Showing posts with label ARC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARC. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 May 2017

Review: Liberty - The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me by Andrea Portes

Liberty: The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked MeLiberty - The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me

Author: Andrea Portes
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: 6th June 2017
Pages: 400
Source: Edelweiss ARC

Synopsis (Goodreads): What is a hero? Paige Nolan knows.

Edward Raynes, the young man who exposed America’s unconstitutional spying techniques, is a hero, even if half the dum-dums in the country think he’s a traitor. Or her parents, journalists who were captured by terrorists while telling stories of the endangered and oppressed. They were heroes, too. Were. . . or are—no one has ever told Paige if they’re still alive, or dead.

Not heroes? Anyone in the government who abandoned her parents, letting them rot somewhere halfway across the world. And certainly not Paige herself, who despite her fluency in five languages and mastery of several obscure martial arts (thanks, Mom!) could do nothing to save them.

Couldn’t, that is, until she’s approached by Madden Carter, an undercover operative who gives her a mission—fly to Russia, find Raynes, and discover what other government secrets he’s stockpiled. In exchange, he’ll reopen the case on her missing parents. She’s given a code name and a cover as a foreign exchange student.

Who is a hero? Not Paige Nolan, but maybe, just maybe, Liberty is.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

I absolutely adore these types of books, light-hearted, witty and a thoroughly entertaining read with a wonderful, likeable heroine.

Our MC, Paige Nolan is the daughter to high profile journalists who are missing presumed dead. When Paige is recruited by a spy to find someone she idolises she is hesitant but will do anything possible to find her parents.

Paige is the sort of character I really enjoy, opinionated, witty, sarcastic and kick butt fabulous; she certainly kept things entertaining.

Madden Carter is an undercover operative from an operational intelligence agency known as RAITH who makes a deal with Paige, she gets to fly to Moscow with a cover as a foreign exchange student; find a person of interest, Sean Raynes and in exchange he’ll reopen her parents case. I thought Madden was great! I didn’t know whether or not he could be trusted or not but I did like his character and I loved the banter that he shared with Paige.

The premise was wonderful, I enjoyed the spy and secret mission aspect but I admit I initially thought that this book would be a little silly and at times it definitely was, you do have to suspend belief on occasion but I was hooked right from the beginning and despite it being told in second person POV which is not my favourite it was written well.

I didn’t completely love the ending and I did feel at times the case of Paige’s missing parents case was forgotten but overall it was written very well and kept me thoroughly entertained. I hope this is made in to a series, I’d definitely like to read more.

Thank you to HarperTeen via Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review Liberty - The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me.



Andrea PortesAbout the author:  Andrea Portes is a bestselling American novelist. 

Her novels include HICK, BURY THIS, ANATOMY OF A MISFIT, and THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES. Portes is also the author of the upcoming LIBERTY book series and the upcoming HENRY & EVA book series. She also published the SUPER RAD graphic novel series for Dark Matter Comics.

Portes was raised in rural Nebraska, outside of Lincoln. She attended Bryn Mawr College on full scholarship and later received her MFA from University of California, San Diego. After graduation, Portes moved to the neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles.

In 2007, Portes published her debut novel HICK that was an instant bestseller. After the book's huge success, the movie adaptation of HICK went into production in 2011. The film, starring Chloƫ Grace Moretz, Alec Baldwin, Eddie Redmayne, Juliette Lewis, and Blake Lively premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011.

Portes's second novel, BURY THIS, was published in January 2014 by Counterpoint Press's imprint Soft Skull Press to critical acclaim.

In 2012, she wrote SUPER RAD, a sci-fi series for Dark Matter Press.

Portes' third novel, ANATOMY OF A MISFIT, was published in September 2014 by HarperCollins. In July 2014, the book was optioned in a pre-emptive deal by Paramount Pictures, with Allison Shearmur (THE HUNGER GAMES, CINDERELLA) producing.

In Winter 2015, Portes spy thriller series LIBERTY was bought in a three-book deal by HarperCollins. Twentieth Century Fox-Fox 2000 acquired the rights to LIBERTY and will be producing the series with Wyck Godfrey (TWILIGHT, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS).

Her fourth book, THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES will be out in May 2016 published by HarperCollins.

Portes also chose HarperCollins to publish HENRY & EVA AND THE CASTLE ON THE CLIFF, the first in a middle reader series of HENRY & EVA books. The second release in the series will be HENRY & EVA AND THE FAMOUS PEOPLE GHOSTS.

Portes is currently working on THEY WERE LIKE WOLVES, a work of literary fiction. 

Saturday, 1 June 2013

Review: Transparent by Natalie Whipple

TransparentTransparent

Author: Natalie Whipple
Series: -
Pages: 368
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release date: 21st May 2013

Synopsis (Goodreads)

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

Imagine being invisible! It would be pretty cool so I was intrigued by the premise of Transparent. It was a light and easy read that I found myself really engrossed in.

When an anti-radiation drug was created wide spread genetic mutations occurred and people obtained unnatural abilities, our main heroine Fiona McLean is the only known person to be born with the gift (or curse) of invisibility. She has no idea at all what she looks like which has caused her to feel isolated and alone. She is also used as a pawn in her crime lord fathers illegal trading and used to mainly spy, hurt and steal when the need arises.

Fiona was a likeable character with normal teen angst and fears so when an opportunity came to flee her father’s reigns in Vegas with her mother in the hopes of leading a normal life, she ran with it but she never truly believed she would ever be free and was always waiting for her father to arrive to make them return home so she could do his bidding. Being free gave her an opportunity to attend school, make new friends and potentially have a boyfriend – things she never thought possible.

Transparent is written well and the overall concept is interesting, the world-building was simplistic and easily understood and I found the plot to be fascinating and fun despite a few minor inconsistencies; Fiona was on the run from her father but it didn’t make sense she would need to hide because she was invisible; I also would have like more information about the abilities and differing mob syndicates.

There were a lot of characters in this book but they each had their own unique personality traits; Fiona’s father played the perfect villain – his ability of charming/persuasion by releasing a pheromone was pretty neat, I adored best friend Bea and her family dynamic; her brothers were lots of fun, I also came to really like brothers Seth and Brady Mitchell as well as Fiona’s own brother Miles. Older brother Grant on the other hand was shady and I never knew whether he could be trusted, his brute actions never quite endeared him to me.

Speaking of Seth and Brady, these guys were Fiona’s love interests; I found her to be a little fickle with her feelings towards these guys – one minute she was crushing on Brady the next it was Seth, I got confused who she really liked so I never really appreciated the romance, I felt it was more something new for her so she went with it. Romance definitely wasn’t at the forefront of the story though.

One small thing that grated on my nerves was Fiona’s treatment of her mother, she knew what her father could do with his ability but when her mother upped and left with her she never trusted her to form her own thoughts and actions and treated her poorly because of it – it was a tense relationship that I didn’t find was truly warranted, there was no trust or communication.

Overall, Transparent was a light, enjoyable read and I love that it’s a standalone so everything is nicely wrapped up at the end. There were a few twists and turns I never saw coming and great characters to keep the story entertaining. I would definitely read more books by Natalie Whipple; Transparent is a great debut novel.

Thank-you to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of Transparent to read and review.


Natalie WhippleAbout the author: Natalie Whipple, sadly, does not have any cool mutations like her characters. Unless you count the ability to watch anime and Korean dramas for hours on end. Or her uncanny knack for sushi consumption. 

She grew up in the Bay Area and relocated to Utah for high school, which was quite the culture shock for her anime-loving teen self. But the Rocky Mountains eventually won her over, and she stuck around to earn her degree in English linguistics at BYU. Natalie still lives in Utah with her husband and three kids, and keeps the local Asian market in business with all her attempts to cook Thai curry, Pho, and “real” ramen.

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

ARC Review: Night School (Night School #1) by C.J. Daugherty


Night School (Night School, #1)Night School

Author: C.J. Daugherty
Series: Night School
Pages: 400
Publisher: Harper Teen / Katherine Tegen Books
Pre-order Amazon: Night School
Release Date: 21st May 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Allie's world is falling apart...

She hates her school. Her brother has run away. And she's just been arrested.

Again.

Now her parents are sending her away to a boarding school where she doesn't know a soul.

But instead of hating her new school, Allie finds she's happy there. She's making friends. And then there's Sylvain, a suave French student who openly flirts with her. And Carter, the brooding loner who seems to have her back.

Soon, though, Allie discovers Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Nothing there is as it seems. And her new friends are hiding dangerous secrets.

Review: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

I was initially captured by the gorgeous cover of this book and I love a school setting so Night School was high on my wishlist.

Our main protagonist is Allie Sheridan whose parents have sent her off to a private boarding school as a last resort to set her on the straight and narrow after being in and out of trouble with a few arrests under her belt since the disappearance of her older brother, Christopher.

Allie initially wasn’t an easy character to like, she was moody and not all that friendly, her behaviour came across as inconsistent but as the story progressed so too did my opinion of this troubled teen and I came to enjoy her feisty attitude, dedication and snark.

Night School has a complex yet intriguing plot that was wonderfully developed; it revolves around conspiracies, murder and deceit - to be honest, I initially thought this was a paranormal novel judging by the cover and I was waiting for some supernatural elements but I was thankful it was very different to what I was expecting. I loved seeing how everything came together in the overall story, it was quite creative.

I enjoyed seeing Allie adapt to her new life and eventually begin to question and investigate the strange happenings around the academy as well as the hush-hush society that the students are not allowed to know about. I was sucked in by this gripping story, the overall vibe gives a sinister feel and I was more than eager to unravel the secrets of Cimmeria which were aplenty.

I liked some characters more than others; we have a love triangle with Allie, popular Sylvain (who I didn’t like nor trust) and moody Carter but it wasn’t one I found annoying because you could see Allie’s relationship with Carter came naturally and was more intense and believable. I also loved Rachel and Jo, mean girl Katie grated on my nerves.

My biggest complaint with this book was the pacing, for me at times is dragged on and on and I found myself skimming to get to the more interesting parts; the second portion of the book was much more thrilling and the pacing picked up.

Overall, Night School is a very well written story filled with mystery, romance and intrigue – I loved the academy setting and the suspense-filled plot. I still have many unanswered questions so I am looking forward to reading the sequel.



C.J. DaughertyAbout C.J Daugherty: Before giving fiction a shot, CJ had already written a number of books about travel for publishers including Frommers and Time Out, worked as a journalist for Reuters, and as a crime and investigative reporter for newspapers in the US.

Over the years she's also been a hostess at a Cajun restaurant, a researcher for a university, a receptionist for an oil company, a ham seller at a Honey Baked Ham store, and a civil servant. She quite liked selling hams.

These days she writes thrillers. Night School was her first novel. The first book in the Night School series, it is now being translated into 19 languages. Night School: Legacy, is out now in the UK and France, and will soon be published in the REST of the WORLD. 

You can hang out with her atwww.cjdaugherty.com, onwww.facebook.com/CJAuthor and on Twitter, where she is @CJ_Daugherty

Monday, 26 December 2011

REVIEW: Shield of Fire (Bringer and the Bane #1) by Boone Brux


Author: Boone Brux
Series: Bringer and the Bane
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 311
Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

Protecting humans is the Bringers’ duty. Sending demons to the Shadow World is their pleasure.

In one night, Ravyn’s life plunges from barely tolerable to deadly. Forced to flee the only home she’s known, she stumbles headlong into the clutches of Icarus, a powerful demon intent on stealing her powers. Unfortunately for him, she has no intention of cooperating.

When Rhys realizes the woman he’s rescued from the Bane Demon is no mere human, his obligation as a Bringer dictates he protect and train her in the ways of his people. But he’s unprepared for the intense desire he feels for the fiery Ravyn. To surrender to his need may mean her death.

As the Demon King’s desire for ultimate power escalates, fathers are slated against sons, and foes are made allies. The Bane threat upon them, Rhys and Ravyn must quest to unite the last of the Bringers—and explore a passion too powerful to ignore.

REVIEW: 3 out of 5 stars

Shield of Fire was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Entangled Publishing.

I have to admit, I was initially drawn to this book because of the gorgeous cover but unfortunately the story wasn't as appealing as the cover.

Ravyn Mayfield was bought up on sacred ground at Menda Abbey where she was led to believe the powers she had were actually a curse, she was treated badly and never truly understood what she was or the extent of her abilities as she was orphaned young. It isn’t until a night when her friend was murdered, she is attacked by a Monk and a Demon or Bane as they are known came after her that she escapes and is rescued by Rhys where she realizes there could possibly be others who share the same powers as herself.

Rhys Blackwell is the last full-blooded Bringer, a protector of mankind against demon bane who saves Ravyn from the Monk, Powell who is after her as well as the Demon Icarus, the Banes second in Command. He takes her under his wing, heals, protects and trains her in her powers as it is recognized she is also a full-blood bringer all the while fighting his growing attraction towards her.

The relationship between Ravyn and Rhys initially seemed forced, but I am thankful that as the story progressed so too did the believability of them being together; I liked the fact she bought about the good in him and changed his seemingly old fashioned mindset, he took his job seriously and believed love certainly wasn’t for him. 

I enjoyed the secondary characters, more so than the main H/H especially Luc! I loved his wit and cheeky humor and hope the next book will be about him and Jade. The Demon Icarus has me intrigued; I think there is more to him than what we have learnt.

The pacing for me was a bit choppy; it seemed to lag in the middle but picked up again towards the end. I was also a bit stumped about the setting; I had no idea of the era or location so it was a bit of a guessing game, I did enjoy the vivid imagery though.

I enjoyed the Bringer and Demon history and mythology; the book had a medieval type feel to it which I enjoyed although in saying this I think it could have been executed differently.

Shield of Fire was just an ok read for me, the premise was interesting but the delivery fell flat. If there is a Luc/Jade story to follow, I would still be interested in reading this.