IN A GLANCE: The Brotherhood of Dwarves is a fantastic Fantasy filled with lots of action and great characters!
Roskin, heir to the throne of a remote, peaceful kingdom of dwarves, craves excitement and adventure. Outside his own kingdom, in search of fortune and glory, he finds a much different world, one divided by racial strife and overrun by war. The orcs to the south want to conquer all dwarves and sell them as slaves. The humans to the east want to control the world's resources. Caught in the middle, Roskin finds himself chased by slave traders and soldiers alike as he discovers that friendship is the best fortune of all. Just when he thinks he has triumphed, an act of betrayal sends him into bondage. His only hope of escape is the faltering courage of a disgraced warrior whose best days are behind him.
IN A GLANCE: Stunning, full of detail! The Maze Runner is so packed full of detail in the right ways that I couldn't get enough of the story. I saw every word play out in my head as if I was watching a movie!
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.
Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.
Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
In light of recent events, I have decided that here at Ali's Bookshelf, I will no longer be posting the feature In My Mailbox and will no longer be doing the Debut Author challenge both hosted by The Story Siren. I'm not going to do a whole bashing post, because I believe there has been enough of that around, but the way I feel is that what she did was wrong! Plain and simple. So that's why I'm going to be figuring out a different way to show you the books I get every week, maybe do a monthly book haul or something. I'll figure it out no worries!
I just wanted to make sure you knew why this feature wasn't being posted anymore. I hope you all understand my decision on this one!!
Thanks so much for your support!!!
In this humorous love story from the author of Two-Way Street, an unlikely romance is the best sort of surprise—but the wrong secret can ruin everything. Kelsey’s not going to let one mistake ruin her life. Sure, she got kicked out of prep school and all her old friends are shutting her out. But Kelsey’s focused on her future, and she’s determined to get back on track at Concordia High. Isaac’s been kicked out of more schools than he can count. Since his father’s a state senator, Isaac’s life is under constant scrutiny—but Concordia High’s his last stop before boarding school, so Isaac’s hoping to fly under the radar and try to stay put for a change. When Kelsey and Isaac meet, it’s anything but love at first sight. She thinks he’s an entitled brat, and he thinks she’s a stuck-up snob. So it surprises them both when they start to fall for each other. Kelsey’s happy for the first time in months, and Isaac’s never felt this way about anyone before...But nothing’s ever completely perfect. Everyone has secrets, and Isaac and Kelsey are no exceptions. These two may have fallen hard, but there’s one thing that can ruin it all: the truth.
IN A GLANCE: Fantastic second book to this amazing series. Fast pasted and filled with tons of details and of course tons of dragons, makes this a must read!
Peace was fleeting. Vorham Riddess, Venur of Esra Province, covets the crystal ore buried deep in Leland's mountains. His latest device to obtain it: land by marriage to a Leland maiden. But that's not all.
Among Dragonkind, old threats haunt Mount Gore, and shadows loom in the thoughts of the Red who restored life to land and love. A dragon hunter, scarred from countless battles, discovers he can yet suffer more wounds.
In the midst of it all, Sela Redheart is lost, driven from her home with only her old uncle to watch over her. As the dragon-born child of Kallon, the leader of Leland's Dragon Council, she is trapped in human form with no understanding of how she transformed, or how to turn back.
Wanderers seek a home, schemes begin to unfurl, and all is at risk as magic and murder, marriage and mystery strangle the heart of Esra. A struggle for power far older and deeper than anyone realizes will leave no human or dragon unaffected.
In a world where magic is born of feeling, where the love between a girl and a dragon was once transformative, what power dwells in the heart of young Sela?
IN A GLANCE: Simply put, Kevin's Point of View is a blast to read! It's written for children, but I adore this book!
Kevin Tobin is a relatively ordinary 12-year-old dealing with the aftermath of his father's death in a mountain biking accident near their home in Boulder, Colorado. To escape from his emotional turmoil, Kevin has developed his imagination into a dangerous foil and a powerful ally. While he antagonizes his sister through his superhero antics on an average Wednesday morning, his ability to escape inside a character's head become critical to his survival after his life is once-again turned upside down a year after his father's death. A mysterious package arrives in the mail, Kevin and his best friend are hunted down by a ruthless villain set upon world domination, and after enlisting Kevin's teenage sister and her pizza-delivery boyfriend in a battle for control over time itself, the secret of Kevin's whole existence is revealed to him by a source we never expected. Del Shannon's imaginative story, appreciation for the powers of family and the desire of young boys to both escape reality and prove themselves within it, and fast-paced, adventure-filled storytelling style make this a book with wide appeal for readers of all ages.
Title: All These Things I've DoneIn 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.
Dog-yeah, we love those stupid creatures (especially Jupiter), don't we? So, Thank you. Please be patient with me as I figure myself out. (See how I snuck that in?) I'm adding to your list, because I'm guessing you might need some cheering up too.
(this quote is from an ARC so its not final)
IN A GLANCE: A little confusing in the beginning but turns out to be a pretty good read in the end!
Seventeen-year-old Lexi Blane believed she was the creator of her own destiny. With a brilliant mind, a flawless boyfriend, and parents who would stop the earth from spinning for her, all was going according to plan.
But when her perfect world unravels into one she doesn’t know, it reveals the painful truth of her love, trust, and entire being. In the struggle to find her true self, Lexi learns she didn’t create her destiny – it created her.
IN A GLANCE: Bri Clark's The Familial Witch is a very detailed story all jam packed into a novela. Every part is so detailed that I could see everything as I read each word.
Lucien Lemione the clan leader of the feared and revered Eternals is faced with the ultimate betrayal. His second in command for two centuries has not only created the most grievous of offenses but also commissioned the creation of liquid silver. When poisoned by this toxin, an immortal suffers a fate much worse than death, frozen in an internal prison. After being wounded when found spying, he hides deep within the eerie woods that encircle the Triad Mountains. Desperate and in pain, he prays to an offended mother goddess for help. Her answer: a woman, but not just any woman. A witch.
After losing her entire coven at the hands of the Eternals, Aisleen is the last of her kind. She retreats from the world to Trinity Forest where she is giving the opportunity of a lifetime, or perhaps a test of principles. It’s there she discovers the man she heals is the Eternal that wiped out her people. Although she is bound as a healer, she could be creative in her revenge. Aisleen knows who and what Lucien his…but does not speak of it. There can be no future with Lucien for she can only be with a mortal man. Even if she wanted to be with him, can she forgive the man that caused the genocide of her people?
Lucien must act quickly for the survival of his clan is at stake. However, Aisleen’s ethereal beauty and emerald eyes keep pushing those thoughts far from his mind. Determined to find out what secret she hides, he prolongs his time with her. When his people need him most what will he choose…duty, desire, or will he make his own fate?
You can choose love but you can’t choose destiny.
Lucien Lemione the clan leader of the feared and revered Eternals is faced with the ultimate betrayal. His second in command for two centuries has not only created the most grievous of offenses but also commissioned the creation of liquid silver. When poisoned by this toxin, an immortal suffers a fate much worse than death, frozen in an internal prison. After being wounded when found spying, he hides deep within the eerie woods that encircle the Triad Mountains. Desperate and in pain, he prays to an offended mother goddess for help. Her answer: a woman, but not just any woman. A witch.
After losing her entire coven at the hands of the Eternals, Aisleen is the last of her kind. She retreats from the world to Trinity Forest where she is giving the opportunity of a lifetime, or perhaps a test of principles. It’s there she discovers the man she heals is the Eternal that wiped out her people. Although she is bound as a healer, she could be creative in her revenge. Aisleen knows who and what Lucien his…but does not speak of it. There can be no future with Lucien for she can only be with a mortal man. Even if she wanted to be with him, can she forgive the man that caused the genocide of her people?
