Top Ten Tuesday-- Books I HAD to buy but haven't read yet

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks top ten is: Top Ten Books I Just HAD to Buy...But Are Still Sitting on my shelves.

Oh yeah, I have lots of these types of books. These are in no order.

1. Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst:
It's one of those books you need to be in the mood to read. So far I've never been in the mood to read it.

2. Rich and Mad by William Nicholson:
This one was actually because of cover love. If they came out with a poster for this book cover, I'd buy it in a heart beat. The british telephone booth and the people kissing in it? Awesome!

3. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto:
This one got so much hype before it came out, and I ran out and got it the week it was released. I read the first 30 pages or so and gave up for a bit. The cover is much better than the story plot.

4. The Lost Saint by Bree Despain:
I adored the first book in this series and was all excited for the next one. Turns out that sometime between the year it took me to read the first one and to get this one, I lost interest in the characters. Oops.

5. We Hear the Dead by Dianne Salerni:
I don't know why I haven't read this one yet. Hmmm.

6. Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard:
I got this one because I read You Wish and fell in love with it. Thought I would with this one as well. Turns out no, I didn't. So I'm still about 40 pages into it.

7. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles:
Everytime I go to read this book, for some reason I just don't actually do it. I'm just never in the mood for it.

8. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs:
While the Patricia Briggs books can be really good, you really have to be in the mood for them. Turns out I'm hardly in the mood for them.

9. Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney:
This is just due to a lack of time since I've bought it.

10. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink:
Ehhhhh. I don't really know what to say about this one.

Review: Pale Demon

Pale Demon by  Kim Harrison

published by Eos

Genre: Adult paranormal (I guess)

$26.99 (US hardback)

pages: 436



What it's about:

Condemned to death for black magic and shunned, Rachel Morgan has three days to somehow get to the annual witches convention in San Francisco and clear her name. If she fails, the only way she can escape death is to live in the demonic ever after . . . for ever after.

Banned from the flight lists, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack, headed for the West Coast for his own mysterious business. But Rachel isn’t the only passanger along for the ride. Can a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car survive for over 2,300 miles? And that’s not counting the assassin on their tail.

A fearsome demon walks the sunlight, freed after centuries of torment to slay the innocent and devour souls. But his ultimate prey is Rachel Morgan. While the powerful witch with nerves of steel will do whatever it takes to stay alive, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.

My Thoughts:
I say this everytime, but it's always true: you can't go wrong with a Kim Harrison book. It's just not possible.

What always surprises me every time I read one of the Hollows books is how much character growth there is. All the characters are constantly changing and you really can't guess what is going to happen, what all the characters are going to do. I absolutely love that about these books. I love how the characters can still surprise me, even after nine books.

The characters are what really make up these books. Sure the plots are always fun, but if you don't like the characters, there is no way you are going to like the books. Then you also have all the questions of who Rachel is going to end up with if anyone at all. There are so many choices, Pierce, Al, Trent, Ivy, and maybe a character to be named. (I'm beting on Trent).

While  Pale Demon probably wasn't my favorite of the Hollows books (I couldn't name my favorite one actually) I would say it is in my top 3 favorite for the series. The plot keeps getting thicker and thicker and I can't wait to figure out how Rachel is going to get herself out of all this crap she has managed to drag herself into.

My rating: 10/10
Kim Harrison books will almost always get a 10/10 from me.

RIP L.K. Madigan

The YA world lost a great author yesterday. Lisa Wolfson, aka L.K. Madigan, died of cancer yesterday. She wrote the books Flash Burnout and The Mermaid's Mirror. I was lucky enough to meet Lisa a few times in the last year. She was really nice to everyone at the signings and was fun to be around.

Here is an article about what happened: LK Madigan

Me and Lisa at one of her signings last January

Top Ten Tuesday- Book to movies

Top ten tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks top ten is: TOP TEN BOOK TO MOVIE ADAPTATIONS!!!

Because I'm in the middle of moving and all my movies are in boxes right now, this was a little hard. I didn't have all my movies to look at to help remind me!
These are in no particular order.

Movies that are better than the book:

1. Who Censored Roger Rabbit by Gary K. Wolf:
Who Frammed Roger Rabbit is my all time favorite movie and has been since I was about five. A few years ago I read the book and it was not nearly as good as the movie. It is one of those rare movies that is better than the book.

2. I Am Number Four by Patticus Lore:
I couldn't even finish this book. It was so choppy and the writing was very unimaginative and nondiscriptive. Yet I adored the movie. Could it be because Alex Pettyfer is shirtless during a good portion of the movie? Possibly. Could it be because one of the kids I took to see the movie said "I see his nipple!!" really loud at one point? Possibly.

3. Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook:
I love this movie cause it's John Cusack (<3) and Diane Lane. Plus it's about love, and dogs. I like it so much I stole the name of it for my blog. hahah.

4. Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien:
My dad would disown me if he saw this (he's a huge LOTR fan. My sister's name is Arwen). I tried reading the books after the movies came out cause my house was going LOTR crazy. Honestly, the book bored me to tears. And they sing in it! Ack! I gave up on the books. I'll read these the day my dad admits Harry Potter is better.

5.Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes:
This one I'm sort of cheating by adding because I didn't read the book. My mother did and told me what happens. It's not nearly as good as the movie but that is because the movie is AMAZING!

Books that are better than the movies:

6. All of the Harry Potter books:
I love the movies, I really do, but the books are the best. Hands down.

7. All of the Twilight books:
While I do love Taylor's abs and Rob's hair, the books are still better.

8. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief:
Okay, this one is about 50/50 for me because I honestly adore this movie. The books had more to them and were a lot different, but the movie had Logan Lerman in it...

9. Marley and Me by John Grogan:
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston were bad cast picks. The movie didn't have the same feel as the book at all.

10. Alice in Wonderland:
I have seen about 6 different versions of this movie (the Disney one being the best) and I guess when it comes to the Disney version and the book, it is a die to which one is better. It also depends on which version of the book you are reading because there are so many edited versions out there.

Moving and new books

This week has been pretty crazy and it's about to get even crazier. I'm moving on Monday and holy crap is that a lot of work!

So I told myself I would get rid of some books for the big move. And I did. I got rid of a bag full of books which just about made me cry. I hate giving up my books.

*sigh* so to make myself feel better, I bought more books. I have a serious book problem.

I bought:
Indigo Blues by Danielle Joseph
Take Me There by Carolee Dean
A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole

And I plan on buying more books this upcoming week. Pale Demon comes out on Tuesday (*FREAKS OUT*), the new Cat and Bones book comes out the same day. I might just have a heart attack from all that excitment. I also plan on getting Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins and Cryers Cross by Lisa McMann sometime soon as well. My excuse will be I need to celebrate getting a new house by buying lots of books.

New Cover!!! Supernaturally by Kiersten White

For anyone who has been reading my blog for the last few months, might have notice I've become obsessed with Kiersten White's Paranormalcy. Well, the sequel, Supernaturally, has a cover now!!!

Kiersten revealed the cover on her blog

Okay, so I think the cover is really pretty but one thing bugs me: the eyes. What in the world is up with her eyes? Does she not seem a little drugged out? But the dress is stunning, the sunset beautiful, and the flowers are very pretty. The overall color scheme is very flattering.

The book is going to be released sometime in September I believe. I'm too tired to look it up right now. Laziness at it's best!

Review: Angelfire

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Published by Harper Collins

Genre: YA

$17.99 (US hardback)

464 pages

What it's about:

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures hunting her, killing her. But when Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness.

Ellie's role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives, and for truths that may be too frightening to remember.

My thoughts:

Sorry this review isn't going to be fantastic. I actually read this book about four months ago and some how forgot to ever write a review for it. I'm going almost completely off my notes I took while reading it.

This was a story that never fully caught my attention. It wasn't one that made me want to skip class and stay at home and read my book instead. I'd read it whenever I was in the mood to read. That however did not mean it wasn't good, I was most likely not in the mood to read it.

My favorite part of the whole story was Will. I loved how he was the dark, mysterious type, even if he was a little oasgiansdgk sometimes. How he would never really tell Ellie everything but holds in his emotions. I was pretty much screaming "Just kiss already!!!" during most of the book. There really was a connection between Ellie and Will that I really liked.

I was always a little confused about the hierarchy of the angels. None of that fully made sense to me. It was explained but not very clearly.

Over all, it was a pretty good story. It's been months since I've read it and I pretty much remember everything that happened in it and I even remembered the main characters names. That is saying something in and of itself. Is it a book I'd run out and go buy? No, probably not, but if you find it at the library or find a cheap copy or get a copy from a friend, it's worth reading.

My rating: 8/10

ARC Review: Desires of the Dead

Desires of the Dead  (Body Finder #2) by Kimberly Derting

published by Harper Collins

Genre: YA paranormal

368 pages

Release date: Feb 15, 2011

What it's about:

The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.

My thoughts:
I adore this series!!! When I got this book in the mail, I was squeeling and jumping up and down for a few minutes because I was so excited. My family was looking at me like I was nuts and asked "good book?" and I could only reply with "hell yeah it is!" because I knew this book was going to be awesome, and it really was.

