October Book Releases

So October is a day away and I´m going to list some of the books that are coming out, the ones I´m looking forward to the most.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu 

Expected publication: October 7th 2014 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers 

  Goodreads summary:

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her
nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Expected publication: October 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen

 Goodreads summary:

 Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Blue Lily , Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Expected publication: October 21st 2014 by Scholastic Press 

 

Goodreads summary :

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

 

In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

 Expected publication: October 28th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads summary: 

Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds.

They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids.

Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.

The Blood Of Olympus by Rick Riordan 

Expected publication: October 7th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion 

Goodreads summary:

 Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

These are the books I´m most looking forward in October. They are all part of a series, because you know I love book series ;) . Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan is the last book in the Heroes of Olympus series and the end for Percy Jackson. I don´t know how I feel about that because I love Percy Jackson books and I could definitely read more although on the other hand I do feel like that story has come to an end. Rick did announce a new demigod series involving Norse gods so yay for that.

Blue Lily , Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater is the third book in the Raven Cycle series about the Raven boys. I can´t wait to read that one because I need more Raven boys in my life.

In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken is the third and  it´s the final book in the Darkest Mind trilogy. I love this books, you guys don´t even know but I love it so much and I´ve waited for the third book for so long. I don´t want it to end to be honest but since it has to I really need a happy Ruby/Liam ending.

Now Talon by Julie Kagawa and The Young Elites by Marie Lu are the first books in new series of books. I don´t know that much about them but I do love Kagawa and Lu style of writing and I did love the Iron Fey series by Kagawa and The Legend trilogy by Lu so I can´t wait to start these two new series ( because I really don´t have enough of books series already)

 

Friday Reads

So this is the second ˝Friday Reads˝ on this blog. I honestly don´t know who started this but I like the idea so I thought to myself ˝Why not? ˝ . I will post Friday Reads every ( wait for it!!) Friday and here I will be talking about what I read that week and what I will be reading for the weekend. And that´s about it for the introduction so let´s start.

This week I re-read ˝Looking for Alaska˝ by John Green. Now I was re-reading this book because I picked it as the book I wanted to read for the ˝The Banned Books Week˝ . It would be an understatement to say that I love this book. I honestly don´t have enough words to describe my feelings for the book. I read it , for the first time , when I finished ˝The Fault in Our Stars  ˝which was my first John Green book. I read it in a day because the book got me hooked from he first to the last page. And yes I cried, and yes I laughed ,and yes it was amazing. 

I have to say thank you to John Green for writing such amazing books. I love his writing style. He can definitely keep you focused on the plot and on the characters, and he does it so easily. 

Now since it is the Banned Books Week and I have chosen this book to read I have a few things to say. 

How does anyone, anyone in this world feel that it is their responsibility to ban someone from reading anything? When does that person, or group of people decide they have that right? I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but you should never force that opinion on anyone else. If you don´t like reading something than don´t read it. But don´t ever assume that what you think inside your own head should be the general opinion.

Let´s continue:

 After I finished Looking for Alaska I continued with the Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas. I am almost finished with the book and let me tell you, this series is absolutely brilliant. From the whole world building that continues throughout the whole series to the characters and magic and mystery. This series has everything. What I love he most is that there is no love triangle. You know who is in love with who and , as I said a few times before, the romance in this book does not control the whole plot. It is not the center of the book. Sometimes it´s sad to read a book that has potential and has a great plot but the romance, or a love triangle takes over everything and than you lose interest in the character and in the whole freaking thing to be honest. It is refreshing to see such strong characters that don´t dwell on the question: ˝Who to love? ˝  

Throne of Glass series is simply amazing and I can´t wait to finish  Heir of Fire so I could write the review and talk about it with you guys. 

The next book I will read , probably this weekend after I finish HoF , is going to be a book that I was sent to read and review and it is ˝Arrival˝ which is the first book in the ˝From the Sky ˝ trilogy by

David McGowan.It is an alien invasion science fiction story, set in northern California.

And I love alien invasion stories so I do hope that this book meets my expectations. 

So yeah. That is all for the this ˝Friday Reads˝ here on Confessions of A Bookworm. If you took the time and actually read all of the above let me know in the comments what are you reading for the weekend.

