Giveaway & Blog Tour: Remnants: Season of Wonder

Author: Lisa T. Bergren

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Remnants series

Number in series: 1^st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 304

Time period: Future

Publisher and price: Blink, $15.99 (hardcover!)

My overall opinion: Lisa’s newest book did not disappoint in the least! I am again amazed by the genres that Lisa has covered with such accuracy (the 1800s west in The Homeward Trilogy, and time travel to 1500s Italy in The River ofTime series and early 1900s Europe in the Grand Tour series). Now she forges on a new time – the future! One thing I especially loved was the creative names. They’re unique, but still easy to pronounce. My favorites included Ronan, Andriana, Kapriel, and Tressa. Cool or what? This book is a page-turner. Andriana, the heroine, is fierce yet gentle and she has a special gift for feeling the emotions of others. I could identify with her remarkably well. And then Ronan…excuse me while I attempt to collect my thoughts on this amazing guy. Lisa created yet another swoon-worthy hero – I swear she has a gift for that! The whole story is mesmerizing, and I guarantee you that you won’t be forgetting it anytime soon! The locations were great, and the action was splendid. The whole book is quite unpredictable. I’m absolutely keeping this one, and I can’t wait for book 2!

Want to buy a copy? Here are the links!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1sw88q4

B&N: http://bit.ly/1eon8x9

But wait! I have a copy to give away to one lucky winner! This is a giveaway you want to enter and a book you want to read! Here, a little blurb about it:

Andriana is a Remnant, one of the gifted teens born on the seventh day during the seventy-seventh Harvest after the Great War, and destined to act as humanity’s last shield against the horrors that now plague those who remain.

After years of training in stealth and warfare, Andriana and her Knight protector, Ronan, are finally ready to answer the Call and begin the life they were designed for. But as they embark with the other Remnants on the first of their assignments, they quickly discover that the world beyond their protected Valley home is more dangerous than they imagined.

The Sons of Sheol will stop at nothing to prevent Dri and Ronan from rescuing anyone sympathetic to the Remnants’ cause. And as the Remnants attempt to battle the demonic forces, other enemies close in. Dangers intensify, but so do Dri's feelings for Ronan--the one emotion she is not meant to feel. In the midst of their mission, Andriana must find a way to master her feelings, or risk compromising everything.

I don't have time to do my normal, more elaborate, Rafflecopter giveaway. So if you're interested in winning... all you have to do this time is leave a comment and tell me: have you read any of Lisa's books before? If so, which one(s)?

If you are a follower of this blog, you get an extra entry. You can get one more extra entry for liking the blog's Facebook page HERE. Ready? Go!

Movie: X-Men: The Last Stand

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Genre: Superhero, adventure, fantasy

Series or set: X-Men

Number in series: I think it’s a conclusion. Except it’s not. But it is too. … It’s complicated.

Primary actors: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, James Marsden

Length: An hour and 3/4

Based on: the Marvel comics.

Time period: Future / present.

Rating: PG-13

Year it came out: 2006

My overall opinion: Enjoyable! I loved seeing Ian McKellen as something other than Gandalf – though he does totally amazingly wonderfully completely ace that particular row. But. He was really cool as Magneto. Even if he was a bad guy. As to everyone else…Hugh Jackman was amazing yet again. And this movie was pretty good if you like sci-fi/action types! I do. And I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

 

Zondervan Blog Tour: Captives

Author: Jill Williamson

Genre: Future, life, adventure

Series: The Safe Lands

Number in series: 1^st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5 high

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 382

Time period: Future

Publisher and price: Zondervan, $9.99 (see! You can afford it!)

Passage from book: “When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he'd find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed by enforcers, and many---including his fiancee, Jem--taken captive. Now alone, Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Land, a walled city that seems
anything but safe.”

My overall opinion: I enjoyed it even more than I’d hoped to! Previously I read Replication – that was while I was gone for the summer last year, so my blog never got a review, though GoodReads got a brief one. I didn’t love it, but was fascinated by it. But this one? Really good! I’ve read a couple of dystopian series, but this one promises to be my favorite – after all, it’s futuristic, but God is still in it! Indeed, it was very futuristic (2088) but also quite believable – yup, a little scary I’ve gotta admit. I found myself empathizing with the characters, and was quite caught up in the story!
Though I had to put the book down multiple times, and sometimes was forced to go several days without reading, I was always able and eager to pick it up again.

There were also several literature/classic references that I caught, including: Princess Bride quotes and names (what’s not to love?), Anne of Green Gables quotes (so cool!), a reference to Anna and the King of Siam (a book I’ve read). Also, and I don’t know if this was coincidence or not, the woman who redesigns the woman who are in the city is named Tyra. Anyone who’s ever watched “America’s Next Top Model” will recognize that name as belonging to Tyra Banks, host of that show. Anyway, catching references like that always makes me happy.

The only thing that bothered me much/at all about this book was the horrible punctuation throughout. However, I’m 95% sure that this will all be fixed in the final edition – I received an ARC for review. There are also some things that will be better for more mature readers -- learn a little more detail about what in this review. Overall? I’d say anyone who enjoys dystopian and futuristic fiction should definitely give this book a try! And it’s cheap enough to buy too.

**Many thanks to Zondervan for sending me an ARC copy of this book in return for my honest review. I received no other compensation. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I wasn’t required to post a positive review.**

Reached

Author: Ally Condie

Genre: Science fiction, future, fantasy

Series: Matched series

Number in series: 3^rd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 512

Time period: Future

My overall opinion: It was a good book, which I ended up deciding I liked better than Crossed but not quite as well as Matched. It was very imaginative, but also eerily believable. Intense and a page-turner for sure!

Crossed

Author: Ally Condie

Genre: Fantasy, science fiction

Series: Matched series

Number in series: 2^nd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 367

Time period: Future

My overall opinion: I didn’t like it as much as Matched, but it was still an interesting book. The cover is amazing and intriguing.

Matched

Author: Ally Condie

Genre: Science fiction

Series: Matched series

Number in series: 1^st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 369

Time period: Future

My overall opinion: An interesting book, and one that seemed to be very much in the style of Hunger Games, from the little I’ve read of it. It’s a dystopian society, and written in first person, present tense…and I didn’t even think about it until several pages in, a very good sign. It’s got a fascinating cover (that’s what drew me to read it). Matched is enthralling and impossible to put down.