Title: The Well of Truth (Kindred Blood, Book 2)

Author: Amber Riley

Publisher: Self

Length: Approx. 50,000 words

Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy Romance

BLURB:

Kaden has made a promise to the Iustitia. In exchange for helping the vampire hunters rid Rome of their supernatural infestation, he will never be hunted by the church-assuming he makes it out of the country alive. With a master vampire who is letting the city be terrorized, Kaden must uncover his true motives before it is too late.

Something dangerous is closing in on Kaden, and he cannot afford to be weak. Inside Vatican City, the vampires are more vulnerable than they have ever been. But with his independence on the line, Kaden is breaking every rule in the book, putting everyone’s lives at risk. Worse yet, he is feeling things again-things he has not felt in centuries. He must find a way to completely sever his ties with the past. Unfortunately, in a city that is supposed to be off limits to all vampires, Kaden finds more than he bargained for-and loses even more.

“The Well of Truth” tells a haunting tale in which a hardened vampire will realize that some secrets are better left in the dark.

EXCERPT:

Sullivan was pulled backward. I didn’t dare take my eyes from Tobias. He appeared to be sleeping, but vampires could be excellent actors. That was one reason I hesitated to go into the room. The other reason was fear. The room was a vampire’s hell, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near it. I would never survive being locked inside.

“Kaden, stop,” Vin demanded. “Get away from the door.” There was the sound of impact and he began coughing.

“What are you waiting for?” Flo hissed.

I chanced it. I looked back. Flo’s back was blistered and red, Stu’s face was covered in blood, and Sullivan’s neck was slowly healing from a large gash. There wasn’t any time left to waste. I had to kill him and get us out of the tunnels safely.

I turned to the tomb again and jumped, banging my head on the stone. Tobias was sitting with his legs crossed and his hands curled over his knees. He looked up at me calmly with angry hazel eyes.

“Hello,” he said hoarsely. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

BUY LINKS:

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Well-Truth-Kindred-Blood-Book/dp/1450287646/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-well-of-truth-amber-riley/1030711513?ean=9781450287647&itm=1&usri=amber+riley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amber Riley has enjoyed writing short stories since childhood and is happiest with a cat in her lap. Born and raised in Central New York, she is currently living in Germany with her new son and husband, a Seabee with the US Navy.

Email – Amber_Riley@live.com

Website/Blog – http://kindredbloodtrilogy.blogspot.com/

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/KindredBloodTrilogy

Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/AmberR_Riley

GIVEAWAY:

If you’d like to win a copy of this book, please fill out the form here. Winners will be chose on April 27th.

Title: Ransom (Redemption Series, Book 2)

Author: R.K. Ryals

Publisher: Self

Length: Approx. 105,000 words

Genres: YA Paranormal Romance

BLURB:

“Vengeance is the path of the Damned. It is not a path taken lightly. For a Naphil, it could mean ransoming his soul.” ~Bezaliel~

Dayton Blainey is caught between two worlds: Heaven and Hell. Bound to a Demon she’s beginning to care about, she is thrown into an adventure she may not survive.

But she will try.

Separated from her friends, she is forced to use powers she just discovered she had while surviving the wrath of a Demon queen.

She will be tested.

And in the search for a ring that may unbind her from Marcas Craig, Dayton will discover that the bond between an Angel and a Demon goes much deeper than blood.

She will endure.

EXCERPT:

A burning at my neck made me look down, and I caught sight of the necklace Monroe had given me, the quartz shining bright. I had forgotten it was there.

Lilith cursed as I began to slide so fast, the stone beneath me burned my skin. She was angry.  I fought harder against the fall and glanced below anxiously.

My body went instantly cold.

Ahead, the corridor simply disappeared, like a cliff overlooking blackness. There were jagged edges in the path as if Lilith had used her fist to pound away the stone and dirt, leaving a drop-off. But we weren’t in the pyramid, we were under it.

“That’s not possible!” I cried out.

The shock of it numbed me. There couldn’t be a cliff below ground. The path led to a chamber, didn’t it? I should see only dirt or more path. There should have been more dirt or more path! But there wasn’t.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

I dug my nails into the ground harder, but there was nothing I could do to avoid the fall. Visions of my dream overwhelmed me. It was different and yet the same, fissures in the Earth, a fall into darkness. An illusion! That’s it! This was an illusion. It had to be! There was nowhere for a drop-off to go. The laughter grew so loud, I cringed with the pain.

