Review ~ Impostor (Variants #1) by Susanne Winnacker

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: Jan 2nd 2014

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Description:
Tessa is a Variant with extraordinary abilities. She could be a hero, but all she wants to do is fall in love ...

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep.

Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

My Opinion

I can't help but feel really let down by this book. The blurb sounded really interesting. Superpowers, romance, murder, mystery? I couldn't ask for more from a description. However, I just feel that it was a really average read now I have finished it. For me there wasn't much originality in the book and it seemed like Sophie McKenzie's Medusa Project with a slight serial killer twist.

For me, the main issue was that it was all just very predictable. I felt that the author kept trying to lead you in certain directions to believe who the killer was but in the end it was so blatantly obvious that it was a false set up, it only left one possible conclusion which I figured out at forty per cent. For that reason there wasn't much suspense in this book for me. The fact that there was a relatively small cast who weren't developed that well with background also made it easier to figure out. I feel that if the author had gone into more depth about each suspect then it would have been less predictable.

As well as this, I found the book to be kind of sick and twisted. A gilr pretending to be a dead girl and lying to her parent??? And then at the end they have to lose their daughter all over again??? I know it says it in the blurb but reading it is different when you get dragged into the story. I just felt it was twisted and wrong. Like why did she have to turn into Maddison, she could have investigated just as well as some one else.

The other thing was the irritating unrequited love that was added to the story. It was painful to read. It doesn't make Alec likable and it switched from romance to murder, romance to murder. It rendered the book jumpy and I just didn't like it. Tessa seemed naive and had a lack of common sense which drove me insane.

The one thing I couldn't figure out was everyone's motives. I knew that Alec and Kate were keeping from Tessa but the author gave no clue as to what that was. However, when everything comes together at the end I did feel it was a bit anti-climax and a let down. I finished on a 'was that it?' which is never good for a book.

Overall the premise was interesting but for me Impostor lacked development and structure. It was too jumpy and predictable. It was a quick and short book but I feel it needs more development in the mystery and character aspects to turn it into a good mystery/suspense. For me, Impostor is average.

Review ~ Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

Paperback purchased by myself

Release Date: 22nd October 2013

Publisher: HarperCollins

Description:
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

My Opinion - I have tried to keep spoilers out but there may be subtle hints due to my rant.... please excuse my anger :)

Wow...where do I even start with this review? It took me a while to read Divergent but I fell in love with both book one and two quickly. They were gritty, edgy and full of brilliant action. They were worthy of five stars to me. So, because of this, I purchased them all in paperback because I wanted to display them in my collection of books rather than just have an ebook. I also shipped the box set over to the UK so I could get Allegiant in paperback before it's released here - with in my opinion a better cover. However, now that I have read it I just feel severely disappointed. For me this is book was a perfect example of how to ruin a great series. And it wasn't just the final few pages that I hated, it was the whole thing!

I won't say to much about what goes on as, even though it's bad, I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't yet read it. I saw a comment that ruined the book for me before I even started and from that point on I knew I wasn't going to like Alligent. Basically I read it for closure. 

Allegiant lost all of the gritty action and toughness that I fell in love with in the first two books. Instead, it is just page after page after page of talk about genetics and I found myself skimming easily. I was so tempted to give up but had to see the series through. Seriously, it was painful to read. As well as that the first person narrative just didn't work for me. There was not enough on Evelyn throughout the middle section and I got bored of reading about what Tris and Tobias were doing.

The major annoyance, disappointment with this book though was the ending. Seriously who does what Veronica Roth did!!!??? It was ridiculous, stupid and in my opinion a waste of time. For me it rendered all of the other books pointless and I was left disheartened. It has even put me off wanting to see the movie which looked amazing from the trailer.

Overall this book was a perfect example of how not to end a series. It was disappointing, lacked everything that made it unique in the first place and was just plain stupid. I'm not a die-hard fan who has followed this series and has been eagerly anticipating this release either but it still has irritated me a lot. I don't think I've ever had such a variation in ratings for a series. If you want closure, read Allegiant but it's not a book I would recommend.

