The Paper Planes

Waiting on Wednesday {19}

2012-02-29T17:31:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Spell Bound
by Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: March 13th 2012
NZ Pre-Order: Paperplus | Whitcoulls
International Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

Anyone else a fan of the Hex Hall series? Yes? Then I'm sure that cliffhanger at the end of Demonglass is killing you just as much as it's killing me! I must find out what happens next and I can't wait to jump back into Sophie's hilarious head! Plus, of course, there's Archer... ♥

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

Brief Hiatus!

2012-02-19T19:04:00.001+13:00

Hi everyone!
If you've paid attention to my blog in the past few weeks, you'll have probably noticed that I haven't been posting all that much! The reason? As with a lot of other teen bloggers, I've recently gone back to school so I've been really busy since first weeks back are always pretty hectic :S But don't worry, it won't be like this all the time! The real big reason I haven't been online as much is because next week, starting tomorrow, I'm going to be camping on an island just off the coast of New Zealand as part of our School Camp Week that we do every year! So I've been all over the place trying to get everything packed and ready.

And yes, an island. Away from civilisation... Which means no electricity, no showers, no access to cellphones or laptops, and ultimately, no blogging from me for an entire week! So if you're wondering why The Paper Planes hasn't been blogging lately, that's the reason :)

Anyway, hope you all have an awesome week while I'm away and get down and dirty within your huge TBR piles :)

Happy Reading Everyone! xx

Partials by Dan Wells

2012-02-12T16:12:00.000+13:00

Title: Partials
Author: Dan Wells
Publication Date: February 28th 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 472
Rating:

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Kira doesn't believe in the Hope Act, the law decreeing that every female over the age of 18 must get pregnant as many times as possible. No baby has ever survived more than a matter of days since the Partial War due to the deadly RM virus and Kira's tired of watching them die right in front of her when she, as a medic, can do nothing at all to save them. So when her best friend gets pregnant, she can't bear to see her child fall prey to the continuos string of disastrous fates and sets off to capture a Partial, the only beings that are immune to the virus, in the hopes of finding a cure before the baby is born.

I don't usually write my reviews like this as you've probably noticed, but trying to write a review for Partials in a single non-divided essay form is like trying to fly -- impossible. Which is a good thing as a reader since it means there are too many great things to gush about but bad for me as a writer, since I can't write long reviews like this if someone pointed a gun at me and told me they'd shoot me if I didn't! So... cut me some slack if I end up sounding pathetically lame? *puppy-dog eyes*

-- Ms. Kira Walker
As far as main characters go, Kira is a pretty damn good one. She's brave, strong-willed and persistent in all the right ways. When she's set her mind on something, she sees it through right to the end and her determination shines through even her toughest moments. Despite being told in third-person, it was unusually easy to relate to her. Though she made a lot of decisions that, had it been any other protagonist, would have seemed stupid and Mary-sue, you could understand exactly why she did the brash things she did because of how deeply her emotions ran. Her loyalty to her friends is endearing and admirable, especially towards her best friend and adoptive sister, Madison. She takes the question "How far will I go for this person?" to a whole other level and it's safe to say that I loved her for it!

-- A Family Tied Together By A World Gone Mad
Partials offers us an incredible array of secondary characters, all of whom are fresh, fun and unique! But truthfully, that's not what made me write a whole paragraph about them, it's rather their relationships with each other that made them such a thrill to read about. I said Kira was loyal, but what her friends do for her is beyond even that. Loyalty doesn't even begin to describe all the sacrifices they make for that one single cause! Kira, Madison, Xochi, Isolde, Marcus and Jayden. Though most of them are part of same adoptive family, these 'plague babies' as the adults call them are as tight as a family bound by blood and the bond they share with each other is palpable and patent.

But that's not all, every character was interesting -- even those who didn't add anything to the story. I actually found myself immeasurably sad whenever any of them died and I think it's amazing that Dan was able to characterize them like that. Not often do I feel such a strong connection to characters that don't play a big part in a novel, but this was definitely an exception!

-- A Dystopia That Swings The Right Way
Partials surprises us with a thoroughly engaging storyline -- one that isn't just about finding a cute guy or rebelling against a government. Instead, it's about the hunt for a cure to RM and isn't even really that heavy on the romance! Though this is just under 500 pages, there are plenty of action scenes to keep you glued to the pages and just as many twists and turns to have you guessing right till the end. I will admit though, that the beginning is a little hard to get into but once you're in, well... you're in for a night without sleep!

-- Substance Within The Science
This is one of those rare Dystopia's/Post-Apocalyptic's that use science as a base for the story to grow. And let me tell you, I have read a lot of Dystopia's where the world-building leaves you to wonder "How did this happen?" or "Where did it come from?" but Partials leaves no question unanswered. It is so clear and apparent that Dan has done his research because the science and human biology actually makes sense! And not only does it make sense, it's interesting in all the ways that science classes at school aren't. I was fully immersed in what could have caused the RM virus to spread and how the genetic make up of a Partial was linked to it!

---

Overall, Partials is a book that I could go on and on and on about what makes it amazing but I fear that like science classes are for me, I would bore you to tears and scare you away from my blog! Take my advice though, and go pick it up when it's released because this, fellow bloggers, is how a dystopia should be written!

Pure by Julianna Baggott

2012-02-06T19:31:00.006+13:00

Title: Pure
Author: Julianna Baggott
Publication Date: January 31st 2012, NZ; February 8th 2012, US
Publisher: Hachette NZ
Pages: 448
Rating:

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.

Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the 'Pure'. Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders' regime, isn't as perfect as others think. Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world.

Pure is one hell of a roller-coaster! It's amazing at times, but has a slow beginning, gets freaking brilliant, then fades to a dull series of events. Never have I ever felt as conflicted as I do for this book.

Pressia and Partridge are decent leads. They're brave, strong and determined to get through the toughest obstacles! However, for the most part, you feel disconnected with them until the novel picks up at the end. I don't think it's necessarily their fault, like I said, they're likable, but writing in third person and also in present tense is a pretty hard feat to accomplish. In addition to that, we don't only have Pressia and Partridge's POV's but two others who don't really bring much more to the story. Sometimes multiple POV's work for me, sometimes they don't and unfortunately in this case, it was the latter. I feel like I was looking through too many different pairs of eyes and it made it harder for me to relate to our two main characters.

A lot of people have mentioned that Pure has a lot of too-good-to-be-true coincidences and I'm not going to argue. Pressia and Partridge live in a large post-apocalyptic world yet they somehow manage to meet all the people they need to meet and find all the clues they need to finally get to where they want to be in the end. A few coincidences I can take but Pure is built up of so many that it went way beyond the point where I drew the line!

But fear not! Pure does have it's redeeming qualities. It's a romance, yes, but Pressia's been living in a world where the need to survive overcomes the need for a love life and so the romance takes a back seat in this! It's not at all predictable and though I am a HUGE romance fan, I enjoyed how it wasn't focused so much on the lovey-dovey scenes. Pure is more about family more than anything and I liked that. Plus, at the end where it really gets interesting, if not a bit tragic, you'll find that the ending would be perfect even without a romance.

The stand-out of Pure was undoubtedly the world-building. It's grotesque, gory and sometimes makes you want to empty your stomach of your recently eaten dinner, but I think that's what makes it great! It's scary to see what our world could become, with the surviving humans bearing such realistic deformities. Baggot doesn't shy away from the horror's of a post-apocalyptic world like most other's. It's one of the more believable worlds out there just because of how easily you can picture it in your head!

Overall, Pure is a bit of a hit-or-miss really. If you're willing to get past the agonizingly slow start, and persevere right to the end, you'll be happy that you finished it! Because it does get better, I swear. And if you liked the world-building in books like Under the Never Sky, then you'll probably like the world in this one too. Though, the world in Pure is a whole lot more graphic, I warn you.

In My Mailbox {6}

2012-02-05T14:48:00.001+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

Eeeeee! I got my first physical copies for review! ASDFGHJKL I'M SO HAPPY. I thought they would reject me for sure haha! LOL I'm kind of overreacting but it's so freaking exciting!! We don't get ARC's in NZ though, so these are finished copies that the publishers kindly sent me :)

For review
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate
Melody Burning by Whitley Strieber
Partials by Dan Wells (Netgalley)

Bought
Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Thanks to Random House NZ and Allen and Unwin!

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

2012-02-02T17:54:00.003+13:00

Title: Fallen in Love
Author: Lauren Kate
Publication Date: February 2nd 2012, NZ; January 24th 2012, US
Publisher: Random House NZ
Pages: 201

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story. And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first-and last-time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other. Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for. True love never says goodbye...

Fallen in Love reads rather like the movies LOVE, ACTUALLY and VALENTINE'S DAY in that it's told in separate stories but is tied together through loose threads with other characters. It's set during the events of Passion when somehow the whole gang ends up in Medieval England a day before the St. Valentine's Faire!

I'm not the biggest fan of the Fallen series but even I really enjoyed reading this! I loved getting to know the secondary characters because to be honest, I actually like them more than the main characters.

Anyway, I'll do a short review for each story and individual ratings:

Love where you least expect it: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles
Rating:
Shelby and Miles really grew on me! I actually didn't really like them before this because they were kind of boring but it's in this short story that they really start to shine! For one thing, it was fun to watch them naively tackle love in their inexperienced state's. The small awkward moments and little acts of friendship left me smiling at the simpleness of it all. Sometimes I just love a little innocent normal romance and Shelby and Miles gave me that!

However, what I would have liked was to see more depth put into their characters. Like in Torment and Passion, these two didn't quite have the uniqueness that's in all the other angels. There were obvious chances for Miles to be a phenomenally interesting character, what with his obsession with his damn hat, but Lauren left us with nothing on that matter, and that disappointed me. I have a feeling that given the chance, these two could appeal to readers who originally didn't like them.

Overall, I surprisingly enjoyed Shelby and Miles story! Simplistic but entertaining, others who had negative thoughts towards them might want to give this a try. You might just warm up to them like I did!

Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland
Rating:
Roland's story is definitely a lot more complex than Miles and Shelby's and I loved seeing his heartbreaking past unfold before us!

I actually don't have much to say about this one because there wasn't a whole lot going on. It's more of a memory story, with flashbacks of his painful past. I did really like it though! But, I might have enjoyed it more if it had been a little less predictable. I've always liked Roland but I just think Lauren could have done something more, I don't know, unique or different with this because I could tell what would happen from a mile away. It was lovely to see the elements of sacrifice for love in it though and I came out of this having a whole lot more respect for Roland.

Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane
Rating:
To say I was surprised after reading this would be an understatement! Lauren really caught me off guard with this one - really, to think she could write about girl x girl love and actually do it WELL? Mind. Blown. I love Arriane and I am SO happy that Lauren was able to do her story justice!

Unlike the other short stories, this one managed to hit me on a deeply emotional level. We always know Arriane to be happy and fun and also kind of a delinquent character but in this story we get to see a completely different side to her! She's sweet, caring, but kind of conflicted. It's most definitely a tragedy and in a way, reminds me vaguely of Romeo and Juliet because of it's forbidden love between an angel and a demon.

Within the span of four chapters, Lauren has completely sold me on Arriane's character! While the other stories lacked depth, this one excels at it and I feel like I know Arriane a whole lot better now. Behind her outspoken personality is a girl who lies shattered by her past. No doubt, this is my favorite story from Fallen in Love!

Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda
Rating:
Daniel and Luce were a lot more tolerable in this than they were in the previous books but they still fail to interest me to a high degree. For one thing, this was pretty much like what happens in the previous books with the whole Luce goes gaga over Daniel kind of thing. And seriously? Isn't everyday for Daniel and Luce some kind of Valentine's Day?

Nevertheless, like I said, it WAS tolerable and I did enjoy it, but after coming out of Arriane's fantastic story, it just kind of fell flat on a lot of levels. However, with a short story of only so many pages, there's not a lot that can go wrong and thankfully, that was the case for this! Luce and Daniel's relationship is definitely one for those romancaholic lovers, much like Matched by Ally Condie was for me and I think huge fans of Fallen will devour this! Sadly, since I love my romance alongside a bigger plot, I just couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for it.

---

There's also a sneakpeak at the first few chapters of Rapture but I couldn't bring myself to read it in case it was really really good and I'd have to wait SO LONG until the actual book came out. But I've heard from other reviews that Rapture kicks off with a great start!

Overall, Fallen in Love was a surprisingly good addition to the Fallen series! People who didn't quite like the previous books but are still wanting to finish it with Rapture? Definitely take a look at this! It'll remind you of why you started it in the first place, gorgeous covers aside. I'm really hoping that Lauren writes a story for Cam though! Or at least by the end of Rapture, he gets some kind of happy ending!

Thanks to Random House NZ for providing a copy for review!

Waiting on Wednesday {18}

2012-02-01T18:06:00.002+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Unraveling
by Elizabeth Norris
Release Date: April 24th 2012

Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, Janelle knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her reincarnation, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI-agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her: Everything that’s happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben’s sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl’s fight to save herself, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

I saw this for the first time two weeks ago and was like "MUST. HAVE. NOW." I absolutely love the sound of this! Reincarnation + end of world? Yes, please!

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

2012-01-28T18:24:00.003+13:00

Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publication Date: January 13th 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins NZ
Pages: 448
Rating:

Clara Gardner knew that as a part angel she would one day have to fulfill her purpose, rescuing Christian from a forest fire...what she never considered was what might happen if she were to fail.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend Tucker, Clara must deal with the repercussions of what happened the day of the fire as the two boys vie for her heart. And, as she is drawn further into the world of angels and part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain after a shocking revelation, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning...

Wow… Just. Wow. Who would have thought that Hallowed could be ten times better than Unearthly!? Because I'd be lying if I said that before I started reading this, I thought Hallowed could live up to it's predessecor's standards but I am SO glad that Cynthia proved me wrong. It brought with it everything I loved about Unearthly and more!

