Title: The Hunt
Author: Andrew Fukuda
Publication: May 8th, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Australia
Format, pages: Paperback, 304
Finished on: April 19th, 2012
My Rating:  

Against all odds, 17-year-old Gene has survived in a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. The only remaining humans, or hepers as they are known, are housed in domes on the savannah and studied at the nearby Heper Institute. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt. When Gene is selected to be one of the combatants he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow competitors whose suspicions about his true nature are growing.

Goodreads || Book Depository

If you’re not scratching your wrists or frothing from the mouth when you finish the book, if not halfway through, then there’s something wrong with you. Period. There’s no zombies. There’s no vampires. Just humans – hepers: vulnerable, near extinct, scared… civil. And the infested population that hunts them, kills them, feeds on them/cannibalises… and studies them. They’re strange and unhuman, like nothing you have ever seen or read. They perish in sunlight – who cares? At least there’s something natural to kill them with. Get ready for your mind to be slaughtered. You’re in for a thrilling ride along with Gene (a heper living among the infested and pretending to be one of them – I wouldn’t survive like he has with half my heritage being Mediterranean and of hairiness.

With his writing, Andrew Fukuda will seem like a veteran. The correct words are used at the most appropriate times and you’ll be enthralled with his imagination, both in words and vision. What I loved the most was the descriptions used: for the horror/gorey parts (e.g., decapitation, cannibalism) and those to describe the behaviours of the infested (wrist scratching, mouth frothing, drooling etc). Also all the fighting and actions scenes was great to be immersed in. I loved everything about it. It was different, unusual… and fun to picture. But I did notice A LOT of ‘;’ and ‘:’ which was fine by me.

If anything, The Hunt is The Hunger Games for boys: a male protagonist, more gore, more excitement for them. I dislike comparing anything to The Hunger Games but I’m really not comparing – I’m just saying what it is. However, I was anticipating the actual ‘Hunt’ to come earlier but it didn’t begin until the last 40 or so pages. Despite that, the anticipated was built and you’re left hanging to discover what would happen next and how Gene would get out of the predicament he is in. Yes, so you can say there is a The Hunger Games feel to it, but it’s different. Familiar yet distinctly different.

So pick up The Hunt and be immersed in Gene’s world, but just take precautions to not become an infested as occurred to me – my wrist is raw; I see bone. I should’ve written this review over two weeks ago but what can you do? Like it matter anyway – The Hunt is released today!

Hey there! Welcome to day 7 of the Storm Blog Tour!

Hope you’ve managed to stay safe and out of the path of the storm. But since you’ve been reading on the posts in the blog tour, I guess you’ve been succumbed to the beauty of the eye of the storm anyway, right? I thought so! How are you enjoying yourself? Have been riding the flooded roads on a piece of board? Or have you been sitting indoors reading Brigid Kemmerer’s fantastic debut STORM, which was released in the US on Tuesday and here in Australia this coming week, and maybe even ELEMENTAL, the short story prequel which is FREE to download from Amazon for just a limited time only? Hope you’ve been doing the latter. It just makes sense!

So for you, I was able to chat with Storm author Brigid Kemmerer about her book, bloggers, and much more! So get comfortable, grab a coffee or tea or tub of ice-cream, and enjoy!

PART 1

 

Schedule:

Monday 23rd April:  Chris/Becca/Hunter Interview – Read Me Love Me Bookmark Me
Tuesday 24th April: This or That with the Boys of Storm – Shiirleyy’s Bookshelf
Wednesday 25th April: Fantasy Casting – saz101
Thursday 26th April: Brigid Q&A: YOU ask the questions! – Eleusinian Mysteries
Friday 27th April: Keeping up with the Merrick Twins + Review Roundup – Badass Bookie
Saturday 28th April: Storm Excerpt – Forget-Me-Not
Sunday 29th April: Video chat – Book Probe
Monday 30 April:  Chris Interview – Reading Wishes
Tuesday 1st May: Guest Post by Brigid: Five Secrets of the Elemental Series – Amaterasu Reads

Giveaway Packs:

You can fill out this form for EACH of the blog posts outlined below during the tour. 9 days, 9 bloggers, 9 chances to get extra entries in to win some AMAZING prize packs!!

