Waiting On Wednesday: Angel Fever & Relativity

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It lets us spotlight books that haven't been released, but that we can't wait for. This week we've picked two separate books that we're waiting for.

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Angie's Pick

I'm waiting for Relativity by Cristin Bishara, which come out on September 10th.

If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities.

Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?

~~~~~

This book sounds interesting because I've always thought the idea of alternate realities to be intriguing. And the cover looks flipping awesome. I can't wait to read it! 

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Jordyn's Pick

This week I'm waiting for Angel Fever by L.A. Weatherly. It comes out on November 26th.

As half-angel Willow strives to save the world from her parasitic otherworldly kin, romance and tension heat up to a climactic finale.

In the devastated remains of the world, millions of people live in "refugee" camps provided by the angels who have all but enslaved humanity. As this angelic stranglehold tightens, Willow and Alex are recruiting and training new Angel Killers while struggling to hold ground on the celestial battlefield. But Willow continues to have feelings for Seb, and her love and resolve are tested as a shattering revelation sends Alex on a separate journey. Now that the final battle versus the angels is about to begin-and the fate of the world hangs in the balance-each of them must face the consequences of their own choices. Will love endure? Will the human race survive?

~~~~~

I read the first two books in this series and both of them just blew me away. Angel's in this series are a completely different concept. They're evil and cruel and possibly unstoppable. But I adore cheering for the still-hopeful band of heroes. Plus, that cover is gorgeous and really symbolizes how the world has basically gone up in flames.

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Those are the books that we're waiting for this week! Comment below and let us know what you can't wait to get your hands on!

Nerdy Knowledge #1

Sagas, Trilogies, and Series: The Difference

 

So, I was talking with a fellow reader the other day and the word 'saga' came up. My friend paused the whole conversation to ask me what the difference was between a saga and a series. Was there one? Or was it just a matter of choice? So we looked it up and I thought I'd try to clear up any confusion, as another friend of mine just asked me a very similar questions. Here I go.

Literal Definitions:

Saga - a medieval Icelandic or Norse prose narrative of achievements and events in the history of a personage, family, etc.; Also called saga novel. a form of the novel in which the members or generations of a family or social group are chronicled in a long and leisurely narrative.

Series - a set of successive volumes or issues of a periodical published in like form with similarity of subject or purpose.

Trilogy - a series or group of three plays, novels, operas, etc., that, although individually complete, are closely related in theme, sequence, or the like.

In Other Words:

Any group of books following the same group of people can be called a series or saga. If there are three books specifically, it can be called a trilogy, saga, or a series. Usually what multiple books is called depends on which word sounds best and fits best.

So, while the Harry Potter series is called a series it could technically be called the Harry Potter saga. But that sounds a little different. Likewise, the Twilight saga could be called the Twilight series. However, that sounds kind of different too.

To sum it up, saga and series don't specifically apply to any number of books or to a certain type of book. Meanwhile, a trilogy just has to have three books, and three books only.

 



Waiting On Wednesday: Independent Study

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It lets us spotlight books that haven't been released, but that we can't wait for. This week I've picked Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau, which is scheduled to be released on January 7th of 2014.

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In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.

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I personally can't wait for this book to come out. I read an ARC copy of The Testing and I absolutely loved it. It was really dramatic and while it kind of reminded me of The Hunger Games it had it's own feel. It also seemed a lot darker to me. But either way I'm really excited for it to come out so I can see what happens next. And I love the cover!

Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi
340 pages (Paperback)
HarperCollins


Blurb:

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.


Review:

I realize that I'm a little late to the party with this one, but I've been wanting to read it and I'd really like to voice my opinions on it now that I finally have. So here I go.

Tahereh Mafi's writing style is very unique. I haven't read a whole lot of reviews on this book, however I can imagine that the writing itself bothered some people. The strikethroughs are semi odd, although I think they really add something to Juliette's voice. She also uses a lot of metaphors, which is something most people don't do in real life. Some of them did sound pretty though, and while they weren't normal, I wouldn't expect Juliette to be normal. She's been locked up for the better part of a year and didn't have much positive human contact even before that.

Juliette is a heroine that I personally liked. She wasn't my favorite, but I liked her. She new what she wanted and she didn't take the easy way out, ever. She did whatever she could to make sure she wasn't hurting other people, even when that made life more difficult for her. She didn't trust people, but she still refused to hurt anyone as long as she had control over the situation. I respected that about her.

