Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her. From Goodreads

I have heard about this book for a while and bought it back in beginning of March as it sounded like a book for me. I was not disappointed. It is an exciting fast paced book  and I never knew in which direction it would go next. I read until after 2am this morning just to finish it and one of the first things I have done today is to buy the sequel Insurgent. I have decided not to read it right away, then I have a book I really look forward to.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge (number 2)

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

It's a challenge for all those series books you started at some point and haven't finished. I know I'll start a series and read the first book, then get distracted with other books and never get back to the series. Before I know it, the series has 10 books - I get overwhelmed and don't go back to it. Now, I want to finish a couple.


Level 1 - Complete 1 series.
Level 2 - Complete 2 series.
Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

When I saw this challenge I thought I might have a couple of series I have started but not yet finished. I then started to count and there was actually quite a few. I won't mention them all here but I will go for level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

Here are some of the series:

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2 left to read)
  1: Catching Fire
  2: Mockingjay

2. The Demon Trappers Series by Jana Oliver (2 left to read)
  1: Forgiven
  2: Foretold (will be out in August 2012)

3. The Elemental Series by  Susan Leigh Noble (1 left to read)
  1: Quietus

4. Time Rovers Series by Jana Oliver (2 left to read)
  1: Virtual Evil
  2: Madman's Dance

5. The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher (10 left to read + some short stories)
  1: Death Masks
  2: Blood Rites
  3: Dead Beat
  4: Proven Guilty
  5: White Night
  6: Small Favor
  7: Turn Coat
  8: Changes
  9: Ghost Story
 10: Cold Days (looks like it is not out till 2013)

6. Chaos Walking Series by Patrick Ness (1 to read)
  1: Monsters of Men

I think this list is long enough now so I won't mention any more but I am quite confident I will finish at least 3 of these series so I will not say I have done this challenge until I have finished at least 5 of the series.

There will be a page for this challenge HERE
All posts are HERE

The Wandering Valkyr by Dan Wright

Long before the Dragonkin, the Valkyr once defended the planet Draconica from evil forces. Now they are all but extinct and Alix and Dylan are all that remain of their chapter, wandering the world and working as bounty hunters for a crime syndicate.
But when a new evil arises that threatens to destroy the world they must spring into action or else the world is doomed. One problem - the heart of the evil is a woman whom Dylan thought he lost long ago.
Follow the the brother and sister duo as they must work out a plan to stop this evil - whilst Dylan tries to save the woman he loves.
The Wandering Valkyr is a story about love, loss, redemption and the eternal bond of family as a brother and sister fight for the planet. From Goodreads

This book I won at A winter's Respite Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle over at thetruebookaddict.
I liked this book, I wish it had been longer, it was only approximately 81 pages according to Amazon. I would have like to know more about the Valkyr's background than what we were told near the end of the book. While it was a typically good versus evil fantasy story, I wasn't as drawn in as I had hoped to be.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012

Dead Running by Cami Checketts

Cassidy Christensen is running.
Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents.
Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable.
Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness.
With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she’ll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them? When secrets from her past threaten her family, Cassidy decides to stop running and fight for her future. From Goodreads









This was a very interesting and gripping book. I just couldn't put it down after I started, I kept wanting to know what was happening next. I really liked Cassidy and her relationship with her best friend and her sister in law. I found it a bit predictable which of the 2 men she preferred but liked the way that things kept popping up to make her question her decisions. I will definitely look for more books from Cami Checketts.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge 

Un Lun Dun by China miéville

What is Un Lun Dun?
It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.
When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong. From Goodreads.

Okay, this book I was kind of forced to read. My husband is a huge fan of China Miéville and his New Weird books, his favourite being Kraken. He has told me so much about these books and they just sounded way too weird for me. Then this YA book comes along and as he told me about it, I thought that it didn't sound too bad so I might try it.
No regrets. I really enjoyed it. The twist with the main characters, the dangerous giraffes and especially his play on words that is ongoing throughout the book. Not being British I am sure I missed some of the wordplay but what I did get was brilliant. By the way I adore Curdle. I still don't think I am ready for his "adult" books though.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge (number 119)

Darkhouse by Karina Halle

Enter the world of the highly-acclaimed Experiment in Terror Series by visiting...the Darkhouse:
There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty-something, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world
that both threatens her life and seduces her with a sense of importance. Her uncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems. From Goodreads

I just didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. It is not that scary and I don't like the male main character. There was just enough enough interest to pull it up to 3 Polar Bears but I am not going looking for the next books in the series.

