*Stacking the Shelves* Edition # 111 - The Heir of Fire Edition!

Stacking the Shelves for the week of June 1 thru June 7, 2014

Stacking The Shelves is a fun way to show off the books we received over the past week in the hopes that you will find something that you will be interested in reading. As always, it is in no way, shape, or form to be considered bragging or sticking out our tongues at other bloggers. 

I personally enjoy  reading comments from those that stop by and support Gizmo's Reviews and I make every effort to comment and visit back your blog in return. 

Thank you !!! Bloomsbury USA Children's, St. Martin's Press, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books), Harlequin TEEN, Penguin Group (Intermix), Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), & Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan)!

Received via NetGalley

Bloomsbury USA Children's

St. Martin's Press

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books)

Harlequin TEEN

Penguin Group (Intermix) for Blog Tour

Received from Publishers

Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books)

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan)

Borrowed from Library

*Gizmos Book Reviews* Senshi (Katana #2) by Cole Gibsen

*My Thoughts*

Senshi is the sequel, or middle book in the Katana series. Time line wise, it has been FOUR months since Rileigh Martin was nearly killed by her nemesis Whitley aka Zeami, and learned that she's the reincarnated fifteenth century samurai warrior known as Senshi.

Rileigh now wants a normal life, with normal dates with the boyfriend, Gimhae Kim (aka Yoshido), who had been the love of her life in a previous life. She still has no desire to work the Network or Dr. Wendall. She has friends in Michelle, Braden, Drew, and Quentin who keeps her busy. She also has the ability to manipulate KI energy which makes her unique and powerful.

What she gets instead is plenty of trouble from a new villain, betrayal, a best friend with some interesting abilities, her KI shows some interesting new twits and turns, and a nemesis who returns from the dead with a BIT of shocking news for Ri-Ri. What more can a girl ask for?

I said this in my previous review of Katana that I adore stories that featuring Katana's, samurai, ninja's, and feudal Japanese culture. I love the fact that Gibsen gives Senshi her back story this time around. She takes readers back to 1492 where we see the birth of a new sort of samurai, her meeting with the love of her life, and some interesting revelations that all connect to a character in the future who was more or less a tertiary character in Katana.

This is a dangerous story for Rileigh. Her best friend is acting out of sorts. She's attacked by ninja's at every turn. Her best friends (aka reincarnated samurai) and boyfriend suddenly treat her like she's a fungus that needs to be avoided at all costs. And, on top of it all, her former nemesis isn't trying to kill her, but team up with her to save the day and her life from the newest villain.

Senshi really is an action packed sequel to Katana. There is a whole lot more at stake this time around. I found the villain to be more devious and very driven to separate Rileigh from her happiness with Kim. Ri-Ri is definitely a different character this time around. She has accepted her ascension. She's working hard to control her KI, and she kicks ass and takes names when the sneaky Ninja try to end her and her friends abandon her.

I have to say that probably the most interesting character this time out is Quentin. Quentin who is the stereo-typical Gay best friend who feels left out now that Ri-Ri has new friends. BUT, hold your horses everyone! Quentin is absolutely NECESSARY for this sequel and the story is actually better than Katana because of his actions.

There is a wild ending to this book, that obviously ties into the final installment called Shinobi that released March 8, 2014 by Flux. Since I already have that book on my Kindle, it will be only a matter of days before I am reading it.

Author - Cole Gibsen
Title - Senshi (Katana # 2)
Published by Flux
Released: March 8, 2013
Genre: Mature Young Adult
Format: Paperback 377 pages

*Waiting for Wednesday* Featuring Ensnared by A.G. Howard

"Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at “Breaking the Spine”, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating....

This weeks choice is ENSNARED BY A.G. HOWARD (SPLINTERED # 3)

Such an amazing cover don't you agree? I absolutely love it.

This is, of course, the final installment, and one that I am waiting patiently for since it

doesn't come out until 2015! 

SYNOPSIS

After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She’s determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles... and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world—a parallel dimension filled with mutated and sadistic netherling outcasts.

In the final installment of the Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that’s gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But even if everyone succeeds and comes out alive, can they all truly have their happily ever after?

Expected publication: 2015 by Amulet Books

*Gizmos Book Reviews* The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

**I received this book for free from NetGalley/Roaring Brook Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*My Thoughts*

The Truth About Alice is inspirational, heart breaking, emotional, compelling, and a story that ALL TEENS should be required to read before they enter High School and lose their damn minds over their social status or losing friends that they've had their entire lives. It is a hard subject to read about, but one that nobody should feel squeamish about reading, or passing on to their friends, or recommending to others who may not think that the story isn't for them.

The Truth About Alice will break your heart into a million pieces, and then slowly mend your broken heart with a character who is brave, courageous, and someone I wish was my best friend so that I could give her hugs and support, and block her from experiencing this nonsense ever again. Although we really truly do not get Alice's POV until the end, or learn the truth about what really happened on the night things truly went to hell for her, she's still a strong presence that can't be ignored, or pushed to the background.

I absolutely adore this quote, "There is one thing I’ve learned about people: they don’t get that mean and nasty overnight. It’s not human nature. If you give people enough time, eventually they’ll do the most heartbreaking stuff in the world." Quote from Alice

The Truth About Alice is told by several KEY players who all gang up to destroy an innocent girls life, and make her a social pariah. It is a story about how one day you can be popular and have tons of friends, and then it is all taken away from you with pitiful lies, jealously, spite, backstabbing, bullying, and lack of human compassion, or understanding. Through the eyes of each character, we see the intentional use of lies, and spite, in order to crush someone over something that could have been prevented right from the start had someone just stopped and SPOKEN UP, and TOLD THE TRUTH instead of exacerbating the problem!

There is the ever popular, conceited, vicious, vile, opinionated Elaine O'Dea who had an on-again, off-again relationship with Brandon Fitzsimmons, the person at the center of Alice's fade into obscurity, and the one person who like Alice, is never far from anyone's mind. Elaine's insecurities turned her into a Green Eyed Monster willing to do anything, and everything to destroy Alice. I think the world has too many people like Elaine, and not enough people like Alice who even though her world was crushed, she still managed to continue going to school, and putting up with all the bullshit.

Kelsie Sanders is probably the character that I found the most repulsive. The one character who should have stood shoulder to shoulder with her best friend and made sure that she was OK. But, instead she turned her back on Alice, drove the final nail into Alice's coffin with her ULTIMATE betrayal, and absolute disregard for anyone else's feelings but her own. Honestly, we're supposed to forgive people, and move on, but Kelsie doesn't get my forgiveness.

Josh Waverly is Brandon's best friend, and perhaps a bit more. Because of his LIE, Alice's downward spiral continued unabated. Telling someone in authority that Brandon's death was all Alice's fault for inappropriate texting, made Josh the true ASSHOLE of the story. Josh and Kelsie would make the perfect couple in that they just didn't care who they hurt, or why. They could probably hurt each other, and still find a way to keep their heads held high.

Kurt Morelli is the school's biggest "weirdo" because of his intelligence, and the fact that he's pretty much without any friends. He is socially awkward, but offers to tutor Alice who he pretty much had a crush on. Kurt was the only one still talking to Alice, but he too had some secrets that needed to be revealed in order for Alice to start the healing process. I'll forgive Kurt because he at least continued to try helping Alice when the rest of her school tore her down.

Jennifer Mathieu really does a good job of getting inside each characters head, and giving readers an up close look at high school shenanigans and the need to stop bullying in its tracks. I will say that this is the perfect situation to explain why girls can be just as cruel, or crueler than boys. Girls don't really care who they hurt as long as they remain popular. As I said before, the entire situation could have been handled differently had just ONE person had stood up and said STOP, this is all bullshit!

Author - Jennifer Mathieu
Title - The Truth About Alice
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Released: June 3, 2014
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Format: E-Book 208 pages

*Top Ten Tuesday* Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week there is a new topic and we all share our thoughts on that topic! I decided it was finally time to jump on board with this wicked fun meme!

 

Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag

10 - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 9 - We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

8 - The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

7 - The Book of Life by Deborah E. Harkness

6 - City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

5 - The Heist by Daniel Silva

4 - Ruin and Rising by Leah Bardugo

3 - The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

2 - Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

1 - The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

*Gizmos Book Reviews* Shadows on the Moon by Zoë Marriott

*My Thoughts*

Shadows on the Moon has been on my radar ever since a few bloggers I trust recommended it to me. I really do appreciate those recommendations folks! Shadows on the Moon is being praised for being a Japanese take-off of Cinderella, but it is so much more than that. The world that Zoe Marriott created is a fictional feudal Japan style country known as the Moonlit Land. Since I love fantasy novels set in feudal Japan, I eagerly anticipated liking this story, and I did.

Sixteen-year-old Suzume is the narrator of the story, and her journey to find justice for her family is one that readers of all ages should take note of. As a Fourteen-year-old, Suzume Hoshima's world was destroyed when her father was accused of being a traitor, and then killed. In the process of escaping the soldiers, she also loses her cousin/adopted sister Ami who tried to protect her from the soldiers. Suzume escapes using an unknown ability called shadow weaving. I would say that Suzume's mother Yukiko also survived the attack, but I would be leaving out a major chunk of the storyline, and I don't really wish to spoil the book for future readers even though it has been out since 2012.

Right from the point where Suzume's father and cousin are murdered, and a Cinderman named Youta comes into her life and explains what being a Shadow Weaver really means and tries to protect her from harm, Suzume only has one thing on her mind: revenge for her father and cousins deaths. Suzume goes through a transformation which is written in THREE parts. First, of course, there is Suzume the timid child who has to grow up fast after being taken away from the only home she's ever known thanks to her mothers new betrothal to her fathers supposed friend. Then, there's Rin the dredge who runs into Akira Kano who transforms her into Yue-San Kano, the beautiful singer who catches the eye of the Moon Prince, and later learns the full power of her shadow weaving abilities.

