29 January 2016

Review #330: The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Human civilization was annihilated in three hours, before even one alien bothered to set foot on the ground.”


----Chris J. Randolph



Rick Yancey, an American author, has penned a terrific and thoroughly heart-wrenching tale of apocalypse, in his book, The Infinite Sea which is the second book in The 5th Waveseries, that unfolds the end of the world situation when the world is taken control by some alien beings by capturing the minds of the humans and in the wake of this humdrum, a high school teenager must make some decisions by trusting no body on this planet to save her little brother.


28 January 2016

Review #329: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey



My rating: 4 of 5 stars



“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”

----T.S. Eliot




Rick Yancey, an American author, has penned a terrific and thoroughly heart-wrenching tale of apocalypse, in his book, The 5th Wave, which is the first book in The 5th Wave series, that unfolds the end of the world situation when the world is taken control by some alien beings by capturing the minds of the humans and in the wake of this humdrum, a high school teenager must make some decisions by trusting no body on this planet to save her little brother.

27 January 2016

Review #328: Two Across by Jeff Bartsch



My rating: 3 of 5 stars


“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”


----Oscar Wilde


Jeff Bartsch, an American author, has penned a heart-warming tale of two intelligent minds who not only ruled the National Spell Bee together, but also ruled a con together, in his debut book, Two Across, unfolding the journey of two teenagers to their adulthood. This is a love story between two smart individuals but layered with academic, politics, lies, scam and career and lots of crossword puzzle.




26 January 2016

Author Q&A Session #53: With Shannon Grogan


Good Day my fellow readers,
Hope you all are having a lovely winter day. I'm back with the author interview session and today we have a very special author-cum-teacher, Shannon Grogan, who penned her very first YA novel, From Where I Watch You. So let's welcome Shannon to my blog with a big warm hug **HUGS**
So folks stay tuned while I delve deeper into Shannon's life as an author.

Read the review of From Where I Watch You

Review #327: Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

----J.K. Rowling



Emily Ross, an award-winning American author, pens her debut YA novel, Half in Love with Death that weaves the story of a young fifteen year old girl set in the summer of 1960s when her older sister goes missing without a hint, who then sets out on a journey to find her sister and make herself visible in front of her parents, who doesn't value her presence in their home. Along with the boyfriend, whom she is falling for gradually, this fifteen year old girl wants to make a difference by finding her sister.

Review #326: Sinful Cinderella by Anita Valle




My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“We all want to feel like the most beautiful woman in the room, to be chosen and loved forever. The Cinderella story gives us hope of our impossible dreams becoming true.” 


----Beth M Jones


Anita Valle, an American author, has penned a gripping tale out of one of the famous fairy tales in the world, Cinderella in her new novella, Sinful Cinderella that unfolds Cinderella's story not only with magic, but also with darkness, evil and fear, by depicting a lonesome, clever girl who will stop at nothing to win the heart of the prince.


25 January 2016

Review #325: Diverging Cadence (Cadence, #2) by Katie Hamstead



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Regrets begin the moment we're comfortable with settling.”

----Andrena Sawyer



Katie Hamstead, an Australian author, has penned a heart wrenching tale of love and second chances in her book, Diverging Cadence which is the second book in the Cadence series. This book unfolds the story of a woman who lost her family in an earthquake, following which she gets an opportunity to go back in time in her high school days and make amends for her lost family, thereby falling in love with a guy who is not her late husband, thus forcing her to choose between second chance at love and her lost family.




22 January 2016

Review #324: Deceptive Cadence (Cadence, #1) by Katie Hamstead



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Some things just couldn't be protected from storms. Some things simply needed to be broken off...Once old thing were broken off, amazingly beautiful thing could grow in their place.”

----Denise Hildreth Jones


Katie Hamstead, an Australian author, has penned a heart wrenching tale of love and second chances in her book, Deceptive Cadence, which is the first book in the Cadence series. This book unfolds the story of a woman who lost her family in an earthquake, following which she gets an opportunity to go back in time in her high school days and make amends for her lost family.




21 January 2016

Review #323: Sidney Sheldon's Reckless by Tilly Bagshawe



My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"Everyone knows that fracking poisons the air and water. We wanted to show how it tears apart local communities and subverts democracies and corrupts political leaders and eviscerates all the things that Americans value."


----Matt Damon
 

Tilly Bagshawe, an English bestselling writer, who is holding up Sheldon's legacy as a best-selling author of so many crime fiction books. Tilly Bagshawe, herself, is an author, but claimed to fame, when she became the torch bearer of Sidney Sheldon's books even 27 years after his death. Reckless is the third book in the Tracy Whitney series. Although to be honest, the books are getting sold and still breaking all records only because of the name of Sidney Sheldon- known as "prince of potboilers". And all thanks to Tilly Bagshawe, since she is skillfully and perfectly penning out those enthralling feminist stories just like in Sheldon's mannerism. Yes, I believe Sheldon's stories are all very feminist, which all have the same story line- a female badass heroine, who will use mainly her attractive looks and, most of the time, her body to lure the villains. And here I'm just like any other die-hard Sheldon fan, is still reading and rooting and looking forward towards the Sheldon stories every year.

20 January 2016

Review #322: Soundless by Richelle Mead



My rating: 3 of 5 stars



“What chance combination of shadow and sound and his own thoughts had created it?”


----Patricia Highsmith, an American novelist




Richelle Mead, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, has penned a Chinese-themed young adult fantasy tale, Soundless, that portrays the story of a young girl trying to help the people of her village specializing in mining, who are all deaf, from the injustice done to them by a kingdom despite of the dangers lurking outside the village.



19 January 2016

Review #321: Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix



My rating: 3 of 5 stars



“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”


----Anonymous



Garth Nix, an Australian bestselling author, has penned a terrific tale of magic and adventure in his book called, Newt's Emerald, that unfolds the story of a young teenage girl and her quest for finding her lost inherited treasure by dressing up as a man out into the streets and on her journey she meets a handsome man which finally leads to a passionate Regency-themed love story along with lots of adventures and magic.



18 January 2016

Review #320: Crimson City (Muzaffar Jang #4) by Madhulika Liddle



My rating: 5 of 5 stars



“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”


----Arthur Conan Doyle
 

Madhulika Liddle, an Indian author, pens her fourth book in the Muzaffar Jang series called, Crimson City, that narrates the investigation, done by Muzaffar, of a series of murders occurring in Dilli, along with his brother-in-law, Muzaffar, must try to find and put an end to the killing spree of the serial murderer.





17 January 2016

Review #319: Taking on Water by David Rawding



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Some of your childhood traumas may be remembered with incredible clarity, while others are so frightening or incomprehensible that your conscious mind buries the memory in your unconscious.”

----Renee Fredrickson


David Rawding, an American author, pens his new psychological thriller called Taking on Water that portrays the story of a happily married couple- a social worker and a local cop, set in a small American fishing town, who tries hard to protect the young teens from abuse and drug addiction and use, all the while trying hard to fight with their own past issues as well as present. In the process, they get to meet a lobsterman and his wife and teenage son, who then become very close friends. This is a story about friendship, betrayal, drug trafficking and child abuse.


14 January 2016

Review #318: Everything She Forgot by Lisa Ballantyne



My rating: 4 of 5 stars



“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.”

----Spencer Johnson


Lisa Ballantyne, an international best selling author, pens her new thriller, Everything She Forgot that unfolds the story of three characters in three different locations, each unraveling a mystery of their own, finally leading them to meet each other on the crossroads of self-realization. The story revolves in so many time frame and from London to Glasgow o Wick in Scottish Highlands with three different mysteries with no connection with one another, yet keeps the readers guessing till the very end to find that one tiny thread of connection between these three stories.

13 January 2016

Review #317: The Truth Spell (Werewolf High #1) by Anita Oh



My rating: 4 of 5 stars



“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”


-----Mark Twain



Anita Oh, a debut author, pens her new YA fantasy book, The Truth Spell which is the first book in the Werewolf High series. The book unfolds the story of a teenage girl named Lucy, who gets a scholarship into one of the most decorated and posh high school, where she stumbles upon her childhood best friend who died a long time ago. Hence Lucy begins an investigation to find out if that boy is her dead friend when the whole school is hit by a truth curse.

12 January 2016

Review #316: Bllod and Salt (Blood and Salt #1) by Kim Liggett



My rating: 3 of 5 stars



“Horror waits in the shadows, even when you are closing your eyes.”

----Melissa D. Ellis


Kim Liggett, an American author, has penned her debut YA horror romance, Blood and Salt which is the first book in the Blood and Salt series, that unwraps the story of a teenager pulled into a cult to find her mom in a strange town with carnivorous corn and a car junkyard along with her own demons of a hanging girl to fight with. This is quite a mystifying tale that is scary enough to give birth to strange nightmares to the readers.




11 January 2016

Review #315: The Confectioner's Tale by Laura Madeline



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”

----Kahlil Gibran
 

Laura Madeleine, an English author, pens her debut novel, The Confectioner's Tale that portrays the story of a young man falling for a famous pastry shop's owner's daughter that blossoms into something forbidden, meanwhile, somewhere 80 years later, a PhD student discovers an old photograph of a pastry shop in Paris in her recently deceased grandfather's treasure, that takes her back in time to solve a beguiling mystery surrounding that forbidden love story of that young man.




8 January 2016

Review #314: The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley



My rating: 5 of 5 stars



“The more you leave out, the more you highlight what you leave in.”

----Henry Green



Lucinda Riley, the New York Times bestselling author, has penned an enchanting tale of love, loss and royal family secrets, in her book, The Midnight Rose. This is the story of a girl named, Anahita, spanning across many generations, and with the help of another protagonist, Rebecca, the readers get to revisit the life of Anahita and her royalty and her family secrets.




7 January 2016

Review #313: Dreamfire (Dreamfire #1) by Kit Alloway



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Your nightmares follow you like a shadow, forever. ”

-----Aleksandar Hemon


Kit Alloway, an American debut author, pens her very first YA fantasy novel, Dreamfire that happens to be the very first book in the Dreamfire series. The series unfolds the life of a teenage dream-walker who walks tens and thousands of nightmares of common people to save them from the fear of the nightmare grasping them forever. This is a no-ordinary story of a very ordinary teenager walking the dreams and nightmares and how heroically gives up her life to protect the Dream world to maintain the balance in the universe, while dealing with her own mistakes and problems.



6 January 2016

Review #312: The Italian Girl by Lucinda Riley




My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“We accept the love we think we deserve.”


----Stephen Chbosky



Lucinda Riley, the New York Times best-selling author, has penned an enchanting tale of love and betrayal in her book, The Italian Girl , that unfolds the story of a young girl falling in love in the backdrop of Naples surrounded by beautiful music and opera that runs through a decade to show the readers how the lovers are torn up as well as brought together by destiny and lies.





Review #311: From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"There is a fine line between serendipity and stalking."


----David Coleman, an English sports commentator and TV presenter



Shannon Grogan, an American author, pens her debut YA thriller, From Where I Watch You, that unfolds a delicious story of about a young teenager with a passion for baking being stalked like crazy, that not only leaves her on a dangerous trail to find the identity of her stalker but also intrigues her to find out more about her dead elder sister's tragic death.