All the books that I just talked about are available in my aStore , since I am in the Amazon affiliate program I would like to ask you to consider ordering books from my store since I get a small commission for it. 

 Amazon Store

Happy reading awesome bookworms <3

Celebrate The Freedom To Read

From September 21 to 27 we celebrate Banned Books Week. We celebrate our freedom to read and our freedom to choose what we want to read.

To be honest I didn´t know, for a very long time, that there is such a thing like the list of challenged&banned books. It is absurd that there are people who are willing to make an effort to ban someone from reading a book. 

The list of the banned&challenged books is here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10#2013

In this week I encourage everyone to read at least one of the books from the list I will be re-reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. Tell me in the comments what will you be reading this week.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

History:

Banned Books Week was founded in 1982 by prominent First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug It is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

USA event

It has been held during the last full week of September since 1982. Banned Books Week not only encourages readers to examine challenged literary works, but also promotes intellectual freedom in libraries, schools, and bookstores. Its goal is "to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society." Offering Banned Books Week kits, the ALA sells posters, buttons, and bookmarks to celebrate the event.
Many educational facilities also celebrate banned and challenged books during this week, often creating displays and programs around the awareness campaign. Additionally, various booksellers sponsor activities and events in support of Banned Books Week. Some retailers create window displays, while others go further, inviting authors of banned and challenged materials to come speak at their stores, as well as funding annual essay contests about freedom of expression. Educational facilities and booksellers also sponsor "read outs," allowing participants to read aloud passages from their favorite banned books.

International event

Amnesty International also celebrates Banned Books Week by directing attention to individuals "persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read." Its web site documents "focus cases" annually which show individuals who have been reportedly killed, incarcerated, or otherwise harassed by national authorities around the world, and urge people to "take action" to help it in partnership with its "Urgent Action Network" by contacting authorities regarding human rights violations.They also provide updates to cases from previous years, giving a history and current status of people who have been allegedly persecuted for their writings. The cases include individuals from Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, and Sri Lanka.

Reception

The event has been praised for celebrating the freedom provided by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Public events where banned and challenged books are read aloud are commonly held to celebrate the event. The international event held by Amnesty International has also been praised for reminding people about the price that some people pay for expressing controversial views.
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby noted that the overwhelming number of books on the list were books that were simply challenged (primarily by parents for violence, language, sexuality, or age-appropriateness), not actually removed.
Mitchell Muncy writing in the Wall Street Journal has alleged that the censorship being protested in the event does not exist, and that books are not banned in the United States. Camila Alire, a former president of the ALA, responded that Banned Books Week highlights "the hundreds of documented attempts to suppress access to information that take place each year across the U.S.," and that "when the library is asked to restrict access for others, that does indeed reflect an attempt at censorship."
Former ALA Councilor Jessamyn West said:

“	It also highlights the thing we know about Banned Books Week that we don't talk about much — the bulk of these books are challenged by parents for being age-inappropriate for children. While I think this is still a formidable thing for librarians to deal with, it's totally different from people trying to block a book from being sold at all.	”
	— Jessamyn West of Librarian.net

Doug Archer, librarian and past chair of the ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee, responds that such criticisms do not fairly address the threat of censorship:

“	The argument goes thusly. Most books on the annual ALA list of banned and challenged books were “only” challenged, never banned. Even if some were removed from libraries, they are still available for purchase in book stores. Therefore, censorship hasn’t really happened because the government hasn't banned the books. .... Just because libraries and librarians have been so good at defending the freedom of the public to read as they choose, means that we're being dishonest? No, it just means we're doing our job.	”
	— Doug Archer of the American Library Association

The conservative organization Focus on the Family regularly challenges Banned Books Week, claiming that books are not really banned, and that libraries' policies are anti-family. Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy, said, "The ALA has irresponsibly perpetrated the 'banned' books lie for too long...Nothing is 'banned,' but every year this organization attempts to intimidate and silence any parent, teacher or librarian who expresses concern about the age-appropriateness of sexually explicit or violent material for schoolchildren."Candi Cushman, Focus on the Family's education analyst, said that "parents have every right and responsibility to object to their kids receiving sexually explicit and pro-gay literature without their permission, especially in a school setting"; pointing out that the children's book And Tango Makes Three, about same-sex penguin parents, was one of the books at the top of ALA's most-challenged list, she criticized the event for its "promotion of homosexuality to...6- or 7-year-old [children] against their will." Focus on the Family, as well as Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), have criticized the ALA for not using the event to champion ex-gay books or books opposing same-sex marriage.

Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen-all of them-and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood-the blood of Olympus-in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

This is the last chapter for the our heroes. The last battle. Who will win? Will they all survive this last adventure?

Well you wont find out if you haven´t ordered the last book book. 

Here is a link where you can download the book from Amazon ! The last part of the Heroes of Olympus series comes out on October 7th 2014. So make sure to pre-order the book as soon as you can. 

Happy reading bookworms <3

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

 NEW RELEASE:  September 2nd 2014.

 Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love

This is the third installment of the Throne of  Glass series by the talented author Sara J. Maas . I have been waiting for this book a year or so and I am finally able to read it and find out what is going to happen next in the lives of my favorite characters.  If you haven´t read any of the books in this series you really should go and pick them up.

You can check them out in my Amazon Store:

http://astore.amazon.com/conofaboo-20

Happy reading bookworms!

Havoc´s Cry by Loren Weaver

Goodreads:

The only living Sorceress, Victoria Novak, finally earned a peaceful, normal life. But with one howl on a full moon, her whole life crashes back into paranormal chaos. The FBI show up to recruit her to the Federal Paranormal Division, the very first all paranormal police force and she can’t decline.
Tori must train a new team of special agents in paranormal etiquette in the middle of solving a crime that’s leaving ravaged bodies twisted into grotesque shapes. Caught in the middle of a werewolf fight for dominance, Tori can’t let personal emotion interfere with solving a crime. Until the crime becomes personal.
With her life spinning into chaos, the real question is how far is she willing to go to answer Havoc's
Cry.

MY THOUGHTS  :

This book had me from the first page. It is compelling and such an action packed read you won´t be able o put it down. I was a little skeptic about the book because I was in a terrible reading slump before I started it. My reading slump was caused by a lot of really badly written books.
So when I read the first page and it glued me to my seat I was so happy.  

This is the first book I have read that was written by Loren Weaver. And let me tell you one thing. This author can write. I mean she writes in such a detailed way you can see every single room and place she is describing in this book and I love that. 
Not many authors can make this kind of descriptions fun and interesting. A lot of times it ends up boring and unnecessary but not the way she writes it.

I loved the main character. Victoria Novak ( Firetop ) who is such a strong and independent character. It is hard not to love a story when you have a character like her. She is serious in one moment, and the next she is so funny and sassy. The best part is that she is a fierce and strong Sorceress, ˝The Sorceress˝ as the members of the paranormal world refer to her ( her name Victoria Novak is a taboo and no one from the paranormal world can say it out loud ) . 
Victoria was raised in a vampire coven from when she was a baby. her coven master Leroy later made her kill for him. He made her kill other vampires and she did. That is why every paranormal is afraid of her. She escaped and she tried living normal life. Away from the magic and the paranormal. She even had a best friend. His name is Trey. 
But then one day when they were going through the woods things happened and she found out that Trey is a werewolf, and a strong one at that. He didn´t realize she is a sorceress until she told him. She was afraid she is going to lose her best friend but that didn´t happen.
Since paranormal world is a part of the ˝normal˝world in this story she got a visit from the  FPD ( Federal Paranormal Division ) who was in the process of getting started. They wanted to include her in their ranks and after a while she decided she would join them. 
With the other members of FPD and Trey she has to solve a series of murders that have struck the paranormal world. 

This is all I will say about the plot because I´m trying to keep it spoiler free and it is really hard because there is so much things about this book I wan´t to tell you .

This is a book that you really wont put down until you finish it. You will get to love all the characters because they are just so amazingly written. There are so many moments in this book that you will have to stop reading because it will make you laugh. To be honest, Victoria sort of reminds me of Charlie Bradbury from the TV show ˝Supernatural˝. That is how I pictured her while I was reading the book.
So guys trust me and go pick up this book and read it. I will leave you link to the paperback version form Amazon so you can buy it right away. I am definitely getting the paperback version because this is a book that I will definitely re-read in the future.



Happy reading bookworms!