quotes Elisquared likes


"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."— John Green

11.15.2018

BLOG TOUR --- The Color of Lies by C.J. Lyons [Review + Fave Quotes]


Title: The Color of Lies
Authors(s): C.J. Lyons
Publication Date: November 6, 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: The Fantastic Flying Book Club
Buy: Amazon - Barnes & 
Noble - The Book Depository - IndieBound









Tour Schedule


November 5

That Artsy Reader Girl - Welcome Interview

November 6

Boston Book Reader - Review

November 7

Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile - Review
A Dream Within a Dream - Review
Rhythmicbooktrovert - Review

November 8

LILbooKlovers - Author Q&A
Savings In Seconds - Review
Bri's Book Nook - Review

November 9

Colleen's Conclusions - Author Guest Post
Vicky Who Reads - Review
Paper Reader - Spotlight

November 10

Another Book In the Wall - Review & Favorite Quotes
Here's to Happy Endings - Review
Resch Reads and Reviews - Review

November 11

Lisa Loves Literature - Review
Smada's Book Smack - Author Guest Post
Eli to the nth - Review & Favorite Quotes

Amy's Booket List - Review
Port Jericho - Review


The Summary

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons comes The Color of Lies, a world drenched in color and mystery.

High school senior Ella Cleary has always been good at reading people. Her family has a rare medical condition called synesthesia that scrambles the senses—her Gram Helen sees every sound, and her uncle Joe can literally taste words. Ella’s own synesthesia manifests itself as the ability to see colors that reveal people’s true emotions…until she meets a guy she just can’t read.


Alec is a mystery to Ella, a handsome, enigmatic young journalist who makes her feel normal for the first time in her life. That is, until he reveals the real reason why he sought her out—he wants to learn the truth behind her parents’ deaths, the parents that Ella had always been told died in a fire. Alec turns Ella’s world upside down when he tells her their deaths were definite-ly not an accident.


After learning her entire life has been a lie, Ella doesn’t know who she can trust or even who she really is. With her adoptive family keeping secrets and the evidence mixing fact and fiction, the only way for Ella to learn the truth about her past is to find a killer.


Perfect for fans of Caroline B. Cooney, Ally Carter, and Jennifer Brown, The Color of Lies blurs the lines between black-and-white facts and the kaleidoscope of reality.
Review

The Color of Lies by C.J. Lyons is quoted as being a"thrilling tale of deception, murder, and heartbreak" (Booklist), but to me it was a little lacking on the thrilling part.  While the writing is beautiful and the characters are well-developed, the plot and pacing is off through the whole book.

There is a slow start, which in terms of a thriller, doesn't work for me.  The reader finds out that Ella's parents died right away, and that she now lives with her Gram Helen and Uncle Joe.  But you don't really learn more about the events that happened until half way through the book, even with Alec investigating everything.  Then, it does pick up, but the twists aren't all that twisty and resolve into a natural conclusion.

However, while the plot wasn't the most outstanding for me, this is a character-centric book, and so a lack luster plot won't bother character-loving readers.  Ella is a sympathetic character with an amazing ability.  She isn't just a stereotype "damsel-in-distress"; she takes charge of her life, even when it's being turned upside down.    There isn't a lot of romance in the book, even though there is clear chemistry and love between Alec and Ella.  I appreciate that because a lot of YA books (when they aren't a romance book) bring the romantic element to the forefront, often to the detriment of the other plot elements.

Overall, The Color of Lies was a good book, and if you enjoy thrillers, it's one you'll want to pick up. Out in stores now!

Favorite Quotes

"Just a thick fog like when she'd piled her pillows on the floor and jumped off her bed and one of them burst open and let loose white, fluffy cloud-like stuff.  Only this fog circling around her hiding place, it didn't fall away like her pillow stuffing---it stayed there, growing thicker and thicker, a white blanket draped beneath the black sky." (pg. 144)

"And freeze, my entire body gone rigid with fear.  He's there. Standing in the moonlight.  A strange orange glow surrounds him.  The fire demon of my nightmares come to life." (pg. 158)

"I close my laptop---the crack in the screen is giving me a headache---and grab my notebook, flipping to a clean page.  Time to circle back.  Again,  Find the right thread to pull and I'll unravel everything." (pg. 262)

Final Rating


About the Author


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over forty novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart. 

Two times winner of the International Thriller Writers coveted Thriller Award, CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday).


Learn more about CJ's Thrillers with Heart at www.CJLyons.net


Giveaway

5 Copies of The Color of Lies by CJ Lyons (USA only)

11.08.2018

BLOG TOUR --- The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White [Review + Giveaway]


Title: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frakenstein
Authors(s): Kiersten White
Publication Date: September 25, 2018
Edition: Hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook; 304 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Barnes & 
Noble - iBooks - The Book Depository; Audible







Tour Schedule

Week One:
10/15/2018- Under the Book CoverReview
10/16/2018- Simply Daniel RadcliffeReview
10/17/2018- Novel NoviceReview
10/18/2018- My Fangirl ChroniclesReview
10/19/2018- Pandora's BooksReview

Week Two:
10/22/2018- Jessica WritesReview
10/23/2018- Tween 2 Teen Book ReviewsReview
10/24/2018- Here's to Happy EndingsReview
10/25/2018- Savings in SecondsReview
10/26/2018- Vicky Who ReadsReview

Week Three:
10/29/2018- Smada's Book SmackReview
10/30/2018- YA Books CentralInterview
10/31/2018- For the Lover of BooksReview
11/1/2018- Malanie Loves FictionReview
11/2/2018- Oh Hey! Books.Review

Week Four:
11/5/2018- The Hermit LibrarianReview
11/6/2018- Tales of the Ravenous ReaderInterview
11/7/2018- BookHounds YAReview
11/8/2018- Eli to the nthReview
11/9/2018- 
Portrait of a BookReview


The Summary

Elizabeth Lavenza hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her "caregiver," and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything--except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth's survival depends on managing Victor's dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost . . . as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.


Review

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White re-imagines the original tale with a dark feminist spin., exploring the themes seen in the original, but bringing a twist all her own.  Kiersten breathes fresh life into the classic Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, just in time for the original's 200th birthday.

Kiersten takes the spotlight off of the mad scientist, and focuses on the women from the original, Elizabeth Frankenstein in particular.  Elizabeth, an orphan, is rescued by the Frankenstein family to act as a companion and caregiver to their young son, Victor.  Through manipulation, Elizabeth makes sure to secure her place in the family.  But that is threatened when Victor travels to study and falls out of contact with his family, and with Elizabeth.  Determined to keep her place, Elizabeth tracks him down, and what she finds would horrify anyone.

The characterization within this book is phenomenal.  Elizabeth is complex, both caring and deceiving; a true manipulator, but one by necessity.  She doesn't try to change Victor for the better, as that would cause problems for herself.  Instead, she helps him conceal and control some of his more dark tendencies.  The way that Kiersten sets this up during Elizabeth's development within the story, makes the reader understand her perspective, even sympathizing with her and the predicament she is in.  Elizabeth is strong, bold, and, above all else, a survive -- traits that aren't always seen as favorable in women; just another nod to the feminist power within.

It's hard to talk to much of the plot, as there are many twists and turns, but for a reader who has read the classic Frankenstein, Kiersten does an excellent job of dropping bits and pieces of the original plot within this book without making it simply a re-hashing of Shelley's work.  So, while it is not necessary to have read the classic, readers will gain another layer of understanding if they have.

Overall, this is a perfect autumn read, with it's feminist Gothic atmosphere and chilling revelations.  Do yourself a favor, read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley first and then dive right into The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.  You'll love both books even more because of it.

Final Rating



About the Author

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling author of The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, the And I Darken series, the Paranormalcy series, Slayer, and many more novels. She lives with her family near the ocean in San Diego, which, in spite of its perfection, spurs her to dream of faraway places and even further-away times. 

Visit her at www.kierstenwhite.com.



