Review: Finn Finnegan

Happy Book Birthday Finn Finnegan!!

• Title: Finn Finnegan
• Series: The Adventures of Finn MacCullen
• Author:Darby Karchut
• Reading Level: Middle Grade
• Genre: Urban Fantasy
• Source: ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
• Fave Quote(s):

~"...Words are powerful magic."~

~"'Tis often that a person's mouth breaks his nose.'"~

More on Finn Finnegan on Goodreads.

I first became interested in Finn Finnegan when saw it on Spencer Hill Press's website or Facebook page and Finn was being compared to Percy Jackson. Well, I'm a Percy fan, so I knew I'd want to read Finn. And I'm certainly glad I did! This book has action, humor, tragedy, everything a good book should have!

To begin, Finn Finnegan could not have come out at a better time. While there is no mention of St. Patrick's day in the book, Finn is certainly Irish. The whole time I was reading it, I just kept thinking about the perfect timing of this book. In fact, I painted my nails to go with the "luck of the Irish" theme!

See, I have plaid tips & a little shamrock on my ring finger! :)

(Design inspiration: Cute Polish on You Tube.)

Along those same lines, I thought it was cool how the author wrote Gideon (Finn's mentor) and Mac Roth's (Gideon's friend and fellow warrior) dialogue in Irish Brogue. That seemed to lend a greater level authenticity to the story.

I really liked how the author used Finn and Gideon's journaling to give us insights on the characters' inner thoughts. I found that this method helped keep the story progressing while also allowing us glimpses of what was going on inside the characters' head.

I got a strong impression from Finn. He is a flawed character and admittedly has a bad temper and he likes to be creative with rules. But he seems like he is really a good kid. He wants to be a great, strong De Danaan (warrior) to honor his father and to make Gideon proud. He is willing to stick up for his friends even if it puts himself in danger. And he is fairly tender-hearted when it came to someone he didn't care for very much personally. He has all the makings of a fine hero. 

And Finn's mentor Gideon Lir is the perfect adult counterpart to Finn. Gideon is strict but not without cause. He truly cares about Finn and offers Finn the close parental relationship he's been missing. Also, Gideon is flipping hilarious and a kick butt warrior. 

I give Finn Finnegan 4 out of 5 stars. It's an action packed good read. I literally laughed out loud at some scenes and shed a few tears at others. If a book can elicit that kind of emotion, then I think it's pretty awesome! 

If you are fan of Percy Jackson or Jack Templar (see my review here) I think you'll really enjoy Finn too!

Review: Dear Cassie

Happy Belated Book Birthday to 

DEAR CASSIE!!

Title: Dear Cassie

Series: Companion to novel to Pretty Amy and The Next Forever

Author: Lisa Burstein 

Genre: Contemporary YA 

Source: Complimentary e-book from publisher in exchange for honest review

More about Dear Cassie can be found at Goodreads.

Dear Cassie was the first book I've read by author Lisa Burstein, even though this would be her third book out. This is a companion novel and it involves the same characters and world as Pretty Amy and The Next Forever but per the author you can read them in any order. I liked Cassie's story because, it seemed fairly reasonable like something that could happen in real life. What I enjoyed the most was watching Cassie's self discovery and development as I read.

I found it interesting, how the story is written from a journalistic point of view from the main character. I think that really helped me as a reader understand Cassie more. I think the information the author chose to hold back to the end worked well with the style of the story. Even though Cassie hinted and I guessed what her secret was long before Cassie actually revealed it herself, I felt like withholding it until Cassie was ready to talk about it was pretty brilliant.

I like how vulnerable Cassie is, even she tries to make everyone think she is such a hard@$$. She knows she's not that tough and pretty much everyone else can see through her facade as well. 

Cassie's story weighed on my emotions, especially sympathy, for many reasons. The lack of a close parental relationship is really sort of heartbreaking. I think that is one of the most detrimental things to Cassie. I hate for her, the mistakes she made and that she very nearly had to face them alone. Her brother gets mad props for being the type of family member she needed.

If you have read my blog for anytime at all you know I easily fall victim to book crushes. Dear Cassie was no exception. I LOVED Ben! He's mysterious, cute, musician, confidant, persistent and also caring, sweet. If I had to be locked away in some wilderness boot camp, I would hope there was a Ben around!

I appreciate rich descriptions and the value such descriptions can add to a novel. And Dear Cassie is chocked full of detailed descriptions. My only pet peeve with the writing of Dear Cassie was the abundant usage of similes. I enjoy like/as statements but there were so many of these types of descriptions it was almost distracting to me. In that, after a while, every time I'd come across one in the text it would almost pull me out of the story. Clearly the author put a lot of thought into the story to come up with such visual descriptions, it's just this reader got a little bogged down in the sea of similes. Though not enough to stop me from reading and Dear Cassie was still a quick, easy, and good read for me.

Warning: I saw a while back on Lisa's Facebook page that she was able to keep something like a 100 plus f-bombs in Dear Cassie. Well, I don't think she was exaggerating. But for some reason the way the word was used didn't bother me as much as it could have. Just be aware if you are sensitive to language, this book may not be a prime choice for you. BUT if you are looking for a story where an older teen makes some mistakes and is able to learn and grow from said mistakes then this maybe a book you'd should pick up.

I think this book is suitable for older teens due to the aforementioned language and adult themes. Although depending on the kid, I think a younger teen maybe able to glean some valuable life knowledge from Cassie's experience.

Again, I really enjoyed the story and the concept of Dear Cassie, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It kept me coming back and wanting to know what all was going on in Cassie's World. I don't think this is the book for everyone but I found it to be an enjoyable read. I will be going back and reading Lisa Burstein's first book Pretty Amy soon!

Cover Reveal: Blurred

Cash is haunted by things. Hungry, hollow things. They only leave him alone when Anaya, Heaven’s beautiful reaper, is around. Cash has always been good with girls, but Anaya isn’t like the others. She’s dead. And with his deteriorating health, Cash might soon be as well.

Anaya never breaks the rules, but the night of the fire she recognized part of Cash’s soul—and doomed him to something worse than death. Cash’s soul now resides in an expired body, making him a shadow walker—a rare, coveted being that can walk between worlds. A being creatures of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on.

The lines between life and death are blurring, and Anaya and Cash find themselves falling helplessly over the edge. Trapped in a world where the living don’t belong, can Cash make it out alive?

More Information from Goodreads

Coming July 2013!!!  Pre-Order your copy now!

Amazon: 

Barnes & Noble

The Book Depository

About Tara:

Tara Fuller writes novels. Some about grim reapers. Some about witches. All of course are delightfully full of teen angst and kissing. Tara grew up in a one stop light town in Oklahoma where once upon a time she stayed up with a flash light reading RL Stine novels and only dreamed of becoming a writer. She has a slight obsession with music and a shameless addiction for zombie fiction, Mystery Science Theater, and black and white mochas. Tara no longer lives in a one stop light town. Now she lives with her family in a slightly larger town in North  Carolina where they have at least three stoplights.


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a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Note: ARC's aren't ready yet but when they are that winner will get the first one!!

ARC Review: Touch of Death

Title: Touch of Death

Author: Kelly Hashway

Genre: YA Paranormal

Source: ARC from publisher in exchange for honest review.

Fave Quote(s): "Emotions were what caused people to fly off the handle, not control themselves. But we weren't ordinary people. We were Ophi."

Info on Touch of Death from Goodreads:

Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.
Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct. 

My thoughts on Touch of Death:

I have been excited about reading Touch of Death for sometime now. When I first saw the cover months ago I just had a feeling this would be a book I'd enjoy. In this one instance I'm so glad I judged a book by it's cover. Touch of Death was pretty as well as awesome! 

It is safely a Young Adult Paranormal but Touch of Death is interesting because of the paranormal elements combined with good story telling are different from other books I've read lately. I think author, Kelly Hashway, hit a winning combination with Greek mythology, necromancers and zombies with just enough romantic tension to keep things warm if not all out hot!

***The next paragraph is borderline spoilery***

Speaking of hot, can we talk about Alex for a moment. That macaroni eating stalker really won me over by the end! Please stalk me and teach me a thing or two about being Ophi! Hot as, well, Hades and lets don't even go down that path!

I think fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Covenant series will appreciate and really enjoy Hashway's Touch of Death. It kind of has the same feel as the Covenant books without being a carbon copy. 

I give Touch of Death 4 out of 5 stars and I'm totally looking forward to the next book in the series, which I believe will be called Stalked by Death due out July 2013! (YAY!! Not long at all to wait!)

Teaser Tuesday (Jan. 1)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 

Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Relax. Unless you plan on spitting on all the graves or slicing open a vein and running through all the headstones, we'll be fine."

Touch of Death
by
Kelly Hashway 

I'm reading an ARC of Touch of Death, it's really good and I think the cover is beautiful! Put it in your TBR pile, it is worth it!

Mega Monday: Onyx

Mini Mani Monday:

I'm wearing

Sinful Colors in Winterberry on largest section

Art Deco in Silver Glitter to separated the two main colors

Rimmel in Wild Orchid on on tips

Seche Vite Top Coat (this is the BEST stuff ever)

Amazon book description can be found here.

My thoughts...

***Possible Spoilers to follow. Continue at your own risk.***

I really like the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. What is unfortunate is that I was sick while trying to read Onyx. I still enjoyed it but my constant coughing and consistent headache made it difficult to read than a couple pages at a time, which really messed with my concentration. BUT even with all that going on, I STILL totally enjoyed this installment. This is book two in the series, the first is Obsidian (see this post for more info). Onyx continues with the characters and exploring the repercussions of actions established in book one. Onyx also introduces some new characters to the mix and of course creates inta-drama that forces the hand of some of our beloved characters! Our herione Katy is trying, not always successfully, to come more into her own.The relationship between her and Daemon is changing. There are some heart wrenching parts and some parts that are just hawt. There is excitement and action. It ends on a super excellent cliff hanger that will have readers begging for the next installment, Opal (which is set to release in December 2012. YaY!!!)

For a bit of creativity: 

Per my usual, I couldn't just leave the story alone once I was done reading. I wanted to have a part with me. I got to thinking about Katy wearing her obsidian necklace Daemon gave her. And I decided I had to have one! After several hours in two different craft stores and a very helpful hubby this is what we came up with based on the description in Obsidian. (p.s. SPOILER ALERT: Katy's still wearing it in Onyx.)

Me wearing my "obsidian necklace"

squinty eyed and all!

*By the way..thanks hubby for being my official photog for this post! 

Isn't he the best? 

And wish hit a happy birthday, it was yesterday!

p.p.s. Sorry about my vanity in this post. I mean two pics featuring me! Geez!

*I was sent a review ARC by the publisher*

What A Great Bookish Day!

Yesterday morning a co-worker asked me about a book because I "always have great book recommendations." This kinda set my day for a great bookish day! I finished the book I was reading and the audio book I was listening to in my car, Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout and The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, respectively. Both of which were very good and look for reviews and what not coming soon to a blog near you (aka this one)! 

And once I got home I found my first Advanced Reading Copy in the mail!!! Which, by the way, when I had emailed the publisher about it I got a polite email back saying they didn't have anymore copies. I can't wait to read and review this book. (Its The Third Covenant Novel.) And I kinda feel like I'm really part of the book blog "club" now! 

Needless to say, I was super excited to see it! And now you can see it too!!!

Look at that! ARC of Deity

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

and some book swag!

THANKS Spencer Hill Press!!

You guys ROCK!