Teaser Tuesday #6- Rumors

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme where you post a quote from a book you are currently reading. It is hosted by A Daily Rhythm.

“Plain little Lina Broud in a box at the opera; she could not have been more surprised if he had presented her with a diamond tiara and crowned her the queen of Persia. She had spent all morning dressed as a society girl, but tonight, rather than remain invisible in her room as she usually did, she was being offered the change to walk among them. She would be brilliant and looked on, just like the girl Will had believed himself to be in love with." -Rumors, pg. 67, Anna Godbersen

Find the book here: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository

Let me know in the comments what book you are currently reading!

Review: World After by Susan Ee

“You're naming your collector's-item, kick-ass sword that's made to maim and kill, specifically designed to bring your ginormous enemies to their knees and hear the lamentation of their women- Pooky Bear?"

Title: World After
Author: Susan Ee
Publication Date: Nov 19th, 2013
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: Copy via NetGalley
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon





This series is fantastic. I love the characters, the plot, the premise. They all go together to form this amazing fast-paced, action filled story. World After starts off right where Angelfall left off, and like Angelfall, I flew through this book. I did not want to put it down, I wanted to find out exactly what was going to happen to Penryn and Raffe, and even Paige and their mom. One thing I can say is that while I’m glad I waited until now to start this series since End of Days comes out in May, I’m also sad that I waited this long. This series is so amazingly done that I wish I had read it sooner.

My only complaint with this installment is the lack of Raffe for the first half of this book. However, while he may not be with Penryn physically, the sword brings them together. I loved all the little background information we got on Raffe from the sword. And of course once they were together again, I was beyond excited. The banter between them is perfect and I love every minute of it. They are both such strong characters who work perfectly together, but are also completely capable on their own.

To me this installment seemed creepier and darker than the first. Locust like beings have a strong presence in this installment, plus what goes on with Paige in this book is down right creepy. I felt so bad for what she had to go through, especially when you remember that she is only 7. There were many times in this book where I would forget just how young Paige is. And to imagine what she went through and is going through is heartbreaking. But at least she has Penryn and her mom who will do anything for her.

*I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛½

I cannot wait to get my hands on End of Days. I hope it picks up right where were left Penryn, Raffe, and Paige. I also really need more Raffe and Penryn. So I'm definitely counting down the days to End of Days on May 12th.

April 2015 New Releases

These are the new releases that I'm most looking forward to in April!

Title: An Ember in the Ashes 
Author: Sabaa Tahir 
Publication Date: April 28th, 2015    
Publisher: Razorbill
About: Everyone has been talking about this book and raving about how great it is. I'm really hoping it lives up to its hype. This book is basically about a Roman like empire and an academy for soldiers. Our main character is Laia who is sent to spy on the Empire from within. This is written as a standalone so I'm really looking forward to reading another standalone fantasy since those are hard to come by. Sabaa Tahir is a debut author and I look forward to reading her first book.
Where to Find: Goodreads / Amazon

 
Title: The Girl at Midnight 
Author: Melissa Grey 
Publication Date: April 28th, 2015     
Publisher: Delacorte Press
About: This book focuses on two different worlds and has been compared to the Mortal Instruments Series, which I loved. Our main character is also a thief which I love. This is one of those books that I think it is better off going into it with little to no expectations. This is also Melissa Grey's first novel!
Where to Find: Goodreads / Amazon

Title: All the Rage 
Author: Courtney Summers
Publication Date: April 14th, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin   
About: My interest in this book is solely based on the subject matter. It deals with sexual assault and our current culture surrounding it. The book focuses on a young girl who attempts to come forward but no one believes her and she is forced into hiding. It also sounds a lot like Speak which I really enjoyed. This book sounds like it will be amazing if it is well done and the topic is handled appropriately. 
Where to Find: Goodreads / Amazon

Title: The Death Code
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Publication Date: April 21st, 2015
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
About: This book is the sequel to The Murder Complex. which I have not read, but I have heard great things about. Now that the 2nd one is coming out, I may finally start this series. I really love the premise of a world full of murder and our main character being a trained teenage killer.
Where to Find: Goodreads / Amazon



Did I forget any books that you are looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh

"The far enemy is the one you hate, the one you're sworn to fight against. The near enemy is the one you're close to, who you trust, but shouldn't."

