Blog Tour: Book Review of A Matter of Fate (Fate series #1)

A Matter of Fate (Fate Series, #1)

By Heather Lyons

Release Date: 30/08/12

 /Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Chloe Lilywhite struggles with all the normal problems of a typical seventeen-year-old high school student. Only, Chloe isn’t a normal teenage girl. She’s a Magical, part of a secret race of beings who influence the universe. More importantly, she’s a Creator, which means Fate mapped out her destiny long ago, from her college choice, to where she will live, to even her job. While her friends and relatives relish their future roles, Chloe resents the lack of say in her life, especially when she learns she’s to be guarded against a vengeful group of beings bent on wiping out her kind. Their number one target? Chloe, of course.

That’s nothing compared to the boy trouble she’s gotten herself into. Because a guy she’s literally dreamed of and loved her entire life, one she never knew truly existed, shows up in her math class, and with him comes a twin brother she finds herself inexplicably drawn to.

Chloe’s once unyielding path now has a lot more choices than she ever thought possible.

Review

Welcome to my stop on the A Matter of Fate blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!

This book was such a surprise for me. Once I learnt of the fantasy element I was a bit dubious, but don’t let that put you off! This book is full of romance and action, and kept me wanting more. Chloe is the main character, who is a Creator. Meaning she is the second most important person on the planet (after the current Creator). She is just starting to learn about the Magical world and her Fate as a Creator when she learns she is under attack. Cue members of the Guard, who are assigned to protect her at all costs.

While all that is going on, the boy she has been dreaming about since she was a child turns up in her Maths class. The boy that she fell in love with, and who abandoned her last year, never to be seen again. Not only that, but he has an amazingly good looking twin. Ordinary teenage life doesn’t seem so bad after that!

I think the romance between the brothers in this book was really good. There is something mysterious about Jonah that made me want to turn the pages. Like does he realise who Chloe is? And why did he abandon her last year? Add into the mix his bad boy twin, and the book just sizzles.

I have to say my favourite character in this book was Cora, Chloe’s cousin and best friend. She is so fiesty, her character just leaps off her page. On The College Crawl’s post about the book, it is suggested Jennifer Lawrence should play Cora. After seeing her in the Silver Linings Playbook, I totally agree!  I also kind of fell for Chloe’s bodyguard, Karl. Unfortunately he is married, but he is the perfect character.

This is a book that has it all; romance, action, teenage angst and fantasy. Perfect for fans of Kasie West’s Pivot Point!

4 sofas from me 🙂

About the Author

Heather Lyons has been putting stories to paper since she was a little girl. Her first “published” book was a humorous retelling of The Princess and the Pauper. After detours in archaeology and teaching, she is now writing and living in Southern California with her husband and three sons. She likes cupcakes, baseball, hockey, reading, and collecting far too many handbags.

 Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook / Tumblr

 

Giveaway

Enter below to win one of (10) e-book copies of A Matter of Fate, open Internationally!

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Waiting on Wednesday #11

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Set in 111 C.D., one hundred and eleven years after a Catastrophic Disaster has wiped out 99% of humanity and left the earth covered in ice, this new series introduces readers to a ragtag group of friends and the dawning of a new time. The world of reason, of mathematics and science, is ending, and a new civilization is being born from the ice: a world of magic and mayhem, sorcerers and spellcraft.

‘Frozen’ by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston is the first in a new dystopian trilogy. I’m thinking there may be more of a switch next year from vampires to witchcraft. Expected September 2013, this co-authorship could be the start of great things! 

Do you agree? What are you looking forward to this week? Please share your WoW in the comments!

Blog Tour: Book review of The Clearing (The Outside #2)

 The future is divided by Perimeters: high-security gated communities where life goes on as normal. If you’re inside you’re lucky. If you’re outside, life expectancy takes a nose dive.

Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister. 

She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her otherwise she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable that she ever imagined.

Cut to the present day where Eleanor’s world is falling apart. This time next 

year, civilisation won’t be quite so civilised…

                                           

In the ravaged future, children are disappearing.

Riley lives safely behind her Perimeter Fence, but soon she’ll have to confront the terrible truth of what’s happening outside. An old enemy is approaching. Threatening to extinguish her way of life. 

To save herself, she will have to fight to save another. She must put herself in the last place she ever wanted to be.           

So today I am lucky to be taking part in my first blog tour. When I got sent the info about Shalini Boland’s The Outside series, I knew I had to read it. In the first book, Outside, we immediately leap into the action. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Riley lives inside a perimeter fence, created and guarded by her ancestors. When her sister is killed, she enlists the help of her neighbour, Luc, to track down the killer. This the book follows Riley and Luc on their road trip to find and avenger her sister’s killer. 

This book is told from two point of views: Riley’s and Eleanor’s. I really liked the style of writing, as both POVs had an interesting story to tell. This book is quite similar to Blood Red Road by Moira Young, and that is probably the only niggle I had about the book. I really enjoyed it and loved how the story came together at the end. There was a really good twist, and it gave me high hopes for book 2! 

‘The Clearing‘ starts where we left Riley as she returns after her road trip. Then it is discovered that soldiers are threatening to invade their perimeter. If the perimeter is destroyed, then their lives will be in imminent danger. Children are being taken to be trained for this supposed army. Thus Riley and Luc have to go undercover to the place where children are taken, to try and rescue Liss and Fred, kids which were taken many years ago. 

Once again there are 2 POV’s: Riley’s and Liss’. I think this really adds to the story, and I’m glad the author has carried this through to the second book. While Liss and Fred were mentioned in the first book, the second is more centrally focussed on them, a direction which I didn’t expect. I think it works really well though, and there are many emotions in this book to play with. Loneliness, anger, action, romance. This book has it all. I actually preferred this novel to the last book; mainly because it was a direction I hadn’t anticipated, and it was different to other books, that I could remember! Once again there are twists and turns which surprised me, and the action kept me on the edge of my seat! 

The only thing I missed in the second book was continuation from the first. Some of the plotlines in the first book were not continued in the second, and I hope that the third book will tie these up nicely. 

I really enjoyed both books in the series, but more so in the second. Thus I hope the third continues this upward slope! 4 sofas to the Clearing. Click on the blog tour button below to follow the other blogs in the tour! 

Film Friday #2

Welcome to my new feature, Film Friday. Here I will recap the films I have watched this week, and ones that I have either discovered or talked about. 

Watched: 

Warm Bodies

Okay, I have a confession. I watched the movie before reading the book. I know. I am a bad person. I have sooo many books to read, I just haven’t got round to it, and I didn’t want to miss out on the film because of it.

Which is a good thing, because this film was really good! I was expecting a Shaun of the Dead-esque zombie film, but it was actually much better than I thought. What I didn’t realise is that R (played by Nicholas Hault) isn’t actually a zombie, the ‘bonies’ are the zombies. Although he does eat brains. But when he eats the brain of Julie’s boyfriend, he falls in love with her. And hence the movie is about their love against the odds, and whether love can truly conquer all. 

The best bit about this movie is Nicholas’ voiceover, where we can hear his thoughts. They are very funny, as are the scenes with Rob Corddry. 4 sofas from me! And I must go read the book.

I am Sam

Confession number 2: I haven’t actually finished this yet so don’t spoil the ending! I have been watching it for 3 days though so I think it qualifies for this week’s post. This film was made in 2001 (look how young Dakota Fanning is!), and I got it in a library dvd sale for something like 50p. 

It is heartwarmingly sad when Sam’s daughter gets taken away from him by Child Services because he is mentally retarded. He enlists the help of Michelle Pfeiffer as his lawyer to help get her back. Had I watched this back then, I think it would be very poignant. Now, what with gay marriage in the UK and all, it is less so. But yet still current; there is a much greater stigma surrounding mental illness than any other minority group. 

I think this is a great feel good fim (depending how it ends up!) and Sean Penn is just brilliant.    

Heard/Talked about:

Toy Story 4

A rumour was started this week that Toy Story 4 was in production. However, both Disney and Pixar have yet to confirm this. I’m unsure how I feel about this. I thought the third one was better than expected for a 3rd film, but would a 4th ruin it? I just don’t know.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A film that is definitely being made is the sequel to one of my favourite films of 2011 (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Due for release in Summer 2014, Jason Clarke (recently starred in Lawless) has been said to have joined the cast. I have yet to see the original Ape films, but I CANNOT WAIT for this one. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes just blew my mind with the detail and animation. 

That’s my film wrap up for this week. What are your opinions/thoughts? Has anyone seen I am Sam? What do you think of the mental illness in films issue? Have any recommendations for me this week? 

Waiting on Wednesday #10

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
Or will she just go on living inside somebody else’s fiction?

SQUEEEEE! I am so excited for this book, it is UNBELIEVABLE. I love Rainbow Rowell and her two previous novels. And what reader won’t love a book about fangirling?! And the cover is so.. perfect. I love the little thought bubble, and I also love how Rainbow’s covers always interact with the pictures. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is due for release in September 2013. 

