In My Mailbox #17

 

Hosted by the Story Siren to show people new books coming out soon or already have so people can look them up and add them to their ever growing list of 'to-read'

This week was interesting. I forgot I was getting these. :D


Won:

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Thanks goes to Precious from Fragments of Life

The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods

Thanks goes to Marie from Ramblings of a Daydreamer

 

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 by Stephanie Meyer

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Down the Mysterly River by Bill Willingham

Passion by Lauren Kate

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Bleed by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Cut by Patricia McCormick

The Underdogs by Mike Lupica

Thanks goes to Alyssa from The Book Blog Experience

Up For Trade:

Just email me or contact me on my goodreads if you're interested.

 

So, what did you get in your mail?

 

Oh, did anyone go see The Hunger Games? I LOVED it!

 

Keep On Reading!

 

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Contemporary March #10: The Sky is Everywhere

WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.
This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

Review: Okay, I will admit, I wanted to read this book because I liked the cover, the original cover, not the one above. The one above is the paperback copy, a.k.a., the one I have. I mean, I like the paperback one, love the colors, but not a fan of the girl on the front.

Anyway, here are the postives and negatives of this book. (Note: these are just in random order. No sequence.)

+ I actually felt the emotions of the characters. Lennie's and her family's grieve and pain. The anger of Joe when he caugh Lennie kissing Toby, Bailey's (dead sister) boyfriend.

- For some reason, when I read contemporary and it's very emotional, I start to think dark/negative/suicidal thoughts. Don't know why. At lunch the other day I was really depressed.

+ Joe is a total French American cutie.

- When he was hurt, he went out with the bitch Rachel.

- Lennie lost her sister.

+ She gets through it through her music.

+ Joe plays every instrument under the sun.

+ Joe has two cute older brothers.

- He was heartbroken before. :(

- Bailey left behind her boyfriend.

- They were suppose to get married and she was pregnant.

-Mom left her two girls with Grandma because she didn't have it in her to take care of the girls herself.

+ Girls got along fine without her.

- Boyfriend is extremely sad and turns to Lennie for comfort.

- Lennie become attracted to him and feels guilty for it.

- Lennie feels guilty that she's living and falling in love while her sister is dead.

+ She writes sweet and deep poems throughout the book.

+ Those poems help Joe realize he made a big mistake.

+ There's a happy ending.

- Lennie has a low self-esteem.

+ After coming to terms with her sister being dead, she moves on and falls in love.

- Sex plays a signifcant part in the book.

+ Instead of mushy gooshy crap, it's real life and how sex is portrayed in it.

So you see, this book as it's pros and it's cons. Normally, with a book with its plot, I would have been bored by page 100 since the plot is kinda classic, but it was the emotions and hot French boy that kept me going. :D

Future: Stand alone.

Rating:

Cover:

Ending:

*Bought this book

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I really like it so far.

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The Drake Chronicles Special

So, let's begin our journey through books 1-3.

 

WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Goodreads:

On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.
Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.
Even fans of the genre who’ve seen it all will find a fresh read with kick-butt characters and family dynamics that ring true for all brothers and sisters—vampire or otherwise.

Review: I love Lucy. Not the show, the character. She's my favorite heroine out of the entire series. Funny, brave, smart, and kickass fighter. Kinda like me. :)

Anyway, to the plot and overall stuff.

I love it that the Drakes' children and some children of other families can have children born human and later around sixteen they turn into vampire. I thought that was cool and creative. The bloodchange sounds like a bitch though. Anyway, girls being rare is awesome too. Usually when I read things like this, the boy is the rare born. Also, Solange and all the creepers that give her gifts because she's going through the change and her scent drives men insane. I love it and the wanna-be queen, Lady Natasha, crazy. She wants her dead because of some prophecy. Gotta love those.

Now the romance is something I really liked in this book, mostly between Nick and Lucy than Sol and Kieran, though I did like it. You'll learn about it later.

Goodreads:

It's been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she's made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That's if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.
The clans are gathering for Helena's royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha's reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy.
This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan's and Isabeau's perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.

Review: Now, in this book, Helena, the mom of the Drakes, is going through the possess of becoming Queen of the Vamps and signing treaties along with her husband, Liam. As a sign of respect, they invite Isabeau, handmaiden to the leader of The Hounds, to their house to stay. Well, soon, her sire, Greyhound (i think that's his name) starts tormenting her with momentos of the past and soon she starts figuring out that it's him and wants revenge.

Mean while, while all this is happening, she and Logan fall in love. And they're perfect together since they both love France and French things, they speak it, and they are old fashioned. Logan dresses like a priate a lot. LOVE THEM!

Goodreads:

Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, she sees the difference between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends—or even more. When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra . . . help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy?

Review: Hunter + Vampire + Old Tradional Grandpa = disaster.

Honestly, it does. So, in this one, Quinn is our main vamp. In this book, he helps Hunter, our heroine, out when students start getting sick and turning into Hel-Blar. Throughout this entire thing, Quinn also helps identify what's in the wacked-up pills some of the students are taking and soon he and Hunter start dating. Grandpa in the book thinks all vamps should be dead, and is dead set on Hunter NOT dating Quinn. This little fact plays a big part in Hunter's decision to date Quinn. That's all I'm going to say. No spoilers for you. :D

The negative side of these books:

Insta-love.

As much as it's used and a somewhat good element in many YA books, I am a firm believer that love takes time to develop. In the books, the romance usually developes over a day or so. The only exception is that Nick started to have feelings for Lucy a long time ago before he got up the nerve to ask her out, let alone kiss her. I'm fine with that. The rest, maybe it's that internal mating thing most paranormal creatures have. :)

Overall, The Drake Chronicles are a kickass series. I can't wait to get Bleeding Hearts & Blood Moon.

Ratings, Covers, Endings:

Keep On Reading!

Up Next:

I love the colors of #1, the overall cover of #2, I love #3, and love the blue of #4.

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The Next Step

    So, when I learned that Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey was free on BN, I was like "TURN ON FASTER YOU STUPID IPOD!"

Now, I'd already read the book by this point in middle school (i think). LOVED IT back then. Then I read the next one, Blood Feud, from the library a little while later and LOVED IT, and then I stopped because the next one, Out for Blood, wasn't out.

    Later, at the Border's blow out sale, I found Out for Blood and added it to my huge pile of books. I bought a lot that day. :D

    Well, after getting H.A.S., I decided to reread it. Then after debating a week on whether or not to buy it, I bought and reread Blood Feud.

    Then after My Life Undecided, I finished Out for Blood  (which I had started eariler). Now I know I wasn't reading a contemporary and I'm going to say this once and only once:

I'M NOT FINISHING ALL OF THEM!!

Why?

       Well, I have too many for only one month (evidenced that Februaray is over) and 2: some are more fo rsummer, so I'll read them then.

     So, taking The Next Step, Dystopian March/April will start soon with Cinder. :D

To

Like the button?

So, to leave off, I have several reviews to write; four to be excat.

The one for The Drake Chronicles will be up soon. :D

Can't wait to enter Dystopia with you!

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An Apology and In My Mailbox #16

An Apology

Okay, first, just wanted to say I'm sorry I haven't posted much in the past two weeks except W.o.W. and IMM. My school's musical was this week and rehearsels go really long. :P But it all paid off. One more show and then I'm done!

Second thing: How do you like the new banner? I got tired of the old one and made a new one. :D

Now, on to the good stuff.

Hosted by the Story Siren to show people new books coming out soon or already have so people can look them up and add them to their ever growing list of 'to-read'

This week's line up is.......

Both of these I won from:

Fever by Lauren DeStano

Thanks goes to Trini from A Book-lovers' Review

Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Thanks goes to Cristin from YA Confidential

That's all this week. :D Hope you guys got something awesome this week too. :D

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In My Mailbox #15

(Like the new button? I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I like how it matches my theme a bit.)

Hosted by the Story Siren to show people new books coming out soon or already have so people can look them up and add them to their ever growing list of 'to-read'

Here's my mail!

Won:

The Castastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Thanks goes to Andrea from The Bookish Babe

Gifted:

ReVamped by Ada Adams

For review.

Thank you Ada. I'm only in chapter 2, but it's good so far.

Bought for Free from Amazon:

Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm

Amazon

Captivated by Deb Apodaca

Amazon

So, what did you get in your mail?

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Contemporary March #9: My Life Undecided

 

*CONTAINS SPOILERS

 

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.

Review: Two words: Two days.

What does this mean? It means that's how long it took me to read this book. Would have been a day if not for school, play practice, and homework.

Why does this matter? Well, it's saying this:

I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

A cute, funny read. Creative. This book is all and more.

Few things:

The Little Sibling Syndrome. When the little sibling feels the pressure to be perfect like the older one. In this book, it's a big deal. Here's the thing. Brooks, our main character, has an older sister, Izzie, that got perfect grades and got into Harvard. Good for her, except that Brooks is prone to bad decisions and every time she screws up, like when she burnt her mom's company's model home, she's compared to her sister. "Why can't you be like Izzie? She never did anything like this......" It happens everyday. Thank God my parents don't to my sister. The only thing they want is for her to get good grades.

The idea for making a blog where everyone votes one what you should do is a new idea, but a stupid one. I mean, I've made my mistakes, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let someone else decide what I should do. In Brooks position, I see why she might go to this extreme, with all the bad decisions she made, but still, she just needs to talk it out. But her creating this blog made the book funny and interesting.

Not all the votes leads to bad things. Joining the debate team was one of the most smartest decisions Brooks was made to do. In more ways than you know. Reading the Grapes of Wrath was a stupid decision (again, a stupid book).

Like in most contemporaries, Brooks is just a teenager trying to get through high school. Except she's got a reputation. At two years old, she fell down an abandon mine shaft and was down there for fifty-two hours while firefighters worked to get her out. From there, she made more bad mistakes, like taking a drink of 409 cleaner. Not fun. She's been kinda in the spot light, which leads us to the bitchy 'best friend'.

Her 'best friend' Shayne, is the little rich brat of Colorado Springs. She loves the spot light. So, when Brooks is taken in because of the fire, Shayne dumps her and gets a new best friend. When Brooks is back in the spotlight after an incident at a 7-Eleven, BAM!, "I'm sorry, I was wrong to leave you like that. Can we be friends again?" Don't you hate girls like that. Well, Karma's a bitch, and it comes back to bite her in the butt. :D

Brian----my type of guy. The smart, cute nerdy type. :D

Love him!
Anyway, Brian's life is kinda like Brooks, where his dad wants him to do things his way and be like him, but he's defied him for most of his life. He's got guts, I'll tell you, but not in the girl department. It takes him a while to confront Brooks about their kiss they shared during a game of Truth or Dare. At least some things turn out good for him.

Future: It's a standalone, though I think there could be a spin-off book from it from Shayne's point a view. It would be about her struggle to find out what to do with her life now that her dad lost all his money. I think it would be a good read.

Quotes:

My cheeks hurt when I read this one.

      "Izzie starts blabbing the minute she steps off the plane and doesn't stop the entire ride home. Seriously, the girl can't shut up. She's like one of those creepy talking dolls........on steroids." Brooks, pg. 248

This book has cute and funny written all over it. With teenage romance and funny situtations twisted in, this book is a must read for anyone in love with contemporary.

 

Rating:

Cover:

Ending:

 

*I won this book a long time ago. No review necessary

 

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Up Next:

I started Out for Blood already, but have been going back and forth between it. Same with ReVamped. I like both so far. I will start The Sky is Everywhere soon. :D

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Contemporary March #8: Lola and the Boy Next Door

*CONTAINS SPOILERS

 

Goodreads: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

 

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door has a classic plot to it with a twist.

Plot:

• Girl's dating a boy.
• Girl's best guy friend likes her likes her.
• Girl starts returning the feelings.
• Girl is torn between the boys.
• Girl breaks up with boyfriend.
• Girl gets together with bgf.
• Happy Ending

The twist:

• Boyfriend is 5 years older than the girl.
• Girl's virginity isn't precious. She already lost it to the boyfriend.
• B.G.F. was once a 'boyfriend' to the girl, but then had to move, again.
• In my opinion, boyfriend is looking for a good time instead of commitment (even though he says he loves her).
• Sex plays a decent role in the book.
• Girl is into making costumes.
• Parents are gay.

This book was okay. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It wasn't one of those book that instantly clicked with me. Maybe it was because I was reading one book for English that took up most of my time (The Grapes of Wrath--horrible book), or that I was reading another book on the side. I don't know, but don't get me wrong, I did like it.

I want to say it was the classic plot. Girl getting through high school with an extremely close friend and a talent most people think is weird. I've several books like this. The only differences were the ones I listed above. I mean, how many books like this have you read with gay awesome parents? Not many.

One thing I did really like about this book was the way they protrayed sex. In the book, Lola does lose her virginity prior to the book to her boyfriend, and then has sex at least twice more afterward. So, instead of that "Oh, I'm going to wait until marriage to have sex!", Perkins shows what really happens these days with high schoolers/young people dating. More and more teens are having sex these days. I'm surprised that the sales of birth-control haven't spiked yet. But at least it isn't innocent love.

Cricket. Loved him. I feel sorry for him though. According to him, his great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell, stole the idea of the telephone from someone else and took all the credit. And hates that the money the family has comes from the stolen idea. Plus, he feeling that his genius in engineering is a bit bad because of who he got it from. Though he does like his talent too.

Cricket isn't like most boys in YA. He's a tall, lanky, cute nerd. Not a hunk. It's different and I like it. Plus, he has cool pimp-stripped pants. :D And he's only a year older than Lola. It's better than five.

Lola is a different heroine from most YA heroines. Instead of being a paranormal fighter or some soft sweet girl or a girl trying to find her life, she's just a regular girl wanting to get through life with her mother bothering her family and having fun with her boyfriend while working at the local theather. A lot, but she's pretty normal, except the fact she wears costumes she creates and wiggs. Now, most people would view this as weird and she trying to hide who is actually is, like what her jackass (pardon my French, but it's true) boyfriend thinks, but it's the way she expresses herself. Plus, it shows off what she can do. The only thing I didn't like was her choice of a boyfriend. She could do so much better. Her boyfriend, Max, screams bad boy/gang member/pot head, which he is 2/3 of it. Thank God....let's leave it at that.

Calliope is a brat. From a young age, she's been a competitive figureskater. And with that, her schedule and coaches have made the family move constantly to the point where both were homeschooled. Cricket hates it, but no one really cares. And because they were always traveling, Cricket was her only friend. And she got protective of him, and because she didn't want to be lonely or be left behind when he went to college, she tried to push Lola away from him. What a brat! I really hate people like this. I wish they would stop thinking of themselves and see that keeping that sibling close to them is doing damage.

Future: Standalone.

Quotes:

"No. You're delightfully screwy, and I wouldn't have you any other way. Drink your tea." Max (unfortunately) pg. 17

Despite the fact that I didn't love this book, I still recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary. It's a cute read filled with costumes and gadgets made by our colorful characters.

Rating:

Cover:

Ending:

*I won this book. No review necessitary.

 

Keep On Reading!

 

Up Next:

Actually, the review for this will be up soon. I finished this one Thursday. :D

 

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In My Mailbox #14

Hosted by the Story Siren to show people new books coming out soon or already have so people can look them up and add them to their ever growing list of 'to-read'

But first, sorry I haven't posted much. I have to read a huge book for English (The Grapes of Wrath) and I had a Spanish project all due last week. Hopefully it will be better this up-coming week.

My mail!

Won:

(I have both! Still have to read them.)

(Have all and still have to read them, except #1.)

These books are thanks to Rachel from The Book Mucher

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Perception by Kim Harrington

The Apothecary by Malie Meloy & Ian Schoenherr

Sequins, Secrets, and Silver Linings by Sophia Bennett

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Flyaway by Lucy Christopher

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Thank you goes Tt from Never Ending Stories

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Thank you goes to Alexa from Pages of Forbidden Love

Ebook:

Wynter Chelsea: The Legacy by Becca Michelle Ritchie

Thank you goes to Krista from Nawanda Files

Bought:

Moring's Refrain by Tracie Peterson

So, what did you get?

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