Intuition by J. Meyers

Series: Bonus Intangible Novel

Publisher: Self

Format: Kindle

Published: 3^rd November 2011

Number of Pages: -

Book: Free iPod Book!

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Novella, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Nothing Unsuitable

No Alcohol, Drug References

Available On: Amazon, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble

Author's Blog:

Intuition: A Bonus Intangible Short Story
Luke and his twin sister Sera have unusual abilities. Hers is a gift—she can heal with a touch of her hand. His is a curse—he can see the future but he can’t do anything about it.
On a hike up the mountain, Luke has a vision unlike any other—one that leaves him terrified. Knowing that it will come true—and that he must do everything in his power to stop it—leaves his own future uncertain.
Don't miss the first book in the series, Intangible, on sale January 2012.

                                                                   Review:

Luke has visions of the future, visions that always come true. Sera can heal, influence. The twins have to keep their gifts secret; people react badly, they get scared or angry.

On a hike one day, Luke has a vision, the worst one he's ever had. He sees someone dead in a cave. He is sure he knows the person, but as he can't see them he doesn't know who they are. His visions always come true. Can Luke stop this one before it’s too late?

Intuition was a great little story, introducing us to the world, tantalizing our minds. It wasn't long at all, just long enough for me to meet the characters and know their gifts and like them and need to know WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!

The writing was really good, the brief plot left me wanting more. I really liked Luke and Sera, their gifts and twin bond. I can't wait to read Intangible! No, scratch that. I need to read Intangible! I HAVE to know if Luke manages to stop his vision! And after the teaser chapter at the end of Intuition? Squeee!

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Spirit Guide Series by E.J. Stevens
The Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong
Night World by L.J. Smith

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages: 416

Book: For Review*

Genre: Horror, Historical, Science-Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death, Mild Swearing, Drug and Opium References

No Alcohol References

Author's Site: Chris Priestley

Author's Blog: Chris Priestley

Keep an eye out for the awesome guest post Chris has written for us as part of his blog tour!  It'll go up tomorrow, and there's a giveaway involved!

Can a monster and a boy ever really be friends?

1818.  London.

Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief.

Mr Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets.  Their relationship begins as pure convenience. 

But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target… Victor Frankenstein.

Review:

Billy is a thief.  Mister Creecher is an outsider, a freakish giant with a monstrous face, who while on the trail of mysterious Frankenstein, saves Billy from death.  To begin with, their relationship is pure convenience.  Creecher needs Billy to follow Frankenstein.  Billy needs Creecher for protection from other thieves.  But soon a bond forms between the two, as they realise they may have more in common than they first thought.

But as they follow Frankenstein, can their friendship last?  Or will it end up as bloody as their journey?

I read and loved Priestley’s The Dead of Winter, and I love Frankenstein so I of course had to me hooked from the start. A story about friendship in the unlikeliest places, it was bothget my hands on this one!  And it did not disappoint!  Creepy, suspenseful and thrilling, it had  beautiful and horrible.  I can’t wait for Priestley’s next book! 

15-year-old Billy was a boy who had seen a lot, been through more and lost more still.  He had the feel of a street child – one from Dickensian novels.  He was sneaky, brilliant at observation, with the occasional snarkiness and was just a really resourceful and smart-thinking boy.  But he had this resentment in him: he was withdrawn, cut off because of everything that had happened to him.  And he felt really real to me, even if I wanted to yell at him at times!

Mister Creecher was a very complicated and odd character, one I did feel sorry for.  He knew how his looks made others think of him, and was sure he could never by happy. He was strangely vulnerable, sweet hearted, and desperate for love.  Yet he wasn’t afraid to kill.  He may not have been wholly human, but he had desires and longings, just liked humans.  Was he bad?  Good?  I think he was both. 

And I loved Billy and Creecher’s relationship, how it changed.  It slowly shifted and I just loved how Priestley did this.  The friendship that blossomed felt natural to me.  Creecher was the only true friend Billy had ever had and vice versa.  Although everything changed again, they truly were friends. 

I adore Chris Priestley’s writing: oddly beautiful, lyrical, creepy and utterly addictive.  He doesn’t shy from the gore, the suspense.  I was completely absorbed in the story, under its spell.  It was shocking, creepy, beautiful, bloody and spooky.  The plot was equally amazing, and so unexpected.  I really had no idea where the story was going.  And the end… God.  I never saw it coming!

The setting was just amazing – London, 1818.  It was so vivid, so lifelike – it jumped off the page and into my head.  Priestley has a real talent for creating gritty and vivid settings that make me feel like I’ve gone back in time.  Or they’re so real it feels like I’ve picked up a Dickens novel.  And he truly made London back then creepy, gothic and spooky: I loved it! 

I loved how the story tied in with Frankenstein and another novel from around that time, one I didn’t realise was more than just an influence until I looked the book picture up and stumbled across an award.  Until right toward the end, I didn’t even know how much Book 2 tied in with the story.  I almost felt like smiling as it was revealed.  In a strange, horrible and rather shocking way, it was perfect.  It was so unexpected.  Which made that final twist all the more brilliant.

Creecher kills and Billy steals.  Both should be Bad.  Both should be Not Liked.  But… I couldn’t hate them.  Creecher was looked upon in horror, so he became what was thought of him.  Billy stole because he had to, to survive.  Creecher loved to read and just didn’t want to be alone.  Billy wanted a family, a friend.  Although they should be bad, I couldn’t hate them.  They were human.  While both had their downfalls, they also had redeeming qualities.  Good is in all, even ‘monsters’ and thieves.  They made me question everything.

A book of contradictions, friendship, betrayal, murder, science and the search of happiness, Mister Creecher was one heck of a book, a gothic horror story, full of twists and chills, with the most amazing setting and beautiful writing.  I could go on forever, so all I shall say is READ THIS!  You will not regret it.  It’s a horror story that makes you think, especially about one question: Nature Vs Nurture.  Perfect.

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wolf Blood by N.M. Browne

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Published: 1^st March 2012

The Stars of the Hunger Games: Inside Out by Mel Williams

Publisher: Piccadilly Press

Format: ARC

Number of Pages: 48

Published: 23^rd February 2012

Book: For Review*

Genre: Non-Fiction, Movie-Tie-In, YA

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Nothing Unsuitable
No Alcohol, Drug References

May the odds be ever in your favour.

As The Hunger Games explodes onto our screens, get the low-down on the hot stars of this sensational movie.  Find out what they are like in real life – and how they measure up against their characters!

Could Jennifer Lawrence survive in the wild like Katniss? 

Is Josh Hutcherson as romantic as Peeta?

Does Liam Hemsworth have a rebellious streak like Gale?

Packed full of fantastic photos and fab facts, this is a must for all Hunger Games fans!

                                                                   Review:

I am sure most of the blogging community has read The Hunger Games, and all have heard of it.  And I’m sure most of you have heard of the movie it is becoming.  Maybe, like me, you’re counting down the days!  But with the release date getting ever closer, may I ask you how much you know about the stars who are bringing the amazing characters to life?  Despite my addiction, I didn’t know much…  Until I read this.  With the brilliant pictures and tons of facts, I now boast much movie knowledge!  And I’m EVEN MORE excited about the movie!!

Being a total Hunger Games addict, I was desperate to read this, even though I almost never read non-fiction!  I wanted to know if ‘ordinary’, real people could live up to the super, exceptional, amazing characters in my head.  I just loved reading all the actor facts, the little round ups of each character, why the actor is super and full of “tribute talents” enough to be Katniss, Peeta, Gale, etc.  And the layout was just gorgeous – flames and arrows for Katniss, berries and cammo for Peeta, arrows and lightening for Gale, the fields for Thresh, bright pink for Effie… all just were so right for each character.  And, overall, it was all so pretty!!

