Anatomy of a Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky

Title: Anatomy of a Single Girl

Author: Daria Snadowsky

Release Date: January 8, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 227

Source: Author (Thanks Daria)

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl.

After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.

The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.

But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.

 

My Review

I enjoyed Anatomy of a Single Girl even more than Anatomy of a Boyfriend. It was really interesting to read about Dom's second boyfriend, and seeing her story continue.  

 

Dom definitely grew up in this book. She had a year more experience and a first love under her belt at the the beginning of this book. Whenever she was contemplating her relationship, she didn't go through all the complicating things like she did in the last book. I admired that she was weary to go into a new relationship, but she took the plunge and went for it,  and I was proud of her.

 

The overall plot was similar to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, but I thought it was still really good. Enought about it was diferent that kept me reading, and I was interested in Dom and her new boy. The stuff that Dom and Guy did was also more grown up, though I wished they would have gone on more dates.

 

They characters were still really good and I liked the development that Amy and Dom went through. You could see them growing as characters from the beginning of the book to the end, even if the book was short. Amy and Dom also developed in their friendship, which I thought was great.

 

Rating: 4/5 worms

Overall, Anatomy of a Single Girl is a great new adult book and I really enjoyed it!

 

 

Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky

Title: Anatomy of a Boyfriend

Author: Daria Snadowsky

Release Date: January 9, 2007

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Format: Paperback

Page Number: 272

Source: Author (Thanks Daria!)

Synopsis(Goodreads): Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.

And then came the fall.
 

My Review

Anatomy of a Boyfriend is a very interesting and intriguing story of first love and all the ups and downs that come with it.

I thought that Anatomy of a Boyfriend had a really nice romance. After reading so much YA with instalove, I was truly sick of it. This book was such a change of pace and it was really quite refreshing. I thought it was very interesting to read about Dominique’s first love, and all the heartbreak and love that came with it. The romance felt real, and not cheesy.

Dominique was a pretty good character. Reading about her experiences with first love gave me insight about what it’s like to fall in love. She was kind of obsessive toward her boyfriend, which was a little weird. Wes was a good character too, and I ended up hating him along with Dominique at the end of the book. Out of all the characters, my favorite was definitely Amy. She was such a good friend to Dominique that I couldn’t help loving her. I thought that all the characters were really good in this book.

My favorite part of this whole book was when Dominique went off to college. I’ve been watching a lot of “Grey’s Anatomy” lately, and I thought it was a great touch that Dominique was going to premed. I thought that was such a great addition to the book. The plot was pretty good too, but it really picked up when the characters went off to college.

Rating: 4/5 worms

 

I don't know...

Well, I'm back. It's been quite a while (try a couple of months). I don't really know what happened. One day I was blogging and the next I wasn't, and I don't really know what to do. I've spent most of my time on my YouTube site and I've neglected my blog but I really don't know what to do about it. I was thinking I could just post all my videos here, or just write reviews, but I'm not sure. I would love to get all of you imput down below.

Rebel Spirits by Lois Ruby

Title: Rebel Spirits

Author: Lois Ruby

Release Date: June 1, 2013

Publisher: Point

Format: ebook

Page Number: 304

Source: Netgalley

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Lori Chase doesn't know what to think about ghosts. She may have seen a few in the past, but those were just childish imaginings...right? Only now that she is living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, spirits seem to be on everyone's mind. The town is obsessed with its bloody Civil War history, and the old inn that Lori's parents run is supposedly haunted by the souls of dead soldiers.

Then Lori meets one such soldier--the devastatingly handsome Nathaniel Pierce. Nathaniel's soul cannot rest, and he desperately needs Lori's help. Because Nathaniel was not killed in the famous battle. He was murdered. Lori begins to investigate the age-old mystery, stumbling upon shocking clues and secrets.

At the same time, she can't help falling for Nathaniel, just as he is falling for her....

My Review

Rebel Spirits was okay. I didn't really love it, and I didn't really hate it. I didn't really expect anything going into it.

 

Things I Liked

* I really enjoyed the setting. I felt that it was described really well, and I felt like I was there.

* The concept of the story was nice. It wasn't the most original but I thought it was nice.

* The ending. It wasn't the best, but it left us on a nice note.

 

Things I Didn't Like

*The romance. You knew it wouldn't work out and it bugged me.

* The way the mystery was solved. The thing you need to find just happens to float in front of you? I don't think so.

 

Overall, I thought the book was meh. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I didn't really care for the characters, the plot was okay, and the feeling of the entire book was just kind of bleh.

 

Rating: 3/5 worms

 

 

 

 

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined

Author: Heather Dixon

Release Date: March 29, 2011

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Page Number: 472

Format: Paperback

Source: Library

Synopsis(Goodreads): Come and mend your broken hearts here.

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

My Review

I adore fairy tales and fairytale retellings. ADORE them. They remind me of when I was a little kid and read underneath my covers at night. And Entwined definitely made me feel that way.

 

When I first started Entwined I thought it was going to be really light and fluffy, but I was wrong. While this book has lots of happy, fluffy moments, it also has lots of darker stuff going on too. There are lots of different things that happen throughout the course of the book that make you want to keep going, because they truly hook your attention. Heather Dixon's writing style also does a great job of keeping you interested. It's really poetic and does a great job of describing all of Azalea's surroundings.

 

Azalea and her sister's are lovely to read about. Azalea is really strong despite what she's going through and I thought that was lovely. She was refreshing to read about because she cared more about her family than she cared about herself. Bramble was my favorite of the sisters. She was just so spunky!

 

Rating: 4.5/5 worms

I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves darker fairy tales!

 

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Title: The Darkest Minds

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Release Date: December 18, 2012

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Page Number: 488

Format: Hardcover

Source: Own

 

Synopsis: When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

 

My Review

This book gave me all the feels. It was exciting, amazing, fantastic, everything. I absolutely loved it!

 

The characters in this book really developed as the book went on and I loved all of them. Ruby, Liam, Zu, and Chubs were some of the most enjoyable characters I have read about in a long time. They had their moments but I just loved to read about them. Liam had a way with words and everything he said was beautiful. Ruby started out cold but grew to love her new friends as the book went on.

 

This book was action packed and filled with awesome! I loved all the action scenes in the van and even just the scenes with Liam and Ruby hanging out. Everything about the plot was great, but the ending killed me! For a week after reading this book I just kept listening to Just Give Me A Reason by Pink, because it perfectly described the ending for me.

 

The writing was great. Alexandra Bracken really built up the world and created a great romance and I found myself sinking into this book. It was phenomenal!

 

Everything about this book was fantastic. I didn't do it justice in this review, but I hope that you will pick it up because it was amazing! I can't really describe it as the next Hunger Games or Divergent because it's not. This book is something all its own. It's creative and beautiful and definitely worth your time.

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Title: Shut Out

Author: Kody Keplinger

Release Date: September 5, 2011

Publisher: Poppy

Page Number: 273

Format: Hardcover

Source: Own

 

Synopsis: Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

 

My Review

Kody Keplinger does it again! I loved The Duff by her and I couldn't wait for this one. Keplinger's writing is so engaging and the plots are so funny and awesome that her books are amazing.

 

I love Kody Keplinger's books because she comes up with great ideas and excecutes them really well. A rivalry between teams at the same school? A sex strike by the girls to get it to stop? Genius! The book also takes a look at how different people will react to things. Girls wanted the rivalry to stop while the boys fought, even though they didn't know why they were fighting in the first place.

 

Lissa and all the other characters were superb. Lissa is a leader, which is a good thing considering she was leading the girls. But she also didn't have the "I'm always right and you can't tell me otherwise" attitude that some leaders in books have. Keplinger always has enjoyable characters to read about, and this is no different. I loved Cash and Chloe and everybody else!

 

There is nothing more I really need to say for Keplinger's writing style. She does great with ideas, characters, and everything else. I enjoy her books very much!

 

Rating: 5 worms

 

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon Day #3

 

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

 

Day #3

Books Finished: Warm Bodies by Issac Marion

Currently Reading: On the I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

Title: My Life Undecided

Author: Jessica Brody

Release Date: June 7, 2011

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Grioux (BYR)

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 320

Source: Own

 

Synopsis(Goodreads): PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.

But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!

Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.

But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.

 

My Review

With a synopsis like this one, I had very high expectations for this book. Brooklyn seemed like she would be an awesome character, and I thought I would laugh out loud at every page. But I was a little let down by this book.

 

I didn't like Brooklyn. She was a jerk and had no consideration for anyone else's feelings. She would say rather mean things and then not even feel bad about it. She got everything she wanted, and if she didn't, she would whine about it. If her blog didn't choose the right choice, she would try to convince her blog readers that they needed to choose the other option. She seriously frustrated me, and at the end, she said she developed at a person but I didn't get that at all. The other characters were just kind of flat for me, and I didn't really feel any emotions for them.

 

I thought the blog was a really nice touch. I haven't read any books about blogs, and I thought that was really cool. However, I felt that the rest of the plot was just kind of bland. There were a few interesting parts, but otherwise I didn't feel that it as a whole was the best. I liked the aspect of community service, and I thought that it was interesting.

 

Jessica Brody has a nice writing style. It has some nice descriptions and I enjoyed reading it. I thought she did a fairly nice job with creating her characters and settings, however, her love interest was flimsy and I didn't really care for the boy at all. All in all, I thought the writing style was good.

 

Rating: 3/5

 

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon Day #2

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team
 

Day #2

Books Read: Warm Bodies by Issac Marion

Currently Reading: On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison

I'm about 42 pages in and it's AWESOME!! 

 

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon Day #1

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Day #1

Books Finished: None

Currently Reading: Warm Bodies by Issac Marion

 

I'm doing great on my goal to read 4 books. So far I'm off to a great start!



The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison

Title: The Rose Throne

Author: Mette Ivie Harrison

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Publisher: Egmont USA

Source: Publisher (Netgalley)

-Goodreads

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Ailsbet loves nothing more than music; tall and red-haired, she's impatient with the artifice and ceremony of her father's court. Marlissa adores the world of her island home and feels she has much to offer when she finally inherits the throne from her wise, good-tempered father. The trouble is that neither princess has the power--or the magic--to rule alone, and if the kingdoms can be united, which princess will end up ruling the joint land? For both, the only goal would seem to be a strategic marriage to a man who can bring his own brand of power to the throne. But will either girl be able to marry for love? And can either of these two princesses, rivals though they have never met, afford to let the other live?

 

My Review

The Rose Throne really let me down. I was hoping that it would live up to the synopsis, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. This book just dragged on for me and I found it hard to read and not very enjoyable.

 

Ailsbet and Marlissa were the two main characters in this story, and honestly, I felt that there really wasn't anything special about them. I was hoping for two very strong and relatable characters and I didn't really get that. I felt that they had some strengths, but mostly felt flat. I also didn't think that I could really relate to them, because I didn't really feel that they showed much emotion throughout the book and they just felt flat.

 

The plot was also rather slow. I liked reading about the court scenes, but sometimes that was really all that we read about. I wanted more from the story. I felt like the book dragged a bit as well, but it picked up a little bit at the end. The ending also bugged me, because nothing was really tied up, and while that doesn't usually bother me, I felt that there should have been something that let us know even a little about what happened to the two princesses.

 

The writing style was average. I really don't know what else to say. There weren't a ton of descriptions, so I don't even remember what the castle was like. I also didn't feel that the love interest was played out very well. I didn't know anything that was going on with him until close to the end of the book, and by then I really didn't care.

 

Rating: 2/5 worms

Though I hate to give any book a low rating, I didn't feel any connection towards this book. I thought everything was rather slow and flat, and the love interest wasn't done well for my taste.

 

 

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon Goals

Today I will be talking about my goals for the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon. If you haven't check out my sign up post click here.

Reading Goals: Since I have school all this week I'm not sure how much reading I will actually get done. However, I would like to read a total of four books this week. I have a pretty large stack to choose from.

The Books:

Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick

Scrap by Emory Sharplin

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Clique by Lisi Harrison
One the Bright Side I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison
The Maze Runner by James Dashner

 

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon

My very first read-a-thon! I'm very excited, because these sound like a lot of fun! If you don't know what this read-a-thon is about, just read the blurb below.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

 

Being that this is my first read-a-thon, EVER, I don't really know what to expect. And also due to the fact that I have school all this week, I don't really know how much I'm going to read. However, I've come up with a few books I'd like to read in the week:

 

-Gorgeous  by Paul Rudnick

-Scrap by Emory Sharplin

-Warm Bodies by Issac Marion

-The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Let me know if you're participating!!

