Milky Way of books

ARC Review: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

Monday, June 15, 2015

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

BUY ON AMAZON (click the cover for more details)

REVIEW

I RECEIVED THE ARC FROM THE AUTHORS IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

As the fatal day for the release of this book draws closer, I decided to repost my review adding also the new site that was launched for the release of Illuminae!

So, wear your space-suit.

Load your oxygen mask.

Check your mental stability.

Are you ready?
Here we go.

I learned about the book after the cover reveal of "This Shattered World" by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Knowing that Jay Kristoff would co-write with Amie I was eager to read this book. When the ARC arrived, well I did party around my room holding the ARC like a prize!

Here's the proof!!!

Amazing #bookmail 😱😍😍 #illuminae ARC by @amiekaufmanauthor @jaykristoff Thank you so much!!! 😊😙 #fairlytwistedanthology by @reutspub with 😱😨 stories and LAST!!! #kissofdeception by @maryepearson #bookmail #booknerdigans #booklove #YAlit

Μια φωτογραφία που δημοσίευσε ο χρήστης Alexandra Perchanidou (@milky_way_of_books) στις Ιούν 3, 2015, 10:17πμ PDT

And so my reading journey began which lasted for two days. I completely devoured the book, turning page after page waiting, wanting to see how and what would happen to Kades and Ezra.
Kades breaks off with her boyfriend, Ezra the day their planet is assaulted by a galactic corporation. They barely manage to escape, Ezra on the space fleet "Alexander" and Kades on "Hypatia". Along with these two is "Copernicus" and the three fleets must escape the enemy fleet which wants no evidence of the planet's destruction.

As the months pass, Kades becomes a very talented hacker and Ezra turns into a fighter pilot. Told by emails, notes pictures and reports, this book blowed my mind.

The most outstanding part of the whole book are the messages. The whole plot is delivered through mails, hacked files, voice messages and illustrations of space atomic bombs (this one was illustrated by Jay himself!) and designs of the fleets. I never felt lost to the story and every part was described in details. I saw how the relationships, not only between Kades and Ezra, were evolved as also how the Artificial Intelligence got to have a very vital part in the story. Add in the deadly virus which turned almost everyone into a zombie state and you have a race against time for the survival of everyone.

Not to mention that the AI of "Alexander" AIDAN is so, so creepy to the point of reminding me HAL from "2001: Space Odyssey".

Amie and Jay in my ARC also made some interesting notes about names, illustrations and art. I loved every part of their notes, especially when they added Marie Lu and Beth Revis into a cinema poster!
~~Yes, that happened and I couldn't stop laughing!~~

Amie and Jay managed to create a new type of book, unique among its kind. They became pioneers of the sci-fi genre, creating a book full of emotional roller-coaster, laughs and tears along with romance and a great ending! If you are a fan of "Star Trek", "Star Wars" and "2001: Space Odyssey" then this book is the one for you.

Even if you don't like sci-fi, you will love this one.

About the authors:

Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of THE LOTUS WAR trilogy, a Japanese-inspired steampunk fantasy. Part 3, ENDSINGER, is out now. He's also co-author of the upcoming ILLUMINAE (with Amie Kaufman), a YA Sci-Fi... thing, to be released by Knopf/Random House in 2015, and NEVERNIGHT, the first part of a new fantasy trilogy kicking off in 2016.

Jay is 6’7 and has approximately 13380 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.

He does not believe in happy endings.

Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling co-author of These Broken Stars and This Shattered World, and Illuminae, the first in a new series starting in 2015. She writes science fiction and fantasy for teens, and her favourite procrastination techniques involve chocolate, baking, sailing, excellent books and TV, plotting and executing overseas travel, and napping.

She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, their rescue dog, and her considerable library. She is represented by Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.

Release Day Launch: "The Offer" by Karina Halle

Sunday, June 14, 2015

She thinks he's an arrogant playboy.

He thinks she's an uptight prude.

But he's about to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Nicola Price used to have it all – a great career, the perfect boyfriend, an excessive shoe collection and an apartment in one of San Francisco’s best neighborhoods. But when she gets knocked up and her asshat boyfriend leaves her high and dry, Nicola’s perfectly crafted world comes tumbling down. And stays that way.

Now, Nicola is the proud single mom to a five-year old daughter and living a giant lie. She can barely afford their ghetto apartment and all the men she dates run when they hear she comes with a child. She’s struggling and scared – and nowhere near where she thought she’d be at age thirty-one.

Her saving grace comes in the form of a tall, handsome and wealthy Scotsman Bram McGregor, the older brother of her friend Linden. Bram understands a thing or two about pride, so when tragic circumstances place Nicola at rock bottom, he offers them a place to live in the apartment complex he owns. It’s pretty much the perfect deal, so as long as she doesn’t mind living beside Bram, a man that, despite his generosity, seems to antagonize her at every turn.

But nothing in life is free and as Nicola gets her feet back on the ground, she discovers that the enigmatic playboy may end up costing her more than she thought.

She might just lose her heart.

Those McGregor brothers are nothing but trouble...

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25479422-the-offer

BUY ON AMAZON!

EXCERPT

When reality starts to fade in a bit, I find myself being walked to the door of my apartment building, my arms draped over both Kayla and Steph. We go up the stairs and now I’m standing in front of my door, wobbling back and forth, trying my hardest to look as sober as possible.
Steph goes to knock on the door but it’s already open. I guess we are being loud, giggling, in the hallway.
Bram looks at the three of us and my God is he a sight for sore eyes.
“We brought her home,” Steph says, motioning with her hand for Bram to get out of the way, “your shift is over.”
“No,” I tell them as they shuffle me inside. “He can stay.”
I know the three of them are exchanging a look over my head.
“I’ll make sure she goes to bed,” Bram explains. “No funny business, I swear.”
“Pinky swear?” Steph says and I turn to see her holding out her pinky to him. “You know I don’t break those.”
Ugh, Steph and her damn pinky swears. She wouldn’t even be married to Linden if it weren’t for one.
But Bram does a pinky swear with her.
“No funny business,” Steph warns him.
“Good thing I’m not funny!” I yell as I flop down on the couch. The room is beginning to spin.
“Nic, that was, like, five minutes ago,” Steph says. She reaches over the couch and pats my head. “Do you want us to undress you because Bram’s not allowed.”
“No one undresses me but me!” I yell, throwing my fist up into the air.
“Have fun with her,” Steph says to Bram. “And remember, she’s untouchable. Don’t make me make your brother punch you in the junk or something.”
Bram makes a scoffing noise. “Last time he tried to do that, I got him back good. You just ask him what happened on January 16th, 2005 and why he’ll never eat pudding again.”
“I mean it,” Steph threatens and I hear her and Kayla leave and the door closing.
I close my eyes too. Drift away for a moment. The spinning has stopped and there’s a beautifully cool breeze wafting over my skin.
“I’m not supposed to touch you,” Bram’s gruff voice says and when I open my eyes, he’s crouched in front of me, a lock of dark hair over his forehead. His face is shadowy in the dark, the only light now being from my bedroom behind him.
“That’s okay,” I mumble into the couch. “You can touch me. I say it’s fine.”
“How about I bring you something to sleep in? Do you have a favorite nightshirt? I always see you in that top that your nipples try and poke right through.”
“No, not the nipple shirt.”
He goes to get up. With a lazy hand, I grip his shirt. “Don’t leave. I’m fine here.”
“I can’t imagine you being comfortable.”
“I’m drunk. Everything is comfortable. Except I wish I had a cheeseburger. I would eat it and use it as a pillow. Or maybe use it as a pillow and then eat it.”
“I see.”
I raise my brow at him. “You just want to go through my underwear.”
“Oh, I’ve already gone through your underwear.”
“Lies.”
“I wore them on my head and danced around your apartment.”
“Did you really?” I ask, totally serious.
“Come on,” he says grabbing my forearms. “If you want to sleep in your clothes, that’s fine. But I’m bringing you to your own bed and taking off your shoes.”
“Can you brush my teeth too? I need clean teeth.” I let him pull me to my feet and I pitch to the left, heading right for the coffee table. But I’m in his arms, his capable arms, and he’s holding me to him.
“You have capable arms.”
“You have an exquisite arse,” he responds and half leads me, half drags me out of the living area and into the bedroom.
“I like the way you say arse,” I say with a giggle, exaggerating his accent. “I like the way you say everything.”
“I’m glad, because I foresee a lot of arse talk in the future.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I try and swat him away. “All talk and no arse pinching.”

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.

LINKS: FACEBOOK TWITTER GOODREADS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Review: "The Kiss of Deception" (The Remnant Chronicles, #1) by Mary E. Pearson

Saturday, June 13, 2015

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

BUY ON AMAZON

REVIEW

A story of mystery, amazing worldbuilding and romance! Princess Lia escapes her life as a First Daughter, a title brd to her through tradition, and along with her trusted maid Pauline Lia escapes into a village.

But an assassin and the prince she was suppossed to marry trail after her. Who is who? And why Lia is hearing strange voices in the winds?

