Sunday, July 31, 2011

Review: Forever

Review: Of course I eagerly anticipated the release of this book because I loved the two previous ones in the trilogy: Shiver and Linger. I pre-ordered it and read the last page when it arrived...I wasn't happy with what I saw so I put it on the shelf and opted to read a few other books I had first. Finally I got the courage and read it, it had to be done. At first I was not really liking it as much as I liked the first two, I felt the writing was different. It seemed a bit overly sophisticated and I wasn't feeling it. I came across a lot of words I didn't know the definition to, and I had never even heard before, and that made me really angry. This is a YA book so why are there words that look like they should only be on a dictionary page and never again see the light of day? I was getting really frustrated with this, and it was turning me off. Some of these words were even in other languages and there was no translation provided. Words I had no clue the meaning to: Buboes, Cthulhu, Diurnal, Erudite. But whatever, moving on to my favorite things in the book. I really enjoyed the flashback sort of stories that this book was full of. One of my first favorites was the one when Sam is remembering an incident where Beck is teaching him to put his bad memories in a box and stick them into a corner of his brain never to be opened, and little Sam calls it brain tape. At the end of the story Sam says: "we sat like that for a long while, and when we stood up, all my sad things were in boxes, and Beck was my father." Awww. There were little moments between Sam and Grace that were adorable, when you just knew they were really in love with each other. Sam recalls a time when Grace squeezed into the chair with him, pinched him and then said sorry Sam says you don't say sorry while nipping someones earlobe. This book also involved a lot of story line around Isabel and Cole and they had a lot of their own chapters. Surprisingly I liked their chapters more than I liked Sam and Grace's I couldn't wait for their chapters and then I read quickly until it was them again, I love the story that revolved around them. I really fell for Cole in this book especially all the moments that he had with the stupid little Mustang toy Isabel gave him. Particularly the one where  he drives it up Isabel's arm in her mom's clinic. I really loved this trilogy and I'm sad to see it go, I Can't say i'm 100% thrilled with the ending, there are things I HATED about this book *cough* Beck. But I would read it again and recommend it for sure. 5/5 stars.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Grace is currently reading....

Review: Firelight

Summary:A hidden truth. 
                                Mortal enemies.
                               Doomed love.
Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.
Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Review: Firelight is a book I had heard of A LOT from other bloggers. Always ranting and raving about how good it was and how much they couldn't wait for the sequel to come out: Vanish. I was a little weary about reading this book because I didn't see how one could make dragons into a romantic love YA story, however; ...Sophie Jordan did. I really loved this book, and was sure I was going to straight from the first few pages. I can honestly say I generally have a feeling for how the rest of the book will go just by the first chapter, if not the few few pages. I was hooked right from the beginning in this one, and just like Jacinda I instantly fell in love with Will. One of the things I loved about Will, and I know this is gonna seem crazy, but here it is: was his name. He had such a plain, not in your face name. A lot of books try to come up with heart throb names or strange names to make them memorable, bit Will Rutledge is such a common yet memorable name for me. On to the things or people rather, that I didn't like. Tamra! and the mother! I understand the feeling Tamra must have had never having come into her Draki, and resenting Jacinda for getting the guy she was in love with, but God she was a spoiled and selfish witch with a capital B! When she said she had a date and she wouldn't tell Jacinda who it was, I knew it was one of the cousins, Tamra is stupid, and selfish enough to pull a stunt like that. And what about her mother?! Trying to kill the one thing that Jacinda loves most, her Draki. I felt like she was taking Tamra's side a lot and never even thinking of Jacinda and what this was doing to her. I'm hoping in the second book we find out she never really sold the family Ruby, cuz that really made me pissed! I can't wait for book two and I regret waiting this long to read book one! A defnite must read! 5/5 stars! Totally recommend! And I love the cover SO much! It's so pretty, such an eye catcher!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Grace is currently reading....

Review: Queen Of The Dead

Summary:After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.
Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.
Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is - ahem - willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea. 

Review: I read this book because I had read the first one and I hate not continuing on with a series if I have read the first installment, so I continued on with this one. I enjoyed the first one well enough, it wasn't something I's absolutely swear by, but it was cute. The second book however; I didn't like as much as I liked the first. I liked the middle to the end a lot more than I liked the beginning, the beginning seemed like it was rushed. There's not much I can say about this book I don't have much of an opinion on it. I did like it and I will continue to read on with this series.


Out This Week

When Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemies, she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer—one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack—and the man—she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive. 
Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.
But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.
So much for normal.

Cover Reveal

The much anticipated sequel to Lauren Destefano's awesome book Wither finally has a cover! The title of the book is Fever, what do you guys think? I think the cover is beautiful! I love how the model is the same too.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Grace is currently reading....

Review: Cruel Love

Summary:After escaping from the Brenda T. Trumball Correctional Facility for Women and stealing the identity of rich socialite, Ariana Osgood finally thought she was on the path she always believed she deserved. But her past caught up with her and she is forced right back to her old ways, making everything she wants seem further out of reach. And some familiar faces are back to make things even worse for her.
The Privilege series comes to and end with all the suspense, romance, drama and, wherever Ariana is concerned, murder you'd expect.

Review: I am really sad to see this series go, I really enjoyed being in the mind of the chaotic and totally crazy Ariana Osgood. One of the things I love about Ariana is that she sees reason in all the killing she does. There's always a really important and totally logical explanation for each death. That is how you know she is truly a crazy person. Ariana has a way of always getting what she wants no matter the cost. While I'm sad to see this series go, I am happy that it isn't being drawn out like the Private series is. Since this book is somewhat in the future, I think it's about two years or so? I was SO SO SO SO SO SO happy to see that Josh and Reed were STILL together, and Reed and Noelle were still really close friends. I did feel bad for Ariana as she was dying though because she saw her old best friend (whom she still considers her best friend even after everything) and her enemy standing together and hugging. I'm sure it was the last thing Ariana wanted to see as she was dying. It did seem however; that Ariana finally found someone who would really love her and do anything for her. It made me kinda sad for her when we found out that Jasper actually did meet her at the airport. :( but at least she died knowing she finally found someone good for her, and who was prepared to drop everything for her. Again, I'm sad to see this series go, but I think it was time. I would definitely recommend this series, and if you don't want to read all the privates, at least read 1-4 so you know what's going on in Privilege! 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Out Today: Forever

Today is the release day for the last and final installment in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves Of Mercy Falls trilogy. I love this trilogy so I am so sad to see it go! :(

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 love moved from a 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

Cover Reveal: The Golden Lily

The second book to the Bloodlines books by Richelle Mead, has a cover and a name. Even before the first one even hit shelves!


Expected Release Date: March 1st, 2012

Cover Reveal!

The second book in Lauren Oliver's Delirium trilogy has a cover!

Expectated Release Date: March 6th, 2012

Lauren Oliver captivated readers with Delirium, the first book in a thrilling dystopian trilogy in which Lena Haloway dared to fall in love with Alex and escape the cure, the government-mandated procedure that renders a person immune to the disease of love. Lena and Alex staked their lives on leaving their oppressive society, but only Lena broke free. 

Pandemonium continues Lena’s gripping story. After escaping from Portland, Maine, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community, where she transforms herself into a warrior for the resistance. A future without Alex is unimaginable, but Lena pushes forward and fights, both for him and for a world in which love is no longer considered a disease. Swept up in a volatile mix of revolutionaries and counterinsurgents, Lena struggles to survive—and wonders if she may be falling in love again. 

This Is So Not Happening: Release Date

This Is So Not Happening, the third and final book in the She's So Not Worth It trilogy will be released on May 1, 2012!!


So sad to see this series end, but So looking forward to the next installment!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Grace is currently reading....

Review: Die For Me

Summary:In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

Review: This book didn't do much for me. In fact, I had it on my shelves for quite some time before actually picking it up and deciding to read it. I read to page 20 when I finally did pick it up, and then put it back down for another month. I finally decided to just start it again and hope for the best. The best however, sadly, never came. There was a bunch of things that turned me off to this book, I found quite a few inconsistencies that I think anyone reading should have been able to pick up. One, Kate mentions Vincent saying he had a childhood love, when I read this I though huh, that must have been a part I wasn't paying attention at, and I let it leave my mind. I even wrote on my little note paper "Childhood romance?", about 50 or so pages later Vincent mentions having a childhood romance and Kate acts as if she has never heard of this before, sparking a whole conversation about Helene that leads to the story of how Vincent found out he was a revenant, and being picked up by Jean-Baptise. Another one I found was when Kate asked about being in the head of other people, Vincent said only other revenants and when I'm volant, then she say's how about humans? And he says yes, with their permission and if they're alive...didn't he just get done saying ONLY other revenants?  Lastly when Vincent gets a call from Charles that Kate picks up she says: something along the line of "Charles, are you okay? It's Kate" when Lucien breaks into the house, he says I knew only one human would be picking up Vincent's phone, plus I recognized your voice. If he could hear her voice that clearly, wouldn't he have heard her say it's Kate? It would have just made more sense if he stuck to, I heard you say it was Kate. There was one phrase that was in this book more than any other phrase and after about the 5th time it was really starting to drive me bonkers! "Oh, Vincent" had to have reared it's ugly head on at least every other page. After a while it became a game to see how long before it would be said again. Then it traveled to the other characters and they started saying it too. Oh, Kate, Oh, Ambrose. It was making me CRAZY!! There were some things I liked about this book, petty as they may seem they kept me reading when I thought all hope was lost. As a girl with big feet, I liked how Kate had a size ten shoe. I also liked how when she went to identify her mothers body in the morgue she took some of her own hair out and braided it with her mothers. I thought that was cute. Overall, I wouldn't say this was a terrible book, It wasn't poorly written, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone. I know there are people who would really enjoy it, it just wasn't for me. 2/5 stars. It was okay. If I would read the second one, it is only to see how Charlotte and Charles cope after being sent away from the rest of the crew, and to see if Charlottes love for Ambrose is ever returned.

Cover Reveal

The sequel to Beth Revis' best seller Across The Universe has a cover! The title of the book is A Million Suns and the cover is GORGEOUS!


It's due out January 10, 2012, my birthday! 
Can't wait to see what misadventures Amy and Elder find themselves in this time!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Review: Desires Of The Dead

Summary:Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life. 

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger

Review: Let me start off by saying I loved the first book in this series. As a Forensic Psychology student, anything serial killers, or murder in general is right up my alley. So when I found out there was a follow up to The Body Finder I was really excited to get it read. It was hot off the heels of a signing I went to that Derting was signing at and when she read the prologue and the line "It's a shame you had to find her, I didn't want anyone else to die" I shivered. I HAD to read this book! So I did. I love the characters in these books, Jay and Violet make such a cute couple. If you don't fall in love with Jay when reading these books than you need to read them again and change your mind. Even with their friendship turned romance in this book, Jay still acts like her best friend...with just a little more kissing and absolutely adorable moments. You can still see their close friendship in the protective ways Jay acts he just adds a hint of affection to his closeness, I really love the way their relationship panned out in this book. Even though I like Violet, there were some things that really made me angry in this book like how she STILL doesn't tell Jay about the things she's going through, or planning on doing. Didn't she learn in the first book?! TELL JAY EVERYTHING!! I hated how she kept keeping him out of the loop. With the introduction of Mike in this book, Violet starts to harbor some jealous feelings toward all the time he is spending with Jay. While I understand her jealousy, after all it has been her and Jay pretty much all her life, she has to get over it! Jay is Jay, she has to remember that he absolutely loves her 100% she has nothing to worry about, even with the introduction of a new friend. Let's move on to Rafe. There wasn't all that much about him in this book, but if the electricity she feels whenever he touches her is any indication of a future romance, i'm gonna be pissed! He needs to back off if this is the case because I'm team Jay all the way! But back to business...I loved this book and I would certainly recommend this book to anyone. I can't wait for the third book, and to see what sort of shenanigans Violet gets herself into in this one!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Review of Passion

Summary

Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Review

This is one of my favorite series. I was so excited when this book came out because i Couldn't wait to see what would happen. I was sadly a little disappointed. This book was mostly just story and really no action. Nothing major happened until the very end. The book just goes into previous past lives that Luce and Daniel have shared. I was so hyped for something big to happen but it never did. I don't know if it was just me but I wanted more to happen. I did like however that the more Luce went into time she finally figured out that Daniel really does love her. Considering how much Daniel has gone through, Luce should like bow down to him and never let him go. I would still recommend that others should read this book because it's part of the series and it's important to know what happened in terms of where the curse came from. I am looking forward to reading the last book in the series. I hope it's really good and a page turner!!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Review: Hereafter

Summary:  Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.
Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.


Review:Alas! A book that I was eagerly anticipating and was not disappointed by! I was originally drawn to this book by the cover, I think it's beautiful. Usually when reading a book it takes me to about page 100 to decided if I'm gonna have a positive or negative review on it, that was not the case on this one. I literally knew for certain by page 7 that I was gonna love it. I was hooked so early on that I knew my liking would only grow with time. I was right. I have a lot of things I liked about this book. Amelia, the mail character has such a like-ability to her that I could imagine being her friend. I liked her shyness, it was really cute and genuine. She fidgets, squeaks, and coughs in uncomfortable situations. The scene in Josh's room was so genuine. She was nervous to enter his room because she had never been in a boys room before, she stood there crumpling her skirt in her fists, I really liked that scene. Along with this scene I really liked Josh's room, and the description of all his books: "Leather-bound leaned against paperback. Creased and much loved covers sat next to fresh ready to read ones." Any lover of books knows exactly how it feels to look at a bookcase jumbled with all sorts of loved books on it. It was a refreshing change from most YA the way their relationship evolved and grew. In most YA its one look and they know they're in love and the next day they're proclaiming their love and undying loyalty. While i'm not complaining about this, because I do read those books and enjoy them, i'm just saying this was a pleasant change from the ordinary. Their relationship grows from pure curiosity (on both their parts) her, for how a human can see her? and him, for who was that girl in the river, was she really there? To a sort of friendship, then to something a little more when they begin to have stronger feelings for each other. Throughout the book Amelia is having flashbacks of her previous life, trying to figure out what, when, where, how, and who she was before she died. The flashbacks were always fun to read about, you're finding out who Amelia is at the same time she is. Amelia just wants normalcy and a family, and in the part when she wakes up and is planing to meet with Eli, she wakes up and calls him sweetheart, just to test it out and tells him she loves him before she leaves. When he responds she squeals with joy. It was such a cute moment. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this book (in fact I already have to many people) I loved it so much.