Giveaway

3 Winners will receive a finished copy of The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, US Only.

11.06.2018

BLOG TOUR --- Watch You Burn by Amanda Searcy [Review + Giveaway]




Title: Watch You Burn
Authors(s): Amanda Searcy
Publication Date: October 23, 2018
Edition: Hardcover, ebook; 352 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Barnes & 
Noble - iBooks - The Book Depository







Tour Schedule

Week One:
10/15/2018- RhythmicbooktrovertReview
10/16/2018- Moonlight RendezvousReview
10/17/2018- Patriotic BookaholicReview
10/18/2018- Jena Brown WritesReview
10/19/2018- A Gingerly ReviewReview

Week Two:
10/22/2018- Riddle’s ReviewsReview
10/23/2018- Do You Dog-ear?Review
10/24/2018- Pacific Northwest BookwormReview
10/25/2018- The Pages In-BetweenReview
10/26/2018- PopTheButterfly ReadsReview

Week Three:
10/29/2018- The Clever ReaderReview
10/30/2018- BookHounds YAReview
10/31/2018- Rainy Day ReviewsExcerpt
11/1/2018- Here's to Happy EndingsReview
11/2/2018- Liezel and Angie’s Book BlogReview

Week Four:
11/5/2018- Bookish bibliophileReview
11/6/2018- Eli to the nthReview
11/7/2018- Smada's Book SmackReview
11/8/2018- Taylor Fenner’s Bookish WorldReview
11/9/2018- YA Books CentralExcerpt


The Summary

Jenny didn't want to move to the creepy, possibly haunted town with her dad. But the cops are on to her, and the only way she can protect herself is by moving as far away from her hometown as possible and staying out of trouble.

But even after she moves, Jenny still gets the itch. The itch to light a match and then watch it burn.

It's something she hasn't been able to stop, ever since an accident years ago. Now, in a new town, Jenny has the strange feeling that someone is watching her every move. Will her arsonist ways be exposed? Or is the burning truth deep inside her a greater danger?



Review

 Watch You Burn by Amanda Searcy is a solid addition to your YA mystery/thriller shelf.  A "I-need-to-know-more" read, the mystery will keep you turning the page, as you learn about Jenny's pyromania and unravel who the real villain is!

Jenny is too close to an arson case in her hometown, so to lay low, she is sent to live with a father she hasn't seen most of her life.  With that move, also comes a fresh start.  But is she even willing to give that fresh start a chance?  The reader soon finds out, that while Jenny has the best of intentions, she does a very bad job of sticking to them.  But that isn't where the story ends; no, there is someone out there who knows Jenny's secret, and is killing because of it.

So there are two stories in one: the reader learns about the original incident that ran Jenny out of her hometown, and the new incidents of murder happening in her new town, which is all connected.  With all of this intensity, Jenny doesn't know who to trust, maybe not even her own father.  So while the pacing is a little slow at first, you'll definitely want to keep turning the page to figure out the mystery.

Jenny is a very suspicious person, for good reason, but that also makes her very shut-off from everyone.  She wants to know everyone's secrets, but won't share any of her own.  Also, with this suspicion, Jenny makes bad decisions.  Her mania is well articulated, with her uncontrollable itch that only fires can settle.  And within that mania, she is unlikable, selfish, and ultimately the cause for a lot of her own suffering.  So in no way is she is typical "likable" character.  But that's what I did like about her.  I think that her reactions, while frustrating to the reader, came across as realistic.  It's hard to know how you'd act if you survived something like Jenny did, so take that into consideration when reading.

Overall, I found Watch You Burn to be an interesting book and a good sophomore showing by Amanda Searcy.  Also, the cover design is on fire (sorry for the pun...); I will say, I am a sucker for a beautiful cover, and this does not disappoint.  I will definitely be picking up Amanda's first book, The Truth Beneath the Lies, and watching for more from her!

Final Rating



About the Author


Amanda Searcy has a BA from New Mexico State University and an MA in human rights from the University of Essex in England. She works in collection development for a public library system and loves chocolate, cats, and curling up with a good book. She lives in New Mexico. 

Visit her online at amandasearcybooks.com and follow her on Twitter at @aesearcy.


Giveaway

3 Winners will receive a finished copy of Watch You Burn, US Only.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...