Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith: First Impression Review + Second Chance Giveaway

 First Impression Reviews is a new feature here at Stories & Sweeties where I give my first thoughts at 50-100 pages into a book. For a details about this feature, go here!

Where I'm at: 75

First Impression: 
Part of what gave this one it's slow start was the really long prologue.  To be honest, I started reading this one with the preview on Amazon, and for whatever reason, I started with chapter one. I thought it was pretty interesting and I was able to figure out what was going on pretty easily and how the dreamstriding worked.  Later on, I went back and started from the Prologue, and while that gave a bit of insight on where Livia came from and how she met Brandt, I still, at page 75, am not exactly clear on the world building and what exactly the "tunnels" were. Were they literal tunnels? Was it just another way to say the lower poorer areas of the city? 
Now back to the first chapter, that was actually exciting stuff! Livia is Dreamstriding in the body of an enemy General, trying to find out a few military secrets. It starts to go wrong and you see the danger in what she is doing...if the person wakes and forces her out of his body, she can be lost in the world of nightmare.  After that, the story completely lost me. From the end of chapter one, to page 75, it is nothing but politics and more politics, with a little hint of Livia mooning over Brandt. Neither the story or the writing was holding my attention.  I found nothing of the characters to connect to. And I found a few of the characters a little cartoonish.  So as much as it pains me to do so, I'm setting this aside at page 75. 

But wait!! If it's one thing a book blogger knows, its that not every book is for everyone!  This one might not have worked out so well for me, but I want to give this book a second chance at being loved! Want to give this one a shot? Enter below to win my copy!

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New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {144}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts)

New shelf candy:

For Review:
Tell the Story To It's End by Simon P. Clark

Won:
Pull by Anne Riley

Traded for:
The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

Such lovely book mail this week :D I am so very excited about every single one of these, but *super happy dance* at Pull & Girl from Everywhere---two of my tippy-top most anticipated books of 2016!! 

Thanks to St. Martins Griffin, Anne Riley for the review/prize copies, and for Calla for a most epic trade!! :D


The Weekly Nutshell:
{Wednesday} Waiting on...Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin
{Thursday} Review: Drift & Dagger by Kendall Kulper

So this week I was lucky to get anything up on the blog at all. I feel like this year has just been one thing after the other and this past week was no exception. My lovely Aussie dog, Daphne got really sick this week and for few days we thought we might lose her.  But after an emergency vet trip, a round of medications, and some careful doggie-nursing from the whole family, she seems to be pulling through :)  She's a very old lady, and we know she won't be with us forever, but it won't be any less heartbreaking to lose her. Anyhow, she seems determined to stay with us a while longer. ♥
On the reading front, well, I did almost none this week.  I think I've decided to throw in the towel on Dreamstrider, it just wasn't for me (possibly more on that later) and after setting that aside, I haven't picked up anything else yet because of all that was going on.  Now that things are leveling out and I have  few days off of work, I'm hoping to find something to catch my attention! :D

Are you reading something that you're loving this week? Do tell! :)

Drift and Dagger by Kendall Kulper {review}

Drift and Dagger
by Kendall Kulper
♦publisher: Little, Brown BYR
♦release date: September 8th, 2015
♦hardcover, 368 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone (companion prequel to Salt & Storm)
♦source: from publisher for honest review

I’ve always been a monster. And monsters destroy things. Things like magic and friendships and futures.

Mal used to have a home, a best friend, and a secret. But he lost all three on the day Essie Roe exposed him as a blank. Blanks cannot be cursed or saved or killed by magic. And everyone is afraid of them—even Mal himself.

Now Mal travels the world in search of dangerous and illegal magical relics, never stopping in any one place too long. When his partner in crime, Boone, hears of a legendary dagger that can steal magic, Mal knows he finally may have found a way to even the score with Essie. Crossing oceans and continents, Mal and Boone travel from Boston to Paris to Constantinople in search of the dagger. Finding it would mean riches, fame, and revenge—but only if Mal can control the monster inside him.

