Geek Chic This Week - May 10th, 2014

Hello everyone, and welcome to a wonderful edition of Geek Chic This Week, a usually-weekly feature where I come out and talk about all the lovely bookish things I've been up to in the past week, from my book haul to what I actually read to reviews written and posts posted.

Basically I just blather on for a while and you all pretend to listen.

If you can't watch the video, here's the quick version! School is coming to an end, I'm almost finished with all AP tests and some final projects, and more books and book blogging are on the horizon! Plus! BOOKS!

My Recent Book Haul

From the Library:

-The Darkest Minds / Never Fade

 

I'M IN LOVE WITH THESE BOOKS. The writing. The plot. The characters. The premise. It's all perfect. I'm dying waiting for the next book. Go read them. Now.

Purchased:

-Rebel Belle

Another amAZING BOOK from Rachel Hawkins!! This one is not witches and warlocks and vampires, but paladins and oracles. And it's as cool as it sounds. Also: SNARK. SNARK AND CUTE HIPSTER NERD BOYS. SNARK AND CUTE HIPSTER NERD BOYS AND AMAZING HEROINES WHO KICK BUTT AND APPLY MAKEUP WITH EQUAL FINESSE. 

E-books:

-In Time

Novella for the Darkest Minds series! I'm super excited to read it. And nervous. I've heard it's heartbreaking.

-Destroy Me

Since filming this video I read Destroy Me, and wow. I understand so much more about Warner now. And I still have some concerns about him but........................oh, my poor sweet Warner. I need the next books. Now.

For review:

-Common Descent

The first books were really great, and I'm looking forward to reading this one. Plus, LOOK AT THAT COVER. WOW. 

So what are you reading this week? Get in touch with me and let me know!!

~Mag

Review: Unnatural Law by Natasha Larry

After reading Darwin's Children, I was really curious as to what was going to happen next to all those characters. Well, I finally read Unnatural Law, and now I'm REALLY looking forward to the third book!


Note: I recieved an e-copy of this book from the author for review.

Unnatural Law by Natasha Larry 

Seventeen-year-old Jaycie Lerner’s psycho-kinetic power surge is over, and her astounding powers are under control for the time being – sort of. As she struggles to maintain her humanity in the face of the awesome terror and responsibility of her abilities, she also yearns for the chance at a normal life – and a relationship with Matt Carter, the best friend she had to leave behind. But Matt’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and he’s not about to give up on his feelings for Jaycie. 

As Jaycie and her family grapple with the day-to-day routine of trying to keep their world together, Jaycie’s mother figure, Allison Young, endures a personal crisis of her own. The superhuman blonde possesses the physical equivalent of Jaycie’s awesome psychic power.
So evolved, at ninety-two she still looks twenty. But what good is extended life when everyone else around her is so fragile? With no one to share her unusual life, she’s a uniquely lonely woman yearning for the romantic love she sees all around her. But in a dream she gets her wish – and it quickly turns to a nightmare for everyone else in her life. The memory of a rose is all she can hold onto in the storm of obsession that nearly sweeps her away. 

Things quickly turn deadly for the vampires, but the Dey-Vah Guard fairies refuse to acknowledge there’s an imbalance in the nature they protect. As the danger gets ever closer to Jaycie and her family, the race is on to find answers before a secret plot can destroy them. 

------

Wow! I think I liked Unnatural Law even better than Darwin's Children. The writing is a bit better, and the characters have developed really nicely! And while the plot is a bit complicated with its twists and turns, it definitely keeps you interested and flipping pages :)


Everybody we knew in loved in Darwin's Children is back for the sequel, and they're all more kick-butt than ever! Jaycie's power surge has settled down a bit, but she's still not back to herself, and is still extremely dangerous. Haylee is changing, too--she's grown more confident, more sure of herself, and happier, though there are still parts of her scarred by her horrifying past.


Allison gets a larger role in Unnatural Law, too. See her on the cover? She's dealing with mood swings, loneliness, and anger--and she's hiding a big secret from her family and friends.


Guess who else is back? MATT! I absolutely loved him in DC and UL. He knows Jaycie's hiding something from him, and he's determined to find out WHAT, and to make her understand that he isn't giving up on her--or on THEM.  


But there's more to their lives than personal problems, though EVERYONE is dealing with them. There's danger in their supernatural world, and they need to find out what's going on. 


With old and new characters, action, romance, and humor, Unnatural Law was really enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to the next installment :)


Unnatural Law gets <*><*><*><*>


(:D)
~Mag

Teaser Tuesday: Unnatural Law by Natasha Larry

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play, and the rules are simple:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today, my teasers come from Unnatural Law, the sequel to Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry. (My review of that one is HERE) So far I'm liking this one even better than DC!!

1.
     "Mason, I need a memory wiped," John said into his phone. "Yes, please. My office. Now, at the psycho's mansion. Thank you so much." 

-Kindle Location 770

2.
     Matt picked up after one ring. "Jaycie," he breathed roughly. 

-Kindle Location 559

What are you reading this week? Leave me your TT links!!


(:D)
~Mag

Review: Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry

As soon as I heard about it, I thought Darwin's Children sounded like a really cool story--and it was!! The characters and the world were really interesting!

I received an e-copy of this book from the author for review.

Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry 

Life can get pretty complicated for any seventeen-year-old girl, but for a home-schooled telepathic black girl trying to survive in a prestigious private school in small-town Jonesborough, Tennessee, it can be maddening; especially when her telepathic father keeps eavesdropping on her thoughts! 

Jaycie Lerner's family isn't the usual mom-dad-kid setup. Jaycie's mom is MIA, but Allison, her personal live-in trainer, is more than a mom, with her own special abilities, like being able to lift cars and run incredibly fast. And Jaycie's godfather John is more than persuasive; he can literally convince anyone to do anything. 

As far as the rest of the world's concerned, Jaycie's on the outside looking in. The townsfolk love Jaycie's paediatrician father, but she doesn't fit in with "normal" kids, and she doesn't really want to. Most of her free time is spent training to keep her telekinetic and telepathic powers under control. But there's one thing she can't control; and that's her feelings, especially when her best friend Matt is nearby. If only he knew what she was truly capable of... 

Everything seems to be status quo for Jaycie until she receives a cryptic message from a stranger and meets a very unusual girl new to Jonesborough. Then all hell breaks loose! 

------

Imagine, for a second, that you're a teenage girl. (Well, maybe you actually are, but that's not the point.) Take all the drama of high school, cliques, and general crap, and add in the idea that you can read minds and know what everyone thinks of you--the good AND the bad.

Welcome to the life of Jaycie Lerner, teenage psychic. Of course, it isn't all bad--It's pretty cool to have a dad who can read minds (even if it causes privacy issues), a trainer who's pretty much indestructible, and a godfather who can get anyone to do what he says. But on the other hand, sometimes Jaycie wishes she couldn't read minds. Because then she wouldn't know that her best friend Matt has feelings for her. Like, THOSE FEELINGS. Of course, Jaycie likes him, too (LIKE THAT)--but how can she keep her secret from him when big emotions make her telekinesis act up?

Then there's the new girl in town, Haylee. She's got problems of her own, and a past that she'd like to leave back there. At first glance, she and Jaycie don't have much in common. But according to a strange woman who keeps appearing to Jaycie, she and Haylee are destined to become friends.

There were definitely a lot of things to like about this book! A psychic family isn't something you see a lot, so that makes it an interesting read by itself. There were also a lot of POV switches--almost every main character (and even some of the not-so-major characters) got some POV time, which was interesting, if a little confusing.

One thing I didn't get was that everyone at school supposedly didn't like Jaycie/thought she was weird but everyone in town loved her and her family. Maybe that's just the teenagerness talking ;) But still, I liked Jaycie's character and thought she was fun to read about.

I liked the other characters, too, especially Matt and Haylee and Allison. Each one brought something interesting to the story, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for all of them in Unnatural Law, the second book!

Altogether, Darwin's Children gets <*><*><*>

(:D)
~Mag

In My Mailbox (4/29/12)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren, and it's all about talking about what you got in your mailbox each week! 

I know there's been a lot of drama out there surrounding the Story Siren, and some people have decided not to participate in In My Mailbox because of it. But while I understand where these people are coming from, at this time I'm not going to stop participating in IMM.

I think we can all agree that plagiarism is always wrong and never okay. Beyond that, I don't want to voice any opinion on the subject, except to say that I hope people will stop drawing lines in the theoretical sand and allowing this to divide us.

I like the In My Mailbox meme, and I enjoy talking to you guys about the books we all get each week. For that reason and that reason alone I'm going to continue with the meme. I'm okay with you if you keep using it. I'm okay with you if you don't. I want to talk to you about books either way :)

Now, to get on with what's in my mailbox:

FROM THE LIBRARY
I got a good number of books from the library this week, but since I've already returned some and did a failtastic job of keeping record this week, I'll share the ones I can remember.

-Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens. This one is about a girl whose sister has autism, which was interesting to me as several of my friends' siblings and one of my cousins have autism. I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but the on the cover, you can see the face of a guardian angel in the clouds, something which I (in a failure akin to the Across the Universe and Black Heart fails) didn't notice until halfway through the book.

-Torn by Amanda Hocking. I enjoyed the first book in the series, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next!!

-Hallowed by Cynthia Hand. !!! I've been wanting to read this for a very long time (since the instant I finished Unearthly), but I'm also terrified about it because I'm afraid something's going to happen to my beloved Tucker D:

-Grave Mercy. Sounds cool! I wasn't intending to get it this week, but I saw it at the library and just picked it up ;)

And I can think of a couple more that I already returned, so no pictures of them.

-Perception by Kim Harrington. Another case of the !!!s. THIS BOOK. I already read it, and my review is HERE!

-Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton. EEEK this book this book this book. Yeah, I loved it, but it also killed me a little bit. Review is coming!!

-Deadly Little Voices by Laurie Faria Stolarz. I loooooved this book as well! I'm dying for the next book!!!



ON MY KINDLE

I received two books on my Kindle for review!

-Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry


-Unnatural Law by Natasha Larry


Big thank you to Natasha Larry for providing these books for review! I'm looking forward to reading them :)


IN MY ACTUAL MAILBOX


I didn't think I'd have anything in my actual mailbox to share, but just before I sat down to write this I was handed an envelope that made me very excited. Evidently no one checked the mail yesterday, which meant that today was the day I got--

-A ZOGAN trading card from Kilt and Keeley! (You can get one, too! Just enter the SHINE preorder giveaway HERE!)


Seriously, though, I absolutely love this thing. Thank you guys!!!

So, what's in your mailbox this week? Leave me your links! (Be they for IMM or your own variation ;D)

(:D)
~Mag