4.29.2012

Book Hauling It Up { 66 }

This is gonna be a new feature on the blog and i'm not going to pretend I like, invented it or anything, but I honestly just prefer using it after everything that has transpired (if you follow my twitter, you know my opinion. I will not write a blog post on it anytime soon. Instead, I shall link you to this amazing post if you're wondering where I stand.)


For Review:
172 Hours On The Moon by Johan Harstad
Purity by Jackson Pearce
Belles by Jen Calonita
Wreaked by Anna Davies
Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Gifted:
Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Bought:
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (signed!)
Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins

4.26.2012

"We couldn’t afford the luxury of wants. We had needs."


Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 327
Edition: Hardcover
Cover Judge: Big dress! Girl! 
Quote Choice: I...I don't know what to say.
Source: For Review
Goodreads: Link

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.


So I promised you guys a review for this book because some of you were interested in finding out why I didn't like it! And as I always do with books I don't like, let's make a list!

1. I just don't think America cut it for me, character-wise. She's very nice and....well, nice. That's about it. She's a flat character and not someone that I'd want to slumber-party with*. Plus, I didn't understand the fact that she wasn't willing to go into the Selection because her family would get a better life because of it but decided to enter because her boyfriend told her to? Which brings me to another point:

2. Aspen. What's up, dude? I wish I liked you, really. You're the hottest boy in the village, America preaches to the choir (congregation? You know what I mean.) about you all the time, but really, all I saw was a boy who threw a temper tantrum because she's slightly richer than you. And I mean slightly. She's a five, you're a four. I understand wanting the best for the girl you love, but was that necessary?

3. The plot was probably my biggest problem, to be perfectly honest. I wanted lots of awesome. I mean, you have this game show where a Prince has to pick a girl to marry who's going to be queen. That's a big deal! And then every once in a while they would mention the rebel leaders as if to go: HEY. DON'T FORGET; THERE'S INTERESTING STUFF GOING ON. But you can't know about it; sorry. Which really frustrated me because every scene the rebels were in (and i'm pretty sure it was a total of two), I liked.

4. The contest! When you say a book is like The Hunger Games and then don't give me any like....fights or death, you're setting me up for disappointment! This is like watching America's Next Top Model where everyone's cat-fighting and then watching Australia's Next Top Model where everyone loves each other and give constructive criticism. The mean girl wasn't even that bad! (I'm pretty sure the worst thing she did was like, rip America's dress a little bit. And America's dress was still perfectly fine.)

5. So why did I keep reading you ask? Simple: Maxon and America are cute. Yup, that's what got me to the end. Maxon might not be the world's most interesting character (prince who's supposed to be an asshole but is really the sweetest person alive) but they were sweet enough for me to keep going. It's like when you're reading fanfiction and you know it's predictable but you can't stop reading! Her writing was also very nice, not full of overwrought descriptions or anything like that; clean and simple.

6. Forever Young Adult brought this up and I have to agree: the way Maxon calls the girls 'dear' got kind of creepy after a while.

Happy Reading!
GOOD REVIEWS?
JJ Reads
Fiction Folio
For Those About To Read

* I feel like there are two types of characters: the ones I'd want to slumber-party with (Sophie, Emerson, Evie) and then the ones I wouldn't want to mess with (Katsa, Saba, Tris)

4.24.2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters

Why am I doing a Top Ten Tuesday? I had originally planned on doing a review but it's my BIRTHDAY so I have a pass to be lazy.

TOP TEN FAVORITE CHARACTERS:
(and not just swoony guys, because that list would be a different story.)

1. Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Obviously. Katsa is strong on the outside and vulnerable and difficult on the inside and I loved seeing her grow as a person throughout the novel. Plus, so much badassery.

2. Emerson from Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Snarky, funny, stubborn. What more can I ask for?

3. Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth
Reading the Free Four story on their Facebook page reminded me how much I love Tris as a character. She's brave and strong, despite everything that is thrown at her throughout both the first book and the second. But she's also not a cold rock and she does have her low points, which I appreciated. She's basically my ideal heroine.

4. Sophie from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Honestly the funniest character I've ever had the pleasure of reading about.

5. Saba from Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Saba's got a lot of flaws but deep down in there, she's got a lot of heart and I love that about her so much.

6. Po from Graceling by Kristin Cashore
I know, I'm trying my best not to include guys because that's like swoony love interests type stuff but honestly, he is a stunning character. He's not douchey or a jerk; he's thoughtful and mind and so damn humble and I love him so much.

7. Alina from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo 
Okay, so this book hasn't come out yet, SORRY. But soon! And I just had to include her in the list. Silent and strong and absolutely lovely.

8. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
One of the most realistic heroine I've ever read about if not the most. Yeah, I went there.

9. Widdershins from Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell
Funny, brave, and she has such heart and she's a THIEF GUYS.

10. Jack from Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Just...just my heart.

BONUS:
11. Warner from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
A twisted and definitely psychotic character that still manages to tug at my heart strings. He's my literary Klaus (and I know, I know, Vampire Diaries is a book but I heard it's not nearly as good and IT'S NOT THE SAME. Joseph Morgan was born to be Klaus.)

TATA!
Do you agree? Disagree? Anyone to add?
Happy Reading!

4.22.2012

Quotes Are Awesome So Share Time!

So a few days ago on twitter, I was like: I want to make a post with some of my favorite quotes. And then I thought: This is my blog, so why not?

As someone who uses quotes as her blog post titles, quotes are something that are very important to me! I think every book has that one line that just expresses the entire novel altogether or just...well, speaks to you.

So I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes with you!

“Cruelty does not make a person honest, the same way bravery does not make a person kind.”
- Insurgent by Veronica Roth

"I found power in accepting the truth of who I am. It may not be a truth that others can accept, but I cannot live any other way."
- Eona: Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman

"Love is a luxury. No, love is an element."
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

"When it's right, it's simple." 
- Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

"Should have. Would have. Could have. Didn't."
- All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
- The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

"Some infinities are bigger than other infinites."
- The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

“Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.”
- The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
- Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare

And that's really all I could think of at the moment!
What are some of your favorite quotes?
(And yes, if you were wondering, I wrote this post right after I finished rereading The Fault In Our Stars. Don't judge. Cried like a baby for a SECOND time.)

Happy Reading!

4.19.2012

"Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After."


Title: The Beginning of After
Author: Jennifer Castle
Release Date: September 6th, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 432
Edition: Hardcover
Cover Judge: Eh, it's alright, I suppose. 
Quote Choice: First line in the book!
Source: For Review
Goodreads: Link


Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all, there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss, a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

The Beginning of After is a sweet and sad novel about a girl who loses her parents in a car accident and has to live with the emptiness of losing her entire family, the guilt of not being in the car with them, and the confusion of how in the world is she going to live her life without them?

I'm going to start with the negatives, but I did like this book, for the record. I think I went in expecting something really poignant and heart-wrenching (ala Gayle Forman or Wings of the Wicked) but while Laurel's story was sad and awful, it didn't affect me. I wasn't crying or feeling awful or really, really clinging to her character, so some of the emotion was lost on me. And then there's the fact it sometimes slowed down in parts and I'd feel like skimming a bit (which I totally didn't!) to see what was going to happen next. While contemporary is not my strong suit genre, I don't want that to happen while i'm reading a book!

On the other hand, I thought Laurel was a very realistic teenager. She was grief-stricken and sometimes even unable to function but even if she acknowledged it felt strange, she still cared about things like school and Prom. It was moving seeing her clinging on to things that could make her feel normal and I could definitely relate to that. Her grandmother plays a large role in her life, which I really appreciated. She was a constant and stable rock for Laurel, which the girl really needed.

BONUS FACTOR: The popular girls at Laurel's school play a part in her recovery story and they're not total biotches. Right? I'm so sick of reading books where the popular girls in school are mean and awful to the heroine and while the girls in this book were shallow, they genuinely wanted to help Laurel out and make her feel better.

I didn't really feel the romance between Laurel and David, to be perfectly honest. I enjoyed it and I understood their connection with their dead or dying families and the fact that they grew up together but when they did finally collide, I didn't feel the sparks as much as I wanted to. But the build-up was fantastic! I actually liked Laurel's relationship with Other Guy, to be perfectly honest, even though I understand why she couldn't be with him.

Overall, a good book but not very deep or moving for me personally.
Happy Reading!

4.17.2012

“Sometimes, if you want the truth, you have to demand it.”


Title: Insurgent (Divergent #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: May 1st, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 525
Edition: Hardcover
Cover Judge: I really like it! Plus it matches!
Quote Choice: TEAM CANDOR WUUUUT.
Source: For Review
Goodreads: Link

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

DIVERGENT SPOILERS ALL UP IN THIS REVIEW. 

So this book. Sweet jesus, it definitely doesn't suffer Second-Book Syndrome*.