The love interests are varied. Adam is the only boy who has ever been kind to Juliette and I love that. He didn't hate her for what she could do, which was really rare. But I still think their romance happened too soon, escalating quickly. It didn't seem like they had a lot of time to build trust; it just happened. Warner was something, the "bad guy" in the story. (Yes. This is one of those characters with which I'll use the dreaded "He's just misunderstood!" defense. Forgive me.) I think he was just misunderstood. We didn't get to learn a lot about his past, but you can tell he's had some major issues. I think he honestly cares about Juliette, he just doesn't know how to show it correctly. At all. But he doesn't trust people easily, so I'd be surprised if he went about the whole thing correctly.

The last thing I'd like to touch on is the world in which Juliette lives. Mafi painted a rather depressing picture throughout the story. The world is basically failing and dying. People are going hungry. The government has been taken over by a group of people who aren't helping. Orphans and elderly are considered useless and pushed aside. I was really able to grasp how bleak the future for most people was. And while it's a future world that I've seen before, it was still working for the story and described differently.

Overall, I give this a hangover level of 4 out of 5.

Super Six Sunday: Bad Bookish Boyfriends

Super Six Sunday is an meme hosted by Bewitched Bookworms (one of my favorite blogs) and inspired by "Top Ten Tuesday" from The Broke and Bookish. Today's exciting topic is Bad Bookish Boyfriends. And since Jordyn's always going for the bad boy option, we thought this would be a great post to do.

 

Bad Bookish Boyfriends

1.  Patch Cipriano (Hush, Hush Saga)

Patch is by far one of my favorite bad boys ever. I couldn't ever get enough of him. Not only is he a fallen angel that has some wicked talents when it comes to pool and poker. Nope. He's also got some kick-ass vehicles and he's secretly the sweetest guy ever. Patch put himself through hell for the love of his life. Unfortunately, she wasn't me.

 

2.  Kaiden Rowe (Sweet Trilogy)

Kaiden Rowe has obviously earned a spot on this list. He's a talented drummer, amazingly clever, and also really kind and loving (underneath, of course). And oh yeah, he's the son of the Duke of Lust. Lust. That means that Kai is basically made out of sarcasm and sex appeal.

3.  Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)

Damon. Oh, Damon. This Salvatore brother has a lot of years of being a bad ass. He's harsh, cold, and also kind of cruel. However, if you're paying close attention, you can see the moments where all he wants to do is fit in and be loved. And also, I swear this guy just doesn't lose.

4.  James Stark (House of Night)

Although Stark doesn't enter this series until the fourth book, he was my favorite as soon as I met him. He was seriously cool. He didn't take shit from anyone and he was super protective of Zoey. Also, Stark refused to die and went through a lot of pain in  Zoey's name, which was really sweet of him and showed his dedication to her.

5.  Tod Hudson (Soul Screamers series)

I'm sure there are people out there who disagree with this one, but I think Tod should count because he was a bad ass in my opinion. He was a reaper for one and only because he sacrificed himself for someone else. He was also cocky, occasionally arrogant, and always up for crazy plans. Plus, he faced down demons for his family. That makes Tod pretty damn epic to me.

6.  Cam (Fallen series)

Cam, though he turned out not to be the best guy ever, was seriously epic. Cam was the bad guy that was way more appealing than the "good guy" option that the heroine was being pulled and pushed towards. I honestly preferred Cam because he was there with Luce way more than his competition. Plus, he didn't back down, even when he was clearly losing.

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And those are my picks for the Super Six Bad Book Boyfriends. Hope you enjoyed!

A To Z Bookish Survey

 

I recently saw on The Perpetual Page Turner that Jamie had posted a survey. It looked like a lot of fun to me so I decided to join in here. So here I go.

 

 

Author you've read the most books from:

According to my Goodreads, I've read the most books by P.C. Cast. I've read nearly all of her and her daughter's House of Night series, which I really do adore.

 

Best Sequel Ever:

 I read a lot of books that have sequels so this is extra hard for me. But I think one of my favorite sequels ever was Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly. The first book, Angel Burn, was seriously awesome and it really stood out from all of the other angel books that were circulating at the time.

 

Currently Reading:

 I'm currently reading If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin.

 

Drink of Choice While Reading:

 I don't usually drink while I read, although I do enjoy having a glass of lemonade every once in a while. I also love coffee but that is something I don't often indulge in.

 

E-Reader or Physical Book:

 Honestly, I can't choose! I love my eReader to death and it really is my baby. But sometimes I just want a nice hardcover in my hands.

