Waiting On Wednesday (22):

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The following book is on my "ARC wishlist" shelf. You know. In case anybody wants to do a trade or something. :) 

Kill Me Softy by Sarah Cross

April 10, 2012 by EgmontUSA

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

True love’s kiss just may prove deadly.... 

Mirabelle’s past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents’ tragic deaths to her guardians’ half-truths about why she can’t return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined. 

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who’s a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again. 

But fairy tales aren’t pretty things, and they don’t always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy-tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy-tale curses of their own ... brothers who share a dark secret. And she’ll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns.

From the cover to that summary, I am DYING to read this book! I need it!

review: Tangled by Erica O'Rourke

Tangled by Erica O'Rourke
January 31, 2012 
K Teen
Young Adult | Urban Fantasy
Torn #2 (Torn) 
Pages: 313
Source/Format: Publisher/Paperback
Author's Website | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Constance started to keen as the air around us began to thrash and twist, the caustic scent of ozone burning my nose. As I watched, her dark gold hair began to lift and kink into knots. 

“I’m here. It’ll be okay.” It was the last thing I said before my best friend’s little sister went supernova in the second-floor girls’ bathroom, taking me with her. 

A month ago, Mo Fitzgerald risked her life to stop an ancient prophecy and avenge her best friend's murder. Now, she only wants to keep her loved ones safe. But the magic—and the Chicago Mob—have other plans. 

Mysterious, green-eyed Luc is back, asking for help—and a second chance. Colin, her strongest protector, is hiding a shocking secret. And inside Constance, the magic is about to go terribly wrong. Tangled in a web of love and betrayal, Mo must choose between the life she's dreamed of and the one she's destined for.

REVIEW:

Tangled by Erica O’Rourke is an amazing continuation of Torn, the first in this brilliant series, one that everybody needs to read! If you love magic and the mafia, you’ll love this trilogy.  

Wow. Tangled was awesome. The stakes in this book are higher than ever (there’s a good chance Mo won’t make it out alive! YIKES!) and the romance is sizzling between Colin and Mo. Okay, yeah, I’m a Colin girl. Luc is okay, but COLIN. COLIN. HE’S COLIN. How can you NOT like him?

So in Torn, Mo fixed the magic lines and managed to avenge Verity’s murder… which comes back to bite her in the butt in Tangled and now she needs to fix what she FIXED before and make it all better… except Colin doesn’t want her to, and the Quartoren has a contract between them and her that if one party backs out, BAM! They’re gone. As in, they’ll be dead.

So THAT was an interesting stake.

Constance, Verity’s little sister, is a major PITA. She’s not grateful that Mo is helping her at all. Oh, and Constance’s powers are coming in and nearly kill her. So she probably SHOULD be grateful. And it really pissed me off at times. I wanted to slam her head into a wall. REALLY? But I don’t know, how would YOU feel towards your murdered sister’s best friend? Especially one where the story going around is that the best friend might have gotten the murdered sister, well, murdered?

I still didn’t like her.

Luc… and Colin. Oh MAN. Okay, see, I’m a HUGE Colin fan. Clearly. :smiles: I don’t even think there’s a Team Luc because WHY would anybody like Luc when there’s Colin?? And seriously, if you ARE Team Luc (who are you people??? Chime in!) I’ll bet you’ll be swayed over to Colin’s team at the end of the books.

OH MAN THE ENDING. THE. MOTHERFREAKING. ENDING. Gah. It’s not a cliffhanger, which I appreciate, but the ending KILLED me. I was absolutely terrified for what was going to happen—and now I’m REALLY terrified what’s going to happen in book three, Bound.

Once I started reading Tangled, I had to finish it. This series is SO ADDICITING!  You NEED to read it if you haven’t. 

review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
January 31, 2012
Tor Teen
Young Adult | Dystopian
Article 5 #1
Pages: 368 
Source/Format: Publisher/ARC
Author's Website | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. 

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

REVIEW:

Article 5 surprised me on many, many levels. When I first started it, it didn’t wow me at all. It wasn’t until Em was at the reform school that I sat up higher in my seat and paid attention to what the hell was going on. When Ember seized the chance to escape, I was hooked (seventy-ish pages in.) The ending totally turned this book around for me. I LOVED IT.

I don’t even… :mindboggle: I don’t think I can have a review saying “I LOVED IT” fifty times for Article 5. Gah. It’s just so good! READ IT!

That didn’t work? Okay, trying again:

It  isn’t an insta-love romance.  Chase and Em knew each other before, fell in love before, but when they see each other again—come back into each other’s life—they don’t automatically fall in love again. It takes time for their love to grow, but mostly because Chase has changed. The old him isn’t there anymore, and it’s sad at times. But I personally like the new him. :)

As far as dystopian story, this one is scary. Article 5 is basically having a child out of wedlock, which Em’s mom did with Ember. But all the articles are FRIGHTENING! Frightening because I can actually see America turning this way. One of the Articles is marriage is sacred between a man and a woman—and lo, politicians and churches are trying to keep marriage “sacred.” This could become the future USA!

And the worldbuilding is amazing. The one thing that keeps me reading is wordbuilding, and I loved Article 5’s. FANTASTIC. There were parts where I was squeamish, especially during the reform school. These characters are TOUGH, and there’s blood and gore and I wanted to hide. o_O

The ending was amazing and also scared me. I didn’t know if they were going to make it out alive! And while it’s an overall wrapped up ending, it makes me YEARN for the sequel. Man alive, I LOVE this new series and hope the rest of the trilogy is as amazing as Article 5! 

The Honest to Goodness Truth about Comments

At the start of this post, I have 649 comments. I think that’s a good number, but I cringe when I think a lot of those comments are on WOW and IMM posts. Which I expected, because people comment on those posts to bring people to their blog to comment. It’s an endless cycle.

I cringe more when I think of all those reviews going untouched—or, uncommented. Whatever.

I’m writing this post not expecting comments. And who knows, I may get a few pity comments. I don’t even know if I’ll post it, but at the moment, I need to talk about this.

It hurts knowing you get views, but no comments. It hurts knowing you spent hours on a post to have NOBODY comment on it. And I try my best to comment on other people’s blogs, because I understand the hurt and the pain, but at the end of the day when I go through Google Reader all I want to do is hit “mark all as read” and cry under my covers.

29 people viewed my review of WINGS OF THE WICKED by Courtney Allison Moulton. Not in an email, not in Google Reader. They clicked on the link and read the post on my blog.

I received six retweets of my link to that review. Which, mind you, is a lot for me. I don’t usually get people retweeting my posts, or even talking about it on Twitter.

Nobody commented on that post. Nobody.

I had two posts go up yesterday, because I forgot my review was going up. I scrambled to get the Discovered This Week post up in time. That post? Fourteen views. One person commented (I’m not counting my reply.)

One, and I’m pretty sure it was to tell me I had an error in my post.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much it hurts to know at the end of the day, nobody cares to take three minutes out of their time to write a simple comment. It doesn’t have to be a long comment—it can be “I’m looking forward to this book!” or even “Great review!”

But knowing that I’m not even worth that?

It’s a lot of pain.

And maybe it’s just my newness and that I shouldn’t worry about comments just yet. 600 comments? Psh! I’m lucky to have that much in the time I’ve been blogging, right? In a year I’ll start seeing results, yeah? People will start commenting?

I don’t think so. I don’t think it matters how long my blog has been around. I think what matters is if people are willing to spend an hour a day checking blogs, writing comments, etc. And I think people don’t want to do that. YES, I know some people are lurkers—hell, most of the time I am, too.

But I want to change that. Would YOU be willing to help change that, too?  Will YOU pledge to start commenting on blogs, no matter what type of post, even if it’ll bring no traffic to your blog?  Just to make someone smile and let them know that somebody does care about their content?

Or is being a lurker the best thing possible? At least they’re getting views, right? That counts for SOMETHING, right? Nobody really cares about the comments, right? It’s just something people obsess over?

