Dean Winchester
(or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see
why when you look at the pic.
I just love this
image for some reason.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing
(The Lone City #1)
Publication
Date: September 2, 2014
Hardcover, 358 pages, HarperTeen
Genres:
YA, Dystopian
The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel
means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel
means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the
Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the
only thing more important than opulence is offspring.
Purchased at the surrogacy auction
by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now
known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the
Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that
have become the royal way of life.
Violet must accept the ugly
realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden
romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to
the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit
brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both
more than they bargained for.
My Review
I must say that I was expecting this book to be absolutely
terrible after all of the bad things I had heard about it, but honestly, it was
good. Not fantastic, not downright awful, just good.
Violet is a special girl with special powers, so she is
forced to be a surrogate for a royal Jewel household. As soon as she is sold to
the Duchess of the Lake, she knows her life is not going to be easy. The
Duchess is one mean old bat. (Actually, I don’t think she’s that old, I just
pictured her as old in my head.)
Violet isn’t the greatest character ever. For one, her eyes
are violet. I am not a huge fan of specially-colored eyeballs. Why can’t book
characters have normal colored eyes, hmm? Anywho… She was a little whiny, and I
didn’t understand why she was so special in regards to Lucien (you’ll see what
I mean if you read the book), but she isn’t that bad of a character. She’s a
little clueless, but what girl wouldn’t be if she was put into a situation as
horrifying as human trafficking? And her romantic relationship with a certain
someone makes complete sense when you put it into context with her predicament.
While Ash and Violet seem to have an insta-love kind of connection, her
attachment to him makes sense because she has no one else who really looks at
her.
While the plot of this book didn’t have me jumping out of
the edge of my seat, I was still intrigued. Some events were completely unexpected.
I don’t think I ever really knew or guessed at what was going to happen in this
book. However, I did notice a lot of parties and frou-frou stuff going on. I’m
just not a huge fan of all of the parties. (**cough** The Selection series **uncough**)
There is one aspect of this book that I really, really
enjoyed, though. But before I tell you, I just want to warn you that it may
sound odd… I really loved how both sexes in this book are treated abysmally.
Yes, the surrogates are treated like crap, but so are certain boys in this
dystopian world. I was glad to see that this wasn’t just a hate-on-females kind
of society. These royal scumbags are just equally sexist all around.
All in all, this book had a good plot with characters who
could have been better. However, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone
who enjoys Kiera Cass’s works.
**Note: I purchased
a copy of this book for myself.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Waiting on Wednesday: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.
This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...
(Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1)
Publication
Date: October 6, 2015
Hardcover, 528 pages, Disney-Hyperion
Genres:
YA/Middle Grade, Paranormal
Magnus Chase has always been a
troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the
streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police
and the truant officers.
One day, he’s tracked down by a man
he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an
impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.
The Viking myths are true. The gods
of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring
for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a
weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.
When an attack by fire giants
forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents,
Magnus makes a fatal decision.
Sometimes, the only way to start a
new life is to die . . .
My Thoughts
I still haven’t read The
Blood of Olympus yet. Or The Kane
Chronicles, but this book just looks so cool. I’m excited.
What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
DC 2016 Movie Trailers and My Thoughts
As most of you all probably already know, the trailers for
DC’s Suicide Squad and Batman vs. Superman came out at San Diego’s
Comic-Con. And I thought I’d share the two trailers on the blog so we can all
share our thoughts.
I like the trailer for this one, but I’m still very skeptical about Ben Affleck as Batman. He just doesn’t fit the role now that I’ve seen Christian Bale as the Dark Knight (I’m just pretending the older movies and TV shows don’t exist because they don’t really compare). I do really enjoy Wonder Woman’s appearance, however. I wasn’t sure about the actress who plays her, but now that I’m seeing her, I’m digging it. What say you?
So Batman vs. Superman was the DC movie that was on my radar. I hadn’t really heard much about Suicide Squad, nor did I really care to. BUT when the trailer was released I was like “YES. So creepy. YES.” Harley Quinn kind of freaks me out and Will Smith is a little iffy for me, but all in all, I think I’m more excited for this movie than I am for Batman vs. Superman. OH! And the Joker looks awesome! Again, what say you?
