Blink Once Review

Blink Once

-       Cylin Busby

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Copy Courtesy of Bloomsbury

West is a high school senior who has everything going for him until an accident leaves him paralyzed. Strapped down in his hospital bed, slipping in and out of consciousness, West is terrified and alone. Until he meets Olivia.
She's the girl next door—sort of. A patient in the room next to his, only Olivia can tell what West is thinking, and only Olivia seems to know that the terrible dreams he's been having are not just a result of his medication. Yet as West comes to rely on Olivia—to love her, even—certain questions pull at him: Why has Olivia been in the hospital for so long? And what does it mean that she is at the center of his nightmares? But the biggest question of all comes when West begins to recover and learns that the mysterious girl he's fallen in love with has a secret he could never have seen coming

West wakes up in hospital unable to move. He can hear what is going around him but can’t communicate with the nurses, the doctors or his mother. That is until the girl in the next room, Olivia stops by and suggests he can talk by blinking yes or no. Soon Olivia is the one that is keeping West going through all the trials of hospital life, but she is keeping secrets of her own. Secrets that could break apart their fragile relationship...

Finding yourself trapped in your own body, unable to move, unable to talk is one of the scariest things I can imagine – and it terrifies me even more after reading Blink Once. The description of what West feels as he discovers what happened to him and how much has changed is raw and as such very moving. Not being able to ask questions, just learning slowly from what people say what happened – not even sure if people are aware you are awake. I found that haunting and heartbreaking.

The relationship with Olivia is the centre of the story with two people so ill managing to find something special within such a hopeless ward. Olivia is mysterious and moody, but she seems to instinctively understand West and their conversations are really the core of West’s life now. His mother’s visits and his old friends give a contrast of the person West used to be and that they all want back, but Olivia seems to understand who he is now. The final third of the book explores more the mystery behind their relationship and asks whether it survive.

This is a thought-provoking and emotional tale about relationships that define certain parts of our lives. I found the first half of the book the stronger part – and definitely more creepy, but there is a satisfying conclusion that could need tissues!

Recommended for fans of Sophie McKenzie and Jenny Han. 8.5 out of 10

Throwback Thursday #66 - A Game of Thrones

This is a great feature that Melissa at My World...in words and pictures has been doing for a while and I wanted to jump on board! There are plenty of books out there I desperately want...

But what about all those wonderful books that are ALREADY on my shelves?

 

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.
Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't read this series yet! I bought it on kindle last year (the size of the paper version meant that this was a necessity when you do most of your reading on the train!), but to be honest I didn't spend much time wanting to read it until I started watching the mini-series. Wow. That series has so many great characters and I really want to check out the source material now!

 

So is the book worth reading...? :-)

 

 

What Shall I Read This October? + Winner

So what did you choose this month for me to read...? It was another close run thing this month with only a few votes in it...but in the end there can be only one! And the winner is ... Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix! Hopefully this will put me in the mood for Halloween!

The full results for those who like numbers and such:

Black Dust Mambo   - 38%
Lord of the Changing Winds  - 31%
Goddess of the Sea - 24%
Blond Bombshell - 7%

Look out for a review before October is over!

And who won their choice of book from my TBR pile? The winner is Mary P! Congratulations! I have sent an email asking for your book choice.

Fated Review

Fated (Alex Verus #1)

-          Benedict Jacka

Publisher: Orbit

Alex Verus is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London. And while Alex's own powers aren't as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future--allowing him to pull off operations that have a million-to-one-chance of success. But when Alex is approached by multiple factions to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever's inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none

A new urban fantasy set in London that is similar to the Dresden Files? How was I going to resist that? I am unashamedly biased towards my home town and any stories set there give me a little shiver of pleasure and pride – especially when the details are done right.

Upon meeting Alex Verus for the first time, we find a relatively isolated mage living in Camden who happens to be able to divine multiply future probabilities and learn from them. After some trouble in his past, he keeps mostly to himself and tries not to get involved in the magical community too much. That is until several parties want to use his gifts in order to retrieve a rare item and his almost-apprentice brings him a special type of magical object…suddenly Alex is a very popular man and it might just get him killed.

