Blog Tour: The Polaris Uprising by Jennifer Ibarra

Today I am part of the blog tour for The Polaris Uprising by Jennifer Ibarra. Don't forget to checkout the giveaway at the bottom of the post!

The Polaris Uprising by Jennifer Ibarra
(Polaris #1)
Publication date: October 30th 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

In less than seven years, eighteen-year-old Ryla Jensen will succeed her father as the president of Neress, a nation where all citizens are cared for from the moment they’re born. Fed, sheltered, even educated—every need of theirs is met.

The only price they pay is their free will.

Groomed since childhood to take on a role she’s not even sure she wants, Ryla’s only escape from the pressures of duty is her sister, Alanna. But when her eyes are opened to the oppressive regime her father built, she begins to question everything she’s set to inherit—and finds herself at odds with her sister’s blind allegiance to their father.

Torn between loyalty to her family and the fight for freedom, Ryla must decide just how far she’s willing to go to make a stand and risk losing the person she loves most in the world: Alanna.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About The Author

Jennifer Ibarra grew up on a steady diet of books, Star Wars, and other fantastic feats of the imagination. Her debut novel, The Polaris Uprising, is the first book in a trilogy and mixes dystopia with family drama, romance, and political intrigue.

She lives in Silicon Valley, where she does marketing for a tech company and spends her time running, cooking, baking, and keeping up with celebrity gossip.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway

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Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic by Lauren Oliver
Series: N/A
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Edelweiss
ISBN: 9780062014559
Release Date: March 4, 2014
Pages: 264

Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Like many people I was pretty excited to see what Lauren Oliver had in store for us next. And the switch from science fiction to contemporary makes it easier not to compare Panic with the Delirium series because they are two completely different styles of books. Keeping that in mind I was really disappointed with Panic.

My biggest problem with the book was that it just didn’t intrigue me. I didn’t mind the story. A small town with nothing to do and no way to get out, so teenagers develop this game, Panic. Panic is series of daunting (some may say ridiculously dangerous) challenges the graduating senior class can compete in the summer after they finish high school for a chance to win a pot of cash. The challenges were varied and each was unique. Lauren Oliver did do a great job with the game aspect of the book.

I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters. I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere and it just seemed like some of the towns people were caricatures of your typical small town. The story is split between Heather and Dodge’s points of view. Heather lives with her drunken mother and young sister in a trailer and only joined Panic because her boyfriend dumped her. Dodge is playing for revenge. His older sister Dayna is in a wheelchair after playing Panic two years ago. But he’s story was the least interesting. For someone who wants revenge and for the other party to pay he was certainly dull. I just kept on waiting for something to happen, but it never did.


In the end I had to put this book down. I read two books before I picked it up again, and that was only because I always try to finish books. I didn’t hate Panic, but I was definitely disappointed that it didn’t capture my attention like I hoped it would.

My Rating:

TTT: Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is books that make us cry. And one thing is for sure...books make me bawl like a baby.







The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
This book had me in tears by the end of it. The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden was the first New Adult book that I read. I read it before I even new what the genre was. But man was it a good book. I loved the characters and that ending! I haven't even read the second book yet because I don't want to be disappointed. I mean how can it live up to the first?

Left Drowning by Jessica Park
This book had me all over the place with the characters. I loved every character and I was so invested in all their stories.

Entangled by Cat ClarkeEntangled deals with a teenage girl who hurts herself and gets pretty dark at times. The main character wasn't always likeable, but you still felt for her by the end of the book.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Ok so I get not everyone loved this book. It wasn't the best in the series by far, but it had me crying big ugly crocodile type tears. I mean I had to stop reading because the tears made the words to blurry to read that kind of tears. I avoided the spoilers so well so I didn't know what was happened until it was too late. Even when it did happen it was the aftermath that got to me.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave
There are two parts of this book that made me cry. The part when you find out how Little Bee meets Sarah and the ending had me in tears again.



Life of Pi by Yann Martel
This is another book that I think everyone should read. It is beautiful written and took my sister years to convince me to finally read it, but I am glad I did.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
I loved this book. It made me cry within the first few pages, which was embarrassing as I was on the bus, but it also makes you laugh throughout the book. Auggie was such an inspiring main character.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Ugh. How could one author make me cry one moment and have me laughing in the next? I don't know but if you haven't read this book yet just do it. Don't question it. Just read it.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Facade by Nyrae Dawn
I did not see the shocking surprise coming in this book and it made me cry so hard. I loved this book and need to read the next book very soon.

My Unexpected Hiatus and My (Hopeful) Return To Blogging

I don’t know if you noticed, but I was MIA for most of January. I was all set to get back to blogging after the Christmas holidays. I had a wonder visit with my family and received lots of books for presents. I read so much over the holidays. I even had new posts planned and so many ideas churning in my head, but then stuff happened and I just needed a break.

My hiatus was a mix of several things, I was finally done my classes, worked way too much, and then my uncle and his wife passed away and I just didn’t feel like blogging. We weren’t close, but I needed a little break after all that. I thought I would be back sooner than this, but I just didn’t have any urge to even read over the past month. I mean I didn’t even read a single book in January. I mean not one. Sure I picked up a book a few times, but I couldn’t even read five pages before putting it down. So I figured don’t push it you will only regret it and blame the book.

This weekend I read a whole book in one day. So now I want to read again. I want to blog again. I want to be back into this lovely blogging community that I have rudely ignored for the past month.

Review: Be With Me by J. Lynn

Be With Me by J. Lynn
Series: Wait For You #2
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Edelweiss
ISBN: 9780062294791
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Pages: 299

Goodreads | Amazon


Teresa Hamilton is having a rough year—she’s in love with her big brother’s best friend, but he hasn’t spoken to her since they shared a truly amazing, mind-blowing, change-your-life kiss. She got out of a terrible relationship. And now an injury is threatening to end her dance career for good. It’s time for Plan B – college. And maybe a chance to convince Jase that what they have together is real.

Jase Winstead has a huge secret that he’s not telling anyone. Especially not his best friend’s incredibly beautiful sister. Even though he and Teresa shared the hottest kiss of his life, he knows that his responsibilities must take priority. He certainly doesn’t have time for a relationship. But it doesn’t help that all he can think about kissing the one girl who could ruin everything for him.

As they’re thrown together more and more, Jase and Tess can’t keep denying their feelings for each other. But a familiar danger looms and tragedy strikes. As the campus recovers, the star-crossed couple must decide what they’re willing to risk to be together, and what they’re willing to lose if they’re not…

J. Lynn is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I just love her writing style in general. She knows how to write quirky, but relatable characters. Be With Me follows the events of Wait For Me, and concerns Jase and Cam’s sister Teresa.

Neither main character was perfect in this book, but somehow that is what made them work. Both have dark pasts that have made them what they are today. Teresa’s high school boyfriend hurt her physically and emotionally, and she is still dealing with being a victim years after the relationship ended. I won’t get into Jase’s past as it is a pretty big event that happens in the novel and shaped him into the person he was in the book. Throughout the book you could see that they had chemistry even when you wanted to slap the characters.

Teresa could be naïve at times, which some might say is because she was only eighteen. When she sees Jase’s scrapped knuckles she just believes his lame excuse without question even though the real answer was obvious. I did find that Jase was fickle at times and that was frustrating to read. One moment he was hot for Teresa and the next he was pushing her away. The book only covers a short time period and it did seem like they got serious pretty quickly even though they did know each other for years previous to the opening of the book.

The moment when Cam finally finds out about his best friend and little sister was absolutely perfect. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was exactly how I imagined it going down and J. Lynn did not disappoint with that scene.

Overall, this book deals with some heavy issues like domestic violence and other issues, but it is also light hearted and a fun read.


My Rating: