Product Review: Kobo Aura HD

*Opinions in this review are my own, I received this in exchange for an honest review*

So a little while ago I got asked if I was interested in testing out the new Kobo Aura HD. I have been wanting to look at a new e-reader for awhile so I thought this was an amazing opportunity and I was happy to help out. Let me be honest, at first I had no idea what was going on with this email, but I heard about a few other people who received the same thing and I definitely did not want to pass on it.

I was eagerly waiting for this, and checking the mail everyday.

I have only known the Kindle e-reader (and the very first one at that). I am an avid reader, and I was given the Kindle as a gift years ago because my mother felt that I had too many books and this would help me out a bit. I think the most difficult change for me was going to a touch screen ereader. But I got used to that quickly, and I think I found it a lot better than having a keyboard.

Everything about this ereader was easy to use, for not knowing Kobo I found everything so easy to understand, and it was easy to transfer my review copies from Netgalley onto the Kobo Aura. The size of this is really nice and easy to hold. I don't feel that making the back of the reader ridged instead of straight makes much of a difference. I do find that at times it can be slow with the page turning and that in the beginning you get a shadow of the page before (but that goes away after a few page turns). The best thing is how easy it is to see what you are reading no matter where you are, I've read outside in the sun and have not had issues, and can read at night using the front-light (which you can adjust the brightness of).

The one thing I miss compared to the Kindle I used to have it the 3G access, though the Kobo does have Wi-fi (which is awesome) I miss being able to get on the bookstore when I'm somewhere that Wi-fi is not available.

I'm really enjoying using the Reading Life application associated with this. You can earn badges for how often and when you read, and for sharing what you are reading with friends. The only thing I haven't tried out is the quote sharing, but I think I am most excited for that (you can't do it with ARC's and that's all I've read with this so far).

The specs of this ereader are great, you have:
- 6.8" ultra-high resolution ClarityScreen with 1440 x 1989 display
- No-glare Pearl E-Ink touchscreen
- Integrated front-light
- 4 GB memory, that is expandable to 32 GB with an SD card.

All in all I do love this new e-reader, it's simple to use and very sleek. It's definitely a change for me, but I love it and have been raving about this ereader to friends and family!

Review: The Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher

Publisher: Dial
Series: Chronoptika #1
Pages: 384

Received: Received a copy from Penguin Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: April 23, 2013
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca /
Buy From BookDepository.com

Goodreads Synopsis:

Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.

My Review:

This book ended up being very confusing for me. There were so many different characters over a very large amount of time, all connected by this mirror in some way. The idea behind this book was very interesting, I'm always intrigued with time travel and I liked this book because there was some science behind the time travel. This book has some mystery to it as well which I think is what kept me reading.

I was definitely interested in each of the characters' stories on their own, but when put together in this book I felt like there was too much happening and too many different people to follow. There are four or five different stories all wrapped up into almost 400 pages, and readers are taken back and forth between all these characters. I almost think that each character needs a book dedicated just to them to make everything easier to follow. I was also very confused about how the fey came into the story, but they made for an interesting reading (I'm still trying to understand their purpose).

I really enjoyed all the characters in the book, they each were working towards one goal which is what brought them all together. This was in a way a quest novel, and those type of books always appeal to me. Each character has their own quest, Jake to find his father, Oberon to save his wife, Maskelyne to claim what is rightfully his, and Sarah... well hers I am still a tad confused on.

I did enjoy that Catherine explained how everything worked for the mirror, and I found that Catherine used this book as an introduction for what else there is to come in this story. There is a lot of world building because there are so many time jumps in the novel, and I really enjoyed how Catherine adds in a journal of the person that has found the mirror. The back story of the mirror was intriguing, seeing how people have learned about it. There are still so many questions left after reading this book, that will bring readers back

I can see this series really going somewhere in future books, but I just felt like this first book was a lot of information to take in. There were too many stories happening at once and at times it was hard to distinguish one from another. I would have enjoyed this novel a little more if there was even one less story to have to follow. All in all it was a fun and intriguing story with some great mystery, but there was just too much going on.

Review: Dear Lucy by Julie Sarkissian

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 352

Received: Received a copy from the publisher from NetGalley

Release Date: April 23, 2013
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca /
Buy From BookDepository.com

Goodreads Synopsis:

I go down the stairs quiet like I am something without any weight. I open the door in the dark and the cold sucks my skin towards it. It is the morning but there is no sun yet, just white light around the edges. It is the time to get the eggs. Time for my best thing. The eggs they shine with their white and I do not need the light to find them. The foxes need no light either. I am a little like the fox, he is a little like me. Lucy is a young woman with an uncommon voice and an unusual way of looking at the world. She doesn’t understand why her mother has sent her to live with old Mister and Missus on their farm, but she knows she must never leave or her mother won’t be able to find her again.

Also living at the farm is a pregnant teenager named Samantha who tells conflicting stories about her past and quickly becomes Lucy’s only friend. When Samantha gives birth and her baby disappears, Lucy arms herself with Samantha’s diary—as well as a pet chicken named Jennifer—and embarks on a dangerous and exhilarating journey to reunite mother and child. With Dear Lucy, Julie Sarkissian has created an unforgettable new heroine of contemporary fiction whose original voice, exuberance, and bravery linger long after the final page.

My Review:

Lately, I've had a thing for books with a very unusual narrator. There was The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow, about a boy who could not speak and saw emotions and colours, and now there is Dear Lucy. Lucy is an interesting character, she is special and doesn't understand a lot about what is going on around her. Her mother has left her on this farm with "Mister and Missus" because she is not ale to take care of Lucy on her own. This story is told from three different perspectives, there is Lucy (who we follow for most of the book), then Samantha (another girl living on the farm), and Missus. This story was interesting, Lucy has become friends with Samantha, a pregnant teenage living on the farm and the only one who really looks out for Lucy, and in her own way Lucy looks out for Samantha.

I was definitely intrigued with the synopsis, Samantha's baby goes missing and Lucy goes on this journey to reunite the mother with her child. In the end, I think that there was so much more to this story, and that part was such a small part of the overall story. This story really shows a beautiful friendship, and even someone who has no understanding of the world, can be loyal and be there to help someone when they need it.

This book took me awhile to get through, as much as the story intrigued me, I had difficulty getting through the writing style. Readers see thing from Lucy's perspective and I found it difficult to grasp her voice and really understand what she was saying and why she did things at times. The thing that I did love about Lucy and that kept me reading this book was her willingness to do anything to help Samantha, and her interactions with her pet chicken. I felt like Jennifer (the chicken) was another part of Lucy that helped her realize things she couldn't do on her own, almost like bringing out a part of Lucy's mind that has been closed off.

There was an air of mystery around the owners of the farm, Mister and Missus, I wanted a little more of their story. I found their part of the story to be a little disturbing (I can't say much more about it without spoiling the story). I did feel for what they went through but at the same time, I disliked their characters so much. There were a couple of characters that I felt creeped out by throughout the book.

Though I had issues connecting with the story and the characters, I do think that this was a beautiful story, it just wasn't for me at this time. I can see many people enjoying this story. I found the main idea behind this story is doing whatever you can to get the answer. Lucy searches for what she believes in and she will do anything to help Samantha. I think this book definitely had a lot going for it, and I think I could have enjoyed it more if the narrative was not so disconnected (but then this story would not be what it is, and would not be Lucy's story).