Sunday, September 25, 2011

In my Mailbox (well, technically Kindle) #3

Slow week this week. Bought:

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Afterlife by Claudia Gray
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday!

What are the Top Ten Books that I feel like every other book blogger has read but I haven't?

1.) The Jessica Darling Series: It's on my to-read section but I haven't gotten around to it yet!

2.) Anything by Cassandra Clare. I'm not sure if I will read anything by her?

3.) The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I always lie and said I have read this!

4.) Water for Elephants. I saw the movie. Does that count?

5.) The Morganville Vampires. It's on my list!

6.) The Book Thief. Everyone read this in HS, but I somehow missed it?

7.) The Entire Iron Fey Series. Part One is Down!

8.) The "Classics". I've only read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, but nothing else.

9.) Anna and the French Kiss. I'm DYING to read this!

10.) Bloodlines. I love Vampire Academy, so I seriously need to pick this up!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

In my Mailbox (well, technically Kindle) #2

So I got my first ARCs ever as a book blogger so I'm super excited!

Title: Saving June
Author: Hannah Harrington
Source: Netgalley (Thank you Harlequin!)
Pages: 336 Pages
Genre: Romance/Friendship, YA
Summary: Harper Scott's older sister, June, commits suicide two weeks shy of her high school graduation. So Harper, at sixteen, defiantly finds herself an only child while mourning her sister's death and is not kind to her divorced and grief-stricken parents. To make matters worse, Harper is the one who finds her deceased sister. But a huge unanswered question for Harper is why? June does not even leave behind a goodbye note. Meanwhile, Tyler hangs around during the wake at Harper's house. Harper ponders his connection to her late sister and investigates clues regarding June's unfulfilled dreams. This takes her on a road trip to California with her best friend, Laney, and Tyler to scatter her sister's ashes into the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, they encounter adventure among their far-flung friends and acquaintances. Just when you discover Tyler's connection to Harper's sister, the climax takes the reader on a gigantic twist. This is a work of realistic fiction. The author portrays the life of wayward teens who seek independence. Although the language may be a bit salty, it is realistic. The story also includes the theme of budding romance, with some sexual expression. SAVING JUNE should become a movie some day – it even includes a soundtrack.

Title: Blood
Author: K.J. Wignall
Source: Netgalley (Thank you Egemont!)
Pages: 272 pages
Genre: Paranormal, Vampires, Romance
Summary: Will is a vampire in danger. Heir to the Earl of Mercia, he was brutally attacked and buried in the thirteenth century before he was able to assume his title. Perpetually sixteen, Will’s life has been lonely. He leaves his tomb every so often, adapts to the present day, feeds his bloodlust, and never gets close to anyone.
Until now.

Waking from a twenty-year slumber, hungry for the blood that sustains his undeath, he meets Eloise—but can’t bear to make her his next victim. Drawn to a girl he can never have, but whose fate seems bound with his own, he feels the need to protect her. But Will has an enemy who will stop at nothing to find him . . . and he’s closing in. . . .


Friday, September 9, 2011

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Pages: 368 pages
Source: My kindle
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Faeries/Paranormal

Summary: On her 16th birthday, Meghan Chase's four-year-old half brother is exchanged for a changeling and she discovers that her best friend, Robbie, is actually Robin Greenfellow, aka Puck, from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He is her guardian and will lead her into the faery world to rescue her brother. Once there, Meghan learns that she is a princess, daughter of Oberon, king of the Seelie Court. With a mortal mother and a faery king for a father, she is very powerful, and Oberon and Queen Mab, queen of the Unseelie Court, are both fighting to keep her. With help from Puck and a talking cat, Meghan sneaks into the Unseelie Court to rescue Ethan, only to discover that he is held captive by more powerful forces that could destroy the entire fey world. Meghan is a likable heroine and her quest is fraught with danger and adventure. The action never stops, and Meghan's romance with Ash, the handsome prince of the Unseelie Court, provides some romance that is sure to continue in the sequel. Buy it here!

