Sunday, December 29, 2013

Night of the Purple Moon (The Toucan Trilogy #1)

Night of the Purple Moon (The Toucan Trilogy #1)

 Synopsis: Abby, 13, is looking forward to watching the moon turn purple, unaware that bacteria from a passing comet will soon kill off older teens and adults. She must help her brother and baby sister survive in this new world, but all the while she has a ticking time bomb inside of her--adolescence.















Review:
This was an interesting book. It was a little different than most dystopian/apocalyptic books I have read as the story starts the night of the disaster and continues through the first year rather than your typical dystopian which is set decades after the disaster.

There were many interesting and realistic scenarios that the characters have to deal with, such as disposing of dead bodies, acquiring food and water, and dealing with limited fuel and resources.

Most of the first part of the book has the characters dealing with these things as well as deaths as people reach puberty, there wasn’t much in the way of long term plot early on, other than listening for updates from the CDC on how they are trying to find a cure.

The last third of the book was more exciting as two of the characters leave the relative safety of their island in hopes of finding the promised cure.

The characters were good but not great, I didn’t find their personalities diverse enough and I would sometimes have to double check who someone was because they blurred together.

It was nice that there wasn’t any bad language and the violence was fairly mild, making the book suitable for younger readers (perhaps ten and older).

It did feel that a lot of scenes were too brief and could have been expanded to make them more interesting and give a better connection to the characters. I would have enjoyed seeing more details on exactly how they were running things, managed their resources, taught things to the younger children, worked on cleaning the water, searching the homes etc. most of this was only described briefly and it would have been so much more enjoyable if these world details were expanded.

There were quite a few times were the science or real world happenings were inaccurate or didn’t seem likely and occurred only for the convenience of the story.

Overall I would rate this book 3 ½ stars, as it has some interesting topics and ideas but I just wish they were expanded more. The characters were fairly good but too similar to each other to be anything special


In full disclosure I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.


Rating: *** 

 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Win a Kindle Fire HDX!

December Kindle Fire   Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value)   This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT! Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HDX 7".
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HDX (US Only - $229 Value)
  Or $229 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)
  Or $229 in Paypal Cash (International)
      December Kindle Fire Giveaway #2 Sponsors
  1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
  2. Feed Your Reader
  3. Darker Passions
  4. Author Talia Jager
  5. The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl
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  7. Kelly's Lucky You
  8. LeahSay's Views
  9. Author Bella Street
  10. Author Bonnie Blythe
  11. Feed Your Fiction Addiction
  12. Blogging the Beloved
  13. Fae Books
  14. Author Kelli Beck
  15. Barb's Wire - eBooks & More
  16. MumbleBee Inc.
  17. MyLadyWeb: Women's History and Women Authors
  18. I Know That Book!
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  20. The Reporter and the Girl
  21. My Story That I Like Best
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  24. Candace's Book Blog
  25. Attack of the Books!
  26. Author Elizabeth Seckman
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  29. Author Jennifer L. Weil
  30. The Real Bookshelves of Room 918
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  43. Stanley and Katrina Pet Authors
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  46. The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
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  Sign up to sponsor the next Kindle Fire Giveaway: http://www.iamareader.com/category/kindle-giveaway-sign-ups   Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of an all new Kindle Fire 7" HDX (US Only - $229 value), $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash (International). There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire HDX 7". Ends 1/1/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  a Rafflecopter giveaway