Veronica Roth had created a crazy world in Divergent, a society that organizes itself by personality traits (Selflessness, Bravery, Honesty, Intelligence, Peaceful) and our main heroine, Tris, has become a Dauntless because she wants to get out of Abnegation. When Divergent finishes, Tris and Tobias along with a few other characters are on the run after Erudite officially broke into Dauntless and divided it completely. And the plot just keeps getting crazy from there, guys. Tris and Tobias are taken all over the city of Chicago, which I loved. In Divergent, we only really got to see how two factions -- Dauntless and Abnegation -- live. In Insurgent, we spend him in Amity and Candor and even a little bit in Erudite! Each faction is explored more indepth and you really learn about the hierchy works in each faction.

Tris, as always, was an amazing heroine. But unlike in Divergent where she's a total badass who takes name and is awesome, in Insurgent you get to see another side of her, a much more vulnerable side. The events in Insurgent really take a toll on her and it's always nice to see the up and downs of a character before they can triumph. Tris is no exception and it just made her that much more real and awesome to me.

Tris and Tobias are lovely to me. They go through a lot of hardships in the books, plenty of arguements as some relationships do, but they grow as a couple as well as individual characters. I like that Roth didn't do the typical Second Book thing and bring in a random love interest but instead, she took the cracks in the foundation and the flaws in their characters and made them work on it and become even more connected as people.

And as always, her writing is brilliant. There were so many quotes I wanted to choose for the title but I choose that one because as a Candor member, I feel it really is so true.

Memorable Quotes:

“The Candor sing the praises of the truth, but they never tell you how much it costs.”

“Before I chose Dauntless...I felt assured of my long lifespan, if nothing else. Now there are no reassurances except that where I go, I go because I choose to.”

“Cruelty does not make a person honest, the same way bravery does not make a person kind.”  

“It reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free.”

Happy Reading!
*Second-Book Syndrome: Plot slows down, general sucky-ness, possible introduction of random love interest that makes no sense.

4.16.2012

A Psychological Analysis on why Vampire Diaries is a BAMF show

* WILL contain season two spoilers and possibly season three spoilers. You have been warned.

Yeah, i'm going there today.

Mostly everyone in the universe has heard of the show Vampire Diaries considering it's the CW's golden child. When you summarize the story, it seems pretty standard teenage junk because it's about a girl who lives in a small town when two boys barrel into her life who happen to be vampires and basically everything goes wrong.

Season one is pretty good, but it's the moment you hit season two when shit gets real.

One of my favorite things about this show is the character development that happens in the span of season two going into season three. Every character has their own motives and struggles and no one is completely good or completely evil (except maybe Elena, but we'll get to that.) And I want to start showing you this with some of my favorite characters:


Caroline

Caroline is possibly my favorite character on the show because she is just the most relatable girl on there. She's bubbly and sarcastic but she's also quite deep and understanding and a well-rounded character overall. But the best thing, I think, is her transformation in personality after she is turned into a vampire. She starts the show off in season one as one of Elena's best friends (really, the odd one out because Elena and Bonnie are closer to each other and Elena kind of a REALLY bad friend) and completely shallow and rude. She gets her foot in her mouth all the time and says bitchy stuff and only really cares about winning Prom queen and having a white-picket fence when she's older.

And then Katherine turns her into a Vampire and she turns into such a thoughtful person while still keeping her upbeat personality. Unlike nearly everyone else, Caroline isn't one to brood and I like that she's a bright spot of positive energy when everyone else is moping. But then there's this dark, confused side of Caroline that clings to her humanity and wants to stay in Mystic Falls forever even though she will have to see her friends die. Her realizing that there is so much out there that she didn't even realize leads me to my second favorite character....


Klaus

Klaus might be my favorite villian, guys. Or right up there with Warner from Shatter Me BECAUSE they're the same type of villain. Klaus is a straight up sociopath, not even kidding. He can go from being charming one second to ripping your throat out and he doesn't play games. But as the series progresses, you really see that while Klaus does kill people and he staked his family and stuck them in coffins, he really has a noble (if not completely twisted) reason for everything he does.

He staked his family and stuck them in coffins, but he did that because he didn't want their father to find and kill them. He was waiting until he could kill his father to revive them so they could all be a happy family. And, yes, he went about it the wrong way, but the more you see Klaus, the more you realize he's really just an incredibly lonely person whose been denied love all his life.

What Klaus wants, above all else, is to be loved, and that's why he is so relatable to people regardless of the fact he's a crazy killer. Everything he does: compelling Stefan to travel with him, creating a hybrid army, trying to court Caroline? Everything is to make sure he doesn't end up alone but he simply goes about it the wrong way.


Stefan

I think Stefan's descent into madness is so interesting and I loved seeing him turn into Ripper Stefan in the blink of an eye. Something Damon says in Season Three really rings true for me and it's something he says to Elena after she sees Stefan feeding on a human: Stefan has been on both extremes of vampirism (feeding off animals, killing people) and he is most out-of-control person he's ever met.

Elena believes that Stefan has always been under control but really, the boy was a dynamite a little bit delayed in exploding. Stefan does not know moderation and this is evident by the fact that throughout the series he is either "Bunny-eating Stefan" or "I rip up bodies Stefan". His fight for control after he escapes Klaus' compulsion is so interesting and seeing him be the bad guy for once was refreshing considering he was always the "knight-in-shining armor."

And then of course, you all know how amazing Damon's character development is considering he kind of works backwards to Stefan (when Stefan is all good, Damon is crazy; Stefan is crazy, Damon is good) and then there's characters like Rebecca with her pathological fear of being left behind; Elijah who lives by a high  moral code while still being a vampire; Tyler who turns from an arrogant douchebag into a sensitive, sweet werewolf; and Katherine, who is so manipulative and deceitful because she wants more than anything to survive.

I think the only exception in great character development would have to be Elena and that's simply because I don't really like her all that much. I liked her in the beginning when she was spunky and with Stefan but now she's just become such a bland character to me.

And woot! If you watch Vampire Diaries, let me know down below what your thoughts are!
Happy Reading!

ETA:
Jen alerted me something was missing:

TADA!

4.14.2012

SO it's been two years....

Today, April 14th 2012, marks my two year blogoversary.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

I've been doing this for two years! The idea of that is so insane and I can't believe i'm turning sixteen next week when I was turning fourteen the week after I started Radiant Reads.

There are so many people I want to thank and so many hugs to be given, but I can't possibly name everything that has helped me in my journey to becoming a book blogger. These past few months have brought on amazing things for me and hard things for me and everything in the book blogging commmunity has been through with her regardless.

Some of my best friends are bloggers (including my best friend, who is miles away and is still the person I confide in the most) and I thank you all for making me feel so welcome in this community.

I thank publicsts and marketing teams and publishers for helping me figure out what I want to do with my life and what I love doing above all else. Authors who let me, little old teenager me, review their books and respect my opinion.

But finally, my readers. Because where in the world would I be if you guys didn't exist? I know people always say that even if zero people read their blog, they'd continue. But I am Team Candor and I will not tell lies: I wouldn't. I write for myself, but I also write for your guys. Every follower, every comment, makes me the happiest person. I love writing for my audience and I love to entertain. So thank you, because you find me funny for some strange reason and keep coming back to hear my opinion.

And to thank you, I am giving away my arc of INSURGENT by Veronica Roth. Yup; I know. I'm gonna have to cuddle it a bit before sending it off!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Reading and thank you for joining me on this amazing journey! See you tomorrow!

4.12.2012

Character Interview: America from THE SELECTION + GIVEAWAY

Hey guys! I don't usually do character interviews but HarperTeen contacted me about having America, the heroine of The Selection by Kiera Cass, on the blog and I thought you guys would dig it! Here's the description:


For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.


AND THE INTERVIEW!


__________________________________________________________________


11. What was the first thing you thought when you were selected?
Honestly, I was shocked. If my sisterhadn’t kept screaming about how amazing it was, I don’t think I would have thought it was real. And I was scared. I considered getting out of the competition before even going to the palace, or seeing if someone else could go in my place. My mom said that if I quit, that was it for our province. I felt guilty, so I stuck it out.

22. What was it like growing up as a Five?
I don’t mind it as much as some of the others in my family do. When we’ve got enough food and money, it’s great to make a living singing. But my little brother, Gerad? He’s not really good at any of the fine arts, so we don’t know what he’s going to do yet. And my sister May is a bit obsessed with the finer things in life. I wish I could give her more than we have, but that’s just how it is. The only thing that gets me down is how people like Tessa Tamble make all this money singing on TV, and I get paid next to nothing for the same thing. I work so hard on my voice lessons and playing my instruments! But she has to be in public all the time, and I would want that part of her job, that’s for sure.

33. How did you meet Aspen?
Have you ever known someone so long you can’t even remember how you met? I’ve been friends with Aspen and his family forever. He and I didn’t really get along until we were older. He spent lots of time with my older brother growing up, and they were really rough, and I was more interested in playing my piano anyway. But about the time he turned seventeen… well, he was pretty hard to ignore. This is making me blush!


Next stops:
4/13 http://www.abouttoread.com/ Author This or That + Review
4/16 http://www.thestorysiren.com/ Interview
4/17 http://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com/ Character Interview, Maxon
4/18 http://www.one-page-reviews.blogspot.com/ Top 10 (Ways to Meet the Man of Your Dreams) + Review
4/19 http://www.forbiddenpassionsreviews.blogspot.com/ Aspen vs. Maxon
4/20 http://www.bookswithbite.net/ Interview




a Rafflecopter giveaway




Happy Reading!
p.s I know some of you follow me on twitter so you know what I thought about the books so there will be a review with my honest opinion. But I know SO many people who loved it, I wanted to give you guys the opportunity! 

4.11.2012

Why Don't I Have A Genie? (3)



Inspired by features/memes like Books To Pine For and Waiting on Wednesday! But I dno't like being constricted to Wednesdays so here we go! And as for that title...I don't even know, guys. Just go with it.

_______________________________________________________________________


 Title: A Midsummer's Nightmare
Author: Kody Keplinger
Release Date: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Poppy; Little Brown
Pages: 304
Edition: Hardcover
Note: Not a fan of the cover but I like Kody's books!
Goodreads: Link

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorced dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great. Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.



Title: Lucid
Author: Adrienne Stolz, Ron Bass
Release Date: October 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: --
Edition: Hardcover
Note: SO EXCITED FOR THIS. 
Goodreads: Link

What if you could dream your way into a different life? What if you could choose to live that life forever?
Sloane and Maggie have never met. Sloane is a straight-A student with a big and loving family. Maggie lives a glamorously independent life as an up-and-coming actress in New York. The two girls couldn't be more different--except for one thing. They share a secret that they can't tell a soul. At night, they dream that they're each other.
The deeper they're pulled into the promise of their own lives, the more their worlds begin to blur dangerously together. Before long, Sloane and Maggie can no longer tell which life is real and which is just a dream. They realize that eventually they will have to choose one life to wake up to, or risk spiraling into insanity. But that means giving up one world, one love, and one self, forever.

Title: Auracle

Author: Gina Rosati
Release Date: August 7th, 2012
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Pages: 304
Edition: Hardcover
Note: Sounds pretty awesome!
Goodreads: Link

16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe.

When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.

4.09.2012

In Which I Actually Say: "I hope thieves are the new vampires."

Alright, so i'm doing a very not-traditional review of a book called False Covenant by Ari Marmell. Why? Because these books are AMAZING and since Pyr is a new imprint, it's not getting enough attention. So what am I going to do? Fix that, obviously. 

Reasons why you should be writing Thief's Covenant and the sequel, False Covenant:

1. The heroine. 
Widdershins don't play games. She's seriously one of my favorite heroines of all time; which is SAYING something. She's funny and strong and super brave -- she's a thief! One of the best thieves in her city and she doesn't take lip from anyone but she also has this fantastic vulnerable side that I just loved watching develop when she becomes not Widdershins, but Adrienne. The backstory of Widdershins really is heartbreaking and you really see her transition from being this badass to slowly unveiling a sad girl who just happens to kick some ass.

2. The setting
High Fantasy is where it's at, guys. The writing in this book completely captures the mood of the world Marmell has created using a town to show this elaborate system of gods and government that rules across the nations. You're focused on the small town of Davillion but there's so much going on there, you're not gonna want to go anywhere else!

3. The thievery
I hope thieves are the new vampires, because dammit, I love a good steal. I love reading about thieves which is why Widdershins happens to be awesome in my book. Sometimes she steals for fun, sometimes she steals for a reason, but she's just good at it. She always has been and you get to see how she got into this whole thing in the first place back when her parents were still alive and she was a young girl. And then the thieves guild! Oh the tangled webs that are woven over there! It's funny to me that in a place where there are so many thieves as to have a guild, there is still honor and alliance amongst thieves. Widdershins isn't very good at following orders, from the Shrouded Lord that is the thieves' guild's leader, or from anyone else, which is always refreshing.

4. Julian
HE NEEDS HIS OWN CATEGORY OKAY? This book isn't soaking in the romance but it's subtle enough to take backstage to Widdershins but enough that i'm not pulling my hair out in frustration. (Especially the second book guys, my heart. MY HEART.)

5. The side characters
Renard is hilarious. He bounces around like a peacock, preening his feather and stealing at his leisure, and I just love every scene with him in it. He is sarcastic and witty but there are some moments where I really feel for him and his unrequited love. And then you have Robin who is young and adorable and willing to do anything for Widdershins. The Shrouded Lord is BOSS (no pun intended) and he would scare the living hell out of me and basically everyone in the Thieves Guild was awesome or awful, in the best way.

6. People like people and it's not a big deal
There are side characters in the book who like Widdershins. You know, elementary style, like-like her. And it's not a big deal. It's not made into this torrid love triangle or love square and it doesn't seem annoying or fake or "Why does everyone even like Widdershins?". It just...is. And it seems realistic and your heart breaks for them but you love them and just....guys.

7. Olgun
The best god ever. He is attached to Widdershins in the sense that she can kind of "hear" him and he helps her be an awesome thief and they are just such a funny pair together.

SO GET THESE BOOKS. I'll have the information down below.
Happy Reading!

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city’s aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces—human and other—stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder.
Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon’s underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshippers but Widdershins herself. It’s not a great life, certainly nothing compared to the one she once had, but it’s hers.
But now, in the midst of Davillon’s political turmoil, an array of hands are once again rising up against her, prepared to tear down all that she’s built. The City Guard wants her in prison. Members of her own Guild want her dead. And something horrid, something dark, something ancient is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go. Widdershins and Olgun are going to find answers, and justice, for what happened to her—but only if those who almost destroyed her in those years gone by don’t finish the job first.


A creature of the other world, an unnatural entity bent on chaos and carnage, has come to stalk the nighttime streets of the Galicien city of Davillon. There’s never a good time for murder and panic, but for a community already in the midst of its own inner turmoil, this couldn’t possibly have come at a worse one.

Not for Davillon, and not for a young thief who calls herself Widdershins.
It’s been over half a year since the brutal murder of Archbishop Wil­liam de Laurent during his pilgrimage to Davillon. And in all that time, Widdershins has truly tried her best. She has tried to take care of Genevieve’s tavern and tried to make a semihonest living in a city slowly stagnating under the weight of an angry and disapproving Church. She has tried to keep out of trouble, away from the attentions of the Davillon Guard and above the secrets and schemes of the city’s new bishop.

But she’s in way over her head, with no idea which way to turn. The Guard doesn’t trust her. The Church doesn’t trust her. Her own Thieves’ Guild doesn’t trust her.


Too bad for everyone, then, that she and her personal god, Olgun, may be their only real weapon against a new evil like nothing the city has ever seen.

4.07.2012

Food For Thought: Character VS Plot (3)

So I was recently reading a book and found myself encountering a problem that comes to me often these days: I was intrigued by the plot, but I hated the characters.

This was me:


I'm a big believer that a good book should have both realistic and strong character AND a stable and interesting plot but what if you had to pick between them? What if you had to choose a novel that had great character and an okay plot or the other way around?

I think for me, I would pick characters.

I love high-concept plots, evident by the fact my favorite genres are high fantasy and historical fantasy/fiction. They're the type of novels that require a lot of backstory and planning and world-building and I love reading every second of it. But if you have an amazing plot with characters that I want to punch in the face? Then it ruins the entire story for me.

Take, for example, Dark Parties by Sara Grant. It was this amazing dystopian plot about teenagers rebelling against their country's rules and society forcing them to be isolated from the rest of the world using an invisible force-field around the city. Awesome right?

And I wanted to love it, I did. But I hated the characters so much that I hated flipping every page.

On the other hand, I can read a book with fantastic, engaging characters and an alright plot, because then I feels like i'm with people that I would actually want to interact with as opposed to being in this amazing place with people that I hate.

What about you?
Would you prefer great character or great plot if you had to choose?
But in the end, I think we all hope for that different combination!
Happy Reading!

4.06.2012

Just Letting You Know!

SO UPDATE:

I will not be posting here on Fridays anymore BECAUSE every Friday, I post a review over at Bookalicious, run by the lovely Pam.

That is why there is no post today but if you just can't get enough of me, go ahead and check out my Shadow And Bone review and comment!

See you guys tomorrow,
Happy Reading!

4.04.2012

Can You Feel It? Can You Feel The Love? An Open Letter To Myra McEntire

Dear Myra,


First of all: Luff You. For serious.

You are honestly one of the sweetest people I have ever met. You are funny, creative, nice, and seriously a fantastic author. And I apologize in advance if this post isn't the most articulate but it's currently late and I just want to GIF spam you, really. But more on that later.

Hourglass is one of my favorite books of all time. I don't know how many people I've thrust it upon but I do know when I showed up to school with Timepiece, there was nearly a riot. I remember when I first met you, I had just received Hourglass. I read it to the same day and tweeted you immediately saying, and I quote: "If you wrote a book with a picture of poop on the cover, I'd read it." After reading Timepiece (which does not have poop on the cover, obviously), I can still say the same.


 A LONG TIME AGO, I wrote a post called Reasons Why Hourglass Is Epic:
1. I may or may not be reading it for a third time right now. Which means it has to be good! (As of now, I've read it four times)
2. Emerson. She's kickass, spunky, hilarious, and has abrown belt. I wish I could flip people over! 
3. THE ROMANCE AND SEXUAL TENSION. So well done. And not just Michael either! More on him, later. But Myra has this way of writing sexy scenes without it being overdone and you're just like: "GO GO GO GO." 
4. Michael Weaver. He's sweet and amazing and I just wanted to hug and hit him most of the time, which is good. I like the balance. 
5. Kaleb. Can I keep him? Sexy, smoldering, and funny, I absolutely love this guy. 
6. THE GENIUS. Seriously, Myra McEntire? A genius, quite simply put. There were literally moments where everything tied together and I was like: "Holy s***, this is insane. And brilliant. And why did I stop to think? KEEP READING." All her plot points, no matter where they come from, have such genius unraveling that you're just going to be amazing. 
7. TIME TRAVEL. Nuff' said. 
8. THAT COVER. Sweet Jesus, how can you not want to buy it? And it's gonna be all shiny and shimmery, and BEAUTIFUL. 
9. Emerson's best friend, Lily? Is Cuban. I'm Cuban. Cubans are FUN. 
10. Did I mention Myra has a blog and she's awesome? HERE IT IS. 
11. It's frigging amazing and YOU WANT IT. 

THIS ALL STILL STANDS

So I know deadlines are sucking right now but I want you to keep your chin up and keep being awesome! Because it's simply what you do best! We're all cheering you on and of course, as you know, my email is always open! Haha. I cannot wait for Timepiece to come out and all your other secrets to be revealed soon enough!

And finally, save this for when you're in need of a break and a laugh watch this:


All The Other Bloggers:
Fire and Ice
Mundie Moms
Almost As Badass As This Guy. ALMOST.
Swoontini
Jenuine Cupcakes
Shannon Messenger
Sara McClung
Jodi Meadows
Bloggers[heart]Books
YA Books Central Blog
Pageturners Blog
Jill Van Leer
CJ Redwine
Kate Hart
Book Love 101


Happy Reading!

4.03.2012

“I am stronger than my trials.”


Title: Partials (Partials #1)
Author: Dan Wells
Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 468
Edition: Hardcover
Cover Judge: I like it, the title font and the city in the background is great
Quote Choice: It's something that Kira tells herself a lot and has a lot of significance
Source: Bought
Goodreads: Link

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.


I thought this book was totally brilliant BUT I understand how some people might not dig this sort of this. Why? Here we go!

The book is centered around a young medic called Kira who is part of a dwindling human population that is being destroyed by a virus brought onto them by this super-human/robot race that they created (and consequentially, turned against them). This book is a dystopian but it's also a medical thriller and sometimes it can be, while action-packed, bulky. Bulky in the sense that it's long and it's full of science and medicine and genetics. Now, I love this, because even though I don't want to work in Medicine, i'm in the Medical Academy (so yeah, I eat that stuff up for breakfast). The science fascinated me and I think Wells did a great job incorporating it into the story but I see where some people might get bored or confused about the topic.

I, on the other hand, was hooked.

Kira is SUCH a good heroine, guys. She's strong and funny and is really one of the most virtuous character I've read about. She's willing to risk her life to find a cure for this disease, and she does risk it again and again, because she cares about humanity and where it's going and that's why she joined the maturity ward in the first place. The problem is, the virus attacks newborns and kills them within a few days or weeks of living. So she goes on a series of missions to try and save their lives and she's just so brave to the point of being stubborn (but not enough for me to want to knock her head into a wall) that I admired her the entire way. She was, in short, a very mature and lovely character to read about.

And the side-characters were awesome! Jayden, Haru, and Madison were all well-rounded teenagers stuck with the responsibility of leading this human population to success through (most of the time) illegal means. Xochi grated my nerves sometimes with her anarchy speeches but she was still endearing and MARCUS.

This doesn't happen often in books, but I love when the character is already in a stable and good relationship when the book starts and throughout the novel. Kira and Marcus are funny, lovable, and completely wonderful together that it was very refreshing! Now, I don't know where this is going in Samm's case but I'll talk about him in the same paragraph anyway! I feel like we didn't get to see a whole side to Samm yet since we were focusing so much on Kira but i'm excited to see his sweet, determined personality grow more than it already has.

Overall, loved it!
Happy Reading!

4.02.2012

Guest Post: Julianne on researching for Edenbrooke + Giveaway



Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she’ll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry.
From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.
A Proper Romance is Shadow Mountain Publishing’s brand of clean, smart, engaging, romantic stories that will never embarrass the reader.
______________________________________________________________

A lot of my research for Edenbrooke was done through reading the novels of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. They gave me the important stuff--like social customs--that were essential to the plot. But there was a lot of other research I had to conduct to get the details as accurate as I could. Here are some of the things I had to research. 

   Regency names. I wanted my names to be historically accurate, so I found a great tool online called a Regency name generator that put together combinations of first and last names. I was incredibly picky about the names, and some were harder to come up with than others.

   Location. I knew I wanted the book to start in Bath and for the climax to take place in Dover. The traveling in the story is actually quite essential to the plot. So I had to consider how long it would take a carriage to travel from Bath to Edenbrooke, and from Edenbrooke to Dover. I set Edenbrooke roughly in Kent. What sort of carriage would be used? How many horses? What speeds could they travel? I had to consult maps and calculate driving distances and roads to answer these questions. Although I knew it was a stretch for Marianne to make it from Bath to Kent in one day, it was not impossible. Then that put her close enough to Dover to get her there for the climax.

    Costumes. For Regency era costumes I was able to visit the Fashion History Museum in Bath, as well as conduct research online. But this wasn’t just so I could describe what they were wearing—I actually do very little of that in my story, preferring to leave it to the reader’s imagination—but because at one point in the story, costume plays an important part in the plot. During a scene in which someone is shot, I had to figure out what Marianne might have used to staunch the flow of blood from a gunshot wound, and whether she would have known to do such a thing. That brought in research about common medical knowledge of the day, which gave me some surprises.            

      Dining. Several scenes take place around food, so I had to research what food would have typically been served at each meal, what the meals were called, and when they were served. This proved tricky, as this was a time period when lunch was beginning to evolve as a mid-day meal. Some people partook of it, but some did not. And during the Regency era, it was common for dining habits in London to be different from dining habits in the country. Dinner as we think of it was served as late as 8 or 9 p.m. in London.  

            Here are some other questions I had to address while I wrote:

            How common was travel to the Continent, and how did one get from England to France? What were the laws of inheritance? What constituted a Grand Tour? What were the most popular horse races to attend? Where and when did they take place? How did the postal system work? What did one use to sharpen a quill? What was a typical name for an inn? What weapons were used in a duel? How does fencing work? What dances are danced at a ball? What physical contact would the dancers have with one another? Where did a local ball take place, if not at a private residence? What types of vehicles were used in the country? How many people did the different vehicles hold?

            And I could go on. The research was definitely an ongoing part of the writing. Still, I will never claim to have written a perfectly accurate historical fiction. I think that may be impossible! But I did my best to avoid errors, and I had fun doing the research. 

4.01.2012

In My Mailbox { 65 }

Hosted by The Story Siren (who is also Team Candor!)

For Review:
False Covenant by Ari Marmell
Taken At Dusk by C.C Hunter
Underworld by Meg Cabot
Ascend by Amanda Hocking
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

ALRIGHT TEAM CANDOR ASSEMBLE AND SUCH:
Photobucket

So when I received Insurgent, the box included instructions on my new position as a member of Team CANDOR. The idea is to promote Divergent and Insurgent leading up to it's release date but we need your help! April 2nd (which is Choosing Ceremony Day) through April 25th, the five factions will be competing to get the most hits on their Faction Tumblr Page (CANDOR FACTION NEWS).

And guys, CANDOR is where it's at. The bravest thing in the world isn't about going on crazy dangerous adventures! Really: it's telling the truth.


And as the Candor Manifesto states:


TRUTH MAKES US TRANSPARENT
TRUTH MAKES US STRONG
TRUTH MAKES US INEXTRICABLE. 

Happy Reading!

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