Apology and Reading Slump

Hey guys!
As you can probably tell, I haven't been posting much (nothing) on my blog lately. I apologize profusely for that. School is busy and my horses have taken over my life again because show season is just around the corner (which isn't a bad thing). I've also been in a reading slump lately, which I can't seem to break. I'm been reading some books off of Netgalley and I just can't seem to get myself out of my funk, which is one of the reasons I haven't posted any reviews lately. I'll be back in a few weeks for sure, after school slows down and my reading slump is kicked to the curb.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Source: Library

Synopsis: The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth...

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

My Review

You guys all know how much I loved Cinder. I mean, a sci-fi retelling or Cinderella? That's just plain awesome! And I thought that Scarlet was just as good, if not better.

I didn't realize how much I missed Cinder until picking up Scarlet. But Scarlet isn't completely about Cinder, and I loved getting to know Scarlet and Wolf *sigh* too. Scarlet was totally kick butt and and she would do anything to help someone she loves. She was totally spunky and a personality to fit her red hair. Wolf was another character that I really loved, even though we find out some not to great things about him towards the end.

The uniqueness of these books always strikes me. I love the feeling of expecting one thing from Marissa Meyer's books and having something totally different happen. The action of the books also helps. These books are full of action and suspense, especially in Scarlet because of the switching perspectives. Hardly anything is what it seems and Marissa Meyer always, and I mean always, leaves you on a cliffhanger.

Marissa Meyer always has a fantastic way of writing her books. Her worlds are so well built and fun to read about, and her characters aren't the perfect stuck up kind that you find a lot. The ideas behind these books are crazy awesome and she makes everything fight together so well.

Rating: 5/5 worms

If you haven't read this series yet, do it NOW!!

Waiting on Wednesday (21)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting.


This week's selection.....                  

The Neptune Project
by Polly Holyoke
Release Date: May 21, 2013

Synopsis: THE NEPTUNE PROJECT is set in a future where the seas are rising and global warming is out of control. Nere Hanson and her teen companions are shocked to learn that they have been genetically altered by their desperate parents to live in the sea. Protected by her loyal dolphins, shy Nere leads the rest on a perilous journey to her father’s new colony. Fighting off government divers, sharks and giant squid, can Nere and her companions learn to trust each other before their dangerous new world destroys them?

That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard

Title: That Time I Joined the Circus

Author: J.J. Howard

Release Date: April 1, 2013

Publisher: Point

Source: Publisher (Netgalley)

-Goodreads

 

Synopsis: Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

 

My Review

That Time I Joined the Circus was one of my most anticipated books of 2013, and I can say that it didn't disappoint. The characters were good, the story was nice, and come one, who doesn't want to join the circus?

 

I thought Lexi was a really likeable character. She didn't hide behind the tragedy that happened to her, nor did she use it as an excuse to get what she wanted. She was willing to go out and try to make it on her own. I also really loved the music aspect of her; I thought it was a nice touch. Eli was my other favorite character, even though he didn't show up until the end, but what he did for Lexi in the end just made me do crazy giggles. 

 

I'll admit, this book was a little slow. I was expecting a lot more from a circus book, more action and adventure. But it wasn't super slow so I kept on reading. I didn't really like how this book was told in alternating chapters of Lexi's past and present, and I think it took away from the circus aspect of the book. I also didn't think some of the information in those past chapters was necessary. We also don't find out how what happened in her tragedy until the end, and I had kind of lost interest. This book really picked up at the end, so overall I think the plot was good.

 

The circus in this book was  really nicely described. I could picture myself there, but I wish there had been more of it because if this book is supposed to be about a circus, why are we talking about New York. I truly enjoyed the writing of the book, and I liked how it wasn't a love driven book (even though sometimes I didn't know who Lexi was dating).

 

Rating: 4/5 worms

Overall, this was a good book. I think everyone would like this.

