Midnight Readers: August 2014

Monday 25 August 2014

Review ~ A Boat Made of Bone ~ Nicole Grotepas

Title: A Boat Made of Bone

Author: Nicole Grotepas

Published: January 13th 2014

By: Nicole Grotepas

Source: netgalley

Synopsis: During the day, Kate Miller has simple problems: land a new job, find a replacement boyfriend, and sip coffee with her friends.

At night, things change. She dreams of the same man, over and over--Will Hawke. His touch is the gateway to a world only they share. In the shroud of darkness and dreaming, Kate would swear that she has loved him for thousands of years. His blue eyes pierce her shell of protection. His smile is a beacon through a storm.

Night and day, dreams and reality—obstacles with no solution. Will and Kate can never really be together.

Or can they?

Ty Watts is not a dream. The green-eyed stranger sweeps into Kate's life, carrying promise and the possibility of love and companionship. They share interests, an evolving circle of friends, and beyond that--the same waking world. But Ty's earnest smile hides a mysterious past and an undercurrent of danger.

Awake, Kate feels how broken she is when it comes to love. At night, she’s capable of facing the possibility of romance in a way she never imagined. If there is any chance of being with Will, should Kate pursue Ty?

Join Kate as she embarks on a dangerous and impossible journey to find the love that she could only ever dream of having. Literally.

I was drawn to this book for three reasons: the cover which is beautiful, the synopsis which I found intriguing and the title which instantly drew me in. I've done this before and the old adage always comes to mind - never judge a book by its cover. Having read the book I am now also reminded that old adages are very often true.

I have to confess I found it difficult to stick with this book. Kate leads a double life. In the real world she has so many good things going for her and yet she is drawn to a second world where she resides with a 'dream' boyfriend, a seemingly shallow individual who lived in another place and time and whose existence now is certainly more dark than light. This I didn't get. Maybe because even though there was this bond between Kate and Will (dream boyfriend) there was something about him that just didn't gel with me. But then the relationship with Ty (real live boy) didn't really seem to be going anywhere either I didn't get why she was even trying to choose. I think I'd have just gotten rid of the pair of them! Equally I felt myself getting more frustrated with Kate who seems to get dragged through her own existence, hiding behind what she feels are her own inadequacies and seems to pursue her dream relationship above all else. At least, that's how it seemed to me.

I usually enjoy a book that builds slowly, especially when its the first of a series but the pace was too slow here for me. When the pace does pick up towards the end of the book the rationale behind the increase in pace was too bizarre even for me and so I found myself less and less inclined to finish the book. Don't get me wrong, the writing style is OK, it was just the plotline that I really struggled with. Between weird dreams, dragonflies that lead to alternate universes and the occasional trip to hell I wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

There were some aspects of the plot that began to clear as the story progressed but by then I'm afraid I had lost interest. There is a cliffhanger at the end and if you've enjoyed the read you'll probably be screaming for the next instalment, but I'm sorry to say I won't be there with you. Maybe with some editing and clarification at some points this might have held my interest longer but I've a feeling that probably wouldn't have been the case.

2/5 Loved the cover etc, writing style is fine, but the plot just didn't grab me. Sorry.

Saturday 23 August 2014

Stacking the Shelves #105

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tyngs's Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may they be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

We love sharing our books with you each week but more importantly we loving see what you add to your shelves. As always, clicking on a book will take you to goodreads.

Trial by Fire (The Worldwalker Trilogy #1) ~ Josephine Angelini ~ from netgalley
The Iron Trials (Magisterium #1) Cassandra Clare and Holly Black ~ from netgalley
Red Rising ~ Pierce Brown ~ from netgalley
Spirit (The Sarah Midnight trilogy #3) ~ Daniela Sacerdoti ~ Unsolicited from publisher (Cover coming soon!)
A sneak peek of Atlantia ~ Ally Condie ~ from netgalley

Monday 18 August 2014

Review ~ Rebellion ~ Karen Sandler

Title: Rebellion

Author: Karen Sandler

Published: 16th May 2014

By: Lee and Low Books.

First line: Devak Manel floated in nothingness, without sight, without speech, without sensation.

Last line: Thank the Infinite, thank the Lord Creator for the beautiful new world opening up for them.

