Lauren Reviews Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Published: January 2016 by Disney-Hyperion
Source: eARC
Rating: 4 Stars

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods - a powerful family in the colonies - and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them - whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

The plot of this book was made of gold and the author spun a web of treasure with it. Etta Spencer is thrown into a new way of life that she never could even imagine was possible. She is strong-willed and determined, but she still has the same emotions and reactions that any of us would have.

After literally being pushed into a different time period, Etta meets the handsome and smart Nicholas Carter. Nicholas has been saving up to buy his own ship and has done everything in his power to stay away from the family who used to own him as a slave.

These two characters take us on an amazing journey through different time periods and different countries. Each unique place was described perfectly for me to imagine without going overboard with details and information about the time period. I followed their journey right along with them. 

There is so much to tel, but such a journey needs to be walked by an individual and not just be told. There were many times I just had to put the book down to sleep. I truly believe everyone will love this book, not just young adults or science fiction readers. 

Lauren Reviews Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson

Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson
Published: September 2015 by Month9Books
Source: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

“Where shall I start?” asked Minotaur.
Ovid made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else but the beginning of course.”
Minotaur nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his eyes already glazing over with the weight of thousand year old memories. And then he began.

So begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur, the supposed half bull creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman poet, Ovid, Asterion tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his stepfather Minos, his adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love for the beautiful Phaedra. And of course what really happened in the labyrinth. 

This is the true story of the minotaur. Ovid, a scholar who has written a huge volume of myths/legends, travels to the site of the minotaur's labyrinth. His tour guide Asterion, who is known as the minotaur, leads Ovid up the mountain and to the crumbling labyrinth.

Eventually Asterion decides to tell Ovid that he is the infamous minotaur, still alive and living close to the labyrinth. At first Ovid is just humoring Asterion, allowing Asterion to tell his story... this is when the book really starts for me. Asterion weaves the threads that bind story of his life together simply, yet with a heavy heart. The hardships he faced during his childhood... how he was ridiculed and looked down upon because of his appearance, how his father despised him because he was the bastard son of a god. The love of his life and how she was stolen from him. And then the most impressive twist of the story... the minotaur's time in the labyrinth. We all know the story. Asterion tells the true version, which of course is much less gory and extremely compelling. I felt so many emotions during Asterion's life story. But it was Asterion's perseverance that really resonated with me. I don't think I could have kept my own and not turned into the monster everyone thought I was if I was treated as he was.

This was a very thought-provoking read and I absolutely adore mythology, so basically the author wrote this for me. :) So thanks, Phillip.

Lauren Reviews The Escape by Hannah Jayne + Giveaway

The Escape by Hannah Jayne
Published: July 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: eARC
Rating: 3 Stars

When two boys walk into the woods, and one comes out covered in blood, what would you believe?

Fletcher and Adam venture into the woods for an afternoon hike, but when day turns into night and neither boy returns, their town is thrown into turmoil. Avery, the detective's daughter, is the one to find Fletcher - dishelved, disoriented, and covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened, but Avery can't shake the feeling that something's off. When Adam's body is finally found, Avery is determined to uncover the truth. But if she stands by her gut, and Fletcher, is she standing by a friend, or a murderer? The answer might cost her her life.

This was a nice psychological thriller that I read in about two sittings. Fletcher is the weird kid in school that most people just ignore, Adam is the jock that every adores, and Avery is the smart girl that people just label as the police chief's daughter. Adam is one of Fletcher's only friends and they go on a hike that ends up in tragedy. The day after the hike, Fletcher is found close to death by Avery, while Adam was still missing.

Fletcher tries so hard to remember what exactly happened to him. You can almost feel his agony with himself, his anger at not being able to remember to help Adam. Adam's body is found and Fletcher's life is thrown into a hellfire. Now his classmates say he killed Adam, instead of previously speculating that there was a killer on the loose. 

This has the small town feel that reminding me of the Salem Witch Trials. I felt like the townsfolk where scared, and looking for someone to blame. All the while Avery takes up a place beside Fletcher to help him remember.. to remember anything and to also just be his friend. Avery takes after her dad and tries to do a little detective work. She thinks of everyone's safety at all times and always has her sights set on finding Adam's killer. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, I guessed who the killer was midway through the book, but to be fair.. I do that quite frequently and it is annoying. I run books and movies for myself. I'd recommend this book if you are looking for some mystery, detailed/in-depth characters, and a completely mind-bending reading experience.

About the Author
Hannah Jayne is possibly the only person living in Silicon Valley who has never worked in high tech. When she’s not writing, she’s obsessively watching HGTV or shopping at Target.. also obsessively. Find out more about Hannah’s urban fantasy, young adult thrillers, and latest obsessions at hannah-jayne.com.

Now on to the giveaway! Giveaway ends July 31st. Open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Must be 13 or older to enter.

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Cross-posted at The Tattooed Biblio

Bridget Wants to Know How You Find New Releases and Debut Novels

In preparing some of my Top Ten Tuesdays for 2015, I’ve been forced to enter an unfamiliar world: the world of new releases. In general, I don’t track new releases unless they’re by J. K. Rowling or Stephen King, in which case there’ll be enough press around them that I don’t have to go out of my way to do any research on them.

What I want to know is: how does the rest of the reading world find and know about all these new releases coming out? Am I living under a rock?

Writing about my Top Ten Most Anticipated Debut Novels for 2015 (which I’m just now realizing I did wrong, I just did 2015 new releases, but I’m not rewriting it now, sorry) was a huge struggle. I ended up culling a few HuffPost and Book Riot lists for books I thought I’d be interested in, and used those as a jumping-off point on Amazon to find “related items” that would also be released in 2015. I actually ended up with 11 books in the end, but—as I mentioned above—I’m pretty sure most of them aren’t debut novels at all. I know a few are, but certainly not the majority.

So, blogger friends, tell me: where do you find new releases, particularly debut novels, that strike your fancy? I peruse NetGalley on occasion, but much less these days as I have enough hard copy books to last me a while and it’s hard for me to concentrate when I’m reading on my iPad. (I’m actually thinking about selling it because I hardly ever use it, so I’m also trying to distance myself from it a little bit.) I also haven’t found a whole lot to love on NetGalley. I’ll occasionally find something that piques my interest, but by the time I’m approved for it, I’m not as interested as I was, and I forget about it. Out of all the titles I’ve downloaded from NetGalley, I’ve probably read 20% of them all the way through and enjoyed an even smaller percentage.

I’m also quite a bit less into YA than most of my TBTB compatriots, so while there seems to be no shortage of YA novels getting churned out, most of that volume is lost on me.

I’ve finally begun to use Twitter a bit more fluently (@thebookishmilso, should you want to follow me), and I’ve followed a couple of authors and a LOT of publishers, so maybe that will help? I don’t know. Guys, I’m really clueless here. Help a sister out?