Monday, October 17, 2016

Autonomy Blog Tour Review and Giveaway (INTL - Ends 11/3)

Displaying AutonomyTourBanner-1.png
Balmoral Murraine works in a Battery, assembling devices she doesn't understand for starvation pay. Pasco Eborgerson is the pampered son of an Elite, trying to navigate the temptations of the Pleasure Houses, the self-sacrifice of the Faith, and the high-octane excitement of Steel Ball. They are two strangers, who should never have met, and now they will rip the world apart. 
What happens when ninety percent of the world lives on skaatch - a jellyfish and insect composite?
What happens when mankind spends more time in alternative life sims instead of the 'real' world?
What happens when economic interest is the sole determinant of global decision making?
What happens when a single secret is discovered that calls into question everything we have ever believed?
Welcome to the Autonomy. Welcome to your future.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30644174-autonomy?ac=1&from_search=true

First of all, I'm super excited to be a part of this blog tour and giveaway! Thank you Xpresso Book Tours!

Any book that starts with she "felt a pop between her legs followed by wetness" is bound to be interesting! When the next sentence talks about getting a bonus for hitting the baby quota, it had my attention... except, I am an idiot!

As I moved on to the second paragraph, I realized that it was not referring to a baby quota but describes finishing her shift to hit the quota before having the baby. (I thought about taking this part out of my review, but why not let someone else have a laugh t my stupidity? I do all the time!)

Balmoral was dealt a CRAPPY hand. From the second she was born, it kept hitting the fan. She was named Balmoral Murraine for heaven's sake! That was definitely not the name her parents picked for her. She never whines or complains, though. She just figures out a way to live the crappy life she was handed.

This book was awesome! It exceeded my expectations.

It has been refreshing to read YA books lately that have strong female characters that are not wrapped up in a cookie cutter love triangle of some type or super boy crazy.

I wasn't sure if there would be a sequel to this book, but the ending set up for one perfectly. I can't wait to see what happens next with Balmoral and Pasco! The only thing I'm upset about is how long I will have to wait to see what happens next!

Buy Autonomy Here:
iBooks Autonomy on Barnes and NoblesAutonomy on iBooks

Author Bio:
Jude Houghton developed a love of fantasy from a relatively early age after realizing an innate talent for making stuff up could result in something other than detention. Working across the glove in fields as diverse as journalism, data entry, sales, management consultancy and babysitting. Jude has partially succeeded in putting an English and History degree from Oxford University to good use. A somnambulist, insomniac, lover of letters, Jude writes late into the night, most nights, tumbling down the rabbit hole to dream of other lives. Jude currently lives in Pennsylvania with an over-enthusiastic family and absurdly entitled dog.

Giveaway Details:
5 copies of Autonomy by Jude Houghton
International - Ends November 3rd 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour Host: Xpresso Book Tours  My GoodReads Review of Autonomy

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Crosstalk by Connie Willis

Crosstalk

Briddey is about to get exaclty what she thinks she wants...
Briddey is a high-powered exec in the mobile phone industry, overseeing new products from concept ('anything to beat the new apple phone') to delivery. And she works with her wonderful partner, Trent. They've been together for six magical weeks, in a whirlwind of flowers, dinners, laughter and now comes the icing on the cake: not a weekend away or a proposal but something even better. An EDD. A procedure which will let them sense each other's feelings. Trent doesn't just want to tell her how much he loves her - he wants her to feel it. Everything is perfect.
The trouble is, Briddey can't breathe a word of it to anyone (difficult, when the whole office is guessing) until she's had two minutes to call her family. And they're hounding her about the latest family drama, but when they find out about the EDD - which they will - they'll drop everything to interrogate her. And it might just be easier to have the procedure now and explain later. Only Apple is poised to deliver an amazing new product and she has to be one step ahead... is she can only persuade their tech genius, C.B., to drop his crazy ideas about a 'privacy phone' with its 'do not disturb' settings, and focus on what people really want: more efficient, instinctive and immediate ways to communicate.
The race is on: not just for new, cutting-edge technology, but also for a shred of privacy in a public world and - for Briddey - a chance for love at the heart. 
This book is set in the future, but in the very near future. It does not specify exactly how near in the future, but the Kardashians are mentioned in passing, and apparently Kim and Kanye were still together, shortly before the events that occur in the book. 

It also mentions Brad and Angelina... I guess I wasn't the only one who didn't see their divorce coming. I don't think anyone expected it, and I know the author didn't expect their break up to be announced right as his book was released. 

Being set in the near future, most of the events in the story (and the technology) are totally plausible, today. That makes the story unique and different from many books I've read. 

The main character works at a tech company that is preparing a phone that will rival Apple's new iPhone that is about to be release and supposedly has some kind of secret, crazy awesome new technology. So far, none of this sounds unbelievable in today's society, does it?

That is, except for the one little aspect of couples getting EDDs to connect emotionally with their partners... EDDs are brain implants and allow couples to help them connect with each other and feel what their partner feels. So, that't the exception to similarities to today's capabilities, but who knows what they'll come up with next!

This book was AWESOME! Although it does involve a love triangle of sorts, which I expressed my disapproval of in my review of Wolf Road, it wan't anything even remotely like those I was referring to that  are so common in YA books nowadays. 

Briddey doesn't have to debate over who of the two unlikely suitors is the best choice. She may not know the whole time, but she doesn't do the mushy wishy-washy thing. 

Thus book was very unique and had lots of unexpected twists and turns along the way. I really want to say what my was, but it would give away a HUGE spoiler. So, you'll just have to read the book and see what your favorite plot twist way. Then, let me know and we can see if it was the same one. 

Overall, this book as great and a really entertaining read! While it might not have as much humor as Spontaneous, it definitely had its fare share of funny!

If you are a fan of YA fantasy/paranormal or Sci-Fi and want to read a book about the dangers of being too connected, you will love this book! Check it out! 

I received this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.



Saturday, October 1, 2016

Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

The Wolf Road

True Grit meets The Road in this post-apocalyptic psychological thriller--narrated by a young girl who has just learned that her adopted father may be a serial killer, and that she may be his next victim.
In the remote wilds of a ravaged land, Elka has been raised by a man who isn't her father. Since finding her wandering in the woods when she was seven, he has taught her how to hunt, shoot, set snares and start fires--everything she needs to survive. All she knows of the world outside if gleaned from whispers of a cataclysmic even that turned the clock back on civilization by a hundred and fifty years and reduced governments and technology to shambles, leaving men at the mercy of the elements--and each other.
Everything changes when Elka learns that the man she has been calling father is harboring a terrible secret. Armed with nothing but her knife and her wiles, she decides to escape his clutches and sets out on a long journey to the frozen north in the hope of finding her long-lost parents.
But as the trail of blood and bodies grows in her path, Elka realizes that daddy won't be letting his little girl go without a fight. If she's going to survive, she'll have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about what he's turned her into.
Not 5 minutes after I finish writing about how well the author of Spontaneous wrote about high school students spontaneously combusting without making it too icky, I started reading Wolf Road. The first paragraph of the book describes a man that has just killed a boy and still has blood on his knife and his scalp hanging from his belt. The irony was not lost on me, and I seriously wondered what I was getting myself into.

Let me first say (well, first after the lovely disclaimer above, warning you that this book may contain some gore), if you do not like reading books written in the dialect of the characters, you may not enjoy this book. The book is written in first person, and the main character was raised in the wild and talks like a hillbilly from way back when. Here is an examples from the first chapter:
Nana let out one a' her big signs. Seen other folks from Ridgeway sign like that, like they weren't just sick a' the person giving 'em ire, but sick a' the whole world what was full a' them.
The rest of the book follows suit, but I think it adds to the story. The dialect kind of reminded me of The Knife of Netter Letting Go (awesome book btw). Not using Elka's dialect would have made for a completely different reading experience, though. It would have taken away from the story and we would not have been able to get as clear of a picture of her and the world she lives in. 

I really enjoyed this book! I do have to admit that the last chapters were a little slow, but necessary to wrap everything up.

Overall, it was a GREAT book! It was well-written and had a wonderful story, and I hope to hear more from Elka, very soon!

I love that Elka is a strong, independent woman, and the book doesn't focus on any romantic relationships. She's got much more important things to worry about! You do not have to read about her falling in love with an unlikely choice or her conflicting feelings about two boys that are total opposites but equally compatible with her. I'm not knocking those books. I like some of them, but I hate that it seems to be the recipe for waaaay too many YA books nowadays. 

This book is not like any other YA book that I've ever read. It is completely original and definitely work a read!

I receive this book from the publishers, via Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.