23 MINUTES -- POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE #18

image from Goodreads

And so we come to the next of the Popsugar Reading Challenge books. The challenge parameter is: A book that takes place in a single day.

The proper name for these types of novels is called Circadian novels.

This one is by Vivian Vande Velde. She writes YA novels. My two favorites by her are Dragon's Bait and Companions of the Night. The first is a fantasy about a girl, a dragon, and revenge. The second has a girl, a vampire, and people trying to kill them.

The one I got from the library to read is 23 Minutes. This one is about a girl who can turn back time. She can only go back 23 minutes and only 10 times. Each "playback" (as the main character calls it) had unique elements each time.

I think the author did an amazing job. She told the same 23 minutes completely different each time. I must admit there were small repetitions, but event those were dissimilar.

I enjoyed the book immensely.

What would you change or fix if you could go back 23 minutes?

AND HERE WE GO AGAIN . . . NANO FOR ME!

Okay, I'm making this announcement three days into NaNo.  I'm doing it again this year.  I'm definitely not trying for the 50k, but I am going to try and finish up a huge chunk of a book I've procrastinated on for YEARS!

Yes, I said years.  My muse has to have her vacations.

But I'm inspired now and ready to write at a slow and plodding pace.  Woo!

What's also cool is that Reutsway is in spring this year so I don't have split focus like the last two years.

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #13 A BOOK THAT BECAME A MOVIE

Okay, I admit to bawling my brains out at the end of the movie when I was a kid.  What?! How could anyone not cry at the end?

Anyway, the movie actually followed the book very well. All the pertinent points of the story were there.

What they did not have in the movie did not detract from it at all. The minute details that filled the pages of the book were so neat.  There's back story on Schmendrick and more details about Haggard and his lands. Lir's story is there as well.

Also the world has more people and places that fill the story.

I liked this book.  As I read I watched the movie in my head when the scenes were the same.

Sigh.  And now I have America singing the theme song to the movie stuck in my head. Brick wall here I come. 

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #12 -- A BOOK WITH A LOVE TRIANGLE

So this is the second book in this series.  We find Cassie and company in the chaotic aftermath of the first book.  A new agent appears and has connections with Dean before he joined the group.  The game's afoot (heh heh) as a murder victim is found on a college campus.

The love triangle comes in as Michael, Cassie, and Dean (with a bit of Lia mixed in) deal with their feelings.  Cass has feelings for both Michael and Dean, but she doesn't know which one has her heart more.  Michael keeps pushing her into realizing her true feelings.

This book was fun because if you like sick and twisted serial killer stuff then this .  I liked that the triangle because it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story.  Personally I thought that it created some of the actions in the story.

READING CHALLENGE 2015 #11 -- A BOOK WITH NONHUMAN CHARACTERS

Chronicles of Nick book 4

Okay, I've come back to this series because in this book 99% of the characters ARE NOT HUMAN! Most of the characters are demons, gods, and various other entities.  If I'm not mistaken there are six true humans in the entire book:  Nick's mom, Bubba, Mark, Casey, Alan, and Tyree. Alan and Tyree only show up for maybe two chapters, and Casey shouldn't count because she's possessed.

Anyway, Nick has more fun, fun, fun adventures trying not to get killed or drained or kidnapped by beings that want his powers.  Also, he's on the outs with Kody because Death (aka Grim) has to screw with him. How else can he bring about the Apocalypse, I ask.

All in all, it was a good book, but it took me longer to finish because I was not enjoying the Casey moments.  It was one of those things where I wanted to bash her head in because she made my skin crawl, which happened to be about a third of the book in the middle.

Once that was over, the rest of the book was awesome because the action happened and the shiznit hit the fan in a major way.  AND THEN THE ENDING!

Omg! That ending was a WTF if ever I read one! 

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #9 -- A BOOK BY A FEMALE AUTHOR

This is an author I have never of before, but I loved the interesting cover so much that I wanted to see what it was about.

Let me tell you I was enthralled with the blurb!  The premise is a tiny bit far fetched, but still plausible. Who knows what the government actually does in reality, I don't.

Anywho, I ate this book up. I was sucked in from the first page to the end.  That hasn't happened in a long time.

So it starts out with Cassie working at a diner.  She was taught to read people by her mother before she died.  When she's approached by a young man, her world is drastically changed.  She becomes a part of a group of teens that work cold cases for the FBI.  They are all classified as Naturals.  Their talents to read people and crime scenes are being honed.

Then a serial killer targets Cassie with a cat and mouse game for the highest stakes.

It's a fun glimpse of BAU training and has the slight hints of I Hunt Killers.  

BOOK CHALLENGE 2015 #8 -- A BOOK BASED ENTIRELY ON ITS COVER

It's so hard for me to pick up a book and not read the inner jacket.  It's nearly impossible.  After that initial love-fest with the cover, I have to see what a book is about.  Only I finally did it.  The book was called Beastkeeper.

As you can tell by the cover, it's stunning orange and black silhouette style draws the eye.  Then the white accents pulls the eye deeper into it and then you notice the intricate details throughout.

The story was good.  It was a interesting fairy tale.  I won't share any details about it.  Sorry.