Saturday, February 27, 2016

Quickie Review: And Again by Jessica Chiarella

Genres: Fiction
Format: Audiobook (Amazon | Audible)
Narrator: Corey Brill (Audible), Joy Osmanski (Audible), 
Rebekkah Ross (Audible) & Julia Whelan (Audible)
Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

In the spirit of Station Eleven and The Age of Miracles, this exciting literary debut novel imagines the consequences when four ordinary individuals are granted a chance to continue their lives in genetically perfect versions of their former bodies.

Would you live your life differently if you were given a second chance? Hannah, David, Connie, and Linda—four terminally ill patients—have been selected for the SUBlife pilot program, which will grant them brand-new, genetically perfect bodies that are exact copies of their former selves—without a single imperfection. Blemishes, scars, freckles, and wrinkles have all disappeared, their fingerprints are different, their vision is impeccable, and most importantly, their illnesses have been cured.

But the fresh start they’ve been given is anything but perfect. Without their old bodies, their new physical identities have been lost. Hannah, an artistic prodigy, has to relearn how to hold a brush; David, a Congressman, grapples with his old habits; Connie, an actress whose stunning looks are restored after a protracted illness, tries to navigate an industry obsessed with physical beauty; and Linda, who spent eight years paralyzed after a car accident, now struggles to reconnect with a family that seems to have built a new life without her. As each tries to re-enter their previous lives and relationships they are faced with the question: how much of your identity rests not just in your mind, but in your heart, your body?


I did not like this book. It was a hard read, because I felt unsympathetic toward all of the characters. Since it's basically four character studies, I don't have much to say that's not me ranting... I get that everyone has their flaws and their issues, but they all were very selfish people. I found Linda to be a pretty awful person, but Hannah was the absolute worst. The subjects with families were awful to their simpering spouses and both of the subjects with children were atrocious parents. So much so that I didn't care if they got a happy ending or not.

Basically these people got a second chance with their lives and none seemed grateful. They all spent too much time reflecting on the past, pondering about the future and doing absolutely nothing in the present. There was absolutely no character development. The worse was Connie's act in the name of fame... she didn't value herself before, and still doesn't. Good for her?

Lastly, this book pretty much exemplifies why I do not read standalones. It didn't come to conclusions about SUBlife or what it truly meant be "born again". Did they deserve a second chance? Who knows—they did absolutely ZILCH with it.

So I wonder, what was the point?


Seconds    Seconds




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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Top 5 Best Book Covers: December 2015


Top 5 Best Book Covers is monthly meme created by The Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The rules are simple: on the first Saturday of every month, post your 5 favorite books covers that are being released in the current month!


#1
THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING
Book Series:  The Time Shift Trilogy, Book #1
Author: Ryan Dalton (Twitter)
Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Retellings
Release Date: December 8, 2015

When 15-year-old twins Malcolm and Valentine Gilbert moved to a new town, they never imagined that the old house across the street could bring them so much trouble. A secret machine has reawakened inside, with the power to pierce time itself.

Meanwhile, lightning storms are breaking out all over town. They’re getting worse every week, and seem to enjoy striking kids who just want to pass science class and mind their own business. When Malcolm and Valentine discover a connection between the house and the storms, their situation goes from mysterious to crazy stupid dangerous. Someone is controlling the great machine, and their purpose is nearly complete.

In a race against time, the twins must uncover the chilling plan, the mastermind behind it, and the force that’s driving the deadly storms. They’ll hunt a powerful enemy that threatens their town’s existence, and the only clues are written in the sky.
 
The Year of Lightning (The Time Shift Trilogy #1) The Year of Lightning (The Time Shift Trilogy #1)

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Top 5 Best Book Covers: November 2015


Top 5 Best Book Covers is monthly meme created by The Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The rules are simple: on the first Saturday of every month, post your 5 favorite books covers that are being released in the current month!


#1
WINTER
Book Series:  The Lunar Chronicles, Book #4
Author: Marissa Meyer (Twitter)
Genre(s): YA, Fairytale Retold, Dystopian

Release Date: November 10, 2015

Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana.

Winter despises her stepmother, and knows Levana won’t approve of her feelings for her childhood friend–the handsome palace guard, Jacin. But Winter isn’t as weak as Levana believes her to be and she’s been undermining her stepmother’s wishes for years. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and find their happily ever afters?
 
Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4)

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Top 5 Best Book Covers: October 2015


Top 5 Best Book Covers is monthly meme created by The Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. The rules are simple: on the first Saturday of every month, post your 5 favorite books covers that are being released in the current month!


#1
A THOUSAND NIGHTS
Author: E.K. Johnston (Twitter)
Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Retellings
Release Date: October 6, 2015

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
 
A Thousand Nights A Thousand Nights

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Sunday, September 13, 2015