November 5, 2013

Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes

Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 352
Series: n/a
Review Source: eARC from publisher

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Olivia

He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.

At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z

I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.

It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.

Except that she’s not.


Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.
My Thoughts:
I liked so much what this author tried to do. Bringing Oliver Twist into a modern setting isn’t an easy thing to do, because of the differences in society, with poor laws, orphanages, etc. So having a group home setting where the kids are computer hackers instead of pickpockets? It was a genius way of connecting the stories, and I give Vivi Barnes props for coming up with the idea.

But while I loved the idea of the book, the execution just seemed almost boring. I just wasn't into it at all, and I had a hard time finishing it, mostly because I didn't really care about the characters. I’m not sure why I had this lack of connection: maybe because I wanted more background information? Or because of one situation that I found a little implausible? Either way, I’m sorry to say that I didn’t really care for this one.

The Cover:
Not a fan, at all.

Rating:
[2/5]

Purchase Links:
Book Depository | Chapters-Indigo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble

November 4, 2013

Cracked by Eliza Crewe

Cracked by Eliza Crewe
Release Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Pages: 215
Series: Soul Eater
#1
Review Source: Netgalley

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.
My Thoughts:
The concept of this book sounded so fun and interesting, mostly because of a main character who wasn’t the hero. Meda is a truly unique main character, and I loved that. She’s not all evil, but she’s definitely not the typical definition of good either. Meda’s main goal is her own survival, and she likes to think she'll do anything to make that happen, but she also feels guilty about this fact. Meda’s mom raised her with morals, so the fact that she has to suck people's souls to live? It doesn't really sit right with her. On the other hand, she can’t help but take pleasure in violence. She tries to only kill bad people, and she feels begrudging respect for her new friends, but she's only with them because they have something to offer her (or at least this is what she claims, though you can read between the lines and see something more). There are so many layers to Meda’s character, and I adored that. The book features a very curious transformation, and I'm intrigued to see how Meda will continue to grow in Book 2.

I also really liked the world building in the book, how it was set up with the Templar/Crusaders fighting against demons. I feel like I learned a lot about this group without it being information overload. It was so interesting to read about the Crusaders’ powers and how they protected the good in the world. My favourite part about them, though, was seeing the religious aspect of their order brought into the everyday life of the characters (in things like prayers, talking about how God has a plan, etc). These types of religious orders are included in fiction so often, yet I can’t recall too many other books where the members actually have a faith that they live day to day. I loved seeing this religious tradition actually put into practice in the book.

Cracked was such a good book, one about choice, about knowing yourself and that your decisions/actions make you who you are. For a book about demons and killing there is a lot of humour (wry as it may be) contained in its pages. Meda is absolutely hilarious in her unapologetic evilness (though I'll leave it to you to see how evil she truly is), and she has the most hilarious internal dialogue. This book was sad, funny, and exciting, sometimes all at once, it seemed, and I definitely recommend it.

The Cover:
Not supremely original, but I like it.

Rating:
[4/5]

Purchase Links:
Book Depository | Chapters-Indigo | Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble

November 3, 2013

The 12 NAs of Christmas: Christmas Catch & Off The Market

A scheduling error means I missed the official blitz on Friday, but hey -- the info on the books is still good, and there's tons of time to enter the giveaway!



CHRISTMAS CATCH by Chelsea M. Cameron

Two years ago, when Ivy Emerson bailed from the tiny fishing village she’d grown up in to go to Columbia, Sawyer McCallister was the only thing she was sad to leave behind, and she still didn’t look back. But when her mother guilts her into coming home for Christmas, she crashes headfirst into Sawyer, who’s also returned after being away.

Now that they’ve both been dragged back to Saltwater, Maine, they might just realize it’s where they belong. Together.
Excerpt from Christmas Catch:

“Need some help?” This is not happening.

I turn around slowly. The first thing I see is a truck I haven’t seen since high school. The second is the guy I haven’t seen since high school.

“Ivy?” His hair’s a little longer, and his face is a little leaner. He looks . . . older. But his eyes. They’re still the same.

“Sawyer,” I whisper, because I can’t believe it’s him. What the hell is he doing here?

