

The Books I Read are as follows:

With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Debutantes by Cora Harrison

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole

Will I take part in another Bout of Books? Yes. It was soooo much fun! I am seriously contemplating taking part in Bout of Books 8.0 in August, but we’ll see how things are closer to the time. If you are interested in taking part in a future Bout of Books, or just want to find out more then you can find the Bout of Books blog here.

Review: Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh

/ beckireads / 2 Comments

Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh (UK cover)

Title: Archangel’s Storm (A Guild Hunter Novel, 5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (13th September 2012)
Source: Local Library
Blurb:

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price – Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmate . . . and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion tht threatens to drench them both in blood.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Archangel’s Storm is the fifth book in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. The story focuses on Jason, one of the Archangel Raphael’s Seven. Singh introduces us to Princess Mahiya, who has ties to the Archangel Neha and who lives at her court. Singh also continues Dmitri and Honor’s story from Archangel’s Blade through occasional chapters.

Continue reading →

Sunday Post (4) and Showcase Sunday (2)

/ beckireads / 10 Comments

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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It was inspired in part by the In My Mailbox meme. It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
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What happened on The Flutterby Room this week?

What’s happening on The Flutterby Room next week?

  • 20th May – Bout of books wrap-up
  • 20th May – review Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh
  • 24th May – review Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

Any new books?

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits, and Tea. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders each week.

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Just one book for me this week.

  • Loki’s Wolves (The Blackwell Pages #1) by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr [Goodreads]

Thank you Dad for getting this for me, I’ve been looking forward to reading it for a while.

That’s it from me this week. Hopefully there will be more than two posts on The Flutterby Room this week, but I’m not willing to make promises I might not keep. Let me know in the comments what you got this week and what happened on your blog and I will try to reply.

See you next week.