Review: So, I've never read a book about faeries before. I never found them to be very appealing to be quite honest. Oh, Julie Kagawa, how you have changed me! I flippin loved this book. It was literally nohing short of amazing and one of the very few books that I think just about every YAlit lover would devour. The story follows a sixteen year old girl named Meghan, who with the help of her faery in disguise best friend Puck (yes, Shakespeare's Puck!) goes into a world called Nevernever to retrieve her brother after he has been kidnapped by The Iron King.

While searching, she meets a slew of characters, such as a cat named Grimalkin ("I am a cat.") and the gorgeous and ice cold Winter Prince Ash. Kagawa definitely channels Shakespeare through more than just Puck by having a bit of a Romeo&Juliet type of relationship (she is a Summer Princess!). Kagawa also makes some veiled comments about our environment today later in the novel, but honestly, this book is just fun. There is action, adventure, humor, and looooove! I cannot recommend this book more, though my next review will be a different book as my brain needs a bit of break from the awesomeness that I just read!

Rating: 5 STARS

Breaking Dawn Teaser Poster!


So how amazing does this poster look? That ring?! Edward’s finally wearing his ring! No Jacob/he gets a whole separate poster I can ignore?! Epic Win, Summit. I approve :) New trailer premiering on 9/13 at 7:30!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Misguided Angel
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Pages: 272 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Source: My kindle
Genre: Vampires, Paranormal Romance
Summary: After inheriting the dark Van Alen Legacy, Schuyler fled to Florence--with her forbidden love, Jack. Now the two of them must embark on the mission Schuyler was destined to complete: to find and protect the seven gates that guard earth from Lucifer, lord of the Silverbloods.
 
As the Blue Blood enclave weakens yet further, fate leads Schuyler closer to a terrifying crossroads--and a choice that will determine the destiny of all vampires. Buy it here!

Review: So I absolutely adore the Blue Bloods series, but sadly, this book was definitely my least favorite but I still enjoyed it. The book is split up into three seperate stories: Jack and Schuyler, then Mimi, and a new character named Deming Chan.

The first story follows Jack and Schuyler after Jack has refused to return to New York and broke his vow to Mimi. The two of them are in various places, trying to stop Hell's Gates from opening and learn some dark secrets.

Mimi, who is in New York, is now the lead Regent for the Blue Bloods while her blood still boils at Jack and she misses her love, Kingsley. She discovers that someone has videotaped a vampire and her familiar and threatened to spill their secret. Then the familiar and the vampire go missing. This is when Mimi brings in Deming Chan to investigate.

The book was okay; nothing spectacular but if you love this series, then you'll find something to love with this as well. Most fans I know love Jack and Schuyler, who were seriously lacking in this novel. While I also love Mimi, she is much less entertaining without Kingsley or the halls of the school to taunt and menace, though she had some humorous scenes when she teams up with Oliver. Deming Chan was a nice character to add and her story was the most fast paced and interesting. Still, I'm hoping when the next novel Lost in Time comes out at the end of the month. The number one complaint I've heard about this novel is that readers think this story did nothing to advance the overlying plot over the course of the other novels. I agree, but this was still a fun read.

3.5 STARS

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Books I Cannot Wait to Read!

This is my first edition of Books I Cannot Wait to Read! These are all books that have not come out yet that I wish would come out tomorrow :)

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: March 6, 2012

So I admit that Delirium didn't suck me in right away, but by the end, I was panting for more! With that cliffhanger of an ending, Pandemonium cannot come faster!




Title: Lost in Time (A Blue Bloods Novel)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Release Date: September 27, 2011

I frickin love The Blue Bloods series. I am an absolute die-hard fan of Jack and Schuyler, which makes me hope that the lack of them in Misguided Angel will signal that this book is mostly about them!



Title: Balthazar
Author: Claudia Gray
Release Date: March 6, 2012

Another series I love is the Evernight series, with my favorite being Stargazer. This might actually be the first time I love another love interest for the main character than the main love interest. Balthazar was such an amazing guy and the hot little love scene in Stargazer between him and Bianca made my blood sizzle! With his own novel, I hope Balthazar finds his own happy ending!


Title: Fever (The Chemical Gardens #2)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Release Date: February 21, 2012

So I initially was not super crazy about Wither, but my confirmed love for Linden has made me return. I feel awful wanting Rhine to learn to love her husband, but it's just how I feel! I'm very curious to see how the next novel pans out. I'm hoping Linden breaks away from his father. One can only hope!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Genre: Dystopian YA/Romance
Pages: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Kindle
Summary: When scientists engineered genetically perfect children, everyone thought it would ensure the future of the human race. Though the first generation is nearly immortal, a virus causes all successive generations to die early: age 20 for women, 25 for men. Now, girls are kidnapped for brothels or polygamous marriages to breed children. Rhine is taken from her hardscrabble life and sold with two other girls to Linden Ashby. Though they live in a palatial Florida home surrounded by gardens and treated like royalty, the girls are sequestered from the outside world, and Rhine longs to escape. Her growing affection for her sister wives, her pity for Linden, and her fear of Housemaster Vaughn, Linden's manipulative father, keep her uncomfortably docile, until she falls for servant Gabriel. This character-driven dystopia, more thoughtful than thrilling, sets up an arresting premise that succeeds because of Rhine's poignant, conflicted narrative and DeStefano's evocative prose. Many will appreciate the intense character drama; however, the world building is underdeveloped, with holes in internal logic. Buy it here!

Review: I'm not going to lie; the whole reason why I picked up Wither for the first time is because of the gorgeous cover. I'm a sucker for beautiful covers and the plot sounded promising. However, I feel extremely conflicted about this book, mostly because of the characters. The main character, a sixteen year old girl named Rhine, has been kidnapped and brought to a lavish mansion with two other girls to be married to a 21-year-old man named Linden in order to conceive children in hopes of ending an essential plague that kills all young adults (women at 20 and men at 25). Rhine is angry about this (who can blame her) and plots to escape with the help of a servant named Gabriel who shows her kindness and the two eventually and kind of fall in love. Sounds great, right? Well, it's much more complicated.

Linden was my favorite character. It sucks that his father was the number one villain in the story, but all in all, I thought Linden was a good guy. He cared for each of his wives, with Rhine being his favorite for reasons I cannot reveal. If the series of novels is supposed to have a love triangle between Rhine, Gabriel, and Linden, I'm Team Linden just because I feel like Gabriel was not very well developed as a character. I'm an eternal feminist, but the novel explains what happens to girls usually in this world and I think Rhine should consider herself very lucky instead of whining the whole time like she did.

With that said, I feel extremely conflicted about this novel. Yes, I found some things wrong with it, but I could not put it down and I will definitely pick up the sequel Fever in February. What are your thoughts?

Rating: 3.5 stars

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Dystopian YA
Pages: 480 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins
Source: My Kindle
Summary: Oliver’s follow-up to her smash debut, Before I Fall (2010), is another deft blend of realism and fantasy. The hook is irresistible: it’s the near future, a time when love has long since been identified as a disease called amor deliria nervosa, and 17-year-old Lena is 95 days away from the operation that everyone gets to cure themselves. Can you feel the swoon coming? Enter Alex, a rakish daredevil who, as it turns out, is one of the Invalids—a tribe of uncured who live on the lam in the surrounding wilderness. With the clock ticking down to her surgery, Lena is drawn into Alex’s world, one of passion and freedom, while her emotionally castrated family members hope to turn her into yet another complacent zombie. Oliver’s masterstroke is making a strong case for love as disease: the anxiety, depression, insomnia, and impulsive behavior of the smitten do smack of infirmity. The story bogs down as it revels in romance—Alex is standard-issue perfection—but the book never loses its A Clockwork Orange–style bite regarding safety versus choice. Link to Buy!
Stars: 4.5 STARS

Review: So I've learned that this reviewing blog thing is going to be an adjustment for me after this busy summer! I finished Delirium quite awhile ago, but there is something about it that I loved so dearly. At first, it was a bit difficult to get into in my opinion. Oliver is a lovely writer, but I just felt like not a lot happened at the beginning. Once I reached halfway point and the plot picked up, so did my reading speed!

Oliver really packs a punch with this novel. There is something extremely intense about love not being a part of the world, not even love between parents and their children. The main characters of Lena and Alex are extremely well crafted as they are completely balanced; they have their good and bad sides. The plot is ambitious, but not overly so it's something that everyone can relate to and get into. I suggest that you use your patience with this book because you will not regret it!