Monday, April 29, 2013

Musing Monday #13: Independence (April 29th)



Musing Monday #13


Musing Monday is a weekly conversation thing hosted by Should Be Reading where you talk about one of three prompts. I also decided that I would do a cool vlog thing!! It was really fun to film (I usually prefer scripts though). 
Enjoy!

"Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren't) enjoying it."

Independence (April 29th)

In which I like growing people.....in books....


-M

What's your favorite character trait? Comment below!

Check out the Musing Monday playlist here!

Get all the latest updates on my Twitter here!
Like Alternative Kryptonite on Facebook here!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #6: Don't Look Now (PER5EF0NE #2) by Michelle Gagnon



I thought it would be cool to do a Waiting on Wednesday since I've been finding a lot of to-be-published books lately! Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly meme where you talk about a book you can't wait to have released.

 
Don't Look Now (PER5EF0NE #2) by Michelle Gagnon 
 

Noa Torsen is on the run. Having outsmarted the sinister corporation Pike & Dolan, Noa and her friend Zeke now move stealthily across the country, protecting runaways before they become test subjects for P&D's horrific experiments. Noa knows all too well what that feels like: Whatever they did to her has left her exhausted and scared.

Back in Boston, Peter anxiously follows Noa's movements from his computer, using his hacker skills to feed her the information she needs to stay alive. But he's desperate to do something more, especially when he learns what P&D has done to his ex-girlfriend Amanda.

Then, in an explosive confrontation, Noa and her team are trapped in the one place they thought was safe. It will take everything Noa and Peter have to bring down thecorporation before it gets them first. And with no one

to trust and enemies hiding at every turn, they may be
the only people alive who can.


Release Date:
August 27th, 2013
 
I really loved Don't Turn Around and I'm super excited for this next installment of the PER5EF0NE series! So excited to know what happens to Noa, Peter, and Zeke as they continue their hacking awesomeness to take down AMRF and figure out what happened to Noa. 
 
-M
 
View Don't Look Now of Goodreads!

 
 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Teaser Tuesday #1: Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB from Should Be Reading. Anyone can participate!! Just do the following:

-Grab your current read 
-Open to a random page 
-Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 


Share the title & author too so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists!

Super excited to start Teaser Tuesday with you guys. So excited to see what you are reading! Love to talk to all of you with future teasers!!!




"She judged the jump to the ground. Maybe she could push back from a branch before dropping, get some distance from the dogs before running."

--Lucy


About half done with Ashes, Ashes and a review will be out soon!

What are you reading? Leave a 
teaser below!







Monday, April 22, 2013

Musing Monday #12: Land of Enchantment (April 22nd)



Musing Monday #12


Musing Monday is a weekly conversation thing hosted by Should Be Reading where you talk about one of three prompts. I also decided that I would do a cool vlog thing!! It was really fun to film (I usually prefer scripts though). 
Enjoy!

"Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren't) enjoying it."

Cry Baby (April 22nd)


In which it's windy... (oh, and THANKS FOR WATCHING)
-M

What's your favorite genre? Comment below!

Check out the Musing Monday playlist here!
Review for Don't Turn Around here!!!




Sunday, April 21, 2013

Review: Don't Turn Around (PER5EF0NE #1) by Michelle Gagnon

Don't Turn Around (PER5EF0NE #1) by Michelle Gagnon


"Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her computer-hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.
Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa's talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation called AMRF threatens his life in no uncertain terms.
But what Noa and Peter don't realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who'd stop at nothing to silence her for good."
(via EpicReads)

Thoughts:


Type-y type-y, hack-y hack-y….

You may have seen this book in my Christmas video, and I’m happy that I finally got to the bottom of the pile. Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon is one of the best YA Science Fiction novels that I’ve read in the past few years. Gagnon’s brilliant and unique writing style combined with the less-than-perfect characters along with the plot make this novel a suspenseful, engaging, and overall great read. As a first YA novel (but not debut novel), Don’t Turn Around happily exceeded my expectations.

The story starts with Noa who wakes up in a room not knowing where she is. Throughout the book, she is always a strong character. When she finally is told what happened to her, she has a hard time coping, but then she turns it around and uses it against AMRF. Noa always dwells on the really important things, and she never backs down from a challenge or enemy. Noa doesn't blab on and on about Peter (well, and this book isn't focused on romance) and she doesn't complain about her odd body condition. Noa Torson is focused, dedicated, and wicked smart.  She impressed me with her independence, but worked with others while not trusting many people. One of my favorite characters so far this year for sure.

Peter is another main character who is almost opposite Noa (almost). He can be more cowardly and doesn't really understand the hardships that she’s gone through, coming from a privileged background. Peter is the general-guy type. Charming, funny, and smart, but he also has great character development in the novel. From leaving home to fighting and avoiding AMRF, Peter becomes more strategic and "steps up to the plate" per-say. At the beginning and throughout the book I actually didn't like him that much, but he gradually grew on me. He still retains his softness, but he becomes stronger....if that makes any sense.

I've found that a lot of books fail to empress when they're written in 3rd person, but this book was written expertly. Gagnon found a great balance between the he's & she's and the other words used. Sometimes I find books written in 3rd person incredibly annoying because of the repeating "she's" (She ran to the tree. She grabbed the closest branch and pulled herself up. She was really scared of the wolves.) or "he's". Gagnon also wrote dual (and eventually tri) POVs. This was an excellent choice because it really builds suspense in the book. You just have to read it to see how awesome it is. Speaking of the plot, it was just amazing. There was a great mix of emotionally riveting scenes and well-researched medical science ideas. Even at the end I still had questions about what happened to Noa, what will happen with AMRF, and many others. Overall, a wonderful read and I'm SO EXCITED to read the next installment!!!

4.5 out of 5 stars

-M

P.S.Worried about a possible love triangle - no...square - no...pentagon?!

View Don't Turn Around's Goodreads here.




Thursday, April 18, 2013

Cover Reveal: Stay by S. Mulholland

Stay by S. Mulholland


Synopsis:
Eighteen year old Alexandra has finally made it out of herabusive mother’s house alive, now going to St. Norbert College in the smalltown she grew up in; she wants to experience living her own life, free ofabuse, but on the night she meets Jason Roberts; her fate has somethingdifferent in mind.
Alexandra and Jason have a strong connection but the closershe gets to him, the further he shuts her out. This doesn't stop Alexandra’sheart from falling in love with Jason and she fears that he might not feel thesame way about her. Jason holds a lot of mystery and secrets that Alexandratries to figure out but on a night when they are to meet, he never shows up,leaving her to mourn the loss of his absence.
Months later, he returns to tell her he’ll never be able tobe with her the way that she wants to be with him. Hurt for the second time bythe man she loves, Alexandra decides to move on with her life with what otherstold her to be “the perfect man”, Zac Millington, but as time goes by sherealizes that things were never as they seemed…as he seemed.
If you had the opportunity to change what becomes your worstnightmare, would you take the chance to change it or pretend like thatnightmare is                       what’s meant to be?


Really great cover. I give props to the artist and Mulholland for designing this. It really works well with the story and the photo editing is subtle but the simplicity makes it beautiful. I have read the book and I can say that it has wonderful potential and I'm excited for it to come out so you guys can read it!

Links for S. Mulholland:

Facebook: Fac-E-Book

Goodreads: Good Reading

Author Bio:

I was born in Honduras but raised in Green Bay, Wisconsinfrom a very early age. I went to St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI beforejoining the U.S. Navy in 2006. After my short career in the military, I gotmarried and started having kids. I have two munchkins now J I've been a stay at home mom for a couple of years.
This past Christmas, my husband got a Nook Color as a giftand he never got to use it because it was always glued to my hands. I neverliked reading but once I picked up that Nook—I was addicted. So I've read a TONof books and it’s become my getaway. I started writing as a hobby but after Ifinished Stay, my husband encouragedme to get out there…so here I am. I love listening to music and find itinspirational and I think that it goes hand in hand with writing. 






Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wide Awake Blog Tour Stop


Wide Awake by Shelly Crane Blog Tour - April 16th: Interview, Review, & Giveaway by The Alternative Kryptonite!!




I have always loved Shelly Crane and her books. I never got the chance tho participate in one of her blog tours and now that I am, I am so excited, thankful, and happy to be working with her and Mandy from iReadIndie.

Review:

"A girl.
A coma.
A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?"


Thoughts:


FINALLY Shelly Crane becomes NY Times Bestselling Author.....

I can't say that Shelly Crane has made a novel as endearing and charming as this one. Ever. Yes, the Significance series is being made into a movie, and her other books are works of art, but this one was different. I am continually astounded by Crane's ability to capture the soul, rip it apart, and gently sow it back together, leaving you in awe of the story. Wide Awake is, in my opinion, one of her best books (maybe the best, CONSIDERING IT GOT ON THE NY TIMES BESTSELLER LIST). I can only describe Wide Awake as a brilliant quilt. Woven together near-perfectly, with dark colors and light colors. The book demonstrates these dark and dangerous emotions, along with bright, wonderful ones. With characters expertly written and a plot that takes twists and turns, this book is one of - if not - her best novel yet.

