Review: Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

Title: Blackmoore
Author: Julianne Donaldson
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads rating: 4.27 out of 5.00
Goodreads | The Reading Room

Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead—if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured—and rejected—three marriage proposals.

Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

Set in Northern England in 1820, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to follow her heart. It is Wuthering Heights meets Little Women with a delicious must-read twist.

Review by Nara

Discussion: Villains in Contemporary Novels + A Completely Unnecessary Quiz

The time has come again for another discussion post with Nara! And in signature Nara style, I'll include a short quiz as well. Because, why not? It's more fun that way :)

Bookish Survey: Cast a Harry Potter Spell

So, this is an AWESOME survey that Jasmine at Flip That Page thought of. Basically, you cast a Harry Potter spell on a book (the title was probs self explanatory, but whatever haha). Chantelle and I are going to do this chat style again, and we're just tackling the first half of the survey today. The second half will probably go up next week sometime.

ARC Review: The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: November 1, 2013 (Aus); October 29 (US)
Source: Harlequin TEEN Australia and Harlequin TEEN via NetGalley. Thanks!

Goodreads rating: 4.28 out of 5.00
Goodreads | The Reading Room

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice. 

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

Review by Nara

Review: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Title: Never Fade
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Paranormal
Release Date: November 1, 2013 (Aus)
Source: HarperCollins Australia. Thank you!
Goodreads | The Reading Room

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis. Other kids in the Children's League call Ruby 'Leader', but she knows what she really is - a monster. When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet - leaving the Children's League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America's children - and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts - has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place - in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future and who now wouldn't recognize her. As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam, she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself.

Review by Nara

The Liebster Award

So, Chantelle and I were nominated for Liebster award by Annie of The Runaway Reader. However, as this blog has more than 200 followers, we actually aren't eligible for the award! Still, in acknowledgement of being nominated, we're going to answer Annie's questions anyway. We won't be nominating anyone further though, because we technically don't have the award. So, without further ado: here are the answers to Annie's questions!

Review: Resist by Sarah Crossan

Title: Resist (Breathe #2)
Author: Sarah Crossan
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Source: Bloomsbury Sydney. Thank you!
Goodreads | The Reading Room

The sequel—and conclusion—to Sarah Crossan's Breathe. Three teen outlaws must survive on their own in a world without air, exiled outside the glass dome that protects what's left of human civilization. Gripping action, provocative ideas, and shocking revelations in a dystopian novel that fans of Patrick Ness and Veronica Roth will devour.

Bea, Alina, and Quinn are on the run. They started a rebellion and were thrown out of the pod, the only place where there's enough oxygen to breathe. Bea has lost her family. Alina has lost her home. And Quinn has lost his privileged life. Can they survive in the perilous Outlands? Can they finish the revolution they began? Especially when a young operative from the pod's Special Forces is sent after them. Their only chance is to stand together, even when terrible circumstances force them apart. When the future of human society is in danger, these four teens must decide where their allegiances lie. Sarah Crossan has created a dangerous, and shattered society in this wrenching, thought-provoking, and unforgettable post-apocalyptic novel.

Review by Nara

ARC Review: Parasite by Mira Grant

Title: Parasite (Parasitology #1)
Author: Mira Grant
Genre: Adult, Science Fiction
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Goodreads | The Reading Room

A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them.

Review by Nara

Discussion + Quiz: The First Line

Hello people! Time for another discussion. This one is about first lines. And there's a nice little quiz for you to test your first-line-remembering-abilities.

Stacking the Shelves (The I Love HarperCollins Edition)

Okay, this haul is going to be rather large, but it's only going to include the HarperCollins eARCS received from Edelweiss in the last two or three weeks. Yes, you heard me correctly, EDELWEISS FINALLY APPROVED ME FOR SOMETHING. It seems that I've been whitelisted for all the HarperCollins titles, which is incredibly exciting! They have so many great titles, so I may have gone a bit wild hehe. Anyway, here it is:

Review: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Title: The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle Grade (although these later books tend more towards Young Adult), Fantasy
Goodreads | The Reading Room

The House of Hades is the fourth book in the bestselling Heroes of Olympus series, set in the action-packed world of Percy Jackson.

The stakes have never been higher. If Percy Jackson and Annabeth fail in their quest, there'll be hell on Earth. Literally.

Wandering the deadly realm of Tartarus, every step leads them further into danger. And, if by some miracle they do make it to the Doors of Death, there's a legion of bloodthirsty monsters waiting for them.

Meanwhile, Hazel and the crew of the Argo II have a choice: to stop a war or save their friends. Whichever road they take one thing is certain - in the Underworld, evil is inescapable.

Review by Nara

Horror October: Recommended Ghostly Reads

So for the second post as a part of Horror October, I thought I'd recommend some of the good ghost books I've read. Because you can't go past horror and Halloween and what not without ghosts. Oh, and if you missed the first introduction post I did with Chantelle here you go.

Horror October: Random Discussions About Horror

If you haven't heard of Horror October before, basically, it's an event organised by the lovely Leanne (WHO IS A FLIPPING PASTRY CHEF!) at Literary Excursion to celebrate everything horror- books, movies, whatever. So, to kick off Horror Month, in this incredibly riveting *cough* discussion that Chantelle and I had, we contemplate what makes a book scary, the books we've read that actually fit the genre of horror and other such things.

Review: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Title: Unbreakable (Legion #1)
Author: Kami Garcia
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: October 10, 2013 (Aus); October 1, 2013 (US)
Source: Simon & Schuster Australia. Thank you!
Goodreads | The Reading Room

Kennedy Waters didn't believe in ghosts, until one tried to kill her.

When Kennedy finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn't know that evil forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her house and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon - a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother's place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon - battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Review by Nara

Review: Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Title: Witchstruck (Tudor Witch Trilogy #1)
Author: Victoria Lamb
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Magic
Release Date: 24th September, 2013
Source: Harlequin Teen via NetGalley
Goodreads | The Reading Room

If she sink, she be no witch and shall be drowned. If she float, she be a witch and must be hanged. 

Meg Lytton has always known she is different;that she bears a dark and powerful gift. But in 1554 England, in service at Woodstock Palace to the banished Tudor princess Elizabeth, it has never been more dangerous to practice witchcraft. Meg knows she must guard her secret carefully from the many suspicious eyes watching over the princess and her companions. One wrong move could mean her life, and the life of Elizabeth, rightful heir to the English throne. With witchfinder Marcus Dent determined to have Meg's hand in marriage, and Meg's own family conspiring against the English queen, there isn't a single person Meg can trust. Certainly not the enigmatic young Spanish priest Alejandro de Castillo, despite her undeniable feelings. But when all the world turns against her, Meg must open her heart to a dangerous choice. The Secret Circle meets The Other Boleyn Girl in Witchstruck ,the first book of the magical Tudor Witch trilogy.

Review by Nara