Cover Reveal: MIRROR X by Karri Thompson

Today Karri Thompson and Entangled Teen are revealing the cover for MIRROR X, releasing in June 30,2014! Check out the gorgeous cover, exclusive excerpt, and enter to win an eARC!

On to the reveal!

Title: MIRROR X

Author: Karri Thompson

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. Date: June 30, 2014

Find it: Goodreads|Amazon|Barnes & Noble|iTunes

I was born more than a thousand years ago.

Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I've finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future.

But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me.

Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets. 

The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either.

When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it’s clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…

Exclusive Excerpt!

Michael took a seat on the edge of my bed, rocking me toward him. When the side of my thigh met his knee, my heart rate doubled, and I drew in a deep breath.
“Before you were awakened I spent hours at your bedside imaging what you were like, how your voice would sound, how you looked when you smiled. When your red lips pulsed, when your chest heaved, and you took your first breath, I kept my emotions in check. But now, now that you’ve ‘awakened,’ everything is different. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
I ignored the pain and tilted closer until the space between our faces was less than a foot. My heart, my mind, my soul— everything yearned for his affection at that moment. 
“I feel the same way, too.”
I closed my eyes, wanting this handsome, earnest guy to take me into his arms and tell me he’d make them let me go. My lungs expanded with his warm breath and spicy scent. When his lips met mine, every atom in my body danced, urging me to pull him closer and tighten my grip upon his back.
His kissing became more fiery and I reacted by kissing him harder. It wasn’t until his mouth moved to my neck, that I came to my senses and drew away.
“Not yet,” I said, scooting away.
“I know,” he said between breaths, rising from the bed. His wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his uniform and returned to the chair. “I can’t…we can’t. We can never…,” he said abruptly. “It’s against protocol. I-I should go.”

About Karri:

Karri’s debut YA novel, Amateur Angel, was released May 1, 2012. The next book in that series, Hollywood Angels, came out September 1, 2013. The first book in her upcoming dystopian trilogy, The Van Winkle Chronicles, will be released by Entangled Publishing Spring 2014.

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 eGalley of MIRROR X International

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Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

My Rating:  5 stars

From the moment I saw the cover and read the premise of this book, I wanted it in my hands.  I MAY have thrown a bit of a pity party when I wasn't able to get my hands on an arc...but if asked directly, I will neither confirm nor deny.

I never thought I'd be a big reader of science fiction, and I won't say that I am really because I don't typically search out sci-fi books, but I will read it in the right book and there was something about this one that just needed me to read it.  And I am soooo glad that I did.

When the story opens, it opens full speed.  Em is in a prison cell, but we don't know why.  And she is obsessed with getting a drain open.  But again, we don't know why.  And even when she figures it out, the reader is still left in the dark. 

This was the point where I was so consumed by putting pieces together that I decided I didn't need to sleep.  Nope.  

And there is a boy, and a doctor, and time travel and all kinds of deliciously confusing things going on that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page.  Oh and there were a few a-ha! moments that had me reading through my fingers because while I knew they had to happen, I really didn't want them to because of...reasons.   

All Our Yesterdays is told using two POVs but both from the same person...a before (Marina) and after (Em).    Fascinating enough in and of itself as we learn they hows and the whys of their situation, but when the before and after are together in the same moment...gah, it is SO hard to write this without giving away the good stuff!  I don't know...I just felt smart reading it.  

The growth of the characters as shown between their past and present versions was believable.  The plot was well-paced and I absolutely applaud the author for managing to keep all the different moments and memories from getting tangled in one big ball of inter-dimensional chaos.  This book had so many feels...the action, the swoons, the tears, the cringes, the nostalgia...truly, something for every reader.    

And the ending was just...yeah, as it should be.  Vague sentences are vague, but in this case they are also necessary.  Just trust me and read this one.  You can thank me later.
 

Book Blast and Giveaway - Pendomus by Carissa Andrews

Ok, it is no small secret that I am a sucker for a good book cover, so when I saw the cover for Pendomus, I jumped at the chance to take part in this book blast.  I mean, just look at it!

SYNOPSIS:

Humanity has colonized on the tidally locked planet Pendomus. 

