COVER REVEAL: The Rose Master by Valentina Cano

Hey Everyone!

Here is the cover reveal for Valentina Cano's The Rose Master. I am honestly excited to go and buy this when it is available! I hope everyone thinks this cover is as perfect as it is. I can't wait to hold this book in my hands and enjoy every second of it!

Here's the blurb!

The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that's hardly the most upsetting news. She's being dismissed from the home she's served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she's never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:

There's something wrong with Rosewood Manor.

Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.

As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them--some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on harming her.

When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn't prepared for. The creature is very real, and she's the only one who can help him stop it. 

Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she's grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.

Sounds chilling doesn't it??? So excited to read this!

Want to get to know Valentina Cano a little bit? Here's some info!

Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who spends whatever free time she has either reading or writing. She also watches over a veritable army of pets, including her five, very spoiled, snakes. Her works have appeared in numerous publications and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Web. She lives in Miami, Florida.

Some LINKS!
Website
Twitter 
Facebook
Goodreads
REUTS Site

Mila 2.0 Review (Both Books)

Hey Everyone!

I have a review for Mila 2.0 and it's sequel Renegade. I was given a copy for review from HarperCollins via the Fantastic Flying Book Club. So thank you to that! Read to the end to enter the giveaway to be able to win one of two sets of Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza.

BOOK DETAILS

Renegade (MILA 2.0 #2)
by Debra Driza
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: May 13th 2014

Synopsis:

There is no one left for Mila to trust. Except for a boy she barely knows.

But Hunter has no idea who—and what—Mila really is. She can’t bear to reveal her secret, even though he’s unwittingly joined her search for Richard Grady, a man who may know more details of Mila’s complicated past.

Yet the road to the truth is more dangerous than ever. With General Holland and the Vita Obscura scouring the earth for her whereabouts, Mila must rely on her newfound android abilities to protect herself and Hunter from imminent harm. Still, embracing her identity as a machine leads her to question the state of her humanity—as well as Hunter’s real motives.

Perfect for fans of I Am Number Four and Divergent, this action-packed and heart-wrenching second installment of MILA 2.0 will leave readers breathlessly awaiting the series conclusion.

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

Mila 2.0: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10222362-mila-2-0

Origins (Novella): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16118288-origins

BOOK LINKS:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10222365-renegade?ac=1

Amazon Paperback: http://tinyurl.com/oojebo8Amazon Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/o2fwbw8

Barnes & Noble (B&N): http://tinyurl.com/pn8ljtv

iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/pbfv4u8

Bookdepository: http://tinyurl.com/neujdh8

Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/okw9jmu

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I'm the author of the MILA 2.0 series and the owner of the messiest purse on the planet, aka: the black hole of doom. I think bow ties are cool and when I grow up, I want to be Veronica Mars.

I rarely check my account at Goodreads, so if you need to get in touch with me, try twitter or Debra at debradriza.com.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.debradriza.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4581947.Debra_Driza

Blog: http://www.houndrat.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebraDriza

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Debra-Driza/206985942667716

I read both book this week and was sort of underwhelmed by the both of them. I was so excited to read the both of them since they sounded pretty fantastic, however, I didn't see it that way. I wasn't able to get into Mila's story in either book since I feel like I've read a thousand and one robot/cyborg type stories. I just wasn't ready for another one, I suppose. I loved the beginning of the series with Hunter and whatnot, but when she was thrown out of the truck, it's just--- I-- there was nothing for me.

The writing was good, yes, but the story and I did not connect in the ways that I wished we could have connected. I wanted to read it because I am a huge fan of Divergent by Veronica Roth, but I was just-- no substance. Are you making sense of this review? I just didn't care for it, it's weird because I always love books. Normally, I love every book I read and looks so good, but this one. I couldn't get into. Maybe it was the fact that it's a bit hectic in my personal life right now with school, but I still was not feeling it. I plan on rereading both books one day, but for now, this review sticks. I did not like it.

On top of it all, I felt like there wasn't much going on. It was like those situations where it goes "Oh they're here... now they're there and a random character joins them." You know those books, don't lie. 

Follow the Blog Tour!

Don't be completely turned off by my review of the series, but these are my feelings. They're well written, but like I said, crazy hectic right now. Go ahead and enter to win the giveaway! May the odds be ever in your favor! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant by Veronica Roth is the last book in the Divergent trilogy. This book follows the points of view of both Beatrice "Tris" Prior and Tobias "Four" Eaton as they continue their conquest of getting freedom back.

In this book, we learn more about the back story of Tris's family such as Edith Prior who we learned about briefly at the end of Insurgent. The back story of her life was really interesting to learn about and made me feel that connection I have been wanting, but I quickly felt distanced due to the switching points of view.

I gave this book four cups of tea for a few reasons. One of the reasons was the switching points of view. Though I did enjoy how Roth wrote this, I am still not a fan of the points of view going back and forth. I felt lost at times not knowing who was narrating at times. I just like being in the know and having the consistency of the one character narrating it. The other reason was the ending, I know why Roth ended it like she did, but I grew so close to these characters that I just wish I had the sense of the happy ending.

I also felt like the chapters weren't as quality as the other books. They were sometimes a page long and I somehow didn't enjoy that. I like the simplicity of longer chapters with more depth. I do see that they started off longer and grew shorter as the book went on (was this purposeful?). 

All in all, I did think this was a good ending to a series, it was gut wrenching, but still fantastic nonetheless. I would recommend this book series to anyone who loves an action packed love story that takes place where things are not as they seem. Go check this out!

Camp NaNoWriMo 2014 Week 2

Hey Everyone!

Week two of Camp NaNoWriMo has begun and well, I haven't written a word. I wrote about 44, I think, actually. After I finish writing this post, I will most definitely be writing (I PROMISE). I think it's due to me being so emotionally drained from school being back in full swing. That taste of freedom a few weeks ago was what set me like that. Then, the weather is beginning to warm up again and it makes me want to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

So let's answer these questions....

How are you feeling at the moment?
Not so good. I am about 3,000 words behind so it is a fair reason to be a little uneasy. I have some catching up to do! Why am I so drained? 

Did your story take any unexpected turns?
Yeah, no.

How is your plot coming?
Click here to see my response from last week....haha.

Favorite character to write thus far?
Jameson. Despite not having written about him yet, I just have had these ideas festering in my head about him and I can't wait to insert him into the novel again. He's like my baby.

Anything you wish you could change?
My writing habits.

Current word count?
I am not even going to put this here because I am so ashamed of it....1695

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is about a boy named Jacob who spends an awful lot of time looking through his grandfather’s peculiar photos. The story really kicks off around the time of his grandfather’s untimely death.  Around this time, he travels to a small island off of Wales where the adventure truly begins.

This book was incredible; it was unlike anything I have ever read before. I love the way Riggs incorporated the photographs into the story because it gave a face and name to all these characters.  There were extremely odd ones, yes, but I loved how they had a back story behind them.

I loved the plot of the story. The idea that there is this mystical island where all the peculiar children of the world live is so fascinating. I often thought to myself while reading the book about what if something like this actually existed. This book made me want to live in this world and experience what Jacob was experiencing.

One thing I applaud of Riggs is the male protagonist. In the past year, I believe this is the first book I have read with a male protagonist. Most of the books I am recommended are all female heavy, but I love this. There isn’t really a romance in this and I adore that because it makes it different. Sure, there was a kiss, but it didn’t make a huge impact on Jacob’s life.

I think this book is well-written and funny. I was laughing out loud while reading this book and I hope whoever picks this book up next. I recommend this to those who love creepy photographs and a good story to go along with them.

Top 10 Tuesday (8 April 2014)

I did something a little different for this. I decided to do a YouTube video on this on my booktube channel, go ahead and check it out. I apologize to The Broke and the Bookish for saying the wrong blog name!

Camp NaNoWriMo Has Arrived!

Hey Everyone!

So as you see, Camp NaNoWriMo is upon us in this beautiful month of April. I am once again participating in hopes of working on my November NaNoWriMo novel.

I am currently working on my second draft and my word count goal is 15,000 words this month which equals 500 words per day.

If you don't know how Camp NaNoWriMo works, it is essentially the same thing as NaNoWriMo except it is on a different website and you can choose how many words you write instead of the standard 50,000. You also get a cabin where you talk to other members of the NaNoWriMo community as you work through the month.

Why did you choose 15,000 words?
The reason I chose the word count I did was for a simple fact. I don't have the time. Semester is beginning to wind down and I don't have the time. I also have harder classes this semester and I wanted to focus more on that than struggling to get almost 2,000 words per day. By writing 500 words a day, it gives me a more achievable goal.

How are you feeling at the moment?
I feel excited. Like I said last time, I am incredibly motivated. I love writing this story and I can't wait to go deeper with these characters which I have grown so close to in the past few months. I also have a stronger grasp on where I am going right now.

Did your story take any unexpected turns?
Not yet, I have a strong idea where I am going this time.

How is your plot coming?
Very well. I am moving it at a steady speed and hopefully it will continue to progress similarly.

Favorite character to write thus far?
Right now, it is Lysandra since she is the only character I have really written to right now. None of the others have been introduced yet, but I'm hoping to get more inside her head because I feel as if it was lacking last time.

Anything you wish you could change?
I keep calling the guards "the younger one" and "the older one." I need to rename them or something!

Current word count?
On track with 1,013