The Lotus Effect

Title: The Lotus Effect
Author: Bridget Ladd
Publisher: Obese Rhino Publishing
Release Date: July 19, 2013

"An improbable partnership. An unforgettable love.
Lily Emerson, daughter of the Head of Council and Mistress of Science, has lived a privileged life. It's Lily's 18th nameday, the day she is to follow in her mother's footsteps, becoming the next Mistress of Science--the most powerful woman in all of City Prosper. The Architect and designer of Prosper's future.

During the night of her Coronation, the corruption of the Council spreads before her . . . opening her eyes to the cruelty that resides in the Council, even within her own parents. Lily realizes now the title of Mistress only comes with superficial power, that to truly save the citizens--she has to fight. Fight in the Barrage--the mechanical gladiatorial tournament in which one chosen pair of volunteers from each Sector fights, armor-clad and as a team, utilizing unique weapon specialties: the Gatling gun, the Cestus, Klaives, Crescent Knives, mechanically engineered beasts--in the hope to win the right to change the Law. A law that has remained unchanged since its creation almost eighty years ago.

The tournament that Xander, Engineering Blacksmith and Lily's partner, believes she has no business being in.

But Lily's different. And she sets out to prove just that."

What I liked:  It has a little bit of everything in it for everyone. That is the major point behind this book.  Steampunk, a little mystery, a dash of romance, a hint of fantasy, a sprinkle of sci-fi, and some dystopian magic weaved a story unlike any that I have read before. While it initially starts off slow once it starts to roll, the story moves along with lots of turns and some suspense thrown in. Having all of these different aspects, even the ones I'm not interested in led me to finish this book in near record time for me.

The characters all add their own flair to the novel and those that I didn't think we're going to have a role in the novel, ended up playing their parts. There was two characters; Scottie and Mistress Emerson; who I didn't enjoy at the beginning but I grew to respect towards the end of the novel. The fact that characters managed to change my opinion of them helped with my view of the book.

To break this down with the 2 characters who story this was: Lily and Xander. Both Sector 8 contenders who have their own reasons for entering the Barrage. Let me rephrase that to the only Sector 8 contenders. Lily being next in line for being the Mistress of Science and Xander who is an Engineering Blacksmith, have to learn to trust each other to win the Barrage and stay alive. What really drew me to this pair was their history together that once I knew the truth surprised me and Lily being willing to forgive and move on just to change the Law was not what I would have thought for as quick as she did things.

What I didn't: It starts off really slow and it does let you think its the Hunger Games (nothing to wrong with that)

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 - I docked it the half star for the slow start of the novel

Book Haul 3

Book haul from the beginning of December til now, since I fell behind on that. 

Physical copies:
Cress
Mortal Heart
Iron Trial ARC 
Lives of Kings
Girl in Clockwork Collar
*2 box fulls unpictured and unamed* 

Ebooks:
The Lotus Effect  

The Winner's Curse

Title: The Winner's Curse
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: BYR
Release Date: March 4, 2014

What I liked: Everything! I tip my hat to you Marie Rutkoski! This book was an amazing book in my opinion. In a world where slavery is common and the General's daughter Kestrel (I love that name), has bought herself a slave and things change whether for better or worse had yet to be seen. From the backstory of the Herrani being captured and enslaved in their own home country was quite interesting to see, along with how much of an oddity Kestrel is for having her old nurse set free, and the fact that she plays music which is considered to be something only the slaves do.

What else was about halfway through the novel when the tide of things change and Kestrel finds herself being a slave and one of the few survivors of something I didn't think would actually happen. I know for a fact I didn't see the ending happening and Kestrel swallowing her pride to save the one she loves along with an entire population. I think my overall love of this book has to do with Kestrel and what she does and how she does it. She is a suitable candidate for marriage and she has brilliant military knowledge which she puts to use.

What I didn't: There was pretty much nothing I didn't like about this book

Overall Rating: 5/5

Waiting on Wednesday 2

It's that time of the week again for Waiting on Wednesday hosted by Breaking the Spine, head over there to see the other blogs who participate and see what they're waiting on! 

My Waiting On Wednesday: 

That's right folks, I'm waiting on this beauty right here! Thanks to Sarah J. Mass and her wonderful tale of Celaena in Throne of Glass, I'm excited to see what she has in store with her new series, starting with ACOTAR.

Top Ten Tuesday

  Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Be sure to check them out!
This week's Top Ten is Top Ten Books I Read In 2014: 

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski 

 Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (older title I know)

Winterspell by Claire Legrand 

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Something Strange by Susan Dennard

Cover Judgement

So I have decided to start a feature in which I call Cover Judgement. We've all heard never judge a book by its cover and I have no problems admitting that I do judge a book by its cover at times. So I thought I would start this so I could literally judge the books by their covers, and whether or not they are better than the contents of the book or vice versa or if they measure up to the actual story. Not an overly long post I know but its a thought of something that I think I could put to use.

Scarlet

Title: Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles book 2)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: February 5, 2013

What I liked: I have to say that I enjoyed Scarlet more than I did Cinder. Scarlet is a loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and follows the adventures of the new characters Scarlet and Wolf, while still keeping us up to date with everyone from Cinder. Scarlet kept me turning the pages and I didn't see any of the major plots twists coming like I when I had read Cinder. There is a lot more action with this novel which I enjoyed and Scarlet is the type of girl who can handle her own when it came down to it. I also enjoyed Wolf just as much even with him being a silent kind of guy who despite his past does want to help Scarlet find her grandmother. 

What I didn't: There wasn't much I didn't enjoy about the book but one thing that I couldn't get into was Scarlet and Wolf and their relationship with acting how they wanted to be together and they would have but Wolf and his past kept getting in the way and I feel caused a bit of unnecessary drama between the two.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Top Ten Tuesday: New To Me Authors I Read in 2014

This week's TTT is New To Me Authors I Read in 2014: 

Hosted By the Broke and the Bookish and is a weekly meme

Now I read a lot of new to me authors this year but my Top 10 are:

Sarah J. Maas 

Throne of Glass Series

  

Susan Dennard

Something Strange and Deadly Trilogy

 

 Deborah Harkness

All Souls Trilogy

Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds Trilogy

 Anna Banks 

Syrena Legacy

Kady Cross

Steampunk Chronicles

Claire LeGrand

Winterspell

 

Marissa Meyer 

Lunar Chronicles

 Robin LaFevers 

His Fair Assassin Series

Elizabeth Richards 

Black City Series

The Gift of Charms

So I was sent a preview of the first few chapters of the Gift of Charms by Julia Suzuki and here is my honest review. It's a short review but that's because again only had a few chapters.

I received a preview of the first few chapters of the book, thanks for those few chapters Julia! I must say the book is one in which I feel will captivate the reader. The epigraph drew in my attention from the first page and kept me reading til I ran out of pages.

The main character Yoshiko has a tough road ahead of him but I feel that he will overcome the obstacles surrounding his unusual birth and his unusual coloring next to the rest of the dragons of his color. The fact also remains that the other dragons will both hinder and help him along the way.

Why I'm giving it a 4, is that the dragons seemed to humanized and not overly that much like dragons. I would have preferred them to be less human like because I feel that it would have made the story flow a bit better. The other thing that I wasn't too fond of was right away Yoshiko would be the odd one out, I just felt it jumped in a little fast into the plot. 

Overall I enjoyed what I read even if it seems a bit young for my tastes it was still a book I would recommend to younger readers and I will finish the book myself upon its release. 

Now the book isn't due to be released in the US until May 1, 2015 so its a waiting game to see how it ends.

November Book Haul

I didn't do a single book haul post last month! So to make up for it I'm doing an entire month's worth of book hauls right now.

To review:
of Triton - Anna Banks

of Neptune - Anna Banks

The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken
Black City - Elizabeth Richards 

Gilt - Katherine Longshire

Tarnish - Katherine Longshire 

Giveaways:
The Fairyland Series - Catherynne Valente

Lives of Magic - Lucy Leiderman

Just Because: 

Wicked Lovely Series - Melissa Marr
Abhorsen Trilogy - Garth Nix 

E-preview:

The Gift of Charms - Julie Suzki

Well that's all the books I got last month, starting Saturday I will be participating in Stacking the Shelves every week.

 

Waiting on Wednsday 1

Waiting on Wednesday

My first ever Waiting on Wednesday hosted by Breaking the Spine, go check it out and see what you're missing! 

Anyway what book do I have for my WoW? 

Ensnared of course!  

Yeah not much of a shocker to those of you who know me in person, of how big of a fan I am of A.G. Howard's works. Even my very first review was of Splintered. Thankfully this bad boy is due out January 6th and one way or another I will have it the day it is released. 

My Thanks

So not exactly a book post but it's that time of year when everyone starts to say what they're thankful for and I figured I could roll with that. There's a lot I'm thankful even when things don't turn out like they should. 