Kendall Kulper weaves a vivid story of betrayal and determination—and the road to forgiveness—in this new adventure set in the world of Salt & Storm.

Review: I admit I haven’t read this author’s first book, Salt & Storm. But after hearing that it is even better than Drift & Dagger, I know I need to move it up on my reading list…because I really enjoyed this one quite a lot! This is the prequel to the events of Salt & Storm so I’m eager to see where Essie’s story leads. Kendal Kulper’s writing is stunning and the world she has built to backdrop Mal’s story is a lush version of the 1850’s infused with magic, superstition, hunters, mysterious artifacts, and secret societies.  His adventure spans the globe, starting in a small-minded and curse-fearing town called Prince Island and on to London, New York, Constantinople, and even the jungles of Burma.

Mal is a constantly surprising character. At times he’s clever and resourceful, but at the idea of being left on his own, he fears the threat of loneliness.  He can be a bit broody at times, especially when thinking about the life he’s been dealt as a blank and what he fears he’ll become according to legend.  And then there is a side of him that is angry and wants nothing more than vengeance on Essie for what she did to him. He teams up with Boone, a shady thief with powers of magical persuasion—and while his power doesn’t work on Mal, he’s all too happy to play Mal’s fear and weakness to his advantage under the guise of being his only friend. Definitely a character readers will love to hate.

While both the romantic twist and the “true” nature of the monster growing in Mal are not hard to see coming, I love the way this ended and was more than happy to see a few despicable characters get exactly what they deserved! Many excited scenes that had my heart pounding, lots of adventure as they chase down a magical dagger. The only issues I had were with the frequent jumps to past stories that I found a bit jarring, but gave great insight to the story as a whole.

I’ll definitely be reaching for more work from this author in the future!

Find Kendall Kulper online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Tumblr

Purchase the book:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

Waiting on...

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

Exile for Dreamers

by Kathleen Baldwin

hitting shelves May 24th, 2016

from Tor Teen

No official description for this one yet!! :D

My thoughts: So, not much official news on this one yet, aside from another gorgeous cover, but if you read a finished copy of A School for Unusual Girls, you know from the sneek peek at the end that Exile for Dreamers will be about the characters Tess and Lord Ravencross. They are two incredibly feisty and intriguing characters from the first book.  I can't wait to find out more about them!

New Shelf Goodies & The Weekly Nutshell {143}

For New Shelf Goodies, I'll be showing you what lovely books I acquired this week, whether from publishers, or the library, or from whatever half-crazed book-buying binge I happened to go on. :D (Inspired by Tynga's Stacking the Shelves) The Weekly Nutshell will be just that...my week here at Stories & Sweeties, in a nutshell. (inspired by Ginger @ GReads and her recaps at the end of the TGIF posts)

Gorgeous things came to my door...

For review:

A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Dreamland by Robert Anderson

I am reading Madness so Discreet SOON. I've heard some mixed things about Dreamland so I'm a bit nervous about that one, but we'll see!

Traded for:

Seven Black Diamonds by Melissa Marr

Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown

Thanks, Anna, for these!! So excited for both!

Purchased:

Molly Pepper and the Night Train by Courtney King Walker

A few years ago I absolutely fell in love with this book, On the Fringe, so imagine my sheer delight to find out this author wrote this new book! AND she has another YA coming out in 2016!! So excited for both!

Thanks so much Harper Collins for the review books!

The Weekly Nutshell

{Tuesday} Review: The Wanderers by Kate Ormand
{Wednesday} Waiting on...The Lonely Ones by Kesley Sutton
{Thursday} What's New: October YA Release List & Giveaway!
{Friday} Blog Tour: An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

First off, thanks to all who left kind words of support in the comments last week. It's been a tough time, but I'm getting through.  ♥
So as I'm writing this a gorgeous lightning storm is going on outside and the rain is just starting to fall. I looooove this weather, makes me want to cook up a big pot of comfy soup...which I did, this week. :)  On the reading front, I blew through Daughter Unto Devils this week, which scared the pants off me. Such a perfect Halloween read! I'll be reviewing this one over at Books Take You Places with a coordinating cupcake recipe this month for Fortnight of Fright! I also finished the audiobook of Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic, so I'll be reviewing the series so far this week! Right now I'm finishing up Rebel Mechanics...this was a fun one! :)   Up next for me is Dreamstrider and then I may have to give in to Truthwitch...my copy continues to give me the "come hither" stare every time I pass my bookshelves lol.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Blog Tour: An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet

Today I'm excited to be a part of the official tour for Leah Bobet's new YA novel, 

AN INHERITANCE OF ASHES

This book, with it's promise of war, family secrets, and monsters, sounds so amazing! Read below for an exclusive excerpt and be sure to enter the giveaway below to win one of  three gorgeous finished copies!

An Inheritance of Ashes

by Leah Bobet

♦publisher: Clarion Books

♦release date: 

♦hardcover: 400 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦stand-alone

The strange war down south—with its rumors of gods and monsters—is over. And while sixteen-year-old Hallie and her sister wait to see who will return from the distant battlefield, they struggle to maintain their family farm.

When Hallie hires a veteran to help them, the war comes home in ways no one could have imagined, and soon Hallie is taking dangerous risks—and keeping desperate secrets. But even as she slowly learns more about the war and the men who fought it, ugly truths about Hallie’s own family are emerging. And while monsters and armies are converging on the small farm, the greatest threat to her home may be Hallie herself. 

EXERPT:

A bird called, harsh and frightened, and I dared open my eyes. Dawn light pried through my thick-paned window. The sky above it was as blue and fine as my faded bedroom walls. The thunder rattled weaker, wet leaves on glass. My heart wouldn’t stop its frightened stutter. “He’s dead,” I muttered sternly, padded across the green rag rug and opened the window.

The yard stretched before me, brown and empty; the air smelled of woodsmoke and frost. I shoved my head into the chilly dawn outside, and the bare branches of trees, the barns, the gray river unscrolled sleepily into the sky. From below, from the leaf-clogged gutters, something let out a whimpered cheep. I reached down—

—and a small shape exploded in a fury of wings.

I shrieked.

It staggered and shrieked right back at me, a harsh, uncertain caw. Battered brown wings struggled for purchase on the sill; tiny claws scrabbled closer. I grabbed the window handles and jerked them down between us. The thin cry muffled as wood and glass slammed down—and then it rose to a scream. A dark smear fluttered between the thick panes and the white sill: the wing. It was nothing more than a stunned bird, and I’d just crushed its wing.

“Oh,” I breathed, and brushed river stones and hair clips messily off the sill. Bile stung my throat: You’ve killed it. It can’t even fight back. I shoved the window upward, fast, hands clutched under the bottom frame.

The wing slapped my hand so hard that everything stopped.

“Ow!” I cradled the hand close to my chest. Furious, ragged squawks trailed me back into the bedroom. “Sorry,” I whispered over and over, an exhausted litany of sorry that beat in time with my throbbing hand. The wing had left a red spot, as red as a bug-bite burn. I brushed it with idle fingernails.

They caught on something. Hard.

The thinnest edge of a cobweb was growing out of my left hand. It seared my window frame brown where it stuck, and the line it burned led straight to the bird’s desperate talons. I’d been too rattled, too guilty to see it: those eight black sparrow-nails were sticky-coated with web.

It wasn’t a bird. It was a Twisted Thing—one of the Wicked God Southward’s pet monsters.

*          *           *           *          *

                    

   

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leah Bobet is a bookseller, publisher, and editor as well as a Pushcart-Prize nominated author. 

She lives in Toronto. www.leahbobet.com 

WEBSITE  •  TWITTER  •  FACEBOOK

Add An Inheritance of Ashes on Goodreads 

*GIVEAWAY!*

Three finished copies of An Inheritance of Ashes are being given away tour-wide!
Enter below!
(US mailing address only)

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What's New: October YA Release List & Giveaway!

