Waiting on Wednesday (7)

This week I'm waiting on...

Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough. Release date is August 1, 2011 from Clarion Books. Isn't that cover gorgeous????

Summary:
Since the gripping conclusion of Once a Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother’s prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady’s maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice.

   I still need to read Once a Witch, and reading the summary of the sequel makes me want to read it even more!

   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme to let us bloggers show which upcoming books we can't wait to read. It's hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Library Thursday Blog Hop (2)

    Library Thursday Blog Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Lazy Girls Reads. It's purpose is to encourage people to support their libraries. Here are the rules:

   Create a Library Thursday post with a list, pictures or a vlog of your books. Or feature a picture of a library, or your favorite library. Grab the button for the post (above) and include it in your post, and make a shout out to the library you went to!

   This week I came home with...well....A Lot. I had some time to kill, so I picked up quite a bit!

 Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap

Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. I read Remember Me? by her, it's one of my all time favorite books ever, so I was excited to pick this book up that I'd had on hold.

Epitaph Road by David Patneaude

Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Miss You Most of All by Elizabeth Bass

Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I've heard so much about this book, and with the third coming out, I figured it was time I read it.






      I said I got a lot.

Waiting on Wednesday (6)

   So I heard about this book a while back, it sounds so amazing!

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace. Release date is May 8. Sorry the cover is so small, it's all I could find.

Summary:
Tonight was so much worse than anything before it. Tonight he didn't stop after the first slap.

At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.

   On the Amazon page for it, they have this slide show/book trailer after the summary. It's pretty amazing, so I figured I'd put it here too.

Review- Paranomalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 352 pages
My Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Evie learns that she is not quite the person she thought she was in this creature-feature mash-up. Possessing the unique ability to recognize paranormals beneath their glamour, Evie has lived most of her life under the protection of the International Paranormal Containment Agreement (IPCA), an organization dedicated to the cataloging and neutralizing of paranormal creatures. After a mysterious entity begins killing paranormals around the world, Evie discovers some startling truths about her own identity.


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   So I'm going to start by saying I loved this book. Evie reminded me sooooo much of Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was ridiculous. She had it all down, the cheesy one liners, the puns, the kick-buttedness. She quickly turned into one of my favorite book characters ever. She made me laugh sooo hard, especially when she introduced us to Tasey. What's cooler then a pink taser with rhinestones? Especially one that can take down almost any paranormal.

   Paranormaly is one of those books you just don't want to put down, it's full of action and twists and that bad guy you love to hate. It was hilarious too, Evie wasn't the only one making me laugh. I loved Lend, he was so charming and sweet, and was always there for Evie. Reth scared the bleep out of me, he was so dark, and just plain scary. I was in shock when I heard he was a Seelie.

   The writing was amazing, fun, witty, hilarious, but could be dark and serious at the same time. White crafted an amazing world about a girl just trying to figure out who she is, and get a boyfriend at the same time. Paranormalcy is definitely a new favorite, and I can't wait for the sequel.

Third Line Thursday (3)

  

   Third Line Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Shari at My Neurotic Book Affair. It's where I pick up the book I'm currently reading and post the third line from any chapter with a 3 in it (3, 13, 33..) or any page with a 3 in it (3, 13, 33, etc.) and post the third line from that page. This week I've been reading alot. I finished 3 books this weekend alone, so I started Paranormalcy by Kiersten White this morning.

Page 23:
  He smiled again. Then his skin rippled like water disturbed by the wind, and Jacques melted away.

   Doesn't this book sound amazing???

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

   This week I'm dying for....

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter. Expected release date is April 19, 2011.

Summary:
Every girl who has taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails... (Goodreads)

Review- Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Forgive My Fins
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Release Date: June 1, 2010
Pages: 304
My Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:
Lily may look like a run-of-the-mill high-school student, but she is actually the mermaid heir to the throne of the ocean kingdom of Thalassinia. Half human, Lily is able to maintain her bipeds in order to snag a human beau, who will then turn into a merman to rule by her side with a single kiss. She has her fins set on champion swimmer Brody. But when Lily accidentally busses bad-boy biker Quince instead, she moves heaven and sea in an attempt to swim off into the sunset with her first crush as planned. But it isn't long before the scales fall from her eyes, and she realizes which boy truly loves her, tail and all.

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   Forgive My Fins was a....an interesting read. In a good way. I've never really been a big fan of mermaids, but this exceeded my expectations. It was everything you'd expect from a mermaid novel, fluffy, cute and sweet, and...different. I liked Forgive My Fins, I'd been craving reading a fluffy romance for a while now, and this hit the spot. It was definitly different then all the other books on my shelf, and I'm glad it was.

   I loved the characters, I fell in love with Quince. He was sooo sweet, it was so romantic how he loved her for so long and she hated him. I was rooting for him the whole way. Lily was interesting, I was annoyed with her a lot that she couldn't see through Brody, and actually see Quince.

