In My Mailbox (18)

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren to share with everyone the books they bought, borrowed, or received for review.  

Review

Sleepers by Megg Jensen (via author)

Between the Land and the Sea by Derrolyn Anderson (via author)

The Moon and the Tide by Derrolyn Anderson (via author)

Oubliette by Megg Jensen (via author)

Double by Jenny Valentine (via netgalley)

Misfit by Jon Skovron (via netgalley)

Bought

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Delirium (Special Edition) by Lauren Oliver

Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? Leave your link so I can check it out!! 

Follow Friday # 3

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read! It's a great way to meet new blogger friends!

This weeks question is:

Q. Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What T-Shirt slogan best describes you?

A: "As soon as I finish this chapter" is a perfect slogan for me because I am always saying it! My boss bought me this exact t-shirt for my birthday. She said as soon as she saw it, she thought of me.

The Dream Crystal by Mark O'Bannon

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

All of the world's dreams are about to die. The Shadow People have come. Always near, they linger in the darkness, ready to devour dreams, hopes, aspirations and desires. . .

Aisling, having lost her dream of becoming a fashion designer, learns that she's a Faerie changeling. Disquieted by the fact that her faerie parents are kidnappers, she has decided to rescue the human child she was exchanged for, but her "sister" is no longer among the faeries, having been taken by the Shadow People. Ith, the Lord of Shadows, is trying to control the dreams of mankind, which are under the protection of the faeries, so they're at war.

Aisling, who doesn't believe in dreams any longer, is falling in love with a handsome, mysterious stranger - one of the Shadow People.

The author of The Dream Crystal, Mark O’Bannon kindly provided an ebook so that I can review his work. It took me a very long time to get around to reading it, but I have to say, I was not disappointed and wish I read it sooner.

The story is about a girl named Erin who finds out she is actually a faerie changeling. Now with the name, Aisling, she enters The Land of Dreams to find the human girl who she took the place of. This new land is full of fairies and these fairies are in the middle of a war with The Shadow People. We meet so many kinds of fairies, both good and evil. We also learn a lot about different Irish customs and traditions.

O’Bannon is very descriptive with everything and I felt like I was right there in the middle of everything. I think sometimes being too descriptive can be a problem though. Of course I love when authors explain things and include descriptions. But at the same time I felt that the majority of The Dream Crystal were descriptions which did turn me off a bit.

That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the story. There was a lot of action and plot twists, and besides complaining about there being too many descriptions, nothing else in the story bothered me. I thought it was original and intriguing and I really enjoyed the world that was created.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story. O’Bannon’s fairy world is not to be missed if you are a lover of fantasy novels. 

Waiting on Wednesday (10): The Sequel Edition

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
January 24, 2012


For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning. 


 
Perception by Kim Harrington
March 2012

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

What is everyone else waiting on this Wednesday?

Tris & Izzy by Mette Ivie Harrison

Summary Provided my Goodreads:

A modern retelling of the German fairytale "Tristan and Isolde", Tris & Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

I so wanted to love this book. Since I first heard about it I knew that I wanted to read it. The cover was beautiful and a modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde seemed intriguing and promising. I even did a happy dance when I saw it on netgalley. But sadly, Tris & Izzie did not meet my expectations at all. The writing was not good, there were too many inconsistencies and too many things that pissed me off about it. The characters were flat and dull, and the only thing that was from the original story were the names of the characters, and even that didn’t work b/c Tristan’s real name wasn’t even Tristan!!

I don’t want to spend this entire review talking about what I didn’t like, but the writing for me was the worst part. For example, when Izzie and her mom learn that Tris is an orphan and is living on the streets and underpasses, Izzie's mom actually lets him leave her house:

Izzie: Where are you living then?

Tris: On the streets.

Mom: Ok then, well goodnight!

Really? What mother would do that? I just didn’t understand and it really bothered me. Then, the way that Tris and Izzie fell in love, along with the way some other characters got together (no names since I don’t want to give anything away) just didn’t add up. Everything was just so forced that it didn’t make any sense.

I think if the writing was a little better and made more sense, I could have liked the story better. I felt that the premise was there, but the execution just wasn’t right. I enjoyed the magical aspects of the story and liked learning about the background of the magical land where Izzie’s parents and Tris were from. 

