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.

Blog Tour (Review): Mercy House by Adam Cesare #Horror @TLCBookTours

Title: Mercy House
Author: Adam Cesare
Publisher: Hydra (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Welcome to Mercy House, a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfectly crisp, clean, and orderly . . . but nothing could be farther from the truth. In Adam Cesare’s thrilling novel, the residents will find little mercy—only a shocking eruption of unfathomable horror.

Harriet Laurel notices the odor at Mercy House as soon as she sets foot inside, brought there against her will by her son, Don, and his wife, Nikki. In the early stages of dementia, Harriet has grown resentful of Nikki, blaming her daughter-in-law for failing to supply grandchildren. Yet even Harriet must admit that her mind becomes clearer as soon as she crosses the threshold. If it wasn’t for that annoying smell.

Arnold Piper is an eighty-five-year-old ex-Marine, a proud man who has cared for himself his whole life. But no longer. Betrayed by his aging body, Arnold is learning that the trials he survived long ago in war-torn Korea pale beside the daily indignities of growing old. Little does he know that his greatest nightmares are still ahead of him.

Sarah Campbell is an idealistic nurse whose compassion has been stretched to the breaking point at the chronically understaffed facility that is Mercy House. But now Sarah’s list of unpleasant duties is about to take a terrifying turn. For something wicked is brewing in Mercy House. Something dark and rotten . . . and deadly.

Praise for Mercy House

“Of all the new writers busting out on the scene—and there are some great ones, without a doubt—Cesare’s the young guy with the greatest encyclopedic gorehound know-how, blistering cinematic pace, unquenchable love of both fiction and film, and hell-bent will to entertain. . . . [He] does just about everything right.” — John Skipp, Fangoria

My Review

I'm glad that I've reached the end of the horror reviews that I have scheduled because I think my opinion of Mercy House suffered from me being burned out on the genre. I mean, it's set in a nursing home, which is horror in itself to many people. It sounded so good before I jumped into the horror swarm, but I was bored and skimming by the time I got to read it.

Blog Tour (Review): Love is Red by Sophie Jaff #Thriller #Mystery #AdultLit @TLCBookTours

Title: Love Is Red (Nightsong Trilogy #1)
Author: Sophie Jaff
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Redefining the thriller's tale of the hunter and the hunted, This electrifying, hypnotically beautiful debut spins dark suspense and literary fantasy into a mesmerizing story of survival.

Katherine Emerson was born to fulfill a dark prophecy centuries in the making, but she doesn't know it yet. However, one man does: a killer stalking the women of New York City, a monster the media dubs the "Sickle Man" because of the weapon he uses to turn his victims' bodies into canvases for his twisted art. People think he's the next Son of Sam, but we know how he thinks and how he feels...and discover that he is driven by darker, much more dangerous desires than we can bear to imagine. He takes more than just his victims' lives, and each death brings him closer to the one woman he must possess at any cost.

Amid the city's escalating hysteria, Katherine is trying to unknot her tangled heart. Two very different men have entered her previously uneventful world—handsome and personable David, alluring yet aloof Sael—and turned it upside down. She finds herself involved in a complicated triangle...but how well does she really know either of them?

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Katherine and the Sickle Man, Sophie Jaff's intoxicating narrative will pull you in and hold you close. As the body count rises, Katherine is haunted by harrowing visions that force her to question her sanity. All she wants is to find love. He just wants to find her.

Ablaze with fear, mystery, and possibility, Love Is Red is the first book in the Night Song trilogy. With this unforgettable novel—one that combines the literary and the supernatural, fantasy and horror, the past and the present—Katherine's moment of awakening is here. And her story is only just beginning.

Praise for Love is Red

“The writing in this debut thriller is evocative and, simply put, gorgeous. Jaff does an amazing job at conveying all five senses at every moment…. The lush language and intricately fleshed-out characters make this a series — and author — to watch.” — RT Book Reviews

“The excitement (and there’s plenty of it) comes from the serial killer’s creepy, second-person accounts of his moves and from watching the cat-and-mouse game with Katherine... Frightening.” — Booklist

“The kick of this ridiculously entertaining book is the haze of delirium it creates in the reader’s brain... Jaff’s woozy supernatural saga is effectively scary and great fun to read.” — New York Times Book Review

My Review

The great thing about reading adult literature, I get to learn things about myself, as well as visit the worlds within the novels that I read. What I learned about myself in Love is Red is that it is extremely difficult for me to read about anything to do with sexual violence. Making it even worse (or better, if it doesn't bother you), is that Jaff is a tremendously talented writer who is able to pull you into each scene - good, bad, and ugly.

The DNF Files (1) - Kayla Edition #Giveaway

Lately I've been throwing aside books left and right, and I feel guilty about it. Because of this, I've decided that I'll share with you the books that I've tried reading that just weren't working out for me. Who knows? If you loved a certain book enough, maybe you can convince me to give it another go.

DNF #1

Title: Dragons Are People, Too
Author: Sarah Nicholas
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher

Never judge a dragon
by her human cover...

Sixteen-year-old Kitty Lung has everyone convinced she’s a normal teen—not a secret government operative, not the one charged with protecting the president’s son, and certainly not a were-dragon. The only one she trusts with the truth is her best friend—and secret crush—the über-hot Bulisani Mathe.

Then a junior operative breaks Rule Number One by changing into his dragon form in public—on Kitty’s watch—and suddenly, the world knows. About dragons. About the Draconic Intelligence Command (DIC) Kitty works for. About Kitty herself.

Now the government is hunting down and incarcerating dragons to stop a public panic, and a new shape-shifting enemy has kidnapped the president’s son. Kitty and Bulisani are the last free dragons, wanted by both their allies and their enemies. If they can’t rescue the president’s son and liberate their fellow dragons before getting caught themselves, dragons might never live free again.

Why It Didn't Work

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): The Kept by James Scott

Title: The Kept
Author: James Scott
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
In the winter of 1897, Elspeth Howell treks across miles of snow and ice to the isolated farmstead in upstate New York where she and her husband have raised their five children. Her midwife’s salary is tucked into the toes of her boots, and her pack is full of gifts for her family. But as she crests the final hill, and sees her darkened house and a smokeless chimney, immediately she knows that an unthinkable crime has destroyed the life she so carefully built.

Her lone comfort is her twelve-year-old son, Caleb, who joins her in mourning the tragedy and planning its reprisal. Their long journey leads them to a rough-hewn lake town, defined by the violence both of its landscape and of its inhabitants. There Caleb is forced into a brutal adulthood, as he slowly discovers truths about his family he never suspected, and Elspeth must confront the terrible urges and unceasing temptations that have haunted her for years. Throughout it all, the love between mother and son serves as the only shield against a merciless world.

A scorching portrait of guilt and lost innocence, atonement and retribution, resilience and sacrifice, pregnant obsession and primal adolescence, The Kept is told with deep compassion and startling originality, and introduces James Scott as a major new literary voice.

My Review

The Kept by James Scott is a very smart and well-written debut novel. It's dark and intense, but ultimately it wasn't for me. Though I enjoy novels with a literary feel to them very much, the early parts of The Kept reminded me too much of As I Lay Dying (or what I read of it anyway) and failed to capture my attention.

Review: The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray

Title: The Dollhouse Asylum
Author: Mary Gray
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date: October 22, 2013
A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.

At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.

The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.

If they play it right, then they'll be safe.
But if they play it wrong, they'll die.

My Review

Oh man, I feel really bad about writing this review, but obligations. I wanted The Dollhouse Asylum so badly that I begged my way onto the tour. I mean, look at that synopsis! Have you read it yet? I thought I would be getting a book about a weird oldish guy (probably 30s to a teenager - it says "man") being creeptastic with the young girl. I guess it was a little bit like that, but the "older man" is in his early 20s, and Cheyenne is 18. Not what I had in mind. That is only the most minor of issues that I had with The Dollhouse Asylum.

Blog Tour (Review): Shadow on the Wall by Pavarti K. Tyler

Title: Shadow on the Wall 

Author: Pavarti K. Tyler

Publisher: Fighting Monkey Press

Release Date: May 1, 2012

Shadow on the Wall is a Middle Eastern based fantasy novel that follows the transformation of billionaire Kurd, Recai Osman, into a superhero on the heels of a horrible occurence. It is the latest book by Pavarti K. Tyler, author of several other novels and novellas.

After spending an evening with a mysterious, alluring woman at a bar in Elih, Turkey, Recai Osman awakens in the middle of the desert. Luckily, Hasad Sofaer - a benevolent Jew - stumbles upon him. The old man takes Recai to his home, rescuing him from a certain death in the desert. While at the Sofaer home, Recai meets Rebekah, the intelligent, lovely daughter of Hasad who begins to nurse him back to health.

When Krazy Book Lady offered Shadow on the Wall to me for a review, I was very excited. The unique idea of a Muslim superhero was very appealing to me. When I began reading the book, I was immediately drawn into the desert with Recai. Tyler's writing was excellent, and I would have breezed through the book but for one thing. Graphic violence makes me very uncomfortable in books, and rape is one of the few reasons that I will step away from the book. For this reason alone, I was unable to finish the book. (I read books with uncomfortable ideas in school; now I read for pleasure alone.) Until that point, I thought the book held a lot of potential and was one of the most well-written independent novels I had read.

I am sure that many of you are willing and able to read books that address hard truths (and reality), so I suggest that you check out other reviews on the Shadow on the Wall blog tour. Though this was a DNF, it was for personal reasons and does not reflect on the book at all.

Now Available to Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Be sure to add it to your TBR list on Goodreads!

About the Author

Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number cruncher. She graduated Smith College in 1999 with a degree in Theatre. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge, Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off Broadway.

Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry as a freelance accountant for several international law firms. She now operates her own accounting firm in the Washington DC area, where she lives with her husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not preparing taxes, she is busy penning her next novel.

Follow Pavarti on her Blog, Fan Page, Twitter, and Google+!