Monday, August 3, 2015

The DNF Files (2) - Kayla Edition #Giveaway #DNFfiles

Again, I've been throwing aside books left and right because of limited reading time due to more responsibilities and having a lot more reading deadlines. I feel guilty about not giving some of these books more of a chance because they really do seem good. Excepting one, these books are ones that I intend to go back to at some point. If you loved any of these, let me know, and maybe I can move them back up the TBR to reread.

DNF #1

Title: The Great Zoo of China
Author: Matthew Reilly
Publisher: Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Acquired Via:
Publisher

In the blockbuster and bestselling tradition of Jurassic Park comes the breakneck new adventure from the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author Matthew Reilly whose imaginative, cinematic thrillers “make you feel like a kid again; [they’re] a blast” (Booklist).

It is a secret the Chinese government has been keeping for forty years. They have proven the existence of dragons—a landmark discovery no one could ever believe is real, and a scientific revelation that will amaze the world. Now the Chinese are ready to unveil their astonishing findings within the greatest zoo ever constructed.

A small group of VIPs and journalists has been brought to the zoo deep within China to see these fabulous creatures for the first time. Among them is Dr. Cassandra Jane “CJ” Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on reptiles. The visitors are assured by their Chinese hosts that they will be struck with wonder at these beasts, that the dragons are perfectly safe, and that nothing can go wrong.

Of course it can’t...


Why It Didn't Work

I love Michael Crichton's work, so I thought The Great Zoo of China would be a sure thing for me. I zipped through the first few chapters, and I was completely hooked. However, the gore started quickly, and it got to be a little too much for me. This is the one that I can't see myself trying to read again because I tend to avoid an overabundance of blood and guts in books. *shrugs* Maybe the writing will be enough for you.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond
Google Play | iTunes | Kobo



DNF #2

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn
Author:
Renee Ahdieh
Narrated By: Ariana Delawari
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Acquired Via:
Publisher (eARC) & Library (Audiobook)

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.


Why It Didn't Work

I was really interested in reading The Wrath and the Dawn because I loved A Thousand and One Nights both as a child and an adult. I think the problem with me reading this one is the audio. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with it, but it just didn't keep me hooked. I was about a third of the way through it, and I finally just picked up something else. I'll probably try reading a print or ebook copy next time.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond
Google Play | iTunes | Kobo



DNF #3

Title: The Philosopher Kings (Thessaly #2)
Author:
Jo Walton
Publisher: Tor Books (Macmillan)
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Acquired Via:
Library

From acclaimed, award-winning author Jo Walton: Philosopher Kings, a tale of gods and humans, and the surprising things they have to learn from one another. Twenty years have elapsed since the events of The Just City. The City, founded by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, organized on the principles espoused in Plato's Republic and populated by people from all eras of human history, has now split into five cities, and low-level armed conflict between them is not unheard-of.

The god Apollo, living (by his own choice) a human life as "Pythias" in the City, his true identity known only to a few, is now married and the father of several children. But a tragic loss causes him to become consumed with the desire for revenge. Being Apollo, he goes handling it in a seemingly rational and systematic way, but it's evident, particularly to his precocious daughter Arete, that he is unhinged with grief.

Along with Arete and several of his sons, plus a boatload of other volunteers--including the now fantastically aged Marsilio Ficino, the great humanist of Renaissance Florence--Pythias/Apollo goes sailing into the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean of pre-antiquity to see what they can find--possibly the man who may have caused his great grief, possibly communities of the earliest people to call themselves "Greek." What Apollo, his daughter, and the rest of the expedition will discover...will change everything.


Why It Didn't Work

The Philosopher Kings did work for me. I read and loved The Just City, book one, earlier this year. (You can read my review HERE) I've been anxiously awaiting this one for ages, but there just isn't enough time in the day. I'm going to try to pick it back up during my next slow spell. Hopefully it's still just as good even though it doesn't focus on the same characters.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond
Google Play | iTunes | Kobo



Giveaway

Since I'm not a complete asshole when it comes to books, I am going to give one (1) winner a copy of their choice of one (1) of these books. Since I'm feeling especially nice, you can opt to get The Just City instead of The Philosopher Kings so you don't have to start in the middle.



Choice of Physical Copy or eBook
Open INTERNATIONALLY
Ends at 12:01am EST on September 1st

a Rafflecopter giveaway
To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received may have received copies of the novel from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. It has in no way affected the outcome. All expressed opinions are awesome, honest, and courtesy of me.

9 comments:

  1. The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons :( It's an audio book and idk if its the narrator or what but it just isn't capturing my interest.
    Mary Loki

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I finished that one. Be glad you didn't - the ending sucked!

      Delete
    2. thank god I read your response! I was telling myself I need to listen to it or get rid of it this upcoming week! :P

      Delete
    3. You'd be beating your head against a wall or something equally hard, I assure you.

      Delete
    4. lol thats so dangerous in a car- where I listen to my audiobooks.

      Delete
  2. a Samantha Young book- couldn't get past the first page

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think I've ever heard of her. To the Google!

      Delete
  3. I started The Monstrumologist but I will really really have to be in the mood to read it to ever finish it. I get too distracted every time I start reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I usually try to make myself finish, but I need to stop.

    ReplyDelete

You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!