Lucien must act quickly for the survival of his clan is at stake. However, Aisleen’s ethereal beauty and emerald eyes keep pushing those thoughts far from his mind. Determined to find out what secret she hides, he prolongs his time with her. When his people need him most what will he choose…duty, desire, or will he make his own fate?
You can choose love but you can’t choose destiny.
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.
When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.
Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.
Bawling cattle tore Shelby Flint from her bed. With lawyer fees to pay in her struggle to keep her ranch from the clutches of her greedy cousins, she couldn’t afford the loss of even one calf. When she sees a large wolf circling her cows, she aims and fires. While the wolf escapes, Shelby can’t seem to get away from her troubles when a marijuana grower sets up shop on her land, sabotaging her property and eventually coming after her.
Adding to that, a handsome game warden is poking his nose into her business and working his way underneath her skin. Shelby will have to fight harder than she ever fought before to keep from losing her heart and everything she ever loved.
Shelby Flint is a self-sufficient cowgirl and cattle rancher, but when a wolf goes after her calves, a man is murdered on her land and someone is sabotaging her property she can’t do it by herself any longer. In walks a handsome game warden, poking his nose in her business and working her way under her skin. Shelby will have to fight harder than she ever has before to keep from losing her heart and everything she ever loved.
<div align="center"><a href="" title="Dystopian Survival Week" target="_blank"><img src="http://alisbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com/2012/04/dystopian-survival-week-sign-ups.html" alt="Dystopian Survival Week" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
IN A GLANCE: I was a bit disappointed when I read this one. The main character is so one dimensional and sometimes very unbelievably dumb.
After returning home from teaching English at a refugee camp in the Philippines, Samantha Bravencourt enjoys her quiet life working at her mother's clothing boutique in Falls Church, Virginia. When she receives an invitation to a wedding in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she looks forward to reconnecting with her college friend. Instead her life collides with Carson, a fellow teacher and the man who broke her heart, and a young Amerasian refugee named Lien who needs Samantha and Carson's help to find her mother before Lien's own wedding. When the search for Lien's mother reveals surprising secrets from the past, Samantha must reevaluate her own memories and decide whether to continue to play it safe or take a risk that could change her life.
Born amongst the humans, yet not being one, the parasouls fight to remain hidden. Using the ancient tunnels and abandoned, buried basements as their homes parasouls live in the underbelly of society in their own world, they've created a world where they don’t need to pretend they’re normal. Their gifts remind them that they’re not. When you can produce electric blue flames from your fingertips, there’s no way to deny it. Damian McNamara built and rules the world they thrive in.
Angelique is the leader of a special team whose job it is to keep the “normals” from knowing of the parasouls’ existence. Her gift is also a curse, leaving her physically unable to touch another living soul without inflicting indescribable pain upon them.
The Parasoul Acquisition Control Taskforce hunts them for what they are.
Shane is the headhunter for the taskforce. Like Angelique, he’s never been able to touch anyone due to his gift of red and orange flames that singes the flesh of others.
The moment Shane and Angelique meet, the heavens open and connect their souls forever. So what happens when Shane finds himself trapped between the only thing he’s ever desired and his job? He has no choice but to deliver the one person who owns his soul over to his bosses, the government’s taskforce? Which side is the good, the bad, and the dictators?
They’re both in for a rude awakening.
Can love conquer all when you’re supposed to hate the one soul you cannot live without? How long can they fight the urge to give in to their connection? Can two parasouls on opposite sides find common ground and forge a future?
<div align="center"><a href="http://alisbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com/" title="Ali's Bookshelf" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5tZMfsx3r0RffgLkyh6KBqUdMpD4IKXS8Fqx7j20QajfCHaF3TgQERkCoDlAJRnuyYLlGuTxS4k_FZgiQ7we_L7FoL39QyvX62hylNfkXD7IUAjDSwU5GedMRZBX4Bj5clWE8TRIsHze/s1600/button.png" alt="Ali's Bookshelf" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
