Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Top Ten Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With For 24 Hours

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's post is Top Ten Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With For 24 Hours.

Hmm, so I don't think many people are going to agree with my choices.  Let's just conclude that I'm a little crazy.



Allison from The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
(totally going for the vampire experience here)

Charlie from The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Elena from Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong
(werewolf equals awesome)



Eugenie from the Dark Swan Series by Richelle Mead
(I love Dorian)

Eve from the Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine

Sydney from the Bloodlines Series by Richelle Mead
(I'd totally go for being Adrian's love interest)

Wendy from Switched by Amanda Hocking
(totally going for the troll princess angle here)

Monday, July 30, 2012

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris


Genre:  Adult Paranormal Romance
Sookie Stackhouse Series, Book 12

Description:
With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

When I say I absolutely love the Sookie Stackhouse series, I mean the first seven or eight books in the series.  While I wasn't a huge fan of book ten and eleven, I figured I needed to see this series to the end.  And as expected, this book unfortunately did not bring the dazzle and glam that are in the earlier books.

I can't really say much about the plot without ruining it for those who haven't read earlier books.  I can say Sookie is with Eric.  And Eric has been my favorite Sookie-man-candy since book four.  So, it's no surprise that this book plus the last two left me disappointed (you'll know what I mean once you've read them).  But the southernness and humor is still in this one.  The plot was a little disappointing and lacking.  Also, absolutely zero steaminess/romancing occurred in this book; so don't expect it when you pick this one up.

I'm definitely glad the series is ending next year with the last book.  And I really, really hope it goes out with a bang.  I have a slight idea of what could potentially happen.  But my fingers are still crossed...

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Shadow Eyes by Dusty Crabtree


Genre:  YA Urban Fantasy

Description (taken from Goodreads):
Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

We're in the life of a regular teenager, Iris.  Although she has violet eyes, she's living the average teen life with normal friends Nicole and Lexi.  She's also got a love interest named Josh and things start to move forward with him.  However, new people enter the school, and they seem to be paying special attention to Iris.  Kyra, the best friend we all wished we had in high school, helps Iris deal with some difficult situations.  And Patrick, a green-eyed beauty, just makes Iris question who she likes more.  Oh, and did I mention that Iris' normal life is surrounded by vague shadows?  And these shadows tend to stir up trouble wherever they show up?

I have some mixed reactions to this book.  Did I like it?  Yes.  It is really easy to relate to Iris' life and struggles with being a teenager.  I felt like I could fit into her shoes easily and feel the same self-doubt and struggles without question.  However, the paranormal aspect was slow moving.  It felt like it was slow growing until I hit a spot where I felt blinded by the paranormal.  And I believe as a result, the beginning felt a little slow.  Also, the shadows kind of left me feeling a little depressed.

The book has a contemporary feel to it (minus the shadows) at the beginning.  But the shadows do get explained.  And all of a sudden, we see things in a new light.  And so does Iris.  With how it ended, I'm hoping there's going to be another book (because I'm a sucker for paranormal, and I want to see more of it here).

It's tricky for me to say who I'd recommend this book to.  Young adult fans who want to relive high school, definitely.  If you're only slightly dabbling into the paranormal genre, I'd recommend this one as well.  I will say fans of paranormal contemporary reads would most likely enjoy this read.


Thanks goes to Dusty Crabtree for providing me a review copy.

Challenges:  Debut Author Challenge and Young Adult Reading Challenge

Saturday, July 28, 2012

manda-rae's Haul

Stacking the Shelves consists of books we received in the last week, hosted by Tynga's reviews.

This has been a fun week for me.  The husband and I took a mini-vacation to Lake Geneva for two days.  And while there, the local museum held a book and bake sale.  Which means I bought some awesome used books.  Hope everyone else had a splendid week.

Won from Hope, Faith and Books:

  • Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Purchased:


  • Vampires are Forever by Lynsay Sands
    • Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
      • I'm a sucker for vampire reads.  And of course I get home and find out this is book number 8 in a series.  Looks like I have seven more books to pick up and read before this one...
  • Night World, No. 1 by LJ Smith
  • The Help by Kathryn Stockett
    • Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
      • I absolutely enjoyed the movie.  It made me want to cry at the injustice people face because of their skin color.  And the fact that this happened not even fifty years ago. On another note, my mother said the book was good.
  • The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathon Stroud
  • The Golem's Eye by Jonathon Stroud
  • Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathon Stroud
  • The Ring of Solomon by Jonathon Stroud
    • Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads
      • This series looked like an interesting set.  I originally picked up the last one and realized it was a series.  Then I grabbed the whole series.  But seriously, the covers make me think about fantasy.  I hope these turn out to be awesome.


manda-rae's Past Week

Reviews:

Memes:

Giveaways:

Thursday, July 26, 2012

What's Next?


What's Next? is a weekly post hosted by Icey Books and it gives readers a chance to vote which books that this blogger should read next...

This is my first time trying out this new meme.  I thought it would be fun to see what my readers want me to read next.  I'm going to list books that are on my tbr list, but I haven't read yet (usually because I own them and library books tend to take priority).  I'll also list the first sentence (or two) from the book.  So go ahead and tell me which one I should read next...

This week's theme: Delicious Seconds

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Genre:  YA Dystopian
Divergent Series, Book 2

First sentence:
I wake with his name in my mouth.

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
Genre:  YA Science Fiction
Lorien Legacies, Book 2

First sentence:
My name is Marina, as of the sea, but I wasn't called that until much later.

Torn by Amanda Hocking
Genre:  YA Paranormal Fantasy
Trylle Trilogy, Book 2

First sentence:
When Rhys and I showed up at my "brother" Matt's house at eight in the morning, he was happy.

You can either vote with my nifty little polling gadget displayed below.  Or you can leave me a lengthy comment gushing about how one of these books is just so awesome that I must read it now...



Which book should I read next?




  
pollcode.com free polls 

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it spotlights upcoming books that we as readers are anxiously awaiting...

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
Genre:  YA Science Fiction
Kat Zhang's website
Expected publication date:  September 18, 2012
Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Description (taken from Kat Zhang's website):
Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Honestly, this book reminds me of The Host.  I know they're two completely different books, but two souls in one body?  Yes, sounds eerily similar.  So I'm hoping I'll enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the formerly mentioned one...

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's post is Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books.

Ooh, this one sounds like such a fun top ten to do.  I absolutely love fantasy worlds that are completely different from our own.  I'll try to stay away from urban fantasy books, you know, the kind that are set in our world except there are vampires and werewolves here.  However, I believe dystopians and possibly historical fiction worlds are completely fair game.

Amendment after I picked my top ten:  Considering most of the books I read are set in the 'real world' with some slight fantasy/paranormal modification, I may have made a liar out of myself with the above statement.  But oh well...  I still agree with my list.


Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Croak by Gina Damico


Dark Swan Series by Richelle Mead (the fae side of things)
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (the historical part)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

What books did you guys pick for most vivid worlds?  In other words, which books did I miss?
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