Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

Title: Blood Bound (Unbound #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Source: Purchased; Ebook 329 pages

By blood, by word, by magic…

     Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special— a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood.

Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one.

     But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her.

     Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner…every touch…every kiss.

And more blood will be spilled before it's over…

My Rating: 5 stars ★★★★★

My Thoughts: 

-->Yet another fabulous novel by Rachel Vincent, as well as an extremely promising start to a new series! The "Skilled" world Vincent creates in her new series, Unbound, is completely different than anything else I've ever read. In this fresh addition to the urban fantasy genre, some people have the ability to see the future, travel through shadows, track someone based on only a name or blood sample, or always know whether or not someone is lying to them. These are just a few of the dozen or so Skills a person may be lucky (or unlucky) enough to have. In a addition to that, all it takes is an oath and a drop of blood to create a bond so strong that one could die trying to break it – tattoos are no longer just aesthetic, but instead are the grim markings of a person’s pledge to another.
How does Vincent come up with stuff like this? It’s brilliant, and once again I must commend the ever-astonishing creativity of authors. I was instantly wrapped up in the story, which besides being totally unique, was jam packed with twists, turns, action, and suspense (as per usual with Vincent’s adult novels). This was one of those gripping stories that keeps you awake until four or five in the morning until you finish the book because you simply cannot put it down [I’m speaking from experience here, hehe *sly smile*]. I give Blood Bound an A+ for originality and plotline.

I also give Blood Bound an A+ for characters and character development. Liv Warren is a total kick-butt chick (very reminiscent of Faythe Sanders, for those of you who have read Vincent’s other adult series, Shifters), Cam Caballero is an adorably sexy drool-worthy dreamboat, Ruben Cavazos is one of those villains that you just loveee to hate, as well as many other interesting less prominent characters – the list goes on and on.

The only aspect of Blood Bound that wasn’t a home run was the alternating POV narration. While it was definitely necessary to have both Liv and Cam as narrators –many details were contingent upon the fact that one character knew something that the other one didn’t- the writing just didn’t flow seamlessly. I often found myself reading the first paragraph or two of a new chapter, getting confused, and then reading the same paragraphs over again realizing that the POV had switched to the other character. Hopefully this is something that will be smoother in Shadow Bound, the next installment of the series.

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 *Check back tomorrow for a giveaway - 

a chance to win your own copy of Blood Bound!*

Cover Musings: I really like this cover, especially the interlocking rings in the title (which ties into the story). However, I think I prefer the UK Cover

Warnings: adult (not YA); lots of violence & profanity; some sex

Next in Series: Shadow Bound

Books Like This: Stray by Rachel Vincent; Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Also just a quick question (for my curiosity): To those of you who have read the book already, which Skill would you most like to have? [Traveler, Seer, Jammer, Blinder, Binder, Tracker, Reader, etc...]

Book Trailer: The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

How cool is that trailer?! Maggie made it herself ;)

Anyways, the book comes out in October and I can't wait!! The premise sounds super awesome, and I'm pretty confident that anything Maggie writes will be fabulous (If you haven't read her Wolves of Mercy Falls series yet -- you should!! Check out my reviews of the first two books, Shiver and Linger. I loved them so much I bought them again in Italian :p that's how good they are!)

If you'd like to pre-order the book, I'd suggest doing so from The Fountain Bookstore (a local indie bookstore in Virginia) because you can get a SIGNED copy!! Sounds like a sweet deal to me :)

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter

Title: Lost Voices 
Author: Sarah Porter 
Source: ARC via NetGalley; 304 pages
Publication Date: July 4th 2011
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Official Blurb:

Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of her grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid.
A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce's own remarkable singing talent makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However, her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?
The first book in a trilogy, Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.   

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦

My Rating: 4.5 stars

My Thoughts: 

Ever since watching Disney's The Little Mermaid at the ripe old age of two, I've been enamored with the idea of mermaids (enamored is actually an understatement), but I'm sad to say that I had never read a book about mermaids before. For that matter, I hadn't really even heard of any, so when I saw the cover of Lost Voices on NetGalley, I had to check it out. 

Lost Voices is a beautiful tale about mermaids, but very unlike Disney's light-and-fluffy rendition. The mermaids in Porter's stunning debut novel take on a persona much more similar to that of the sirens of Greek mythology, who lured sailors into sinking their ships with enchanting songs. Also, each mermaid has suffered a horrible past of abuse as a human girl, thus leading to her transformation. These topics, as well as some of the girls' views of humankind are immensely dark and depressing, but Luce's character and Porter's often-lyrical writing style manage to keep the book from being too heart-wrenching. 

