Feb 28, 2017
From Our TBR Pile

Review – The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser

The Beast of Cretacea
By: Todd Strasser
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Rating:


Sometimes you don’t ever hear about the best books. Not from a friend. Not from the internet. Not from the thousand and one subscriptions that hit your inbox daily. Sometimes you just have to stumble upon them. And that’s exactly how I discovered The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser. I found this one at the library, tucked into the regular circulation stacks when I was busy wondering when exactly the first book in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater was going to be returned so I could finally begin that series. And then I saw this one, the spine a mix of color with a title that made the story sound ripe with adventure.

So I did what I always do. Picked up the book without so much as a glance at the synopsis on the inside flap and never looked back.

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Feb 18, 2017
From Our TBR Pile Graphic Novels

Review – Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse

Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse
By: Joe Benitez
Website: http://www.joebenitez.com/
Release Date: November 18, 2015
Publisher: Benitez Productions
Series: Lady Mechanika
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse by Joe Benitez is a graphic novel series I wish I had picked up sooner. Of late I’ve read multiple stories promised strong female leads which just didn’t deliver, leaving me to spiral into despair that I’d never find a good female lead ever again. Then, behold! This beautifully illustrated graphic novel fell into my lap almost on accident.

But did it quell my unyielding search for a better than average female protagonist?

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Jan 21, 2017
From Our TBR Pile New & Upcoming Releases Review Policy

Review – Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Gemina
By: Amie Kaufman; Jay Kristoff
Website: http://amiekaufman.com/ ; https://jaykristoff.com/
Release Date: October 18, 2016
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: The Illuminae Files #1
Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2016)
Rating:


There’s something to be said for having a library a block and a half away from my apartment, especially when the nearest bookstore is a half an hour away. It’s saved me on more than one occasion when I need the sequel to book I just finished.

This time was certainly no exception. Gemina by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff was just put on the shelf, the book so new that it didn’t yet have a library card sleeve in the back. (Yeah, my library still uses those, only sans the actual library card. Why? Great question.) So I picked it up, brought it home, and read all 672 pages in one sitting to the awe and disbelief of my husband.

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Jan 15, 2017
From Our TBR Pile

Review – Pawn’s Gambit: And Other Stratagems by Timothy Zahn

Pawn's Gambit: And Other Stratagems
By: Timothy Zahn
Website: https://www.facebook.com/TimothyZahn
Release Date: January 5, 2016
Publisher: Open Road
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Timothy Zahn is a name I’ve heard often when speaking with friends about books. Half a shelf at my local library is dedicated to his work. Yet, I’ve never picked up one of his books. Pawn’s Gambit: And Other Strategems is the first Timothy Zahn book I’ve read, or, at least, remember reading. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

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Jan 12, 2017
Throwback Thursday

#ThrowbackThursday Review – Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde

Heir Apparent
By: Vivian Vande Velde
Website: http://www.vivianvandevelde.com/
Release Date: October 1, 2002
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Series: Rasmussem Corporation #2
Award: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (2003), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2005), Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Grade 6-9 (2005), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2004), Sunshine State Young Readers Award for Grades 6-8 (2005), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2008)
Rating:


Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde is the story of fourteen-year-old Giannine who becomes trapped within a video game which shares the book’s title. I actually read this book when it was first released way back in 2002. I’d found it on the new release shelf in the library, brought it home, and absolutely loved it. Recently, I found a copy in a used book store and felt it was high time for a reread.

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Jan 07, 2017
From Our TBR Pile

Review – Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Sleeping Giants
By: Sylvain Neuvel
Website: http://www.neuvel.net/
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Del Rey
Series: Themis Files #1
Award: Goodreads Choice Nominee for Science Fiction (2016)
Rating:


Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel has been on my radar for some time, and I finally got my hands on a copy. As much as I wanted to read this book, I was a bit hesitant to begin, afraid it would fall short somehow. I’ve gotten myself hyped up for books before only to have my hopes and dreams dashed, and I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. But when the librarian looked at the cover, smiled, and gave it a fond little pat when i set it on the checkout desk I knew I was in safe hands. I really shouldn’t have been so afraid.

But enough about my own irrational fears. What is the book actually about?

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Dec 31, 2016
New & Upcoming Releases

Review – All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Masai

All Our Wrong Todays
By: Elan Masai
Website: http://www.elanmastai.com/
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Publisher: Dutton
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


If old movies and TV shows were to be believed the year 2000 would have us living in a veritable technological utopia. There would have been flying cars, tech made for everything from making breakfast to getting dressed, and the world would look more or less like that of the Jetsons. Only, what if they were right? What if we were supposed to have that future? Only Tom Barren, the not-quite-so-genius son of the definitely-genius Victor Barren, leading expert on time travel, made one rash decision (well, one really important rash decision along with all the other, smaller ones) and doomed that world to forever grace the pages of science fiction, never to be born.

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Dec 27, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae
By: Amie Kaufman; Jay Kristoff
Website: http://amiekaufman.com/ ; https://jaykristoff.com/
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: The Illuminae Files #1
Award: Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance (2016), Aurealis Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015), Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2015)
Rating:


Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is a sci-fi novel with unique formatting, a rogue AI, a little romance, and giant space ships. This is the story of Kady and Ezra, two teens whose day goes from a terrible morning as they end a year long romance to cataclysmic by lunch time when a rogue ship opens fire on their city. Sure, the mining colony might not be entirely legal, but wiping it off the face of the map is a pretty big overreaction. And their attackers don’t want witnesses. Crammed into three ships, the survivors struggle to outrun their adversaries, all while dealing with an outbreak of an unknown plague and a secret the higher ups are willing to kill in order to cover up.

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Dec 24, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
By: Charles Yu
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Pantheon
Award: Locus Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2011), John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2011), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Science Fiction (2010)
Rating:


How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu has won several awards, has a pretty awesome title, and an interesting premise. The main character, referred to as Charles Yu the very few times he is named, is a time machine repairman. Haunted by his past, he lives largely between time. Ten years for him is only a handful of days as far as the rest of the universe is concerned. One day, he meets a future version of himself, winds up in a time loop he must break out of, and is trying to save his father from wherever it was that he has mysteriously disappeared to.

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