Book Review - Now That I'm Stronger

Now That I'm Stronger
Author: Valina R. Rudolph
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult, Adult
Release Date: 13th December 2013
Publishers: Outskirts Press
No. Pages: 253
Source: Review Copy - Rudolph's Manager
Rating: 
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'I did it.'

These three words, uttered by Brianna's father, changed her life forever. Confident in her father's innocence, Brianna had been convinced that the jury had made a mistake. Instead, with her father's admission of guilt, everything she believed to be true is suddenly called in to question. Heartbroken and confused, Brianna sets out to find out the truth about her past. But what she discovers is more than she could have ever imagined. From the aunt who helped raise her to the new love in her life, it seems as though everyone in her life has a secret agenda. Shattered a little more by each revelation, Brianna finds herself alone with no one to trust.

Book Review - Etiquette & Espionage

Etiquette & Espionage

Author: Gail Carriger

Series: Finishing School #1

Genres: Paranormal, Steampunk, Fantasy | Young Adult

Release Date: 5th Febuary 2013

Publishers: Little Brown Books

No. Pages: 307

Source: Purchased

Rating: 

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Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea - and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

Book Review - Witch Finder

Witch Finder
Author: Ruth Warburton
Series: Witch Finder #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd January 2014
Publishers: Hodder Childrens
No. Pages: 374
Source: Review Copy:
Rating: 
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London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficarum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

Book Review - Impostor

Imposter
Author: Susanne Winnacker
Series: Variants #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd January 2014
Publishers: Hodder Childrens
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Hodder Childrens
Rating: 
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Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep.

Bookish Pet Peeves

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is talking about some of her Bookish Pet Peeves and what bothers her most about them. I took inspiration from The Reading Hedgehogs post about her Bookish Peeves, so do go and take a look at the original post after you've read this one.

Book Review - Unbreakable

Unbreakable
Author: Kami Garcia
Series: The Legion #1
Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 10th October 2013
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 320
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
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I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn't know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon - a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon - battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Book Review - Becoming Alpha

Becoming Alpha
Author: Aileen Erin
Series: Alpha Girl #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 17th December 2013
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
No. Pages: 267
Source: Review Copy - Ink Monster LLC
Rating: 
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Tessa McCaide has a unique talent for getting into trouble. Then again, it isn't easy for a girl with visions to ignore what she sees. Luckily Tessa and her family are leaving California and moving halfway across the country, giving her the perfect opportunity to leave her reputation as “Freaky Tessa” behind.

But Tessa doesn't realize that kissing the wrong guy in her new Texas town could land her in far more trouble than she ever imagined. Like being forced to attend St. Ailbe’s Academy, a secret boarding school for werewolves. Even if the wrong guy did accidentally turn her into one of "them" and doom her to attending the weirdest high school ever, Tessa can’t help her growing attraction to the mysterious Dastien Laurent. When vampires attack St. Alibe's and her visions pinpoint an enemy in their midst, Tessa realizes that boy drama and her newfound canine tendencies might just be the least of her problems.

Book Review - I'd Tell You I Love You..

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Gallagher Girls #1
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery | Young Adult
Release Date: 25th April 2006
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 284
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
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Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school - that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real 'pavement artist', but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission - falling in love.