Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted Xpressoreads. It features a book that has been sitting on your bookshelf for awhile. To participate, go to Xpressoreads.com. You can grab the find more information here.

Blood Magic

by Tessa Gratton

Publication Date: 24 May 2011

Publisher: Random House

It starts off simply. Draw a circle ... place a dead leaf in the center ... sprinkle some salt ... recite a little Latin ... add a drop of blood ...

Maybe that last part isn't exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents' horrific deaths. She's willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep ... and spill some blood. The book isn't the only recent arrival in Silla's life. There's Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She's not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick's first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can't deny their attraction. And they can't ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power. Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood.

This is my first post for Dusty Reads and I've had this book on my shelf for awhile. I was so excited to get this book last year but since then I haven't had a chance to get to it. Hopefully I'll get around to it this year! Share you dusty reads in the comments and thanks to Xpressoreads for hosting such an awesome meme.

Review: Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles #1)

Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles #1)
by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
Publication Date: 8 December 2011
Publisher: Doubleday
Format: Paperback; Review Copy
Rating: 3/5

Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything. Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs. |Goodreads|

I was rather excited when I started reading Unleashed because it was written by two very established authors that both had good reputations. But I am rather sad to say that this book did not live up to my expectations. 

The story starts out in an intriguing way and I was very interested to see how the main character, Katelyn, would deal with the situation she was in. Rather disappointingly, I felt like she didn't grow at all throughout the story. I found her even annoying at times, and the way she dealt with certain scenarios was either unrealistic or she never took the time to think through what she was doing i.e.: changing a flat tire all on her own, in the middle of the dark woods with a mysterious killer animal on the loose. 

This is the first book I've read where there are two authors involved and this book didn't win me over with that concept. With there being two authors, there are going to be two different sets of imaginations, ideas, writing styles ect. These factors all came into play for me while I was reading Unleashed and it didn't appeal to me much. 

There wasn't much depth to the other characters either. I liked Katelyn's grandfather because he seemed really sweet and kind, but the fact that the distance between them never seemed to change was a bit disappointing. The romance that develops between Katelyn and Trick is a bit awkward and stunted throughout the story. It never seems to develop beyond a crush that each one has for the other. Katelyn also has confused feelings over another guy, Justin, and that ended up confusing me. It was just so random and weird, and I still don't quiet get what happened there. 

Overall Unleashed was an ok read. Something I really did enjoy was the scare factor it provided. The mystery was very well written and at times I was rather scared about the things that were happening in the town of Wolf Springs. Possibly Unleashed is the setting up of a really good scary werewolf series to come, and if that's the case I'll definitely want to see where this story goes. Beware though...there is an almighty cliff-hanger so if you're not the kind of person who can wait for the next instalment, wait until you can read the series in one go.  

Follow Friday

My Friday post is a little late for me but it's still Friday somewhere in the world.Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee.This week's question is:
Many readers/bloggers are also big music fans. Tell us about a few of your favorite bands/singers that we should listen to in 2012.

I am a big music fan but I'm very particular about what I really enjoy listening to. I'm happy to have the latest pop number going quietly in the background but I'm definitely more of an alternative type. Here hare some of my absolute favourites at the moment: 
The Black Keys:If you haven't heard any of their songs by now, what are you waiting for? They are amazing and their songs give off the awesome vibe. 




Foster the People:This band's songs are so much fun! Whenever I heard the music it makes me feel like a kid again, and when is that ever a bad thing?



Florence and the Machine:Escapism. That's how I describe the music of Florence and the Machine. When a book doesn't do it for me, I put on her album and I can just lose myself in her music. 



Share your favorite bands in the comments! Leave a link to your blog and I'll follow back. Have a great weekend and happy reading!

In My Mailbox #6: Xmas Haul

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. I had quiet a haul of books over the holidays. My family knows exactly what to get me for Christmas!

Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness, Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I Am Number Four & The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Anna and the French Kiss & Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Haeley
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly 
Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
Entangled by Cat Clarke
Between by Jessica Warman 

Tempest Blog Tour: Time Travel Feature

We are kicking things off on a high note this year with the Tempest blog tour. Thank you so much Julie for stopping by the blog. Tempest, the debut novel by Julie Cross, is a thrilling time travel adventure and, being a big fan of time travel herself, we decided to pose some intriguing time travel questions of our own. Here is what she had to say:

If you could travel to any point in your life when would it be and why?

I've heard many stories about my wild toddler years and have proof of myself as a hellion, so I’d like to see it with my own eyes before I accept defeat. But probably I’d pick something I regretted and try to change it. For example, in grade school, a really nice boy in my class brought me flowers once when I was home sick from school. The whole boy/girl thing freaked me out too much to even respond. Then I threw away the flowers before my older sister came home so she wouldn't make fun of me. Then, even worse, I told the boy’s sister (also in my class) about what I had done and I’m sure she told him. I still feel terrible about this. Cruelty in those pre-adolescent years is not always intentional or deliberate but it still hurts the same. It takes lots of practice to do the right thing in moments like this. I’d love a chance to redo some of that time.

If you could travel to any point in time, where/ when would it be?

Like my main character, Jackson, I’m a little scared of the future, so I’d probably stay away from the forward time-travelling. As far as backwards goes, I really wouldn't mind seeing my parents young, like in high school or something. So, maybe the sixties. Also, I’m a huge sucker for Olympic moments. I would kill to see Nadia Comaneci, in 1976, get the first perfect ten in women’s Olympic gymnastics. I think any kind of text book historical moment would be fun to jump back to just to see if it really played out the same way it does in the history book description.

Julie Cross' Top Time Travel books:

Here are a few of my favourite time travel books that are easily some of my favourite books of all time:

1) The Time Traveler's Wife

2) A Wrinkle In Time

3) When You Reach Me 

4) Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Tempest releases tomorrow, January 5th, so make sure you pick up a copy. Your future self might not forgive you if you don't! You can read my review here. Thank you so much Julie Cross for stopping by The YA Reader. Tomorrow the tour continues over at A Dream Of Books with a Publication Day Feature and a Giveaway. 

Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

Tempest
by Julie Cross
Publication Date: 5 January 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback, ARC Copy
Rating: 5/5

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy. He’s in college, has a girlfriend, and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. That is until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit or kill him. Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly…and possibly the entire world. |Goodreads|

Fast paced, action packed and exhilarating. That's how I would describe this book in three words. Once I started reading Tempest, I couldn't put it down until I knew how it ended (and boy was that ending a tear jerk-er or what?!) I don't normally go for books that are written from a male's point of view purely because I find it difficult to relate to the main character, but I'm so glad that I took a chance on Tempest. 

The main character is a young college student by the name of Jackson Meyer. To me Jackson starts off a little too full of himself. He's rather good looking, he's rich, he has an amazing girlfriend and a geeky best friend. Plus he can time travel, which is always an exciting ability to posses. Basically things just seem to go his way. So the moment things start not going his way I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat and I thinking, 'let's see how you are going to work your way out of this one'. As the story progressed and I learnt more about Jackson, he started to become more endearing and I found myself relating alot more to him. I'll admit, I developed a little soft spot for him because he learns to appreciate what he had as he realizes exactly what he's lost. In the end I admired how much Jackson grew emotionally and how he matures at the end of the book.

The secondary characters were really well rounded and I found them very real and honest. I loved Jackson's girlfriend, Holly. I kept wanting her to mess up somewhere along the line because she's just such a kind and goodhearted person. Adam, Jackson's insanely clever side kick brought in much humor to the story, which I loved. At times I found myself laughing out loud at some of his anecdotes. Jackson's Dad brings some mystery to the story and at times I found myself doubting his honesty as well. But all in all these characters are well written and each have their own unique qualities that add to Jackson's story.  

I loved the pace of Tempest because it was neither too fast nor too slow. It was easy to get into and very difficult to stop thinking about once I had finished. It provided some food for thought, which I always find welcoming, and left me wanting more Jackson and Holly, action packed awesomeness.

I hope that in the not too distant future we will be seeing Tempest on the big screen but until then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Tempest. I am happy to place this one on my shelf next to The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games trilogy (yes, it is that good).