 

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

 The character that I think I most likely would've dated in high school is Simon Lewis from Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. (Even though I prefer Jace.) He was a geeky guy in a band but he was also really nice. Plus he turned into a badass.
 

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

I'm really glad that an English teacher of mine convinced me to read Chasing Alliecat by Rebecca Fjelland Davis. It was a book I probably wouldn't have taken notice of and I was kind of reluctant to read it even after it was suggested to me. But I'm really glad I did because I loved the story.

 

Hidden Gem Book:

 Demons at Deadnight by A and E Kirk. I know they had a blog tour when the book first came out, but I haven't met very many people who have read it or even heard of it. But I think everyone should read it. I love the characters and the banter and the plot and the cover and I could go on and on. But I'll just stop there.

 

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

 Finding Goodreads was very important for me. It helped me find some books that I absolutely love and most likely wouldn't have found without it.

 

Just Finished:

I just finished reading Sorta Like A Rock Star by Matthew Quick. It was a rather different read, and not something I would normally pick up.

 

Kinds of Books You Won't Read:

The only books that I avoid and won't read are historical books, whether that be fiction or nonfiction. There's something about them that just makes me shy away. I have read a few, but I just never absolutely love them.

 

Longest Book You've Read:

 The longest book I've read is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which has 870 pages according to Goodreads. Anne Karenina is a close second though.

 

Major book hangover because of:

 One of  my biggest book hangovers definitely came from Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor. The whole world inside of that book just mesmerized me. After I put it down, I just sat there. The writing was so eloquent and the characters took my heart. Karou was kickass and I really need to read the second book.
 

Number of Bookcases You Own:

 I have three book shelves as of right now. However, I am in need of a few more, as books are still piled up in  my room. They always seemed to be piled up.

 

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

 I've read the whole Soul Screamers series multiple times, but the last one really blew me away. I couldn't believe the ending and I didn't really see it coming until what was going to happen was explained to the reader. I adore the series but the finale. Oh my goodness. I could and do read it over and over. With All My Soul was definitely my favorite from Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series.
 

Preferred Place To Read:

 I like to read either in my bed or curled up on one of the sofas in my living room, especially when it's either raining or snowing (the latter of which is something that occurs a lot in Minnesota). It's always nice to be comfortable while reading.

 

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

 "It's just that . . . I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's the universe's way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It's how life is." - Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever.
I really liked this quote because I think it's actually true and it also kind of summed up that book.
 

Reading Regret:

Okay, I know some people would probably kill me for this, but my biggest reading regret is Romeo and Juliet. I know, I know. But I couldn't stand how whiny the characters were. They didn't communicate or act maturely. I also didn't really see Romeo and Juliet as being in love. It was so fast. And I do understand that it's a play and has to move faster, and I respect the fact that it's a classic. But I really didn't like it.
 

Series You Started And Need To Finish (all the books are out in series):

 One of the many series that I need to finish is the Delirium series. I read the first book and I was really caught up in it, but my library didn't have the rest of them yet. I can't wait to get my hands on them so I can finish up the story.

 

Three of Your All-Time Favorite Books:

 Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers, and Divergent by Veronica Roth are a few of my favorite books. They all have different characteristics that I really loved, even though the books themselves are rather varied.
 

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

 I would shamelessly fangirl for a lot of series, but especially the Mortal Instruments series. I love those books to death and I started reading them when there were only two books out. They're a very big part of me as I've watched the series grow and I've read all the books as they've come out. And now there's a movie coming out! That amazes me.
 

Very Excited For This Release More Than All Others:

 I CANNOT wait for Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins. I devoured the first two books in the trilogy and now I must wait until April 29th of 2014. Why couldn't it have come out with the first one? WHY?!

 

Worst Bookish Habit:

 Okay, this is bad and it makes me feel like a very bad person in the book world. But I sometimes really hate lending my books out. Gah! I'm always very careful with my books about keeping them in near-perfect condition, but I know some people aren't. I only lend my books to my closest friends.

 

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

 The 27th book on my bookshelf was the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. One of my more childish books, but still a thoroughly enjoyable one.
 

Your Latest Book Purchase:

 The last books I purchased (at the same time) were Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley and True by Erin McCarthy, both of which were wonderful stories.

 

ZZZ Snatcher Book (Last Book That Kept You Up WAY Too Late):

The last book that I stayed up late reading was Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, which I was actually re-reading. I have to admit that I'm a very big fan of all of the books in this saga. (Or Patch. I could possibly be a fan of Patch.)

