Tag Archive | death

Murderously good SYNC audiobooks free this week!

May29

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC are murder, just plain murder!

CD cover of Confessions of a Murder Suspect By James Patterson & Maxine Paetro Read by Emma Galvin Published by Hachette AudioConfessions of a Murder Suspect
By James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
Read by Emma Galvin
Published by Hachette Audio

Investigating her parents’ murder, Tandy has disturbing memory flashbacks and wonders if she can trust her 3 siblings – all four Angel children are prime suspects.

The Murder at the VicarageCD cover of Murder at the Vicarage By Agatha Christie Read by Richard E. Grant Published by Harper Audio
By Agatha Christie
Read by Richard E. Grant
Published by Harper Audio
(not available for download in UK or Great Britain)

Everyone in the village had a reason to kill Col. Protheroe discovers Miss Marple in the first of her many mysteries.

Click on either title to download these complete audiobooks for free by Wednesday, June 4th. They’re yours as long as you store them on your current computer or electronic device.

Who’s in the clear? Who did the dirty deed? Read with your ears as a teen sleuth and a venerable British lady try to find out!
**kmm

Tales of power, parents, and kings in SYNC audiobooks this week

May22

Powerful kings, vengeance and justice – Time to download this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC so you can read with your ears!

Click on each title to go directly to the SYNC download page for it and follow the easy instructions there.

CD cover of Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Read by Elizabeth Knowelden Published by Harper AudioCruel Beauty
By Rosamund Hodge
Read by Elizabeth Knowelden
Published by Harper Audio

Betrothed since birth, Nyx plans to slay the evil ruler when they marry – Beauty and the Beast retold.

Oedipus the KingOedipus the King by Sophocles Read by Michael Sheen Published by Naxos AudioBooks
By Sophocles
Performed by Michael Sheen and full cast
Published by Naxos AudioBooks

Classic tragedy follows Oedipus as he solves the Sphinx’s riddle and commits terrible crimes before becoming king.

Remember that although these complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device

Bookmark the SYNC site now so you can download great audiobooks all summer long: http://www.audiobooksync.com/
**kmm

Tin Star, by Cecil Castelluci (book review) – stranded in space, searching for home

May20

book cover of Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci published by Roaring Brook Press Left for dead on a space station,
no money to get home…
but where IS home now?

Tula had never imagined aliens as friends or humans as overwhelmingly untrustworthy, but after what her colony leader did and what she has to do to survive…

Read the first chapter free on the publisher’s site to start on Tula’s dangerous attempt to make it in a tin-walled future she never planned.

And if you can grab some 20-sided dice and a few friends, you can play the free role-playing game based on Tin Star here, before you even read the book!

**kmm

Book info: Tin Star / Cecil Castellucci. Roaring Brook Press, 2014.  [author blog]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Abandoned on a remote space hub, Tula is surviving among its many non-human residents when Brother Blue returns with ominous news.

Questioning their leader when the Earth colony ship stopped at Yertina Feray space station was a deadly mistake for the 14 year old. With no identity pass or resources, Tula must join the Underbelly economy to survive.

Helping a Hort named Heckleck with his off-the-books trades and trying to avoid official notice by Constable Tournour the Loor, Tula is forging her place in the Underbelly.

But the arrival of other humans during an intergalactic political upheaval worries her – with good reason, as the colony leader reappears… in a uniform.

Can Tula stay clear of Brother Blue (or whoever he is)?
Will she ever find a way to get to Earth or their colony?

(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Read with your ears! Free SYNC audiobooks this summer, starting now!

May15

Summer approaches…
Relax and read with your ears with free audiobooks from SYNC! (yes, really – free!)

Each complete audiobook pair is only available for download from Thursday through Wednesday, then you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Click on each title’s hyperlink to open its download page in a new window.  And bookmark the SYNC site now so you can download great audiobooks all summer long: http://www.audiobooksync.com/ – I’ll remind you each Thursday, too.

CD cover of Warp Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer read by Maxwell Caulfield published by Listening LibraryWarp: The Reluctant Assassin
Written by Eoin Colfer
Narrated by Maxwell Caulfield
(Listening Library)

 

 

CD cover of The Time Machine by HG Wells read by Derek Jacobipublished by Listening LibraryThe Time Machine
Written by H.G. Wells
Narrated by Derek Jacobi
(Listening Library)

 

Have you read either of these time travel titles before?
**kmm

House of Ivy & Sorrow, by Natalie Whipple (book review) – curse on witch family, unbreakable?

May13

book cover of House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple published by Harper TeenA long-lost father,
a friend to the bitter end,
a malevolent chase… to the death.

Even though Nana stops inflicting icky spells on her possible boyfriend, Josephine has much to worry about as a centuries-old curse stabs at the shields protecting her witch family’s magic roots, and her best friend must make a terrifying choice.

Find this compelling tale now at your local library or independent bookstore to see if love and hope can break the curse’s grip on the Hemlocks.

