Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Nobody

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date: January 22, 2013

Source: ARC from Media Masters Publicity

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That's why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they're young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute's monitoring. But now they've ID'ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can't make the hit. It's as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are--because no one else ever notices them.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves books are some of my favourites, so I knew right away when I first heard about Nobody that I needed to get my hands on this book. It sounded quite different from what's already out there in terms of YA books and for that alone it intrigued me. Not only didn't it sound different, it actually was…even from what I thought it would be. But that's a good thing.

As much as she tried, Claire has always faded into the background, with no one taking particular notice to her. Every year she reads the same generic messages in her yearbook because no one can seem to remember who she actually is. She raises her hand in class and is constantly overlooked by the teacher. Her whole life Claire has been invisible. But that changes when Nix steps in, ready to kill her. Nix is following orders, going after Claire because he was told she was dangerous. But when he meets her, Claire is not who Nix thought she was. A Nobody, Nix knows what it means to be invisible, but Claire sees him…and he sees Claire. To each other, neither one is nobody.

Having read the Raised by Wolves series, I knew Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the type of author that will make you laugh and cry within one sentence. In a way, I sort of expected this going into Nobody but that's not exactly what I ended up getting. And that's a great thing. That style of writing just would not have worked with the story in Nobody. The story here, though it has its lighter moments, is definitely a dark one. But it's not an overbearing darkness. There were many occasions where the words or the actions of the characters put a smile on my face, and took me away from the controlling world of the Institute and all the violence that came with it. Nobody is also quite different from other YA books out there. I've read my fair share of YA mystery/thriller type books, but none quite like this one. The added element of Nobodies and Nulls just added another layer to the story, one that was very scientific almost psychological which made it all that more interesting to read about.

The characters also didn't fall flat. While reading, I could just tell that despite what she told herself, Claire wanted just one person to finally notice her without it requiring a huge effort on her part. But despite everything, she was someone that really impressed me. She absolutely does not let her situation get her down and is incredibly persistent and brave when she wants to be. So I was really glad when Nix walked into her life…granted at first I just wanted him to back off. Nix hasn't had it easy by any stretch of the imagination. For as long as he can remember he has been trained to be a killer and doesn't really know any other life because of the environment he grew up in. But I loved seeing him grow and develop and figure out who he was outside of the institute. As a final thought, let me just say that there are definitely moments with these two characters that lead to some emotions…happy and sad.

With Nobody, Jennifer Lynn Barnes has reminded me of why I loved reader her other books so much. Though this one was different, it was the good kind of different. It was also the kind of book that makes you think. Though it can have its rather dark moments, Nobody is definitely a book I would recommend. 

Jennifer Lynn Barnes Giveaway!

Today I have the pleasure of offering you two books by one of my favorite authors Jennifer Lynn Barnes. So far everything I have read from this author hasn't disappointed me. So today you have the chance to win a hardcover of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' new release Nobody, and a paperback of Every Other Day. Keep reading to find out more about the books.

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. THey live their lives under the radar, forgotten as you turn away.

That's why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they're young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated. 

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute's monitoring. But now they've ID'ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can't make the hit. It's as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are--because no one else ever notices them.

Every other day, Kai D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She argues with her father. She's human.

And then every day in between…she's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is make for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her, and unfortunately she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive…and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Interested? Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Giveaway is open to US & Canada only. Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday (69)

For those who don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers showcase books they are particularly looking for to. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing this a little differently. Like I did last year, each week I will be talking about books that are coming out early next year from different publishers. Up this week are the last of the January 2013 releases coming from Amulet Books, Bloomsbury & Egmont USA.

Splintered by A.G. Howard
January 1, 2013
Amulet Books

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl's pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers--precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretched back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother's mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice's tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice's mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

I remember seeing this book popping up everywhere for quite some time, but never really paid attention to what it was really about. All I really knew was that it had a pretty cover. But once I looked into it more, I realized that this was a story that I was really interested in reading and all the positive reviews I've been seing are only adding to this want. So yeah, I really want to read Splintered.

Doomed by Tracy Deebs

January 8, 2013

Bloomsbury

Beat the game. Save the world.

Pandora's just your average teen, glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends, until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father, her one key to saving the world as we know it. 

Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans and romance fans alike.

There are plenty of retellings out there but this is the first I heard of a retelling of the Pandora myth so it definitely piqued my curiosity. And the whole concept of it also sounds really interesting, and to an extent almost realistic. Who knows what would happen if the world were to go completely dark? All I know is that I'm definitely looking forward to reading Doomed. 

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

January 22, 2013

EgmontUSA

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them .They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That's why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they're young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute's monitoring. But now they've ID'ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can't make the hit. It's as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are--because no one else ever notices them.

I absolutely love Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves series so I get excited any time I hear she has a new book coming out. And as we all know by now, I am a sucker for anything that vaguely resembles a thriller. So this book just sounds perfect for me. I can't wait to be able to read Nobody.

So that's the last of the January 2013 books I'm waiting on. If I want to make it to February I may have to finally get around to renewing my library card because I don't know how I'm going to be able to afford all these books. Or even how I'm possibly going to even be able to read all the books I'm looking forward to.

Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Taken by Storm (Raised by Wolves #3)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Egmont

Release Date: May 22, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

In the eye of a storm stands Bryn, the alpha of the Cedar Ridge werewolf pack.

She is young. Female. Human. Physically weaker than any werewolf, she could never survive a battle with another alpha, the strongest, fiercest, and canniest of his pack.

Yet she cannot refuse a summons from the werewolf Senate, a gathering of the most powerful werewolves on the continent. The subject is a rogue werewolf, but Bryn knows the other packs want what she has.

Her territory. Her females. Her pack.

They want her death.

Werewolf law prevents the other alphas from making a direct attack. It also prevents her former alpha, the mysterious and powerful Callum, from coming to her aid.

But it doesn't prevent Bryn from knowing what she wants.

To keep her lands. To protect her pack.

To survive.

I can't even begin to describe how much I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves series. It's seriously a great werewolf series. Ever since I finished the second book last summer, I have been dying to read Taken by Storm. After reading it, I can definitely say it didn't disappoint.

As the human alpha to a werewolf pack, Bryn knows she's vulnerable. Especially since the majority of female werewolves belong to her pack, and the other alphas want nothing more than to get their hands on those females. Now with the threat of a rabid wolf on the loose, the safety of Bryn's pack is at stake, especially if the rabid kills again. Because if that happens, the other alphas would be allowed to enter Bryn's territory, putting all her females in danger. But Bryn isn't about to back down, and this time she is determined to show everyone that just because she's human, doesn't mean she's any less of an alpha.

I absolutely love Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves series and I loved the way Taken by Storm brought everything together. But that didn't happen without tears and heartbreak. Because there were plenty of times while I was reading where I felt my heart breaking or I found myself tearing up. There was so much happening in this tory and I loved every minute of it. I'm always worried when I read the last book in a series because I'm always a little scared it's going to let me down. Taken by Storm wasn't like that at all. Sure, there were plenty of times where I wasn't too happy about the way things were going, but it always worked itself out. But still, even though I was happy with how things turned out, my heart broke on more than one occasion.

Bryn is one of my favorite characters of all time. She is such a strong person. Half of what she went though in Taken by Storm would have brought me to my knees. And for that, I admire her so much. Ali is another character I love. She is, in my opinion, one of the best mother figures in YA so I was a little sad that I didn't get to see her as much in this final book. What little of her I did see, though, I loved. And then, without giving too much away, I was often tearing up whenever Devon or Chase came up. I love both of them, but with everything happening, my heart just kept on breaking over and over again. And for one more than the other. And then it was interesting to finally find out more about the background of other characters. But I'll leave it at that.

Taken by Storm only reaffirmed my love for Jennifer Lynn Barnes' Raised by Wolves series. While I am sad that the series is now over, I am happy with the way it ended. But beware of tears and heartbreak if you pick up this book. But don't worry, it's all for a good reason.

Tournament of Heroines - Bryn's First Match!

I announced last week that I would be participating in YA Sisterhood's Tournament of Heroines as Bryn's advocate. For those of you who don't know who she is, Bryn is the main character and heroine of Jennifer Lynn Barnes's Raised by Wolves series.

Starting at 12:00 AM (Midnight) EST, Bryn will be up for her first match against Tris from Veronica Roth's Divergent. Let me tell you, it will be a tough fight. Tris is also quite the heroine and more people know her but I still believe in Bryn and her chances of winning. But for that I'm going to need your help.

What I am asking you to do is to head on over to YA Sisterhood's blog once the voting begins and vote for Bryn. Once you've done that, spread the word to get even more people to vote. Tell as many people as you can to vote for Bryn. If you tweet about the match make sure to use #TeamBryn and #HeroineTourney. The more people and the more votes the better, because Bryn is going to need them to win.

I have absolute faith in Bryn and I know that she deserves the title of Heroine and to make it through to the next round of the tournament. To me, there is no doubt that Bryn is a heroine, she has all the necessary qualities and even more. Tris may also be a great girl, but she is no Bronwyn Alessia St. Vincent Claire. If you're still undecided then you can also read my defence and see why Bryn really deserves to win.

So be sure to head over to YA Sisterhood's blog tomorrow and vote for Bryn. Even better, spread the word once you've voted and show your support for Bryn.

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Trial by Fire (Raised by Wolves #2)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date: June 14, 2011

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack--or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.

But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were. with threats--old and new--looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And she’s going to have to do it alone.

Bryn faces both the dangers and the joys of love and loyalty in this thrilling sequel to Raised by Wolves.

After I finished Raised by Wolves, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Trial by Fire and start reading it. I was once again immediately hooked and the book proved just as good if not better than the first one. It was fast paced and more than enjoyable.

Now the alpha of her own pack, Bryn has a lot more on her plate than she ever wanted. And just when everything is going well and everyone is finally getting settled, a wolf from another pack shows up on Bryn’s doorstep. And that can only mean trouble is brewing. But the new wolf may not be the only new threat in town. What on the surface may only appear to be a family of humans with special powers might end up being the greater of the two threats. Now Bryn has to navigate her way through wolf politics as well as deal with the impending danger of a family of psychics attacking her pack. All the while figuring out her relationship with Chase, going to school and figuring out how to be the human alpha to a pack of young wolves.

If I thought the action started early on in Raised by Wolves, it was nothing compared to Trial by Fire. Right from the start we are thrown into the action and there was never a dull moment from then on. This is one of the things I like about the second book in a series, there is less of a need for setting the stage and we can jump right in to what’s important. I have to admit that I liked the story in this book better than the story in the first. It wasn’t quite as slow to start and I liked that it wasn’t only about werewolves. The psychics added something to the story and were the reason behind more than one plot twist. All this to say that the story was quite and interesting and captivating one to say the very least.

Bryn was as lovable this time around and I absolutely loved getting to know her better. One thing I can definitely say about her is that she really doesn’t have it easy. For starters, being one of only two humans and the alpha in a pack of young wolves can hardly be a piece of cake and that’s only the beginning with her. I loved that we got to see more of Ali in this book. For someone who’s a human constantly surrounded by wolves she really knew how to stand her ground and in my opinion, she’s one of the best mother figures in YA, especially considering her situation. Devon was still as great a character this time around and still seems an unlikely candidate to be a wolf. As for Chase, I think he’s the perfect person for Bryn, he really balances her out perfectly. Finally, I really liked Lake, mostly because for someone who spend the majority of her life surrounded by male wolves, she really stood up for herself and didn’t let herself get bullied.

Trial by Fire was a most excellent book, one that I highly enjoyed and left me wanting more. Now I can’t wait to find out what happens next in this series.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Raised by Wolves (Raised by Wolves #1)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Release Date: June 8, 2010

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Rescued by the alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue werewolf brutally killed her parents, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. But then she discovers Chase, a newly turned werewolf locked in a cage in her alpha’s basement. Seeing him, Bryn feels a bond unlike anything she has ever experienced--but speaking to him brings up questions about her mysterious past. The hunt for answers will drive her farther from the wolves who raised her, and closer to a truth that will change everything.

For a while I had been hearing that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a fantastic writer, but I hadn’t read anything by her. So I decided to pick up Raised by Wolves figuring I couldn’t really go wrong with a book about werewolves. Turns out I was right and I loved every minute of it.

Bryn may appear to just be a regular 15-year-old girl but she’s much more than that. Having grown up with a back of werewolves can have quite the effect on you. The rules are not the same and in certain situations your life may depend on those rules. Bryn has always looked up to Callum and always seen him as a gather. Callum was the one who saved her from the rabid wolf who killed her parents hen she was found years old and he’s the one who has taken care of her since then. But what Callum has been telling her might not have always been the truth. When Bryn discovers a boy in a cage in Callum’s basement, she doesn’t know who or what to believe anymore. And can she still trust Callum after he lied to her? And what if the person who’s kept her safe all these years is the one person Bryn can no longer trust?

I can now see why everyone has been saying that Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a fantastic writer. The story she wrote in Raised by Wolves was absolutely captivating and a whole new take on werewolves. Here you have to be born a werewolf in order to be one, and as far as they all know there is no other way to become a werewolf. That alone had me intrigued for the better part of the book. Plus the way Barnes writes just makes you want to keep reading on to find out what happens next. But what I loved most was the voice she gave her characters.

Bryn was an incredible character with an incredible voice. I don’t think the book would have been the same if she hadn’t been the one to narrate it. I loved that she wasn’t boy crazy and was never afraid to stand up for herself or speak her mind. And she was pretty much as stubborn as they come. For that, Ali was probably the best person to balance her out and keep her in check. As the only other human in the pack, she’s the only one who could really understand everything Bryn was going through. Devon was one of my favorite characters, he just didn’t strike me as the type of person who would be a werewolf. Plus he was the best friend Bryn could possibly ask for. Callum sort of puzzled me. Most of the time he seemed to care about Bryn but at other times, his actions seemed to say the total opposite. And Chase was wonderful, but I don’t want to give away too much about him.

Raised by Wolves was an incredible book and I’m glad I finally discovered Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It was such a great book that I pretty much ran out to the bookstore in order to get myself a copy of the sequel, Trial by Fire, and I started reading it right away. What can I say? I was completely hooked.