 

 

 

TTYL by Lauren Myracle

Title: TTYL

Author: Lauren Myracle

Release Date: April 1, 2004

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Page Number: 209

Source: Library

- Goodreads

 

Synopsis: Audacious author Lauren Myracle accomplishes something of a literary miracle in her second young-adult novel, ttyl (Internet instant messaging shorthand for "talk to you later"), as she crafts an epistolary novel entirely out of IM transcripts between three high-school girls.

Far from being precious, the format proves perfect for accurately capturing the sweet histrionics and intimate intricacies of teenage girls. Grownups (and even teenage boys) might feel as if they've intercepted a raw feed from Girl Secret Headquarters, as the book's three protagonists--identified by their screen names "SnowAngel," "zoegirl," and "mad maddieIM reduction of the Christian poem "Footprints"--"oh, no, my son. no, no, no. i was carrying u, don't u c?").

My Review

This is going to be a different kind of review today, because 1. TTYL is a different kind of book, and 2. I had kind of a like/dislike relationship with this book. Because for everything I liked in this book there were things I didn't.

 

Pros

1. This book is told in instant messages, which I thought was super nifty! I had never heard of a book told like that.
2. I really liked Zoe's character (zoegirl). She seemed the most down to Earth of the three characters, and she wasn't as dramatic.
3. This book was pretty funny sometimes. There were some parts that I just laughed out loud, and I thought that was refreshing.
4. This book seemed like real life. I felt like these girls could be real 10th graders talking through instant message about boys, school, and everything that girls talk about.
5. This book was a really quick read. There wasn't much of a plot, it was just the girls talking about their lives, but I still found it interesting.
6. All three of the characters showed real development throughout the book.

Cons

1.  Angela (SnowAngel) was really dramatic. She was always obsessing over her latest crush, and while I get that girls do that, they don't do it 24/7.
2. Because there was not definite plot, I sometimes felt that this book went in circles, with the girls talking about the same topics over and over again. Sometimes I just wanted a change.
3.  I felt that you couldn't really get a look inside the three girls' heads because this book was told in instant messages. I really just wanted to hear some of these girls emotions and know what they were thinking sometimes.

Rating: 4/5 worms

I thought this book was enjoyable, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Title: Tiger Lily

Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson

Release Date: July 3, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Page Number: 292

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

 

Synopsis: Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

My Review

I had never heard of a retelling of Peter Pan, so when I heard of this I knew I had to pick it up. And after just finishing Peter Pan, I wanted more of Neverland, so I thought it would be awesome if I read Tiger Lily. And I was right, because this book was unlike any love story I have read so far.

 

Our narrator in this book isn't Tiger Lily, but Tinker Bell. I thought at first that because Tiger Lily wasn't the narrator it would take away from the story, and it kind of did at first. But then you find out that Tinker Bell can hear peoples thoughts, so you do get to hear some of Tiger Lily's emotions. However, I would have liked more, and because we didn't get a lot of her emotions, I felt like I couldn't connect with her fully. I felt sympathetic about everything she was going through, and while I had a connection, I would have wanted a better one. In Tiger Lily, we get to see what Tinker Bell was like, and I thought that was a really interesting take on the story, because it explains why she was so mean towards Wendy. As for Peter, he is still the same cocky, independent boy from the movies, but in Tiger Lily he has more of a softer side, and I loved that part of him.

 

This is by far one of my favorite books of this year for two reasons. 1. It is a retelling of Peter Pan, which is something I had never heard of. And 2. It is one of the best love stories I have ever read. The love in this book is so pure, and it's not like that insta-love stuff you read about so much in YA. This was a gradual love that just kept growing, but at the same time there were restraints. These two didn't have it perfect either, which is what made it so real. They had problems, they had fights, and they had times where they didn't want to see each other. I adored this book and the last 100 pages when Wendy comes into the story just shredded my heart, because you knew what was going to happen if you had seen a film or read the book.

 

I loved how Tiger Lily was different from the original story, but it described why and how somethings happened differently. I thought it was a fresh take on a well loved story, and after reading Peter Pan, I felt like the differences were awesome.

