OPAL by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Cover Release

I was lucky enough to be asked to do a cover reveal for probably my most anticipated book of the year! I am so in love with the Lux series! Cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Opal, December cannot come soon enough!!! And look at that cover........ahhhhhhhhhhhhh........I love me some Katy and Daemon! You can read my review of the first novel, Obsidian here.........I'll have my review of the second book Onyx up very soon! Thankyou Entangled Publishing for asking me to be a part of Opal's cover reveal :)

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Follow this link to an ~~~ EPIC CONTEST ~~~ Announcement. You will want to bookmark this page!

http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/p/october-1-2012.html

 USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.
Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads :
Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes.

Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth. Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all.

But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don't kill him first, that is

My Review:

Twilight with Aliens anyone?

I hope that doesnt turn anyone off reading Obsidian, because i seriously loved this book,but i couldnt help but compare this book to Twilight. New girl moves to a little town where she is immediately drawn to the local hotties. Hot boy tries to push her away. Girl finds out the hotties have a secret. Paranormal hijinks ensues. Girl runs off to save everyone, by sacrificing herself, and has to be rescued by hottie. Sound at all familiar??

BUT, there are sooooooo many reasons why this book is NOT like twilight.

1. The characters - Katy is strong, independent and doesnt take anyone's crap. She is completely likable. She doesn't whine through the whole book.She doesn't base her whole life around a boy who apparently hates her. As much as he dishes out, she gives it right back.

-Daemon is rude, arrogant and pretty much just a general douche bag. He is always quick with a smart ass comment. But even tho he's a jerk, he is so damn likable, and not just cos he's the stereotypical bad boy. Through all the crap he slings at Katy, you always know that he has his reasons for being that way, and that it comes from a good place.

2. THERE IS NO INSTALOVE! can i get a hallelujah? Katy recognises the difference between lust and attraction and actual love. Just part of the reason that makes her such a likable protagonist.

3. The sexual tension. Holy hotness Batman, Jennifer L Armentrout knows how to write some (mostly YA appropriate)heat.

4. The way Katy and Daemon's relationship progresses. Its a gradual process from page 1, right to the very end. It doesnt start with them hating each other, and then end with them in love by halfway. Their relationship progresses throughout the whole book as they get to know and trust each other, with plenty of setbacks along the way. It made it hard to put this book down. I just wanted to keep reading to see if they would ever be able to overcome everything and get together.

5. Aliens instead of Vampires/werewolves/fairies/angels. Maybe its just me, but I've never come across aliens in YA paranormal fiction. I'm sure there actually are plenty of other Aliens throughout recent YA fiction, but it doesn't seem to be like the complete over saturation of the other paranormal creatures mentioned above. Learning about the Lux's capabilities and talents was different and interesting for me.

6. Humour! This book had me laughing out loud at points and highly amused the rest of the time.

So yes, the plotline was a little predictable for me. But i didnt care.All the things i liked about the book overshadowed this. I loved every minute of this book, and the minute i finished i picked up the sequel Onyx. Highly recommend to anyone that enjoys YA, especially if you're a twilight fan.

#Friday Reads 1

#FridayReads is a #tag over on twitter, where each Friday, people post what they're reading for the weekend. Its recently made its way over to youtube and here is my video for this week. 

Im reading Enclave by Ann Aguirre.

What are you reading this weekend?

Waiting on Wednesday

So, i thought I'd do something new this week and play along with the "Waiting on Wednesday" meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine. Waiting on Wednesday is where you showcase an upcoming release that you're excited to read.

My pick for this week is :

Cursed by Jennifer L Armentrout. Release date: September 18th.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Dying sucks-- and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out.

However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not have been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

Why?
Im currently obsessed with the Lux series by this author. I finished Obsidian (book 1) on September 1st, and went straight to Amazon to buy the sequel, Onyx. I'm about 90% done with Onyx and have loved it just as much as Obsidian. I'll be doing a joint review on books one and two sometime in the next week, so be sure to come back for that, but these books are awesome YA reads. I'll be giving them both 5 stars. They aren't literary masterpieces, but i don't care. They are just fun, easy reads, with extremely likable characters. I'm so keen to read more from Jennifer L Armentrout, so will definitely be picking up Cursed soon.

My Booktube Story

A few months ago, through my online buddy, book blogger extraordinaire, Bunny Cates, I found a little thing called "Book Tube"- Book related channels on Youtube. 

A whole new way of book blogging was revealed to me, and i spent hours everyday, for a good few months watching videos. I quickly came to the realisation that the book tube community are amazing. Video after video of book talk, book recommendations, book reviews and so much more. But the thing that makes this community extra special is the people.  How friendly everyone is, and how welcoming they are to new people. 

After a few months of watching (ie-stalking) I decided i wanted IN. So i made a new channel, and started commenting on videos. I was pleasantly surprised when people commented back, and discussions began. After some persuasion from Bunny, I decided to have a go at making videos of my own. And in the last 6 or so weeks, have filmed 8 videos and gained almost 50 subscribers. I am loving it. Having people to chat books with at all hours of the day and night is amazing. Having people that value what i say, and take time out of their day to hear my book recommendations is mind blowing. 

If you haven't already, please check out my youtube channel (links are above), and if you're a book lover, think about joining yourself. You wont regret it.