Best of the Bunch October 2012

Best of the Bunch is a meme hosted here on the last day of each month, where we can look back over the books we have read and give a Best of the Bunch award to our favourite book of that month.
I always put up my post on the last day of the month, but remember, you can add your link anytime in the following month :D
For more info and to grab the button and stickers visit the BOTB page here, write up your post showing us your Best of the Bunch and then add your linky to the list below. 

October 2012
I know posting has been sparse AGAIN this month on the blog, and I feel like I have been making excuses for the past 3 months, but this time I really really REALLY am going to be coming back with plenty of reviews, and I have loads of ideas for fun posts! I promise this time that I will start posting regular reviews and features again from now. I love blogging and I definitely don't want to quit (I just need to find more hours in the day to do it!). As it is though October was another quiet month for reviews. 
This month I have reviewed on the blog-

• Pure by Julianna Baggott My Review 3.5 of 5 stars
• Arise by Tara Hudson My Review 3.5 of 5 stars
• Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick My Review 4 of 5 stars
• The First Days by Rhiannon Frater My Review 5 of 5 stars 

The award for Best of the Bunch for October 2012 goes to...

...*drumroll*...

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater!

This was such an amazing book- so emotional and exciting, and just completely gripping. I can't stop thinking about it and I definitely need to read book 2 soon. The bond of friendship formed between the two female leads as they struggle to escape a zombie infested city, and then survive out on the road, was just amazing to read about. One of the best zombie apocalypse books I have ever read (and there have been a few!) 

Goodreads
The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde. 

Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni's stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town.  There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.  

Fast-paced and exciting, filled with characters who grab your heart, The First Days: As the World Dies is the beginning of a frightening trilogy. 

So I want to know- what was the best book that you read/ reviewed in October? If you write up a Best of the Bunch post leave your link below, if not leave me a comment in the comments section. 

Who gets your bananas?

Thanks for stopping by! 

Review: The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Source: Bought

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The morning that the world ends, Katie is getting ready for court and housewife Jenni is taking care of her family. Less than two hours later, they are fleeing for their lives from a zombie horde. 

Thrown together by circumstance, Jenni and Katie become a powerful zombie-killing partnership, mowing down zombies as they rescue Jenni's stepson, Jason, from an infected campground.

They find sanctuary in a tiny, roughly fortified Texas town.  There Jenni and Katie find they are both attracted to Travis, leader of the survivors; and the refugees must slaughter people they know, who have returned in zombie form.  

Fast-paced and exciting, filled with characters who grab your heart, The First Days: As the World Dies is the beginning of a frightening trilogy. 

This is one of the best zombie-apocalyptic novels I have ever read. It is scary, believable, and plays on your emotions- both fear and compassion.

I especially love that this book shows the best and worst of human behaviour during a crisis. People can be both selfish- raiding, killing and looting and just out for themselves, or they can band together, risking their lives to help save a virtual stranger.

There is no doubt that this world is harsh and dangerous and the world has descended into a dark time with no end to it in sight. There is tragedy and hardship, but also love, and I really loved seeing the bonds grow between the characters as they find themselves banding together for safety and survival.

The characters in this book are so fantastic- you can't help but really root for them and fear for them. Jenni and Katie are so tough but also so vulnerable and I loved the fast bond of friendship they formed as they fought to escape the zombie infested city, and then to survive on the road.

I also really loved all the people they meet after escaping- particularly Juan and Travis, and the banter between them which kept a line of humour throughout an otherwise disturbing and harsh story.

This novel is both terrifying and heartfelt, with both tragedy and love- I adored it and I can't stop thinking about it.

Rest of the series:

Book 2- Fighting to Survive

Book 3- Siege

Showcase Sunday 28th October 2012

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This is a chance for all us book bloggers to showcase our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

I had been having a bit of a new book lull lately- well that's over! I got some amazing books lately! With it being my birthday, and going away last week, this is two weeks worth of goodies.

Birthday:
It must be obvious that I really like books! Over my birthday I got this gorgeous book locket, this cute bookmark, and this awesome book clock. With my birthday money I have also treated myself to a new kindle touch. 

I also got For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund. Goodreads. A new dystopian re-telling of my favourite Jane Austen book Persuasion, which sounds amazing and which I'm so excited to read. 








From the library:

Defiance by C.J Redwine Goodreads. This is a YA fantasy and it sounds so amazing. 

The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long. Goodreads. This is descibed as "a mix of romance, fairytale and suspense"- sounds good to me!

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Goodreads. I absolutely love the sound of this book, which is a YA sci-fi. Most of the reviews I have seen have been fangirling 5 star reviews. I have high hopes. 