  

International Prize Pack 1:
Elemental (ebook) + Storm + Spark preorder 

International Prize Pack 2: 
Elemental (ebook) + Storm + Spark ARC

International Prize 3:
Copy of Storm + Spark Pre-order

Australian Prize Pack: 
Storm ARC + Spark preorder

Australia/New Zealand Prize Packs (10 winners):
1 copy of STORM + 1 STORM book jacket  + 1 SPARK book jacket
Thanks to Allen & Unwin and Brigid!!

Touch was funny like that. How one movement could choke you and kill you, but another meant nothing more than a caress and an invitation. How sex and rape were just a few motions apart.

Title: Storm, Elementals #1
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Publication: May 2012 by Allen & Unwin
Format, pages:  Paperback, 368
Finished on: April 26, 2012
My Rating:  

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

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn’t want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming . . .

Goodreads || Book Depository (US cover) || Fishpond (AUS cover)

SOMEONE PLEASE INSTILL/INFUSE/INCULCATE/INJECT CHRIS OR GABE OR NICK INTO ME – not really Michael – BECAUSE I WANT TO BE LIKE THEM.

No, seriously! Why can’t I be like them? And not just because they can wield the elements. Look at all you girls drooling all over them… Why not over me?

See my reason why? I blame Brigid. Sorry ma’am, but it’s the truth! (I just chuckled because I wrote ‘ma-am’.)

Okay… Let me calm down for a second.

*breathe* These four brothers are so not helping my self-confidence. Once again, thanks Brigid.

Let’s get down to the review.

I like magic. I like action. I like fantasy. I like the elements the Merrick brothers…

Did I really type that last one? Ahh! I’m completely surrounded by all these girls that I forget I’m on the other team. No no no no. Let me expand on that: I like the Merrick brothers because they are real – I don’t have any brothers (just two sisters) so I don’t really know how a brotherly relationship is like, but Brigid Kemmerer has given me that opportunity. When I read about these brothers I feel as though I am apart of their family, just… their brother called God that’s looking down and reading about them. Yeah… It has been said time and time again that the dynamics between the brothers is a true highlight of Storm, and well, that is one-hundred-and-ten percent correct. You can’t read through Storm without admiring and paying attention to the authenticity of the four boys – they joke, they quarrel and swear, they take care of one another. The evidence is in the pages. And Brigid has done a perfect portrayal of four parentless brothers, barely surviving, each with a different personality and element to control – and their personalities are exactly like the element they control.

And Becca, well… WHY DIDN’T YOU SHOOT? I mean, seriously! You aren’t a girl I’d fall for – I’ll just put that out there. Although Becca was meant to be this genuine and kind-spirited character with this braveness in her, I really didn’t feel it at all. I thought too much was being focused on the brothers, the end climax and *Becca, surprise!* that her character and voice was flooded with everything else that was surrounding her. I don’t know where I’m getting at here. Maybe I’ll just say, Becca wasn’t for me. I did like her, but I just didn’t think she was really genuine enough for the type of person she was meant to portray. I felt sorry for her, compassionate, but not to the point that I’d put my arms around her and caress and lull her into a sleep – she had five two boys for that.

I know I’m going to get shot for saying that… and this: I thought the ending came and went just like that. There was a great buildup – an EPIC buildup – but the ending just flew by like the wind. Nick? Was that your doing? So that Brigid can get onto writing Spark and about your twin Gabriel? So that you can pretend to be him? And take the spotlight? Hmmmph *sigh* The ending – hence why I yelled at Becca to shoot!

Besides my horribly justified points, Storm is a 2012 debut that you do NOT want to miss out. Brigid Kemmerer has written a spellbinding story that will sweep you off your feet and into the storm as the title suggests. Buckle your seat belts because you’re in for a wild ride, with a slow start and a steep finish. Now I’m off to read the prequel novella Elemental about Michael because I am tied to the ground by roots and grass until I finish it.

–> THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES. <–

Title: Black Dawn, Morganville Vampires #12
Author: Rachel Caine
Publication: April 26, 2012 by Penguin Australia (Razorbill)
Received an ARC from NetGalley
Format, pages: Paperback, 350
Finished on: April 8, 2012
My Rating:  

In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires… their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.

Lovers of Morganville, rejoice: Black Dawn takes the intrigue, romance and nail-biting suspense of the series to its highest level yet!

Goodreads || Book Depository

First thing I want to say is that this series needs to be turned into a TV series stat! I’d be happy to write the script – lately I’ve added ‘write a tv series/script’ to the list of things I want to accomplish. Morganville reminds me of Revenge just in terms of all the game-changers and twists and turns that you do not suspect. This series has evolved so much since the first book, Glass Houses, that I feel like I’ve known these characters for ages – and with twelve books as of yet, that is exactly the reason why I feel so close to them, especially Clare, Michael, Eve, and Shane. They are the glue that hold the series together.

Secondly, this book was to be the final book in the series until Rachel Caine was signed on for three more. I’m all for more Morganville books, but I would’ve loved to still have a more resolved and completed ending to this book. I wanted an epic battle between the vampires and the drudge. I wanted more intensity in that “planned” confrontation scene that will remain unsaid. I wanted closure. If you’ve read Black Dawn already and understand where I’m getting at then please don’t hesitate to agree or disagree with me on this. I felt like we could’ve gotten more from this instalment and because there were three more to come, with Bitter Blood next, that Rachel Caine held back her original plans and changed them to fit the newer ending, drudge-less. Although, I bet they’ll still be around to wreak havoc. I’m just not sure.

Long series keeps me on my feet and Morganville Vampires is one of those which I love for that very reason. I do love the character development in Black Dawn though. Scarred is what I can describe each and every one of them. And I wonder what more Rachel Caine can show us, throw at us, hold at our eyes in order to keep us reading. That’s my only worry. That the blood and surprises in Morganville will run out. But I know – I trust in Rachel Caine, and she’ll give us another three books that may as well blow every burnt down house and building in Morganville off the ground and leave nothing but vampires burning in the Texan sun.

Bitter Blood come faster! I want to know what happens next! Like now.

I haven’t done a WoW post since February, but I just had to share with you an amazing cover of a book – the third in a series – that I am eagerly waiting for since I have been captivated in this world from the very start one to two years or so ago.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine in which we showcase upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating to sink our teeth into, in which we want you to as well.

The book I’m waiting for is SHINE LIGHT by Marianne de Pierres, the third book in the Night Creatures series (formerly known as Blaze Dark).

How beautifully, amazingly, breathtakingly, brilliantly awesome is this cover? And not just this cover but the all three covers, of BURN BRIGHT’s and ANGEL ARIAS’s too.

I also cannot wait to read this book and discover the conclusion. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced bound manuscript for Angel Arias, so I hope I get to have that same opportunity once again for this wonder of a book.

These books are only available in Australia, but if you’re lucky enough to have someone from Oz send you copies (like I have for quite a few of you, my friends – and signed!) then that is awesome that you’ll be able to experience this same  beauty of Marianne de Pierres’s original and exotic and absorbing world.

SHINE LIGHT will be published September 1st, 2012 by Random House Australia <3

Add it to Goodreads here.

Just for your pleasure, here are the covers for Burn Bright and Angel Arias again.

What are you waiting on this week? Anything exciting? Any new covers you adore?

Please do share.

A Storm is coming!

Over the next week, forecasts are predicting a massive Storm front progressing steadily across the Southern blogosphere. Authorities warn of effects being felt across the globe, with multiple storm point touch downs, interviews, exclusive extras and massive prize packs. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to batten down the hatches for one epic storm event.

Whether you’re one of these lucky people who’ve already read Storm by goddess-turned-author Brigid Kemmerer, or you’re impatiently waiting, you have to know that this is one of the most exciting young adult paranormals 2012 has to offer. Over the next nine days, nine bloggers are very excited to be bringing you the Storm Blog Tour! Tune in to your feeds and favorite blogs for never before seen character interviews, a video chat, an interactive Q&A with Brigid, and an exclusive excerpt from Storm itself! If that’s not exciting enough, there are fourteen massive prize packs up for grabs, both AU/NZ and internationally! Check out tour dates below, and be sure to tune in to each stop to enter the giveaway!

I will be conducting the video chat, so comment below what you would like us to talk about – it can be about anything.

 

Schedule:

Monday 23rd April:  Chris/Becca/Hunter Interview – Read Me Love Me Bookmark Me
Tuesday 24th April: This or That with the Boys of Storm – Shiirleyy’s Bookshelf
Wednesday 25th April: Fantasy Casting – saz101
Thursday 26th April: Brigid Q&A: YOU ask the questions! – Eleusinian Mysteries
Friday 27th April: Keeping up with the Merrick Twins + Review Roundup – Badass Bookie
Saturday 28th April: Storm Excerpt – Forget-Me-Not
Sunday 29th April: Video chat – Book Probe
Monday 30 April:  Chris Interview – Reading Wishes
Tuesday 1st May: Guest Post by Brigid: Five Secrets of the Elemental Series – Amaterasu Reads

Giveaway Packs:

  

International Prize Pack 1:
Elemental (ebook) + Storm + Spark preorder 

International Prize Pack 2: 
Elemental (ebook) + Storm + Spark ARC

International Prize 3:
Copy of Storm + Spark Pre-order

Australian Prize Pack: 
Storm ARC + Spark preorder

Australia/New Zealand Prize Packs (10 winners):
1 copy of STORM + 1 STORM book jacket  + 1 SPARK book jacket
Thanks to Allen & Unwin and Brigid!!

Below is the form for entering the giveaways, but you can only do so for the scheduled posts – in other words, not for this introductory post. However, that doesn’t matter right? You have 9x the chances of entering anyway for each post on the tour.

He had the face of a floating astronaut who had lost his tether and had only one chance to grab a lifeline or forever drift away into endless black. I knew that feeling, the sense of panic that stretched time, turning seconds into years, and the deep pain that came from being hurt by not one person but many, a gang of bullies that expanded into a neighborhood and then into a community, until you questioned the whole world. 

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Publication: April 5, 2012 by Doubleday (Random House Australia)
Format, pages: Paperback, 336
Finished on: April 12, 2012
My Rating:  

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator’s grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations’ plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Goodreads || Book Depository

I’ve been hearing great things about Lissa Price’s debut Starters. Some have said that there was non-stop action/fight scenes—which I absolutely pine for—so my expectations were set high. But when I read, I didn’t see any of this “non-stop action.” All I read were a bunch of cat-and-mouse chases and running. My experience with this book may have been heavily influenced with what others have been positively saying about it. But that did not mean I didn’t enjoy Starters. The concept was a great hit! Renting out your body? Then the someone that is renting your body, plans to murder someone through it? How awesome! I was intrigued with just that. So if you like a good sci-fi/thriller/mystery book, Starters is for you.

However, in terms of the world, there are quite a bit of holes that still need to be addressed and expanded on, and hopefully we see all these holes filled up in the sequel Enders (although they would have made Starters that much better). I know there are people who can ignore and create their own ‘concrete’ you could say to fill those holes to not deter them from enjoying the book, but when it’s a sci-fi/dystopian book, the world needs to be fully developed and shown to you then just leaving you to wonder what the answer to your curiosity/question is. Even though I did look past some of these things while reading, after finishing and thinking about it, I had to bring down my rating just because of it. I would’ve loved to have known more about The Spore Wars though.

Then there came the chess pieces—I’m talking about characters or events—that were conveniently put there to keep the story going, yet made Callie’s journey unbelievable to the point that I lost interest a few times. The right person showed up at the right moment, something happened at the perfect moment—that sort of thing. And the relationship between Callie and Blake was unbelievable too. Too convenient. Even though it supported the ending, it was an “ending” that didn’t thrill me. Also character development was a cheap shot—one, regarding Callie’s sharpshooting ability. I thought Lissa tried to make her so much like Katniss. But Katniss practised her shooting everyday since her father’s death—Callie, well, didn’t. The ‘doing-something-to-save-your-sibling’ thing was also an influence as to that similarity to The Hunger Games.

Okay I’ll just say it. Starters WAS a great book despite its flaws, and I can only hope Enders improves upon them all. I’ve only been a bit critical because I really liked the book, yet after thinking about it I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t as ‘awesome’ as I initially thought.

*Also since this is a futuristic society, I’m not so sure there would be much to do with fairy-tales still making the many references to Cinderella in the book and to do with the plot a bit redundant.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

However, the books I got these past two weeks were:

Week 1
The Invisible Assassin by Jim Eldridge – for review thanks to Bloomsbury.
Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar – for review thanks to Penguin.
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King – much love to Sasha from Sash&Em.

Week 2
The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda – thanks to Simon & Schuster for the finish school (as well as for the tshirt).
Winter’s Light by M.J. Hearle – for review thanks to Pan Macmillan.
Storm by Brigid Kemmerer – for review thanks to Allen & Unwin.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s In My Mailbox.

What did you get this week?

I am extremely excited to be a part of the Show No FEAR and Go BZRK Australian & New Zealand blog tour for Michael Grant’s most recent release of Fear (which you can find my review here), the fifth book of the Gone series, and also BZRK, the first book in a new series (my review here). As some of you may know, I am a big fan of Michael Grant’s works and when Jen from Hardie Grant Egmont asked me if I would like to take part in this blog tour, I shot my hand immediately in the air and said ‘Yes!’ – more like screamed out ‘Yes!’

You can find the dates and blogs that are participating on the sidebar to the left. You can find Michael Grant’s introductory message to his ANZ fans here, and then at Read in a single sitting, Michael Grant spills the beans on dystopian influences, transmedia and The Simpsons. I hope you enjoy the rest of the blog tour and if you haven’t yet begun reading Gone and its sequels or BZRK, I want to see you grab your car keys, drive to your nearest bookstore, and purchase them.

Today, Michael Grant answers my queries as to why ‘fear’ plays a huge role in the Gone series, what were his influences for using this concept, and why wait until the fifth book to reveal what we have all been wondering since the first page of Gone.

FEAR is all about happiness.

Okay, no it’s not. It’s about fear. I hope that’s not a spoiler. Early on I hit on the idea of building each book around a single over-arching concept: GONE, HUNGER, LIES, PLAGUE. Now FEAR. The last book will be called LIGHT. It will be about fear.

No, that’s not true, either. It will be about light, truth, revelations, clarity. But before we can get to all that positive-sounding stuff we have to pass through fear. FEAR is about all the different forms that fear can take: fear of loneliness, fear of failure, fear of pain and loss. Fear of the dark both literally and metaphorically.

In FEAR I finally give up a lot of information. I tend to hold my cards close to the vest and dole out information a little at a time. Incidentally, I’m not this way at all in real life. In real life I’ll answer anyone’s question about anything as openly as I can. This sometimes leaves audiences staring, open-mouthed and wondering, “Who is this weirdo?”

But I digress.

In FEAR we finally answer the question: what is the FAYZ barrier? What happened to all the people over age 14? What happened to Mary? And why did Connie Temple keep Sam and give Caine up for adoption?

And for the first time ever we actually increase the population of the FAYZ by one. It’s not pretty, I have to warn you. Then again, birth never is, really, despite all the romantic nonsense about it. Seen up close it’s quite appalling, even under the best of circumstances. I know, I’m a father, I’ve been there in the delivery room.

But again, I digress.

Sam has two great fears, fear of the dark, and fear of being judged for everything that’s happened under his watch in the FAYZ. In FEAR he confronts both of those fears. Of course Astrid helps him a bit with that. In fact Sam experiences some simple, straightforward joy. . . for a few minutes before the fear comes down on him like a hammer.

Because it wouldn’t be a GONE novel if Sam was having fun, now would it?

Interesting, huh? To know a bit about the reasons for why things have been done. And as always, Michael Grant enjoys leaving everyone still wondering about things, with an itch still to scratch – and that’s the talk of Light, my number one most-anticipated book of 2013.

I don’t leave you here with that itch to scratch though. Jen has kindly offered me to give a copy of BZRK away on the blog. This is for Australian (& New Zealand?) residents only.