Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

Title: The Rules

Series: Project Paper Doll #1

Author: Stacey Kade

Publishing Date: April 23, 2013

Rating: 4 Stars

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

***

My Thoughts

So this book turned out to not be quite what I was expecting, but in this case it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book at all.

The blurb makes you think of this huge conspiracy about aliens, hybrids and government 'projects' but it turns out the book wasn't really about that. It had a much heavier focus on Ariane's growth and coming of age than the actual alien part. It was all mostly about that cruel prank at school, which does lead into the alien bit, but it takes a huge part of the focus. How big? Like 75% big, that's when the real action started going on. 

Even with all that said, it was all done so well that you don't actually mind at all that it's taking that long to get to that part. I was enjoying getting to know Ariane and watching her learn what real friends are and exploring her feelings for Zane, not to mention watching Zane finally take the control of his own life and start making his own decisions. 

What was so fun about the whole high school part was the planing and manipulation that Ariane, Zane and Rachel put into it. They were all trying to one up each other. It was like a chess match, planning each move and their outcomes by figuring out how their 'enemy' would respond. It was great. Best high school revenge ever orchestrated (that I have read).

When they finally get down to business  it didn't disappoint at all either. There were a couple of twists I actually didn't see coming and had me going *Gasp!* No....

Loved every second of this book and I hope we get to see a more prominent show of the people behind the Paper Doll Project.

Cover Reveal: The Return by Nicole R. Taylor

The Return (the Witch Hunter Saga Book Two)

by Nicole R. Taylor

Release Date: June 18, 2013

Genre: New Adult / Adult Urban Fantasy / Paranormal

Cover Reveal Organized by: Xpresso Book Tours

Cover Designed by: Mae I Design

I've wandered my afterlife believing that I was the monster my maker told me I was. It was the only thing I knew. Not even my brother, Sam, could convince me otherwise.

Not until her. Not until Aya. She walked into my life like a hurricane of destruction and nothing would ever be the same again. None of us could have known what would happen next. What fate had in store...

I finally grew a heart, only to have it ripped out.

Now, I will stop at nothing for revenge.

Zac's afterlife is just going from bad to worse. He grew a heart only to have it torn out by the founding vampire, Arturius.

Nobody is sure what he wants, but Zac doesn't want to know. He's more interested in finding a way to end him for good. But, it might just be that he's after Gabby, who's harbouring a secret of her own, one that Arturius would do anything for.

Aya's past will come back to haunt Zac in ways he never thought possible and what he finds out will alter everything he ever knew about her. He will uncover a deadly secret that should have remained buried. A secret Aya has fought to keep for thousands of years. One she has killed for.

In the end, who's secrets will betray them to the one man who wants them all dead? Aya's or Zac's?

They'll need to figure it out sooner rather than later, because death is not an option.

 

***

About the Author 

Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian born paranormal, fantasy and contemporary fiction author. She is a graduate of the University of Ballarat Professional Writing and Editing programme and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser.

She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!),  traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first.

The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is available in e-edition and print from March 20th 2013

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

*That cover is so awesome! And I'm totally crushing on the guy in the cover!What do you guys think?*

Releases of the Week #21

Here are the releases for the week of April 22 - April 28, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Unraveling Sundays

I'll be posting about what happened last week and what you might expect this week and anything else that has caught my attention. I'm linking up to the Sunday Post, a meme by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

What happened last week on Unraveling Words...

Reviewed

• Hell's Hollow by Summer Stone - 2.75 Stars - Nice concept.
• Fractured (Slated #2) by Teri Terry - 3.5 Stars - Want more already!

Memes

• Releases of the Week #20
• Feature & Follow #13

Featured Posts

• Cover Reveal of The Bane Chronicles #1 by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan
• Book Tour + Giveaway of 24 Bones by Michael F. Stewart
• Book Spotlight + Giveaway of The Morning Star by Tania Penn
• Title Reveal of Divergent #3!

What you can expect this week...

Reviews:

• The Rules by Stacey Kade
• Night Hawk by J.E. Taylor as part of a book tour
• Feudlings by Wendy Knight

Memes

• Releases of the Week #21
• Feature & Follow #14

Featured Posts

• Cover Reveal for The Return by Nicole R. Taylor
• Book Tour: Night Hawk by J.E. Taylor
• Book Blitz for Awakened by Kriston Johnson

Ramblings:

Busy weeks ahead for me again. These exams are killing me! Hopefully I won't neglect the blog too much these next 2 weeks. Anyone else excited for Game of Thrones tonight?! 

*Don't forget to check out the giveaways!*

Review: Fractured by Teri Terry

Title: Fractured

Series: Slated Trilogy Book Two

Author: Teri Terry

Publication Date: April 4, 2013
Rating: 3.5 Stars

How do you know where to go when you don't remember where you came from?

Kyla's memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

Or so she thought.

Kyla shouldn't be able to remember anything. But she can - and she's beginning to realise that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life, she thinks she's on her way to finding the truth. But the more she learns about her history, the more confusing her future becomes...

Set in a disturbing future world, FRACTURED is an engrossing, fast-paced read that establishes Teri Terry as a master thriller writer.

 

***

My Thoughts

I have been debating a lot what to rate this. There were just so many things going on with this book, it was really hard to pin down.

The first 60% or so of the book was beyond frustrating for me. We get introduced to Nico finally, Free UK, 2 completely new important characters and some other ones. There was a lot to process with this book. Even though Kyla has started to get most of her memories back, she still doesn't know the full story, and that was the frustrating part. There were a lot of dream-flashbacks going on and little tiny pieces here and there of the puzzle but it still didn't make any sense. It only started to come together after the 60% mark. In my opinion it was dragged out just a little too long.

Even though I understood the reasoning behind the why the Slating worked for Kyla, it was still a little hard to buy, and yet at the same time it's unnerving to read about how this girl can switch back and forth between personalities and there is still another whole 3rd one that she doesn't even know that much about.

Both of her personalities frustrated me for different reasons. There is a lot she doesn't know and she isn't supposed to be trusting any one and yet she isn't suspicious at all about the new guy who moved in right across from her house. I would have found it a little odd. Even Rain did, but Kyla kept ignoring that part of herself during critical points of the story. Then there is Rain herself and her obsession with Nico. I kept thinking of it as a Stockholm Syndrome, it really wasn't healthy at all. But not only do we have to deal with Rain's obsession of Nico, we have to deal with Kyla's obsession with Ben. I never liked Ben. He came across as weak, gullible and whiny. So reading about her thinking about Ben almost every other page was so annoying, specially when she has a perfectly great guy right there! One who is so much better than Ben ever was. This would have been one of those rare times were I would have gladly accepted the love triangle, but for once I didn't get it. (view spoiler)

Plot wise it didn't really get going till the 60% mark when things really started to come together, and all of a sudden there so much stuff going on and so many things start making more sense and yet somehow still not enough. Kyla finally starts coming to grips with who she wants to be now instead of all the selfs that she was.  She starts making decisions for herself and not what others think she should do. That final showdown was one hell of a shock and that's when everything really started clicking together. 

I loved how everything started coming together at the end. Those are really the best parts of a book, especially when it's done well, which in this case it was. The ending gave you enough to get an adequate grasp on what's going on but still left you with plenty of unanswered questions to expect a couple of surprises in the final installment of this trilogy. One that I will be looking forward to. If you were remotely interested in Slated, you won't want to miss this one.

***

Other books in the series:

1. Slated (May 3, 2012)
2. Fractured
3. Untitled (Spring 2014)

Feature & Follow #13

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Follow by RSS or Bloglovin' is preferred :)

Q: If you could hang out with any author (living) who would it be and what would you want to do?

Thought about this one for sometime and a couple of names finally came up. Alison Goodman, loved the Eona books. Kresely Cole, IAD series, need I say more? and my pick for this question, Michelle Hodkin, author of the Mara Dyer Trilogy. I'd sit down with her in a park somewhere drinking a cup frappuccino and talk about how she managed to evoke such suspense and thrill from pages and we would of course have to gush over Noah, because he is just that amazing xD

Which author would you pick?

Divergent #3 has a Title!

For all of you Divergent fans out there, Veronica Roth has announced the title for the last book in her trilogy Divergent! And that title is!

Title: Allegiant

Series: Divergent Trilogy Book 3

Author: Veronica Roth

Publication Date: October 22, 2013

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

***

Other books in the series:

1. Divergent (May 3, 2011)
2. Insurgent (Mat 1, 2012)