Teaser Tuesday (10)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teaser is from...

Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett

"It isn't true what they say about my brother - that he ate those children. He never did; he didn't even mean to hurt them. He wept as he held their broken bodies, his soft brown eyes pleading with me to fix them, the way I always fixed his dolls and toys."

Review: Divergent - Veronica Roth

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

My Thoughts...

WOW...OMG...WOW! I guess that won't cut it as a review huh? Okay, lets see if I can gather my thoughts and write something decent. I LOVED this book.  I was afraid of being let down since there was some major hype for this book, but let me tell you I was not disappointed at all.  From start to finish it was great. I really liked the world building and the Faction, it seems with the dystopia books I've been reading that I am left with world/government type questions at the end and can only hope that they get answered in the next book, but I left Divergent with a pretty good handle on things. I do hope we get a more detailed look at Amity and Candor though.  Now characters...Tris I really really liked.  I loved how all she really wanted was to belong...and as the story went she learns that maybe she wasn't as different as she thought.  While I wasn't sure what to make of Caleb in the beginning as things moved on I wouldn't say I liked him, but I did respect him, I guess really the same goes for her father too.  Now Tris's mom, she seemed different from the start and towards the end I really liked her.  Tris's friends were pretty awesome and reading about what they endured as iniates pained me I felt for all of them.  Now we come to Four...OMG *swoon* Dark, Mysterious, Brave, and Hott, Where do I sign up to get one?!?  Watching Tris come into her own while getting to know Four and watch the relationship between them grow and morph was great. Now the most important part, the plot...this story was so well told and had a great pace and voice to it that it came alive in my head. Not all of it was sweetness and light but even the bad was good. The only complaint I have is that I have to wait so long for the next book.  I give this one 5 stars!

In My Mailbox (12)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

all links go to goodreads =o)

Review:

Angel Burn - L.A. Weatherly

Wildfire - Karsten Knight

A Long, Long Sleep - Anna Sheehan

Frost - Wendy Delsol

Ashfall - Mike Mullin

Cinder and Ella - Melissa Lemon

Bought:

Beauty Queens - Libba Bray

Stork - Wendy Delsol

The Locket - Stacy Jay

Die For Me - Amy Plum

Stolen Dreams - Stacy Kennedy

The Book of Lost Souls - Michelle Muto

Friday Blog Hop (10) Follow Friday (10)

Friday Blog Hop is hosted by Jenn at Crazy-For-Books.   It is a weekend long Book Party giving bloggers a chance to get to know each other and access to new blogs that we all might enjoy! If you haven't stopped by to give the hop a look I highly suggest that you do! Also every week there is a new question posted for us at answer this weeks question is...

"What book-to-movie adaption have you most liked?  Which have you disliked?"

I really enjoyed the Harry Potter movies, I wouldn't say that any of them were better than any of the books, but I still really really enjoy them and will stand on a huge line on opening night to see them hehe.  I was not a fan of the first Twilight movie, I thought that it was HORRIBLE, the second and third were better, but the first one was just UGH!  I also feel compelled to say that while I am anxious for the Hunger Games movie I am afraid to see it hehe. I LOVED them books and would hate to have the movie be bad.

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee, every week we all get together to answer a question and find new blogs that we enjoy. This weeks question is

Q. How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them, or listen to them?

On a normal week I can get through about 3 books a week, some weeks it is more some weeks it is less though, all depending on what we have going on around my house. I do 98% of my reading on my Nook, but since I have joined an ARC tour site, I will be doing more print book reading.

Review: Hereafter - Tara Hudson

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (June 7, 2011)

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

My Thoughts...

I LOVED this book!  I really wasn't sure I was going to, I'm not usually a romance fan.  This book however had me from the start.  From pages one I was pulled in and it wouldn't let me go.  I loved learning along with Amelia,  I also found her to be a great character, she was strong and seemed to face even the things that scared her head on,.  Joshua in my opinion was also pretty great.  I admire his openmindedness.  Ruth...I think I am going to end up being in a minority, but I liked her.  She was trying to protect the people she loved the only way she knew how.  I really can't wait for the next book to see more of Ruth, and to see if any of her opinions changed from the first book.  The characters as you can tell in my opinion were great and this story never bored me, there was always something going on that compelled me to keep reading.  I give this one 5 stars and a huge recommendation!

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

sorry for not being so active the last week or so between blogger not letting me log in yesterday and my mother being here for vacation and my birthday I didn't have a lot of time to get anything done.  But all is back to normal now so I will be posting regularly again.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is...

Bloodspell - Amalie Howard

The spell was simple …

CRUENTUS PROTECTUM. Defend the Blood.

But what do you do if your blood is your enemy?

Victoria Warrick has always known she was different. An outcast at school, she is no stranger to adversity. But when she receives an old journal for her seventeenth birthday, nothing prepares her for the dark secrets it holds—much less one that reveals she’s a witch with unimaginable power.

What’s more, when she meets the dazzling but enigmatic Christian Devereux, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Enemies will hunt her. Friends will turn on her. The terrible curse that makes her blood run black will stop at nothing to control her. And Christian has a sinister secret of his own …

Without knowing whom to trust, can Victoria survive her blood’s deadly desires? Or will she lose everything, including herself?

I so can not wait for this book...I recently saw the trailer for it and now I am just dying to read this!  I love books about witches and magic so this is really my cup of tea!

What are you guys waiting on?

In My Mailbox (11)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

all links go to goodreads =o)

For Review:

Dark of the Moon - Tracy Barrett

Bought:

The Hunt of the Unicorn - C.C. Humphreys

Dust - Joan Frances Turner

Review: Clarity - Kim Harrington

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Point; 1 edition (March 1, 2011)

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

My Thoughts...

I've had this one my list since I saw the cover and also the trailer.  I don't know why I waited so long to read it but either way it was a great read.  I love a good mystery and this falls into that category.  I feel that the writing was solid and that Clarity was also a great voice and character.  I also liked the romance angel of this story.  Overall in my opinion it was a light read but a good one.  The rest of the character cast seemed well written and genuine.  One of my favorite characters was Miss Maslov,  while she personally didn't get much page time she played a big part in the story, and in the end left Clarity with more questions than she had to start with.  I look forward to reading more about Clarity and the gang, and I can't wait to see where this story s going to go.  I give this one 5 stars!

Friday Blog Hop (9) Follow Friday (9)

Friday Blog Hop is hosted by Jenn at Crazy-For-Books.   It is a weekend long Book Party giving bloggers a chance to get to know each other and access to new blogs that we all might enjoy! If you haven't stopped by to give the hop a look I highly suggest that you do! Also every week there is a new question posted for us at answer this weeks question is...

"If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?"

I think I would have to say I would want to live in the Iron Fey series books.  I would love to spend my days with Puck and Ash, hanging out with Faeries!!

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee, every week we all get together to answer a question and find new blogs that we enjoy. This weeks question is

Q. It's circle time. Time for us to open up and share. Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you? We all have them...

1. I can only read 1 book at a time or I get the storeys all mixed up in my head.

2. I am a little obsessed with boxers, I stalk cafe press trying to find new stuff I can get proclaiming that I am a proud boxer puppy mommy

3. I have recently become addicted to Twitter, I never knew it was so much fun and that it could be such a great way to meet people.

4. I have a love/hate relationship with zombies...I love to shoot them on my xbox but feel a little worried that the CDC has a zombie apocalypse page hehe I wouldn't know what to do if zombies rose other than scream and hide.

5. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Secret Life of the American Teenager even though my boyfriend thinks that I might be a little crazy I don't care lol

Review: The Lying Game - Sara Shepard

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (December 7, 2010)

I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thePretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Let the lying game begin.

My Thoughts...

I really really enjoyed this book.  It was suspenseful, a little frightening, tense, and heartfelt.  To find another person on the internet that looks just like you would be very confusing, but to see your "twin" involved in an apparent snuff film must be down right disturbing.  So you find a name for this person and contact them only to find out that you really are probably long lost twins!  You make plans to meet but while waiting you are found by your long lost twins friends and are mistaken for her.  Going along pretending to be her in hopes that there is a mistake and will meet up with her at some point.  Only to find out that your long lost twin is dead and her murder wants you to live her life.  Learning as you go about the girl you are now suppose to be, and not liking everything you find out.  The more you learn the more you find out that everyone around you might have killed your sister and be threatening to you.  I loved how nothing happened quite like I expected it to.  I give this one 5 stars and hope that all of you give it a try!

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My picks this week are...

Juilet Immortal by Stacey Jay

"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

Just look at that cover, and the description...OMG I want it NOW!!!! 