I'd have to say my favorite thing about this series is it's luscious selection of characters. Clara is back and she's as amazing as ever! She's so relatable and strong and thankfully, not stupid. Because you know how in love triangles, the female MC is always terribly conflicted and plays around with both love interests before finally making a decision? There's none of that here! While Christian is still a huge part of her life, Clara regards him solely as a friend while she and Tucker are dating. I could seriously throw flowers and kiss Cynthia's feet for that!

Which brings me to the boys. The boys. Those god-damn beautiful boys! I have never been a fan of love-triangles and I have never read a book where I have loved both boys in question but let it be said that Cynthia has done the impossible! I LOVE this love-triangle and both boys have found a place in my heart. Christian and Tucker each have their strong points and it's hard to find anything bad to say about them. From the events that happen in this book, it's easy to see Clara ending up with either of them! Though, to be totally honest, I am still most definitely Team Tucker, just because of how perfect they are together :)

Is this a trilogy? Because if it is I am SUPER happy with the plot development here! Thankfully, this isn't just an in-between book meant to be completely meaningless to the overall plot. We find out a lot more about Clara's purpose and the events that unfolded in Unearthly. Also, you've always seen me raging about how paranormal books just don't quite have that raw emotion seeping out of it's pages like contemporaries do, but here is where I eat my words right back up. Clara really finds herself in this book but it's definitely not without sacrifices. Hallowed is drowned in sadness and sorrow. It's the first time a paranormal book has made me feel like I could burst into tears at any second!

Overall, Hallowed is an excellent sequel to the already amazing Unearthly. If you haven't read Unearthly yet, then GO PICK IT UP RIGHT NOW. I can't tell you enough how much I LOVE this series and if you haven't read it, you have no idea what you're missing out on!

Waiting on Wednesday {17}

2012-01-25T16:18:00.003+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Harbinger
by Sara Wilson Etienne
Release Date: February 2nd 2012, US; March 28th, NZ
NZ Pre-Order: Fishpond | Whitcoulls
International Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Girl, Interrupted meets Beautiful Creatures in this fast-paced thriller.

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

To be honest, the premise of this kind of scares me. Hands stained red? Creeepy! But it does sounds good, right? And I love that it's set in a boarding school -- I recently found a love of reading about them! Plus, in some odd way it reminds me of Mara Dyer, you know, with the whole psychological thriller thing and I loooooved Mara Dyer so hopefully this one will be even better! :)

Leave a comment so I can check out what you're waiting on!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway that's ending soon!

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

2012-01-22T22:05:00.003+13:00

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publication Date: January 10th 2012
Publisher: Headline
Pages: 236
Rating:

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

So help me. I'm struck dumb and speechless and have absolutely no freaking idea how to start this review without screwing up so much as a speck of the well-earned justice it so clearly deserves. Simply saying, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a spectacular contemporary!

While I didn't cry like I'm sure many others did, I did have plenty of laughs and more than enough smiles to last me a lifetime. Hadley and Oliver are fantastic main characters! They're funny, witty and deeply affected by their own circumstances but they're also down to earth and very believable. It's fairly predictable, but don't let that sway you into not reading it! Because what TSPOLAFS is all about are the relationships between characters, not just between Hadley and Oliver but between Hadley and her father as they both struggle to mend broken family ties as well.

Guys, this is why I love contemporaries. TSPOLAFS provides us with fun and light prose that is so often lost in the seriousness of the paranormal genre but also that deeper, raw emotional aspect that tears at our hearts. If I weren't such a hard cookie to crack when reading I might have even shed a tear or two!

What's interesting is that I always have a low tolerance for fast-growing relationships but I had absolutely zero problems with this one. It's told within a time-span of 24 hours but it feels like you're with Hadley for far longer than that, a few weeks even! The amount of depth we see in the characters in such a short time is astounding and the relationship between Oliver and Hadley feels real, natural. It makes me crave for a seat next to a cute British boy the next time I go on a plane!

Overall, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is definitely a book that needs to be read if it's sitting on your TBR shelf hidden behind a countless number of others. It's wonderful prose reads like a fairy tale, there's a need you have for the two main characters to finally get together in the end and live happily ever after. Anna and the French Kiss fans? You'll find that this is a book that can easily rival it!

In My Mailbox {5}

2012-01-21T23:51:00.001+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

I finally used my birthday and Christmas money to buy some books that I've been dying to read! Especially excited to read Hallowed, Bloodlines and Delirium (though I wish I could have gotten the hard cover of it). Lies Beneath was my WoW pick a few weeks ago so I definitely can't wait to read that as well!

Bought
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Breathless by Jessica Warman

Netgalley
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown
Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway that's ending soon!

Angelfall by Susan Ee

2012-01-19T18:27:00.003+13:00

Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Publication Date: May 21st 2011
Publisher: Feral Dreams
Pages: 255
Rating:

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

There were a number of things about Angelfall that had me wary of reading it. Firstly, someone mentioned it was partly horror and I'm probably the most squeamish person you will ever meet. Then, there's the fact that it's by an indie author and it's about angels, both of which I have had terrible experiences with. Well, if you're thinking along those lines as well then this is all I can say -- SCREW IT. Because really? Angelfall is a masterpiece with hardly enough recognition.

Penryn is a born survivor. With her sister's wheelchair condition and her dangerous lunatic mother, she's learnt to handle herself well on her own. She's only seventeen but she's mature beyond her years and she can seriously kick butt when needed! She also has that sense of realness to her as in, the author does well not to crank the wittiness in this to the highest level possible. As much as I love laughing at witty retorts, I also do care to see the occasional awkward comeback. Like a lot of strong protagonists, Penryn has a fierce loyalty to protect those she cares about and in this case, it's directed towards her family. Her resolve to find her sister no matter what is truly touching and while her mother is one hell of a crazy psycho, she genuinely cares for her daughters. Not only is Angelfall a book about a forbidden romance between an angel and a human in an end-of-the-world scenario, it's also a book that shows just how strong family relations can make us.

Raffe, in all his angel glory, is definitely one of the better fictional love interests out there. He's beautiful and cocky without being a jerk and how Susan accomplished that is beyond me! While we don't get his POV, it's easy to sympathize for the poor broken angel who got his wings cut off. I loved his relationship with Penryn. They literally both hate each other at the beginning which makes it fun to watch them grow protective and close to each other as the story progresses. It's a slow budding romance with just the right amount of romantic tension. There are those scenes where you just want to go "HURRY UP AND DO IT" at them!

I've read plenty of books that don't even come close to comparing itself with Angelfall. Self-published? You can hardly tell! The writing is superb, written like a true professional and Susan most definitely knows how to tell a good story. It's easy to envision Penryn's surrounding's as she travels through the remains of Northern California. Without the whole angel aspect, you can almost imagine a time when our world might face the same destruction as in Angelfall. And horror? Well, there is flesh-eating and mentions of severed body parts and a whole heap of grotesque gory scenes but it's nothing really more than that. I mean, that's sort of like what happens in all post-apocalyptic books nowadays anyway right?

Overall, Angelfall left me with huge hope for indie-authors and angels. I'm looking forward to what else Susan Ee can bring to the YA genre and oh-so-desperately awaiting the sequel to this amazing book! Those of you who are fed up with books like Fallen and Halo (haven't read it but've head nasty things about it so I probably wont read it anyway) should definitely try this one out!

Waiting on Wednesday {16}

2012-01-18T15:47:00.003+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare
by Melissa Jensen
Release Date: February 16th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Pretty in Pink meets Anna and the French Kiss in this charming romantic comedy.

Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?

Okay, so really? I was already excited for this because it sounds really cute and all but when I saw it was being compared to Anna and the French Kiss? My excitement pretty much sky-rocketed! This is like at the top of my wishlist now!

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

2012-01-16T14:12:00.002+13:00

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publication Date: March 2nd 2010
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 323
Rating:

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Hex Hall is such a deliciously fun read! After all the hype surrounding it, I was really scared of what to expect, but Hex Hall delivers with the desired effect I was initially hoping for!

It's not often that I come across a main character that is solely responsible for my love of a novel, but Sophie Mercer fulfills all my expectations of a perfect protagonist. She's funny for one thing! But she's also not the kind of girl who withers under the glare of a popular Queen Bee witch. And insta-love? Well, when the first thing the hottest guy in the school hears you say is "BAD DOG," I doubt their first reaction would be to fall madly in love with you. So yay for a realistic romance!

And My God, Archer. He's like a cross between Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss and Jace from The Mortal Instruments which is, I must say, the creation of the most swoon-worthy guy in fictional history. He's funny, witty, snarky and knows the girls love him and hell, all you readers will love him. Hex Hall just gets ten times better whenever he walks into a scene!

Did I mention that Hex Hall is hilariously funny? Yes? Well, that is totally justified. I mean, if Hawkins pulls out sentence after sentence of witty dialogue and expects us to keep a straight face then she is an absolutely terrible writer. Because NOOO, I found myself laughing my heart out while reading this! And while there's still that first little crush that Sophie tries to fling out of her system, if there are quotes like "Archer isn't hot anymore… He tired to kill me, and his girlfriend is Satan," then I'm pretty fine with the whole in-denial thing.

Aside from all the laughs though, there are darker elements to the story and a mystery that will leave your head spinning. It's not all fluffy witch spells, there is murder and death involved and while you know there's definitely something strange happening, you have no idea who to put the blame on. It's not heavy on the dark and dreadful though and still retains the humor that Hex Hall is so well known for throughout most of the book!

Overall, Hex Hall is undoubtedly one of my all-time favorites. I just finished Demonglass and my review of that will be up soon, but seriously guys, though I know I myself have been living under a rock, if you haven't read this yet, I seriously suggest you do!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

2012-01-14T16:48:00.001+13:00

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Publication Date: September 27th 2011
Publisher: Hachette
Pages: 418
Rating:

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I feel like the whole blogosphere is going to be against my review of this! Don't get me wrong, I can see why you all enjoyed it so much but for me, it just wasn't perfect.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone no doubt has amazing and creative world-building. It's set in the lovely city of Prague and that's one thing that sets it apart from all the other young adult books out there. But then we get into the world of Elsewhere and it will blow you away. The amount of detail and depth gone into the creation of this world is astounding! The strange half beast, half human chimaera creatures were expertly crafted and the magic involved had my mouth open in awe at Laini's clever imagination. World-wise, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is on a whole other level!

Karou, our main character, wasn't one of the highlights however. She was certainly an interesting character, with her blue hair and job at Brimstone's shop but the moment she meets Akiva, the fiery winged sexy angel, I found it hard to keep reading. I just couldn't get behind the whole star-crossed lover thing. Sometimes it works for me, but in this case it didn't. It felt overdone and exaggerated and just so… cheesy, for lack of a better word. Akiva especially, was very hard to like. I hated his attitude towards anyone who wasn't Karou. Because of that, I largely preferred the secondary characters in this one and you know when that happens, it's not good. Brimstone and Issa and Zuzana -- they were all so much more likable than our two main protagonists!

The world-building, as I mentioned before is absolutely fantastic but unfortunately we don't get much of it until the last quarter of the book. Until then, I have to admit I found myself a little bored with the whole prospect of Akiva and Karou getting all lovey-dovey. I'm just not the kind of reader who likes mushy romances and by the time we do find out why they're like that, it all feels so predictable and really nothing all that special. I feel like Laini focused too much on the romance between Karou and Akiva instead of the plot that was tossed aside precariously for the two lovebirds.

Overall, Daughter of Smoke and Bone had a strong start but beyond that, I just didn't feel the urge to sit down and read it straight through in one sitting. It wasn't terrible but definitely not something to write home about. I don't know guys, this just wasn't for me but I understand that a lot of you really enjoyed this. Seriously, when this was released my dashboard was full of five star reviews for it. So I guess in the end it all just comes down to the reader.

Follow Friday {14}

2012-01-13T16:31:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Question of the Week: Many readers/bloggers are also big music fans. Tell us about a few of your favorite bands/singers that we should listen to in 2012.

My current obsession? One Direction! Seriously, I love me some British boys ♥ Plus their music is always so upbeat and happy. But I also love Adele's crazy good voice and Taylor Swifts lyrical content. Christina Perri's A Thousand Years that was in Breaking Dawn is also one of my favorites at the moment! I love love love her soft voice!

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway going on!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012-01-12T17:33:00.002+13:00

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 390
Rating:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Cinder is quite possibly the most amazing fairy tale retelling I've ever read! The world, the characters, Cinder has it all and I can't even begin to explain why I devoured this in one sitting because there is just too much to love about it!

Cinder is a dystopia, clearly, but you can definitely see the resemblance between our own world and the world that Marissa has created. The only big difference is the advancement in technology -- there's hover-crafts, cyborgs, androids, ID chips, all the things that make up your typical sci-fi world! But what Marissa does with it all sets it apart from every other sci-fi or dystopia book. There is no 'society' but instead New Beijing goes back in time to the rule of Emperors and Empresses. And then there's the Plague, or more commonly known as letumosis, a deadly disease that is rapidly spreading throughout the world, killing off people one by one. There's a sense or realism in Marissa's world-building, something that makes readers easily see that we could one day live in a world much like this one because it's not outrageous, it's believable. It's not as unique as the worlds of dystopia's like Divergent and Matched but it's so real that you can imagine it as vividly as when Cinder sees it through her own eyes.

And Cinder! Cinder is the epitome of a perfect protagonist. She's brave, fiercely loyal to those she loves, not afraid to stand up for herself, but she's also lonely and insecure about her status as a cyborg in the world. She can't cry, she can't blush and she has a metal hand and leg. Insults come from every direction in her life but she's learnt through years of abuse to keep picking herself up anyway. Though she's embarrassed by her cyborg self, you can't help but admire her strength and determination! Then we have Prince Kai, who is indeed the perfect incarnation of Prince Charming. He's funny, kind and treats Cinder with the respect she never had. Granted, he doesn't know she's a cyborg for most of the book but I still loved their interactions with each other. He's just as charming as his fairy-tale counter-part!