Do you agree? What are you looking forward to this week? Please share your WoW in the comments!

Letterbox Love #14

Letterbox Love is a meme hosted by Lynsey of Narratively Speaking whereby book lovers can exhibit the books they received this week.

Welcome to my 2-week haul post! Lots of library books this week (I know I’m a bad person). Just when I was getting my pile down! :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So many books! Fist week haul on the left. Although ‘Wool‘ by Hugh Howey is an adult book, it sounds quite dystopian-esque. And the cover is all soft and matte-like! To make up for it I have ‘Shivers‘ by Bali Rai which is a tiny tiny book. I also picked up ‘Virals‘ by Kathy Reichs for keeps. I have always meant to get into her series (is there 3 now?) so hopefully now I can. 

Yesterday I picked up three books by Nicholas Sparks: ‘The Wedding‘, ‘The Choice‘ and ‘The Guardian‘. This is because on Wednesday I am attending an event where he is signing books, and there are two actors from his latest book-to-film adaptation, ‘Safe Haven’. Confession: Okay, so I haven’t actually read any of his books. But I have seen a lot of films that his books are based on! 

It is also an excuse to visit Waterstones Piccadilly, which is massive! Fingers crossed I can find some good books there! 

I ordered ‘Where She Went‘ by Gayle Forman because everyone is raving about her latest book, so I thought I’d check out one of her previous ones. I didn’t realise this was the second one, so I’ve ordered the first one! So more books to come (oops). 

Finally, ‘Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe‘ by Shelley Coriell. I vaguely remember someone reading this and liking it, so when my library ordered it, I thought I’d put my name down. And it’s a yummy hardcover! Not so good for the commute, but pretty all the same. 

And for ebooks: 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Someday, Someday, Maybe‘ by Lauren Graham. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House! This book just sounds really good; about an actress trying to make it in New York, it is full of hopes and dreams. And I just adore the cover. So simple, yet so perfect. 

  

 

‘Anthem for Jackson Dawes‘ by Celia Bryce was quite a shock, as I really didn’t expect to be approved for this. I looove road trip books, and I like the typography on this cover. Thanks very much Bloomsbury and Netgalley 🙂

 

‘Straightjacket‘ by Meredith Towbin was sent to me by the author for review. Thanks Meredith! The main character is a girl in a psychiatric hospital who sees an angel. This sounds right up my street, and you should check it out if it sounds like yours too.

 

 

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of my books and do you think it should be at the top or the bottom of my to read pile? I’d love to hear from you! 

Film Friday #1

Welcome to my new feature, Film Friday. Here I will recap the films I have watched this week, and ones that I have either discovered or talked about. 

Watched: 

You’ve Got Mail 

My parents always raved about this film, but it’s not one I’ve ever seen, even though it was released in 1998! Starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks as two owners of competing bookshops, they fall in love over the Internet. 

I thought this film was lovely (I can’t resist a film about bookshops!) and really cute. Even if I did want to shout ‘RUN FORREST’ everytime I saw Tom Hanks. 4 Sofas from me! 

Flight

Starring Denzel Washington as a pilot who saves a crashing plane, his life comes under the spotlight when it is discovered he was drunk and high on cocaine at the time of the flight. 

I saw this at the cinema list week. During the adverts before the film, I told my other half what the film was about. He said ‘I hope it’s better than it sounds then’. And it was! Although lacking in action after the first 15 minutes, this drama was really thought provoking. It also had some funny moments with John Goodman, and me and my other half were pleasantly surprised. We have a running joke that he picks terrible films (usually involving aliens or whatnot), so if he doesn’t particularly want to see it then it will be good! I’m a fan of Denzel anyway, but this added to his repertoire of great films. 4 sofas! 

Heard/Talked about:

Timeriders: the Movie (link to Timeriders website as no IMDB page)

I’m a huge fan of the Timeriders series of books by Alex Scarrow. I’ve read 4 of the (currently) 7 part series, and I have enjoyed them all. I have books 5 and 6 on by TBR shelf, and I think they are a great YA series. 

There is a petition here to get Hollywood to turn this series into a film (or set of films!). And I don’t know why it hasn’t already! The poster is amazing.

Jurassic Park 4

It has been confirmed with an expected release in Summer 2014. I love this trilogy, and can’t wait to find out more about the new one. Also rumoured to be released in 3D.

That’s my film wrap up for this week. What are your opinions/thoughts? Can you recommend any other good book-orientated film aside from You’ve Got Mail? 

Waiting on Wednesday #9

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

1,135,789. That’s how many subscribers sixteen-year-old West Ryder has on his web vlog series. But he only has eyes for one of them.

As one of the internet’s most prestigious video bloggers, West talks about high school relationships under the name “Sam Green.” As far as he knows, no one from school, not even his best friend, Cat, has seen his videos. But the highlight of the whole thing is Harper Knight, who comments every day at exactly 2:02 in the afternoon. He doesn’t know anything about her aside from the occasional deep philosophical messaging on why pizza tastes so delicious, but as stupid as it sounds, he might be falling for her. So when they finally agree to meet in real life, West’s hope for romance seems more and more in reach. But that all changes as soon as he arrives at their meeting spot and sees Cat walking toward him, wearing the same “I ❤ Sam Green” T-shirt Harper promised she’d have on.

To his alarm, West realizes he is falling in love with the best friend who has always been a sister to him.

So I think I stumbled across LM Augustine when stalking one of my new favourite authors, Cara Carmack, on Twitter. The title immediately peaked my interest, and I had to go Goodreads it! And it sounds A-mazing! It reminded me of Rainbow Rowell’s ‘Attachments’ (one of my favourite books of.all.time.) and that is definately a good thing! Also I love redheads 🙂

Due out in April 2013, ‘Click to Subscribe’ by LM Augustine is high on my waiting-for list! Quirky and fun, add it to your to-read list today!

 

Do you agree? What are you looking forward to this week? Please share your WoW in the comments!

 

Cover Reveal: Faking It by Cora Carmack

It’s finally here! Behold, the cover for Cora Carmack’s new book Faking It:

FAKING IT by Cora Carmack

releases 06/04/2013 from William Morrow Paperbacks

 Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

 Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.

Isn’t it pretty? I can’t wait to read it. I looooooved Losing It (my 5 sofa review here) and here’s hoping this one is just as good. I love the cheeky covers, and I’m so glad they match too! For US readers, the paperback version of Losing It is available on the 26th Feb. Us lot in the UK have to wait until March 28th. Although I’ve already read it, I will definitely get my own copy, and I guarantee it will be well read! If you haven’t read Losing It yet, then you need to get yours hands on it. Seriously. And then go and preorder Faking It! 

Blog Tour: Book Review of Ever by Jessa Russo

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Jessa Russo’s Ever!

Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.

Of course, it doesn’t help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.

Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.

Some girls lose their hearts to love.

Some girls lose their minds.

Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

I don’t read a lot of paranormal books. I used to, but I think the boom of vampire/werewolf/angel books put me off. So why was I so excited to read Ever, you might ask?

Well everyone knows I am a sucker for a pretty cover. And look at it!  Its just so awesome. I love the twinkling sunlight, it makes it seem a bit hippy-esque and makes me think of summertime beaches;  like I imagine California to be like. And yay for brunettes!  But wait, why is the guy all misty like? And why does Ever look so sad?

Well that’s because Freddie is a ghost, and Ever can’t touch or feel him since the car accident two years. Her best friend at the time, Ever can’t imagine life without Freddie. She wishes they could be more than friends, but she has to face facts; he is a ghost and always will be. So when Toby moves into Freddie’s old house and takes a liking to Ever, she gives in to the romance and the feelings she gets from him.

Aside from the ghost thing, this book was 70% romance, which suited me just fine. The triangle between Ever, Freddie and Toby is thrilling, sexy and makes for good reading. Tbh I thought Ever was a bit of a drip. There were so many questions surrounding Toby and I twigged pretty early on what his story was. So I was kinda annoyed at how naive Ever was. But I should give her credit, as her only male contact all her life is a ghost. She would quite often ask (important) questions and then either get distracted or tell whoever to get lost before they had a chance to answer. Make up your mind girl!

The majority of the supernatural stuff was crammed into the last 25% of the book and I felt there was too much going on. Ever kept pushing everyone away so we never get the answers to a lot of questions, and I just found it to confusing and wishy washy. I knew what was going on, but it felt like it had either been cut short or possibly had bits added to link to the sequel. 

That being said, I really enjoyed this book, especially the first half. And of course Ms Russo left us with a MASSIVE cliffhanger, so I have no choice but to read the second one!

Luckily for you, Jessa is kindly giving away a paperback copy of Ever and its sequel Evade, so you don’t have to wait to find out what happens next!

Enter at her blog here:

International giveaway!

If you want to read the book straight away, then check it out on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.