Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Publication Date: Feburary 15th, 2011

Published By: HarperCollins / Katherine Tegan Books

Hardcover, 464 Pages

Source: ARC / Teen Book Scene

 

Summary:

"When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

 

My Review: ***** = 5 Stars

Wow wow wow! I absolutely loved this book. There have been so many wonderful debuts lately, I'm always worried that the next one I pick up won't be as wonderful, but I didn't have to worry about that with Angelfire. Moulton has crafted a remarkable debut, leaving its readers drooling for whatever she throws at us next. (Wings of the Wicked: Angelfire #2, 2012).


The characters in this novel are just one of the many amazing pieces that make up the whole. Ellie is such a badass, especially when it comes to the fighting scenes. I love seeing a chick in this position. I mean, there are a lot of strong female characters out there, but Ellie is truly one of a kind. And Will, her ever faithful gaurdian is awesome AND swoon worthy.

The whole book is filled with a ton of action, and a portion of those action scense are very intense. It was all written so well, Courtney has an incredible imagnination.

I've only read a few angel books, Hush, Hush and Fallen(which I both loved) to name some, and this book was so different. I know books in the same genre will have similar aspects, but this book stands on its own. It was like an action/adventure mixed with paranormal and a hint of romance. I mean, you can't really go wrong.

I don't know what else to say. I loved every part of this book and I can't wait to read the sequel. This is definitely something I recommend to any fans of paranormal books, and it even has a touch of romance for those of you who need your love fix. I'm already making my family members read it!

Have you read Angelfire yet? What are your thoughts? If not, is this something you would pick up?


Sherry<3

Into the Past with Jess C. Scott(The Other Side of Life Blog Tour)

Guest Post by Jess C Scott—Into The Past

BOOK SUMMARY (The Other Side of Life): A thieving duo’s world turns upside down when an Elven rogue uncovers the heinous dealings of a megacorporation.

What books would Jess recommend at 8, 16 and 24 years old?

Tough question, but I’ve tried to narrow the list down (with my own sneaky methods)!

Book Recommendations @ 8 Years Old

1. The Twits, Matilda (any of Roald Dahl’s books for kids)

2. Robin of Sherwood (Michael Morpurgo / beautifully illustrated by Michael Foreman)

3. Tales of King Arthur (James Riordan / I think the Robin Hood and King Arthur legends are timeless, and are a great introduction to the vast world of books and reading)

Book Recommendations @ 16 Years Old

1. Anything by Vivian Vande Velde, and Jane Yolen

2. Classics [Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare—whatever suits your fancy :)]

3. Anything/Everything you can get your hands on (magazines, blogs, textbooks, non-fiction books, novels, etc).

Book Recommendations @ 24 years Old (Jess’s current age)

These are books which I think people HAVE to read at least once, in their lives.

1. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)

2. 1984 (George Orwell)

3. Little Birds by Anais Nin; Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence; and/or Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (mature audience)

Happy reading, and thanks for having me as a guest today!

---------------

Author Bio:

Jess identifies herself as an author/artist/non-conformist. Her literary work has appeared in a diverse range of publications, such as Word Riot, ITCH Magazine, and The Battered Suitcase. She is currently working on several multiple-genre-crossing projects, including her trilogy featuring cyberpunk elves.

Find Jess at any of the links below!

Website: www.jessINK.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jesscscott

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jesscscott

Thanks for stopping by! A special thanks to Teen Book Scene for hosting this tour! And de sure to check back on March 3rd for my review of The Other Side of Life by Jess C. Scott!

Sherry<3

In My Mailbox: The Way Overdue Edition

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren; inspired by Alea from Pop Culture Junkie.

I haven't done one of these in quite some time(like 2 months).

Books received for Review:

Father of Lies by Ann Turner

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Not pictured- Egalleys:

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Wither by Lauren Destefano

Stay by Deb Caletti

Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

(Special thanks to Harpercollins, Harperteen, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Simon and Schuster and Candlewick)

Books Purchased:

Looking for Alaska by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley

Not Pictured- Books purchased on my Nook:

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (audiobook)

His Eyes by Renee Carter

Books Won or Traded:

Love Me to Death by Allison Brennan *signed

Playing with the Boys by Liz Tigelaar

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

Emily the Strange: Dark Times by Rob Reger

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto *signed

All Just Glass by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

(Special thanks to Harperteen, Bookalicious Pam, Random Buzzers, Allison Brennan and PaperbackSwap)

It has been two months so I might have missed something. But phew, thats a lot.

Get anything good this week, or these past two months? ;)

Sherry<3

Angelfire Blog Tour: Character Art

Welcome to the next stop on the Angelfire Blog Tour. Today's stop will feature artwork of two characters from the book.

Special thanks to Teen Book Scene for hosting this tour.

For those of you that haven't read it, here is the summary of Angelfire:

"When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember."

And now...

Introducing.....

*Cadan*

&

*Nathaniel*

I don't want to give anything away about these two characters, so if you haven't read the book yet, you definitely should! ;)

To learn more about debut author Courtney Allison Moulton, check out her webpage or go follow her on twitter.

Check back tomorrow for my 5 Star Review of Angelfire!

Sherry<3

My 300th post and a giveaway!

Wow! This is my 300th post on this blog. *tears up* It's definitely been a fun-filled journey reaching this point. I've met many amazing bloggers and authors, and so I lift my virtual champagne glass and toast to (hopefully) 300 more!

In celebration of Valentine's Day being yesterday, of this being my 300th post, and me almost hitting 800 followers (4 away!! eek!), I decided to hold a giveaway to win a pre-order of my most recent favorite read and a book I absolutely LOVE. Valentine's Day is the celebration of love after all, no one said it had to be directed to another person ;).

If you follow me on twitter(@ssalach21), or read my latest review, you will know that I am talking about Divergent by Veronica Roth.

If you missed my rave review, you can check it out here(It's spoiler free!).

Here is the summary for those of you who aren't familiar:

"One choice

One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs, and determines your loyalties . . . forever.

Or, one choice can transform you.

In Veronica Roth's debut novel, Divergent, a perfect society unfolds into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals, and unexpected romance."

In this book, Chicago is made up of five factions. It is up to you to decide which faction best suits you, and the lifestyle you wish to live.

Abnegation- The Selfless

Dauntless- The Brave

Amity- The Peaceful

Erudite- The Intelligent

Candor- The Honest

To enter this contest, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling me which faction you would be in and why you would be able to throw those other virtues out the window.

If the book depository ships to you, then you can enter! (Yay for International Contests!!)

If you want to get an extra entry, spread the word about this contest in a tweet or a blog post and leave the link with your comment. Please also leave your email address so I can contact the winner after this giveaway ends!

Now this book isn't out until May, so I will leave this open for a month, until March 15th. At that time I will probably hold ANOTHER giveaway for this same book, because it is that awesome and I want everyone to have the chance to read it!!

Alright, get entering, and GOOD LUCK!!!

Sherry<3

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

Published By: HarperCollins/Katherine Tegan Books

Hardcover, 496 Pages

Source: ARC received from Publisher for honest review

Summary:

"One choice.

One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs, and determines your loyalties . . . forever.

Or, one choice can transform you.

In Veronica Roth's debut novel, Divergent, a perfect society unfolds into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals, and unexpected romance."

My Review: *****+ = 5+ Stars

(NO SPOILERS)

If you compile a list of compliments that you would give an outstanding book, they would all apply to how I feel about Divergent. Amazing, fascinating, marvelous, stunning, surprising, and wonderful, I could keep going but the list on this one would be never ending.

In a future society in Chicago, the lives of the citizens are split into five different factions. Each faction represents a virtue, and the people of that faction must act according to their faction at all times. It practically consumes their lives.

Dauntless- the brave, Abnegation- the selfless, Candor- the honest, Erudite- the intelligent, and Amity- the peaceful.

Beatrice Prior was born into the Abnegation Faction, and has therefore spent her entire life being selfless, or at least trying to. At sixteen, the children of the factions attend a choosing ceremony and must decide whether to stay with their original faction, or to transfer to one more appropriate for them.

Each character in this novel stands out. Beatrice, or Tris, is a strong main character and I absolutely loved her, flaws and all. Four is amazing, and I'm sure you'll think so too when you know more about him. Even the nasty, mean characters are memorable. The writing is mesmerizing and the world Roth created is absolutely unbelievable. (FYI Veronica Roth is the same age as me, 22! That's crazy. Mad props to her for her imagination and creativity!)

This book will make you cry(if you're a softie like me), make you laugh and will certainly have you swooning.

I would love to sit here and delve into every awesome, kick-ass scene and detail but I won't. It wouldn't be fair to those of you who haven't read it, and it is certainly a journey you will want to experience for yourself.

I will say this. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book so much, it might possibly be my favorite.. ever. And if the series continues and is anywhere near as good as this book, it will definitely top my all time favorite series(and that's hard to do folks).

In other words, Divergent is a phenomenal debut, one that will have readers staying up all hours of the night until they finish, and reliving scenes in their head long after they're done. It will most likely leave you without the proper words to explain just how you feel, and you will probably need to force someone near you to read it asap or find someone else that already has, just so you can gossip about its pure epicness. <----(I'm making my brother read it right now hehe).

I hope you all get to read this book soon, or add it to your calender(May 3rd). I have already preordered the hardcover and plan on getting it on my Nook too so that I can have it with me at all times. =P

Cover: I don't mention covers often, but look at that. It's actually very simple, but doesn't it just make you want to grab it and start reading. Yes, yes it does.

Have you read it, what are your thoughts?

(Please don't leave spoilers in the comments, I don't want my followers that have yet to read this to have the story ruined for them. I would love to chat with you about this book, just not on here where spoilers should be avoided.)

Sherry<3

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

Publication Date: March 7th, 2011

Published By: Harcourt Children's Books(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Hardcover, 304 Pages

Source: HMH via Netgalley

Summary from Goodreads:

"It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.

When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause."

My Review: ***** = 5 Stars

I can count the number of historical fiction novels I have read on one hand. I love the idea, but for some reason I just can't get into them all too often. That was certainly one problem, that I did not have here. Right from the get go I become enraptured with Saundra's use of words and dialogue. I felt like I had stepped back in time and that I was experiencing what Amelia and those around her were experiencing. Perhaps it was the fact that this historical fiction is intertwined with a supernatural aspect, that I enjoyed it so much, but it would be wrong of me not to give major props to Saundra Mitchell for being able to combine those two aspects so magnificantly.

There are two times in Amelia's life that this book is separated into. When she goes to visit her cousin Zora and to find a suitable husband in Baltimore, and the other when she has returned home to her brother August and his wife.The alternating times in Amelia's life that are shown is something that I think helped draw me into this book. Knowing what is going on in the present time with her brother, had me very intrigued to see what happened when she was spending time with Zora.

As far as the romance in this novel is concerned, it is absolutely perfect. I've read around where a few people felt that the relationship between Amelia and Nathaniel was unrealistic, but I feel the opposite. Back in those times, the relationship was built on minor meetings, and chance get togethers. Every extra glance and lingering hand helped the relationship to grow. These people didn't get to just hang out all the time, go to movies and dinner. Everything is done in groups and over long periods of time.

The pace of this book was also spot on. It didn't crawl at snail speed during any part and it wasn't too rushed either. It picked up in the perfect places and I was left very happy with how everything ended.

I just found out that there will be a second book, it won't be a continuation to what happened in The Vespertine, but a companion novel. The Springsweet will be released in the Spring of 2012.

Any fans of historical fiction or supernatural genres will most likely enjoy this book. And for those of you that aren't fans of historical fiction, I recommend you still check it out, since I am not particularly interested in that genre and I absolutely adored this book!

Find out more about Saundra Mitchell on her webpage

or

follow her on twitter : @saundramitchell

Sherry<3

Upcoming CSN Review

CSN has been kind enough to allow me to do another review. They have so many products sometimes it's so hard to choose what I would like to review. I hope to be getting my own place soon so I can't help but to look at things that I might enjoy in my own apartment or home. New modern bar stools, a floor lamp or maybe even some new furniture for the bedroom or living room.

^^^I really like this style! :)

Keep on the lookout for my review on whichever product I decide to check out!

Sherry<3

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green

Publication Date: Sept. 22, 2009 (Orig. Published Oct. 16th, 2008)

Published by Dutton Books

Paperback, 320 Pages

Source: Purchased

Summary from Goodreads:

"When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers."

My Review: ***** = 5 Stars

For a long time I have heard of the brilliance and genius that is John Green. Sometimes though, it isn't enough to simply hear praise about an author, you have to experience it for yourself. While it may have taken me some time to finally pick up one of his books and say to myself, "Okay, okay, let's see what the big deal is?" that time did finally come.

And now I'm saying to myself... "Why the hell did I wait so long to read one of his books?"

Paper towns is an amazing book. The story itself, is nothing phenomenal. A girl, Margo, who seems outgoing and amazing and full of life to the outside eye but feels differently than that. A neighbor boy, Quentin, who has loved this image of Margo for as long as he can remember, and will do anything to find her once she leaves them all behind. What is phenomenal is the writing and the characters. Green transformed what is a story of love and adventure, something that could just be a typical story, into something I have never read before, something that I couldn't have imagined I would enjoy so much. Everything was planned out and created with such amazing detail, yet the reading is so smooth and real.

Paper Towns is a mystery, an adventure, a love story, and so much more. There is laughter and friendship, but sorrow and loss, understanding and accomplishment. Green has created a novel that will have many fans cheering for the friend next door, anticipating the next clue that will hopefully solve the mystery that is Margo Roth Spiegelman.

Since this story is such a mystery, I will leave out the details. It was an enjoyment and a pleasure to read. For those of you who are already familiar with John's work, I'm sure you're thinking it took me long enough to join the party, and for those of you who haven't, I recommend checking out John Green's work for yourself.

While Paper Towns is the only novel of his that I have read, I have ordered An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska, both of which I have heard high praise for as well. I look forward to seeing if I can get lost in his writing over and over again(which I'm pretty sure I will).

Have you read any of John Green's books? Which is your favorite?

Sherry<3