“Hell, my dear. It leads to Hell,” Lilith cackled as my feet went over the drop-off.

I felt claws again, a nail digging into my skin as the Demon jerked Monroe’s necklace from my neck with a hiss. It fell into the abyss below. My hands were no longer clutching stone, only darkness. I looked up into the empty corridor now fading above me and screamed.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon (Kindle Edition) – http://www.amazon.com/Ransom-Redemption-Series-ebook/dp/B006X1FU9Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330221740&sr=8-1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, R. K. Ryals is a scatterbrained mother of three whose passion is reading whatever she can get her hands on. She makes her home in Mississippi with her husband, three daughters, a Shitzsu named Tinkerbell, and a coffeepot she couldn’t live without. She is currently working on Retribution: Book 3 in the Redemption Series.

Website/Blog – http://rkryals.blogspot.com

“The Girls’ Guide to Dating Zombies”

by Lynn Messina

Published by Potatoworks Press

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Mystery/Thriller, Romance

BLURB:

Hattie Cross knows what you’re thinking: Zombie sex? Ewwwww. But she also knows that since a virus turned 99.9999 percent of human males into zombies, it’s statistically impossible to meet–let alone date–the remaining 0.00001 percent. So she writes “The Girls‘ Guide to Dating Zombies” to help her fellow single women navigate the zombie-relationship waters.

Her practical how-to impresses the CEO of the largest drug company in the world, and before she knows it, Hattie, a reporter for a downmarket tabloid that specializes in conspiracy theories, is sitting down with the woman who single-handedly invented the zombie-behavioral-modification market. Granted access to the inner sanctum of zombaceuticals, she meets an actual, living, breathing M-A-N.

Now Hattie, the consummate professional, is acting like a single girl at the end of the twentieth century: self-conscious, klutzy and unable to form a coherent sentence without babbling. Worst of all, the human male appears to have impaired her ability to think clearly. Because all of a sudden she’s convinced a conspiracy is afoot at the drug company and it seems to go all the way to the top!

EXCERPT #1:

Introduction

Why Date a Zombie?

IF YOU’VE BOUGHT this book, then you’re either dating a zombie or thinking about dating a zombie. You know that in this postblight world, your chances of getting hijacked by a terrorist, being staked to a bamboo pole in the Heilongjiang Province of Inner Mongolia and having your spleen eaten by a saber-tooth tiger are eight times greater than meeting one of the estimated 344,923 men left on the planet.

You’re a practical young woman who isn’t willing to waste her time on impossible fantasies sold to her by the Hollywood dream machine.

Welcome to the rest of your life.

Naturally, as sensible as you are, part of you can’t help but wonder if dating a zombie is settling. Can’t a woman like you—smart, funny, attractive, kind—do better than an animated clump of rotting flesh that lives only to consume brains?

No, you can’t.

With 99.9999 percent of the male population transformed into zombies, all that are left are animated clumps of rotting flesh that live only to consume brains.

But you don’t have to be a glass-half-empty girl. Your cup runneth over. You just have to be able to see it.

And that’s why you’re reading The Girls’ Guide to Dating Zombies. This book will help you understand and navigate the challenges and rewards of the zombie-dating lifestyle. You’ll learn how to…

• Meet zombies. Discover where they hang out and who they hang out with. The best zombie hotspots are just around the corner!

• Talk to zombies. Chatting with the reliving is easier than you’ve ever imagined! All you need to know are a few key phrases and you and a zombie can have hours of deep, meaningful conversation.

• Dance with zombies. They might not have brains but boy, do they have rhythm. Master the step-drag-step of their beloved merengue and dance the night away with the zombie of your dreams.

• Make love with zombies. Physical contact doesn’t have to be icky or gross. With the right accessories and hygiene products, the fetid flesh of a zombie can smell as lovely as a garden rose.

• Cohabitate with zombies. Zombieproofing your home has never been so easy! A few simple changes will make your living room a safe environment for any zombie, however oblivious to fire, sharp corners and the precious Ming vase your grandmother left you.

• Medicate zombies. Medication is domestication. All a zombie needs to be a productive member of society is the right dosage. The chart in chapter 21 makes it easy for you to figure out which pills your zombie needs and when.

Remember, at the heart of every relationship is companionship, and this is what zombies provide—in spades.

Zombies are steady.

Zombies are reliable.

Zombies are here.

Plus, they love to go shoe shopping (more about that later!).