A car drives behind Sawyer, honks, and he waves them on. The two of us are frozen, unable to move. At least I am. He recovers first.

“I have a chain in the back. I can get you out of there.”

“Okay,” I say as he pulls in front of my car and then gets out. He seems taller, but that can’t be. He’s wearing a thick blue Carhartt jacket, torn jeans and work boots. He moves to the back of the truck and gets a chain out, which he hooks to the tow hook on the back of my car and then to his truck. He hasn’t said a word.

“Okay, get in,” he says and I get back in my car. With a minimum of revving of his engine and mine, we get my car out of the ditch. I get out to thank him.

Instead, I say, “What are you doing back here?” He wraps up the chain and doesn’t meet my eyes.

“My dad died,” he says as he tosses the chain in the bed of the truck. “Bye, Ivy.” And as quickly as he appeared, he’s gone, and the only remnant of is being here is the cloud of exhaust from his truck.

I slump against my car and raise my head. Snow is just starting to fall, melting as soon as it hits the pavement.

This goddamn town.

Buy Christmas Catch:
Amazon | B&N

Where to find Chelsea:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

OFF THE MARKET by Magan Vernon

Etta Davis didn't have showing a house penciled into her Christmas plans, but with the other realtors already off enjoying their holiday, she'd been stuck with the task. It wasn't all bad though, the house up for grabs used to belong to the family of her high school sweetheart, Andrew Lawson. Though now dilapidated, thanks to its current owners, it still held the power to bring back forgotten memories and turn the routine showing into something else entirely.

Particularly when Andrew shows up, wanting to buy the house. Now Etta must decide whether a second chance is worth taking the house, and her heart, off the market.
Excerpt from Off the Market:

I looked over the garage at the now rusted backboard. It seemed like only yesterday that Andrew stood on the ladder, wearing his new Bulls jersey, forcing me to stand in the driveway to make sure he got it centered over the garage. The backboard was still crooked, just like it always was since I didn't have a keen eye for getting it level. But Andrew didn't move it. He said he loved it just the way it was because it was my version of straight and he loved me.

Love. That was a word I hadn't heard in a long time. I had a brief string of bad dates in college and my mom always tried to set me up on dates with her friends’ or co-workers’ sons, but none of them worked out. None of them had that spark. That thing that made my stomach do somersaults.

I stepped out of the car, shaking the thoughts of my past life out of my head while my heels dug into the freshly fallen snow. I cursed myself for not putting on some sort of winter footwear. It was a holiday after all, so the client couldn't have complained about my footwear when he was the one inconveniencing me.

I walked up the small path way, now lined with broken solar powered lights, to the big white door. Quickly, I swiped my broker card in the realtor lock box. The green light blinked and I pushed open the door.

There hadn't been more than a handful of showings in the year the house had been listed, but I never once showed it. I was always afraid to come back. Afraid it would have the same feeling as it had now. Like I was coming home.

I'd spent more time in the now faded foyer, underneath the broken chandelier, than I did in my parents’ house. There were prom pictures taken on the grand staircase and nights I spent cuddled with Andrew on the living room couch across from the now dilapidated fireplace.

Mrs. Lawson used to keep the house so nice. She always had candles burning and every single light fixture would shine. The owners after the Lawsons obviously didn't have as much pride in their home. It didn't take long for the bank to foreclose on it and for my real estate company to get tapped to re-sell it. I almost wished I could buy it myself, fix it up and restore it back to its former glory. But I had neither the money nor the time for such things. My life had become my work and without a family of my own there was really no need for the grand four-bedroom house.

A soft knock came at the front door.

"That must be the client. He'd better put in an offer," I muttered, smoothing out my skirt and walking to the front door.

"Hello, I'm —"

I stopped, my mouth still wide open, because standing in the doorway was one of the former residents of the house, Andrew Lawson.

Buy Off the Market:
Amazon | B&N

Where to find Magan:
Website | Facebook Fan Page | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY:

Chelsea M. Cameron and Magan Vernon are teaming up to give away a $10 Gift Card, a tub of Redvines and 10 signed postcards from the cover models of Off the Market.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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