Book review: Gemina - A. Kaufman & J. Kristoff

Title: Gemina
Authors: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Publication Date: October 18th 2016 
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 660
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 2 of the Illuminae Files

Plot: Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They've totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

Reading period: January 10, 2017 - January 17, 2017 

Beat the Backlist reading challenge

Hi, I've just found this reading challenge hosted by Novel Knight and since one of my resolutions this year  is to read many of the books I have on my TBR list, I think this idea is perfect!!!

Plus there's an extra motivation in joining the Hogwarts House Cup mini challenge.

Here are some of the book I have planned to read this year:

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2017

Book Review: Ashen Winter - Mike Mullin

Title: Ashen Winer
Author: Mike Mullin
Publication Date: October 16th 2012
Publisher:  Tanglewood Press
Pages: 594
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 2 of Ashfall

Plot: It’s been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex’s relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this series. It’s also been six months of waiting for Alex’s parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they can wait no longer and must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex’s parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities. When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive. 

Reading Period: May 6, 2016 - May 12, 2016

Book Review: A Bond of Venom and Magic - Karen Tomlinson

Title:  A Bond of Venom and Magic
Author: Karen Tomlinson
Publication Date: October 14th 2016 
Publisher:  Smashwords Edition
Pages: 324
Link to Goodreads: Here

Part of a Series: Book 1 of The Goddess and The Guardians

Plot: The Wraith Lord is hunting; his prize, the key to unleashing darkness and Chaos upon the eight Kingdoms.

For Diamond Gillon the war raging in the south seems a remote danger until her home is brutally attacked. Having lost everything she holds dear, Diamond is catapulted into a terrifying new world in which legendary beasts arise, magic is condemned and half blood fae, like her, have no rights. Despite her growing feelings for her saviour, Commander Hugo Casimir, he remains a paradox – not only is he a heartless killer, he is owned by the cruel immortal fae queen; a queen who will murder her own people for magic.

As Diamond’s circumstances become ever more perilous she is drawn deeper into Hugo’s world and discovers the lengths to which he will go to save what he holds dear. Will Hugo become her friend, her protector, or – an enemy not worthy of her trust?

A Bond of Venom and Magic is a tale of two people bound by magic and secrets, but trapped in the complexities of love and betrayal. It is the beginning of an epic journey, one that will test Diamond’s resolve and determination to battle an evil that threatens not only her world but that of Eternity, the land of The Goddess and The Guardians.

Reading period:  November 18, 2016 - December 08, 2016

Book Review: Ashfall - Mike Mullin

Title: Ashfall
Author: Mike Mullin
Publication Date: October 11th 2011
Publisher:  Tanglewood Press
Pages: 476
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 1 of Ashfall

Plot: Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to search for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

Reading Period: April 08, 2016 - April 16, 2016

Book Review: Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

Title: Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publication Date: February 9th 2016
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Pages: 444
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 2 of Red Queen

Plot: If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. 

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. 

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. 

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul. 

Reading Period: March 04, 2016 - March 24, 2016