The Way of Shadows

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

ISBN: 0316033677

Pages: 645

Source: Library
Appearance:

Summary:

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist. 
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.
But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

Hi guys! So I am finally reviewing this book. I honestly didn't plan on reviewing it after I had a big mind explosion after reading it. I was literally incoherent because my mind was just completely scattered across the world. But yeah, I decided to give it a try, so warning, I might not make a whole lot of sense.

The Way of Shadows follows the story of Azoth, a guild rat under the control of a malicious leader called Rat. Fitting huh? Azoth puts up with Rat and his evil works until one day he reached his maximum limit. He seeks out the help of Durzo Blint, the best wetboy (assasin) in town and pleads for him to accept Azoth as his apprentice. Durzo agrees on the contract that Azoth kills someone big, someone like Rat. It doesn't take much to say that Azoth accomplishes the requirement and from then on, he's no longer Azoth but Kylar Stern, a poor nobleman by day and assasin by night.

The beginning was pretty interesting, there was so much plotting, deceit, revenge, betrayal, all that fun stuff. There were so many different points of views at one point in the story that I got so completely confused, but it didn't matter anyway because by then I was so involved in the story. Even when there's nothing going on, or at least it feels like nothing is going on, the author somehow manages to still draw you in and keep you turning the pages. I'll admit, somewhere at half point, I was really bored out of my mind, but then there would be that subtle hint, that little drop of information that made me turn the page.

The ending was a complete train wreck for my brain. It was good, heck it was too good. Remember what I said in the paragraph above, beginning was good, middle was a bit boring, but the ending...gods, the ending was when the world fell apart. All those "mindless" plots from the beginning/middle wove themselves into Kylar's story, all the pieces fell into their place, and the whole freaking world came tumbling down. I literally could NOT turn the pages fast enough, I swear I was just skimming because it was so intense and crazy. It was just so completely mind blowing that I had a huge reading slump after finishing it. It was that crazy... 

One more thing to add, the actual ending as in the last chapter-ish was a bit of a disappointment for me. After that whole mind blowing, world crashing craze that was the "end" of the book, I felt like The Way of Shadows ended on WAY too happy of a note. It sounded so hopeful and uplifting that you feel like everything is going to be fine. I definitely would have preferred a major cliffhanger with a depressing ending over that, but that's just my opinion. 

Definitely recommend though I strong advise to read with caution. Like I said, I had a bit of a reading slump which has never really happened to me before and it took a while before I pulled myself out of it. I need some time before I pick up the second book which I've read mixed things about. I don't think my brain can take another explosion anytime soon. Nonetheless, this book was amazing and you should definitely read it! 

4 out of 5 stars

 Foreverly Obsessed,

Mini Review: Jane's Melody

Jane's Melody by Ryan Winfield

ISBN: 0988348268

Pages: 336
Source: Library
Appearance: 

Summary:

What boundaries would you cross for true love? 
That's the question a grieving mother must answer when she takes in a young street musician she believes can shed light on her daughter's death—only to find herself falling for him. A sexy but touching love story that will leave you both tantalized and in tears, Jane's Melody follows a forty-year-old woman on a romantic journey of rediscovery after years of struggling alone.
Sometimes our greatest gifts come from our greatest pain. And now Jane must decide if it's too late for her to start over, or if true love really knows no limits.

Hey everybody! Welcome back. I'm so super excited that June is around the corner because that means school is almost done and then it's SUMMER! Of course, I'd have to survive finals first. Anyway, let's not get too ahead of ourselves, today I've got a review of Jane's Melody which was a book I picked up really impromptu one day at the library. Man, I was not ready for them feels...

Jane's daughter has recently died of a drug overdose. As a single mother, she always thought that her relationship with her daughter was tight, but lately, it's only been getting worse. Finding out her daughter died completely broke her from the inside out. In her desperate search to reconnect with the young woman who died, Jane goes on a journey to find out who her daughter was months before her death. Her search leads her to Caleb, a street musician with big dreams. I knew from the beginning that the relationship in this story was going to have a mega huge age difference and that was actually pretty new to me. Honestly, I felt a bit uncomfortable at first because just growing up, huge age differences were never really a positive thing in society. You know what I mean? But super fast, my discomfort pretty much disappeared. Caleb and Jane's relationship is so sweet, so adorable, that you completely forget about the whole age difference. That is, until Jane brings it back up. Let's get the straight, I love Jane. She's an amazing woman with a big heart and she definitely deserves this second chance at love BUT she lacks so much in self-confidence in regards to her relationship with Caleb. LADY, the guy loves you, accept it and move on! He doesn't care that you're older or that you have old stretch marks from carrying your daughter. He LOVES you. I think that was probably the biggest thing that irked me through the whole story. Jane just had this constant lack of self confidence that every time my discomfort was going away she'd bring it back. It felt like no matter how hard I tried to shake my uneasy feeling, Jane would relentlessly push the idea back into mind. Okay, let's get this cleared up, I am NOT trying to offend anyone who has found love with someone older/younger, it's just a personal upbringing, please don't be offended. On top of all the romance, there was a lot of healing. With Caleb's help, Jane learns to step out of her comfort zone, to come face to face with the truth of her daughter, and to accept love. Jane's Melody is a beautiful story that really will just warm your heart with its beauty, plus it's got that gorgeous cover! Overall, I really enjoyed the story and definitely recommend it! :)

4 out of 5 stars

 Foreverly Obsessed,

Q&A with Abi Ketner and Melissa Kaliciki

Hi guys! I'm super duper excited to share with you guys our very first Q&A with 2 amazingly talented authors: Abi Ketner and Melissa Kaliciki.

Thank you so much to Ashley from Mark My Words Book Publicity for arranging this super fun Q&A. So without further ado, let's get into questions. 

Questions related to Branded:

1.  What inspired you to create the world in Branded?
This is probably the most popular question people ask us. We have always talked about & shared books we enjoyed. We’ve also been close friends since 1999, so our friendship has already weathered a lot of changes. We used to meet to talk about books we were reading when we considered writing one of our own. Then one day, Abi came up with the concept of branding people with their sins & we took it from there. It was never really a choice to co-author… it was just something we did because it worked.

2.  What can we expect in the second book?
Hunted we are currently writing. All we can say is… get ready. It’s another ride.

3.  How is Cole and Lexi’s relationship going to develop in the next book?
That’s a good question because honestly we let the characters lead the story. So we will all have to wait and see.

4.  Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
We both love Zeus. We are huge animal lovers, especially of dogs.  We named him Zeus after Abi’s dog, who had just passed away.

Which part of the book was the most exciting to write about?
           Missy- For me, the final battle was hard to write. I kept making it too short and had to lengthen it. Haha. I wanted it to be more realistic to what it’d look like if a rag-tag band of people went up against a well-trained regime. 

         Abi- the most exciting part for me, was actually Alyssa. I really connected with her and felt everything she felt. (But I LOVED writing the first chapter.)

Random questions: 

1.  When did you decide you wanted to become a writer?
We wrote Branded together as a hobby, so we would have to go with NOW. We have fallen in love with story telling and would love to be able to do it for a living!

2.  Do you have any tips for budding authors?
Practice your craft. Believe in yourself. Push yourself because it’ll only make you better. Be ready to be committed! Being a writer isn’t easy like most people assume. It takes a lot of time and sweat! And write what you LOVE to write.

3.  What is the best part about being a writer?
Getting lost in another world and being able to spend time with your characters. And for us… obviously you can’t beat writing with your best friend.

4. Who are some of your favorite author inspirations?
            Missy- for me, it’s Bodie Thoene and Ann Rinaldi. Their books inspired me when I was a young girl and kept me reading! Currently, I respect all writers… because now I really know how much work it is to be one!!!

            Abi- I agree with Missy, I respect all authors as well. But, I have always loved Nicholas Sparks. His stories feel do real and his craft is amazing.

  

Thank you so much!! :)

Thank YOU Abi and Melissa for answering these questions. So I hoped you guys had a fun time reading the responses! To find out more about Abi and Melissa, just click on their names up top, I've linked their Goodreads page to their names. Also, if you're interested in their book Branded you can click here:

Foreverly Obsessed,

BLITZ: Blood Oath

Blood Oath (The Secret of the Halflings #1)

by Samantha Coville

Release Date: 04/29/14

Summary from Goodreads:

Raya Sarian has always known she was different. The water calls to her in a way that isn't human. She has seen things that would scar anyone for life. And her father has been non existent in her childhood.

Because he is a Siren.

A blood drinker.

A monster.

And now she must live with him in a world populated with enemies and dangerous friends. Can she survive the year?

  

**EXCERPT**

“Where am I going to school?” It’d be nice to get above ground and enjoy the fresh air and actual people a little every day. And she didn’t want to end up pale like the rest of the underground inhabitants who had suddenly become her neighbors.

“There’s a school room and training dojo in the west wing. The teacher is excited to meet you.”

“You’re joking, right?” Raya rolled her eyes. “I’m going to study with blood sucking freaks and then train in a dojo for…for what?” She wasn’t really sure what a dojo even looked like outside of the movies.

“Self defense is vital to survival in a Siren world. Especially for you. You’re only half siren, Raya. I need to make sure you can protect yourself.” He said this as monotone as his other words but there was an inflection of concern in the last part.

“I’m not a little girl, Christopher. Besides, I packed pepper spray. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

He stared at her with a cold, steely gaze and Raya wanted to cower in the corner. “If a Siren wanted you dead, pepper spray would do nothing to stop him. Your guts would be spilled over the floor before it could even dream of touching him.”

With that, he turned and walked to the door to leave Raya to herself. But he paused just in the doorway and, without looking back, he said, “People will treat you…differently… when they realize what you are. Don’t give them a reason besides your blood to hate you. Do you understand?”

She nodded her head and, realizing he couldn’t see what she was doing, she added quietly, “Yes.”

About the Author

Samantha Coville is an editor and literary critic at her website, Sammy the Bookworm. She’s been writing short stories for six years and has appeared in magazines, both in print and online. When she’s not doing something book related, she is singing in her church choir or enjoying one of the theme parks in her home state of Florida.

Author Links:

   

***GIVEAWAY***

$20 Amazon Gift Card (INT)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

Mini Review: Uninvited

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
ISBN: 0062233653
Pages: 384
Source: Library
Appearance:

Summary:

The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.
When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone
Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.
The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

Hi everybody! Welcome back to the blog! Today I've got a review of one of my most anticipated books of 2014, remember when I raved about this back in January? Well, I finally read it!

Uninvited takes place in the future where the murder rate is literally shooting through the roof. Thanks to technology, there is now a test that schools, companies, etc. that will test all its participants for the HTS, the Homicidal Tendency Syndrome. I was super duper excited to read this book, but when I actually picked it up from the library, it took a surprisingly long time before I actually got around to reading it. I have to say that after reading Uninvited, I'm still really intrigued by the scenario, but the characters aren't my favorite. What I loved about this book was how relatable to every day life it was. If you replaced how HTS carriers were treated with any disputed minority today, it would fit so perfectly it would be scary. I literally cried when I read about how Davy and other carriers were treated. I'm allowed to be emotional okay? I think for me, that was the most important aspect of the book. How alive the prejudice was and how much emotion you could feel from the words. 

Characters, I have to say, weren't my favorite. Davy was sort of just meh. She was the perfect character, absolutely flawless in every aspect, wrongly accused of being someone she wasn't due to what her genetic say. At first, I was okay with her being so perfect because I thought it would make the injustice of the treatments more vivid and real; and at one point it did. After a while, I just wanted to slap some reality into her brain, nicely of course. It took her a bit too long to realize that nothing was going to change and she was subjected to this kind of treatment for the rest of her life. After she realized it, things got a bit better in my point of view. 

The ending was a bit abrupt, but if there was a second book coming out I guess it would okay. After everything that they went through, they finally made a choice to stand up for themselves and then it's over. I guess that the book ended on a pretty hopeful note, but I wish that we could have seen more. In my point of view, Davy had only just started to grow.

Definitely recommend, Uninvited was a really interesting read with a cool concept. The prejudice that HRS carriers faced was overwhelming and while the characters may have lacked a bit in my opinion, the story itself made up for it!

3.5 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,

The Sound

The Sound by Sarah Alderson

ISBN: 1471115739

Pages: 320

Source: PulseIt

Appearance:

Summary:

When aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying for a wealthy family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston's elite, she's hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys are firmly off the agenda.
What she doesn't count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school kids who are hiding some dark secrets, falling (possibly) in love with the local bad boy, and falling out with a dangerous serial killer...

Hey guys! Welcome back!! Yesterday marks the last book tour we have scheduled for this month, but don't be sad cause we've got a ton booked for June! Anyway, it's been a while since we've done a review that wasn't for tour, so let's start things off with The Sound by Sarah Alderson!!

I've been wanting to read this book ever since I laid eyes on it last year, but everywhere I looked, I couldn't get my hands on a copy. Then, it was featured as the book of the week on PulseIt and I literally freaked. After reading it, I have to say that I was a tad bit disappointed, but nonetheless I still enjoyed the read. 

Our main character Ren is a bit on the naive side, she's soft, shy, and reserved. She takes a job at Nantucket Island to escape the drama that has been circling around her and her ex-boyfriend ever since he cheated on her. She has very few experience with children so when the baby was first handed to her, I have to admit, I was laughing. Ren has a very quirky sense of humor that appears a various points throughout the story. The Sound isn't a LOL story, but there are these parts that are pretty funny, at least in my opinion. 

The party-loving private school kids were somewhat of a downer for me. I didn't like from the start because they were just a bunch of sluts and playboys, excuse me for being so cruel, but that is pretty much what they were. I was happy that Ren wasn't going to be alone, but at the same time, I didn't like them hanging out with her because they seemed so different to her personality. I actually had high hopes for Jeremy and Ren because he seemed so much nicer than his douche friends, but with each time that he left her to "party," my opinion dropped lower. Also, throw in Jesse and Jeremy is completely out of the picture.

Jesse is your typical strong silent and mysterious bad boy in town, only he's not really as bad boy as everyone thinks. I really enjoyed how Sarah Alderson slowly unfolded that mystery surrounding him and the more you get to know him, the more you love him. He has such a sweet relationship with Ren and I definitely approve of this couple! That is pretty much all I can say about him, he's sweet, he's hot, and he's got a heart. Compared to Jeremy, this boy is the jackpot. :)

Another big downer for me was the mystery. The Sound sounded like a really good thriller to me from the summary, but instead it's more of a backdrop story with the romance taking more of a front seat. With regards to the mystery, the actual culprit was definitely a surprise, but there was nothing that led you to that moment. He, yes it is a he, just sort of appeared out of nowhere, became the bad guy, and Ren is suddenly in trouble. I just wish that the whole tension of the story would have been stronger, the deaths of the other foreign nannies seemed to not even shake the foundation of the story because in all honesty, it wasn't that important

With that being said, I think this book is more of a romance than a thriller, so don't go into the story expecting heart pounding tension. I do like the romantic aspect of it and this was definitely a sweet book. Overall, I would recommend it, despite the suspense not being all that great, there is still a lot of mystery that surrounds characters and when secrets get revealed, things get pretty interesting.

3 out of 5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,

TOUR STOP: Here's Looking At You

Here's Looking At You by Mhairi McFarlane

ISBN: 9780007559473

Pages: 432
Source: TLC Book Tours

Appearance: 

Summary (Back of the Book):

Anna Alessi - history expert, possessor of a lot of hair and an occasionally filthy mouth - seeks nice man for intelligent conversation and Harlequin romance moments.

Despite the oddballs that keep turning up on her dates, Anna couldn't be happier. As a 30-something with a job she loves, life has turned out better than she dared dream. However, things weren't always this way, and her years spend as the roly-poly "Italian Galleon" of her East London high school are ones she'd rather forget. 

So when James Fraser - the architect of Anna's final humiliation at school - walks back into her life, her world is turned upside down. But James seems like a changed man. Polite. Mature. Funny, even. People can change right? So why does Anna feel like she's a fool to trust him, never mind fall in love with him?

Full of laugh-out-loud humor and touching poignancy, Here's Looking At You is a novel about facing your demons and ultimately being happy with who you really are.

Hello everybody! Welcome to my tour stop for the Here's Looking  At You Book Tour hosted by TLC Books. Don't forget to check out the other tour stops HERE.

Anna Alessi, our gorgeous, strong MC has been bullied all throughout high school for her weight and appearance. Now, as a 30 year old woman, she is everything she wasn't as a teenage girl. She's no longer "fat," she has great friends, a great job, but she's missing her handsome man. Suddenly, her high school tormentor, James Fraser walks back into her life. He used to be her crush until the day he humiliated her in front of the entire school. Things just got a whole lot complicated.

Okay, starting things off, this book has all types of stereotypes. We've the fat bullied girl who is now freaking beautiful, the handsome bully who is now polite and even more drool-worthy, they meet again and the bully thinks the girl is drop dead gorgeous, but the girl is afraid to trust him despite the fact that he's pretty damn cute. Yup, a lot of stereotypes. Personally, I don't mind stereotypes as much, yes they are a bit overdone, but there are only so many great ideas in this world. Once in a while, an author will come up with a refreshing idea, but sooner or later it's going to get burned out. What I loved about Here's Looking At You was that despite all the stereotypes, Mhairi McFarlane managed to make the story entertaining and really really touching.

No joke, this book touched me on a level I definitely wasn't expecting. Bullying sucks and I am definitely one to attest to that. Anna has been super insecure about herself ever since that big incident at school and I don't blame her. Years down the road, that day still brings her nightmares and the appearance of her tormentors (who don't recognize her btw) isn't helping that fact. The way that the author created Anna as a victim of bullying and how it affected her 20 something years down the line was really amazing and beautiful. I might have shed a tear or two.

Now the romance. I knew from the start that Anna and James were somehow going to end of together. Come on, it's not that hard to decipher out. What I wasn't expecting was how Mhairi took us on that journey. Anna, like I mentioned  has super trust issues when it comes to James. James has no clue why Anna doesn't like him because they seem to get along really well. Their banters were super funny to read about, even if I hated James at the beginning for he did, you do start to fall for his charms after a while. No surprise that Anna does too, but the journey took a while. I loved that the romance, while it was vital to the story, played more a supporting role in the story. The main issue was Anna letting go of her past, facing her demons, and moving on.

This book is advertised as a hysterical romantic (mis)adventure, according to the back of the paperback copy that I received. In some ways it definite was. I won't lie, some parts of the story seemed to drag on, but at the same time there was that little something that just made me want to keep reading. Other parts were flat out funny. Take Neil for example, his craziness appeared at moments when I felt like nothing was happening and hooked me back into the story. Who's Neil, you'll have to read to find out. I definitely recommend Here's Looking At You, it was really touching and overall, a beautiful story!

4/5 stars

Foreverly Obsessed,