On My Wish List (4)

On My Wish List is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City

Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff

Published by NAL Trade

Genre: YA paranormal

$9.99 (US paperback)

302 pages

What it's about:

Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead.

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she's determined to do so, because to fail doesn't mean dishonor-it means death.

Why?
It's like Hunger Games meets vampires. Awesome!

The Marked Son by Shea Berkley

Published by Entangled Publishing

Genre: YA

$9.99 (US paperback)

334 pages

What it's about:

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he's never met, he had no idea what.

When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents' farm, he knows he's seen her before...in his dreams. He's felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.


Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he's completely insane or he's about to have the adventure of his life, because where they're going is full of creatures he's only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death...

Why?

This just sounds like such an Ariel book. It takes place in Oregon (yay for books set in my home state!), it has a guy as the MC (which I lovvvveeee), and plus its full of mystery and fairy tale creatures. That is definitely my kind of book.

Reused book covers

Anyone else noticing that the same covers are being used on books over and over again? With maybe one or two details switched around? Like the publishers wouldn't think we'd notice if they used the same cover again?

I feel a little cheated by this. I don't exactly know why, maybe because I think that's cheap of them, like they didn't care enough about the book to give it an original cover, or maybe the cover artist was too lazy. Either way, I don't like it.

To me, a cover says a lot about a book. The better, gorgeous, obviously spent lots of time thinking about covers, tell me the publisher has a lot of faith in the book. They know they can spend a lot of money designing a cover because they know they will definitely get the money back in sales. It also tells me how much the artist liked the book because they obviously spent more time trying to make it great. So when I see covers being reused, it isn't saying anything good to me. This just makes me sad, especially for the author. I've talked to a few authors before about their books and know that it very much upsets them when the cover didn't have any extra thoughts put into it.

Has anyone else noticed the reused covers? Are you bugged by it as well?

Review: Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Published by Harper

Genre: YA distopian

$17.99 (US hardback)

374 pages

What it's about:

Exiled form 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 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.

My thoughts:
Everyone has been talking about how great this book is. Reviews are posted daily for it, all the authors I follow talk about it, Veronica Rossi is doing lots of touring for the book, and everyone of those says this book was awesome wrapped in a binding.

When I started it, I very much disliked it. It just sort of throws you into this weird world in which the people live like very high tech moles. They wear fancy eye pieces that allows them to travel to different realms and make it feel like they are actually there, all while they are actually sitting in a dank little room. All of this confused me. I didn't understand how any of this actually worked and it wasn't really being explained.
Then  you had Perry's world, which is like living in the dark ages. That world made sense to me. The only thing that I found confusing was the aether. Is it some sort of horrible, magical clouds that cover the whole sky and destroy everything in it's path? And why do Aria's people die the second they are out in the aether? Just because they don't know how to survive or because their immune systems just can't handle it?

None of this was being explained and it was driving me a little nuts. But I forced myself to keep reading. I wanted to know why everyone loves this book. I had to focus not on the things that were pissing me off about the book, but at what I did like about it.

It turns out, once I got past about the first 130 pages or so, I was very much enjoying the book. Aria and Perry's relationship in the beginning was disappointing to me. It wasn't really grabbing my attention and wasn't what I was hoping for. By the time I hit around 250 pages into the book, I realized all of that had changed for me. I was fascinated not just by how Aria's and Perry's relationship flowed and evolved, but by how my feelings towards it changed right with them. While the characters were figuring out their feelings for each other, I was as well. I found that very cool. Normally once I decide I don't like a character, that never gets reversed, but it did in this book.

So overall, the beginning was a little too fast paced, but too slow all at once. I had issues getting into it, but once I did, I raced through it, wanting to know what happens in the end. I don't know if I will continue with the series, it was enjoyable while I was reading, but I don't see myself getting uber excited for the next book in the series.

My rating: 7.5/10

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

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

Published by Poppy

Genre: YA

$16.99 (US hardback)

236 pages

What it's about (from 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.


My thoughts:
When I was going into this book, I thought it was going to be some sweep you off your feet, perfect meet cute, cheesey love at first sight story. I was so wrong about that.

There was nothing cheesey about this book in the least. Smith took a situation that is possible, but not probable, that could have easily turned into this typical YA chick lit, and turned it into something much more complicated and beautiful.

What I think a person should know going into this book, is that to me, it is more about a girl figuring out family relations and how to deal with heartbreak that only parents can cause. This book is all about a girl figuring out her daddy issues. Normally I don't like to read books with that subject matter. I find them whiny and obnoxious, but this one caught me off guard. I was so caught up in it, I found myself mimicking Hadley. She cried, I cried. She smiled, I smiled and so on. I couldn't help but follow her along. The writing style is what really brought this book to life. It could have gone wrong in so many ways, yet it was oh so right.

Was I head over heals for this book? No, but I really liked it. Liked it enough I did a My Book Boyfriend post about Oliver for it. I'll also think of this book every time I'm at the airport and get stuck next to the overweight, smelly guy, or the exhausted parents with the screaming kids, and think "where is a sexy Brit guy to sweep me off my feet and help me get through this crap."

My rating: 9/10

My Book Boyfriend-- Oliver

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie over at The Unread Reader. Each week you pick a boy from a book that makes you all warm and fuzzy and you post all about him.


This week I read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith and I met Oliver.
Isn't Oliver the cutest name on the face of the earth? I absolutely love it! Which adds onto my love I had for this character.

About Oliver:
*Grew up in England but goes to college in the States
*Didn't have a very good childhood
*"tall and lanky, with tousled hair and startling green eyes"
*Said hair is a dark color
*Helps old women and teenage girls in the airport (haha)
*Very sweet.

Who I picture him looking like:
Oliver is a younger Jim Sturgess to me!

That last picture just about kills me. I love the look on his face and how he's holding a random flower.
Quotes:
"She grabs Oliver's shirt tightly, afraid of being swept away from him. but his hand is pressing on her back as he kisses her, and the truth is, she's never felt so safe in her life. His lips are soft and taste salty from the pretzels they shared earlier, and she closes her eyes--just for a moment--and the rest of the world disappears."


“He’s like a song she can’t get out of her head. Hard as she tries, the melody of their meeting runs through her mind on an endless loop, each time as surprisingly sweet as the last, like a lullaby, like a hymn, and she doesn’t think she could ever get tired of hearing it."


“I can't believe you're here," she says, her voice soft. "I can't believe you found me."

"You found me first," he says, and when he leans to kiss her, it's slow and sweet and she knows that this will be the one she always remembers. Because while the other two kisses felt like endings, this one is unquestionably a beginning.”


“What are you really studying?"

He leans back to look at her. "The statistical probability of love at first sight."
"Very funny," she says. "What is it really?"
"I'm serious."
"I don't believe you."
He laughs, then lowers his mouth so that it's close to her ear. "People who meet in airports are seventy-two percent more likely too fall for each other than people who meet anywhere else.”

Top Ten Tuesday-- Favorite Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme  hosted by The Broke and the Bookish 
This week is a freebie week, so I decided to do a post that I haven't done. I debated over favorite quotes and books I'll never read. I decided to go with favorite quotes from books.

These are in no order.

1. "Lish tried to swear--which is always funny, because the computer won't translate it. It went something like this: 'Bleep stupid bleep bleep faeries and their bleep bleep bleep obsessions. He had better stop bleep bleep bleep the bleep bleep rules or I will bleep bleep bleep the little bleeeeeeeeeep.'" Evie, Paranormalcy.
2. "Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it." -- Peeta, Hunger Games

3. "I'm saying that I'm a moody, insecure, narrow-minded, jealous, borderline homicidal bitch, and I want you to promise me that you're okay with that, because it's who I am, and you're what I need."--Cat, Halfway to the Grave

4. "We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked piglet. 'Even longer,' Pooh answered." --Winnie-the-Pooh

5. "I've said it before and meant it: Alive or undead, the love of my life was a badass." --Rose, Blood Promise

6. "You could have had anything else in the world, and you asked for me." She smiled up at him. Filthy as he was, covered in blood and dirt, he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. "But I don't want anything else in the world." ---Jace and Clary, City of Glass

7. "I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then." --Alice, Alice in Wonderland

8. "I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun." --Katniss, The Hunger Games

9. "I understood then why humans have noses. So we can find each other to kiss in the dark." --Savannah, Crave

10. "With great power...comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later." --Nico, The Last Olympian

11. "You can love someone so much...But you can never love people as much as you can miss them."--Colin, An Abundance of Katherines.
 
12. "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once." --Hazel, The Fault In Our Stars
 
 13. "Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?"
"Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of peopled killed?"
"Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."--Percy Jackson (OMG I can't remember which one this was in...)


I honestly could have kept going forever and ever on this subject. I have so many quotes from books (and authors) that it literally fills a whole book. I have my favorite book related quotes on my left side bar of my blog if you want to read those as well.

On My Wish List (3)

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City

This week I'm picking  books that have been on my "want" list for a while but I can't seem to ever find them at stores and there is just something about buying online I dislike so I don't do it often. I just bitch and moan and search everywhere until I find them at a bookstore.

The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen

published by Point

Genre: YA paranormal

$16.99 (US hardback)

272 pages

What it's about (from Goodreads):

What if the characters in a vampire novel left their world--and came into yours?

Amy is in love with someone who doesn't exist: Alexander Banks, the dashing hero in a popular series of vampire novels. Then one night, Amy meets a boy who bears an eerie resemblance to Alexander. In fact, he IS Alexander, who has escaped from the pages of the book and is in hot pursuit of a wicked vampire named Vigo. Together, Amy and Alexander set out to track Vigo and learn how and why Alexander crossed over. But when she and Alexander begin to fall for each other, Amy wonders if she even wants him to ever return to the realm of fiction.


Why I want it:
Admit it, when you read the synopsis, the first thing you thought was "Edward!" Don't know why, but that was the first thing that came to my head. I pictured some crazy Twihard with an active imagination lusting over Edward and all the sudden, BAM! He's walking down the street. Who wouldn't want their favorite fictional vampire to come to life and to fall in love with you? Cause I know I want that to happen.

And because I always do a second book on this meme, I also want...

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

published by Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA

$9.99 (US paperback)???

320 pages

What it's about (from Goodreads):

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she's prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust - her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them. Trying to uncover the truth of why her mother was killed, and the real remit of The Unit, Lila becomes a pawn in a dangerous game. Struggling to keep her secrets in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone - there are others out there just like her - people with special powers -and her mother's killer is one of them...

Why I want it:

Ah! That synopsis is everywhere! Why was there a mugging in South London if the characters live in Cali? Were they visiting? And wait, her mother was murdered? And she can move things with her mind and she's in love with her brother's bff? And now there is some top secret group that is trying to help, but wait! Lila is in danger from some other unknown reason? That's crazy! It sounds so scattered and everywhere, yet it has a fantastic rating on goodreads and it does sound good, so I'm guessing the author pulled it off. I'm very curious to see how.



My book boyfriend-- Augustus

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme that happens every Wednesday and is hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader.

I read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green last week and fell head over heals in love with Augustus Waters. Boy is he swoon worthy.

About Augustus Waters:
*Is 17 years old
*"Long and leanly muscular,...Mahogany hair, straight and short."
*Incredibly blue eyes
*Likes to live by using metaphors (this will make sense if you read the book)
*Very funny
*All around awesome in every single way.

Who I picture him looking like:
I pictured him looking like a mahogany haired version of Chord Overstreet (aka, trouty mouth from Glee.)

And this is when I'd like to give a big shout out to all those Gleek fangirls who have filled Google full of screen cap pictures of Chord shirtless, or the shower scene in that one episode, and what not. I spent a long time on google drooling, so thanks.


Augustus Quotes:

"May I see you again?" he asked. There was an endearing nervousness in his voice.
I smiled. "Sure."
"Tomorrow?" he asked.
"Patience, grasshopper," I counseled. "You don't want to seem overeager."
"Right, that's why I said tomorrow," he said. "I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow." I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious," he said.

                                          
"I nodded. I liked Augustus Waters. I really, really, really liked him. I liked the way his story ended with someone else. I liked his voice. I liked that he took existentially fraught free throws. I liked that he was a tenured professor in the Department of Slightly Crooked Smiles with a dual appointment in the Department of Having a Voice That Made My Skin Feel More Like Skin."


"She's right. It's just that most really good-looking people are stupid, so I exceed expectations."
"Right, it's primarily his hotness," I said.
"It can be sort of blinding," he said.
"it actually did blind our friend Isaac," I said.
"Terrible tragedy, that. But can I help my own deadly beauty?"
"You cannot."
"It is my burden, this beautiful face."
"Not to mention your body."
"Seriously, don't even get me started on my hot bod. You don't want to see me naked, Dave. Seeing me naked actually took Hazel Grace's breath away," he said, nodding toward the oxygen tank.


“I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.”


*sigh* oh Augustus, how I love that boy. I tried really hard to not give away spoilers in this post. Really, really, really hard, because this book is so damn good everyone needs to read it.

Review: Anna Dressed In Blood

Anna Dressed In Blood by kendare Blake

Published by Tor Teen

Genre: YA paranormal

$16.99 (US hardback)

316 pages

What it's about:

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . .

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life

My thoughts:
It's not very often that I come across a book that honestly freaks me out. I'm actually having a hard time thinking of any book that has freaked me out, all except Anna Dressed In Blood. This book got me all jumpy.

To be fair about that though, I was reading this book in the middle of the night, during a rain storm, and practically in the dark, all but for one lamp on. Got to set the mood for it. And it did honestly freak me out. Every time I would hear a creak or any unexpected loudish noise, I'd jump about a foot out of my seat, or at least it felt like I did.

As for the plot, characters, writing style, and all the goodies, I loved them all. I really liked both Cas and Anna. Though I could not actually relate to them, because I am not a ghost hunter or a ghost, I still enjoyed them. I was fascinated by the relationship of Cas and Anna. How even though Cas knows of the horrible things Anna has done, he is still willing to go into her terrifying house to figure out why they are drawn to each other.

I don't have a whole lot to say about this book. I stayed up all night to read it, not putting it down once. I was completely engrossed in the story. I wanted to know everything there was to know about Anna and the horrible ways she killed people, and what Cas was going to do about it.

My rating: 9/10
There is a spoilery reason for the lowered rating that has to deal with the pet cat.

Review: The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Published by Dutton

Genre: YA

$17.99 (US hardback)

313 pages

What it's about:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

My thoughts:
I haven't cried so hard while reading a book in a long time. This book has left me reeling. I found myself wandering around the house in shock when I was finished. I had no idea what to do with myself.

It's been a few days since I finished the book and I still find myself thinking about the characters. I've been replaying parts from the book over and over in my head and get sad all over again. I can't stop thinking about the book. It got to me.

TFIOS is beautifully written and 100% heartbreaking. It will take your breath away (haha pune intended). It's now my favorite John Green book.

My rating: 11/10

Selling some books

Hey, so I'm extremely broke right now. Really, really, really broke and I just can't seem to stop spending money. Since I have a great big box full of books that no longer fit in any of my bookcases and that I do not plan on rereading, I'm going to sell some of them! Yay!

I've created a lovely little "donate" button on my blog over to the top right and that is how I will accept payments. I'm going to charge for shipping too, but that's not normally that much. I can normally ship 2 hardbacks or 3 paperbacks for about $3 with Media mail.

If  you want to buy any, make sure to send me an email and in the subject just say something like "blog books" or whatever so I know it's not spam. This way we can email about shipping. Feel free to leave a comment on here as well if you like. My email is hyperhamster15@hotmail.com

I'm sorry to all my international followers, but this is US only unless you are willing to pay a little extra (like 50 cents a book) because Paypal charges me for foreign currency. Shipping will also be a little more expensive.
Okay, here is the list of books:

Young Adult
*The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (hardback $7)
*Bumped by Megan McCafferty ($9)
*Damage by Anya Parrish ($5)
*Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber ($5)
*Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz ($4)
*Deadly little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz (hardback $8)
*Fallen by Lauren kate (hardback $7)
*Forgotten by Cat Patrick ($10)
*The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong ($10)
*The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross ($10)
*Lament by Maggie Stiefvater  ($5)
*Never Bite a Boy On the First Date by Tamara Summers   ($4)
*Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles  ($5)
*Ripple by Mandy Hubbard  ($9)
*Stargazer by Claudia Gray (hardback $7)
*Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes  ($10)
*Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston  ($5)

*Glimmerglass by Jenna Black ($5)
*Shadowspell by Jenna Black  ($5)
*Sirensong by Jenna Black  ($5)

*Bite Me! by Melissa Francis   ($5)
*Love Sucks! by Melissa Francis  ($5)


Adult
*A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole  ($3)
*Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole  ($3)
*Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole   ($3)
*Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole  ($3)
*The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton (Hardback $4)
*Mr Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie ($1)
*Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie  ($1)
*Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie ($1)


And because I don't believe in selling ARC's, here are arc's I'll be giving away if you are willing to pay shipping:
*The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer
*The Espressologist by Kristina Springer
*I Am Number 4 by Pattacus Lore

Top Ten Tuesday-- authors I want to write another book

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
This weeks topic is ten authors I want to write another book.

This one was actually pretty hard for me because all the authors I know and love are still writing for the most part.

1. JK Rowling:
I'm thinking she is going to be on everyones lists. She really does need to write a new book. Doesn't even have to be a Harry Potter book, just something...

2. Stephenie Meyer:
Come on Host #2!!! Or even better, finish Midnight Sun! Or that ghost story book she used to talk about.

3. John Green:
His new one came out today and I couldn't be happier! Now I just need another one by him! You can never have too many John Green books.

4. Kelly Creagh:
It is taking forever for the second of the Nevermore books to come out! Kelly, p-p-p-please write faster!!!

5. Susan Collins:
Now that the Hunger Games is finished, I need more of her books!

Now for some deceased authors I wish would have wrote more before they died:

6. Shel Silverstein:
I was way excited to see that more of his poems and drawings were found after his death and that they made another book. Yay! But I still want more of them. I'm greedy that way.

7. William Shakespeare:
This is mostly so that all his plays wouldn't be done over and over and over again and again. Add a little more so there was more variety.

8. Lewis Carroll:
Yeah.

9. Edward Lear:
This guy was so incredibly awesome.

10.????
There is no 10. I couldn't think of anymore

Book Breakup (4)-- Evernight

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.

Breaking up is always hard, but sometimes it needs to be done. Right now I'm breaking up with the Evernight series by Claudia Gray.

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Published by Harper Teen

Genre: YA

What it's about:

For those who do not know, this is about a vampire named Bianca who falls in love with a vampire hunter named Lucas. Typical paranormal forbidden love story.

I started reading this series right before the second book in the series came out. I was brand new to the YA book world and really only started this series because Claudia Gray was on a book panel with Kim Harrison at a signing I was thrilled to be going to. I read the first book, Evernight, and was shocked when I was reading it and found out it was about vampires. I thought Claudia did a really good job with keeping that secret in the first book. I had fallen in love with the series and couldn't wait to read the second one.

And the second book, Stargazer, did not disappoint me. I gobbled that book down and couldn't wait for the third book to come out. Only problem was, by the time the third book, Hourglass, came out, it had been a year and I had been reading every YA book I could get my hands on and I had found some spectacular books. Books that I will forever love and that out shined the story of Bianca and Lucas. So I did not immediately read Hourglass, but instead waited a bit until I could get a copy from a friend.

While this book wasn't fantastic, it was still pretty good. I had a real problem with Bianca and Lucas though. they could not seem to get their heads out of their butts and figure out what was going on. I found the problem to be very obvious and was getting frustrated reading about it. By the end of the book I was annoyed that it was a cliff hanger.  

It's been about two years since I've read Hourglass and I find myself having no desire to really read the fourth and final book in the series, Afterlife. I have a copy I borrowed from a friend and have been staring at it for a long time but never bothered to pick it up. I'm too angry at Bianca and Lucas and do not really care about how their story ends anymore.

Review: Unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Published by Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA

$9.99 (US paperback)

335 pages

What it's about (from Goodreads):

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive

My thoughts:
Someone on Goodreads in a review for this book, says that it is going to bitch slap you and horrify you, and you are going to love every moment of it. I could not agree with this more.

This book absolutely horrified me. Completely. I was disgusted with the adults in this series. How could any parent or guardian have such little regard for their childs life? To be clear on what unwinding is, it is when a child is taken apart bit by bit and everything is reused. Need a new arm? No problem, just take one of the unwound kid's arm. Have some brain damage and need a new brain? Just take a piece from the unwound kid.

Completely disgusting.

I made faces and said out loud "oh.my.god." about a billion times while reading this book.

There are very few books that shook my emotions down through my core. The only other one I can think of is Forbidden by Tabatha Suzuma. Unwind is a book I will think about often with absolute horror, but if you asked me if I liked it, I'll tell you I loved it.

My rating: 10/10

City of Lost Souls cover reveal!!!!

It's finally here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who else loves loves loves loves it?????????????? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! We get to see Jace's face!!!!!

Top Ten Tuesday-- Books I'm excited to read in 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they give a topic and you write your top ten for whatever the topic is.

This weeks topic is Ten books you can't wait to read in 2012

These are all books that are coming out this year. They are in order of release date:

1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (Release Jan. 10th):
AHHHHH!!!!! Oh how I love John's books and after listening to him reading the first two chapters of this book, I can't wait to read it. It's going to be fantastic and I'm excited to see how well John does with getting into the mind set of a 16 year old girl.

2. Fever by Lauren Destefano (Release Feb 21st):
I don't know if I'm more excited for this book or for the cover. As weird as that may sound. I'm madly in love with the covers for these books and if they came out with them, I'd buy a poster of them in a heart beat.

3. A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison (Release Feb 21st):
How could I not be excited for this book??????? I'm definitely excited to see where the Trent/Rachel relationship goes and what happens with Big Al and Pierce. I was almost tempted to big on the super expensive ARC of this that is up on ebay right now just so I could find out early.

4. Allegiance by Cayla Kluver (Release Feb 28th):
The end of Legacy shocked me. Completely shocked me. I'm dying to know what happens next.

5. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (Release April 24th):
Julie Kagawa is awesome and I can't wait to find out all about her new series. I'm dying to meet all the new characters.

6. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Release May 28th):
We get to see more of the other places!!!! and then of course there is Four. *dreamy sigh*

7. Endlessly by Kiersten White (Release July 24th):
What is going to happen with Evie and Lend?????

8. Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh (Release August 28th):
I have been waiting for this book for so freaking long. It will be almost 2 years after the first one came out that this one comes out. I hate waiting and the fact that this release date got pushed back AGAIN just sucks. Sucks I tell you!!!

9. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (Release Nov???):
OMFG Clockwork Prince was super fantastic and I need to know what happens next!!!

10. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (Release ????):
Stephanie's books never fail to put a big happy grin on my face. They are so sweet and adorable and addicting. They are the crack of the YA book world.

This list was ridiculously hard to come up with. There are at least 10 more books that I am dying to read that should be on this list. Picking just 10 was hard. But these are the ones that I know I will be driving 45 minutes to the nearest new book store to go buy (yes that's right, my city is the capital of the state, yet we do not have a new book store. Lammmmmeeeee).

Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi 

Published by Harper Teen

Genre: YA

$16.99 (US hardback)

338 pages

What it's about:

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.


My thoughts:
Everyone was ranting and raving about how fantastic this book is and I had to know why. My curiosity was driving me crazy until I found out what everyone was talking about.

While I'm not going to be preaching about how fantastic this book is, it was still entertaining and I'm glad that I read it.

I think I know why everyone loved it though and I can sum it up in one word: Adam. Adam is the super hott, extremely sweet, boy next door who just happens to save Juliette over and over and over. He was honestly the only part of the story that I actually liked.

I had a few issues with this book however. The writing style drove me a little crazy. I couldn't handle how many similes and metaphors there were. The descriptions were endless and then don't even get me started on all the lined through, then corrected sentences. Then there was Juliette. I was not a fan of Juliette for the most part. She wasn't horrible, but she was just sort of blah. I would have liked her to have more depth. I actually would have liked to see everyone have more depth. I wanted more background on what in the world happened to the world.

So while I'm glad I read it and was entertained by it, I'm also really glad that I did not pay for this book, instead I borrowed it from my library.

My rating: 7/10

Review: The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Published by Putnam Juvinille

Genre: YA paranormal

$16.99 (US hardback)

372 pages

What it's about:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.


My thoughts:
For me, this book was a mix. I really enjoyed it and gobbled down the first half of the book in one sitting. Though when another book I was dying to read fell into my lap, I had no problem putting down this book and starting the other. It took me a while to pick this one back up and finish it.

What I think ruined this book for me a little is the fact that it was the whole "ghost cops." I was having a hard time believing those three characters and their whole background. The second part of the book just wasn't as good as the first part.

There is exactly one point in the story that really got to me and I understood the creepiness of Jack the Ripper and the whole plot of the story. By this point, the Ripper copycat has killed two people and is on the night where the original Jack killed two people. The whole city of London is in a panic and Rory is watching the news with the rest of her school. Then she says...
             "Up until now, the Ripper hadn't really freaked me out much. But with every passing hour, it started to have more of an effect on me. Two people were going to get murdered tonight, right around where I was sitting. And the whole world was going to sit and watch, just like we were. "

Whoa. Just imagining that whole scenario blew my mind. How millions of people were waiting for two people to die right in your own neighborhood while you sat and watched, thinking and praying "dear God don't let it be me." How terrifying.

So over all, I really enjoyed the first half of the book, while the second part was a little iffy. I did enjoy this book but I doubt I will be picking up the second book in the series. I would have preferred this to be a stand alone.

My rating: 8/10

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2012 everyone!!! Hope everyone had a great new year's eve, and that the hangovers today aren't too bad ;)

haha.

Last couple weeks I was desperately reading in the hopes that I could meet my 125 books goal. Sadly, I was 3 books short of that goal. This is why I haven't been posting. I'm hoping to get all those book reviews written and posted soon.

This year's reading goal is 125 again, but I'm really hoping to hit 130.