So it's been some time since the events in Body Finder has happened, and Violet and Jay are still trying to get over and move on from what happened. Thankfully, Derting didn't make the characters constantly remember about what happened and didn't have them dwelling on it. Derting had the characters jump right in with a new story plot.
The relationship with Jay and Violet is as strong as ever. They are one of my all time favorite literary couples. And while their relationship is a little strained, it's not overtaking the whole plot. There is a separate plot outside of their relationship. It definitely did not follow what I call the "book two rule" which is that the characters have to break up and freak out and try and make their way back to each other. I hate the book two rule and was very glad not to see it in this book.
While DOTD did have a lot of the same feel as TBF, it wasn't at all the same. Sure you were in the head of someone who was psychotic for part of the story just like in TBF, but it was a little different. Plus there are a bunch of new characters with twists of their own.

I don't know what all to say about this book without giving away too much information. This is one of my favorite series and I can't wait to read the next two books in this series!

My rating: 9/10

Top Ten Tuesday- Favorite Love Stories

Top ten tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Honestly, top ten tuesday is my all time favorite meme. I love lists and the topics they pick are always fun.

This weeks is Top Ten Favorite Love Stories. Since a lot of us are writing this post on Valentines day, it seems very appropriate :)

These are in no particular order.

1. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons:
This is a series that will forever stick with me. Seeing as how the first book itself is over 900 pages long, you really get to know and love these characters. All the stuff Alexander and Tatiana have to go through to be together. Ack! Truly amazing.

2. Romeo and Juliet:
This one is a given most of the time. I'm a sucker for forbidden romance and this is the original forbidden romance.

3. Backstage Pass by Olivia Cunning:
lol if anyone has read this book, I think they know why I love it. As my friend Lesa put it, "you said there was a lot of sex in this book, but you didn't tell me there would be 3 sex scenes in the first 5 chapters!" For it having that much sex in it, it had some truly great characters that you end up really caring about. It wasn't just all sex.

4. Harry Potter:
This is a love story of sorts. You do get love stories in it of all different types. Love for friends, love for parents, for school, for life. For pretty much everything.

5. Paper Towns by John Green:
I just read this this weekend and fell madly in love with it. How the main guy is trying to get to truly know the girl he loves and not just how he wants to see her, but how she really is. Fantastic.

6. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer:
While I'm burned out on Twilight right now (even though my blog background would say otherwise) I did adore this love story so much I read the whole series 5 times in a year. Twilight has always been more about how I feel when I'm reading it than the plot itself.

7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein:
Also a different type of love story. This is the story of how much a dog and his owner love and need each other. Very, very unique story that will make you cry your eyes out. One of my all time favorites.

8. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater:
Sam and Grace are just such a cute couple. They are perfect for each other. I love it.

9. Gone with the Wind:
I'm kinda cheating on this one cause I've never actually read the book, but I did just rewatched the movie this weekend so I've been thinking a lot about it. I love Scarlet's and Rhett's relationship cause it's so messed up and they are so perfect for each other. Plus, one of my favorite quotes is "you should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how."

10. The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa:
One word: Ash.

11. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins:
I had to add number 11 cause this book could not be left out. If you've read this book, you understand why, and if you haven't read this book, get off the internet and go READ THIS BOOK!

Follow Friday!

 Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee This weeks question: What is your favorite romance hero-type? Stereotype wise. Do you like the strong silent type or the brute macho man?

My answer: Okay, let me think of all my favorite fictional boyfriends. Jace, Dimitri, Ash, Seth (from the Georgina Kincaide series), Peeta, Pierce, Jay, Edward, and Alexander. So from those, I would say it's a mix between the silent type and the cute boy next door type. I'm not at all a fan of the brute macho man. Then again, I go for none of these in real life. Kinda odd really.
 
If you decide to follow me, please leave a comment! I like to make sure to follow back.

Book breakup #3-- Blue Bloods

There are some book series that start out really good, and then just go to complete crap, OR you just stop caring about them. Sometimes you stick it out and finish the series or other times you just have to give up. Break up with the series. I unfortunately have had to do that a few times in the past year or two. First it was with the Evermore series by Allyson Noel, then it was the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charline Harris. Now it's ...

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

published by Hyperion

Genre: YA

This was a series I never got into fully. My friend was obsessed with these books and told me I HAD to read them. So I read the first three (cause that is what was out when I started) and got through them in a month or so. They were good, but nothing fantastic. I didn't like how every chapter was from someone else's POV. When I would finally start getting into one of the characters story, the chapter would end and I knew I would have to read through two other characters chapters before I got back to the one I was interested in. I didn't like a lot of the characters, and the main one I liked? Yeah, he was killed off. That did it for me, I was done. No more. I tried giving this series a shot and at times I got really into it, but I dunno, it just wasn't something I loved.

So me and this series have decided to officially break up. It just didn't work out between us. Oh, plus there is going to be 10 of these books, with one coming out each year. I'm not willing to wait for them either.



Help! Book Recommendations!

One of my good friends and I made a bet tonight. Who can get to 125 by the end of the year? Him watching new movies (new to him) and me reading books.

