Book Review: Dark Mirror by M.J Putney

AUTHOR: M.J Putney
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press
PAGES: 304
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Series (book 1)
SOURCE: Bought
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PUBLICATION: March 1, 2011

OUTLINE:
Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the earl and countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status. 
Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, it could strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted . . . by magic.
When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. She is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. There she will learn to suppress her deplorable talents and maybe, if she’s one of the lucky ones, be able to return to society.
But Tory’s life is about to change forever. All that she’s ever known or considered important will be challenged. What lies ahead is only the beginning of a strange and wonderful journey into a world where destiny and magic come together, where true love and friendship find her, and where courage and strength of character are the only things that determine a young girl’s worth.

IN MY WORDS
When Lady Victoria has a decision to make that can  ruin her social status and shame her family or save a family members life. She opts to ruin her life and be shamed by her father to save that of her nephews. It's a big price to pay, but she'd rather see her nephew alive. After her secret is revealed her father sends her away to Lackland Abbey in hopes that they can turn her around, and repress the magic in her. At first it seems that it might be possible, but when she meets a group who shows her that there's more to magic she can't deny who she is. Maybe, she was meant for more then just being a Lady.

IN A NUTSHELL
Whenever you can put magic into a storyline, along with time travel that just makes for an even better read in my opinion. I mean it's like sour patch kids: a two for one. First it's sour then it's sweet. Yes, I know odd comparison. I have a bit of a sweet tooth right now. :) I don't read to much historical fiction because it's not really my forte , but for some reason I was browsing through ebooks on my phone, and Dark Mirror was there for 2.99. I always have my phone on me, and figured what better way to read and have something for when I go on break (and don't feel like carrying books around) I mean it's been on my TBR list for sometime anyways. This was a total mistake not because it sucked, but because I couldn't put the darn phone down. (Even though I have the paperback on my shelf) I was mesmerized by the story and characters and I wanted to see what happened with Tori and the Irregulars and the others from the 1900's.

Magic, time travel, rebels, dukes, witches equals an interesting time.

I read in some reviews where they didn't like the time traveling part but I did. If anything that was a highlight in the book for me. Meeting the characters in 1940 and reading about 2 different eras, and seeing them interact with one another was fun for me. Having Tori describe what was different from her time was fascinating. She called the cars...monsters and the airplanes something, I can't remember what. (Sorry I'm use to writing things down and didn't)

CHARACTERS
There were quite a few characters in the story so to name them all and why I liked them would be a bit. Instead, I'll just say that I enjoyed all of them even Cynthia who started off as one of those snobby rich girls.
Tori being the main character I have to say something about I loved her. Even though she was well off and could have been sitting a pretty life had she kept her secret. Still helped her nephew and then being sent to Lackland Abbey she could have left well enough alone and maybe gotten out of there in a year or so, but instead she went with her heart.  I love characters that follow their heart and don't do things to just because it would be easier on them.

Oh, I suppose I should mention the few guys that were involved. It seemed to me like Tori had at least 3 love interests in the story, and for me two of them were worthy and the other one I just didn't care for to much. I don't know if it was because he was so stand-offish at first or what, but he didn't have my heart.

ALL IN ALL
I had high doubts that I wouldn't like this story at all. I try and stay away from the historical fiction even in YA because I feel like half the time I don't understand it, and I hated history when I was in school so why put myself through it. In the end, I'm glad I decided against my prejudices of these types of books because I enjoyed it. It just may have opened up another genre for me. :) I guess you never know what you really like until you've tried it.

Follow Friday (63)

Birthday Wishes -- Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake...who is it and what book are they from?

So I'm going to have to stick with my one and only true book love, Dimitri from Vampire Academy. I honestly think that there is not one other book guy I would choose. I mean yes I have a few others I have a bit of a fictional crush on like Four from Divergent, Jack and Nick from Dark mirror, Adrian from VA. None will take Dimitris place though...ever. :) 

Who's yours?
You can either follow by my GFC or by email.

Some stuff I've done the past week or two:
Review: Never eighteen
Giveaway: Immortal Rules (Ends saturday)
Q & A with Julie Kagawa
Discussion: Fifty Shades Trilogy

Book Review: Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

AUTHOR: Megan Bostic
PUBLISHER: HMH Childrens Books
PAGES: 200
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
SOURCE: Bought
GENRE: Contemporary
PUBLICATION: January 17, 2012

OUTLINE:
I had the dream again. The one where I’m running. I don’t know what from or where to, but I’m scared, terrified really.

Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. But in the short time he has left there’s one thing he can do: He can try to help the people he loves live—even though he never will.

It’s probably hopeless.

But he has to try

IN MY WORDS
Austin Parker knows he doesn't have long to live what with his illness, but he wants to make sure he lives his life to the fullest. He wants to make sure everyone around him lives their lives to the fullest also. So one weekend he gets his best friend Kaylee (his secret crush) to drive him around to places that have meaning to him and to see people he believes he can try and help. A mother who lost a son, a girl in a bad relationship, a kid he bullied, a friend who has a secret, and others. Even if he doesn't break through their shells at least he put in the effort and gave them something to think about. If you ask me that's all that he could ask for.

IN A NUTSHELL
If you want a read that will tug on your heart and show you that even the simplest story can have a huge impact then this one is for you. Never eighteen can be seen as a bit of an inspirational story. It makes you think..what if you knew you didn't have long to live? What would you do? Who would you want to make peace with? Who could you try and impact/give hope to? After I read this it made me think of my fiance, Ryan. Although he's not sick he has a rare disability (for some it's fatal). He told me that the doctors said he wouldn't live past being a teenager, but he here is 2 years away from 30. I thank god for giving him his life and the strength he has because without him my life would suck.(I know that sounds cliche after being with him only 7 months, but if you were to know me before I met him you'd understand.)  I know some days for him are difficult to get out and he's in pain, but he still tries.  Like Kaylee I think I would do anything for him and vice versa. Sorry I got a bit off topic.

CHARACTERS
I really enjoyed Austins voice as a male protagonist. It's rare (although it seems like it's happening a little more now...so I guess not to rare) that you see a male protag in any YA. Then for one to be as genuine as Austin. To care for people in the way he does. It's nice to have characters like these. :) It's nice to know that not all guys have to be stalker-ish/overbearing idiots. That some can be shy about the feelings they have for certain people.
Kaylee was also another great character. Although I loved Austin more Kaylee was the kind of best friend that anyone would be lucky to have. Austin asked if she'd drive him to places without any question and she did. She let Austin take care of his business, and when he did need her she was there for him to lean on (and puke on..lol)
As for the other characters we briefly met like their friends it was nice to learn about them. To see them interact with Austin when he came around to talk with them about their lives. They weren't to overshadowing of the main characters, but they had just enough background to weave the story together nicely.

ALL IN ALL
It's fair to say that I truly loved this story. The characters, storyline, the writing, everything. I have to admit the ending was what really did it for me.






*****SPOILER-Y ALERT ****
When I read Austins letter at the end telling Kaylee what do now that he had passed I pretty much started crying.

Giveaway: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

It's giveaway time!
The people at Harlequin Teen have graciously allowed me to give away one copy of Julie Kagawa's latest book The Immortal Rules.

"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Q & A with Julie Kagawa

A few months back I received The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. I finished reading it back in May. I'm just now getting around to doing a giveaway for it, posting my review, and also I was sent this Q & A to post. (Sorry I haven't done it sooner. Life's been kind of busy for me here lately.)
A Q&A with
New York Times Best Selling Author Julie Kagawa

After writing the Iron Fey series for so many years, how difficult was it to
immerse yourself in a futuristic world filled with vampires, rabids and an
enslaved human race?

It was...very different. I think the hardest thing for me was the fact that this
story does take place in the real world -- a futuristic, vampire-infested world, but
the real world nonetheless. Things had to make sense, for example: how far can a
large group walk in a single day if there were no roads, they were going through
thick woods, and there were children in the group? I had to have logical reasons for
everything; I couldn't just make something work "because of faery magic," lol.

Just like Meghan Chase in the Iron Fey series, the main character in The
Immortal Rules, Allison Sekemoto, is a “take charge and kick butt” kind of girl.
Is this intentional? What woman – real or fictional, alive or deceased – do you
look up to or admire?

Yes, Allison comes from a very different world than Meghan Chase. Meghan's
upbringing was pretty normal; Allison grew up among vampires and monsters,
where every day was a fight to live, so she couldn't afford to be weak. While Meghan
had to learn to "take charge and kick butt," Allison's first impulse is stab first, talk
later.

As for female role models, the first that comes to mind--when it comes to
kicking vampire butt, anyway -- is Buffy Summers. Thank you, Joss Whedon, for
making me love feisty, snarky, heroines who can dust all sorts of nasties but who
also look good in a cheerleading outfit. ;)

You mention in your acknowledgements in The Immortal Rules that at the
beginning of your writing career you promised yourself you wouldn’t write a
vampire book. What changed your mind?

Well, there were already so many really good books about our favorite
bloodsuckers, so many stories and ideas, I thought I didn't have anything new to add
to the masses. I was actually toying with a post-apocalyptic YA novel when my
agent mentioned I might want to try writing a vampire series. I wasn't intrigued
with the idea at first, but then I thought about combining vampires with the post-
apocalyptic novel and then rest sort of fell into place.

Allison claims she hates vampires and believes they are monsters yet when
faced with a choice of die or become one, she becomes a vampire. Would you
have made that same decision?

Me personally? No. I'm like Zeke in the belief that there is something better
waiting for me beyond this life, and I just have to do my best until it’s time for me to
go. Besides, I love pizza and Mountain Dew too much to give it up.

Who do you think the most complex character is in The Immortal Rules?

Probably Kanin, Allie's sire. He's a vampire who has made his peace about
being a monster, yet chooses to live by his own set of moral rules. He warns Allison
about getting too close to humans, yet he does not kill unless he absolutely has to.
He is tormented about something in his past that he refuses to share with anyone.
He is certainly the most mysterious of all the characters, if not the most complex.

