Friday, October 31, 2014

Book Tour: Embers by Karen Ann Hopkins



I'm so excited to be hosting one of today's stops on Karen Ann Hopkins' Embers Virtual Book Tour. Released October 21st, 2014 Embers kicks off The Wings of War series with a bang!

For all the stops on Embers's Virtual Book Tour, check out Kismet Book Touring.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Penumbra by Keri Arthur

The Basics:
Penumbra by Keri Arthur
Dell
Book 3 in the Spook Squad Series
Urban Fantasy
Re-released October 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Why I picked up this book:

I had to see how the trilogy ended!

Blurb:

Agent Sam Ryan is sick of feeling lonely. It?s time to take control and get a life outside of work. But Stephan, her boss, won?t let her go easily. Offered the choice between guarding a clone, or remaining stuck in her office, Sam reluctantly accepts the former, even though she suspects Stephan is using her as bait to draw out the dangerous Sethanon. Gabriel is relieved to discover he?s finally shaken Sam as his partner, until he learns her new assignment is guarding Wetherton. He and Stephan know Wetherton could only have come from Hopeworth, the base involved in DNA experiments for decades, where it is more than likely that Sam was created. But there is a growing likelihood that the military base is also the home of Sethanon himself. Gabriel is determined to protect her, yet all too soon he discovers the connection between he and Sam is far deeper than anyone could ever have imagined.

My thoughts:

Penumbra is an entertaining, quick read that provides a mixed results ending to the trilogy. Why mixed results?  Well, I think some threads are left open, but I'll get to that in a moment.

It seems to me that the entire Spook Squad trilogy was planned at the same time, whether or not it was written that way. I really think that you could read them all in a row (the way that I did, albeit with pausing briefly to write some notes for my reviews) and it would feel almost like a single, larger book - or, you know, a normal-length fantasy novel. 

So, the most important part for my enjoyment - the romance. Sam and Gabriel have been dancing around a hook-up since book one. We know there's some crazy chemistry between these two - so crazy that they feel when the other is injured. This book does provide some answers, and does resolve the "will they, won't they?" question. Was I satisfied? Not entirely, and here's why:

First, the psychic bond made me feel a little uncomfortable. Neither Gabriel nor Sam wants it, it's forced on them, they have no choice but to deal with it, and that makes them both feel penned in, and that's not cool. 

Second, there is an *epic* moment in this book that had me slow down and savour the words. This is the only time when I was reading this series that I wasn't flying through the words, compelled to read as fast as I could to get answers. Unfortunately, I didn't get the huge romantic pay-off that I wanted - so I'm extra glad I savoured this moment when it happened.

Third, there's definitely some willful blindness - as I said, it took Sam and Gabriel a bit longer than necessary to confirm some facts that seemed obvious to me as a reader. While I was willing to acknowledge that Sam was living in denial because she was, quite frankly, overwhelmed by everything that was happening, and she lacked any kind of support system, well, between that and Gabriel's deliberate walls around having a partner/getting close to Sam...  Yeah. I just wanted to shake everyone and say, guys! Let's stop being ostriches and deal with the world!

Sam and Gabriel were still very kickass, and I was pretty engaged in the story itself. The action scenes were fantastic and I liked that Gabriel turned to shifting whenever it was appropriate - this wasn't a power that he forgot (conveniently or not) that he had. 

There were some cool revelations about the nature of this world in Penumbra too, which is awesome since it was the last in the trilogy. I loved that the worldbuilding continued and in ways that I found generally reasonable. That said, the stonewalling from Hopeworth created this space for the book to offer up some crazy powers and creatures without having to be too careful about explaining them. I wanted to spend time in the compound in the present, poking around.

Other than Hopeworth being still a bit of a blank, the other thread that was left dangling for me relates to the man who appeared in Sam's dreams in book two. I won't say anything more, but there were definitely openings for a fourth book. And some digging (okay, I just googled "Keri Arthur spook squad book 4") reveals that in a FAQ on Keri Arthur's website, she (I presume) acknowledges that there was a fourth book planned but because of the time and distance she'd had since writing in this world, the fourth book has been scrapped. I find this really disappointing because there's some material left up in the air, and I'd love to see all the developments at the end of book three pan out through a fourth book.

Bottom line:

Penumbra is a fun, final entry in the Spook Squad trilogy. It answered many of my questions while leaving the door open for a fourth book - a door shut by a FAQ on the author's website. My disappointment about the lack of additional books in the series should be evidence of how entertaining I found books 1-3 (rather than a suggestion that these were not satisfying on their own). I strongly recommend the trilogy - grab all three at once and binge read!

4.5 stars
For fans of urban fantasy, Spook Squad series.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Quick (and a few not so Quick) Romance Reviews

Quickie reviews today - some books that I enjoyed, some that I didn't. A lot of these are outstanding reviews that I wanted to get out there. Some are books I just didn't have much to say about, and a few others are ones that I didn't really enjoy for one reason or another and didn't want to have lingering in my review queue. 

Friday, October 24, 2014

Xmas in October: Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan

Presenting: Christmas in October!

Each day this week, I am reviewing a Christmas-themed book, reviewing how well the book embraces the holiday as well as giving my two cents on the book as a whole. Join me in celebrating the holiday a wee bit early and post your holiday book reviews to comments of any of this week's reviews!

The Book:

Basics


Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan
Pan
Romance
Published November 18, 2011
Source: Received via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Xmas in October: Once Upon a Christmas Kiss by Manda Collins

Presenting: Christmas in October!

Each day this week, I will be reviewing a Christmas-themed book, reviewing how well the book embraces the holiday as well as giving my two cents on the book as a whole. Join me in celebrating the holiday a wee bit early and post your holiday book reviews to comments of any of this week's reviews!

The Book:

Basics


Once Upon a Christmas Kiss by Manda Collins
St Martin's
Book 3.5 in the Wicked Widows series
Historical Romance
Published October 14, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Xmas in October: Blame It on the Mistletoe by Nicole Michaels

Presenting: Christmas in October!

Each day this week, I will be reviewing a Christmas-themed book, reviewing how well the book embraces the holiday as well as giving my two cents on the book as a whole. Join me in celebrating the holiday a wee bit early and post your holiday book reviews to comments of any of this week's reviews!

The Book:


Basics


Blame It on the Mistletoe by Nicole Michaels
St Martin's
Contemporary Romance
Published October 14, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Trailer Reveal: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Guys, I have to be honest, I've been avoiding requesting for review The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel. Quite frankly, I'm a bit overcommitted on reviews these days, but this book looks like something I could *really* love. So I keep going back and forth with myself on it. Well, the book trailer, which I'm helping reveal this week, is fantastic and completely convinced me that I have to buy this one.



Due to be released from Entangled Publishing on November 11, 2014, The Book of Ivy is a YA tale set in what sounds like a dystopic future. 

Check out the blurb:

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and return the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.


Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…


Xmas in October: The Mistletoe Effect by Melissa Cutler

Presenting: Christmas in October!

Each day this week, I will be reviewing a Christmas-themed book, reviewing how well the book embraces the holiday as well as giving my two cents on the book as a whole. Join me in celebrating the holiday a wee bit early and post your holiday book reviews to comments of any of this week's reviews!

The Book:


Basics


The Mistletoe Effect by Melissa Cutler
St Martin's Press
Contemporary Romance
Published October 7, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo

Monday, October 20, 2014

Xmas in October: Season for Desire by Theresa Romain

Presenting: Christmas in October!

Each day this week, I will be reviewing a Christmas-themed book, reviewing how well the book embraces the holiday as well as giving my two cents on the book as a whole. Join me in celebrating the holiday a wee bit early and post your holiday book reviews to comments of any of this week's reviews!

The Book:

Basics

Season for Desire by Theresa Romain
Zebra
Book Four in the Holiday Pleasures series
Historical Romance
Published October 7, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo

Friday, October 17, 2014

Sideswiped by Lia Riley

The Basics:
Sideswiped by Lia Riley
Forever
Book Two in the Off the Map series
New Adult
Published October 7, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo

Why I picked up this book:

I loved the first book in the series (review here) and was very excited to see what happened in the next chapter of Talia and Bran's story.


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Blog Tour: Night Belongs to Fireman by Jennifer Bernard



I'm so excited to be hosting today's stop on Jennifer Bernard's The Night Belongs to Fireman Virtual Book Tour. Released September 30th, 2014 by Avon, The Night Belongs to Fireman is the sixth book in The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series. This is a sexy, contemporary romance that made me wish I'd read the first five books in the series! 

