Review: Blood Fever

Blood Fever by Veronica Wolff

Series: Isle of Night #3

Published by NAL

Genre: YA paranormal

$9.99 (US paperback)

272 pages

 

 What it's about:
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME—EVEN IF HOME IS WHERE THE DEAD LIVE...

It’s the start of the fall semester, and a new crop of Acari and Trainees have descended on the Isle of Night. Watcher training has intensified, and Drew has a new roommate named Mei-Ling. But Mei-Ling harbors a dangerous secret that drove the vampires to abduct her against her will. Drew knows she shouldn’t get involved, but she can’t seem to leave her roommate to fend for herself.

Luckily, Drew has other things on her mind—like vampire Carden. A blood bond to a brawny, eighteenth-century Scottish bad boy tends to preoccupy a girl. And though she’s still figuring out what this bond means, one thing has become clear: She craves him in a major way.

But then bodies start turning up on the island. All the evidence points to the existence of a rogue vampire, and the sinister vampire Alcántara is gunning for Carden, even though Drew has proof that Carden had nothing to do with the murders. Now she has to find the true killer—without endangering Carden, Mei-Ling, or herself…
 

 

My thoughts:

This is a series that I'm surprised isn't more popular. I don't think I've ever seen reviews for any of the books in this series before (in the blogging world, not on Goodreads), it's not sold in most bookstores, and is all around hard to find. I wouldn't have known about this series if it wasn't for Goodreads and their recommendations page. Thank goodness for Goodreads, because I LOVE this series. It's like if the Hunger Games were held at a all girls boarding school and vampires were the game makers. It's just that good.

 

The second I get my hands on these books, I start reading them and don't put them down until I've finished them. I like seeing Drew try and figure out people and their actions because she is so book smart and it makes her so people stupid. I find it fascinating. The relationships she has with the other people on the island is always shifting and so complicated and I never really know what is going to happen next.

 

Because of the things that happened at the end of book 2, Blood Fever has almost a completely different feel to it. We get to see a whole new side to Drew, the sappy side! Yup, she is falling in love and I really hate to say it, but it was insta-love. This normally bugs me and I did notice how cheesey some of the dialogue was in this (Carden had some cheesetastic lines that had me rolling my eyes), yet I was rooting for Drew. I would love to see her character have some happiness.

 

I'm excited about the different feel of the book and the turns that have been taken. I can't wait to see what happens next on the Isle of Night and can't believe I have to wait till June 2013 to find out what will happen.

 

My rating: 8/10

I need to go on a rant

Today I went through my books so I could trade some in at this bookstore I've just learned about. I had them order some books for me and wanted the trade to make the books cheaper. So I traded in my mass market copy of Who Censored Roger Rabbit. I bought it a few years back for $1 on Amazon and didn't think it'd be worth much. The guy gave me $6 and said that it sells for around $12-$15 online now. I thought, "yay! That is super cool! And that's cool he was honest with me on how it is worth a little more than I thought."

I got home a few hours back, and just now decided to google the book, see how much it's selling for. It's selling for $75 at the cheapest, $358 at the most expensive. To say I'm a little angry I sold it back is an understatement.

Anyone else ever had something like this happen? Sell something for cheap just to find out that it's actually worth a lot more?

My Book Boyfriend-- Prince Dorian

My book boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie over at The Unread Reader and cohosted by My Keeper Shelf
Last week I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass and fell madly in love with Prince Dorian. I had to keep putting the book down so I could write down my favorite quotes of his because I knew I just had to do a MBB post on him.

About Prince Dorian
*is 19 years old
*has strinkingly blue saphire eyes
*raven black hair
*seems to be cocky but he is actually very funny and a bit shy
*has a reputation as a ladies man
*Loves to read and has no desire for politics or fighting
*is a romantic at heart


Who I picture him looking like
I'm running out of tall, dark haired hotties to do for these posts. So today Dorian will be played by Brenton Thwaites

"She moaned into her pillow. 'Go away. I feel like dying.'

