ARC REVIEW: Outcast by Adrienne Kress

Outcast
by Adrienne Kress
ebook, 283 p.

Synopsis
After six years of “angels” coming out of the sky and taking people from her town, 16-year-old Riley Carver has just about had it living with the constant fear. When one decides to terrorize her in her own backyard, it’s the final straw. She takes her mother’s shotgun and shoots the thing. So it’s dead. Or … not? In place of the creature she shot, is a guy. A really hot guy. A really hot alive and breathing guy. Oh, and he’s totally naked.

Not sure what to do, she drags his unconscious body to the tool shed and ties him up. After all, he’s an angel and they have tricks. When he regains consciousness she’s all set to interrogate him about why the angels come to her town, and how to get back her best friend (and almost boyfriend) Chris, who was taken the year before. But it turns out the naked guy in her shed is just as confused about everything as she is. 

He thinks it’s 1956.

Set in the deep south, OUTCAST is a story of love, trust, and coming of age. It’s also a story about the supernatural, a girl with a strange sense of humor who’s got wicked aim, a greaser from the 50’s, and an army of misfits coming together for one purpose: To kick some serious angel ass.

COPY PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR A FAIR REVIEW

My Review
I though this was a really cute book.  I was a bit weirded out by the beginning, because it was talking about creepy kidnappers and stuff, but I really liked it anyways.  It's hard to find an "angel" book that isn't about creepy stalkers, but I think that Kress really did subvert that particular trope in an amusing way.

Waiting on Wednesday [#3]: The Bitter Kingdom (The Girl of Fire and Thorns, #3) by Rae Carson

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

The book I'm anticipating this week is...

The Bitter Kingdom (The Girl of Fire and Thorns, #3) by Rae Carson--released 8/27/13

I had mixed feelings about the first book, but it had enough potential to lead me to the second in the series.  I hope that Rae Carson finishes the book with kudos enough to all the characters!

ARC REVIEW: Data Runner (Data Runner, #1) by Sam A. Patel

Data Runner
N/A
by Sam A. Patel
ebook, 231 p.

Synopsis
In the not-too-distant future, in what was once the old City of New York, megacorporations have taken over everything. Now even the internet is owned, and the only way to transmit sensitive information is by a network of highly skilled couriers called “data runners” who run it over the sneakernet. It is a dangerous gig in a dirty world, but Jack Nill doesn’t have much choice in the matter. A brilliant young math whiz and champion of parkour, Jack must become one of these data runners in order to get his father out of a major gambling debt. But when a mysterious stranger loads Jack’s chip with a cryptic cargo that everybody wants, he soon becomes the key figure in a conspiracy that could affect the entire North American Alliance. Now it’s all up to Jack. With the help of his best friend, Dexter, and a girl who runs under the name Red Tail, Jack will have to use all his skills to outrun the retrievers and uncover the truth before they catch him and clip him for good.

My Review
ARC copy--thank you Netgalley!
<--THIS.

I absolutely LOVED this book.  It's rare enough to find good sci-fi books that guys can enjoy, but even harder to find books that have parkour in it.  Usually it's called something else, like SILENT SHADOW FLOWS OVER LAMP or something equally cheesy and kung fu-y.

Waiting on Wednesday [#2]: House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, #4) by Rick Riordan

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, it's the newest installment in the ever-so-popular Heroes of Olympus series, House of Hades.

<--House of Hades by Rick Riordan.

I'm super excited for this series because Rick Riordan has such an interesting concept what with the Heroes of Olympus series.  I was disappointed by Mark of Athena because it felt as if Riordan decided to turn the series into a cash cow, and just stuff random plot points into the novel.  I really hope that this one will be able to salvage all of the loose bits and ends left behind by the prequel.

And on a side note, I just realized that Rick Riordan has a blog. 0.o How come I didn't know this before?

REVIEW: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park
(Stand-alone)
by Rainbow Rowell
Hardcover, 325 p.

Synopsis

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

My Review
Where can I begin...?  Well, this is certainly a huge change from the books I normally read.  Definitely NOT fantasy, but more of a realistic fiction.  However, this book was really fun to read, and was a great book to reflect on after the fact.

Waiting on Wednesday [#1]: Siege and Storm

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The pick for this week is...

Siege and Storm, by Leigh Bardugo (Expected release: 6/4/13)

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

* * *

Honestly, the prequel, Shadow and Bone, was one of the most original books that I have read in a while.  I LOVED it, and have been frantically recommending it to all my friends while I was waiting for the sequel.  ALMOST TWO MORE WEEKS TO GO!

REVIEW: Everlost (Skinjacker, #1) by Neal Shusterman

Everlost
(Skinjacker, #1)
by Neal Shusterman
Hardcover, 313 p.

Synopsis
Nick and Allie don't survive the car accident...

...but their souls don't exactly get where they're supposed to get either. Instead, they're caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It's a magical, yet dangerous place where bands of lost children run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth.

When they find Mary, the self-proclaimed queen of lost kids, Nick feels like he he's found a home, but Allie isn't satisfied spending eternity between worlds. Against all warnings, Allie begins learning the "Criminal Art" of haunting, and ventures into dangerous territory, where a monster called the McGill threatens all the souls of Everlost.

In this imaginative novel, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between.

My Review
Looking at the cover, I really wasn't expecting a lot out of this book. But I have to say, it went beyond my wildest guesses and created a tale that I absolutely LOVED and would recommend to everyone.  Everyone.