Review ~ Echo Bay by Gina Robinson

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: 17th September 2013

Description:
SOME MEMORIES ARE TOO PAINFUL TO FACE
Tara Clark is spending her first Christmas at her grandparents' resort lodge since herbrother died near there in a snowboarding accident on Christmas Eve ten years ago. When her matchmaking grandma sets her up with tiny Echo Bay's newest resident–none other than her ex-fiancé Ryan Sanders–not even a record snowfall can dampen the rekindling of a love that wouldn’t die.

SOME LOVES ARE TOO STRONG TO DENY
When Ryan Sanders returns to the small town he grew up in, his life feels nearly complete. But as the snow piles up in the week before Christmas, and his ex-fiancée Tara shows up, Ryan has to face the truth that he has never really gotten over her. And with Christmas Eve fast approaching, all he wants for Christmas is Tara.

My Opinion

I've had this book on my iPod for a few months, yet I've been putting off reading it because of the Christmassy and festive theme. I just couldn't muster the energy to start thinking that far ahead but now coming to the end of November I decided it was okay to start reading it finally!

I'm not sure this is going to make sense but this book felt like it had a homely, Christmas feeling and atmosphere that just enveloped you in the beautiful landscape and setting the author creates. Everyone in the book pulls together, knows each others business and I liked the over all effect the author gave the lodge. It was a friendly and welcoming vibe that almost made me fall in love with the place in my head.

I loved reading books set in ski resorts in the winter. For me they are the perfect fireside reads, especially when they involve romance and this book had both. I liked that the book included struggles that Tara had to face by moving back to Echo Bay and I liked she was strong enough to face the fears on the slopes. The ski sections were a nice change of pace in the book.

As well as this I loved some of the sweet moments in the romance - especially the first one in the forest. They were playful, sweet and put a smile on my face. They were the moments that felt most realistic and natural in the book for me, in regards to their emotions. I really wanted more of these sections as for me, the build up to the romance is always better than the actual romance. This was was of the problems I had with the book. There wasn't much of a build up. Tara and Ryan were a very much hot and cold couple and I found some of the shifts in personalities slightly annoying. 

When Ryan and Tara weren't together, there are a lot of thoughts and for me this slowed the pace of the book dramatically. As well as this sometimes they could be quite repetitive as the book would switch from Tara and then to Ryan. I like seeing inside a characters mind but for me that's all this book seemed to be. I wanted a bit more action, whether on the slopes or interaction in the romance. 

The only other issue I had was the meddling grandparents. At the start of the book it was cute and sweet. However, when Margie was still interfering towards the end I found myself starting to dislike her. I just wanted her to let the relationship unfold by itself, and I felt it lessened the romance.

Overall though, Echo Bay was an enjoyable winter read. It made me feel Christmassy and although it's a bit slow and stiff in parts, the sweet heart warming moments and HAE makes up for it.

Release Blitz: Deadly to Promise by Mia Hoddell

Deadly to Promise (Elemental Killers #2)
by Mia Hoddell

Genre: YA/Romance/Paranormal/Fantasy

Blurb:

A broken promise is all it takes.

Becoming an E.K isn’t a choice for Serena – it’s a necessity to survive. To destroy the Elementals she has to leave her old life behind. She has to train and follow a strict regime. But with time against her, she has only a few weeks to master the skills Kai spent his whole life perfecting.

The knowledge passed down from her ancestors is crucial to the Elementals demise and the success of their mission. However, the path they must follow is lined with riddles, each more confusing than the next. It doesn’t matter how close to succeeding they get, it’s never enough. The Elementals are one step ahead at every revelation and that can only mean one thing – the E.Ks have a traitor among them.

For one week only, both Deadly to Love and Deadly to Promise are 99c / 77p!

Buy Now: Amazon | Amazon.co.uk

Excerpt

“Have you ever been swimming here?” I asked moving my head to watch his reaction as I brought my feet up out of the water and folded them beside me.

“Yeah, most summers when I came here. We all used to use it as a way to cool off or just have some fun in between training.”

“How about skinny dipping?” I asked my grin growing due to the thoughts running through my head.

“Why? You want to try it?” he challenged.

“Only if you go first,” I laughed but stopped instantly when he removed his shirt and tossed it behind us. My eyes widened in surprise and I started to regret my words. “You’re not being serious are you?” I stuttered as he pulled off his shoes, throwing them over to where his shirt was crumpled.