All the actors, in my opinion, are perfect for their roles.  We all know Jen looks gorgeous in her ‘proper Katniss gear’.  Did you know she can also use guns and skin a squirrel (yuck, by the way), as well as knowing how to rock climb and do archery?  Awesome!  And the gorgeous Josh Hutcherson, who worked out to get the Peeta Build, is so romantic he falls “in love at the drop of a hat” as well as being brill at all things outdoorsy.  Liam Hemsworth (who’s Australian, did ya know?) is a strong supporter of “just causes” and has said “Peeta and Gale are actually best friends in real life”.  Now, when I first finished this review, this paragraph was about three times this length.  As I actually don’t want to give the whole book in my review, I should probably limit myself to just gushing about the three main actors.  But before I stop, I’d just like to say that the only actor I’m not sure about is the one who will play Cinna, whose name is Lenny Kravitz.  He just isn’t how I pictured Cinna…  Here’s a picture of him: tell me what you think!

I loved all the facts, the gorgeous layout and picture.  It was addictive, poring over all the facts, answering the “Quick Quiz” questions…  And there was me thinking I wasn’t a big celeb nut!  Turns out Hunger Games + actors = actors I absorb loads of knowledge of.  Strange… But cool.  And I loved absorbing all of these!  Even what Josh’s cats are called (Jell-O and Paws, just so you know!).

If you love The Hunger Games, you simply have to read this one!  These facts are ones you have to have before you go to see the movie!

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Twilight Boys: Inside Out by Mel Williams
Girl Who Was On Fire by Leah Wilson

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading
Megan

* This book was received from Piccadilly Press in exchange for an honest review

CardSharp Blog Tour: Review of CardSharp by Paul Oliver Westmoreland

Hi!  This is CardSharp's first stop on the tour, so hi!  If you want more information on the tour, check out my post: here.  Also head over to Paul's site for awesome teasers and other things like that: POW Books.  And I'd like to that the wonderful organiser, Stormi @ Lightning Book Promotions.  Now, here's my review...

Series: Vincent War, Book One

Publisher: Self

Format: Paperback

Published: 12^th December 2010

Number of Pages: Approx 176

Book: For Review*

Genre: Action-Adventure, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Realistic-Fiction, YA, YA-Adult Crossover, YA-Child Crossover

Recommended Age: 9+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Available On: Amazon and Lulu

Author's Blog: POW Books

Burning houses.  Daring robbers.  Motorway chases.  Exploding boats.  Flying daggers.  Brutal policemen.  Ruthless pirates.  Beautiful women.  Deadly bullets.  Racing hearts.  Internataional Criminals.  Narrow escapes.  Tricks, stings and elextrocutions.  And a priceless painting by one of the world’s most notorious masters.

Welcome to the adventures of Vincent Ward, where getting through each day alive just isn’t enough.

                                                                   Review:

Guns, car races, criminal masterminds, daring escapes, ruthless pirates, a pretty woman and one man caught up in the middle of it all: Vincent Ward.

Paintings, the treasures of the world: Vincent Ward sees the beauty in them, as did his parents.   The thieves who stole their paintings, burnt their house down and killed them only saw the money in the artwork.  Vincent was six when it happened – too young to do anything to stop them.  Now, though, with a priceless painting in danger and a master thief on the loose, Vincent finds himself in more danger than he’s ever been in before, in a race to protect what he loves most: art.

I wasn’t expecting to like Cardsharp so much – I’ve never really been one who loves James Bond and such, but I found myself really enjoying this as I read – the non-stop action, the history facts, the car chases…  I was on the edge of my seat all the way through, excited to know where the story would go.  I loved Cardsharp and Vincent Ward!

Vincent Ward was real cool, a real hero!  He was brave, fast-thinking, smart, observational, kind, sneaky and just brilliant!  Plus, sort of a lunatic: I mean, who runs after armed thieves when your hands are tied (as in, actually tied together)?  He was completely committed to art: he’d die for it, and when a painting was at stake he was as stubborn as a mule.  I mean, he was as enthusiastic about art as I am about books – which is saying something!

Jennifer Rorstand, sometimes known as Porcelain Woman, was beautiful, studious, intelligent, brave and tough.  I liked that she saved Vincent, so the heroism wasn’t just one sided.  She was a kick-butt porcelain specialist!

Now…  Who is this mysterious yellow-and-black-striped-tie man?  He’s tried to kill Vincent, he’s always hovering…  Hmm…  ‘He’ was the perfect villain: Ruthless, dangerous, heartless and merciless…

The artist this story revolved around was Caravaggio, one of the most famous painters of his generation, before “his spectacular fall from grace”.  I loved getting to learn more about him and his oh-so colourful history, especially as I know next to nothing about art!