Monday, July 27, 2015
Review: The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
(Mara Dyer #3)
Publication
Date: November 4, 2014
Hardcover, 470 pages, Simon & Schuster
Genres:
YA, Paranormal/Sci-Fi
Mara Dyer wants to believe there's
more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.
She doesn’t stop to think about
where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.
She never had to imagine how far
she would go for vengeance.
She will now.
Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and
innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to
Mara Dyer’s story.
Retribution has arrived.
My Review
Mara Dyer has not been having a good past couple of months.
She’s been haunted by a supposedly dead ex-boyfriend, committed to a psych
ward, and even been forced to start a new high school. But now, Mara might face
her greatest challenge yet, escaping from a place that no one knows about and,
more importantly, finding answers about who she is.
This last book in the Mara
Dyer trilogy leaves no room for quiet thought. There’s one event after
another, after another, and they keep piling on and building until… Actually,
the events never really come to a reasonable and thought-out conclusion. Things
just happen, and the reasons for them seem a little shoddy, especially since hardly
any tangible answers are given.
Mara herself is similar to the plot. She doesn’t know what’s
happening to her and she’s just not sure how to go about finding this out, so
she does what every teenager who has developed bizarre powers does: she goes on
a quest of sorts with some new and old friends to find out who she is.
The writing of the book is the typical haunting and peculiar
type of writing Michelle Hodkin has always used in this trilogy to keep readers
on the edge of their seats and it most definitely works. Despite the terrifying-ness
and haunting-ness of Michelle’s words, this book was too easy. What does this
mean? It means that Mara had no real trouble she had to encounter to get
answers. Throughout the book it was apparent that if Mara and her crew wanted to
figure something out, all they had to do was wait for me to turn two or three
pages. They didn’t have to dig very deep. Additionally, things are just
confusing at times. Yes, there’s a lot of action in this book, but that action
is somewhat overshadowed by the fact that there is no apparent logic in the
decisions and revelations that were sometimes made. There needs to be more
drawn-out answers.
All in all, this series-ender is an action-packed, creepy
story that, while it may have some holes in it,—much like Mara’s own mind—will provide
a satisfying ending to the series.
**Note: I
borrowed a copy of this book to review from the Book Review Board of Missouri.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Which Team Are You? : The White Rabbit Chronicles Edition
Last week's poll was over A.G. Howard’s Splintered series. Team Morpheus won!
So for this edition of “Which Team Are You?” I’m going to
ask you who your pick of hunky man-flesh is from Gena Showalter’s White Rabbit Chronicles. Now choosing
your team this time is a little bit different, just because Cole is the main
guy from the original series and Frosty is the guy from the upcoming spin-off
which means I may end up doing this one again after Frosty’s book, A Mad Zombie Party, comes out.
You can choose from:
1) Cole
or 2) Frosty
I’m Team Cole! He’s so sexy! He has
a nipple wring! And I just loves him lots! Although, I haven’t read Frosty’s
book, so who knows? He might wow me.
If you had to choose one, who would
it be, and why? If you haven’t read the books (And why not!?), who do you think
sounds more appealing from the Alice in
Zombieland summary (which favors Cole, oops) below:
She
won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.
Had
anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one
heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. But that's all it takes. One
heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was
gone.
Her
father was right. The monsters are real.
To
avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must
learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets
of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more
dangerous than the zombies.
***Please note that I stop
checking the poll the Friday before the new poll comes out (on Sunday). Also,
please only vote once so everyone’s vote counts, unless you need to vote for
both guys. I give you permission to do that because sometimes choosing is
tough.***
**Also note that these are not
my images. I found them online.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Stacking the Shelves: The Large BRB Haul Edition
"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.
I
borrowed some books from the Book Review Board of Missouri again. Two of them I’ve
already read and reviewed, but I’m going to submit my reviews into their
system, so they let me take the books.
The
Tale of Gwyn by Cynthia Voight
Last
Year’s Mistake by Gina Ciocca
In
a World Just Right by Jen Brooks
P.S.
I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Dead of
Winter by Kresley Cole
Finding
Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
I
don’t know what I was thinking trying to borrow so many books. I still have
three that I borrowed and haven’t reviewed yet. *sigh* The life of a book
reviewer…
What
books have you bought/received lately?
Friday, July 24, 2015
Dean Winchester Friday
Dean Winchester
(or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see
why when you look at the pic.
If a priest like
that came to my house, I’d convert ASAP.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Review: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
(The Darkest Minds #2)
Publication
Date: October 15, 2013
Hardcover, 512 pages, Disney-Hyperion
Genres:
YA, Sci-Fi/Dystopian
Ruby never asked for the abilities
that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis,
leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into
the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby
“Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster.
When Ruby is entrusted with an
explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving
the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed
most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared
and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is
only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy
Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her.
As Ruby sets out across a
desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that
has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and
the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the
people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?
My Review
Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. What have you gotten yourself into now,
hmm?
Ruby has found a place where she thinks she can be
relatively safe. She’s cut the most important person from her life and she’s
ready to forget about him, for his own safety. Then his older brother shows up
and ruins everything, now she has to go find the boy who can’t even remember
who she is.
Basically, this book was alright. There was a lot of action
and a lot of power usage, which is cool, but there wasn’t a lot of actual plot
development. Things happened, but not enough to have me thinking that the story
can be concluded reasonably in the last book. I feel like with how much
information wasn’t really explained, the third book will just be something
thrown together to resemble an okay
ending. Does that make sense? It will kind of be like Mockingjay or Allegiant.
Now, the characters of the story are good. Ruby is the same
Ruby she was in the first book and some new characters are introduced in the beginning
that I enjoyed reading about, especially because they’re funny. And Ruby is
most definitely not funny. And I’m still not sure if I really like her
character or not. I’m thinking it’s more of a not. I must say that Cole is a
great character to read about, though. *wiggles
eyebrows suggestively*
One thing that does kind of annoy me about Ruby specifically
is her aptitude for getting hurt. I normally don’t care if someone gets hurt in
a post-apocalyptic young adult story, but Ruby is constantly getting injured.
This wouldn’t have bothered me so much if she hadn’t gotten up and
fought/ran/whatever right after she got injured. All of the other characters
who were hurt were immediately incapacitated, but not Ruby. She could get up
and fight off the bad guys while she was bleeding her last bleed. I just
thought this wasn’t fair to the other characters. Bracken makes them seem like
wimps when they most definitely aren’t.
Additionally, the plot of the story is confusing at first.
The first chapter is from an “in the future” perspective of Ruby’s, yet the
second chapter is back in the past, but the third chapter goes back to
explaining the “in the future” stuff and bringing the first and second chapters
together. There are no time stamps at the beginning of chapters for me to
recognize that this was going to happen. It was, and is, terribly confusing. I
almost had to stop reading because I was completely messed up.
The actual plot of the book is, as I mentioned, action-y.
There aren’t any slow spots in the story. There’s just too much action and not
a whole lot of explanation. I couldn’t understand the significance of certain
events, so I felt like I was just barely grasping what was happening as it was
playing out.
All in all, Never Fade
is a good sequel that could have been better. It will take you on a road trip
with butt-kicking and bada$$ery, but it might leave you scratching your head
every once in a while.
**Note: I purchased
a copy of this book for myself.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Waiting on Wednesday: Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl
"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.
This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...
Publication
Date: October 13, 2015
Hardcover, 304 pages, Marvel Press
Genres:
YA, Paranormal, Romance
This novel features all the
thrilling adventure readers will expect from the Marvel brand, backed up by the
young-adult cred of #1 New York Times bestselling author Margaret Stohl.
Uncover a new side of the Marvel Universe, accessible to old fans and new readers
alike, as Stohl weaves an unforgettable story through the world of the Black
Widow.
My Thoughts
I’m actually not sure about this one. I liked The Caster Chronicles, but I’m just not
sure about how Stohl will transfer the lyrical writing style of that series
over to a comic book-esque novel storyline. What do you think?
What book are you waiting for this Wednesday?
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Bookshelf Pics 2015
I miss my
books sometimes, guys. Why? Because they’re at my parents’ house while I’m in
college and living in an apartment the size of my bedroom back home. That’s
why. So in order for me to remember what I have and how my shelves look, I took
some pictures. You’re welcome.
Shelf #1:
Shelf #2:
Shelf #3:
Shelf #4:
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