This is the first in a new series and there is a lot of world building as Alex introduces us to his world. The beginning of the book especially has a lot of ‘to a mages eyes the world looks different’ phrases that can throw you out of the story as you are being told rather than shown the differences. However, this soon settles down and we really get to see the world. Alex’s gift for divining the future is a little erratic – it only works when he concentrates on it so he can be surprised – and would make for a dull book otherwise! While I liked Alex I never really felt like I got to know him particularly well. Some of the smaller characters really stood out – I loved Luna and her curse makes live very interesting while Archane makes me almost like spiders again. In later books I would love for Alex to let his guard down a bit more and relax so we can get to know him better.

The story is pretty quick with plenty of different scenes and some really interesting concepts – the dream walking and labyrinth in the relic are wonderfully described – I almost felt like I watching a film at time. They had very cinematic aspects to them and I can’t help thinking Alex Verus would make a wonderful movie hero – similar to Nicholas Cage in National Treasure! Overall, this is a decent to a new series – and like some of my favourite series has a lot of potential. Both the Dresden Files and Kate Daniels books weren’t strong starts to the series but rough cuts to what have become must-buy books. I think this has the same sort of potential and I will be looking forward to the next book in the series, Cursed which is currently sitting on my TBR pile…

Recommended for fans of the Dresden Files and Ilona Andrews. 7 out of 10

Same Book/Different Cover - Uglies

This is an occasional feature where I compare different covers of the same book...while usually I compare foreign edition, this particular book has be re-published so many times if I included all the copies we could be here all night! So what's the book this month?

It's actually a book I haven't read yet but has been sitting on my TBR pile for a few months - Uglies by Scott Westerfield. I've heard plenty of positive reviews and the range of different covers available are intriguing...I've only picked six or so of the covers that are available - it seems that since first published Uglies has had a lot of reprints in different covers!

UK 2005 Cover

US 2005 Cover

UK Cover 2006

US Cover 2011

UK Cover 2012

Bulgarian Cover 

UK 2005 Cover: I actually find this one a little creepy - the different doll parts in the surgery tray...very scary!
US 2005 Cover: The girl in close up, partly hidden by the grass...hmmm....a little boring for me, but it does have a slight hint of raptor in Jurassic Park - not sure if that was the intent though!
UK 2006 Cover: This is brash and bold - with the red background and different scenes in the silhouette it looks like an action film poster - almost James Bond-esque!
US 2011 Cover: A white sheet over the girls face so she doesn't look real and those blue finger-nails...this is another creepy one!
UK 2012 Cover: This is very subtle with the eye in the letters and the scalpel cutting the 'E', but to be honest I think it is a little dull. Plus the obligatory Hunger Games references doesn't do much for me!
Bulgarian Cover: I had to include this one as it's so different from the other covers - it looks very Sci-Fi - almost War of the World-like with the girl running and the airships/flying saucers searching. Makes me wonder even more what the story is like... 

My Verdict: I actually like a lot of these covers but I am most drawn to the UK 2006 Cover - what can I say? I like action movies! :-)

What was your favourite?

Early Review: Breathe

Breathe

-       Sarah Crossan

Publisher: Bloomsbury - Released on 11th October 2012

Arc copy courtesy of Bloomsbury

When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from?

Engrossed from the first page, I read Breathe in one day – practically unheard of in recent memory! The story is compelling, the characters enticing and the world full of possibilities. After an environmental disaster people live in a dome, breathing manufactured air and paying for all oxygen they use. Society is divided by those who can afford to exercise and see some natural light at the border of the dome and those who have to pay for every energetic gesture. Alina is a member of an underground movement who wants to bring back trees and plants, Bea has lived by the rules all her life but has just learned she may never reach the upper levels of society, while Quinn was born into privilege but is determined to prove himself. Together they discover the truth and hope they can make a change to their world...

