Tuesday #Review - Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne #YALit #Fantasy @lkblackburne @DisneyHyperion

Series: Rosemarked # 1
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Historical

A healer who cannot be healed . . .

When Zivah falls prey to the deadly rose plague, she knows it's only a matter of time before she fully succumbs. Now she's destined to live her last days in isolation, cut off from her people and unable to practice her art-until a threat to her village creates a need that only she can fill.

A soldier shattered by war . . .

Broken by torture at the hands of the Amparan Empire, Dineas thirsts for revenge against his captors. Now escaped and reunited with his tribe, he'll do anything to free them from Amparan rule-even if it means undertaking a plan that risks not only his life but his very self.

Thrust together on a high-stakes mission to spy on the capital, the two couldn't be more different: Zivah, deeply committed to her vow of healing, and Dineas, yearning for vengeance. But as they grow closer, they must find common ground to protect those they love. And amidst the constant fear of discovery, the two grapple with a mutual attraction that could break both of their carefully guarded hearts.

This smart, sweeping fantasy with a political edge and a slow-burning romance will capture fans of The Lumatere Chronicles and An Ember in the Ashes.

Rosemarked, by author Livia Blackburne, is the first installment in the authors Rosemarked series. The story kicks of with readers meeting 17-year old Zivah. Zivah, who lives in a village called Dara, has passed all her required tests in order to earn her healers sash. She's spent 10 years of her life getting to the point where only a dangerous final test stands in her way of a life that she has chosen. After becoming the youngest healer Dara has ever seen, she gets very little time to prove her worth when the Empire's guards are struck down with the dreaded Rose plague. 

As a healer, it is Zivah's responsibility to do whatever she can to easy their pain and suffering. Unfortunately for Zivah, she gets no chance to preen at her successes before she, herself, is struck by the Rose plague. Now labeled as Rosemarked, she is no longer able to do what she's trained so hard for. Zivah is sent away from the village where she is supposed to spend the rest of her time alone. But, Zivah has other ideas. Zivah has a brilliant mind, but the one thing she can't comprehend is her inability to heal herself. Zivah's world will be even further stretched when she is chosen to go on a dangerous mission to the Central Empire to act as a spy. 

The second primary character in this story is 18-year old Dineas. A Shidadi soldier who was caught, tortured, infected with the rose plague, and dump outside of his prison, Dineas finds himself a umbertouched. Umbertouched basically means that he was exposed to the virus, but his body rejected the virus. He doesn't have the classic signs of being Rosemarked like Zivah does. Dineas is a character who is battle hardened. He hates villages like Dara who willingly bowed down and surrendered to the Central Empire. He wants revenge. But, what he gets is a partnership with a healer that sends them deep into the heart of the Empire itself. A partnership that may lead to a cure for the rose plague or certain death if they are caught.

I can't say that I was a fan of the so called romance. What's curious about the romance is that Dineas takes on a split personality thanks in part to a potion that makes him lose his memories. One of the ravaged soldier, and the other who develops feelings for Zivah while he doesn't remember who he really is. Zivah is by far my favorite character in this book and it is because anyone who can allow herself to be bitten by snakes, scorpions and spiders and survive, has got some moxy. She's also courageous to experiment with different methods of healing herself of the plague. Zivah won't be going down without a fight, and you better watch out for her pet snake! 

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Monday #Review - This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada #YALit #SyFy

Series: Mortal Coil # 1
Format: E-Book, 432 pages
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

In this gripping debut novel, seventeen-year-old Cat must use her gene-hacking skills to decode her late father’s message concealing a vaccine to a horrifying plague.

Catarina Agatta is a hacker. She can cripple mainframes and crash through firewalls, but that’s not what makes her special. In Cat’s world, people are implanted with technology to recode their DNA, allowing them to change their bodies in any way they want. And Cat happens to be a gene-hacking genius.

That’s no surprise, since Cat’s father is Dr. Lachlan Agatta, a legendary geneticist who may be the last hope for defeating a plague that has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. But during the outbreak, Lachlan was kidnapped by a shadowy organization called Cartaxus, leaving Cat to survive the last two years on her own.

When a Cartaxus soldier, Cole, arrives with news that her father has been killed, Cat’s instincts tell her it’s just another Cartaxus lie. But Cole also brings a message: before Lachlan died, he managed to create a vaccine, and Cole needs Cat’s help to release it and save the human race.
Now Cat must decide who she can trust: The soldier with secrets of his own? The father who made her promise to hide from Cartaxus at all costs? In a world where nature itself can be rewritten, how much can she even trust herself? 

This Mortal Coil is the debut release for author Emily Suvada. 17-year old Catarina Agatta is a talented hacker who has spent the last two years living on her own in the Black Hills of South Dakota after her father, Dr. Lachlan Agatta, and his assistant Dax, were taken away by the mega-corporation Cartaxus. Since then, Cat has tried to avoid the mindless humans that were were exposed to the Hydra virus. A virus that has brought humanity to the very brink of the apocalypse. Hydra is a virus that causes spontaneous combustion in humans called a Hydra cloud. 

The cloud contains swirling airborne virus particles that infect anyone in its path. One of the more curious aspects of the Hydra virus is that if you actually eat the flesh of one of the victims before they combust, you have temporary immunity from the virus. Cat's only real contact has come in the form of Agnes, a woman who knows her as Bobcat. She also works with a group calling themselves The Skies which is a group of survivors who chose not to give up their freedom and their technology in order to live in some underground bunker operated and controlled by Cartaxus. 

But, things quickly change. When Lieutenant Cole Franklin, a Cartaxus black out soldier, arrives with news of her fathers death, he also brings news that he may have created a vaccine for the Hydra virus. He is also programmed to protect her against anyone who attempts to harm her. Cat may hold the answer to saving humanity, but first she has to struggle with understanding her father's methods, a growing affection for Cole, and her own identity which threw me for one helluva a loop once it was revealed. Cat must choose who she actually trusts, while at the same time, unlocking what might be more than she is willing to give up in order to save humanity from extinction. 

Cat's story is one of secrets and revelations. Secrets of who she is. Secrets of what she is capable of. Secrets that are so damning once they come out, that they force Cat into taking action that she might have never figured out had it not been for fate, and circumstances which will remain unspoiled by me. This is a curious world where the technology written about isn't at all far-fetched. Technology evolves on a daily basis. One day soon in the future, maybe not in my lifetime, there will be healing apps that people can download to fix what ails them, including some we've spent trillions on trying to understand and cure. There will be apps that will allow you to change your appearance so cosmetic surgery will no longer be required. You can even lost that fat that you've been dying to get rid of instead of doing exercise, or going through painful liposuction. This story is far from being a stand alone. The last chapter of this book is not only revealing, but sets the stage for the sequel.  

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#Stacking the Shelves # 262 - Week Ending 11/04/2017

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Thanks for Shopping by!

Welcome to November! Only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving!

Have a great weekend!

Shelley

This Weeks Reviews: 

Monday - The Empress by SJ Kincaid (YA, SyFy)

Tuesday - The Trouble with Twelfth Grave - Darynda Jones (Fantasy)

Wednesday - The Rift Frequency by Amy S Foster (SyFy)

Thursday - One Foot in the Grave by CC Hunter (YA, Romance)

Friday - Haven by Mary Lindsey (YA, Paranormal)

Saturday - The Imposters of Aventil by MRM (Fantasy)

*REC'D VIA Library, & NETGALLEY *

Saturday #Review - The Imposters of Aventil by Marshall Ryan Maresca #Fantasy

Series: Maradine # 3
Format: E-Book, 400 pages
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Penguin/DAW
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Urban Fantasy

The third installment in Marshall Ryan Maresca’s urban and epic fantasy Novels of Maradaine series.

Summer and the Grand Tournament of High Colleges have come to the University of Maradaine. If the heat and the crowds weren’t enough to bring the campus and the neighborhood of Aventil to a boiling point, rumors that The Thorn is on the warpath—killing the last of the Red Rabbits—is enough to tip all of Maradaine into the fire.

Except Veranix Calbert, magic student at the University, is the Thorn, and he’s not the one viciously hunting the Red Rabbits. Veranix has his hands full with his share of responsibilities for the Tournament, and as the Thorn he’s been trying to find the source of the effitte being sold on campus. He’s as confused as anyone about the rumors.

When the Thorn imposter publicly attacks the local Aventil constables, the Constabulary bring in their own special investigators: Inspectors Minox Welling and Satrine Rainey from the Maradaine Grand Inspectors Unit. Veranix must find out who the imposter is and stop him before Welling and Rainey arrest him for the imposter’s crimes.

Series Overview: A gritty-yet-epic series of novels set in Maradaine—a city where you only survive as long as you can fight with wit, will, and magic.

The Imposters of Aventil, by author Marshall Ryan Maresca, is the third installment in the Maradaine series. This is a story that surrounds a yearly event called The Grand Tournament of the High Colleges. Protagonist Veranix Calbert leads a double life. By day he's a magic student at the University of Maradine. By night he is the crime fighting superhero known as The Thorn.

Thorn has become a notorious vigilante who has riled up a whole lot of enemies while targeting a particular drug called Effitte and a particularly bad man who has brought the drug to Maradine and to the campus of the University of Maradine. The Thorn's main nemesis is Willem Fenmere who we really don't see much of until the final chapter. Which is why you should definitely have read The Thorn of Dentonhill and The Alchemy of Chaos before starting this book. 

There is a whole lot of things that you must understand before jumping feet first into this series. Thorn is a marked man. He has stuck is nose into places that the gangs of Aventil don't take kindly too. Including one that his cousin Colin belongs to. He gets himself into tricky situations that takes extraordinary talent to evade capture. So, when Thorn impostors start creating chaos all over Aventil, the real Thorn and his group of friends (Delwin, Kaiana, Jiarna, & Phadre) must step up and stop them with a bit of help from Rainey and Welling.

I felt like an idiot after reading this story. When I saw the cover had Inspector Third Class Satrine (Tricky) Rainey, and her partner Inspector Third Class Minox (Jinx) Welling on it, I jumped to the wrong conclusion. A conclusion that I am happy to rectify by requesting books 1 & 2 from my local library. Maresca is an author who currently has (3) series going on at the same time. Maradine, The Maradine Constabulary, and The Holver Alley Crew. When I say they are all current, I mean they take place concurrently and in the same time frame.

If you are a reader who loves epic fantasy, then you will love these series. You will love the world building. You will love the characters of all three series. You will love the danger & action & adventure. All three series are set in what the author is calling Maradine. Maradine is a dangerous place to be which is why those like Raine and Welling are out on the streets trying to keep innocents safe. Which is why those like the Thorn and his group have made it their mission to stop the sell of a drug called Effitte into neighborhoods. So, while Rainey and Welling are players in this story, it is Veranix Calbert aka the Thorn and his group whose story this really is. 

I loved having the crossover aspects of this story. The addition of Rainey and Welling to the story was a brilliant move by Maresca. The addition of Welling's brother and sister was also a plus. I also loved the curiosity of having a mage like Welling, who has no formal training and is considered an outcast, meeting with someone like Veranix who is going to school for magic but isn't as brilliant as say someone like Jiarna. You can truly see the differences between who has had training and who is considered dangerous because he is an unsanctioned mage. I would think that the author is going to have to explain that particular aspect sooner rather than later since Welling has a target on his back.

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Friday #Review - Haven by Mary Lindsey #YALit #Paranormal @MaryL_MarissaC ‏@EntangledTeen

Series: Standalone?
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult \ Paranormal


We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes.

Rain Ryland has lived on the streets his entire life, bouncing from one homeless shelter to another, so when his mother dies and a court orders him to move to a tiny town in the Texas Hill Country to live with an aunt he’s never met, he knows his life is about to change—he just has no idea how much.

Seventeen-year-old Friederike Burkhart has a legacy to protect. She also has a pack of wolf shifters to lead, a coven of spell weavers to guard, a murder to solve, and a boatload of homework on top of it all. The last thing she needs is a nosy human in the mix. But when another dead body turns up, Freddy realizes she can trust no one and is in over her head. Maybe the hot human boy could be the key to finding the killer.

As Freddy and Rain team up to solve the murders and stop more deaths before her pack is exposed, they find themselves the next targets. Can they uncover the killer before losing their lives…or their hearts?

Author Mary Lindsey's Haven is a young adult paranormal story with suspense, action, and plenty of romance. The author turns Beauty and the Beast on its head, and creates her own version where the female lead doesn't need anyone to take care of her. She can do just fine thank you very much. Narrator Aaron "Rain" Ryland is a 17-year old who has lived on the streets for most of his life along with his mother. After his mother dies, Rain discovers that he has an Aunt he never new about. 

After a judge grants Abby custodianship, Rain finds himself in New Wurzburg. Aunt Ruby is a police officer in the town as well as her mothers twin. New Wurzburg is a community that is masking a struggle between Watchers and Weavers. At the center of that struggle is none other than Friederike Burkhart the presumptive Alpha to be now that her father has died. No spoilers here folks. Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls. She's actually a Watcher aka Werewolf who is supposed to protect Weavers and it appears as though someone wants her dead. She's also got huge issues that have impacted her life. Issues that are ripe for someone to come along and take over. 

Rain is fascinated with Freddie while Freddie warns Rain to stay away if he knows what's best for him. Rain has never felt safe anywhere. He's always been on the outside looking in. This is his time to actually make a difference and nobody, not even Freddie and her issues, and those who live in this new town, are going to scare him away. Rain has finally found someone worth fighting and perhaps dying for. But will Rain change his mind after meeting some of the most deadly people he's every met? Will his urge to protect the innocent from the bullies finally be thwarted sending Rain scurrying off with his tail between his leg? 

There are some secondary characters I must mention. First, let's give the author props for actually having an actual human in the book without deciding that she needs to become a werewolf or a Watcher (Witch) suddenly and without explanation. I adored Abby. She has no idea what the hell is going on in her town, but she isn't going to turn her back on Rain, or leave him like his father and mother did. Living with Abby gives him something he hasn't had in a long time. Confidence that someone really loves him. I also loved Petra. Petra is a key character in this book whether you want to admit it or not. She has some unique abilities, and she genuinely lights up when Rain calls her friend.  

When I was gazing at this title via Edelweiss, it said, and I quote, "The start of a thrilling and sexy new werewolf series perfect for fans of the Lux series or Maggie Stiefvater." I'm hoping the author or publisher will enlighten me as to if this is true or not. Maybe the author intends to one of the secondary characters? The reason I say anything at all is that the story actually feels like a standalone. Even at 400 pages, it was a very quick read. Without several unavoidable offline issues, this book only took me about 8 hours to read. Definitely recommended.

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Thursday #Review - One Foot in the Grave by C.C. Hunter #YALit #Paranormal #Romance

Series: The Mortician's Daughter # 1
Format: E-Book, 325 pages
Release Date: October 31, 2017
Publisher: EverAfter Romance
Source: NetGalley 
Genre: Young Adult / Romance

The first exciting novel in a brand-new series from New York Times bestselling author C. C. Hunter!
Her dad’s job is with the dead . . . and he’s bringing his work home with him.

Once again, seventeen-year-old Riley Smith is the new kid in school and her dad’s career has her back to being dubbed a freak. Truth is, she’s a much bigger freak than her classmates think. The only company she keeps these days is the dead who follow Dad home from work. She can see them. She can speak to them. And Fate seems to think she can help them solve their last problems so that they can move on to the other side. Which is odd, because with the loss of her mother and her father’s alcoholism, she’s got enough problems of her own.

But nothing could prepare her for the next tormented young spirit who darkens Riley’s door. The young woman’s death wasn’t the accident everyone believes. Soon Riley finds herself face-to-face with the killer and her only protection comes in the form of another spirit, Hayden, a boy her age with a heart-melting smile and understanding eyes that make her feel safe. If she can escape becoming the killer’s next victim, Riley knows she’ll have to help Hayden move on too, but what if she can’t let him go?

One Foot in the Grave, by author C.C. Hunter, is the first installment in The Mortician's Daughter trilogy. 17-year old Riley Smith is the new girl in Catwalk, Texas. She's also a senior at her High School where everyone believes she is a freak because of what her father does for a living. But, if they really understood Riley and what she can do, they would probably run away screaming. No seriously. You see, Riley can see and talk to the departed. She has also been helping the departed with certain requests before they move on for the past year or so.

It seems that most of the ghosts she encounters have had a connection with her father Brent Smith, the towns mortician. 

In fact, as the story begins, we find Riley helping a ghost named Bessie assist her family. Riley is in a pickle, however. Her father is acting strange, and by the time she understands what is really happening, she's up to her ears with a murder mystery. Abby Howard's story is a sad and terrifying one. She finds Riley through another ghost who Riley had just recently helped.

Abby wants Riley to find her ring and give it to her sister. Abby won't take no for an answer, which leads to Riley to getting help from a second ghost named Hayden. Riley can also feel the emotions of ghosts like Abby which make her feel what really happened to Abby. Hayden is unlike any other ghost that Riley has encountered. There is something very curious about him that just doesn't add up. She also falls for said ghost who helps Riley investigate what happened to Abby. I will say that I was almost right in my guess as to who Hayden is and what really happened to him.

I will say that there is a great deal of drama in this story. Especially when it comes to Riley having to confront her adult father and explain that drinking as much as she believes he is drinking is not good for him. In fact, he's already lost several jobs because of his drinking issue. Thus why they moved to Catwalk in the first place. I think this particular aspect of the story is one that all young readers should pay attention to. It is okay to confront your parents if you believe they are drinking too heavily. It is absolutely okay to show concern for their well being. 