Waiting On Wednesday: Wild Cards & To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It lets us spotlight books that haven't been released, but that we can't wait for. This week we've picked two separate books that we're waiting for.

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Jordyn's Pick

I'm  excited for Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles, which will be released on October 1st, 2013

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

~~~

This is a book I've been eagerly awaiting ever since I found out about it. I loved Simone Elkeles's Perfect Chemistry series, in fact I convinced most of my friends to read them and love them too (although they chose to love them on their own). I'm not usually big on books revolving around football, but I'm still excitedly looking forward to this release.

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Angie's Pick

I'm waiting for To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han, which will be coming out on April 22nd of 2014.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters…

~~~

I'm looking forward to reading this one because it looks like I'll be able to connect with the character. (Yeah, I know. That shows how great my luck is.) The premise of the story sounds interesting and I can't wait to see how Lara Jean handles the problems that arise in the story.

Review: Every Day

Every Day
David Levithan
322 pages (Hardcover)
Knopf Books for Young Readers


Blurb:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.


Review:

Every Day is a book that I read a while back and it took me a little bit to process. I thought the story was beautiful. I thought the story was horrible. I got freaking punched in the gut by this a few times also. I've finally decided that I need to explain how I feel about this one.

Since A lives his life in other peoples bodies, this obviously presented an issue that made normal life impossible. But A was getting along anyways, even if he was lonely and wanting for a lot of things that he couldn't have. He was even respectful to the bodies he took over and occupied by not changing things for them or by trying to help people out. He was a genuinely nice person and he wasn't even overly bitter about not having his own life most of the time.

After he fell in love with Rhiannon though, he started to really hate his life. He did things that go against his own rules to try and be with her. Throughout most of the book, I didn't really like Rhiannon. She didn't care about A very much, sometimes she was disgusted by him even when it wasn't his fault, and I just didn't get why A liked her so much. But A really did care about her.

I haven't read a lot of books with the body-switching element. In fact, this is the only book I've read that had that element. I thought it was really well executed. It added drama and problems that helped to keep the plot moving at a steady pace.

Now I've just got to quickly mention the ending, because this review can't be complete until I mention it. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I've got to say that it totally blew me out of the water. I didn't see it coming and it shocked and upset me. But at the same time, I really loved it. The friend who recommended Every Day to me told me she'd felt nearly the exact same way as me. So just be warned, the ending was pretty intense.

Overall, this book's hangover level is a 4 out of 5.

Waiting On Wednesday: Find Me

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It lets us spotlight books that haven't been released, but that we can't wait for. This week I've picked Find Me by Romily Bernard, which will be released on September 24th, 2013.

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“Find Me.”

These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found . . . dead.

Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target.

Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick. Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?

Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.

But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.

Because it just got personal.

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I can't wait for this book to come out. I've always had an interest in the whole general idea of hackers. (I mean, can you say skills?) I've also always loved books about kids who come from bad pasts and use sarcasm about as often as they use air. So the blurb made this book sound really interesting to me. And besides, that cover looks pretty epic, in my personal opinion.

Review: True

True
Erin McCarthy
222 pages (Ebook)
Penguin Group (USA)


Blurb:

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…


Review:

True is a book I've been wanting to read for a while. I finally decided that I'd have to buy a copy, so that's what I did. I read it in a day and I enjoyed it thoroughly, however it was not my favorite book in the entire world.

At first, I had some problems with Rory. She was thinking so logically about everything and I didn't get it. Admittedly, I've always been the quiet nerdy girl at who does really well with math and science, so I connected with Rory on that level. But she was so analytical. I've never met a person who was that logical and literal. But after I got used to the way she thought, I really appreciated her honesty.

I've read a few other reviews on this book that said it just contained the same old New Adult plotline that so many other NA books have had. I would have to agree with those for the most part. The college girl virgin who falls for the bad boy. The plot did seem rather basic and there wouldn't have been a whole lot that made it different, except for Rory's honesty. I loved that Rory didn't take any crap from people. She went after Tyler when he tried to walk away, and she didn't give up on him, even through the issues they had. It was refreshing to see her commitment, which felt different than the way most heroines feel in other stories.

I grew to love Rory and I also really enjoyed Tyler and his brothers. They were real and had a very dysfunctional life, but they made the most of it. The only characters who seemed really predictable were Rory's friends and roommates, Kylie and Jessica, but I still liked that they were doing their best through the story to help Rory, albeit in a very untraditional way.

I couldn't decide if this book was a level three or level four.

I've given this book a hangover level of 3.5 out of 5.