Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

So, if you have not yet read the incredibly amazing work that is Marissa Meyer's Cinder you must go read it now.  Right now.  I'm so not even kidding.  And while you're at it read the prequel Glitches and the short story The Queen's Army.  You have until the count of three.

One...

Two...

Three.

OK.  So you've read it now, right?  And you thought it was like, the greatest thing that has ever happened to you, right?  And you can't wait to read the second book, Scarlet, right?  Well, your wait is almost over.  As of this posting you have 61 days and a few hours.  But I'm here to give you a little taste.  Just a little bit of what to expect.  And boy are you going to be happy.

I have no intention of giving the story away to you, sorry.  I'm not that kind of reviewer.  At least, not for this.

Scarlet picks up right where Cinder left off, sort of.  The second book in Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series starts off with a new character, Scarlet, a delivery girl of sorts who's grandmother has gone missing from a small town in France.  You can download the first 5 chapters FOR FREE for the nook or Kindle.  So go do that now, it'll hold you over for a little bit.

In between the Scarlet storyline we also get a look at what Cinder has been up to since the ball.  Being in prison mostly.  But with a little help she's able to escape and she begins a journey to find someone who can tell Cinder about herself.  But the journey won't be easy.  Either for Cinder or for Scarlet, with whom she eventually crosses paths with.

I have to say, when I first started reading Scarlet I was a little worried that there was not going to be enough or any Cinder mixed in and it confused me.  But that didn't last long.  I was so engrossed with Scarlet's story that at times I kind of forgot about Cinder.  But not in a bad way. In a "holy crap this story is awesome" kind of way.  Seriously, it's worth the year long wait.  However, I don't know if I'll be able to wait another whole year for book 3, Cress, to come out or another year after that for the final installment, Winter.  I need them now.  I need them to live.

And so will you.

     

Purple and Gold

I feel terrible.  I have not written a post in over a month.  I haven't even picked up a book in 2 weeks.  And the last one I read was so not worth blogging about.  The problem is, I'm just not motivated to read for pleasure right now.  I'm weeks into my Master's program at the UW and I am just too dang busy to read anything that isn't assigned by one of my professors.  Let's be honest, I'm too busy to read the stuff that IS assigned, there is no way I'm going to read anything on top of that.  I'm hoping that will change.  And soon.  It feels weird to not have a book in hand.  I don't like it.  It'll have to change soon though.  Early next year a whole slew of books that are the second in a series are going to come out and I'm dying to read them.  I guess I better figure out a plan, like, now.  But until then this blog is going dead for a bit.  My apologies.

Darkshore

I have read quite a few books in my day and I have even bothered to review some of them.  But I have never read or reviewed a book by someone I actually know.  That is about to change and I have to admit, I'm pretty nervous about it.  So let's start off with a quick overview of the book.

Darkshore is the story of Noelle, a young girl living in the town of Darkshore, who discovers that she is more than she appears.  Darkshore lives in fear of an ancient enemy, the Icia, a people who are less people and more fog who kill villagers that dare enter the forest.  But one day, believing her father dead at the hands of the Icia, Noelle runs into the forest to confront them.  Not wanting to live with her father dead Noelle believes that the Icia will kill her.  But they don't, or rather, they can't.

Unfortunately for Noelle, no one believes her, not ever her father who also managed to come out of the forest alive.  What is it about them that kept Noelle and her father alive?  And can she figure it out before it's too late?

So, as I have said I know one of the authors of this book, Nathan Jendrick who wrote the book with his wife Megan, which is pretty cool if you ask me.  But it also makes reviewing the book interesting.  On one hand I want to convey that I find it super awesome that my friend wrote a book and do everything I can to help promote it.  But I don't want to lie and I'm not going to say I like something that I didn't like.  So thank goodness that I really liked Darkshore.  Not just liked it...but can't wait to read what happens next.  I thought the book was very well written, if a little repetitive in dialog at times, and the story line was fresh and new to me.  I have been in a bit of a rut with my reading lately and Darkshore was just what I needed to get me out of it!  It's not long, just under 200 pages, which may have been my least favorite thing about it.  I needed more.  I wasn't ready for the story to end.  I really NEED to know what happens next.

Also, you can buy it for super cheap.  Darkshore can be found in Kindle format on Amazon for just $1.99 which is a steal.  So you should go buy it.  Now.  Please?  You'll like it, trust me.

                                                       

Endlessly by Kiersten White

I can't tell you how excited/sad I was to read the final book in the Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White.  Apparently I never reviewed Paranormalcy but you can read my blub on Supernaturally.  Now I'm going to review Endlessly.

Evie is finally starting to have a "normal life".  She goes to school, has friends,  and has a perfect relationship with her boyfriend, Lend.  But that is all about to change.  A lot of things are about to change.  The paranormals are not done with Evie just yet.  According to their prophecies Evie is the only person who can open another door for them, and they want her to do it, like, now.  But she's not sure that she is can, or wants, to do them anymore favors.  Evie just wants to be normal.  Unfortunately, no one else thinks that she is, and once again IPCA is on her back.  Only this time Raquel isn't running the show and now Evie is being treated like a criminal.

What is going on at IPCA?  Will she help the paranormals do what they want?  Can Evie ever really be "normal".  You'll have to read Endlessly to find out.

Now, like I've said, I was super excited to read this book.  The first two books in this series were amazing and I loved every page of them.  But Endlessly was very disappointing for me.  It wasn't that the book was bad, it was really rather good.  The main characters all grow and mature in a great way.  There is tons to love about this book.  But I hated the ending.  This is the end of Evie's story and I expected to feel some sort of closure.  Instead I was left with an abrupt ending that never really answered my questions.  But that's not to say you shouldn't read the book.  You totally should.  It's still worth it.