   My only problem with the book was the cat, I can't remember her name....but she loved Lily. Lily's a mermaid, she lives in the water, shouldn't the cat hate her..? Besides that one little quirk, I loved this book. The writing was great, the characters well developed, and the ending was great as well. I'd definitly recommend this book if you're looking for a light, fluffy and quick read.

Library Thursday Blog Hop

   Library Thursday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Lazy Girl Reads. It's purpose is to encourage people to support their libraries. Here are the rules:

   Create a Library Thursday post with a list, pictures or a vlog of your books. Or feature a picture of a library, or your favorite library. Grab the button for the post (above) and include it in your post, and make a shout out to the library you went to.

   I work at the library, and used to volunteer, so it kind of feels like I'm always there. This week I got off work, to go to another library for a class my little brother was attending. So I picked up a few after work, just to pick up a few MORE at the second library. So I came home with a lot of books (and a couple of CDs). I got...

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. (I'm rereading City of Bones, this is one of my favorite series. I saw the sequel and figured I'd go ahead and check it out.)

Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson

Firelight by Sophie Jordan! I've been waiting to read this one for a while, I'm sooo excited.

Matt Cruse Book 2: Sybreaker by Kenneth Oppel. The covers for these books are horrible, but they're pretty amazing.

Graceling by Kristen Cashore, another book I've heard a lot about and can't wait to read.

   The libraries I went to are England Run (where I work) and Headquarters. I'm really starting to love England Run, but Headquarters will always be my favorite.

   And that wraps up my first Library Thursday Blog Hop post. I normally come home with way more from the library, I have an addiction, but due to a bet I have going and the massive ammont of books I need to read, I can't. Maybe next week, assuming I find the time to read...

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

   This week I'm waiting on....

   Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott. Love You Hate You Miss You has been on my shelf forever now waiting to be read, and this was sounds equally as awesome. It hits shelves on May 24.

Summary: (from Goodreads)

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

  Doesn't it sound amazing?

   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases that are on you wishlist.

Review- Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Title: Stolen
Author: Lucy Christopher
Release Date: May 1, 2010
Pages: 299
My rating: 5 stars

Summary: While 16-year-old Gemma is en route to Vietnam from England with her parents, she is drugged and kidnapped from the Bangkok airport. She regains full consciousness in a rustic house deep in the Australian Outback with a 25-year-old man who is going to keep her forever. Ty never sexually abuses her, but she is truly a captive. Little by little, Ty wears down her defenses as Gemma realizes that escape is impossible. Soon she discovers the stark power and vibrancy of the wilderness and becomes absorbed in it. She also learns that Ty has been stalking her for years, devising a crafty plan to steal her away to make her love him which she ultimately believes she does. Ty's capture, taming, and release of a female camel effectively parallels Gemma's ordeal. Her unique first-person narrative is written to Ty after her release. Both characters are as vivid as the desert setting in which they are immersed. Despite the fact that Ty is a kidnapper, the revelations about his difficult youth and his usually caring behavior allow readers, like Gemma, to eventually care about him.

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   Spoiler alert!!!

   To start, I didn't know what this book was about when I picked it up. I thought it was a love story (blame the butterfly and that the copy I had didn't say "A letter to my captor" on it. So I was kind of surprised when I started reading it and, low and behold, it's not one. I didn't think I was going to really like it, and was disappointed it wasn't a love story (wouldn't Stolen be an awesome name for a love story? Like the Dashboard Confessional song) but I quickly grew to be fascinated by it. It was an amazing story about a guy, who was I believe genuinely in love with a girl, stealing her away from everything she's ever known and taking her to the Australian outback. I really wish Ty waited about 10 years and tried to get her to love him and Australia normally....but it would still be super creepy cause he's been stalking her since she was 10.

   This was my first book by Lucy Christopher, and I have to say I was amazed. She's an excellent writer, she developed the story beautifully and poetically and at just the right pace. I love how she wrote the story from a letter's perspective, how it was Gemma's account of what happened in her own words. I connected with Gemma, and because of the unique way Christopher wrote it, with Ty too. I understood his logic in taking her quickly, but I wish Christopher gave us more information about Gemma's past life so I could figure out Ty's reasoning a bit more, it almost made me wonder if he was a liar as well as psychotic.

   I loved the ending, how Ty goes with Gemma in the plane even though he knows he's going to get caught. It redeems him a little bit, and proves that he really, truly loved her in all his crazy and obsessiveness. I wish there had been more answers about Anna and Ben though, they were both mentioned a few times in the book, but Gemma never goes in depth about them. I can see why, it being a letter to Ty, and why would she go in depth about them in a letter to him? But I still wish Christopher had found a way to incorporate their stories into it.

   All in all, Stolen was an amazing, poetic read. I fell in love with Gemma, and, I'm sorry to say, Ty. There was just something about him that made me love him. Maybe it was the way he seemed to really care about her, or how much he loved Australia despite the fact that it seemed dead to everyone else. Maybe it was when he got on the plane with Gemma when she asked him to. I just loved them both. I was continuously thinking that I would react the same way, should I ever been in the same position. Christopher did an amazing job with this unique novel, I'll definitely be looking forward to read more by her.

Summin it up:
Plot: Fascinating and poetic. 4/5

Characters: The only ones you really interact with are Ty and Gemma, and both were really great characters. Described well and very realistic. 5/5

Writing: Beautiful, this book made me a big Lucy Christopher fan.

Ending: Well drawn out, I wish it answered some more questions though. 4/5

Kid friendly: The f bomb is dropped a few times, and there's substance abuse.

Weekly Prompt from New Books For New Bloggers

   So there's this pretty awesome blog out there, Into The Morning Reads. Jenny, who authors the blog, came up with this awesome idea. She thought it'd be cool if new bloggers could get there hands on ARC's so she made a blog and is somehow sending them out, not entirely sure how it works, but as soon as I found out I signed up. (The blog is New Books For New Bloggers by the way.) She has a new weekly prompt over there where she asks a question and the new bloggers could answer. This week I got the time to participate, so here's my answer.

   The question:

Week #002: Top 10 Most Anticipated Books of 2011
I'm pretty sure that everyone looks for something different in the books they enjoy reading and looking forward to. I want to know which books you covet and why. I also would love to see discussion on why you agree or disagree with my list or others lists. But, you know, keep it polite peeps. :)

1. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (4/5)
2. Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society Book 2) by Ally Carter (6/21)
3. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (3/22)
4.  Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler (3/8)
5. But I Love Him, by Amanda Grace (5/8)
6. Vanish by Sophie Jordan (9/6)
7. Divergent by Veronica Roth (5/3)
8. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (sometime in September)
9. Across the Universe by Beth Revis (1/11)
10. Cloaked by Alex Flinn (2/8)

   And that's my list.

Third Line Thrursday (2)

   Third Line Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Shari at My Neurotic Book Affair. It's where I pick up the book I'm currently reading and post the third line from any chapter with a 3 in it (3, 13, 33..) or any page with a 3 in it (3, 13, 33, etc.) and post the third line from that page. This week I'm reading Stolen by Lucy Christopher:

   "It's better like this, just you and me. It's the only way it could work." 
   I scanned the sky again, trying to work out my thoughts. 
Page 83.

   So far this book is absolutely amazing! I'm really looking forward to getting to read it some more!

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

   This week (and every week since I finished the last book) I'm waiting on...

City of Fallen Angels! The fourth in the Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. Release Date is April 5, 2011.

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever. Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. (Shelfari.com)

Review- Heist Society by Ally Carter Review

Title: Heist Society
Author: Ally Carter
Release Date: February 9, 2010
Pages: 304
My Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Summary:
After a childhood spent assisting her father, one of the world’s most talented art thieves, Katarina Bishop tries to leave the family business behind when she forges her way into a New England boarding school. She quickly discovers, though, that her past is inescapable. Her father has been accused of stealing already stolen masterpieces from a dangerous Italian billionaire. Certain that her father is innocent, Kat resolves to find the missing paintings and return them to their unsavory owner, who has given her a two-week deadline. Carter, the author of the Gallagher Girls series, skillfully maintains suspense as Kat assembles a team of teen accomplices, travels across Europe, and plots an impossible art heist to save her dad. (Amazon.com)

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   So I just finished this book, and I have to say it was pretty awesome.
   Ally Carter is a really desciptive, almost poetic author. It was action packed, a real page turner.It was my first book by Ally Carter, and I wasn't disappointed, it was everything I was expecting from a book like this. I wish there had been a few more twists though....but besides that, I liked it. It's not hitting my favorites list, but it was really good. Her characters were deep and interesting, she described them all to a minute detail and I didn't have any questions about any because she described them so well. The plot was fast moving and I didn't want to put it down....until I got sick and didn't want to pick any book up. But once I picked it up when I was feeling better, I couldn't put it back down again.
   It's a story about a teenage thief pulling off a big heist, so once I heard about this book I was EXCITED. And it didn't disappoint. It's got all the aspects from a novel like this you'd expect, the interesting characters, the exciting plot twists (just two -sigh- but they were still there), the nasty bad guy. But Carter manages to make it all her own. The ending was a little too drawn out though, I thought she could've wrapped it up faster.
   The characters were so interesting! They were deep, fun, realistic, and Carter does an amazing job describing them. I loved Kat, she made an awesome lead character, and Hale! He was awesome! I wish Nick had made more of an appearance though, and earlier. I really hope he's in the second book.
      All in all, this was a really good book. Ally Carter did an amazing job describing everything and making deep characters and a fast-paced plot. I'll definitely be looking forward to the sequel.

Summin it up:
Plot: Fast-paced and fascinating. 4/5 stars
Characters: Deep, very well described and realistic. 5/5 stars
Writing: Descriptive and captivating, Ally Carter is an awesome writer. 4/5 stars
Ending: A little too drawn out, she could've wrapped it up faster. But it was good. 3/5 stars
Kid Friendly: Pretty much. There wasn't any cussing or substance abuse, nothing of a sexual nature either.