 

Jodi Lynn Anderson, if I gave a prize for the most beautiful writing, it would be yours. This book has the most beautiful, poetic writing I have ever read. Every few chapters a passage would come up and its would be written beautifully. The description of this book was also beautiful, and it was written so poetically that I was sucked into the story and I didn't want to let it go. When this book ended I wanted to cry, but I also wanted to smile because Jodi Lynn Anderson had wrapped things up, but not in a little box, so there was still room for people to imagine what came next.

 

Rating: 5/5 worms

This book is my new favorite love story and one of my favorites from this year! Definitely check it out!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I HAD to buy....

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They give bloggers a topic and we say our top ten things that fall under that list.

This weeks topic is...

Top Ten Books I Had to Buy But Are Still Sitting on my Shelf Unread

 

1. The Host by Stephanie Meyer: I really wanted to read this one before the movie came out, but I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe next month.

 

2. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare: I bought this right after finishing Clockwork Angel, but I never read it. I had to read it now so I can read Clockwork Princess.

 

3. Numbers by Rachel Ward: I've had this book FOREVER! I need to read it soon.

 

4. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney: I am going to read this in April, for sure!

 

5. Eon by Alison Goodman: This book is a monster but it looks soooo good!

6. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: I must read this soon.

7. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han: I've heard such great things that I need to read this soon. I was going to read it this summer but I don't think I can wait!

8. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken: Ok, I got this one fairly recently, but I still can't believe I haven't read it!

9. Warm Bodies by Issac Marion: Yes, just yes!

10. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman: I can't wait! Dragons and fantasy, two of my favorite things!

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

Title: Steel

Author: Carrie Vaughn

Release Date: March 15, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Page Number: 291

Format: Hardcover

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It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she find

 

Synopsis:

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It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword pieIt was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it ha broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home--one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

 

My Review

I hadn't read a pirate book before I picked up Steel, and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't have normally picked this up, but it was on my friend's shelf and I figured why not.

The main idea of this book is Jill trying to find her way home after she was transported to the time of the pirates. I thought that was a pretty neat concept, and I thought it was cool that Jill was a fencer, because I also hadn't read any books on fencing. The pirates in this book aren't your typical movie pirates, but they aren't total softies either. They rescue slaves from slave ships, but they also are willing to fight a ship if need be. I thought these pirates were very well done.

Truth be told, I would have liked some more action in this book. I thought when I went into it that there were going to be fights on pratically every page, and that lots of people were going to die. And while I didn't get a lot of fighting, I was okay with what I had, though more would have been nice. This book went along at a fairly nice pace, and I found it rather enjoyable to read about.

Jill as a main character was pretty good. I liked her, and I liked how she wasn't cocky about her fencing skills and that she wasn't soft and terrified. I didn't love her as much as I was hoping to, but she was still a pretty good character. Like I said, I liked the pirates and I thought that all their characters were done really well too.

The writing style of this book was good. I liked how Carrie Vaughn described the whole aspect of pirate life, and I thought it was really neat. I liked how she created her characters, especially the pirates, and the whole aspect of this book was really unique.

Rating: 4/5 worms

I think this book would please many pirate fans and general readers alike. I enjoyed the pirates most of all and I would definitely recommend it.



Top Ten Tuesday: Books at the TOP of my Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They give bloggers a topic and we say our top ten things under that topic.

Today's topic is...

Top Ten Books at the Top of my Spring TBR

 

1. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman: I have been wanting to read this book for forever! I finally have it as an ebook now so I can finally read it!

 

2. 52 Reasons to Hate my Father by Jessica Brody: This books sounds so funny and just like a crazy funny contemporary!

 

3. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken: The cover of this book is awesome, and it has super powers in it!

 

4. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney: I am finally going to read this! I've this ebook since August and I want to read it sooo badly!

 

5. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys: This sounds like a great murder mystery, and I loved Ruta's Between Shades of Grey.

 

6. I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan: This book looks wonderful and it's so pretty on my shelf!

 

7. Warm Bodies by Issac Marion: I absolutely loved this movie, so I hope the book will be just as good.

 

8. Gone by Michael Grant: My friend Paige has been telling me how much I need to read this series, and it's time I finally do.

 

9. A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine: I'm so excited to finally read Gail's last book. I'm so excited!

