Hello and Welcome!

Red House Books is going through a bit of a update!

I've always had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted this space to be but I've been detoured from my path by...lots and lost of other people's opinions and ways of doing things...

I'm committed to this little chunk of the interweb but I've also branched out into other places so! Now it's time to think of Red House Books as more of a hub of all things me! And Me is a hell of a lot of book love!

Stay tuned!

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Short Story Review: Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

E-novella / Short Story
Shatter Me #1.5
October 2012 from Harper Teen

Synopsis:
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:
Warner's point of view? Yes please! I can't remember the last time I came across a villain I found it so very hard to hate.

Warner is such a complex character and while I could never condone what he's done, after reading Destroy Me I understand his actions. He's so very broken, so very beyond redemption. There is nothing lost about him, nothing romantic but still...it's hard for me to label him evil and walk away.

I actually would have loved to have known Warner's insights while reading book 1. With this said, I wouldn't recommend reading Destroy Me if you haven't read Shatter Me. It is however, a perfect in-between story.

Extras?
An excerpt from Unravel Me is included. Also, an "Excerpt from Warner's Files" with a peak inside his private log and files from The Reestablishment -- very cool!

Will I continue the Series?:
Yes! I'm very much looking forward to starting book 2.

Rating:
5 / 5 Stars


Saturday, April 27, 2013

On My Reader (30) - April 27, 2013

On My Reader posts are were I highlight recent ebooks I've added to my digital collection :)


Free

October 2012 from Kensington Books
"Four Teenagers. One Destroyed City. Thousands of Infected Predators."

Not everyone loved this book but I wanted to give it a chance. Thriller + male protagonist usually work for me.
Chasers was free when I got it last week. It's only $1.99 now.

July 2011 from Obsidian Mountain Publishing
"She wanted her life to change...he wanted his to stay the same."

Read this awhile ago but couldn't pass up this time!
One of my favorite mer-people books.
Still free and Book 2 is only $2.99

October 2012 from Harper
"Buyer beware..."

I tend to like adult urban fantasy when I actually read it.
I know nothing about this author but the synopsis sort of reminds me of parts of the Wicked Lovely series.
Thought I'd give it a shot while it was free - it's back at full price now.



Bought

February 2013 from the author
"Some things are worth waiting for..."

J. Lynn = Jennifer L. Armentrout. This one is her first New Adult title that she self published. Looks like it's been picked up for print by William Marrow. Paperback release this fall I think?
Armentrout's romances are hit or miss for me but people are swooning over this one. Hope I love it too!

April 2013 from HarperTeen
"A digital original novel that's a suspenseful brew of magic, dark strangers, and witchcraft..."

This one is from Harper's new digital imprint Impulse which focuses on YA short stories and novellas. New ones first Tuesday of every month!
Part 2 will be out soon - both are only $1.99 each. I'm super pumped for more Impulse releases!


For Review from NetGalley

June 2013 from Flux
"It's been four years since I slept, and I suspect it's killing me."

Debut author!!
This one sounds fabulous! Male protag - which I love and it sounds a little on the dark side.
I'll be participating in Johansson's tour - review will post next month.

What did you guys add to your e-readers this week?

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Book Review: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)
Julie Kagawa
**might contain spoilers
if you haven't read book 1**
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication: April 2013 from Harlequin Teen
Pages: 446
Format: e-galley
Acquisition: NetGalley

Synopsis:
Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.
Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.
(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts
Picking up soon after The Immortal Rules ends, we find Allie right back in the think of it all. She's left behind Eden and more importantly, Zeke. She's more alone then she has ever been and she's determined to find her sire, Kanin. She knows she might have to fight her way to him but she's not going to let anything stop her.

Extremely awesome.

I honestly didn't know what to expect from The Eternity Cure. I absolutely fell in love with the vampiric dystopian world Julie had created and I was dying to know what Allie would do after she left Zeke. Everything that made The Immortal Rules fantastic was back plus I got the added bonus of some serious kick a** vampire (and human) fighting.

Overall, The Eternity Cure is a lot bloodier and violent then The Immortal Rules. A lot more politics going on as well as we get more of inside look into how vampire society operates. We meet a lot of new characters - some only briefly and there are A LOT of characters that meet a brutal end before get to learn anything about them. By the time I was halfway through reading I was actually a little desensitized to it all.

I would have to say I liked The Immortal Rules a little bit more then The Eternity Cure. There were a few too many 'shocking' moments early on for Allie. Also, some things felt a little repetitive. She's on this quest - finds something she wasn't expecting - continues on the quest - resolves it (sort of) and starts again (sort of). I guess I was hoping for more of her world and less of her inner and personal struggles. BUT that's not to say the story wasn't fantastic.

It really is Allie that makes this book pop. If you feel in love with her in The Immortal Rules, you'll love her just the same in The Eternity Cure. She only annoyed me once or twice but that was more Zeke's fault and honestly, I never really warmed up to him. I can see why Allie loves him though.

More vampire then dsytopian in this one. More backstory and resolving of unfinished business then new happenings. Overall, a very satisfying 'book 2' - with enough of the story left untold that book 3 looks very promising (and way to far away!!)

Will I continue the series?
Yes! Allie, Kanin and company still have unfinished business to attend to. Can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Rating
4.5 / 5 Stars

PB book 1, HC book 2
The Blood of Eden Series
#0.5 Dawn of Eden (short story found in 'Til The World Ends)
#1.0 The Immortal Rules
#2.0 The Eternity Cure
#3.0 ?


Monday, April 22, 2013

GIVEAWAY and Link-Up last day to enter!

Hey guys!

Are you participating in my NetGalley Reading Challenge?

Have you posted NetGalley reviews in March and want the chance to win some books?

March closes tonight at midnight EST
April closed on May 13th

Sign up for my Challenge

Post your reviews

Easy peasy lemon squeezy (as my daughter would say!)

Click on the links above or below to get to it!




Sunday, April 21, 2013

Obligatory Bloglovin Post

With Google Reader going bye bye this summer, I wanted to give my readers another way to follow.

So far I'm really liking Bloglovin :)

I'll put a link in the side bar soon but for now if you like can:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin


Book Roundup (17) - April 21, 2013

Merriam-Webster defines 'roundup' as a gathering in of scattered persons or things (source)

Replace 'persons or things' with 'BOOKS!' and you'll have what happens in my house every week as I try to keep control of my hoard :)

This is actually a couple of weeks worth. I went so long without buying that I went a little nuts this month - hehe :)

Links are to Goodreads!

Let me know what you guys got! I love seeing everyone's new beauties :)

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First off! I'm so excited to be participating in World Book Night again!!!
This year I'm giving The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - one of my favorite books ever!

To learn more about this fabulous event visit www.WorldBookNight.org

Are any of you participating this year?

What book did you get?

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For Review from Quirk - aka - the best publisher EVER!
Seriously, how do you not love everything these guys release?

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black
May 21, 2013
Chimaera Incendiarius anyone?
Double the fun with this one - a fictional account of the strange life of Dr. Black PLUS his Codes Extinct Animalia. 
Can't wait to devour this one!

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Bought
I've been trying to hold out and not buy EVERY book in hardcover - did good with a few this month. 
Some others I just couldn't resist!


Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza - Debut Author!

Pulse by Patrick Carman - This one hasn't gotten the best reviews but I love pretty much everything this man writes!

Taken by Erin Bowman - Debut Author!

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows - 2012 debut author - waited for the paperback on this one

The Shape of Desire by Sharon Shinn -- I pretty much own everything Sharon has written - love her!

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons - another 2012 debut in paperback
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I want to read them all right now!!
How as your book haul week?

Thursday, April 18, 2013

I was going to...but then...and now...

I love my computer, I really do. And I love the interwebs and all it's glam, glitter and poison.

I LOVE making do to lists and I love it even more when I get to cross things off of it.

So, why is it, when I pick up that do to list, sit in front of beloved computer and tap into that wonderful wide world out there....NOTHING HAPPENS?

My desk chair is a black hole - it sucks time and energy away leaving me with the lingering effects of Buzz Feed's 28 Unicorn-Approved Rainbow DIY's article and PSY's "Gentleman" forever running through my brain.

Has anyone invented a cure for this?

My boyfriend was trying to get work done the other night but felt too distracted. I offered to stand behind him with a Taboo buzzer and set it off every time he wondered off course.

He did not take me up on this offer.

But seriously, how do you stay focused? 

It seems that lately ANYTHING that required the Internet - blogging, email, bill paying - simply isn't getting done in this house because...OMG did you see THIS??

Help?


Monday, April 15, 2013

Book Review: Broken by A. E. Rought

2013 Debut Author
Broken
A.E. Rought
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication: January 2013 from Strange Chemistry
Pages: 346
Format: ARC
Acquisition: received from the publisher for review

Synopsis:
Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.
A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.
When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.
The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.
(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts
The relationship between Emma and Alex is so much more then insta love. Unfortunately more didn't really work for me as even before I fully understood their connection I was totally turned off by their interactions. Since the entire book is a play by play of everything Emma does or thinks and she does almost nothing but obsess over Alex there was very little left for me enjoy.

The strange paranormal / sci-fi elements to the story would have been better suited to a thriller. In my opinion these elements just did not work in this quasi romantic teen angst filled story. Once I fully understood what was going on I wasn't shocked or surprised. I honestly thought it was all pretty gross when set against the backdrop of Emma's heartache and Alex's ridiculous perfect hotness.

I was really waiting for some type of twist to the story. Alex is possessive and controlling and not a boy any girl should ever be attracted to. Emma's mother was ridiculous, so very many practical things just didn't add up and the ending wasn't a surprise at all.

While Broken is a book I do think others would enjoy it isn't one I would easily recommend. For me, The unhealthily relationship between Emma and Alex combined with the implausible details of the story overshadowed the potential cool factor of the paranormal elements.

I know Broken is a retelling of sorts of Dr. Frankenstein  but for me at least, the mad scientists / monster in the basement pared with modern day teen love didn't sit well. I was looking for more of a thrill and the 'romance' was too over the top for my liking, however, you might feel differently!

Rating
2.5 / 5 Stars

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Happy Book Birthday (20)

Join me in wishing these lovelies into the world :)

So much awesomeness!

Happy Happy Birthday!

NEW















CONTINUING SERIES
 










What are you adding to your shelves this week?