Title: Near Enemy
Author: Adam Sternbergh
Publication Date: Jan 13th, 2015
Publisher: Crown
Source: Copy via BloggingForBooks
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon



Near Enemy is the sequel to Shovel Ready. You have Spademan, your garbageman turned contract killer living in post-dirty bomb NY. In this book, Spademan is attempting to figure out how to stop another potential plot against an already decimated NY. With all this going on, he still has to deal with protecting his “family” and keeping Persephone and Mark safe.

I really enjoy the writing style of these books. Sentences are very short, choppy, and to the point. It adds to the noir, hard-boil detective genre. It is action packed and fast-paced. Once I got into the book, I flew through it, plus these books are short at around 300 pages. Spademan is this dark brooding character that you cannot help but love, even though his choices are morally ambiguous.

In this installment, we find out a lot more about the dirty bomb and the initial terrorist plot. We also get a larger glimpse at how the city has moved on from the attack through the limn. The limn is this dreamlike state that allows someone to go to a different world to live their days. This book focuses on the idea of the terrorists attacking from inside, specifically from within the limn rather than overtly.

I definitely enjoyed this installment more than the first due to the faster plot. I think I connected more with stopping an imminent terrorist plot than the corrupt minister of Shovel Ready. The one thing I didn’t like was that from the beginning the villain was plotted as being Muslim. While this fits with current ideas on who terrorists are, I think it perpetuates the growing mistrust of all Muslims. I think it is unjustified that from the beginning, they are targeted as the bad guys. I’m currently in a class that focuses on US policy post 9/11, so I do have a certain lens that I’m reading this through. I just think it is unfair to have the initial terrorist attack in the limn be carried out by a woman in a Burqa.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to future books by Adam Sternbergh.

*I received a copy of this book through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review*

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are. 

Review: The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

“Because that was the night we went wild. I remember how we fought and we cried and we hid and we flung ourselves through windows and we pumped our legs with everything we had and we went running as far as we could make it, which wasn't far.”

Title: The Walls Around Us
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Publication Date: March 24th, 2015
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon





The Walls Around Us was a fascinating read focusing on the lives of three teenage girls. The cover alone draws you in. It is stunning. But under the cover is a fantastic book filled with mystery, heartache, and guilt.
 
So with this book, I definitely think you should go into with little-to-no knowledge of the plot. Personally, I think the synopsis gives away too much. I think you are better off going into the book blind. I think the book was more enjoyable for me because I had not reread the synopsis prior to starting the book.

This is another one of those alternating perspectives that all intertwine in some way towards the end of the book. And Nova Ren Suma is a fantastic writer. She just has a way with words that pulls you in and keeps you  entertained, but also guessing as to what is going to happen. There were so many quotes and lines in this book that were beautifully written. The writing was definitely a large part of my enjoyment of the book.

The characters in this book are amazingly written. You really feel and see the guilt, the fear, the anger, and the hopelessness in the characters. I will not go into specifics because you really should know as little as possible about the characters going into this book. But the writing is just phenomenal, it really brought you to the feelings these girls were having and what they were dealing with.

While this book has the alternating perspectives, I feel like it does it in a unique way. You follow one character for 3 or 4 chapters before you switch to another. I really liked that we got to follow a character for longer before we switched. You really got to go deep into what was happening with them rather than flipping back and forth. It also added to your growing feelings and attachment to the characters.

Overall, this was a beautifully written book that I really enjoyed. The writing and the characters were done really well. I definitely will need to look into reading more of Nova Ren Suma’s books.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are. 

