Reverse Author Interviews.

Hosted by: Book munchies.

Text from their blog: Here at Book Munchies, we enjoy reading other author interviews and see them often featured on quite a number of book blogs. But a thought came to us, those authors never get to ask us anything; we’re always the ones doing the asking. But what if there was something they wanted to know about us? So, Book Munchies has been working to gather questions from a variety of authors about a good mix of topics.

When I got an email from Book Munchies about this event, I knew I had to participate. I haven’t seen anything like this before and it sounded like so much fun. Today, I am going to answer Marissa Meyer’s questions. It’s so awesome, because I love Cinder & Scarlet.

Review 147. Melissa Marr – Faery Tales & Nightmares.

Title: Faery Tales & Nightmares.
Author: Melissa Marr.
Pages: 418.
Published: February 21st 2012  by HarperCollins.
Sort: Stand alone, anthology.

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly. From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear. Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it. Table of Contents: "Where Nightmares Walk" "Winter's Kiss" "Transition" "Love Struck" "Old Habits" "Stopping Time" "The Art of Waiting" "Flesh for Comfort" "The Sleeping Girl and the Summer King" "Cotton Candy Skies" "Unexpected Family" "Merely Mortal"

Rating: 

Like you might now, I’m not such a fan of anthologies. I prefer long stories where I can bond with characters, so this book surprised me! Marissa did a great job in spinning stories with a fairytale feeling.

Where nightmares walk was strange. It’s only 2 pages long and there is hardly anything to say about it. My expectations dropped down, but I’m happy to say that Winter’s kiss made me excited again. It’s a fairytale about a girl whose breathe freezes everything around her. She can’t find her place in this world, until she is visited by an ice bear. This meeting is about to change her life. This was one of my favorite stories. 

Transition is a vampire story and it was a bit strange. It gave me a “meh” feeling. Love struck was great on the other hand. It’s about a Selkie boy called Murrin who is trying to win the love of his true match Alana.

Old habits, Cotton Candy Skies, Stopping time and Unexpected family were hard to follow. These stories belong to the Wicked Lovely series and I couldn’t understand it. I will return to this anthology after reading the series. The art of waiting was interesting, you have to see it for yourself. Flesh for comfort was bizarre, in a good way! It gave me the creeps. The sleeping girl and the Summer king was my other favorite story. It’s about a girl who gets to choose; living forever with the Summer King or ruling the Winter. Fairytale feeling! Merely Mortal was sweet, about the love between the Winter queen and a fairy who became mortal after saving her life.

This book was definitely enjoyable and I think I’m going to take a look at her series. Her writing-style was pleasant enough.

Showcase Sunday 27. Winning.

Hosted by: Books, biscuits and tea.

Again, no Netgalley requests! I did buy one new bargain book: I've heard great things about this book, so I was happy when I found it in my second hand bookshop!

Before I fall from Lauren Oliver.

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

And I forgot that I go an e-copy from Michelle Diener's book a while ago: Daughter of the sky.

The Victorian Empire has declared war on the Zulus if they don't accede to their outrageous demands. The clock is ticking down to the appointed hour. With no idea why the British are marching three massive columns of men and guns towards them, one Zulu general is prepared to take an impossible risk. But the life he's gambling with isn't his own.. The sole survivor of a shipwreck off the Zululand coast, 15 year-old Elizabeth Jones is taken in by the Zulus, the people of the sky. Six years later, her white skin becomes useful to the Zulu army as they try to work out why the Victorian Empire has pointed their war-machine at the Zulu nation. Elizabeth is suddenly Zululand's most important spy.

Edit: Forgot that I won these two copies:

That's it for this week :D Leave a link to your haul!

Review 146. John Green – The fault in our stars.

Title: The fault in our stars.
Author: John Green.
Pages: 368.
Published: January 10th 2012
Publisher: Dutton Books
Sort: Stand-alone.

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Rating: 

I knew what I was going to read, but I never ever thought it would touch me so much as it did. This book gave me all these different feelings. I laughed because of Augustus’ and Hazel’s funny humor  I felt hopeful because of their strength and I ugly cried because everything is so unfair. I’m still not over the beauty of this book. The powerful characters, the dazzling writing-style and the storyline did something to me. Something I can’t express in words and I know that I can’t do any justice to this book. But I will try.

WoW 35. Project Cain and Mortal fire.

Hosted by: Breaking the spine.

Geoffrey Girard - Project Cain.

Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’. There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time. When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?

Elizabeth Knox - Mortal fire.

Sixteen-year-old Canny Mochrie's vacation takes a turn when she stumbles upon a mysterious and enchanting valley, occupied almost entirely by children who can perform a special type of magic that tells things how to be stronger and better than they already are. As Canny studies the magic more carefully, she realizes that she not only understands it--she can perform the magic, too, so well that it feels like it has always been a part of her. With the help of an alluring seventeen-year-old boy who is held hostage by a spell that is now more powerful than the people who first placed it, Canny figures out the secrets of this valley and of her own past.

Review 145. Melanie Dickerson – The fairest beauty.

Title: The fairest beauty.
Author: Melanie Dickerson.
Pages: 323.
Published: January 8th 2013.
Publisher: Zondervan.
Sort: Stand-alone.
Source: Netgalley & Publisher.

A daring rescue.
A difficult choice.
Sophie desperately wants to get away from her stepmother's jealousy, and believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle, claiming she is betrothed to his older brother, and everything twists upside down. This could be Sophie's one chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe? Gabe defied his parents Rose and Wilhelm by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the girl's inner and outer beauty has enchanted him. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother's future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises himself he will see the mission through, no matter what. When the pair flee to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Now both must not only protect each other from the dangers around them—they must also protect their hearts.

Rating:

This book was good. It was fun, original and sweet, but I still had some things I would have loved to see different. The beginning of this book was incredibly strong. I was hooked to the characters and their storylines, but the story started to drag a little towards the ending. Their endless “No, I’m not falling in love” started to annoy me. Also, be aware of the fact that the religion aspect is very important in this book. Sophie is a strong believer and there is a lot of talk about forgiving your enemy. Sometimes, it was a bit too much for me.