Stacking the Shelves (42)

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly theme hosted by Tynga's reviews . Feel free to join in if you want. In this theme I showcase all the books I got this week.

It has been another successful seek of not buying books, but fear not I still got some pretty awesome books this week.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Review)

This was a gift from my Mom and I already read and reviewed it. Link by the name. I loved this book, I thought it was great!

Slated by Terry Teri.

I got these next three from the YA book exchange and I can't wait to read this one. This looks great and is such a beautiful book. I am in love with this copy.

Of Triton by Anna Banks.

I didn't really love Of Poseidon, but when I saw this up for trade I had to get it, because of the beautiful cover. I can't wait to read this one and I think it's going to be my next read.

Luminous by Dawn Metealf.

I don't really know what this one is about, but the summary makes it sound great. I can't wait to read this one!!

That's all I got this week, what did you get??
Happy reading.

Summer TBR

    Summer is finally here!!!! After conquering the finals I have reached the land of summer vacation!!!! To celerbrate the coming of summer I am going to show you my Summer TBR. I know as the summer goes on I will add a lot more books, but I am just going to show whats on it right now. Some of these I own and other ones that I have yet to own, but really want to buy.

Soulless by Gail Carriger.

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Strange Angels by Lili Crow

 Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

 A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

 The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Dearly Departed by Lia Habel

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Ten Tiny Breaths by K. A. Tucker

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Golden by Jessi Kirby

The Edge of Never by J. A. Redmerski

Where She Went by Gayle Forman.

Dark Triumph by Robin LeFevers

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Asunder by Jodi Meadows.

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Every Never After by Lesley Livingston

Through the Never Night by Veronica Rossi

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

That's whats on my Summer TBR so far. I will be adding to this post as the summer goes on.
So, whats on your summer TBR?
Happy reading

Review; If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Grade: 4.5 Butterflies
Name: If I Stay (If I Stay #1)
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: Hardcover, 201

Goodreads Summary

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

    I've heard so many things about this book. It is so hyped up, almost everybody who read it, love it. And I stayed away from this book for two reasons. A) Because it was so hyped up and almost all the hyped up contemporaries I've read disappointed me. B) because I am not a big contemporary fan, because I don't like books where all it is is the main character thinking. Which this book sounded like. Why I finally read it, because it was a surprise gift from my Mom. So, I finally read this and boy am I glad I did!! It was great!!  it says something about when I fall in love with a contemporary. That happens once in a blue moon.

   I am not going to lie, the first half was a little boring. All that happen was Mia shell shocked of what happens, then flashback, then her looking at everybody,Flashback, her sitting in th-Flashback! It was basically flashback with flashback and her sitting in the hospital wondering what the hell was happening. And at one point I almost put this down, I didn't feel infested in the story at all, but I kept reading and I am glad I did.

    Right before the half way point is when the writing got emotional. Of course it was emotional in the beginning, I was crying when the tragic thing happened, but the words themselves didn't have that tragic emotional tone to it. And right when they did, It got so much better and conveniently this is also where Mia starts thinking about the choice she has to make. This is where I fell in love with this book, you could feel, not only Mia pain, but everybody else. Their pain for losing them and their fear of losing Mia. And I didn't care about the flashbacks anymore, because I liked how they told the story of Mia's life. I loved how the story was Mia in the hospital, but it was also the story of her life. And the author write it perfectly. I loved it!!!

    The characters themselves where great. You got so connected with them through the flashbacks. And I think that's also why the first half was boring, was because I didn't know these characters, I didn't care, really. However, as the story went on, you got to see more of Mia's life and you got attached with these characters. So, then you cared about their pain, you cared about whether or not Mia lives.

    And the ending was perfect. The author wrote it perfectly, the last two pages where full of so much emotion and you could feel everything Mia was feeling. And the author wrote it so you respected Mia's choice at the end. You where sad, but at the same time you where happy of the unknown. Like Mia was.

