Waiting on Wednesday #69

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Expected Publication: March 12th, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 480

Goodreads Summary:

Pitched as a "Bourne Identity"-type sci-fi thriller about a teenage girl who discovers that she is a Mobile Intel Life-like Android, an experiment in artificial intelligence created by the U.S. government, and her scientist mother, who kidnapped her when she was found to have human emotions.

The summary does not yet tell us to much about Mila 2.0 but in combination with this über-gorgeous cover, I cannot wait for it to be March 2013. This sounds unlike anything I've read before and therefore it's going to be a must-read for the next year.

Which book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Carina

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Puffin (Penguin)
First published: January 5th, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 387

Goodreads Summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

Set in a scary dystopian world which is easy to forget about once your heart recognizes the beautiful love story, Cinder turned out to be a very addicting story. My only regret is that I wish to have picked up this amazing novel sooner and now can't wait to get my greedy little hands on a copy of its sequel, hoping to get to witness more scenes between this beautiful couple.

More detailed:

When I read Cinder's synopsis for the very first time, I didn't add it to my to-read list because I was quite skeptical whether I'd ever enjoy a story like this. But when so many positive reviews started to appear (especially on my favorite blogs), I knew I had to give this a chance. And now, after having read it myself, I'm really glad I trusted all these reviews, because it was simply amazing.

The world Cinder is set in is scary but oh-so-interesting. Marissa Meyer has created a very interesting dystopian (almost post-apocalyptic) society with technology that many people are scared of already today. And in the middle of it there is Linh Cinder, a cyborg and this novel's main character you just can't help but feel incredibly sorry for.

But despite her guardian's attitude and behaviour towards her, Cinder never loses her hope to fulfil her own dreams one day and get away from her painful life. Even though I sometimes wanted to tell her that she shouldn't think so low about herself, I could understand how the society she grew up in made her believe she's less than human.

The love story between Cinder and Prince Kai is swoon-worthy and even though it's developing very slowly, I knew very soon that they're right for each other. Of course a few elements reminded me a bit of the original fairytale Cinderella but mostly Cinder is its own story which is a fact I loved finding out. 

To sum up, I can just tell you how badly I'm craving to read the sequel Scarlett, because even though I expected the secret that was unveiled at the end, I now need to know how Cinder will deal with it and what will happen. If you haven't read Cinder yet, don't make the same mistake I did and wait too long - just pick up a copy and give this amazing novel a chance.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challenge 2012

Have you read Cinder? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave a comment.

Carina

How to Speak Wingnut

Latest Newspaper Column

Talking or conversing online with a member of the Rabid Right can often be a frustrating experience. It often seems like the two of you are talking past each other.

This is because while wingnuts speak something that appears to be English, they're not really speaking the same language as you. They use a sort of argot or cant, made up of dog-whistles and code words whose full and deeper meaning is only understood by them or people like them.

So here's a helpful guide in understanding wingnut speech, or, as I call it, Wingspeak:

What they say: "Obama was never properly vetted. We don't know anything about him."

What they mean: "We've dug and dug but none of us has ever been able to turn up a shred of credible evidence for all of the ridiculous stuff we've made up about Barack Obama."

What they say: "The press is covering up this story."

What they mean: "The press won't report our half-truths, distortions and outright lies as if they were facts."

What they say: "The press has a liberal bias."

What they mean: "The press keeps finding out true but damaging things about us."

What they say: "We need to cut spending."

What they mean: "We need to stop giving money to black and poor people so the government can pay for my retirement and health care."

What they say: "We need entitlement reform."

What they mean: "For every entitlement but the ones I get."

What they say: "Government can't create jobs."

What they mean: "Government shouldn't spend money to create jobs except for ones resulting from defense, road or bridge projects in my district."

What they say: "I know it isn't politically correct to say this, but..."

What they mean: "I am about to say something incredibly racist, sexist or just pig-ignorant, and I want to look like I'm daring and edgy instead of a brain-dead boob."

What they say: "You just call everyone who disagrees with you a racist!"

What they mean: "I say racist stuff all the time, but maybe if I play the aggrieved, falsely accused victim, I can get away with it."

What they say: "You just call people names because you haven't got any real arguments!"

What they mean: "I'm going to hope people ignore the fact that you just used actual evidence to clean my clock in this argument by self-righteously feigning indignation over the way you said it."

What they say: "Barack Obama isn't a real American."

What they mean: "Obama is black."

What they say: "Barack Obama doesn't love America."

What they mean: "Obama is black."

What they say: "Barack Obama wasn't born here, he was born in Kenya."

What they mean: "Obama is black."

What they say: "Barack Obama should release his college transcripts."

What they mean: "He couldn't have legitimately gotten into college and done as well as he did without getting special treatment, because he's, you know, black."

What they say: "Mitt Romney should release his tax returns only when President Obama releases his school records."

What they mean: "We're positive there's something in those tax returns that will destroy Romney's candidacy, so we'll come up with any flimsy non sequitur to try and excuse why he shouldn't release them. Also, Obama should release his school records because he's, you know, black."

What they say: "Obamacare is socialism!"

What they mean: "We don't really have any idea what's actually the Affordable Care Act, but we know this: We don't like socialism, we don't like Obama, and we don't like this plan, even though it was originally proposed by Republicans, because this time it was backed by a guy who's a Democrat and, you know, black, so we're going to call it something that sounds impressive and ominous, even though it clearly shows we know as much about socialism as we know about quantum physics."

What they say: "President Obama is engaging in Chicago-style gutter politics."

What they mean: "Obama's using the same hardball tactics against us that we've used to win every election we've succeeded in, and doing it better, since the stuff he's saying is actually true."

What they say: "The Obama campaign is getting desperate."

What they mean: "We're getting hurt badly by the latest round of revelations."

As a general rule of thumb, when they say, "How dare those awful liberals (fill in supposed outrage here)," what they mean is "You can't do that! Only we can do that!"

Hope this helps.

Mitt's Painted Into a Corner

 The Pilot: Southern Pines, NC, July 22, 2012

First a quick correction: Last week, as a couple of readers pointed out, I had a brain fluff and mentioned the "Republican-controlled Senate."

Clearly it's the House the Republicans control, and I could have sworn that's what I wrote. But, sure enough, the original column has the mistake right there, plain as day. Mea culpa. It's the Republican-controlled House that's wasting precious time and millions of taxpayer dollars on votes that are little more than stunts meant to do nothing but generate ads for the fall. Hope this clears things up.

Anyway, it seems that Willard Mitt "Etch a Sketch" Romney has gotten himself into another hilarious pickle with his zany antics. Romney's been basing his entire campaign message around "trust me to fix the economy, I'm a big shot businessman who made bunches and bunches of money."

Well, I guess he can't run on his single four-year term as an actual chief executive, during which his signature achievement was a health care reform plan that provided the blueprint for the Affordable Care Act - you know, the so-called "Obamacare" that the current GOP hates with the burning intensity of a thousand suns, despite the fact it was originally a Republican idea.

No, he can't run on his record as the moderate governor of "Taxachusetts." The Rabid Right would eat him for lunch. So he's made his biggest selling point his tenure as the top kahuna of a bewildering set of interlocking entities known as Bain Capital.

Until, that is, people (including fellow Republicans Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry) started pointing out that some of Bain's strategies for making money from the companies it took over looked uncomfortably like one of those "bust out" scenarios from "Goodfellas" or "The Sopranos": Move in, use the company's credit to jack up its debt and pay themselves big fees with the borrowed money, then, if "restructuring" (usually involving firing a lot of people and moving jobs overseas) didn't turn things around, declare bankruptcy and walk away with pockets full of cash.

It was the accusations of "offshoring" jobs overseas that really got Mitt's goat. He had nothing to do with that, he insisted. His official campaign statement said that "Governor Romney left Bain Capital in February of 1999 to run the Olympics and had no input on investments or management of companies after that point."

Then The Boston Globe found documents filed with the SEC and signed by Romney that told a different story. As just one filing from Feb. 20, 2001 put it: "Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, sole director, chief executive officer and president of Bain Capital and thus [and this is the important part] is the controlling person of Bain Capital." Oops.

The Romney campaign went into frantic spin mode, spamming Mitt's mug across five networks in one day to explain how a person described in legally required filings as the "controlling person" in 2001 wasn't really in control in 2001. "Who you gonna believe," the defense ran, "me, or those lyin' documents with my signature on them?"

It reached the height of absurdity when Romney surrogate Ed Gillespie earnestly explained that Romney had "retroactively" retired from Bain in 2002, after which late night comedians such as Jon Stewart and Conan O'Brian were seen literally dancing for joy at the gift they'd been handed.

Now it may be entirely true that Romney, despite what he said at the time, had no say in the "day to day" running of Bain. But does that really help Romney? Isn't that one of the things that disgusts people about corporate America - that required regulatory filings are just a sham, that no one's accountable, even though they say they are, and that this all seems perfectly normal to the mainstream corporate-owned media?

Are the American people really supposed to believe that that the guy who embraces this sort of corporate gamesmanship, obfuscation, and skullduggery is the solution to the problems in the economy? Finally, what's Romney going to do now that he's being forced to distance himself from the very experience he's touting as his main qualification for the White House?

I'm thinking he's got nothing. Which means we'll be hearing more lies about "socialism" and "apologizing for America" and attacks on the president's patriotism, interspersed with whining about how mean Obama is and demands for apologies that won't happen, all of which only serve to make Mittens look like a weak, ineffectual chump (see "Kerry, John: 2004 campaign").

Meanwhile, "where are the tax returns?" will become the Democratic version of "where's the birth certificate?"

It's going to be a long campaign. For Romney.

Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Series: Sweet Evil #1
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)
First published: May 1st, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 447

Goodreads Summary:
Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

This novel broke my heart and only put it together to break it again, turning this into one of the most bittersweet love stories that I have read so far. With a very interesting angel / demon lore and a love interest that will make every girl swoon, Sweet Evil was impossible to put down and didn't take long to secure its place in my list of favorites.

More detailed:

After having read the awesome summary, stared at the gorgeous cover, and read so many raving reviews for Sweet Evil I had extremely high expectations and couldn't help but grin while reading it as I realized that every single expectation was actually met. This turned out to be one of my new all-time favorites and I can't wait to find out how Anna and Kaidan's story will continue.

While I always seem to have lots of luck when picking up angel stories, I am very happy that Sweet Evil can be added to the list of awesome angel novels, together with e.g. the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand. But in constrast to that one, Sweet Evil has a delicious seductive feeling to it which makes it even harder to put it down and think about something else but Kaidan Rowe.

Sweet Evil is definitely an awesome read for anyone who prefers a slightly more grown up Young Adult story, because Anna and Kaidan's interactions will definitely make you want to switch places with Anna and enjoy this half-demon's touches and kisses.

As a main character, Anna is very likeable with a voice that's easy to listen to and that ensures that you experience the things right along with her. The discoveries she makes about herself and the world aren't the easiest to digest, but she doesn't change her moralities and tries to be the person she always envisioned herself to be.

The other characters we are introduced to are very diverse and while some of them are not people you'd ever like to meet, I fell in love with some of the others. Especially some of the Nephilim Anna meets are quite three-dimensional characters that I'm sure will be intriguing to find out even more about in the sequel.

All in all, I'd love to force everyone to read this book because it's just as amazing as everyone has been saying. I know that some people have problems finding angel books they like, so if you're one of them you should definitely give Sweet Evil a chance. And if you're just looking for your next favorite read, get a copy as well. I don't think anyone will be disappointed by Wendy Higgins' debut novel.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challenge 2012

Have you read Sweet Evil? What did you think about it?
Do you plan to read it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave a comment below!
Carina

Review: Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan

Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan
Series: Songs of Magic #1
Publisher: Self-Published
First published: September 16th, 2011
Source: Received from author
Format: eBook
Pages: 196

Goodreads Summary:

A rock & roll fairy tale.

Jason plays guitar in a teenage garage band called the Assorted Zebras, but they have no fans, no gigs, and they're going nowhere. Even worse, Jason has a crush on their lead singer, but she doesn't seem interested in him at all.

Then Jason steals instruments from the fairy world. Soon the band is enchanting crowds, and Jason is a step closer to the girl of his dreams, but the new gear is brimming with dangerous and destructive magic they can't control.

Their shortcut to success has cost a troupe of innocent fairies their livelihood and turned Jason and his band into enemies of the powerful Queen Mab, who sends supernatural bounty hunters to track them down, including one of the most dangerous horned creatures in Faerie...a small unicorn named Buttercake.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

First thoughts:

With a very imaginative fairy lore, lots of humour and a small but sweet love story, Fairy Metal Thunder was a very fast and easy read for me and ensured that I'll be picking up its sequels as soon as possible. If you're looking for a Young Adult novel that is suitable for a younger audience and want to delve into a world of magic, be sure to add this one to your to-read list. 