The fascination for this book began after I found it out on GoodReads. Eager to get my own, I waited a year! And luckily we are also close to the release of the second book! Let's begin with the basic:

We have six POVs: Lia, the assassin, the prince, Kaden, Raffe nd one for Pauline. There is no way for you to get trouble on the reading proccess. Instead the whole book is the puzzle you must solve if you want to know who is who and with whom Lia will end. There is also no love triangle which makes me extremly happy. At the same time there is a vast description, through poems and songs and traditions about the world and the 3 kingdoms which surround it. The map on the hardcover edition was quite helpful!

Lia is a girl with firey spirit and despite her closed life as a princess, she dares to explore the new and discover her own abilities. I cannot say much for the male characters, since I don't want to spoil you, but you should know that no one is who he seems!
Overall this is an amzing book, of which I expect to see even more after the cliffhanger I got!

2015 is the year of cliffhangers it seems.

About the author:

I suppose I have always been enamored with story and character. My mother tells me I could be the most annoying little kid, waking up each day as a new character. Every morning she would have to ask me "who" I was for that day, because unless properly addressed I refused to answer anyone.

One time when I was about four years old, my parents were out shopping at Sears. They each thought the other had me by the hand when in fact I was exploring my own aisle (translation: I was lost!) Two salesladies found me and sat me on the counter, asking me my name so they could page my parents. I remember their consternation when I would only answer "Little Red Riding Hood." They couldn't shake my real name out of me no how, no way. I knew the value of persistence even then. My parents say they nearly fell over, when over the loud speaker they heard, "Would the parents of Little Red Riding Hood please come claim their child?" They knew exactly "who" was lost. These days I mostly wake up as myself, though I do seem to hang out with a lot of "characters" during the day.

Usually when people mention their education in their bios they only mention their college degrees, but to me, it is just as important what happened way before that. Wow--second grade! I will never forget Mrs. Alsenz. Boy, could she tell a great story! She would make them up and pretty soon have a classroom of wiggly kids exuberantly telling stories right along with her. And then there was Mrs. Bonsey in fourth grade. She always praised my writing and made a shy little girl feel like she might actually excel at something. And finally in twelfth grade came Mr. Kirk, crusty on the outside with a heart of gold on the inside, who loved the English language and taught his students to do the same. (Hey, Mr. Kirk, do you see me waving at ya?)

Later I went on to get a BFA from Long Beach State University in art. I worked for a time as an artist then started the most challenging job of my life--motherhood. Holy smokes, no one told me there would be no coffee breaks. But it is the most rewarding job I have ever had (watch out--I'll start dragging out the pictures)

Still later, I went to San Diego State University where I received my teaching credential. I went on to teach many different grades but it was my second grade students who pushed me back into writing. During Writing Workshop I would sit with them and write, loving the process, loving the stories, and lo and behold deciding I would love to return to my first love. That's a whole lot of lovin' going on and luckily for me I was able to do just that. Not that writing is easy. I have a huge stack of rejections to prove it, but I still have enough of that Little Red Riding Hood persistence in me to keep on going.

Now I write full time from my home in San Diego. My books to date are The Adoration of Jenna Fox, A Room on Lorelei Street, Scribbler of Dreams, and David v. God. More are definitely on the way.

Cover Reveal: "Their Fractured Light" by Meagan Spooner, Amie Kaufman

I think that htis day is one of the best! I found out about a cvoer reveal of a very, very loved series of mine!!! Check out the third installment of "These Broken Stars" Trilogy!

Summary from GoodReads

A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.

Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.

Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.

When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THE AMAZING COVERS! (click them for more details and PRE-ORDER the third one!)

Feature and Follow #257

Friday, June 12, 2015

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow me and them to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code at the host blogs and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Question of the Week:

If you can step into one characters shoes (in a book) and be them for a day who would it be and why? Also if you want to be creative, what scene? - Suggested by Seeing Night Book Reviews.

My answer:

If I were to be one heroine from a book, I would like to be Yelena from the "Study" series. She begins as a prisoner and despite her tortured past she becomes strong, saves her world and of course falls in love. VALEK FOREVER!

A particular scene I remember from the series is when Yelena, tries to woo Valek and he instead thinks she is drunk. Very funny scene and emotional. ;)

Click the covers for more details:

Another great heroine I would like to be is Celaena from "Throne of Glass" series. Not only she is strong, she likes books, dresses and she gets to have Chaol! My top scene is from "Crown of Midnight" when she realizes her feelings for him as they dance together.