New Releases ~ week of 08/28/2017

A Catered Costume Party by Isis Crawford (#13 Mystery with Recipes)

A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell (#2 A Tangled Web Mystery)
A Love to Remember by Bronwen Evans (#7 Disgraced Lords)
A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey (#3 Dog Man)
All Rights Reserved by Gregory Scott Katsoulis (#1 Word$)
Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower (#1 Amish Candy Shop Mystery)
Breakfast in Bed by Rochelle Alers (#2 Innkeepers)
Bring the Heat by G A Aiken (#9 Dragon Kin)
Can't Hardly Breathe by Gena Showalter (#4 Original Heartbreakers)
Creed by Laurann Dohner (#8 VLG Series)
Dark Embrace by Eve Silver (#6 Dark Gothic)
Death by His Grace by Kwei Quartey (#5 Darko Dawson)
Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap by Julie Anne Long (#3 Hellcat Canyon)
Dr. NEURO by Max Monroe (#3 St. Luke's Docuseries)
Escape to You by Jennifer Ryan (#1 Montana Heat)
Family Values by G M Ford (#10 Leo Waterman)
Glass Houses by Louise Penny (#13 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache)
Grave Errors by Carol J. Perry (#5 Witch City Mystery)
Hard Justice by April Hunt (#3 Alpha Security)
Harvest by Melle Amade (#3 Shifter Chronicles)
Here Comes the Bride by Hope Ramsay (#3 Chapel of Love)
I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis (#15 I Survived)
Last First Kiss by Sidney Halston (#2 Iron Clad Security)
Macrame Murder by Mollie Cox Bryan (#3 A Cora Crafts Mystery)
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller (#1 Untitled)
Maybe I Do by Nicole McLaughlin (#1 Whiskey and Weddings)
Murder Wears Mittens by Sally Goldenbaum (#1 Seaside Knitters Society)
My Angel by Alanea Alder (#9 Bewitched And Bewildered)
My Fair Lover by Nicole Jordan (#5 Legendary Lovers)
Shattered by Helen Hardt (#7 Steele Brothers Saga)
Snap Judgment by Marcia Clark (#3 Samantha Brinkman)
So I Married a Sorcerer by Kerrelyn Sparks (#2 The Embraced)
Take To The Limit by Dawn Ryder (#4 Unbroken Hero)
Texas Fierce by Janet Dailey (#4 Tylers of Texas)
The Coldest Fear by Debra Webb (#3 Shades of Death)
The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee (#2 The Thousandth Floor)
The Keep of Ages by Caragh M O'Brien (#3 Vault of Dreamers)
The Laird Takes a Bride by Lisa Berne (#2 Penhallow Dynasty)
The Monster in the Closet by Karen Rose (#19 Romantic Suspense)
The Shift of the Tide by Jeffe Kennedy (The Uncharted Realms #3)
The Time in Between by Kristen Ashley (#3 Magdalene)
Thief's Mark by Carla Neggers (#7 Sharpe & Donovan)
Three is a War by Pam Godwin (#3 Tangled Lies)
Turned Up by Erin Nicholas (#3 Taking Chances)
When the Scoundrel Sins by Anna Harrington (#2 Capturing the Carlisles)
Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates (#13 Copper Ridge)
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo (#1 DC Icons)

New Releases ~ week of 9/14/2015

A Tiger's Bride by Eve Langlais (#4 Lion's Pride)

Abandoned and Unseen by Alexandra Ivy, Carrie Ann Ryan (#2 Branded Packs)
Accelerate by Tracy Wolff (#1 Hotwired)
Clockwork Lives by Kevin J Anderson (#2 Clockwork Angels)
Come Hell or Highball by Maia Chance (#1 Discreet Retrieval Agency Mystery)
Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry (#21 William Monk)
Dark Wild Night by Christina Lauren (#3 Wild Seasons)
Devoted in Death by J. D. Robb (#41 In Death)
Dirty Talk by Megan Erickson (#2 Mechanics of Love)
Dishing the Dirt by M. C. Beaton (#26 Agatha Raisin)
Driving Heat by Richard Castle (#7 Nikki Heat)
Fatal Frenzy by Marie Force (#9 Fatal)

Hard Love by Meredith Wild (#5 Hacker)
Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni (#2 Tracy Crosswhite)
Island of Graves by Lisa McMann (#6 Unwanteds)
It Takes Two to Tackle by Jeanette Murray (#3 The Santa Fe Bobcats)
Led Astray by Kelley Armstrong
Maid of Wonder by Jennifer McGowan (#3 Maids of Honor)
One Year After by William R Forstchen (#2 After)
Patriot by Ted Bell (#9 Alexander Hawke)
Queen of Always by Sherry Ficklin (#3 Stolen Empire)
Reckonings by Cynthia Eden (#4 Battling McGuire Boys)
Secrets Of Starting Over by Liz Borino (#4 Secrets)
Sewing in Circles by Chloe Taylor (#13 Sew Zoey)