I loved the mystery that held my attention right to the end. I do have to say that there is a hint of a love triangle for which I docked this story a rating. I loved Kelsey. I am a fan of characters who aren't afraid of expressing who they are, and backing it up with their actions. While the friendship between Riley and Kelsey gets off to a slow start, by the end, you can tell that these two young women were meant to be friends. Kelsey is unlike any other friend that Riley has met. She's also as curious about Riley which will make things interesting in the next book.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. Why? As I mentioned above, I really liked Riley. I think she's the genuine article who has her head on straight even with all her family issues of losing her mother and her father's alcoholism. She doesn't give herself enough credit, but she is willing to step out of her zone to take auto-tech class. Is she the perfect character who can do no wrong? Nope, and that's why I like her so much. I love that she finds friendship with Kelsey. I love that she stood up for Kelsey when the bullies try to make her feel 2 feet tall. My only twist is that there are two guys involved in what is apparently a triangle. I can't hate either boy. Not Jacob. Not Hayden. I can however, loathe Riley's father for what he's doing to himself which will one day affect Riley.

I am eager to read the next installment since the author left us with a bit of a mind blowing cliffhanger ending.

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Wednesday #Review - The Rift Frequency by Amy S. Foster #Science Fiction @HarperVoyagerUS

Series: The Rift Uprising Trilogy # 2
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages 
Release Date: October 31, 2017
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fiction \ Science Fiction \ Action & Adventure 

To save her love and unlock the mystery of who she is, a brave young woman must travel between alternate realities in this exciting second book in The Rift Uprising Trilogy

She didn’t mean to, but teenage super-solider Ryn Whittaker started an uprising.

For three years Ryn was stationed at The Battle Ground Rift site—one of the fourteen mysterious and unpredictable tears in the fabric of the universe that serve as doorways to alternate Earths—and then she met Ezra Massad.

Falling in love and becoming a rebel Citadel wasn’t part of Ryn’s life plan, but with Ezra there asking all the right questions, they began to decode what’s really going on, and what they discovered was enough to start a civil war.

When the base explodes with infighting and Ezra gets caught in the fray, he is accidentally pushed through the Rift, taking a stolen laptop—and the answers it could give Ryn—with him.

Now all Ryn wants is to locate Ezra and get back to her Earth. But that’s not easy when she’s traveling the multiverse with Levi, the painfully guarded Citadel who shoved Ezra through in the first place. And Ryn is quickly learning that inside the multiverse there is no normal—it’s adapt, or die—and the one weapon she really needs to win the war back home is the truth.

The Rift Frequency, by author Amy S. Foster, is the second installment in The Rift Uprising Trilogy. The Rift Frequency is an action packed, science fiction, travel through strange alternate multiverses adventure. Protagonist Ryn Whittaker is a Citadel, a super soldier who was altered by an alien race called the Roones. She's also team leader of beta team and the instigator of a rebellion against her superiors. Ryn and Levi Branach have jumped into the Rift in order to find Ezra Massad who uncovered things about what was done to them as children.

As Ryn and Levi journey their way through dozens of multiverses, they also come into contact with a variety of different settings as well as a variety of curious beings. From a universe where the US was conquered by Japan, to a universe that is toxic, to a universe that could be called water world, to a world where everyone looks like someone important back on Ryn's world. Let's stop a moment and chat about this universe. This is important because these are sentient machines who have reached what's called a singularity where AI's have overtaken human intelligence and a doomsday scenario followed.

Ryn and Levi are the first humans in 2,000 years. These beings are a bit overprotective about not wanting them to leave. Ever. It is also the point in the series where Ryn knows she needs all the allies and technology she can get her hands on for her fight against the Roones and their human supporters. Not only do Ryn and Levi find themselves with new technology, but perhaps a hope for a future where Ryn and the rest of the Citadel's can actually have a normal life free of protecting the Rift from aliens that arrive on Earth.

Ryn & Levi's journey brings them to an world where the Romans are still around. This is pretty interesting actually. Ryn and Levi are caught, become temporary slaves who are forced to become gladiators in order to fight for their lives and freedom. Why I mention this at all, is that this is the point where someone starts to follow the duo wherever they go. This is the point where Ryn understands that there is much, much more to her than she ever knew which is later confirmed by another alien race. She can actually feel when Rift's are created. She can feel when something in their setting is not right. 

I loved the idea of multiverse travel. I'm curious about the relationship that grows between Ryn and Levi, while Ryn's relationship with Levi cools off significantly. I will say this. I liked Levi because we know who he is and what he is capable of because Ryn is as well. He will follow Ryn because he respects her and what's she's done. Then there's Ezra who I really didn't care for this time out. Seems as though he's lost everything that made him interesting in the first installment. Instead, Ezra becomes a whiny, snot nosed douche who thinks he's better than anyone else. Meanwhile, Ryn's journey ends on a curious cliffhanger ending. The fact that these are supersoldiers with Star Trek technology, including drones, gets to the core of my geek side. Bring me the sequel now!

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