Marissa also introduces a new species -- the Lunars, hence the name of the series. And guess what? They live on the moon! But as cool as that sounds, they aren't the good guys in Cinder. Queen Levana, Queen of the Lunar Kingdom holds the main plot thread of the book. The threat of a war between the Lunars (who are much more powerful and can literally control minds) and the Earthens forces the Emperor and Prince Kai to make a decision on an alliance Treaty between them. There are traces of the original Cinderella in the story and it plays big parts in the weirdest ways but the plot is still more focused on the problems arising with Queen Levana and the Lunar Kingdom. Queen Levana, among others is so so so fun to hate! There's also a mystery surrounding Cinder and while it's predictable at times, that does nothing to quell the sense of needing to read faster to find out what does happen!

Overall, Cinder is probably going to be holding the title of my favorite book of 2012 for a while! It was well-paced and full of the sort of action that I know will keep readers on their toes. I honestly couldn't turn the pages fast enough! I'd recommend this if you enjoy dystopian, fantasy and sci-fi fiction or more specifically, books like Dearly, Departed.

PS. If you're thinking about reading it (which I definitely recommend) you should check out the free prequel to it here!

Waiting on Wednesday {15}

2012-01-11T17:32:00.004+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Sweet Evil
by Wendy Higgins
Release Date: May 1st 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Anna, a tender-hearted southern girl, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip forces Anna and Kai to face the reality that hope and love are not options for their kind. When it's time for Anna to confront her demons, will she choose to embrace her halo or her horns?

I won't lie, I'm definitely one of those readers who judge a book by it's cover but seriously, the whole light and dark thing going on with that beautiful beautiful beautiful red dress in the middle? Ahh, so pretty! How can you resist staring at it? And the synopsis does nothing to dull my excitement for it either. Hopefully the cover isn't setting us up for a disaster though!

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

2012-01-07T18:17:00.003+13:00

Title: The Alchemy of Forever
Author: Avery Williams
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 256
Rating:

After spending six hundred years on Earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world's riches but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to take the bodies of other humans from jumping from one vessel to the next, ending the human's life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again.

Then sixteen-year old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body while trying to save her. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting--and falling in love with the boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's him again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself and the people she's grown to care about in danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that's eluded her for centuries: true love?

The Alchemy of Forever was a surprisingly enjoyable read! I literally did not put it down once after I started reading it!

I'll admit, I am rather picky when deciding whether or not I like a protagonist but I really, really liked Sera. She's a girl who can think and act for herself and thank heavens, she has a backbone! She starts off insecure with the life she's living and goes to great measures to end it but when she accidentally takes the body of Kailey, a girl who's about to die anyway due to a car crash, she realizes the joy of actually living. That was my favorite part about her - the character development. It was fun to watch her grow and evolve into someone who's capable of loving and living a normal life. Her relationship with the other characters felt real and while she does feel the guilt of living someone else's life, she doesn't let that keep her emotional and depressed the whole time. She lives in the moment and I can't say how much I appreciated that!

My only real problem was the lack of any actual character depth within the supporting characters; aside from Cyrus of course, that guy's just a bit whack in the head. Kailey's friends were sort of like cardboard cut-outs, just stereotypical happy-go lucky teenagers who happened to be part of the story. The other Incarnate's (people like Sera) were also kind of just there because the author wanted them to be but I think given the chance, they could have all been made so much more interesting. And Noah, the boy next door, was definitely charming charming charming! But he said it himself, Kailey wasn't very nice to him before Sera took over (she didn't even talk to him at school!) yet he says he was still in love with her which didn't really make any sense.

I can't say I didn't like the romance though - I loved it! I think all romance in books should be like this one. There is no "OH MY GOSH DOES HE LIKE ME? BUT IT CAN'T BE. HE ACTS LIKE HE DOESN'T BUT AHH I REALLY WANT TO KISS HIM." Yeah there is none of that. It's what I imagine would happen in real life. A few weeks to bond and no silly misunderstandings and the simple fact that they like each other so you know, they should totally kiss. It wasn't really insta-love either so much as "Oh, he's hot, I'll keep him on my radar," and then they build up a strong solid friendship before it becomes something more.

The concept of incarnation was undeniably unique, the way they used an alchemy instead of some kind of magic to live forever. The plot, however, was more focused on the fact that Cyrus, the crazy, determined, controlling, possessive, psycho boyfriend was coming after Sera. He's manipulative and cruel and the reason why Sera now lives forever. The trouble he goes to find Sera is scary! He has a freaking bulletin board of all the evidence she left behind. *shivers* That's what I call obsessive. There's not much else to say about the plot because it ends right before it gets good! I mean, that ending was just cruel. It's like the very embodiment of a cliffhanger and we have to wait until 2013 to find out what happened! I can already imagine so many things happening in the next book though, since there were quite a lot of loose ends in this one and that just makes me all the more eager to read it like, now!

Overall, The Alchemy of Forever is a fabulous debut that you'll definitely want on your bookshelves! I loved every minute of it and aside from the bland side characters, everything else will completely sweep you off your feet!

Follow Friday {13}

2012-01-06T16:01:00.011+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Question: Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

*snort* Well, this is probably the time when I should come out and tell you all that my bookshelves are pretty empty at the moment. Like, 0 unread books on my shelf. I know. I'M HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE RIGHT RIGHT?

...I have some unread books on my kindle though? Except that's basically only about five books. That's right guys, five. I'm looking at all your follow friday posts with your hundreds and hundreds of books and I'm sorry if I feel a little jealous haha! Yeah, my fifteenth birthday JUST passed so it's only this year that I'm allowed to finally get a part-time job here in NZ and earn some frigging money so you know, hopefully by the end of the year my shelves will be brimming bright with rows and rows of books and I'll have so many that I'll have to give some away! Hey, a girl can dream, right? :)

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway going on!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

2012-01-05T14:52:00.005+13:00

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: November 15th 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 338
Rating:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I really enjoyed Shatter Me! There are so so so many good points about this book that I absolutely adored even though I did feel a little disappointed in the end.

The writing, the writing, the writing! I think I may have fallen in love. Tahereh's unique writing style is definitely Shatter Me's strongest point! It was my favorite part about the book and it really did live up to all my highest expectations after so many reviews gushing about it. The use of metaphors in approximately every second sentence felt entirely appropriate the way they were used and I know a lot of people got annoyed with the lack of comma's but I found it strangely refreshing. The striked out phrases were truly an amazing addition to the already fantastic writing.

Juliet, Juliet, Juliet. Juliet is the reason why Shatter Me failed to thrill me completely. I know being locked up in a cell, isolated from any form of interaction for 264 days can do bad things for your self-esteem but Juliet took it a bit too far in my opinion. With almost 338 pages of Juliet going "I want to die I want to die" over and over again and then continuing to cry cry cry, moan moan moan, gasp gasp gasp, I have to say I got a bit frustrated with her in the end. Not to say she wasn't strong by the end of it all, I mean shooting someone is pretty bad-ass, but her character just didn't cut it for me. But uh, Adam, Adam, Adam, oh how you make me swoon! Those bathroom scenes were so perfectly detailed that I felt the heat rising to me cheeks as I read through them. I love how compassionate and loving and caring he was for Juliet. A girl really does need someone like him! Add to that, their history together made the romance completely believable!

Warner, Warner, Warner. Warner is totally ~~hot~~ creepy. Seriously, he's the main villain in Shatter Me but you really can't help but love him. He made the book for me. Interesting, intriguing, engaging. And that scene at the end with Juliet? I'm telling you, sexy, fiery, blush-worthy even if it was a complete shenanigan on Juliet's part. His obsession with Juliet is certainly quite shuddersome at times but without a psycho like him, Shatter Me would have fallen flat on it's beautiful, shiny, glossy cover. The other characters in Shatter Me were also incredibly engrossing. Kenji is so charming and funny! Rather reminds me of Roar from Under the Never Sky!

Overall, Shatter Me may not have risen completely to my highest expectations but it's definitely a fun and engaging read. Tahereh's writing makes this book addictive, addictive, addictive! Plus, interestingly enough, the plot is starting to sound a lot like X-men of which I didn't quite believe until I finally read it myself. Shatter Me ended on a really high note so I'll definitely be picking up the next book when it comes out!

Cover Reveal: City of Lost Souls!

2012-01-05T10:50:00.003+13:00

OH MY GOD GUYS. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. AHHHH I'm in love with this cover! And Jace, Jace, Jace!!! He is the perfect Jace!! Even more so than Alex Pettyfer and the guy who's cast as him in the movie. What was his name..? J... Jamie? Like a lot of people have said though, I was hoping for a cover with Magnus and Alec. But I mean, this cover is pretty damn good as well! Holy crap, I can't believe we have to wait until May. Seriously, Cassie, you're killing me.

Click here to read the exclusive prologue!

Waiting on Wednesday {14}

2012-01-04T17:06:00.004+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Lies Beneath
by Anne Greenwood Brown
Publication Date: June 12th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

A mermaid book with a male merman POV? Oh holy hell pot yes, yes, yes! And add to that, the mermaids are murderers? No, seriously, can it get any better? Enough of all those fluffy mermaid stories, we have a book about a family of murdering freaking mermaids coming out this year. I can't wait!

In My Mailbox {4}

2012-01-01T20:56:00.004+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

So I didn't get any books from my parents this Christmas which kind of sucks but to be fair, they did buy a brand new Macbook Pro!! Which is indeed just as awesome as getting books, right? Plus, I did get some rather awesome books as well!

From Netgalley
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
(already read and reviewed here)

Bought
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

And also,
Happy New Year!!!
Hope you all had a lovely New Years Day :)

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

2012-01-01T18:24:00.003+13:00

Title: Under the Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 400
Rating:

EXILED from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage--and her only hope of staying alive.

A HUNTER for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must learn to accept one another to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

What can I say? Under the Never Sky lived up to all my highest expectations and more! It is so much more than just a beautiful cover.

Aria really grew on me throughout the book. She's ignorant, fragile and completely out of place when she first steps foot outside of Reverie but that clearly changes as she journeys throughout the Death Shop. You can see how strong she becomes as she comes to terms with the fact that she's no longer protected by the walls of Reverie and also by how she copes with the surprising revelations about her once sheltered life that she discovers while with Perry. She definitely has that sense of relatability to her that makes it easy for readers to understand what she's going through.

Perry is indeed a different sort of male protagonist. What I liked about him is that he's not perfect. He has many imperfections. He's not the most good-looking character in the book. Yet Aria is still drawn to him because of the bond they share over their losses as they spend more time together. And that made the romance aspect of Under the Never Sky very believable. No insta-love here! Just a small budding relationship that grows as the story progresses. The abilities that he and other 'savages' carry also greatly intrigued me. Outside of Reverie, humans have evolved through genetic mutations so that some humans possess one of three abilities that enhance either their sense of smell, hearing or sight. What's different with Perry is that he possesses two of those three which is considered in the Death Shop to be very rare. But the burdened past he carries on his shoulders because of it is heartbreaking and you'll see that he has many greater emotions than he lets known to Aria. He may not be the most polite or the nicest guy but once you get further into the story, you'll see just how far he'll go to save the people he loves most. Other than Aria and Perry though, you'll find that a lot of the other characters like Roar and Cinder are also well-developed with their own side stories that I'd be interested in reading about.

One thing I must mention is that I absolutely love the world-building! Creative and original, it's certainly one of the more complex dystopian worlds out there. The aether sky that Veronica vividly paints in our heads is something that I really want to see for myself because of the way it's described. But while the world-building in Under the Never Sky is brilliant in itself, the build-up of it in the first few chapters was confusing and ultimately led me to bring this down to just short of five stars. Veronica fishes out words that have no meaning to us early on in the novel. It's only as you read further that you begin to understand what the different terms mean and what the world actually is.

Overall, Under the Never Sky is an absolutely thrilling debut! With a thoroughly engaging story, stunning world-building and an enjoyable cast of characters you definitely won't want to miss out on when it finally hits the shelves in a few days time!

Follow Friday {12}

2011-12-30T16:23:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Question of the Week: The New Year is here -- and everyone wants to know your New Years Blogging Resolution! What are you going to try to revise, revamp and redo for 2012 on your blog?

Comment and Interact with my followers more - Unoriginal, I know but it's something I definitely need to work on! I'm still incredibly shy with this whole book blogging thing so I seriously need to suck it up and talk to other book bloggers more. I should probably make a Twitter soon as well haha :)

Write better reviews - Yeah, I guess this is pretty self-explanatory but I do really want to develop my own style of reviewing or something next year. Oh and I want to broaden my vocab usage as well because it feels like I'm always repeating words over and over again in my reviews!

Ask for ARCS - I'm really hoping to muster up the courage and finally request some books from the publishers in NZ. Don't know if they're lenient with their review books though because I've never met another NZ book reviewer, but hey, I won't know until I try!

Read and Review more - I tend to finish a book and then procrastinate rather than review it straight away. Well that's going to change next year! You're going to be seeing a lot more reviews and I'm definitely going to try to read more! You can never read too many books, right?

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway going on!

Halflings by Heather Burch

2011-12-29T20:02:00.004+13:00

Title: Halflings
Author: Heather Burch
Publication Date: February 1st 2012
Publisher: Zondervan
Pages: 288
Rating:

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

This book could have been great but unfortunately it fell flat in certain area's that made this book a struggle for me to finish.

Nikki Youngblood was one of the main reasons why I was unimpressed with this novel. Mary-sue? Hell yes. She's good at everything, not particularly beautiful but manages to attract the eye of two very very hot guys and there's definitely that insta-love there too. She's not a terrible terrible heroine, definitely not. But at times, I found it hard to sympathize with her as well. She acts rather brashly and makes some unwise decisions like walking into a fire when told to stay put and rudely storming into a house full of halflings accusing them of being angels, which you know, is sort of true but still. The whole situation seemed like too much of a forced way for Nikki to be introduced to the world of angels and halflings.

Mace and Raven didn't really make Halfings any easier to read either. Dull, boring and uninteresting. There's nothing there to really get the readers o go ga-ga over them. Mace was too over-protective and the kind of guy who's in denial for the whole length of the novel of the relationship that is so obviously blooming between the two characters in question. And the kind of guy who stalks the girl because of that reason. Raven was by far a whole lot more interesting than Mace but his character and personality wasn't consistent and I'm still struggling to see why he was attracted to Nikki in the first place. The romance definitely felt forced and written in a way that I really don't want to root for any of the guys.

The pacing, I thought, was Halflings biggest downfall. Nothing important really happens in the first three quarters and you're left with a plot that makes it very easy to put the book down and go do something else for fear of falling asleep. Even after I finished reading this, I had so many questions unanswered about who the supposedly important people really were and no idea of where the plot was heading. While the plot is supposed to be about protecting Nikki from... something, all we really see are the problems arising from Nikki's relationship with Mace and Raven. Nikki herself is a question unanswered. We're told she's a seer, someone who sees things in the form of drawings, but that's only ever talked about once, and in the way that it was used, it feels like it was just written so that they could find out about some place that's significant in this book. So us readers still have no idea what Nikki is apart from the obvious fact that she's really special and all that. The writing style of Heather wasn't bad, but I can't compare it to that of other paranormal books I loved, especially Shiver's lovely poetic prose.

Overall, I just didn't enjoy Halflings as much as I thought I would. It might have just been my own personal problems with the book though and others may enjoy it if they liked the Fallen series or maybe even The Immortal series. Strong fans of paranormal and angels may also enjoy this!

Waiting on Wednesday {13}

2011-12-28T14:36:00.002+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Wake
by Amanda Hocking
Release Date: August 21st 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove--and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. As she uncovers the truth about her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.

To be honest, I didn't really enjoy Amanda's Trylle Trilogy but I'm curious to see what she can come up with now that she's no longer a self-published author and she's written a lot more books. Plus, the synopsis sounds rather unique, doesn't it? The Goodreads summary states more clearly that it's about sirens! Amanda always strays from the norm in the genre of paranormal and the plot of this book has definitely captured my interest!

New Girl by Paige Harbison

2011-12-24T18:51:00.004+13:00

Title: New Girl
Author: Paige Harbison
Publication Date: January 31st 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304
Rating:

They call me 'New Girl'...

Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.

Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.

Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.

And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

I'm so conflicted on my thoughts of this book! While some parts were executed brilliantly, others were so messed up that I had a hard time comprehending what the hell I was reading. Apparently, this is based off another book, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier but since I've never actually read that, I'm just going to base this review on my own opinions.

New Girl is told in two POV's -- Becca, the New Girl as told from one year ago who made a lasting impression on the whole of Manderly Academy, and the present New Girl. When the New Girl transfers to Manderly Academy, she finds that all the students at the school are openly hostile to her because the reason she got into the Academy is because Becca went missing. Because of this, for the entirety of the novel, the New Girl is continuously cast in Becca's shadow with all the students thinking she's trying to replace Becca. And oh my god. That was so annoying. While the New Girl does grow a backbone some time very far into the story, for most of it, she's constantly getting bullied and the thing is, she lets them! I'm sorry but I just couldn't get behind that. The only thing she did was transfer to the school because there was a spot open! She shouldn't have to be bullied for something she couldn't help. The whole situation was just a tad unrealistic. Every page was like Becca this, Becca that, and I'm just sitting here reading going "get over yourself!" At least towards the end, I began to admire the New Girl's strength for staying at the school for so long.

Now lets talk about the previous New Girl, Becca herself. She's the fun, easy-going party-goer and hard out socialite who loosened up the teens of Manderly Academy. But while she was that kind of girl, she had a manipulative, i-should-always-get-what-i-want attitude that I really came to hate. She did somewhat redeem herself in the end but since that was only a very small glimpse at her true self, I still can't seem to like her.

Max, who was the love interest for both new girl's, I had a love-hate relationship with. I didn't like him when he was with Becca but when he was with the New Girl, he was surprisingly sweet. Which I didn't understand. Why did he like the New Girl? Why did she like him back? After everything she was going through, she kept coming back to him! Like with Becca, I didn't really see any build-up or substance to their relationship. I also didn't see the big deal about him and Becca. He was Becca's boyfriend for most of the previous year, but she was a manipulative, creepy girlfriend yet he still stayed with her? I just didn't understand why he still went out with Becca when it was obvious that he wasn't all that into her at all. It was just really weird.

What I did like was the plot. Paige weaves an engaging mystery into all this and paces it in a way that keeps the readers interested enough to keep turning the pages. It's definitely a suspenseful thriller that has that lovely fore-shadowing to it that makes you question what really happened to Becca. What I found interesting is that Paige manages to keep the New Girl's name unknown right up till the last few pages without making us openly aware that we have no idea what her name is. It was only halfway through the book that I realized I still didn't know her name yet! Paige's writing was definitely one of New Girl's strong points. I also enjoyed the long-term setting this had since the story was based over the expanse of a year. But while I did enjoy the pacing of the relationships throughout the book, the thought of the students still being so mean after a year without Becca made it seem even more unrealistic!

Overall, New Girl's characters were the main problem for me but if you're willing to get over that for the brilliant writing and plot of the story, then I can definitely recommend this to you! A lot of people are calling this book a paranormal-contemporary but I didn't really see any paranormal aspect except for a small part of it involving some kind of dream. Nevertheless I guess if you're a fan of paranormal, contemporary or mystery then I think you might enjoy this!

Follow Friday {11}

2011-12-23T16:17:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Question of the Week: If you had to spend eternity inside the pages of a book which book would you choose and why?

A. Oh, I'd definitely love to live life alongside the Shadowhunters of Cassie's Mortal Instruments series! I don't know which era though -- it's too hard to choose between the victorian and modern Shadowhunter worlds! But I mean, who wouldn't want to live with those sexy Shadowhunter boys at the Institute? And a Shadowhunter's life is always interesting -- even if it means danger! Plus, I've always wanted to be in a life-death situation before (I know, weird right?) so being a Shadowhunter would definitely give me that experience more than once!

Though, if that weren't possible, I'd like to find myself some nice, funny, smart British boy in Paris from Anna and the French Kiss's world! Someone who, you know... is like Etienne St. Clair maybe. Oh and some awesome fun friends like Anna's. Then I'd be happy :) Actually, I think I'd even jump into Anna's world if it were just to live in Paris my whole life! Ahh, Paris ♥

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway going on!

Waiting on Wednesday {12}

2011-12-21T17:04:00.002+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

The Disenchantments
by Nina LaCour
Release Date: February 16th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall.

But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?

Morris Award—finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.

So, first of all, I love the soft pastel colors of the cover! It really sets it apart from other YA books and I think it would look really really good on my bookshelf! Second, it's about a road trip and music which I just found out after reading Saving June, is an excellent combination! So yes, I'm really excited for this one :)

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

2011-12-20T14:48:00.003+13:00

Title: Touch of Power
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publication Date: 20th December 2011
Publisher: Mira Books
Pages: 394
Rating:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life…

I wasn't really a fan of Maria's until I read her AMAZING Poison Study series but I can see now that Maria's writing might really be growing on me. She's always a stunning world-builder and creates the most unique cast of characters!

The main characters both slightly resembled those in Poison Study with Avry sharing the determined and strong-willed personality of Yelena and Kerrick, with the emotionless and cold heart of Valek. Avry is one of those protagonists that you'll just love because of her kick-ass personality and ability to hold her own in a fight while Kerrick is well, you know, one of those guys who can make you swoon when that heart of ice finally melts. I definitely loved the romance part of this -- lack of insta-love always makes me happy! And as I said before, Maria creates some of the most unique casts of characters. The 'band of rogues' that kidnap Avry are all just as likeable as the two main characters. Flea, Quain, Vinn, Belen -- I seriously loved them all! They were all so different and had their been multiple POV's, you would have easily been able to tell each of them apart. As for the evil bad guy, King Tohan, lets just say that you'll understand immediately why we label him the evil bad guy. He's sick-minded, a pervert and a crazy manipulative psychopath!

The plot was rather simple -- get Avry to heal the Prince in time. And while it may seem simple, you will not understand the amount of trouble they have to go through to get even close to where the Prince is! And that was pretty much my one main problem. There was just too much happening. Like the one part when a group of random men kidnap girls and Avry and Kerrick have to go save them. I didn't see the point of it since it didn't seem to have any major impact on the rest of the story and I felt that it just seemed to drag the book on for longer than it should have been. Other than that though, I really did enjoy reading this. Maria's world of magicians and magic in this land of fantasy is both vivid and imaginative! It's all clearly thought out and Maria's ability to create such detailed new worlds continues to astound me!

Overall, Touch of Power was a truly exciting read. While it may have dragged on at times, there was just the right amount of action, romance and deceit to make it an engaging and captivating story. I encourage fans of Maria's Poison Study series to give this one a try because you'll no doubt love it and appreciate Maria's world-building skills just as much as I do!

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

2011-12-17T17:59:00.003+13:00

Title: Clockwork Prince
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: December 6th 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 502
Rating:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

Cassie's imaginative world of Shadowhunters has captivated me once again! I'm struck by how talented Cassie is, from her range of unique characters to her impressive world-building and interweaving subplots. I don't think Cassie can ever quite let me down!

Honestly, I rather enjoy this series more than the The Mortal Instruments. The characters seem somewhat more alive and real on the pages than the likes of Clary and Simon etc. Tessa's special ability gives her a chance to really shine in battle scenes and other dangerous situations. She doesn't shy away from the enemy nor hides behind the strong male lead. While she might not know quite how to handle a weapon properly yet, her logic in dire situations really stands out in contrast to Clary's mary-sue behavior. Actually, her knowledge throughout the whole book is commendable. She has Will and Jem both lusting after her yet she never forgets their tight bonds as parabatai and knows the pain it will cause them both if she were to come between them for love. As for the boys, I still prefer Will to be with Tessa rather than Jem but that didn't stop me smiling at the outcome of this book. Jem really rises from behind Will's shadow in Clockwork Prince. His character is much more prominent than it was in the previous book and oh my, you will love him. He's sweet and lovable and he'd definitely sweep girls off their feet if he were real!

What I love about Cassie's books is that all of them have that big mystery behind all the smaller subplots. They're a mystery that you don't really know how to solve until she ties everything together at the very end and then you're just like, "Wow. How did I not see that coming?" The Magister himself never makes an appearance in this book but somehow Cassie finds ways to subtly unveil the Magister's plan little by little. Will's big secret is finally revealed and Cassie makes the silliest reason seem entirely serious and heartbreaking. After that revelation, I went back and reread all those times when he was such a jackass in the previous book and saw for the first time how it all made sense. For the rest of Clockwork Prince, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. And ahhhh, the setting! London! How I wish to go to London right now and visit all the places Tessa visited. I've always had a sort of fascination with Victorian London and Clockwork Prince feed that fascination larger chunks than ever before!

Overall, Clockwork Prince will definitely not disappoint long awaiting fans of this series. Though, you know, you've probably read all the other raving reviews about this already! I'm seriously going to be so sad when Clockwork Princess comes out next year and the series is over!

New "The Hunger Games" Movie Poster!

2011-12-16T17:49:00.001+13:00

Oh. My. God. Guys. Isn't this perfect? I am seriously in love with this poster! The designers have really outdone themselves! Can you believe that we still have to wait another 99 days until the movie is released!?

Follow Friday {10}

2011-12-16T17:28:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Question of the Week: When you've read a book, what do you do with it? (Keep it, give it away, donate it, sell it, swap it..?)

A. Half the time, I get my books from my school library so of course I return them while the books that I buy, I keep because I mean, don't they just look so pretty on your bookshelves? :) I guess sometimes I let my friends borrow them to read as well though. I would definitely do giveaways for some of my books if I had enough money to ship them internationally, but I'm waiting until I'm old enough to get a part-time job to do that! As for swaps... living here in NZ doesn't really grant me a whole lot of opportunities to do book swaps since I've yet to come across another NZ book blogger haha!

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway going on!

Waiting on Wednesday {11}

2011-12-14T17:05:00.001+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Glimmer
by Phoebe Kitanidis
Release Date: April 17th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

What if you forgot your identity and had to rely on other people to tell you who you were?

And what if to discover your true self, you first had to unravel a mystery so big and terrifying you were not sure you’d survive solving it?

When Marshall and Elyse wake up in each other’s arms with zero memory of how they got there or who they are, it’s the start of a long journey through their separate pasts and shared future.

Terrified by their amnesia, the two make a pact to work together to find the answers that could jog their missing memories. As they piece together clues, they discover they’re in the idyllic mountain resort town of Summer Falls, where everyone seems mysteriously happy, but as Marshall and Elyse quickly learn, darkness lurks beneath the town’s perfect facade. Not only is the town haunted by sinister ghosts, but none of its living inhabitants retain bad memories of anything—not the death of Marshall’s mom, not the hidden shame in Elyse’s family, not even the day-to-day anguish of high school.

Lonely in this world of happy zombies, Marsh and Elyse fall into an intense relationship...but the secrets they uncover could be the death of this growing love—and the death of everyone, and everything, they love in Summer Falls.

Glimmer sounds like it's going to be a really good paranormal mystery! It has a rather interesting premise, does it not? I'm especially curious to see how the ghosts fit into this plot since I have yet to read a book focused solely on ghosts!

On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane

2011-12-12T13:36:00.003+13:00

Title: On a Dark Wing
Author: Jordan Dane
Publication Date: December 27th 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 384
Rating:

Five years ago Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her lucky break came at the expense of her mother’s life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death—by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky—she would never be normal again.

Now she’s the target of Death’s Ravens and an innocent boy’s life is on the line. When Nate Holden—Abbey’s secret crush—starts to climb Alaska’s Denali, the Angel of Death is with him because of her.

Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets.

On a Dark Wing had a synopsis that definitely grabbed my interest upon first reading it but failed to intrigue me further than that. While it had an interesting enough plot that if written correctly, could have blown my mind, the characters were what really let this novel down for me.

Abbey Chandler is the typical unpopular, supposedly ugly heroine with the crush on the most popular jock in the school and the enemy of the popular Queen Bee. She's bullied at school and cyber-bullied online. The is probably one of the most cliche ways to start a story and though sometimes I like a bit of cliche, this is a form of it that I often hate unless done right and to say this was done right would be a far cry from the truth. Abbey was literally infatuated with Nate, the popular jock, dreaming of him and using those daydreams as an escape from the horrors of high school hell. Now, you know, it might have been acceptable if she had known him well or something but the way this was presented in On a Dark Wing strikes me as stalker-ish and creepy. All except one of the characters were rather two-dimensional, none of them really having any character depth or development throughout the story. The one character I liked was Tanner. He was Abbey's best friend in a wheelchair, and a very good one at that. It was interesting to see the struggles he faced after the accident involving why he was placed into a wheelchair. He goes to a lot of trouble to help Abbey out with the cyber-bullying and you can tell he really cares about her. He was the only character that held my interest throughout the entire novel and if not for his POV's I would probably have stopped reading this altogether.

On a Dark Wing does attempt to actually have a semi-good plot though. But with the mystery surrounding 'Death' and all the different alternating POV's, I found it immeasurably confusing. By the end of it all, I still couldn't quite place what had happened exactly. When Death takes hold of Nate, and starts to have interactions with Abbey, I found myself cringing at how unrealistic it felt. Every word and touch between them felt forced and imposed. The romance part of this also didn't seem to fit quite right with the rest of the story. Aside from Abbey's infatuation with Nate, I saw no love between her and any other characters so it's not surprising that the end left me utterly confused. Abbey realizes towards the end that an infatuation is just as it's described on web definitions -- a foolish love, and turns her attention around completely. While I would have loved this and it's unique twist had there been another potential boyfriend from the start, whom she turns her attentions to was someone I had not expected one bit. There was no build-up to it. It was like the author was suddenly like, "I need to make this unique so I'll just wipe Nate clean off Abbey's radar and dump this person in instead."

Overall, On a Dark Wing wasn't absolutely terrible -- on Goodreads, a 2 star rating means 'it was okay,' but it definitely didn't capture my interest as I had hoped it would. The overall concept was imaginative and different and I applaud the author for doing something unique but with characters as flat as cardboard and unrealistic scenes, I wouldn't quite know who to recommend this to.

In My Mailbox {3}

2011-12-11T15:04:00.001+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!
I may not have the biggest IMM haul out there but having Clockwork Prince as part of my haul is enough for me. I mean, Clockwork freaking Prince! Words cannot describe how happy I am! And since there was a buy 2 get one free special at our local bookstore, my mum went and bought me two more books I have been wanting to read for ages. So yes, I am very happy with my haul this week!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Legend by Marie Lu
What did you get in your mailbox?

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

2011-12-10T19:05:00.003+13:00

Title: The Faerie Ring
Author: Kiki Hamilton
Publication Date: September 27th 2011
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 352
Rating:

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

The Faerie Ring is an interesting tale mixing faerie folklore with a historical setting. To be honest, I never really had a thing for books about faeries after reading Wings but The Faerie Ring took me completely by surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Tiki is a likable character right from the start, living as an orphan with four others in a abandoned shop in Charring Cross Station. With a strange birthmark on her wrist though, all is not as it seems for Tiki and the mystery surrounding herself and the faerie's in 1871 London is really quite enthralling. The love and loyalty she shares for her fellow orphans is admirable and heart-warming and I found myself smiling at times when she refused to abandon them. There are times when Tiki is child-like and stubborn, particularly near the end and for some readers, this may annoy them but overall, I thought Tiki was a well developed character that showed courage and strength throughout the book. Reiker was, to say the least, quite mysterious indeed. There's something off about him but you're not entirely sure what until you read later into the book and then suddenly, everything comes together and makes sense! Tiki and Reiker's interactions were amusing really, and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow as the story progressed.

The plot was nothing like I imagined but it definitely did not disappoint! There was just the right amount of action to keep readers satisfied and the romance was engaging. Definitely a whole lot better than all those insta-love romances I seem to be reading about much too often. I loved how Kiki brought the royal family into this and enjoyed their frequent trips to Buckingham Palace as well. I only wish there had been more faerie involvement since the book is entitled The Faerie Ring but nevertheless, I did enjoy it. While this didn't exactly have a cliffhanger ending, I'm curious to see what's to become of this series and where it leads.

Overall, The Faerie Ring definitely has the potential to become an engrossing series if executed correctly since I'm loving how Kiki is merging the paranormal with the historical! I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy paranormal, historical and good ole faerie folklore.

Follow Friday {9}

2011-12-09T17:46:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Question: Keeping with the Spirit of Giving this season, what book do you think EVERYONE should read and if you could, you would buy it for all of your family and friends?

A. Oh so many. There are a whole ton of books that I'd love to buy all my friends and family since there are so many books out there that just completely blew my mind! But if I really had to choose, I guess...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Honestly, I would buy this for my friends and family and any random stranger who happened to cross my path if it meant I could open them up to the amazing world of The Hunger Games!

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - Rick Riordan is an amazing author and I think even if his books are kind of middle-grade, they show the bonds of friendship and love stronger than any other book I've ever read. Plus, this was the series that really got me obsessed with reading!

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand - After coming out of some rather horrible angel books, this one took me completely by surprise by actually being good. I mean like, really good. So it's one of the books that I always recommend to my friends whenever they ask me for recommendations and if I could, I'd love to buy each of them a copy just because of how awesome it was!

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez - For all those music lovers out there, you should definitely read this. It was so beautifully written I could cry. I would totally buy this for all of my friends since they all love music!

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!
PS. Don't forget to enter my Celebrating December Giveaway going on!

Waiting on Wednesday {10}

2011-12-07T17:55:00.001+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Hallowed
by Cynthia Hand
Release Date: January 17th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Absolutely cannot wait for this one! I've seen all the good reviews around the blogosphere about how it's just as good as Unearthly so I definitely can't wait to get my hands on it!

Between by Jessica Warman

2011-12-05T20:35:00.003+13:00

Title: Between
Author: Jessica Warman
Publication Date: August 2nd 2011
Publisher: Egmont Books
Pages: 464
Rating:

Elizabeth Valchar—pretty, popular, and perfect—wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family’s yacht, where she’d been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and what lies in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect—or innocent.
Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.

Liz wakes up on the morning of her eighteenth birthday because of the persistent thumping noise coming from the deck of the boat she and her friends are partying on. What better a mystery than Liz finding her dead body floating in the gap between the boat and the dock when she goes to investigate, with no memory as to what happened the night before and the sudden appearance of a boy who was said to die a year ago. Between is one of those books where the main character is trapped in the realm between life and death -- a wanderer floating around the earth unseen. And that's where it gets complicated. I liked Liz. What I didn't like was her past self. Pretty, popular and perfect is how Liz is described in the blurb and that isn't far from the truth. Picture the most cliche popular, rich and beautiful girl you've ever seen and that's Elizabeth Valcher. She and her friends are the typical popular clique at high school, the type that bullies the poor and unknown. Because of this I found it hard to sympathize with her at first. Her friends were so perfect and fake that they could have been in their own bloody barbie movie. I did enjoy Liz as the story progressed though as she came to the realization that her life wasn't as perfect as she thought. You begin to see the depth of her and her friend's personalities and the bond they all share with each other.

Plot-wise, this book was brilliant! The mystery of Liz's death is a damn good mystery. You never know who to trust and just as you're on the verge of guessing the culprit, something happens and you're left to rethink your suspicions. This book is written in both the present time and in the form of memories as Liz tries to remember what happened during the time before her tragic death. Towards the end, all the loose ends begin to come together and the details you thought were insignificant are revealed to be more than what the seem. Alex, Liz's dead companion is more than meets the eye and it's only towards the end that you finally understand why he's so important. The end left me satisfied and I couldn't have asked for a better ending.

Overall, aside from the characters I cannot fault this book at all. Between is a beautiful story of loss, love and regret. It was emotional without being too sappy and had the most intriguing plot one could ask for. I'd recommend this to fans of contemporary, mystery and maybe light paranormal but also people who just love a good sad yet happy ending!

Celebrating December International Giveaway!

2011-12-03T14:46:00.002+13:00

CLOSED: Winner TBA
December really is a time of celebrating for me! I've just reached over 100 followers and can I just say how much I love each and every one of you? Because you are amazing and I really, really do love each and every one of you! You've all made this blogging experience so much fun!
It's also my birthday on the 20th December and then of course we have Christmas and the New Year! I would love to have separate giveaways but since I'm kind of running on a low budget I thought, why not celebrate them all together? :) This is my first giveaway though so hopefully this works out all right!

There will be one winner. The winner will receive two books of their choice from the list below. If I get over 250 followers before this giveaway ends, the winner will get their choice of three books from the books below.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Legend by Marie Lu
The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
Crossed by Ally Condie
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Tempest by Julie Cross
Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Info:

Must be a GFC follower of this blog. New followers are welcome :)

Must be age 13 or older

Must fill out the form to enter

You may only fill out the entry form once.

You don't have to be a blogger to enter

This giveaway is International and open to anyone who the Book Depository or Amazon ships to.

The winner will be chosen via random.org

The winner will be contacted shortly after the giveaway ends and have 48 hours to respond.

Giveaway ends on January 28th 2012 at 11:59pm NZST

I am not responsible for any books that may be lost or damaged during shipping after confirmation from the winner

Extra Entries:

Leave a Blog Post Comment +1

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Post my giveaway button on your blog +5

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Fill out this FORM to enter

Follow Friday {8}

2011-12-02T16:54:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!

Oh my, there is a lot. But to name a few I'd say...

Insta-love: Seriously, I can't stand it when the main character immediately falls in love with the hot new guy. I mean sure, we sometimes have crushes on the new guy in real life but does a character have to be such a stalker just because of the feelings they feel when the look at him? It's just kind of creepy, the way they devote themselves fully to the guy when they don't even know them.

Main characters that are good at everything: Honestly I've never met anyone as perfect as an author sometimes describes their main character to be. Like sometimes there are the main characters that can win a fight with the best fighter after only an hour of training. How is that even possible? It's not realistic and I just can't seem to like characters like that.

Female characters that get all the guys and lead them on: A good example would be books like Born at Midnight, Twilight or Wings etc. There's the love triangle and everything, and sometimes I don't mind love triangles but the ones that I don't like are when both guys are drawn to the girl for no apparent reason and the girl is like "ohmyGAWD how do I choose!??!?!" and leads them on just to break one of their hearts at the end. I don't know. It just really annoys me.

So, while I was writing this I realized that the characters I was thinking of were all female! I guess there's just a lot to complain about them haha :)

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!

Waiting on Wednesday {9}

2011-11-30T17:46:00.001+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Born Wicked
by Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: February 7th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

I've yet to read a book about witches but this one sounds really interesting. I'm really intrigued as to what her mother's diary says but alas, I must wait an agonizing two months until it's released!

Fateful by Claudia Gray

2011-11-29T17:47:00.003+13:00

Title: Fateful
Author: Claudia Gray
Publication Date: September 13th 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 356
Rating:

In Fateful, eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, overbearing family she works for. Once the ship they’re sailing on reaches the United States, she’ll strike out on her own. Then she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets....

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves are real and they’re stalking him—and now Tess, 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.

Featuring the opulent backdrop of the Titanic, Fateful’s publication is poised to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship’s doomed maiden voyage. It is sure to be a hit among Titanic buffs and fans of paranormal romance alike.

I loved Claudia's Evernight series but enjoyed Fateful a whole lot more than I thought was possible. The synopsis is strange, yes, in fact when I told my friends that this was a book about werewolves on the Titanic, they all burst out laughing! But while it is strange, it is also unique and something that no other author has ever tried. It's about werewolves -- which seems to be all the rage these days, but the tale is so different from any other werewolf book I've read that the concept of werewolves on the Titanic was interesting to read about.

Unlike Bianca in Evernight, Tess is a character that shows strength and determination and a strong loyalty to people she cares about without being over-exaggerated. She knows the boundaries between the rich and the poor and does her best to keep out of the way of handsome and wealthy, Alec even though her heart flutters whenever she's near him. The fact that Alec is a werewolf just makes him all the more alluring. Alec is a true gentleman, going to such lengths to keep everyone else on-board safe. I loved him and I think Tess was right to fall for him. He wasn't cocky or arrogant while being rich and cared deeply for her right from the start.

There were many other notable characters in Fateful. If anyone has ever read the Evernight series, I would say that Myriam, Tess' roommate strongly resembles Patrice - beautiful, witty and has a bad relationship with the main character from the start. But the bond of friendship between them deepens each day during their voyage on the Titanic and you come to love their strong relationship with each other. I thought Lady Regina was quite the snob, really but I'll be damned to say that she didn't make the book interesting. She was the kind of socialite that goes wherever the rumour wheel spins and she provided plenty of time to fully come to love the bold strength of Tess and the increasing backbone of Miss Irene, Lady Regina's eldest daughter.

The premise is quite the laugh but Claudia excels in mixing the truth with the paranormal. I'll admit though, that my heart sort of died when Tess reached the end of the her voyage on the Titanic. It was so sad and heartbreaking to see the deaths of countless people and even though I've watched Titanic quite a number of times, I still feel all sad when the ship finally hits the iceberg. But beyond the simple plot of the doomed voyage of the Titanic, there is also the storyline of the werewolves. This part of the story is something that might have been in any other paranormal book yet Claudia somehow manages to make it interesting enough to keep the page turning. I can't imagine how it felt to be Tess, never knowing when she's safe, but no matter how many times she was sought out, she had that strong resolve that I came to love.

Overall, Fateful is a wonderfully compelling read and I'm glad that I finally got to read it. Werewolves on the Titanic may definitely seem strange but don't let that deter you from reading this because the concept is what will have you on edge at every page. I recommend this to fans of the paranormal, historical, and just those who like perfect retellings of events from the past.

In My Mailbox {2}

2011-11-27T16:02:00.001+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!
All in all, I'd say I had a pretty good week. It sucks though that I'm not old enough to get a job and buy my own books! And I'm saving up all the money I do have for a giveaway I'll be having soon to celebrate... well, alot of things like say, just passing 100 followers and my birthday that's coming up! Thank you to all my lovely followers, really, you're amazing and I love you all :)
Now, onto what I got this week:
Borrowed from Library:

Between by Jessica WarmanFateful by Claudia Gray
Won (From Kiki Hamilton's blog):

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton (signed)
From Netgalley:

New Girl by Paige HarbisonHalflings by Heather Burch

What did you get in your mailbox?

Follow Friday {7} & TGIF {3}

2011-11-25T16:44:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and and follow new blogger friends!

Q. It's Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. so we want to know what you are Thankful for - blogging related of course! Who has helped you out along the way? What books are you thankful for reading?

A. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in New Zealand but nevertheless Happy Thanksgiving to those who do! :)

I'm thankful for the entire blogging community for just being awesome and introducing me to so many new books that I didn't even know existed until I started blogging!
The two blogs that inspired me to start my own blog were Chelsea at Coffee and Cliffhangers and Lauren at 365 Days of Reading (though they don't know that) so I'm especially thankful to them! If I hadn't seen their blogs while I was surfing the web, I would never have been introduced to this blogging community at all!
I'm also really thankful to blogs like The Story Siren and Parajunkee for their tips on book blogging for new bloggers! Without them, I would be totally lost in all of this!

Books I'm thankful for? Well, that's a really hard one because there are a lot of books that I read this year that I'm thankful for. So here are just a few of them:

Divergent by Veronica Roth - This was the book I had typed into google that made me stumble onto Coffee and Cliffhangers so yeah, definitely thankful for this!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Introduced me to the dystopian theme which I now love.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - I hated history before I read this! Now it's also one of my favourite genre's :) I even enjoy learning about it in school!

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads!

When You're Not Reading: What occupies your time when your nose isn't stuck in a book?

Hockey - The one sport that I actually enjoy as much as I love reading books!

Music - Sometimes I just like to lie in my bed and listen to music. It helps calm the stress of school haha.

T.V - I don't watch a whole lot of T.V but I do watch Glee and The X-Factor every week. When I'm watching them and someone talks, I seriously get so mad!

Artistic Stuff - I don't know how to explain this but sometimes I just like to randomly draw whatever comes to mind or play around on Photoshop etc.

Writing - I'm pretty bad at it but whatever. It's fun and I love thinking up different worlds and characters :)

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

2011-11-24T18:07:00.003+13:00

Title: Saving June
Author: Hannah Harrington
Publication Date: November 22nd 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 336
Rating:

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

Oh wow, that was good. Like, put-down-all-you-other-books-right-now-to-read-this good. I think I may just want to re-read it once school is finally over just because of how good this was!

Harper Scott is one of those girls who never cry, who have a huge-as backbone and an unnatural wit. She's strong but not entirely unemotional. She's still sad and angry at her sister's death and all the pain June caused the people around her. And I think that was a great start to a good character -- it allowed the character development to easily show through from the first page to the last. I actually cried when Harper finally broke down and I'm serious when I say I'm not a person who cries over every sad thing that happens in books.

Jake and Laney were fun to read about -- from Jake's love of music to Laney's constant flings! While Jake was kind of a douche at the start, you warm up to him. You really do. Harper and Jake's relationship is rocky at times and yet always manages to put a smile on my face. There are just those moments where he's just so sweet that make up for all his former rudeness. And Laney, while she's the typical best friend who gets all the guys but is still friends with the main character, she's also supportive of Harper every step of the way and was probably the best 'best-friend' character I've read about this year. Each character was unique and different and there were times when their different personalities conflicted during the road trip but certainly that's what always happens in real life too? Someone doesn't agree with you, you get into some petty argument? Their personalities added a whole lot more drama to the novel!

This was actually my first road-trip novel but I'd always imagined they'd be exactly like this -- fun and full of exciting stops on the way! It was nice to learn about the different places on the road from Michigan to California since I've only been to America once when I was like, three. There were plenty of places and encounters to make this novel awesome! And I loved how the book centered around music! Is it weird that I knew of every song that was mentioned in this book? The use of old punk and rock songs reminded me of how meaningful music was back then and how now we're just listening about people getting drunk and partying on Friday night. I mean, it's catchy but really?

Overall, Saving June was a beautifully told tale of loss and forgiveness. It was such an emotional roller coaster but I loved every page of it! It was full of heartbreaking moments but also such happy ones that made me smile. There is a lot of swearing though so I'd recommend this to older readers but otherwise, I recommend this to fans of realistic and contemporary fiction.

Waiting on Wednesday {8}

2011-11-23T16:31:00.001+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!
Something Strange and Deadly
by Susan Dennard
Release Date: July 24th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

There’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

The cover kind of makes me think that this book could go next to any of my other paranormal series on my bookshelf and still fit right in. I mean, so many books have had girls in dresses on their covers! But it's definitely still pretty. And it's about zombies! Isn't it weird how a book with such pretty covers can hold such grotesque content? Haha!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

2011-11-21T14:14:00.003+13:00

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Publication Date: May 5th 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 276
Rating:

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

The Summer I Turned Pretty was an overall nice, sweet read. I think I read this last year but I couldn't remember what it was about so I reread it and I'm glad I did. It was a nice break from all the other fantasy and paranormal fiction I read.

In a lot of love triangles, I find myself liking one guy and instantly disliking the other but this time was different. Belly has the choice between Conrad and Jeremiah - two brothers that I can easily imagine myself falling for. Jeremiah is a bit of a joker, really. He's the one that's there to make everyone laugh and smooth out fights and I absolutely loved him! He was always there for Belly through thick and thin. Conrad, on the other hand was the moody, silent, unattainable guy that would probably be any girl's first crush. He's quick-tempered and gets annoyed easily but there's a sweetness to him that you see later on in the book. At times though, I found his moodiness annoying because of his constant anger at Belly.

Belly. Belly probably wouldn't be on the top of my favourite female main character list but she was a decent main character in that she was relatable at times. But there were also times when she was infuriatingly annoying in how she thought that she should get everything she want and sometimes she came off as some kind of spoiled brat. She did redeem herself in the end though. She showed some backbone but also a kindness to the brothers that seriously tore at my heart. When everyone cried, I seriously freaking cried. And I like that she caught herself at the end before falling to the lowest corner of my female main character list.

I loved the setting of this as well! When you read it, you feel like you're really with them at their summer house at Cousins Beach. The way Jenny Han describes everything is summery and fun and you can just get lost in the story with the characters.

Overall, as said at the beginning, The Summer I Turned Pretty was a nice and sweet summer contemporary. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Stephanie Perkins will love this and if you're looking for a good book to read in summer, then this is probably it!

Follow Friday {6} | TGIF {2}

2011-11-18T16:51:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. Letter to Santa: Tell Santa what books you want for Christmas!

A. Oh, there's so many -- sometimes I wish my birthday was further away from Christmas so I could get two sets of presents! But some books that I have been dying to read this year are:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi - I have heard nothing but good reviews about this one!

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare - Do I really need to explain? I loved The Mortal Instruments and Clockwork Angel so this will no doubt be great!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - I don't know why I haven't bought this yet so hopefully Santa will bring it on Christmas Eve.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't read this and I really must. I love dystopia's and everyone's been gushing about this all year!

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White & Nightshade by Andrea Cremer - I grouped these two books together because these are books that I have been wanting to read for ages but never got a chance to buy it!

TGIF is a weekly meme/friday feature hosted by Ginger at GReads!

Giving Thanks: Which books are you most thankful for receiving from other bloggers, friends, family members or publishers?

Honestly, I'm thankful for any book that is gifted or given to me so I can't just choose one! Mostly, I'm thankful to Netgalley for all the amazing titles but I'm especially thankful for the books my brother gives me. He's annoying as hell like any other older brother might be but on Christmas/my birthday, he always gets me something (most of the time it's books) even though he only has a limited amount of money from his part-time job!

So yeah, I didn't really answer that question properly, did I? :)

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

2011-11-18T14:16:00.003+13:00

Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: February 1st 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 363
Rating:

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I had been meaning to get this forever, quite honestly. I felt like I was the only one who hadn't read this yet and I had heard nothing but good things about this which makes me uncomfortable to say that I did not enjoy this as much as I had hoped.

The Iron King took a while to get into, I'll admit. It wasn't until Meghan, Puck, Ash and Grimalkin set off on their journey that I really found myself unable to put it down. After their journey began, The Iron King was filled with tons of action, suspense and the small bit of romance that I adored.

The reason for my initial disinterest in this was that at the beginning, Meghan was naive and didn't listen to her only friend's advice. She ditched her best friend for the popular guy she was crushing on and in the end, got what she deserved in my opinion. Then starts their trek into the Never Never. I found this part quite boring to say the least and it wasn't until Puck left her and Grimalkin was introduced that I started enjoying it a little more.

I loved all the characters overall but found Meghan to be annoying at times because of how quickly she was angered. Puck and Ash were easily likeable but I found the reason for their fight a bit over the top and exaggerated. Meghan and Ash's relationship, however was lovely to watch -- the way Meghan slowly broke down the ice around Ash's heart. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Puck though, it was obvious that he liked Meghan. I don't think I would really mind who Meghan ends up with because Ash and Puck are both wonderful guys.

The plot was well-written and I loved the idea of technology taking over the Never Never. Julie Kagawa describes the world in a way that makes it easy to see in my own mind.

Overall, The Iron King was a solid start to the series and while The Iron Daughter might not be on the top of my TBR, it will definitely be read when I have the time. I recommend this to fans of fantasy, paranormal and romance. Fans of books like Wings by Aprilynne Pike may also enjoy this as well.

Waiting on Wednesday {7}

2011-11-16T16:42:00.001+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Survive
by Alex Morel
Release Date: August 2nd 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Jane runs away from Life House, a facility for kids with mental health disorders and addictions. She boards a plane to Montclair, New Jersey, though her destination does not matter—she doesn’t plan to be alive when the plane lands. Jane has planned the perfect suicide: she’ll fall asleep on the plane and never wake up. As she’s reaching for her pills in the cabin’s bathroom, the plane hits turbulence. Another jolt, and the engine’s down. The plane crashes into the mountains of Montana, and Jane and a boy named Paul are the only two survivors.

What starts out as a death mission quickly becomes a fight for life.

I've never really tried any books based on survival but this one sounds really interesting! Love the cover as well -- especially the title behind the mountains.

What are you waiting on?

Passion by Lauren Kate

2011-11-15T17:05:00.003+13:00

Title: Passion
Author: Lauren Kate
Publication Date: June 14th 2011
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pages: 420
Rating:

Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

I'll be honest -- I didn't particularly like Fallen nor Torment and Passion was no different. The end of Torment left me thinking that maybe Lucinda had finally gained some kind of backbone and wasn't all obsessed over Daniel but as soon as she slipped into the past, it was all Daniel this, Daniel that again.

I enjoyed the plot because we got a little bit of history with it and history is something I love but other than that, I still struggle to accept Luce and Daniel's relationship. I don't understand how Luce can be such a brainless twit when it comes to Daniel. She knews how dangerous doing anything in the past could be and yet she still did it. She even gets jealous that her past self is having past Daniel all to herself. I mean, it's her for God's sake! I don't even know why she went back in time. To really see that Daniel loved her? Was that really it? I didn't know that teenagers really cared about that stuff. Daniel again, was still tolerable though I can't find it in my heart to completely like him. Quite honestly, I may have liked him better when he was ignoring Luce in Fallen. At least then he was actually focusing on other people rather than just thinking about Luce every second.

Again I found myself liking the minor characters and I think that's what kept me reading. Arriane, Gabbe, Roland and Cam! Oh Cam, I don't see how I can hate you now. Daniel was such a horrible friend! Cam deserves love so much more than Daniel, really he does.

While I said at the start of this review that I really enjoyed the historical moments of this, after about two-hundred pages, the plot begun to get repetitive and slow-paced. Luce goes through time, Luce sees Daniel, Luce falls in love with past Daniel, Luce does something stupid, Luce leaves and enters another time period. And you know what? I liked Bill, her time-travelling guide. Even if the twist at the end may have ruined him for everyone else. He was the only one who made Luce seem like she wasn't all that. And I think that's just what I needed. To see someone else thinking "Oh, she's not all that." But the foreshadowing was good there -- because of Lauren's writing, I had a suspicion that there was something wrong about Bill right from when she wanted us to think that.

Overall, Passion wasn't any different from the rest of the Fallen series. It was lackluster, dull and partway through, kind of boring. It picks up at the end though, sort of. There's a little more action and a plot to get readers attention so that they read the next book in the series, Rapture. Since I'm already on book three, I think I might as well read the last one and plus, I'm still hoping that I'm going to eventually come to like this, because the covers of these series are just so pretty. While I may not have liked it so much, I know other fans of the series loved it so if you're one of those die-hard Fallen fans, then this book might be great for you.

TGIF {1}

2011-11-11T20:43:00.000+13:00

TGIF is a weekly meme/Friday Feature hosted by Ginger at GReads! This is my first time participating so hopefully I get this right!

Love-Hate Relationship: Which characters from a book do you love to hate?

- Lucinda Price from the Fallen series. She's probably the one thing that ruins the series for me. I mean, all the other characters are great - Arriane, Gabbe, Roland and Cam etc. Daniel ... not so much but he's tolerable. Luce, however, is infuriatingly naive and such a bloody stalker it's kind of creepy. I think she looks really pretty on the covers though!

