Title: Galley Proof
Author: Eric Arvin
Published: January, 2012 by Dreamspinner Press
Thanks: Dreamspinner Press via NetGalley
Pages: 195
My Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Fiction writer Logan Brandish is perfectly happy in his peaceful small-town routine with his best friend, his cat, and his boyfriend—until he meets the editor of his next book, the handsome Brock Kimble, and the lazy quiet of everyday living goes flying out the window. Faced with real passion for the first time, Logan becomes restless and agitated, and soon his life and his new manuscript—a work in progress he’d always thought would be completed—are in a shambles.

But as Logan is learning, you can’t always get what you want… at least not right away. To take his mind off the mess, he takes a trip, but even the beautiful Italian, um, scenery can’t keep his thoughts from his erstwhile editor for long. Logan just might have to admit there are some things you can’t run from.

Final Thoughts:
Short, but a lot of fun. I kept finding myself running back to my kindle whenever I had a spare bit of time after work—but even so, it only took me a day or so to get through. A book about a writer struggling to write because he’s caught up in his hot editor’s orbit—yeah, that was definitely fun. It wasn’t incredibly moving, and didn’t rock me with a slew of action, but I still enjoyed it immensely. Lately I’ve been reeled in with a few exciting blurbs that were accompanied by less than stellar insides, so I was glad that this one held my interest the way it did.

Title: Fated (Fated #1)
Author: Sarah Alderson
Published: February, 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Thanks: Simon & Schuster, AU
Pages: 310
My Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

What happens when you discover you aren’t who you thought you were? And that the person you love is the person who will betray you? If your fate is already determined, can you fight it?

When Evie Tremain discovers that she’s the last in a long line of Demon slayers and that she’s being hunted by an elite band of assassins –Shapeshifters, Vampires and Mixen demons amongst them – she knows she can’t run. They’ll find her wherever she goes. Instead she must learn to stand and fight.

But when the half-human, half-Shadow Warrior Lucas Gray – is sent to spy on Evie and then ordered to kill her before she can fulfil a dangerous prophecy, their fates become inextricably linked. The war that has raged for one thousand years between humans and demons is about to reach a devastating and inevitable conclusion. Either one or both of them will die before this war ends.

If your life becomes bound to another’s, what will it take to sever it?

Final Thoughts:
I’ve heard that Sarah’s other book Hunting Lila was amazing, so I was excited to start on her latest release. Unfortunately, it just didn’t wow me. I like demons, and I like demon hunters, so it should have been a perfect fit, but there was something about it, something that it lacked. I didn’t connect with Evie as the book progressed, and at one point I thought, “If they killed her, would I care?” The switching POVs did help it somewhat—Lucas’s life surrounding the Brotherhood brought more to the book—but towards the end, I thought it hindered it. When you know what the other character’s real intentions are, it takes away from the tension.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Reckless by Cornelia Funke (purchased)
• The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (purchased)
• The Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan (purchased)
• The Demon’s Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan (purchased)
• Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon (purchased)
• Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins (purchased)
• Dead Sky Morning by Karina Halle (thanks to Author)
• Lying Season by Karina Halle (thanks to Author)
• Torn by Amanda Hocking (thanks to Publisher)
• Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson (purchased)

I hardly get hardcovers since they don’t sell them in Australia very often, so I thought I’d treat myself on book depository and buy all of the Demon’s Lexicon series and a few others I’ve been wanting. I’m obsessed with Sarah Rees Brennan’s writing, so I knew I had to buy these, even though I already have the UK/Aus paperbacks. I’m behind on both the Chronicles of Nick and Hex Hall series. I read the first books in each, bought the second, and then let them sit gathering dust for a year. I’ve been reading Fated over the past couples days, so when my friend, Brittany, and I went to the Claudia Gray signing in Brisbane yesterday, I saw Hunting Lila on the shelves at Dymocks and gave in and grabbed it. I did get four other books when I stopped by Big W this week, but I’m at my parents’ house this weekend, so they’re going to have to wait until next week’s IMM.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Williams, Avery Incarnation #1, The Alchemy Of Forever

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Title: The Alchemy Of Forever (Incarnation #1)
Author: Avery Williams
Published: April, 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Thanks: Simon & Schuster, AU
Pages: 245
My Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

After spending six hundred years on Earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world’s riches but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to take the bodies of other humans from jumping from one vessel to the next, ending the human’s life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she’s done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again.

Then sixteen-year old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body while trying to save her. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she’s inhabiting–and falling in love with the boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she’s his again, and every moment she stays, she’s putting herself and the people she’s grown to care about in danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that’s eluded her for centuries: true love?

Final Thoughts:
A different take on reincarnation is always welcome, and while this one is certainly unique, it didn’t feel substantial enough to grip me. That’s probably due in part to the short page count. Things don’t really get a lot of focus time, instead, giving us brief moments for each part that Sera comes to understand while living her new life as Kailey. I think the most time was actually spent on the setup. It felt like it took forever for the plot to get underway, and when you know what’s coming, based on the blurb, that’s when long beginnings can be a mistake. I did still enjoy the short time spent with fake-Kailey and Noah—friends falling for each other doesn’t happen enough. It’s normally the paranormal guy that gets the girl, leaving the best friend shafted.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Night School by C.J. Daugherty (swapped)
• Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan (purchased)
• The Alchemy Of Forever by Avery Williams (thanks to Publishers)
• Balthazar by Claudia Gray (purchased)

It’s been a quiet two weeks book-wise for me. But I’ve got plenty that I want to read, so that’s alright. I just spent the past five days finally reading The Hunger Games during my lunch breaks. Glad I did. Now I know what all the movie-hype is about. Thanks to Simons and Schuster for sending me a copy of The Alchemy Of Forever. I’ve heard actually really good for a reincarnation story. Usually they all fall into the same pattern, so I’m interested in seeing what this one does. I picked up Balthazar when I went shopping on Thurday, but I still need to read final three books in the Evernight series. It’s like that though. I just like having them on my shelves for when I’m ready.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Armentrout, Jennifer L. Lux #0.5, Shadows
Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games #1, The Hunger Games
Smith, Alexander Gordon Escape From Furnace #4, Fugitives
Waters, Daniel Generation Dead #1, Generation Dead

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Title: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Published: October, 2008 by Scholastic
Pages: 454
My Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Final Thoughts:
I tried listening to the audiobook at the start of 2011, but I only made it six chapters in before I gave up. The narrator was so off-putting, that I just couldn’t get into the story. Fast forward a year later, with only a few weeks to go before the movie’s release date, I picked up the paperback and decided to start back at the beginning. I fell in love with this book, as simple as that. Reading, as opposed to listening, made so much of a difference to my level of enjoyment. As for the story, I never had any of those moments where you’re left shaking your head at the pages—it was just so brilliantly well thought out. And Katniss, she was smart, a constant thinker…it’s refreshing.

Title: Fugitives (Escape From Furnace #4)
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Published: February, 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Thanks: Macmillan via NetGalley
Pages: 288
My Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Forever altered by his experience in Furnace Penetentiary, Alex has done the impossible and escaped. But the battle for freedom is only just beginning. Charged with his superhuman abilities, Alex must uncover the last of Furnace’s secrets—the truth about the man who built the prison, the man known as Alfred Furnace. And to do that he must stop running and finally confront his greatest fears.

Final Thoughts:
I love the progression this series has. The first three books built up the prison life, the beginnings of the escape, and Alex’s transformation, and their actual breakout from Furnace. Fugitives continues directly on, showing that the escape was barely the beginning of Alex’s story, and I love that. It maintains an edge of danger, with the three friends on the run from police, gun-toting choppers, and scientifically enhanced humans that more resemble rabid animals. And finally, there’s a female character. It was a gripe I had with the prior books—there were no female inmates, or even a mention of a female prison.

Title: Generation Dead (Generation Dead #1)
Author: Daniel Waters
Published: May, 2008 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 393
My Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He’s strong and silent…and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren’t staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn’t want them.

The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the “differently biotic.” But the students don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the “living impaired” from the people who want them to disappear—for good.

When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

Final Thoughts:
We need more zombies in YA, or maybe I just need to go and find them. It’s a niche that I’ve been really getting into lately. While I didn’t love this book, I wouldn’t say it was bad, just a little slow for my tastes. Adding in three different POVs wasn’t preferable, but it didn’t harm the flow too much. The only real problem I had with it was the inclusion of Pete’s perspective—the star of the football team who runs the “Pain Crew”. I can see why he’s there, though. Without him, the reader has no real sense of the growing conflict beyond the general zombie-hating state of the world.

Title: Shadows (Lux #0.5)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: February, 2012 by Entangled Publishing
Pages: 179
My Rating:  
Purchase: Amazon

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in. Captivated. Lured. Loved.

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence…and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.

Final Thoughts:
I love that this novella exists. But if you haven’t read Obsidian, go read that now before you get stuck into this or you’ll probably be pretty confused. Everything that we were introduced to gradually in the first book was thrown straight at us in this. Focussing on Daemon’s twin, Dawson, we get to see an equally hot guy, minus the snark. I love both brothers, but Dawson was so much nicer, and I guess, more mature, giving off a vibe that made it really hard to believe he was actually sixteen. If you ignore the ages though, and enjoy it for what it is, you’ll find this to be one very addictive, albeit short, romance.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Shift by Em Bailey (library)
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (library)
• 13 To Life by Shannon Delany (library)
• Revealers by Amanda Marrone (library)
• Generation Dead by Daniel Waters (library)
• Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann (library)
• Nana V10 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)
• Nana V11 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)
• Nana V13 by Ai Yazawa (purchased)

I spent most of my week reading Beautiful Creatures. It was the book that just wouldn’t end. I picked up Shadows on my kindle this week, so I’m going to read it next and see if Dawson Black can get me back in the reading mood. I did go shopping, but I only purchased manga this week. I didn’t get anywhere near the regular bookstores, but I did stop by the library to stock up on things to read. All of my books are still at my parent’s house, so I’ve just got my kindle to occupy me in the meantime. I’ve actually got my own copies of Generation Dead and The Replacement, but I thought these library copies my encourage me to read them sometime soon.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Garcia & Stohl, Kami & Margaret Caster Chronicles #1, Beautiful Creatures

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!