Waiting on Wednesday 2/29/12

Perception by Kim Harrington
Publication Date: 3/1/12

 When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Tag- I'm It

I was tagged by Nikki at Take Me Away  

Here's how you play:

1. Answer the questions that the blogger set for you in their post.

2. Create 11 questions for 11 people that you tag to answer.

3. Tag 11 people and link them to your post. 

4. Let them know that you've tagged them.

5. Include these rules and add a link to the person who tagged you with your post. 

Here are the questions I was given:

1. Do you have another social media to go along with your blog? (Like twitter, Tumblr, Facebook)

I do have a twitter as well as some other links on the sidebar.
2. What do your non-bookish friends think of your love of books? 

They think it's pretty cool. They often ask me for recommendations.
3. If you could make any book into a movie, that hasn't already been done, which book would it be? 

Shatter Me by Tahereah Mafi or Divergent by Veronica Roth
4. If you were able to pull someone out of a book for one day, who would it be and what would you guys do?

Probably Lola from Lola and the boy next door. I would have her attack my clothes and we would hang out.
5. What is your favorite genre? Why?

Young Adult only first off- and then from there I'm going to say Contemporary Romance just because I love they don't seem as fake as some other genres.
6. How long have you been an avid reader and what made you start reading? 

I've always been a big reader but mostly since May 2011. I started blogging when I got my first ARC in a giveaway so I could review it but my first YA book that got me started was- hate to say it- Twilight. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing that great about it, but I'm pretty sure that was my first real YA romance and I really like the genre.
7. Where do you purchase most of your books? Indie or big stores? Or do you go to the library for most of them?

Barnes and Noble and Amazon as well as the library.
8. What made you decide to start blogging? 

I won a ARC and I wanted to review it.
9. Have you ever been so consumed by a book that you dream about what you've read? 

I don't really remember honestly. It's possible.
10. What do you when you're not reading? 

Twitter, and listening to music.
11. What books would you recommend to none readers to get them started? 

Hunger Games, Divergent, Shatter me, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Anna and the French Kiss. 

I tag (I'm not tagging 11 people because I don't really know who Else to tag):

A Room With Books

Maji Bookshelf

Remarkable Reads

Willa's Ramblings   

Mint Tea and a Good Book

My Questions for The next people:

1. What did you think of blogs before you were a blogger?

2. Do you prefer books in the past, present, or future?

3. Paperback or Hardcover?

4. Buy or Borrow?

5. Why did you decided to start a blog?

6. Which book(s) have your favorite covers?

7. Do you listen to music while reading?

8. Have you read the Hunger Games, and if so, are you excited for the movie?

9. What are some websites you use for your blogging/reading (Ex: goodreads)

10. Do you buy or borrow your books?

11. Which book do you wish had more publicity? 

Review: Partials

Partials by Dan Wells

Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Publication Date: 2/28/2012
Pages: 472
Format: ARC
Source: Won from Jen at YA Romantics
Genre: Dystopian
Goodreads

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

When I first heard what this book was about I really couldn't get the idea out of my head. I'm really a by Dystopian fan and this one automatically sounded amazing to me and I'm really glad that I was able to get a copy when I did. 

Humans a pretty much an endangered species after man-made partial humans that had been created for war unleash a virus that kills 99% of the world's population and any new born children die within hours of their birth. It's been 11 years since any children have been born and the human population is only diminishing. Science has been rapidly trying to find a cure with dead ends in every direction. Kira thinks she has a solution to their problems, but when her idea is rejected she and some of her friends go out to find their most dangerous enemy: The Partials. 

This book is gripping, entertaining and mind-blowing all at once. Though the story was a little bit slow at first I am glad I kept reading. It's really scary how real the society begins to become to you once you really get into the story and you become familiar with what might be going on. After a few chapters the scene was very detailed in my mind and I really was able to fall into the story as if I were a character.

The main story line of this book consists of Kira trying to find a cure for this virus so that babies are once again able to be born. There was a lot of medical talk in it and I really didn't get all that lost and I'm glad that the terms weren't very complex.

