Build-A-Monster (The October Reading Challenge)

This is a challenge I wrote for the Goodreads group, Nothing but Reading Challenge, which I am a moderator of,  for our October reading challenge. Interested in participating? Then join us at Nothing but Reading Challenges: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1494375. We'd love to have you come play with us. :)

This Halloween don your mad scientist lab coat and Build-A-Monster. Using books, piece together your unique creation. Yes, technically it doesn't need to be a monster, any supernatural creature you wish to create/invent will do. (This challenge was inspired by Mary's ingenious Build-A-Body challenge.)

This challenge has three tiers from which you can pick, mix, or combine. You can choose one tier or do all three. It's up to you to decide.:

Tier One - For this tier, you actually build the monster using book covers. You can make this portion of the challenge as easy or as challenging as you wish, depending on how many body parts you want to use. For instance, if you wanted to make this as hard as possible, you may want to look for two separate eyes, a mouth, a head, hair, a torso, a shoulder, a neck, a back, legs, two hands, arms, and feet (or even a nose and ears if you can find them). If you want something a bit easier, however, you can look for just those unique parts (fangs, wings, skin, etc.) that you want. The point is, it's all up to you! You're the mad scientist. (Examples listed below)

Note: Look for book covers predominantly featuring the body parts you're after. For instance, the cover for Bitter Night below has arms on it, but they don't draw your eyes the way the arms on Leaving Paradise's cover do. Also, remember that all of the body parts below are optional. Mix & match, pick & choose, but remember to be creative and have fun.


Tier Two - For this tier, you may pick and choose what skills, abilities, tools, weapons, etc. you want your monster to have. Just select books for which the characters have the traits you're looking for. (Examples listed below)

Tier Three - For this tier, create a story about how your creature came into being. Was it actually created by a mad scientist, a fluke of nature, a curse, or something else? Use book titles to fill in the gaps. (Example listed below)

Possible Alternative: For those of you who are die hard Spell-it-out challenge fans, you may, if you so wish, create your monsters using the spell-it-out challenge method. Using the first letter in the book's title (if the book starts with 'the', 'a', 'an', etc. you may use the first letter in the second word of the title), the first letter of an author's first or last name, or the first letter of a character's first, last, or nick name, you may spell out what unique body parts, tools, powers, etc. your monster has like fangs, fur, brooms, spell book, wands, etc. (Example listed below.)



Levels of Play:
Sidekick of Doom - Read 2 - 4 books
Igor's Evil Twin - Read 5 - 7 books
Mad Scientist - Read 8 - 10 books
Evil Genius - Read 11 - 13 books
Megalomaniac Mastermind - Read 14+ books

Duration: The month of October, but as this one will be moved to the regular challenges after October, you can opt to set your a goal for yourself that better suits your reading ability/speed and set a different deadline.

Tips & Suggestions:
- Listopia is a great place to find books for this challenge. There are many different lists devoted to body parts like hands, feet, legs, eyes, etc.
- Take it a step further by dressing your monster in a monster inspired outfit. You can search for covers with articles of clothing you'd like your monster to wear.
- Want to name your monster? Go ahead! Come up with a fun and unique name and tell us why you chose it.
- If you want an extra challenge, try to find two eyes, hands, feet, arms, shoulders, and legs. You can even look for a right & left of each!

Here are some example book covers to get you brainstorming:

Fangs/Teeth:


Eyes:


Skin/Fur (Think marks, color, texture, etc):


Nails/Hands:


Tails:


Wings:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/10...


Miscellaneous items:

  (heart)    (~neck~)    (tongue)      (ears)

Please Note: If you read a book in one language, you may use a foreign cover if it suits your purpose better. For example, you may wish to use this one:

In place of this one or eyes:


Powers:

(Healing)


(Controlling the weather)


(shape shifting)


(Electricity)

Instruments/Tools:


Example of a story:
It was A Dark and Stormy Night. The night sky lit up like there were A Thousand Splendid Suns blinking on and off. That's when I saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She looked at me and said, "I put a Dark Curse on you. You will be Dead Until Dark, a Dead Witch Walking. Never to walk In Broad Daylight again. It will seem a World Without End. You will have A Hunger Like No Other and You Just Can't Get Enough.

Example of a Spell-it-out challenge:
F - Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz
A - Hank Adams, a character in Indelible by Karin Slaughter
N - Nadia Lake, a character in Replica by Jenna Black
G - The Good Sister by Wendy Corsi Staub
S - What the Duke Desires by Sabrina Jeffries


Please Note: The Pictures, images, gifs were found in the shared area on Photobucket and are not my own. The top image includes covers from real books and the logo used was designed at http://www.flamingtext.com/ 

Cover Reveal for RECKLESSLY ROYAL by Nichole Chase (On Sale from Avon Books March 25, 2014)

I just adore this cover. It exudes attitude and makes me think she's checking out some guy, perhaps David, whom she's set her sights on. Catherine looks like trouble with a royal capital 'T' and this book sounds like a lot of fun.

'Recklessly Royal'  bu Nichole Chase will be making its royal debut in bookstores near you on March 25th. 

Book Synopsis:

Catherine has spent her life being the perfect princess. She’s kept her hands clean, her head down, and most importantly-men at arm’s length. After all, most men are after only one thing, and for Cathy there’s a lot more at stake than her bed; she has to worry about the fate of an entire nation. But at the rate she’s going, Cathy is afraid she’ll give the Virgin Queen a run for her money. She is tired of waiting for someone good enough to come along. She has a plan, and it all hinges on seducing the one man who seems utterly unimpressed by all things royal. The one man she is tempted by more than any other . . .

When David arrives at the royal wedding of his friend, the newly ordained Duchess Samantha Rousseau, he expected to feel uncomfortable and out of his element, but he wasn’t prepared to be targeted by Prince Alex’s gorgeous younger sister. With Cathy’s giant blue eyes, killer figure, and sense of humor, it won’t take long before he gives in. But when he finds out just how innocent the crown princess really is, will he play the part of knight in shining armor or the dashing rogue?

Pre-order your copy today at:

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/recklessly-royal-nichole-chase/1115952070?ean=9780062317476


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Recklessly-Royal-Nichole-Chase/dp/0062317474/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1379109335&sr=8-1

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Classification: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Format: Hardcover; 432 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 3, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0316213101
ISBN-13: 978-0316213103
Author's Website: http://www.blackholly.com/
Notes: I received an ARC at BEA. Contains underage drinking, violence and gore.

ELEVEN YEARS AGO, vampires were thought to be the stuff of Legends.

TEN YEARS AGO, the legend was proved to be true as a single vampire, Caspar Morales, decided to seduce and bite his way across America in the style of the old fashioned Hollywood vampire movies infecting hundreds as he went.

SEVEN YEARS AGO, Tana's Mom was infected, and Tana got a first hand look at what the infection did to a person. An event which has haunted Tana for years.

TODAY, Tana woke up, after passing out at a party, to find all her friends and classmates who had attended, some whom she'd know since kindergarten, dead from a violent vampire attack. As she made her way around the house, she found only one other survivor, her ex-boyfriend, Aidan. He was tied to a bed and infected with a full fledged vampire tied to the bed next to him. Deciding she would not let another of her friends die, because vampires were in effect dead, she decides to get them out. With perhaps a misguided sense of righteousness, she also decides to save the vampire who had warned her they were not alone. While trying to escape, however, she'll find herself bitten too and the trio will seek out shelter in one of the nation's many Coldtowns.

When a person is infected they are said to have gone Cold. Their temperature drops, their senses heighten and there craving for human blood begins. The only proven way to prevent an infected person from becoming a full blown vampire is to keep them from drinking human blood for a total of eighty eight days. That's how long it takes for the virus which causes vapirism to be flushed out of a person's system. In the aftermath of spread of vapirism, the government established a number of Coldtowns across the country. These were towns where large outbreaks had occurred and the military had quarantined them off, effectively trapping within its walls a combination of vampires, the infected and those who were unluckily enough to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

NOW, the countdown begins. Can they survive eighty eight days without giving in to their hunger? Can they survive in a town full of vampires--a group known to usually feed and then kill its prey? If they can survive without being turned, can they find their way out? For nothing in this world is ever truly guaranteed, not even your freedom from a Coldtown.