First things first I'm thankful for my families, yes I said families. I have my regular family in which they put with me and my obsession with books even if they don't always agree with me. They are also always there no matter what decision I make. The other family is my friends who are just as crazy and nuts as me. Being able to know this group and consider their family yours as well has made me glad, that they all entered my life and are here to stay even if we don't see each other as much as we used to now that we have graduated from college.

I'm thankful for those men and women who can't be home with their families this holiday season. Thank you for your service and dedication to the country.

Yet another thing I'm thankful for is all the little things in life that happen that make day to day wonderful and hilarious. The book blogging community is something that has come into my life recently and I'm thankful because you are all wonderful people and very welcoming to newbies like myself.

There are many other things I'm thankful for but this happens to be the bulk of it. Remember even when something doesn't go as planned still be thankful for what you got even if its not a lot.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (if you celebrate the holiday)
-Brian

Top Ten Tuesday

Hey all! It's my first ever Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's Top 10 is Top 10 Books on My Winter TBR list. So here goes nothing!

 Top 10 Winter TBR:

 Yes I know this is 2 books but I'm counting them as one! Going to reread them before the release of Ensnared in January!

 

Won this series recently from Hannah from So Obsessed With and Alexia of Adventures in Reading. So of course this is on my list!

 

Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series is a recent find of mine, looking forward to it!

 

Historical fiction. Katherine Longshore's Gilt has sounded promising to me before. 

 

 An old favorite of mine by Cornelia Funke and I found a copy with Sorrel's Story in it! Bonus!

 

Belladona by Fiona Paul aka Paula Stokes, dying to know what happens after the events in Venom. 

 

Picked this one up a while ago just haven't gotten around to reading it so it's about time I do so. 

 

Winterspell! Name sums it up as to why its on the list ;)

 

Haven't read this one in a while but it's about time for it to be read. 

 

Last but not least is Lirael! Working my way through Sabriel again so logically Lirael is a choice. 

I have a lot more but these are my Top 10 to get through this winter. What isn't on my Top 10 is what my TBTBSanta sends me! 

of Poseidon

Title: of Poseidon 
Author: Anna Banks
Publisher: Square Fish
Release Date: May 22, 2012 

I'll have to admit I did judge this book by the cover a bit before I got it but it was called of Poseidon, so it was bound to have promise just based on that alone. Turns out my guess was right, it was pretty good which is why I'm giving it a 4 out of 5.

Syrena Legacy Book 1 

Reasons that I enjoyed the book were numerous and I usually don't get that into books that are heavy in the romance category. One of the first things that I loved about it was one the secondary characters Rayna with her sarcastic, mean kind of attitude she has got going on, every scene she was in made the scene highly enjoyable. Her mate Toraf is another one of those characters that I loved to see in scenes throughout the book because he is just a loveable character with his goofy manner.

Being that the book was written from 2 different points of view kept the novel moving and it gave an insight on how the two main characters were viewing everything that was occurring. From starting out with Emma's point of view and switching over to Galen the next chapter and so on and so forth; it was an interesting way to keep things fresh. The best part is that there was no love triangles going on for the most part. Bonus points for that!

Where I did find a few problems with the book was Emma's mom as a character I found to be too controlling and while throughout the book I did piece some of the plot twist at the end, I was really not too impressed with the decision that was made. The ending plot twist just made the whole book seem to be a bit rushed. I also was still somewhat confused between the whole Syrena groups, the Poseidons and the Tritons not liking each other and pretty much being at war with each other. Yes it was all explained but they still marry each other if they are Royal, every so many generations which I don't understand.

Overall the book was good and it captivated me from the beginning until the end. Even with the small cast of characters that stay with you throughout the book made it all worth while, like it was a better insight on getting to know them. of Poseidon will forever have a spot on my shelf of books who managed to capture my attention from the first page. Oh and Rachel the mob woman, wonderful character, who would have thought about putting a member of the mob into a book about merpeople!? Anna Banks that's who!

Sorry!

Sorry I've been gone so long and neglecting this blog for what seems like a month (note it has been 3 weeks since my last post)! I am getting back into and will have stuff up 2-3 times a week if I can. I've read a ton of books but haven't done anything with them and I have a huge book haul post for the end of the week, so keep an eye out for that as well. In the meantime please share the blog with others and comment. I'm really trying to get this more well known so I can become a better blogger.

Side note I signed up for the Broke and the Bookish Secret Santa so I would suggest checking it out and signing up before Friday to participate. http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2014/11/5th-annual-secret-santa-sign-ups.html

Keep an eye out for the book haul, it's gonna be a massive one because I have a month's worth of books to share with you all!

Cruel Beauty

Her mission was to kill him. Her destiny was to love him.

Title: Cruel Beauty 
Author: Rosamund Hodge 
Publisher: Balzer and Bray 
Release Date: January 28, 2014







Yet another retelling, I promise the next book won't be a retelling if I can help it. Anyway this retelling is Beauty and the Beast. Overall I would have to say this was a pretty decent read and I awarded it a 4.5 out of 5. The story was well thought out and well written. The only thing that I would fault it for is it does drag a bit every now and then but most books I would say do have that problem.

The main characters are Nyx and Ignifex. Nyx is representing Belle in the story and her father made a deal with Ignifex that meant Nyx would have to marry him while her twin sister gets to remain happy and away from Ignifex and the Shadows that he controls. Both of these characters make the book ring with mystery and desire. Another character who slips in the book and has a major role in why I liked it so much was Shade. One of the souls that Ignifex has under his control, he is an interesting character to say the least. What else drew me into the novel was Hodge's ability to capture this fairy tale in a way such as that it is completely unlike Beauty and the Beast and yet the same thing simultaneously. For anyone who was never familiar with the tale, than this would do the trick to catching you up to speed and leaving it open to the imagination.

As I said I give this a 4.5 out of 5. Another turn off I found in this book is the existence of some of the characters and the fact I think they could have been written out and the plot would have remained pretty much unchanged I feel.

Books of the Week 1

Well I have decided to start up this segment in which I share with you the books I have acquired throughout the week. My book haul as others call it and it's actually a segment I'm looking forward to posting every week!

Books for this week:

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (His Fair Assassin Trilogy 1) 

Found this book hiding in my local used book store on a bottom shelf. 

Really looking forward to reading this book for the main reason of it's subject matter: Assassin Nuns! What more could you want out of a book series? 

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley 

Won an ARC in a giveaway on Twitter from Rachel @nerdherdreads. 

Another book that has been added to my ever growing To Be Read stack, but the book is about 2 girls dealing with civil rights in 1959 Virginia. 

Rather small book haul this week but I'm okay with that until I manage to catch up on my stack of TBR books and finish all the books I have started. Look for both of these reviews in the future. In the meantime I need to finish Burn For Burn so I can get my reviews under way again. 

For those of you who actually do follow me keep your eyes posted for another segment that I am hoping to start up on this blog. 

Long time no blog

So I've been neglecting my blogging, not that I had meant to but life kind of has just gotten busy and I'm determined to get back on track with it. There won't be a review for a little while until I decide which book to write my review on but I will have a bookish post after this one. I'll tell you more about that one once I get to writing it. In the meantime, I really need to go back to posting at least once a week if I can even if it's not for reviews.

-Brian

Cinder - All Dressed in Metal?

Even in the future, the story begins with Once Upon A Time...

Title: Cinder (Book 1 of the Lunar Chronicles)
Author: Marissa Meyer 
Publisher: Macmillian Publishers
Release Date: January 3, 2012


I have a thing for retelling of fairy tales right now which is why my next review is a retelling of yet another old classic from a Disney childhood. So lets head back in time or should I say into the future as we dive into the next Tale of a Book Nerd.

Having been asked to do Cinder by a couple of people I'm going to be completely honest about how I felt while reading the book. While Cinder wasn't my favorite read it still had a lot going for it. I gave Cinder the chance the same time I had gotten Splintered and read it at the same time. Bad habit of mine reading multiple books at once.

Cinder takes place in the future in the city of New Beijing. Within New Beijing a mysterious disease is killing both humans and cyborgs alike. Cinder is one of the city's cyborgs and is an amazing mechanic as well. Not bad for being a 16 year old cyborg. Cinder lives in the city with her stepmother and stepsisters. The novel opens up with Cinder at the market where she works as the mechanic to help support her family (notice her stepmother and stepsister's don't work); while at the market she is approached by none other than Prince Kai. Prince Kai is heir to the throne and will ascend the throne fairly quickly in the novel as the Emperor has been struck by the disease and will die from it like everyone else.

Cinder's younger step-sister Peony is also stricken with the disease, so her step-mother Adri, volunteers Cinder for the cyborg draft to help discover the cure. The cyborgs who are drafted don't come back alive either.

While being injected by the androids and the human Dr. Erland, they discover that Cinder is immune to the disease and can't catch it. While Cinder is being poked and prodded and still working for her step-mother after a deal has been struck between her and Erland, Prince Kai has his own problems in the palace. The Lunar Queen Levana is out to marry the prince and to take over the world. Queen Levana is a blood thirsty foe, having killed her entire family including the heir apparent, the Princess Selene; who the world believes is alive.

Many Lunar people try to escape the Moon and live on Earth in disguise but most don't survive the journey. The Lunar people are immune to the disease because they are the ones who brought the disease to Earth.

Towards the end of the novel Cinder is arrested by Levana and is thrown into jail for being a Lunar person who is living on Earth. Cinder breaks out of jail and starts living her life as a fugitive.

Overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It didn't really capture or hold my attention as well as I thought it would. I will give it the props of it doing a wonderful job of retelling Cinderella and I will read Scarlet just to see how things turn out but I feel that it was missing something, such as the extra wow factor. I would also like to fault it for being easy enough to guess what was supposed to be the major plot twist early on in the book.

So that brings us to the end of the review. I didn't want to spoil anything for anyone so this review was a bit harder to write. So what all is in store for both Kai and Cinder throughout the rest of the novel. For that you need to read "Cinder" and to discover what happens to Cinder after breaking out of jail I need to read "Scarlet". Til the Next Tale of  a Booknerd.

-Brian

Splintered - Down the Rabbit Hole

"Welcome To The Real Wonderland"

Title:  Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard

Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: January 1, 2013














Jumping right into the thick of things with my first review (all constructive criticism is welcome), I chose a book that I feel most people would just pass by if they saw it on a shelf. I know that I almost did and I'm glad I gave it the chance. 

Splintered is a retelling of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and the most wonderful read in the fact that it is a much darker version of Alice in Wonderland and really doesn't focus on Alice so much as her great-great-great-granddaughter Alyssa Gardner. Alyssa has the ability to hear the thought of the plants and insects around her, just like her mother Alison and her grandmother Alicia both who were considered mad. The other characters who stay with us throughout the novel are some familiar faces from Alice's adventures but not quite as you would remember them but they are all there and are one part fascinating, one part slightly morbid and dark, and one last part; fantastic in their roles. 

The main plot without to many spoilers is Alyssa is the first in her family since Alice Liddell (yes this would be the Alice) to wind up in Wonderland after so many years over the females in her family having been considered insane and unstable. Alyssa travels to Wonderland to break the curse that Alice had ended up placing on her female descendants. They all have an uncanny resemblance to Alice as Alyssa is mistaken for her quite a few times until they take a closer look. A childhood friend also follows Alyssa into Wonderland uninvited and from there we enter the book's love quartet I would have to call it. 

Even with the quartet of love it doesn't distract from the overall plot of the book in fact it plays a role throughout the entirety of the novel. The novel started off with a bang. Everything from the talking bugs, the revamping of the old favorites from Wonderland, even the Netherlings who are the inhabitants of Wonderland made me want to immerse myself into the Netherworld with them and become a Netherling myself. 

The ending of Splintered I will say could have left me wanting more (which it did) or it could have done just as well as a standalone novel. Thankfully A.G. Howard made this a trilogy focusing on the slightly insane world of Wonderland and she continued the story with Unhinged, which means did Alyssa truly break the curse on her family or not since there is a sequel? If you want to find out about Alyssa and her life from going down the rabbit hole, then I would highly recommend reading Splintered and returning to one of life's greatest fairy tale worlds; Wonderland and go back down the rabbit hole all over again. 

If you stuck with this I applaud you. Keep an eye out for the next Tale of a Book Nerd, who knows which book I'll go to next. Again all helpful criticism is welcome on what I can do to improve from here. Til the next tale is read. 

-Brian 

First Post

Hey everyone! (Who actually is reading this anyway)

This is my first post on my very own book blog. Here you will find what books I have read and reviewed and will be recommending to you my followers. What genres of books will you be seeing here on Tales of a Book Nerd? Almost every genre, with the exception of a few genres I don't read. Most of the books on here will be pretty main stream titles that most people will know or have at least heard of but I will do the books that don't get there 15 minutes of fame as it goes. Which my first review is one such of those books. Now I won't give anything else away about the book that will be making its debut here shortly other than you better be ready for it.

Any questions or a particular book you want me to do just let me know and I'll be more than happy to read it and review it for you.

-Brian