- Simon Lewis from The Mortal Instruments. I really don't know what to say about him. I hated him and now love him. He was so annoying in the first three books but then in City of Fallen Angels, he was like transformed or something. I reread City of Bones recently and I still hate him then but now I just think he and Izzy are really cute. Perhaps it's because he finally stopped interfering with Jace and Clary's relationship? Hmm.

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

2011-11-11T13:49:00.003+13:00

Title: Virtuosity
Author: Jessica Martinez
Publication Date: October 18th 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 304
Rating:

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall...

Virtuosity was such a beautifully told story that my heart just broke when it was over. To be honest, the cover sort of repelled me away from it when I first saw it. It just wasn't my kind of cover. But then I read the synopsis and I wanted to read it so bad. And it was so good.

The musical aspect of the story was written and executed perfectly. I could feel that character's love for music and after reading it, I went and sat down at my piano (which hasn't been touched for over a year) and played, just because of how inspiring it was. It rekindled my love of music.

Carmen was probably the most believable main character I have ever read about. Sure, she might have made some mistakes, might have made some selfish decisions but can we really blame her? Isn't it human instinct to choose the easiest and safest option? Even if it's unfair to another? That's exactly what she did. Her problems, while maybe a bit more extreme than ours, were dealt with realistically. As a normal teenager under pressure would do. I believed every feeling she had, from frustration to heartbreak and especially her love of violin. Jeremy, is a charming fellow who is indeed British. I feel the need to add that because being British just makes a love interest a thousand times sexier. While he's a bit of an ass at the start with his cocky attitude, you'll warm up to him gradually as I believe the author intended.

Jeremy and Carmen are two completely different violinists but that's what brings them together. Jeremy enjoys playing while Carmen deals with the stress of performing perfectly every time by taking pills. I loved Carmen's character development and her strength to find the love and joy she lost of playing the violin. The ending, while ending in a sort of cliffhanger, was perfect and anything more would have been too much.

Overall, Virtuosity was probably one of my favourite reads of the year. It was better than any Sarah Dessen book and probably even better than Stephanie Perkin's Anna and the French Kiss. I loved it. I adored it. And I would recommend this to fans of the two authors mentioned above and every contemporary or music lover out there.

Waiting on Wednesday {6}

2011-11-09T17:25:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Shattered Souls

by Mary Lindsey
Release Date: December 8th 2011
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

First of all, that cover is beautiful. Second, that synopsis is intriguing. Any reason why I should not want this on my bookshelf right now?

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday {2}

2011-11-08T18:43:00.000+13:00

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

"Oh, Will did?" Daniel smirked, not believing her at all but not seeming to care. It was strange to feel that she could do or say anything and Daniel would still find it charming. "You're a little bit mad, aren't you, Lucinda?"

- pg. 246, Passion by Lauren Kate

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

2011-11-06T13:38:00.003+13:00

Title: Darker Still
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Publication Date: November 1st 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 320
Rating:

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

Darker Still was a chilling and enticing read that swept you up in a perfect blend of mystery, horror and romance. The cover is gorgeous and the synopsis intriguing so it was no surprise that it instantly had me into wanting to read this book. I was surprised at first when I started reading it though, to find out that it was written in a diary format. While I usually tend to not like diary entries in comparison to actual first/second/third person narratives, I found Leanna's version perfect for this story. The entries allowed Natalie to share her thoughts with us in an almost personal way which helped for me to relate to her character more.

Natalie and Lord Denbury were brilliant characters at the start but towards the end, I found myself a little perturbed by their relationship and how fast it was going. When they first met, I enjoyed their cute mutual attraction to one another but I also liked how Natalie refused to get caught up in the romance and to actually focus on the main task at hand - getting the Lord out of the painting. Debury himself is charming in that British sort of way but halfway through the book, his character falls to pieces. He becomes a man to pity and loses something of his natural charm. He rushes too fast into his relationship with Natalie and the chapters after that feel a bit like a forced way to get him and Natalie together in the end.

Apart from Natalie and Denbury, there were three other significant characters - Mrs Northe, Maggie and Evil Lord Debury. Mrs Northe was probably my favourite character. She was such a motherly figure that I came to love her as Natalie had. I had mixed feelings about Maggie though. While she was kind and sincere to Natalie at first, the turning point in her character at the end came as a shock and I thought Leanna could have done something more with her instead of just giving her a scolding from Mrs Northe. Evil Lord Debury was, well... evil. I won't say anything more about him or I might spoil the surprise. Natalie's father was also a lovely character. He cared for a daughter that no-one else had ever tried to become close to and he still held hope for her even though she was mute.

The plot itself was as intriguing as the synopsis was upon first reading it. The clues as to how Lord Denbury became trapped kept me awake at night wanting to find out what happened to him and the magic involved in the story was executed perfectly.

Overall, Darker Still is a book that had it's ups and downs but produced a solid work of fiction that was enjoyable in the end. I recommend this to fans of historical fiction, mystery and a little bit of horror because there are some parts that are going to have you staying away from opening closed doors for a while after.

Follow Friday {5}

2011-11-04T17:46:00.000+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. Today's question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.

A. Oh hell. This week's follow friday is so embarrassing! Just came home from school as you can tell from my uniform. asdfghjk I look like crap. Well anyway, technically I'm still reading Darker Still but since I'm like 2% from finishing it and I'm like one page into Passion, I took a picture of that instead.

Leave a comment so I can check out yours!

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

2011-11-03T22:14:00.003+13:00

Title: Dearly, Departed
Author: Lia Habel
Publication Date: October 18th 2011
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 480
Rating:

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid's arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead--or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria--a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country's political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible--until she's nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she's suddenly gunning down...

Dearly, Departed is probably the only book even mildly related to Halloween and horror I've ever read. The reason? I'll admit that I am pretty squeamish when it comes to horror so I try to avoid it at all costs. Which was why Dearly, Departed was such a great read. It wasn't exactly horror (and not even that scary!) because the zombie aspect of this could be compared to the aspect of vampires and ghosts in other books, but it was a small start to what might be me overcoming my fear.

First of all, I love the world Lia Habel created - from the technology to the thought of the Victorian Era in a modern state. It was unique and I loved how she merged the Old Victorian style with high-tech modern technology. The world she created was fascinating and I would have loved to see it for myself.

Nora was a strong capable character and while she did break down a couple of times, I couldn't fault her for it. She had reasons to cry and weep. As a reader, I could imagine myself in her shoes and I would probably have broken down as well. Bram was a male lead that I at first had trouble liking because of his initial interest in Nora but once I delved deeper into his story, I liked him alot. His and Nora's relationship was realistic and believable. At first the whole zombie-human love relationship might seem strange but as the story progresses, you don't see them as zombie's but as humans. I loved how Bram got Nora to warm up to him. It was a cute way and I found it was a lot better than the insta-love that I read about in so many other YA books these days.

While the POV is mainly between Bram and Nora, it switches out occasionally to some supporting characters, namely Wolfe, Pamela and Victor. I found this to be a good way for us readers to get to know other characters though I didn't understand why they included Wolfe's POV to be honest. At first, I wasn't too fond of Pamela. I thought she was just the typical best friend who was only into the girl stuff of the New Victorian Era but as we read her POV, I came to like her possibly even more than Nora. Her bravery and intuitive was admirable and she didn't back down even when her parents had doubts about her. Though I so called what would happen at the end with Pamela and Michael Allister, I couldn't help liking the pairing. Hopefully we'll see more of them in the later books.

The aspect of zombies is one I've never come across before so, much-like Twilight and all it's vampire glory, this will probably be what I base my image of zombies on in the future. I never thought that I'd enjoy reading about the grotesque lives of zombies but I found each zombie in this book unique and funny. Bram's zombie friends made me laugh a lot! Despite their odd appearances, I could see Nora through my own eyes as she gradually become friends with them just because of their personalities.

Overall, Dearly, Departed is a book that most fans of paranormal and historical would enjoy. While not exactly set in the past, it takes a unique take on a historical world set in the future which fans of historical fiction would find fascinating and intriguing. I would also recommend this to readers who are squeamish like me but want to slowly edge their way into the genre of horror.

Waiting on Wednesday {5}

2011-11-02T16:56:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

Release Date: May 28th 2012

Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Divergent was amazing. 'Nuff said.

What are you waiting on?

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

2011-10-31T17:59:00.003+13:00

Title: The Son of Neptune
Author: Rick Riordan
Publication Date: October 4th 2011
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 513
Rating:

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa tol him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem - when the Voice took over he mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for and evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery - although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely - enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

SO GOOD. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. Rick Riordan, you are a genius. The Son of Neptune marked the return of Percy Jackson and you don't know how happy I was to read his POV again. Though I liked Jason, Piper and Leo in The Lost Hero, no-one, I mean no-one can replace Percy.

The other characters, Hazel and Frank were also intriguing characters. Honestly, because I'm such a fan of the original five Percy Jackson books, I wasn't happy that there were going to be other demigods taking the place of Annabeth and Grover, but Hazel and Frank made me think of how stupid I was to think that. They were interesting and both had their own secrets to share with us, adding just that bit more of awesomeness to this book. Percy, Hazel and Frank were completely different from the old team of Percy, Annabeth and Grover but in a good way. The way their friendship and trust deepened was heart-warming and a nice break from the seriousness of YA books these days in terms of relationships.

Rick Riordan is an amazing author and I admire the amount of research he puts into his books. Just by reading one of his novels, you can tell he spent ages looking up Greek and Roman Gods and monsters. I'll admit, I wasn't interested in mythology before but after I read The Lighting Thief, I was obsessed with learning more about it because it was just so fascinating. Rick does an awesome job of merging mythology with modern day life while also retaining the key facts of Greek and Roman mythology. He incorporates it into his story of demi-gods in a way that actually makes sense to the readers. Hilarious is another word I'd use to describe Rick's writing. My, how I wish I had his imagination! Never would I have thought of Amazon warriors being related to Amazon.com in a book if not for Rick Riordan's awesomely funny wit. Absolutely brilliant, he is. There is never a dull moment in The Son of Neptune. Be it a scene filled with action, or a revealing of one's past, you will never find yourself bored with the written content within. Rick will have you on edge at the end of every chapter, wondering oh-so-anxiously what is going to happen next. I assure you, you won't be able to put this book down once you've started.

Overall, the only negative thing I have to say is how Rick Riordan writes the worst cliffhangers ever. And I mean that in the best possible way. I mean, with the kind of cliffhangers he pulls on us, it's like he's not even giving us a choice about picking up his next book! He's robbing me of my money, people! With that being said, I can't wait for Mark of Athena. But alas, I must wait a whole agonising year before reading it. Why must life be so cruel? But let me end this by telling you, if you have not yet read this series, you are missing out on an entirely amazing world of pure awesomeness.

Follow Friday {4}

2011-10-28T16:31:00.000+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. If you could have dinner with your favourite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?

A. While I would love to have dinner with someone like Jace from The Mortal Instruments, I think I would feel too awkward and lame compared to his confident and witty demeanor. So instead, can I choose a group of people? Because I would love to have the Wish Catering crew from Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever over for dinner! Having dinner with them sounds like it would be heaps of fun! As for what I would serve... Well, I'm sure Delia would be able to think up some crazy recipe for me to take a whirl at in the kitchen! Oh, and I'd love to meet Wes!

Waiting on Wednesday {4}

2011-10-26T17:36:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

A Temptation of Angels
by Michelle Zink
Release Date: March 20th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.

I've seen only good reviews from everyone who's read this so far so I can't wait to read it! I'm hoping this story of angels will be just as good as Unearthly(my favorite angel book right now), if not better!

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

2011-10-24T19:22:00.003+13:00

Title: Born at Midnight
Author: C.C. Hunter
Publication Date: March 29th 2011
Publisher: St. Martin Griffin
Pages: 416
Rating:

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Born at Midnight was a book that I at first found hard to get into. I couldn't relate to Kylie and the plot was so-so. But as it progressed it got better and better and I found myself actually liking Kylie and the plot. It's hard to write in a third person narrative but C.C Hunter managed to pull it off just fine.

The first half of the book was slow and uneventful. Kylie whined and moaned for like the whole 200 pages about Shadow Falls Camp and it was just so hard to sympathize with her. I'm not a fan of insta-love so when Derek was brought into the story, I was just like, kill me now. I know a lot of people like the sweet type of guy but Derek felt sort of stalker-ish to me. He was always clinging on to Kylie and trying to get her attention and it just annoyed me. Which is why, since this is a love triangle and love triangle's always invoke different 'teams', I'm on Team Lucas. The bad boy of the story. He didn't instantly try to get Kylie's attention and stayed with his own group of supernatural's. But the few times he and Kylie did bump heads, there was definitely that chemistry between them.

The second half of the book was a whole lot better than the first. There was action and sizzling hot scenes with Derek and Lucas. Kylie began to accept herself and her friends for what they really were and I finally understood her mom's actions. I admired Derek's self-control. Ha! My only problem was that WHY WERE THERE SO FEW LUCAS SCENES. WHY. And oh how I hated Fredericka. I did prefer the side characters more than the main's though. But that's because they were just so funny and interesting to read about. Miranda and Della and Perry! Oh hell, Perry. Every time he was brought into the scene, I was laughing I swear. And Della and Miranda's fights were crack-up! They were awesome friends to Kylie and I would love friends like those!

Overall, Born at Midnight was a book with a commonly-used plot but also, a unique tale of supernaturals and romance. While it may start out slow, you'll be pleasantly surprised if you're willing to wait long enough for the good parts during the second half!

In My Mailbox {1}

2011-10-23T23:52:00.000+13:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers a chance to share what they bought, borrowed, swapped or got for review that week!

So I don't usually get a whole lot of books in my mailbox but this week my mom was nice enough get me some of the first books to series that I've been dying to read!

From Netgalley:

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

Bought:

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Born at Midnight by C.C Hunter

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

What did you get in your Mailbox?

Follow Friday {3}

2011-10-21T15:33:00.000+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. What superhero is your alter-ego?

A. Honestly, I don't know a whole lot of superheroes. Just like the main ones and the characters from Cartoon Network shows... But my favorite superhero since I was a kid has always been Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat from X-men! I mean, wouldn't it be cool to walk through walls and everything?

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

2011-10-21T13:21:00.003+13:00

Title: Halfway to the Grave
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Publication Date: November 1st 2007
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 384
Rating:

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

Honestly, I feel sort of naughty for reading this, just because of how graphic some of the scenes in this book were. Seeing as how I'm still like, under-age and all, it feels like some kind of crime to be reading about... the things that happen in this book. But nevertheless, I will finish the review without sounding like some inexperienced virgin - which I am of course.

I heard such good things about this book and of course about Bones, the bleach-haired sexy vampire, that I had to get it. I knew it was an adult read but it sounded so intriguing that I couldn't help myself. That's why I was disappointed when I finished reading it, because it just wasn't as good as I would have wanted it to be.

Cat, the main character, tried to be the kind of protagonist that I like - strong-willed, fierce and just an overall kick-ass character but instead came off as slightly cocky, arrogant and too overly confident of her own skills. While there were times where I admired her bravery, there were others where I just wanted to jump into the book and throw her into a wall just to show her that she wasn't actually all that. I did love Bones though, just like most people who've read this series. British accent + funny-kind-of-cockiness = win. I just thought that the pacing of Cat and Bones relationship was way too fast. I expected them to get together towards the end, but nooo, they're getting it on in the first quarter of the book. I mean, where's the build-up to a healthy relationship, people?

But oh god, any fan of erotica would love this book. It didn't surprise me all that much when the author started describing sex scenes since I've read some manga where it's happened but it still left me gaping after I read it. But... wow. I don't know. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to say anymore on this topic so I'm going to stop now.

I have to say, I hated Cat's mom. I mean, I know she has reasons to hate vampire but can you really hate them that much to not even listen to your own daughter? ARGGH. I'm sorry. I just hated her so much. Part of the reason this book annoyed me.

The thing is with this book, I didn't really care much for the actual plot because the only thing that kept me reading was Bones. Sure, the plot was interesting enough but when you read it closely, it was all so predictable. Like there was not really anything to get you thinking.

Overall, Halfway to the Grave was a nice romantic read but the only thing that got this book an above average rating was probably Bones. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal romance and erotica fiction. Probably not recommended for children or younger teens unless you're like me and can handle highly graphically-explained scenes.

Waiting on Wednesday {3}

2011-10-19T18:11:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Illuminate
by Aimee Agresti
Release Date: March 6th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.
As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?
Illuminate is an exciting saga of a teen’s first taste of independence, her experience in the lap of luxury, and her discovery she may possess strength greater than she ever knew.

I think this may in fact be one of the prettiest covers I've seen coming out next year! And I'll admit, that's what at first had me hooked, but now that I've read the summary, I just want the book released already!

Top 10 Tuesday {2}

2011-10-18T20:55:00.000+13:00

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

Top 10 Books I Read/Bought Because Of The Cover

1. Fallen by Lauren Kate
I'll admit, even with so many book covers coming out with girls in dresses, I am still drawn by the mysteriousness and entrancing look of them and Fallen was no exception. Though it was indeed one of the first book covers to have girls in dresses on it. The actual story sort of disappointed me though.

2. Matched by Ally Condie
Look me in the eye and tell me that this book cover is not one of the prettiest book covers you have ever seen. It's simple, yes. But that just makes it look all the more better. A lot of the times, simple covers are what draw me in and catch my attention.

3. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Me and my friends were gushing over this cover when we first saw it on the shelves of a book store because I mean, it's just so sparkly! And the colours!

4. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Ahh! I love covers that have that underwater look. It's dark and kind of creepy but it suits the book so well with all it's mysteriousness.

5. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Another book with a girl in a dress. But as I said before, I am uncontrollably drawn to covers like these and I love that pattern above the title!

6. Divergent by Veronica Roth
I don't know what to say about this one - I just love it! It just screamed action and pure awesomeness when I first saw it.

7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Again with the simplicity. I saw this and was captivated by it at first sight. Besides blue being my favourite colour and all, this book kind of gave me a calm feeling just by looking at it because it was so simple yet draws you in.

8. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Covers that are mysterious tend to leave a bigger impression on me as you can tell and nothing screams mysterious more than the cover of Twilight. It's plain and simple but it seems to glow on the shelves as you walk past because of just how simple it is. So I bought it, not because of the massive amount of hype it was getting, but because of the cover.

9. Wings by Aprilynne Pike

I actually liked the new version of the cover better but since I bought this one, I guess I'll use it instead. When I first saw it in a bookstore in London when I was on holiday, it was just shining and changing colours and everything and I was young and I liked shiny things so I bought it. Enough said.

10. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Okay, so I know, it's just a key but since I love historical fiction, this one just stood out to me and I'm glad I bought it because it was such a good book!

Yeah, so I tend to like pretty, shiny and mysterious covers the most. And I do tend to judge a book by the cover a lot more than judging by actually reading the blurb. But hey, with all those books covers out there just waiting to be drooled over, can you really blame me?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

2011-10-16T16:35:00.003+13:00

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publication Date: September 27th 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 452
Rating:

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book. So yeah, there'd been a lot of raving reviews about it but nothing could have prepared me for how absolutely, incredibly amazing this was! Everything about this book was perfect - the characters, the plot, the romance. And oh my, the romance!

So, before this review becomes completely useless with all my fangirling, I'll get back on track. I just love characters who start out broken but find a way out of their shell in the end because it makes it easier for authors to show the character development from start to finish which is why I liked Mara so much. Throughout the course of the story she learnt to accept herself, what happened in the past and her own ability. Michelle writes in a way that readers can easily relate to and it was easy for me to feel Mara's fear, anger, sadness and every other feeling she ever had throughout the book. And I don't know about you, but I love the name 'Mara Dyer'. Michelle also knows how to characterise a perfect guy. Like oh-my-god -- Noah Shaw! I would kill for a guy like him! And he has a British accent! All the more reason to swoon over him. But back to the story - it was interesting to see his and Mara's relationship grow. They had the kind of love-hate relationship that I love, with their witty dialogue, casual bantering and all that. Those kinds of scenes just make me laugh and wish I could make up witty remarks like them.

I guess I just love the way Michelle writes though. She makes every scene worthwhile reading carefully instead of just skimming through it like some other books I've read. There are scenes where she makes characters feel as awkward as they would feel in real life and others where if you don't read it carefully, you won't understand something later on in the book.

Overall, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer had me hooked right from the start. I can't wait for the sequel because... Oh. Did I forget to mention that the ending is such an infuriating cliffhanger that you'll be pained to know that you're going to have to wait an infinitely long amount of time for the next book? Yeah, because that's how I feel. I mean, that ending! But get the book anyway. Get the book. Because you won't be disappointed.

Follow Friday {2}

2011-10-14T16:34:00.000+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. If you could have characters from a particular book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a particular TV series, which would you choose and why?

Uh... such a hard question considering I don't watch much TV to begin with. But if I had to choose it would probably be:

Bright Young Things and Gossip Girl. I mean, the characters in both of them both love partying and socializing and there's tons of drama in both so I think that characters would get along pretty well.

or

The Hunger Games trilogy and Skins (mostly the second generation though). I can totally imagine the characters of Skins toughing it out during the actual Hunger Games. And I would so love it for Effie and Katniss to meet in Mockingjay! They're like two peas in a pod - both mentally broken and both have lost someone important to them. Honestly, the person who plays Effie in Skins was my dream Katniss because they are so alike!

Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand

2011-10-13T21:17:00.004+13:00

Title: Dirty Blood
Author: Heather Hildenbrand
Publication Date: April 28th 2011
Publisher: Accendo Press
Pages: 288
Rating:

I killed a girl last night. I did it with my bare hands and an old piece of pipe I found lying next to the dumpster. But that’s not the part that got me. The part that scared me, the part I can’t seem to wrap my head around and still has me reeling, was that when she charged me, her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. But by the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was a girl again. That’s about the time I went into shock… And that was the moment he showed up.

Now, all I can do is accept the truths that are staring me in the face. One, Werewolves do exist. And Two, I was born to kill them.

I haven't read any books centred solely on werewolves before (they've always had other paranormal creatures in them) so I was really excited to finally read one and you know what? I think I could totally get into reading more books based around werewolves!

I loved the plot and the whole werewolves and hunter thing. Not to say it hasn't been done before but I still liked Heather's take on it. I did think it was predictable at times - especially the plot line surrounding Tara's heritage but Heather still manages to keep it interesting and keep us readers wanting to find out what happens next. It was also fast-paced and filled with tons of action, fighting and hot romantic scenes!

Tara, the main character, I had mixed feelings about though. While I loved that she was a tough-as-nails heroine, as the story progressed I couldn't help feeling that she was turning into a whiny brat. She could still kick some serious werewolf butt but she was beginning to complain about everything and got mad at everyone who didn't think her way. Wes, however, I liked. He was sweet and protective of Tara. I did think that their relationship was sort of rushed though. He hadn't even known her very long before they were like, all over each other. My favourite character overall though, was Cord - the stereotypical girl who hated the main protagonist -- there's always one of those in a story, isn't there? The thing is that given I were her, I would probably have felt the same way about Tara and thus, I can't blame her rude attitude.

Overall, Dirty Blood was well paced and full of exciting action to keep us readers wanting more and most characters were well-developed and likeable. My main problem really was Tara but that's about it as far as my problems with the story goes. This was my first werewolf novel so I might not be one to judge this right now but I'm thinking I'll definitely have to try out some more werewolf-based books!

Waiting on Wednesday {2}

2011-10-12T22:37:00.000+13:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly waiting for!

Slide
by Jill Hathaway
Release Date: March 27th 2012
Pre-Order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.
Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.
Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

This sounds great! I love a good murder mystery and not to mention, the cover is just so mysterious and pretty!

What are you waiting on?

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

2011-10-09T14:55:00.003+13:00

Title: Half-Blood
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: October 18th 2011
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 281
Rating:

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

I loved Daimon and because of the cliffhanger at the end of it, I was so eagerly anticipating reading Half-Blood. It definitely didn't disappoint and now I'm desperately wanting to get my hands on Pure, the next installment of the Covenant series.

I still think Alex is a kick-ass character, especially after what she did at the end. And again, I can still feel Alex's emotions flying off the page. I wanted to curl into a ball and cry whenever she wanted too. The writing was just that good. I loved how Alex wasn't naturally good at everything she was taught and she took a lot of time to finally learn how to block an attack because I mean usually, most female protagonists have like super crazy photographic memory on how to do stuff. With the introduction of a whole lot of new characters, I thought I wouldn't be liking Half-Blood as much as I did Daimon but I was so. very. wrong. Caleb and Lea and Seth and Jackson and -swoon- Aiden! They were all such wonderfully thought out characters and I loved each and every one of them! Even though Lea was a bitch, it was that playful sort of love-hate bitchiness that I love reading about. Caleb was another favourite of mine. He was just such a good friend that I almost wanted to cry at times. But the best was Aiden, oh swoon-worthy Aiden. Yeah, he's hot and talented and all the girls love him but he's also funny (in a way Alex describes as dry) and nice and caring and sweet. Alex and Aiden's constant bantering made me smile a whole lot!

The one thing that I couldn't help noticing about this book though, was that it was extremely similar to Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series and I think any other fan of that series would agree. The relationship between Aiden and Alex was strikingly similar to that of Dimitri and Rose and there were other elements of the story of which I couldn't help comparing. But that didn't stop me from loving it! Despite being similar, Half-Blood still manages to engage you in a captivating storyline full of intense action at every page. I have to say that it was predictable at times but that's too be expected from a YA novel of this genre. And there were still a few twists to keep it interesting. Honestly, it wasn't the cover that drew me in like most readers. To me, it sort of looks like a poorly edited image made on picnik or something. But I heard such raving reviews of this that I just had to read it and I was so glad I did!

Overall, Half-Blood is definitely a book that I enjoyed. I recommend this to readers who liked books such as Vampire Academy series but also just fans of Greek mythology and paranormal YA.

Follow Friday {1}

2011-10-07T16:54:00.001+13:00

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. It's a great way to meet and follow new blogger friends!

Q. If you could pick one character in a book, movie or television show to swap places with, who would it be?

A. Oh god, this is so hard! I can't just pick one so I'll name a few.
- Tris from Divergent because she's just so amazing and strong-willed and I would love to be a part of Dauntless. ~~And of course, because of Four!~~
- Anna Oliphant from Anna and the French Kiss because I so want an Etienne to myself!
- Katniss from The Hunger Games. I would love to see the capitol people for myself! And Peeta and his bread :)
Of course there are so many others that I am jealous of and wish I could swap places with but the list would go on forever if I were to continue!

Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

2011-10-06T22:47:00.003+13:00

Title: Daimon
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: May 10th 2011
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 62
Rating:

For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals—pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty.

According to her mother, that’s a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill.

The daimons have found her.

This is going to be an extremely short review because the actual novel was really short itself. Daimon is the prequel to soon-to-be released novel, Half-Blood. It was a short and quick read but full of intense action and I loved every page of it!

Alex is a very likeable character and I can relate to her on so many different levels. Her emotions just seem to fly off the page be it from heartbreak to determination. I love how kick-ass she is and how she isn't like most other YA female protagonists who can't do anything but swoon over the popular and hot yet cold and distant male characters.

I also love the take that Jennifer took on Greek Mythology with all the Half-blood and Pure stuff. It's very different from say, the Percy Jackson series where the Gods are far more active and part of the demi-gods lives. As I said before, it was a fairly short read, but there's plenty of action to keep you wanting to read more.

Overall, Daimon was a great prequel to start off the Covenant series and it ends with such a cliffhanger that no sane person would be able to resist reading the next book, Half-Blood!