 

10. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi: I've heard only good things about this series, and I can't wait to read it!

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Title: Game of Thrones

Author: George R.R. Martin
Release Date: May 28, 2002 (first published January 1, 1996)

Publisher: Bantam Books

Page Number: 811

Format: Paperback

Source: Own

 

Synopsis: Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

 

My Review

This is the longest it has ever taken me to read a book, but I don't regret it for a minute. While this book is one of the longest I have ever read, I adored it and I wasn't bored for a minute.

I was really nervous to pick up Game of Thrones because of it's size. I thought I would be reading it forever and that I would get bored and just quit reading it, but that's not what happened at all. Game of Thrones is told in alternating perspectives, so the story is always changing and no two characters are ever the same. This book also has lots of action, because it's a high fantasy, so there were fights which made the story even more interesting. And the last 300 pages of this book were crazy, and this book literally ripped out my heart and jumped on it, because this is not a "happy" book all of the time.

The writing and world building were fantastic. The world building was so amazing, that at times I felt like I was right there with the characters. I felt like the things that were happening were really happening, if you get what I'm saying. George R. R. Martin also has a way of making you feel really emotions toward his characters and he makes reading this gigantic book not a chore that needs to be finished, but something that you want to do.

I have so many favorite characters in this book. George R. R. Martin made you love or hate them, and by the end of the book I felt like I had known my favorite characters for my entire life. And in case anyone is wondering, my favorite characters are: the Stark family (except for Sansa, I didn't really like her at all times), Jon Snow, and Dany Targaryen (I can't spell her first name). At first, the amount of characters in this book overwhelmed me, and I didn't know how I would remember them all, but you do remember them, and I adored when my favorite characters chapters came along, and I dreaded when they ended. I don't know what it was, but George R. R. Martin made me care for characters like I haven't done in a long, long time.

Rating: 5/5 worms

If you are intimidated by this books large size, don't be. I adored it and I can't wait to continue on with the rest of the series!

 

 

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming releases we are currently awaiting.

This weeks selection is...

Vengeance Bound
by Justina Ireland
Publication Date: April 2, 2013

Synopsis: Cory Graff is not alone in her head. Bound to a deal of desperation made when she was a child, Cory’s mind houses the Furies—the hawk and the serpent—lingering always, waiting for her to satisfy their bloodlust. After escaping the asylum where she was trapped for years, Cory knows how to keep the Furies quiet. By day, she lives a normal life, but by night, she tracks down targets the Furies send her way. And she brings down Justice upon them.

Cory’s perfected her system of survival, but when she meets a mysterious boy named Niko at her new school, she can’t figure out how she feels about him. For the first time, the Furies are quiet in her head around a guy. But does this mean that Cory’s finally found someone who she can trust, or are there greater factors at work? As Cory’s mind becomes a battlefield, with the Furies fighting for control, Cory will have to put everything on the line to hold on to what she’s worked so hard to build.

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Need to Start

Top Ten Tuesday was a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They give bloggers a topic and we put our top ten things in that list.

Today's topic is....

Top Ten Series I Need to Start But Haven't Yet

 

1. The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go is sitting on my shelf and is begging me to read it! I need to!

 

2. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: I really want to read City of Bones before the movie comes out, and I've only heard good things.

 

3. The Legend Series by Marie Lu: My friend has been nagging me to read this book for ages, and now that Prodigy has come out I feel that I need to.

 

4. The Across the Universe Series by Beth Revis: Space, mystery, and romance. Sounds like my kind of book.

 

5. The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner: These books just sound soooo good!

 

6. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor: I love Alice in Wonderland and this retelling sounds awesome!

7. The Gone Series by Michael Grant: One of my friends has been telling me how wonderful this series is, and I have Gone on my Nook so I have to read it!

 

8. The Summer Trilogy by Jenny Han: Many of my friends have read these and they say they are amazing!

 

9. The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck: A book about a cursed tiger sounds amazing!

 

10. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray: I don't know what these are about, but I've seen really good reviews of them. 

 

Waiting on Wednesday (19)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spines. It showcases upcoming titles we are currently awaiting.

This weeks selection is...

Doll Bones
by Holly Black
Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Synopsis: Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . .