Book Reivew- Pretty Girl-13

I just finished reading Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley for and Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case, Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological mystery about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she's returned home…only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen-or at least that's what everyone tells her.

What happened to the past three years of her life?

Angie doesn't know.

But there are people who do—people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren't locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her "alters." As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?

Liz Coley's alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing-and ultimately empowering-page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

When I first started this book, it was just okay.  The topic interested me but I didn't really like the main character or the writing style.  I thought it would be another book I finished just because I can't stop reading books in the middle.  But the book surprised me and and I ended up enjoying it.

I thought the topic of the multiple personalities brought on by tragedy was so interesting. Dissociative Identitiy Disorder..I think I had heard of it before or read a book about it before but didn't really remember.  I found it really interesting to read about how these personalities helped to protect Angie while she was kidnapped.

There were a few twists and turns in the story but I saw them coming before they were spelled out.  I think maybe what I liked about the book was that it wasn't completely dreary.  Yes, the horrible thing happened but Angie went to therapy and was cooperative and wanted to get better.  I know in real life, some victims aren't ready to return to normal life and will never completely heal from that type of tragedy.  But I liked the idea of the hope in this story.

This book surprised me and makes me glad that I'm the type of person that won't stop reading a book even when I really want to put it down.

I gave this book a 4/5.

Pretty Girl-13 will be released on March 19, 2013.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 12
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 8
2013 Debut Author Challenge: 4
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 10
2013 Standalone Reading Challenge: 1

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

In My Mailbox- February 25, 2013

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week


THURSDAY
Pretty Girl-13- Liz Coley--review for an Around the World ARC Tour











FRIDAY
Poison- Bridget Zinn--review for an Around the World ARC Tour
         










 
Nantucket Blue- Leila Howland--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

Book Review- Shadow and Bone

I just finished reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

From Goodreads:

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

I have to admit it..I am one of those readers who often judge a book by its cover.  And when I first saw this cover and then read the summary, I didn't think I'd enjoy it.  It seemed to dark for me.  But a friend suggest I read it so I did.  And I'm sooo glad!  It was really, really good!

At first it was a little difficult to remember some of the new terminology but it soon became second nature.  I was easily drawn into the world that the author created.  Yes, that world was dark but there was some lightness too (and no, for those of you who have read the book, that was not meant as a pun).  I could easily imagine the clothing that the Grisha wore and the foods.

I really liked Alina.  I liked how she grew into her power and was true to herself.  She stuck to her friends even when it wasn't conventional.  And yes, she could be trusting and naive but she soon learned her ways.  There was a little romance in the book and it intrigued me.  I couldn't decide if I trusted the boy or not.  I'm still not sure.

And so I'm left hanging on and waiting for the next book.  One I didn't think I cared to read but now can't wait to get my hands on.  I only hope that Siege and Storm is as good as this first book was!

I gave this book a rating of 4.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 11
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 9

*FTC Disclosure: I traded this book with a friend.

The Sunday Salon- February 24, 2013

The Sunday Salon

My best friend and I ran in the Princess Half Marathon today.  We stopped for tons of pictures so our time was a lot slower but we had a blast!

I finished and reviewed the following book last week:
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd











Eternal by H.G. Nadel











I fulfilled items in the following challenges last week:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 8, 10
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 7
2013 Debut Author Challenge: 3
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 8
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 3

I am currently reading Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and up next is Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley.

Book Review- Eternal

I read Eternal by H.G. Nadel for a TLC Book Tour.

From Goodreads:

A love story that spans across continents and centuries.
 
Julia Jones is an eighteen-year-old science prodigy with a big secret. After landing a prestigious internship with brilliant but eccentric Dr. Caleb Bertel, she is finally ready to move on from her mother's death. But after Julia revives Dr. Bertel from a near-fatal electrocution, strange things start to happen.
 
Without warning, Dr. Bertel disappears. Then Julia receives threatening notes on her car, and someone has her followed. The young police officer assigned to the case, Austin Moore, believes the events are connected and asks her to help him solve the mystery of Bertel's disappearance. Instantly
attracted to him, Julia agrees. Still, she knows that she has seen Austin somewhere before, if only she could put her finger on it.
 
Will Julia uncover the mystery of Bertel's disappearance before it's too late, and does she dare trust Austin with her heart?

I love a good love story and I love paranormal books so I thought this would be right up my alley.  Unfortunately, it was all a little blah to me. 

The plot was somewhat unique.  The idea of how Julia saves everything is definitely different.  But I felt that a lot of the thoughts and saying of the characters were very cheesy. 

I liked that Julia was really smart and embraced her intelligence.  That being said, her choice of friends and boyfriends were lacking.  I didn't really see the appeal of them at all.  Austin was okay, I guess, but his attraction to her right from the beginning given the age difference was a little creepy. 

I think if the writing was stronger and some of the plot areas were tightened up, this could be a hit book.  Just the way it is now didn't really do it for me and I found myself struggling to make myself finish it.

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge:8
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 3

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the TLC Book Tours.

Book Review- The Madman's Daughter

I finished reading The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd over the weekend for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book.  On the one hand, the creations of Juliet's father intrigued me.  I wondered about how that could have worked.  But then on the other hand, the idea that the animals were in so much pain horrified me.  I'm not really sure which side won out.

The characters were always a little distant to me.  I'm not sure if it was the topic or the time setting, but I never really connected to them.

That being said, the ending completely threw me.  I kinda figured out one tiny part of it, but not the major surprise.  And I love being surprised.  Anyways, the book was..interesting to say the least.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 10
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 7
2013 Debut Author Challenge: 3
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 8

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

In My Mailbox- February 18, 2013

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week


MONDAY
Mila 2.0- Debra Driza--review for an Around the World ARC Tour











Keys to the Repository (Blue Bloods #4.5)- Melissa de la Cruz--PaperbackSwap










Shadow and Bone- Leigh Bardugo--PaperbackSwap

In My Mailbox- February 11, 2013

In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week


MONDAY
The Madman’s Daughter- Megan Shepherd--review for an Around the World ARC Tour

The Sunday Salon- February 10, 2013

The Sunday Salon
Lets see.  In the past two weeks, I've done a lot of running, seen 3 movies, and put an offer on a house.  But it got declined.  Boo!  Coming up: a 10k this weekend and a meeting with a bunch of friends at Disney.

I finished and reviewed the following book last week:
The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass












I fulfilled items in the following challenges last week:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 9
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 6
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 7
2013 Sophomore Reading Challenge: 1

I am currently reading The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd and up next if I don't get any more tour books is Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.