Overall, I was disappointed with Tris & Izzie. I think maybe younger aged children would enjoy it more because they might not realize all of the inconsistencies throughout it, but even then, it wouldn’t be fair to them to have to read it. 

Tris & Izzie is set to be released October 11, 2011 by EgmontUSA. 

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Laurel's world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all, there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel's life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss, a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

Fans of emotionally true and heartfelt stories, such as Sarah Dessen's THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER and IF I STAY by Gayle Forman, will fall in love with Jennifer Castle’s incandescent debut novel...a heart wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.

Before, Laurel had a family. She had a mom and dad who she loved and a little brother that annoyed her. She had friends and a normal life. After, Laurel was alone. In one disastrous night, Laurel lost her family and David, her childhood friend and neighbor, lost his mother. The driver, David’s father is in coma that he might never wake from and everyone blames him for the accident. Now, Laurel has to learn to live without her family and has to learn to heal.

I was hesitant about reading The Beginning of After because I wasn’t sure how much I was going to enjoy a book that is about sadness and loss, but I am glad that I gave it a shot. The Beginning of After is about healing and becoming whole again after your entire life crumbles in a matter of seconds.

Laurel’s story didn’t sadden me as much as David’s did. David never had time for his family and was basically a pain in the ass to his parents. His dad was always a jerk to him, and he took that anger out by smoking, drinking and giving his parents attitude. Now his mom is dead and his dad might never wake up. Where Laurel had her grandmother, David was truly alone. He dropped out of school and left his childhood home, not really having any other place to go. He and Laurel bonded over their mutual tragedies, but I was hoping for a little more between the two.

My main issue with The Beginning of After was the characters. I should have had more sympathy for Laurel, but I didn’t. It almost felt like the feelings of Laurel and David were just glossed over. That isn’t to say that I thought the writing was bad, because it wasn’t. I think I was just expecting a little more from them.

I thought the ending was beautiful. It shows that you can move on from a tragedy, even if you think you can’t. Even if you don’t think you are strong enough, you are.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Beginning of After. It wasn’t as dark or depressing as I thought it was going to be, and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. I look forward to reading more books from the very talented Jennifer Castle!

I just want to also point out that I think the cover is gorgeous! I love it, and it is what first drew me to the book!  

The Beginning of After is set to be released September 6, 2011 from HarperTeen. 

In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren to share with everyone the books they bought, borrowed, or received for review. 

I haven't been able to do an IMM post for the entire month of July, so this is 4 weeks worth of books!!

Review

 The following books are courtsey of the very awesome Netgalley!!

 

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (Review coming soon!)

Eve by Anna Carey

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (Review coming soon!)

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa (Review coming soon!)

Variant by Robinson Wells 

The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees

Legend by Marie Lu (LibraryThing)

Bought

 

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers

Lament by Maggie Stievater

Love Story by Jennifer Echols (read & reviewed)

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (read and reviewed) 

I pre-ordered a signed copy of Forever from Fountain Books. I already had the first two book in the series signed when I met Maggie at This is Teen event on Long Island. I am very excited that I now have all three books in one of my favorite series signed! I also received The Scorpio Races postcard, which was very cool!

Won

I won these two books from The Well-Read Wife young adult review site, Young Adult Smash! Also included was an If I Stay/Where She Went bookmark! 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Where She Went by Gayle Forman (read and reviewed)

Extra

I received a package with some goodies from Kady Cross, author of The Girl in the Steel Corset, which I already read and reviewed and absolutely loved it!

What did you guys get in your mailbox this week?

Follow Friday # 2

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read! It's a great way to meet new blogger friends!

This weeks question is:

Q. Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?

A: There are so many authors that I would love to talk with, so this is a hard question to answer! I think the three authors I would choose are J.K. Rowling, J.D. Salinger and Maggie Stiefvater. I think that all three authors are brilliant and deserve so much praise! I met Maggie at a signing and just talking to her for a few minutes made me all giddy! 

 

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

One hour to rewrite the past . . .
 
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

My Thoughts:
Let me just start by saying that Hourglass was FANTASTIC! It is easily one of my favorite books of 2011. There was just something about the writing that makes you fall in love with the story and its characters. As soon as I turned the first page, I was completely hooked and nothing was going to be able to keep me from reading the rest of this awesome book!

Hourglass is about a teenage girl named Emerson (I never realized how awesome of a name Emerson is!) who can see ripes. Basically this means she can see people from the past. Between this and the fact that her parents died a few years before, Emerson is broken. She doesn’t have many people in her life except her older brother, Thomas, his wife, Dru, and her best friend, Lily. Everything changes when she meets Michael. Michael understands everything she feels and helps her to understand her abilities.

Not only was the plot intriguing and original, but the characters were amazing! I loved getting to know each and every one of them, and I can’t wait to get to know them even more in upcoming novels! Emerson was kick-ass! I loved everything about her. She was hilarious, strong and not afraid to put herself in danger if it means helping others. She has been through so much in her life, and it was nice to see her begin to heal. Then there is sweet, gorgeous Michael and Kaleb, Michael’s best friend whose a bad-boy, but not really a bad-boy. God! Both of these boys are hotties and treat Emerson wonderfully. Michael is the open-book kind of guy. He doesn’t hide who he is. Kaleb is the opposite. He keeps people away for many reasons and I loved watching him open up to Emerson. Kaleb and Emerson were very cute and sweet together, but I also loved the chemistry between Em and Michael! The connection that Emerson had with both leading men was perfect!

There is a little bit of everything in Hourglass, which is one of the reasons why I am so obsessed with this book! There’s romance, action, ghosts, paranormal, time-travel, and history in Hourglass, which just added so much to the story. The setting was beautifully written and I love that it takes place in a small Southern town in Tennessee.

Hourglass is such a fun and original read. So many parts made me giggle like a little girl!  It is one of those books that I can read over and over again, and I definitely intend too! I am so excited to see where Myra McEntire takes us in the Hourglass series and I am so looking forward to the next book!

For those of you that are interested, Murphy's Law Coffee is an awesome Hourglass site. It has information on the book, the characters and the setting. There are some slight spoilers in the character, but it is definitely something to check out! 

Flyaway by Helen Landalf

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Stevie Calhoun is used to taking care of herself. But one night, her mom, who works as an exotic dancer in a downtown Seattle nightclub, never comes home.

That’s the night Stevie’s life turns upside down.

It’s the night that kicks off an extraordinary summer: the summer Stevie has to stay with her annoyingly perfect Aunt Mindy; the summer she learns to care for injured and abandoned birds; the summer she gets to know Alan, the meanest guy in high school.

 
But most of all, it’s the summer she finds out the truth about Mom.

FLYAWAY is the story of a teen girl’s struggle to hold on to what she’s always believed, even as her world spins out of control.

My Thoughts:

While searching the new YA titles on Netgalley, I came across Flyaway and was instantly intrigued and after reading it, I have nothing but good things to say about it! Flyaway is about a 15 year old girl named Stevie. Her mother is a dancer at a strip club and Stevie spends most of her time by herself. She ignores all of the negative things about her mom and looks up to her. It isn’t until her mom doesn’t come home for days, and her Aunt Mindy takes her back to her house, that Stevie starts to question all she knows about her mother and their life together.

I really loved Stevie. I thought she was a wonderful character and I enjoyed getting to know her. It was really hard for her to come to terms with her mother’s drug issue and I felt for her. I wanted her to be able to accept her mother’s issues and be able to move on from that. I wanted her to become a family with her Aunt and I wanted her to get to know Alan. My favorite parts of the book was when she and Alan were working at the bird sanctuary together. Stevie was someone that I was rooting for throughout the entire story.

Flyaway will leave you with hope and a smile on your face and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story! Also, you might not know this at first, but Flyaway is a perfect fitting title for this book!  

Flyaway is set to be released December 19, 2011. 

Teaser Tuesday!

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given
• Please avoid spoilers!

I am currently reading Perfect by Ellen Hopkins!

Here is my teaser. I hope you enjoy it! 

How do you define a word without concrete meaning? To each his own, the saying goes, so why push to attain an ideal state of being that no two random people will agree is where you want to be? 

This teaser is from the first page, but I feel that it captures what this book is about completely, and well, perfectly!

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret—behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

My Thoughts:
I absolutely love Lisa McMann! I am obsessed with Wake and Fade (I haven’t read Gone yet because I don’t want the series to end!) and even though I wasn’t 100% intrigued with the summary of The Unwanteds, I still wanted to read it. I am so glad that I read it because McMann has written another amazing story. The Unwanteds is a creative and magical story that is perfect for middle school children! The story is about friendship, loyalty, trust and believing in yourself.

In the society of Quill, children at the age of thirteen are classified as “Wanted”, “Necessary” or “Unwanted”. Whoever is considered to be an Unwanted are chained up and brought to the Death Farm to be killed in the Great Lake of Burning Oil. I couldn’t believe the first chapter! It was very hard to read because I could not imagine a society that killed children. But not everything is what it seems in this world. The children were not killed, but brought to a special (and secret) place called Artimé where they can learn magic and foster their creative personalities. Mr. Today runs Artimé and is a great teacher and mentor for these “unwanted” children. He teaches them that even if their families and their society thought they were useless due to who they are, they are all unique and special! The main character, Alex Stowe is classified as an Unwanted, while his twin brother, Aaron is a Wanted. The connection between the twins is what will eventually bring this story to a head because while the children are learning to harvest their abilities, they are also learning how to attack and defend themselves using magic. One day they will have to fight for their right to exist among the Wanteds and this day is closer then any of them realizes.

The Unwanteds is told in the multiple POV of Alex, Aaron, Mr. Today and some of the other Unwanted children, including Alex’s new friends, Meghan, and Lani. It was interesting to see how the other children were adopting to their new lives.

The Unwanteds is a quick, fun and unique read. There were surprises at every corner and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. There were some things that I was able to figure out right away, but I don’t think young readers will have that problem.  While reading, all I could think about was how cool Artimé is and how much I wish I was apart of something like that!

The Unwanteds comes out August 30, 2011 and I highly recommend it. It is the perfect story for anyone who has ever felt different and let’s face it-that includes each and every one of us! 

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

From Jessi Kirby, a debut novel about confronting the past in order to move ahead.

* I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both. *

Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.

While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever.

My Thoughts:

Oh, Moonglass, how I wanted to enjoy you, and love you, and praise you like everyone else, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Most of the time, I was bored because the plot was predictable and the characters were flat. My favorite thing about this entire book was the cover. The cover is absolutely beautiful with its colors and its shimmering. This cover is the reason I wanted to read this book in the first place.

The book begins with Anna and her father moving to Crystal Cove, the same place where Anna’s parents met, and the same place her mother died. There, Anna learns things about her parents that she never knew before, and she also learned the real nature of her mother’s death.

I did enjoying learning a little bit about the town’s history alongside Anna and I thought the descriptions of the beach were fantastic. I really thought that I was there and I wish that I was. How amazing would it be to live in one of the tiny cabins described, right on the beach, facing the beautiful water? For me, that would be heaven.

I think the reason I didn’t like Moonglass was it just wasn’t the story for me. I would still recommend it, and already have given a copy to my friend who is enjoying a lot! 

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Wrap Up (Post # 3)

We did it everyone! Once Upon a Read-a-Thon has come to end. I hope everyone got to read all of, or most of the books on their reading list!

Here was the list of books that I was hoping to read:

1. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
2. White Cat by Holly Black
3. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
4. The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
5. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
6. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
8. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
9. Percy Jackson 5: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
10. A Little Harmless Obsession by Melissa Schroeder

I was able to read the first 6 books on my list and I must say I am pretty proud of myself! I used the Read-a-Thon to re-read some books that I have been wanting to read again for a while, but haven't had the opportunity to. Wish I would have gotten to Shiver though. Love that book!

All of my Read-A-Thon updates (#OUreadathon) can be found on my twitter page here!!

Post # 1 about the Read-A-Thon can be found here!!

Post # 2 which includes the two mini-challenges that I participated in can be found here!!

This Read-a-Thon was a lot of fun and I am so glad I was able to participate in it. I would also like to thank Lori from Pure Imagination , Angela from Reading Angel  and Candace from Candace's Book Blog for hosting this awesome event!! Can't wait till next time!

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

Cracked by K.M. Walton
March 6, 2012

Victor hates his life. He's relentlessly bullied at school and his parents ridicule him for not being perfect. He's tired of being weak, so he takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills -- only to wake up in the hospital.

Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. He's the opposite of weak. And he's tired of his grandfather's drunken beatings, so he tries to defend himself with a loaded gun.

When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, things go from bad to worse. Until they discover they just might have something in common: a reason to live. 








Dead To You by Lisa McMann
February 7, 2012


Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon (Post # 2)

Today is Day 2 of Once Upon a Read-A-Thon and I am having so much fun! Yesterday I read The Iron Queen, White Cat and The Demon's Lexicon! Today I hope to finish The Girl in the Steel Corset and Clockwork Angel.


Mini-Challenge # 1

Yesterday, I participated in the mini-challenge hosted by IB Book Blogging . I answered on twitter, which can be found here, but I will answer more fully here: 

Questions 1: What is your favorite type of myth (Greek, Roman, Egyptian etc)?

I have always be fascinated with Greek Mythology. I thought the stories and myths were so amazing! If I was ever going to take more college classes, I would love to take a class on Greek Mythology.

Question 2: What is your favorite book with some type of mythology in it?

I think my favorite book that is based on Greek Mythology is the Percy Jackson series! Those books are so much fun, and I think it brings in a whole generation of young kids to not only want to read, but want to learn more about Greek Mythology.

Also, in college, I was in the sorority Tri Delta and our Greek God was Poseidon. The fact that Percy's dad was Poseidon was very cool!


Mini-Challenge # 2

YA Bliss is hosting a mini challenge today based on love triangles. She wants to know what is your top three book love triangles. Here are mine:

1. Will, Jem and Tessa from The Infernal Devices series (Clockwork Angel)
2. Gabriel, Linden and Rhine from The Chemical Garden series (Wither)
3. Michael, Kaleb and Emerson from The Hourglass series (Hourglass)

For my #OUreadathon updates, you can go to my twitter page here. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

My Thoughts:

Divergent has been out for a while now and I heard such good things about it that I bought it the day it came out, but only now got around to reading it. I really enjoyed it and read it in about two days. I thought the plot was very intriguing and original and I thought that the characters were well written. Veronica Roth created an awesome story and I am very much looking forward to the next one!

In dystopian Chicago, Beatrice must choose whether to stay with her family and everything she has ever known in Abnegation or find her own way in the world in Dauntless. Knowing what her choice will cost her, she joins the faction Dauntless, and becomes Tris. Before Tris can officially become a member of Dauntless, she must prove that she is valuable and brave and pass a series of very hard physical and emotional tests. While in training she meets some interesting people, who become her friends, something she has never really had before and also falls in love.

Tris is kick-ass! I enjoyed her character so much. She was loyal and strong and just all around awesome. She also had weaknesses and was vulnerable which makes her much more realistic. I loved watching her grow and become the women she was born to be. Her teacher/mentor, Four was also written terrifically. Four was a little hard to figure out, but once I did, I was surprised at who he really was. Four is very strong and mysterious and he doesn’t allow anyone to see how really messed up and insecure he truly is. That is, until he meets Tris. Once I learned about his painful past, I loved him even more, because everything that has happened to him has made him into the man he is today. Even the secondary characters, such as Tris’ friends, Will and Christina, were written in a way that made me wish they were my friends!  

Divergent is a very hard book to review because anything I write could possible give something away. I suggest just picking this book up your self and reading it. I promise it would be totally worth it! 

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon (Post # 1)

Can I just start my saying how excited I am to be participating in my first ever Read-a-Thon!! I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to re-read some of my favorite books that I have been wanting to read again, but have not had the time. Here is a list of books I hope to read in the next three days:

1. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
2. White Cat by Holly Black
3. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
4. The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
5. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
6. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
7. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
8. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
9. Percy Jackson 5: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
10. A Little Harmless Obsession by Melissa Schroeder

I will be posting updates regularly on twitter, which can be found here if you want to follow me. On Tuesday, I will write another post on the blog to let you guys know how I am doing and how the mini-challenge is going and on Thursday will post a wrap-up telling everyone what I accomplished!

This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to start!