I'm a Horrible Being, I Know

OKAY. So we all know where this post is going. I'll just give it to you straight:

I'm so, so sorry that I haven't been the greatest blogger of late. But I plan on being 10 times better. I don't have any good excuse to make up for my sucky behavior, though a reading rut does make blogging about books kind of hard. BUT still, that is no excuse. So, I may not be blogging too much in December, but by January, I should be regularly posting again(hopefully). I'm going to finally be done with school for a while, and that means READING and REVIEWS. It's going to be epic, let me tell you ;)

Just in case I don't post again by December 24th, I just want to say have a Merry Christmas! Everyone enjoy the holidays while you can! I'll be sipping my hot chocolate, all bundled up in layers of clothing.

Pivot Point: Review

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.


When I had first read this summary and seen the cover(about a year ago), I immediately wanted it. It sounded exciting and different from other paranormal books. Now, a year later, I finally got to read Pivot Point. Even if it wasn't quite what I was expecting, I still adored everything about this book.

I read The Distance Between Us earlier this year, and after I had finished, I wanted to read Pivot Point, just to see how different the contemporary the author had written to the paranormal one. (Admittedly, I had wanted to read Pivot Point long before The Distance Between Us.) Surprisingly, I wouldn't say it was very different.

This is the part where I tell you why this book turned out to be different than I expected. Ok, going into this book, I thought that I was going into an action-packed thriller, with a side of paranormal. As you can suspect, it was not that.

Like Kasie West's other novel, this one also focuses on characters. Of course, there's small differences; it's got paranormal in it and this one is a bit more entertaining to read. But still. Addie, the main character, was a person I could relate to easily and liked from the beginning; she was kind and passionate and independent. There's a multitude of other characters that I enjoyed like Laila, the sassy BFF, Duke, the perfect quarterback boyfriend, and Trevor, the adorable artsy boyfriend. I'm not going to try to spoil things, but throughout this novel, friendships were tested, hearts were broken, and truths were told(okay the last one came out lamer sounding).

Onto the plot: the book is not quite plot driven, with an exception of the ending, because that was most definitely planned by the author(evil, evil author). As you can tell from the above paragraph, it focuses on characters and each one of their quirks. THAT is the reason why I think it tends to come out across to me as contemporary rather than paranormal. Still, I definitely suggest paranormal readers should check this one out too!

The last 30(maybe 40?) pages of this book where it turned WAY more action packed-thriller. I can't spill anything besides this, or otherwise, you know, spoilers. BUT IT IS GOOD. SO GOOD. Even when I knew that the ending was going to be surprising, I still did not see that coming!

Overall, I would most certainly suggest this book to any young adult readers, but especially for paranormal-contemporary kinds of people.

Cress: Review(In which I rave)

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

So, if you follow me on twitter, you probably know that I was lucky enough to get Cress. And I read it like it was my last few days on Earth(har, har). I read Cress in about 2 1/2 days, and the book itself is about 550 pages long. Do the math. I've been in a kind of reading rut for the past few months, where I can only read about a book a week-if that. So even though I know most bloggers can read way faster than me, I feel accomplished that I read Cress in a few days. I also feel miserable now that I finished it.


Cress jumped in right after Scarlet. The new character in this book is, of course, Cress. Cress is based off the retelling for Rapunzel. The twists to this retelling is that Cress was put into a satellite, not a tower(and she has some wicked tech-y skills). I loved, loved Cress. She was a brand new character and way more different then any other character Meyer has written in this series. She was innocent and naïve and shy. But that also allowed for Cress to have a lot more character growth throughout the rest of the series. In this book, she changed a bit, but not a whole lot, which I appreciate since Meyer's books needs to have a sweet, kind character. I am looking forward to seeing her change!

As some of probably already know...Captain Thorne is the love interest in this book.


Oh yes, ladies ;) I actually think Thorne drastically changed in Cress, due to a certain event. He was still a comedian, but he also became more serious.

What was one thing that made me sad? Definitely not much of Scarlet in this book. I think I was only in her viewpoint about 3-4 times in the whole book. SO, yes that disappointed me. And poor Wolf! If you have read the ARC already, you probably understand what I mean. Meyer, why you so mean?

However, I did get to see more of Cinder and Kai than I usually did-I got to see their feelings a bit more and how they handled their situations. Plus, a certain scene where I swooned alot.

Okay, I'll stop there, because my review is just going to be more crazy if I don't stop! Too many feels!

