Mailbox Wednesday.

Wednesday's Mailbox.
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week   

Brought...

My Heart Be Damned (Damned #1) Chanelle Gray

Redemption (Hearts Of Stone #1) - Veronique Launier

How To Drive A Dragon Crazy (Dragon Kin #6) - G. A. Aiken

Charming Blue (Fates #8) - Kristine Grayson

Sentinels: Tiger Bound - Doranna Durgin

Waiting On Wednesday.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....
Pretty Dark Nothing by Heather L Reid

Seventeen-year-old Quinn hadn’t slept a full night in twenty-three days. She’s terrified of the demons that stalk her dreams, pull her into a deep dark nothingness and whisper hauntingly of her death. Exhausted, Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, and Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. If Quinn can learn to trust her heart, and Aaron can discover the secret locked away in his fragile memory, their combined power could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.

Expected publication: April 2013 by Month9Books

Nobody

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away. 

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them.

Expected publication: January 22nd 2013 by EgmontUSA

This Is What Happy Looks Like

by Jennifer E. Smith 

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

In This is What Happy Looks Like, Jennifer E. Smith's new YA novel, perfect strangers Graham Larkin and Ellie O'Neill meet—albeit virtually—when Graham accidentally sends Ellie an email about his pet pig, Wilbur. In the tradition of romantic movies like "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle," the two 17-year-olds strike up an email relationship, even though they live on opposite sides of the country and don't even know each other's first names.

Through a series of funny and poignant messages, Graham and Ellie make a true connection, sharing intimate details about their lives, hopes and fears. But they don't tell each other everything; Graham doesn't know the major secret hidden in Ellie's family tree, and Ellie is innocently unaware that Graham is actually a world-famous teen actor living in Los Angeles.

When the location for the shoot of Graham's new film falls through, he sees an opportunity to take their relationship from online to in-person, managing to get the production relocated to picturesque Henley, Maine, where Ellie lives. But can a star as famous as Graham have a real relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie's mom want her to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

Expected publication: April 2nd 2013 by Poppy

Mailbox Tuesday.

Tuesday's Mailbox.
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week      

Brought...

Anything But Ordinary - Lara Avery

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) Sarah Rees Brennan

Flesh & Bone (Benny Imura #3) - Jonathan Maberry

Vessel - Sarah Beth Durst

Hidden (Firelight #3) - Sophie Jordan

Book Review (141): Fearless - Brigid Kemmerer

Fearless (Elemental #1.5)

by Brigid Kemmerer

Publication: 31st July 2012

Publisher: K Teen

Pages: 44

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Being a force of nature doesn’t keep you safe.

Hunter Garrity is used to watching his back. The kids at school sense something different about him. And they’re right.

Hunter has powers that have nothing to do with how hard he can throw a punch.

Maybe that’s what Clare Kasten is picking up. She’s shy, quiet, and intense, but she’s sought him out. There’s no telling what she wants from him.

But Hunter knows enough to sense a secret when it’s close. And getting close to Clare is a danger he’s ready to face…

My Thoughts...

I really liked Hunter's character in the first book Storm, and I was intrigued when I discovered that this novella was about his life before the events that took place in Storm.

This story explains the time leading up to the incident that occured with his father and uncle, and his time at his previous school when he was a victim of bullies.

Hunter was very naive and nothing like the teenager that he is now, having Clare suddenly befriend him, he doesn't think that she might have a motive, he's just happy that a girl is finally talking to him.

But in unknowingly teaching her something little does he know that it's about to backfire, and what he thought he was showing her out of friendship she was just using the information to help herself and in doing so will make Hunter do something that he never thought he would.

I did really like this story although I wasn't particularly a big fan of his Dad's, but there was a lot of action packed into such a short amount of pages.

But there was something ultimately missing and I can sum it up in two words 'MERRICK BROTHERS', yes that's why I love this series they just add a little something which I felt was missing in Hunter's story.

Still a great read and a really good addition to the Elemental series, this is fast turning out to be one of my favourite series,

I give this 4/5.

Mailbox Monday.

Monday's Mailbox.
I've decided that I will stop participating in In My Mailbox, the reason being I seem to get a lot of books every week and it takes me forever to put them all together in one post and link them up.
So I will be doing Mailbox Mon-Fri every week     

For the first time in a very long time I didn't receive anything in my mailbox today.
Fingers crossed there'll be some tomorrow!