    Why I am giving this 4.5 Butterflies instead of 5 is because of the first part. It didn't have the spark that the second half does. So, I couldn't give it 5. Even though at the end I really wanted to. And I need to get my hands on the next book!! I need to know what's in Adam's head and how his life is after this.

    I am so glad I read this!! It was great, it takes you on a rollercosters of emotions, right when your sure you know her choice and your heart starts breaking the author gives you a nugget of hope that makes read faster, because you need to no what happens. And if you don't want to read this because of the hype, just throw all you expectations out the window, because the plot isn't what you think it will be. I thought that this book was going to be completely different then it turned out to be. Even though with all the hype surrounding it, this book took me by surprise. Just read it, It is great and wonderful. Read it. Now.

This book got...

4.5 Butterflies

Beautiful, this is a great book. 

Recommended if you like: The Perfect Chemistry series, Emotional stories, Contemporaries.


That's my review.
Happy reading.

TBR jar.

Hello, this post is about something that I'm sure most of you have heard of. I did a TBR jar. I've been seeing a lot of booktupers and bloggers alike doing this and I thought it was a great idea.

For those who don't know what a TBR jar is, this is where you take a jar and write on strips of paper the books on your TBR shelf. Hence the name. And then you put the pieces of paper in the jar. And whenever you don't know what to read you pick a piece and read the book written on it.

Those are my two jars, the tall one is all the unread books on my shelf, excluding ones that are on my summer TBR and sequels to books I haven't read. And the smaller one is all the unread classics on my shelf. And what I am going to do is in the beginning of the month, when I decide my TBR I'll pick one piece of paper from each jar. Also, I have the classic jar, because I want to read at least one classic a month.

That's it, tell my in the comments if you have a TBR jar. Or if you are thinking about creating one.
Happy reading.

Top Ten Tuesday (21)

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday Freebie (Anything you want! Top Ten Favorite Paranormal Creatures! Top Ten Books Set in Paris! Top Ten Books I Wish I Never Read! etc. etc.)

I'm going to do my top ten on the top ten series I really want to start. And this was hard, because there are many book series I want to start. 

Let the Sky Fall series by Shannon Messanger.

This looks like such a unique series!!

The Bronze Horse Man series by Paullina Simons

I've heard that this is an outstanding series and I really want to read it!!

The Vincent Boys series by Abbi Glines.

This looks like a very good cometmporary series and I really want to start it.

Slated series by Teri Terry.

This. Looks. Like. Such. A. Great. Book!

Legacy of Tril series by Heather Brewer.

I've had this on my Nook since It came out. And I just want to read it.

Something Strange and Deadly series by Susan Dennard.

I really want to read a zombie book and I heard this one is a good one.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass.
I've heard that this one is a great book, even though the summary sounds a little shallow.

Ironskin series by Tina Connolly.
I got this one at the library and never read it, even though it looks great!!

Altered series by Jennifer Rush.

I've heard this one is great and I really want to read it.

Paper Gods series by Amanda Sun.
This has such a unique sounding summary. And I just want to read it!

That's my Top Ten, whats yours?
Happy reading

Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Grade: 3 Butterflies
Name: The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1)
Author: Megan Shepherd
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: Hardcover, 420

Goodreads summary

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.

    I've heard some mixed things about this book, some people love it and some people hate it. I've heard more bad things then good things about it and since I already bought it I read it. And in the end I had serious mixed feelings about it, which is why I am giving it 3 Butterflies.

    Usually 3 Butterflies means the book isn't that great, just average. However, this time it means that this book is smack dap in the middle of being great and being horrible. Some aspects deserve 1 Butterflies and other parts deserve 5 Butterflies. So, I am giving it 3 Butterflies, because I'm torn.

    Lets start out with the great qualities to this book. I loved this plot, it was creepy and captivating, the author wrote this plot flawlessly. She has a gift at writing creepy scenes and giving them this dark tone. She is able to get your heart pumping and scare the crap out of you in some scenes. And this whole book had that dark tone in it. And that was such a great thing to read. I loved it!!

    That darkness and creepiness really made the plot for me. Even without that the plot was fast paced, captivating, a little predictable in some places, but the author wrote all of those scenes so well that I didn't care about it. The plot and the writing were outstanding!

    And that ending killed me!! I never saw that coming at all, it was like a slap in the face. And the next books better have Juliette in it, because if they don't then that ending won't have enough closure for me. Anyway, I loved this ending!

    Now lets talk about the bad qualities which mostly consites of one character, the people who read this will know who I am talking about. However, before I go into that let me talk about the rest of the characters. Lets start with Dr. Moreau. I thought this guy was awful and crazy and mad and I wanted him to just die, basically he was the perfect villain. He was one of the best villains I ever read. The trend in YA fiction now a days is villains that are in the gray. They aren't truly evil, they have their reasons and you can kind of sympathize with them on some levels. That is completely fine, I enjoy reading those characters, but Dr. Moreau wasn't like that at all. He was truly evil and you can't sympathize with him, what he did wasn't justifiable on any level. And I loved that. He is the definitions of a villain. It was great to read a villain like that.

    On to the bad parts, oh, Juliet, where art thou brain. I always thought of myself as the kind of reader in which a character can't make or break a book. Juliet proved me wrong. I hated this girl. She was the most stupid, naive, idiotic, annoying character I have ever read. It didn't have anything to do with the writing, she was a well written character. I just hated her personality. She just made such dumb decisions. I was so frustrate with her that I couldn't enjoy the great creepy plot. I never encountered this before. I just wanted to slap some sense into her throughout most of this book!

    The bad part doesn't fully consites of Juliet, it was also the love triangle. I wish the author just choose a guy and developed their relationship from there. Because both guys where great characters, but since Juliet's affections where split between them non of their relationships could grow.

    Overall, this book had really awful parts to it and some great parts in it. I will read this second one when it comes out, to see where the plot will go. And I can't really recommend this book to you, if you are a reader who cares more about the plot, then maybe read this one, but if you have to have good characters in a book, then don't read this one.

This book got..

3 Butterflies

Can't decide if it should get 1 or 5 Butterflies.

That's my review, come back tomorrow for another Top Ten Tuesday.
Happy reading

Predictions & Hopes (2)

So, I came up with this segment and it is where I'll be spotlighting a couple books and telling you my hopes and predictions for it. The only thing is that the book can't be already released and has to be a next installment in a series. Also, tell my in the comments if you have or know another segment called Hopes and Predictions.

Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins.

No Summery:

Lots of Spoilers for Sweet Peril. Don't read farther if you haven't Sweet Peril.

So, I loved Sweet Peril even though the war didn't start yet in the book. I was a little disappointed in that, but it just means that this book will be full of action and peril (get it, get it, it was a pan, get it, oh never mind) and everything that is necessary in a war against the dukes. Cause this book has to have the war in it, because that's basically the whole plot in this series and it has yet to happen. So, it should happen in this book. I'm not worried that this book won't have it, because Wendy Higgins is a great author and she would never end a series like that. However, if she does and this book is a total disappointment then I might go back and re-do the grade for Sweet Peril, because it would be an accessory to the disappointment. So, I hope that this whole book will be full of action from beginning to finish.

I also hope the thing we started seeing between Kope and the Neph (forgot her name) of Hatred I think, is true, because I really want him to end up with somebody and be happy. And somehow, someway Anna and Kai better end happy. I'll be darned if they don't get their Happy Ever After.

Of Triton by Anna Banks

Summery;

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

Even though Of Poseidon wasn't the best book out there I have a feeling that this book might be better then it. So, what I really hopes happens in this book is lots of action. The blurp makes it sound like that will happen and much more. I also hope the romance is developed some more, because it was a bit lacking in the first. And I just hope it has more depth in this one then the last one.

And lastly I hope there is no Love triangle in this one, because then I will be mad. I have had enough of the love triangles. They can be done well, but they rarely are and I think if it's in this one it will ruin the book for me.

So, what are your opinions on these books? Please join in on the discussion about these books on what you think/hope will happen in them in the comments.
Happy reading.

Stacking the Shelves (41)

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly theme hosted by Tynga's reviews . Feel free to join in if you want. In this theme I showcase all the books I got this week.

(Sorry the picture is crappy, something was wrong with something. No matter what I do thats the best I get.)

Since I didn't do Stacking the Shelves last week, because if the read-a-thon. These are all the books I got in the last two weeks. And my book buying is still going strong, the three I got at the thrift store where like last minutes buys before the book buying ban. And they never got into that haul.

Also, I have learned that, unless your trying to save money, book buying bans are to vague. I put the bun on myself to lower my TBR shelf, but this only bans you from buying books, not trading books, or getting them from the library. Because I got a lot of books over the last two weeks and it isn't helping lower my TBR pail. 

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

I don't really know what this is about. All I know is it's a movie and that's about it.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Always wanted to buy this book, I read it in middle school and loved it. However, it was just to expensive for me. So, I grabbed it instantly when I saw it on the shelves of a thrift store. 

Evernight by Claudia Gray.

I read this series a long while ago and really enjoyed it. And I've been wanting to buy all of them so I'm glad I found it.

Emily the Strange, Piece of Mind by Rob Reger.
I say this at the library and it looked like a fun middle school book. Plus, this book is beautiful!! All the artwork and it has such a pretty cover if you take the dust jacket off.

Taken by Erin Bowman.
I've heard much more bad things then good things about this book, but it was to pretty not to get.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin.
I've heard some mixed things about this one and it looks good. So, I thought why not when I saw it at the library.

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence.
I am currently reading this and it's good, but nothing amazing yet. Hopefully it will take a turn for the better soon.

The Essence by Kimberly Derting.

I really enjoyed the Plague and I really want to see what else happens in this next installment.  

Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger.

I found the awesomeness of the YA book exchange! I've been wanting to get this and I'm so happy I got the chance to get this book! I also got some awesome swag with it!

That's what I got this week, what about you?

Happy reading. 

It's my Bloggervsery!!

Hello, people!!! A year ago on this date I started this blog and I am so glad I did! When I started this blog all I really wanted was to share my thoughts on the Internet. Hopping by some chance somebody would see it and jump into the discussion.And a year later I may not have that many followers, but I have tons more friends and have discovered so many great books due to this blog.

This blog put me on a journey, it helped me get up the nerve to email a publisher and become friends with other bloggers. It helped me discover so many great books that are on my top ten. I am so thankful I started this blog and I know that I won't stop doing this. I may take breaks, like every blogger, but this is just to fun and great to stop. I am just so glad I decided to start this blog!!!

I am thankful to every single person who followed and every author who allowed me to review their books. I would have never got this far without all of you and I really want to thank all of you.

P.S there isn't a giveaway yet, but watch out for one new week or the weeks following.

Happy reading.

Friday 56 (31) & Feature Friday (30)

Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56.

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

*Post it.

*Add your (url) post to Freda's Voice in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple

"Well, like I said, it was an accident she's fine. So, no big deal"

"It was really nothing." Mia said. 

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

Rules:

• Leave your name on the post
• Create a post on your own blog that links back to the post (just grab the FF button) visit as many blogs as you can and tell them hello! In their comments.Be sure to folat you low them and if someone follows you follow back!

Q: The #FF is 150 weeks old! And we want to hear from you! What would you change about the hop? What do you like about it? Or just suggest a question to be used for next week!

Wow, congrats on reaching 150! I'm going to sound a little cliche with this answer, but I wouldn't really change anything with this meme. I like how all of the questions are related to books and they start discussions with other bloggers. And you discover more blogs and make new friends. I just really like.
I also have a suggestion for a question though, if it hasn't been done. 

"What type of genre or you in, Like I'm a paranormal reader and others are a contemporary readers. What are you?"


That's my answer, what was yours?
Happy reading

Review: Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston

Grade: 3 Butterflies

Name: Once Every Never (Never #1)
Author: Lesley Livingston
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Pages: Paperback 312

Goodreads Summary

Clarinet Reid is a pretty typical teenager. 

