Book Review (54).

The Shiny Guys

by Doug MacLeod

Publication: 22nd February 2012 

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Pages: 261

Genre: Surreal

Age Appropriate: Middle Grade

'Wouldn't it be funny if they were real?'
'Shiny red men?'
'What if I were the sane one and everyone else was mad?'

One night, the shiny guys visit fifteen-year-old Colin Lapsley. They don't speak, but Colin can read their thoughts. They want him to pay for the terrible thing that he has done. When the shiny guys won't go away, Colin is admitted to ward 44. Ther he discovers an alien world, a powerful weapon, a gentle giant, and a girl who may be able to see what he can see.

The Shiny Guys is a dark, sometimes funny novel about how fantasy and reality can merge, especially when electricity is involved.

My Thoughts.

While this book was a quick read, I couldn't get into it and found myself reading quickly just to get it over and done with and to go onto something else.

The storyline was very different but I was too distracted by the cockroach parts to really enjoy it although I know why he saw these things  I  just got bored.

Colin is in a psychistric hospital Ward 44 after a tragedy in his family it's there we meet some interesting characters: Mango (Colin's best friend) who hugs people from behind and then has a hard time letting go, Anthea the new girl who Mango falls in love with, Val the alcoholic who's very religious and Colin's roommate the not very nice Len who keeps Colin up every night with his snoring.

One day Colin is taken to a office where he meets Dr Vendra who takes him to meet a colleague Dr Maximew who lives in a different dimension called Nestoria where it's inhabited by cockroaches which Colin finds both doctor's are after shedding their human skin, he also finds out that a group of rebel cockroaches are kidnapping humans and taking them into their dimension so they give Colin special contact lens' so that he can see the cockroaches in his own world.

Colin convinces Mango and Anthea to escape with him before the Nestorians attack and throughout the book steals and hides stuff (one of his talents) for when they breakout.

Another thing I did like was the sessions he had with his psychiatrist Dr Parkinson they were quite funny.

When it came to the end of the book I really didn't understand it at all and it left me scratching my head all confused, it's not a bad book just not a book that I really enjoyed at all.

I give this 3/5.

Thanks to Penguin Books Australia.

Feature And Follow Friday (16).

 I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What’s the most unique character name you’ve come across?

I would have to say Sirius (Black) and (Lord) Voldemort both from Harry Potter I can't see anyone ever naming their kids any of these two names.

Australian Vs. U.S.A. Book Covers.

The Alchemy of Forever (Incarnation #1)

by Avery Williams 

Australian.

American.

I think I personally prefer the Australian cover this time.

Book Review (53).

Taken by Midnight (Midnight Breed #8)

by Lara Adrian
Publication: 28th September 2010
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 370
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult
**Warning This Book May Contain Spoilers From The Previous Books In The Series**

AT THE CROSSROADS OF DEATH AND DESIRE, A WOMAN TASTES A PLEASURE NO MORTAL IS MEANT TO SURVIVE.

In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand—and control—a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal . . . and arouse.

As she recovers under Brock’s care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order’s mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and its army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of their resolve, a purely physical relationship without strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself—until a secret from Brock’s past and Jenna’s own mortality challenges their forbidden love to the ultimate trial by fire.

My Thoughts.

This series is starting to become one of my favourites but this book kind of let me down, I was excited after reading the previous book to see that Jenna was going to be the heroine in the next book I was intrigued to find out the effects she had after the Gen One inserted the piece of his DNA into the back of her neck.

I was really intrigued to find out what changes would occur with the piece of alien matter in her body but we only got glimpses and I would definately have preferred to have a final outcome as to what she was going to become or her final changes to her body.

That was really my only complaint I just wish it was resolved by the time the book was finished, I did like the relationship  between Brock and Jenna and while Jenna isn't officially a breedmate the fact that she has the Gen One's DNA inside her makes everybody believe she'll have a long lifespan and I love the fact that she developed a glyph on her body like all the Breed males have.

They decide on a no strings attached relationship but they both start to fall in love with each other but won't admit it, they both have things to deal with Jenna who feels guilty for the death of her husband and daughter and Brock for the young Breedmate he was a bodyguard too, many years ago and who he fell in love with who was kidnapped and then later found murdered.

Dragos makes his usual appearance and manages to destroy another Darkhaven and we have one issue to do with Dragos resolved, I loved that prett much all the Breed males and Breedmates were all mentioned and how it was the women who discovered something that put a spanner in the works of Dragos' plan.
I'm very excited to read the next book which happens to be Hunter's book I can't wait I really like his character and I want to know what he's thinking.
I give this 4/5.

10 Book Covers With.....

Water.

Book Review (52).

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)

by Michelle Hodkin 

Publication: February 2012

Publisher: Simon And Schuster Australia

Pages: 452

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Price: $16.99

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

My Thoughts.

What can I say that hasn't already been said about this book?

Ever since I'd read the synopsis for this book I've wanted to get my hands on it, it didn't help that the cover is so gorgeous either, or that it was so hyped up.

This book was amazing and I can't say enough good things about it, the concept was fresh and original, the characters were great and where can I get my own Noah Shaw?

Mara wakes up in hospital with no memory of being in a building that collapsed on her, she definately doesn't remember being there with her boyfriend Jude, best friend Rachel and Jude's sister Claire, she's shocked to discover that she's the sole survivor and she got out relatively unscathed except for a bruise on her face.

It is recommended that Mara makes a fresh start so her and her family move to Florida, Mara starts hallucinating and keeps seeing Jude and Claire, she loses track of time and her memory slowly comes back to her in dreams.

On her first day she meets the most gorgeous boy in the whole school, he's British and has himself quite a reputation, but Noah is hiding something and it's not till further on into the book we find out what that is.

Added to the hallucinations are deaths of people in the exact same way that Mara had seen them in her head and she starts to wonder if maybe she killed them herself as a lot of the time she doesn't know what's real or not, and her parents start to worry and even send her to a psychiatrist.

What's great about this story is that you don't know what to believe whether what you're reading is fact or fiction or just some hallucination that Mara is experiencing.

There are so many great characters in this book including Mara's brothers Daniel who always sticks up for her and Joseph, she also has a friend Jamie who I really like as well.

This book will have you guessing as to what is actually happening to Mara and how Noah ties into it, and the ending is a complete shocker and I can't wait for the next book to find out what is going to happen.

I'm definately a fan of Michelle Hodkin's and I'll be eagerly waiting for the second book in the amazing series.

A Big Thanks To Caroline @ Simon And Schuster Australia.

Feature And Follow Friday (15).

Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

I would pick reading my favourite book over and over, because you can never have too much of a good thing.