'No fair maiden should die alone,' he said, putting a hand on hers. 'Shall I read to you in your final moments? What story would you like?'

She snatched her hand back. 'How about the story of the idiotic prince who won't leave the assassin alone?'

'Oh! I love that story! It has such a happy ending, too-- why, the assassin was really feigning her illness in order to get the prince's attention! Who would have guessed it? Such a clever girl. And the bedroom scene is so lovely--it's worth reading through all of their ceaseless banter!'"

"However, she quickly forgot about her sickness when she saw Dorian Havilliard sitting at the table in her bedroom with crossed legs. He wore a beautiful white-and-gold jacket.

'Are you my present, or is there something in that basket at your feet?' she asked.

'If you'd like to unwrap me,' he said, lifting the large wicker basket onto the table, 'we still have an hour until the temple service.'"

“I'm not married," he said softly, "because I can't stomach the idea of marrying a woman inferior to me in mind and spirit. It would mean the death of my soul.” 

 

 

I seem to be one of the few girls that is actually on Team Dorian. That is fine by me, I'll keep the adorable, shy but still sorta cocky, book loving prince to myself. And as always, I need to give a shoutout to all those fan girls who create things like tumblrs for hott actors and fill it full of beautiful pictures. It makes these posts so much faster for me to write when I have lots of pictures to choose from ;)

Top Ten Tuesday-- bookish confessions!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks topic is Top Ten Bookish Confessions (Anything! You dog ear, you hated a book but said you loved it, you have $500 library fines...anything goes!)

It took me a long time to come up with some bookish confessions.

1. I had to stop opening up emails from both Powells and B&N because if they offered free shipping, I could not pass up on it. They would send me an email saying "hey, free shipping on everything for today!" and even if I didn't need any books, I'd go on the site and order some. Ugh. I had to stop that.

2. I literally miss my books when I loan them out to friends. If my friends have been borrowing my books for too long, I'll start getting anxious to get them back and I'll become a huge nag, demanding them back. I'll look at my shelves all the time and think about my missing books, and of course those will be the ones I feel like rereading.

3. I have my library card number memorized. I had this memorized before I had my SSN memorized.

4. I freak out about damaged books. There can absolutely positively be no food on my pages, no dog eared flaps, no spin breaking. My sister once got hot sauce on one of my signed books and she was terrified. She emailed the author and asked the next time she'd be doing a signing cause she needed to replace my book. I laughed so hard at that.

5. One time I got a brand new book from the library, I was the first person to read it, and it somehow got water damage from sitting on my "library shelf" for two weeks. I was so freaked out that I had damaged the book that I couldn't enjoy it. I had to stop reading half way through.

6. I will buy the damaged used book that is falling apart instead of the other, in better shape, copy just so I can fix up the book. Glue it back together and fix the cover. No book should be treated that way.

These are the only ones that are coming to me right now. I'm sure I'll wake up in the middle of the night and have more to put on here, but for now this is it.

It's Monday, what are you reading?

It's Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. Each week you post about what you've read this last week, what you are reading now, and what you plan on reading this upcoming week.

This week I read
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.
Super fantastic. It took me a week to get through the book, but once I actually sat down and read it, I couldn't put it down. I'll be doing a MBB post for Prince Dorian soon.

Blood Fever by Veronica Wolff:
I'm madly in love with this series (just found out the next book isn't coming out till June. The wait is already killing me). I'll be posting my full review for this book soon.

Listened to the audiobook of
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins:
Who isn't in love with this series? It'd been two years since I'd read the books and decided I was way overdue to either rereading the series or listening to the audiobooks. So over the last two or three weeks I've been listening to both HG and CF and I just started MJ. With the movie just out on dvd, I've been watching that a lot, and then wearing all my HG merch, and of course my cat, Peeta, is a constant reminder of how much I love this series. All we've been talking about in my house is HG. haha.

What I plan on reading this week (links to their Goodreads page)
Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson:
I was blown away by the first book, and now that my copy has finally come in for this book (over seas shipping can take forever) I hopefully will be able to read this this week.

Unwholly by Neal Shusterman:
I have a copy of this on hold at the library and really hope my copy comes in by Thursday. The first book, Unwind, horrified me, but in a good way. Someone in a review said "this book will bitch slap you, and you'll love it." So so so true. Now I can't wait to read the second book.

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh:
Two years, I've been waiting for this book for two freaking long years. I've had to reread the first book over and over to get my Varen fix because the second book took TWO YEARS to come out. *sigh* it's finally coming out on Tuesday and hopefully I'll be able to find a copy of it in this bookstoreless city of mine.


I fell behind in what I was planning on reading these last two weeks since I last did this post. I've been working on other things lately. Hopefully I will get to read these books this week but I have a feeling I probably won't get to most of them.

Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Published by Bloomsbury

Genre: YA fantasy

$17.99 (US hardback)

416 pages

 

 

What it's about:



After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined


My thoughts:
I was seeing lots of people saying this was a fantastic book. One of the best they have ever read. It's been on loads of Top Ten lists and at first, I didn't understand this. It took me a while to get into the book. I'd read a few pages here, a few pages there, but it wasn't catching and keeping my attention. After a week of this and only being 60 or so pages into the book, I almost gave up. But so many people talked about how good it was, I pushed through. Now I get what people are talking about.

Once you get into the story, it's fantastic. Celaena is arrogant, cocky, and a little frustrating, but she's also an 18 year old girl and that shows through. She loves clothes, she loves going to dances, and she can't resist chocolate. She was such a complicated character. At first I wasn't believing her. Could one person really be that  good at everything? Then I'd remind myself that she was raised this way. She was raised to be the best and definitely had the motivation and the right trainer to become the best. I ended up really loving her, even if she was an assassin.

One thing that did surprise me about the book was all the new things that were constantly being introduced. When the fae and magic was introduced, I was a little thrown back. I wasn't really expecting that. Then there were a few other things that were introduced and I was sort of like "wtf?" Then I just kept reading and it all sorta fit. I wish that it would have been explained more but that is what the second book is for.

The book is full of surprises. There are twists in it that I wasn't expecting, a love triangle that is actually well done (I'm definitely Team Dorian ;) and very lovable characters. Now I'm really excited for the next book in this series.

My rating: 9/10

My Book Boyfriend-- Brady

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie over at The Unread Read

I read Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis last week and fell madly in love with it. I don't write reviews for the romance books I read, but I knew that Brady Miller needed to show some love for Brady Miller in some way on my blog. I decided for a MBB.

About Bradly Miller
*Is ex Army and now flies planes/helicopters in special missions
*Is also a professional photographer
*Is in his early 30's
*Helps out at his foster brothers vet clinic
*Is great with animals
*Adopts an abandoned small dog named Twinkles
*He's "tall, broad-shouldered, with dark brown hair thatwas cut short and slightly spiky, like maybe he hadn't bothered to do much with it after his last shower except run his fingers through it.. His clothes were simple: cargoes and a plain shirt, both emphasizing a leanly muscled body so completely devoid of body fat that it would have made any woman sigh"


Who I pictured him looking like:
I kinda pictured him looking like Channing Tatum.

“'You, Lilah, scare the hell out of me.'

'Why?' she whispered.

He met her gaze and held it. 'Because I could fall for you, Lilah. Hard and deep and never want to come back up.'

She could scarcely breathe. 'What's wrong with that?'

'We'd drown.'” 

“Beneath her cheek, his heart was thumping steadily. Definitely faster than his usual near-hibernation beat. Lifting her head, she flashed him a tight smile. 'I get to you.'

'Are you kidding? You own me,' he said, his voice running over her like silk.”

“She was carrying two coffees and a donut bag,

and right then and there, he fell in love."

Unfortunately, I had to return my library book of this before I could get the quotes out of it, so I'm stuck with the ones from Goodreads, but still, those were good parts of the book. The whole book reminds me of this calendar (that I seriously thought about getting for a long time.)

Cover Reveal: Ever After by Kim Harrison

The new Hollows cover is out!!!! I love love love love Kim's books and can not wait till this book comes out in January!

My only question is what's up with Rachel's hair? They never give her curly hair (so I'm used to that) but why in the world is it blond???? That needs to be fixed in the next cover. Other than that, awesome!!! I love how she has lightning coming out of her hands. Haha.

Top Ten Tuesday- Favorite Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks top ten is Top Ten Favorite Books You've Read During The Lifespan Of Your Blog

Oh my goodness, this is a hard one. Thankfully I have a list of all the books I've read since I've had this blog. Score! haha.

These are in no order.

1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green:
2. Iron King by Julie Kagawa
3. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
4. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
5. The Hollows by Kim Harrison
6. Divergent by Veronica Roth
7. Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
8. Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff
9. Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade
10. Maze Runner by James Dashner
11. Infernal Devices series by Cassie Clare
12. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
13. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
14. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
15. Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
16. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
17. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
19. Just One Wish by Janette Rallison
20. Forbidden by Tabatha Suzuma
21. Stolen by Lucy Christopher
22. Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn't have) by Sarah Mlynowski
23. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
24. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead


So umm... my top ten has an extra 14 books on it... I couldn't get myself to lower it and take any of those off. All these books (and series) are ones that I've read in the last 3 years (since I started the blog) and I think picking 24 out of 300 was hard enough.

Book Blogger Confessions is a meme hosted by For What It's Worth every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month.

This weeks question:
Have you ever loved a book that you know is not a great literary gem? Maybe it's filled with spelling errors, tired cliches, and is utterly cheestastic but you loved it anyway?
Yeah, it's a little book called "Twilight." Maybe you've heard of it? lol.
In all honestly, I love books that aren't "literary gems" all the time. To me, it's not all about the writing, it's the plot, the characters, how I felt while I was reading it. That's what truly makes it great. The books I like for their literary brilliance is far and few. I'd have to say the best one is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Ever read it? It's fantastic.


How do you handle that as a blogger who is used to critical thinking and analysis? Do you pretend you never read the book - never to be reviewed or added to your Goodreads shelf :-)?

I wouldn't say that reviews are the outcomes of critical thinking. Most reviews I read (and write) are more of the thoughts of the reader and not in depth analysis of the book. Then again, when I think about the phrase "critical thinking" I automatically think of all those English classes I took in school. When you break down every little thing from the book (and often ruining it imo) and try to decipher everything that happened in it. That is not, and should not, be what a book review is.

So as a blogger, when I come along books that aren't very well written, I might possibly say something about it in my review, but if I loved the book, most likely I'll be saying why. As for my Goodreads shelf, I never hold back in those. I don't add a whole lot of people to my GR page, it's not a social tool for me, it's the site I use to help me keep track of my books. So I don't really care who sees what books I'm adding.

Do you write a review but maybe apologize and make excuses as to why you enjoyed it or are you bold and proud of any book you enjoyed?

No. No excuses. I'm not ashamed of the books I read.

Conversely - have you read a classic, that is considered a literary gem but you just didn't get it? Are you embarrassed to admit that or do you review it anyway?

I've read TONS of "literary gems" and think they suck big monkey turds. Like Wuthering Heights. By far the worst book I've ever read and I will never understand why people like that crap. Then there is things like Paradise Lost which is horrible. I honestly fell asleep every single time I tried to read that. Just because it's a classic and considered a literary gem doesn't mean it's good. It just means that old dead white guys from hundreds of years ago decided they liked it and thought everyone should read it and we keep going with that because they are "classics." Ugh.

There is a reason I was a horrible English Lit major. I disagreed with my teachers way too often for either of our likings. ;)

Review: Girl of Nightmares

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Series: Anna Dressed in Blood #2

Published by Tor Teen

Genre: YA paranormal

$17.99 (US hardback)

332 pages

 

What it's about:

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live--not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong... these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

 

My thoughts:

I read the first book, Anna Dressed In Blood, back in December and loved it. I thought it was creepy and dark, but great. I loved Cas, Thomas, and Carmel (especially Carmel. Her and her anger cracks me up) and thought they made an interesting trio. Everything I loved about the first book, I still loved about The Girl of Nightmares.