This book qualifies for:  
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
Why Buy the Cow? Reading challenge 2012 ( this book was free on Amazon.UK the 3rd of May 2012) 

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. From Goodreads

This is a re-read, I think I must have read it shortly after it was released in 2009 so there was I lot I didn't remember. The reason I decided to read this again is that Bitterblue the third book in the series is now available and I just couldn't remember enough from this book. I enjoyed it and I like the opposites in Katsa's  world. As a graced killer she works for her uncle the king and does horrible things but on the other hand she has set up a council and through this she helps people. Prince Po convinces her that she does not have to do the king's work so she goes on a mission with him instead. I am looking forward to Bitterblue that I will read at some point this summer.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012,
Scavenger Hunt 2012 Reading Challenge

Chicken Soup for the Soul Love Stories...

Chicken Soup for the Soul Love Stories: Stories of First Dates, Soul Mates, and Everlasting Love (Chicken Soup for the Soul)

by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Peter Vegso.
An emotional journey from new love to love that lasts forever. "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies," once declared the Greek Philosopher Aristotle. Yet, no one philosophy can truly describe love. In "Chicken Soup for the Soul Love Stories", the stories are as varied as the emotion of love itself. Readers will be treated to romantic tales of: -Puppy love that grew into mature love -Unexpected meetings that evolved into whirlwind romances and eventualy into lifelong relationships. -Men and women who had given up on love until it hit them when they least expected it -Love cynics who discovered that love can be just as good (or even better) the second time around. "Chicken Soup for the Soul Love Stories" takes readers on an emotional journey with its batch of passion-filled, uplifting love stories. Readers will enjoy reading about the romance-igniting lives of couples around the world, while being reminded of the reasons their own relationships are so special and worthy of celebration and gratitude. From Goodreads

I like the Chicken Soup books and I recently bought quite a few of them so I will continue to read them. This is not the best of them but as usual there are stories that makes me cry. My favourite story was: His Trail of Love Notes by Sandra Nevarez. Her dying husband has left love notes all over the house and she kept finding them for a long time after his death. Yes, I cried all the way through it.

This book qualifies for:  
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
A-Z  Book Challenge 2012 

A-Z Book Challenge 2012

A-Z Book Challenge 2012.

Technical Stuff

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2012 until December 31st, 2012.

You can join anytime.

If you are blogger, leave the link to your actual post about this challenge.

If you are not a blogger, leave a link to where you will be keeping track of this challenge.

So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z challenge.

A - Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A - Atonement B- Black Beauty C - The Count of Monte Cristo D - Dances with Dragons etc.

OR

B - The lazy way (how I do it) : Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Hope that by the end of the year you have read one book for each letter. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

Another challenge. I know, a 1/4 of the year has passed but hopefully I will still be able to complete this challenge.  I have decided to go with option B as I will rather just read the books as I find them.

I will also add an extra challenge to the challenge! I am Danish and we have 29 letters in our alphabet. So I will add Æ - Ø - Å to my challenge. The books may both be either Danish or translation from another language to Danish.

This is going to be fun.

This is my page for this post and where my list of books can be found.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand--despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries... From Goodreads

I read this book for the 2012 Sci-Fi Challenge. As for most books in this challenge it is a book I would not have chosen if I did not take part in this challenge.Like several of the other books this has been a positive surprise. I found the idea of the soldiers not ageing much while back on earth  centuries flies by quite fascinating, and how much the accepted culture changes. From mainly heterosexual to it being illegal, to being look down upon and back to being the main sexuality again. Every time they engage the enemy they don't know how much the enemy fighting has changed as it has been decades since they last fought the enemy a few months ago. Very good read.

This book qualifies for:  
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge
2012 Sci-Fi Challenge

Northern Lights by Nora Roberts

Lunacy was Nate Burke's last chance. As a Baltimore cop, he'd watched his partner die on the street - and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepts the job as Chief of Police in this tiny, remote Alaskan town. Aside from sorting out a run-in between a couple of motor vehicles and a moose, he finds his first few weeks on the job are relatively quiet. But just as he wonders whether this has been all a big mistake, an unexpected kiss on New Year's Eve under the brilliant Northern Lights of the Alaska sky lifts his spirit and convinces him to stay just a little longer.
Meg Galloway, born and raised in Lunacy, is used to being alone. She was a young girl when her father disappeared, and she has learned to be independent, flying her small plane, living on the outskirts of town with just her huskies for company. After her New Year's kiss with the Chief of Police, she allows herself to give in to passion - while remaining determined to keep things as simple as possible. But there's something about Nate's sad eyes that gets under her skin and warms her frozen heart.
And now, things in Lunacy are heating up. Years ago, on one of the majestic mountains shadowing the town, a crime occurred that is unsolved to this day - and Nate suspects that a killer still walks the snowy streets. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface, as well as bring out the big-city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place. And his discovery will threaten the new life - and the new love - that he has finally found for himself. From Goodreads.

Yes, I liked this book but it only just sneaked up to the four Polar Bears. This is a romance mystery and I must admit I chose the book as it took place in Alaska. I have to chose some books specifically for my "Where are you reading challenge" in order to have any chance of completing it.

As soon as I started reading it I realised I had seen some of the film, luckily I had never finished the film so I didn't know the end. I liked the mystery part a lot and as always I liked it as I could not guess the killer. I also liked Nora Roberts writing style and I giggled a few times which is good.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves—creatures of dreams and nightmares—has lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything. Rachel Morgan, witch and bounty hunter with the Inderland Runner Services, is one of the best at apprehending supernatural lawbreakers throughout Cincinnati, but when it comes to following the rules, she falls desperately short. Determined to buck the system, she quits and takes off on the run with an I.S. contract on her head and is reluctantly forced to team up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner . . . and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful

businessman/crime lord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death . . . not to mention her own roommate. From Goodreads


I heard about this book a while ago, bought it in October last year and have had it in my TBR pile since. I finally got around to reading it and I am glad I did. I really enjoyed it. Rachel Morgan is an okay heroine but I absolutely love Jinx and his family. It was also a very fun read and I will definitely pick up the next books in the series.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge,
2012 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge (number 202)

April 2012 Update

I have read 16 books and 2 short stories in the month of April. Thanks to the two Read-a-Thon's I have taken part in. Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-Thon where I read 3½ books and Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, that took place over last the week and I read 6 books for this.

1. Sowing Secrets by Trisha Ashley 
2. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness 
3. The Ask and The Answer 
4. Restoration of Faith by Jim Butcher (short story) 
5. The New World by Patrick Ness  (short story) 
6. That’s Another Story: The Autobiography by Julie Walters 
7. Neuromancer by William Gibson 
8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White 
9. The Tar-aiym Krang by Alan Dean Foster 
10. Supernaturally by Kiersten White 
11. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher 
12. Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley 
13. Cursed by Jeremy C. Shipp 
14. The Howling by Gary Bradner
15. Indigo by Orphelia Keys 
16. Turner by Karl Drinkwater 
17. Ivory by Steven Merrifield 
18. The Green King by Stephanie Parker

 THIS is where all my posts from April is.

Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon Finished

Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon Wrap-up.

I accomplished my goal for this week. My goal was to read at least 6 books and 4 of those had to be from the horror genre.

I did read 6 books and 5 of them were horror books, the last was a fantasy book.

1. Cursed by Jeremy Shipp

2. The Howling by gary Brandner

3. Indigo by Ophelia Keys

4. Turner by Karl Drinkwater

5. Ivory by Steve Merrifield

6. The Green King by Stepanie Parker

It was an interesting week, reading a genre I don't usually read. Cursed and Turner impressed me and I might look at those authors again in the future. But I am not completely taken by this part of the genre I will return to the my currently favourite genres of fantasy and paranormal.

The Green King by Stephanie Parker

When her parents move from London to a country town on the edge of a massive wood, Charlotte is sad to be leaving her city friends behind. Yet she's entranced by the spectral image of a green man who seems to metamorphose before her very eyes... Slowly but surely, Charlotte finds herself being inexorably drawn into a magical world of dark and light, good and evil; a world where something mysterious, something wonderful and something terrible is happening in the woods. Together with her shadowy neighbour - a boy who has spent his life exploring the woods - and another who was inexplicably lost there as a child for a week, the three unearth a terrible secret that threatens to destroy not only the woods but also potentially our whole world; and in exposing the mystery they discover their destinies. From Goodreads.

It is basically about good versus evil but done in a very interesting way. It was a quite fast paced book and I enjoyed it very much. A cosy easy read as it should be when it is supposed to be for children 8+ but I found it very good too.

This book qualifies for: 
100 books in a year Reading Challenge 2012, 
Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge, 
2012 Ebook Challenge,
2012 Where are you reading Challenge,
Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon