Friday's Featured Freebie

It's been a while now since I've meticulously searched through the free books.  I know!  What is wrong with me?  Well, I attribute this to the fact that I've had many books recently released and have read.  Never fear, I checked out the books today for you and here is what I found.  This book sparked my interest, as it doesn't seem to be anything like I've read so far, and it might now have to be bumped up toward the top of my To-Read list.

Insight (Insight #1)

by Jamie Magee 

 

Before that fateful summer night, Willow had balanced the insight of emotion, and the vivid images. That night, the figure in her nightmare marked her wrist with a star, giving her father no choice but to tell Willow a family secret that would abruptly change life, as she knew it, forever. Before Willow had time to absorb the shock of her father's secret, her soul mate that had shared every stunning dream with her, found her, and darkness captured her closest friends. In order to save them, she must weave through broken myths and the undeniable power of the Zodiac. In the end, Willow discovers that at the moment of our birth we are all given a divine gift.


What else did you pick up for free?

Waiting on Wednesday #5

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on. I first heard about Burned two years ago when I borrowed the book from a friend, mind you I didn’t actually read the book until the end of last year. It was the first book I ever read by Ellen Hopkins and it took me a while to get acquainted with her unique, poetic writing style. It takes you to a place that is gritty, dirty, dark and terrifyingly real. I wanted to scream at the characters as they made their final choices because I knew, I just knew it wasn’t going to end well. I foresaw it, no grand talent there, anyone could have seen it coming from a mile away. I internally warned myself of the possible outcome, regardless I couldn’t avert my eyes or look away. After finishing, I was in a state of dismay, wishing for a different life for Pattyn and this sequel is that second chance to find a glimmer of hope in a world so full of despair.

Smoke (Burned #2)
by Ellen Hopkins
Release Date: September 10th 2013

Pattyn Von Stratten’s father is dead, and Pattyn is on the run. After far too many years of abuse at the hands of her father, and after the tragic loss of her beloved Ethan and their unborn child, Pattyn is desperate for peace. Only her sister Jackie knows what happened that night, but she is stuck at home with their mother, who clings to normalcy by allowing the truth to be covered up by their domineering community leaders. Her father might be finally gone, but without Pattyn, Jackie is desperately isolated. Alone and in disguise, Pattyn starts a new life, but is it even possible to rebuild a life when everything you’ve known has burned to ash and lies seem far safer than the truth?

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Please leave your link below so we can check out your WoW and/or blog back.

Top Ten Books We Wish Were Taught in School

This is this week's Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by The Broke & the Bookish.

This week's topic: Top Ten Books We Wish Were Taught in School

This week we had two choices of the Top Ten and we chose what books we wish were taught in school.  Rachel's books generally have a little more depth to them, so I had to seek her help with this list.  I read to escape and enjoy, so if I were a Language Arts teacher I think I would just be happy with kids reading, as long as they enjoy it.  More kids needs to love reading.  It breaks my heart that none of my four kids will willingly pick up a book and start to read.  They need to be bribed or forced.  Which I don't think helps the situation at all, so if anyone has any ideas please let me know.  Anyways, back to our top ten.  Rachel and I both agree that teenagers are in a tough place.  They think they are invincible, know everything, and yet they sometimes struggle with who they are and how they fit in.  Part of becoming an adult is that you have to go through a process to find your identity, it just sucks to have to do it alone most of the time.  If these books were taught in school, then maybe our teenagers wouldn't feel like they were alone.  Hope you enjoy!  I know a couple of these are now on my To-Read list thanks to Rachel.

1.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- The Nazi Germany story beyond your Diary of Anne Frank or Number the Stars.  This story is narrated by Death himself from a perspective like nothing else I've read. 

2. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or Divergent by Veronica Roth.  These are our dystopian favorites and it just has to be on our list.

3. Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden.   A lesbian coming of age story about two girls who fall in love.  This book has actually been banned from many school libraries and, sadly, publicly burned in Kansas City.

4. Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer and A.J. Allen.  A young girl who is dealing with OCD.

5. Ishmael: An adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn.  This book will open your mind to how people are destroying the environment.

6. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.  This book explores the relationship between the US and the Middle East.  Your interpretation of the ending gives you an insight of how you view the world.

7. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  This book follows a girl who won't speak after the event that changed her life - her rape.

8. Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  To learn about the two India's and another country's culture.

9. Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.  How fun would it have been to read these stories first before getting into Greek Mythology?

10. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.  Only because I feel that sometimes we need to open our minds because a lot of the time things aren't exactly what you think they are.

How about you?  What would you like to have read in school or what would you want to teach?

Review: Forbidden Forest by Tenaya Jayne

This book takes you on a journey of passion, pain and the quest for power. The story follows Forest, a Shape Shifter/Elf hybrid who is an outcast of society as mixing between factions (Vampires, Elves, Shape Shifters and Werewolves) is taboo. Forest works as a portal patroller keeping supernatural creatures that aren’t authorized to visit Earth out. She especially loves kicking out scum suckers, who she has a personal vendetta against after being marked by a vampire so he can have complete dominance and control over her.

Due to her special set of skills, Forest is assigned a secret mission to escort the presumed to be dead, Vampire Prince Syrus across Regia safely as the realm is on the verge of war. This odd duo of a volatile hybrid and charming ladies’ man make for an entertaining pair especially when they discover a strange attraction for each other. Their love is forbidden and as the journey progresses, the forbidden temptations and desires become undeniable. 

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Forbidden Forest (Legends of Regia #1) by Tenaya Jayne

Rating: 5 wine glasses 

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Forest is a rough character and a loner around the edges, but is someone you can’t help but cheer on and wish happiness for. She reminded me of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Tenaya Jayne doesn't go too in-depth with the intimate details of Forest’s devastating encounter with the vampire who marked her, but gives the reader enough information to figure out what caused her to be so guarded and damaged.

I found the book’s concept of mating fascinating. As a shifter only Forest’s destined mate can see her true appearance, no matter how she shifts. You fully bond with your mate upon making eye contact.

This is the third book I have read where the heroine’s love interest is blind. It makes Syrus more vulnerable in some aspects and more realistic in an unrealistic, fantasy world. I adore Syrus’ ability to smell her tears when she is crying and sense other things about Forest’s demeanor.

The scenes at Forest’s house were my favorite. My emotions were swirling – my stomach would clench in anticipation during the heated scenes and then I would catch myself laughing out loud at the comical banter between Syrus and Forest.

I found this book on Amazon for free and purchased it based on the memorizing cover and alluring synopsis. Forbidden Forest grabbed me and kept me wanting more. I will definitely be checking out the sequel, Forest Fire.

Source

My Playlist for Forbidden Forest:
I Need Your Love by Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding
Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey

photo credit: photosteve101 via photopin cc

Showcase Sunday #5

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea where you show what books you've purchased, borrowed, checked out from the library, received from giveaway, etc.

This week, I am in one of those moods where I just want to finish reading the books in my apartment before I pick up anything else so I signed up for my first Read-a-thon to Tackle Your TBR which will run from September 8th - 21st. I am little nervous on how much I will actually be able to read between my job and everything else, but I keep telling myself not to make something I love stressful otherwise I will come to hate it.

That being said, books still found their way into my home this week and I delightfully accepted them. I have been told that I can have a pile of books to read at home but my eyes still roam the book shelves at Target, the secondhand shop and the library searching for the lucky books that have yet to become in my possession.

Melissa purchased City of Bones and City of Ashes by Cassandra Clarke after my recent love confession for Jace after finishing City of Bones. Being cheap, I picked up City of Ashes from the library along with The Selection by Kiera Cass. I have heard great things about this book and I am hoping it will give me a break from vampires which have been the majority of my reads as of late. I won Protector, by Joanne Wadsworth from a fellow blogger's giveaway at Part of that World. Protector is the first book in the Magio-Earth series, set on the planet of Magio where two counties containing people with special abilities are in a constant state of war. The story follows Faith, an earthling, who is dropped into this world after discovering it is half of who she is. Unfortunately, it will be a while before I can read this, but I am looking forward to this enticing  fantasy romance.

What did you pick up this week? Please leave your link below so we can check out your showcase and/or blog back.