Holly Black creates a dark and scary world. A world where vampires would rather kill than make you one of them. A world where the government is attempting to regain control and make the world a safer place by corralling vampires and the infected into Coldtowns. A world where children are taught from an early age how vampirism is transmitted in the hope of stopping its spread. From the first page, Black sets the tone for this one with its horrific start. Just imagine waking up to find everyone around you dead. I can't even fathom it. 

A lot of world building goes on throughout the book. I like how Black actually gives us a fairly detailed explanation of how her world came about. As the book progresses, we not only get a glimpse of the unrest in the world, but of what life is like for someone living in confined space of a Coldtown is like. As can only be expected, there are those who think the life of a vampire is desirable and go to Coldtowns seeking eternal youth and life. The outside world isn't privy to all that goes on inside of Coldtowns, they just get glimpses via the feed streamed through blogs which paint a picture of only a portion of what goes on there. As one might expect, its darker and more sinister side isn't the part that gets air time. While schools and churches can preach of how vampires are as deadly and dangerous as any other predator, they can't stress enough for some that they are not to be romanticized about or trusted. They are unpredictable by nature and can turn on someone without a moment's notice.   

Tana, our protaganist, is strong yet weak in character. She's strong in how she can remain calm under pressure and is resilient, but her relationship with Aidan shows how she's is easily mislead. Her desire to please him clouds her judgement and makes her act at times recklessly. This is one of my pet peeves about young adult books. Even after the guy breaks up with her, she's still tries to impress and please him. Seriously? You'd make out with his new girl friend just because it gets him off? Have some self respect. The way he treated her was demeaning. If a guy is willing to share, that's your first clue that he's not all that in to you. Tana even admits that doing all Aidan asks of her still didn't keep him by her side. In my humble opinion, the message can't get much clearer than that. I was hopeful she saw the error of her ways, but I wasn't a hundred percent convinced by the end of the book that she had.

Aidan was one of my least favorite characters in the book. He's reckless, self centered, cocky, and a typical bad boy, but with few redeeming qualities. Thankfully, it doesn't look like he and Charlie are likely to pick up where they left off. I'm curious if being in Coldtown will change him. By the end of the book, I was starting to wonder.

Gavriel is the intriguing and mysterious vampire that Tana finds bound with Aidan at the beginning of the book. He seems the opposite of Aidan in many ways, and I rather liked him. We learn as the trio make their way into the Coldtown that he's come to Coldtown for a specific purpose, to kill someone. Who, we don't know.  

Overall, I gave this one a 3 out of 5 roses. I liked the world Ms. Black created. The book had a nice pace, and there was a lot going on to keep a person's attention. It contained plenty of betrayal and a twist or two to keep things interesting. Plus, the cliffhanger as to whether or not Tana will turn or not was enjoyable. I suspect Ms. Black will throw in another twist as to how that will turn out in the next book. She strikes me as having the type of imagination that likes to mix things up to keep things interesting. While I didn't instantly bond with the characters, I was starting to warm to them by the end. I'm interested enough to know what Ms. Black will do in the next book to keep me reading.

Release Day Review of Antigoddess (Goddess War #1) by Kendare Blake

Title: Antigoddess

Series: Antigoddess

Classification: Young Adult (12 and up)

Genre:  Mythology / Supernatural
Format: Hardcover; 336 pages
Publisher: Tor Teen; 1 edition (September 10, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0765334437
ISBN-13: 978-0765334435

Notes: Received an ARC at BEA

Immortals are supposed to live forever or are they? The Gods of old are dying, falling victims to different fates all serving out a rather poetic style of justice in rather morbid ways. Athena, Goddess of  wisdom and war, is being suffocated by feathers. Hermes' (God of Thieves and Messenger of the Gods) own body is eating itself. Demeter, goddess of harvest and the fertility of the earth, is being stretched across the earth to the point of ripping, and the list goes on and on. With such dire times you'd think the gods and goddesses would unite to find the cause of what is happening to them and put an end to it. Instead some are using it as a time to do what was once impossible--kill other immortals. It's a God eat God world, literally. Only the strongest will survive and ironically the keys to ending all the madness and death may be in the hands of the very individuals the gods once toyed with and used as their pawns. Humans who played important roles years ago when the Gods were at their most powerful have been reincarnated. They'll have to remember who they are and what happened before they'll be of any use, but the real question is can those who were once betrayed by the very Gods and Goddesses who need their help be counted on to save them?  