How many books will be in the Blood of Eden series? When will the next book
be coming out?

At the moment, there are three books planned, with the second coming out
sometime next spring, after the release of the new Iron Fey series this fall.

Before you starting writing full time you were a professional dog trainer. Do
the professions share any similarities?

Lol, well you have to think on your feet a lot. And some of the small dogs
could be compared to tiny snapping goblins, but writing requires less dodging skills,
though perhaps the same amount of creativity and problem solving.

When starting a new series, like Blood of Eden, do you have the entire series
mapped out in detail or do you let the story develop book by book?

I have a high point that I write toward in each story; I know this and this has
to happen, but getting from point A to point B usually develops as I go along.

And for the speed round:
What book have you read and re-read, and read yet again?
Any of the Harry Potter books.

Favorite song to play when writing a fight scene?

My "favorites" change daily. Right now its "Awake and Alive" by Skillet.

Worst job?

Working a kiosk in the mall during Christmas. It sold glass figurines, and the
maneuvering space around the hundreds of very breakable merchandise was quite
small. I was like a bull in a china shop.

Best vacation spot?

Walt Disney World

Sweets or salty?

Sweet.

One thing most people don’t know about you – and would never guess!

I used to play the flute when I was a kid. I was really good at it too, but my
instructor stopped teaching to have a family, and I never went back to it.

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That's all there is. I hope you enjoyed.

Books I'd quit support group for (2)

Books I'd quit support group for was inspired by Ashley's Books I want so badly I could pee posts.

Have you ever just browsed though good reads, or typed in one of your favorite books and gone over to the "Readers also enjoyed section" and scrolled through those. I think that's one of the reasons I find so many books that I want to read. These usually are books that have yet to be published which makes it that much harder for me because I'm like I want it. So here is where some of those books will go.

 
AUTHOR: Jeanne Ryan
EXPECTED PUBLICATION: September 13,2012
PUBLISHER: Dial Books (Penguin)
OUTLINE:
A high-stakes online game of dares turns deadly

When Vee is picked to be a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, she discovers that the game knows her. They tempt her with prizes taken from her ThisIsMe page and team her up with the perfect boy, sizzling-hot Ian. At first it’s exhilarating—Vee and Ian’s fans cheer them on to riskier dares with higher stakes. But the game takes a twisted turn when they’re directed to a secret location with five other players for the Grand Prize round. Suddenly they’re playing all or nothing, with their lives on the line. Just how far will Vee go before she loses NERVE?

 
AUTHOR: Stephanie Thomas
EXPECTED PUBLICATION: November 13,2012
PUBLISHER: Entangled Teen
OUTLINE:
My name is Beatrice. When I was born, I was blessed with the Sight. I was immediately removed from my parents and enrolled in the Institution. At the age of twelve, I had my first true vision, earning my raven’s wings. And when I turned seventeen, one of my visions came true. Things haven’t been the same since.

The Institution depends on me to keep the City safe from our enemy, the Dreamcatchers, but I’m finding it harder to do while keeping a secret from everyone, including my best friend Gabe. It is a secret that could put us all in danger. A secret that could kill me and everyone close to me.

The enemy has been coming to me in my dreams, and I think I'm falling in love with him. He says they're coming. He says they're angry. And I think I've already helped them win.

 
AUTHOR: Melissa west
EXPECTED PUBLICATION: October 16,2012
PUBLISHER: Entangled Publishing
OUTLINE:
In the future, only one rule will matter: Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed--arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know--especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

 
AUTHOR: Lisa M. Stasse
EXPECTED PUBLICATION: July 10,2012
PUBLISHER: Simon and Schuster
OUTLINE:
As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway

 

AUTHOR: Jeanne Ryan
EXPECTED PUBLICATION: October 31st 2012 PUBLISHER: J. Taylor Publishing
OUTLINE:
What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her.

In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.

She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.

Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists — which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.

So what do you guys think? Any of these sound interesting to you?

Sharing with the group (1) (IMM)

This is my new book show and tell inspired by the IMMs from Kristi.
I get so behind on doing the videos and trying to upload every week that I think from now on I will probably do one of these per month.

Starters by Lissa Price (RAK from April)
Dark parties by Sarah Grant
Fracture by Megan Miranda
Crossed by Ally Condie
The Savage Grace by Bree Despain
The Statistical Probablitity of love at first sight by Jennifer E. Smith
The fault in our stars by John Green
Shattered Dreams by Ellie Dreams
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows (RAK from Jasmine in April)
Bumped by Megan Mccaferty
The tension of opposites by Kristina Mcbride
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Goddess Interrupted Aimee Carter
Exile by Rebecca Lim
Pure by Jennifer Armentrout
Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo (Won from Amy)
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
Insurgent by Veronica roth
Under the never sky by Veronica Rossi
Wild Ink: Success Secrets to writing in the YA market