Fall is here! ♥ Cooler temps, apple and pumpkin everything, leaves turning---but wait...it's still 95 degrees out here! :(  What is this?  *Sigh* Soon, soon my friends, it will be hot chocolate time, sweater and scarf weather, Halloween, all those things that make it my favorite time of year. But for now, I'm still just hot.  Hey whatya know! I wrote that yesterday, and it rained all day today! YAY! :D Welcome FALL!! 

So if you're new to Stories & Sweeties, here's a little run-down of this feature: at the start of each month, I do a little thing called the "What's New List & Giveaway" where you'll find a full list of the new releases in YA for the month, and entry to the international giveaway. At the end of each month, one lucky winner will get to choose any new release as their prize!

First things first! The winner of September's giveaway is Sui! Congrats! 

October 2015 Releases:
Just like previous months, I've put a little l♥ve by those books that I am really anticipating!

{1}

The Anatomy of Curiosity by Maggie Steifvater, Tessa Gratton, & Brenna Yovanoff

Becoming Darkness by Lindsay Francis Brambles

Either the Beginning or the End of the World by Terry Farish

The Way Back from Broken by Amber J. Keyser

{2}

The Yearbook by Carol Masciola ♥

{6} 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell ♥

The Chess Queen Enigma by Colleen Gleason

Cinderella's Shoes by Shonna Slayton

The Detour by S.A. Bodeen

Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith ♥

Fated by Peggy Martinez

Future Perfect by Jen Larsen

House by Christina Lauren

An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet ♥

It's a Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt ♥

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis ♥

My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness ♥

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus

Sing Down the Stars by L.J. Hatton

Sky Key by James Frey

Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

A Step Toward Falling by Cammie McGovern

The Storm by Virginia Bergin

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston ♥

We'll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean ♥

The White Rose by Amy Ewing

Wild Sky by Suzanne Brockmann & Melanie Brockmann

{8}

Gathering Deep by Lisa Maxwell

If You Wrong Us by Dawn Klehr

{13}

The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser
Black Widow Forever Red by Margaret Stohl ♥
Blue Voyage by Dianna Renn
Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly
The Devil and Winnie Flynn by Micol Ostow & David Ostow ♥
The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones
First & Then by Emma Mills
Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas
Juba! by Walter Dean Myers
MARTians by Blythe Woolston
The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong ♥
Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix ♥
No True Echo by Gareth P. Jones ♥
The Rose Society by Marie Lu

A Sky Unbroken by Megan Crewe

A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond 
Truly Madly Famously by Rebecca Serle
Trust Me, I'm Trouble by Mary Elizabeth Summer
Weird Girl and What's His Name by Meagan Brothers

{16}

An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes by Randy Ribay

{20}

Dead Investigation by Charlie Price

The Distance from Me to You by Marina Gessner

If You're Lucky by  Yvonne Prinz

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff ♥

Loser Take All by David Klass

The Many Lives of John Stone by Linda Buckley-Archer ♥

Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall

Tell the Story to It's End by Simon P. Clark ♥

Time's Divide by Rysa Walker

Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown ♥

Willful Machines by Tim Floreen

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin ♥

{27}

A Castle of Sighs by Jennifer Murgia
City of Halves by Lucy Inglis
Confessions: Murder of an Angel by James Patterson & Maxie Paetro
Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus ♥

Diamonds are Forever by Michelle Madow
Fathomless by Anne M. Pillsworth
Flashes by Tim O'Rourke

Frosted Kisses by Heather Hepler
The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

Persuasion by Martina Boone ♥
Placebo Junkies by J.C. Carleson

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly ♥
Underneath Everything by Marcy Beller Paul

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley

The Winter Place by Alexander Yates
Winter Wolf by Rachel M. Raithby

(All links go to Goodreads)
Please feel free to email me if you notice any YA titles missing! :)

Giveaway Details: 
One winner will win a YA October release of their choice! *see note below
• Contest ends October 31th, 2015 at 11:59 PM
• Must be 13 or older.
• Open internationally. *International winners will be required to choose a book that is available through BookDepository.com up to $20 value.
•Extra entries can be earned by commenting on September or October reviews, and can be done once per review. Come back throughout October whenever you comment on my reviews and get your extra points!    

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