This was a rather interesting twist on an old genre and quite different from Blake's other books. Athena and Hermes are desperately seeking answers as to why they are dying. Demeter seems to have some idea, but she's literally been stretched to inches of her limits and, therefore, is of little help. Cassandra, the human who was cursed by Apollo to have the gift of foresight but never to be believed, is the person whom Demeter points to as possibly holding the key to their salvation. Athena, however, sided against the Trojans in the war and is as much to blame for Cassandra's family's demise as any other God. Will she side with them or some of the other Gods who had no hand in the Trojan tragedy? 

 If you aren't up-to-date with Greek mythology you are probably going to feel a little lost going into this one. The majority of what is happening among the Gods seems to be rooted in the personal vendettas and grudges the Gods and Goddesses have held against one another through the ages. While some of these are revealed as the story progresses, I would have preferred the mythology to have been revealed a little sooner and more in depth. 

As a person who can usually dive right in at any point in a series with little to no problem, I just felt a little lost and not because I don't know my Greek mythology. I took a class or two in college because I've always had a soft spot for it. The fact we don't know why immortals are slowly dying had me feeling clueless as to what was truly going on. Now, this may have been a ploy by the author to make us feel aligned with what the characters are feeling so that we can sympathize with their plight, but by not revealing the reason before the end, it did the exact opposite. I had hoped there would be some prophecy or curse divulged which would explain things, but none were to be found. The only explanation I could find was a vague reference to the 'Twilight of the Gods' which was never explained. That, by the way, is a crossover into Norse Mythology which talks of a huge battle among the Gods which leaves many dead, some being reborn, with the majority of  humanity being destroyed in the process. A type of cleansing of everything--the earth, the Gods and man. I'm hoping that is not the 'Twilight of the Gods' reference Blake was going for, but with no clear definition as to what the phrase referred to, there is no telling. By the way, the term 'Twilight of the Gods', was the result of a famous mistranslation of the word Ragnarok in the Norse native language. It literally means Doom of the Powers, or Destruction of the Powers, where Powers means Gods.* 

Besides the lack of in depth mythological background, the switching focus between the pair of Athena and Hermes and Cassandra, who knows nothing of her being the Cassandra of myth, was a little too choppy for my taste at the beginning. I wish the author had spent more time on each before starting to alternate between the two. Granted, this was an ARC which I got fairly early on, so hopefully some of the choppiness will be smoothed out before the final publication, but I doubt the mystery of it all will be revealed. Plus, war usually means there are two sides, and while it appeared that sides were beginning to be taken, nothing seemed to be clearly defined by the end. Everything was left fairly sketchy. Additionally, Hermes and Athena had no clue about there being a war prior to Demeter stating that a war was being waged. Yet later Hera said she was glad to find Athena had chosen the other side. Huh?

Again, I hope these are all issues that are ironed out by the final version. Things did get more interesting and the pace picked up midway through the book. While I liked the story, sadly I can only give it a 2 1/2 out of 5 roses. I just didn't feel things flowed together as smoothly as it should. 

*References:

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/ragnarok.html

http://voices.yahoo.com/ragnarok-last-battle-norse-mythology-9139239.html?cat=37

http://www.terrapsych.com/gods2.html

Which of Lisa Kleypas' 'Devil in Winter' covers would you choose?

So I'm trying out my first official poll via Poll Daddy and what better way to test it than with one of my favorite author's books?  So please help me see how the poll works by voting for your favorite cover. If you're a blogger, vote and leave a comment and I promise I'll  return the favor by checking out your blog and making a comment.   

