When All The Pieces Come Together + Giveaway!

I posted an article on my Facebook page the other day titled “10 Things That Happen When You Can’t Put A Good Book Down.” The article listed things such as: being late to work, becoming a recluse, neglecting housework and loved ones, all very spot on symptoms of getting wrapped up in something awesome. But it was number one that I quite literally laugh out loud at. Number one was…

Losing track of time.

Why was it so funny?

I’m so glad you asked. 

See, Thursday morning (the day before I posted that article) I woke up bored. Honestly, that doesn’t happen very often, but on this particular Thursday morning I woke up with the need to be entertained. Laundry, yard work, even crafting was NOT going to tide me over. So…I picked up my Kindle and started to shuffle through my library. Realizing that I had promised to publish a review for “House Immortal” on the following Tuesday I decided I could kill two birds with one stone. Be entertained while simultaneously knocking an obligation off of my calendar. 

As per usual, I sat down in my comfy reading chair (aka: I rolled over in my bed) and set to work. I would read 3-4 chapters, and then carry on with my day. 

Seven hours later I looked up. 

Having finished the book.

Not once in that seven hours did I get up to pee, eat or even put on actual clothing. I lay..book in hand, for seven straight hours DEVOURING “House Immortal” and now…I am stuck here trying to explain why exactly that was.

Here’s to hoping I can avoid using words like “awesome-sauce” and “fan-freaking-tastic.”

First things first (so you know what it is you are actually signing up to read) “House Immortal” is a well executed mix of Science-Fiction sensibilities (aka: gadgets, abilities….) with a Dystopian kick (“Houses” ie: power, water, agriculture…) Neither genre overpowers the other, and each are spectacularly detailed (when it comes to their specific world-building input.) If you are a fan of both genres listed, you might as well stop reading and just freaking buy the book. You’ll love it. 

For those of you that need more convincing? Ok. How about we start with the story and go from there, or more specifically the first sentence. For those of you that are dedicated readers you KNOW that a first sentence can ultimatly make or break your first impression of a book. It usually doesn’t stop you from reading it, but it can spark an interest so overpowering that you just can’t help but keep reading. House Immortal’s first sentance falls into the latter catagory.

I all but dare you to stop reading after that sentence. 

But that sentence isn’t where the awesome stops. (Oh crap, I almost said awesomesauce.) Instead, like any good first sentence it just catapults you into a world where (for instance) if you are immortal (due to a crazy experiment 300 years ago) you are a superstar. To bad you are also a slave. A story in which a girl has to choose between saving herself or, you know…saving everyone else.

To be blunt…Tilly (the lead protagonist and only 1 of the narrators in this story) isn’t your average girl. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t even go so far as to call her a girl at all, despite her age. Instead she is a stitched together blast from the past that lives with a lizard the size of a house, octopus that climb trees and eat apples, and a two headed ranch-hand named Neds. (Yeah, so not kidding about any of what I just said.) Her main purpose in life (up until one kinda handsome bleeding immortal named Abraham shows up on her doorstep) is to live off the grid. Pretend she is someone else when going to town, and help House Brown (the red-headed stepchild house) not disappear into thin air. Everything that happens AFTER Abraham shows up is the bulk of the book, and I don’t want to give it away (that would spoil all the fun) but I will say this… it is action packed and significantly twisty. Everything you think you know going in gets flipped in the last few pages, and up until that point…you don’t even really realize how amazingly plotted and rollercoaster-esq the book actually is. Each line of the story is smooth, and well developed. They overlap each other, coerce each other, and make each other this beautiful bounty of “who should I trust and why?” All (of course) wrapped up in the blanket of total impossibility that feel 100% possible. 

Part of that possibility stems from the rather impressive characters. 

And since I have stumbled upon the wall of in-eloquence and have no idea how to word this any differently…I’m just going to share exactly what I have in my notes. 

But first… a quote so you can get my frame of reference.

My note: I love the banter that was quickly established between Tilly and Abraham. The same could be said for the Neds. I was instantly drawn to the uniqueness of their character. 1 body, 2 heads, drastically different personalities. 

Sounds kind of dry, I know, but you get my point. The characters inside Monk’s story jump from the page. Good or evil you can’t help but be drawn to them, want to know them, their history, their hopes/dreams/fears… especially when a group of them (who have been unable to experience sensation for over 300 years) can suddenly feel EVERYTHING. (It makes for some pretty intense scenes.)

For example, imagine how THIS scene went:

So, why the 4.9 and not a 5?

Because I’m apparently a total “B.”

There was a scene in the book (well, 2 scenes actually) where 12 of the characters are being introduced to a crowd. And while the introductions were interesting and informative, I couldn’t help but think of several similar scenes in “The Hunger Games.” This is obviously not a huge deal, but it did make me roll my eyes. Hince…the 4.9

At the end of the day though, this book was great, tremendous, formidable, wondrous, ah hell, it was AWESOMESAUCE. (*runs and hides in shame*)

I highly recommend you add this to your TBR. It’s a fun read that is worth every penny. 

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: People are always as they appear. 

Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist

The Giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway