Solid by Shelley Workinger

Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy

Solid Series, Book 1

Shelley Workinger's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Shelley Workinger's website):

Clio Kaid may be 17 and just beginning the last summer before her senior year, but her life is anything but typical.

She's just discovered she was genetically altered before birth and is now headed to a top-secret Army campus to explore the surprising results of the experiment.

Follow Clio and the other teens as they develop fantastic super-abilities, forge new friendships, find love, and uncover a conspiracy along the way.

We meet Clio, a genetically-altered teen, who attends a camp along with other genetically-altered teens to try to gain some answers about what alterations occurred to them.  Along the way, she meets Jack the heartthrob, Bliss the awesome best friend every one wants, Garrett the jock, and Miranda the queen bee.  While at this camp, they begin to uncover plots against them and work to unravel them.

So what did I enjoy about this book?  I enjoyed the mini references to current day pop culture and the friendships gained in the story.  It kind of feels like living teenager-dom all over again, but with an added bonus of having a super power.  What did I not like?  Well, I felt like there wasn't enough science-y stuff.  The DNA chromosome on the cover made me expect a really intellectual reason towards the super powers, but I never saw it.  And the plot seemed simple, or the book was just getting started when it ended.  It feels like the book set the scene, and now it's ready to continue with the second.

My suggestion?  Grab this book along with the second, Settling, and read them together.  I'm guessing that you might be a little more satisfied seeing more of the story.  Or, you can grab all three after November 1 when Sound is published.  I'm curious to see more of the story.

Thanks goes to Shelley Workinger for providing me a review copy.

Challenges:  Young Adult Reading Challenge

manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

The week before this one was a rough week for me.  I ended up in my hometown of Salt Lake City for a few days, and it was on a sad note.  A family member passed away in a tragic accident.  So let's just say the rest of my life sat on the back-burner for a while.  But I'm back and hopefully ready to read more than I'm currently reading.  I hope everyone's had a better week than me!

For Review:

• Destined by Jessie Harrell
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• Greek mythology, yes!  And it's an Eros and Psyche retelling which I'm not so familiar with.  So I'm definitely looking forward to it.  Thanks goes to the Arc Cycling site and The Book Belles for this goodie.

From the Library:

• The Diviners by Libba Bray
• Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
• I have to admit that the last time I read Libba Bray's books was in 2007 with the finale to the Gemma Doyle series (which I absolutely loved).  Of course, when I picked this one up, my eyes about bulged out due to the size of the book; I had conveniently forgotten how big her book are.  Anyways, looking forward to it.

For Review (e-edition):

Watering Heaven by Peter Tieryas Liu

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

This book of short stories sounds like it's going to have some hilarious scenes mixed into a bigger picture.  It's definitely something different, but I think that helps refreshen my view on reading.  Thanks goes to Peter Tieryas Liu for my review copy.

manda-rae's Past Two Weeks

Reviews:

• Flutter by Gina Linko
• Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Genre:  YA Fantasy (fairytale retelling)

Jodi Lynn Anderson's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Goodreads):

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

Who doesn't love the story of Peter Pan?  I spent many years as a little girl hoping Peter would stop at my window.  And throughout all of the stories, we see Tiger Lily, but we never learn much about her, do we?  Well, this book describes the relationship between Peter Pan and Tiger Lily from the beginning to the end.  And being from Tink's point of view, it's an interesting read.

We meet Tiger Lily, a fearless outcast in her tribe.  She's just living the normal ways of life in Neverland until an Englander drifts ashore.  While saving him, she catches the eye of Peter Pan.  Peter Pan tends to have a childish view of everything; he's a little crazy and chaotic.  And yet, none of us can resist him.  Even Tiger Lily begins to swoon over him in her own way.

This is a super sweet retelling of Peter Pan.  It pulls pieces of the fairy tale we all know and mixes it with something new.  However I had one issue with it.  It was super slow, and there's not really a whole lot of action.  It's like watching the waves go back and forth on the beach: fun to watch but nothing eye-catching.  This book put me to sleep more than once despite the fact that it has a beautiful story.

I believe all Peter Pan fans should give this book a try.  But if you do the majority of your reading right before bedtime, I'd recommend ingesting caffeine before reading this.

Flutter by Gina Linko

Genre:  YA Contemporary Romance with a Paranormal Twist

Gina Linko's website

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Gina Linko's website):

All Emery Land wants is to be like any other seventeen year old—to go to school, hang out with her friends, and just be normal. But for as long as she can remember, she’s suffered from something akin to seizures. And in recent years they’ve consumed her life. To Emery they're much more than seizures, she calls them loops—moments when she travels through wormholes back and forth in time and to mysterious places. The loops are taking their toll on her physically. So she practically lives in the hospital where her scientist father and an ever-growing team of doctors monitor her every move. Although they don’t believe her claims of time travel, the doctors are extremely interested in the data they collect when Emery seizes – too interested. What is it they think she is capable of? Is she tapping into never-before-used parts of the brain? Is this clairvoyance of some sort? Telepathy? Or something else completely?

When Emery encounters a young boy—a guide of sorts who offers cryptic warnings—she intuitively knows she must decipher his clues to uncover what is really happening to her. Escaping from the hospital, she travels to Esperanza, the town from her loops in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she meets a guarded and mysterious good Samaritan, Asher Clarke. A series of coincidences draw them together, and Emery quickly realizes that their individual mysteries – their singular secrets -- might not be so separate after all. With time running out for Emery, they must unravel their complicated connection before it's too late.

I really was not expecting what I got out of this book.  I had some parts figured out sure, but the focus of the book was way different than I expected.  There's a whole lot of romance and not a lot of paranormal-y-ness stuff.

Emery, her father's own personal lab rat, leaves a life of hospital experiments for a trip to figure things out on her own.  She treks to a new city based on her time-traveling experiences and gets to experience the small city life.  While there, she meets a lot of nice characters and a special boy named Ash.  Ash, just like her, has his own secrets.  And as it turns out, their secrets, as different as they may be, help them relate with each other.  And their lives begin to intertwine around each other while Emery continues to learn more about her time-traveling seizures.

The romance between Ash and Emery is sweet, but I felt it was kind of slow and wishy-washy in the beginning.  And the time-traveling experiences?  Those were very interesting to learn about, but I wish I could have seen more of it.  However there is a very beautiful and bittersweet twist in the book that tends to make it all worthwhile.  You think you've figured things out, but there's just a little bit more to the story.

This is a book I would hand to contemporary fans.  It has a really good premise and a lot of romance.

Thanks goes to Random House Children's Books and Netgalley for my review copy.

Challenges:  Debut Author Challenge and Young Adult Reading Challenge

manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

I hope everyone's had a great week this week!

Purchased (e-edition):

Branded by Keary Taylor

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

I forgot to mention this freebie last week, so I thought I'd mention it now.  Honestly, it was the cover that sold me.  And it sounds like a really interesting angel read.

manda-rae's Past Week

Reviews:

• Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong

Memes:

• Top Ten "Older" Books You Don't Want People To Forget About
• Waiting on Wednesday: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi