Ebook of the Week + Giveaway: Angelfall

 
"Ebook of the Week" a weekly feature here at Inklings Read. Each week I feature an ebook as well as a giveaway! Ebooks featured in these posts will always be well rated and reasonably priced!

Sometimes, if we're lucky, the author will drop by to say "Hi" with a few words on their book as well. Now let’s showcase Inklings Read’s Ebook of the Week!

We have Susan Ee, author of the Penryn & the End of Days series, here with us today to tell us a bit about herself and book one, Angelfall.

About Angelfall by Susan Ee

Goodreads |  Buy it on Amazon

4.42/5 stars (2,000+ ratings) on Goodreads
 
It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. 

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

About Susan

Susan Ee is the author of Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1). Her short stories have been in various publications including Realms of Fantasy and The Dragon and the Stars anthology. She is also a filmmaker whose latest film played at major film festivals and on cable TV stations throughout the U.S. She studied creative writing through workshops at Stanford, The Iowa Writers' Workshop and Clarion West.

Want to connect with Susan?

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads 

Please click "Read More" to proceed to page with the giveaway (if you don't see it below)!

Kindle Deals 2/27/11

Hi Guys! Here you'll find some of the best Kindle deals available. Some books are well known and some are hidden gems that I've found, but ALL books below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon. Let's admit it: Mondays can be a little... draining on the soul. So what works better for lifting the spirit than finding some great books for cheap!?

Here are my featured deals for the week:

All of the titles below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon.com.

FREE!

Click "Read More" to see other price ranges!

In My Mailbox (16)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. This is where you will find the most recent books I have received for review, purchased, etc. These past few weeks I received a couple of great Indie ebooks for Indie Author Month hosted by Lovely Lit! Check it out if you haven't already!

Kindle ebookS

Significance by Shelly Crane* Exiled by Rashelle Workman* Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Physical Books

Thief’s Covenant by Ari Marmell* Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls, #1) by Victoria Foyt* The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer

* Received for review from Netgalley, Author, or Publisher

I’d like to give a special thanks to Karissa at Karissa’s Reading Review for both The Gathering Storm and Cinder! She hosted an awesome contest for a bunch of YA/Middle Grade books and I was the lucky winner :)

Review: Cinder

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format: ARC
Pages: 387
Source: Won in contest 
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★★

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl... Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Cinder is a freakin' brilliant take on the Cinderella fairytale! It was completely addicting, well paced, and featured a cast of unforgettable characters.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Cinder was a very strong character even though she was based on Cinderella. Despite her situation, she always took an active, not passive, approach to changing her life. She wasn't content with being her stepmother's doormat and I loved that about her! Being a cyborg, she was considered a lesser citizen of New Beijing, but she didn't let that hold her back. It was quite inspiring really. Her conversations with her android Iko kept things light and humorous. Though Iko wasn't human, it didn't keep her from having one of the most entertaining personalities in the bunch.

While the love story isn't too prevalent in this book, it's definitely there. I loved that fact that it was subtle and didn't overshadow the main plot. I really liked Kai! He had a really good heart. He wanted what was best for his people even if it meant sacrificing his life and his happiness. He was such an honorable guy and a true leader.

While the characters were fantastic, one aspect of the plot was extremely predictable! It wasn't exactly a small piece of the story either... Allow me to explain: When I say predictable, I don't mean something that you could predict based off of the Cinderella story. It was something completely different, but very integral to the story. I could understand predicting something from the Cinderella fairytale, but this was unrelated and pretty obvious from the beginning. Regardless, the predictability didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story! Another thing I found difficult about this book is that when it came to the setting, my imagination really had to come into play when thinking about what the city might look like. Meyer doesn't give the reader all that much description to go off of. Be prepared for a little legwork in this area!

Despite a few flaws, I easily give Cinder 5 stars. I couldn't imagine a Cinderella retelling being any more original! I've certainly set myself up for torture knowing that I need to wait until next year for the second book...

Ebook of the Week + Giveaway: Destiny Binds

"Ebook of the Week" a weekly feature here at Inklings Read. Each week I feature an ebook as well as a giveaway! Ebooks featured in these posts will always be well rated and reasonably priced!

Sometimes, if we're lucky, the author will drop by to say "Hi" with a few words on their book as well. Now let’s showcase Inklings Read’s Ebook of the Week!

We have Tammy Blackwell, author of the Timber Wolves trilogy, here with us today to tell us a bit about herself and book one, Destiny Binds.

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Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell

Goodreads | Tammy's Blog |  Buy it on Amazon

Rating: 4.24 / 5 (1,123 ratings) - Goodreads.com as of 2/20/2012
 

Scout Donovan is a girl who believes in rules, logic, and her lifelong love of Charlie Hagan. Alex Cole believes in destiny, magic, and Scout. When Alex introduces Scout to the world of Shifters, men who change into wolves or coyotes during the full moon and Seers, women who can see your most private thoughts and emotions with a mere touch, the knowledge changes everything and everyone Scout thought she knew.

"Really fantastic!" -Ann Aguirre, National Bestselling Author

"Smart, fun and original." -Letters Inside Out

"Incredibly well written and addicting; action, danger and romance fill every page." -A Simple Love of Reading

"A little Joss Whedon mixed in with some Libba Bray." -KidLitFrenzy

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About Tammy

When asked to describe Destiny Binds in 5 words she stated,

“Supernatural YA romance with snark.”

I work in the YA department (okay, I *am* the YA department) for a library system in rural Kentucky. The second book in the Timber Wolves trilogy, Time Mends, was released on January 1 of this year. I'm currently working on Fate Succumbs, the final book, and hope to have it out by the Fall. You can keep up with my progress at www.misstammywrites.blogspot.com.

( Is that not the cutest author pic you have ever seen!?! I LOVE it!)

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Please click "Read More" to proceed to page with the giveaway (if you don't see it below)!

Kindle Deals 2/20/12

Hi Guys! Here you'll find some of the best Kindle deals available. Some books are well known and some are hidden gems that I've found, but ALL books below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon. Let's admit it: Mondays can be a little... draining on the soul. So what works better for lifting the spirit than finding some great books for cheap!?

Here are my featured deals for the week:

All of the titles below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon.com.

FREE!

Click "Read More" to see other price ranges!

Ebook of the Week + Giveaway: Exiled

"Ebook of the Week" a weekly feature here at Inklings Read. Each week I feature an ebook as well as a giveaway! Ebooks featured in these posts will always be well rated and reasonably priced!

Sometimes, if we're lucky, the author will drop by to say "Hi" with a few words on their book as well. Now let’s showcase Inklings Read’s Ebook of the Week!

Today we have Rashelle Workman, author of The Immortal Essence series, here with us today to tell us a bit about herself and book one, Exiled. It’s a book that I’ve been eyeing up every time I do a Kindle Deals post! Such a gorgeous cover!

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Exiled by Rashelle Workman

Goodreads | Facebook |  Buy it on Amazon

Rating: 3.75 / 5 (280 ratings) - Goodreads.com as of 2/11/2012

Worlds divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love will save them.
 
An alien princess exiled to Earth.
An arrogant boy.
One week to get back to her planet or she'll die.
And, her only chance for survival? She must help the boy find his soul mate.
Piece of cake!

Stubborn, sixteen-year-old Princess Venus of Kelari wants one thing, to become immortal, that is, until someone exiles her to Earth, kills her irrihunter and takes her family. Now she wants revenge.

First she’s got to get home. But before she can return to Kelari, the Gods have commanded her to help an arrogant boy named Michael find his soul mate. Only she doesn't know the first thing about love.

Rather quickly, her inexperience with human emotion is obscured by other matters--alien-controlled psychotic teens that are out to kill her, and a government group that is set on capturing and dissecting her.

Worst of all, Venus will suffer a painful death-by-poisoning, thanks to Earth’s atmosphere, if she remains on the planet longer than one week. Still, Venus is a Princess and she's got a plan. Surely, with her help, Michael will fall in love with a human.

But time is running out and Michael is falling for the wrong girl--her.

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About Rashelle

When asked to describe Exiled  in 5 words she stated,

“An alien must survive Earth.”

As well as being a toffee-maker extraordinaire, a cupcake baker, and Mom Of The Year (it's true, ask her kids), Rashelle Workman writes YA sci-fi romance and adult romantic suspense. She's also the wife to a math-genius-of-a-husband. Together they share their home with three amazing children and three dogs. When she gets a quiet moment alone, she loves to read about far away places.

She currently has three books released:

ALIGNED (In His Eyes Anthology), an Immortal Essence Short Story.
EXILED (Immortal Essence, #1), a YA sci-fi romance.
SLEEPING ROSES (Dead Roses, #1), an adult romantic suspense.

Book 2 in the Immortal Essence series, BEGUILED, will be released May 2012 and book 2 in the Dead Roses series, SECRET ROSES, will release July 2012.

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Exiled Trailer

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Please click "Read More" to proceed to page with the giveaway (if you don't see it below)!

Review: Unearthly

Unearthly (Unearthly , #1) by Cynthia Hand 
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 435
Source: Purchased
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★★

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Unearthly is the first angel book to completely blow me away! It was well paced, well characterized, and extremely addicting. It was hard to pull myself away from the pages. Surprisingly though, I'm at a loss of words to describe the exact elements that made me love this book as much as I do!

While it is difficult to describe the allure of this book, I think what pulled me in were the characters. Clara was easy to relate to, a normal girl. She didn't let her being an angel-blood get in the way of her having a life outside of her "purpose." I liked that there was that paranormal to normal life balance. And Tucker! AH <3 (fangirl moment)! Watching his relationship grow with Clara added depth to an already amazing story. At the beginning I hated him, but he won me over effortlessly as he did with Clara. Who would have known that he had a soft side!?

In addition to the great characters, I think the conclusion really sets Unearthly apart from the rest. This book could not have had a more perfect ending: no cliffhanger, a good resolution, and me dying for the next book! I recommend this to ANY paranormal fan. I can almost guarantee you will be as captivated as I was by the characters in Unearthly.

Kindle Deals 2/13/12

Hi Guys! Here you'll find some of the best Kindle deals available. Some books are well known and some are hidden gems that I've found, but ALL books below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon. Let's admit it: Mondays can be a little... draining on the soul. So what works better for lifting the spirit than finding some great books for cheap!?

Here are my featured deals for the week:

All of the titles below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon.com.

FREE!

Click "Read More" to see other price ranges!

Review: Tiger’s Curse

Tiger’s Curse (The Tiger Saga, #1) by Colleen Houck
Publisher: Audible, Inc. 
Narrator(s): Annika Boras & Sanjiv Jahveri
Format: Audiobook
Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
Source: Purchased from Audible
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★☆

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Tiger's Curse flaunts some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever read! It was easy to imagine the gorgeous, lush, and exotic places found in this story. Colleen's descriptions were detailed without being the least bit overbearing. Because the story covers a wide range of geographic locations, if you love books with travel, this one is for you!

With travel usually comes adventure, and I found the story to be extremely adventurous! Think Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider! There were more than enough riddles, puzzles, and death traps to keep any action fan satisfied. So of course, I was beaming! The action scenes were never repetitive and always entertaining!

Unfortunately the great scenery and awesome plot were unable to distract me from my inability to relate to Kelsey. I found her quite frustrating! Yes, she had a traumatic childhood, but there's something wrong with a girl who can resist Ren's charms. A sweet and handsome Indian prince... How can you say no to that!?! Her constant denial of her obvious feelings for Ren drove me up a wall. I wanted to reach through my speakers and smack some sense into her. By the end of the book, I could understand her reasons a bit more clearly, though I'm hoping she is not as emotionally closed off in the next book!

I don't know what I would have done had I not listened to Tiger's Curse. I wouldn't have a clue as to how to pronounce half of the Indian words and names! Annika Boras did a truly phenomenal job with the accents and pronunciations - not that I would have known any different, but they sounded authentic to me! She was also wonderful at portraying emotion with her voice: never overdone and never lacking.

The ending of Tiger's Curse was predictable, yet satisfying. Regardless, I'm definitely looking forward to the continuation of The Tiger Saga! I highly recommend this audiobook to paranormal and adventure fans alike!

Indie Author Month 2012

Dear Inklings,

I’m super excited to share news of this awesome event with you guys! Throughout the month of February, the wonderful Lovely Lit is hosting Indie Author Month. Interested in learning more? Click the super cute banner to the left and follow it to giveaways, readathons, indie awards, and more!

I would also like to make you all aware of the new Ebook of the Week feature here at Inklings Read. Though the giveaways are not specifically for Indie Author Month, the ones I have coming up just so happen to feature indie authors. It’s almost as if I planned it! So be sure to check back every Wednesday for a new giveaway and book feature.

Though I may not read indie books as often as I would like, here are a couple that I really enjoyed and can recommend to those of you who are interested:

Review | Goodreads	Review | Goodreads

I hope you all will give some indie books a try this month! I know I will. I'm planning on reading Significance by Shelly Crane! Oh, and don't forget to go and enter in the awesome Indie Author Month giveaway that Lovely Lit is hosting. There are over 20 prizes!

Ebook of the Week + Giveaway: Significance

"Ebook of the Week" a new feature here at Inklings Read!

Each week I will be featuring an ebook as well as a giveaway! Ebooks featured in these posts will always be well rated and reasonably priced! Sometimes, if we're lucky, the author will drop by to say "Hi" with a few words on their book as well. Now, lets get started and showcase Inklings Read’s Ebook of the Week!

Today we have Shelly Crane, author of The Significance series, Collide series, and Devoured series, here with us today to tell us a bit about herself and her book, Significance.

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Significance by Shelly Crane

Goodreads | Facebook |  Buy it on Amazon

Rating: 4.31 / 5 (1,970 ratings) - Goodreads.com as of 2/8/2012

Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating, barely, and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has. Then she meets Caleb. She saves his life and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing but she is supposed to be on her way to a date with his cousin. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally. They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive. Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him. Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

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About Shelly Crane

When asked to describe Significance in 5 words she stated, “Deep True Honest Soul Love.”

Shelly is a YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read. 

Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born. 

She has six other works and is currently working on Significance book #3, Defiance.

Significance Series

Collide Series

The Devoured Series

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Please click "Read More" to proceed to page with the giveaway (if you don't see it below)!

Review: Boneshaker

Boneshaker (Clockwork Century, #1) by Cherie Priest
Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
Source: Purchased
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★☆

Cherie Priest's much-anticipated steampunk debut has finally arrived in the form of a paperback original. Its plot features the sort of calibrated suspense that readers of her Four and Twenty Blackbirds would expect. Boneshaker derives its title from the Bone-Shaking Drill Engine, a device designed to give Russian prospectors a leg up in the race for Klondike gold. Unfortunately, there was one hitch: On its trial run, the Boneshaker went haywire and, long story short, turned much of Seattle into a city of the dead. Now, 16 years later, a teenage boy decides to find out what is behind that mysterious wall. Can his mother save him in time? Zombie lit of the first order.

Boneshaker was a wildly imaginative retelling of American history! Taking place during the 1800's, it is the story of a boy's struggle to prove his father's innocence and a mother's desperation to protect her son. Being my first experience with the steampunk genre, I was not disappointed one bit.
 
The story was filled with plenty of action; not at all what I expected. For the most part, the plot to Boneshaker was fast-paced and attention demanding. It lost momentum about halfway through for me, but quickly resumed pace over the course of a few chapters. What really kept this book moving was the constant perspective changes from Briar, the mother, to Zeke, the son. Cherie made each character stand out with their own original quirks and defining traits.

Being my first steampunk novel, I was worried I would have trouble imagining the world, machinery, and weapons Cherie created. That worry of mine was quickly discarded once I took in her descriptions! They were beautifully written and required little imagination on my part. I was quickly immersed in her Blight-filled Seattle. Not only did the characters have to worry about getting eaten alive by the "rotters," but also about breathing in the gas that could turn them into one; a constant struggle to stay alive.

The ending was epic to say the least, but left me wanting more. I'm not sure if the plot will be resumed in the next installment of the series or not, but I certainly hope so. I was disappointed to see the airships, kick-ass weapons, and crazy characters go. We went through so much together! It was as if I was saying goodbye to some very good friends. So sad. Boneshaker has left me itching to pick up another steampunk novel!

Kindle Deals 2/6/2012

Hi Guys! Here you'll find some of the best Kindle deals available. Some books are well known and some are hidden gems that I've found, but ALL books below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon. Let's admit it: Mondays can be a little... draining on the soul. So what works better for lifting the spirit than finding some great books for cheap!?

Here are my featured deals for the week:

All of the titles below have 4+ star ratings on Amazon.com.

FREE!	$0.99	$0.99	$0.99

$0.99	$0.99	$0.99	$0.99

$0.99	$2.99	2.99	$2.99

$2.99	$3.99	$3.99	$4.69

*Book prices are only guaranteed on date of post. Please double check pricing before purchase*

#WWReadathon: Tease At Random Challenge

The Tease at Random Challenge is hosted by Claire at Project To Be Read. She asks the following:

For this challenge I would like you to tease me at random from your current read. All you need to do is to divide your book roughly into thirds and then randomly select two sentences from each third (so six in total) and put them together to hive a good tease.

My tease is from Boneshaker (Clockwork Century, #1) by Cherie Priest!

"When she got home, she'd tell him anything he wanted to know - any story, any fact. He could have it all if he'd just make it home alive." - Page 75

"At the sight of Swakhammer, several patrons tipped a mug in a passive greeting; but upon seeing Briar, the place fell silent except for the determined simple tune. Even the music stopped when the one-armed woman noted the newcomers." - Page 185

"Briar walked under the glittering lights and they seemed to turn as if to follow her - and they weren't crystals, they were glass bulbs and tubes, laced together with wires and gears. She tried not to stare, but failed." Page 317

#WWReadathon: Update #1

I totally forgot to list what I'm reading for this readathon! It's going to be hard considering I have so much stuff to do still this weekend... But we'll see what I get accomplished!

Progress: So far I'm about 59% done Boneshaker!

Wicked Winter Read-A-Thon Start-up Post!

Hey Guys! I’m finally off work for the week so that means it's officially time for the Wicked Winter Read-A-Thon! This is my first read-a-thon so I'm super excited. It looks like there are going to be some awesome prizes and challenges. If you're interested in participating, you can still sign up over at Kindle Fever.

Our wonderful hosts are Rebecca from Kindle Fever and April from My Shelf Confessions. Here's a little overview of this read-a-thon, courtesy of Rebecca:

The Wicked Winter Read-A-Thon is a time when we all get together to dedicate the weekend of February 3-5 to as much reading as possible. You read as much as you can in order to get yourself a little further through that huge to-read pile! We know real life gets in the way and even if you can’t participate more than one day, you’re welcome to join in on the fun!

In the meanwhile, we will be hosting book-related challenges where you can win some awesome prizes and have a Twitter party at the hashtag #WWReadathon! You can posts updates on your blog, Twitter, Goodreads or Facebook — as long as the profile is public and we all can enjoy your reading progress! For this edition, we’ve also planned a chat surprise in order to include those who aren’t on Twitter in some chatting fun. But exactly what will happen is a surprise for now.

I may only be able to participate for one day, but I’m excited nonetheless! Anyone else participating!?

Feature and Follow Friday (8)

Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

First I suspect I should list some of my favorite books: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

If you've read any of the above, you'll already know that the female characters are just plain KICK-ASS! In a few of the books, like the Iron King series and Mistborn, it takes us awhile to see just how strong the the female characters are. Some, like Katsa from Graceling, are independent from the get go! Regardless, I love a strong, independent heroine who can take care of herself!

This is not to say I don't like the occasional protective male! In my opinion, I think every girl has a desire to be taken care of once and awhile. There is definitely a fine line here: I can't stand OVER-protective males (can  you say Edward?). I must admit, it's always fun watching a strong female character put the overprotective male in his place! Girls can make decisions for themselves, thank you!

What do you guys think? Do you share my love for the protective male, or am I just crazy!?

Review: Sue’s Fingerprint

Sue’s Fingerprint (Sue, #1) by Andrew D. Carlson
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Ebook
Source: Received for review from author
Amazon | Goodreads
★★★☆☆

A gel-like substance is suddenly discovered across the country. Ted Stevens, a Director in the Department of Homeland Security, is assigned to investigate. He enlists the help of scientists at a government laboratory to analyze the ‘goo’. They discover the substance was sent to Earth and has unique properties; it can clone animals. Ted soon learns the substance can also clone humans.

Sue is the first of eleven new people cloned from the alien substance. She and the others arrive without prior knowledges (and without clothes!). They are discovered and recovered by Ted and contained on an abandoned military base. While there, the clones learn about themselves and the world around them. They also receive a message. Sue decides she must deliver it, and one morning they find she’s gone.

During the recovery of Sue, Ted learns of the clones’ message and begins to understand their true intentions. He needs to know more about the clones before making a life-changing decision, so he collects samples for DNA fingerprint testing. The fate of the new people will be decided by the results from Ted’s friends at the laboratory.

Sue’s Fingerprint was certainly not what I had expected it to be. I loved the fact that it was Earth-based Sci Fi – A genre we don’t see enough of! It was intelligent, thrilling, creative, and interesting all at once. These things helped the plot to move along quickly and maintain my attention throughout. I liked Carlson’s writing and found it to be clean and efficient. His use of short chapters made reading a breeze and provided plenty of good break points. If I had to pick out one problem, it would be that the writing lacked depth. When I say “depth” I don’t mean background to the story,  I mean emotional depth. While I enjoyed the writing, I wish there was more feeling to it!

I found the story to Sue’s Fingerprint  intriguing, but I did come away with a few qualms. While this is marketed toward a YA audience, there aren’t actually any young adults in it! None of the main characters are within the YA age range, something I found kind of strange. This certainly does not mean that YA readers shouldn’t read this! It’s just, personally, I would have liked to see at least one main character within the age range. I think that the audience for this book may need to be reconsidered.

I would also have liked to see the characters fleshed out a bit more! This goes along with the lack of emotional depth mentioned before. There’s a great story here, but it’s lacking that human element that makes us, as readers, care about the outcome!

Overall, I would recommend Sue’s Fingerprint to readers who are looking for an intelligent read. While it left me a bit dissatisfied with the characters, there is definitely a place in the Sci Fi genre for Sue’s Fingerprint.

I would like to give a special thanks to Andrew for allowing me the opportunity to read and review his book!

Ebook of the Week + Giveaway: Alice in Deadland

"Ebook of the Week" is going to be a new feature here at Inklings Read!

Each week I will be featuring an ebook as well as a giveaway! Ebooks featured in these posts will always be well rated and reasonably priced! Sometimes, if we're lucky, the author will drop by to say "Hi" with a few words on their book as well. Now, lets get started and showcase Inklings Read’s first Ebook of the Week!

To kick off this feature we have Mainak Dhar, author of Alice in Deadland, here with us today to tell us a bit about himself and his Amazon.com bestseller.

Our featured book this week:

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Alice in Deadland by Mainak Dhar

Goodreads | Facebook |  Buy it on Amazon

Civilization as we know it ended more than fifteen years ago, leaving as it's legacy barren wastelands called the Deadland and a new terror for the humans who survived- hordes of undead Biters.

Fifteen year-old Alice has spent her entire life in the Deadland, her education consisting of how best to use guns and knives in the ongoing war for survival against the Biters. One day, Alice spots a Biter disappearing into a hole in the ground and follows it, in search of fabled underground Biter bases.

What Alice discovers there propels her into an action-packed adventure that changes her life and that of all humans in the Deadland forever. An adventure where she learns the terrible conspiracy behind the ruin of humanity, the truth behind the origin of the Biters, and the prophecy the mysterious Biter Queen believes Alice is destined to fulfill.

A prophecy based on the charred remains of the last book in the Deadland- a book called Alice in Wonderland.

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Q & A With Mainak Dhar

Q: Please describe Alice in Deadland in 4 words for us!

A: Better undead than unfree.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and any works you currently have in progress.

A: I am a cubicle dweller by day and writer by night. I've always loved writing and telling stories, and always had an overactive imagination, including going through all of 8th Grade with an imaginary friend who sat next to me in class. The best part of being a writer is that unlike so many other things in life, one need never outgrow that same child-like fascination with storytelling and that imagination that makes the mundane magical. I am currently working on the sequel to Alice in Deadland. It's the first time I'm writing a sequel to one of my novels, so it's fun and challenging at the same time. You can learn more about me and my writing at mainakdhar.com.

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Please click "Read More" to proceed to page with the giveaway (if you don't see it below)!