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Out of the Office for a bit

Dear Readers,

I know that I've been neglectful lately, but I'm going to be absent just a bit longer.  I'm having shoulder surgery and that takes a bit to recover from, unfortunately.  BUT, when I return I will be able to type and write as much as I want without pain.  YAY!!!

So don't forget me while I'm gone! :)  I'm hoping to return by April 16th or perhaps the week after, depending on how things go. See you then!

Halflings (Halflings #1) by Heather Burch

Halflings (Halflings #1) by Heather Burch
Publisher:  Zondervan Publishing
Publish Date:  January 17, 2012
Pages:  288


 Note:  I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.




Nikki seems to be your average badass girl - she rides a motorcycle and is a black belt karate.  But then she's being attacked and doesn't know why.  Then there's the three sons of Fallen Angels - they're sent to guard Nikki; they are Raven, Mace and Vine. 

Raven is the bad boy and falls for Nikki, as does Mace.  But that love is forbidden...of course.

I have to say that I'm really tired of supernaturals enrolling high school to 'protect' or 'get' someone.  Also - why does a supposed kickass girl always need rescuing?  Even the love triangle doesn't come through as heartfelt.  I didn't care about any of them.  I began to wonder if there was a monster hiding in the wings that would delight in eating the entire bunch of them.  Now THAT would have added some excitement!

I think part of the issue is that while I don't mind a bit of religion in my books, what else is fantasy is not religion? - this religion wasn't for me.

I wasn't ever really sure of the plot, it seemed to be more about the love triangle and how the state of being a halfling works.

New Releases April 2 - 8, 2012

Pure (Covenant #2) by Jennifer Armentrout
Release Date: April 2, 2012

From Goodreads: 

There is need. And then there is Fate...

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.
When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude... or killing her.
When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

 Black Heart (Curse Workers #3) by Holly Black

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

 Immortal City by Scott Speer

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them. He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect--everyone except for Madison Montgomery.
Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love.
Maddy is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi - and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat … and this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.

 Radiate by Marley Gibson

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  Hayley Matthews is determined to be the best cheerleader she can. She works hard and pushes herself 110% all the time.  Then Hayley finds a lump on her leg. The diagnosis is cancer. The prognosis is unclear. She could lose her leg. Or maybe her life.  At first Haley is scared, terrified. In an instant, everything she’s worked for seems out of reach. But Haley is strong. She’s going to fight this disease. She will not let it take her life or her dreams.

 I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?
Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.
And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

 Fear (Gone #5) by Michael Grant

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  Despite the hunger, despite the lies, even despite the plague, the kids of Perdido Beach are determined to survive. Creeping into the tenuous new existence they've built, though, is perhaps the worst incarnation yet of the enemy known as the Darkness: fear.

 The Fame Game (Fame Game #1) by Lauren Conrad

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?

 The Marked (Delacroix Academy #2)  by Inara Scott

Release Date:  April 3, 2012

From Goodreads:  In her second semester at a boarding school for teenagers with special powers, Dancia Lewis faces danger from both inside and outside of Delcroix Academy.

All of her life, Dancia Lewis has wanted to use her powers for good. And now that she’s learned the truth about Delcroix Academy—and herself—she may just get the chance. But being part of Delcroix’s top secret Program isn’t anything like Dancia expected. She has to ask herself: what happens to the Talented kids who refuse to pledge their loyalty to the Program? And why did her friend Jack run away rather than join? Dancia’s adorable boyfriend Cam insists they need the help of every Talented student to defend Delcroix from dangerous enemies outside their gates. But Dancia has to wonder: what if Delcroix’s most frightening enemies come from within?

 Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

Release Date:  April 8, 2012

From Goodreads:  In 1888, following her mother's sudden death, 17-year-old Arabella Sharp goes to live with her grandmother in a posh London neighborhood. At her grandmother's request, Abbie volunteers at Whitechapel Hospital, where she discovers a passion for helping the unfortunate women and children there. But within days, female patients begin turning up brutally murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper.

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Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Publisher:  Quirk Books
Publish Date:  June 7, 2011
Pages:  352
ISBN:  978-1594744761


 Note:  Lots and lots of spoilers here.  If you don't want to know, don't read it!!



Doesn't the cover picture just creep you out?  That picture and the title are the biggest reasons I finally bought this book.  I was very excited about it - a good old fashioned scary book, with scary children.  The photos scattered throughout the book are amazing - I adore weird old photos like these.

The story began well enough - Grandpa always told Jacob stories and Jacob believed them until he was older and his parents 'set him straight'.  Then he just thought good old Grandpa was a crazy old Polish war veteran.  Then Grandpa dies and Jacob thinks he might be the crazy one.  See, I liked that part.

What I didn't like:
1 - Jacob's best friend.  I'm not sure why it even needed noting that Jacob had a friend.  He's there for a scene or two, it's noted that they aren't really friends, then he's never mentioned again.  I feel that the author went to a lot of trouble to describe him and his car and their relationship to just ditch him.  I really felt like he did all that and then couldn't fit him into the story, so just let him wander off.

2 - Jacob didn't come across as a 17 year old.  I would have guessed maybe 12.  There was nothing, except his car and job, that said he was an older teen.  The Peculiar children come across as younger too - I know they all appear to be younger, but are really older, but you would think that they would ACT older anyway.

3 - The love story.  Jacob meets a girl, Emma, and falls for her.  She seems to fall for him too.  But seriously, who is she really falling for - Jacob or his Grandpa?!  Ick.  I mean, she's Grandpa's age, but looks Jacob's age and he looks like Grandpa, so what the heck, she'll take him?  And he's ok with that too?  It was too weird for me.

I felt like the story did better before we meet the peculiar children than afterward.  I was disappointed.  Once we met them, the story should have taken off.  I wanted, and felt promised, a creepy, weird and ghostly story.  I got magic and timeloops and confused writing.  Now, I love magic and timeloops, but not when I'm expecting something else.  Hold on, wait a minute.  That's not entirely true either.  I don't even mind that happening if it's done in a cohesive amazing manner where it all flows and makes sense.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends
Publish Date:  January 3, 2012
ISBN:  978-0312641894
Pages:  400


Note:  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always approach the retelling of a fairytale in a skeptical manner.  However, Marissa Meyer did a beautiful job and I can't wait to read more!  She kept the basic idea of Cinderella and updated it to a sci/fi cyborg story with death and disease and a horrid Queen trying to overtake Earth.  What more could you ask for?

The Characters:
Cinder - a true delight!  She knows what she is and what she isn't, seems proud that she can do things as a cyborg that regular humans can't, yet at the same time is embarrassed about being a cyborg.  She's reasonable, romantic, adventurous...I just love her! Did she remind anyone else of FIREFLY's Kaylee?  I mean, Kaylee wasn't a cyborg...but if she was, she would have been Cinder.


Kai - Prince of New Commonwealth, has a temper, hates that he has to do things he doesn't want to do, wants to be a regular guy sometimes, is prepared to do all the things he doesn't want to do, and seems to only really want one thing for just himself - Cinder.


Peony - the youngest stepsister, loves Cinder, very sweet and lovable.

Pearl - the oldest stepsister, rude, mean, haughty, but still shows humanity here and there.

Adri - the stepmother (guardian), awful, but does show other emotions.

Iko - the family android, but really hangs out with Cinder most, has a delightful personality chip (remember the android in Robin Williams' BICENTENNIAL MAN?)

Dr. Erland - research doctor in the palace, trying to figure out how to cure the plague and maybe has his own research going on....

Queen Levana - Lunar Queen, true evil, a royal B...

The Plot
 First off there's the whole Cinderella thing, you know - Cinder has to work to support the family, she does all the dirty work, she never gets updated parts or clothes, she sleeps in a tiny room and isn't allowed to attend the ball.  There's a tiny bit of romance, but just enough to keep you wanting more.

Then there's the fact that there's a plague in the world - Letumosis.  No one seems to know how the plague starts, spreads or how to cure it.

The whole book was wonderful and I really enjoyed it.  I love that Miss Meyer took a traditional fairytale and updated it so well.  Congratulations!