I'm hopping around finding new fabulous blogs to follow! Find out all the details about the weekly Book Blogger Hop at Crazy for Books!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Hoppin' today!
I'm hopping around finding new fabulous blogs to follow! Find out all the details about the weekly Book Blogger Hop at Crazy for Books!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Review: The Darkest Powers Series
The Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong
publisher: HarperTeen
Book 1: The Summoning
released: July 2008
Hardcover, 390 pages
rating:
description from goodreads:
After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.
At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behavior. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…
Warning! The following book descriptions contain some spoilers for the book that came before each one!! I have hidden the descriptions---to view them, simply highlight between the hearts!
Book 2: The Awakening
released: May 2009
Hardcover, 368 pages
rating:
description from goodreads:
♥If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.
Book 3: The Reckoning
released: April 2010
Hardcover, 391 pages
rating:
description from goodreads:
♥Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now, along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I’m on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We’re hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We’ll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we’d left behind and to take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope. ♥
Review: This entire series was EXCELLENT! The Reckoning was definitely one of my most anticipated releases of this year, and it didn't disappoint---far from it!
From the very first sentence of The Summoning, this series is enticing. You meet Chloe Saunders, with her big dreams of becoming a movie director and her insecurities about things like not getting her period when all the rest of her friends have, and it bring her across as a very normal teenage girl. She is sweet, strong-minded, has a slight stutter when her confidence takes a hit...very human. I really liked her from the start. She grows immensely through the course of the series, into a person who knows her strengths and weaknesses, and learns to stand her ground when it really counts. In turn, I think she really finds out who she is and what she wants to stand for.
There were some definite creepy elements throughout this series. Within the first few pages, this one had sent a few chills up my spine! I love that in a book! Even after you find out what is happening and Chloe starts to learn more about her powers, even into the second and third books, her encounters with the dead don't seem to get any less chilling.
There's not alot of downtime in this plot! It's fast-paced; the characters roll right along in a constant and breathtaking streak of discovering secrets, running from danger, fighting for their lives, or trying to figure out who to trust, sometimes even among themselves. All while still trying to figure out their own powers. The Reckoning was my favorite of the three, so exciting and brought everything to light; it was the perfect ending to a fantastic series.
My only regret, and this is a plus for anyone who hasn't picked up this series yet, was that I didn't wait to read this series until they were all out. While each one was great it its own right, the endings of the first two books were alittle abrupt. I would almost say with the first one, that it felt like the first two books were written together and then just chopped in half at a pivotal point in the story. I would have been preferable, for me, to have waited until all three were out and just jump right into the next book. With such extreme cliffhangers, it was almost too much to bear to wait a year to find out what happened next!
I know this was suppose to be the end of this series, but the way it ended had me thinking: could there possibly be more coming to this story? While the ending was satisfying, it definitely left a little sliver of room for more of these characters' stories to come, and I would welcome another installment wholeheartedly!
Trailer for the Reckoning:
The website for this series has some fun extras on it, including a sneak peak at Kelley Armstrong's next YA series, The Gathering!! I can't wait for more info on this!!
publisher: HarperTeen
Book 1: The Summoningreleased: July 2008
Hardcover, 390 pages
rating:
description from goodreads:
After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.
At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behavior. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…
Warning! The following book descriptions contain some spoilers for the book that came before each one!! I have hidden the descriptions---to view them, simply highlight between the hearts!
Book 2: The Awakening
released: May 2009
Hardcover, 368 pages
rating:
description from goodreads:
♥If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.
Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.♥
Book 3: The Reckoningreleased: April 2010
Hardcover, 391 pages
rating:
description from goodreads:
♥Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now, along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I’m on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We’re hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We’ll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we’d left behind and to take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope. ♥
Review: This entire series was EXCELLENT! The Reckoning was definitely one of my most anticipated releases of this year, and it didn't disappoint---far from it!
From the very first sentence of The Summoning, this series is enticing. You meet Chloe Saunders, with her big dreams of becoming a movie director and her insecurities about things like not getting her period when all the rest of her friends have, and it bring her across as a very normal teenage girl. She is sweet, strong-minded, has a slight stutter when her confidence takes a hit...very human. I really liked her from the start. She grows immensely through the course of the series, into a person who knows her strengths and weaknesses, and learns to stand her ground when it really counts. In turn, I think she really finds out who she is and what she wants to stand for.
