Sunday, February 10, 2013

Timekeeper (Timeless # 2) by Alexandra Monir Review

Name: Timekeeper (Timeless # 2)
Author: Alexandra Monir
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 8th, 2013
Format: E-book
Buy the book on Amazon
288 pages

Summary:
When Philip Walker appears as a new student in Michele Windsor's high school class, she is floored. He is the love she thought she lost forever when they said goodbye during her time travels last century. Overjoyed that they can resume the relationship they had a lifetime ago, Michele eagerly approaches him and discovers the unthinkable: he doesn't remember her. In fact, he doesn't seem to remember anything about the Philip Walker of 1910.
Michele then finds her father's journals, which tell stories of his time-traveling past. As she digs deeper, she learns about his entanglement with a mysterious and powerful organization called the Time Society and his dealings with a vengeful Windsor ancestor. Michele soon finds herself at the center of a rift over 120 years in the making, one whose resolution will have life-or-death consequences.
Alexandra Monir's Timekeeper combines breathtaking romance with a tale of complex magic in a sequel that will have every reader believing in the transcendent power of love.
Goodreads

My Review:

What a great sequel!  Although I cannot say that I enjoyed it quite as much as its predecessor, Timeless, I still enjoyed this book very much.  Leaving off right where the first book ended, Michele finds herself in a place where time seems to have caught up with her; instead of chasing the boy she loves throughout time, he shows up right where she is.  The love story in this sequel was definitely not as much of a focus as it was in the first book (which was, primarily, a love story), but the parts with Michele and the new Phillip were inherently sweet.

I loved how much we learned about Michele and being a member of the Time Society in this book.  After finding her father's journals, Michele learns much about both her parents and about the society.  I also enjoyed the mystery and action in this book.  There was a great plot that kept me wondering the entire time how Michele would be able to save herself, her family, and Phillip.  One thing that bothered me, however, was that I felt that the book just came together a little bit too easily.  Every single thing seemed to just fit in too perfectly: Phillip's arrival, the explanation of exactly who he is, and of course the dramatic ending.  Although I was glad to see such a happy ending, I did not find myself particularly surprised; instead, I had rather expected something along the lines of those events to occur throughout the book.  Although I still enjoyed reading it, my favorite books are always those that surprise me and are entirely unpredictable.

In the end, I thought both Timekeeper and the Timeless series in general were a great read!  I am not sure that I would ever call this one of my favorite books, but I am hard pressed to find myself disliking any quick, fun read with a little love story, action, and mystery.  And of course, the traveling through time was wonderful as well!  I would recommend both this book and the series if you are looking for a short, interesting read that delves into the whims, loves, and disasters of time.

My Rating:



Thursday, February 7, 2013

Follow Friday # 51

Hi everyone..Happy Friday!! Follow and Feature Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.



Hi everyone!! I hope you all are having a great week! Sorry for the lack of commenting on everyone's blogs lately...I'm trying my best but school is crazy! I rarely have even enough time to read! This weekend hopefully I will be doing some catching up in the blogging world! If I don't end up commenting back on your blog I am SUPER sorry..I do follow every blog that comments so if you think I didn't check out your blog don't be mistaken! Thanks for all the support everyone :)
Anyways..here's this week's question!
Q: Happy Mardi Gras! If they were throwing the HOTTEST books off a Mardi Gras float, what you do to have them thrown at you?

A:  Hmmm..maybe I would try to get to the front of the line? I'm not really sure what I would do in this situation...I think it depends on the book! :D

What's your answer?! Let us know in the comments!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Flukes by Nichole Chase Review

Name: Flukes
Author: Nichole Chase 
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 6th, 2012 
Format: E-Book
Buy the book on Amazon
162 pages

Summary:
THIS IS A NEW ADULT NOVEL AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH. SOME CONTENT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNG READERS.

Meena has a secret guarded closely by her family—a secret as dangerous as the sea, and buried just as deep. When court appointed community service workers are assigned to Flukes, the family-owned animal sanctuary, everyone is on high alert. It doesn’t help that Meena finds herself attracted to sexy-as-sin Blake Weathering, one of the new workers. If he wasn’t so distracting, she might be able to land Flukes a much-needed cruise line contract.

Blake Weathering, the first in his family to attend public school, has developed a tough image. Unfortunately it lands him in trouble. Now banned from his high school graduation ceremony, getting his diploma is dependent upon a community service gig cleaning fish crap. No diploma, no trust fund fortune—and no way to escape his overbearing father. The last thing he needs is the distraction of a mysterious girl with teal eyes who pulls at his heart strings.

When Blake discovers Meena’s secret, they are both thrown into a desperate search for information about her past. Two worlds pull them in opposite directions, and they will have to fight to hold onto all that really matters.