The problem I found I had with this book was that I couldn't read it  in one sitting, or two, or three. I would read a few pages, and have to put it down. Maybe I'd get through a few chapters before I had to put it down. Either because something came up that I had to do or it wasn't holding my attention.  When I read Anna, I read it in the perfect setting. I read it at night, in the dark, during a huge storm. It was perfect. But while reading GON, it was a 100 degree sunny day. This is not a good setting and having the right setting while reading this book is a big deal. It's the difference from loving the book or just liking it.

I think that is the biggest thing I want to say about this book. The other big thing I want to say is about the ending. While the ending was good, I felt like it just...ended. Everything was getting to the exciting part, the part you wait the whole book to get to, and in about 20 pages it's done. And then to my utter horror, there is no epilogue! Ugh. I really truly hate it when there is no epilogue.

If you liked the Anna, you'll like this one as well. Just make sure to read it in the right setting ;)

My rating: 8/10

No epilogue = lower rating from me. It's a pet peeve of mine. 

Top Ten Tuesday-- real life relationships

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.


This weeks top ten is:Top Ten Book Romances That You Think Would Make It In The Real World (outside the book)

I'm gonna be different and say "all of them." That's right, all the characters and their relationships would make it irl. Who am I to say that they couldn't make it? I would really hope that every single one of them could make their relationships last and be happy ones. So no list for me this week.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! This meme is hosted by Book Journey

This is my first time participating in this meme. I've been wanting to get into more memes lately so I'm trying out a few, see if I like them or not.


Last weeks reads (the link takes you to their Goodreads page):
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard.
I borrowed this one from the library and ended up  reading it really fast. Great book. I have a review up for it here


Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden:
I read a great review for this a long long time ago so I got myself an ebook of it right after I read the review. I just now got to reading it (won't post a review, not the type of book I review on here). It was a pretty good book.

Hunger Games by Susan Collins (audiobook):
I listened to the audiobook of this. I'd tried listening to it a few times and only ever made it through the first chapter. I thought the ladies voice didn't fit Katniss and ugh. I dunno, I just didn't like it. Then my sister said to try again and I did, got further and I ended up really enjoying it. The lady changed her voice a little and it fit better.

What I'm reading now:
GIrl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake:
I'm loving this book so far, but I've been so busy lately I haven't really been able to sit down and enjoy it as much as I'd like it.


What I want to read this week:
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
I have this waiting for me at the library and just need to pick it up. Everyone is talking about how good it is so I'm excited to read it.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry:
I've had a Netgalley of this for a while now and haven't been able to read it lately. I've been in the mood for paranormal and not contemporary. This will get read this upcoming week though.

Review: Something Strange and Deadly

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Published by Harper Teen

Genre: YA historical paranormal?

 $17.99 (US hardback)

388 pages

What it's about:

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

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

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

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

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

My thoughts:
This was instant cover love for me. Cool, dark, somewhat steampunky background and a girl in a beautiful black dress on the front is something I always love in covers. Yet after reading this book, I feel the cover doesn't match the book that well.

Going into this book I knew it was about two things 1. a historical setting and 2. zombies. That was all that needed to be said in order for me to be interested. Then the cover blurb also said it's a lot like the Clockwork Angel and I was sold. Now I just had to read it.

There are 4 main questions in this book. 1. Where is Elijah? 2. Who and what is the spirit? 3. Who is the necromancer? and 4. What's wrong with Clarence? I thought that all of these questions were pretty obvious, all but one of them I knew pretty much from the beginning. At some points I was wondering why the characters didn't see the answers as well. Even though I thought the answers were pretty clear very early on, Dennard did a wonderful job with the layout and the turn of events. I may have guessed the answered, but I didn't see how Dennard was going to answer the questions until it happened and it left me shocked. She is most definitely not afraid to make her characters do what they have to do.

And as for her characters, I absolutely adored Eleanor. She was strong, brave, and always had a good comeback, yet she had enough girly insecurity to make her believable. There were things that Eleanor said that had me cracking up (the Grecian position and women being camels? So funny!) and she made good choices as well. I never wanted to yell at her and ask what she was doing because she wasn't stupid. She made the right choices. I love that in a character.

The only complaint I have for this book is the lack of character descriptions. It isn't until the end of the book that we find out that Eleanor has blonde hair (though you can sort of guess from the cover) and throughout the book she mentions having a little extra weight in her hips and others also mention it. She also compares the heights of other characters to Eleanor's height, but we are never told her height as well. This doesn't just go for Eleanor, but to all the characters. We never really get descriptions of any of them besides hair color. I'd really of liked to see more than that.


My rating: 9/10

Top Ten Tuesday--



Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish

This weeks topic is Top Ten Posts On Your Blog That Would Give The BEST Picture of YOU (as a reader and a person -- so pick the 10 best reviews/posts that you wish every potential reader of your blog would see!)


Holy cow this is a really really really hard one.

1. My Book Boyfriend-- Harry:
I am a massive Harry Potter fan and have been for more than half my life. I used to play Harry Potter with my friends when I was younger (who am I kidding, I still do), I've seen all the movies the day they came out in theaters, bought the movies the day they came out on dvd, I've had HP posters hanging up on my walls since I was 11, I have hp shirts, I make wands for fun, I went to the theme park a few months after it opened and I cried when I walked into Hogsmead for the first time. I also went to London/Edinburgh and took pictures of everything HP related and I happened to meet JK herself on that trip. Harry Potter isn't an obsession, it's a lifestyle.

2. Let's talk about what makes you angry in a book:
This is a post I recently did talking about what annoys me in my books. These are all things that bug me a lot and some also apply to my day to day life.

3. Book buying spree:
This is not unusual for me to do. Just like every other book blogger, I adore buying books. I adore it so much that it has actually become a problem. Like a few weeks ago, Powells sent me an email saying "free shipping today!!!" and I went "Omg noooo wayyyy" and ordered a few books *facepalm*

4. YA or Bust tour:
This was the book tour I really wanted to go to and was able to go even though it meant I had to drive 4 hours and out of state to get to. So worth it.

5. Fun Book title survey:
Remember back when Myspace was cool or mass emails and everyone always did those surveys about themselves? I was a BIG fan of those. Did them all the freaking time. I took my love of surveys and applied them to my blog. I've done a few of them but this one was my favorite. I've done it a few times and will probably end up doing it again sometime.

6. When I'm not Reading:
I've done a few of these (and did a guest post on Missie the Unread Readers blog for it) and this one is about my painting. I paint a lot (these are all 2 years old or older) and I use the books I read as inspiration.

7. Favorite Book Quotes:
There are a few TTT that will be on this list. This one is my favorite book quotes (or some of them. I could never come up with only 10 of my favorites). There is a quote out there that goes something like "the quotes people like say more about them than the actual quotes" and I believe that is so true. :)

8. Books that gave me strong emotions:
The books I love and hate and my reactions to them I think says a lot about me ;)

I'm sure there are more posts that show the dazzling personality of yours truly (just read any of my TTT's and that shows a lot of my personality) but I was getting kinda tired of going through all my old posts. :)

Book Blogger Confessions- Making money off your blog

Book blogger confessions is a meme hosted on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. The meme is hosted by Tiger's all consuming books and For What It's Worth

 This weeks topic is:
Making money off your blog: There was a recent controversy about bloggers charging authors for reviews which leads to this week's question:
Almost all of us blog as a hobby in our spare time, usually for free but is there anything wrong with making money off your blog?
Should bloggers charge for reviews?
What about advertising on a blog?
When a blogger does allow book related advertising does it turn you off? Make you wonder about the honesty of their reviews?

Do you have a problem with purchase links (Amazon for example) that earn a blogger a small commission if a person purchases a book through that link?


Wow, apparently I did not hear about this new controversy in the blogging world because when I read that, it shocked me.

I do not see the harm in trying to make a little money on your blog. Blogging takes up a lot of time, both with reading the books and writing about them. Then there is all the networking that is involved with blogging and maybe the giveaways. That all takes time and maybe money so having things like Amazon purchase links is no biggy. It's not in your face and all it is is a link. But what disgusted me a little when I read about it is people charging for reviews. WTF? To me that is just wrong. I find that the deal is the author/publisher sends you a free copy of the book, and you give a review. The payment itself is the free book. To me, that is a sweet deal because most likely I would have bought the book anyways and still wrote a review for it. So I'm saving money by getting a free copy.

As for when bloggers have book related advertising on their blogs, no, that does not turn me off or have me distrusting the bloggers reviews. I'm just going to trust that the blogger liked the book so much that they allowed advertising on their blog. To me, my blog is my baby (figuratively speaking.) I have spent a big chunk of time designing (and learning html so I can design it), organizing, and networking to get it to what it is today. There is no way that I would clutter it up with advertising for something I dislike. I trust that can also go for many other bloggers. People who spend tons of money on personal designs (have you seen the prices for those? It's like $100 if not more. Yikes) wouldn't want to clutter it up either.

Series review: Solid and Settling

Solid by Shelley Workinger

Published by Createspace

Genre: YA

$7.99 paperback or $3.99 kindle ebook

221 pages

What it's about:

Clio Kaid may be 17 and just beginning the last summer before her senior year, but her life is anything but typical.

She's just discovered she was genetically altered before birth and is now headed to a top-secret Army campus to explore the surprising results of the experiment.

Follow Clio and the other teens as they develop fantastic super-abilities, forge new friendships, find love, and uncover a conspiracy along the way.

 

My thoughts on bk.#1 Solid:
I read Solid a year ago when I first received a copy of it and I thought I had written a review for it but it turns out I didn't, so I read it a second time.

The first time I read this book, I read it really fast and enjoyed it. I thought that the idea of being genetically altered teens with super powers was pretty neat. Plus there was a boarding school/camp setting which I always enjoy. I know that a lot of people get annoyed when the parents are conveniently absent, but that is not a situation I have a problem with. I actually really enjoy the whole boarding school setting. I like the hardly there parents.

I also really liked the group dynamics of Clio and her friends. I like how there are flaws in each character and how all the characters are aware of them. I like how there is a friend in the group that doesn't fit in and is unwanted for a while (isn't there always one of those people in a group?)

And lastly I liked how Clio wasn't super special when it came to all the genetically altered special kids and I liked how there was questions as to what in the world is Jack's special abilities? Does he even have any? I want to know!

The only problem I really had was it all seemed too easy. The group of friends discovered everything very easily and the problem at the end happens very fast and is easily overcome. I would have liked to see more complications.

Settling (book #2)

$9.99 paperback or $4.99 kindle ebook

242 pages

What it's about:

At the beginning of the summer, Clio Kaid was one of a hundred teens brought to a secret Army installation. But it was no ordinary camp and they weren’t ordinary kids…

Picking up where “Solid” left off, Clio and her friends realize that they aren’t ready to go home; they’re determined to stay on campus and continue their journey of self- discovery. But someone doesn’t feel the same way and will do anything to drive them away – even kill.

Friendships will be tested, abilities will evolve, and more secrets will come out as the teens race to stop the killer before he sets his sights on one of them…

My thoughts on Settling:
I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as Solid. I was so annoyed with Clio during the whole book. I really just wanted to shake her and talk some sense into her. She was being so stupid and she never seemed to stop being stupid. This really ruined the book for me. I just couldn't get over it and due to spoilers, I can not say what it was she was doing that bugged me so much.

Settling also had the same problem when it came to everything happened so easily. The big problem of this book according to the description is that people were being murdered, yet that seemed to be a side story to Clio and her whining and all the mistakes she was making. Ugh.

So to say the least, I will probably not be continuing with this series. The first book was good and interesting while I found the second book lacking.

Ratings:
Solid- 8/10
Settling- 6/10

Review: Endlessly

Endlessly by Kiersten White

Series: Paranormalcy #3

Published by Harper Teen

Genre: YA paranormal

$17.99 (US hardback)

385 pages

What it's about:

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.

So much for normal. 

My thoughts:

This series went downhill for me. I loved loved loved Paranormalcy. I couldn't sing more praises for that book, but then Supernaturally came along and I wasn't madly in love with that book, and now that I've read Endlessly and the trilogy is over, I'm not madly in love with it.

The thing I adore about this series and that has never changed through all the books, is the voice. Kiersten White created one of the most fun and unique voices that I have ever read in a series. I'd be able to tell the difference between a Kiersten White book from any other easily without being told it was her book. She is able to create a cute and hilarious voice without being cheesey and lame. After watching a few of her vlogs and reading her blog, I fully understand why the voice in her books is so fantastic. She just seems like such a cool person.

I don't know if I can exactly pinpoint what it was about Endlessly that I didn't like as much as I loved Paranormalcy. Maybe it was that everything seemed a little too easy? Maybe it was the fact that the ending was lesss than satisfactory? (Really Kiersten, no epilogue???), or maybe it was just the fact that it was the 3rd book in a series and lately I've only been wanting to start new series. Who knows, there was just something. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it and finished it in a few days (which is actually kinda a long time for me) I just can't say I loved it.

My rating: 8/10

Lets talk about what makes you angry in a book

 A while back I read a post that Small Reviews did called DNFing Books in which she talks about why she will dnf (does not finish) a book. I really liked her post and wanted to do a similar one. Instead of talking about why I dnf a book (there is never a set reason to why I dnf, some books just deserve it), I want to talk about things that really tick me off when they happen in books and will definitely result in me lowering my rating for a book.

Where is my epilogue???

I get very attached to the characters I read about, especially if it has been an on going series that I have been following for years. So when I get to the very last parts of the final book and see there is no epilogue and that I'm supposed to be happy with the "happy for now" ending, I get real annoyed.

No epilogue? I'll show you!

I need to know that my favorite characters lived a long and happy life, maybe got married, popped out a few kids, grew old together and bought matching jumpsuits and hangout on their front porches and yell at kids that walk across their lawn. Who knows what happens but I need to know that something happened.

 

Someone killed the family pet

You did what?!?!?

Seriously? Do you really need to add that in? Did that really accomplish anything in your story besides pissing off the reader?

There are only a few exceptions to this rule and that is books that are all about the family pet, ex. Where the Red Fern Grows, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Marley and Me. If your book does not have these titles, it is not okay to kill the family pet.

Insta-Love

While this might have made a great 90's pop song (Got to love Savage Garden) it's not so great in books. While love at first sight might be real, who knows, I know that lust at first sight is much more likely. When the characters decide they are willing to die for each other after knowing each other a few days, I just can't buy it. Let's just keep the insta-love for pop songs and keep it out of our books.

 

Too much religion

This is the kind of religion I like in my books ;)

I tend to stay away from books that have religion in them, but sometimes the authors like to sneak some in to books, and sometimes they put way too much into a book that didn't need to have it at all. Most of the time this seems to come in the form of a very religious small town in the south or a over-the-top angry religious relative. Most of the time these are used as excuses for the mc to run away or to hate a family member. I find these to sort of be cop outs and they just annoy me.

How can you be that dumb?

Hmm no chairs you say? It's a good thing I have my gun to sit on then.

I know that everyone can't be the brightest crayon in the box, but I do not need to read about the incredibly dimwitted characters either. If the character could be nominated for a Darwin Award, then they should not be in a book.

 I'm sure there are a few other things that annoy me when I see them in books, but these are the big ones. Sometimes these do result in me dnf-ing the book or breaking up with the series but not very often. Anyone else annoyed by these things? What annoys you when you read about it?