For all the stops on The Night Belongs to Fireman's Virtual Book Tour, check out Tasty Book Tours.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Blog Thoughts: Giveaway Winner and Reviews

First!
Huge congratulations to Wayne who won the $20 Amazon gift card! I've sent you an email regarding your win.
Thank you to everyone who entered, and came out to help celebrate my first year of blogging!

Today I want to talk a little bit about reviews.

When I first started my blog, I thought I would focus on reviews because the blog was always a labour of love for me. I saw all the extra stuff as either work, directed at acquiring more readers, or really intimidating. 

Part of my problem was that I only put so much stock into everyone else's reviews - so who was I to inflict my own upon the blogosphere? 

I decided right off the bat that my emphasis had to always be on - well - my blog's name: To Each Their Own.  Sometimes I find a reviewer whose opinion clicks with mine, and more often, other people end up focusing in on details that didn't make any kind of impression on me. So I always want to underline that the opinions shared on this blog are mine, and mine alone.

Otherwise, I'm looking to change up the format of reviews to make them more fun - both to write and to read. I'll still try to hit all the highlights and lowlights, and will continue to respect that every book is someone's baby. I believe that there's a reader out there for every book, but that reader might not be me. 

What do you like to see in a review? Do you like it when reviews are more formal or do you prefer a chattier or otherwise alternative format? I'm thinking bullet lists, I'm thinking pros and cons, I'm thinking comparisons to other novels and links to other reviews of the same book. Please comment to let me know what you'd like to see in reviews on this site!!

Now, you may have noticed that the blog's content has expanded - particularly in the last few months. I've been doing memes such as Top Ten Tuesday since last year, I've posted a few rambles sharing my opinion on various book-related topics, and over the summer I expanded to include cover reveals, giveaways, blog tours and tomorrow I'll be sharing my very first author interview! I'm gradually becoming more comfortable with the normal repertoire of book blogging! 

So! In the weeks ahead, I've got more book tours booked, I'm sure there'll be a cover reveal or two. I have my first author interview going up tomorrow, and next week?  We're going to be celebrating Christmas in October! The entire week will feature books with a Christmas theme! I'm excited! I love Christmas! And yes, it's early, but Christmas themed books are available now!




Unmarked by Kami Garcia

The Basics:
Unmarked by Kami Garcia
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Book Two in the Legion series
YA, Urban Fantasy
Published September 30, 2013
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I enjoyed the first book, and wanted to see if the second would build on that promising start.

Blurb:

He is here . . . and he could be anyone.

Kennedy Waters lives in a world where vengeance spirits kill, ghosts keep secrets, and a demon walks among us-a demon she accidentally set free.
Now Kennedy and the other Legion members-Alara, Priest, Lukas, and Jared-have to hunt him down. As they learn more about the history of the Legion and the Illuminati, Kennedy realizes that the greatest mystery of all does not belong to any secret order, but to her own family. With the clock ticking and the life of someone she loves hanging in the balance, Kennedy has to ask the question she fears most: what is it about her past that has left her Unmarked?

My thoughts:

It had been long enough since I read Unbreakable that I didn't really remember much about it until I'd sunk into Unmarked. That said, after the first chapter, I never felt lost. Unmarked did a remarkable job of catching me up very quickly without giving me large, boring infodumps.

As a story, Unbreakable succeeded at entertaining me. This book deals with the fallout of Kennedy's decisions in book one, and it is fairly significant. We also delve more into the mythology of this version of the universe, learning more about the Legion and the Illuminati, as well as Kennedy's family, and I appreciated that as it added depth where it could easily have been lacking.

That cinematic quality that I detected in Unbreakable is still very much present in Unmarked. It has enough big set pieces and very strong imagery that I can easily envision it as a show on the CW or as a blockbuster movie. There's plenty of action served up with blasts of rock salt and plenty of holy water. There's visual effects to be found in the hauntings from spirits and demon, and I suspect that it would all do very well on the screen.

