Review: XVI

Author: Julia Karr

Series: XVI #1

Pages: 325
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 6th, 2011
Rating: 4/5

Summery:
Every girl gets one.
An XVI tattoo on the wrist--sixteen.

Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay.

Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help--and he just may hold the key to her past.

But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure...

For Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.

Review:
Wow.  This book is really, really complex.  The plot is so good.  Zarr did such a good job writing this book to make it look like Nina had no way to make all the problems right, but I was really impressed with how she did it.

When I started reading it I thought, Wow, I'm not going to like this book very much, because Zarr came up with all these new abbreviations for everything, like PAVs and feLS, I had no idea what they were.  But as the story progressed and grew I finally figured them out and started to really enjoy it.  The plot is simply amazing.  There were so many elements and things going on, I don't know how Zarr kept track of it all.

When Zarr first introduced Sal I didn't really like him at all, but towards the end he started to show his sensative, caring side and he grew on me.
I love that Nina's mom was a strong, defiant woman that saw through the facade the goverment had put up.
I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Ed.  That guy is a slime-ball.
I felt so bad for Sandy at the end (not telling what happens).  Although she was completely swept up in being a sex-teen, I kind of liked her and really hoped Nina would make her come to her senses.

All in all, a really good dystopian novel, and I can't wait to read the second one.

What do you think about this book?

New Releases: December 2011

         

Review: Fury

Author: Elizabeth Miles
Series: The Fury Trilogy #1
Pages: 370
Format: Hardcover
Publish Date: August 31st, 2011
Rating: 3/5

Summery:
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.
Em and Chase have been chosen.

Review:
I really, really, really want to like this book (well, I do kind of like it) but the negatives outnumber the positives.  By a lot. ):

In a well written book, the story builds on itself.  The author drops hints here and there to give the reader clues to what this book is about.  Mermaids, unicorns, werewolves, ect.  But Elizabeth Miles didn't do that.  She went on and on for about 200 pages about Chase and Emily's social life, and at the end of every chapter they see someone looking through their window.  That does nothing.  That doesn't help the reader figure out what's going on, what creature is out there, or why.  All it says is that Emily and Chase are popular and that someone is looking at them.  The one good part of the book was the end, and that was pretty much because I finally found out what the heck was going on.

I really wish that Elizabeth Miles had incorporated more into the story, had dropped hints and had things happen.  The only things happening were Emily making out with Zach and Chase running around after Ty.  And that would be completely fine if Elizabeth Miles had just gone for a real-life, chic-lit type story, and not even mentioned supernatural.  But, as the wrote it, it didn't work out.

There really isn't any boy to swoon over in this book. ):  Zach's a jerk, Chase is an idiot, and J.D. is sweet but not swoon-worthy.  Although he is my favorite guy in the book.

The mistakes Elizabeth Miles made were beginner's mistakes, and as she learns more and writes more she will learn to make the plot complex and build the story up.  I really hope her next book shows all she will learn.

OTHER COVER EDITIONS:

What do you think about the covers?  And the book as well, of course? :P

Waiting on Wednesday (#8): Where it Began

This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlites upcoming new releases that we're highly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Where it Began, by Ann Redisch Stampler

Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving and lacking a single memory of the accident that landed her there. What she can remember, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the accident. As she takes us through her transformation from invisible girl to on-trend Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby herself does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why is Gabby left alone to take the fall?
Putting the pieces together will take every ounce of Gabby's strength. As she peels back the layers of her life, she begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex...and that nothing about her life is what she has imagined it to be.

Release Date: March 6th, 2012

Review: Fateful

Author: Claudia Gray

Pages: 325
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Rating: 5/5
Summery:
Eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.
Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .
Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

Review:
Wow.  Before I read this book I never thought I would like reading about the Titanic, but did Claudia Gray ever prove me wrong.

This book is amazing.  The plot was so complex, and the characters were so good.  If Claudia Gray had picked a single other historical event and had the same paranormal stuff going on, I don't think it would have worked half as well.  The plot was amazing, all the events happening and flowing together and leading up to one another.  The way Gray wrote Tess's situation, it was like she was pretty much guaranteed to be killed, but somehow, she always managed to survive and keep her cool.  If I had been in that situation, with some lunatic werewolf coming after me, I would have freaked. :p

I love Tess.  I love her name, I love her strong will, and I love her defiance.  She is the kind of strong female character that all books like this need, and she's so sweet to Mr. Marlowe and Miss Irene.  She is the perfect character for this book.
I hate Mikhail.  Hate, hate, hate him.  But in a way I also like him because his evilness and ruthlessness was what made this book as good as it is.  He is the perfect villain.
I really, really wanted Tess to take Irene with her when she quit her job, because I just felt so bad for her.  Her mother is so mean, and Irene is so kind and different from the rest of her family.
Alec *swooning*.  OH MY GOSH!!!  I love Alec.  He is so cute!  He is so kind and gentle, and he really feels bad about what he does when he is "different". (I won't say anything more because I would give away the story.)