Source: Eidelweiss

And so another series comes to an end! Tankborn was one of the first books that I read for review so it’s a little weird to see this story reaching its conclusion. It feels as though I’ve been forever waiting for this last instalment although I think it’s only actually been a year. Year or no, one of the downsides of long periods between book releases is that, especially with books like Rebellion, where new language is created it can sometimes take a while to get back into the swing of things. I did go back and look at my notes for #2 Awakenings however and they did refresh my memory so I could move on! So, moving forward, here’s the blurb for Rebellion:

In this final installment of the Tankborn series, Kayla has been kidnapped by the group that has been bombing GEN warehouses, and she must pretend to sympathize with them in order to escape.

In the wake of a devastating bomb blast, severely injured Kayla has been brought to the headquarters of the organization that planted the bomb-and many others like it in GEN food warehouses and homes. Her biological mother tells her that Devak is dead and that Kayla must join her in the terrorist group, which is ramping up for something big. Now Kayla must pretend that she embraces this new role in an underground compound full of paranoia as she plots a way to escape and save her friends. Meanwhile, Devak has emerged from his healing in a gen-tank, only to be told that Kayla is dead and his family has fallen from grace. Can he overcome his grief at the loss of his power to see the clues that point to Kayla being alive? As Kayla and Devak overcome the multiple obstacles put between them while trying to free GENs without further bloodshed, the Tankborn trilogy rushes to a thrilling conclusion!

I like the flicking between perspectives in this final tale of Devak and Kayla. Having both survived the explosion their lives have changed in so many ways, not even taking into account the supposed deaths of their respective loves. Interesting that it was this loss that made them realise that the barriers they thought were keeping them apart were insignificant in the end and I like the way that their global view on so many things changes. The same applies to Devak and Kayla individually. Devak has to learn to live in a completely way within his own world now that his status has been reduced. He now also has to learn to live with physical limitations that occurred as a result of the explosion. He is fortunate though to have familiar people around him who continue to offer him support, both emotionally and financially. Not so for Kayla who is in unfamiliar territory, with unfamiliar people (one of whom is her mother) and who is being watched every time she moves. Whilst Devak is moving heaven and earth to find Kayla, Kayla is pulling apart a web of lies and truths, revealing a few revelations along the way that lead to a fast paced conclusion.

As I said at the beginning of the review it took me a while to get into this book, mainly because of the unique language that Sandler has developed that does give it an ‘other-wordly’ feel but also means that you might be flipping back to the glossary from time to time to remind yourself of the meaning of certain words phrases etc. Once I was back on track settling back into this world was a wonderful experience!

There is a steady pace to Rebellion, although there are a greater number of challenges that both protagonists face along the journey. It’s not always easy to figure out who is the enemy and who is a friend but I like that as it keeps you on your toes. As for the ending Kayla really comes into her own and it’s good to see a female lead who can stick to her beliefs even when the choices she faces boil down to simple life or death.

Rating: 3.5/5 This was a satisfying conclusion to the series. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed!

Saturday 16 August 2014

Stacking the Shelves #104

Thirteen ~ Tom Hoyle ~ Present from B :)
The Dark Inside ~ Rupert Wallis ~ Present from B :)
Panic ~ Lauren Oliver ~ Present from B :)
Dance of the Dark Heart ~ Julie Hearn ~ Present from B :)
Dearly Departed ~ Lia Habel ~ Present from B :)
We Were Liars ~ E Lockheart ~ Present from B :)
Shadow of the Wolf ~ Tim Hall ~ Present from B :)
Running Girl ~ Simon Mason ~ Present from B :)
Don't Look Back ~ Jennifer L Armentrout ~ Present from B :)
The Edge of Water ~ Elizabeth George ~ Present from B :)
Opposition, Lux#5 ~ Jennifer L Armentrout ~ Bought
Frozen ~ Melissa De La Cruz & Michael Johnston ~ Unsolicited from publisher for Bungle and Galley for review for Sally from netgalley
Red Rising ~ Pierce Brown ~ Unsolicited from publisher
Black Ice ~ Becca Fitzpatrick ~ Unsolicited from publisher
Belzhar ~ Meg Wolitzer ~ Unsolicited from publisher
The 100 - Day 21 ~ Kass Morgan ~ Unsolicited from publisher

That's a whole lotta reading which makes Sally and Bungle so so happy! So, what did you get this week?