It's in the smaller moments that Unbreakable doesn't fare quite so well. Kennedy is very angsty and involved in her own drama, which, to be fair is a) pretty significant drama to be dealing with, and b) true of many teenagers. Still, I wanted her to suck it up and 'move onto the next thing' (as I often suggest to my four year-old when she's getting worked up over something).

I still am not in love with the love story. Jared's insistence that he *needs* Kennedy didn't impress me as much as it should have - perhaps I'm just holding them at a distance instead of letting their moments melt me? I did appreciate how the love triangle from book one was dealt with - shockingly maturely, really, compared to all the nonsense that could have happened instead.

I found a lot of the minor characters in this book to be pretty fickle. Again, I have to acknowledge that they're all dealing with some pretty major stuff, including the death of loved ones (not a spoiler, this is how these kids came together to be the Legion in the first book). But I really wanted to run around shaking them. Perhaps it was easy to forget how young they really were after seeing them in action? I think that it would also have helped to really emphasize Andras (the demon Kennedy released) as the demon of discord a few more times - I'm sure that some of the fickleness can be attributed to his influence. Right? Benefit of the doubt?

Bottom line:

Not as creepy as Unbreakable, but still quite entertaining in its own right, Unmarked is a solid sequel. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first book, or hopes that it's going somewhere - it definitely is. Anyone who enjoys the bestsellers in the YA paranormal genre is going to like this one, I think!

4 stars
For fans of YA paranormal, love triangles, hot boys

Monday, October 13, 2014

Blog Tour: Ascension by A S Fenichel



Today we're hosting a stop on the Virtual Book Tour for Ascension, book one in The Demon Hunters series from A.S Fenichel and Lyrical Press/Kensington. Released on October 6th, Ascension is a sexy historical romance with a double-helping of paranormal fantasy. It's the start to a very intriguing series! 

For all the stops on Ascension's Virtual Book Tour, check out Tasty Book Tours.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Blitz: Wicked Path by Eliza Tilton


Released on October 6th, 2014 by Curiosity Quills Press, Wicked Path by Eliza Tilton is the follow-up to her delightful and original Broken Forest!

This young adult fantasy novel is Book 2 of the Daath Chronicles and sports that gorgeous cover at left from Michelle Johnson at Blue Sky Design

Factory Town by Jon Bassoff

The Basics:
Factory Town by Jon Bassoff
DarkFuse
Mystery/Thriller, Horror
Published October 7th, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I've found some really amazing books outside of my normal genres over the last year, and thought I'd give it another go with Factory Town.


Thursday, October 9, 2014

Blog Thoughts: Origins

On Tuesday I promised to share some thoughts about the origins of this blog. Behold, those thoughts:

It was actually Harlequin that got me book review blogging. I'd been buying ebooks directly from Harlequin for a while - I'd subscribed to their Blaze line for a bit, and then just started grabbing mass amounts of books whenever there was a deal available. 

As you can imagine, my stack of ebooks was fairly thick. With two young kids, I found myself reading quite a bit - while I was nursing my infant son, while putting him to bed, and generally sneaking in a page or two whenever I could because reading kept me awake when the many sleepless nights made me feel like a zombie.

I felt a little bit guilty about all the reading I was doing, particularly once my husband went back to work. What if, I thought, I started posting reviews of the books I read? Could that in some way justify all the reading? Would it be possible for me to save some money on book purchasing (easily my single biggest fluff expense)?  

At the time I wasn't reading much in the way of book related blogs: mainly because any time I read about a book, I wanted to buy it. You can see why this would be a problem, right? While I didn't know a whole lot about blogging book reviews, I did know how to string together coherent sentences, and I read a lot. I figured that was enough to get started!

I quickly discovered Harlequin did provide review copies - via Netgalley which I joined for free. Just as quickly, I discovered that Harlequin had relatively high standards for handing out e-ARCs. Fortunately, there were other publishers and authors who were willing to take a risk on me and my blog, and very quickly I had enough review copies of books to keep me very, very busy.

I have yet to be approved by Harlequin via Netgalley, which no longer seems like a big deal to me. It'd be lovely to amass enough followers that they'd send me a couple copies now and again, but I've discovered so many other wonderful publishers out there that I'm more than content. As it stands, I have reviewed two books published via Harlequin - one purchased myself and one via book tour. So I guess I can put half a tick mark in that box on my to do list!  ;)

Now I'm more motivated by my desire to discover new authors and new publishers, as well as wanting to improve how I blog and write reviews.