There were some definite creepy elements throughout this series. Within the first few pages, this one had sent a few chills up my spine! I love that in a book! Even after you find out what is happening and Chloe starts to learn more about her powers, even into the second and third books, her encounters with the dead don't seem to get any less chilling.
There's not alot of downtime in this plot! It's fast-paced; the characters roll right along in a constant and breathtaking streak of discovering secrets, running from danger, fighting for their lives, or trying to figure out who to trust, sometimes even among themselves. All while still trying to figure out their own powers. The Reckoning was my favorite of the three, so exciting and brought everything to light; it was the perfect ending to a fantastic series.
My only regret, and this is a plus for anyone who hasn't picked up this series yet, was that I didn't wait to read this series until they were all out. While each one was great it its own right, the endings of the first two books were alittle abrupt. I would almost say with the first one, that it felt like the first two books were written together and then just chopped in half at a pivotal point in the story. I would have been preferable, for me, to have waited until all three were out and just jump right into the next book. With such extreme cliffhangers, it was almost too much to bear to wait a year to find out what happened next!
I know this was suppose to be the end of this series, but the way it ended had me thinking: could there possibly be more coming to this story? While the ending was satisfying, it definitely left a little sliver of room for more of these characters' stories to come, and I would welcome another installment wholeheartedly!
Trailer for the Reckoning:
The website for this series has some fun extras on it, including a sneak peak at Kelley Armstrong's next YA series, The Gathering!! I can't wait for more info on this!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Waiting on Wednesday : Pegasus
"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.
Pegasus
by Robin McKinley
release date: November 2nd by Putnam Juvenile
description from Goodreads:
A gorgeously-written fantasy about the friendship between a princess and her pegasus
Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication.
But it’s different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close—so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo—and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.
My thoughts: The story sounds amazing, but I would have been eagerly anticipating this one based on the gorgeous cover alone!
Pegasus
by Robin McKinley
release date: November 2nd by Putnam Juvenile
description from Goodreads:
A gorgeously-written fantasy about the friendship between a princess and her pegasus
Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication.
But it’s different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close—so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo—and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.
My thoughts: The story sounds amazing, but I would have been eagerly anticipating this one based on the gorgeous cover alone!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
In My Mailbox (19)
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, where we all share what we got during the week!I ordered some fun books this week! I was so excited about the last few weeks of book releases, especially Glimmerglass and Forgive My Fins, and I got them both this week! I also finally bought myself my own copy of Shiver, which I read and absolutely fell head over heels in love with (you can see my review here). Sunshine was actually a present to my daughter for her birthday, but decided to include it here since we were both equally excited about reading it! :) And my lone library loan this week, Rampant! I've seen this book around and it sounds so exciting, although I'm not sure I can wrap my head around killer Unicorns!! Being raised on stories like Morgan & Ewe and the movie Legend and tons and tons of other stories that portrayed them as the gentlest beings in creation! So we'll see! Either way, excited about all of these---and such a collection of drop dead gorgeous covers!!
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
Shiver by Maggie Steifvater
Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
Show me what you got!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Review: Darkwood
Darkwood by M. E. Breenpublisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
released: May 2009
edition: Hardcover, 288 pages
intended audience: Young Adult
rating:
description from author's site:
Darkness falls so quickly in Howland its people have no word for evening. One minute the sky is light, the next minute it is black—an impenetrable, suffocating black, unlit by moon or stars. Then good people bar their doors, for fearsome kinderstalk leave the forest to prowl among the houses, looking for children to steal. Yet when Annie Trewitt overhears her uncle making terrible plans for her, she flees to the only place she’s sure he will not follow: the forest. Annie never expects to survive the night, but soon she finds neither the kinderstalk nor the people of Howland are what they first appear. Her journey will take her from the depths of the forest to the glittering halls of the palace—and ever closer to an evil darker and more vast than the night itself.
Review: I came across Darkwood like I do so many other books: I checked it in for someone at my library! I couldn't resist the dark eerie cover and the determined expression on the girls face, the wolves in the background, and the cats creeping around her. The story inside did not disappoint. It was an incredible adventure story much in the style of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
I loved Annie's character. She had so much courage! Her and her two cats, Isadora & Prudence, steal away into the suffocating darkness to escape her uncle and the adventure begins---and doesn't stop until the very end! The darkness is almost a character of it's own: when it fell, it falls fast and engulfed everyone in complete blindness. The storylines were amazing, changing and twisting throughout the whole book, so that even the characters goals morphed several times. Along the way, Annie finds some very important lost things and discovers alot about her true self.
So many interesting characters help the story along, good and bad. My favorites were the sisters Serena and Beatrice, who take Annie in and care for her like their own, protecting her like mama bears. They are twins but they are physical opposites, one is large and strong, the other is small and slight, but both are so sweet. I couldn't help but love them! As for the bad, there is a character that is named only as the Apothecary who is so terrifying, each of her scenes had my skin crawling!
There is so much here: mystery, adventure, terror, royal intrigue, war, and love! I definitely recommend picking this one up if you get the chance! Check your local library or grab a copy of the newly released paperback!
Waiting on Wednesday : Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June
"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June
by Robin Benway
releasing: August 3rd, 2010 by Razorbill
description from goodreads:
Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!
I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn’t imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.
Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?
April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.
Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.
My thoughts: I love sisterhood stories...throw in alittle magic and I'm sold.
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & Juneby Robin Benway
releasing: August 3rd, 2010 by Razorbill
description from goodreads:
Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!
I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn’t imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.
Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?
April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.
Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.
My thoughts: I love sisterhood stories...throw in alittle magic and I'm sold.
Review: Forget You
Forget You by Jennifer Echolspublisher: MTV Books
release date:July 20th, 2010
edition: ARC, source: Traveling Arc Tours paperback, 256 pages
intended audience: Young adult
recommended: 16 and up.
rating:
Description from goodreads:
There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.
Review: I had some very mixed feelings about this. It was definitely a fascinating story and held my interest all the way through...sometimes because I liked what I was reading, and sometimes to see if the characters would finally figure out the solutions to their dilemmas that seemed like they should have been obvious all along. Now that I've mulled it over for about a week, I realized I didn't hate it...I was just very frustrated with the way the characters handled themselves. Which doesn't make for a bad book, and in one way of looking at it, I guess it's good to get emotionally sucked into the character's world, even if that emotion is predominantly frustration and impatience!
Zooey is a pretty mixed up character to begin with. She has alot on her plate, with a mother becoming mentally unstable and a father who has run off with his 24-year-old pregnant girlfriend. When her mother tries to commit suicide, she is left to stay with her dad, who is more worried about her getting in the way of his shiny new life. Completely distraught, she goes to a party and ends up "hooking up" (a term I hate, by the way, but the one that was used in this situation) with her friend Brandon who she is fully aware that he sleeps with every female (or two) that he can. Up to this point, the situation was believable and understandable that she would do something rash to distract from her problems at home. Its what follows that I really had a hard time buying into. Basically after this night, Brandon tells everyone what happened between them and then completely blows her off, and so obviously turns his attentions to the next girl. After the accident, when Zoey is trying to put together the pieces of her memory that seems to be missing, she completely ignores the signs that he has no interest in being with her and clings to her relationship with him, repeating over and over throughout the whole book, "I'm with Brandon! I have to be good to Brandon!" It just took alot of suspension of reasoning to believe that this girl who is suppose to have a good head on her shoulders would behave with so little self-respect.
The love/hate relationship between Zoey and Doug was really quite fun to read! I loved his sense of humor when dealing with her. It got pretty steamy there a few times! However, a big part of their conflict took a little suspension of belief as well. Zoey doesn't remember anything about the night of the accident, and she is scared to tell anyone this because her father (who was incredibly cruel, I might add!) threatened to lock her away with her mother if she had amnesia. Again, understandable. So she goes about trying to find out what happened on the sly, while trying to make it appear to everyone that she remembers everything. But, with the things that she was asking and saying, it should have been obvious to Doug right away that she didn't remember the night at all. I kept getting so angry with Doug, thinking he was just being cruel by not telling her what happened right away. Then it was said that he really had no idea that she couldn't remember. I had a hard time believing that. A really hard time. I was also very frustrated with Zoey's friends. Shallow as they come. I mean, what kind of friends find out your whole life is falling down around you, and they actually get mad because you didn't tell them something that was never their business to begin with?
Still, even though I very literally and out loud said "well, duh!" when a major plot twist was revealed, it was a fun ride getting there that fled by in two days of reading. And like I said, there is nothing wrong with getting a little emotionally invested in a story! :) It's the beauty of books...not every books is suppose to speak volumes to you, go exactly the way you want it to, or make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Some stories are frustrating and I guess that's okay!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