Goodreads

My Review:
I haven't really read any self published books in awhile..not because I haven't wanted too but I just haven't seen any ones that sparked my interest. I happened across Flukes on Amazon a couple of weeks ago and I decided to give it a shot. Overall, I was surprised on how much I enjoyed Flukes.

While the beginning of Flukes was a little bit rocky, I have to say eventually the book got progressively better and I think that this series really has the potential to be something great. What definitely worked for me in this book was how great the main character, Meena was. She is a very strong and independent character which I really liked. At first, I didn't think I was going to like Meena but I'm glad she turned out to be a really great character! Plot wise-this book was really short which was both good and bad. It was good because the plot moved along quickly and it was fun short read. I did think, however, the author could have expanded more on the plot and dragged out a few scenes that seemed kind of rushed.

The only thing that kind of bothered me about this book was the romance. It definitely was sort of "insta-love" which I didn't really like. I wish Meena and Blake had more development into their relationship instead of falling in love right away.

Overall, Flukes definitely has the potential to be a great series. With a little bit more plot development I can really see this series becoming something great. If your interested in reading any sort of mermaid type book check this book out!

My Rating:





Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday 83: Fragments (Partials Sequence # 2)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine


Name: Fragments (Partials Sequence # 2)
Author: Dan Wells
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: February 26th, 2013
564 pages
Add the book on Goodreads

Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence--it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means--and even more important, a reason--for our survival.

Goodreads

My Thoughts:
I loved the first book in this series and am so looking forward to this one! I can't wait to see what Kira learns about herself as she travels with a drifter and two Partials. Also, the summary makes it seem like some of the book will show what Marcus is up to at home, and I hope that's true!

What are you waiting for this week? Let me know in the comments!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Crash (Visions # 1) by Lisa McMann Review

Name: Crash (Visions # 1)
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 8th, 2013
Format: E-book
Buy the book on Amazon
256 pages

Summary:
If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.
What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.
The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.
In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.
Goodreads

My Review:

I had very high expectations for this book, and though it was not as excellent as I had hoped (at times, it was just mediocre), I still thought enjoyed reading this fun quick book by Lisa McMann!  Though the setup of the book is very different from her popular Wake series, her brilliant writing style still shines through in this fast-paced read.  I found the plot of this book to be very original.  Although at some points Jules seems to struggle with her own sanity, throughout most of the book she seems to be confident in her assertion that her vision is going to happen; she recognizes that the vision keeps changing as her actions change, and determines that the fate of the nine people in the body bags rests on her own shoulders—on the shoulders of a sixteen-year-old girl.

I really enjoyed the love story that was prevalent through the book.  Jules and Sawyer have a sort of Romeo and Juliet love: their families are rival pizza companies, which began when Sawyer's family stole the secret sauce recipe that Jules's family had originally created.  Now, while Sawyer's family's restaurant is thriving and loved by the entire town, Jules's family is struggling majorly, especially with her father's depression.  While this rivalry seems a little bit ridiculous (I mean, really?  That much angst over a sauce recipe?), McMann really makes it work.  Besides the fact that Jules and Sawyer act so much better when they are together, it is also nice to read a book where the two main characters are not kept apart because of some supernatural aspect, but for an actual reason that could occur in anybody's lives (well, anybody who owns a pizza restaurant, that is).

One thing that I wish McMann had expanded upon, however, was Jules's life at school.  Although she makes it clear that most of the other kids bully her for being antisocial and smelling like pizza, it seems as though something else must have happened between Jules and the other girls for them to be that mean to her.  It also would have been nice to see more about Jules's brother, Trey; he was definitely one of the most interesting characters in the book, and a look more into his life would have been greatly appreciated.  However, I still love the direct storytelling nature of McMann's writing, and her cliffhanger at the end of the book was very well created.  Overall, I enjoyed reading this quick book, and cannot wait to pick up the sequel when it comes out in October!

My Rating:



Friday, February 1, 2013

January Recap!

Hi everyone! I've decided to have a day at the end of the month where I give a recap on the books Catching Books has reviewed, what books we are waiting for, and any other interesting posts that I see in the Book Blogging World!

If you would like to have a post featured on one of our monthly recaps send us an email or tweet us on twitter!

Books Reviewed:
Reached by Ally Condie
Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Partials by Dan Wells
Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter
Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Books Received (via Publisher, Kindle, Purchased, Library, etc.)
Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

What we are SO excited for:
Shadow of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance

Trailer Talk:

Interesting Links/Blogging News:
We're going to BEA!! Jaime and I are headed to BEA this year for the second time and we are SO excited! If you are going to BEA let us know in the comments :)