Synopsis: The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust…and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Review: Eve was one of those books that became a real page turner. The action takes place immediately and we jump straight into the meat of the story within the first 1 or 2 chapters, and from there it’s a real action packed book that doesn’t end, even at the last page (since it’s leading us to the second book, titled “Once”).

I particularly really enjoyed the angle in which the story took. Eve is a young girl who goes to an all girls school in 2032. The world has ended as they knew it, a virus wiped off most of the planet. The girls have been bought up to fear men, men are evil and trecherous and will hurt them and manipulate them at any cost. However what Eve has been told all along is a giant lie. She flees for her life, and the story is esentially what happens to Eve when she leaves.

Anna Carey’s writing is amazing and the whole plot read as clear as a movie in my mind. I could imagine everything that happened, and the story is well paced as well, although in my case I stayed up rather late last night because I wanted to finish the book to find out what happens! Needless to say I am really looking forward to the sequel now!

I really loved Eve’s character. She’s so naive and trusting of the adults that have taught her, until she sees things for herself first hand, and then we really start to see her character change throughout this story from a timid, straight laced young lady to someone who starts to confront her fears head on, and really ends up being quite brave.

Caleb is the very definition of a gentleman, coming to Eve’s rescue and putting her before his own wellbeing, even if he doesn’t know her that well. I absolutely loved his sensitivity and charm. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens to him in the next book!

For fans of dystopian books, this is definitely one to purchase. I wasn’t disappointed.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Trailer:

It’s Wednesday! Which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the last week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

I am juggling two books at the moment! The Statistical Probibility of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E Smith and also Incarnate by Jodi Meadows which will be reviewed closer to the release date towards the end of this month!

What did you recently finish reading?

The last book I read was Eve by Anna Carey, the review is coming tomorrow.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I JUST received tonight from the lovely folks at Penguin a copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer and Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswodd (which I am SO excited about!). I will be reading and reviewing both next! Thank you so much Penguin, you know how to make a girl smile!!

Good morning lovely readers!! How has your weekend been? I hope you’re having a good one no matter where abouts you are today. :)

Since I didnt’ do an IMM on New Years Day (let’s face it, I wasn’t feeling the best. lol) I have TWO weeks worth of books here! And I picked up quite a lot in the sales as well as some new releases I have been waiting for this week too.

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme bought to you by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E Smith

I pre-ordered this from Amazon for my Kindle and I have heard some good things about it. It seems like pretty consistent reviews, that it didn’t blow peoples minds, but it was a cute fun read, and so I will definitely be reading this one perhaps when I am in a book slump and want something light to read. I adore the cover!

Synopsis: Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan’s life. She’s stuck at JFK, late to her father’s second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley’s never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport’s cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he’s British, and he’s in seat 18C. Hadley’s in 18A.

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

This book was released only on January 3rd and I rushed out to get a copy already! I am truly looking forward to reading this book, it’s received some really solid reviews and sounds quite unique!

Synopsis: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally

I featured this book as a giveaway on my site last month and I didn’t even have a copy of it myself! I’ve fixed that problem know with the ebook version of the book, and it looks like a great read.

Synopsis: What girl doesn’t want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn’t just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that’s just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team… and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

Pretty Crooked - Elisa Ludwig (Advanced Readers Copy from Netgalley)

I was rejected the first time I requested this, but the cover looked too cute and I really wanted to get a copy, so I asked again and somehow was accepted the second time around. Thank you!! A few of my blogger friends have read this already and said it’s pretty cute (and I love cute!). There’ll definitely be a review to come closer to the publish date which is March 13, 2012.

Synopsis: Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones. Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends” without them suspecting a thing is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her: evening the social playing field between the haves and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan. But when the cops start investigating the string of thefts at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could Aidan wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

Welcome Caller This Is Chloe - Shelley Coriell (Advanced Readers Copy from Netgalley)

OMG I have wanted to read this ever since I saw the cover for the first time a month or two ago, it is completely adorable! :) Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC ebook copy. Expect a review closer to the review date which isn’t until May 1st 2012.

Synopsis: Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

Hallowed (Unearthly #2) - Cynthia Hand

In my last IMM I bought Unearthly. Now I have Hallowed as well, as it was on sale at Dymocks book store. Yay! These two books weigh a lot too I might add. They are pretty chunky. But I want to read them. I am going to try and get to Unearthly soon!

Synopsis: For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Gone (Gone #1) - Michael Grant

This has previously featured in an IMM of mine, as I have the ebook but now I have the gorgeous paperback. These were reduced at Dymocks also (#1, #2 & #3).

Synopsis: In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE. Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what’s happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else…

Hunger (Gone #2) - Michael Grant

Synopsis: It’s been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.
Three months since all the adults disappeared. GONE.

Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers. Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town. It’s the normal kids against the mutants. Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous.

But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them. The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.

Lies (Gone #3) - Michael Grant

Synopsis: It’s been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness—or so they thought.

As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free?

What’s in your mailbox? Let me know - leave your links in the comments section as always!

Synopsis: It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you’re dead.

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn’t?

Review: This book was so good! I am a zombie lover personally, and whilst this book isn’t specifically about “zombies”, it is about a killer virus that is wiping out the whole island. Which is close to zombies. Kinda.

The thing I really enjoyed about this book was that so often in these types of apocolytic stories where people get sick, and crazy and are dying, there’s always SO much focus on the sick people. This story talked of it, but really the focus was on the healthy people in Kaelyn’s life which made it really emotional, especially since it truly highlighted the acts of desperation she would go through just to make sure those close to her were safe, including putting her own health at risk.

It really made me seriously question “what would happen if this were to take place?”. And as far fetched as you may think this is, the book is written in such a real way. Think swine flu. Except with this virus, there is no cure, doctors are scratching their heads and it’s highly contageous. It’s virtually a death sentence if you catch it. Hey, it could happen!

Written in a diary format from the perspective of teenage girl Kaelyn, she is writing this diary to a friend of hers she has not seen for a long time, Leo. A guy that she actually once loved, but he didn’t recipriocate. Instead, he fell for a girl named Tessa. Who ends up being Kaelyn’s closest friend in the book. Leo is living in New York and Kaelyn writes her journal to him as a way to let him know what happened in case something ever happened to her. Seeing as all communication in and out has been hampered, it’s one way for her to get her truth out.

I really enjoyed the writing style, especially as we see Kaelyn’s mental health detiorating. It really shows in the diary entries, and I thought this was really very clever.

I loved the characters also, especially Gav who I really want to know more about. He was quite private and mysterious and not the talkative, open type. But I feel there’s more that we’ll find out about him later.

Whilst reading this I didn’t realise the book was the first in a series admitedly (as this wasn’t on Goodreads at the time), and I thought the ending was quite abrupt since I ended up with more questions and it finished us on a cliffhanger note. BUT. But. Megan Crewe has confirmed that The Way We Fall is in fact just the first book in a trilogy and I cannot express how much this makes me smile, because it’s such a fantastic story.

Highly enjoyable and easy to read!

Rating: 4 out of 5

I apologise for the delay in getting the January giveaway up and running, the first few days of January have been absolutely hectic for lack of a better word!

This month, one lucky winner will recieve one of the following books of their choice! I have chosen four BRAND new release titles! In fact, some of them are so new that they aren’t being released until the end of this month!

What’s up for grabs? Well, as I mentioned you can choose one of the following books below:

You can choose:

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A Million Suns (Across The Universe #2) by Beth Revis

Please make sure you read the terms and conditions before entering! :)

Terms and Conditions:

• This giveaway is open internationally (to where Book Depository delivers)
• You must be over 13 years of age to enter
• The contest closes on 31st January 2012 at 6pm AEST (Australian Time)
• A winner will be chosen via random.org
• The winner will be contacted via email
• Book Nerd Reviews is not responsible for any issues with delivery

To enter, you need to complete this form.

• Last year I read 89 books (I had only originally set a target of 50 which I blitzed and then re-assessed the challenge to 90 which I was only a few days off). This year I think I could probably do better and I have challenged myself to 120 books!
• I am going to try and read some of the books I have had on my TBR list for some time this year. I’d love to clear out some of those books that are collecting dust. Maybe once a month I’ll review a 2010/2011 book!
• I am more organised this year. I even bought a little 2012 diary specifically for my book blogging, with release dates and when I need to post reviews etc, so I am endeavouring to stick to my new system.
• Communicate more with other bloggers, I’d love to make new connections and friends in the blogosphere, including commenting more and replying to comments I receive more.
• Review more new releases and continue to be relevant! :)

113….. wow. That’s a lot of books to try and get through!!!

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.
2. As we would like to see quality reviews linked up to our monthly wrap-ups, only bloggers can enter. Sorry about that!
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that’s been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2011 and earlier! NO ARCs and 2012 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge (You need to include the info + host list + challenge button. You can also grab the button code and add it to your sidebar!)
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. At the end of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it’s unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It’s open to INTERNATIONALS. For participating in the mini-challenge you will get +1 entry.
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;)
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you’ll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - 12 books, 12 winners, INTERNATIONAL.
11. You don’t have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

Hosts:
Evie from Bookish - http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com @SeoEvie
Nicole from All I Ever Read - http://www.nicoleabouttown.com/ @Nicoleabouttown
Bonnie from Hands and Home - http://www.handsandhome.ca/ @HandsHomeBlog
Donna from Book Passion For Life - http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.com/ @BookPforLife
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading - http://whatchyareading.net @caitlingss
Rie from Mission To Read - http://missiontoread.com/ @missiontoread
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea -http://booksbiscuitsandtea.blogspot.com/ @alouetteuette
Christa from Hooked On Books - http://christashookedonbooks.blogspot.com @ChristasBooks
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction - http://fansoffiction.blogspot.com/ @fansoffiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision - http://mermaidvision.wordpress.com @mermaidvisions

Wrap-up POST Schedule:

January - Donna (Theme: Let It Snow + Book Cover Challenge)
February - Nicole (Theme: Un-requited Love/Love Gone Wrong + Advice Column Challenge)
March - Rie (Theme: Green or Pinched + Green Cover Challenge)
April - Bonnie (Theme: Easter + Mini Challenge)
May - Christa (Theme: MayDay - Disaster Books! + Cover Disaster Challenge)
June - Jenna ( Theme: Camping + Sentence Challenge)
July - Rie (Theme: International Day + Cover Comparison Challenge)
August - Angel (Theme: Summer Memories + Send Your Fav Character On Vacation Challenge)
September - Nicole (Theme: Life Changing Books + Mini Challenge)
October - Caitlin (Theme: Thanksgiving Theme + Share-A-Book Challenge)
November - Vicky (Theme: Spooky Halloween + Book Puzzle Challenge)
December - Evie (Theme: Xmas Bliss + Book Bachelor Challenge)

I appologise for this being a day late - with NYE celebrations and all I didn’t factor that in when running the giveaway! Doh. Anyways, I have THREE winners to announce for the December giveaway! Thank you to everyone who entered this month.

To re-cap, the winners were able to chose one of the following books as per below:

Legend - Marie Lu
The Future Of Us - Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally
You Are My Only - Beth Kephart

Without further ado, the winners are:

Kylie 1403 - You selected to win Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Tiffany Drew - You have chosen The Future Of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Lieder Madchen - You selected Legend by Marie Lu

A HUGE congratulations to the three winners, I will email you all shortly regarding the win and your books will be sent out soon from The Book Depository also!

To all my readers, there WILL be a January giveaway happening also, so don’t distress if you weren’t lucky this time around. The January giveaway will be announced later this week as I am currently not at home at the moment. So once I am I’ll be able to sort everything out then. :)

December has now officially been and gone. Here is what I reviewed last month in case you missed it!

• The DUFF - Kody Keplinger
• Crossed (Matched #2) - Ally Condie
• dancergirl - Carol M. Tanzman
• The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin
• Legend - Marie Lu