More detailed:

Before I started reading Fairy Metal Thunder, I didn't really know what to expect except that some of my favorite bloggers absolutely love J.L. Bryan's books. Therefore I had fairly high expectations for his fairy novel and was quite happy when I realized that most of them were actually met. 

What I didn't know but maybe should or could have guessed is that it is definitely more suitable for a younger audience or for readers who prefer Young Adult books that lean more towards the Middle Grade genre. For me, though, that's the main reason I "only" rated this with three-and-a-half stars, since I usually prefer more grown up YA stories.

But to be honest, that's the only negative thing I have to say about Fairy Metal Thunder and it's also a very subjective aspect. Besides that I really enjoyed the first novel in the Songs of Magic series because it sucked me into the world of four teenagers who get to experience fame because of very beautiful fae magic. 

J.L. Bryan has not only created a stunning and fascinating fairy world but incorporated these paranormal elements very nicely into the "real world" our main character Jason grew up in. The love story is not the novel's focus, but will definitely warm your heart and make you wonder what these two will have to face in the future.

All in all, I really liked Fairy Metal Thunder and even though I usually prefer to read more mature YA novels, I'm looking forward to find out what the Assorted Zebras will experience in the next novels. And I also can't wait to see more of the intriguing fairy world which might turn out to be one of the most imaginative out there.

Buy Fairy Metal Thunder:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Have you read Fairy Metal Thunder? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave a comment below.

Carina

Cover Comparisons #65: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Living in Germany gives me the perfect opportunity to compare original covers with the ones German publishers choose. Sometimes they're gorgeous, sometimes they make me cringe, but it's always interesting to see different covers for the same novel.

Cover Comparisons is a weekly feature here at Fictional Distraction.

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Incarnate by Jodie Meadows

(US / GER)
You can click on each cover to enlarge it.

I think it's very hard to find a book that has a more gorgeous cover than Incarnate, but its German version is actually coming quite close. I absolutely love the cover model's colorful eyes and the flowers on the left side of the cover along with the title that can be translated into The Ocean of Souls. Nonetheless I still prefer the US cover, whose colors and image are just so, so über-gorgeous.

Which version do you like best?

USGER

pollcode.com free polls

Which version did you vote for? Why?

Carina

Waiting on Wednesday #68

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Altered by Jennifer Rush
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for YR
Expected Publication: January 2nd, 2013
Format: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 336

Goodreads Summary:
When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

When I first found out about Altered, I wasn't really sure what to think about it. But the more often I read its summary (and looked at its quite yummy cover), the more I liked the thought of reading it. It sounds quite intriguing, full of action and with a swoon-worthy love story. I'm hoping that it'll live up to my expectations!

Which book are you waiting for this Wednesday?
Carina

Review + Giveaway: Frost by Kate Avery Ellison (Blog Tour Stop)

Frost by Kate Avery Ellison
Series: Frost #1
Publisher: Self-Published
First published: April 3rd, 2012
Source: Received from author
Format: eBook
Pages: 194

Goodreads Summary:

In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person could end up dead—and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running despite the freezing cold and threat of monster attacks or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and failure just one wrong step away, she can’t afford to let her emotions lead her astray. So when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest—a young stranger named Gabe—Lia surprises herself and does the unthinkable.

She saves his life.

Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the “Farthers,” as ruthless and cruel. But Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent…and handsome. She might even be falling in love with him.

But time is running out. The monsters from the forest circle the farm at night. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Lia must locate a secret organization called the Thorns to help Gabe escape to safety, but every move she makes puts her in more danger.

Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

First thoughts:

In a world of ice, monsters and fear, Lia has to find a balance between the things that are expected from her and what she actually wants to be like. Being confronted with harsh decisions, she starts to find out more about her family and the village she is living in, which turns Frost into a very easy and incredibly fast read.

More detailed:

It's quite hard to define the world Frost is set in. Dystopian? Post-apocalyptic? Fantasy? While I'm more inclined to see this as a fantasy novel, I don't really care too much about putting this into any category, because it works very well even without one. This is one of these stories that I went into without too many expectations, but ended up being positively surprised.

Kate Avery Ellison has created a very beautiful albeit scary world that pulled me in and makes me curious to find out more about it. Frost's main character Lia is a very likable girl who copes with her surrounding surprisingly well, but never seems to be unbelievably kick-ass; she's rather your typical girl next door who just grew up in a different kind of world.

What I sadly didn't really like about Frost was that it's fairly rushed. With only 194 pages it's a very fast read, which in return makes it hard for relationships to develop believably and for me to build any real connections with the characters.

Nonetheless I enjoyed Frost because of Kate Avery Ellison's quite addicting style of writing and the scary elements that almost made me regret reading this right before getting to bed. The ending is bittersweet and makes me hope for an equally lovely sequel that I hope to be able to devour as soon as possible.

 This review is part of Frost's blog tour,

hosted by AToMR Book Blog Tours.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fictional Distractions of the Week #39

...or rather: Books I'll be reading while lying in the sun.

Even though I'm still at home while typing this post, I'm hoping to be lying on the beach when this post goes online. And since I let you vote here which books I shall take with me next to my Kindle, I thought today would be the perfect opportunity which books won.

City of Fallen Angels | Insurgent | Wither | Sweet Evil

The Blessed | Cinder | Hunting Lila

Fictional Distractions of the Week is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Expected Publication: July 31st, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 384

Goodreads Summary:

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

Everyone who has read and loved the Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles, knows the appeal of a story about the good girl falling in love with the bad boy. Pushing the Limits definitely isn't an exception and delivers a heart-warming story of two people who are scarred - both physically and emotionally - and find out that love might be the cure to make their pain go away. 

More detailed:

Not only did I fall in love with Pushing the Limits' synopsis the first time I read it, but some of my favorite bloggers already read and absolutely loved it before I got around to it. Needless to say, my expectations were pretty high, but luckily every single one of them was met.

The story is told from alternating points of view - Echo's and Noah's. Even though the eARC's format was messed up and didn't make any distinctions between the chapters, within one sentence I knew that a new chapter had started because Katie McGarry gave both of them a very unique voice. Considering how difficult it can be to tell a story from different points of view, I was very impressed with that.

Besides that, I completely loved the rest of Katie's style of writing. Pushing the Limits is impossible to put down, because of Noah and Echo's narrations, but also because of a very addicting and sometimes heart-breaking story line that made me wonder whether there was actually a chance for these two to find their happy ending.

Both, Noah and Echo are amazing characters to listen to. Their lives are anything but easy and both of them have to fight their own demons to build up a life worth living. Together they are a beautiful couple that you can't help but fall in love with and witnessing how they grow closer and figure out their feelings was addicting.

Some secondary characters I loved, too, some I wanted to hate, but they all play their own important role in Pushing the Limits and turn it into one of my favorite reads in 2012 so far. If you are looking for your next summer read with a swoon-worthy (bad) guy and a love story that will ruin you for any real-live-romance, be sure to pick this one up. You won't regret it.

Challenge(s):

YA Contemporary Challenge 2012

Debut Author Challenge 2012

Have you read Pushing the Limits? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Carina

Cover Comparisons #64: The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Living in Germany gives me the perfect opportunity to compare original covers with the ones German publishers choose. Sometimes they're gorgeous, sometimes they make me cringe, but it's always interesting to see different covers for the same novel.

Cover Comparisons is a weekly feature here at Fictional Distraction.

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The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

(US / GER)
You can click on each cover to enlarge it.

To be honest, the only thing I truly adore about the German cover is the title, which can be translated into Do you even know that you broke my heart? and just makes it sound like a very interesting story immediately. But despite the colors, I don't really like the rest of the cover. The balloon heart just looks pitiful and even though I'm sure that it was intended, I just wouldn't find it appealing to pick it up. In contrast to that, I absolutely adore the US cover... the girl "flying in heaven", the beautiful typography and the overall dreamy feeling made me want to read it immediately - I even bought a copy as soon as it was released but have yet to get around to read it.

Which version do you like best?

USGER

pollcode.com free polls

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Last week's winner is the US cover of Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep.

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Which version did you vote for? Why?
Carina

Waiting on Wednesday #67

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Expected Publication: September 11th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 320

Goodreads Summary:

In a desert world of sandstorms and sand-wolves, a teen girl must defy the gods to save her tribe in this mystical, atmospheric tale from the author of Drink, Slay, Love."Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana's goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god's help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god's tale.

