Review:Legend

Legend
Marie Lu
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Pages: 305

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

There has been quite a bit of buzz revolving around Legend for a while now. I was extremely excited when I got a chance to read it. And I do believe that it deserves the buzz that it was gotten. 


I was instantly drawn to Day. He's the most wanted criminal. Not only was that interesting but I was completely drawn to his character. I first noticed how compassionate he was. He would have done anything for his family. It took me a little bit to warm up to June. I never liked her as much as Day, but after a while I liked her more. One thing I liked about her was how attuned she was to every little detail. I've  never read about a character who does that, and it was very interesting to read about.

Legend was fast paced and action packed. I never wanted to put it down, always needing to know what happens next. I do wish there was more, though. It's not that there wasn't enough. It was just so good that I would have loved to see more. More of the characters, of the story. It wasn't a very long book, but what was there I really enjoyed. 

I do love when in dystopian novels, it is so close to our world. It makes them seem that much real and plausible. And that's how it was in this book. It made connections to our world and society. 

Legend was a fantastic debut. It was as addicting as it was fantastic. I can't wait to read more of the characters and this world.

2012 YA Contemporary Challenge

I'm a huge fan of challenges, and now is the time to sign up for all sorts for 2012.

This year Katie at Katie's Book Blog and Reading Angel are hosting the 2012 YA Contemporary Challenge

Rules:
You can read any contemporary YA novel that is published between January 1, 2012 and December 30, 2012 but you must read them in 2012! (All formats accepted: paperback, ARC, e-book

You can get to different levels:

Level 1: 5+ books
Level 2: 10+ books
Level 3: 15+ books

I'm personally going to go for level 3. I think out of everything, I read the most contemporary, so 15 books in a year should be no problem for me.

I'll be listing books as I read them here.

2012 Contemps Read:

1. Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard

2. Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker

3. Rock On by Denise Vega

4. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

5. The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg 

6. Purity by Jackson Pearce

7. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

8. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarrey

9. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

10. Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John

11. The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

12. Life is But a Dream by Brain James

13. Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard

14. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

15.Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

16. The Story of Us by Deb Caletti

17. Someone else's Life by Katie Dale

To sign up or for more information, go here.

In My Mailbox (78)

We have Kristi at The Story Siren to thank for hosting IMM every week. 

For Review:

New Girl

Paige Harrison

Allegiance

Cayla Kluver

Random Acts of Kindness:

Blood Bound

Rachel Vincent

Timeless 

Alexandra Monir

Lover Eternal

J.R. Ward

Thank you so much to Lori at Romancing the Darkside and Jen at At Random for the amazing random acts of kindness!

Did you have an amazing Thanksgiving for those of you in the U.S. I know I did and I ate a ton. 

What did you get this week?

Happy Turkey Day!

Waiting on Wednesday: Bitterblue

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

May 1st, 2012

Bitterblue is a companion book to both Graceling and Fire and takes place in the seven kingdoms eight years after Graceling. This third book will tie all three books together in some way. Bitterblue is the sixteen-year-old protagonist, and Katsa, Po, Giddon, Helda, and other characters from Graceling will be part of the fabric of the book.

It's about time this book came out. I've only been waiting for it forever!

Oh, well. I guess all the waiting just means it's just going to be even more awesome, right?

I can't wait to see what happens in this one!

Review: The Pledge

The Pledge
Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Pages: 323

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed. 

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

I'm a huge fan of Derting's The Body Finder series. I was so excited to read this new one book by her. Unfortunately, I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would. 

I think where the book fell flat for me was the characters. This is a place that can either make it or break it with a dystopian novel. And there may be some people who disagree. But I never really connected with any of them, especially the main character, Charlie. It's not that she bothered me or that I didn't like, I just never cared about her specifically enough to keep going. It was the story that kept me captivated enough to move along.

The world was fascinating to read about. I loved the idea of every cast having a different language. Very original and intriguing. And the book was fast-paced and action-packed. 

I think what saved this book for me was the ending. I don't know why, but I loved the ending. It wasn't entirely unpredictable, but I was still happy. I think this is the reason That I'm going to keep reading this series. 

A very original and unique story. I was enticed by the story but put aback by the characters. But it's the captivating ending that has me moved me on to read the next book in the series about a fascinated world.

Review Format

So I've been thinking about playing around with the format of my reviews. 

Right now, in my reviews, I just write them in one long review, not breaking it up. (By this I mean I don't have it split up into more parts.)

 I've been thinking about changing it so that it would look more like this:

Overview:

my opinion

Plot:

My opinion

Characters:

my opinion

Writing:

my opinion

Miscellaneous:

This is where I say anything that I want to add about the book that doesn't fit in the categories above. 

(It won't actually be called miscellaneous)

Rating:

Which is where I post my rating. 

I'm not sure if those will be the actual categories, but you get the idea.

I like this because it may be easier to write the review if I split it up. I can be more specific. 

But I also feel that this has potential to be limiting. 

So, I'm asking you! What kind of review format do you prefer? How I write them now, where it's just random and one thing, or split up into categories. 

I may do a few like this and if I don't like it, just totally trash the idea and go back to the way I had it before. I'll play around with a few different things.  

Also, if you don't like any of these ideas, let me know how you like to read reviews!

Let me know!

Review: Silence

Silence
Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Pages: 438

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

I was very surprised by Silence. I really liked Hush, Hush, but I didn't get as into the sequal, Crescendo, as much. I wasn't sure how I would feel about Silence. But it brought this series back to life for me.

When the book started out, I was just as clueless as Nora. Well, almost. We start out when Nora wakes up in a grave yard with no memory of the past few month. She doesn't remember Patch or the Nephilim or anything. At first, I wasn't sure I would like this. Whey do we need to rediscover everything again. But, it didn't linger on anything too much.

Nora and Patch's on again off again relationship is driving me nuts. Either stay together or don't! (I was hopping for the former.) But, I think that after the second half, that will be permanent. I hope. 

I do think that the first part dragged a little. There were things that happened, but I was just waiting for Nora to either remember or figure everything out. But then about half way through it got a lot more interesting. 

And the ending! I was surprised. But then again I feel like I should have seen it coming.

I'm glad I liked Silence because it got me into this series again. I love angels and this is a great story. Now I'm dying for the next one. 

Charming Covers [23]

Charming Covers is a feature where I show off covers that have recently been revealed/ that I've recently found. 

Arise by Tara Hudson
July 5, 2012

Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua’s Seer relatives in New Orleans. But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price. Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.


I enjoyed the first book, Hereafter, although it wasn't my favorite. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel.
I really like this cover. I can't tell if I like it more or not than the first. Either way, it's very pretty. 

2012 Debut Author Challenge

Yay! It's that time of the year to sign up for next year's challenges! And one of my favorites (and one of the only ones I actually keep up with) is the DAC hosted over at The Story Siren!

I'm super excited to start this because there are already so many debuts coming out next there that I can't wait for! They all look so good!

For all the info, go here.

To sign up, go here.

Is anyone else planning on doing this?

What other challenges are you planning on do next year? I would love to hear about them! 

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Pages: 420

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. 

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. 

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. 

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

A lot of buzz has been generated around this book. I was very much looking forward to it; it looked so different and unique. Unfortunately, I didn't love it. I very much enjoyed it, but I was anticipating a lot more out of it. 

You can't deny that this book is unique. Everything about it is original: from the character's names to the story to the characters themselves. That is one thing that I really enjoyed about it. 

For whatever reason, I had a hard time getting into this book. It wasn't that it was slow, I just couldn't get into it. This got better about halfway through, but then I lost interest again. I guess you could say it was kind of a roller coaster for me. 

I think one reason I didn't like this book as much was the characters. I never really connect with them. This may be due to the originality. Not that originality is a bad thing, but when the characters are so different, I can't connect with them and bring myself to truly care about them. This may just be me, though. I'm sure other people really like this aspect. 

Overall, Daughter of Smoke and Bone was not what I was expecting. In some ways it was a nice surprise, but in others it was a bit lacking. It's not that I didn't like it, because it was enjoyable and very entertaining. Again, what I didn't like about this book may be what others truly enjoy. 

In My Mailbox (77)

We have Kristi at The Story Siren to thank for hosting IMM every week. 

This is actually a couple weeks worth, since I am trying to cut back on getting books from the library. I've done better, but no much. 

Plus, I've been waiting for them to get Timeless for forever. They finally got it in. 

Library:

Timeless by Alexandra Monir
Sometimes it Happens by Lauren Barnholdt
Amplified by Tara Kelly

So that's it. 

What did you get this week?

Review: Touch of Frost

Touch of Frost
Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Release Date: July 26, 2011
Pages: 350

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .

Touch of Frost was a surprisingly fun and adventurous novel. I wasn't expecting much out of it when I first started, but I enjoyed both the story and the characters. 

One thing I loved, loved about this book was the atmosphere. There was something very... mystic and creepy about it. Surprisingly, it's been a while since I've read about a boarding school that was more than a boarding school. There are so many of these out there, and I usually tried to avoid the setting because it seems so overdone, but I liked this atmosphere and setting.

I really liked the fact that Gwen was a Gypsy. I know that it's not the kind of gypsy that we normally think of, but it was still fun. And I liked Gwen in general. I thought that at times she was pretty kick-ass. One things that bothered me, though, was how little she though of herself. She was going through a hard time and through the book she belittled herself a lot. I would have liked if she didn't do this as much.

I keep saying how 'fun' this novel is, but don't get me wrong. There's definitely a darker aspect to this book. And that's part of what I liked. 

One thing that did kind of turn me off to this book at times was the cheesey-ness of it. And this may be the part that everyone else liked. But for me, it was just a little too much. But it didn't bother me enough to not like the book.

I think Touch of Frost is a unique tale. I can't wait to see what's in store for Gwen next. 

Review: Amplified

Amplified
Tara Kelly
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Pages: 304

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . . 

In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified

I was a huge fan of Tara's first book, Harmonic Feedback. From the description and the cover I knew that Amplified would be just as amazing. And I was right. Amplified was such an amazing, unique novel with a fun and spunky attitude. 

One thing that I loved about this book were the characters. I loved all of the band members: Veta, Sean, Felix. Even Bryn was a unique character, though he got on my nerves sometimes. All of them were very colorful.

Even though Jasmine was very spoiled in the past, she didn't seem like it. Her dad (whom I did not like) had taught her to do everything for herself and never ask for help. I never thought of her as a brat. Although, there were times when I wished she would stop complaining about things and do something. But eventually she did. 

I'm a huge fan of books with an emphasis on music. And this was one of them. I think that Amplified brings something new to the YA table. I haven't ever read a book like this, or at least not one that was done this well. I was a little worried about the actual music scenes, that I wouldn't be able to picture it well. But I was wrong. All of the performances were described wonderfully.

I keep going back and forth about the ending. On some level I wish it was wrapped up more nicely, but I think it ended well. It left just enough loose ends for me to draw my own conclusions.

Amplified was a fantastic and creative contemporary. It just made me even more of a fan of Tara Kelly, and I can't wait to read more by here. 

Charming Covers [22]

Charming Covers is a feature where I show off covers that have recently been revealed/ I've recently found. 

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

May 29, 2012

Sequel to Starcrossed

I wasn't a huge fan of Starcrossed, though I did enjoy it and am interested to see what happens next. I also like the pretty cover. I don't like this one as much as the last, but I like the light compared to Starcrossed's dark. 

NaNoWriMo

Since there is no IMM for me this week (I only got one book), I decided to do something a little different.

I am participating in this year's NaNoWriMo. I know it's already a few days into November, but I thought I should share this with you.

I "participated" in this last year. The reason I say it like that is because I didn't find out about NaNoWriMo into about a week in, and I didn't have a book planned out or anything. I failed miserably. But this year I've actually been planning and am really excited to write this book. I think I can reach the goal of 50,000 words.

What is my book about? I don't want to say too much, because it may change, but I will say that it's inspired by Florence and the Machine's song Howl and based off of an Italian myth. It's a werewolf story, nevertheless. But I think (hope) I bring something new to the table, as far as werewolves go.

Is anyone else participating this year? Leave your link or username in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out.

And if you are interested, here's a link to my profile page.

Library Books

I'm going to start this post out by saying I love my library. Love it. The almost always carry the books that I want to read. And if the library that I usually go to doesn't have it, I can reserve it and pick it up there. I'm not going to lie (and this is terrible) I hardly ever buy books anymore. I know, I'm probably the only one. But I buy about one book a month, sometimes with several months in between without buying any. 

But, in my defense, I don't have a book store near me. I know, it's terrible. I'm not a big fan of ordering online because I just like going to the store and picking out a book. But I do order books from Amazon and The Book Depository occasionally. 

Anyway, that's not the point of this post. 

I have too many library books.

It's like an addiction for me. I go about once a week and get at least three or four more to add to my already huge pile. And if I don't get to them before they are due, I just recheck them out. Sometimes five or six times. 

So, I'm going to make it a goal to try to reduce that pile. It may never be completely gone, but I want to reduce it tremendously. The reason for this is because I already have so many on my TBR pile that own that I need to read, and I can't get through them if I'm always trying to read library books before they are due. 

So, for the next two or three weeks, I'm going to make it a goal to get rid of my huge pile. I think if I only read library books from now on, I can do it. 

Here's a list of all of the ones that I have now:

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott

Beautiful Days by Anna Godbersen

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvator

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Now, I have some that should be coming in that are reserved, so I'll get those, but other than that, I'm going to try to not check any more out. 

And, after I have reduced it, I'm going to take a bit of my TBR pile. 

So, on November 13, I'll check back in to see how I'm doing on this. 

Let me know, which books should I read first?

Review: Saving June

Saving June
Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: November 22, 2011
Pages: 336

When her older sister commits suicide and her divorcing parents decide to divide the ashes, Harper Scott takes her sister's urn to the one place June always wanted to go: California. On the road with her best friend, plus an intriguing guy with a mysterious connection to June, Harper discovers truths about her sister, herself and life.

Saving June is a breathtaking and heartbreaking novel. I loved every minute of it, from the premise to the characters. It has everything that I love in a good contemporary: music-heavy, a road trip, a hot guy, a well-done friendship. 

Even though this book may seem a bit depressing, I think that in the end it can be uplifting. The main story line is about a girl going across the country to spread her sister's ashes after she commits suicide. But even though it's the main thing, throughout the book it takes a back seat. The books deals with so much more. That's one thing I really liked about this book: how real it was. 

I also really liked the characters of the book. Harper was grief-stricken from her sister's suicide. One of the things she always struggled with was that her sister was the good, perfect one, and Harper, well, wasn't. I found that despite everything she was going through, Harper was still very selfless. Most the time she would put other people before herself, although I would understand if she didn't. 

One thing I really liked about this book was the friendship. Now and days, you really don't find a good friendship in YA. Usually the best friend is rude or annoying or selfish, in a way meant to juxtapose the main character. But that wasn't the case in Saving June. But that wasn't the case with Laney. I felt that Laney and Harper's friendship was real.

Two things a love to read about: road trips and an emphasis on music. This book had both. I loved reading and hearing about the different bands and songs throughout the book. And I just love road trips, so that was a plus.

There were a few cliche's in this book, like any contemporary with a mourning sibling. But I was able to overlook those. 

Overall, Saving June was a great read. Like I said, even though it's a book about grief, I think that it has on overall uplifting effect. I was fully invested in all of the characters. Definitely a book I recommend. 

Charming Covers [21]

Charming Covers is a feature where I show covers that have recently been revealed/ that I've just found.
I've got a few for you today.

Until I Die by Amy Plum

May 3, 2012

Sequel to Die for Me. 

I enjoyed Die for Me, but it's not one of my favorites. I am, however, intruiged enough to see what happens in the next book.

Although this cover isn't as pretty as the last, I still like it. I like how it's darker compared to the lighter cover of Die for Me. Still pretty.

Timepiece by Myra McEntire
June 12, 2012


Sequel to Hourglass


Oh, I really liked Hourglass. I know there were quite a few who didn't like it as much, but I did. 
I love both of these covers. They are so interesting and eye-catching and unique. I'm not quite sure, but I think I may like this one better than the first. But Hourglass cover is pretty awesome, too. 


So what do you think of these?

Top Ten Tuesday (7): Books I had Strong Emotions For

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and Bookish. To find out more, visit here. 

This week is Top Ten Books I Had Strong Emotions for (such as laugh, cry, etc.).

This is a harder one for me. It shouldn't be, but it is.

1. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta- I read this one quite a while ago, and I just remember this one really hit me emotionally. I remember just balling to this one. But it is so amazing. One of my favorites.
2. The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti- This one was a different kind of emotion. It didn't bring me to tears, but I was so emotionally attached to the story and characters. Amazing.
3. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty- I was laughing out loud to this one, and this series in general. Loved it. 
4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins- I was so invested in these characters through the series. When the last book came around... I was heartbroken.
5. Where She Went by Gayle Forman-Again, I was so invested in the characters from the past book. But I wasn't heartborken with this. I just absolutely loved it. 
6. Willow by Julia Hoban- Again one of my favorites. I cried so much to this one. I got super emotional, but in a good way.
7. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers- This one didn't really hit me until after I finished it. I remember lying in bed right after finishing, and finally crying. It really stuck with me. 
8. Sweetheats by Sarah Zarr- I don't know why this one got me so emotional. It's not like anyone dies or anything. But I remember finishing it and just feeling depressed. I'm not sure if that's a good thing. 
9. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen- This one was just so amazing. You can't help getting emotional.
10. Hate List by Jennifer Brown- So sad. This was really good though.