Suzume deals with a whole lot in this story, some of it because of her own silly choices, other times it's because of her mother and her new husband Terayama take her choices away from her and force her hand. One of the more shocking scenes is when Suzume starts cutting herself in order to resolve the anger and frustration that lies within. This isn't just a brief moment in time. Suzume finds it easy to let out her frustration levels by cutting her skin. It really only levels off after she meets Otieno, the foreigner she calls beautiful, and finds a unique connection to. Even though Suzume and Otieno are basically made for the other, Suzume still needs to resolve her own issues, and find revenge so that she can move on with her life and find happiness.

Recently, there has been a whole lot of conversations going on about the need for more diversity. Personally, I think it's a whole lot of silliness, especially if you don't trust yourself to read outside of your comfort zones, and authors continue to write from the perspective of the white main character, instead of exploring outside the box. I am not saying that you should stop reading in your comfort zones. Hell, I still refuse to read BDSM, and M/M novels because they make me uncomfortable. I also don't read a whole lot of pure Romance novels because I am a person who enjoys action, adventure, blood, gore, and kick ass heroines.

Shadows on the Moon not only has a Japanese main character in Suzume, but presumably a black African secondary love interest in Otieno, and a character who is an "oyama" or male actor who plays female roles and becomes Suzume's saving grace in Akira. I found the whole shadow weaving aspect to be highly entertaining. I found Suzume's story to be intriguing, and sad at the same time. I can't imagine the betrayal that a teenager is forced to face, and then having to face life without the one person that was supposed to protect you, and raise you, and give comfort to you in times of need.

Shadows on the Moon is a refreshing story that gives me a chance to explore new authors, and new characters I would not have thought of before. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Fantasy, or Feudal Japan.

Author - Zoe Marriott
Title - Shadows on the Moon
Published by Candlewick Press
Released: April 24, 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover 447 pages

*Gizmos Book Reviews* Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #3) by Nikki Jefford

**I received this book for free from author Nikki Jefford in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*MY Thoughts*

Before I dive into my review for Bad Blood, I would first like to say that I would recommend reading Stakeout (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #2.5) featuring Noel Harper, and Evil Red (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #2.6) featuring Valerie Ward, before diving into this book. You really should learn more about Noel Harper, and what happened to her, and why she has suddenly changed in Bad Blood, and why Aurora really doesn't much care for her at all because of something she did in Stakeout.

You should read Evil Red because even though Valerie Ward is bitch at most times, her story matters, and I think it will surprise you to learn how she actually came to be apart of Melcher's vampire killing squad alongside Aurora, Noel, and Dante and 2 new characters who are introduced in Bad Blood. Both of the novellas are important to the overall storyline that Jefford has created, and what is revealed in Bad Blood. Don't be like me, and swear at yourself for not reading the novellas first, before jumping into Bad Blood.

As a background, Aurora has been through a whole lot since she "died" in a car "accident" and was given a new opportunity to join a secretive government agency intent on wiping out vampires. This, of course, comes with lots of strings, and secrets that are slowly being revealed. The vampire hunters are all unique in that they ALL have AB positive or negative blood. With a simple bite from a vampire on one of the hunters necks like Aurora, they become easier to kill.

Bad Blood picks up SIX months after the end of Northern Bites. Our heroine Aurora Sky has finished up her SIX months of mandatory training at Boot Camp and is getting ready to attend college after missing out on her own H.S. Graduation. Aurora becomes the hunted in more ways than one. I'm trying not to spoil anything for future readers, so, please bear with me as I skim over the most important parts.

Aurora learns that she is being investigated for murdering a certain vampire from an unlikely source while on a new mission called "Tastings." Her ex-Fane re-enters the picture at the most interesting of times after Dante and Sky have had their own interesting moments. Confused? Sorry! She also learns an important lesson of not being a bleeding heart, and allowing anyone to live on any mission, or they will come back and bite you HARD in the ass.

Bad Blood ends on a doozy of a cliffhanger which has to do with Aurora's hatred of killing someone for the sake of killing. It will be a rather long summer & fall before Hunting Season (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #4) releases in November 2014. I look forward to seeing what happens next. Will Aurora and her new "friends" finally get the answers they need? Will they bring down the one vampire, Jared, who has caused so much pain and suffering? Will Aurora rekindle her feelings for Fane, or will Dante win out in the end? Will Aurora, Noel, and Valerie find a way to their own happy endings by bringing down Melcher's group?

Author - Nikki Jefford
Title - Bad Blood (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter # 3)
Releases: June 4, 2014
Genre: Paranormal, Vampires
Format: Ebook