I’m not saying that zombies are better than men. Perish the thought! But men are gone and now we women have to do what we’ve done since time immemorial: Make the best of what we have.

And it’s a pretty darn good best!

Trust me, I know. I’ve been having satisfying zombie relationships for over six years and with the help of this book, you will too. Turn the page to get started right now.

EXCERPT #2:

The Sweet Treat Sofa

The High-Fiber Breakfast Hour’s Sweet Treat segment kicks off every morning with a flashing red light, a piercing police siren and a dancing pink panda carrying a fuchsia sign that says, i love high-fructose corn syrup fluff from funfoods, across the set. The crowd hoots and hollers because everyone loves a pink panda hopped up on sugar.

The director points to the host, who smiles into the camera as it cuts to her from the audience. “Good morning and welcome back to The High-Fiber Breakfast Hour. Joining me on the luscious pink sofa today is an extra sweet treat for you: Hattie Cross, author of The Girls’ Guide to Dating Zombies.” Delia Fortune, a former Miss America with a towering strawberry bouffant and sparkling superwhite teeth, turns to me with a searching look. “Hattie, we have lots of ground to cover, but I’m going to get right to the nitty-gritty and say, Zombie sex. Ewww.”

I laugh. It’s completely forced and fake, but I’m on a national morning show with a pink panda and a strawberry bouffant. If I can’t roll with a few ewwws, then I should have stayed in bed. “Fair enough. The thought makes a lot of women go ewww.” I look to the audience. “Am I right?”

The response is mixed. Some women clap, but an almost equal number boo. I’m not surprised. Zombie sex has been around for almost as long as variant Y zombies.

“I can tell from the response that some of the ladies here have tried it.” Another round of cheers follows. “I’ll admit that sex with a zombie isn’t the ideal situation. The ideal situation is sex with a human male. Who here has had sex with a human male?”

Dead silence.

“None of us, right? Because human males haven’t existed for the average woman in twenty years. So if you keep that in mind, zombie sex isn’t bad at all. It can certainly be more satisfying than masturbation.” I turn to my host with a twinkle in my eye. “I’m sorry. Can I say masturbation on morning TV?”

Delia twinkles back. “Of course. It’s 2020. You can say anything. But let’s get really real: Zombies smell. They lose body parts. Their flesh is decaying.”

I nod profusely. “All valid points. However, with the right drug regimen, these conditions can be controlled. For example, Zombreeze neutralizes zombie smell from the inside. It can even make your boyzomb smell like roses. I devote an entire chapter to zombaceuticals in my book.”

“I’m glad you brought up drugs. Isn’t it true that you have to medicate zombies for them to have sex? Doesn’t that underscore how unnatural the act is?”

“All living and reliving things have a sex drive,” I explain. “It’s the basic nature of the beast. Sure, you have to use certain chemical stimulants in order for the zombie to perform physically, but the drive is there. Think of the late-twentieth-century male suffering from erectile dysfunction. It’s the same principal.”

The audience cheers again. “All right. But kissing. You have to admit that’s pretty gross.”

“Oh, completely,” I say with girlish glee. The effort of being so aggressively upbeat is starting to make me light-headed, but I stay the course. “Kissing a zombie isn’t for everyone. It’s certainly not for me. But that’s a decision each woman should be free to make. Again, I refer you to late-twentieth-century practices that some women chose to perform and others didn’t. I think of kissing as the equiv-alent to what used to be described as swallowing.” I nod to the audience. “You know what I’m talking about, right?”

The cheers turn into howls and last a full thirty seconds.

Delia quiets the audience with a wave. “All right. We’ve talked about the worst part of dating a zombie. Now let’s talk about the best. What tops the list?”

“Never having to sit by the phone waiting for him to call. No mind games. No wondering if he likes you or doesn’t like you. No obsessing,” I say, referring to the common neurotic female practice that was at the heart of dating human males two decades ago.

“I can get behind that,” Delia says.

“So I’m starting to win you over?”

BUY LINKS:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Guide-Dating-Zombies-ebook/dp/B00762LMQQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girls-guide-to-dating-zombies-lynn-messina/1108735552

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lynn Messina grew up on Long Island and studied English at Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked at the Museum of Television & Radio (now the Paley Center for Media), TV Guide, In Style, Rolling Stone, Fitness, ForbesLife, Self, Bloomberg Markets and a host of wonderful magazines that have long since disappeared. She mourns the death of print journalism in New York City, where she lives with her husband and sons. She is author of six novels, including the best-selling Fashionistas, which has been translated into 15 languages.

Website: http://www.lynnmessina.com

Blog: http://zombiedating.wordpress.com

Title: Redemption (Redemption Series, Book 1)

Author: R.K. Ryals

Publisher: Self

Length: Approx. 105,000 words

Genres: YA Paranormal Romance

BLURB:

“The Time has come when He will come looking. She is ready. I have faith in her. She is her father’s daughter. She carries my blood. And I will never forgive myself for feeding her to the wolves.” ~Bezaliel from Redemption~

One Girl…

At sixteen, Dayton Blainey is a foul-mouthed, grief stricken shell of a girl forced to live with a religiously eccentric aunt following the death of her parents.

One Sacrifice…

Often upstaged by her moral older sister, Amber, Dayton is often flung into the shadows, forgotten. But age changes things.

No Hope…

As Dayton’s seventeenth birthday approaches, her Wiccan best friend, Monroe, sees a vision outside Dayton’s bedroom window that flings her into a world where right and wrong become dangerously twisted.

Redemption is the story of one young woman who must disentangle herself from a web of lies endangering her soul, and who discovers an attraction to a mysterious stranger that may just kill her.

EXCERPT:

“You reek of fear,” a voice spoke suddenly from behind me, and I squeaked.

Oh my God! I wasn’t alone. Duh! Of course I wasn’t alone. I had known that, had hoped, however, for some sort of deliverance. Not likely, I realized now as I felt the power of the man behind me slam into my back, encompassing every inch of my body. I swallowed hard.

“Who are you?” I stuttered uncertainly, my voice hoarse from fear. I didn’t just reek of it, I was fear. The “voice” behind me chuckled.

“Or rather, what am I?” he intonated softly. I cringed.

“Please. . .” I began, trailing off as a pale hand suddenly gripped my shoulder in crushing cruelty.

The impact of the wall was barely noticeable, it happened so fast. One moment, I was standing in the middle of the alley, the next; my head was slammed up against a brick wall, warm blood trickling unpleasantly into the collar of my shirt.

And then I saw him—dark, ominous, huge. He was dark and he was light, his outrageous height accentuated by a long, ebony leather jacket. His hair was black as obsidian in the night, his face pale as snow in comparison. I stared dazedly, my eyes traveling his face in fascinated horror.

“I am Eternity,” he breathed.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon (Kindle Edition) – http://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Series-ebook/dp/B005Q22CEY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330221740&sr=8-2

Amazon (Print) – http://www.amazon.com/Redemption-R-K-Ryals/dp/1466392509/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330221740&sr=8-3

BUY LINKS:

Amazon (Kindle Edition) – http://www.amazon.com/Ransom-Redemption-Series-ebook/dp/B006X1FU9Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330221740&sr=8-1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, R. K. Ryals is a scatterbrained mother of three whose passion is reading whatever she can get her hands on. She makes her home in Mississippi with her husband, three daughters, a Shitzsu named Tinkerbell, and a coffeepot she couldn’t live without. She is currently working on Retribution: Book 3 in the Redemption Series.

Website/Blog – http://rkryals.blogspot.com

Title: The Flash of a Firefly (Kindred Blood, Book 1)

Author: Amber Riley

Publisher: Self

Length: Approx. 50,000 words

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy, YA

BLURB:

Trying to put his past behind him, Kaden moves to New York City where he creates a new life for himself. And that isn’t easy, considering the fact that he’s a six-hundred-year-old vampire who hasn’t fed on a human in more than a century. Unfortunately, the past isn’t something you can always escape from. When old enemies resurface, they come with a message. His master wants him back and refusing isn’t an option.

Confronted with losing both his freedom, as well as the human that has captivated him, Kaden struggles to hold onto his humanity while controlling his darker side. He knows the showdown is inevitable. He must find a way to stand his ground.

EXCERPT:

Then, a hundred feet away, two figures slowed their pace to match mine. I clenched my jaw and forced my feet to keep moving forward. I hadn’t been looking forward to this day. I knew it would come sooner or later. I just wished that I had listened to my gut instinct in the first place.

Well, there was no going back now. I was within reach of them, and my blood was boiling under my skin.

“What are you doing here?” I snarled.

“It’s good to see you too, Kaden.”

Her hair tumbled down her back, and her jaw set as she forced her full red lips into a big smile. It was a face I hadn’t seen in over two centuries, one I could have gone a thousand lifetimes without seeing again.

“What are you doing here?” I repeated.

“Would you treat your own sister so coldly after all this time?” she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“You’re no relation to me,” I growled through gritted teeth.

She smiled sarcastically. “We’ve come to take you home.”

BUY LINKS:

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Flash-Firefly-Kindred-Blood-Book/dp/145023206X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-flash-of-a-firefly-amber-riley/1022852431?ean=9781450232067&format=paperback&itm=5&usri=the+flash+of+a+firefly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amber Riley has enjoyed writing short stories since childhood and is happiest with a cat in her lap. Born and raised in Central New York, she is currently living in Germany with her new son and husband, a Seabee with the US Navy.

Email – Amber_Riley@live.com

Website/Blog – http://kindredbloodtrilogy.blogspot.com/

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/KindredBloodTrilogy

Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/AmberR_Riley

REVIEW:

This book deviated from the usual paranormal formula. I found it very enjoyable, unsure of what to expect from it. There were plenty of times where the plot would take a complementary different path, even after using set ups I’ve seen before.

At a meager one hundred and fifty pages, the book is a fast read. It throws  you into the thick of things and keeps going, ending on a cliffhanger.

My only issue was that many of the characters had similar names. S, M, and F are the most common. As short as the book is and as fast as the story moves, there is very little to describe and distinguish one character from the next. It probably doesn’t help that I’m coming off a sinus infection and was gifted a very intense cold by my daughter’s Kindergarten class. I’m not the brightest at the moment. I’m sure if my mental capacities were up to speed, I’d have no problem.

Three and a half stars, fun. It’s a paranormal ride that isn’t dripping with sex or slathered in romance.

GIVEAWAY:

An e-copy of the book is available to one lucky winner! If interested, please fill out this form.

I decided to participate in this, having gotten a copy of the book from the wonderful Cambria Herbert. If this is the first time you’re seeing a post like this, you can read the announcement post over at Five Alarm Book Reviews.

Week 1- Chapter’s 1-8

If you were disfigured like Heven (by some sort of accident) do you think you would have reacted the same way as her? (loss of self-confidence, hiding yourself, etc)

For sure, I’d also work as she did to make sure to draw as little attention as possible to the disfigurement. I know that I would like to answer the opposite, pretend like the people who would stare and whisper wouldn’t bother me, but that’s just not the case.  Going through something traumatic enough to give me such a disfigurement would be hard to bear to begin with. Cruel people would be impossible to handle.

 Do you think that Kimber’s plan for revenge against Cole (for kissing another girl) is a good idea?

It was petty on her part. There is no reason to trade like for like in such a situation. Just because she was hurt didn’t mean she had to lash out and hurt him back. If Cole had responded the way Kimber had it would have become a perpetual cycle of pain and rage. Not good for their relationship at all.

In the beginning chapters, Heven is very drawn to Sam but won’t admit it due to her own insecurities. Kimber begins to “date” Sam… do you think that Heven should have spoken up? Do think Kimber should have seen Heven’s real feelings?

Sure, she should have spoken up. Sure, Kimber should have noticed. But, Kimber was in her own little world at that point and Heaven can barely feed herself. Being proactive wasn’t high on Heaven’s priority list.

 Masquerade is broken in four separate POV’s: Heven, Sam, The Hate and The Hope. Do you think having multiple POV’s adds depth to the story? Why or why not?

I haven’t encountered a Sam-centeric POV yet. The Hate and The Hope are so disjointed and brief that they add more to confusion than anything else. Four might be my limit on POVs. Sometimes multiple POVs are great to have, and sometimes they make a mess of things. It all depends on the author and how it is handled. As with any tool, it can be abused. I haven’t read enough to formulate an opinion on this story in particular.

A great source of strength for Heven is her grandmother. Who do you think yours is/would be?

This is a very hard question to answer. There are a lot of people who contribute to my strength and buoy me up in different ways. To choose just one would be an insult to the others. Among them are my mother-in-law, my parents and my husband.

Partials by Dan Wells

February 28th 2012, Balzer + Bray

Website/Amazon

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

Fry’s Review

From the first chapter, I felt like my soul had been torn out and stomped on. The synopsis, while touching on it, does not signify just how intense and in your face the lack of an immune baby is. They are born, but they die within three days. The women in the book are coping with it the ways they know how. A first time mother wants to hold her dead baby. A more experienced woman is calloused. Kira reacts in her own way, and that is what brings about the events in the books.

