Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

Tempest
Julie Cross 
Series: Tempest, #1
Release Date: January 17th, 2012 
Publisher: St Martin's Griffith 
Number of Pages: 334
Source: Library
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

When I first saw a copy of Tempest at the library, I spent a few minutes contemplating whether or not I should pick it up. While time travel novels and movies have always interested me and I always had that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I'd enjoy Tempest after reading its synopsis, the negative reviews it received from trusted friends of mine discouraged me. However, I decided to take a chance and pick up the last copy of Tempest left and see for myself if I'd fall into the category of people who liked it, or the category of people who didn't, all while keeping my expectations relatively low. Now, after reading Tempest, I am glad to say that I definitely fall into the category of those who like it.

Showcase Sunday (17)

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be from a book store, bought for your eReader, received from the library, or from the publishers for review.

For Review: 

Vortex by Julie Cross

Bought: 

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

I got a pretty small haul this week but overall I am pretty satisfied with it! Right now I'm almost done with Tempest and liking it (around 3.5 stars right now), and I hope to have a review of it on the blog for tomorrow, so I'm definitely looking forward to reading Vortex. I'm also really, really excited to read Meant to Be, because my friend Christina @ Reader of Fictions loved it, and it just sounds so freaking cute. 

What did you get this week? 

Leave a link in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday (November 14)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is Rise by Anna Carey.

Rise
Anna Carey
Series: Eve, #3
Release Date: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Number of Pages: 320 

The fate of The New America rests with Eve in this stunning finale to the Eve trilogy.

Eve is trapped in the City of Sand, married to a man of her father’s choosing, but she can’t forget her love for Caleb—or her passion for the rebel cause. When rebel armies invade the city, Eve uses her position as princess for the ultimate act of rebellion—to kill her father, the king. Then tragedy strikes, and Eve must choose who to leave behind, who to save, and who to fight in this final battle for freedom.

I can't even think properly after reading Once and the synopsis for Rise (which, if you haven't read the Eve trilogy yet, you should avoid at all costs because it's spoiler city). I absolutely love the Eve trilogy so far, and based on what Rise is about, I have a feeling it's going to be a perfect conclusion to an absolutely amazing trilogy, and I will do anything in my power to get it. I'm sure you're all pretty sick of me bribing authors and publishers in my Waiting on Wednesday posts, and I didn't want to pull this out on you guys, afraid it might be too much pressure, and I know you might not be sending ARCs of Rise out yet so I may not get one soon, 

So yeah... Just, you know... put that into consideration... My destiny falls into your hands, person who distributes Rise ARCs. No biggie.  

What are you waiting on? 

Leave a link in the comments!

Today's Releases

  

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

  

Reached by Ally Condie

Renegade by J.A. Souders

Luminosity by Stephanie Thomas

  

Bad Hair Day by Carrie Harris

Echo by Alyson Noel

Sacred by Elana N. Arnold

  

The Future We Left Behind by Mike A. Lancaster

Witch World by Christopher Pike

Ashes of Twilight by Kassy Taylor

I'm trying very hard not to buy any books this week as I am behind in reading ARCs (as evidenced by this week's releases - Black City AND Renegade are released today?! O_O), and behind in Project: Dystopian due to taking a break and reading Quicksilver (I REGRET NOTHING), but I think I'm going to cave in and buy Meant to Be. It sounds like such a cute read, and Christina @ Reader of Fictions loved it, so since then it's been one of my top priorities. But now I'm just disappointed in myself that I didn't read my ARCs of Black City and Renegade in time. *kicks rocks* I think they're both dystopians, so maybe I can pass them off as books for P:D, though! What books do you have your eye on this week? Leave a comment letting me know, and happy reading! 

Showcase Sunday (16)

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be from a book store, bought for your eReader, received from the library, or from the publishers for review. 

For Review: 

  

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Quicksilver by RJ Anderson

Borrowed from Library: 

  

Tempest by Julie Cross

The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman

The haul I received this week almost gave me a heart attack, primarily because I got an ARC of Quicksilver. I mean, it's freaking Quicksilver!! I started was so excited to have received an ARC of Quicksilver that I actually started it last night (currently writing this on Saturday) and I am nearly 200 pages in and it is so. freaking. good. I also started Tempest and, surprisingly enough, I like it! I'm just a little over 100 pages in with that book, but it's actually pretty good! 

What did you get this week?

 Leave a link in the comments!

Review: Once by Anna Carey

Once
Anna Carey
Series: Eve, #2
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Number of Pages: 368
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

When you're being hunted, who can you trust?

For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.

But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.

Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.

In this breathless sequel to "Eve," Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar.

I’ll admit, I went into Once with some slight trepidation. I read Eve a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it, and was instantly captivated by the scarily familiar world it took place in, the characters and their struggles and the great emotional impact it had on me. With all of that praise for Eve, and more, I looked forward to Once immensely, having high hopes for it, but was also a bit worried, wondering if it could live up to its predecessor.

And now, the big question: did it live up to Eve? The answer to that is mostly yes, but also a little bit of no (I know, let me explain). The world in Once is just as captivating and richly detailed as the world in Eve, maybe even more so, and the plot when it decides to actually show up is one that is superior in both concept and execution than Eve’s.

But you see what I wrote in strikethroughs right there? Yes, while the plot may be superior to Eve’s, and well executed, it shows up sporadically, as if taking a break every now and then. It pops into the book in short little bursts, then steps aside to make room for character development (a thing I absolutely love about this series, though – character development, relationship development, all types of development, and Carey somehow manages to make that thoroughly interesting and never boring), then everything just blows up in your face in the last ten percent or so.

But the thing is, while I would like to have had the plot show up less sporadically and remain more constant, that’s really the only complaint I have concerning Once. While I definitely would have liked for this installment to have had as much as an emotional impact on me as Eve did, those were pretty large shoes to fill and I didn’t really expect for those shoes to be filled in the first place. Aside from that, though, the character growth and relationship building throughout the novel is almost mesmerizing, and I only wish I had Carey’s skill in that department. As well as that, Carey manages to give us all as readers a fresh new cast of characters (thanks to a pretty huge twist in the beginning which makes way for an awesome, awesome plot) while making us care for each of them as we had for the cast of characters in Eve.

Towards the end, Once is chock full of twists, turns and revelation that I was practically hyperventilating. Ending with a final, major twist and an equally as major cliffhanger, Rise has jumped into highly anticipated reads of 2013 list (and probably in my top five, as well), and I absolutely can’t wait to read it. And with what Rise is going to be about, I think it’s safe to say that the Eve trilogy may just end up being one of my favorite trilogies in young adult so far.

Waiting on Wednesday (November 7)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi.

Through the Ever Night

Veronica Rossi

Series: Under the Never Sky, #2

Release Date: January 8th, 2013

Publisher: HarperCollins

Number of Pages: 400

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

I just recently finished Under the Never Sky and really, really liked it, so now I'm pretty much dying to read Through the Ever Night. And come on, look at how pretty that cover looks with my blog's colors! My blog and this book are meant to be together. It's fate, people. And everyone knows you don't mess with fate. So I think it's only fair I get an ARC of this immediately, right? I mean, you don't want to piss off fate, do you? 

What are you waiting on? 

Leave a link in the comments!