Emma Walker wakes up in a hospital to find that she had been involved in a hit-and-run and no memory of her past life. Throughout the book she has to grapple with re-discovering the old and  discovering the new Emma. As always, the emotions in the novel were wonderfully written  like you were inside her head, feeling the things she feels. But I think the thing that stands out about this book is the amount of things she has to worry about and how she handles and reacts to situations. I was surprised to find how... independent Emma was. I noticed in the Significance series, for example, conflicts arose with both Maggie and Caleb having to deal with them. In Wide Awake, she has to take a more individual approach with how to handle things, even if it wasn't the best way. I guess you could say I was a great example of the "human condition". Everything felt so real and Emma had such human reactions to everything that you couldn't help but connect with her. 

Mason brings most of the charm to this story I have to say ;-). In Wide Awake, the main love interest is most definitely not perfect in my eyes. But I think that's what makes Mason so great. He has a completely human reaction to everything that makes you connect with not just Mason or Emma or Isabella, but everyone in the novel. This brilliant novel was able to capture me from the first page because of ALL the bad, ALL the pain, but also all the happiness, the swoonyness (that is a word.....), and relationships that are formed, broken, and reformed.

Overall, I loved this book with every kink and bump. The characters were wonderfully relatable, and the plot was as well. There were so many twists and surprises that it just heightened the awesomeness. Bravo, Shelly Crane, bravo.

5 out of 5 stars

P.S. NY-FREAKING-TIMES......

Interview:

And now...the part you've all been waiting for...the wonderful SHELLY CRANE!! 
*and the crowd goes wild*

Me:Thank you so much for doing this interview for Wide Awake blog tour and The Alternative Kryptonite!!
Shelly: Very excited, thanks for having me!

Me: Ok so I'd like to start off by asking: What makes WA different from all your other books? (besides the plot line and such)
Shelly: Well, it's my first YA contemp. I have an adult one, but this one was a lot different for me. And the issues in the book are something I'd never thought would be interesting or maybe...something I wouldn't want to delve into. And sometime while writing the book, I'd dread writing a scene because I knew it was going to be particularly rough. Especially the scene with her parents. They loved her so much and I know most of the people who've read WA didn't like her parents at all, but if you stood a minute in their shoes and imagined someone with your daughter's face not remembering you or anything of her life? Yeah, those scenes were hard to write. So I guess I've written gut wrenching books and scenes before but for this book, it was more of digging deep and focusing on her life more than just the romance like I usually do in my books. Though, there's plenty of romance is this book, too.

Me: Do you have a set-in-stone writing process? If so, what is it?Shelly: I get an idea, I do NOT plot or outline, I'll be washing clothes or something one day and a scene will come to me. I'll run to write it down and then open the laptop and start an opening. I'll say to myself that I'm just going to write a couple pages and five hours later, three chapters are done. Then I stay up late, way past when my family goes to sleep, and write til 4am. And then I repeat the next day.

Me: Where do you find inspiration? Is there a certain place/event that inspired you to write WA?
Shelly: Not really. I try not to base my books off of anything else. My ideas just come out of nowhere mostly. My brain doesn't really turn off and I have about fifteen book ideas in my notebook right now that I'm dying to

Me: What inspired/caused you to start writing? 
Shelly: Boredom started my reading obsession. We traveled with my hubs job and he worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week back then. And then when I read everything in the YA section at Borders, I got the idea for Collide and figured I'd sit and write my own book since a lot of the books I'd been reading were alike. I wanted to read something different, so I sat down and started Collide, never intending anyone to read it. It was just from sheer boredom.


Me: How do you form your novels and their plot line? Lock yourself in your room, sit in a park, watch The Walking Dead?
Shelly: I can write anywhere. I sit in my brown leather club chair, put my headphones on and I'm gone.

Me: What are some habits (good or bad) that you tend to have while writing?
 Shelly: I don't take breaks when I get in the zone and hurt the next day. I don't eat that much while in the zone because I don't want to stop typing to do it. I find tons of new music for my playlists and I love that. Music is essential to writing for me. Quiet is the enemy.

Me: I do the same thing with Minecraft and reading.... Why did you choose to write YA romance/paranormal romance?
Shelly: It's what I used to read, so it was what I wanted to write. I only have one more paranormal book in the line-up, Altered (devoured #3) and then the rest of the books I have in my notebook are contemporaries.

Me: What is your biggest challenge whilst writing a book? Editing, first page, last chapter?
 Shelly: Probably the middle. To be so far from the beginning but so far from the end.

Me: Do you ever go back and read the books you've previously written? Do you ever find inspiration from those books, or do you try to stay away from them?
Shelly: If you try to stay away from them, why? No, I go back and re-read some of them a lot. Especially if a sequel is coming out. But sometimes, I just miss my characters and will go back and read a couple favorite scenes.

Me: What is your favorite food (BESIDES A DESSERT)? 
Shelly: Pasta with white sauce. Sausage, chicken, beef, doesn't matter. White sauce is my fav.

Much thanks to Shelly Crane for answering my questions!!!


YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.
Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.



Giveaway:

WIN an eBook of Wide Awake! Choose between a nook & Amazon eBook!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Links!

Visit The Alternative Kryptonite's Official Facebook page here!

Stop by and say hi to Shelly Crane here.

Follow Shelly Crane and I on Twitter:
@maggie_a_t
@AuthorShellyCrane

Visit The Alternative Kryptonite's YouTube Channel for a Musing Monday every week!

Wide Awake Links!!!!!





Monday, April 15, 2013

Musing Monday #11: Slammed (April 15th)



Musing Monday #11


Musing Monday is a weekly conversation thing hosted by Should Be Reading where you talk about one of three prompts. I also decided that I would do a cool vlog thing!! It was really fun to film (I usually prefer scripts though). 
Enjoy!

"Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren't) enjoying it."

Slammed (April 15th)


In which I am busy......
-M

What are you reading? Comment below!

Check out the Musing Monday playlist here!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Awesome Giveaway

Rafflecopter....what?

This is not actually a real giveaway, but the promise of one. It's not very hard to deduce that if I'm testing Rafflecopter there'll be a giveaway. Soon, later? You'll have to wait and see. Be sure to share it, who doesn't want these prizes??!!!

The prizes:
1) Virtual Hug from on of my dogs (your choice). No you don't get the actual dog.
2) If you're and author: A Waiting on Wednesday-type blog post (I may not have followers but I get great traffic)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


JUST KIDDING, everyone gets my love and affection. But if you enter this giveaway, I'll be able to give away EVEN MORE AWESOME PRIZES!!!
Stay tuned everyone...
-M

P.S. But seriously.
























Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday #5: Stay by S. Mulholland






I thought it would be cool to do a Waiting on Wednesday since I've been finding a lot of to-be-published books lately! Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly meme where you talk about a book you can't wait to have released.


Stay by S. Mulholland

Eighteen year old Alexandra has finally made it out of her abusive mother’s house alive, now going to St. Norbert College in the small town she grew up in; she wants to experience living her own life, free of abuse, but on the night she meets Jason Roberts; her fate has something different in mind.

Alexandra and Jason have a strong connection but the closer she gets to him, the further he shuts her out. This doesn’t stop Alexandra’s heart from falling in love with Jason and she fears that he might not feel the same way about her. Jason holds a lot of mystery and secrets that Alexandra tries to figure out but on a night when they are to meet, he never shows up, leaving her to mourn the loss of his absence.

Months later, he returns to tell her he’ll never be able to be with her the way that she wants to be with him. 
Hurt for the second time by the man she loves, Alexandra 
decides to move on with her life with what others told her to be 
“the perfect man”, Zac Millington, but as time goes by she 
realizes that things were never as they seemed…as he seemed.                                                                       

If you had the opportunity to change what becomes your worst                       
 
nightmare, would you take the chance to change it or pretend                                     
like that nightmare is what’s meant to be?

Release Date:
TBD

I found this author on Facebook and am really looking forward to reading this book. The plot seems unique (having the character already away from the abusive family) and could be really promising as the main character tackles the "after-effects" of that situation. The book doesn't have a cover so I just made one! LOL

-M

P.S. Go like S. Mulholland's Facebook page, she almost has 50 likes!!!


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Musing Monday #10: Cry Baby (April 9th)


Musing Monday #10


Musing Monday is a weekly conversation thing hosted by Should Be Reading where you talk about one of three prompts. I also decided that I would do a cool vlog thing!! It was really fun to film (I usually prefer scripts though). 
Enjoy!


"Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren't) enjoying it."

Cry Baby (April 9th)

In which I hate on cry babies in books...

-M

What is a characteristic pet-peeve of yours? Comment below!

Check out the Musing Monday playlist here!