Book Haul 9/29/12

 

This week I bought one lovely, beautiful book that I am very excited to share with all of you.

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father's apprentice, Logan--the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same one who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but a fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city's top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor's impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

What did you get this week? What do you think of the book I bought?

Waiting on Wednesday 9/26/12 Deity

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: November 6th 2012
Goodreads

 Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner... and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed... and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

I absolutely loved the first two books in this series. The books were well written, hooking, and had awesome characters. I want this book. So. Much. 

Review: A Want So Wicked

A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: June 26th 2012
Pages: 288
Source: Library
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

Elise is a normal seventeen-year-old girl until the day she wakes up in a desert park, with no idea who she is.

After that episode, her life takes a bizarre turn. She’s experiencing unexpected flashes of insight into people’s lives—people she’s never met before. Strangers frighten her with warnings about the approaching Shadows. And although Elise has never had a boyfriend, she suddenly finds herself torn between two handsome but very different young men: Abe, the charming bad boy whose effect on her both seduces and frightens her, and the mysterious Harlin, who’s new to town but with whom Elise feels an urgent, elemental connection—almost as if they are soul mates.

Now Elise begins to question everything about her life. Why do these guys both want her so desperately? What are the Shadows? Why does the name Charlotte inspire a terrifying familiarity? And who is Elise, really?

I just want to warn you now, if you haven't read A Need So Beautiful, there are a lot of spoilers in this review. A Want So Wicked is the sequel to the highly praised book, A Need So Beautiful. A Need So Beautiful ends with the main character, a Forgotten named Charlotte jumping into her destiny and disappearing from the few people who would remember her. A Want So Wicked begins with the last chapter of A Need So Beautiful, and then goes on to introduce the life of Elise who is beginning her life in a new city with a new job when she runs across both a shadow, and a seer.

The very beginning of this  book, I really had no idea what was going on for a bit. For the first fifty pages or so I was  a bit bored, because it was pretty obvious what was going on, but it was slow and I really missed Charlotte. Though Elise is a great character, her life seems far more complicated in the whole, and the story seemed to have a slightly different feel to it that the first book. For those reasons I didn't like Elise as much as I would have liked to. There were a lot of things that were super obvious from the start, some of them were expected pieces of the story, but there was a moment when Elise is talking to her sister, and Elise notices something that makes part of the ending super obvious. I really wish that there had been less lead up to some of the plot lines because it just made the story a little less enjoyable.

Other than those pieces, I really did like the story. Harlin comes around *insert sigh* as well as Monroe, and they come in to place in the second half of the book. There is also a bit of interaction with Shadows at the tail end of the book. The ending was a bit vague, and I'm guessing there will be another book? Maybe?

Book Haul 9/22/12

This week I got a few amazing books that I am very excited to read.

Given as a Gift

From Library

What did you get this week? What do you think of the books I got this week?

Short Note

From Chibird.com

Hello everyone just thought I'd drop in to let you know, It's fall again and for a lot of us bloggers that means an extreme loss of free time because everything starts happening at once and reading and blogging time magically disappears. Don't worry, I'm going to still be around but you might notice a that I won't  be able to post just as much as I would like to. I should be posting at the very least, twice a week if not a little bit more, and hopefully once I get used to me crazy schedule I might be getting more blogging and reading done in the next couple of months.

Thanks!
Erika

Review: Smart Girls Get What They Want

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Publisher: Blayzer + Bray
Publication Date: June 26th 2012
Pages: 352
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren't the most popular girls in school, they aren't too worried. They know their "real" lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents) But when an unexpected event shows them they're missing out on the full high school experience, it's time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge--and they will totally "rock" it.

Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she'll have to get over her fear of public speaking--and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes--until now.

These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want--but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for. . . .

Smart Girls Get What They Want is one of the most adorable book I have read if a very long time. It is a story about three very smart straight A students who are trying to make it Ivy League, but without leaving high school as a nobody. When I first really got interested in reading this book, it was  because I heard from another blogger than the book gives a very well done take on real smart girls. Not many books really highlight girls that are accidentally smart, most seem to be either average or below average.

This book starts off with a lot of craziness. The first plot setter in the story starts when the main character, Gigi, and a boy in her class are accused of cheating on the biggest test of the year in her science class. Gigi would never cheat, so when she is accused of this she knows that this could ruin her perfect record. Other parts in the plot include Gigi and her friends trying to make a place for themselves in the school, including running for student rep, ski club, and trying out for the play. And of course, romance! I loved all the little bits of the plot that all meshed into one. Though Gigi goes in way over her head when she joins a lot of things for her friends, it all worked out and it was super cute!