#Gautierathon

So this week I marathoned the 5 books that are currently out in the Chronicles of Nick Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I personally called this endeavor the #Gautierathon. I read all five books in six days, and that was a huge undertaking for me. I spent any time I was not sleeping or at work reading so that I could get through all 5 books during my Spring Break. Now since I read all these books back-to-back, my ability to differentiate between the 5 is not as good as it would be if I had read them further apart. But I can say I'm an now eagerly anticipating the next book in the series, Instinct.

As for the series as a whole, I really enjoyed it. I adore the writing and how everything weaves together in the different books. I loved the humor and sassiness of the characters as well as the action packed plot and introduction of all the different characters. Kenyon has said this series will be 15 books which is quite a lot and that is not even counting all the Dark Hunter books that contain the same characters. I'm still undecided about whether or not I'm going to pick up that series, but I really want to. I just know it is a huge undertaking. One last thought on the series as a whole before I go into full on spoiler review, I love that each book is a one word title that starts with an I. I really hope Kenyon can continue to do this for the rest of the series. It is a nice touch. Plus I love the matching covers.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

This series follows lovable Nick who is a fantastic character. He is destined to be the destroyer of the world, but yet he cowers from his Mom and has the weirdest group of friends. It is even more amusing once you add in all the paranormal beings to his world. Throughout the five books we see Nick battle zombies, shapeshifters, demons, etc. all while trying to live a normal teenage life with an overprotective mother. I love how there is not really any paranormal being that is not introduced in this series. I love all the different fantasy and paranormal elements.

While I love Nick's mom and everything she means to him and keeping him from going full-blown evil, there were so many times when she would annoy me to no end. She would never let Nick get his side of the story in and always assumed the worst. It was so frustrating to see Nick be bullied at school only to come home and have his mom attack him for sticking up for her. Their relationship starts to change in Infamous, which I really appreciated.

I luckily did not have to deal with all the cliff-hangers at the ends of the books (well except for the end of Illusion). And let me just say I really need to know what is going on with Xev. So I cannot sympathize with everyone who had to wait between books to figure out the "foreshadowing" at the ends of the books. I am so lucky I could pick up Inferno right after Grim told Nick about Kody in Infamous and that I could pick up Illusion after Nick was put in the alternate realty at the end of Inferno.

There are so many characters in this series who we are introduced to and I never know if I should trust them. When we met Thorn in the nether I was super excited. I loved his banter with Nick and figured since he was helping him avoid Noir he was a safe ally. But it appears I was wrong, since he was behind a lot of the attacks in Illusion. But I'm still holding on hope that he is not a complete enemy. I also absolutely love Caleb. He may be enslaved to the Malachi, but he still berets and torments Nick. I truly think he may be one of the only ones we can truly trust (other than Nick's mom of course).

One last thing I want to touch on is something that happens in Infamous. The whole plot of Infamous revolves around a website that is basically bullying everyone at Nick's school. Bullying is definitely a theme in this series that Nick deals with. During Inferno, there is a letter written by Brynna where she writes to her tormentor. It was so wonderfully written and so heartfelt. I love that Kenyon took the time to write out the letter in whole, rather than just referencing it or putting parts of it in the book. The letter just really stuck with me and I think it could be really important to show anyone who is dealing with bullying that it is not okay and that they should not give up.

Last part of this review is a ranking of the books and the ratings I gave each individual one.

1. Infamous- ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛½
2. Illusion- ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛
3. Infinity- ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛
4. Invincible- ♛ ♛ ♛½
5. Inferno- ♛ ♛ ♛

I did short reviews for each book on Goodreads if you want to see a little bit more about my thoughts on a specific book.  Overall I really enjoyed this series so far and would say it is a solid 4 Crown series. I cannot wait to continue on with the series as Instinct comes out on March 31st!

Book Unhaul #1 and Update

I know I have not been posting as regularly as normal and that is not because my reading has slowed down. It is the opposite really. I have been marathoning the Chronicles of Nick series while I'm home for Spring Break. I have just started book 5, so once I finish that, I will be posting a series review (of the first 5 books) that will contain spoilers (which I know I do not typically do).

As for the real reason for this post, I am going to do something I have never done before an unhaul 5 maybe 6 books. All of these are books that I have had and just have no desire to read and since I'm attempting #0by16, this unhaul will help. The one I am unsure of is a British edition and I think I want to collect the US editions instead.

The books:

• The Unidentified by Rae Mariz. I got this one for like 50 cents and have decided I will never actually read this.
• Strand of Deception by Robin Carroll. This is in a series of books, I beleive you do not have to read the series in order, but again I have no interest in this book anymore.
• Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill. Initially this sounded really interesting plus it goes with my whole demon obsession thing. 
• Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. So I really want to read this series (This is the 2nd book). But I have a British Edition and I think I like the US covers better and I want my series to match, so I'm going to get rid of the British copy so I can get all three US covers. 
• The Barefoot Queen by Ildefonso Falcones. I have attempted to read this twice now, but have been unable to get through it. It portrays women extremely poorly and I just could not get passed it enough to finish.  
• Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz. So I really want to read this series because it sounds fascinating. But Oblivion is the fifth book. I don't know if or when I will actually get to this series, but for now, I'm going to part with this book.  

As for a #0by16 update, the official number now stands at 67. This should be doable based on my current pace of reading. However, I'm going to need to stay very strict on the book buying ban so that I can accomplish eliminating my TBR. 

Teaser Tuesday #5- Invincible

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme where you post a quote from a book you are currently reading. It is hosted by A Daily Rhythm.

“He lets it ruin his life. He gets so obsessed with going after one thing that he loses sight  of everything else. He becomes isolated from everyone and everything. Paranoid. He feels like he can't trust anyone around him ever. In the end, he loses everything, even his life. And for what? Total stupidity, if you ask me." -Invincible, pg. 184-185, Sherrilyn Kenyon

Find the book here: Goodreads / Amazon

Let me know in the comments what book you are currently reading!

Review: Red Hill

“We all pretended it would get better, but the unspoken truth is always louder than the stories we tell.”

Title: Red Hill
Author: Jamie McGuire
Publication Date: October 1st, 2013 
Publisher:  Atria Books
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon






This book was not at all what I was expecting. I knew it was a survival story but the back made it seem like a love story first. Plus, Jamie McGuire is known for romances such as Beautiful Disaster. Due to all the negativity surrounding that series, I was weary of this one. I am glad I read it though. While it wasn’t a favorite book, it was still an enjoyable read. I appreciated the plot and the characters and their journey of survival. I totally was not expecting the zombies at all, but it was written in a way that was almost believable.

My main issue with this book is that from the beginning we are following 3 different characters and their journey to Red Hill. While I knew eventually everything would intertwine, I feel like it took a little too long for that to happen. It was not until over 200 pages in that any of the character’s stories intertwined.  I loved when they did, even when it was beyond the three main characters, but I wanted those connections to start earlier in the book.

I know this review is really short. This was a quick read for me and I do not have much to say about it. It was not really anything special, I enjoyed seeing what happened to the characters and their survival instincts, but it was nothing amazing. And I tried to keep what I have heard about the author and her other books separate from my thoughts on this book.

This would be a good book for people who want a short book that is pretty laid back and nothing too gory or intense. So if you want something that deals zombies, survival, and family then this is a good book for you.

♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are. 

Review: The Alex Crow

"There's not a single thing on this planet- not an organism, a sea, a river or lake, and event eh weather that surrounds us, that hasn't been changed by human beings. For good or bad, we're in charge of the rate at which everything changes now. Every living thing, and the majority of nonliving systems too." 
 
Title: The Alex Crow
Author: Andrew Smith
Publication Date: March 10th, 2015
Publisher: Dutton Books
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon





By now everyone should know how much I appreciate Andrew Smith and his writing. I love the humor, the wittiness, and even the absolute absurdity of his books. The Alex Crow is no exception to this. For me the writing technique was very similar to Grasshopper Jungle. The story is all intertwined between these 3 different perspectives we follow throughout the book. We have Ariel both in the present and in the past, we have Lenny and his bombing journey, and finally we have the arctic expedition in 1880. At first all these stories seemed so different but they all came together somehow.

And I know you are probably thinking that is not that weird, but once you learn about the experiments being done by the Alex Division things start to become really strange. The bionic pet Crow the Burgesses have is such a strange character and he is also somewhat central to the bizarre things that the company has been researching and conducting. The shining moments of humor in this book are the boys at summer camp. That is when we see the crazy things they get up as they piece together just what the Alex Department does.

The difference for me and this book was just how series the topics were. You had Ariel who is a refugee living with a new family in America. We learn all about the horrors that Ariel dealt with before moving to Sunday. And this story is woven into the narrative and story about the research and science experiments. I really appreciate how Andrew Smith discussed these topics while also staying weird. This book starts off in a really dark place with the attack on Ariel’s village and from there we continue on this journey.

This book was not at all a disappointment. It lived up to my expectations for an Andrew Smith novel. It was weird but also intrigued me with its moral questions about just how far humans are willing to go in their thirst for knowledge. And that reincarnated bionic crow was a favorite character for me. We did not get a lot of scenes with him, but he was integral to the stories all tying together.

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are. 

Review: Angelfall

“I knew from the start that your loyalty would get you killed. I just never thought it would be your loyalty to me that would do it.”


Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Amazon Childrens Publishing
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon






This book was full of action right from the start. The first chapter alone has Penryn, her sister, Paige, and their mom braving the outside world filled with gangs and angels. This book pulled me in right away and kept me entertained and wanting to continue reading to the conclusion. I even stayed up late last night to finish it.

The progression of Penryn and Raffe’s relationship is amazing. From the start, they are thrown together due to common destinations, but as they continue to work together they become some form of friends (and even more eventually). The two of them were so great and I loved their interactions. The times they were apart in the book were sad, but luckily it was never too long of a wait until we saw them together again.

The world Susan Ee has created in this post-apocalyptic angel invasion world is fascinating to me. We get a little bit of background surrounding the evasion and the world before, but I would have love more of it. There are two more books to this trilogy, so I hope we eventually do get that background. To me that was the only flaw with this book, just a lack of background information.

The ending of this book makes me really want to continue on with the trilogy to find out what happens. So many things happened that left me with questions. I do not want to spoil anything, but there are so many events that clearly will have implications in the future, plus that ending was somewhat cruel. We do not really know the outcomes for the characters and we do not know what is going to happen in the aftermath.

I look forward to reading the rest of this series after the strong start with Angelfall.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛½

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are. 

Book Haul #9- Breaking the Ban...

So I know I'm on a ban, plus the whole #0by16 thing, but I have acquired quite a few books since my last book haul. There are only three of them that I actually bought, the rest were either from publishers, giveaways, or from gift card money. Plus I have also read most of them already. Links take you to the Goodreads page for each book.

That is all of them. 12 books in the last 2 months or so. But to me this still broke my book buying ban. I was only supposed to be able to buy Andrew Smith and Sarah J. Maas books, and as you can see only one of the 12 fits that profile.

Here is the first stack, this one has the book I have been waiting for forever, The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith. He will always be an auto-buy author and I plan to have this book finished in the next few days.
 


Then we have Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper.

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts, I got this through ARCRecycling.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray from a TopianGirl giveaway (and yes I now have 2 copies of this book).

Near Enemy and Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh. Near Enemy is from Crown Publishing for Review.

Then we have The Infinite and Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee. I absolutley love this trilogy and everyone needs to read it.

The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson. Cannot wait to finish this trilogy as well.

Invaded by Melissa Landers. This is an ARC that just showed up at my apartment and it is signed which is super awesome!!! I know I have entered giveaways for it so I assume that is why I got it

Vicious by V. E. Schwab. Absolutley loved this one, read it as soon as I got it.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. With everyone talking about it, I had to pick this one up and I enjoyed it. I know many people have conflicting thoughts about this one, but I liked it.

That is it for this book haul. Hopefully I can continue to stick with the ban and not get more books. I know if I keep adding books, I'm never going to finish #0by16. Right now I'm around 60 so I still have a lot of books to read.

Review: Red

“The more magic you used to keep monsters away, the more monsters were drawn to you.”

Title: Red
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Publication Date: March 10th, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: ARC from Publisher via NetGalley
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon
  







This is a paranormal romance book that comes out March 10th. I find the cover to be really nice and it really intrigued me when I saw it the first time. It really suggests a creepy level to the story. This story focuses on Kia as she goes to live with her Grandmother at the Blackwood estate where she learns that there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

This book has your stereotypically hot guy whose beauty completely consumes the main character. Plus she happens to hate him at first. We meet Ethan and his domineering personality in the prologue as soon as Kia enters the Blackwood Estate. The progression of their relationship was extremely rushed along with other aspects of the plot. But since this is such a short book I can see why it was rushed. I did like the alternating perspectives though since it helped you see things from Ethan’s perspective, so his bad boy persona and affect on Kia was less obnoxious to me. I kind of wish the chapters were every other rather than mostly Kia's perspective with a chapter from Ethan here and there.

While Ethan clearly knew what was going on from the beginning. I appreciated that the mystery was somewhat kept from the reader. But you quickly learn that Ethan and the Blackwoods are hiding something and that it is not a good thing.

This book was just so typical for me. There was nothing overly special about it. It also had so many stereotypical paranormal romance aspects that I did not find it to be entirely unique. Yes, the idea of the cult and Kia fire power were unique, but there were so many other aspects that are found in every other paranormal romance.

This was a really short quick read. I think a lot of the issues with this book were due to its length. I think a lot of plot elements were glossed over and undeveloped. Plus there was little to no background information. I think this book would have been much better if different aspects were fleshed out.

That being said the last fifth or so of this book was much better than the beginning. The pace and plot started to pick up and I became more invested in the story and wanting to find out what would happen to the characters. Overall, this was a mediocre read that had many low points, but still an interesting premise.

*I was sent an ARC of this book from Entangled Teen in exchange for an honest review*

♛ ♛½

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are.

"Darcy writes the words. Lizzie lives them."

"The real world worked differently than stories. In a novel you always knew the moment when something Happened, when someone Changed. But real life was full of gradual, piecemeal, continuous transformation. It was full of accidents and undefinables, and things that just happened on their own."

Title: Afterworlds
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication Date: September 23th, 2014 
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon





I'm not really sure how to review this book because it really is two books in one. On the one had we have Darcy's story that focuses on her journey to publish her debut novel Afterworlds. Then we have Lizzie (the main character in Afterworlds) and her story after the attack in Dallas. These stories are clearly separated since odd chapters are Darcy and even chapters are Lizzie with the black top and bottom bars. The top and bottom black bars on Lizzie's story were incredibly helpful when it came to reading this book, since there was not a huge different in the writing style between the two stories.

The idea for this story was absolutely fascinating. I really enjoyed how we got to see Darcy on her journey to publication and seeing how she worried about all the little things in the book. We even got behind the scenes information about the book and what was going to happen to Lizzie. However, while I loved this foray into the publishing industry, I feel like things went a little to easy for Darcy. She did not really have the hardships I associate with the industry. Imogen kind of touches on this luck towards the end of the book, but there were still some aspects of the book that seemed too good to be true when it came to Darcy's journey.

As for Lizzie's story, from the start when the attack happens at the airport, I was drawn into what would happen to her and Yama. I loved the world that was created with the Underworld and the ghosts. I think my preference toward the supernatural, fantasy type books is what made Lizzie's story more appealing to me, but once we got further into Darcy's story, she did become more interesting to me and I began to enjoy her story just as much as Lizzie.

One of the things that is really weird to me is how throughout Darcy's story we hear about Untitled Patel and she even writes the draft of it in this book. But then Afterworlds ends and we never learn the conclusion to the story between Lizzie, Yama, Yami, and even Mindy. I really loved these characters and the ending of those chapters left their stories very open. As far as I know there is no sequel in the works for this book, so I'm slightly annoyed that we will never learn what happens to Darcy post publication or what will happen to Lizzie and Yama. 

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are.

Becoming ExtraOrdinary

 


"Killing something was easy. Bring it back to live took more than measurement and medicine. It was like cooking, not baking. Baking took a sense of order. Cooking took a flare, a little art, a little luck. This kind of cooking took a lot of luck."

Title: Vicious
Author: V. E. Schwab
Publication Date: September 24th, 2013 
Publisher:  Tor Books
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon






This book was fantastic. The writing and the storytelling were extremely well done. The only other Victoria Schwab book I have read so far is The Archived and while I enjoyed it, I absolutely loved Vicious. There was just something about reading about these “evil” characters that pulled me right in.

Victor and Eli are not your typical main characters. These two have made some very questionable choices in their lives that have led them from being friends in College working on their theses to being nemeses striving to kill each other. The way this story is told from both of the their perspectives, both 10 years in the past during their college years and the present as they hunt for each other is really well done. I do not typically enjoy books that flip timelines like this because it can be confusing, but Schwab did an amazing job.

From the first page, I was hooked on this book. There is so much mystery and intrigue between the ExtraOrdinaries, Victor and Eli’s past, and their thirst for vengeance. I loved how Schwab wove their stories together into this epic showdown at the end. So many aspects of this book were so complex between the story being told and the characters themselves, there was always something to be thinking about. This book made you question the lengths people would go to gain these powers and become ExtraOrdinary. It also made you think about the consequences of this thirst for knowledge and power.

On top of the fantastic main characters, Schwab also created lovable side characters including Sydney, Mitch, Dol, and even Serena. Each character had a role to play in this battle between Victor and Eli. I really felt for Sydney throughout this entire book. She is basically left to die at age 13 and finds Victor who takes her under his wing. Sydney also does a good job of adding more complexity to Victor since he seems to really care for Sydney.

Overall, this book was beyond fantastic and I cannot wait to read more of Victoria Schwab’s books. This is a must read for anyone looking for an exciting and truly remarkable book that blurs what it means to be good. This book makes you love the villain and I loved that about it.

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛ ♛

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are.

Top 5 Wednesday- Books I would save in a fire

Top 5 Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey on Youtube. Topics can be found in the Goodreads Group. This week's topic is Books I would save in a fire.

Going from bottom to top:

5. Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Best book ever, granted all of the books on this list could fit into that category.

 4. The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. This book makes the list purely because it is signed by both authors and they are both on my favorite author list. Plus it is a good book.






3. Winger by Andrew Smith. As you are aware, this is my favorite contemporary book. I cannot wait for Stand-Off and we can all be extremely thankful that there was not a cover change. Andrew Smith is another one of those auto-buy authors for me!

2. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. She is perfect and an amazing author. Crown of Midnight is my favorite of the series so far, even if Heir of Fire is more exciting in terms of character development. So I would pick this one to save granted I would want to save the whole series. 

1. The Collector's Edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling. However long ago, I got this edition for Christmas. And it is by far my most prized book. It is still in the original Amazon box and has never been read. My parents know that if the house is ever on fire, their first priority is grabbing that book. 


Let me know what your must save books are in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday #4- ExtraOrdinary

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme where you post a quote from a book you are currently reading. It is hosted by ShouldBeReading.

“We talk about the power of will, we talk about mind over matter, but it's not one over the other, it's both at once. The mind and the body both respond to imminent death in those cases where both are strong enough- and both would have to be strong, I'm talking about genetic predisposition and will to survive- I think you might have a recipe for an EO.” -Vicious, pg. 47-48, V. E. Schwab

Find the book here: Goodreads / Amazon

Let me know in the comments what book you are currently reading!

February 2015 Wrap-Up/March 2015 TBR

I was in a major funk for part of this month and a large part of that was sticking with a book I should have put down way earlier, but I will talk about that in a bit. As for books I actually read, I read 12 books. I'm pretty happy with this number all things considered.

As for #0by16, I'm going home for Spring Break this month so I'm going to get an actual number so I can give better estimates. But I did acquire more books that I wanted to this month. I did not spend any of my own money for these books which is good. However, I will never accomplish #0by16 if I acquire too many more books. After The Alex Crow and The Infinite come next week, I will be doing a book haul to show you what I have acquired since my last one.

As for what I actually read, here is the list:

1. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (4 Crowns)
2. Pig Island by Mo Hayder (4 Crowns)
3. The Glittering World by Robert Levy (3 Crowns)
4. Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee (4.5 Crowns)
5. Wither by Lauren DeStefano (3 Crowns)
6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (4.5 Crowns)
7. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (4 Crowns)
8. Jackaby by William Ritter (3.5 Crowns)
9. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (4 Crowns)
10. Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh (3 Crowns)
11. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (3 Crowns)
12.  The Infinite by Lori M. Lee (4.5 Crowns)

As you may recall, one of the books from my TBR jar for February was The Calling (Endgame). From the first moment I picked up the book, I was not at all interested in it. The writing was odd, there were too many characters to follow, and I just did not care about them. Add to that the short chapters and the constant POV changes and I was far from intrigued. At first I told myself I was going to get through it. But after putting it off and reading and enjoying other books, I decided to DNF'd it. I just could not justify forcing myself to finish it, when I could be reading something better (If you couldn't tell I'm really torn about DNF books in general).

March TBR

Keeping with what I did last month, I will again be picking four books out of my TBR jar. I also will definitely be reading The Alex Crow as soon as it comes and I would like to start the Chronicles of Nick series during my spring break, but we will see.  

And the winners this month are...
 

1. Red Hill by Jamie McGuire
2. Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts
3. Rumors by Anna Godberson
4. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (I promise I actually picked this out of the jar)

As always let me know how you did in February and what your plans are for March! Or if you have any thoughts on DNF books.

Review: The Infinite

“I was the daughter of time, and I would make them pay.”  

Title: The Infinite
Author: Lori M. Lee
Publication Date: March 10th, 2015 
Publisher:  Skyscape
Source: ARC via Netgalley
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon







Okay, I’m going to attempt to keep this review spoiler free, but I always struggle to do that for sequels. So here it goes. Also gorgeous cover. Personally, I like the first one better, but this one is great too!

This book starts off a few months after the end of Gates of Thread and Stone. We have Kai, Reev, and Avan dealing with the aftermath of what happened. Kai is dealing with finding out just who she is and what her powers mean. The end of Gates of Thread and Stone left me with a lot of questions and while some of those were answered, I feel like I have even more after finishing the Infinite!

I absolutely love Lori M. Lee’s writing. There is just something about it that immediately draws me in and keeps me entertained and desperate to find out what happens. This book starts out with an amazing line just like the first book did. I love the descriptions in this book. I am always vividly aware of what is around Kai.

Kai continues to impress me as a strong character. Her development and characterization in this novel is amazing and in some ways even better than in the first book. I really loved how Kai dealt with the events of both the first book and this book. This book takes us even further outside of Ninurta into a new land called Lanathrill. I loved how Lee expanded the world in this book. We realize that other people exist outside the walls of Ninurta and Etu Gahl. I also loved the new characters we are introduced to. They were a great contrast to Kai especially because they grew up in a different “world”.

My only real complaint with this book is the lack of Reev and Avan for a lot of it. Yes, they are in the beginning and end but the middle part of this book is lacking. I came to really love those two and we do not get very much of them in this book. Especially Reev, the first book was all about finding him and in this book we continue to be with Kai who is not with him. Not having Avan for most of this book was sad because I love Kai and his interactions and those were lacking. However, we did get to spend more time with Mason which was nice.

This was another great installment in this series and I cannot wait to see what happens next! The ending especially left us hanging now that we know who and what was behind the events of The Infinite.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

♛ ♛ ♛ ♛½

Let me know in the comments if you have read the book and what your thoughts are.