The thing that really intrigued me the most in this story was the Partials. I felt like I was one of the people in the story who was so uncertain about the Partials intentions but at the same time I was fascinated. When a partial was first introduced to the story I kept wishing that he would talk so we could learn about him. I found them really interesting characters.

In My Mailbox- 2/26/12

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren

Normally I would do a video slide-show for my IMM post but recently my video editor has been uncompetitive and I have been unable to get my videos onto my posts, so until I get that problem resolved I will be doing old fashioned picture posts.

This week I got a lot of amazing and extremely exciting books and bookish items from two giveaways I have won in the past few weeks.

For Review From Author:

From Young Adult Book Central's 

Bag of Books Giveaway:

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Want to go Private? by Sarah Littman

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

This really awesome Young Adult Book Central Tote bag and those bookmarks and pen on
top of the pile of books there.

Won From Kristi at The Story Siren:

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

(The Miseduation of Cameron Post will be used in a giveaway in the future 

because I already own a final copy)

AND

A Kindle with four Colioquy titles loaded onto it. 

Titles loaded onto Kindle:

Thank you so much to Kristi and Young Adult Book Central! 

So, there was my amazing week. What did you get? Link and comment Below.

Review: Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: Janurary 3rd 2012
Pages: 374
Copy: Hardcover
Source: Library
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Challenges: Debut Author Challenge
Goodreads

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

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 accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

This is the first debut book I have read so far this year and I am glad to say that I was fairly impressed by Rossi's Debut and I think we will most likely be seeing some good work from her in the future.

The first thing that really stood out to me about this story is that the Dystopian world that the main character, Aria lives in is not like a typical dystopian today.  Instead of a controlling government this world is confined to enclosed homes to keep people safe from the dying and murderous world outside. After the angered parent of a hurt boy blames her for his injury he sends her out of their safe home and out into the death shop.

And then there's Perry, the other character the story follows. Perry lives out in the deathshop in a tribe that has been fighting to stay alive since the storms have been raging and death has been coming closer and closer to reality. We first see him when he sneaks into Reverie and saves Aria from two boys who had been attacking her. Back at his tribe he takes his nephew out hunting and then people from Reverie, or "Dwellers" take his nephew from him and he goes on a mission to safe him. And then he runs into Aria again.

And there's storms, fights, man eating people, death and of course, romance.

I love how adventurous Rossi got with writing a book like this as a debut writer. She has a very easy to follow writing style and I thought it was very well done. The scare factor of this book was very minimal, though the aether storms were a very interesting aspect of the story. The romance of the story was very cute though like a lot of stories it did seem forced upon the story.

Overall this story was pretty amazing. I can't wait for Through the Ever Night!

Waiting on Wednesday 2/22/12

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Publication Date: 2/28/12

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

In My Mailbox 2/19/12

In My Mailbox is Hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren.

This week I only got one book so I am not making a video, but the one thing I did get I am very excited about.

For review I got a copy of OF POSEIDON by Anna Banks. I requested this book a month or so ago and I didn't get a reply so I was very surprised and happy when I got it this week.

Thank You to Feiwel & Friends publishers.

What did you get this week?

Review: Bittersweet

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: January 3rd 2012
Pages: 378
Copy: Hardcover
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Challenges: Contemporary, Standalone
Goodreads

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances… a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life…and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last…

The thing that really stuck out at me in the beginning of this book was how interesting the setting is. Much of the book takes place in either Hudson's Mother's Diner, or while Hudson is ice skating. I really like how you can really picture every place the book takes place in, and you really feel every location with all of your senses. 

The characters in the book are all very well introduced into the book, like at the diner you really feel the family atmosphere of the place. Or the hockey teams change from really not caring to coming together. And then of course there's the crush, Josh. I'm not sure if I would have really liked him if I met him in real life, but I guess I'm not the character.

This book is really about self discovery and realizing that you change as you grow. All around I found the book really, really enjoyable, it's a great contemporary read.

Waiting on Wednesday 2/15/12

I am (not) the Walrus by Ed Briant
Publication Date: July 8th 2012

A quirky story about girls, love, and rock 'n' roll
As the singer and bass player for Lucky Twenty, a Beatles cover band, Toby wants to make it big. But Zach, Toby's best friend and fellow band member, is convinced there's a problem: Toby's utter lack of mojo. How can he croon about love when he's never even kissed a girl?
So begins Toby's quest for cred as a lovestruck singer. But his quest derails when he finds a note inside his old bass guitar. Who is the true owner of the bass? And can a kiss really help Toby figure out who he is?

Top Ten Tuesday 2/14/12

This Weeks Topic: Top Ten Books That Broke Your Heart A Little

The way I'm going to interpret this topic is books that are really powerful in a sad way.

 

This is an all together scary and sad paranormal about a girl who finds out that she is not meant to live very much longer and she mush finish her life by helping out people. 

This book is a very different contemporary book about a girl with a mentally handicapped mother who has survived with the help of her next door neighbor who is terrified  by the outside world. 

This is a classic about two migrant workers living in the 1930s

I read this a long time ago but of what I remember of it it is about a girl who's older sister dies.

This is a romance about a boy and a girl who both have to deal with family issues.

Another classic about a gang member who has to go on the run when another gang member has to kill someone to save the boy's life.

This is the story of a girl who has gotten into a terrible car accident that killed her whole family and she now is having an out of body experience where she has to choose between dying with her family or staying with her boyfriend and best friend.

The sad story of a girl who has been raped and how she just can't tell anyone.

Even though this book has a strange name it is about a girl who realizes that she has been kidnapped.

A heartbreaking book about a girl who becomes a cutter after a terrible accident that kills both her parents.

Review: Witchblood

Witchblood by Emma Mills

Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date- January 9th 2012
Pages: 395
Format: Ebook
Source: For Review from Author
Genre: Paranormal (Vampires), Romance
Goodreads

When Jess steals a glance at a gorgeous guy in a Manchester nightclub, little does she realise how he is going to change her life…or should that be death? Yet, the vampire clan could never have predicted what they were taking on.

With Luke pronounced ‘off-limits’ and the blood of a vampire simmering in Jess’s body, can she forget the love of her life and move on? If not, she will risk exposing the entire Northern vampire clan to untold dangers, in order to live her life the way she wants.

Can Jess be sure that Luke is all he appears to be? Will she succumb to the attraction she desperately tries not to feel for Daniel? And why does she still crave a packet of crisps more than a tasty teenage boy’s blood?

The first thing that caught my eye when I read the prologue was how very descriptive and well thought out the writing was. Emma Mills is a Debut Self-Published author who writes a very interesting story about a girl who was attacked by a girl gang and left to die on the streets when a vampire named Daniel comes and rescues her by changing her.

The Good
The writing in this story had beautiful description and lots of thought put into it. The setting throughout the story was very beautiful and lifelike and your could really visualize every place the characters went.

Mills is a UK author and this is my very first time reading a book with UK spelling and slang. It was actually pretty fun noticing all of the things that are said and spelled differently while we speak the same language. (Notice the use of the words Crisps and Realise in the description above?) It was also pretty interesting and sort of funny when an American was brought into the story and just seeing a UK idea of Americans.

This book takes place in Manchester and I really like how it's taking place in the UK and how it  has a different landscape than most Young Adult books. 

The Not-So-Good
Though this book does have some very beautiful writing in it I do believe it crosses the line of too much discription at times. Though it is nice to know how the room or landscape looks, a writer really don't need to get down to the sound the springs make when you sit down on your bed unless it is crucial to the story. Some of the dialogue was also a little to much and was about twice as long as it really needed to be to get an idea across.

Jessica was a very sarcastic character and there's nothing wrong with a sarcastic character but it did go a little over the top.

Daniel and Eva, the two other Vampires in the story are kind of on the fence for me. Though I do like their general personality there doesn't seem like you really get to know them except from the view point of someone standing and watching what they do.

Throughout the book I felt like there was an awful lot of Daniel hugging Jessica and her crying. Though this isn't exactly the happiest of stories I do think that there could be more happy Jessica in there.

To Wordpress, Or not to Wordpress?

Over the past few days I have been having some issues with blogger and I began to think about getting a wordpress. So far I have an in-progress wordpress and I am considering changing over. Will you please give me feedback on both of my blogs:

My Blogger Blog 
My Wordpress Blog

And let me know what you think about switching. If you would like to continue reading this blog I do erge you to follow my wordpress blog because at the moment I do think it is likely that I will switch. Thank you for your feedback!

In My Mailbox 2/12/12

Sorry, both my blog site and my computer are being mean to me 

and I can't get the video onto the post. Please watch [HERE]

What did you get in your mailbox?

Comment Below!

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

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

Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: January 2nd 2012
Pages: 236
Copy: Hardcover
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Challenges: Standalone, Contemporary
Goodreads

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.

<3 I love books completely devoted to being a Young Adult romance, and this one is an amazing example. This book shows how just a few minutes can send your entire fate either falling to the floor or make your future infinitely better. Hadley was four minutes late. And then she met Oliver.

Oliver was just... amazing. In the beginning he just pops into the story and I couldn't help but love him. And he's British. That's always good.

Hadley was a very strong main character who had an interesting story to tell, though there is a point in the book that she's a little bit of a stalker, and it's a little bit creepy I have to admit.  

I know a big concern for many people was that this would be an insta-love book. I don't think the love is real obvious, but because I read the book in one day the book seemed really rushed and it seemed like there wasn't enough about the plane ride in the story, and that is where the characters get to know each other.

This is a very well written story that I recommend to Stephanie Perkins & contemporary romance fans. 

Waiting on Wednesday 2/8/12

The List by Soiobhan Vivian 
Publication Date: April 1st 2012

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.

Top Ten Tuesday 1/7/12

This weeks Topic is: Top Ten Books You'd Hand To Someone Who Says They Don't Like To Read

Willow is an all around powerful and thought provoking novel about a girl who is a cutter after a horrible accident that killed both her parents, and then boy who finds out her secret. I really think anyone could get into it from the first few pages.

Almost anyone and their mother have read this book, for good reason. Anyone, even nonreaders should at least give this book a chance and hey, the movie is coming out soon.

This book is just a very interesting paranormal mystery with a  very engaging setting. It drew me in even before I was a real big reader.

Another powerful story about a girl who is given another, and then seven more chances at the last day of her life to try and make it all better.

This is just a fun and cute little story about a girl who hears ghosts, another one that I read before becoming a reading fanatic.

This is another well written paranormal mystery that can appeal to many crowds.

Let me just say: One of the BEST DYSTOPIANS EVER.

Stephanie Perkins is my very favorite contemporary writer. Anyone who wants a cute romance really needs to give this book a chance.

This is another: ONE OF THE BEST DYSTOPIANS EVER. Really, dystopians are really, really good.

 

 The Iron Knight is my favorite Fantasy read because anyone who likes cute/hot boys with magic powers and disappearing cats can really enjoy this story.

Review: Looking For Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Publisher: Puffin
Publication Date: March 3rd 2005
Pages: 221
Copy: Paperback
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary
Challenges: Forbidden Book Club
Goodreads

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

Why have I not read a John Green book until now? Why?

Looking for Alaska is a up and down Funny-Crazy-Silly-Depressing-Heart Warming story of Miles, a boy who has never done anything real crazy or noticeable, and really hasn't had any friends. And then he decides to go to Culver Creek, a school where he has a determined room mate, out of this world pranks and a girl that he can't help but love. But that was before.

Like I stated above, I really can't believe that I waited this long to read a book by John Green. His characters are very realistic and seemed to have very real feelings in very real situations. His writing is very well done and I really loved it.

I really don't have much to say at all- which is not usual for me. I usually can find at least one point in a book that I can constructively criticize, but really, can I find one now? No. So sorry. I guess this review is going to be pretty short and sweet.

I never write spoiler reviews but I will tell you- slap in the face. That's the only way I know how to describe it.