Sins of the Warrior by  Linda Poitevin (#4 Grigori Legacy)
Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans (#5 Michael Vey)
Tank by Carmen Jenner (#2 Savage Saints MC)
Teasing Her SEAL by Anne Marsh (#1 SEALs of Fantasy Island)
Temptation by Brenda Huber (#3 Chronicles of the Fallen)
The Agent's Redemption by Lisa Childs (#4 Special Agents at the Altar)
The Ciphers of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler (#2 Covenant of Muirwood)
The End Game by Catherine Coulter, J. T. Ellison (#3 Brit in the FBI)
The Fiery Trial by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan (#8 Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy)
The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne by M L Longworth (#5 Verlaque and Bonnet Mystery)
The Oncoming Storm by Christopher Nuttall (#1 Angel in the Whirlwind)
The Rule of Mirrors by Caragh M O'Brien (#2 Vault of Dreamers)
The Scam by Janet Evanovich (#4 Kate O'Hare)
The Secrets of Dargon by Ciara Knight (#2 The Shrouded Kingdoms)
Twisted Honor by Becky McGraw (#2 Deep Six Security)

Book Review ~ The Vault of Dreamers

The Vault of Dreamers

by Caragh M O'Brien
published by Roaring Brook Press
genre: YA, Dystopian, Sci-Fi

Summary (Goodreads): The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.

My Thoughts: I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. The author does a great job of sucking you in and keeping you interested right until the end. My problem is when that end came I had more questions than answers.
Forge school is Big Brother for students. Rosie and her classmates are on camera twelve hours a day. The only time they are not is the twelve hours when they are in a drugged sleep that is supposed to enhance their creativity. While we are told this is an arts school we really don't see much of it. The only time it is a focus is when Rosie is trying to make the final cuts to stay at the school.
The other thing that helps her stay is the insta-love story. This was my least favorite part. The relationship between Rosie and Linus could have been more if they weren't "in love" and kissing for the camera within a day of meeting.
What saved this and kept me reading was the mystery of what was happening at night. Rosie's adventures lead to discovery of happenings deep underneath the school grounds. I'm not sure if I found the Dean as a bad guy in the traditional sense, he was more creepy and fanatical about his medical research.
Unfortunately the ending was way too confusing for me. I wasn't sure if it had been a couple of months or a couple of years since Rosie made her big discovery and became the Dean's ward. We don't know what happened to any of the students or Linus. I could keep going about the things that weren't resolved/answered. Part of me wants to read a follow up book just to get some answers but not sure I could handle more questions.

Rating: 3.5

Book Review ~ Prized

Prized (Birthmark #2)
by Caragh M O'Brien
published by Roaring Brook press

Summary: Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone survives only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?

My Thoughts: While this was a good book, for most of it it felt like a completely different series than book one. Other than two of the characters having the same names nothing really carried over. Even the personalities of Gaia and Leon were unrecognizable for the first 3/4 of the book. Even with that, as I said above, this was still a good read.
I found the society of Sylum interesting if not a little unbelievable at times. It may be more that I had a hard getting behind a place where there are absolutely no men with any backbones. They outnumbered the women 9 to 1 yet were completely whipped. Even being in charge the women weren't much better. They put themselves up as prizes to the men for a winning a game of soccer and agree to have at least 10 children each in hopes of evening out the genders.
There is a stated love square in this book but it read more as a triangle to me. I never felt that one of the brothers was really in it. I liked the new character additions Peter and Will, the Libbies, Norris. They kept me reading even as I was trying to figure out how this book went with the first.
The promise of trying to move this society and join it up with the Enclave was enough to get me to read the third book when it comes out (Oct 2012). I'm interested to see how many make it past the gateway sickness and if the Enclave is really as open as Gaia and Leon hope, to adding to the gene pool inside the wall.

Rating 3.5

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Learn more here.

For Review
The Land of Whoo by Ryan  O'Brien (received from author)

Library
Prized (Birthmarked #2)by Caragh M. O'Brien
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

Gift
The Lady of the Rivers (The Cousins War #3) by Philippa Gregory

That's all for this week. What was in your mailbox?

Book Review ~ Birthmarked

Birthmarked (Birthmarked #1)
by Caragh M. O'Brien
published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary:
In the Enclave, your scars set you apart, and the newly born will change the future.
Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone and her mother faithfully deliver their quota of three infants every month. But when Gaia's mother is brutally taken away by the very people she serves, Gaia must question whether the Enclave deserves such loyalty. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

My Thoughts: Overall, I ended up really liking this story. It's just took too long to reach that point.
I had many unanswered or not obvious answers to how this world came to be. I spent the first half of the book trying to figure that out instead of caring about the characters. I never got a feel for how the Enclave came to be or why the people on the outside decided to stay there under those conditions if they were nomads to begin with.
Gaia was an interesting but at the same time flat character. She seemed to become stronger as the story progressed. Her story, once she's inside the wall was what kept me reading until the end. I have mixed feelings on Leon. He seemed too weak at times for a lead. Gaia got more help from others around her than she did from him. Even though he had been burned by the system he seemed more willing to follow them than do what he knew was right.
The ending did enough to make me want to read the next installment. Many questions left about Gaia. Leon, and this mysterious Dead Forest.

Rating: 3