The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate--or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

Vessel makes the cover whore in me very happy. This cover could be enough reason to pre-order this book, but in combination with this über-awesome summary, I can't wait to get my greedy little fingers on a copy of this. I really liked Sarah's Drink, Slay, Love which was already very unique, but Vessel seems to take uniqueness to a whole new level. Is it September yet?

Which book are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Carina

Review: A Witch in Love by Ruth Warburton

A Witch in Love by Ruth Warburton
Series: Winter #2
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (Hachette UK)
First published: July 5th, 2012
Source: Received from publisher
Format: Paperback
Pages: 401

Goodreads Summary:

Anna still finds it hard to believe that Seth loves her and has vowed to suppress her powers, no matter what.

But magic – like love – is uncontrollable. It spills out with terrible consequences, and soon, Anna is being hunted.

Click here for my review for A Witch in Winter (#1).

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

First thoughts:

Where is the third book and just how am I supposed to be able to wait for it? While I already enjoyed the first book of this series, it was almost physically impossible to put away A Witch in Love. Even though I was hoping for a bit more development in the love department, I mentally bit my nails at finding out so many new things about the world Anna was thrown into.

More detailed:

Picking up some time after the events of A Witch in Winter, the second installment of this series starts by showing us how Anna and Seth's relationship has developed since we've last saw them while also letting us know how Anna is trying to cope with her powers - and failing miserably.

Like I already said above, A Witch in Love was impossible to put down and I definitely enjoyed every minute reading it. What I liked most about it was the extra amount of mystery we got and the persistently nagging feeling that something bad might happen - and I definitely wasn't disappointed when it eventually did. On the contrary, I was almost a bit shocked by the things that were happening especially towards the end, but in a very positive way. If you've already liked the first installment, be prepared to be breathless and flip the pages of this one as fast as humanly possible.

In A Witch in Love Anna is confronted with lots of decisions and new information that change her life within the blink of an eye. And even though the other characters aren't in the center of attention as much as she is, it's obvious how their lives develop as well and I can't wait to meet them again.

The only thing I wasn't completely happy with was how the love story developed. While I got some of my expected drama, I had still hoped that there would be more of a love triangle. Nonetheless I still have very high hopes for the third installment in that department, especially considering the small excerpt at the end of the book that gives us a little hint at what might happen in A Witch Alone.

All in all, I'm dying to get my hands on the third book and would recommend you to pick up this series if you're looking for a unique witch story. Even though Ruth's style of writing was already enjoyable in the first book, it developed even more in A Witch in Love and therefore just adds to the addicting plot line and will possibly turn this into one of my favorite series.

Have you read this series? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Carina

Books for Vacation: Please Vote!

This saturday I'll be off on vacation on a small German island and hope that I'll get lots of sun, so I can relax on the beach and read, read, read while getting a lovely tan. But next to my Kindle, which I don't really want to take with me to the beach (I swear, it's scared of the sand) and a few physical review copies, I want to take a few of my own books with me. 

But since I have about 50+ unreads books on my shelf, I'm having a very hard time to decide which books to take with me. I've already selected a few that I'm dying to read, but I only have limited space (and time) and therefore would prefer to take only 5 to 7 books with me - and that's where I need you to help me. 

Please vote for the books you'd recommend me to take with me - books that I absolutely need to read and that you think will be perfect for both, the beach and a rainy day inside.

You can vote for as many books as you like,
although I'd prefer you to keep it to 5 or less choices.

Which books should I take with me?
	Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
	Insurgent by Veronica Roth
	Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
	Cinder by Marissa Meyer
	The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen
	Angel by L.A. Weatherly
	Wither by Lauren DeStefano
	Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton
	City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
	Supernaturally by Kiersten White
	Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
	The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
pollcode.com free polls

Fictional Distractions of the Week #38

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

My first read for the first week of my semester break will be Frost by Kate Avery Ellison. Its blog tour will be stopping by next week and I'm quite excited to see whether it's as unique as I'm expecting it to be - the summary is quite promising.

Goodreads Summary:
In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person could end up dead—and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running despite the freezing cold and threat of monster attacks or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and failure just one wrong step away, she can’t afford to let her emotions lead her astray. So when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest—a young stranger named Gabe—Lia surprises herself and does the unthinkable.

