TGIF #7

TGIF! is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger from GReads! where you can recap the weeks posts and respond to a question.

Reading Blues: We all get them from time to time. What helps you overcome those reading slumps when nothing seems to grab your attention?

When I am in a reading slump, the only thing I can do is read a book that I can almost guarantee I will love. I know that may seem weird, like how do I know I will love it? Basically, I have a list of several books that are incredibly popular and that I feel confident I would like. Whenever I am in a reading slump, I pick out one of those books and just spend a day reading it. Almost always, it’s fantastic and fixes the problem, but on the rare occasion it doesn’t I just take a day away from reading to do something else and then try again. Kind of weird that I fix reading slumps with more reading, but whatever works, right?

This Week’s Posts at Leather Bound and Lovely:

In My Mailbox #10

Review: Goddess Interrupted

Waiting on Wednesday #10

What do you do when you are in a reading slump? Leave your links in the comment section and I will be sure to check out your responses. Also, don’t forget about the GIVEAWAY going on currently, there are only two days left to enter!

Waiting on Wednesday #10

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: June 5th, 2012

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

How could anyone NOT be excited for this one! When I re-read the synopsis I get goosebumps. That’s how excited I am for this. I actually thought it was being released this week for some reason. I must have gotten it mixed up with another book’s release date. That’s okay though, June is just around the corner!

While you’re here, feel free to check out my GIVEAWAY of a pre-order copy of City of Lost Souls. There are only four days left to enter!

What are you waiting on?

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Title: Goddess Interrupted

Author: Aimee Carter

Pages: 304

Release: March 27^th, 2012

Synopsis:

(from Goodreads)Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person whom she would really rather not meet. Henry's first wife, Persephone.

My Thoughts:

My initial feelings before reading Goddess Interrupted were excitement and anticipation. I not only loved The Goddess Test, but I claimed it to be one of my favorite books of all time. I love greek mythology and Aimee Carter’s take on the myth of Hades and Persephone. Unfortunately, I feel that the sequel, Goddess Interrupted fell flat for me.

One of the reasons I loved The Goddess Test so much was the main character, Kate. She is a strong and is taking care of her dying mother but she doesn’t seem like a robot. She has her humanity, real emotions as well. This time around, I felt like a completely different character greeted me, one who was needy and weak. She doubts herself and her love with Henry.

I also wasn’t impressed by the story. In the months of waiting for this book to come out I was very excited to see how Kate would do as queen and to get more into the whole world of the underworld. I feel like Kate was hardly even the main character in this story. It was all about Calliope and how the main Gods would stop her; Kate was just kind of following along the whole time whining and worrying. It got stale and tiresome.

I will say the good thing about this book is that the rest of the Gods are fantastic and it was great to have them back, as well as being introduced to Persephone who I was eager to meet. Toward the end, the story did improve and I couldn’t help but to think how I hope the next book gives me more to look forward to. I guess for this one my expectations were set too high. If you liked the first one, you might want to give this a shot.

In Short:

Rating: 2/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Check Out

Would I read it again?: No

Positive Reviews:

PARAFANTASY

A Cupcake and A Latte

When She Reads

In My Mailbox #10

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi from The Story Siren as a way to share the books you received over the past week whether for review, purchase, or borrow.

Purchased:

Grave Mercy - by Robin LaFevers

Oppression - by Jessica Therrien

Both are books that I can’t wait to start reading, but I am especially excited for Grave Mercy. I have been waiting so long to read it and my shiny hardcover copy looks so beautiful. 

Dont forget about the giveaway! If you are interested in winning a pre-order copy of Cassandra Clare’s City of Lost Souls you can find that HERE. 

What’s in your mailbox?

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Pages: 435

Release: January 4^th, 2011

Synopsis:

(from Goodreads)In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My Thoughts:

Unearthly was a book that I had never seen in stores but noticed it was only .99 in the Nook store. I had heard things about the series and I am a sucker for a fallen angel story, so it was a done deal. Unearthly is an exciting, fast-paced book that keeps you turning pages the whole way through.

While I really enjoyed the novel, the beginning lacked originality. It was in many ways, cut from the same cloth as Twilight. There is a girl, Clara, who is forced to move from a warm, populated area to a cold, small town. There is a love triangle with the daring, hot boy and the good-natured, friendly one and there is even a scene where Clara and her friends go out of town to shop for Prom dresses. It was a little too déjà vu for me at that point. But, luckily it becomes more it’s own by the middle to the end.

While it was a very familiar storyline at times, I loved the angels that Cynthia Hand created and I found myself eager for more information throughout the book. I also absolutely adored the fact that Clara is the hero in this book. She’s the powerful girl who’s doing the rescuing, and I am all about girl power in YA books!

I really enjoyed reading Unearthly and think it is a great book, worth reading. I enjoyed the characters, the mystery, and am looking forward to reading more from this series.

In Short:

Rating: 4/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Purchase

Would I read it again?: Yes!

Waiting On Wednesday #9

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Renegade by J.A. Souders
Release Date: November 13th, 2012

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.
But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.
Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

Renegade sounds like it will be so good! The cover is gorgeous and that synopsis just leaves me wanting more! I have had this book on my mind a lot lately, but I probably should simmer down a little because this won’t be released until November! 

Don’t forget about the GIVEAWAY I am hosting currently. The winner will receive a pre-order copy of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare! 

What are you waiting on?

Top Ten Tuesday #5

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme started by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s topic is Top Ten Tips for OLD Book Bloggers:

Originally it was tips for New book bloggers, but I am a new blogger so I decided to switch it up a little because can’t we all learn from each other?

7. Blog for Readers as well as other Bloggers

I was once just a reader. I did not blog or know book blog lingos and terms (ARC, Link-up, widget, Galleys) and that can be terribly confusing for someone whose just passing through. Just because they aren’t blogging as well doesn’t mean they don’t want to know what you’re saying! 

6. Keep Your Blog Tidy

Once you’ve been around a while, I can see how buttons and other add-ons can really add up, but visiting a messy site can be overwhelming and it makes navigation a real pain. I can say personally, if I can’t find a way to follow a blog in the first few scrolls, even if I really like them, I give up. 

5. Be Accessible

Always be accessible to your followers. By saying be accessible, I mean that you may want to have several ways for people to get in contact with you. Don’t just have an email for publishers or authors to get in touch with you, make sure you let your readers/fellow bloggers know they too can talk to you too. 

4. Be Welcoming

Just like that old song goes, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.” Be welcoming to the new bloggers coming in. Chances are you may have been one of the blogs that made them decide to create a blog of their own! For me, book bloggers who have been around a while are like Rock Gods! I look up to so many amazing bloggers and to be welcomed by them would have kept me smiling for days.

3. Comments are Nice

As a new blogger, I have read lots of tips to help me figure out what to do and on about 90% of the older blogs that have tips they say to comment often. I think that is a great tip for new bloggers, but also it is something that older bloggers need to remember too. I comment all the time! If I visit a site, I try to comment, whether it’s a new or old blog, it doesn’t matter. I would say on my blog that most of the comments I get are from new bloggers. That’s not to say that I don’t get very nice comments from older bloggers too, but most of my regular commenters are new bloggers. So, don’t forget to comment on other blogs, as well as visiting the new blogs in the community. Like I said before, we think you are like a Rock God and it would totally make our day to hear from you.

2. Don’t be too Serious

You’re an established book blogger; that’s great! Don’t be so serious about it! I’ve never seen it but I know there is drama out there in the book blogging world and all I can think when I hear of it is, I bet this is because they take it too seriously. Remember the reason you started blogging (which hopefully was for fun) and always keep that in mind no matter where your blog takes you.

1.SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

I can’t stress this enough. If you have been around for over two years, you have probably gained some knowledge about how this works. You should take some time on your blog to share the knowledge. I don’t mean just tips like what today’s Top Ten Tuesday is about, I mean posts explaining how to do things, for example: how to use twitter, how to host a giveaway, how to get ARC’s, etc. There are so many things that people just really don’t understand because they are new and it’s hard to feel your way around this sort of thing some time. 

Sorry I didn’t have Ten Tips! I guess that’s just because you guys do what you do so well. I hope that we all learned a little something from this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, but most important of all, I hope that we remember THERE ARE NO RULES TO BLOGGING! So be yourself and have fun! 

Feel free to leave your links and share your tips with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Pages: 358

Release: March 22^nd, 2011

Synopsis:

(from Goodreads)By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

My Thoughts:

I saw Wither in stores for several months and I read the synopsis and stared at the cover but I wasn’t ever quite convinced it was something I would like. I heard so many great things through Goodreads and other blogs that I finally decided to try it. I must say, it is possibly one of the greatest books I have read this year.

Wither captivated me right off with the world it was set in. The mansion, where most of the book takes place is like a beautiful wonderland in itself. I got lost in imagining the rich landscapes, the endless blue pool, and the interiors that Rhine fell captive to. Although the main character was forced to stay there; I am embarrassed to say I found it enchanting in a creepy, mysterious way.

Another thing I loved about the book was the characters. I related so much to the protagonist, Rhine. I was so easily able to understand her feelings and relate to her. Then there is her sister wives: Jenna and Cecily. Jenna was a great character, but I really enjoyed Cecily. She annoyed me at times, but I also really felt for her because she was so young and naïve; she never stood a chance of having a normal childhood. As for the guys, I know I shouldn’t like the husband, Linden, but I really felt him pulling on my heartstrings at times and often I felt like he didn’t know any better. Oh, and finally the servant Gabriel was a very sweet character, but oddly enough, not the most memorable for me. I really can’t remember the last time I was so in love with this many characters in one book.

It was exactly the kind of book that I can get excited about and I loved the way there was tension building through the entire thing and it paid off so well in the end. Now I just need to run to the store and buy Fever!

In Short:

Rating: 5/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Purchase

Would I read it again?: YES!

In My Mailbox #9

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi from The Story Siren as a way to share the books you received over the past week whether for review, purchase, or borrow.

Purchased:

Wither - by Lauren DeStefano

Goddess Interrupted - by Aimee Carter

Borrowed:

Graceling - by Kristin Cashore

I have a lot to look forward to reading this week! I’m very excited to read Graceling for the first time because I always hear such great things about the series. 

Also, I am currently hosting the blog’s very first giveaway, so if you are interested in winning a pre-order copy of Cassandra Clare’s City of Lost Souls you can find that HERE.

What’s in your mailbox this week?

TGIF #6

TGIF! is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger from GReads! where you can recap the weeks posts and respond to a question.

Musical Stories: If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to see written down in story form?

As soon as I read the question, my first thought was Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. It’s a pretty popular song from 1999 and I am pretty sure that if you don’t recognize it by the name if you listen to it you will know it. It’s been one of my favorite songs for a very long time and I think I like it so much because every time I hear it, I always picture a story. It’s definitely romantic in nature, but it also has feelings that make me feel like it could work as something YA too.
Here’s just a taste of the lyrics:

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's meant to be broken 
I just want you to know who I am

This Week’s Posts at Leather Bound and Lovely:

Review: Article 5

GIVEAWAY: City of Lost Souls

Waiting on Wednesday #8

What’s a song that you would love to see written in story form? Leave me your links in the comment section and don’t forget to check out the giveaway currently going on! 

Waiting on Wednesday #8

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Wake by Amanda Hocking

Release Date: August 7th, 2012

Lose yourself in the magic of Watersong, an unforgettable new series about two sisters who nearly lose their lives - and their loves - when they fall under the spell of three beautiful but deadly sirens. 

First in a four-book paranormal romance YA series from bestselling author, Amanda Hocking.

So, let’s talk about my love for Amanda Hocking real quick. I’ve read her books about Zombies, Trolls and even dabbled in her works on Vampires. She is a fantastic author and lately I have found myself missing her writing style and the worlds she creates. I can hardly wait until Wake comes out to read about her take on sea sirens!

So what are you “Waiting On”?

Also, be sure to check out the GIVEAWAY I am hosting! I am giving away a copy of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare.

Giveaway: City of Lost Souls

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and Easter, if you observe it. I had a great one, but my weekend was very swamped with different preparations and family get-togethers so I apologize for it being sort of quiet around here. However, I have something that will hopefully make up for it: a GIVEAWAY!

Yep! You heard right, my very first giveaway is here and I thought what better time to host it than when my favorite author has a new book coming out.

One person will receive:

A PRE-ORDER copy of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Some quick Rules/Guidelines:

• Giveaway open to anyone who Book Depository ships to
• MUST be 13 years of age or older to enter
• Winner will be notified through Email
• Winner has 48 Hours to respond to email before another will be chosen
• Contest ends April 30th

CLICK “READ MORE” to ENTER!

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Title: Article 5

Author: Kristen Simmons

Pages: 364

Release: January 31^st, 2012

Synopsis:

(from Goodreads)New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My Thoughts:

Article 5 is a book that I probably would not have picked up on my own. I was not a big fan of the cover, but one day I turned on my nook to find it was in the library. Only to find out later that my dad thought it looked good and bought it.(Yeah, my Dad reads YA books! He’s just that awesome!) It turned out that my dad had the better judgement this time around because Article 5 was great!

Article 5 is a dystopian set in several different states in the US. One thing I immediately loved was that the main character Ember was from Louisville, KY, so she’s from the same state as me. I don’t know why but I always feel very proud when books are set in my state because we are generally not a popular setting for a book. Speaking of Ember, she is a really interesting character. Half of the time I really love her but most of the time I am saying “EMBER! Y U NO LISTEN?!?!” because she NEVER listens and makes very impulsive decisions. That also makes her character very realistic in my opinion. There’s also Chase who I won’t say much about cause I feel like he’s one of the best aspects of the book, but he is the kind of character that breaks your heart and then re-mends it several times throughout the book.

I was a little slow to warm up to Article 5 but once I got past the first 50 pages I was hooked. It’s a great story that kept me wanting more and was very hard to put down. It also appears that it will be a series, although it could totally be a standalone book and is summed up in the end very nicely.

In Short:

Rating: 4/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Purchase

Would I read it again?: Yes

Waiting on Wednesday #7

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: April 24th, 2012

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. 

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike. But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for

I think pretty much anyone whose read “The Iron Fey” series by Julie Kagawa was practically giddy at the idea of her writing about vampires. So far, from reviews I have read, no one is disappointed, either! I’ve been looking forward to reading The Immortal Rules for a while now, but just this week it hit me, this book comes out this month! It is just around the corner now, and that is something to get excited about.

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday #3

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

 

1. “I looked around anxiously, wondering, hoping that there was a separate building for my mother. That maybe they’d brought her here to rehabilitation, too. At least that way we’d be close and could straighten out this mess together.”

2. “Things may not have been perfect at home, but at least I’d known what to expect -- at least until yesterday. Now Nothing felt familiar. Nowhere felt safe.”

Page 24 of Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Just started this book, but I am loving it so far and am very eager to get further into it. I think it’s going to just keep getting better. 

I love reading other people’s teasers, so feel free to leave me your links in the comment section!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Pages: 487

Release: May 3^rd, 2011

Synopsis:(from Goodreads)In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

My Thoughts:

I am currently slamming my head into a wall repeatedly for putting off reading this book for so long. The most important thing I could say in this review is that if you were like me and put off reading this for various, unimportant reasons you need to read it, like now!

A lot of the time when I read books set in big cities, I have trouble understanding the locations and visualizing where they are and the scenery around them. Not this time though! Chicago is one of my favorite places I have ever been so I was very excited to read a book set in a dystopian version of Chicago. It was fun imagining Navy Pier in ruins and Millennium Park being part of Erudite territory.

The characters were amazing. The connection I felt to Tris was instant and I got so swept up in the story that there were a couple times I actually shuddered for her or was grinning from ear to ear. Let me just say, that does not happen to me very often! I also loved the surprises in this book! A new surprise was revealed every couple of chapters and I was never expecting it.

The only thing about Divergent that I could say anything less that one hundred percent positive is that there was a LOT of information crammed in at the last hundred pages or so. It was really intense right at the end and a lot happened that didn’t necessarily get all of the explanation and detail it deserved.

So, needless to say, it was a great book. I opted out of doing homework, eating at a decent time, and showering(TMI!) in order to read it in one sitting. I am looking forward to reading Insurgent in a month. Hope everyone is enjoying the Choosing Ceremony events happening in the blogosphere today and just for the record…I am a CANDOR!

In Short:

Rating: 5/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Purchase

Would I read it again?: YES!