On the surface. 

She's smart, but a bit of a slacker; outgoing, but just a little insecure; not exactly a mischief-maker, but trouble tends to find her wherever she goes. 

Also? She unwittingly carries a centuries-old Druid Blood Curse running through her veins.

Now, with a single thoughtless act, what started off as the Summer Vacation in Dullsville suddenly spirals into a deadly race to find a stolen artifact, avert an explosive catastrophe, save a Celtic warrior princess, right a dreadful wrong that happened centuries before Clare was even born, and if there's still time, literally, maybe even get a date.

This is the kind of adventure that happens to a girl once every, never.

So, I read Lesley Livingston Wondrous Strange series and really loved it. And I bought this one right when it came out a couple years ago. I just now read it and it was really good. I loved, loved the plot, it was so tragic in some places that I cried. However, There was somethings that held it back from being great.

So, this starts out with our main character, Clare, and her friend Al staying in London for the summer with Clare's aunt. And Something happens to Clare with some artifacts in a museum that her aunt works for. Let me start by saying Clare was very annoying in the beginning. She just come off as a stairitipical bratty teenager. She only thought about boys and shopping and everything that wasn't that was deemed uncool. She evolved through the book to a more developed character, but she still was a little annoying in the end.

Before I go farther I'm going to break this book up into to parts, the present story and the past's story. I do this, because while these stories are intertwined by our main character, both of them had completely different tones to them.

I loved this plot, I loved the pacing of it, I loved the writing in it, I loved the comedy in it. I especially loved the past's plot, because it felt so tragic. And it's the tragic stories that really stick with a reader, I cried so many times throughout this book. I just loved it and I loved all of the characters in this part of the book best. However, I felt like the plot in the present held that tragic element from evolving and making the plot great. I felt this way, because while the presents tone was nice for a summery type of book it isn't nice when half the book has a tragic tone to it. I just felt that it held it back.

Don't think that I didn't like the presents plot, I do. It's funny and light and fast. I just don't think it goes while with that tragic element. And also in the end the light fluffiness overpowered the tragicness. So, it is more of a summery read then a emotional read.

One thing I want to say that really annoyed me in this book was how in the beginning at least 10 words in one page would be italicized. I don't know why this is, whether the editor or the writer did it, but it annoyed the hell out of me. I think this had a huge part in me not liking the main character, because it made the characters sound whinny and just plain annoying. Gladly this went away about half way through the book, so I didn't have to suffer through it in the whole book.

Overall, I think this was a light book that would be a fun read on a summer afternoon. I wish the present's tone was more in sync with the past's, because then it would have gotten 4.5 stars. But alas, it wasn't and the author had to do that for the ending. Even though I think the ending that made you cry was better (people who read this will understand what that just meant). I would recommend this book for every ones summer TBR.

This book got..

3 Butterflies

Basic, nothing special.

Recommend if you like: Summery stories, historical fiction, and the Wondrous Strange Series.



That's my review, come back tomorrow for another one.
Happy reading

Top Ten Tuesday (20)

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

I'm so glad that this topic is narrowed down to books you read already, because it would be way to hard if it was every book. However, it was still really hard to just pick 10 awesome book covers.

Blessed by Cynthis Leitich Smith.

This is one of those covers that doesn't really look goo on the internet, but it so beautiful in person.  

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

I just love the anonymous feeling to this cover. It really portrays the tone of the book. 

Fallen by Lauren Kate

I love the creepy feeling to this cover.

Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

This is another cover that is so much better in person. 

Elixir by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

I love all of the covers in this series, but this one is my favorite. 

Incarnate by Jodie Meadows.

I love the colors in this one and how they blend together. 

Splitered by A. G. Howard.

I just love all the vines and bugs and such in this cover. It's just beautiful.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst.

The cover is what attracted me to this book and I love how it has something to do with the book.

Temptestuous by Lesley Livingston.

Love the tone in this cover.

Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent.

This might be shallow, but I love the dress in this cover. It's so pretty. 

That's my top ten, what's yours?
Happy reading