The book is very fast paced. Sections where things aren’t blowing up and people aren’t dying are only setup for more death and destruction.

The government has their hands in everything. Even when Kira disobeys them, they spin it to their advantage.

I felt that, while some of the supporting characters were fleshed out, others left me lacking. It was very inconsistent. Marcus, in particular, while being the main character’s love interest, was very bland and one dimensional. I didn’t feel as much for him as I think the author implied I should. I felt this way about some of the other characters as well. If their deaths and their demises were supposed to touch me, as was implied, it didn’t really get it’s point across.

I would have rated this book a full five stars, but it really did crush my soul. The synopsis’s comparison to BSG is very apt in that respect. The book is heavy, but still very good.

Eugene’s Review

This novel, from the get go, proved it was going to be one of those novels that really drag you down into the dirt and make you feel the stress of the situation. The idea that babies were being born simply to die a few days later was sad enough as it was but worse was that women were being forced to be pregnant as often as possible knowing full well that there was a 99.9% chance that the baby was going to die really made the world seem cold.

Character wise, I didn’t really feel so attached to all the character as I probably should have. I felt more for the situations they were placed in and, for some of them, how they died more than the actual characters themselves. One of the characters that, though I could understand the stress of the situation and why he would be acting that way, I really wanted to kick him was Haru. How some characters acted in certain situations really did bother me but mostly cause they could have reacted so much better. Other characters, on the other hand, were so bland that it was disappointing. Example being Marcus who was Kira’s love interest. He was rather plain and only times I felt anything for him really was when he was being neglected. Otherwise, I didn’t care at all for him.

World wise, the author did very well in building a world that really did draw me in and pushed me to continue reading. The pace of the book was rather fast and when it wasn’t, it was building the story and world more so that it could push you into another fast pace action scene.

Overall, this book really turned out to be an interesting read, even if it did feel like it pulled out my soul and stepped on it, multiple times.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a fabulous weekly meme hosted by Bermuda Onion, where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our weekly reading. This week, I am sharing a few words from my list which has gradually been getting bigger since I have been going through a cycle of being busy, then sick, then busy over and over again. Hopefully, once this semester is over (and if my health doesn’t fall into dying mode like it did last week), I can post more regularly then I have been. Anyway, to the words!

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1. isthmus- NOUN

1. A narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land.
2. A narrow organ, passage, or piece of tissue connecting two larger parts.

I was rather disappointed at the images for isthmus. I was expecting some wonderful wallpaper like images filled with sand surrounded by water but most were just maps. I did find at least this image below though it lacks the beach like feel I was hoping for.

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2. huitlacoche- NOUN

1. A fungus that grows on corn, considered a delicacy in Mexico where cooks use it to flavor food.

For those of you using the mystical Google, it has come to my attention that if you plug in this word, the amazing Google ends up calling huitlacoche “corn smut” which is not implying that corn has it’s own form of pornography but doesn’t stop me from imagining what could possibly be considered “corn smut”… Anyway, it actually is a disease that causes fungus to grow on corn and, for some reason or another, is found to be delicious in Mexico. Honestly, I have never heard of anyone eating this and I can’t imagine why anyone would but then again, I was raised here and not in Mexico so it really could just be me.

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3. profligate- NOUN/ADJECTIVE

1. A licentious, dissolute person.

1. Recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources.
2. Licentious; dissolute

I am sure everyone has met people like this, who are very wasteful with their money. Have to admit though, those that I have met have been the most generous people I know. I have a particular friend who doesn’t really know how to manage his money and often complains about his debt but, my goodness, if I ever need anything, he has always stepped in to help.

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Do you belong to any book clubs — face-to-face, or online? If so, how long have you been with the group(s)? If not, why?

I have never participated in a face-to-face book club. The ones that are offered by my local library never read anything I’d be interested in. It’s like trying to find people to do table-top gaming with. Where would I find them? How would I join as they always seem to be exclusive? I don’t want to set them up myself because, to be honest, I have the organizational skills of a plate of spaghetti.

Online, I’ve got this impromptu sort of ‘book club’ with Eugene. We read the same book and talk about it. We actually put up an official Goodread’s page for it, not that we actually discuss there. If more people were involved, we’d probably stop typing everything over skype and start discussing things. If you want to join in, this month we’re reading Under the Never Sky.

Otherwise, I basically use Goodreads groups to find new reads. I’m such a lurker. I never participate in the conversations even when I actually read the book.