Ruthless (Faces of Evil #6) by Debra Webb

Title: Ruthless: The Faces of Evil Series: Book 6
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Series: Faces of Evil
Format: Paperback; 352 pages
Publisher: Forever (August 27, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1455527602
ISBN-13: 978-1455527601
Notes: Received ARC from the Publisher
Author's Website: http://www.debrawebb.com/

Some jobs don't end at the end of a shift. Some jobs follow you home--literally. Jess Harris has such a job. She is the Deputy Chief of the Birmingham Police Department and she's recently gotten a little present from a serial killer who has attempted to add her name to his list of victims. While she and the FBI department she formerly worked in attempted to find and apprehend him, he's the one that got away by fleeing the country.
While she's suspected the man may be back in the states, a present left in her refrigerator--a Chinese takeout style box filled with worms with a note attached that read, "Are you going to fish or cut bait?"--leaves little doubt the man has come back to play, and a deadly and complicated game of cat and mouse is about to ensue.

As if that wasn't enough, another serial killer who has remained silent for over a decade has made his presence known. The second psychopath mailed a box of bones with a newspaper article about a little girl who went missing over thirteen years ago. The girl was the last victim of a kidnapper dubbed the 'Man in the Moon'. The inside flap of the box had instructions which requested that the box and its contents be given to Jess. While Jess had been just a child herself when the kidnappings had occurred, it's believed her recent notoriety among the media spurred the killer to reach out to her.

For nearly two decades the 'Man in the Moon' had stalked the streets of Birmingham. Every year, on the night of the Harvest/Hunter's Moon, a young girl between the ages of seven and nine had gone missing. During a Harvest Moon, the moon looks to be closer to the earth than at any other time. Someone in the media noticed and commented that "it was almost as if the moon got so close to the earth that the man living there reached down and snatched a human child so he wouldn't have to live alone." Hence, the name 'Man in the Moon' stuck. When the madness finally ended, a total of twenty little girls had gone missing and their fates had remained a mystery, until now.

The note left by the killer read, "Hello, Jess. We're all waiting for you to find us." And thus ensued a second deadly game, one of  entailing a combination of 'hide-and-go-seek' and 'tag, you're it'. The question is will she be able to win the game many other officers haven't? If the killer follows his previous pattern she doesn't have much time before he selects his next victim.

This is the sixth book of the series and I'm loving it. It's got all the elements one could want from a police series. You've got action, suspense, mystery, and drama. Everything has to be pieced together like a complex puzzle where some of the pieces don't appear until the last second. Kind of like when you put together a jigsaw puzzle and those last couple of piece appear to be missing and you have to search for them only to find they'd wedged themselves somewhere right under your nose waiting to be discovered.

Besides all the action and drama associated with the murderers, there is also a great deal of character development that makes the characters appear three dimensional. Jess puts her whole self into her job. Over the past several months she's been trying to coax the serial killer who tried to kill her, and who is known as The Player, to come out of hiding. This may be a case of "be careful what you wish for because you might just get it" because you know a criminal mastermind is not going to play fair. We still don't get closure with this ongoing storyline, but I suspect the next book will have a larger portion of it dedicated to it.

What I enjoy most about the series is that the author seeds each book with little kernels of information that make you wonder what their significance might be. I can't help but wonder if there's something off about her landlord. In the last book she found a man's wedding ring in the garage, yet the man has never been married. Was it truly just an innocent trinket or something more? Then there's the mystery of what happened to the other Chief Deputy. There is evidence to suggest he may have been out to do Jess harm before he mysteriously disappeared. Could her landlord have done him in or did someone from the last case he worked on take him out? Regardless of what happened, his disappearance has caused friction between Jess and some of the other cops in her department because it was known that she and Captain Ted Allen had not gotten along and some suspect his disappearance has something to do with her.

Overall, I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses and look forward to continuing the series. It's fast paced and draws the reader in in such a way as to give it an almost interactive quality. If your looking for an engaging series which challenges you to solve the mystery before the protagonist does, then you may what to check this series out.  I HIGHLY recommend it.