Monday, July 9, 2012

Stacking the Shelves (#2)

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Happy Monday everyone!! For the past little while I haven't gotten any new books, thus there wasn't anything to show for Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga's Reviews) but I finally actually got some books in the mail I'm really excited about! 

The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner
Thank you Razorbill Canada! I'll be participating in a blog tour for this one, so stay tuned!

The Dead I Know

Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer
This one came to me as a surprise, but I'm super excited to read it as it sounds like a very fun read for the summer :) Thanks Penguin (Speak)!

Wicked Jealous: A Love Story


What did you guys get this week? Let me know in the comments or leave a link to your post and I'll come check it out!

Until next time,


Friday, July 6, 2012

Follow me Friday (#13)

Gain New Blog Followers

Hey guys, and happy Friday! Today is another edition of Feature And Follow (or what I like to call, Follow me Friday!) As always, this is a weekly meme hosted by AlisonCanRead and Parajunkee'sView.


Q: Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don't like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.


A: Yes, as a matter of fact. I was never into history during Elementary school. Never liked it and I always thought "what's so important about the past anyways?" Little did I know then that the past actually helps our future, but anyways, that's off topic. Well there were these books going around called Dear Canada. I had a few friends reading them telling me they were great. Thing though was that they were historical fiction... HISTORICAL!! I couldn't stand anything historical. Well I picked one of the Dear Canada books up and instantly fell in love! Since then I can't seem to stay away from historical fiction, or even history (that's what I'm majoring in, if you can believe that). Now I read anything historical I can get my hands on, fiction or nonfiction. Because of those books I've seem to fall head over heels for the genre (thank you Dear Canada)

On to you! Leave your link and I'll come visit your post and follow (if I'm not already a follower, that is).

Until next time,







Thursday, July 5, 2012

Have you seen this cover yet? (Scarlet by Marissa Meyer)

Hey guys, so guess what I've just come across!?!?

The SCARLET cover and synopsis! If you don't already know, Scarlet is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer.

Can I just say I loved, loved, LOVED the first in the series, Cinder, and cannot wait until 2013 to read this one!

Well anyways, here is an AMAZING picture of the cover for Scarlet:


Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, #2)

Synopsis: 
Book two, Scarlet, is based on Little Red Riding Hood. It continues Cinder’s story as she attempts to escape Queen Levana’s vengeance and learn more about her past. The story also introduces readers to Scarlet, a girl living in southern France whose grandmother has mysteriously disappeared. In order to find her, Scarlet seeks the help of Wolf, a street fighter with more than a few mysteries of his own.

What do you guys think of the cover? I absolutely LOVE it! The Cinder cover was so incredibly cool, and I must say this one is too! I love the red cape and the lettering is so eye catching.

How about the synopsis? Does it sound promising to you? I love that it continues Cinder's story but that it also introduces another fairy tale character. I just love fairy-tale re-telling's!

Until next time,

Discussion: Why I don't like LOVE TRIANGLES...!

So recently I've been on the hunt for really great books to read during the summer (not that I don't have A LOT to get through now, but you know, I can't help myself). Anyways, as I was reading the synopsis of a few books on Goodreads, I couldn't help but CRINGE! Jeesh was there ever a vast amount of books that seemed to include love triangles!

Now let me ask you, what is the purpose of a love triangle? Is it there to piss me off? Create suspense? Give the book that extra "umphh?"

No!

I'll tell you what it's for... it's for authors who love to torment their readers by giving the character two love interests.

Okay... who in the world agrees with someone with TWO freaking love interests? It's like cheating, and I don't know about you, but I think cheating is the most disgusting thing a human being can do to another human being. One minute the character is out kissing and thinking about one person, and the next their out kissing or thinking or doing whatever with the other. Really? Is that really appropriate?

I don't mean to rant here, but c'mone. Can't an author find some other way to create suspense or "umphh?" I get sick of having my hopes up that a character ends up with a certain guy, especially one she/he worked really hard to get, but then turn around and freaking make out with another!

Here's my philosophy: If you really loved someone, you wouldn't be thinking or kissing someone else behind their back... simple as that!

For example, Luce from Fallen. If she truly loved Daniel, why was she kissing her best guy friend (for the love of me I can't remember his name)? Hmm? Doesn't she care oh-so-much about him? If so, then  maybe she shouldn't be kissing some other guy! So she was at a confused time, that doesn't mean you go around kissing other people!

Another example: Zara from Need. She works SO freaking hard to be with Nick, and him with her, yet here I am finding out about some "other" guy that she probably ends up with... WTF? When this sort of thing happens it makes me feel like I wasted my time. I went through all that trouble of reading about Zara and Nick trying to be together, just for them NOT end up together? Again, WTF?

Anyways, that is just MY opinion.

What do you guys think? Do you think what the hey, it's just the book, or do you dislike them like me? I'd love yo know!

(Please don't hurt me for having my own opinion. If you want to go ahead a rant in the comments about how I'm wrong and blah blah blah, go right ahead :) I'd love to hear what you have to say!)

Until Next time,


Monday, July 2, 2012

Review: Cold Fury


Title: Cold Fury
Author: T.M. Goeglein
Pages: 313
Format: ARC/Paperback
Publishing Date: July 24th 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile


Please note: I received an advanced reading copy for review. My review is thus then based on this ARC. Please keep in mind that your published copy may differ slightly from my ARC copy. My review is solely based on my opinion of the book. Thanks.




I haven't read a book in 2 months! So you could probably imagine my excitement when I finally had the time to pick up a book. Cold Fury jumped out at me while I was scanning my bookshelf for the perfect after-the-reading-slump-book to read. That and it is released in July, so I new I had to get a move on. Nevertheless, Cold Fury sounded like a pretty entertaining read and I couldn't wait to get started. 

Boy was I wrong! Although the premises sounded promising- The Mob, assassins, a girl on the run with a mysterious brief case- the beginning was nothing I expected. 

Generally when you pick up a book and open that fresh, crisp spine to the first page, you're starting somewhere. Maybe the character is in the middle of a situation or maybe he/she is about to be put into some sort of situation, either way, something usually happens within those first few chapters that hooks you into the story line (that is if the author did his or her job). I'm sorry to say that T.M did NOT do his job. I can't say the beginning hooked me in at all. Let me explain why...

1) First of all, you don't begin a story by explaining everything that's going on (past and present) within the first freaking 100 pages! Jeesh, all throughout those 100 pages I was overwhelmed with SO much information that there were hardly any dialogue. Seriously this isn't a very dialogue-filled book. 

2) Can't say I knew the characters all that well. Not even the main character who spoke to you throughout the story. Sure, we get to know some family secretes, and we get to know about some assholes, but that doesn't mean you FULLY get to know anyone. There was just too much world building and not enough character building. One minute there is a new character introduced, and the next they seem to cease to exist. It's like the main character completely forgot about them! Ugh, now that's infuriating! 

3) I was disappointed with the action. From the sounds of the synopsis: 
"Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family."
you'd think there would be quite a bit of it. WRONG-O! In actuality, the author spent so much time TELLING you (instead of showing you) what the mob was about and the Outfits and so on and so fourth that when there was action, it was fast and boring. A jab here, a kick there, and Sara Jane was on the run again, telling us even MORE information. This book is so overwhelming with information it isn't funny.  

4) Did I mention there was A LOT of information in this book. God, the author just went along the entire story line telling you stuff. I can't even remember half of the things that has to do with Sara Jane and her family. 

Okay, so as I clearly stated showed above, the book was kind of crappy. That said, there were a few aspects I enjoyed about the book that earned it its 3 stars.

1) The premise is interesting and I did think the author had something going. The whole Italian-mob aspect of it really intrigued me and I loved learning of all the family secrets- it made me feel like spy!

2) Sara Jane wasn't an entirely bad character. Despite not getting to know her too well she is still one kick-ass characters, and this I admire her for that.

3) Doug, Sara Jane's friend, was hilarious and had me laughing whenever he was in the picture.

So if someone were to ask me (maybe you?) if they should read this book, my answer is... Yes, give it a try. I'm all about finding out for yourself how a book is. Maybe you'll be intrigued by all the information, or maybe you'll be completely turned off. Hard to say, so I think you should read and find out for yourself.


  


Until next time,