Overall, Cress was fantastic, thrilling, and action-packed! 

NaNoWriMo

This is going to be a somewhat short post. So, most book bloggers and authors and readers are trading in blogging and reading for writing. BECAUSE IT'S NANOWRIMO.

If you don't know what NaNoWriMo stands for: National Novel Writing Month. The name pretty much says it all. I participated last year...and epically failed. I think I made it to about 5,000 words? I can't remember, ok!

The thing I'm doing different this year is that I have a plan.


Oh yes, I do! It is a very rough plan, but I have a plan! I'm pretty psyched to say the least. As some of you know from experience, NaNoWriMo takes up ALOT of your time. I mean, you are writing a novel in a month. And most NaNos are fledglings (not all though!).

This means that I A) Will not be reading very much B) Will probably not blog very much but will try and C) Will be busy as hell. November is kind of a crazy month for me, because most of my school events I participate in are THIS month and all the other stuff....so YEAH. Just wanted to get that out there.

I will now go off to writing my novel.

Goodbye, for now.


P.S. Are any of you participating in NaNo? Leave me a comment!

Razorland Trilogy + Giveaway

Guess what, guys? For those of you who have read the books Enclave and Outpost, you're probably pretty pumped for the releasing of Horde, which comes out in four three days! Cue flailing.





I know! How is this possible.



If you have no idea of what I'm talking about whatsoever, this is what I'm talking about:


(This is not my photo!)

Enclave is a post-apocalyptic dystopian young adult novel(Oh my!). It is set in the future(obviously), and in this world, there are Freaks, also kind of like zombies.

There's a lot of this:







And this:


(Maybe a little more different than this...)






And then just a little bit of this:





How can you resist?

If I've convinced you, you can buy Enclave(or the WHOLE series) here:
Amazon
Barnes and Nobles
The Book Depository

OR/AND

you can enter to win a paperback copy of Enclave right here! Check out my rules before you enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Red: Review(In which I rant)

Felicity St. John has it all—loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:

I know your secret.

Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say "strawberry blond." Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

Red was one of my most anticipated reads for the fall of 2013. Ever since the cover reveal, months, and MONTHS back, I wanted to read it. Even though her hair color is wayyy too faky to actually be believable. It's like saying people will not notice if you died your head green...they'll just think it's natural.


Anywho, I was just really getting excited for this book. From page 1, I could tell Red would not live up to my maybe-somewhat-too-high expectations. The first thing that made me dislike it was not really a "problem" per se, but it did bother me. The author wrote the novel in third person. For me, contemporaries are all about lovey-dovey type things and it should be at least bring out some emotions out of me. When you write in third person, you can't exactly tell what some of the emotions are and what the characters are thinking, or at least not as well when you write in first person. So I ended up being bored out of my mind.


The real problem of this book, however, was the main character, Felicity. Can I just rant about how she is a stereotypical, mean, prejudiced, stupid, bitchy, spoiled girl? I guess that's what I get for knowing it was about a popular girl. Ok, maybe that's taking it too far. What I really would have liked was for the girl to have some depth, rather than the boring exterior that the book showcased her as.

I guess I can't blame the girl for her prejudice-ness. I mean, she grew up in a racist family...and a racist community, where it was okay for a certain type of people to rule over the community. That's the second problem. The freaking book was pretty much being racist...and everyone thought it was okay(including Felicty, may I add).  Well, everyone besides some of the brown-haired or blond haired peoples. I'm in that crowd.


The third problem is the romance. Can I just say blahhhh. And some more blahhhh.


I just...it was so boring. And so, well, unemotional. Aren't relationships supposed to be messy and complicated? I WANT THAT, BOOK. I did like the love interest, but did not enjoy how the author executed their relationship. At all.

Overall, Alison Cherry just did not have the right skills to write a book like this. Or maybe it just was the whole plot of the book she should not have stuck to. 0.0 Everything was, frankly, bad, worse, and horrible. And this saddens me, since it was one of my most awaited books of the fall.

Oh, I should also add that I did "not" finish this book. I had a total of 40 pages left. So yep.

Fangirl: Review

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?


I honestly don't even know how to start this review. I can't even decide whether this should be a funny type of review or a serious type. So, I'll just see what comes out.

Cath is your basic obsessed reader. Except with just one series: Simon Snow. Even though I haven't read Harry Potter yet, I would undoubtedly still say it compares to it. Now, what happens when you become obsessed with books...simple. Write fanfiction. And that is Cath's whole childhood, her whole life. And when her twin sister, Wren, starts growing apart from Cath, you could say Cath became even more immersed with the fandom.

When you start off Fangirl, Cath is just starting college. I knew instantly that I would love Cath-because even though I am less extreme about fandoms, I relate to her so much. People who read in general will probably also relate to her a ton. She was a bit quiet and awkward, which I can probably relate to even more so than reading. Cath, to put it simply, was the perfect protagonist for me.

The one problem I had with this book was I just don't think there was enough problems in this book. Rowell definitely covers a bunch of stuff-sister stuff, romance stuff, self-appreciation stuff- in this book, but I just didn't think there was enough. There were several parts in the book that lagged for me. And that's one of the reasons why contemporary is so hard for me to read. In Eleanor & Park, I was constantly eager to read more. But Fangirl was a slow read for me, because it bored me at parts, which makes me sad to write.

The romance was still squeal-worthy, but much more lighter than Eleanor & Park. Because Cath was at a turning point in her life-the book exhibited that most of all, with a side-dish of romance. It's a romance that's slow and swoon-worthy-from friends to lovers. Just ahh. Rowell does not disappoint in romance.

I would talk more about characters, but the review is quite long already.

Overall, this book is recommended, especially for newbies in New Adult or if you just adore contemporary. The romance was cute, the protagonist was awesome, and the story was well written(just not the plot for me...).

Never Fade: Review

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

*This review may contain spoilers for The Darkest Minds.*

The firs thing you need to know about this book is that it is a fantastic sequel. When I had finished The Darkest Minds, I was left feeling a jumble of emotions. Same goes for this book. I will attempt to make this review as professional as possible, but I may go off at some points.

The Writing. Bracken's writing is very elongated or, as others may say, drags on. When I first started Never Fade I was excited to read it, but I admit, by about page 40 I was getting bored.(This may have to do with not being able to see Liam, though.) No, I am not saying it was boring. There was much fighting and action happening. It was just my inability to read about Liam personal problems. I'm also not saying Bracken's writing is terrible. In fact, I am very impressed by her writing. Her descriptions are awesome and very vivid. Yes, I think there may have been a little too many descriptions, but other than that, I love her writing.


The Plot. At the start of the book, you are placed sixth months after The Darkest Minds. Ruby has been doing dirty work for the League. The United States is as horrible place as ever.  You get to experience one of Ruby's "missions" from the bat. You also get to meet Liam's older brother, Cole, during one of these said missions. 
It's paced fairly nicely. Never too fast or never too slow.  At times, parts seemed to drag out, but I think that's due more to Bracken's writing style. There are many things that happened in this book, but I don't quite know what to say about them. Alot of action.
You are also introduced to minor characters, such as Vida, Jude, Alban, aka leader of the League, and many others. Many of them I hated at the very beginning, but during the book I started liking and understanding them a whole lot better. I also will not talk about Liam until the romance part. "raises eyebrows"

The Romance. Oh, yeah. After that killer of of ending from The Darkest Minds, I had to find out what would happen. Of course, I would have read the sequel even if that thing hadn't happened at the end. This is also the part where I get to talk about Liam.

The Characters. Ruby is a girl of many problems, I would say. She doesn't have much of a family. She was placed in the League, the last place she should go. Through it all, however, she is strong. Now, I'm not saying she's a strong fighter and blah, blah. I mean, she has a strong personality. I strong heart.(Yeah, it sounds as lame as when I said it out loud.) In this book, she struggles with many obstacles, but she always, I mean always, people, tries to remain a good person. That is one thing that I loved about her.

Chubs is shown a good deal in this book, a fact I was pleasantly surprised by. He is the same smart boy as ever, though changed, as many characters have grown and changed throughout the books. At the end of the first book, you really don't much about what has happened to Chubs, otherwise the fact that he went to a hospital. I was happy to know he turned out okay, but I wasn't happy about his recklessness when I first met him in this sequel. He was reckless for a certain reason which I shall not say. I will say though,  that I liked him better by the end.




Liam didn't show up until over half the book, which was sad which means he wasn't a very there figure. He was always talked about and stuff, but he never was actually in the picture. So, it was just kind of weird to actually have him show up. Not that I'm complaining.

I can't talk much about Liam, because it may spoil something. However, I can tell you he is very different in this book. If you read The Darkest Minds, you probably can guess why. But he is still very sweet and says the most swoon-worthy stuff ever.

The Ending.


Enough said.

Overall. I really enjoyed this book. It was filled with action and adventure. It had a sweet side of romance. A definite read if you're looking for just a really good action book. Or if you must find out what happened after The Darkest Minds ended.

It's My...ONE YEAR Blogoversary!!

Out of all my posts this year-this one is the hardest. It's the hardest one to write for many different reasons, one being that I have been blogging for a freakin' entire YEAR. This is just hard to process, so reasonably, I can't think.


I mean, of course I always knew that my blogoversary would eventually come, but now that it is here, I'm just speechless.

First of all,  I started off not knowing ANYTHING whatsoever from writing reviews to designing a website. But, honestly, that was the fun part-learning everything(and yes, it was frustrating at times too). I mainly wanted to blog, because I thought it would be cool to write opinions on what I thought of books. I didn't know that it would take up so much time and also be part of such an amazing community too. Do I regret my decision? HECK NO. I am so happy I started a blog. Now, I can't imagine myself doing anything else in my life, although one day I probably will.(for another time!)

You know what I have enjoyed most about this blogging experience? It was the amazing, amazing bookish community. Mostly everyone I know is very nice and positive. And even though some drama pops up every now and then, don't be fooled, 'cause book bloggers are the nicest people who you will ever talk to! I have opened up so much more just by talking to these people through the internet. Like, not even joking, so many people!! I'm so sorry if I miss anybody, but these are some of the people who are some people who have been awesome(I'm also just pulling these out of memory during the time period of October 2012-September 2013!)

Eileen @ Singing and Dancing In The Rain
Nikki @ Fiction Freak
Taherah @ Books As You Know It
Hannah(also known as Inky) @ Book Haven Extraordinaire
Monica @ Cover Analysis
Meredith @ Pandora's Books
Sam @ Realm of Fiction
Megan @ The Book Babe
 Christina @ Ensconced in YA
Gillian @ Writer of Wrongs
Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf
Ashley @ Fire Star Books
Annabelle @ Sparkles and Lightning

"Also, extra points to Paula Stokes for being an amazing writer, blogger, and just an awesome, nice person overall." "And even though I don't talk to this blogger, Emily @ Emily's Crammed Bookshelf, because she inspired me to write my own blog!"

There are countless more, but those are just ones from the top of my head, and if I type out anymore, I may just run out of room xD

Some of my firsts:
My first post (Haha, this was actually for a contest and it consisted of about 2 sentences)

My first review (This indeed sucked. I didn't even paragraph anything, that's how bad it was.)

My first meme

Just as important as the community of book bloggers are the fantastic readers of my blog. Even if you're a brand new reader or an old one, you are so, so lovely and I'm giving you an internet hug right now.


Seriously, you are amazing people, even if I may not know you personally or not at all. I would ramble on and on how much I appreciate you, but I did that in an earlier post. Just thanks for keeping my blog alive and well <333

In thanks to show how much I appreciate you guys, I have a giveaway! All of you probably know the general rules, but if not, just click on my giveaways tab where you'll find them. Also this is INTERNATIONAL.
There'll be ONE winner, who gets two books of their choice.(As long as The Book Depository ships to you.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tandem: Review

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.

To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.





I have read multiple alternate universe books this year, since they seem to be getting more and more popular, and I've decided that this one is my second favorite(my first being 3:59). There were many problems with it, but I still, for some reason, really liked reading it.

Sasha is your ordinary 16 year old, besides the point that she doesn't have many friends and lives with her grandfather. I liked Sasha well enough. I struggled slightly with her choices, but she was smart most of the time. I definitely seen her change throughout the novel, which I usually don't notice from characters. Can I say I loved her character by the end of the novel? No. But I still enjoyed her perspective and her character.

Now, this book had three perspectives: the main one is from Sasha, the other one Sasha's alternate, Juliana, and the next from Thomas. By far, I found Sasha's perspective the most intriguing. The other ones...just eh. Nothing amazing, just kind of fell flat for me. This might be because I got to know Sasha's thoughts and feelings alot, alot more than Juliana's and Thomas's, which is why it just bugged me when these other perspectives were just thrown in there.

Secondly, the love interest. Was so. Flat. Because I could see right away who she would love, and they were both not supposed to even get along with each other. It was an unoriginal forbidden love-hate relationship. Everything about it was really plain to see and just...generic. The other thing that slightly annoyed me was that the lovey-dovey ness did not bring out any emotions for me. What's especially weird about this, is that I actually enjoyed reading it, even though I pretty much just gave off all the reasons why I should hate it.

My favorite part of this book is the twists and turns it has. You can tell that the author did a lot of research for this book and put a lot of thought into the plot. There were some slow parts for me, but I wouldn't quite say that it was boring for me. Just...slow. And there are definitely surprising parts in Tandem.
Another contribution to why I really liked this book is that once Sasha went to the alternate universe, it gave off a fairy-tale-esque feeling to it. It might just be me, but I love fairytales.

I honestly didn't try to make this review quite so ranty in parts, because I did enjoy the plot and story of it. And the voice of the book, but it definitely had it's faults. Even so, the faults didn't bug me particularly much, so I didn't have many problems with it. If you enjoy sci-fi, check it out!

Why I Don't Have A Rating With My Reviews

I haven't had a discussion-y post in a longgg time, so I'm finally going to!

Today's choice of topic: Ratings.

Some of you may have noticed when you read one of my reviews, you don't see a rating at the end/beginning of the post(I used to though! But I started getting frustrated with rating). Why is this? The simply answer is because it's really difficult for me to choose between especially 3 and 4 stars. But the long version is...

Ratings are so overdone. There, I said it. And if you think about it, they are even a bit stereotypical.

Definition of Stereotypical:
A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, image.

This is exactly what ratings do, they oversimplify what we think of a book. Sometimes, this can be a good thing. Most people even love simple ratings, but not me. For me, it doesn't tell me anything, though, besides to maybe tell if a person disliked/ loved a book.

I mean, for example, what if I give a book I enjoyed a lot a 3 stars, but didn't connect with the main character and another book I give the same reason, but didn't really like it, but the story was well-written. There are so many factors to giving ratings, it boggles my mind. I usually can get a good idea of what I could give the book, but I almost always want to give or take 4 stars down to, say, 3.67.

Goodreads, as many of you probably know, uses a basic 5 star scale rating. I understand that having decimal places for ratings might get complicated, but I'm just saying it bothers me how ratings basically oversimplifies what we think.

Fire & Flood Excerpt and a Giveaway

As some of you may be aware of, I really enjoyed The Collector, Victoria Scott's debut book. So, naturally I wanted to be in with the V Mafia. Being part of the V Mafia has it's perks, and one of them is just knowing things before others, or giveaways. I was just e-mailed the awesome excerpt for Fire & Flood, her upcoming book, which I even be more excited about that book than The Liberator. Back to the point, I was emailed the excerpt and I just had to show you guys, because Victoria Scott is incredibly awesome and sweet, and she deserves all the attention she can get :) So, I'm posting the excerpt now!

I drove across the US of A, left my family without an explanation, and now I’m either too late or
there was never anything here to begin with. F my life. Rearing back, I kick the door as hard as I
can. Then I wrap both hands around the door handles and release a noise like a wild banshee as
I pull back.
The doors swing open.
I’m not sure whether to celebrate or freak out. I decide to do neither and slip inside. As I walk
around the inside of the museum, listening to the sound of my footsteps echo off the walls, I
imagine I am moments from death. It’s sad, I think, that this is all it takes to break my sanity.
Two curling flights of stairs bow out from the first-floor lobby, and red and white tiles cover
the floors. There are gilded picture frames everywhere. So many that I think the placement of
the frames — and not their contents — is the real art. Everything, absolutely everything, smells
like wax. I mosey up to an abandoned reception desk and leaf through the glossy pamphlets
littering the surface. I hold one of the pamphlets up to my nose. Yep, wax.
I glance around, having no idea what to look for. Will there be a sign like at school registration?
Students with last names A–K this way?
On my left, I notice a long hallway dotted with doors on either side. Nothing looks particularly
unusual. But when I glance to my right, I spot something. There’s a door at the end of the
corridor that has a sliver of light glowing beneath it. I’m sure it’s just an administration office,
one where someone forgot to flip the switch. But I’ve got nothing better to go on, so I head
toward it.
I pause outside the door, wondering if I’m about to get busted for B&E. Then I turn the handle
and find myself at the top of another winding staircase.
You’ve got to be kidding me. What is this, Dracula’s bachelor pad?
I’ve watched a lot of scary movies, and I’ve learned nothing good is ever at the bottom of a
winding staircase. Pulling in a breath and preparing myself to be eaten alive, I head down. My
shoes are loud against the steps. So loud, I imagine they are intentionally trying to get me killed.
When I reach the final few stairs, I ready myself to look around the bend. My heart is racing,
and I secretly pray the worst I encounter is an angry janitor with a wax addiction. I turn the
bend — and my eyes nearly pop from my skull.
The enormous room is perfectly circular, dotted with candles to light the space. Surrounding
the walls are rows and rows of dark, rich mahogany bookshelves. A large round table stands
in the center of the red-and-white-tiled floor. The room is spectacular, but what it holds is so
jarring, my ears ring.
Across every shelf, every spot on the table, every tile on the floor — are small sculptures of
hands. And in a few of those hands — the ones still performing their duty — are eggs. There are
only nine eggs left, it seems. For a moment, I imagine how amazing it would have been to see
each hand holding an egg, but it’s enough just to see these nine.
The eggs seem to dance in the candle flame, and as I move closer, I realize why. The surfaces of
the eggs are almost iridescent, their colors changing depending on how you look at them. They
are different sizes, too; some as big as a basketball, others as small as a peach.
I don’t need the device in my pocket to tell me what my gut already knows.
This is the Pandora Selection Process.

Ok, yeah, full of awesomeness, right? I'm so excited to read  ALL of Fire & Flood!

Also, Scholastic is hosting a giveaway, rafflecopter is below for it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Dream Thieves: Review

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

"Ok, I really should have reviewed this right after I finished this book, because my memory is already slightly fuzzy. So excuse any off things you may have noticed, but I hope it is well enough explained."

I think The Dream Thieves was one of the most talked about sequels for fall. I was part of the group who was extremely excited to see what direction Stiefvater would take in this series. Well, I did expect this to be more action-filled(though it does have some memorable scenes of that) and maybe expected to learn more about Blue....but, even if I didn't anticipate most of this book, it still left me fulfilled-for the moment, though I still am excited for the 3rd book.

One of the fore mentioned unexpected turns this book took was Ronan. Of course, I thought he still would be an important secondary character, but the author may have even took it to the level where he is a main character in this sequel. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Stiefvater doing this: I even enjoyed learning more about him and his angst-type character. However, I was disappointed that I didn't get to see more of Gansey, and especially Blue, as I can relate to her better.

A huge part of this book was slow, I'd say that right off the bat. If you don't like character development and slow plot twists, I'd say you'd probably not enjoy this. I like fast-paces, but I also enjoy slow paces, when it is done right. I can enjoy Stiefvater's writing, because she is descriptive and makes me want to learn more about what will happen next.

The romance-ah. It was clearly a very not-in-your-face type of romance, which I'm all for. Most of it was quite subtle with the exception of one notable scene, which I loved. I can tell you that some fans of The Raven Boys will be happy about the romance, but I can't be sure, because it depends what team you're on.

You may have noticed how much I have talked about the characters and character development-that is specifically because a huge part of this book is dedicated to learning about new secondary characters( some surprised me, even) and old main characters. I didn't talk about Adam at all if you noticed, even though he is obviously important...if you read the end of The Raven Boys, you'll understand what I mean. But I didn't have so many thoughts on him as the other characters, so I decided you should just learn for yourself.

Overall, The Dream Thieves was well worth the read, with thought out characters and unexpected turns with a slight romance theme to it.

This Song Will Save Your Life: Review

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.












True fact: I prefer fantasy or action books about 10 times more than contemporary books, but after reading this book, I'm willing to say contemporaries are getting better each year. I mean, the only contemporaries that I have really enjoyed before this book was the Anna and the French Kiss series or the Perfect Chemistry series. Literally, those are the only ones I can think of at the moment. This Song Will Save Your Life was even better than those for me. You know why? Because this book could have been based off someone's life, because it was so damn(excuse my French, as some people say) real.

Elise, our protagonist, is your everyday music lover. Except for the fact that she has no friends, and cuts herself, once I might add. It's not like she's a depressed music lover, but she was different. She never fit in with any one. Until she meets Pippa and Vicky. And the club Start. Suddenly, she has a "boyfriend" and a few friends.

This book was nowhere perfect, but it was perfect for me. The writing was not quite beautiful, really more simple and easy, but I could easily relate to most everything Elise had to say. That's what made it perfect. Plus, it flowed nicely at a perfect pace.

The characters were written very well too. They each had their little quirks that set them apart from each other. Vicki was the fabulous singer, but also a smoker. Mel was the gay outspoken guy. Pippa was the slightly clingy girlfriend. Everyone of them had their faults, but that made it ten times better.

I think the ending was my favorite part of this book, and trust me, I had alot of favorite parts in this book. Why, you may ask. Well, it was realistic would be the most basic answer. But it also would have totally annoyed me if it hadn't ended like that(okay, it could have ended several different ways and I would still be happy). So, as it is, it was realistic, which just made me fall even more in love with the story.

Overall, a beautifully realistic contemporary. I loved the characters and how they each had their quirks. This author has some genius writing skills.

Debut Authors Bash!

Today, I have a special post! I got the chance to interview MINDEE ARNETT, guys! She is amazing! I loved her debut, The Nightmare Affair and can't wait to check out her upcoming book, Avalon! So, here we go!

Interview:
What did you do to celebrate your debut release?
With a valium and a shot of whiskey. Just kidding. Release day was super busy and stressful.
I did a very last minute tv spot and then had my launch “party” that evening in the midst of a 7-
inch snow storm. Good times. So instead of a big celebration, I celebrate every little thing, like
finishing a first draft, an edit, and so on. Usually this involves sushi and afterward some kind of
chocolate, preferably in cake form.

I can see from your sophomore book that you expanded your genre a bit- why is that? Did the
story just come out unexpectedly?
I’ve always had an all-encompassing love of fantasy and science fiction, so for me it’s not so
much of an expansion as simply the next story I had to tell. And after the sci-fi I’m planning a
high fantasy.

Who is your inspiration in writing?
I can’t say there really is a single person who inspired my writing. The inspiration for me is
simply a love of story. But some of the authors who have influenced me early on include
Jennifer Roberson, Roald Dahl, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling. These days I’m inspired by the
likes of Laini Taylor and Maggie Stiefvater.

Any author friends that were just awesome?(Haha, I should have said which authors.)
All of my author friends are awesome!

Did you always want to be a writer? Jobs that you did in your teen years :)
Yes, I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I think there might even be hard
evidence to back this up in my “career exploration” homework assignments from grade school.
As a teen I worked a lot of different jobs. My very first one was as a horseback riding trail guide.
I also shelved books at the library, cleaned stalls, and waited tables.

Amazing song that you just heard and fell in love with?
Probably my favorite new song is Below My Feet by Mumford and Sons. It’s kind of my “feel
better” song. There’s something very soothing and uplifting about it.

Are you a pantser( I don't know if I spelled that right!) or planner?
I’m a pantser who likes to stop and ask for directions. I’m absolutely incapable of outlining,
but when I’m drafting I don’t just completely wing-it either. When you’re writing a novel, there
a million different choices you can make from chapter to chapter, scene to scene. I generally
follow my gut instinct on these choices, but I always stop long enough to ask myself why this is
a good decision. Doing that helps me keep the story on track and headed in the right direction.

Farthest place you traveled? Places that you want to go to?
The farthest I’ve ever been is Puerto Rico. The place I want to visit the most would definitely be
the UK. I was an English Lit major, and I’m a bit obsessed with British tv (Doctor Who, Sherlock)
and literature.

What's your favorite food?
Sushi and Mexican are my two favs.

Favorite color?
Blue. I particularly love the shade for The Nightmare Dilemma.

Why young adult?
There’s definitely nothing easier about young adult, as compared to adult or even to middle
grade. Story-telling is tough all the way around. But my favorite thing about writing young adult
is how much freedom I have in terms of genre and content. I’m not sure that if I had started
out writing for adults that I would’ve been able to have both a paranormal and a science fiction
series happening at the same time. But YA is a very embracive category and not so hung up on
genre lines.

Thanks for a great interview!

Thank you, Mindee for a spectacular interview! You were an awesome interviewee :)

Now for the giveaway!

Giveaway:

There will be a total of THREE winners! Grand prize winner will receive a signed hardcover of The Nightmare Affair + swag. 2 runner-ups will win a swag pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All Our Yesterdays: Review

Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet. 

Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future.




I'm utterly speechless after finishing this book. I mean, this author was just an amazing writer and plotter. I'll just get right into it.

We first are introduced with Em. And let me tell you, she was the perfect character in my head. Bad-ass, funny to an extent, and humane, the most important part. Like the summary says, Em is indeed locked in a cell. And indeed, Finn( the most adorable love interest ever) was in the cell next to her.

Let me backtrack a little bit. The summary absolutely gave me no hint to what this book would be about. Besides time-travel. Other than that, though, I was clueless. Maybe I'm just stupid and couldn't grasp the meaning of the summary, but I just didn't understand it all that well. However, after I finished the first, oh 150 pages, I understood about 80% of it. In other words, I went into this book blind( practically).


And, actually, I very much enjoyed going into this book blind. I rarely ever do that, and it was fun to try to put pieces together.( I did that alot, putting pieces together.)

The plot of this book is so good, especially for a debut. I mean, how did you become such an amazing writer? Can I take them skills from you?


Okay, I was just trying to use that gif there. But, seriously, just because of the amazing plot( and perhaps Finn), I immediately finished this book. I regret nothing.

I'm going to attempt to talk about the characters again. Like I said, I loved Em. I didn't like Marina. At all. She was a good person, she really was. But, she was spoiled, not even joking. She pitied herself alot. Complained alot. Just everything bugged me about her. Sure, I get that you're in love with a boy who doesn't really love you back, but you're that bad? I just didn't like hated her, okay?

James. I just have almost nothing to say about him. Sure, he was a significant part of this story, but I just didn't really pay attention to him.( I was too busy paying attention to Finn.) He is actually a huge part of this story, but after about 200 pages in, I just stopped noticing him. At least until the ending,which I'm saying nothing about, except that it is sad.

FINN. I have a billion things to say about him including all the nicest adjectives and the use of hot. But, I'll skip right past all that boring stuff, and go straight to his personality...

 Oh gosh, can't I find a single word to describe his personality? Umm...definitely sweet. Brave. Sweet again. Caring. EHNFNKJJNSFLMDKL I can't think straight with him. He just makes me feel all bubbly inside.

Moving on, this was an incredible take on realistic time-travel, cute romance, and an epic plot! Make sure to pick this up!

Eleanor & Park: Review

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.














This book...I have no words even after waiting a week to try to come up with a brilliant review that will match the book itself. But no, I don't see that happening. I'm also in a huge reading rut after finishing it, if that will convince you to read it.


We have our two characters, Eleanor and Park. Both a bit weird and different, but overall, pretty normal. Eleanor was hilarious to put it simply. I smiled and laughed out loud alot. Her witty comments and just her plain difference just really related out to me. And I swear to you, that I did not once want to smack her. That is how awesome she was. I almost always want to smack a  character.

Park was...I almost don't what to say about him. He was sweet( not at first). Funny when he wanted to be. But, I think the thing that stood out to the most was that he was the perfect match for Eleanor. They were completely different, and yet,...perfect for each other.

However, it's not all about the characters( well, not fully). What was so completely incredible about this book was the romance. Just...gosh. Everything about it made me want a romance like it, because it was sweet and real and full of love. Made me laugh and cry and want and wish. It made me feel.


I have to give credit to the writing too. Rowell has the writing to make me feel. Her writing actually has  nothing especially different about it, just that it is simple. And yet, it contains so much truthfulness about it that it makes me feel everything...every raw emotion.

Obviously, this book was awesome. You must read it. Now. Okay, whenever you can get your hands on it. Then read.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Beginnings/Endings In Books

Top Ten Tuesday-It is a meme created by Jaime at The Broke and the Bookish where you create a list of your top ten favorite of any given category.

1.

This ending was just so unsuspecting...so many deaths

2.

WHY? 

3.

I have no idea why I didn't see this ending coming, but I was just so pissed it ended there. The author is plain cruel. Seriously, everyone else was like the ending is so predictable and I'm just like:

4.

Adrian, why do you do this to me? I knew, I KNEW it was coming, but why did it have to end?

5.

The ending. Was such. A cliffhanger. And I have had the 2nd book for the last 4 months...

6.

God, everything about this book. Especially how it ended. It just leaves me way to curious. And too excited.

7.

I know I use this book way too much in Top Ten Tuesday, but Chaol! I have to find out how everything goes down!

8.

The ending actually wasn't bad, but there are so many unanswered questions that I must find out. Now.

9.

This is my first beginning one, weirdly. It just really gripped me from page one, which is hard for that to happen to me. Usually it starts getting good around the middle.

10.

If you read this, you understand my pain.

What about you?