Betrayal by Gregg Olsen. Goodreads. This is book 2 in the Empty Coffin series about psychic twins Hayley and Taylor. I read the first in the series (Envy) last year and really enjoyed it. Eerie and clever, I'm looking forward to reading this one. 






Audiobooks:

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks. Goodreads. This is another one that I'm really looking forward to reading. I love the sound of it- a twist on the mythology of mermaids. 

The Diviners by Libba Bray. Goodreads. I have no idea what it's about but I absolutely love Libba Bray, so of course I'm going to read it!

The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater. Goodreads. This is an author that isn't very widely known but whenever I see a review of one of her books on blogs it is always amazing. This book has a 4.48 star average on Goodreads, which is incredible. And after reading The First Days by this author recently and LOVING it, I know she can write. This is a futuristic zombie novel. 






Huh- so a lot of blue/green/grey covers this week. A whole bunch of awesome looking books though, and I'm looking forward to reading them all. 
What books did you get this week?

Happy reading! 

Review: Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick

Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: Publisher for review (via Netgalley)

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Alex has escaped from Rule - but what new horrors face her in the ravaged world outside? 

Tom is safe - but what will he risk to find Alex? 

Chris - how much does he really know about the terrible darkness of Rule? And what are his true feelings for Alex? 

Ellie - where is she? 

The terrifying follow-up to the hugely popular Ashes.

Book 2 in the Ashes series

Either I've forgotten how gory the first book is, or this book is even more gory. It is definitely very tragic, extremely bloodthirsty and harsh. Prior warning- characters will get murdered and tortured in the most horrific ways.

Alex has to be one of the toughest heroines I have ever known. She has some serious survival skills, and an unwavering determination to overcome any obstacle, whether enemy, illness or injury.

This is quite a traumatic story. Nevertheless I loved this book, and I just love this series. These character's hardships and struggle to survive, to bond together and strive to find each other again in a world gone to hell made such a compelling and emotional read for me.

Most of this book is told from different perspectives, as different characters travel their own journeys toward each other again. There are so many layers to the book, and so many turns in the story, that you never know where it's going to take you next, and it has such a compelling cast of characters that you really root for.

After THAT shocking cliffhanger ending in Ashes I was dying to get hold of this next book, and it didn't disappoint- I was gripped. But there is another shocking and dramatic cliff-hanger, and it's a long wait to book 3! [Book 3 Monsters is currently due for release February 2012]

I know now that Ilsa Bick's books are real character driven page-turners, and this author is an auto-buy for me.

Wishlist Wednesday #4

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly book blog hop hosted by Dani at Pen to Paper where we will post about a book that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added, that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our bookshelves.

I first heard about this several months ago, and I'm definitely intrigued by it. It's an apocalyptic story about a group of kids who are trapped in a superstore to weather out what seems to be the end of the world. 
At the moment it's only published in the US, but it is due to come to the UK April 2013. 

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Goodreads

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. 

In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Has anybody read it already? What did you think?
Thanks for stopping by!

Review: Arise by Tara Hudson

Arise by Tara Hudson

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Source: Borrowed from the library

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua’s Seer relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price. Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.

Book 2 in the Hereafter series

In the first book I loved the growing relationship between Amelia- a ghost, and Joshua- a human boy. Since Joshua is part of a family of Seers and his recent near-death experience triggered his ability to see the supernatural, Joshua is the only one who can see Amelia. I loved this because their relationship seemed so sweet to me, but also ultimately tragic, as Amelia will never age, and Joshua will never be able to reveal his relationship or introduce his girlfriend to his friends and family.

Joshua is so adorable- I just love him, as he is determined that nothing will come between the two of them. Amelia is the practical one who points out all the problems with their relationship, but Joshua is adamant that nothing matters but that they stay together, and that they love each other.

I really liked the first book in the series- Hereafter because I loved Amelia and Joshua together, and because the idea of a ghost falling in love with a human was something that I could understand and get on board with. But Arise seems to take this to another level, and introduces a complicated mythology of a netherworld, and different stages of being a ghost, and all sorts of new rules that I just found harder to believe.

What I did like though was the trip to New Orleans. If anything was going to make this book more believable, the creepy atmosphere of New Orleans would do it! I liked the sense of magic and mystery, and spells cast in a creepy old graveyard, that did manage to lend a sense of realism to what otherwise might've been a stretch.

In the end Amelia has to make a hard choice- to give Joshua up and let him live his life, or to keep going with a relationship that can never go anywhere. Heartbreak and drama are inevitable in this story, which is due to continue in book 3 Elegy in July 2013.

Showcase Sunday 14th October 2012

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This is a chance for all us book bloggers to showcase our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

A couple of new books this week-

• For Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin. Goodreads. This is a YA science fiction that I'm hearing good things about. 

Thanks to Faber and Faber and Netgalley for the review copy. 

• Audiobook: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence. Goodreads. I love the sound of this book- A kind of fantasy Romeo and Juliet story mixed together with a futuristic Hunger Games dystopia. 

• Gifted: Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep. Goodreads. This is book three in the Mythos Academy series, and an early birthday present from a friend. 

That was all the books I got this week. What did you get?

Happy reading!

Showcase Sunday 7th October 2012

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, and inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox. This is a chance for all us book bloggers to showcase our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.

Two more book goodies this week, I got-

On Audiobook:

• Team Human by Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalestier. 

Vampires!

Prize win:

• Sweet Shadows by Tera Lynn Childs. This is a signed copy of the new book by this author and the sequel to Sweet Venom, which I just finished and loved- so excited to win this along with some really cool bookmarks. 

Thanks to Darla at D For Darla's Definite Reads for this giveaway. 

That was all my books for the past two weeks, as last Sunday was a Best of the Bunch wrap-up post for September.

What books did you get?

Happy reading! 

Fraterfest Goals and updates

This weekend (5th to 8th October) I am taking part in the Fraterfest read-a-long hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer along with about 60 other bloggers. 

"You can read whatever you want as long as one book is either a Rhiannon Frater novel or a bump in the night book (vampire, zombie, shapeshifter, ghost etc)"."The goal is to attack that TBR pile and have fun!"

#Fraterfest

I always like read-a-longs anyway for the chance to network with other bloggers, and set myself a new challenge. I have had Rhiannon Frater's book The First Days on my bookshelves for over a year now, and this is the jolt I need to actually start reading it!
I will update my progress here throughout the weekend. 

Goals:

Okay- this may seem fairly unambitious, but I am working all weekend, so my goal is just to finish the book!







Updates:

Update 1- Friday 8.30 pm
I stopped in a coffee shop after work to read a little, I am up to page 75/331
Really good so far!

Update 2- Sunday 8.30 pm
Read a lot today, now up to page 221 of 331. Will try to read a bit more before bed, but I want to write up some blog posts now first. 

Update 3- Monday 8.45 pm
Just finished The First Days- 4.5 of 5 stars, great book, I want to dive straight into the next one now! 
Goal: Completed! 

Wishlist Wednesday #3

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly book blog hop hosted by Dani at Pen to Paper where we will post about a book that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added, that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our bookshelves.

This is another one that has been on my wishlist for ages- but it's currently only published in the US so it is expensive to buy it here in the UK. I read that synopsis and I just love the idea of it though!

Glimmer by Pheobe Kitanidis
Goodreads
When Marshall King and Elyse Alton suddenly wake up tangled in each other's arms with zero memory of how they got there or even who they are, it's the start of a long journey through their separate pasts and shared future.

Terrified by their amnesia, Marshall and Elyse make a pact to work together to find the answers that could restore their missing memories. As they piece together clues about their lives, they discover that they're in the idyllic mountain resort town of Summer Falls. Everyone seems happy there, but as Marshall and Elyse quickly learn, darkness lurks beneath the town's perfect facade. Not only is the town haunted by sinister ghosts, but none of its living inhabitants retain bad memories of anything--not the death of Marshall's mom, not the hidden violence in Elyse's family, not even the day-to-day anguish of being a high schooler.

Lonely in this world of happy zombies, Marshall and Elyse fall into an intense relationship founded on their mutual quest for truth. But the secrets they're trying to uncover could be the death of this budding love affair--and of everyone, and everything, they love in Summer Falls.

Has anyone read it already?
What did you think?

Review: Pure by Julianna Baggott

Pure by Julianna Baggott

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Source: Audiobook

Synopsis from Goodreads:

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . 

Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . . 

There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her. 

When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.

This novel is set in a future where an atomic bomb has nearly wiped out the world. People have been fused to whatever they were holding or resting against- cars, weapons, objects, and even other people. Many people are severely burned and mutated. Nothing can grow, and the people struggle to pull together the means to live. This world is definitely creepy, harsh and dark. I liked this though, as it always threw up something shocking and unexpected, but was still creepily believable.

There is a stark contrast between the mutant people struggling to survive, and those protected by the dome and raised within it's confines- the "pures". The world building is so good, and the militaristic system is psychotic enough to feel like something from a nightmare.

Pressia (an orphan girl who has a doll face fused to her hand), Partridge, Bradwell and El Capitan are the main characters of the book, and they come together by chance all working towards their own agendas. I really liked how these different characters from all walks of life, all come together, and I liked the growing bonds between them all as they work together against a corrupt military force.

Intense and horrifying with always some new plot twist, Pure is a novel of lies, betrayal, revelations and love in a very dark vision of a dystopian future. This is a recommended read for fans of a good sci-fi or post apocalyptic drama.