So far, I'm behind. I should be reading at least 10 books a month and so far I'm on book 10 for the whole year (yes, way behind.) I seem to be in a book slump. I tried reading 13 little blue envelopes and it wasn't catching my attention. Then I tried reading I am Number Four and that didn't work. Then I started reading Entice and that too is not working out.

So here is my question: what book should I read? I need a really good book to get me out of this reading slump. What books are must reads? It'd be awesome if a must read is in my "TBR" pile that I don't seem to know about (my  tbr pile list is posted in one of the above pages).

Any recommendations?

Bloodlines cover revealed!!!

Entertainment Weekly has posted the cover for Bloodlines!!!

Entertainment Weekly link

There is a video on there where Richelle is talking about the upcoming book which will be released August 23rd

Richelle Mead is one of the coolest authors out there and goodness knows I've read everything that she has ever published, but honestly, I'm not a huge fan of her covers. I do like this one better than the VA ones though. The font is really fun, but that is not how I pictured Sydney looking like.

I'm also going to pimp out Richelle's facebook page. If you are not friends with her on there, you should be. She posts stuff all the time about her books. It's a great way to get updates.

Top ten tuesday

Top ten is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This weeks top ten is "top ten Character names I'd name my child after."

ohhh this one was fun. I'm just nerdy enough that all my future kids will probably be named after book characters. These are in no order, just the names I thought of first.

1. Alice from Alice in Wonderland:
I'm obsessed with AIW and always have been. My room is decorated in AIW theme, I have lots of figurines, stuffed animals, and even a tattoo all of which are AIW. So naming my future daughter Alice would be perfect. Only problem is that there are now lots of Alice's due to Twilight.

2. Kisten from The Hollows:
This one really isn't about the character but just his name. I have fallen in love with this name, even if everyone I know makes a face every time I say it. Whatever, it's cool.

3. Evie from Paranormalcy:
I do love this name. Normally I'm not a huge fan of shorter names like this, but this one is fun. Plus then I could say it like Wall-e says "eva." I do love to do that.

4. Jacob Serious:
lol this is only if I marry a guy with the last name "Black." Yeah, I'm that awesome. haha.

5. Claire from Morganville Vampires:
Claire is such a pretty name. Plus this character is smart. Like Hermione smart. It just makes the name even cooler.

6. Isobelle from Mortal Instruments:
Okay, this one I wouldn't name my daughter after, but I did name my dog this. We call her Izzy.

7. Dimitri from Vampire Academy:
It's cool sounding. I wouldn't name my kid Dimitri just because Dimitri is a big bag of eye candy in the books.

8. Jace from Mortal Instruments:
No, his name would not be Jonathan. It would just be Jace.

9. Hermione from Harry Potter:
If anyone called her "Hermy" I think I would cry. This is one of the only reasons I wouldn't want to name my daughter that. We would probably call her "Ninny."

10. Adrian from Vampire Academy:
This name I like because of that Jewel song, "Adrian." That song always makes me cry when I listen to it.

There are lots of names I really like, such as Roxanne, Jocelyn, and Elijah, but I couldn't think of any books that had those names in it. At least none that I have read.

Review: Far From You

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

Published by Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA verse

$7.99 (US paperback)

355 pages

What it's about:

Lost and Alone...Down the rabbit hole.

Alice thought she knew

what solitude was:

Her mother--gone.

Her father--remarried with a newborn

daughter.

Now...

Trapped

in the icy embrace

of a deadly snowstorm,

Alice faces the true meaning of loneliness.

But hope

may not be as far away

as she thinks...

My thoughts:

I've been a fan of Lisa's books since I first read I Heart You, You Haunt Me. The way she writes in verse is incredible. It takes away a bunch of useless details and leaves you with all the raw emotion. Music is always a big player in her books which adds in a rhythm and melody to the book.

I think this book has become my favorite of Lisa's. I liked how it wasn't about the loss of a boyfriend, but instead how to deal with the loss of your mother. How do you deal with it? How do you move on when everyone seems to have left you behind?

I read this book almost a month ago and I still think about it daily. The way Lisa described the dog as an oxygen tank, she breaths, I breath, really got to me. I loved the imagery of that.

If you have $8 and 2 hours to spare, you HAVE to read this book. The raw emotion and beautiful imagery is what makes this book. 

My rating: 10/10 

Top Ten Tuesday- Top Ten Best Debut Books

Top ten tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks top ten is Top Ten Best Debut Books.

1. Iron King by Julie Kagawa:

2. Nevermore by Kelley Creagh:

3. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White:

4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins:

5. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer:

6. Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney:

7. The Demon's Lexicon:

8. The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

9. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins:

10. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare:

All of these books were insanely good books. The fact that all of them were the authors first book is incredible. To write a book that is as fantastic as all of these ones are blows my mind.