Etherworld (Elusion #2)- Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam--Monday, April 27, 2015
In My Mailbox- April 27, 2015
Etherworld (Elusion #2)- Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam--
Sunday, April 26, 2015
The Sunday Salon- April 26, 2015
I finished and reviewed the following book in the last week:
I am currently reading Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley and up next is either The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes or Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Book Review- Forever
I just finished reading Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater.
From Goodreads:
then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.
now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.
forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment--a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.
It's been almost 5 years since I read the first 2 books in this series. And I could tell. I couldn't remember anything about it. And unfortunately, the book doesn't do a good job of reminding me. So I kind of felt distant from the whole thing.
That being said, I did enjoy the world of Mercy Falls again. I liked Grace and Sam's relationship. And Cole and Isabel's in that twisted, not-really-a-relationship-but-you-know-its-gonna-be-one type of way.
The major event toward the end of the book was sad but needed to happen I guess. But I feel the very last chapter didn't make sense. There was too much that needed to be wrapped up at the end of the current times before the last chapter could jump forward many months.
This is supposed to be the last book in the series but there's a companion book that goes with it that I have to read next!
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.
*FTC Disclosure: I bought this book from a fellow blogger.
From Goodreads:
then.When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.
now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.
forever.
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment--a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.
It's been almost 5 years since I read the first 2 books in this series. And I could tell. I couldn't remember anything about it. And unfortunately, the book doesn't do a good job of reminding me. So I kind of felt distant from the whole thing.
That being said, I did enjoy the world of Mercy Falls again. I liked Grace and Sam's relationship. And Cole and Isabel's in that twisted, not-really-a-relationship-but-you-know-its-gonna-be-one type of way.
The major event toward the end of the book was sad but needed to happen I guess. But I feel the very last chapter didn't make sense. There was too much that needed to be wrapped up at the end of the current times before the last chapter could jump forward many months.
This is supposed to be the last book in the series but there's a companion book that goes with it that I have to read next!
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.
*FTC Disclosure: I bought this book from a fellow blogger.
Monday, April 13, 2015
In My Mailbox- April 13, 2015
THURSDAY
SATURDAY
The Sunday Salon- April 12, 2015
I finished and reviewed the following book in the last week:
I am currently reading Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) and up next is Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #4) both by Maggie Stiefvater.
Book Review- The List
I finished reading The List by Siobhan Vivian on Saturday.
From Goodreads:
An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.
This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.
I feel like this book had an important theme---popularity in high school and the positive and negative effects of it. I liked the plot idea--of a popularity list. But I'm not sure that I thought it was done the right way.
I never really got attached to any of the characters because it was told from 8 different viewpoints. I found myself not really caring about any of them and especially disliking one of them (probably the one that was supposed to be disliked but I think instead we should have seen some redeeming quality in her.)
There were some major teen issues in the book--including an eating disorder. But nothing ever really gets done about it. The character with the disorder knows its wrong but it's never really rectified. Another character's mother is threatening to pull her out of the school but we never find out if that really happens. It's like nothing is ever resolved in the story. Almost like the book was cut short. Each character should have had at least one more chapter to wrap up their "story".
Overall, it was an okay book. I just wish it had more follow-through at the end.
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
From Goodreads:
An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.
This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.
I feel like this book had an important theme---popularity in high school and the positive and negative effects of it. I liked the plot idea--of a popularity list. But I'm not sure that I thought it was done the right way.
I never really got attached to any of the characters because it was told from 8 different viewpoints. I found myself not really caring about any of them and especially disliking one of them (probably the one that was supposed to be disliked but I think instead we should have seen some redeeming quality in her.)
There were some major teen issues in the book--including an eating disorder. But nothing ever really gets done about it. The character with the disorder knows its wrong but it's never really rectified. Another character's mother is threatening to pull her out of the school but we never find out if that really happens. It's like nothing is ever resolved in the story. Almost like the book was cut short. Each character should have had at least one more chapter to wrap up their "story".
Overall, it was an okay book. I just wish it had more follow-through at the end.
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Monday, April 6, 2015
In My Mailbox- April 6, 2015
In My Mailbox: Here's what I got in my mailbox last week:
The Sunday Salon- April 5, 2015
I finished and reviewed the following books in the last week:
I am currently reading The List by Siobhan Vivian and up next (if I don't get a tour book) will be Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Book Review- A Curious Tale of the In-Between
I just finished reading A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano for an Around the World ARC Tour.
From Goodreads:
Pram Bellamy is special—she can talk to ghosts. She doesn’t have too many friends amongst the living, but that’s all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.
Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram’s power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.
Lauren DeStefano is beloved by critics and readers alike, and her middle grade debut is lyrical, evocative and not to be missed.
I've loved Lauren DeStefano's young adult books so I thought I'd try a middle grade one. And I enjoyed it. It was a ghost story that was slightly dark. Which might not sound much like a middle grade novel, but she explains why she wrote it the way she did in the beginning of the story.
I loved all three of the main characters--Pram, Felix (her ghost best friend), and Clarence a little love interest. They were all just sweet characters with a little bit of tragedy in them.
Some of the spirit would stuff was a little weird for me, but that's okay. It was a sweet and haunting read, both in the cute little ghost aspects and in the topic.
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
A Curious Tale of the In-Between will be released on September 1, 2015.
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.
From Goodreads:
Pram Bellamy is special—she can talk to ghosts. She doesn’t have too many friends amongst the living, but that’s all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram’s power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.
Lauren DeStefano is beloved by critics and readers alike, and her middle grade debut is lyrical, evocative and not to be missed.
I've loved Lauren DeStefano's young adult books so I thought I'd try a middle grade one. And I enjoyed it. It was a ghost story that was slightly dark. Which might not sound much like a middle grade novel, but she explains why she wrote it the way she did in the beginning of the story.
I loved all three of the main characters--Pram, Felix (her ghost best friend), and Clarence a little love interest. They were all just sweet characters with a little bit of tragedy in them.
Some of the spirit would stuff was a little weird for me, but that's okay. It was a sweet and haunting read, both in the cute little ghost aspects and in the topic.
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
A Curious Tale of the In-Between will be released on September 1, 2015.
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Book Review- Love Fortunes and Other Disasters
I just finished reading Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius for an Around the World ARC Tour.
From Goodreads:
In the tradition of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, one girl chooses to change her fortune and her fate by falling in love.
Love is real in the town of Grimbaud, and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Duprees have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love.
Fortunately, Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian.
Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?
Here we go with an unpopular review. I just didn't like this book. I hate to say it but it annoyed me the whole time I was reading it. There is such a thing as too descriptive and I felt like this was it. The whole setting was just weird too. It had touches of magic in that there were different charms but that was the only "paranormal" (for lack of a better word) part of the book. And it was in a fictional place (obviously because of the magic) but I couldn't tell where this was supposed to be--America, Europe, it's own island? It's like the author couldn't decide if she wanted it to be contemporary or a different genre. I don't even know how to describe it. And then you have the fact that it seemed like it was set back in the eighties with talk of cassette tapes and libraries with card catalogs and no mention of computers.
I didn't really care for any of the characters. Fallon was only fifteen but away at a boarding school and she came across way older than a fifteen year old. Which struck me as weird. Why not make the character older? I guess if I had to pick one character to like, it would be Sebastian. A touch of bad boy but with a good boy heart.
The plot idea was okay. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was set in a book that actually I got into. Ehhh
I gave this book a rating of 2/5.
Love Fortunes and Other Disasters will be released on May 12, 2015.
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.
From Goodreads:
In the tradition of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, one girl chooses to change her fortune and her fate by falling in love.Love is real in the town of Grimbaud, and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Duprees have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love.
Fortunately, Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian.
Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?
Here we go with an unpopular review. I just didn't like this book. I hate to say it but it annoyed me the whole time I was reading it. There is such a thing as too descriptive and I felt like this was it. The whole setting was just weird too. It had touches of magic in that there were different charms but that was the only "paranormal" (for lack of a better word) part of the book. And it was in a fictional place (obviously because of the magic) but I couldn't tell where this was supposed to be--America, Europe, it's own island? It's like the author couldn't decide if she wanted it to be contemporary or a different genre. I don't even know how to describe it. And then you have the fact that it seemed like it was set back in the eighties with talk of cassette tapes and libraries with card catalogs and no mention of computers.
I didn't really care for any of the characters. Fallon was only fifteen but away at a boarding school and she came across way older than a fifteen year old. Which struck me as weird. Why not make the character older? I guess if I had to pick one character to like, it would be Sebastian. A touch of bad boy but with a good boy heart.
The plot idea was okay. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was set in a book that actually I got into. Ehhh
I gave this book a rating of 2/5.
Love Fortunes and Other Disasters will be released on May 12, 2015.
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.
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