Dutton/Penguin ARC Review: Lost & Found (Brooke Davis)

Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: January 22nd 2015 

Publisher: Dutton Adult/Penguin Group

Author: Brooke Davis

Millie Bird is a seven-year-old girl who always wears red wellington boots to match her red, curly hair. But one day, Millie’s mum leaves her alone beneath the Ginormous Women’s underwear rack in a department store, and doesn’t come back.
Agatha Pantha is an eighty-two-year-old woman who hasn’t left her home since her husband died. Instead, she fills the silence by yelling at passers-by, watching loud static on TV, and maintaining a strict daily schedule. Until the day Agatha spies a little girl across the street.
Karl the Touch Typist is eighty-seven years old and once typed love letters with his fingers on to his wife’s skin. He sits in a nursing home, knowing that somehow he must find a way for life to begin again. In a moment of clarity and joy, he escapes.
Together, Millie, Agatha and Karl set out to find Millie’s mum. Along the way, they will discover that the young can be wise, that old age is not the same as death, and that breaking the rules once in a while might just be the key to a happy life. 

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Penguin 

Brooke Davis grew up in Bellbrae, Victoria, and attempted to write her first novel when she was ten years old. It was a genre-busting foray into the inner workings of a young teenage girl's mind--Anne of Green Gables meets The Baby-Sitters Club meets Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret--titled Summer Sadness. Fortunately it remains unfinished. Once she left her teenage years behind, she completed her honors degree in writing at the University of Canberra, winning the Allen & Unwin Prize for Prose Fiction, the Verendah Prose Prize, and the University Medal. Brooke recently completed her PhD in creative writng at Curtin University in Wester Australia and, while there, she was awarded the 2009 Bobbie Cullen Memorial Award for Women Writers, the 2009 AAWP Prize for Best Postgraduate Paper,and the 2011 Postgraduate Queensland Writing Prize. She loves to sell other people's books, and is sometimes allowed to do that at two very nice bookshops: one in Perth and one in Torquay. Lost & Found is her first proper novel. 

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An irresistible and heartfelt debut novel about the wisdom of the very young, the mischief of the very old, and the magic that happens along the way.

Millie Bird is a seven-year-old girl who always wears red wellington boots to match her red, curly hair. But one day, Millie’s mum leaves her alone beneath the Ginormous Women’s underwear rack in a department store, and doesn’t come back.

Agatha Pantha is an eighty-two-year-old woman who hasn’t left her home since her husband died. Instead, she fills the silence by yelling at passers-by, watching loud static on TV, and maintaining a strict daily schedule. Until the day Agatha spies a little girl across the street.

Karl the Touch Typist is eighty-seven years old and once typed love letters with his fingers on to his wife’s skin. He sits in a nursing home, knowing that somehow he must find a way for life to begin again. In a moment of clarity and joy, he escapes. 

Lost & Found is a very powerful and emotional debut novel about how life effects both the young and the old. The three main characters come together to try and help Millie find her mother. Millie's mother abandoned her at a store at the age of seven. Millie meets Karl first and as they begin their journey they come across Agatha. 

"And now, as she looks out the window from her mum and dad's bedroom, scanning the street for the police car, she locks eyes with the old lady across the road. She, too, is looking out the window from her house. She, too, Millie can tell, has lost someone. Millie doesn't know how she can tell, but she just can. I'm sorry for your loss, Millie mouths at her, slowly and deliberately, her forehead on the glass of the window. The old lady stares at her. And then pulls the curtains shut."

I love how all of the characters are so unique in their own ways and yet so similar in others. The three personalities of the main characters is what makes this book so special. Each character has their own quirkiness that is added to the story which makes this book absolutely phenomenal. 

Lost & Found is a emotional and inspiring story about friendship and discovering the things & people in life that really matter. Each character's story is touching and unique. There were moments in the story where I would laugh out loud and then turn the page and cry. Lost & Found was a perfect mix of emotions and truth. The story reflects so many perspectives on the difference between life and death as well as young and old. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a heart-felt, heart-warming story that spans the ages. 

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Dutton/Penguin for the opportunity to review this book!!**

ARC Review: The Young Elites (Marie Lu)

Kindle Edition, 336 pages
Expected publication: October 7th 2014 by Putnam Books for Young Readers

ARC Provided by Publisher in Exchange for an Honest Review

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. 

PRE-ORDER LINKS

Amazon *  Barnes & Noble * Indigo

I write young adult novels, and have a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, I was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, I was an Art Director at a video game company. Now I shuffle around at home and talk to myself a lot. :)
I graduated from the University of Southern California in '06 and currently live in LA, where I spend my time stuck on the freeways.

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"Some hate us, think us outlaws to hang at the gallows.

Some fear us, think us demons to burn at the stake. 

Some worship us, think us children of the gods. 

But all know us."

The amazing cover of this book is the first thing that caught my attention. I absolutely love the cover. The cover makes me think of power, battles, strength, and perseverance. I love survival stories and of course Hunger Games is one of my most favorite books ever, so when I saw this cover and the name then I immediately wanted to read this book. 

In this dystopian story a deadly illness spreads across the country and those who survive are called malfetto's because the townspeople believe that those who were plagued with the fever were also scarred and given special abilities which in turn made them back luck and abominations. 

Adelina Amouteru is an malfetto. The fever gave her bright silver hair, a scar that stretched all across her face, and took one of her eyes. Adelina's special abilities come from her emotions so only when she is upset or angry is she able to tap into them and use them. She can create illusions and make other people think they are real. 

Adelina is forced to run away from home and she is all alone until she remembers hearing about a group of malfetto's that live together and try to survive. Adelina sets out to find this group, whom are called The Young Elites. 

Enzo is another malfetto whom was born the Prince of the kingdom and was denounced from the throne for being a abomination and his sister took over the crown. Enzo is the leader of the Dagger Society of Young Elites. Enzo recruits and trains other malfetto's in hopes that one day they will take back the throne and bring all the other malfetto's out of hiding and into safety. 

This entire story is about Enzo and Adelina's fight to regain control and fight the Inquisition that wants to kill all malfetto's. I absolutely loved Marie Lu's previous work such as Legend and its sequel but I was not just over the moon about this one. The characters were very complex and I had a hard time connecting with them. The story itself was very confusing to me and I could not grasp the concept of what Marie was trying to portray. The first couple of chapters had some really good, exciting action scenes and then towards the middle of the book I just got lost. Don't get me wrong I still like the whole concept of The Young Elites but this one was just not for me. Fans of Young Adult and High Fantasy will possibly enjoy this and it also had a lot of political aspect intertwined within the story and I just don't love politics so that could have also been the issue with keeping my attention. 

 

**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to Putnam/Penguin for the opportunity to review this  book!!**

Review: Dark Witch (Nora Roberts)

Paperback, 368 pages

Expected publication: October 29th 2013 by Berkley Trade

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a trilogy about the land we’re drawn to, the family we learn to cherish, and the people we long to love…
With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.
Ireland.
County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.
Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.
When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.
Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. After a school career that included some time in Catholic school and the discipline of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn’t spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her "America’s favorite novelist."

http://www.noraroberts.com

Where to start…First off let me just say that Nora Roberts is one of my “must-read” authors. I literally read every book she writes and am never disappointed. Her writing style grabbed me years ago and I still love every page! She can weave tales in such a way that you just feel as though you are in the story experiencing the heartache, suspense, or drama that she is intertwining. 

I knew when I saw Dark Witch that I absolutely had to have it. I LOVE any paranormal series she writes and the Pagan Stone series is one I still recommend people read! So the synopsis of Dark Witch started off describing a young woman’s urge to move to Ireland….ok yep had me at IRELAND! I mean a good romance with some paranormal mixed in AND in Ireland? Perfect build up for an incredible story!

I began reading Dark Witch and immediately fell in love with Iona’s character. She is young, strong-willed, and knows what she wants. She ignores her parent’s plea to stay home and packs up everything to move to Ireland. She can’t explain it but she just “feels” like Ireland is where she belongs. She has cousins that her grandmother has told her about and intends to visit them. Her grandmother has always told her of mystical tales of her background and inheritance in Ireland. She always told Iona that she believed she was special and supported her decision to move to Ireland to meet her cousins who are as special as she is. 

So Iona goes to Ireland and meets up with her cousins, Conner and Branna O’Dwyer. Iona learns that she is a descendant of the dark witch, Sorcha and that her destiny is intertwined with her cousins. They are the three that destiny has chosen to finally fight the evil sorcerer, Cabhan. Cabhan has tried for centuries to steal the powers of Sorcha and her descendants and has yet to accomplish this task. 

While learning what the future holds for her, Iona begins work at a stable close to her cousin’s home. It is here that she meets Boyle McGrath and immediately feels herself drawn to him. 

Throughout the entire book you get to learn about the background of the story and the characters and get what I call “sneak peaks” into what is to come. I loved this book and thought that between the magic and Ireland it was a great addition to the Nora Roberts family. Of course there is plenty of romance but I also loved reading about Sorcha and the pain she had to go thru to protect her family and descendants. 

If you are looking for a paranormal romance then this is definitely the book for you! I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens with these three cousins and their destiny…..