Waiting on Wednesday, 8/28/13

Waiting on Wednesday, hosted weekly by Jill at Breaking the Spine, is a meme to feature upcoming books that we bloggers can't wait to get our hands on. This week, I can't wait for INTO THE STILL BLUE by Veronica Rossi.

I'm not going to post the goodreads description because it has spoilers for the first two books, but what you need to know is this: ITSB is the conclusion to a brilliant post-apocalyptic trilogy about a beautiful romance, survival, forgiveness, friendship, and independence. The characters are so much fun, the story and world are captivating, and, okay, I love the romance (but the story totally isn't about that).

In this final book, Perry and Aria must find the Still Blue, or the Aether may just destroy everyone.

Look for this one January 28.

What are YOU waiting on this week? :)

Back-to-School Books

As the summer winds down, many of us are heading back to school, which usually comes with reading assignments. Those of you in high school know all too well about this (who didn't wait too long to start their summer reading homework?), but college, especially as an English major, comes with reading too. I have Siege and Storm on my desk begging to be read, but I'm stuck reading for class instead.

I say "stuck." I'm not overly enjoying this particular class book (Kunzru's The Impressionist, but I've actually found some pretty good books through school assignments.

So here's my question to you: what's the best book you've read because of school that you wouldn't otherwise have read?

I'll start: WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Russian dystopia from the early 1900s, never would have even known about it except for a modernism class I took and loved it. Very mathematical in an artistic way, an some super interesting commentary of modernist Russia to boot.

How 'bout you? :)

Book Thoughts: Breath

Title: Breath
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Series: Riders of the Apocalypse #4

I am just not quite sure how to feel about this book.

I like Xander; I thought he was better developed as a character than the previous protagonist, Billy. And I LOVED getting to spend time with Death as the protagonist. Seeing the character of Death develop was super cool and I love the way Kessler handled his backstory.

I also really enjoyed seeing the other Riders again. As a conclusion to the series, BREATH is absolutely what it needed to be.

I just didn't quite like Xander's story. Riley is never referred to by a pronoun, so it's always "Riley pushed Riley's hair behind Riley's ear" (that is NOT an actual quote, just a condensed example), and I didn't quite follow where the whole Baby Lex thing came from. The story with Riley made perfect sense in light of the plot twist, but Lex just didn't. And the twist just sort of felt like a cop-out, I dunno.

I think what I'm getting at is this: I love Xander's character and I liked his story (not his ending), but I thought the novel would have worked better had it focused solely on Death and the Riders without bringing Xander into it. But it's still definitely a worthy conclusion to the series and absolutely worth reading for Death's story.

Movie Trailer Roundup

Over the last days and weeks, a bunch of trailers have come out for film adaptations of books I loved. I have assembled the trailers here!

First up is THE BOOK THIEF. I simply adore the book (as in love love triple love capital L-O-V-E), so I'm wary of the film, but from the trailer I think it should be quite good. Can't wait!

Then we've got VAMPIRE ACADEMY. I super duper loved the series, but I'm still very much in the air about how the movie's going to be. I'm kind of afraid it's going to be campy in all the wrong ways, but we'll see. Hopefully it'll kick ass, because the books definitely do.

Then of course we've got DIVERGENT. This isn't a full trailer, just a teaser clip, but I'll take anything I can get at this point. I ADORE this book and its sequel, so I'm definitely excited to see what the movie's going to look like!

Book Thoughts: Starcrossed

Title: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Series: Starcrossed #1

I adore Greek mythology, so I really wanted to love this one. For the first couple of chapters, I thought I wasn't going to; aforementioned first couple of chapters were a bit jumpy, way heavy on the exposition, and Helen seemed way too unruffled by the unnaturalness of... well, herself.

I told myself I would give it to page fifty to see if it got better. Well before that, I was hooked. I ended up staying up until 12:30 (despite having to get up for an 8am class this morning) to finish it. And I need the second one.

STARCROSSED is about Helen Hamilton and destiny. Helen is a Scion, a descendent of one of the Greek gods. Yes, those Greek gods -- they're real, and the Fates are not about to make life easy for their children. As Helen learns the truth about who she is and what she can do, she also learns a much more upsetting truth: it may well be her destiny to rekindle the Trojan War.

The first couple chapters, like I said, were a little choppy and hard to get into, but once I was into it, I could NOT put it down. Like I said, I love Greek mythology, so seeing the way those stories were incorporated into Angelini's Nantucket was super cool. And I really appreciate that there is a completely rational explanation for why Helen doesn't know what she is at first. And, okay, I am in love with the entire Delos family. And Claire. And Jerry. I love Helen and Jerry's father-daughter relationship, I love the way the relationship develops between Helen and Lucas, I love Helen and Claire's friendship...

Promise yourself you'll give it the first three chapters. By the time you finish that, you'll be stuck. Fans of mythology and/or romance will definitely love this one.

Waiting on Wednesday, 8/21/13

Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, is a weekly meme to spotlight upcoming books we bloggers can't wait to get our hands on. This week I'm waiting on Lauren DeStefano's PERFECT RUIN.

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

-Goodreads

This sounds right up my alley -- vaguely dystopian with some hardcore government secrets. Plus, I adored Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden trilogy and this cover is gorgeous. Mark October 1 on your calendars for this one!

What are YOU waiting on this week?

Book Thoughts: If I Should Die

Title: If I Should Die
Author: Amy Plum
Series: Revenants #3

I really loved this series, and I thought IF I SHOULD DIE was an excellent conclusion.

Beware of spoilers for the first two books! As the trilogy winds to an end, Kate and her revenant friends must search for a way to bring Vincent back while stopping Violette and her army of numa from destroying Paris. One adventure follows another, and I adored the details of the revenants' world and their relationship to the guerriseurs. I'm a sucker for good world-building, and I haven't encountered a lot of books about revenants, so I thought that was cool and I love that we're still learning along with Kate even in the third book.

I was a little disappointed that I figured out two (and a half?) major plot points well in advance (no, I'm not going to tell you which ones because spoilers), but it didn't really matter -- even though I had accurately figured out what was coming, it was super fun to see how the characters got there. And of course, I simply love the romance between Kate and Vincent and the relationships between all of the different characters.

So, yeah, highlights: fun characters and the guerriseur world and absolutely beautiful romance. A fitting end to a series that I have very much enjoyed and can wholeheartedly give my stamp of approval. :) Now if only there were more books about the Paris revenants...

Waiting on Wednesday, 8/14/13

Waiting on Wednesday, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, is a weekly feature to spotlight prerelease books that we bloggers are excited about. This week I'm waiting on ALTERED by Gennifer Albin.

I adored CREWEL so I can't wait to find out what awaits Adelice and her friends in this sequel! (Plus, okay, is that an awesome cover or what?)

This is the goodreads description, but if you haven't read CREWEL, don't read it!

Adelice always knew there’d be a price to destroying the Guild, but is she willing to pay it?

After a daring escape to Earth from Arras, sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys thought she would finally be in control of her own destiny. She would be free to be true to herself and to her heart—to love Jost, the boy the Guild said she could not have. But Earth is not abandoned, as she’d always been taught it was. It’s inhabited with survivors waging a war against Arras. The world that was supposed to offer a new beginning is still tangled up in the past.

Now Adelice is being called upon to harness her phenomenal power and break Earth from the grip of the Guild. But even as she uncovers the truth about her parents and her former life, she discovers that nothing on Earth is as it seems either. Everyone has secrets, especially those she loves most. What’s more, those secrets are driving Adelice and Jost away from each other, and Adelice into his brother Erik’s waiting arms. Now torn between two brothers and two worlds, Adelice must decide what—and who--she’s fighting for, before it’s too late.

What are YOU waiting on this week?

Book Thoughts: Ash

Title: Ash
Author: Malinda Lo

I really wanted to love this book. I didn't.

I love the idea of this book. I adore fairytale retellings (and, okay, I'm a bit of a sucker for the Cinderella story), and this one put a really cool twist on it -- Ash (the Cinderella character), rather than falling in love with the prince, falls for the king's huntress, aided not by a fairy godmother but by a fairy (think faerie) who's in love with her. It was such a cool story and I absolutely adored Malinda Lo's twist on this classic tale.

What I didn't love was the writing style. It read, to me, like an antiquated fairy tale -- which fits for the kind of story this is, I guess, but it feels very forced and one-dimensional as a narrative style for an entire novel. I had no emotional connection to Ash or her relationships with Sidhean or Kaisa. Ash at one point describes fairy tales as stories with a lesson to be learned; I kind of felt this way about the novel ASH. It's less of a novel that you get emotionally invested in and more one that's like oh, okay, Cinderella but she loves a girl and also love is important. You don't feel the love, you just sort of read about it.

I don't know. I did enjoy ASH because as I said, such a cool twist on the story, but I kind of had to drag myself through the style and I don't feel attached to the characters at all. But as this is Malinda Lo's first novel, I love her blog, and her newer books aren't fairytales, I'll definitely try something else of hers.

Book Thoughts: Everbound

Title: Everbound
Author: Brodi Ashton
Series: Everneath #2

*Warning! Spoilers for Everneath*

I am in love with this series.

In this second installment of the trilogy, Nikki sets out to rescue Jack from the Everneath -- but to do that, she's going to have to trust Cole, something she has sworn not to do. It won't be an easy journey, and it's going to take all Nikki has to get through it, if she can at all.

I just. I know finding your "forever" love in high school is unusual, but I simply adore the relationship between Jack and Nikki. I love the flashbacks where we get to see their life together before the Everneath, and I love how much faith Nikki has in him. I also really love the relationship between Nikki and Cole: it isn't quite love, but it's something real. I like that it's a love triangle without being a love triangle -- Nikki and Jack are in love, plain and simple; Nikki does not love Cole and she knows that, but he complicates things for other reasons.

I love Brodi Ashton's writing style. I adore her conception of the Underworld and the influence of mythology (because hey, I'm a mythology geek, and if you'll play to that, you're already well on your way to winning me over). I loved getting to explore more of the Everneath in this book.

And I love that there is no middle-book syndrome here! EVERBOUND is a complete story in and of itself, certainly reliant on the previous book but definitely NOT mere filler between the beginning and the end of the trilogy.

Oh, and the other thing I loved? The plot twist. I didn't see it coming, but I should have. Can't wait for book three!

Book Thoughts: The Iron Knight

Title: The Iron Knight
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Iron Fey #4

*Spoiler warning for earlier books in the series*

I am SO, SO GLAD we got a book four. The series was originally going to be a trilogy, leaving Meghan as the Iron Queen but at the great cost of losing Ash. But because Julie Kagawa's editor is apparently as much of a Meghan/Ash shipper as I am, we got THE IRON KNIGHT.

Told from Ash's perspective, THE IRON KNIGHT is the tale of Ash's journey to the End of the World to find a way to be with Meghan. There will be costs, there will be trials he never dreamed of, but he is determined to do anything at all so he can be with Meghan... isn't he?

I simply adore Ash and Puck both, and Grimalkin... well, if you don't love Grimalkin, I do not understand you on some fundamental level. (That's only mostly a joke.) It was super cool getting to see Ash's point of view and to see the interplay between him and Puck without Meghan around. And I just LOVE the way the series incorporates so many familiar elements of fey lore with so much new stuff and other storytelling. I am a huge fan of the setting and the characters, so the seriously epic adventure is almost icing on the cake.

For some reason, I found this one a little bit slow getting into (can't tell you why, because I loved it), but once I was into it... well. I may have stayed up until three in the morning to finish it. And by "may have" I mean "totally did."

A wonderful conclusion to a wonderful series. I definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a fun new twist on faerie tales (or simply a great romance or adventure) and I look forward to reading more from Julie Kagawa.

Book Thoughts: Loss

Title: Loss
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Series: Riders of the Apocalypse #3

Billy Ballard is the local punching bag, the kid everyone picks on, the boy who never fights back. He keeps his head down at school, cares for his Alzheimer's-afflicted grandfather, and generally hates his life. He also has nightmares about the "Ice Cream Man" -- nightmares that are about to become all too real, when Death himself shows up on Billy's doorway and hands him the Bow of Pestilence.

I really enjoyed the story here -- the idea of Pestilence having been so disenchanted with and maddened by his job that he tricks little Billy, who must now at fifteen go get him back. It's a change from the previous two books; although I enjoyed both of them, the story arcs were very similar, and this one takes a slightly different tack.

I also really love the way Kessler puts words together. I love that she's putting out such a vehement anti-bullying message, and I love that she's donating proceeds from this novel to Alzheimer's research. It was a fun story and a good continuation of the series.

But Billy felt kind of flat to me. He's the school punching bag, sure, but there are references to bringing home good grades and slight hints that he's into music that could have helped him be so much more rounded as a character. There are vague indications that he has a personality besides "bullying victim," but that's the only part that's really developed. And while I think the message about standing up to bullies is incredibly important, I think it's also important to acknowledge that there is more to a person than just being bullied.

So I don't know. I definitely liked the book, but there were also things that I thought could have been better. I'm still going to look for book four for sure, but I'm not going to say LOSS is my favorite in the series.

Updates Again!

Couple of things to share with y'all, fellow bookworms.

FIRST: I was supposed to be moved into my new apartment completely by last Friday. Things didn't quite go to plan (I mean, nothing ever does, that's life, but things went less to plan than usual), but I am now finally moved in and settled, and I've made my first trip to the local library. Life is good.

Me with Luna

SECOND: The other reason that this last week has been so hectic is Luna. Luna is a seven-week-old Siamese kitten who, after lots of uncertainty, I ended up adopting. She's a real sweetheart, but it's like having a baby in the house: never a quiet moment.

THIRD: The move from tumblr (and assorted other private blogs and personal notes) to blogspot is complete! The review archive is 100% up to date.

FOURTH: Regular blogging to recommence immediately! My review for LOSS will be up tomorrow, which will be the beginning of post-move blogging normalcy for real.

Until tomorrow, happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday, 8/7/13

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Breaking the Spine to spotlight prerelease books we bloggers are excited about. This week I'm waiting on Smoke by Ellen Hopkins.

 Pattyn Von Stratten’s father is dead, and Pattyn is on the run. After far too many years of abuse at the hands of her father, and after the tragic loss of her beloved Ethan and their unborn child, Pattyn is desperate for peace. Only her sister Jackie knows what happened that night, but she is stuck at home with their mother, who clings to normalcy by allowing the truth to be covered up by their domineering community leaders. Her father might be finally gone, but without Pattyn, Jackie is desperately isolated. Alone and in disguise, Pattyn starts a new life, but is it even possible to rebuild a life when everything you’ve known has burned to ash and lies seem far safer than the truth? --Goodreads

I really enjoyed Burned, so I'm excited for this one to see how Pattyn's life continues even after she lost so much. (I say "enjoyed" and "excited" inasmuch as you can use those words for such a tragic story.) I love Hopkins' writing and so new books of hers pretty much always make my can't-wait list.

What are YOU waiting on this week?

(P.S. Sorry for the radio silence lately! There were some complications moving into my apartment and I ended up sort of suddenly adopting a seven-week-old kitten, so it's been a bit hectic around here lately. But we're finally settled, so reading and posting should *actually* be returning to normal now.)

Book Thoughts: Dead Silence

Title: Dead Silence
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: Body Finder #4

*Spoilers for earlier books in the series*

Stuck with an imprint of her own and the terrible memories of her nearly fatal kidnapping, Violet is determined to keep her ability to sense the dead hidden. But threats from her psychiatrist are making sure she stays on her special team, and her friends are making it harder than ever to keep her two worlds separate -- especially now that Rafe and Gemma are going to her school. And when she stumbles across a particularly violent murder scene, her life gets that much crazier.

I loved the story in this one, and I continue to adore the relationship between Violet and Jay. The way the mystery unfolds is, as ever, brilliant. I was less thrilled with the conclusion, though.

If there were going to be another book in the series, then I would have no trouble with the ending whatsoever. It resolved the events of this story well; the relationships, the murder mystery, the book-specific plot events, everything was tied up. But in terms of concluding the series, I just felt like there were still way too many things left unclear about Violet's team of people, especially with all of the buildup to some Big Secret via Grandma Louise's old journals. I felt like there was a secondary mystery being heavily teased that was never resolved, which would be fine if there were another book to resolve it, but with this as probably the last in the series, I feel a little unresolved.

Even so, I enjoyed the book and would recommend the series in a heartbeat to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery.

Gorgeous New Covers!

Over the last couple of days, the covers for THE OFFERING (the third book in Kimberly Derting's The Pledge series) and UNFORGOTTEN (the sequel to Jessica Brody's Unremembered) were released. Are these gorgeous or what?

Book Thoughts: Sourcery

Title: Sourcery
Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld #5

Sourcery -- access to raw, creative, untethered magic -- disappeared from the Disc long ago, after some very nasty Mage Wars. But it has returned, in the form of a young boy named Coin.

Something has to be done before the overpowered wizards destroy the Disc -- but it looks like the job is going to be left to a failed wizard, a boy who's been a barbarian hero for three days but hasn't finished the instruction manual, a hairdresser wannabe with killer instincts, and an alcoholic poet. As you might expect, hilarious shenanigans (and a lot of surprising depth) ensue.

Rincewind! Rincewind is back! (We haven't seen him since The Light Fantastic, and he's one of my favorites.) And the other characters are all wonderful too. Some of the plot got a little bit weird in this one, but I think I would put it pretty close to the top of my Discworld experience so far. A quick and hilarious read, classic Terry Pratchett. Definitely read.