Unite By Jamie Campbell

Unite (Project Integrate: Book One)
Written By Jamie Campbell
Published 3rd December 2013
288 Pages
Thank you to Netgalley and Jamie Campbell
United They Stand.

Seventeen years ago an entire generation of aliens were sent to Earth in order to save their home planet and integrate into the human population. Now, those aliens are being hunted. Amery Jones is your typical teenager, except for the fact she is an alien and a member of the government’s secret Project Integrate.

When Amery’s best friend Lola is kidnapped in order to get to her, there is only one person that can help, the exceedingly annoying and charming Lochie Mercury. Together, Amery and Lochie must put aside their differences and attraction in order to rescue Lola before it’s too late.

Horde By Ann Aguirre: Lazy Review

Horde (Razorland: Book Three)
Written By Ann Aguirre
Published 29th October 2013
432 Pages
Salvation is surrounded, monsters at the gates, and this time, they're not going away. When Deuce, Fade, Stalker and Tegan set out, the odds are against them. But the odds have been stacked against Deuce from the moment she was born. She might not be a Huntress anymore, but she doesn't run. With her knives in hand and her companions at her side, she will not falter, whether fighting for her life or Fade's love.

Ahead, the battle of a lifetime awaits. Freaks are everywhere, attacking settlements, setting up scouts, perimeters, and patrols. There hasn't been a war like this in centuries, and humans have forgotten how to stand and fight. Unless Deuce can lead them.

This time, however, more than the fate of a single enclave or outpost hangs in the balance. This time, Deuce carries the banner for the survival of all humanity.

Australia Day: A Guide For Non Aussies

Aussies are proud, able to laugh at ourselves and let's face it, we're among the friendliest nations you'll ever have the privilege of visiting. But sadly, there are far too many misconceptions about Australia. So as our great national celebrates the Australia Day long weekend, here is a friendly guide for non Aussies to clear up any confusion.

  We rarely use the word G'day. I've personally never used it or heard anyone else use it for that matter.
  Kangaroos don't roam our streets, nor do we all own one that we ride to and from work, the supermarket or casually taking our Kangaroo for a spin.


  A dingo isn't considered as adequate child minding.
  We don't throw shrimps on our barbies. Shrimps, otherwise known as midgets, don't tend to tenderise well.
  Not all of us enjoy beer.
  Lorde is from New Zealand.
  New Zealand isn't in Australia.
●  Our Prime Minister makes Barack Obama look like the Old Spice model.


●  I haven't met your distant cousin who moved here in 1985.
●  Nor do I know either Hemsworth brother personally.


●  We all however know Keith Urban, he often calls random citizens to invite us over to dinner. 
●  None of us really liked Tom Cruise when he was married to Nicole Kidman.
●  You can keep Kylie Minogue, we already have one Minogue too many.
Drop bears are real. They look like regular Koala's, often luring in tourists with their cute facade, then WHAM. Dead tourist.
●  Vegemite is our national dish, we incorporate it into every meal.

I hope my guide to Australia has been helpful. Aussie's, feel free to comment and add your own customs and tips to help out our non Australian friends.

Have a question you've always wanted to ask about downunder? Simply comment below.

Stacking The Shelves & Weekly Wrap #009

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online bookshops, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course eBooks. Hosted by Tyngas Reviews.

News


  This week I was lucky enough to have another article published on iBrary. Click to check out my top kick ass hot book chicks. Did I leave anyone out? Leave a comment under the post and set me straight.
  I've culled the amount of blogs I'm following via Google. It's not me... It really is you. Any blog that hasn't posted in the past year, I've set you free. 
  Awesome news, These Broken Stars is coming to the small screen. Read all about it here.

This week I received a few publisher paperbacks by surprise. Who doesn't love goodies in the mail?

Publisher Paperbacks



The Love Oracles: Nymph by Tonya Alexandra. Thank you to Walker Books.

 

Purchased Paperbacks


Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan. I've read this one, but wanted to add another first novel of a series to my collection.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Not sure whether to read before seeing the movie, or vice versa.

Huge discounts on big release eBooks


A few big name book bargains this week on Amazon Australia to feed your Kindle. All prices are in AU.
Crash Into You by Katie McGarry. On sale for only $1.69.
Captivate by Vanessa Garden. On sale for $1.69.
Alice In Zombieland: White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter. On sale for $1.99.
Flat Out Love by Jessica Park. On sale for 99 cents. Loved this one. Very quirky and touching.
The Perfect Game and The Game Changer by J. Sterling. Both on sale for 99 cents each.
Dance Of Shadows by Yelena Black. On sale for 99 cents.

What did you stack your shelves with this week?

Weekend Readings #008

Whatever you're doing this weekend, check out Sporadic Reads and join her Weekend Readings.

This weekend, I had planned on heading onto Amazon and picking up a Kindle copy of Evertrue, but Amazon are having issues with the eCopy and sadly it's not for purchase as yet. So this weekend I plan on finishing:

Unbreakable By Kami Garcia

Unbreakable (Legion: Book One)
Written By Kami Garcia
Published in Australia 01 October 2014
320 Pages
Kennedy Waters didn't believe in ghosts, until one tried to kill her.

When Kennedy finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn't know that evil forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into her house and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon - a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother's place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon - battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

The Mark By Jen Nadol

The Mark (The Mark: Book One)
Written By Jen Nadol
Published in Australia January 2014
228 Pages
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia
Sixteen year old Cassandra Renfield has seen the mark since forever: a glow around certain people as if a candle were held behind their back.

The one time she mentioned it to someone else, the mark was dismissed as a trick of the light. So Cassie has kept quiet, considering its rare appearances odd, but insignificant. Until the day she watches a man die. Mining her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person's imminent death. Not how or where, only when, today.

Cassie searches her past, her philosophy lessons, even her new boyfriend for answers, answers, always careful to hide her secret. How does the mark work? Why her?

Most importantly, if you know today is someone's last, should you tell them?

The Impossible Knife Of Memory By Laurie Halse Anderson

The Impossible Knife Of Memory
Written By Laurie Halse Anderson
Published in Australia January 2nd 2014
304 Pages
Thank you to Text Publishing 
For the past five years Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq.

Now they are back in town where he grew up so Hayley can go to a proper school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over?

Stacking The Shelves #008

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online bookshops, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course eBooks. Hosted by Tyngas Reviews

After a short Christmas hiatus, I've been spoilt by publishers this week and have received quite a few new and yet to be released in Australia paperbacks. Welcome to my first Stacking The Shelves of 2014.

Physical Copies


 

Fool's Gold by Philippa Greggory. Thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia
Afterworld by Lynnette Lounsbury. Thank you to Allen and Unwin Australia
Doomed by Tracy Deebs. This one is published by Bloomsbury, but provided by Allen and Unwin


Anything To Have You by Paige Harbison. Thank you to Harlequin Australia
Chasing The Valley 2: Borderlands by Skye Melki - Wegner. Thank you to Random House Australia
The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver. Thank you to Harlequin Australia

Freebies and eBooks for a Buck


If you're looking for a few freebies or books for under a dollar for your Kindle this weekend, simply click on the titles below. Please check that eBooks are still free or on sale before downloading.

Celestra Series Books One, Two and Three - $1.00 for the first three books in the series.
The Bane: The Eden Trilogy Book One - Free. Absolutely loved this one.
Entangled: Spellbound Trilogy Book One - Free. Read this one as an ARC when it was released. Surprisingly good.
Endurance: Heroes & Heartbreakers Original - $1.00. A Razorland short story by Ann Aguirre.

What did you stack your shelves with this week?

Escape From Furnace: Lockdown


Escape From Furnace: Lockdown (Escape From Furnace: Book One)
Written by Alexander Gordon Smith
Published in Australia January 2014
304 Pages
Beneath heaven is hell. Beneath hell is Furnace.

When thirteen year old Alex is framed for murder, his life changes for ever. Now he is an inmate in the Furnace Penitentiary, the toughest prison in the world for young offenders. A vast building sunk deep into the ground, there's one way in and no way out.

But rowdy inmates and sadistic guards are the least of Alex's problems. Every night an inmate is taken from his cell by guards and returned the next morning changed. Where are they taken and why are they returned covered with scars, acting as though they are not quite human? In a desperate bid for freedom Alex discovers a horrifying truth, that the Furnace Penitentiary is a place of pure evil, a place where cruel experiments take place every day, where inmates are guinea pigs, where monsters make monsters, and where death is the least of your worries...

Almost Dead By Kaz Delaney

Almost Dead
Written By Kaz Delaney
Published January 2014
424 Pages
Thank you to Allen and Unwin Australia
Add to Goodreads
★★★★
Macey's life has been turned upside down. Her mother has left, her father is absent and her two best friends, her brother Seth and his girlfriend Willow, are MIA. On top of that Macey is being visited by ghosts who need her help to 'move on'. But as wild as all that sounds, it's all under Macey's control until a rakish, good-looking spirit called Nick turns up... In her bedroom!

Nick's a spirit with spirit who insists he's not dead, he's astral travelling and has a message for Macey: someone is out to get her. Macey's biting wit has got her in trouble before, so she's not surprised but when the threatening notes start turning up, she's seriously shaken. Does someone want her dead?

