Book Sp(l)ot Reviews: jay-kristoff

Showing posts with label jay-kristoff. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week's Ten:

10 Books on my Spring TBR List

The Complication (The Program #6) by Suzanne Young
Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

Suitors and Sabotage by Cindy Anstey
Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff
Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazo

Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin

Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett

Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

The Diminished (#1) by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson

Goodreads/Book Depo/Amazon

Please leave a comment and let me know what books are your top Spring TBR picks -maybe I'll find some I don't know, yet, that I want to read!

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Waiting On Wednesday [@randomhousekids @misterkristoff]

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

My pick for this week:

LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

On an island junkyard beneath a sky that glows with radiation, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap.

Seventeen-year-old Eve isn't looking for trouble--she's too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she spent months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, she's on the local gangster's wanted list, and the only thing keeping her grandpa alive is the money she just lost to the bookies. Worst of all, she's discovered she can somehow destroy machines with the power of her mind, and a bunch of puritanical fanatics are building a coffin her size because of it.

If she's ever had a worse day, Eve can't remember it. The problem is, Eve has had a worse day--one that lingers in her nightmares and the cybernetic implant where her memories used to be. Her discovery of a handsome android named Ezekiel--called a "Lifelike" because they resemble humans--will bring her world crashing down and make her question whether her entire life is a lie.

With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic sidekick Cricket in tow, Eve will trek across deserts of glass, battle unkillable bots, and infiltrate towering megacities to save the ones she loves... and learn the truth about the bloody secrets of her past.

published May 295h by Knopf Books for Young Readers

add to your Goodreads shelf // pre-order from Book Depo // or Amazon

Why?

There are so many different elements of this that sound appealing to me: first it's science fiction on a 'junkyard island' and there's radiation; Eve built a gladiator robot -- which I love for the gladiator part, the robot part and the Eve building it part; and the androids. Then also? Her best friend is named Lemon Fresh. That is just the right level of absurd and quirky, I really want to know why that's her name (if there is a why).

I really want to discover this junkyard Eve lives on, why the sky 'glows with radiation,' what the gangsters are like, how much the androids and gladiator robots are a part of their society, and, of course, if Eve can stay ahead of the danger. Or what happens if she cannot.

That's my pick for this week, what's yours? Tell me in the comments and/or link me to your own post!

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Settings to Visit

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

10 Books Settings I Want to Visit

This whole list needs to come with a caveat, though, (it started being for this book then that book then, oh wait, this one, too until it was nearly all of them so instead it's for the list as a whole): I mean parts/places/times where I would not die. Whether it's through some sort of magical, protection bubble or just a fail-safe, definite, not-at-all-able-to-go-wrong escape plan . . . By whatever means I would want to visit these settings if I wouldn't be in mortal danger.

Warcross (#1) by Marie Lu

(probably Tokyo, specifically)

Blacksouls (#2) by Nicole Castroman

This Mortal Coil (#1) by Emily Suvada

These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann

Illuminae (#1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Artemis by Andy Weir

Daughter of the Pirate King (#1) by Tricia Levenseller

Mistletoe & Mr Right by Lyla Payne

Please leave a comment and let me know what book settings you would most want to visit!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Boyfriends/Girlfriends

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

10 Book Boyfriends/Girlfriends
only I am horrible at remembering who I would pick for these so mine's a mix of the above and maybe #relationshipgoals? Characters that I think are good boyfriend/girlfriend pairs.

London & Luke

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

review

Sloane & James

The Program by Suzanne Young

review

Robby

Bad Blood by Demitria Lunetta

review

Gideon

Time After Time by Sue Haasler

Amazon//Goodreads

Lola & Cricket

Lola & the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

review

Lilac & Tarver

These Broken Stars by Meagan Spooner & Amie Kaufman

Goodreads

Kady & Ezra

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

review

Rashida & Pierre

"Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert

Summer Days & Summer Nights anthology

review

Kaleb

Timepiece by Myra McEntire

review

Mr Robert Newton & Miss Lydia Whitfield

Duels & Deception by Cindy Anstey

review

And because I liked this book so much when I read it several years ago and discovered today that it's only 99¢ for Kindle, I am suggesting buying it:

Please leave a comment and let me know your book boyfriends and/or girlfriends (Or your #relationshipgoals character pairings)!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR List [@epicreads @merit_press @hmhkids @randomhousekids @simonteen @FierceReads @RP_Kids @SourcebooksFire]

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

10 Books On My Fall TBR List

Speed of Life by J.M. Kelly
(October 11th ~ HMH Books for Young Readers)

Twins Crystal and Amber have the same goal: to be the first in their family to graduate high school and make something of their lives. When one gets pregnant during their junior year, they promise to raise the baby together. It’s not easy, but between their after-school jobs, they’re scraping by.

Crystal’s grades catch the attention of the new guidance counselor, who tells her about a college that offers a degree in automotive restoration, perfect for the car buff she is. When she secretly applies—and gets in—new opportunities threaten their once-certain plans, and Crystal must make a choice: follow her dreams or stay behind and honor the promise she made to her sister.

Feminist readers in particular will appreciate this strong young woman who doesn’t conform to gender norms.. -Kirkus

Replica (Replica #1) by Lauren Oliver
(October 4th ~ HarperCollins)

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

Look Past by Eric Devine

(October 4th ~ Running Press Kids)

Someone brutally murdered Mary Mathison, daughter of a prominent and very conservative local pastor. Whoever it was is now taunting Avery, a transgender boy, with disturbing messages, claiming that Mary’s murder was revenge for her relationship with Avery. The killer’s demands are simple and horrific: Avery must repent for changing his gender identity, or he will be the next one killed.
Can Avery deny who he is to catch Mary’s killer? Or will sacrificing himself be the ultimate betrayal?

What Light by Jay Asher

(October 11th ~ Razorbill)

From Jay Asher, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Reasons Why, comes a romance that will break your heart, but soon have you believing again. . . .

Sierra's family runs a Christmas tree farm in Oregon—it's a bucolic setting for a girl to grow up in, except that every year, they pack up and move to California to set up their Christmas tree lot for the season. So Sierra lives two lives: her life in Oregon and her life at Christmas. And leaving one always means missing the other.

Until this particular Christmas, when Sierra meets Caleb, and one life eclipses the other.

By reputation, Caleb is not your perfect guy: years ago, he made an enormous mistake and has been paying for it ever since. But Sierra sees beyond Caleb's past and becomes determined to help him find forgiveness and, maybe, redemption. As disapproval, misconceptions, and suspicions swirl around them, Caleb and Sierra discover the one thing that transcends all else: true love.

What Light is a love story that's moving and life-affirming and completely unforgettable.

The Homecoming by Stacie Ramey

(November 1st ~ Sourcebooks Fire)

Forced to return to his estranged family, John discovers how hard it is to truly go home.

It's been a year since John lost his girlfriend, Leah, to suicide. Living with his uncle keeps his mind from the tragedy and his screwed up family-until he gets into trouble and a judge sends him back home. With a neglectful mother and abusive brother, John's homecoming is far from happy.

As he tries to navigate and repair the relationships he abandoned years ago, Emily, the girl next door, is the only bright spot. She's sweet and smart and makes him think his heart may finally be healing. But tragedy isn't far away, and John must soon face an impossible decision: save his family or save himself.

Teach Me to Forget by Erica M Chapman

(December 2nd ~ Merit Press)

Ellery's bought the gun, made arrangements for her funeral, and even picked the day. A Wednesday. Everything has fallen into place.

Now all she has to do is die.

When her plans go awry and the gun she was going to kill herself with breaks, she does the one thing she has control over--return it and get a new one. After tormenting the crusty customer service associate by trying to return the gun with the wrong receipt, Ellery gets caught by the security guard who also happens to be someone she knows--the annoyingly perfect Colter Sawyer from her English class.

Colter quickly uncovers what she's hiding and is determined to change her mind. After confessing a closely held secret of his own, he promises not to tell hers. Ellery tries to fight her attraction to him as the shadows of her past cling tight around her, but when she's faced with another tragedy, she must decide whether her love for one boy is more important than a lifetime of pain.

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin

(October 4th ~ Greenwillow Books)

Nell Crane has always been an outsider. In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs everyone now uses. But Nell is the only one whose mechanical piece is on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. As her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society’s good . . . but how can Nell live up to her father’s revolutionary idea when she has none of her own?

Then she finds a mannequin hand while salvaging on the beach—the first boy’s hand she’s ever held—and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own.

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

(October 18th ~ Knopf Books for Young Readers)

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.”

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

(November 8th ~ Feiwel & Friends)

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.

Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

and I'm leaving #10 open because I know there are a lot of fall books I forgot to add to my Goodreads shelves!

Please leave a comment and let me know the top books from your TBR list this fall!

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Top New-to-Me Authors of 2015

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Ten:

Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

These authors may not quite be my favorites but they are definitely on their way. I am really looking forward to what they have next - and what they've already published but I have yet to read! (I chose not to include any debut authors on the list unless they had previously published something - that I had not read - in another genre.)

Kate Morton: The Lake House
Goodreads // review

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)
Goodreads // review

*No, this is not cheating even though I have already read other books by Amie Kaufman because 1) I have not, previously, read anything by Jay Kristoff and 2) I have not read anything they've written together before