Falling Books: December 2014

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (136)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Frostfire (Kanin Chronicles #1) by Amanda Hocking

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes. Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royalty. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden. But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero who she once loved – appears to be up to something dangerous, kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

Absolute gobbled up Amanda Hocking's Watersong Quartet books. I devoured every book and I cannot wait to read this book about.. trolls? Mermaids were good for me, I've not read much on trolls but I certainly want to read Hocking's version of them!

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Thursday, 25 December 2014

Sam's Best of 2014

Hey,

Merry Christmas! I hope you're all having a fabulous day surrounded by love and good food. And welcome to my 3rd annual "Best of" post where I share with you my favourite reads of the year. (Check out my 2012 and 2013.)I've linked each title to my review or the Goodreads' page, depending on whether I've reviewed it not. I hope you enjoy what I've put together for this day of celebration.

The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner

Release Date: August 14, 2011
I'm quite late to jump abroad the Maze Runner train, but I did read the book several months before I went to see the film! I loved the book so much and thought Dylan O'Brien was a brilliant choice for Thomas (not being biased because I love him as Stiles in Teen Wolf or anything). Bring on the next two movies!

Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles #2) by Kresley Cole

Release Date: October 1, 2013
LAWRRDDDD! I love this story so much and it is completely impossible not to fall into the world that Cole has built. The characters are Arcana cards and they're all competing for the chance of being immortal. The characters are amazing and unique and there is danger everywhere you turn and OMG I NEED THE LAST BOOK. If you love a fantasy/dystopia then read this. One of the best sequels this year.

Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Another brilliant sequel this year. Armentrout is releasing books like crazy and I'm definitely not complaining! This is a paranormal romance about gargoyles and everything about it is so kick-ass I couldn't even breathe throughout the whole thing. This book focuses on the other side of the love triangle, meaning Zayne, and I don't think I've been this torn between two guys for the main protagonist since Will and Jem in the Infernal Devices.... Actually I was always more to Will, but you know what I mean!

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: June 19, 2014
Leigh Bardugo has written such a mind-blowing trilogy. A high fantasy that has set the bar high for the genre and really is one of the best stories out there at the moment for you immerse yourself in. A beautiful conclusion and I want to read more from her right now!

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski

Release Date: March 4, 2014
One of the best author debuts this year. I don't know what to say I'm completely blown away by the ability of Marie Rutkoski and I'm just about to finish The Winner's Crime (Thank you Netgalley) but just not in time for this post. HELLLLLL N'AWWWW! Simply incredible with so many plot twists my brain is spinning from the sheer awesomeness of it all. Brilliant characters, Kestrel and Arin are some of the best protagonists for this story.

Wait for You (Wait for You #1) by J. Lynn

Release Date: August 15, 2013
Anything written by Jennifer L. Armentrout is good with me and this contemporary romance was just a delightful read. I'm used to her in her paranormal element, but to read a pure romance by her just sent me into swoon heaven. If you want to step into new adult contemporary then I would definitely send you this way.

Alice Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2) by Gena Showalter

Release Date: February 14, 2014

The Queen of Zombie Hearts (White Rabbit Chronicles #3) by Gena Showalter

Release Date: September 30, 2014

The last two books in the White Rabbit Chronicles and I read both this year and loved them so I couldn't not include both of them. This trilogy is full of kicking-ass zombie hunters and a whole lot of weirdness that just makes you want to keep on reading because it's so intriguing. I adore Gena Showalter despite the fact that she still hasn't finished her last book in the Intertwined series. *Can you tell I'm holding a grudge?* The third book was published in 2011 and the finale is said to be releasing in 2017. *sigh* I will wait because the books are so worth it!

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 4, 2014
Possibly the best installment yet in the series because of the new characters introduced and the overall setting: THE DESERT. YES THE DESERT. I haven't read many books that are set in the desert and so this really intrigued me. How would the characters cope and do all the things they need to do? Liker rescue the world? Marissa Meyer, I bloody love you. Bring on Winter.

Those are just some of the books that I have loved and I can't wait to find more favourites in 2015.

Have a real good Christmas,
Sam :)

Wednesday, 24 December 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (135)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls.

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared?

You guys all know how much I'm a sucker for YA romances...

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments so I can check it out!

Have a good week,

Sam

Thursday, 18 December 2014

Web Series Trailer, Interview and Giveaway: Night School by CJ Daugherty

Hello!

I am so excited to inform you that the hit YA mystery series Night School by C.J Daugherty has hit Youtube as a web series! Are you hearing this?! A web series! And it has hit the web live on Friday 12th December on CJ Daugherty's Youtube channel. If you have never heard of this series before then I would definitely recommend that you check it out. You can also stay tuned for a giveaway later on in the post as well as an exclusive interview with the one and only C.J Daugherty!

Night School (Night School #1) by C.J. Daugherty

Release Date: January 1, 2012

Allie Sheridan’s world is falling apart. Her brother’s run away from home. Her parents ignore her. And she’s just been arrested.

Again.

This time her parents have had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to boarding school, far from her London friends.

But at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is soon caught up in the strange activities of a secret group of elite students.

When she’s attacked late one night the incident sets off a chain of increasingly violent events. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she finds out that nothing at Cimmeria is what it seems to be.

And that she is not who she thought she was.

----------------------------

The web series will be following the first book for now, but who knows what could become of the next four books in the series (one is yet to be released yet).

Legacy | Fracture | Resistance

Now let's welcome C.J Daugherty to the post!

