Cin City: 10/30/11

Review & Giveaway - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publish Date: November 15, 2011
Paperback, 342 pages

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This book is written with very little conversation. Much of the first half of the book is Juliette's inner dialog. As she hasn't seen or touched anyone in nearly 300 days, she is becoming very used to her own company. Juliette cannot touch anyone for fear of hurting them, as she has been put her for that reason alone. She recounts that day over and over again where her parents turned their back on her and society forgot about her. Then a man is thrown in to her cell to save space. He wants to know her, she wants to be left alone. Yet, living together in a small cell, neither one can ignore the other. He cannot understand why she won't talk or touch, yet he is fascinated by her. He reminds her of someone she once knew in school, but it must be a coincidence . . . or is it?

An incredible romance book that is linked with chaos, destruction and the struggle for power. This book will enchant anyone and thrill the reader into wanting more. I know I do. I cannot wait to see what turns up in the next book.

Juliette is so fragile, I want to protect her, but sadly she is so powerful she doesn't need protecting. She needs love and hungers for human connections. She is so sure of her worthlessness that she cannot stand even herself.

Adam is a strong man who is in this same hell as Juliette. He wants her. He knows her in ways she will never understand. Maybe just their situations are what makes him know her. Either way, he cannot keep is hands off her. But can he really touch her without dying?

Juliette falls in love with Adam, but how can this be if she cannot stand human contact?

GIVEAWAY
For one advanced readers copy of
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Paperback copy

TO ENTER:

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Deadline to enter is midnight on November 14, 2011.

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and
then I will choose another winner.

Summary -
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

Review - Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched
matched #1
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publish Date: November 30, 2010
Hardcover, 366 pages

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Cassia is what every girl wants to be by society - good. She follows the rules, she is excited for her future, she is good at what she does. She is in love with life. She has dreams. She just wants to live a good, happy life. So when her Matching Banquet comes around, she cannot wait. It is the moment all teenagers wait for. To see who she will spend the rest of her life with. She is lucky to be matched to Xander, he friend since she was younger. Most matches do not know their people. Cassia finds Xander handsome and good as well. She feels so lucky. Until fate steps in and shows her another face on her screen. One she doesn't know. It confuses her and makes her start to question everything. Especially when she meets this mysterious man. He is kind too. But he has knowledge. And knowledge is power. Ky and Cassia are paired together in an outdoor retreat class and soon become fast, secret friends. But the more Cassia gets to know Ky and waht he knows, the more she wonders if being good means following society or her own heart.

I loved this book because it talks about following your inner feelings rather than doing what everyone else is doing. Listening to our own inner dialog can be extremely difficult. Cassia is a strong and bright character, which I like too. When she really starts paying attention, she sees things that are supposed to be not seen and instead of forgetting them, she starts to wonder. Without making rash judgments, she learns what she feels and how she views the world. Even, at times, against the own advice of her close friends. In a society, that on the outside seems to want the best for each person, turns out that the best for each person also benefits the society - and maybe more for the Society than the person. To follow society or follow your heart . . .

I am really excited to read the next installment. What Cassia does and who she ends up with, will be interesting.

Check out the next in the series - Crossed!
The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Wordless Wednesday - Cat Shawl

As a kitten, Izabel loved to curl up in my neck. Apparently, she never grew out of that phase. She lays with her feet on my left shoulder, and her body over my chest and her tail curled around my head. Usually. There are a very varied versions of this position. Sometimes I wonder if Izabel is really that cuddly or just trying to smother me. You cannot tell, but I am actually reading a book off to the side too! Talk about multitasking.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday - Tune In & Teaser

The other day at work this song popped in my head and I couldn't get rid of it. I swear I have a constant movie soundtrack playing in my head with the pictures and everything. I really am still humming it. For days people. It is featured in the movie Life or Something Like It with Angelina Jolie. There is a HILARIOUS part in there where they show her singing this song, absolutely plastered with no background music and on the air.

Rolling Stones - I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Here is the part of the movie I love - (it's about 2min in to clip)

(way more than 2 sentences. sigh. oh well)

"Farmer John cleared the light dusting of snow off the chopping block, and I laid the hen down sideways. She didn't squirm or try to right herself. Perhaps the vodka was working as intended. John used both of his hands to hold her body in place while I used my left hand to gently hold her head. I was sure to cover the one eye that was looking up at me, Even though I knew her prehistoric brain was unable to add two and two together to understand that she was about the undergo division. I didn't want the swinging hatchet to be the lasting thing she saw."

The Bucolic Plague
Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Review & Giveaway - Thirst #1 by Christopher Pike

Title: Thirst #1
The Last Vampire, Black Blood and Red Dice
Author: Christopher Pike
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: Aug 7, 2009
Paperback, 624 pages

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Let me begin this review by pleading with the publishers to make this an ebook. It is big enough to be a door stop. If it wasn't such an awesome book.

Second, let me say that this was my first Christopher Pike book and after reading Until We Die, I am now officially a fan forever. I love his writing. It is so poetic and prolific. Even go so far as to say a fine line between emotionless and filled with emotion so deep it penetrates ever fiber. I was pulled in at the same time I was repulsed. Just amazing writing.

Alisa is the main character who doesn't have much human in her anymore. She has been a vampire for over 5000 years. She takes what she wants. She uses people. Surprisingly though, she doesn't kill and not just to maintain her secrecy. She has reasons that are revealed through the book at specific times. She tells of the beginning of the vampires, how they came to be, how she came to be one and how she left behind a life she actually loved. She has learned to not just survive, but to live, a little. Then her maker turns up and he is wanting to kill her. As any parent can attest to, parent's are generally smarter and stronger. This is a fight to survive and at the same time, she feels a bit of love for her creator. What a conundrum to be in. She also meets some really fun characters. Humans and other vampires she never knew existed.

One of my favorite characters throughout the book is the human she meets at school. He is nerdy and sadly, dying. She knows upon meeting him he is nearing death and yet she builds a bond with him. He almost becomes her confidante, but at the risk of him being killed before he dies as Alisa's life is filled with death. He is funny, smart and has dreams about her. They have such an incredible story together. I really enjoyed this part.

Cannot wait to pick up the next one in the series. I do have it on my shelf, as once again, it is not available in ebook format. Heaven forbid. More heavy lifting. (lol)

Summary -
As to blood --
ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty....

Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.

Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life....

GIVEAWAY
The giveaway is for BOTH
of my personal copies of
Thirst #1 and Thirst #2
by Christopher Pike
I will announce the winner when I post the
review for Thirst #2
Dec 1st.

TO ENTER:

Mandatory Entry: Please comment here with your e-mail address

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

Deadline to enter is midnight on November 30, 2011.