Residing between extreme heat and frigid cold is the complex known as the Helix. Within lies a highly sophisticated society functioning solely on humans fulfilling their life’s purpose as determined by their natural aptitudes and daily brain scans. 

Seventeen-year-old Runa Cophem has found her calling studying the ancient trees nearby and anxiously awaits a professional placement which will allow her to continue her work. 

Runa’s life takes an unforeseen turn when she’s brutally attacked and left for dead in those woods. Rescued by a stranger with blue hair, she’s immersed into a surprising way humanity has survived without the Helix. Fueled by a yearning to understand and an attraction she didn’t even know was possible, Runa tries to make a new life for herself. Yet, there’s much she doesn’t know about herself, about the planet, and the forces controlling her from afar. 

What she needs are some answers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in central MN, Carissa Andrews has always loved books. She started her career at 15 in a bookstore, just to be able to afford her book fetish. By 19, she worked for a magazine publisher. At 22, she was working for printers to learn their trade. At 27, she went back to school for graphic design, and became an award winning designer. Little did she know all of her experiences would lead her to becoming a self-publishing power house.

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Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

So I've been sitting on this review for a few weeks for a couple of reasons.  First, I've been in probably the worst book slump I've had in years and two, I don't read many books with a horror element, so I'm not really sure how to even talk about it.

Except that I found myself really enjoying it, so I feel like I NEED to talk about it.

Coming back to the fact that I don't read many "scary" books, I don't know much about the foundation of this book The Island of Doctor Moreau, but I didn't really find that to be an issue when reading this book.  Back story was included in a way that didn't feel like I was reading a recap and there was enough of it where I was able to read without feeling like I was on the outside of an inside joke.  So on that note, well done Ms. Shepherd.

This story is dark.  Period.  There are twists and turns and some really really scary elements that both fascinated me a little bit and freaked me out at the same time.  The whole "playing God" thing and how it can get out of hand...yeah, I'm not going to get into the real life parallels or anything but I definitely found myself thinking about them long after I finished reading.  I love it when books do that -- when I can be completely sucked in by the plot, imagery and descriptions while reading, but then have the themes and tropes linger into my own introspection and thoughts when I don't even have the book in my hands.

There is a love triangle in this book, but honestly, it didn't really take over the story for me -- but what I did notice is that I really didn't have a "favorite".  I liked Montgomery.  I liked Edward.  I liked that Juliet was conflicted, but not a doormat.  This story was not overrun with swoony moments, and while I'll be the first to admit that I am a sucker for good "swoonage", they would have been out of place with the tone and darkness of this book.  Is "dark swoonage" a thing?  Because maybe it could be called that?  Whatever it was, it worked.

I read this book right before my book rut started...and I think it was a good thing.  It had a little bit of everything.  Historical elements, the creepy factor, some romance, the fantasy...and the WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE ending that makes me really excited for the next book.

I definitely recommend it to anybody who is having an "I can't decide what I want to read moment."

 **On a side note, I had the chance to briefly meet Ms. Shepherd at the BookMarks Festival this month and she is lovely :) 

The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna

 

From Goodreads:

Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination--an echo. She was made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her "other," if she ever died. Eva spends every day studying that girl from far away, learning what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But sixteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything and everyone she's ever known--the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love--to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive. 

What a concept.  

I remember being sixteen -- it was hard enough figuring out how to be myself, I can't imaging fighting those instincts and HAVING to be somebody else.  Sure, there are days when I wish there were two of me but I say that as me...not the echo.  And trying to put myself in Eva's shoes had me thinking about this book for weeks after I turned the last page. 

And now as a parent, I can't imagine anything worse than losing a child.  But what if you could have a replacement made, one that would be an exact replica of what you loved and held and cherished?  Could you ever get past knowing that it wasn't really your child, even if it was.  And would it be?  Would having the constant reminder of what you have lost be better than having to rely on memories?  So many things to think about. 

Mandanna writes a story that has a little bit of everything -- family, love, secrets, danger, suspense -- and writes it really really well.  The ending has me clamoring for a sequel, but then there is part of me that wants it to be a stand alone. It makes the ending that much more powerful.  Gah - I want both!  If this is her debut novel, I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve for future works.