She saves his life.

Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the “Farthers,” as ruthless and cruel. But Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent…and handsome. She might even be falling in love with him.

But time is running out. The monsters from the forest circle the farm at night. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Lia must locate a secret organization called the Thorns to help Gabe escape to safety, but every move she makes puts her in more danger.

Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

My second read will be Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard which I had already intended to read last week, but since my last exam, work and my friends kept me more busy than expected, I had to put off reading it and therefore will get to it this week. Still very excited for it though: steampunk + zombies = ♥.

Goodreads Summary:

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My third but hopefully not last read is going to be The Goddess Legacy by Aimée Carter. I'm really in love with this series and can't wait to find out more about these gods and goddesses, who are being portrayed so wonderfully by Aimée.

Goodreads Summary:

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aime e Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.

Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness....

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal....

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another....

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others-but never knew true loss before....

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope....

Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

Insanity Is The Most GENEROUS Explanation

Latest Newspaper Column

Thirty-three times in 18 months.

 That’s how many times the Republican-controlled House has voted to repeal all or part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (which they call “Obama-care”), even though they know that such a measure is doomed to fail in the Senate.

Even if such a bill through some miracle managed to somehow survive the Senate, it would certainly be vetoed by President Barack Obama. The most recent vote came this past Wednesday.

I’ve often said that a key quirk in the wingnut psyche is the absolutely unshakeable conviction that if something fails repeatedly, it’s because they just didn’t ram their heads against the wall hard enough. “The economy crashed despite big tax cuts? That just means we need more tax cuts to grow the economy!” And so on.

There’s a fine line between perseverance and insanity, and Cryin’ John Boehner and his merry band of fools crossed that line so long ago that they can’t even see it in the rearview mirror anymore.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that this wasn’t some form of mental illness on the part of the Prince of Orange and his crew. There are some cynics who say that the Republican leadership knew the measure, like the 32 before it, was doomed to fail. There are some who even say that the whole thing was a political stunt.

They say the whole thing’s a ploy to get House members staked out on their positions on the health care reform bill so that those votes could be used against them in the upcoming election, when those impressive voiceover announcers who only seem to surface at election time will be intoning “Congressman Schmendrick voted with Obama” with the type of voice-of-doom gravitas that suggests that they equate that voting record with unqualified support for child molestation.

But that’s hard to believe, don’t you think? I mean, that would make the Republican leadership seem like a bunch of completely politicized hacks who would take one of the 42 remaining days they’ve allotted themselves until the end of the year to address the people’s business and use it for the sole purpose of creating sound bites.

That would be a crassly cynical act by a party that’s decided to abandon the idea of addressing any real progress on jobs, immigration, national security, energy independence or any substantive issue at all, a party whose one and only priority is not governing, but winning.

That can’t really be it, can it? I mean, I know that’s what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said was his party’s “No. 1 priority” a while back, but he was joking, right? Because that would make them seem pretty useless to the average American.

No, I’ve got to go with insanity here. Another indicator that the Republicans are suffering from some sort of mental breakdown is the things they say about the ACA that are completely divorced from the reality of the actual bill.

Quotes like Mitt Romney’s assertion that “Obamacare puts the government between you and your doctor.” Or his claim that “Obamacare means 20 million American will lose the health insurance they have and want to keep.”

Or the oft-repeated claim, most recently seen in an ad from one of those shadowy anonymous SuperPACs attacking Florida Sen. Ben Nelson, that the health care law’s cost will be $2 trillion, “double what we were promised.” Or the claim from Florida Gov. Rick Scott that a company with 20 employees “could go out of business” because of the law’s requirement to buy insurance (even though companies with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from that requirement).

All of these assertions have been rated “false” by the nonpartisan fact-checking site Politifact. The “business with 20 employees” canard from Scott was given the lowest rating for truthfulness: “Pants on Fire.” And yet Republicans keep repeating these and other proven falsehoods over and over and over again.

Now, some people would insist that that means they’re all a pack of liars who have such complete contempt for the American voter that they think you’ll believe anything.

To believe they’re not seriously delusional would mean that they believe, as Adolf Hitler stated in “Mein Kampf,” that “in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility … for the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world.”

And that can’t be right. They can’t really think that way. Can they?