Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Atom
Released: January 3rd 2012
Pages: 374 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Worlds kept them apart. Destiny brought them together.
 
Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Release Day Blitz: Chosen by Kristen Day

Today is the release day of the third and final installment of the Daughters of the Sea trilogy, Chosen!

Title: Chosen (Daughters of the Sea #3)
Author: Kristen Day
Publisher: Self Published
Released: Today, woo!
Pages: 324 (Kindle)
Buy: Amazon US

The essence of who we are lies not in what we have, but in what we are willing to give up. Because in the end, Time and Tide wait for no one. After sacrificing all that she had, the evil princess of the Underworld is still successful in her bid to tear Finn from Stasia’s life. In the midst of her search to reclaim him, Stasia is summoned to the island nation of Cyprus to take part in an age-old ritual; unveiling the missing pieces of her ancestry and re-igniting an ancient war. As she struggles to both save Finn’s soul and free Carmen’s mind, Stasia’s bravery and determination will be pushed to its breaking point. A dark storm is forming on the horizon, and the forces who are vying to destroy her may be much closer than she thinks. Destiny weaves a sticky web of evil, betrayal, and revenge that can only be undone by the purity of love and the soul’s unyielding will to survive. In the last installment of the Daughters of the Sea trilogy, the past will collide with the present as Stasia’s future hangs in the balance. The prophecy that paved the way for her new life may indeed be the very thing that strips her of the ones she loves the most.

Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Title: Geek Girl
Author: Holly Smale
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release: February 28th 2013
Pages: 356 (Kindle)
Pre-Order: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things. She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves. 

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did. 

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

Rape Girl by Alina Klein

Title: Rape Girl
Author: Alina Klein
Publisher: namelos llc
Released: January 1st 2012
Pages: 132 (Kindle)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

"Hey, look. It’s that girl. That rape girl, right?"

Valerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.

But not the rape girl.

That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it.

Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family. After, she has a court case, a support group, and a house full of strangers.

The real truth is, nothing will ever be the same.

Rape Girl is the compelling story of a survivor who does the right thing and suffers for it. It is also the story of a young woman’s struggle to find the strength in herself to fight back.

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Title: The Silver Linings Playbook
Author: Matthew Quick
Publisher: Sarah Critchton Books
Released: September 2nd 2008
Pages: 289 (Movie tie-in paperback)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Pat Peoples has a theory that his life is actually a movie produced by God, and that his God-given mission in life is to become emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending - which, for Pat, means the return of his estranged wife Nikki, from whom he's currently having some 'apart time.' It might not come as any surprise to learn that Pat has spent several years in a mental health facility. When Pat leaves hospital and goes to live with his parents, however, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends now have families; his beloved football team keep losing; his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy. And he's being haunted by Kenny G. There is a silver lining, however, in the form of tragically widowed, physically fit and clinically depressed Tiffany, who offers to act as a go-between for Pat and his wife, if Pat will just agree to perform in this year's Dance Away Depression competition...

Stacking the Shelves (#6)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews where bloggers get together and show off what new reads are stacking up on their shelves.

Dare You To by Katie McGarry (from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley)
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (from the library)
Lenobia's Vow by P.C. and Kristin Cast (from the library)
Slated by Teri Terry (bought by me)
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (bought by me)
Thumped by Megan McCafferty (bought by me)

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Author: George Orwell
Publisher: Penguin
Released: June 8th 1849
Pages: 355 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.

The Declaration by Gemma Malley

Title: The Declaration
Author: Gemma Malley
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Released: October 2nd 2007
Pages: 304 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US


Anna Covey is a ‘Surplus’. She should not have been born. In a society in which ageing is no longer feared, and death is no longer an inevitability, children are an abomination.

Like all Surpluses, Anna is living in a Surplus Hall and learning how to make amends for the selfish act her parents committed in having her. She is quietly accepting of her fate until, one day, a new inmate arrives. Anna’s life is thrown into chaos. But is she brave enough to believe this mysterious boy?

A tense and utterly compelling story about a society behind a wall, and the way in which two young people seize the chance to break free.

Splintered by A.G.Howard

Title: Splintered

Author: A.G.Howard

Publisher: Amulet Books

Released:  January 1st 2013

Pages: 377 (Uncorrected proof)

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family.

She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Title: What's Left of Me
Author: Kat Zhang
Publisher: HarperCollins
Released: September 1st 2012
Pages: 352 (Kindle)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t...

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet...for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Batman: Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean

Title: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Author: Grant Morrison

Illustrator: Dave McKean

Publisher: DC Comics

Released: October 28th 1989

Pages: 216 (Paperback, 15th Anniversary Edition)

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

In this painted graphic novel, the inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over Gotham's mental illness detention center on April Fool's Day and demand Batman in exchange for their prisoners. Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to live and endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two Face and many other of his sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison. During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Darknight Detective's own sanity is in jeopardy.

New Year, New Books! Giveaway Winner

So in the spirit of the Christmas and the new year, I decided to host a giveaway, as does the title of this post suggest. It went on for most of the month of December, and ended on 31st, just before the new year. I got an amazing reception from it, with over 400 entries, and I am pleased to announce that we now have a winner!

And the winner is...Melis at entry #228! She has chosen Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter, a purchase I have recently bought myself. I hope you enjoy it - heck, I hope I enjoy it, too!

Before I go, I just want to say massive thank you to every single one of my followers, and also to everyone who entered the competition.  Project Read and Review is still small, but has grown so much since I started it in August 2011. I'm hoping that the new year will bring more reviews, more reads, and even more giveaways.

Happy reading!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Released: July 31st 2012
Pages: 397 (Kindle)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Book of the Month: December

This month has been really good, rating-wise - I rated every single read a four or above, which is a major rarity for me! I like to give honest reviews, including honest ratings, even if it goes against the flow of what most other reviewers believe. And all these reads deserved their four or five-star ratings, because they were brilliant. However, only two really really stuck out to me.

First of all, The Hobbit. In anticipation for the film, I decided to read the novel, and I was so pleasantly surprised. I have heard that whilst good, The Lord of the Rings is quite slow, and me and slow books do not go together. Luckily, I didn't find The Hobbit anything like that, and I was engaged in it right from the beginning. It is definitely a book I plan to reread in the future.

However, the novel that has to be book of the month is Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. There was a lot of hype surrounding this read, and I was worried that I'd built myself up so much that I could only be disappointed. However, I loved it - is loved it even the right word? In my review, the only description I could use to sum up my feelings was 'amazeballs'. And it was amazeballs, totally - the characterization was fab, Daemon was great, the plot was thick, Daemon was great, the backstory was well pieced together, Daemon was great, it was aimed at book bloggers, and Daemon was great. What more do you want in a novel? I definitely recommend this book, especially for book reviewers - it will blow your socks off.