The action in Cardsharp was non-stop from the word go.  Literally.  It was awesome- like an action movie with shoot outs, brutal policemen, robberies, car chases… literally everything you need to stay hooked to the book!  There were next-to-no breaks, constant twists, danger and action always lurking round the corner.  Loved it!

The writing was brilliant: somehow the author managed to get in loads of art history without it being boring!  The suspense was non-stop – I was always on the edge of my seat. I just loved the voice – it was really Vincent.  The suspense got stronger and stronger, the twists came thick and fast and the villains were pure evil.  I loved every new development, every new obstacle.  Overall: The writing was awesome!  Like a movie in my head (would make such a good movie, btw).

The weakness?  I didn’t feel I really got to know Vincent as much as I would have liked – we don’t know why he’s or his parents) were so obsessed with art, how Vincent feels about his parents’ deaths.  I hope in the next book his character is expanded slightly.

Robberies, villains, priceless paintings and shootouts, Cardsharp was a book that surprised me, had me hooked from start to finish.  I loved getting into Vincent’s head, and can’t wait for the next book in the series.  

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz

Cherub by Robert Muchamore

James Bond by Ian Fleming

Jimmy Coates by Joe Craig

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)
British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Megan

* This book was received from Author in exchange for an honest review

Chocolate S.O.S by Sue Limb

Series: Jess Jordan, Book Six

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: Paperback

Published: 5^th January 2012

Number of Pages: 304

Book: For Review*

Genre: Realistic-Fiction, Humour, Chick-Lit, Contemporary, Romance, Pre-Teen, YA, YA-Child Crossover

Recommended Age: 9+

Contains: Mild Swearing and Dangerously Short Chapters

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Sue Limb

Jess has broken up with Fred, though really she is waiting for him to come to her door and beg to get back together again.  But is that the sort of thing Fred would do?  He has said himself that he hads no backbone…  Meanwhile, a gorgeous boy has moved in next door and, to Jess’s mingled horror and delight, is making it very, very obvious that he would like to be a lot closer than next door…  Surely, now, Fred will be driven, in a fit of jealousy, to sweep Jess back off her feet?  Won’t he?

Fans of Jess Jordan will be thrilled to have a new Fred and Jess story, full of Sue Limb’s very funny take on early teenage life and problems.

Review:

A clumsy heroine, a cowardly ex, a bubbly girl chasing said ex and a hot guy next door.  A recipe for disaster?  Definitely where Jess Jordan is concerned!

Jess has just dumped Fred.  Why?  Because he dumped her in the deep end, leaving her to organist a charity dinner all by herself before turning up and stealing the show!  But really, all Jess is waiting for is for Fred to perform a chivalrous act to win her back.  Only, soon, over-enthusiastic Jodie has her eyes set on Fred, and Jess is furious.  But then… hottie Luke moves in next door.  Can getting Fred back really be as easy as making him jealous?  Well, Jess will find out soon, that’s for sure!

I’m not sure how I thought I would find this one.  I guess I was thinking that, being oh-so-mature myself, I wouldn’t find Chocolate S.O.S quite as funny as I did.  But the wonderful and wacky range of characters were ever amusing – even the gloomy, scary Mr Barclay.  Yes: what I got was a book that really did make me laugh myself silly.  With a loveable lead gal, a hot boy-next-door and a “spineless” ex-boyfriend, with a love square like no other, Chocolate S.O.S was really funny!  In other words: an awesome book!

Jess Jordan was funny – and kind of a drama queen!  She was really, hilariously snarky and rather absent-minded.  But I loved that she was also a really quick thinker, because it made her really imaginative and witty.  In social situations, Jess really did have to be the unluckiest person ever, and sometimes her own worst enemy.  I mean, sometimes she believed her own lies!  Clutzy, eccentric, bonkers and melodramatic, Jess Jordan was hilarious!  She absolutely killed me!  But I could also tell that Fred had really hurt her and she still really loved him…  Though, her not-thinking-about-Fred routines were absolutely bananas and really funny!

Flora Barclay was the best friend: sweet, supportive.  I loved Flo: she was such a good friend!  Poor Flo’s family was having a little bit of a crisis, and even though she did have a few minor saying-things-wrong crises, I knew she really loved Jess and that she was, as I said before, really sweet.

I got an outsiders view of Fred Parsons: having not read the books before (except for one before my blogging-days), I was purely judging Fred based of Chocolate S.O.S.  I must admit, he baffled me for a while.  He had the weirdest way of delivering compliments, and he seemed rather spiteful and odd.  I couldn’t figure him out, couldn’t tell what he was thinking.  Did he still love Jess?  Did he just not care?  What I did know what that he was absolutely hilarious – sarcastically and ironically funny.  He was in his own words a coward, but I think, really, he’s just shy and maybe insecure.

Luke Appleton, Jess’ new next-door neighbour, was cute, great at cooking and surfing, plus he had a cute smile…  He was really polite, but also really confident: rather (in Jess’ own words): “daring and unexpected” in his actions.  In my opinion, Luke was wonderfully bonkers and really funny, rather pushy and unpredictable – in a good way.  But I found myself wondering more and more what his past was, ‘cause I’m still not sure about the story he gave us…

Luke and Jess were so cute together.  They really made me laugh!  Dressing up as vamps, chasing each other: they were like little kids!  And they wanted zombie babies on leads…  And now I do too!

Jodie was a bit of a drama queen, as well as being really loud mouthed and energetic.   Almost annoyingly so.  She was occasionally sweet – ok, normally, always sweet, but as she’s after Fred and Jess doesn’t like her for that, I don’t like her either. 

I love the family dynamics in this, the range.  You have Jess’ close-knit, cosy family.  The relaxed librarian mother, the sweet, funny, totally loveable gay father and the homicidal-obsessed grandmother (on TV, not in real life!  She was hilarious, slightly inappropriate and really sweet!).  The ideal family, all of whom felt so, so real to me: I just loved them!  You also have Flora’s more privileged family, with her stern father and graceful mother.  Luke’s family was also really lovely: just him and his dad, both of them really close.  Still not sure about his Mum… something makes me think the story he gave isn’t the truth…

I really do not read enough funny books.  Chocolate S.O.S made me realise that I can’t remember the last book I read that can be classed under comedy.  Shocking, seeing as I do love a good laugh!

And I found Chocolate S.O.S hilarious!  Jess was brilliant, Fred was snarky-funny, and all the other characters were funny in one way or another. But the scene that killed me most was one between Luke and Jess, when they were discussing how a fictional guy would kill his fictional girlfriend.  I was almost crying by the time that scene had finished!  Somehow Sue managed to portray various dramas in a way that cracked me up – even when I probably shouldn’t be laughing!  I found myself laughing at the silliest little every-day chore: Jess was just so bonkers and funny!

The writing was stunning!  Normally, I’m not keen on the 3^rd person, but I loved the way this was written!  I totally got to know Jess and quickly fell in love with her wacky personality.  I felt what she did, although my sympathy and cringing were usually accompanied by rather a lot of giggling.  I love Sue’s writing: simple, teen and completely hilarious!  As for Jess’ tips on getting over your ex… they were absolutely hilarious!  And so original!  (Lots of choccie involved, of course!)

Now, the chapters are dangerously short: be warned!  The kind of short where you go: ‘oh, five pages…  It’s only midnight!’  And you end up reading the whole book!  I read the book in one day, one day only, with many breaks to do your everyday stuff.  It was addictive, hilarious and pure awesome!  I loved every moment: even the cringey bits!  The bonkers-ness is just irresistible!  I can’t wait for Jess’ next book!

And if you want to learn how to write laugh-out-loud literature, pop over tomorrow - Sue's giving us a guest post as part of her blog tour!  I can't wait!

Star Rating:
4 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Jess Jordan Series by Sue Limb
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison

Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter

Or Anything by Sarah Dessen, Meg Cabot or Jacqueline Wilson

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

Happy Reading

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Reading Angel & Katie's Book Blog)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Megan

* This book was received from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review