Tuesday, 15 November 2011

Teaser Tuesday #34

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can take part! All you have to do is:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us (2) teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (but don't give any spoilers!)
  • Share the title of the book that the teaser is from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
You can find out more here!

My current read: Nearly Departed by Rook Hastings

Random Page: #133

Teaser:

"All of that, everything that happened in there! It was all crazy, man. Emily screaming her head off, turning up in a locked room. You turning into Mother Teresa. Us lot deciding to find out the truth like we're the Famous Five or something. It's mental."

Happy reading everyone!


Monday, 14 November 2011

Review: Touch

Title: Touch
Author: Jus Accardo
Series: Denazen #1
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: November 2011
YA: Paranormal Romance
My rating: 7/10

Summary:

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes back home.

Except there's something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she'll turn to dust if he touches her. It's not until Dez's father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realises there's more to this boy - and her father's "law firm" - than she realised.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation - an organisation devoted to collecting "special" kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons - his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. Dez and Kale team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they're caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.


My thoughts:

For this review I just have to start off by talking about Dez (the protagonist). She was brilliant. I really liked how flawed she was, how she always wanted to get on her father's last nerve and how realistic she was too. Dez did stupid things when she could have handled a situation a whole lot better. Instead of getting annoyed by this though, I enjoyed it. It added to her character and made her relatable in different ways.

Of course Kale was great too. He was such fun to read about at times - there was plenty of humour with him and a bucket load of cuteness with a capital C!

As for the plot I did like the story line. A company that had Kale working for him to the point of slavery and torture because he's a 'Six'. It was great to read and it meant for some cool action at points.

What I liked about it most though, was the Sixes. I just loved the whole idea of their secrecy and variety of gifts. I was really excited when it came to reading about a load of Sixes coming together - it was a great chance for the author's imagination to run wild.

Whilst the characters were really great, I did think that they could have been developed a bit more along with their powers (if they had any) just to give them a bit more depth.

I really do recommend this read! It was quick, fun (for the most part - it did have its serious moments) and an all-round good read. Personally, I'm looking forward to more from Jus!

Connect with Jus:
Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

Don't forget to check out the interview with Jus Accardo which you can find here!


Friday, 11 November 2011

Author Interview: Jus Accardo

Title: Touch
Author: Jus Accardo
Series: Denazen #1
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: November 2011
YA: Paranormal Romance

Summary:

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes back home.

Except there's something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she'll turn to dust if he touches her. It's not until Dez's father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realises there's more to this boy - and her father's "law firm" - than she realised.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation - an organisation devoted to collecting "special" kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons - his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. Dez and Kale team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they're caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

An interview with Jus Accardo:

  • What is 'Touch' about? Can you tell us a little about the characters and background to the story?
Dez is a girl trying to get a reaction from her Dad. Any reaction will do. He's cold and distant and her goal in life is to come up with new and amusing ways to set his blood pressure soaring. Enter Kale - a serious hottie she runs into after sneaking home from a party

After she helps him escape some strange men in the woods, she sees only one thing - a way to piss off her Dad. She does - but it doesn't have quite the effect she hoped for.

  • What inspired you to come up with the idea of the Denazen Corporation and the 'Sixes'?
The Denazen Corportion was actually born in something I wrote years ago - though it's function was slightly different. I'd always loved the overall concept and was thrilled to have the chance to use it.
The Sixes were a result of Kale. I was writing, thinking, hey! What if there were more than just him and they could do different things?

  • How long did it take you to write 'Touch'?
The first draft took 3 weeks.

  • To me, Dez was a strong, determined character who likes to be in control. Is she based on anyone you know?
Not really, no. Dez came to me fully formed and had her own mind and personality.

  • Did you put any research into writing the book?
I did go Bungee jumping. Dez was an adrenalin junkie and I wanted to feel that rush - though I think what I felt was more terror than anything else...

  • What is your writing process? Do you plan, plan, plan or just go with the flow?
No planning. Not ever. It messes me up. I sat down with a single scene in my head - a girl being chased through the woods, the ground beneath her bare feet withering with each step - and went to town. The story and the characters came out on their own.

  • What do you do to relax?
I'm a huge World of Warcraft junkie. I also love to cook and watch cartoons.

  • Do you have any all time favourite books?
A couple of the books I could read over and over are, Nightlife by Rob Thurman and Bitten by Kelley Armstrong.

  • What's your favourite comfort food?
Well, since coffee technically isn't a food, it's gonna be cheese. Or chicken marsala. It's a tie really, but cheese is easier - and quicker to come by - in a pinch.

  • If you could give 'Touch' a song, what song would it be?
Horror Show by Powerman 5000.

  • Anything you'd like to add?
Thank you so much for letting me hand today!

Author Bio:

Jus Accardo is the author of YA paranormal romance and urban fantasy fiction. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald. Her first book, Touch, is due out in November 2011 from Entangled Publishing. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Connect with Jus:
Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads


Saturday, 5 November 2011

Give Thanks For Good Books: What Book I'm Grateful For

Beth Revis is doing this amazing competition where a boatload of books can be won if we do a blog post about one book we are all grateful for. As you might have already guessed, this is my entry.

So here it is:

I bet you didn't expect that huh?

There was a time where I hardly ever used to read...at all. I know, shocking!

But then, during English lesson at the beginning of my high school years, we had to do a book report on anything we had read recently as a sort of oral test.

I didn't choose Lord Loss if that's what you're thinking. No, no. Back then I never would have even looked at a book like that. I remember choosing Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson (I actually still have it) and doing my report on that. I loved the book, but it still didn't encourage me to read more in any way.

So where does Lord Loss come into this little anecdote of mine?

My friend read it. My friend did a report on Lord Loss because she absolutely adored books by Darren Shan. And I was completely and utterly captivated. I just desperately wanted this book.

Of course, the next time I was in Waterstones I just had to buy it and then I finished it in a day, bewildered that ever such a book could even exist. I was completely hooked.

Keep in mind that I did read Harry Potter and Roald Dahl - they were like my whole childhood, they were everything to me at the time, but they never seemed to make me want to explore anything else. I never read any magical story not set in Hogwarts, nothing remotely resembling science fiction and definitely no horror.

Lord Loss though. It just blew my mind. I immediately wanted the next book in the series, and the next and the next until I was just like every other fan of Darren Shan eagerly anticipating his next masterpiece.

From there my mind seemed to have been opened to every sort of worlds, characters and stories and I started to read like I have never read before.

There is a quote from W. Somerset Maugham, which just so happens to be one of my favourites:

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.

That is what I felt Lord Loss did for me. I just delved into a whole other world filled with demons and characters with amazing powers and I felt sort of disconnected from everything that was constantly playing on my mind, whether it was schoolwork or friends, enabling me to give myself a brief respite.

As for after that, I read loads of books -some of which I loved, some of which I despised - and I felt the need to share my thoughts with someone. Then along came this blog.

So I am grateful for books. They've given me a way to voice my opinions and open my mind to new ideas and knowledge and for that I am grateful. Everyone learns something from every book they read and for that I am grateful. They allow us to escape, for a little, from a world that can be horribly unfair and for that I am indeed grateful.



Thursday, 3 November 2011

The Time Will Come #7

Jodie over at Books for Company is hosting a Thursday meme. It's really easy to join in. Here's what you have to do:

  • Pick a book you have been meaning to read
  • Do a post telling us about the book
  • Link the post up in the linky
  • Visit the other blogs!

This is the tenth book in the Demonata series by Darren Shan which I absolutely adore!
I've been meaning to read the whole series again and review them (I want to share my love for these beauties!) but I just haven't gotten round to it as of yet. Hopefully sometime soon though!

Happy reading!



Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Everneath Book Trailer

Hi guys!

So Harperteen on youtube just posted a trailer for Everneath by Brodi Ashton which I think looks super amazing so I wanted to share it with you! Plus the cover is so pretty too.

Check it out!

So what do you think?



Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Teaser Tuesday #33

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can take part! All you have to do is:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us (2) teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (but don't give any spoilers!)
  • Share the title of the book that the teaser is from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!
You can find out more here!

My current read: There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

Random Page: #137

Teaser:

'Sorry I couldn'y save you.' Lucy handed Bob his cup of tea. 'Only another half hour, and then we'll go.' She'd had enough, more than enough.