Above by Leah Bobet

Matthew's father had lion's feet and his mother had gills, and both fled the modern-day city to live in underground Safe, a secret community of freaks, ghost-whisperers, and disabled outcasts hidden beyond the subways and sewers. Raised underground, Matthew is responsible for the keeping of both Safe's histories and the traumatized shapeshifter Ariel, the girl he took in, fell in love with – and can't stop from constantly running away.

But Safe is no longer safe: the night after a frightening encounter in the sewers, Safe's founder Atticus is murdered by the one person Safe ever exiled: mad Corner, whose coup is backed by an army of mindless, whispering shadows.

Only Matthew, Ariel, and a handful of unstable, crippled compatriots escape to the city that cast them out; the dangerous place he knows only as Above. Despite Ariel's increasingly erratic behaviour and with the odds against them, Matthew must find a way to rescue Safe from Corner's occupying army. But as his quest leads him through abandoned asylums and the dregs of urban poverty, Matthew discovers that the histories he's devoted his life to aren't true: Corner's invasion -- and Ariel's terrors – are rooted in a history of Safe much darker and bloodier than Matthew ever imagined.

And even if he manages to save both home and Ariel, he may well lose himself. 

Again this cover is just so beautiful!! and the description sounds so awesome and creepy I can't wait!

Teaser Tuesday (9)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week mt teaser is from...

Drought by Pam Bachorz

"Better get used to the hot weather, Toad," He says.  Toad. It never stung before - never meant much before, except that the Overseers hated us.  We always knew that."

Review: Entwined - Heather Dixon

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (March 29, 2011)

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

My Thoughts...

I always loved the story of the 12 dancing princesses.  This re-telling is no exception.  I truley felt for the girls who had just lost there mother and also there father to grief and war.  They felt so alone and unloved by there father.  The descriptions of the pavilion and the dances were great!  I really enjoyed the part where the King returns from war.  The girls start off so cold towards him, but after he publishes the riddle of the girls it is great watching them all slowly heal and grow closer.  I think I most adored the love interests.  It was all done so well, and cleanly and proper!  I really felt like the characters danced off the page (hehe did you see what I did there?)  Reading this was like watching a fairy tale come to life in my head.  If you are a fan of fairy tale re-tellings, or just a fan of a great book then this is a must read.  I am giving this one 5 stars!

In My Mailbox (10)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren

all links go to goodreads =o)

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Magic Under Glass - Jaclyn Dolamore

Awaken - Katie Kacvinsky

Review: The Unidentified - Rae Mariz

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Balzer + Bray; First Edition first Printing edition (October 5, 2010)

Kid knows her school’s corporate sponsors not-so-secretly monitor her friendships and activities for market research. It’s all a part of the Game; the alternative education system designed to use the addictive kick from video games to encourage academic learning. Everyday, a captive audience of students ages 13-17 enter the nationwide chain store-like Game locations to play.

When a group calling themselves The Unidentified simulates a suicide to protest the power structure of their school, Kid’s investigation into their pranks attracts unwanted attention from the sponsors. As Kid finds out she doesn't have rights to her ideas, her privacy, or identity, she and her friends look for a way to revolt in a place where all acts of rebellion are just spun into the next new ad campaign.

My Thoughts...

I have heard some mixed reviews about this book, but I am so glad I gave it a chance. I really enjoyed this story, and our main character Kid. She seemed so happy to just have her few friends and exist in the middle of the pack, all until her life gets turned upside down, and side ways. I loved her friendship with Mikey I thought he was a great character and a good friend to Kid. I wasn't a huge fan of Ari, I knew girls like her and high school and I never really got along with people like her. I thought the idea of "the game" was pretty awesome, I'm sure that there are some people that would benefit from a system like that for learning. I also kinda liked the sponsor concept. I do however see the message that the unidentified tried to send. I really want to continue gushing here but I don't want to give away anything because my favorite thing about this book had to be that I didn't always know where it was going. I thought I had some things figured out just to find out a little while later I was wrong. I give this one 4 stars and I really hope that any of you who havent' give it a try do!

Teaser Tuesday (8)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week mt teaser is from...

Clarity by Kim Harrington

"I sank down onto the sand and closed my eyes.  I was so focused on the rhythmic push and pull of the tide that I didn't hear footsteps behind me.  I didn't know anyone stood over me, until two hands squeezed my shoulders."