The writing is so involving – I lost all sense of my journey to work and lived and breathed with these characters. One element that I loved was how the characters all worry about things that teenager worry about – who am I? What do I do with my life? At the same time their romantic wants and desires are very relatable and makes them very human. I wanted to befriend them all as they all have different journeys. Quinn definitely starts out as the youngest of the three – the one with the least worries, but his development shows the making of the man he will become. These teens are not the best at what they do – but they try hard and that makes them appealing. I especially like Bea as she had tried so hard all her life in order to prove herself and live by the rules only to find that sometimes things are stacked against you no matter how hard you try.

There is some real jeopardy at time especially when the breathing masks run low on oxygen and it does make you feel grateful for every unregulated breath! There are some big changes towards the end of the book – and perhaps there are a lot of lucky coincidences for each of the leads, but the story ends in a very different place from where it began.  

This is a Young Adult dystopian that manages to include many coming of age queries, but without hammering it home. The story and characters are great fun – it’s going to be a very long wait for the next book in the trilogy! Perhaps the most enjoyable dystopian adventure this year – I would heartily recommend picking this book up!

Recommended for fans of Veronica Rossi and Maria V Synder. 9 out of 10

My Book Haul / Showcase Sundays

I've decided to join Books, Biscuits and Tea's Showcase Sunday to share my lovely book hauls each week. Have a look back at Vicki's link up to see what everyone is up too!

Fury's Kiss (Dorina Basarab #3) - Karen Chance

Publisher: Penguin

Dorina Basarab is a dhampir—half-human, half-vampire. Subject to uncontrollable rages, most dhampirs live very short, very violent lives. But so far, Dory has managed to maintain her sanity by unleashing her anger on those demons and vampires who deserve killing...
Dory is used to fighting hard and nasty. So when she wakes up in a strange scientific lab with a strange man standing over her, her first instinct is to take his head off. Luckily, the man is actually the master vampire Louis-Cesare, so he’s not an easy kill.  It turns out that Dory had been working with a Vampire Senate task force on the smuggling of magical items and weaponry out of Faerie when she was captured and brought to the lab. But when Louis-Cesare rescues her, she has no memory of what happened to her.  To find out what was done to her—and who is behind it—Dory will have to face off with fallen angels, the maddest of mad scientists, and a new breed of vampires that are far worse than undead

I've always enjoyed Karen Chance's fast paced Urban Fantasy (not least because of the time travel and historical characters she throws in!) so I had this on pre-order ages ago. And then I completely forgot about it so I was very excitd when this turned this week! :-)

The Hallowed Ones - Laura Bickle

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community?

Laura Bickle has written some of my favourite UF books in the last couple of years and now she's turned her attention to YA dystopia. This was another pre-order from ages ago but I didn't forget it it was coming and hope to start it soon! :-)

The Gunslinger (Dark Tower #1) - Stephen King

Publisher: Hodder

He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which frighteningly mirrors our own, Roland pursues The Man in Black, encounters an alluring woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the Kid from Earth called Jake.

Now, I read the Dark Tower Series over a few years a long time ago, but I did enjoy it. My least favourite book of the series is probably The Gunslinger and I very nearly didn't pick up the second book (Luckily a reduced book offering overcame my reluctance to start The Drawing of the Three). However, Stephen King has since gone back and re-written parts of The Gunslinger and this is the new version. Plus it has a gorgeous cover which I adore. I think I will try to pick up the whole set in these covers cos at the moment my books are a variety of sizes, shapes and covers!

Darklands (Deadtown #4) - Nancy Holzner

Publisher:Ace

They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its border—but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…
Boston’s demons have been disappearing, and Vicky’s clients are canceling left and right. While fewer demons might seem like a good thing, Vicky suspects foul play. A missing Celtic cauldron from Harvard’s Peabody museum leads her to an unwelcome conclusion: Pryce, her demi-demon cousin and bitter enemy, is trying to regain his full powers. But Pryce isn’t alone. He’s conjured another, darker villain from Vicky’s past. To stop them from destroying everything she loves, she’ll have to face her own worst fear—in the realm of the dead itself.

I ordered this as soon as my book buying ban ended! I loved the first two books in the Deadtown series so I'm looking forward to catching up with Vicky!

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

Publisher: Walker Books

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.

This is another book I bought with my birthday vouchers...I think it's going to make me cry though!

So what did you pick up this week?