As somebody getting no comments, I know it’s not that. Getting a comment is a symbol; it’s telling the poster that somebody cares about you and your little blog. Somebody cares that you spent hours on a post and that they read it and enjoyed it enough to comment.

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m taking the pledge to start posting comments on blogs I read, even if I don’t really have an opinion. I’m willing to take an hour out of my day to comment. Are you?

Discovered This Week (1)

Discovered is a new weekly feature; it's where I talk about all things book related that I discovered that week.

Cold Fury | T.M. Goeglein
July 24, 2012 | Putnam Juvenile
Interested? Add To Goodreads!

Sara Jane Rispoli is just a normal sixteen-year-old girl coping with school and a developing crush— until her parents and younger brother are kidnapped, and she discovers her family has been a key figure of Chicago’s Outfit (aka the mob) for decades. Her father, grandfather and great grandfather all used their special ability, cold fury, to settle disputes between the two mob factions—the muscle and the money. And unless Sara wants the mob to think her now missing family has turned state’s evidence, she will have to fill her father’s shoes as the mob’s peacemaker, using her own cold fury. 


This book sounds FREAKING AMAZING. I was going through Penguin's Spring and Summer 2012 catalog when I came upon this, and man! I NEED this book like yesterday. 

It reminds me of Revenge, ABC's latest TV show. I am addict with that show. I need my weekly fix, which is kinda hilarious because I watch it on Hulu and I'm a week behind everybody... but I've been dying to find a YA book with the same vein as Revenge. And Cold Fury sounds like that type of book. 




HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THIS TRAILER? SO MUCH LOVE. It is seriously one of my favorite book trailers to date, and now I can't WAIT to read this book.

What did you discover this week?

review: WINGS OF THE WICKED--Courtney Allison Moulton

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton 
February 1, 2012 
Katherine Tegen (HarperCollins) 
Young Adult | Urban Fantasy
Angelfire #2 (Angelfire; Angelfire #3) 
Pages: 528 (THEY GO BY FAST) 
Source/Format: ARC Tour Thanks to PageTurners Blog.
Author's Website | Goodreads
 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined. 
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night. 

She’s been warned. 
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself. 

She’ll be betrayed. 
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay. 

REVIEW:

Last year, I read Angelfire in one day. It was filled with action, romance, and with the search of “who am I?” The sequel, Wings of the Wicked, is so much better than the first action and romance-wise, and it’s a whole lot darker (which I LOVE) and it’s just a thrilling read.

Holla! I loved Wings of the Wicked more than I did Angelfire. And trust me, I freaking loved Angelfire. Wings of the Wicked is grittier than the first in so many ways—a lot of those close to her she loses. On page 269, I stared at one tiny little line (one word!) in shock. I thought, “WHY?! WHY, MOULTON, WHY?!) and was absolutely terrified to continue reading… but I was too invested, too hooked in reading this book, that I HAD to keep reading to know what was happening! Then chapter twenty-four happened. Then the ending happened, and dear god, if I don’t have the third book in my hands as soon as possible, I will unleash a heavenly war on earth!

Before I totally spoil Wings of the Wicked for you (I won’t! I promise because this book you want to read UN-SPOILED), I’ll tell you something about the characters: they change. Holy crap. Ellie grows so much as a character from the beginning to the very end. What I will say is she becomes more Gabriel-like and losing her human-ness. That scares me because how is she going to be in the third book? SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TIME TRAVEL AND GET ME THE THIRD BOOK RIGHT FREAKING NOW!

Ahem.

Wings of the Wicked takes the romance on a whole new level. Take about your steamy scenes! Ellie and Will are all business in the beginning of the book and I was about to write some fan fiction full of them kissing. There’s so much chemistry and tension between them that ARRRGH, they SHOULD JUST KISS ALREADY.

And when they do… :winks and fans self:

If you loved Angelfire, you will want this book. If you haven’t read Angelfire, WELL WHY THE HELL NOT? This sequel is sizzling hot, and you better get yourself some copies of the books! 

YES. YES YES YES. YES. 

Get thee to the bookstore and purchase Wings of the Wicked today!

