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Showing posts from January, 2016

Zurvival Saturday (120) Bite Sized Reviews: Zombies vs. The Living Dead & London by Frank Tayell

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Hey ya'll, I'm back this week with some bite sized reviews! This past week I started reading the Surviving The Evacuation series by Frank Tayell. I've had the first two novels on my Kindle for quite some time so figured why not read them. I am really trying my hardest to read some of the older books that I own before purchasing new ones. So far, I'm (mostly) succeeding, lol. First up, I read Zombies vs. The Living Dead (Surviving the Evacuation 0.5) Publication Date: September 26, 2013 My Thoughts: I don't know if you've ever seen the film Cockney's vs. Zombies but this story reminded me of it. In a nutshell the living dead are geriatric pensioners who are abandoned by their caretakers at the onset of a zombie apocalypse.  This is a very short story but the character George and the actions he takes will stick with  you right up until the bittersweet end. This story has no winners, no grand rescues, only the last moments of a group of people everyone

Dear Diary: Confessions From A Blogger (25) How NOT to be a bad blogger

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We all know what goes on behind the scenes at our own blogs but rarely do we lift the curtain and share those experiences and thought processes with others. Dear Diary: Confessions From A Blogger stems from the curiosity. This week I wanted to share my tips and tricks on how NOT to be a bad blogger. Here is my confession:  Hello again my lovelies! This week I had intended to talk about bloggers selling ARC's but honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to write a full length post about it. Every year it seems some idiot decides they are above reviewing law (it's a real thing yo) and is caught selling ARC's. It doesn't even really surprise me anymore when allegations come to light (sad, I know). So instead of a long winded rant about said idiots, I decided that I'd share my tips and tricks how NOT to be a bad blogger.  In no particular order... 5.) Do not complain about books you received for review. Books cost money to produce, even when they are ARC

Book Trailer Tuesday (114) Infinity by Shanora Williams & Pull by Anne Riley

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Book Trailer Tuesday is a Weekly Blog Post hosted by me at Blood Sweat and Books. Each week I choose two Book Trailers to showcase. One Trailer will be for an upcoming book and the other will be one that has already been released. This week I focus my spotlight on Infinity by Shanora Willians & Pull by Anne Riley. Available Now: Infinity by Shanora Williams I am going to die. I can’t change or fix it. It is just something that is bound to happen. I have fought for so long that all I want to do is give up, but I can’t because I have a sweet, devoted husband. I have a sister, who I am deathly afraid to leave behind because I am all the family she has left. And then there’s Maximilian Grant—the ex that I can’t seem to shake or get rid of. I want to remain a warrior, but when what’s left of my life is tested, and my love becomes a jumbled up mess, all I can think is one heart shattering thing. How can I leave this world peacefully knowing not only is there one man that

Manga Monday (5) Popular K-Dramas adapted from Mangas

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For those of you new to Manga Monday or don't really remember when I started this last year, Manga Monday is a blog feature that exists alongside Book to Movie Monday where I talk about Anime, Manga's, Graphic Novels and Comics. This feature will sort of be a catch all for all of the above. Some weeks I might just showcase a title, others I might talk about an artist or even (least here's hoping) feature an interview or two. We'll just sort of roll with the punches together. Sound good? I think so! This week I'll be talking about popular dramas that started off as manga. Some of these you might already know or have even watched yourself, others might surprise you. First up is Playful Kiss . This Drama is based on the Japanese manga Itazura Na Kiss written by Tada Kaoru. Over the years the manga series has had 4 adaptations (that I know of) The taiwanese based It Started With a Kiss (2005) and the sequel They Kiss Again (2007) the Korean based Playful Kiss (2

Zurvival Saturday (119) Free Zombie E-Books

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  This week I have some awesome and best of all Free Zombie E-books to share with you all! All books listed are Kindle Editions unless noted differently. All titles are linked to Goodreads for your convenience. Undead on Arrival by Justin Robinson [ Purchase ] Glen Novak is a dead man. Unfortunately for the scumbag who killed him, Novak will keep on cracking skulls and breaking bones until he finds the piece of trash that set him up, or is turned into a walking sack of rotten meat. With Undead On Arrival, Justin Robinson gives us a hard boiled zombie tale, and one of the most brutally compellingly examinations of the living dead you’ll ever read.  No Cure. No Hope. No Mercy.  Burn The Dead: Quarantine by Steven Jenkins [ Purchase ] Robert Stephenson makes his living burning zombies – a job that pays the bills and plays tricks on the mind. Still, his life is routine until one day his infected wife, Anna, shows up in line for the incinerator, and Rob must cremate the l

Review: Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

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Author: Kali Wallace Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books Publication Date: January 26, 2016 For fans of Holly Black and Nova Ren Suma, a gripping, hauntingly atmospheric novel about murder, revenge, and a world where monsters—human and otherwise—lurk at the fringes. When seventeen-year-old Breezy Lin wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death, she doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. In life, Breezy was always drawn to the elegance of the universe and the mystery of the stars. Now she must set out to find answers and discover what is to become of her in the gritty, dangerous world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she finds is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous. Tense, complex, and wholly engaging,

Review: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

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Author: Rick Yancey Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Publication Date: May 7, 2013 After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. Review Sometimes it hurts so bad when a book doesn't meet even half of your expectations. This is my second time tackling The

Dear Diary: Confessions From A Blogger (24) Annoying Gender Stereotypes Pt. 2

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We all know what goes on behind the scenes at our own blogs but rarely do we lift the curtain and share those experiences and thought processes with others. Dear Diary: Confessions From A Blogger stems from the curiosity. This week I wanted to revisit a post I published several years back where I talked about Gender Stereotyping in Books. If you'd like to read my original post Click Here . Here is my confession:  Hello again my lovelies! This week I wanted to (again) talk about Gender Stereotypes. In the years since I originally discussed some of my annoyances a lot has changed in the publishing world. Not only are women more empowered than ever but even male characters are seeing a breaking down of traditional barriers. However, the more things change the more they stay the same. It seems that even with the advent of extremely strong characters like Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games), Lisbeth Salanders (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) to na

Manga Monday (4) Anime's that ended all too soon

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For those of you new to Manga Monday or don't really remember when I started this last year, Manga Monday is a blog feature that exists alongside Book to Movie Monday where I talk about Anime, Manga's, Graphic Novels and Comics. This feature will sort of be a catch all for all of the above. Some weeks I might just showcase a title, others I might talk about an artist or even (least here's hoping) feature an interview or two. We'll just sort of roll with the punches together. Sound good? I think so! This week I wanted to talk about Anime's that ended before their full story could be told whether caused by creative differences or because the Manga was not yet finished by the end of the Anime's run. Now obviously this a truncated list to ones I enjoyed or followed but feel free to share ones I might have missed below. 1.) Vampire Knight created by Matsuri Hino Original Air Dates: Apr 8, 2008 to Jul 1, 2008 Total Number of Episodes: 13 Season 2 Air Dates:

Zurvival Saturday (118) Recently Watched Zombie Films

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Woo boy it's been awhile since I've done one of these. I do apologize about that.  Lately I've been trying hard to find some lesser known Zombie films to watch. I've run the gambit (so to speak) through the years and popular  releases aside it's becoming a bit hard to find ones that I actually haven't seen. However, being the huge fan of the genre that I am a little extra effort to find some quality Zombie films to watch is half the fun of being a fan of Zombies in the first place. *All movie titles linked to IMdB for your convenience. First up I want to share a film called Contracted: Phase II . This film is a sequel to a film called Contracted which is in short about a girl who gets infected with a Zombie virus through an unprotected sexual encounter. Phase II expands more upon the world and the man responsible for spreading the infection. The acting in this film was great and the main character Riley is sympathetic to say the least. Also all joking

Waiting On Wednesday (133) Never Ever by Sara Saedi

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Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly blog post hosted by Breaking The Spine where readers share which books they are highly anticipating. This week I want to showcase Never Ever by Sara Saedi. Expected Publication: June 21, 2016 from Viking Books for Young Readers Wylie Dalton didn’t believe in fairy tales or love at first sight. Then she met a real-life Peter Pan. When Wylie encounters Phinn—confident, mature, and devastatingly handsome—at a party the night before her brother goes to juvie, she can’t believe how fast she falls for him. And that’s before he shows her how to fly. Soon Wylie and her brothers find themselves whisked away to a mysterious tropical island off the coast of New York City where nobody ages beyond seventeen and life is a constant party. Wylie’s in heaven: now her brother won’t go to jail and she can escape her over-scheduled life with all its woes and responsibilities—permanently. But the deeper Wylie falls for Phinn, the more she begins to discov

Book Trailer Tuesday (113) The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz & Accidental Superstar by Marianne Levy

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Book Trailer Tuesday is a Weekly Blog Post hosted by me at Blood Sweat and Books. Each week I choose two Book Trailers to showcase. One Trailer will be for an upcoming book and the other will be one that has already been released. This week I focus my spotlight on The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz & Accidental Superstar by Marianne Levy. Available Now: The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve? Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world's only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen. But even with the aid of Emrys' magic, Eleanor's extended lifespan