Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Title:  Dark Triumph Author:  R.L. LaFevers Genre: Historical fiction, young adult, fantasy My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads description: Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for? I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Grave Mercy , because of the richness of the world, the interesting characters, and all the politics and intrigue. Dark Triumph has all of that,...

Title:  Strands of Bronze and Gold Author:  Jane Nickerson Genre: Fairy-tale retelling, historical fiction My rating: 2 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . . When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi. Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten co...

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's theme:  BEST SEQUELS EVER Here are some of my favorite sequels/second books in series. Have you read these series? Which ones did you enjoy?

Welcome to the Scars of the Bifrost Blog Tour, put together by Nicole at  Feed Your Fiction Addiction ! Title: Scars of the Bifrost Author: A.J.M Mousseau Genre: Dystopia, science fiction, YA Rating: 3/5 stars Goodreads Summary:   Freya Catten has lived on the fringes of society her entire life, growing up in hiding with her mother in the deepest, wildest places left in North America—the national parks and forests. Freya's mother taught her how to live off the land, away from civilization—mysteriously warning her of the dangers of getting involved with society and leaving traces of her DNA behind. But five years ago Freya's mother abandoned her, leaving Freya to survive on her own. Freya knows how to stay alive, whether she's hiding in the forest or running on the city streets. She changes her appearance often and owns nothing but her backpack filled with survival gear and a necklace that had been her mother’s. But, keeping one step ahead of Social Services...

Title:  Gone Girl Author:  Gillian Flynn Genre: adult fiction, suspense, unreliable narrator My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars Goodreads summary: Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work "draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction." Gone Girl's toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn. On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn...

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's theme: Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List More Than This by Patrick Ness  - Ness is one of my favorite authors, and this book sounds spectacular (as always). Unsouled by Neal Shusterman  - Another one of my favorite authors. Unsouled is the third book in a four book series, and each book adds more characters and more twists that keep me dying for more! Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood  - Yet another favorite author. This one is the third book in the MaddAddam trilogy, which is one of the scariest dystopian series I have ever read. It's not that the things that happen are so cruel or gruesome, it's how twisted yet completely plausible everything is. Champion by Marie Lu  - The third book in the Legend series, which I am really enjoying. I love the incredibly smart characters and the fast pace of these books. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman  - The...

Title: Quicksilver Author: R.J. Anderson Genre: Science fiction, Young adult My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: Back in her hometown, Tori Beaugrand had everything a teenaged girl could want—popularity, money, beauty. But she also had a secret. A secret that could change her life in an instant, or destroy it. Now she’s left everything from her old life behind, including her real name and Alison, the one friend who truly understood her. She can’t escape who and what she is. But if she wants to have anything like a normal life, she has to blend in and hide her unusual... talents. Plans change when the enigmatic Sebastian Faraday reappears and gives Tori some bad news: she hasn’t escaped her past. In fact, she’s attracted new interest in the form of an obsessed ex-cop turned investigator for a genetics lab. She has one last shot at getting her enemies off her trail and winning the security and independence she’s always longed for. But saving herself will take every ounc...

Hello everyone! I'm really excited to be a part of the Earth Dweller's blog tour. Earth Dwellers is the final book that ties together the Country Saga and Dwellers by David Estes. We're even hosting a rafflecopter giveaway, so check it out!   Your favorite Dwellers and Country Saga characters come together in this epic seventh book! As President Borg Lecter threatens to annihilate the Country tribes in order to expand his glass-domed empire, Adele ventures into the belly of the beast. Her only hope of survival is the consolidation of Dwellers and Country power before it’s too late. Former demagogue President Nailin is eliminated, yet civil unrest infects every alliance. To save Adele, President Tristan faces his greatest challenge yet: unifying unfriendly Dwellers in the Tri-Realms to raise an army against Lecter. Meanwhile, Dazz must convince the Ice Country leaders to march with Siena and the Tri-Tribes on the gates of the Glass City. The wo...

Title:  Jaran Author: Kate Elliott Genre: Science fiction, adult fiction My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : The first book of Kate Elliott’s epic Novels of the Jaran, set in an alien-controlled galaxy where a young woman seeks to find her own life and love, but is tied to her brother’s revolutionary fate In the future, Earth is just one of the planets ruled by the vast Chapalii empire. The volatility of these alien overlords is something with which Tess Soerensen is all too familiar. Her brother, Charles, rebelled against them at one time and was rewarded by being elevated into their interstellar system—yet there is reason to believe they murdered his and Tess’s parents. Struggling to find her place in the world and still mending a broken heart, Tess sneaks aboard a shuttle bound for Rhui, one of her brother’s planets. On the ground, she joins up with the native jaran people, becoming immersed in their nomadic society and customs while also attempting to get ...

I'm afraid this post is a week late because of blogger scheduling glitches, but better late than never, right? Anyways, here is the cover reveal for Vision of Shadows, a YA Paranormal romance coming out in December! Is Bristol Blackburn about to meet the love of her life...or her killer?  After the death of her parents, Bristol Blackburn's life is thrown into chaos and she's forced to move to Spirit, a small town where shadows are stirring. As she learns to navigate her new school and figures out how to keep her psychic abilities secret from her family, Bristol comes face to face with the boy who makes a regular appearance in her dreams: the gorgeous, possibly deadly, Payne McKnight. Soon she’ll find out if Payne will be the love of her life, or the end of it — and she has no idea which possibility scares her more. And that's not even the worst of it. Strange shadows are haunting her dreams, and they're up to something that could put Bristol and ...