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FFBC: TImestorm by Julie Cross- Review

Timestorm (Tempest #3)
by Julie Cross
368 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: January 28th 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Paranormal

Synopsis:

The breathtaking conclusion to the time-travel trilogy that is “both tender and electric” (Publishers Weekly)

The battle between the Tempest division and Eyewall comes to a shocking conclusion in this final installment of the Tempest trilogy, where the need for survival stretches the boundaries of history, both past and future, and the world Jackson once knew is a place forever marked by the detrimental effects of time travel.

As Jackson recovers from his brush with death, he’s surrounded not only by the people he loves most—his dad, Courtney, and Holly—he’s also amongst a few of the original time travelers. As he learns more about their life and how this world began, it becomes apparent that they need to put a stop to Thomas and Doctor Ludwig’s experimenting at Eyewall Headquarters. What starts out as an escape plan becomes a war between time and humanity, between freewill and peace. It’s the battle Jackson was born to fight and he’s not about to back down. Not for anything. Not for anyone.

My Review:

We left off in book 2 Vortex with Jackson, Holly, Jackson's father, Emily, Courtney and a few other Tempest and Eyewall agents all plummeting to the future to escape the Eyeball attack. The only problem is not due to an electromagnetic force set by Eyewall, they are stuck there. During this length of stay they get to get more acquainted with Eyeball agent Blake and realize that is actually not an enemy and that he too wants to stop the future world destruction along with them. He cuts out his memory chip and allows Jackson and Holly to hear about how he became an agent and all of his experiences. They were able to learn some insight and a couple of big discoveries are made.

During the time here we get to see some development between some of the characters, but there was no real action YET! First off we see Holly finding herself attracted to Jackson, but Jackson is resistant at first because he doesn't know if the Holly in this timeline actually likes him , but if Holly is recalling feelings from other timelines. As much as he misses the emotional and physical intimacy between them, he wants to make sure he is not forcing anything on Holly. Another relationship that we get to see bloom is the one between Jackson and his sister Courtney. Unfortunately the tumor that eventually kills her is now starting to develop again and it is absolutely heart breaking having to watch Jackson face losing his sister again.

Towards the middle of the book is when action really takes off. One by one some unexpected characters start showing up, some that were believed to be dead, and some whose allegiance we are unsure of. A plan is put in place to not only get them back to the year they belong, but to prevent to future destruction of the world. But in order for Jackson to help accomplish this, be must do the unthinkable. He needs to be able to put aside his feelings for all of his loved ones and put the mission first. Even though are successful and are able to get back to their correct timeline, things are still not as they seem. Due to the second time plane Jackson unknowingly created a new virus has spread that all will cause all of this love ones to die in less than a year. Jackson must do everything in his power to stop this virus and it may be more than he is ready for.

All in all I really enjoyed this entire series. The plot was great, the action packed, but the best part of this series: The characters! So many wonderufl characters that continue to grow and develop through out the entire series. And just as you think you have them figured out, they surprise you. You will keep guessing on which characters are on the good team and which are ones that do not have the best intentions. Julie Cross has created a world in which one moment your heart is racing due to the intense action, and the next your heart is broken due to a n emotional turn in the story. This is definetly one of those series that I will recommend to all!

** FAVORITE QUOTE**

I believe that this quote not only sums up Jackson's story in TIMESTORM really well,

but it always sums up the entire TEMPEST Triolgy!

"I'm just beginning to realize that my life resemebles a very difficult

game of chess. Keep the piece, sacrifice this one. Move this way and twenty moves from now...checkmate."

I'm the author of the YA sci-fi trilogy, the Tempest series (St. Martin's Press). I'm also the author of the YA contemporary novel, Letters To Nowhere.

But even more importantly than the above, I'm a fan of books and an avid reader/reviewer. Keep in mind, however, that a review is just one person's opinion, one perspective. My goal is to show as much bias in my reviews as possible because this makes it easier for you to decide if your perspective is similar to mine or different. Everyone's tastes are different. I like books with emotion and believability. I don't mind edgy and heavy themes. I also like humor and quirk. I like weird characters in odd situations.

I have low tolerance for insta-love, flowery sex scenes, or mushy declarations of feelings. Not a fan of possessive/controlling male characters who get the girl in the end. When I recommend books, I always ask about favorite current reads and cater to each person's taste.

I believe every book plays an important role whether I love it or hate, it's having an effect on society. It's changing, shaping, and molding the future of publishing. Regardless of my feelings about a book, I value the author's time and effort put into creating their work. I only rate books available for purchase (or soon-to-be available) and consider those books as published works and their creators as professionals in their field therefore I treat them as professionals, giving my honest opinion on the work itself and not the person producing it.

If I rate a book and don't provide any written review and you'd like to hear my thoughts, feel free to comment on the review and if I can, I'll explain my reasoning behind the rating. I don't mind authors commenting on any review I post - negative or positive. Also happy to email to discuss Juliecrossauthor (at) gmail (dot) com please alert me if I misled readers or given false information (accidentally of course) and I'll correct the situation as soon as possible.

Click on the banner or here to follow the FFBC: Timestorm Blog Tour and don't miss any of the stops!

Thank you to our beloved team for making this event possible.

/ AReadingNurse / 0 comments /

Review: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Title: Fire & Flood

Series: Fire & Flood 2

Author: Victoria Scott

Pages: 320

Published: 02.25.14

Acquired: Arc from Scholastic

Goodreads Rating: 4.03

My Rating: 3.5

Goodreads

Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own.

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

My Review:

It has been really hard for me to write to this review. Because I had significant problems with the first 75% of this book. I was super excited to read this book. Most because I had heard a lot of good things of Victoria Scott's books and had been dying to read one. Secondly this one of the first ARCs I had actually received from publishers thanks to the wonderful people over at Scholastic.

The first few pages of the book started off promising. The story is about a teenage girl Tella who has moved with her parents and her sick brother. As she is dying in the boredom that is now her life when one day something happens that will change her life forever. One night Tella finds a surprise package on her bed that reveals a headset with a cryptic message. She is invited to be a contender in the Brimstone Bleed, a race that is she wins she gets the ultimate prize; a cure for her dying brother. The story up to this point was rather interesting. Tella starts off a little annoying but super funny. And her love for her brother is very moving and heart felt.

Things started hitting a plateau for me once Tella arrives as the meeting point to start the race. Here is has to choose an egg that will become her Pandora and assist her in the race. The reason that this story started becoming hard for me to read, was because it was way to similar to the Hunger Games with the Pandora being so similar to Katnisis' bow and arrow. But so many people who I spoke with on Twitter and reviews that I read on Goodreads kept raving about this book and told me to keep reading. So despite my hesitance I did continue reading and frankly I am glad I did. Frankly despite the slow start the end of the story was action packed and very enjoyable.

Even though I was getting to the point where if I read the word Pandora one more time I would scream. (In all fairness there was a page where the word Pandora appeared 9 times). But the love and affection that Tella showed for not only her own Pandora but everyone elses was really sweet. Even though the situation was hard and obstacles many, Tella kept finding the strength to go on by remembering what all of the struggle was for; curing her brother.

Then enters the love interest Guy. I was find of skeptical at first about this character. The authors starts off by introducing him in a light that makes you swoon., but then he kind of starts acting like a douche. However he does end up making up for some of his not cool behavior. What ended up winning me over was the big reveal over the true origins of the race. Unfortunately this reveal did not come around until the end of the book. I would have liked to see it come around somewhere towards the middle. But it was enough to make me want to continue on with this series.

/ AReadingNurse / 2 comments /

3.5 Stars Review

FFBC: Solving For Ex by Leigh Ann Kopan + GIVEAWAY

Hey Everyone! We have to the honor of hosting Leigh Ann Kopans

and her new book SOLVING FOR EX! Stop by below to get to know more about Leigh Ann and her story!

She holds a soft spot in my heart since she is a a fellow Jane Austen fan! So I am honored that FFBC gets to host her :D

Solving for Ex
by LeighAnn Kopans
300 pages
Release Date: February 11th 2014

Synopsis:

1 crush on your best friend +

1 gorgeous, scheming new girl +

1 Mathletics competition =

1 big mess

SIMPLIFY.

Ashley Price doesn’t have much in life after being bullied so hard she had to leave her old school to live with her aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh. But the camera she borrowed from her best friend and secret crush Brendan, and her off the charts math abilities, make things a lot more bearable. Plus, since Brendan is the captain, making the school Mathletes team should be easy.

But when gorgeous new girl Sofia rolls in and steals Brendan, Ashley's place on the team, and her fragile foothold on the Mansfield Park Prep social totem pole, it’s on. Sofia is everything Ashley left her old school to escape. The only thing Ashley didn’t count on is Sofia’s sexy twin brother Vincent.

Vincent is not only the hottest boy in school, he’s charming, sweet, and he’s got his eye on Ashley. He’s also not taking no for an answer. There's no real reason Ashley shouldn't like Vincent, but with the

battle lines being drawn between her and Sofia, Ashley’s not sure which side he’s on. Or which side she wants him to be on.

She does know Sofia is trouble with a capital T, and she’s determined to make Brendan see it.

SOLVING FOR EX is a YA contemporary romance that remixes Mansfield Park as Clueless meets Mean Girls in a crazy mix of high school society, mathletic competition, and teenage romance.

Raised on comic books and classic novels, Leigh Ann developed an early love of science fiction and literature. As an adult, she rediscovered her love for not only reading, but also writing the types of fiction that enchanted her as a teen. Solving for Ex was born of her love for Jane Austen’s classics, and how they taught her that love stories could be funny and wickedly smart.

Leigh Ann, her husband, and four children live in Columbus, Ohio. When she’s not immersed in the world of fiction, you can find her obsessing over the latest superhero movie or using her kids as an excuse to go out for ice cream (again.)

Jane Eyre! There’s only EVERYTHING about it to love.

When the characters start “talking” to me – when I finally feel like I have a good enough idea of who they are and what they want that they start directing the story themselves. J

Of all time? ALIAS. Currently? Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spies and Superheroes have always been two of my favorite things!

Ohhh, this really depends on my mood. I do love the Kiera Knightley adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for most occasions, though.

Spent with a favorite person, cozy at home, mostly silent, either reading or writing, eating indulgent food and talking here and there.

These are so tough! I think “Happiness” by The Fray is one that follows me everywhere. Heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.

There cannot be just one! Pasta and Cake. Neither can win. LOL

Peeta Mellark. Zero hesitation. He’s handsome, not cocky, SO smart, devoted, fierce about what he wants. And a hero.

Magic! Harry Potter, duh.

Romance or light Sci-Fi.

“Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling suit, and `fall into a vortex', as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul, for till that was finished she could find no peace.” - I’ve loved LITTLE WOMEN since I was a girl, and I think Jo was a big influence on me.

Definitely my favorite TV shows and books. Mostly, though, Zachary Levy (who played Chuck on that TV show and Flynn Ryder in Rapunzel. Mmm.)

Jane Austen. I can only imagine the sharp wit and humor she had. I wonder how long it would have taken her to show me her true, full personality.

Hilary Clinton. Now, that’s one lady who sets her sights on something she wants and doesn’t let it get away.

“Addicted to Love.” Writing is what I love, and I can’t seem to quit. ;)

Jennifer Lawrence. There are plenty of beautiful guys, but there’s nobody quite like her.

I’m so, so happy you all are interested in me and maybe my books! Nothing makes an author happier than being able to smile at her readers, so here it is! *smile*

Hi Leigh! We are super excited to have Solving for ex in our FFBC. We loved this super sweet young adult romance and can’t wait to read more!

Solving for Ex is a contemporary retelling of Mansfield Park where the main characters are mathletes…sort of.

They’re best friends, who are equally comfortable staying up talking all night or sitting together in complete silence. The problem with them is that they are so close, they might not realize – or be able to admit – there’s more between them, until it’s too late.

They’re twins, and they’re very attractive, and they’re very rich, and they’re VERY charming. That turns out to be a toxic combination for them, and that’s all I’ll say.

Oh, no. Brendan’s so clueless that it was super easy to drive him away from Ashley. But it was very sad.

Hm. Wake-up call, challenge, and empowering. Maybe I’m a bit more optimistic than you. ;)

I’ve always loved Austen’s Mansfield Park, mostly because the heroine is one of the few who is always right, and spends the book just waiting for everyone else to come to their senses. There’s something funny about that to me. So, I wanted to do a retelling of it.

If you’re already feeling the feelings anyway, and you’re SURE it’s love, then just go for it. Chances are, he probably feels the same, and if you don’t, you’re just being dishonest.

The one with Vincent in the truck bed! I’ll never forget when I discovered he was afraid of spiders. J

“When she passed me, I discovered the worst part of her—the way she smelled. God, she smelled amazing. Like she rolled in a field of flowers every morning and stuffed her bra with them in the process, so that the perfume followed her everywhere. I bet she even smelled good when she jogged.”

Oooh, that’s tough! Meaghan Martin as Ashley and David Henrie as Brendan, for sure. They have *exactly* the right look!

Next is Sofia’s story, which picks up about nine months after this one. It’s called First World Problems, and you can check it out here!

Thank you so much, again, for having me over to your blog today! I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support and enthusiasm!

You must be 13 or older to enter this giveaway

It's an US Only & INT giveaway.

Each day there will be available a #QOD (question of the day) in each participant blog. You can earn more points by answering the answers.

For those who don't know how this works, the winners will be those who have participated the most. Meaning, the winners will be those who have more points. No Rafflecopter luck this time, Book Addicts. This is all on you now! If there's a draw, then the odds will decide and this time the Rafflecopter luck would be a major factor deciding if you win or not.