Giveaway! Nobody and Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Thanks to Egmont USA and Media Master Publicity, I have two great books to giveaway to one lucky winner!

About the Books:

Nobody (January 22^nd, 2013) 

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.  That’s why they make the perfect assassins. 

 The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated. Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. 

 Nix is a killer.  Claire is his target. But from the moment he sets eyes on her, everything changes, because only the two of them can truly see each other – and two Nobodies are more than twice as dangerous as one.

Every Other Day (Paperback: January 22^nd 2013)

Every other day, Kali D’Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She argues with her father. She’s human. And then every day in between . . . she’s something else entirely. Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism. When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her, and unfortunately she’ll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive . . . and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

About Jennifer Lynn Barnes:

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the author of the popular Raised by Wolves series. A former competitive cheerleader, teen model, and comic book geek, she wrote her first book at the age of nineteen. She just completed her PhD in developmental psychology at Yale University and has returned to her native Oklahoma to teach at the University of Oklahoma. You can visit her online at www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com or follow her on Twitter @jenlynnbarnes.

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Review: The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer

The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer

Release Date: August 28^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 288

Publisher: Edgemont

Source: NetGalley

Mia's ordinary life is disrupted in the most horrifying way possible when she is possessed by a hungry and powerful demon--and only saved by the arrival of relatives from Italy, the country her grandfather fled many decades ago. Now her cousins Emilio and Giuliano say the only way to keep her safe is for her to come back with them to Milan, to live, to learn Italian, to fall in and out of love, and to master the family trade: fighting all demons with the lore of bell, book, and candle. Milan is not what Mia expected, but it will change her forever, in this stunningly well-written novel about an American girl who, fleeing an ancient evil, finds her only salvation in her ancestral home.

The Demon Catchers of Milan premise was really interesting, and I was really excited to start this book. The world Kat Beyer created was really interesting. I was really curious to see where the story would be going, and what would happen to Mia. Yet, there were so many things that annoyed me with this book. The thing is, I was hoping for more, and I felt left down by the end of the book.

Am I the only one who was a little confused by the characters relationship? I never seemed to remember who was whose cousin or brother. I was also a little lost, since everyone keeps Mia in the dark, keeping us also in the dark about the truth of what’s going on.

The thing is, I felt like there was no real point to the book. I was hoping for an amazing story, with an ending that would leave me begging for more. Yet, I felt like this book was mostly an introduction to a world Kat Beyer created. We were left without real ending, without real finality in this book. I’m curious as to what will the sequel will be about, but I don’t think I’ll be reading it. The book, as interesting the premises sounded, didn’t work for me.

I’ll be looking forward to see what else Kat Beyer will be writing, but this series (if it is a series. I’m not even sure) won’t be on my reading list. Some will enjoy it, but it simply wasn’t the case for me.

Review: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Hourglass #2

Release Date: June 12^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 336

Publisher: Edgemont USA

Source: NetGalley

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

 

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

 

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

 

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

 

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

I had been waiting for Timepiece ever since I had first read Hourglass. I had quickly fallen in love with the story Myra McEntire had created, and I was so excited to hear that Kaleb was narrating this book. When I saw that Edgemont had made an eARC of this book on NetGalley, It think I screamed. I was so happy to finally be able to read it. I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of reading on my eReader (I usually read my ebooks on my computer), but I simply couldn’t stop reading this one, even though my eReader always gives me an headache.

Let’s start with Em and Michael. I have to say that I didn’t like Emerson in this one as much as I did in Hourglass. I found her to be too much about Michael, all the time. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t as impressed with Michael as I had been in the first book (I really was mad at him for acting the way he did with Kaleb.)

Now Kaleb, on the other way, charmed me completely. I love the fact that we got to see what was going on in his head. We got to see that he is more complex than we may have thought in Hourglass. I found him to be so interesting. Of course, I can’t forget Lily, who really added something to Kaleb’s presence in the novel. I love how well she balance him, how she keeps challenging him all the time. I’m curious now to see if Kaleb will be narrating the third novel, or if we will get inside someone else’s head.

Myra McEntire’s writing was perfect for me. She was able to captivate me from the beginning, and I simply couldn’t put it down. There is something in this series that made me addicted. Another thing I love about this book is that it didn’t fall into the category of a “bridge” between book one and the followings. Many book number two feels incomplete to me, yet this one felt complete.

Overall, I’m in love with Myra McEntire’s novels. I’m already dying to read the next book, even though, it isn’t completely written yet. If you’ve enjoyed Hourglass, I do believe you will enjoy this sequel.

Waiting On Wednesday (24)

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly Meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine. It is an opportunity for us to show books we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week, I'm waiting for:

Title: Timepiece
Author: Myra McEntire
Release Date: June 12, 2012
Publisher: Edgemont USA

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong? 

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devestating results. 

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough... 

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

Loved Hourglass. I simply can't wait for the sequel.

Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Title: Hourglass

Author: Myra McEntire

Series: Hourglass

Release Date: June 14^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 400

Publisher: Edgemont USA

Source: Bought

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

I simply can’t believe this book has been on one of my shelves for this long. Wow. I was nicely pleased with this book. I thought I would simply start this book before going to work, as I had an hour to kill at Starbucks. This was seriously a mistake. Why? Because I didn’t want to put this book down. I came back home at 10:00pm and I kept on reading this book until I was done. It didn’t matter I was working the next morning. I had to read this book. I had to know what would happen next!

The story Myra McEntire wrote was simply beautifully crafted. It was captivating and nicely written. She created characters that were able to keep us guessing, to keep us entertained.

Emerson was really great. I love how she was able to deal with the rips before she met Michael, even though it probably wasn't fun for her. I would have gone crazy with that (imagine seeing some kind of ghosts, which of course aren’t seen by anyone else.)

Her brother and his wife were so sweet. I find Emerson really lucky to have a sibling like him. He was just always there for her, even though he had his own life, his own wife. His wife was so nice with Emerson. There was also Lily that I though Em was lucky to have. She was simply there for her, no matter what happened in the past.

Now, there’s Michael. Wow. He made me swoon and he made me so angry at the same time. I wasn’t always sure what were his intentions. Yet, it was clear that he felt something for Emerson. That’s one of the reason I like him that much. All the little things that happened before those two during the novel. I really liked him, and I really liked with Emerson.

Now, the last character I want to talk about, it’s Kaleb. I loved him! I can’t wait to read Timepiece, as he will narrate it. He simply made me laugh, especially when we saw a little bit of Kaleb-Emerson-Michael interaction.

Myra McEntire really made me fall in love with her series. I’m now dying to read the sequel, so I can know what will happen next to her amazing characters!