see scoot read: February 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Giveaway! Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison
(Egmont USA, February 12, 2013)

They say first love never dies...

When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it's only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death.

There's a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there's a good chance she's losing her mind completely--just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn't really there?

With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It's the only way she can save herself.

Purchase a copy:

Barnes & Noble
Amazon
I ndiebound

I haven't finished reading Notes from Ghost Town yet, so I don't have a review for you to check out. But you can read a great review of it HERE from All Things Urban Fantasy!

About Kate Ellison:

Kate Ellison is the critically acclaimed author of The Butterfly Clues. She spent a lot of time as a child, in Baltimore, pretending to be things she wasn't: a twin, a telekinetic, a benevolent witch with a box full of magical stones, a spy, a soccer player. She trained as an actor in Chicago and has walked across the entire country of Spain. She is a painter and jewelry-maker, and has at least one artist friend who really does keep his true name a secret from the world. He told her, but don't ask her to tell you—she's not gonna do it. Kate lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her online at www.kateellison.com.

- Giveaway -

Thanks to EgmontUSA I am able to giveaway one hardcover copy of Notes from Ghost Town and the new paperback release of The Butterfly Clues!

US and Canada only please.

Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nobody (ARC)

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal
Publication Date: January 22nd 2013
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 393
Book Source: ARC for review from publisher

Synopsis (via Goodreads): There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

Scoot’s Review:

In a world where no one seems to notice her Claire uses her imagination to create “real life” scenarios. In a world where no one cares Nix has been ruthlessly trained as an assassin. Then suddenly Claire and Nix’s worlds collide in ways they couldn’t even imagine. No longer alone, Claire and Nix work together to solve the mystery of who they are, while also trying to escape and understand the Organization that threatens their lives. I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ Raised by Wolves series so I tried really hard to love Nobody; but I just couldn’t do it. Not to say that Nobody isn’t a great read for someone else, but I just couldn’t relate very well to it myself. Claire and Nix are both very angst filled and extremely lonely characters. Luckily I am neither of those things, so I found it all a little overdramatic. However, Jennifer’s writing style was still great. I like they way she uses short and to the point statements for describing what is going on in the novel. The pace of the story started out great; fast paced and interesting from the start. The pace got a little slow in the middle and I lost interest for a bit, but then it picked up again at the end. Nobody has a lot of action, a bit of romance and a twist of the paranormal. I loved the concept of the story, I just didn’t stay involved with the story very well – it is never a good sign for a book when you are wondering in the middle of it if it will be over soon. I was happy with the conclusion of the story and I like some of the big plot twists. Although the initial story arc was concluded there is definitely room for more story growth, so I expect a sequel or a trilogy to be born soon!

Notable Quotable:

“Emotions? Useless in a fight. The biochemical jolt that came with them? Gold.”*

- Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Nobody).

Grade:

*This quote is found on page 276 of the advanced reader copy.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day: Favorite Fictional Romances

Commercial holiday or not; I love Valentines! I just see it as a great excuse to show how much you care for someone. We should do it everyday, but for someone with a hectic life like myself a little annual reminder never hurts!

So since today is the day of romance.. who are your favorite fictional couples??

Below are a just a few of mine... and let me tell you - this post could be HUGE, but I forced myself to limit my choices. What can I say, I am a sucker for a good love story!!

Cinder & Kai from Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I just got a copy of Scarlet and I can't wait to read what happens next!

Artist Credits.

Aang and Katara from The Last Airbender (TV Series)

Ok, I know these aren't technically from a book, but I just recently watched this whole series and loved it.

Artist Credits

Kate & Curran from Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews write characters that you can't help but root for. And Kate & Curran are two of my faves!

Artist Credits.

Elizabeth & Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Classic romance. They are the best!! I love the snark.

Artist Credits.

Hiccup & Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon (movie)

Ok, this couple is really from a movie - BUT it is also a book series that I've heard is cute.

Artist Credits.

Harry & Ginny from Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Ok, this pic was too cute of Harry & Ginny and their future kiddos!

Artist Credits.

Akiva & Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

LOVE this series. Can't wait for the third book to find out what happens for these star-crossed lovers.

Artist Credits.

Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

... although their love story ends a little screwed up I am still a sucker for Peeta.

Artist Credits.

Ron & Hermione from Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Seriously, who wasn't waiting for these two to face the music?! 7-books-in-the-making romance.

Artist Credits.

Sophie & Howl from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I saw the movie version of this story before I read the book and I enjoyed them both. Of course the book is better ;)

Artist Credits.

Ian & Wanda from The Host by Stephenie Meyer

We all start off team Jared until we meet Ian. And then BAM - Ian FTW. Loved it.

Artist Credits.

Tavi & Kitai from Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

Seriously one of my favorite slow-growing romances of all time. LOVE them.

Artist Credits.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Harry Potter's New Look

In case you haven't already seen it, Publishers Weekly announced today that Scholastic is going to publish a new set of covers for the paperback Harry Potter series!

The new look (of just the first book):

The old look:

Personally I love the new cover. Harry Potter is one of my favorite series of books and I am sentimental about the old covers; I will always remember them as the ones I grew up reading throughout the years. However, at the same time I am also really excited about the new covers. I think the artist did a fabulous job and I can't wait to see the rest of them. I already own the Harry Potter series, so I am unlikely to re-purchase the books just for the new covers. But I find them fun to look at and enjoy anyway.

What do you think?