The Glass Magician (Book 2 of Paper Magician) by Charlie N. Holmberg

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

3/5 Stars

Synopsis per Goodreads:

Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.

When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.

The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike. 

I started this one immediately after the first one, I liked the first one, I was disappointed in a lot of it, like the character building and world building and was hoping this one would answer a lot of questions I had.

It didn't.

The author has such potential in this book for greatness, but it falls flat.  The plot, and the premise are both really good, but sometimes a reader reads too much into a book, and wants to know EVERYTHING.  I want to know how magicians fit into the world.  I want to know why they called a buggy "automobile" but then kept on calling it that, is it a buggy? or a car?  little details in my head I couldn't figure out what it was, or what it looked like, to clearly picture it.

This one didn't have the whimsicalness that book number 1 had, but I think that reflects that it is getting darker.  The character didn't show any growth and she found it so easy to just jump into danger and put her friends into danger without caring.  That drives me nuts.  

The ending of the book made me excited, and hopefully for book number 3, I will read it, hopefully love it, and hopefully I'll see the growth im hoping for, cause right now I can't see Thane and her together, I can't see her anything but dead, for rushing into things.  

True Calling by Siobhan Davis Blog Tour!

This is my stop during the blog tour for True Calling by Siobhan Davis. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 15 till 30 November, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.

True Calling (True Calling #1)
By Siobhan Davis
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction/Romance
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: August 1, 2014

Blurb:
Planet Novo, nestled in space twelve hundred miles above the surface of the Earth, is the new home of 17-year-old Cadet Ariana Skyee. Confused by the government-sanctioned memory erase and distressed at her impending forced marriage and motherhood, Ariana’s plans for the future are thrown into complete disarray.

As the traumatic events within her family life enfold, Ariana grows increasingly alarmed at the authorities apparent pre-occupation with her and feels progressively more isolated and alone.

Her growing feelings for fellow Cadet Cal Remus intensify as the recently announced pageant, ‘The Calling’, gets underway. Struggling to comprehend the continuous, inexplicable dreams of the mysterious Zane, discovering the past helps shape her future, with devastating personal consequences.

 

 

Evan Adams is last on my list and he is the one boy that I’ve not been looking forward to meeting. Even sitting across from him now feels deplorable; like an act of profound betrayal. He is handsome and interesting and I can readily see what the attraction is for Eve. He’s a really nice guy too, incredibly intelligent and very attentive. I mention Eve as many times as I can, so he’s left in no doubt that we’re the best of friends. He speaks very respectfully of her, and I think if they’d been left to their own devices they may well have ended up together.

At last, the event draws to a close and we’re permitted to leave. Cal has borrowed his father’s rovercraft for the night and he offers us a ride. We gladly accept given the chilly night air, and the fact that neither of us thought to bring a coat. I’m glad to hear that some of Eve’s dates went well and she is interested in meeting a few of the boys—she’s so affable. She doesn’t ask either of us about our dates, but I think it’s fairly obvious what’s going on between us. I expect that when we’re alone she’ll quiz me on my date with Evan. We drop her off first, and I give her a wave instead of my usual hug. All too soon we’ve reached my house and it’s time to say goodnight. I’m utterly miserable as I wave him off, and I know that my self-inflicted chastity won’t last much longer. If only he weren’t so damn irresistible. 

My data-cuff pings just as my head hits the pillow.

It’s an IM from Cal, “Sweet dreams gorgeous girl.”

I hug myself tightly and fall asleep with visions of him lingering in my mind. It doesn’t work though, I still dream of Zane. The Medicet makes a welcome return to my bedroom.

The next morning I log onto the portal and rate all my dates, I’m generous with all of them except for Dan, who I score a 1. I would assign 0 or lower if that had been an option. I won’t get to see their ratings until after the deadline, when it all becomes public knowledge. The only date I request is with Cal. 

 

 

Here is the link to my original review post

 

I recently got this book again, from Siobhan Davis, my personal copy, and reread it, and finished it this morning.  I am copy and pasting my review from the first time, but I do need to update it, because I found it even better the second time around.  Here is my review copy and pasted:

 

When I first read what it was about, and the cover, I was kinda leery, I was expecting a low budget B flick type book, for some reason I was intimidated and wasn't really sure if I wanted to request this book or not, but I'm determined to be open minded when it comes to this reviewing business, so I requested and was granted.  I am so glad I did.

One of the things in this book I wasn't all together thrilled with, was the love triangle.  The Zane of her dreams, and Cal.  I was team Cal the entire book, even after finding out the background of Zane.  He won me over.  I won't say much, but I think the triangle was the weakest point of the book, I'm thinking book 2 will divulge more of the Zane/Ari background to make you feel conflicted about who she should be with.  I hate triangles, but even though I hate them, I don't hate this book.

The book was beautifully written, the scenery was detailed so that I could clearly imagine what I was reading, the technology real enough to be believed that it could really happen.  The characters were real, and you could really love/hate them.  The story line was awesome, it kept me into it, and was hard to put down.  After I was done all I wanted to do was track down the author and ask her to let me be her editor so I can read what she has on book 2 and 3 so far.

If you are a fan of dystopian books, this one is for you.  I found that it's a mix of all the popular dystopians in one.  The 100, Matched, The Selection, The Program, are among the few that I thought of.  Aside from some similarities, this book had a lot of unique qualities too, so it wasn't a complete copy.  

 



The changes that I would make or additions to my review:  This book is awesome, even better the second time around.  I didn't see as much of the triangle that I griped about last time, I just saw the mystery behind Zane.  I saw details and information of a world that I am dying to see, that I missed the first time.  This post, is being posted on Thanksgiving, here in the US and as I am sitting here typing this, I find myself wondering about Novo, if they have a similar thing like Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or Independence Day.  How they would celebrate.  The characters have woven themselves so deeply in my heart that I just thought about them during a holiday, wondering what they are doing, and they aren't even real!


Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate!  I am thankful for Mrs. Davis for allowing me to be a part of her writing, and Lola for allowing me to participate in the blog tour, I love this book a lot, and I really hope that someone out there sees this and wants to read it, it really is an amazing book!


You can find True Calling on Goodreads.

You can buy True Calling here:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- iBooks
- Ciando ebooks
- Copia books
- Bookbaby

About the Author:
Siobhan Davis is the author of YA science fiction romance series True Calling.
A self-diagnosed ‘teenager forever’—at least when it comes to books, music and movies; Siobhan is totally addicted to teen fiction and superhero/blockbuster movies. Siobhan loves baking, crime novels, shoes, bags, make-up, anti-wrinkle cream, anything pink, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, and Robert Pattinson (definitely Team Edward).
Siobhan has forged a successful corporate career, in Human Resources, over the last twenty years.
A member of the IWI writers group, Siobhan resides in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.
Contact Siobhan at: www.siobhandavis.com

You can find and contact Siobhan here:
- Website
- Author blog
- Book website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google +
- Goodreads

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of True Calling. The giveaway is open international. These are the prizes you can win:
- Paperback copy True Calling
- 3 e-copies of True Calling

For a chance to win enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Paper Magician by Charlie N Holmberg

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

4/5 Stars

Synopsis per Goodreads:

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic…forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

I absolutely adored this book, I did.  It's a cute little whimsical tale.  I liked the characters, I'm in love with Thane, I think the concept is unique and awesome.

There were a lot of questions that I wish I had answered.  Lira, and her history, and why? Does everyone know about magic or is it a secret world?  If it's known, are magicians accepted, respected or are they feared and disliked? Do people come to them for magical help?  Things like that.  With most magical books, like Harry Potter for instance, you knew right away that muggles were humans with no magic, and then you have the secret world behind all of it.

I definitely can't wait to get my hands on book 2.

It's Monday, What are you reading?? #12

This meme is hosted by Book Journey.


My thoughts for this week: This past week has been insane crazy busy for me.  I finalized my new car deal, so yay! new car for me! I love my new baby.  I had a sleep study done, I helped my mom move, I gave my mom my kid for a week, then spent my first day kidless cleaning the house like mad, then deciding to decorate for Christmas, to surprise my kid when he comes home after Thanksgiving.  The tree isn't done yet, I'm saving that for him.  I will go buy some cookie making stuff, and we will decorate the tree and make cookies next weekend.  I didn't get a lot of reading in, read a few books mostly it was done today though, before I started cleaning.

Reviews I posted this week:

The Mainframe by Simone Pond
The Labyrinth House by Mark Rollins
Chasing Midnight by Shyloh and Alex Morgan

What I have read the past two weeks:

   

What I am working on this week:

  

and a few others I haven't decided yet.

My Blogger List account finally got set up properly, so I've been bombarded with requests to review, so the "what I am working on" list is constantly changing.  I am considering revamping my process and my TBR list to work a little smoother for me, but that might be a week or two.  I did post a change on my review policy that im slowing down on the reading/reviewing for the holiday season.  hoping between the challenge and the possible lack of requests for review, I'll get a little bit caught up

So, your turn! what are you reading? Link me up so I can go visit

Chasing Midnight by Shyloh & Alex Morgan

 

**I received this book from a friend on FB OBO Shyloh and Alex Morgan in exchange for my honest review**

 

4/5 Stars

 

Synopsis per Goodreads:

 

Quinn Mason is a young Southern gentleman. Perhaps, gentleman is a stretch for how he lived his earlier years. He was the kid whose life seemed charmed, a popular athlete in high school who won a full scholarship. Life was on track for him until the death of his parents. In one terrible moment, Quinn went from having everything being everything for his young siblings. He left college, and used the money from his parent’s life insurance policy to buy a bar. The bar supported him and the kids, affording him the ability to give for them the life they were robbed of, even sending them to college.

Mhisery Bellemy has returned to Midnight, reluctantly. Her mother died, and she is left to take care of her drunken father, and the family cafe´. She had escaped the small town’s clutches as soon as she was of age, and swore never to return. Now, her siblings have turned to her, leaning heavily on her for help. The woman who got out of town and made a life she loves is now forced, by the bonds of family, and the weight of obligation, to return and give up what she had worked to build for herself.

These two are unlikely to cross paths, but chance throws them into the right place at the right time. Quinn’s brother is the catalyst that brings Mhisery into Quinn’s line of sight. And that’s all it took, one look and he knows he has to have her. The golden boy athlete is now drawn to the tall, tattooed woman stepping off the last bus into town.

Will Quinn ever have the woman he desires, and make her his own, or will she return to the life she loves far away from the small town of Midnight, and Quinn, or will she stay and make a life with the man she loves?

Chasing Midnight tells a story of love, friendship, and sacrifice. This talented duo, Shyloh & Alex Morgan, will rip your heart out and have you falling in love with the inhabitants of this quaint, quirky, town. Welcome to southern seduction, and the town of Midnight, where the Darkest Desires of Dixie become a reality.

 

It took me a while to read this book, I kept getting interrupted, plus it was longer.. per goodreads it was 350 pages, but my nook had something like 490 or something like that.  It isn't one of those short sweet NA books that are so popular, it's a lot longer of a read, better though.

 

The story was pretty good, the main character Mhisery has to go back to her hometown to help her siblings out with their alcoholic father.  I woulda just thrown him in rehab and be done with it.  I never quite understood why she had to up and move back to care, why he had to have 24/7 care between all of them.  He was a grown man who made his own choice to drown his grief with a bottle after loosing his wife.  The book had the older brother being able to stay in Savannah because of his job, and the fact that he had to pay for the care and medical bills of their deceased mother, where it seems to me like Mhisery had a better job that paid well, was still working, couldn't she have just sent money?  That part wasn't fully explained unless it was and I just didn't get it.  Plus I'm pretty sure there had to be a legit reason for her to come back for months and months and months to meet Quinn, the boy she had a crush on when she left town. LOL

 

There was a few parts that made me just get mad and be like WHY?  why did Quinn get made out to be the bad guy with the argument with his siblings. Why did Mhisery just blow off the texts and calls like it was nothing, and how did the person behind the text not confront her in the hometown but all the sudden be in NY, and how did no one know he was in town, small towns where everyone knows everyone and strangers stick out like sore thumbs.

 

But for every GRRRR there was AWW and mush and love and romance and stuff.  It engaged your emotions, from mad to happy to sad.   It was pretty good, good story, good plot, good characters, good town, good book.

The Labyrinth House by Mark Rollins

 

**I received this book from the author's publisher in exchange for my honest review**

 

4/5 Stars

 

Synopsis per Goodreads:

What would you do if you entered a house that you couldn’t leave?

Bradley Jensen, a young architect on his honeymoon, finds himself facing this very question when he finds a door embedded in a tree on a nature hike with his new wife. On the other side of the door is a mansion, and in the mansion are other people: a man from the 70’s, a former slave, and a young woman from the time of the Salem Witch Trials. They, like Bradley, can’t escape. They can’t open the door that leads to the exit; they can’t break down the walls.

There’s one other person in the mansion, a man none of the others like to talk about. He’s like them, plucked out of the world and placed here in a mansion beyond time. Except he’s dangerous. Deadly. In order to figure out the mystery of his current situation and—hopefully—make it back to his wife, Bradley is going to have to confront this man, as well as something far more dangerous:

The Labyrinth House itself

 

This book sounds so AWESOME from the synopsis right?  I thought so too, I couldn't wait to read it.  Once I started, I couldn't stop reading it, I read it in one sitting.  I loved it!

 

The imagination of the author is awesome.  There were a lot of thought into the house, you could tell.  All the rooms and the puzzles, and the process that went into the making of this book.  I was really impressed.  It was well written, there was great character buildup, world building was awesome.  And it was easy to read.

 

I wasn't a fan of the ending, if you like endings that are happily ever after and all wrapped up in a neat little bow, this isn't one of those, it was one of the types of endings that have you scratching your head like..hmm..  what next?  and sitting there like..woah, I think I just got mind blown?  cause what just happened??  but even though I wasn't a fan of it, cause I like answers, the ending was quite awesome and fit well with the contents of the story.  I'm dying to know what happens to him going forward.  LOL but I cant see a sequel happening, it's one of those cliffhanger endings that ends with your imagination.

 

Great book. Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to read it and review it!

 

 

The Mainframe (book 3) by Simone Pond

 

**I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review**

 

 

4/5 Stars

 

Synopsis per Goodreads:

Book three picks up in the year 2345, seventeen years after the disappearance of former city center leader, Chief Morray. There has been peace among the West Coast regions for years, but in Ojai Village there is very little peace between Ava and her sixteen-year old daughter Grace. Both have different ideas about what it takes to maintain independence. Ava spends hours inside the mainframe searching for Morray, while Grace focuses on the art of combat. Grace’s dream is to get accepted into the Silicon Valley Academy and become a soldier like her father General Joseph Strader. During tryouts for the academy Grace comes across some digital footprints inside the mainframe, convincing Ava that Morray has returned to seek revenge and reclaim control. When Ava goes missing, Grace assembles a motley crew of cadets to go on a search and rescue mission up north in Seattle to save her mother and take down Morray. Grace soon learns that independence comes at a price.

 First off, I read book 1 and two and reviewed them HERE, I read them in preparation for the upcoming release The Mainframe, which is what I will be talking about right now.

 

This one takes place mostly in the point of view of Grace, Ava's daughter, years after Book 1 and 2.  Grace is a bit like Ava, and the two of them butt heads a lot, which I thought was amusing to see.  I was disappointed in how Ava "grew up" I loved how headstrong she was and independent and she saved the world, now she seems to be a mainframe junky that sort of neglected her family, and spent most of Grace's growing up years connected to the mainframe rather than with her family.  and Joseph seemed to sort of just go with it.

 

So, we follow Grace into Academy tryouts where we meet the next generation of world savers who go with Grace on her adventure to rescue her missing mother.  The book was really fast paced, and quick, I wish it could have lingered a little bit longer on the Academy, or relationships between the characters, and the things they went through at the Academy, it seemed to glance through and time was really quick, one moment they were just hooking up for practice the next they were seasoned and ready to graduate.  It would have been hard to do that, for page counts sake, but the whole concept of the school is pretty intriguing.

 

The ending seems to show promise for a book 4, so we shall see what happens next.  I liked this book my favorite is still book 1, but this one is still pretty good, I will definitely read book 4 if there is one!

 

Thank you to the author for letting me read this series!

It's Monday, What are you reading?? #11

This meme is hosted by Book Journey.


My thoughts for this week: No one probably noticed, but I skipped last week.  I think I took a brain break from reading and blogging.  I just let the whole week by and I didn't do anything.  I did read three books I got from the library.  I am part of a goodreads challenge, that started so I'm hoping my reading will pick up.  Had a lot going on this week, my mom suddenly decided to buy a house, I suddenly decided to spend a entire day at the car dealership trying to buy a car,

Reviews I posted this week:

The Enchanted One by Lora Deeprose
The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

What I have read the past two weeks:
  
  
 

What I am working on this week:

  

My Blogger List account finally got set up properly, so I've been bombarded with requests to review, so the "what I am working on" list is constantly changing.  I am considering revamping my process and my TBR list to work a little smoother for me, but that might be a week or two.  I did post a change on my review policy that im slowing down on the reading/reviewing for the holiday season.  hoping between the challenge and the possible lack of requests for review, I'll get a little bit caught up

So, your turn! what are you reading? Link me up so I can go visit

The Great Zoo Of China by Matthew Reilly

 

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

 

5/5 Stars

 

Synopsis per Goodreads:

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years.

They have found a species of animal no one believed even existed. It will amaze the world.

Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing discovery within the greatest zoo ever constructed.

A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see its fabulous creatures for the first time.

Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles.

The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that they are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.

Of course it can’t…

GET READY FOR ACTION ON A GIGANTIC SCALE.

My thoughts on this book:

 

My closest friend in the world got this book from Netgalley, she absolutely LOVED it, this is her review here.  So I had to go strait to netgalley and request it, few hours later I was approved then immediately started reading it.

 

I have no idea how many pages it was, 500 something, but I read it like it was a kids book, quick, because I went the next 24 hours with my nose stuck in it every chance I got.

 

I found this book to be awesome with the action.  A bit of the over the top sort of action that you would see in a movie and secretly go, yeah right, if I did that I'd get killed the first two seconds of the movie.  :)  But it worked so well.  I know the author expected to get comparisons from Jurassic Park, at the end of the book he even explained how he expected it, and in return tried to make it a lot different.  I still thought of Jurassic Park most of the book, that and Congo.  A mixture of the two.  Lucky being Amy of course.  (I really need to go out and find me a Lucky, btw).

 

I absolutely loved that CJ Cameron (main character) was a female.  You don't see too many females as a lead character in an action type setting whose name isn't Lara Croft.  I loved that there wasn't a huge love interest, being that the character is a female, and that there wasn't a lot of sexism or stereotyping of the female sex.  She was awesome as a action character and a lot of her heroics had me wanting to stand up and shout GO CJ!

 

So I highly recommend this book, it was definitely attention grabbing, and it stayed that way the entire book.  I loved it!



The Enchanted One by Lora Deeprose

**I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review**

4/5 Stars

Synopsis per Goodreads:

She wanted to live a normal life.

He wanted to end it.

Orphaned at birth and raised in a cloistered convent, Lizzie Chambers knows nothing of her parentage; even her name comes from the pages of a book. When she is forced to leave the convent, she soon finds out life is nothing like her cherished Austen novels. Trapped in an unhappy marriage and questioning her own sanity, her only solace is her beloved flower shop, Enchanted Garden.

When her husband is killed and her store burns down, both under suspicious circumstances, Lizzie finds herself fleeing a demon she has no clue how to stop or even why it has targeted her in the first place.

But Gideon York knows. As a member of the Order of the Triple Goddess he is charged with protecting Lizzie and others like her from the dark forces seeking to destroy these rare and powerful women.

When their growing attraction tempts Gideon to break his sacred vow and Lizzie's own powers threaten her new found family in the Order, she can no longer deny her destiny. To protect the people she loves, Lizzie must find the courage to face the demon alone and risk the ultimate sacrifice…her life.

My thoughts on this book:

I was pretty hooked on this book right from the start.  It draws you in pretty quickly.  It's about a plain woman who was involved in a abusive relationship, to a deadbeat lazy bones.  She owned a flower shop, and that was pretty much her life.  Until one day her husband dies.

This book kinda frusterated me, I just wanted to slap Lizzie so many times.  I wanted to slap her husband, I wanted to slap her friend, I wanted to slap Gideon.  The only person I didn't want to slap was Gideons mom.

Even though I was annoyed with the characters like 93% of the time, I still enjoyed this book, full of magic and mystery.  The book never answered who was behind the dark feelings, who the "bad guy" is, so we've got to wait for the next few books to find out whats going to happen.  I enjoyed seeing the evolution and maturity of Lizzie, took her long enough but the end I respected her, I never like characters that are wimpy and afraid of their feelings and choices.  

Looking forward to book number 2!

It's Monday! What are you reading? #10

This meme is hosted by Book Journey.


My thoughts for this week: I haven't felt like reading at all, it's an off week, delayed reaction after Dewey's maybe?  Or in preparations for a challenge I will be starting next weekend?  Who knows, I just know that I read all of two books all week until yesterday, when I was stuck at a car place waiting on my car to get fixed, walked to the library and left with a bunch of books.  Finished one while I was waiting.   My mom surprised me by closing on a house this week, so she's asked me for help as much as possible, so im thinking this coming week I won't be reading much either, but who knows.

Reviews I posted this week:

The City Center and The New Agenda by Simone Pond

What I have read this past week:

  

What I am working on this week:

I really need to read etiquette, i;ve been working on it forever, for some reason I can't get into it.  

My Blogger List account finally got set up properly, so I've been bomboarded with requests to review, so the "what I am working on" list is constantly changing.  I am considering revamping my process and my TBR list to work a little smoother for me, but that might be a week or two.

So, your turn! what are you reading? Link me up so I can go visit!