All the characters in the book were all really wonderful. Gigi and her friends Bea and Neerja are all really smart girls who are trying to take a place in their school. They are absolute perfect best friends. They know how to work together as a group and they are just super awesome. Other characters that make an appearance are Will and Mike. Will is the cute new  boy from California down the street from Gigi, and Mike is one of the most popular boys at school and happens to be the boy Gigi is accused of cheating with. Will is really an off and on guy that seemed cute at first, and then I didn't really know what to think of him. The opposite is true for Mike. Mike starts out as a joker and I had no idea what to make of him, and then slowly you get to see a nicer side of him. I love the romance that happens between Gigi and.... someone. Not telling :)

Waiting on Wendesday 9/19/12 Burning Blue

Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
Publication Date: October 25th 2012
Goodreads

How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?

When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that--he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He's a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he's in--and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.

Award-winning author Paul Griffin has written a high-stakes, soulful mystery about the meaning--and dangers--of love and beauty.

I heard of this in an ALA book haul and the was it was described made it sound super awesome and I really can't wait to get my hands on this book. 

Review: Silhouette of a Sparrow

Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin

Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Publication Date: September 18th 2012
Pages: 224
Source: eBook for Review
Genre: Historical Fiction, LGBT
Goodreads

In the summer of 1926, sixteen-year-old Garnet Richardson is sent to a lake resort to escape the polio epidemic in the city. She dreams of indulging her passion for ornithology and visiting the famous new amusement park--a summer of fun before she returns for her final year of high school, after which she’s expected to marry a nice boy and settle into middle-class homemaking. But in the country, Garnet finds herself under the supervision of equally oppressive guardians--her father’s wealthy cousin and the matron’s stuck-up daughter. Only a liberating job in a hat shop, an intense, secret relationship with a daring and beautiful flapper, and a deep faith in her own fierce heart can save her from the suffocating boredom of traditional femininity.
Silhouette of a Sparrow is a coming-of-age story about a search for wildness in a confining time, and a simultaneous quest for security in an era full of unrest. It is the tale of a young woman’s discovery of the science of risk and the art of rebellion, and of course, the power of unexpected love.

Silhouette of a Sparrow is a cute historical story about a girl named Garnet who is sent away for the summer to live with family in Excelsior Minnesota to escape the troubles and craziness of Minneapolis. Throughout the story Garnet finds friendship and romance in the most unlikely places for someone of her place in society as she discovers who she really is and steps away from the person that her family wants her to be to be herself.

Garnet is a very adventurous girl who really just wants to have fun despite the ideas of her family. Upon coming to Excelsior, Garnet automatically finds all of the fun things around and begins to make plans to try them even though her aunt disapproves. I really admire Garnet's strong will to find adventure and I really like that about her. Garnet has a very interesting hobby of cutting the outlines of birds out of pieces of paper that she carries with her, I think that hobby sounds really, really cool and I love Griffin's originality with that hobby. Another character that comes up in the books is Isabella, a dancer who meets Garnet and the two become fast friends. Isabella is a very different character than Garnet, while Garnet is more on the lady like side (despite her love for fun and adventure) Isabella is much more of a flapper and wears shorter, less subtle clothing. Another very unique point in this book is the romance that Garnet and Isabella share. I have read only a few LGBT books in the past and I really wasn't expecting the romance that appeared in this book. I never really thought about LGBT relationships in earlier time periods and I like how this shed a light on the idea.

Overall this book was very interesting with very cute, fun characters and a very interesting, unexpected romance.

Just Because Giveaway!

I felt the need to do a giveaway to you lovely people just because I can, and because I have a bunch of books to clear off my shelves.

The winner will get to choose from one of the books in the picture below, but I just might put an extra one in the package....
They are all in various formats (HC/PB/ARC) the list with information on each book is below.

Sorry of the super terrible quality...

Hardcover
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Eternal by Gillian Shields
The Book of Spells (A Private Prequel) by Kate Brian

Paperback
Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
Bluebloods by Melissa De La Cruz
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti


Advance Reader Copies
You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis
Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers
The Duff by Kody Keplinger
The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Rules:
This is a USA only Giveaway!
You must be 13 years or older.
You must fill out the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Torn

Torn by Erica O'Rourke 

Publisher:  Kensington
Publication Date: June 28th 2011
Pages: 336
Source: Library
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

Mo Fitzgerald knows about secrets. But when she witnesses her best friend's murder, she discovers Verity was hiding things she never could have guessed. To find the answers she needs and the vengeance she craves, Mo—quiet, ordinary, unmagical Mo—will have to enter a world of raw magic and shifting alliances. And she'll have to choose between two very different, equally dangerous guys—protective, duty-bound Colin and brash, mysterious Luc. One wants to save her, one wants to claim her. Which would you choose?

When I picked up Torn, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Let me admit, I decided to read it because the author and I shared the same name. Torn is the story of a girl named Mo as she handles the loss of her best friend Verity, while taking on the knowledge that her friend's family holds the power of using magic, and that Verity was the key in saving the magic world from collapse. Because Mo had attempted to save her friend by stopping her bleeding, she finds out she could help save the magic world, because she has a mix of her friend's blood along with her own.

I thought this book was very cliche. Just going off of my description of the book, it seems like everything that could have been done to make it so the world is saved, happens. The way everything turned out seems very unrealistic.

Her uncle is her strongest father figure in the story, and after what happens to her best friend, her uncle hires a bodyguard to follow her around. Talk about creepy. Her uncle is really a sketchy character to begin with and when he sends this guy (who is admittedly very hot) to follow her around, that was the point in which I could barely take this book seriously.

In the book I thought it was really hard to understand all the magic stuff, and Mo just jumps right into it. I really don't know what was going on with all that was going on and she seemed to barley question it. The book kept mentioning things about magic lines or something like that, and I have no idea what that is.

The last thing that really bugged was there was a love triangle. I just wanted to ask Mo why she even kissed one of them. One of the two guys in the triangle really had nothing going for him that would make her want to kiss him, and she did anyway. I just... I don't know.

Overall the initial idea the author had was good, but it just sort of fell from there and it just didn't really make a whole lot of sense to me.

Waiting on Wednesday 9/12/12 This is Not a Drill

This is Not a Drill by Beck McDowell
Published: October 25th 2012
Goodreads

When high school seniors—and former couple—Emery and Jake find themselves held hostage in a first grade classroom, they must do all they can to protect the kids. Brian Stutts, a U.S. soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving in Iraq, pulls out his gun to convince the teacher to hand over the son he’s not allowed to check out because of a custody battle. The situation turns deadly when a security guard appears at the door and Stutts impulsively opens fire. When the teacher is carried from the room, the children's fate is in the hands of Emery and Jake. While Jake searches for a way to communicate with the policemen surrounding the building, Emery, fighting her shyness, fear, and POTS symptoms, tries to reach out to the soldier. She gains a new understanding of what he faced in Iraq, and discovers remarkable strength in his small son.

I heard about this book in a Book Haul from my lovely friend Katie from Katie's Book Blog and the way she described it made is sound super unique and crazy awesome. 

Review: Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: June 5th 2012
Pages: 358
Source: Library
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Goodreads

Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, the one thing she could rely on was her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’re sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.

When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, she is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the one person with the power to destroy the Fold.

Swept up in a world of luxury and illusion, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But as the threat to the kingdom mounts, Alina uncovers a secret that sets her on a collision course with the most powerful forces in the kingdom. Now only her past can save her . . . and only she can save the future.

Let me say right off the bat that this review is not going to do this  book justice. I had no idea what I was  getting to when I read this book, I don't usually read book synopsis's, I just go with what other people think and say so that not too much is revealed before I read it. THIS. BOOK. IS. FREAKING. MAGIC. I'm not even going to try to sum up this book because I'll just make it sound really crazy, because in a way it is. But it is much more that crazy. This book has a mash of crazy emotions, love, hate, confusion, betrayal, and loyalty.

The world is one of the big parts of this book. It's super freaky... I mean seriously. The world that the main character Alina lives in has a huge rip down the middle of it called the Unsea that contains nothing but darkness and is in inhabited by these crazy creatures that kill people. At the very beginning of the book there is a beautiful map of the country Alina lives in and it fits perfectly with the mood of the story, and is very creepy by itself. Other than the Unsea the rest of the world reminds me of the time of castles and kings and knights in shining armor, but instead of knights, this world has the Grisha. The Grisha are select people that are born with powers that the kingdom use as their weapons.The main idea of the story is that Alina finds out much later than a normal person, that she is actually a Grisha that has the power to rid her world of the Unsea and her journey through all the attention that gives her.

Other main characters other than Alina include her best childhood friend Mal who is with her at the beginning of the book when she realizes her powers and when she gets taken away from the army camp she works at. Mal pops up throughout the entire book but is most prominent in the last third of the story. Another main character is the Darkling. The Darkling is much like the magical opposite of Alina. Alina has the power of the sun while the Darkling has the power of, of course, darkness. The Darkling is really a hard character to figure out for a long time. You never know what to think about him and he seems to have a bunch of different personalities toward different people.

Overall this book is an absolute must read. I loved everything about this book from the idea in general to the characters, the setting and just the feel the book gave.

Review: Endlessly

Endlessly by Kiersten White

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 24th 2012
Pages: 385
Source: Won from Epicreads.com
Genre: Paranormal, Roamce
Goodreads

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.

Endlessly is the long awaited final book in the Paranormalcy series. I absolutely loved the first book and the though the second book wasn't as good as the first, I still loved it. When I got my copy of Endlessly, was super excited to find out how the series was going to end. Endlessly continues the fun, the humor and the craziness going on in Evie's life. In this sequel she finds out more about the paranormal world than she ever thought possible when she discovers that the paranormal she knows have been planning to use her to get back to the world they truly belong in.

Just like in the other two books, the humorous, sarcastic crazy attitude and narration of the main character, Evie is the bomb. Evie is such a loveable, adorable, laugh out loud kind of character that I wish I could run into some day. Other awesome characters include Lend, Reth & Jack (who are both kinda sorta back on Evie's good side somehow), Vivian, and a whole lot of other Paranormals that either make the world a living hell, or help Evie along the way.

In Endlessly there is a lot of crap that is thrown Evie's way and there is an awful lot that goes on for one book, but that doesn't mean that it didn't end up working. I am very impressed that I didn't get all confused with all that went on in this book because believe me, there was a LOT happening. *Applauds the author!* 

And finally, I get to the end of the story. The end was a bit sad. A bit scary even. Defiantly a lot of crazy packed in there too. Endlessly ended with a bang, and I am very happy with the way things ended up and how everything fit together perfectly. If you haven't read the series yet, I think you should give it a shot, especially if you want a good laugh!

Waiting on Wednesday 9/5/12 The Lost Prince

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: October 23rd 2012

 

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’s dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myths and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

My name is Ethan Chase. And I may not live to see my eighteenth birthday.

I absolutely loved the Iron Fey series, so I'm pretty much going to love this series. I do think this cover is a bit creepy though... just look at his eyes!  

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication Date: May 4th 2010
Pages: 344
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

Amy and Roger. Though this is not the best road trip book I have every read, it still is way up there in the ranks of books made of awesome. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour is seriously everything the title says it it. The book follows Amy's voice as she and Roger drive her mother's car from California to Connecticut where she will now be living and near where Roger will be staying for the summer in Pennsylvania. The book is cute and fun and at the same time heavy and full of emotion as Amy comes to terms with the recent death of her father.

Like I have said in other reviews, I love road trip books because they always end up being amazing. This book was no exception. I loved the whole setting of the book from the places they ended up going to the people they met and the sights they saw. The people they met always made the story progress weather in a good or bad way and they all were necessary. I love when everyone in a story has a reason for being in the story, it made it all so much more interesting.

The story is told in Amy's point of view. Amy is a character who has been isolated for a very long time because her twin brother is in rehab and her mother is living across the country in the house she is heading to with Roger. Because of her isolation she isn't used to being with another person and she quiet and insecure at the beginning but she slowly grows when she gets to know Roger and they take their "Epic Detour" off of the planned route. Roger, on the other hand is a few years older than Amy and is going with Amy because he is going to spend the summer at his fathers house, and Amy doesn't drive. Though Roger doesn't have the same insecurities as Amy he has recently gone though a terrible break up with his girlfriend which is part of the plot in the story. One of the main aspect of the story is the slow growing romance that grows between these two, which is what makes this  book so cute.

The end of this story was very open which is equal parts annoying, and good. I wish I did know more about what happened at the end, but the way the story was left off it makes it so that there really is not need for more to be told.

Book Haul 9/2/12

Won

The Trylle Trilogy in ARCs from Jessie at Remarkable Reads

Ebooks for Review

I love this cover. It's just so unexpected!

I completely freaked when I was accepted for this book. I am such a fan of this series!