The story is great, but Moulton's writing has only slightly improved since Angelfire. Still choppy and passive at times. 

review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

A Million Suns by Beth Revis
January 10, 2012
Razorbill
Young Adult | Science Fiction/Murder Mystery
Across the Universe #2
Pages: 386
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Author's Website | Book's Website | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

REVIEW:

A Million Suns is the second in the Across the Universe trilogy, a YA science fiction with murderous people and—wait for it—it’s set in space. I like books that deal with space. SO MUCH LOVE.

I was afraid when I got A Million Suns. See, I loved Across the Universe a lot.  And while I heard nothing but good things about A Million Suns, I was scared. What if I was going to be the rare person who didn’t like it? WHAT THEN??

Of course, I twisted myself up like that and it didn’t go away until I read the book. WHICH I LOVED. Holla.

So, if you like me, you knew one of the lies in Across the Universe. The lie in the first chapter. So that wasn’t so shocking, however… the rest of the book was. I didn’t know WHAT was going to happen! And I had noooo clue who was killing off people with the creepy “follow the leader” messages stuck on them. It made a lot of sense at the end but I was left looking like this: O_o jiggawhaaaa???

Amy and Elder’s relationship is still rocky. (Amy’s first chapter in AMS is one of my favorites! So heartbreaking.) But there are some kissing scenes, and their relationship is an entire story by itself. It was amazing and my own heart broke alongside Amy and Elder's. 

I skimmed the last chapters of ATU before I read AMS, but I think I should have reread ATU. There was a few things I had forgotten, even though I remembered after a while. I know I will reread both of these before reading Shades of Earth.

Grab onto your seat when you read A Million Suns, and make sure you can turn the pages quickly because you will want to keep up with the action. A Million Suns is a lot better than Across the Universe, even though they both rank up high on my favorites list. This is such an amazing trilogy and I really don’t want it to end with Shades of Earth! 

Waiting On Wednesday (21): Insurgent & Survivors

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The following books are on my "ARC wishlist" shelf. You know. In case anybody wants to do a trade or something. :) 

The Survivors by Will Weaver
January 31, 2012 by HarperTeen
Preorder: Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Miles, Sarah, and their parents are living in a run-down cabin in the north woods-their cushy life in suburban Minneapolis feels like a dream. But the aftermath of the cataclysmic volcano eruptions that forced them there is still very real. Food is scarce, the ash continues to fall, and winter is setting in. All they have to get them through is the milk from Sarah's prized possession-her goat-and Miles's memory of wilderness survival skills. But when both resources are tragically lost, they realize they'll have much more to overcome if they want to be survivors. 

With its fast pace, accessible writing, and suspenseful, driving action, this engaging sequel to Will Weaver's Memory Boy will appeal to even the most reluctant reader.


Okay, so I just found out this book is coming out this month. I thought it was coming out in April because that's what Goodreads says. Ahh! This one sounds so amazing, doesn't it? I can't wait to read it. :)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
May 1, 2012 by HarperTeen
Preorder: Amazon | Barnes & Noble


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. 

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.


I loved Divergent and can't wait for the next installment of this amazing trilogy. I love the cover--it seems so simple and like a calm before the storm. Can't WAIT to read it!


What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

review: Between--Jessica Warman

Between by Jessica Warman
August 2, 2011 
Walker & Company
Young Adult | Paranormal
Standalone
Pages: 464
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Author's Website 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Elizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect-or innocent. Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.

REVIEW:

Okay, so, let me start with saying that I downloaded the sample for Between and kept it on my iPad for like four months because I really, really wanted to read this book and I would torment myself by rereading the first two chapters.

And you know what? I was terrified to read this book when I finally bought it. I built up a lot of hype inside my head for this book and what if I ended up hating it? THEN WHAT? I was so sure I would love it. I was so flipping sure, and I had only read the first two chapters.

This book is long. Over 400 pages. I read like twenty pages and was sure I was going to love it. It scared me.

But see, I did end up loving this book. Which is like a breath of fresh air, yeah?

So, let’s get to the point: this book is about death. If you’ve read and loved Lauren Oliver’s BEFORE I FALL, you’ll most likely love this book. They have similar themes—death, mean girls, etc.—but they are also so very different. Because Elizabeth (or Liz) has something that is tethering her in the Between area, whereas BEFORE I FALL’s Samantha is reliving the same day for a week. There is a mystery with both books, but holy mother, both books are different. Seriously.

I cried twice during this book. The first time was during a twist—who killed Alex—and the second time was during the last few pages. The twist, holy crap, the twist. I did NOT see it coming. I was trying to figure it out, but when Liz figures it out I sat back and thought, “Whoa.” And then a few tears slipped out because I felt SO bad for Alex.

And the ending. I saw the ending coming miles before it showed up, but it still left me breathless. Especially when things started falling into place for Liz (after she dies, she doesn’t remember her life. Alex explains it like when people suffer from traumatic injury, they usually suffer amnesia. Death is one hell of a traumatic injury, YES? I liked Alex. He was very smart.)

This is one book you will want to read. I didn’t read any spoilers, so I’m not going to say a whole lot about the book, but mother effer, get thee to a bookstore and read. This. Book! It was everything I thought it would be and THEN SOME. Simply breathtaking.

review: RED GLOVE--Holly Black

Red Glove by Holly Black
April 5, 2011
Margaret K. McElderry (Simon & Schuster) 
Young Adult | Urban Fantasy
Curse Workers #2 
Pages: 325
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Author's Website
 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else. 

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does. 

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself? 

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.

REVIEW:

I had been intrigued by Holly Black’s newest series, Curse Workers, and I really, really liked the premise of it. When Random House was giving out the free audiobooks, I asked for White Cat and listened to it in like one day.

I loved it. I loved Cassel, Sam, and Lila. No, I loved all the characters. I loved the world—the world is really what sold me. Curses and cons? The “normal” people know about the cursed people? There are political issues regarding the cursed people? SIGN. ME. UP.

So, after I read White Cat, I bought Red Glove and it’s been sitting on my tbr pile just waiting for me to pick it up. And then, like four months later, I did.

And I loved it.

As you can tell from the summary above, Red Glove is a murder mystery—and unlike some murder mysteries, Cassel isn’t out to get revenge for his brother’s murder. No no no. In fact, he wants to catch the murderer because the FBI has names of other people who might have been killed by the same people who popped two in Phillip.

Cassel killed the other people with his transformation skills.

So now he wants to clear his name—even though the FBI have no idea Cassel killed the other people. Oh, it was such a great read. I kept trying to pinpoint who killed Phillip, but every time I thought, “THAT PERSON!!!” Holly Black threw me in a loop and it was not that person.

Damn.

It’s not just about who killed Phillip, it’s also about Proposition 2, which is to have EVERYBODY in their world tested for the cursed gene. Yeah. That isn’t good, as Daneca tells readers. Red Glove is also about Lila and Cassel, whose relationship is, well, cursed thanks to Cassel’s mother.

Red Glove is so unlike White Cat, but I love both the same and now I’m dying to read Black Heart. This series is the BEST. 

Reading Pile: 1/22-1/28

Credit for Rachel at Fiktshun for coming up with a weekly reading pile.

Reading This Week:

Article 5

Kristen Simmons

January 31, 2012 by Tor Teen

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. 

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

I'm rather excited for this one. I'm a political science/international studies major, so this books sounds right up my alley. Can't. WAIT. to get started on it!

What are you reading this week?

In My Mailbox: Bittersweet Partials

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. You can learn more about it here.

For Review: 
Partials by Dan Wells. YA Science Fiction. So excited for this one I can't even.
Tangled by Erica O'Rourke. YA Urban Fantasy. Sequel to Torn. Currently reading this one. So good.

Bought:
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler. YA Contemporary. I loved Twenty Boy Summer.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer. YA Science Fiction. Another one I'm excited for.
A Million Suns by Beth Revis.  YA Science Fiction. Already read it. LOVED it.

What did you get in your mailbox?

Review: Everneath--Brodi Ashton

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
January 24, 2012
Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Young Adult | Paranormal
First In A Trilogy
Pages: 370
Source/Format: NetGalley
Author's Website
 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever. 

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. 

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. 

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

REVIEW:

I knew three things about Everneath when I started reading it: It was a twist on Persephone and Hades; there was a girl who disappeared for six months; and there were two guys. But it’s so, so much more than that.

Nikki. The poor girl who disappeared last spring. Nikki’s hurting because her mother died from a hit-and-run and she asks Cole to take away her pain… who takes her to Everneath, where she actually stays for a hundred years, but only six months pass on the Surface. I loved the world of Everneath and the Surface. I loved the twist on the mythology and am dying to read the rest of the trilogy.

The characters are so real. I loved Nikki and Jack’s relationship before and after the feed. I loved how trusting Nikki was with Jack in the middle of the book. I also loved how villainous Cole was. Man, I wanted to hate Cole, but I can’t—I just like him too much.

The book was so engaging, hooked me right from the prologue, that when I started it, I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up late at night reading it, not wanting it to ever end, actually. The writing hooked me and how it pivoted between before the feed and after the feed. I thought it showed the world, the characters, and how drastic Nikki changed from her disappearance.

Not only is the cover beautiful, but so is the story inside. It’s dark and mysterious and twisty, but oh god, so gorgeous. I wanted to live in the world Brodi Ashton has created—even if it’s rather dangerous. This is the book you need to get when it releases.  

review: The Fault In Our Stars--John Green

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
January 10, 2012
Dutton
Young Adult | Contemporary
Standalone
Pages: 319
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Author's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

REVIEW:

The Fault In Our Stars is a gorgeous, FEEL ALL THE THINGS book that will leave readers breathless and wanting more John Green.

There are books that are supposed to be funny and I don’t laugh at all. I very rarely laugh out loud during a book because it’s my hamartia, but don’t worry: I laughed a few times during The Fault In Our Stars. And everybody apparently cries at the end, but I only cried once, a tiny single tear: page 270. Again: it’s my hamartia.

But nevertheless, I WAS left breathless at the end of this book. It is just so good.

This isn’t a cancer book. Most cancer books are about the person being cancerous, and there are cancerous things that take place during this book, but it’s so much more than being about cancer. YES, Hazel has terminal cancer; YES Augustus has cancer, too, but that isn’t what this book is about.

It’s about them and their greatest love story and just learning how to live again when you think you’re going to die.

Hazel and Augustus are the perfect couple.  Their love isn’t an instalove the moment Augustus starts staring at Hazel, but the more they hang out and the more they talk, they do. On page 125:

As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.

And that’s the perfect way to fall in love.

I’m not going to spoil this book because I don’t spoil books and because I believe in the power of diving into a book without knowing what it’s about. I will say, though, that there seems to be medical errors in this book. Augustus and Hazel are drinking champagne when one of them needs to take a pain pill—and swallows it down with the champagne.

Take out any medication. Notice where it says “do not take with alcohol”/”do not drink alcohol” while on this drug? YES. THAT. There are REASONS why you are not supposed to drink while on medication—because it can kill you. And yes, cancer is a side effect of dying, but honestly, do you want to be stupid and die from combining alcohol and medication? What really irks me is it doesn’t seem to affect either of them. Which isn’t accurate at all. It was suggested to me that maybe John Green included it to show that Hazel and Augustus are living their lives to the fullest while not stopping and not taking risks, etc. but honestly, it’s just stupid to drink while on medication. It CAN and DOES kill people.

But if you can ignore that fatal flaw, then, well what are you waiting for? Buy this book!

review: Zombie Tag--Hannah Moskowitz

Zombie Tag by Hannah Moskowitz
December 20, 2011
Roaring Brook Press 
Middle Grade | Fantasy
Standalone
Pages: 240
Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover
Author's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Wil is desperate for his older brother to come back from the dead. But the thing about zombies is . . they don’t exactly make the best siblings. Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother’s death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers’ spatulas. What Wil doesn’t tell anybody is that if he could bring his dead brother back as a zombie, he would in a heartbeat. But when Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he’s surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant.  In her first novel for younger readers, Moskowitz offers a funny and heartfelt look at how one boy deals with change, loss, and the complicated relationship between brothers.

REVIEW:

Zombie Tag is cute and horrifyingly gut-wrenching.  After reading Hannah Moskowitz’s YA titles(excluding her upcoming Gone, Gone, Gone) I’m thinking Hannah likes to write sad, depressing stories even though I’ve heard Gone, Gone, Gone is a happily-ever-after type of story. WELL. I’m like 100 pages into that one and I’m not happy that the animals are still gone, HANNAH. 

Anyway...

Zombie Tag is Hannah’s debut middle grade and I think she writes wonderful middle grade. The voice is dead on. I loved it so, so much. What I love about middle grade is the voice and how it brings me back to my childhood. I mean, when I was in junior high it wasn’t the best ever. Junior high sucks. But I love reading middle grade. Especially when there’s zombies involved. *G*

Oh man, oh man, oh man. The zombies. THE WORLD. Zombies “exist” in this world—and by that I mean, like forty years ago there were zombies and then they all died and were piled onto each other which brings the question: what killed the zombies? And nobody talks about the zombies, so it’s not like the information is running around.

And besides zombies existing, other paranormal creatures do, too. Wil and Anthony’s dad work… uh, how can I say this… their specialty is paranormal creatures. And it’s really cool. I liked that.

The game zombie tag is so interesting. I want to round up a bunch of my friends and play it (the rules are in the back of the book, so he he he, I may just have to play zombie tag.) But what I liked was when Wil’s parents find out about, they FLIP. OUT. Because hello, back to the zombies dying all of the sudden. There’s some consequences to playing zombie tag. And that’s awesome.

If you’re looking for a fabulous MG to read, Zombie Tag is the book for you. Seriously. Go buy it. Right now. 

Review: TEMPEST--Julie Cross

Tempest by Julie Cross
January 17, 2012
St. Martin's Griffin
Young Adult | Science Fiction
First in a Trilogy
Pages: 352 (not enough pages! I WANT MORE!)
Source/Format: NetGalley/eGalley
Author's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

REVIEW:

Tempest is the book being buzzed about in the YA blogosphere. I’d jump whenever I saw somebody talking about it, reading about it, Julie Cross talking about it… I wanted to read this book and I would make time travel to the future possible in order to read the book right now.

October, 2011 I found out it was on NetGalley. I requested and squealed three days later when I was accepted. I’d read the first four chapters and dying to know what came next.

Guys, this book is going to blow you away. It is so amazing. Like I don’t even…

So, you know how time travel is all “you go into the past and spit on somebody’s head, that changes the future”? Not in Cross’ world. Nope. It’s “you go into the past and you piss somebody off because you don’t remember she’s in your economics class, for god’s sake” you can go back to the future (aka “home base”) and stroll up to that girl and say, “hey, aren’t you in economics with me?” and she’ll smile and say, “yeah.” SHE WON’T REMEMBER ANYTHING.

And then things get complicated as Jackson learns his time travel abilities when he’s stuck in 2007. I want to crawl into Julie Cross’ head because of how complex the time travel is in this book. (Is that creepy?)

What I loved the most is Jackson and 007 Holly. 007 Holly and 009 Holly are so different, but I loved how Jackson got to know 007 Holly. (And if you have no idea what I mean, you should probably read the book, yeah?) Their talks I loved. It was like falling in love with somebody all over again.

The emotion—oh, guys, the emotion. I haven’t felt this connected to a story and the characters in a really long time. And yeah, I’ll admit, the ending made me cry. I was sobbing as I finished it because how could he do that?!

I need the sequel right now. I need the entire trilogy right now. I guess I need to make a friend like Adam and learn how to time travel to the future…

Uh, I recommend to the INFINITE. Er… yeah. I don’t care if you don’t read sci-fi or time travel novels. You have to read this book. Push aside your to-read pile and run to the bookstore on January 17. You won’t regret it.