Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Waiting on Wednesday #76: Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda




Hello everyone! "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that is hosted by Breaking the Spine and the purpose of this event is that we spotlight upcoming releases of books that we are excited for!  This will also tie into Wishful Ending's Can't Wait Wednesday post!







This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:






Title:  Pitch Dark
Author:  Courtney Alameda
Expected Publication Date:  February 20th, 2018




Set against a future of marauding space scavengers and deadly aliens who kill with sound, here is a frightening, fast-paced YA adventure from the author of the acclaimed horror novel, Shutter.

Tuck has been in stasis on the USS John Muir, a ship that houses Earth’s most valued artifacts—its natural resources. Parks and mountains are preserved in space. 

Laura belongs to a shipraiding family, who are funded by a group used to getting what they want. And they want what’s on the Muir

Tuck and Laura didn’t bargain on working together, or battling mutant aliens who use sound to kill. But their plan is the only hope for their crews, their families, and themselves. 

In space, nobody can hear you scream . . . but on the John Muir, the screams are the last thing you'll hear.


I've haven't read the author's previous book "Shutter" yet, but after reading the summary of this book, I'm more than excited in checking this book out!



So, what upcoming books are you looking forward to?  Please respond below!

Monday, January 29, 2018

[BOOK REVIEW] The Martian by Andy Weir









Title:  The Martian

Authors:  Andy Weir

Genre:  Science Fiction 

Year Published: 2011

Number of Pages: 435 pages 

Date Read: 1/29/2018 

Series: The Martian #1  

Publisher: Broadway Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Strong Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository


“I guess you could call it a "failure", but I prefer the term "learning experience.”

Finally!  I got the chance to read Andy Weir’s bestselling classic (now turned into a movie) “The Martian” and now I am seriously kicking myself for not reading this book sooner!  Who would have thought that I would be reading a science fiction novel that is full of adventure, drama and humor?


The book starts off with a space crew going on Mars to explore the red planet when suddenly, a dust storm shows up and the space crew is forced to leave the red planet to survive.  Unfortunately, they accidentally left behind Mark Watney, who was one of the astronauts going on the mission! Now that Mark is stranded on Mars, he will have to use his skills in botany and engineering, along with having a good sense of humor, to survive Mars’ dangerous atmosphere until he is rescued.


 Wow…just wow… Who would have thought that I would read a science fiction novel that dealt with trying to survive on another planet, while also being humorous about the whole situation at the same time?  Well, Andy Weir managed to balance all of that perfectly as I found myself being so intrigued with Mark Watney’s situation about being stranded on Mars and trying to figure out ways to survive in Mars until help arrives.  I loved the way that Andy Weir inserted information about how physics and science work in outer space into this novel as not only was this the first time I was actually interested in how physics and science works, but it made the narrative extremely unique to read through as it is rare that I read books that try to educate the reader about how science and botany works in a general scale.   But, probably my favorite part of this novel was seeing the situation from Mark Watney’s point of view.  I loved the way that Andy Weir wrote Mark Watney’s character as Mark is shown to be an extremely intelligent character who can easily adapt to Mars’ dangerous environment due to being knowledgeable in both engineering and botany and I loved the fact that Mark uses his expertise in these subjects to study Mars’ environment and try to survive in such an environment.   What I loved the most about Mark Watney himself is that he manages to crack jokes and remain optimistic despite his whole ordeal as it made me really love his character and also manages to relieve some of the tension about being trapped in an environment that could potentially kill you

For anyone who does not like strong language, there is some strong language in this novel, with the “s” word and the “f” words being used quite frequently and some readers might want to skim over these words if they do not like strong language.  Also, the idea about being trapped on another planet might be too scary for some readers (even I found the idea about being trapped on Mars to be pretty scary).  Luckily, Mark’s sense of humor can relieve some of that tension.


Overall, “The Martian” is a truly fantastic book that anyone who loves reading science fiction novels or loves reading books about space will definitely enjoy for many years!


* 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction & Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author
* 2015 John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Novel
* 2015 Audie Award for Science Fiction
* 2015 ALA Alex Award
* 2015 Seiun Award 星雲賞 for Best Foreign Novel
* 2015 本屋大賞  Nominee for Translated Fiction
* 2016 Green Mountain Book Award Nominee


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Sunday, January 28, 2018

The Sunday Post Meme (120)




Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer!The goal of this meme is to share news you have  on various books and things you’ve read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog! Book hauls can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books and you can share these finds with other book bloggers!

Hey everyone! Well, January is almost coming to an end and my birthday will be next month!  I'm going to see what movies are available for me to have on my birthday (such as Thor Ragnarok and Coco) and hopefully, I'll be able to get those movies by my birthday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!





Book Reviews










Miscellaneous







3

  

Book Photo Sundays Meme!

 

Looking for New Guest Posts! 

 

My TBR List!

 

  

Comic Book Bingo Challenge 2018 Sign Up! 



Recommend Me This! Saturdays








 







One Word: IMPATIENT.



 



  Check out Rabid Read's discussion on Bookfessional: Book Hangovers


☆ Check out Happy Indulgence's post on RECAP: PENGUIN TEEN AUSTRALIA SHOWCASE 2018

★ Check out Herding Cats and Burning Soup's post on InstaJanuary-- Food & BabyG




Well, that's the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various books I've read in the near future!



Posted on Sunday, January 28, 2018.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Stacking the Shelves #42: January 27, 2018





Stacking The Shelves is a book meme created by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality and it is about sharing books that you are adding to your shelves, whether it's physical or virtual.  This means including books that you bought from the store or online, books you borrowed from friends or from the library, books you've reviewed, gifts and ebooks!

Hey everyone! Well, January is almost coming to an end and my birthday will be next month!  I'm going to see what movies are available for me to have on my birthday (such as Thor Ragnarok and Coco) and hopefully, I'll be able to get those movies by my birthday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!




Books Received:



From Owlcrate:










Thursday, January 25, 2018

[BOOK REVIEW] Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris



Title:  Dead Until Dark

Authors:  Charlaine Harris

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2001

Number of Pages: 312 pages 

Date Read: 1/31/2011   

Series: Sookie Stackhouse #1  

Publisher: Ace Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Strong Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository


I have read many paranormal romance books where the main character falls for a handsome and awesome vampire that knows how to kick bad guys to the curb! Well, I have just recently stumbled upon Charlaine Harris’s works and let me tell you, this book is unlike any other paranormal romance book I have ever read and this book is called “Dead until Dark.”  Not only is “Dead until Dark” the first book in the “Sookie Stackhouse series”, but it is also the first book that I have read from author Charlaine Harris and it is full of action, drama and vampire loving that will have any paranormal romance fan wanting more from this series!


Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana and even though she is extremely beautiful, she has one disability that keeps the men away from her… she can read other people’s minds!  One day, Sookie meets a handsome vampire named Bill Compton and she starts to fall in love with him.  Unfortunately, the moment that Bill comes to town, a string of murders start to happen around Bon Temps and Bill is the prime suspect! Can Sookie clear Bill’s name? 
We will see!


Words just cannot describe how much I really enjoyed this book since I actually stayed up most of the night trying to finish reading this book because it was so interesting!  Charlaine Harris has definitely done an awesome job at writing this larger than life paranormal romance novel that takes place in the South!  There are just so many awesome things that I loved about this book, but I will have to narrow it down to a few things and what I loved the most about this book were the two main characters and the awesome action scenes.  My favorite characters in this book were Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton as they are truly a unique couple that cannot be reckoned with!  Sookie Stackhouse is such an interesting character as not only is the story told from her point of view, but she was also the first mind reader character that I have read about in any paranormal romance novel.  I loved the way that Charlaine Harris does not focus solely on Sookie’s beautiful looks, but also her caring and strong personality since she is the only character in the book who actually knows about what is really going on with the murders of the women in Bon Temps and I loved the way that Sookie refused to let the town’s prejudice against vampires get to her as she protects Bill with all her might.  I also loved the way that Sookie fights her tough opponents as she seems to remind me a bit of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” except that she does not slay vampires!  Another character I really loved was Bill Compton since he can be both scary and sensual at the same time, two personalities that I really loved about this character!  Sookie and Bill’s relationship is sweet, especially since both characters wanted to protect each other from any harm that befalls them and there are many “sensual” moments between the two that will have you panting with anticipation!


The only issue I had with this book is that they rarely focused on the secondary and minor characters. What I mean by secondary characters in this book are the members who are close to Sookie which were Jason and her grandmother and I felt like these two characters were just too one-dimensional since we do not know much about their background other than the fact that they are related to Sookie and they seemed to have less spotlight time in this book than Sookie and Bill. Also, I felt like they could have focused a bit more on Sookie’s African American friends and Bill’s vampire friends since they have even less spotlight time in the book and it felt like they were really not in the book at all since this book was mainly about Sookie and Bill.  Also, this book contains much stronger language than any other paranormal romance novel I have read, so anyone who does not approve of strong language might want to skim over them.


Overall, “Dead until Dark” is seriously one of the best paranormal romance series that everyone who are fans of handsome vampires and strong females will just read over and over again!


Will I read the rest of the “Sookie Stackhouse” series? You bet I am! Sookie Stackhouse series, here I come!



* 2001 Agatha Award Nominee for Best Novel
* 2002 Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original
* 2002 Dilys Award Nominee



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