I absolutely loved Luce; she is strong, hopeful, and forgiving despite the terrible things she's been through at the hands of others. The book was excellently written. The author was very descriptive, making every detail -whether it be happy, sad, beautiful, ugly, or otherwise- come alive like a movie in my mind. 

I couldn't put this book down and finished it in about two days. It was definitely a page-turner! I'll be keeping an eye out for the sequel. As a word of caution though: I might not recommend this to the younger readers of the YA spectrum due to some of the mature / disturbing situations mentioned.

Warnings: some mature content such as abuse & rape

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #1)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Source: ARC 368 pages
Publication Info: March 22, 2011; Simon&Schuster
Challenges: DAC 2011; Dystopia; 50 States

 By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

My Rating: 4 stars ★★★★
My Thoughts: 

This book is so creepy awesome! Well, it actually is creepy, but in a good way!!! There were so many lines in the book that sent shivers up my spine! The whole concept of this virus that causes all women to die at age 20, and men to die at 25, is brilliant – as well as very scary for me. I could not imagine living in a world like that. And the fact that North America is the only continent left standing after a nuclear war (all the other land masses got buried underwater) – also super scary!! But these fearsome elements created such a complex and interesting dystopia. It was a world I was happy to get lost in, as long as it only exists in the book rather than real life!!  I think the reason I found it so frightening was because these things are not completely improbable for the future, y’know?

I truly loved all the characters in this novel. I enjoyed the contrast between Rhine, Jenna, and Cecily - it was interesting to see many different girls’ reactions to the situation. I also liked Gabriel and Linden, who both seem like very complex people, and I’m hoping we get to learn more about them both in the next novel. Now, let’s talk about House Master Vaughn. *shudders* DeStefano definitely succeeded in creating a character that makes your skin crawl!!! In my mind, he reminded me a little bit of President Snow (from The Hunger Games) on the creeper/control-freak scale. Seriously, he is one extremely eerie man. That being said, the book would be severely bereft if he was any less macabre. His character brought so much to the story.

I cannot wait for the next book in this series!!!!! A great debut novel. If you like science fiction or dystopia, I would highly recommend this to you.

Cover Musings: While the cover is beautiful, I think the two circles connecting the wedding ring and the caged bird are a bit too blatant. It’s already obvious that Rhine feels like a prisoner because of her forced marriage – do we really need the cover to spell it out for us like that? It’s insulting to our intelligence as readers. What do you guys think?

Warnings: kidnapping, murder

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

Title: Here Lies Bridget
Author: Paige Harbison
Source: ARC via NetGalley; 219 pages
Publication Date: February 1st
Publisher: Harlequin

Official Blurb:

Bridget Duke is the uncontested ruler of her school. The meanest girl with the biggest secret insecurities. And when new girl Anna Judge arrives, things start to fall apart for Bridget: friends don't worship as attentively, teachers don't fall for her wide-eyed "who me?" look, expulsion looms ahead and the one boy she's always loved—Liam Ward—can barely even look at her anymore.

When a desperate Bridget drives too fast and crashes her car, she ends up in limbo, facing everyone she's wronged and walking a few uncomfortable miles in their shoes. Now she has only one chance to make a last impression. Though she might end up dead, she has one last shot at redemption and the chance to right the wrongs she's inflicted on the people who mean the most to her.

And Bridget's about to learn that, sometimes, saying you're sorry just isn't enough…

My Rating: 3 stars ★★★

My Thoughts: 

In short terms, I would describe Here Lies Bridget as a cross between Mean Girls and A Christmas Carol (both movies; I haven’t read A Christmas Carol yet -- but it's sitting on my nook!).

Right off the bat, the concept of this book hooked me and I loved the cover. I especially enjoyed when Bridget was forced to step into the shoes of others (literally!). I just wish that Harbison had spent slightly less time getting to the point of Bridget being in limbo, and more time making her deal with the consequences of her actions / fixing her mistakes. I felt that the first half of the book, up until Bridget’s death, was significantly slower than the parts after it. Basically, Harbison spends a lot of time (about half the book) trying to make the reader hate Bridget – but it only took me approximately 20 pages.

"Waiting On" Wednesday - My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that features books we're anxiously awaiting the release of. My pick for the week is:

My Soul to Steal 

by Rachel Vincent

Publication Date: January 1 (only a few days away!!)

Official Blurb 

YOU WANT MY SOUL AND MY BOYFRIEND?

Trying to work things out with
Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to
take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara,
the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft
them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she
survives.

And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to
death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

I DON'T THINK SO.

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This is the fourth book in Vincent's YA urban fantasy/paranormal Soul Screamers series. Click the title link for more info.