- What or who inspired you to write the Night School series?
I was working in Whitehall at the time, for the government. And I knew I wanted to write a political thriller. But I wasn’t sure where to start. Then one day I saw a picture in the paper. It was a group of young men in tuxedos and had been taken in the 1980s, and the caption said ‘The Bullingdon Club: A secret society at Oxford University’. A teenaged David Cameron was in the photo and Boris Johnson. Until then, I hadn’t really thought about secret societies, and I was never much of a conspiracy theorist. But once I started looking into the Bullingdon Club, and found out how many CEOs, politicians, media executives and judges were in it when they were teenagers.... Well. Let’s just say Night School was born.

- Which character can you relate to most from the book?
I completely relate to Allie. Her anger is my anger. Her rebellion is my rebellion. Someone asked me recently why I write about angry young people from difficult families and I said, ‘Because I don’t know any other kind.’ I don’t write about happy young people from unbroken homes because I don’t know what that’s like.

- Would you like to get involved acting in the Night School web series? Make a small appearance?
No! I’m not an actor. I want to be behind the camera, standing by the director, holding a cup of coffee and typing the scripts!

- Are you working on any other projects at the moment? What can we expect from you in the future?
Night School 5 comes out in June! It’s the last book in the series -- I can't believe it's nearly over!

Then in October, I’m launching a new 2-part YA series, The Secret Fire. It’s a paranormal thriller that takes place in Paris and Britain – I’m co-writing it with the AMAZING French author, Carina Rozenfeld. And I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

- If you could sum up Night School in 10 words, what would you say?
Beautiful people hide ugly secrets. Truth is worth fighting for.

Here is the trailer for the magnificent Night School Web series just in case you have yet to see it:

CJ Daugherty is the bestselling author of the Night School books, which are the first in the UK to be made into a web series.

Night School the Web Series runs on the You Tube Channel Night School Book, every Friday.

Check out the first episode here: https://www.youtube.com/user/nightschoolbook

Thanks to the publisher, I also have a set of the four books released in the Night School series to giveaway! This giveaway is open to those who live in the UK. To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a good week,
Sam :)

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

Waiting on Wednesday (134)

Hey,

This week I'm waiting for...

Conspiracy Girl by Sarah Alderson

Release Date: February 12, 2015

Everybody knows about the Cooper Killings – the Bel Air home invasion that rocked the nation.

There was only one survivor - a sixteen year-old girl.

And though the killers were caught they walked free.

Now eighteen, Nic Preston - the girl who survived - is trying hard to rebuild her life. She’s security conscious to the point of paranoia and her only friend is a French Mastiff bulldog, but she’s making progress. She’s started college in New York and has even begun dating.

But then one night her apartment is broken into and the life Nic’s worked so hard to create is shattered in an instant.

Finn Carter - hacker, rule breaker, player – is the last person Nic ever wants to see again. He’s the reason her mother’s killers walked free from court. But as the people hunting her close in, Nic has to accept that her best and possibly only chance of staying alive is by keeping close to Finn and learning to trust the person she’s sworn to hate.

Fleeing across a snowbound New England, frantically trying to uncover the motive behind the murders, Nic and Finn come to realize the conspiracy is bigger than they could ever have suspected. But the closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, the greater the danger becomes.

To survive she has to stay close to him.

To keep her safe he has to keep his distance.

Sarah Alderson never fails in bringing out something AMAZING in each of her new books. This book sounds like an extraordinary adventure and I bet it will be just as exciting, or even more so, than her other books.

Leave a link to your WoW post in the comments below so I can check it out!

Have a good week,
Sam :D

Monday, 15 December 2014

My review of Undeniable

Undeniable by Liz Bankes
Release Date: August 1, 2013
Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon | The Book Depository

Gabi is so excited she's spending the summer working as a runner on her favourite TV show. It's a dream come true! Plus it's perfect for for distracting her from The Break-Up especially with all those gorgeous actors around. And then there's Spencer Black: student, extra, expert flirt. Everything with him is fun, intoxicating and uncertain. Things between them are hotting up when he lands a minor role on the show. So is it make or break for them? Is Spencer undeniably the one for Gabi?

Undeniable is a humorous and likable romance of a crazy summer romance involving a girl getting over ex-boyfriend and trying to keep her eyes off a future hit celebrity. Liz Bankes offers an exciting voice and fun plot.

Gabi is our protagonist and she is extremely quirky and absolutely hilarious! At times she was hard to like but overall you cope with her because of how much she makes you laugh. As for Spencer, at the start we see him as charming and lovely and the best thing that could happen to a girl. And that pretty much carries out through the novel. His charm will definitely make you smile and even swoon.

The writing flowed nicely and the humor came naturally and at completely random moments. Liz Bankes has a great style of writing that I simply loved. The plot was interesting but at times I felt that the story fell flat. However the characters made up for it.

Undeniable is a great YA/NA novel for those who are looking for a slightly humorous contemporary romance.I will definitely be reading Bankes' previous novel Irresistible.

Rating

Sunday, 14 December 2014

Three Year Blogoversary Ramble and Giveaway

Hey,

Yes. It's been three years!

HOW CAN IT BE THREE YEARS ALREADY?!

I don't really know what to say except: thank you for all your support that you've given me over the past three years.

I've met some amazing people and been introduced to a world where the possibilities of finding a good story is endless. I couldn't have wished for a better audience following my blog and I appreciate everyone of you who leave comments and tweet me about books. You guys are simply incredible and I don't really know what else to say.

To celebrate, I am offering three winners a chance to win a book of their choice each from the list below. This giveaway is international as long as the Book Depository ships to you. And simply enter using the Rafflecopter.