Always Me

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Robyn Loxley has to learn to take care of herself the night her parents disappear. Her city has been overthrown by the governor and his supporters. After escaping with her life, she throws in her lot with a rag-tag group of misfits, each with a talent for trouble. Robyn and her new found friends make names for themselves as wanted outlaws by doing what they can for those being crushed by the new regime. As Robyn continues to piece together the clues surrounding her parents disappearance, she realizes her destiny is tied to the future of the city. Shadows of Sherwood by Kekla Magoon is fun, fast-paced adventure story. I really like the idea of going back to the beginning with a younger (and female) Robyn than I've ever seen. It's a great way to to introduce middle grade readers to the legend, especially if they aren't already familiar with it. Pairing those elements up with a futuristic setting is also a pretty cool new direction. Robyn, the most...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted The Broke and the Bookish , is Books To Read If You Like This Super Popular Book/Author.  Today, I will be listing ten popular books and providing a less popular read alike for each.  Here we go, in no particular order:    If you couldn't get enough of the laugh-out-loud funny  Winger by Andrew Smith , you'll love  Half My Facebook Friends Are Ferrets by J.A. Buckle . If you're a fan of the British humor in  Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison , you'll get addicted to  Geek Girl by Holly Smale . If you are obsessed with urban fantasy with a side of deadpan snark like  Storm Front by Jim Butcher , there is no way you'll get through  Hounded by Kevin Hearne  without becoming an instant fan. If you like a paranormal presidential alternate history like  Abrah...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Harriet Manners is a geek - she's overly intellectual, unfashionable, and socially awkward. She only has one real fried, a geeky stalker, and a bully who makes her life miserable. The last thing she expects is to be discovered by a modeling agency while on a school trip. After giving it some thought, Harriet doesn't want to be laughed at any more and she figures that becoming a model will change her life for the better. Geek Girl by Holly Smale is a refreshingly fun and quirky read. I enjoyed following Harriet's modeling misadventures and seeing how she would attempt to balance her new found career with the rest of her life. Despite everything she still manages to be a very relatable character and someone I'd like to befriend. I listened to the audio book on Playaway and the production is fantastic. Harriet's voice and tone come through well, alongside characters who aren't so nice. Either way, I greatly enjoyed the first novel of t...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋   ❋ Josh is a big fan of death metal and dreams of becoming a death metal guitarist. However, he has a long way to go - he still needs a decent electric guitar and his strict mom won't even let him grow his hair out. He does have a way of coping with life's little setbacks. It's only his diary, but he uses it to keep track of his dreams and frustrations, and ideas for band names and lyrics. There's so much to do before he turns seventeen. I noticed this novel after I saw it crop up on a few blogs and the description sounded great - not to mention that title and cover. When the book came in for me at the library, I eagerly dove into the pages. I'm thrilled that I just happened to stumble upon this because it's a real gem. Honestly, more people should check it out. Josh is a fantastic character who comes across as very real and refreshing. I think teen guys could easily relate to him - I mean, I did and I don't fit either of those ca...

❋  ❋  ❋ I received a free ecopy of To Nowhere from the author in exchange for an honest review. When seventeen year-old Lyris first meets Wyatt, a hot older guy, she has no idea how much her life will change. She's far too concerned with starting at her new school with a boyfriend that she's mostly able to overlook his weirdness. So when he goes from begging to show her a specific room in the abandoned house next door to warning her to stay away from it and to forget he ever mentioned it, she can't help but want to see what's in that room. She could have never prepared herself for what she finds. The door is a portal to a world of giants who auction off humans as pets to the highest bidder - and Wyatt is their supplier. The aspect I liked most about this story is the concept of giants keeping humans as pets. That idea is what kept me reading. I enjoyed seeing the mindsets of the giants selling off the humans and how the "pets" are dehumanized. ...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Jorg Ancrath, once a privileged royal child, now the ruthless leader of brotherhood of thugs, has seen and done terrible things, but one thing still scares him and that's going home to the father who left him for dead four years ago. Going back to his father's castle will force him to relive his horrifying past as he tries to carve out a future for himself with everyone turned against him. And, Jorg has big plans because in two years, when he turns fifteen, he's going to be the King of the empire. When I purchased this book from the local bookstore, the owner told me I could return it if I didn't like it. She warned me that Jorg makes Joffrey look like a boy scout. Now that I've read the book, I can say I definitely agree with her! Let's just say, Joffrey could learn a thing or two from Jorg. Jorg is a brutal character to follow, but needless to say he's fascinating to keep up with. I probably should have hated everyone in this s...

Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by  Freda's Voice . These are the rules: 1. Grab a book, any book. 2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader. 3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 4. Post it. 5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by  Rose City Reader .  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. This week I'm spotlighting one of my upcoming reads, Legacy of Kings ( Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman .  This novel sounds exactly like my kind of historical fiction fantasy story.  I'm extremely excited to finally check it out and these snippets make it look fantastic! Book Beginning: Katerina races across the mea...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish , is Books On My Fall TBR.  The following are ten books I plan on reading this season.  I'm breaking it down a bit further by books that I currently have in my possession.  The first four are library books which I plan on reading right away and the last six are ones that I plan on reading shortly. Library Books (in alphabetical order by author): Vengeance Road  by Erin Bowman Legacy of Kings ( Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman The Edge of Forever  by Melissa E. Hurst Stand-Off ( Winger #2) by Andrew Smith Books I Own (in alphabetical order by author): The Wrath and the Dawn  ( The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renée Ahdieh Rook by Sharon Cameron Gideon by Alex Gordon Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory Sharps  by K.J. Parker Vicious ( Vicious #1) by V. E. Schwab Wh...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋ Saturday was a busy day for me, but while I actually had some free time I went to see The Scorch Trials .  I got there about 15 minutes early for the second showing of the day and I even bought myself a bag of Skittles.  When we walked in we were the first people in our theater, but that wasn't a surprise since everyone usually comes in a minute or two before the trailers begin.  Needless to say, we got the best seats!  In the end, there were six others seeing the movie with us (two more came in and watched for about thirty minutes in the middle of the movie - probably walked out of their own movie and right into ours).  There were two trailers that showed before the movie began: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 and Woodlawn .  I absolutely cannot wait for the finale of The Hunger Games .  I hadn't heard of Woodlawn starring Sean Astin before, but it looks inspiring. On to the meat of The Scorch Trials , if you'r...

Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by  Freda's Voice . These are the rules: 1. Grab a book, any book. 2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader. 3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. 4. Post it. 5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by  Rose City Reader .  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. This week I'm spotlighting my next read, Stand-Off ( Winger  # 2) by Andrew Smith .  I don't believe I can adequately describe just how excited I am to start this novel since Winger   was one of my favorite reads of 2013!  If you haven't read Winger  yet or anything else by Andrew Smith, you're missing great stories! ...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋   ❋ Kate thinks her grandmother must be senile when she gives her a glowing medallion and starts talking about time travel. If only it were that easy because what her grandmother was telling her hits home when a murder in the past drastically changes Kate's present. The medallion is the only thing that's keeping Kate tethered to reality. Kate learns that this murder at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair is the beginning of a sinister plot to rewrite world history and that she is one of the few who can prevent this wrong timeline from taking its course with her genetic ability to time travel. Correcting the timeline will come at a personal cost because the one person she's grown close to since the timeline has been altered will have no memory her. Timebound by Rysa Walker ranks as one of my favorite new time travel books! To begin, our cast is well-developed including minor supporting characters. Kate is a character I felt I could relate to consid...