Next week I'm going to talk about what I've learned in the last year about blogging and I'm going to discuss reviews and spitball some thoughts about different format for reviews!

Help me celebrate a full year of book review blogging by entering my giveaway!

If you blog, what got you started? Is that still your motivation?




Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Blog Tour: Wicked Nights by Anne Marsh



You'll get the full story tomorrow, but Harlequin books gave me the kick to start book review blogging! So it is with great pleasure that I'm hosting today's stop on the Virtual Book Tour for Anne Marsh' Wicked Nights!

For all the stops on the Wicked Nights Virtual Book Tour, check out Tasty Book Tours.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Happy Blog Birthday!

Wow!

Guys, it's been a whole year since I posted my first review on To Each Their Own Reviews, and it has been a crazy ride. From the heady first days, when I was getting started and figuring things out, to the late winter slowdown and then the fast pace of the summer, I am so glad to have stuck with the blog through the entire year.

I've written many, many reviews - nearly two hundred. When I started the blog, that's all I thought I'd ever do. But I've also participated in many memes, posted updates, participated in book blog tours, posted cover reveals and I've got an author interview coming in a week or two.

I'm so grateful to everyone who has checked out the site, left a comment, bought a book (or not bought a book) because of something I've said about it. I would love to hear more from you guys - what books have I loved that you haven't? What books have I hated that you've loved? Or, do you tend to agree with me? What books should I have read that I didn't? 

I have big plans for the blog in the coming months. I want to revamp my review format*,  I want to post some reflections on the first year of the blog, some reflections on books in general. I'm aiming to get a regular feature going about my picks for your book bag, and there'll be plenty more book tours, cover reveals and so on.

Please check back on Thursday when I'll be talking about the origins of the blog!

For now, I leave you with a giveaway - because what blog anniversary is complete without a present?

Rafflecopter giveaway 

*I'll be posting about reviews in general in a week or so. Please comment now or then about what you like to see in a review

If He's Daring by Hannah Howell

The Basics:
If He's Daring by Hannah Howell 
Zebra
Book Six in the Wherlockes series
Historical Romance, Paranormal
Published October 7, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

It seemed to be everywhere when I saw the opportunity to review pop up, so I hopped on the train!

Monday, October 6, 2014

A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladds

The Basics:
A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd
Thomas Nelson
Book Three in the Whispers on the Moors series
Historical Romance
Published October 7, 2014 
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I loved the cover as well as the genre.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Frozen: Heart of Dread, Book One by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston

The Basics:
Frozen: Heart of Dread, Book One by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston
Orchard Books
Book One in the Heart of Dread series
Science Fiction, YA
Published Originally September 17, 2013
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I was intrigued by the dystopian feel of the blurb, and I liked the cover.


Thursday, October 2, 2014

BLOG TOUR: The Governess Club: Sara & The Governess Club: Louisa by Ellie Macdonald


Today is an extra-large post for your reading enjoyment! I'm hosting *BOTH* books on Ellie Macdonald's The Governess Club book tour - both The Governess Club: Sara and The Governess Club: Louisa. Sara was available on September 2nd, and Louisa will be available on October 7th. From Avon Impulse, these are books 3 and 4 in The Governess Club series, and I'm so excited to share excerpts from both as well as my thoughts on them. 

For all the stops on The Governess Club' Virtual Book Tour, check out Tasty Book Tours.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

BLOG TOUR: What a Wallflower Wants by Maya Rodale



I'm so excited to be hosting Maya Rodale's What a Wallflower Wants on the blog today. Released September 30th, 2014 by Avon, What a Wallflower Wants is a historical romance with real heart. It's the kind of historical romance that you want to go back to when you're looking for a little pick-me-up. You know what I mean - when you want to read something that makes your heart flutter, that gives you faith in humanity again or that simply makes you smile. 

For all the stops on What a Wallflower Wants' Virtual Book Tour, check out Tasty Book Tours.

The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling

The Basics:
The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling
Switch Press
Book One in the Diamond Thief series
YA Steampunk
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

Why I picked up this book:

I'm a sucker for steampunk.