                             

Ack, I'm Lazy, and Other Poor Excuses

Hello everyone out there on the internet.

There are not many followers of this blog, or even that many people who happen upon it and give it a read, but I feel like I'm letting all of you down none the less.  I have been terrible as of late about posting anything at all.  It's horrific.  I mean really, what if there is someone out there who is literally dying to read my next post?  I can't let that person down.  What kind of blogger would I be?  Not a responsible one that's for sure.  So shame on me, letting innocent blog readers die just because I'm a lazy oaf.  Well, let's just remedy that real quick like.

What I've been reading.

So, I said in an early post that would not be reading adult books anymore but for a few exceptions.  Well I read one of those exceptions.  Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness is the second book her the All Souls Trilogy following last years A Discovery of Witches which I blogged about here.  A Discovery of Witches was seriously the best book I've ever read, once you get past the first 75 pages or so (both books are nearly 600 pages), and Shadow of Night was not a disappointment.  It wasn't quite as good as the first book but as far a sequels go it blew me away.  Simply amazing.  I'm not going to review it however, because to do so would give too much away.  Just go read them, now, before book three comes out.

I've also been reading/am about to read some graphic novels, which I will also not be reviewing, because who reviews graphic novels?  Just go read them, it only takes like 15 mins to get through a long one.  Geesh, and you say I'm lazy. *Shakes head*

What I'm reading right now.

So a long time ago I won an Advanced Readers Copy of a book.  It was the very first one I had ever recieved and I was super excited even though I had no idea who the author was or what to expect from the book.  That book was Paranormalcy by Kiersten White and I fell in love the second I opened it up.  That was followed by Supernaturally.  I am currently reading the final book in the series, Endlessly, and I am just as in love as I was with the first book.  Review to follow.

What I'm going to read.

Lots of things.  Some I don't even know about yet.  Others have been sitting on my self for ever.  But first I HAVE to read a book that a buddy of mine and his wife, Nathan and Megan Jendrick,  self-published called Darkshore.  You can download it from Amazon for $1.99 and you should because I said so.  I'll be reviewing it ASAP.  Or, like, yesterday.  I should have anyway, since I said I'd read it awhile ago and I haven't yet.  That's mostly because I suck and should in no way be a reflection on the book or my friend.  So don't take it as one.  Because it's not.  Like I said.  Yeah.
                                                       

In closing.

I suck and that's no ones fault but my own.  Also, I'll try not to suck so much.  And read more.  And therefore post more.  Yay!

Slide by Jill Hathaway

Everyone has secrets.

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to be someone else for just a moment?  To see through someone elses eyes?  Well, Vee Bell wished she didn't.  Behind the guise of narcolepsy Vee hides a secret.  One she tried to tell her father but all that accomplished was a trip to a shrink.  Vee is a slider.  Triggered by touching the belongings of others she can slide into people and see what they see.  But when Vee slides into a killer she has to make a choice.  Avoid sliding altogether or use the ability to her advantage.

But soon Vee is seeing things that she can't unsee.  Her father's secret, her bestfriend's home life, her ex.  But is one of them the killer, or is it someone else?  And can she find out beofre it's too late?

I absolutely loved this book.  I have to say, I was hesitant to read it at first, the description just didn't seem all that exciting to me.  But I am so glad I came to my scenes because once I picked it up I could not put it down.  Now let me tell you why:  Quite often with teen books I feel a bit of a disconnect with the characters.  I am not a teen and haven't been for some time now.  So I don't always connect with the characters or stories as much as I would like.  But that was not the case with Slide.  Vee is teen who loves all the things that her dead mother left behind, including an amazing CD collection from the 90's with all the music I grew up with.  My favorite Smashing Pumpkins album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, is name checked repeatedly.  That album is amazing, if you don't own it you are missing out.

Another thing I loved about Slide is that when it ended I though for sure it was a stand alone novel and I would be left wondering what became of Vee, but to my great joy I found out that there will be more!  The next book, Imposter, is due out March 2013.

                             

The Book of Blood and Shadow + Giveaway!

I am a nearly daily user of a website called Random Buzzers which is an online book community for Random House publishing geared toward teens.  So when they started looking for people willing to promote some of their new books I jumped at the chance.  The book they chose for me was The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman, a book I had planned on reading anyway, it was sitting on the top of my "To Read" pile of books I had checked out from work.  Let me tell you, I am so happy to have been chosen to spread the word about this book.  So, in celebration of my 50th post I'm going to giveaway a copy!

For Nora Cane there are certain undisputed truths.  She has two best friends: Chris and Adriane, who are the perfect couple.  She has a boyfriend, Max, who loves her.  Her brother is dead, but no one except Chris knows about it.  Her parents are practically ghosts.  And Latin always makes sense.  But soon everything Nora thought she knew will be tested.  Chris will die.  Max will be blamed.  And Nora and Adriane will be left to solve the mystery of a book that has driven a man insane.  The plan is simple; go to Prague, save Max, clear his name, and learn to live with without Chris.  But nothing is ever that simple and soon they will find themselves in the middle of a centuries old mystery that only Nora can solve.  They will have help but no one is what they seem.  The only thing Nora can trust are the words of a long dead woman, written in Latin, and the clues they leave to a machine that may be better left unsolved.

I can not even begin to explain how amazing this book was.  Every time I thought I knew what was going on and who was who, it was all switched up and I was left guessing, racing to get to the next page.  Wasserman's use of real historical figures only adds to the amazing story she has woven.  This is a must read and you can enter to win your very own copy bellow!

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