All in all, this is a really sweet romantic fantasy that I think everyone will love.  And you also learn about the Titanic :P

OTHER COVER EDITIONS:

  

Which cover is your favorite?  And what do you think about this book? (:

Teaser Tuesday: (#6)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can do it.  You just have to do is:

 (1): Grab your current read.

(2): Open it to a random page.

(3): Share 1 or 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! 

(4): Make sure you also mention the author and title.

Fateful, by Claudia Gray

#2: "These are the eyes that followed me on the dock.  Even before I was him with the young man from last night, he had seen me. Give him the box, I think.  Give him the box, tell them it was just stolen, and even if they don't believe you, they won't put you in jail.  Or will they?  Is that all I'll ever see of America--a jail cell?"

#1: "But the wolf doesn't hit the door.  It skids to a stop just short of the booth.  I stare down at my feet, terrified it's going to crawl underneath the small gap there, or just bite at my ankles.  It doesn't.  Instead the wolf starts pacing, back and forth.  Back and forth.  I can hear it panting, its claws clicking against the tile floor."

Dusty Reads: (#3)

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads, where you feature a book that has been sitting unread on our bookshelf for a long time.

Azalea is trapped.  Just when she should feel that everything is before her...beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing...it's taken away.  All of it.

The Keeper understands.  He's trapped too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace.  And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.
But there is a cost.
The Keeper likes to keep things.
Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Review: Hooked

Author: Catherine Greenman
Pages: 276
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5
Cover Rating: 4/5

Summery:
Thea Galehouse has always known how to take care of herself. With a flighty club-owner mom and a standoffish, recovering-alcoholic dad, Thea has made her own way in her hometown of New York, attending the prestigious and competitive Stuyvesant High School. But one chat with Will, a handsome and witty senior, and she's a goner—completely hooked on him and unable to concentrate on anything else.
Always worried that she loves Will more than he loves her, Thea is pleasantly surprised when their romance weathers his move to college and Will goes out of his way to involve her in his life. But then, Thea misses a period. And that starts Thea and Will on a wild ride that neither of them could have possibly prepared for. When they decide to keep the baby, their concerned parents chip in what they can to keep Will in school and give both teenagers a comfortable place to raise their child. But when a freak accident leaves Thea shaken and threatens to upend their little family altogether, Thea is forced to turn to the last place she would have chosen for comfort: her stiff, uncompromising father.
This smart, touching first novel brims with realistic, beautifully drawn characters, and reminds us that love is never as easy or predictable as we might like it to be.

Review:
I know this is totally random and weird, but I got this book out of the library, and I think I may have been the first to read it.  That has never happened before and I'm really excited about it. :p
Ok, enough with the creepy statements and to the review.

Although I really enjoyed this book, there were some things I didn't like about it.  The romance was too quick.  They meet, talk, whatever.  That's fine.  But then they go on a date, have their first kiss, fall in love, in one evening.  And then soon after they do "it" all the time.  Thea was kind of easy.

Will was kind of creepy, and I didn't completely like him, even in the beginning.  And it wasn't just his eye; it was the things he did and the people he hung out with  He just wasn't what I would call "good boyfriend material."

I like and admire Thea for sticking with Ian and taking such good care of him and having him in the first place.  Although, I do think she messed up getting pregnant in the first place, I think she did the best that she could with the following situation.

Ian sounds so cute and perfect to me.  Which, I will admit, isn't saying much since I love babies and think they are the most adorable things ever.  Even animal babies. (Pandas are the cutest ;p)

You've just got to love characters like Carmen and the dad, and I guess the mom as well, although I didn't like her.
Carmen was so nice to Thea, helping her and all, and I really liked her.  I also really like the dad.  I thought he was a real jerk in the beginning, but after Ian was born, he started to soften up, and that's when I really started to like him.

What are your thoughts on this book?  Leave comments, I love them. (:

Review: Full Moon

Author: Rachel Hawthorne

Series: Dark Guardians #2
Pages: 263
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 1, 2009

Rating: 3/5

Summery:
I may be promised to another . . . but thoughts of Rafe consume me. I don't know how much longer I can resist.

Lindsey is wild and reckless, a natural rebel - maybe because her entire life was laid out for her even before she was born. Her parents are among the most powerful members of the Dark Guardians, an ancient tribe of werewolves, and they arranged Lindsey's betrothal to Connor long ago. The next full moon is coming all too soon, and then her commitment to Connor will be final - no turning back. She should be happy . . . so why can't she stop thinking about gorgeous, brooding Rafe?

When a dangerous threat on the pack escalates, so do tensions between Connor and Rafe. A fight over Lindsey is imminent, but will it be to the death?

Review:
I was really impressed with Hawthorne after I read this book because I had read the first book in this series, Moonlight, and didn't really like it as much.  But this one, I really enjoyed.

I loved the story line, and you really couldn't tell where the story would go.  The love triangle and indecision was awesome, and it kept me on my toes, and there were twists and turns and change ups that I never saw coming, but I did suspect a few (like the ending) :p
.
I really like Lindsay, she seems strong and kind.  Rafe, I don't really like the picture Hawthorne painted with him.  The name, the look, all that, it just didn't work for me.  And I loved Connor, he was so sweet.  I'm sad for him.

I can't wait to read the next book and see what happened to Brittany!


OTHER COVER EDITIONS:


Indonesian cover.  Rating 1/5







What did you think of this book.  Leave comments, I love them. (:

Waiting on Wednesday (#7): The Nightmare Garden

This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlites upcoming new releases that we're highly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

The Nightmare Garden, by Caitlin Kittredge

Everything Aoife thought she knew about the world was a lie. There is no Necrovirus. And Aoife isn't going to succomb to madness because of a latent strain—she will lose her faculties because she is allergic to iron. Aoife isn't human. She is a changeling—half human and half from the land of Thorn. And time is running out for her.

When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine she released the monsters from the Thorn Lands into the Iron Lands and now she must find a way to seal the gates and reverse the destruction she's ravaged on the world that's about to poison her.

Release Date: February 14th, 2012

Review: The Iron Thorn

Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Series: The Iron Codex #1
Pages: 492
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: February 20, 2011
Rating: 4/5
Cover Rating: 4/5 (a bit raunchy)

Summery:
In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
     Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

Review:
To be perfectly honest, I am very disappointed with Caitlin Kittredge's young adult debut.  NOT!!

The story is just amazing, to have the complex plot it has, it's just mind blowing.  The science, the "necrovirus", the monsters, the faeries, the whole shebang, it's amazing how Caitlin Kittredge managed to keep track of it all.
I don't usually like books with romance/adventure, but Caitlin wrote it in such a way that you don't really notice the romance, and when you did it was some huge event in the book.

I love that Aoife is a strong, smart-mouthed character who can take care of herself and is brave and selfless.
In the beginning I hated Cal because he was always calling her crazy and claiming everything she said was a result of the necrovirus.  I liked him more in the end when he saved them (I'm not going to tell you how so you'll have to read the book :p).
And Dean.  OH MY GOD DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED!!  I love Dean!!  I mean, really love him.  I can't really explain it.  He's really sassy, rebellious, smart-mouthed, and really nice, and as I read more and more I fell more and more in love with him.

All in all, I can't wait for the next book to come out because Caitlin Kittredge left this book on the biggest cliffhanger you could imagine, AND I WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!

What are you thoughts about this book?  Leave comments, I love them. (:

Dusty Reads: (#2)

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads, where you feature a book that has been sitting unread on our bookshelf for a long time.

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.

Teaser Tuesday: (#5)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Anyone can do it.  You just have to do is:

 (1): Grab your current read.

(2): Open it to a random page.

(3): Share 1 or 2 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!! 

(4): Make sure you also mention the author and title.



The Iron Thorn, by Caitlin Kittredge

#1: I stayed where I was for a few moments, feeling sick with disappointment and cofusion.  My father wasn't going to help me.  He didn't even want to speak with me.
There was knocking on the ladder, and I swiped at my watering eyes and opened the hatch.  Sniveling wasn't going to break Tremaine's curse or get Conrad back.

#2: Tick.  Thock.  The sound was louder, or perhaps I was just nervy from the dark house and the knowledge that even if my father had locked the place up and gone somewhere less dank and forbidding, I was trespassing here.

What is your teaser this Tuesday?

Cover Reveal: Arise

Arise
by Tara Hudson
Release Date: July 5th, 2012
Number of pages: 400
Format: Hardcover

This cover is absolutely amazing.  And, I must admit, I totally judge books by their covers.  This is actually the second book in the Hereafter series, and the first book, Hereafter, looks really good a s  well, so I'm hoping I can read them both soon.

Other novels in this series:

Giveaway: LC's 1000 Follower Giveaway @ LC's Adventures in Libraryland

 

LC has reached a monumental milestone.  1000 followers!!  And to celebrate she is having an amazing giveaway with a lot, and I mean a lot, of books to win.  To check it out and enter click here.

You have TONS of choices when it comes to picking out what you want to win! Choose from one of the TEN prize packs below-- and then let me know in the form which pack you want!

 

Faery Prize Pack:

Wondrous Strange, The Iron King, Wicked Lovely

 

Fantasy Prize Pack:

Graceling, Rampant, The Warrior Hair

 

Dystopian Prize Pack:

Wither, Delirium, Divergent

Contemporary Prize Pack:

Anna and the French Kiss, He's So Not Worth It, 13 Little Blue Envelops

Historical Fiction Prize Pack:

The Luxe, Cleopatra's Moon, Ingenue

Werewolf Prize Pack:

Fateful, Nightshade, Shiver

 

Vampire Prize Pack:

Vampire Academy, Blue Bloods, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Mermaid Prize Pack:

Mermaid, Forgive My Fins, Lost Voices

 

Mythology Prize Pack:

Starcrossd, Sweet Venom, The Goddess

Zombie Prize Pack:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Zombies Don't Cry, Rot & Ruin