Book Review (140): Storm - Brigid Kemmerer

Storm (Elemental #1)

by Brigid Kemmerer

Publication: 1st May 2012
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia
Pages: 368
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Earth. Fire. Air. Water.

When Becca Chandler saves Chris Merrick from being beaten-up in the school car park, she has no idea how dramatically this one action will change her life. Chris is no ordinary guy and neither are his three older brothers. The Merrick boys are Elementals. Hot. Powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

Then there's Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time. With her life at stake, Becca doesn't know who to trust or whose secrets she should keep. and with two boy vying for her affections, and pressure rising all around her, will she find out in time who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all?

Take Cover.
The storm is coming!

My Thoughts...

OMG! I cannot believe how good this series is, I didn't want to put this book down, unfortunately things like sleep and work got in the way.

I was extremely excited about this series after reading novella #0.5 featuring Michael and I was dying to know what happened after that ending, and I was on tenterhooks until it was addressed in this book and I just felt so bad for Michael, can he get a proper book soon? Please?.

Well it's five years since the end of Michael's novella, he is left looking after his three younger brothers Gabriel, Nick(identical twins) and the youngest Chris after the death of their parents.

Becca is just leaving school after staying late to take part in a self-defence course and sees two boys beating up another who's lying on the ground unconsciou,s after chasing them off she takes him home to his brothers, Michael especially makes her feel less than welcome, because you see they all have a secret they each represent an Element, Michael(earth), Gabriel(fire), Nick(air) and Chris(water), being pure Elementals makes them stronger than most which leaves their lives in danger pretty much most of the time, from people with lesser  Elemental powers and the Guides, people with all Elements including spirit who are sent to dispatch those with too much power, and the Merrick brothers have been  watched very closely for a very long time.

Becca keeps getting drawn in to the Merrick's lives through no fault of her own, she starts a relationship with Hunter a new boy in school who seems to have a secret of his own, but she's also attracted to Chris, but they constantly get their wires crossed in regards to each other.

Finally a Guide is sent and the identity of this person is a shocker, I never in a million years would have guessed who it was.

A fantastic story, great characters and a series that I hope will continue on for some time.

Favourite Quotes...

'How do you know they'll explode?' he whispered. 'You kidding? Nick and I blow stuff up all the time.' 'You've never gotten caught?' 'Nah.' His brother seemed to reconsider. 'Okay once, but we ran.'

'Look Chris.' She dropped onto the bench again and gripped the edge of the table. 'I'm not going to sleep with you,' she whispered fiercely, feeling her cheeks flush. 'I'm not going to mess around with you under the bleachers. I don't give hand job in the men's room, or-' 'Wow. You like to get this out of the way up front, huh?'

She glanced between him and Gabriel. 'You do his homework?' 'Just the math. It's a miracle he can count to ten.' 'I can count to one.' Gabriel gave him the finger.

I give this a huge 5/5.

A Big Thanks To Allen & Unwin Australia.

Book Review (139). Elemental - Brigid Kemmerer

Elemental (Elemental #0.5)

by Brigid Kemmerer 

Publication: 27th March 2012

Publisher: K Teen

Pages: 50

Genre: Fantasy/ Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they are more than you dream.

As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do.

Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family.

But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him.

They want him dead.

My Thoughts...

I have heard nothing but good things about this series, and after having only read this novella I can already tell that this is going to be a favourite series of mine!

I loved the concept and the storyline, and even though this was a very short fifty page read it was filled with action and adventure and a touch of romance.

This novella is set five years before Storm, Michael Merrick is an earth elemental, he can use the power of the earth , unfortunately for him in the community that he lives in people with an elemental as powerful as he has are watched carefully to make sure that he doesn't use his powers, he is also threatened and does not associate with anybody who isn't related, he has three brothers whom are sure to come into their own elemental powers.

Emily has just gotten herself a summer job at a sports complex, being summer hardly anyone comes in until the day Michael walks in and sparks fly especially when she tries to hit him with a putter, but it's complicated being as her brother Tyler is the instigator in the fights between him and Michael and nobody ever believes the truth that Michael is innocent and is just trying to protect himself.

But matters escalate when Emily who has been forbidden to have anything to do with Michael saves him from being beaten up her brother and his friends and jumps into his truck and leaves with him, only to be found later on by them, but will they get away?

As soon as I finish this I'm going right on with reading Storm and I can't wait, Brigid Kemmerer is a fantastic author with one of the most intriguing series that I've read in a while.

I give this a huge 5/5.