Waiting on Wednesday #3

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

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Release Date: May 8th, 2012

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered. 
Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf. 
Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. 
Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk. 
Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

Usually, I am not very interested in werewolf novels but I really love the synopsis for this one! An added bonus is that the cover is beautiful!

What are you waiting on?

Top Ten Tuesday #3

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

This week’s topic is Top Ten Favorite Book Covers:

10. Wentworth Hall
I love historical fiction and this book is obviously historical. This cover already gives me so much to speculate over. The maid is obviously interested in the rich boy sitting down, the girl on the right is obviously snooty, and the girl in the middle is ....well, in the middle of it all. That’s at least what I get from this cover.

9. Everneath
I can’t help but be drawn to covers with girls in gorgeous dresses! Not to mention, I love that it looks like the model is disintegrating into ash and dust as she walks (which kind of makes sense once you’ve read the book!) I really loved the colors used and the pretty font the title is written in.

8. City of Ashes
This was the first book that caught my eye in The Mortal Instruments series. I hadn’t read them but I saw this cover in the school library and I remember thinking “It’s a green skinned girl with hair made of fire! That’s AWESOME!” How wrong I was about the story, but I still think the cover is my favorite of the whole series.

7. Born Wicked
When I first saw the cover of Born Wicked I was all over it! I mean, what’s not to love? The font! The pretty model! The flowers in her hair! It seemed very vintage and very alluring. I’d love to have a Born Wicked poster hanging in my house.

6. Allegiance
I have read neither book in the Legacy series but I swoon over this cover every time I come across it. It has a very romantic feel to it! I love the idea of men who ride horses and whisk the girl away from her misery to live a happy, free life! Do I know if that’s what this book is about? No, but that’s the message I get from this cover. Oh, and the scrolls on this are very nice too!

5. Perfect
I don’t read Ellen Hopkins and I have my own reasons for that, but this cover almost made me give in and give this one a shot. I love the colors and the beautiful font that is used. The way it runs reminds me so much of how mascara looks when it is cried off.

4. The Selection
If you haven’t noticed the trend yet, I REALLY like covers with girls in big gowns! This one is no exception. I really like the mirrored effect going on here, the crown above the title font and the posing of the model. It looks so good!

3. Wintergirls
I purchased this book based solely on the cover and it’s attractiveness. It was a good thing I loved the book and ended up being glad I spent the money. The cover I have has a sort of reflective, prismatic sheen on it that makes it stand out a lot more than this picture. I also loved the way it looks like the girl is trapped behind ice, like she can’t escape.

2. The Peculiars
I used this cover for a feature called “Cover Crazy” a few weeks ago and I still feel the same. I am CRAZY over this cover. I love everything about it: the way the cogs are worked into the text, the girl’s wings, the cool colors that give it an icy feel. It’s gorgeous and gives you so much to look at. I can’t wait to get this book.

1. Wicked Lovely
My favorite cover of all time has to be Wicked Lovely! It is wonderful and mysterious and great! I love how there is this girl holding a flower, but she is out of focus and you just see this flower and all this dust covering her hands. Is it snow? Who knows! Is it fairy dust? Perhaps! It’s just a fantastic cover that I never get tired of seeing. So pretty!

What are your favorite book covers?

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy

Author: Richelle Mead

Pages: 332

Release: August 16^th, 2007

Synopsis:(from Goodreads) Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever...

My Thoughts:

I had several people anticipating this review, so I hope it’s not too disappointing!

I read Vampire Academy because of the hype I had heard about the series. Nearly every blog I go to on a regular basis raves about this series and I was fascinated by all of the praise it was receiving. Unfortunately, I feel that because my standards were set so high, Vampire Academy fell flat for me.

Generally, I can tell how much I love a book by how long it takes for me to read it; so when I was a week into this book and only halfway through I sensed that my attention was waning. My major qualm: it was incredibly slow and then in the last 50 pages or so, all of this plot is magically squished in. I also just couldn’t buy into the different types of Vampires that Mead had created; it simply wasn’t my sort of vampire novel.

When I was able to get focused on the book, the writing was very well done and I enjoyed several of the characters and the twists that were thrown in. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t really enjoy it either, and I don’t think I will be reading the rest of the novels in this series.

In Short:

Rating: 3/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Check Out

Would I read it again?: No

In My Mailbox #4

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.

For Review:

Into the Mist: Silver Hand - by Steve Finegan

Purchased:

Shatter - by Elizabeth Mock

Once again, this week it’s a pretty short one! In addition to that, I have actually never read a review on either of these books so having the chance to go into them both with a clean slate/no expectations will be really nice! What did you get in your mailbox?

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Title: Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Author: Beth Fantaskey

Pages: 351

Release: February, 1^st 2009

Synopsis:(from Goodreads) The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .
Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war — and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

My Thoughts:

When looking at the date this book was published, I was shocked. I didn’t realize that this book had been out for so long, but perhaps I just missed the reviews on the first book and just recently got caught up with renewed hype over the sequel to this, “Jessica Rules the Dark Side.” Anywho, it matters not. Better late than never as they say. The title of this book made me expect something funny, perhaps mocking in a way of the vampire hype, or maybe written like an instructional guide. Eh, I don’t know, but I can say it wasn’t at all what I expected and I mean that in the best way.

Lucius, oh the amazing character of Lucius. I have to say my favorite part about the beginning of this novel was the letters he sent to his uncle, Vasile. Very cute and actually made me laugh out loud several times. Also, I really liked when he would stand up for Jessica and when he would tell her she was beautiful the way she was, including her curls and curves.

It was definitely a different take on vampires with a very interesting backstory to boot. I also have to mention the fact that I enjoyed that it was very well wrapped up at the end. I understand it is not a standalone book and that’s okay! However, one of my biggest pet peeves in reading is when the author leaves all these loose ends untied when you finish a book. I want the story to have a sense of completeness, so that I can walk away feeling satisfied and not feel pushed into reading another piece in a series (although, for this I will be getting the second book).

In Short:

Rating: 5/5

Purchase or Check Out? Worth a purchase (even though I regrettably borrowed mine)

Would I read it again?:  Maybe.

TGIF! #3

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

Book Moments: What has been your favorite moment (scene) in a book that you've read so far in 2012? Please be kind & not include spoilers.

Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood
My favorite scene is when Finn and Cate are both in the closet hiding. Energy is running high and then they kiss! However, this is not just any sort of kiss, this kiss makes Cate create raining feathers around them. It’s so cute! Definitely my favorite scene so far.

In fact, I don’t really need to describe it; it is actually featured in the trailer for Born Wicked, THATS how awesome this scene is!

This Week’s Posts at Leather Bound and Lovely:

In My Mailbox #3

Review: Everneath

Teaser Tuesday #1

Waiting on Wednesday #2

Well, you’ve now read and seen mine, what’s your favorite book scene in 2012? Feel free to share your link in the comments.

Waiting on Wednesday #2

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

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Release Date: November 6th, 2012

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies." 
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first. 

I adored Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle series, but this....well, this has FLAPPERS! The Roaring Twenties = Prohibition! Jazz! Rebellious ladies! ...and now the supernatural! I can’t wait, it’s going to be the Bee’s Knees!

What are you waiting on?