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{February 21, 2015} Giveaway: UtopYA Con Book Match Scavenger Hunt Game

Here’s the third leg of the Official UtopYA Scavenger Hunt!! Check it out and ENTER, ENTER, ENTER!!!

Happy Friday, everyone! Today, I am happy to bring you my section of the utopYA Con official bloggers’ scavenger hunt for our panelists’ books. Before I get to the rules, let me tell you about the utopYA2015’s earlybird ticket prices! They’re ending February 28th, and that’s next week! Standard admission is currently $90, and VIP is $115. On the 28th, those prices go up to $110 for standard admission and $135 for VIP. Thinking about getting your tickets? Pick them up here.

Now, let’s get to the book hunt! Here’s what you have to do to win:

Read the synopsis below.
Guess which book from my short list the synopsis belongs to.
Type your answer in the Rafflecopter entry form.
Enter every day throughout the month of February for a shot at the prize!

Each blogger will list one synopsis and five possible titles for you to choose from. It’ll…

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{February 3, 2014} {ARC Review} Bubble by Anders de la Motte (The Game Trilogy #3)

From Goodreads: The stunning conclusion to the groundbreaking Scandinavian crime trilogy featuring a deadly game that blurs reality and fiction in a world obsessed with social media. It’s the middle of summer and Stockholm is preparing for the wedding of a beloved Swedish princess. Trying to move on with his life after the end of The Game, HP is still struggling to find his way when he receives an anonymous text message asking if he’d like back in. HP knows his participation has already put himself and his sister in danger and he’d like to ignore the text, but he also realizes he doesn’t know who to trust. HP tried to stay hidden and on the run, but he can’t escape the Game Master. Hoping to uncover the truth behind The Game and free himself from the Game Master’s control forever, HP decides to accept one more assignment.

Rebecca’s life has changed dramatically as a result of her brother’s involvement in The Game and she, too, is trying to move on and find the truth. And now she’s determined to uncover the connection between her late father’s past and her brother’s current predicament. But will Rebecca’s investigation into the past cost her the future? Taking action, HP hunts down a man he believes might be the Game Master himself. With a band of fellow former Game players, they infiltrate the Fortress in order to collect information that could be the Game’s undoing. But is he strong enough to take down The Game? And can he trust his fellow gamers?

A fast-paced, technological thriller that concludes the story that began in Game and Buzz, Bubble will have readers gasping for breath during the final showdown between HP and the Game Master.

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In this final installment in The Game Trilogy, many questions are answered as HP embarks on his final task while trying to find the Game Master in order to put an end to it once and for all. But, nothing is as it seems, and no one is who they say they are… making this another intense read as both HP and his sister and thrown for a loop as events materialize that shake them to their core. Who is the Game Master? I was shocked by the revelation within the text—it bowled me over and left me piecing together all the evidence. Luckily, Anders presents the truth in vivid detail, making it the perfect fit, and bringing a smile to my face—especially because it isn’t necessarily over, even though this is the last novel in the series.

HP has grown a lot over the course of the series. While he’s still not my favorite person in the world, he has put his vindictive, childish ways of the first novel behind him, focusing more on stopping the Game and keeping his sister safe than on being let into the Game one last time.

Likewise, HP’s sister’s involvement and the back and forth nature of the novel, focusing first on HP, and then on Rebecca, flows much better in this third installment. Whereas I wasn’t a fan of this writing style at all in book one, I now really enjoy it, especially as the events all intertwine and have much more meaning to me than they did when I first picked up this series.

Overall, this is a great read, a great series, that ultimately swept me up in its intrigue and betrayal. And, while I wish that HP and his sister could have seen eye to eye and had a more open relationship, which would in turn have prevented much of the disasters within the novel, the story just wouldn’t have been as intense had they been on the same page throughout. This is definitely a series worth reading if you enjoy mysteries and cat and mouse scenarios. Four stars.

Atria and Emily Bestler Books have been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release tomorrow, February 4, 2014.

Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble

{November 29, 2013} {ARC Review} Game by Anders de la Motte (Game #1)

From Goodreads: Follow the rules and everybody gets hurt . . .

One Sunday morning after a long night of partying, Henrik “HP” Pettersson, a slacker with a lot of ego and very little impulse control, finds a cell phone of an unfamiliar make on a commuter train. Through insisting and slightly uncanny messages that refer to him by name, the phone invites him to play a game. HP accepts without hesitation.

The rules are that HP must complete tasks that range from childish pranks to criminal acts, as allocated by the mysterious Game Master. HP is the perfect contender & alienated from society, devoid of morals, and desperate for fame. His completion of the assignments are filmed and uploaded onto a protected server where viewers rate the Players performances.

The Game starts out innocently enough and then becomes increasingly risky, threatening the safety of someone close to HP. He is determined to become a superstar, but when the dark and tragic secrets of his family’s past are at stake, HP must make a choice. Will he suffer the humiliation of defeat, or will the need to win push him to the limit no matter the cost?

First in a fast-paced and riveting trilogy, Game will leave you guessing. Follow the rules, and everybody gets hurt . . .

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I’m sorry to say that this novel didn’t captivate me as I’d hoped. With the beautiful cover and the intriguing synopsis, I went into this novel with high hopes. Unfortunately, I came out of it a little less than impressed. It started out really interesting, but as the story unfolded, it began to lose steam. While HP was in the game, I was highly interested in the outcome and the scenarios happening around him, but once he was out of the game, which happened all too quickly, if you ask me, everything just sort of petered out. HP became extremely petty and hard to digest. His character is quite obnoxious, and as the story mainly follows him, it became difficult for me to care because he was such an awful person.

The novel also through me for a loop as is also follows HPs sister, who is also a cop. Initially I confused myself thinking they were lovers, but then realized they were brother/sister and that there was another man involved in her life, which made more sense, but also proved to be a little less than interesting as her life somewhat droned on and I didn’t really care for her, either. Overall, this novel wasn’t exactly for me as it lacked likeable characters and lost my attention fairly quickly. I am hoping that it picks up in the second novel, which I do plan to read, and its outcome will determine if I read the third installment. Two stars.