The day in which i am Spirit Bound

Thursday, O6.O3.1O

I am so sorry for not posting for the past few days! I've been plummeted with exams and such and now i'm free :)

Spirit Bound
Richelle Mead
~ Penguin Books ~
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Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong…
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After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and he's out there, somewhere.
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She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever.
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Don't like that summary a lot, but ehh. Just saying, THIS IS THE BEST VA BOOK SO FAR! It had the perfect mix of romance, action, butt-kicking, friendship, and mystery all packed into one 489 pages of awesome!
First of all, oh my god the drama. Rose and Adrian (who I love love love!) are together and he actually makes her not think of Dimitri and her failed attempt at killing him so much. I know, totally sweet right? Now, Adrian is my favorite character in this series, my second being Christan, and third being Rose. Now Lissa's nice and all...but I don't really like her. Especially more so in Spirit Bound.

Well, Rose has finally graduated (with flying colors) and is going to the royal court to spend a few weeks before she gets assigned to her Moroi. Which she hopes is Lissa of course, but with all the things she did in the past four books, that's not such a good bet. Christan and Lissa are still broken up from Blood Promise, Adrian is still awesomely awesome and Rose is still pining for Dimitri. Oh and Dimitri's sending love notes/death threats. Lovely, correct?
A lot more is discovered over the Royal Court, things that weren't very established over the other books. You get a real inside look to how the system works and all the families. Tatiana (the ice queen) has a lot more layers to her than most people would think with the whole "Stay away from my nephew!" thing before, but she's a nice character and I ended up liking her.
Now the raging argument part of this post, Dimitri or Adrian. I actually stated my opinion on this in one of the comments but I'll put it again. I am now firmly Team Adrian. I have been since Dimitri turned Strigoi. Because in my opinion, Dimitri has done some horrible, horrible things as a Strigoi. Not only to her (mostly her) but to other people. And he will never be able to forgive himself. Not Dimitri and how he is. He won't forgive himself for almost turning her into a blood whore in Blood Promise. And Adrian is funny and sweet and hot and absolutely crazy about her. He's perfect for her in every way and they make an amazingly cute couple. And plus, he makes her happy. Like, real happy. While I love Dimitri, i'm firmly standing on this point.
This book was so exciting, I had too put it down sometimes because i'd feel out of breath. Haha :D
And the ending! Oh. My. God. Cliffhanger much? I flipped to the last page and was like "Oh geez, I have to wait until December?!?!?!" It leaves you practically hungry for more.
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My rating: AWESOMESAUCE. Best out of all 5.
The next and LAST book: Last Sacrifice, comes out on December 7th.
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Comment! Discuss! Happy Reading!
-Harmony B.

The day in which I am a Graceling

Graceling
Kristin Cashore
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In this debut fantasy novel, Cashore treats readers to compelling and eminently likable characters and a story that draws them in from the first paragraph. In Katsa's world, the "Graced," those gifted in a particular way, are marked by eyes that are different colors. Katsa's Grace is that she is a gifted fighter, and, as such, she is virtually invincible. She is in the service of her tyrannical uncle, king of one of the seven kingdoms, and she is forced to torture people for infractions against him. She has secretly formed the Council, which acts in the service of justice and fairness for those who have been accused and abused. Readers meet her as she is rescuing the father of the Lienid king, who has been abducted. The reasons for his capture are part of a tightening plot that Katsa unravels and resolves, with the help of Prince Po, the captive's grandson. He has his own particular Grace, and he becomes Katsa's lover and partner in what becomes a mortally dangerous mission. Cashore's style is exemplary: while each detail helps to paint a picture, the description is always in the service of the story, always helping readers to a greater understanding of what is happening and why. This is gorgeous storytelling: exciting, stirring, and accessible. Fantasy and romance readers will be thrilled.
-from amazon
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Before I start this review, let me say something: This is the second time I’ve read this book and I STILL cried. I’m such a softie *sigh*. OK, on to the review:
Graceling captivated me completely. It looks me by the hands and wouldn’t let me go until I devoured it whole. I finished it in one sitting but I couldn’t write the review yet or it’d be a massive blob of obsessing. Ha-ha, and who would want that?
When I picked it up for the first time, I was skeptical. I’m very picky with my fantasy, not liking ones were the magic is more important than the characters.
I feel like characters drive the story more, not the magic or enchantments the world may have. Graceling did not disappoint. It gave me a world where Graceling’s are frowned upon and feared, of a girl who everyone thinks is nothing more than a thug, and a riveting journey through the seven kingdoms.
I’m also skeptical of “journey stories”. Those are like traveling stories and they’re hard to achieve without it getting boring. But Kristin Cashore was amazingly at making me flip the pages faster and faster to see where Graceling would take me.
Katsa was an interesting character with a complicated life. She is called an assassin and a thug, feared by everyone who comes close. She has a guarded heart, afraid to let everyone see who she is and what she thinks. Po is my absolute favorite male lead in ANY book I’ve read. Po is a person who sees beyond what normal people do, who doesn’t get embarrassed easily and he’s not afraid to admit that Katsa is in fact better than him in most things. He has a kind and beautiful heart, and every time he made Katsa feel warm inside, he made me feel it as well.
The ending rocked me completely. Kristin Cashore has this amazing ability to write in a way that brings you to your knees and makes you see the beauty beyond the world and other people’s eyes. I cried and I don’t cry very easily in books (not a total lie). It makes a well-written and beautifully crafted book to spring tears into my eyes. And Graceling did that. I’d recommend this to anyone and already have. In reality, it was a single quote from the book that I cried, not the whole action. On page 450, a line that Katsa said reduced me to tears.
I rate: AWESOMESAUCE. This book was wonderful and everyone should have the opportunity to read it. Kristin Cashore created something amazing, a story about realizing one’s self and learning how to take control of your life. Of loving and being loved in return, even if everything can’t always turn out for the better. And of being able to understand someone completely, without having to say a single word.
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Happy reading.
-Harmony.

The day in which I have Wings

Spells
Aprilynne Pike
Harper Collins

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.

Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

I posted about the sequel to this book, Spells, during the last Waiting on Wednesday. I got a sucky summery, but basically wings is about a girl named Laurel who finds out she's a faerie. Faeries are beautifully and differently portrayed in Wings than in any other story I've ever read. Faeries in this novel are focused more on the scientific side of things instead on the magical beings. Not that there's no magic, there's plenty but the reason why faeries are so perfect and how they are is more scientific than any other story. Which makes it unique.
AND there's a love triangle! Who doesn't love a good love triangle. There's David, total nice next-door neighbor type guy, who always helps her out. He's the "perfect" guy, a super hot science geek. Haha. He's Laurel's best friend when she moves to
And then there's Tamani :) He's super amazing (guess that team I'm on ;) ). He's a faerie like Laural while David's human. He understands her and I just love the more arrogant, playful boys. He flirts a lot with Laurel and is a pretty arrogant person, but not to the point where it's annoying. And you can tell that he cares about Laurel, A LOT.
The writing is simple, yet thrilling. I was flipping through the pages faster than Micheal Phelps swimming ;). Besides the awesomely amazing love triangle, the plot is unique in itself. It's Laurel discovering herself as a faerie, and the villains are quite unexpected! Haha. Well I totally knew from the start, but what they are....I'll stop talking now before I spoil something!
This book surprised me because there's a little story behind the buy. I was choosing between this book and Nina Malkin's Swoon. Now, what I do in situations like this is that I read the first 10 pages of each and pick the best one. Unfortunately, I picked Swoon because the first 10 pages are amazing. (I didn't like Swoon much. Not because it's a bad book, it's actually really good and the plot unique but I was mostly confused through it and kept widening my eyes at what they characters did going "Oh Geez" hehe.) I read Swoon and then I went back to the store, regretting not buying Wings since I had gotten the last copy. Then I go and there's a bunch of new WINGS on sale! I snatched it up, of course! And good thing I did, because this book is rated:
AWESOMESAUCE.
It's an amazing read! I promise :)

Happy Reading
-Harmony

p.s I think if I don't chicken out, I might ask Aprilynne Pike for a Author Interview. IF I don't chicken out *whisper* which I probably will. Hehe, but I'll try :)

The day in which I L.O.V.E Brightly Woven

Brightly Woven

Alexandra Bracken

Egmont USA

When Wayland North brings rain to a region that has been dry for over ten years, he's promised anything he'd like as a reward. He chooses the village elders daughter, sixteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabel, who is a skilled weaver and has an unusual knack for repairing his magical cloaks. Though Sydelle has dreamt of leaving home, she's hurt that her parents would relinquish her so freely and finds herself awed and afraid of the slightly ragtag wizard who is unlike any of the men of magic in the tales she's heard. Still, she is drawn to this mysterious man who is so fiercely protective of her and so reluctant to share his own past.
The pair rush towards the capitol, intent to stop an imminent war, pursued by Reuel Dorwan (a dark wizard who has a keen interest in Sydelle) and plagued by unusually wild weather. But the sudden earthquakes and freak snowstorms may not be a coincidence. As Sydelle discovers North's dark secret and the reason for his interest in her and learns to master her own mysterious power, it becomes increasingly clear that the fate of the kingdom rests on her fingertips. She will either be a savior, weaving together the frayed bonds between Saldorra and Auster, or the disastrous force that will destroy both kingdoms together.

Two words: Totally Amazing.

I'd just like to say I did not put this book down the whole time I was reading it. I'm serious. I read it in the morning getting ready, on the bus, walking and almost hitting a tree, finding the keys to opening the door, plopping down on the bed to finish the ending. This is an amazing debut by Alexandra Bracken and i'll be sure to read anything more of hers A.S.A.P

Now this book! It's the kind of book that makes you WISH, you were special enough to live in it and have adventures and live life like the characters do (except North). The plot is especially unique, many elements came out in the middle and in the end that I had not expected at all!

Anyway :D. Next was my absolute love for the characters. Sydelle (Syd to North, Delle to Henry) was an absolutely likeable character. She was compassionate but stubborn, caring yet frusterating. She was sypathetic but knew when to lay down the law with North and at least try to control him. She's a sixteen-year-old girl who dreams of leaving her small village and exploring the world. Who doesn't wanna do that? Especially at an age where you can't.

And North. Oh god North. I warned you in the previous post, I would write a whole paragrpah about him. He is just a wildly enjoyable character. He made me laugh constantly, and also made me tear up by the pain he has to go through everyday. While his intentions were not always for the best, he's a good person who's struggling with something horrible. He's an amazingly funny and charming guy, even when he's drunk! He really is fiercely protective of her, but it's an admirable quality in him that just proves how much he cares for her.

Alexandra Bracken made up a world that I wanted to live in. That's hard. World-building is tough stuff. And to make such an amazing world, complete with mountains and cities and small villages and dirt paths (AND a map), is absolutely incredible!

The writing was exquiste, the world amazing, the characters wonderful and everything was just over-all amazing. Also, the cover is BEAUTIFUL.

It's a story of romance and fantasy, of taking risks and chances. Of a curse and a war. Of amazingness!

Buy it! And enjoy!

-Harmony B.