“You can’t chicken out now Rea. It was your idea,” he said smiling as he removed each sock, teasing me as they ended up with the rest of his discarded garments.

I just stared at him, my lips moving but not making a sound as I tried to find an excuse.

He laughed at me. “Relax Rea, I’m just teasing you. Well unless you’ve changed your mind. In that case I’m being deadly serious.” He had a cheeky grin on his face as he spoke and I pushed him hard, toppling him into the water below.

There was a lot of splashing but Kai surfaced finally, taking a deep breath as he flicked the hair out of his eyes. I was clutching my stomach in fits of laughter as I bent over. The shock on his face was priceless.

“Oh you are so dead Rea, so, so dead,” he said, his voice ragged as the cold water and shock affected his half naked body. I just continued to laugh as he floated in front of me, his head bobbing up and down in a comical way.

Deadly to Love (Elemental Killers #1)
by Mia Hoddell

Genre: YA/Romance/Paranormal/Fantasy
ASIN: B00BDQ3QGA
ISBN: 978-1-291-41025-9

Blurb

The world is dangerous – but love will kill you.
Little did Serena Jackson know that one simple, flirty remark to an anonymous guy online would lead to her world being changed forever.

She doesn’t know him, but inexplicably, is drawn. She knows it is wrong but she agrees to meet.

His real name is Kai. He is beautiful. And immediately Serena feels herself blindly falling for him even though she senses a lie. She knows he is hiding something and it terrifies her.

What she doesn’t realise is that her entire life has been built on secrets and lies. The people she loved left her in the dark for a reason.

She trusted them. She trusts Kai. But as he pulls her straight into the heart of the danger the lies and deadly secrets are revealed. They overwhelm her, and the person she once was no longer exists as she is thrown into a ruthless world of elemental forces. The price of truth is her life—and now the world wants her dead.

Buy Now: Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | Lulu

Praise:

“I couldn't put it down. So I finished it last night and all I can say is WOW! This book was amazing and different.” Brianna (Book Blogger)

“I loved how the author took a different approach to writing a love story in modern times with the paranormal element present. I thought it was absolutely wonderful and refreshing. Marvelous!” Kathy H (Amazon Reviewer)

“In the end I had fallen in love with this story…completely untraditional it was a very original idea, not to mention modern. This story had such a good plot and the story structure was sound.” Kacii – The Kooky Bookworm (Book Blogger)

About the Author

Mia Hoddell lives in the UK with her family and two cats. She spends most of her time writing or reading and loves anything paranormal. Mia always had a love of writing but never reading. She was more interested in sports and hated sitting still - despite getting three poems published before the age of sixteen. Finally though, she found some novels that captured her interest and developed a love of reading which is now one of her favourite hobbies.

Mia began with poems before moving on to short stories. Although she enjoyed this, Mia found she had too much to tell with too little space, so later on she created her first series 'The Wanderer Trilogy' and from there other ideas have emerged. With a total of nine books planned at this moment, she is busy working on her second series 'Elemental Killers' before moving onto the next idea on her ever growing list.

Links: 

Blog |Twitter@MiaHoddell | Facebook Page |Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Deadly to Love

by Mia Hoddell

Giveaway ends December 06, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Policy

OK, so I am getting an increasing number of requests from authors/publicists on a daily basis who have clearly never read my policy - that is if they have even visited my site to begin with. I want to make this clear: if you send a request that does not match my guidelines you will receive a standard email with an automatic 'decline to review.' It may also sound quite frustrated because that's how I'm feeling right now. I woke up this morning with 20 requests and only 1 matched my policy. 

If you are asking me for a favour the least you can do is read and send everything I ask for in my policy and address the email to me! Sienna doesn't take long to type and trust me you will get a better response. My guidelines aren't that hard to follow either, it's just general information you you be sending out in your query anyway. It's stuff I need to make a decision.

One thing you should always include when contacting bloggers is the description! How am I meant to decide if I don't know what your book is about? Leaving a link is just lazy and I refuse to follow them unless all information is provided. I have a life you know. I don't get paid to review your book, I do it out of a love of reading.

Please remember that when sending me a request. It is a favour you're asking and I am under no obligation to accept. 

Want the best response? Read my policy and stick to it!