Iowa farm country as a place of deep magic – who knew?

**kmm

Book info: House of Ivy & Sorrow / Natalie Whipple. HarperTeen, 2014.   [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As the curse hounding Jo’s witch family nears, she must sacrifice her normal teen life to control the magic which could save them.

The dark curse killed Josephine’s mother, so it’s just Nana and Jo in the hidden ivy-covered house over a magic well, where Jo’s high school friends cannot visit – until the father she never knew arrives in their small Iowa town, bespelled by the curse-holder to reveal them.

Being in control or being consumed are the only choices where magic is involved. The curse-holder seeking the Hemlocks’ land-hold has relinquished control and will obliterate Jo’s friends, father, town, and new boyfriend in a heartbeat to get their magic source.

Something in the family archives may beat back the curse, if only Jo can find it in time, if only it exists… (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Thickety: A Path Begins, by J.A. White (book review) – magic & danger, chance of control?

May8

book cover of The Thickety: A Path Begins by JA White published by Katherine Tegen Books“Work hard,
want for nothing,
stay vigilant”

Dreaming and wishing are forbidden to the Children of the Fold, as are doing magic or entering the dark mystical woods of The Thickety which tries to overrun their island home.

Yet Kara does all these things. After years of being spat upon and punished as “witch’s child,” what does she have to lose?

Except her little brother, distraught father, and her very soul…

Read the first pages of The Thickety  here, then follow Kara’s dangerous, desperate search for answers, if you dare. This will be a trilogy; can we wait until 2015 to read book 2?

**kmm

Book info: The Thickety: A Path Begins / J.A. White; illustrated by Andrea Offermann. [author site]  [illustrator site]   [publisher site]   [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When a strange bird leads Kara to her mother’s hidden grimoire within the forbidden forest, the teen learns her family’s magic secrets, risking a death sentence… or worse.

As a child, Kara was forced to witness her mother’s execution for witchcraft. She’s spent years enduring the community’s scorn, avoiding The Thickety’s eerie woodlands, trying to hold together her family and their decaying farm.

Compelled by strange dreams, Kara follows a raven with 3 eyes into The Thickety and unearths her mother’s grimoire, a conduit of great magical power – a chance for her to heal her brother and save their land, or a way that will lead the Children of the Fold’s strict leader to kill them all?

How can the leader’s daughter Grace feel the grimoire’s pull?
For using Thickety magic, will evil Sordyr demand a price that Kara cannot pay?

First book of a trilogy set on an island where The Thickety grows daily closer to the village whose religious settlers separated themselves from the world centuries before, banning all dreams, wishes, storybooks, and magic forever. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

After the End, by Amy Plum (book review) – what war? what secrets?

May6

book cover of After the End by Amy Plum published by HarperTeenIn World War III‘s aftermath,
only one clan survives,
deep in Alaska’s wilderness…
but it’s all a lie.

Told in alternating chapters by Juneau and Miles, this roadtrip adventure with paranormal underpinnings and dueling Big Pharma teams as pursuers is first in a two-book series by the author of Die For Me (my review of If I Die series volume 1 here).

Today is the book birthday of After the End, so ask for it at your local library or favorite independent bookstore and hit the road with two unlikely allies (don’t forget the PopTarts).
**kmm

Book info:  After the End / Amy Plum. HarperTeen, 2014. [author site]  [publisher site]  [author video introducing After the End] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When her clan is taken, Juneau must enter a modern world she thought was destroyed and convince a rebellious teen guy to help her find them while staying clear of the kidnappers.

Juneau can Read glimpses of the future through the Yara in everything, but now the 17-year-old sage in training must grapple with the lies her clan’s adults taught about fleeing World War III’s devastation by settling in the Alaskan wilderness 30 years ago.

Kinda-sorta hijacked into a road trip with this crazy survivalist girl, Miles plans to bring Juneau to Blackwell Pharmaceutical and get back into his dad’s good graces, but then…

Zigzagging from Mount Rainier to Salt Lake City, pursued by her former mentor and his dad’s goons, Juneau and Miles try to unravel cryptic prophecies in a race to find her father and her clan whose members never get sick, never grow old.  First in a two book series. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Star Wars & Shakespeare = The Empire Striketh Back, by Ian Doescher (book review)

May4

book cover of William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher published by Quirk BooksFrom icy Hoth to Bespin’s airy clime,
Imper’al forces chase our valiant crew!
Through ast’roid field and perils dire, they flee –
Han Solo, Wookiie, rebel Princess, too.

Sage Yoda teacheth Luke the Jedi way,
As taught he this boy’s father in the past.
Yet time grows short and Skywalker departs –
His friends meet treachery this very day.

Lord Vader’s maskéd face his secret hides,
Now Luke must face a past he wouldst deny.
The Empire Striketh Back at freedom’s cause!
For hero, rebels, friends, so dark a time.

(Seek thee beginning of this Star Wars tale?
Yea, Verily A New Hope find’st thou here.
Fear not! We shall rejoin our friends eftsoon,
as in July, The Jedi Doth Return!)

Gentle reader, May the Force be with thee!
**kmm

Book info:  William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back (Star Wars: Part the Fifth) / Ian Doescher. Quirk Books, 2014.[author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Return to that “galaxy far, far away” as the fifth Star Wars episode sees our valiant rebel heroes face bitter cold, epic challenges, and stinging betrayal as The Empire Striketh Back, in the style of the Bard himself.

Ian Doescher follows up his successful William Shakespeare’s Star Wars with the heretofore hidden voices of malign creatures (AT-ATs philosophizing in iambic pentameter), songs of the Ughnaughts in the corridors of Bespin, and the wisdom of Yoda shining forth in haiku:

Nay, nay! Try thou not,
But do though or do thou not,
For there is no “try.” (pg.98)

Old secrets, shocking treachery, newly acknowledged love – will the heroes prevail in this stellar fight for the right or will the Empire vile destroy all hope?  Mayhap, gentle readers shall discover all in July 2014’s The Jedi Doth Return!  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Z is Zelia in Control, by Lydia Kang (book review) – future genetics, love & power

Apr30

book cover of Control by Lydia Kang published by Dial Books for Young ReadersGenetic differences are illegal,
the United States aren’t united,
welcome to 2150.

Two sisters with non-standard DNA somehow survive in a society where implanted fingertip IDs control access to public transportation and food delivery. The cartel which develops big money products using illegal genes from these non-persons can’t wait to get them following their doctor-dad’s untimely death…

Chilling sci-fi for our last AtoZ April Blog Challenge entry – first in a new series, filled with danger, science that’s almost here now, and romance blossoming amid the chaos.
**kmm

Book info: Control (Control, book 1) / Lydia Kang. Dial Books for Young Readers, hardcover 2013; paperback 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: After her father’s death and sister’s kidnapping in 2150, Zelia finds allies – and love – among genetically illegal teens being sought by a sinister syndicate.

Beautiful Dylia and medically fragile Zelia are accustomed to moving often with their doctor dad. But they’re not prepared to be orphaned, separated, and fought over by rival groups who claim they have special genetic traits.

Rescued by her Dad’s friend, Marka takes Zelia home to her other 4 teen adoptees – a girl with photosynthetic skin, a guy with 4 arms, and another with 2 active brains. What Cy’s trait is – besides surly sarcasm – remains to be seen. Why is Zelia, who looks like a child at 17 and needs help to breathe, in the safety of Carus when it’s Dylia who has special traits?

Dylia was kidnapped by Aureus group, which creates products using youth with illegal genetic differences – maybe Zel can sequence Dyl’s DNA in Cy’s lab to discover why and find a way to rescue her.

While trying to understand her dad’s connection to Carus, she’s secretly contacted by Q who promises information about Dylia’s whereabouts…for a price.

Can her new housemates help Zel find Dylia? Will they risk leaving Carus?
Is she willing to trade Cy’s growing fondness for this dangerous opportunity?

This medical sci-fi thriller is first in a series, asking tough questions about identity, differences, and society since our ‘now’ leads to our future. (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

X is for Exile, by Kevin Emerson (book review) – music & mystery

Apr28

book cover of Exile by Kevin Emerson published by Katherine Tegen BooksHigh school drama,
artistic temperaments,
rock legend mystery…

Who wouldn’t want to find the missing recordings of a legendary rock band?

Summer and Caleb must get over their recent bad experiences to create a new band and clear up questions about his past in this music-driven novel, first in a series by the author of dystopian The Lost Code (my no-spoiler review here) and paranormal Fellowship for Alien Detection (my review here).

Available in bookstores tomorrow, Exile  returns to the author’s musical roots = don’t miss the 3 songs from the book which Kevin & friends have brought to life for your listening enjoyment!

**kmm

Book info: Exile (Exile #1) / Kevin Emerson. Katherine Tegen Books, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [songs from Exile!] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Just before senior year, Summer is ousted when her band gets a record deal, Caleb quits his band when family drama gets to him, and a musical mystery sets them on the trail for answers and redemption.

Summer could just mope around Pop Arts High after the band she managed got a contract that excluded her, but finding golden-voiced Caleb now a solo act after some big revelation this summer, she tries to convince him to form a new band (and promises herself not to fall for him).

Allegiance to North hit it big time 15 years ago, and the band’s fame turned Pop Arts into young musicians’ paradise. Now Caleb has learned of his very close relationship to the lead singer who committed suicide at 22 and the existence of 3 Allegiance songs which never made it onto their final album.

Start a new band?
Track down the Lost Songs?
Try for a future when the past has scarred them both so much?

Rock music, mystery, love, social media, and burritos – maybe Summer and Caleb can return from Exile after all. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)