It's all rather disturbing but she's finding it hard to focus on who could mean her harm with the annoyingly handsome surf god Finn turning up at the most inopportune times and a father with a rather large surprise of his own.

Is it a case of bad timing? Or are these things somehow connected? And if they are, what on earth should she wear when she's solving the mystery?
Macey Pentecost, sassy justice advocate, social commentator and a reluctant medium to the spirits that gather on the Gold Coast. Heiress to a technology empire, Macey has it all. Boutique designer labels, shoes that cost enough to feed a small nation. What Macey doesn't have is her mother, who has left with her new boyfriend and didn't look back, and a father who spends more time overseas tending to his business, than with his own children. With her brother whisking her best friend away overseas, Macey has never felt more alone... Until she finds Nick in her bedroom.

Nick is a ghost who insists he's not really dead, but hanging on by a thread in the local private hospital. With his dazzling smile and intelligent banter, Nick is a breath of fresh air compared to the elderly beings that usually visit Macey before moving on to the afterlife. But Nick has been sent to her for a reason, he just can't remember what that is. Was it to berate her for the scathing attack on his band? But when a self proclaimed psychic warns Macey that she's in danger, she'll soon realise how true that is.

One cute boy is enough to handle, but when Macey meets Nick's cousin Finn, the sparks begin to fly. It isn't love at first sight, it's annoyance and mild irritation at best. Finn is handsomely sun kissed, a junior surf champion and when it seems Macey is being stalked by a crazed fan of Nick's band Pashon, Finn is waiting in the wings to protect her. Macey's knows all too well that her sass and attitude doesn't leave room for many fans, but who would want to hurt her? That seems the least of her problems right now, when her father arrives home with a secret life in tow. Macey's life is becoming a complicated mess. Her mother is gone, her father is home and she now has the family she's always dreamed of, pity it belongs to someone else.

When friends that Macey didn't realise she had rally around her, her stalker is closing in. Notes left in her home, her school locker, car and text messages on her phone are reaching a peak and Macey has no idea who wishes her harm... But she's about to find out. Sometimes the person you least expect, may just be the one who wants to see your downfall.

Kelly's Thoughts

I loved Almost Dead, it was fun, flirty and impossible to put down. Anyone who's been to the Gold Coast in Queensland, will appreciate the beach loving location and Kaz Delaney drops readers right in the middle of the glitz and glamour. Macey is the ultimate rich girl, right down to her designer shoes, but she's clumsy, cute and extremely likable. Not having read the first book Dead Actually, Macey's story picks up with her mother leaving, her best friend and brother off on an adventure romance, and apart from the ghostly vision of Nick, she's all alone. Technically Nick isn't a ghost, he's still very much alive, but his spirit has been sent to find Macey and warn her of the grave danger she faces, but Nick can't remember exactly what that is.

Finn is the vision of Nick, where Nick is cheeky and flirtatious, Finn is the strong silent type. There is definitely a mutual attraction from the beginning between Finn and Macey, but it develops into somewhat of a relationship based on friendship and both being involved with Nick and his recovery. It's not instant love, and apart from the paranormal aspect, these could be two teens dating in any suburb around Australia. It's realistic and kudos to any author who doesn't force relationships upon characters that wouldn't otherwise work.

It was witty, charming and fun. Set on the Gold Coast, reading this on a stinking hot Melbourne summer day was a breath of fresh air. It's the ultimate Aussie summer read. Seeing this is my first Kaz Delaney novel, it certainly won't be my last. The only way I can compare her is to a song, her book starts off with a catchy melody drawing you in, you fall in love with the narrator as soon as she begins her verse. It reaches a crescendo that you won't see coming, and as those last notes fall, you'll sit back with a sigh and a smile and be grateful for the journey she's taken you on.

My, that was poetic. Should rework that for valentines day coming up and pitch it to Hallmark.

It's Spamtastic #002

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Mental picture indeed.


If anyone is interested in joining in on the spam train, leave your link below.

Skull In The Wood By Sandra Greaves


The Skull In The Wood
Written By Sandra Greaves
Published December 2013
256 Pages
Thank you to Scholastic Australia
In Old Scratch Wood on Dartmoor quarrelling cousins Matt and Tilda find a buried skull. From that moment black things begin to happen. Birds and animals turn bad and there are rumours of the return of an ancient curse known as the gabbleratchet. But what can Matt and Tilda do to stop it?

This chilling, nail biting ghost story set in the wild landscape of Dartmoor thrillingly blends the supernatural with contemporary children’s voices.
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