Tag Archive | travel

Honor and betrayal in SYNC audiobooks this week

Jun5

If you like stories filled with suspense, betrayal, and tension, then you’ll love this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC!

Free downloads of these complete audiobooks are only available through Wednesday June 11. However they’re yours to listen to as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill read by Meredith Mitchell published by Tantor AudioAll Our Yesterdays
By Cristin Terrill
Read by Meredith Mitchell
Published by Tantor Audio
(US & Canada only)

Time travel, loyalty, deception, and love – this is a race with dire consequences for the loser.

 

Julius CaesarCD cpver of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare read by Richard Dreyfuss, Kelsey Grammer, Stacy Keach, JoBeth Williams and a Full Cast published by L.A. Theatre Works
By William Shakespeare
Read by Richard Dreyfuss, Kelsey Grammer, Stacy Keach, JoBeth Williams and a Full Cast
Published by L.A. Theatre Works

Betrayal, ambition, and murder in ancient Rome – the Shakespeare classic performed by an all-star cast.

Which perilous tale will you download first?

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Here and Now, by Ann Brasheares (book review) – time travel to save humanity

Jun3

book cover of The Here and Now by Ann Brashares published by Delacorte PressTravel back in time to stop disaster, but
Don’t stand out,
Don’t be discovered,
Don’t fall in love… easy, right?

Yes, it’s *that* Ann Brashares of Traveling Pants fame, but this is no summer friendship tale – the entire future of mankind is at stake!

This April 2014 release should be easily found at your favorite local library or independent bookstore; if not, just ask for it!

**kmm

Book info:  The Here and Now / Ann Brasheares.  Delacorte Press, 2014. [author blog]  [publisher site]  [silly video interview] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Sent back in time to prevent ecological disaster, Prenna couldn’t imagine that the Travelers’ secrecy rules could endanger their mission or would be that difficult to follow – until she meets Ethan in 2012.

Just arriving the early 21st century might make their future worse, but the 200 youth and adults going undercover in their grandparents’ past to stop the blood plague must risk it.

Prenna tries to stay unnoticed at school, but Ethan recognizes her as the girl who fell from a strange storm cloud two years earlier, then walked away. His knowing comments to her plus subversive info from a homeless man show that the Travelers’ secret isn’t complete.

Why hasn’t Prenna’s father joined the group yet?
What do the numbers 51714 inked onto her arm mean?

When the teens discover that the first Traveler to the past is planning to doom the future world to total collapse instead of just widespread disease and disaster, they have to act, regardless of the consequences to themselves in this time-travel romance thriller from the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Second Star, by Alyssa B. Sheinmel (book review) – Wendy, Peter & surfboards

Jun2

book cover of Second Star by Alyssa B Sheinmel published by Farrar Straus GirouxLost boys, runaways, surfers,
Grieving parents sleepwalking through life,
Sister looking everywhere.

Wendy’s desperate journey up the PCH twines around the framework of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan as the big sister pushes past her own fears to find John and Michael who’ve been gone so long.

Dive into an excerpt here free, then ask for Second Star at your favorite local library or independent bookstore today to see how Wendy deals with Pete and Jas, who are trying so hard not to grow up.

**kmm

Book info: Second Star / Alyssa B. Sheinmel. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2014.   [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Searching for her missing twin brothers, Wendy’s encounter with a group of runaways who live only to surf changes the teen forever.

Wendy believes that John and Michael are still chasing the best waves, several months after police closed their missing persons case, so she heads up the coast to find the beach in their favorite photo.

At Kensington, where cliffside houses are sliding into the Pacific, she discovers a colony of runaways who’ve seen her brothers. Pete teaches her to surf, tries to steer her away from nearby drug-dealer Jas who might have more information. Belle is Pete’s girlfriend, except that she isn’t?

If her wish on the Second Star  comes true, Wendy will make her family whole again in this California retelling of Peter Pan.   (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

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?

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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)

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 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/William-Shakespeares-The-Empire-Striketh-Back-Star-Wars-Part-the-Fifth/Ian-Doescher/9798337401362]  [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)

Last Best Kiss, by Claire LaZebnik (book review) – can love overcome memories?

May2

bool cover of The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik published by Harper TeenBeing true to yourself or
Staying stylish and popular.
How far should you go to keep up an image?

Anna figures out that kissing short and nerdy Finn privately, yet telling people publicly that they’re “just friends” was the wrong thing to do – too late.

When Finn’s parents’ travels bring him back to California in a taller, cooler version, she realizes what she lost in 9th grade. But is it too late to try again?

Find this new paperback retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion today at your favorite local library or independent bookstore for a great sunny days read.

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Book info: Last Best Kiss / Claire LaZebnik. Harper Teen, 2014. [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Anna’s secret relationship with a nerdy freshman ended badly. When he moves back as a hunky senior, can she stand being ‘just friends’ with Finn, realizing what she’s lost?

As a popular 9th grader, it was just easier for Anna to keep quiet about her dates with Finn, then he moved before she could apologize.  Senior year sees him back at their California high school, a tech-apps genius whose slimmed-down, hipster good looks attract lots of girls, including Anna’s best friend Lily.

Considering her ever-absent mom, self-absorbed dad in a weird new relationship, two sisters in college (one happy, one crushed after her girlfriend’s family reviles her), it’s no wonder that Anna really wants someone to care about her and wants that someone to be Finn.

The art teacher pressures her to include something outside her signature style in her college application portfolio, Wade from another school is on the scene now, and a road trip to the new music festival promoted by Lily and Hilary’s dad goes completely crazy.

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

W is Will in Scarlet, by Matthew Cody (book review) – Robin Hood, from the beginning

Apr26

book cover of Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody published by Knopf Books for Young ReadersSwashbuckling revenge!
Concealed identities!
A legend in the making – Robin Hood!

While King Richard is Crusading, alliances in England twist and flip, forcing young Will from his home, into the arms of thieves in Sherwood Forest, then back to Shackley Castle with revenge burning in him.

This 2013 tale of a young lord forced to live like his vassals will have a new cover in its August 2014 paperback edition, but I prefer the hardback cover art.

What’s your favorite Robin Hood variation?
**kmm

Book info:  Will in Scarlet / Matthew Cody. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Seized by evil King John’s men, Will flees into Sherwood Forest where he must gain the Merry Men’s trust before trying to recapture his own home castle.

With King Richard and his Crusaders captured for ransom abroad, Prince John’s grab for England’s throne punishes many loyal subjects. Will’s family is forced from Shackley Castle, but the young lord evades John’s men and meets up with a boy named Much, Little John, Rob the Drunk, and the other Merry Men.

Sneaking into the castle and filching the treasure of the man who took Will’s home at John’s bidding puts them on Sir Guy’s most wanted list and earns the Merry Men the wrath of Tom Crooked’s rival bandit gang.

Rob’s a great tactician when sober, Much is more than he seems, and now Will helps the vassals on Shackley land with silver stolen from Sir Guy.

Soon Sherwood Forest’s many hiding places may not be enough as the Sheriff of Nottingham joins in the hunt for Wolfslayer Will and his companions in this adventure tale of Robin Hood’s early days. (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)