tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18483753407097088732024-01-05T05:35:11.883-08:00Thoughts of a Hopeless (Book) Romantic The diary of a high school student who obsesses over way too many fictional things/people.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-64023686432276855762015-02-10T05:00:00.000-08:002015-02-10T05:00:05.444-08:00Cover Reveal: My Rebellion Checklist by Susan Soares!GUYYYS GET PUMPED<br />
<br />
It's a cover reveal!!<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
I'm so excited to be part of hosting the cover reveal for <i>My Rebellion Checklist</i> by Susan Soares!<br />
<br />
Check out the description of the novel:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Victoria
Matherson's summer to-do list looked something like this:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>1. Get organized for college<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>2. Complete summer job at Dad’s office<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>3. Spend a romantic summer with Adam<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>During the first week of her summer vacation, Victoria’s
super planned life suddenly swerves completely off track. Her boyfriend breaks
up with her unexpectedly, she gets in a near-fatal car wreck, and her parents
announce the end of their twenty-year. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Victoria decides to live life messily, to take chances,
and finally to rebel. Taking on the new name of “Tori,” she creates a checklist
of rebellion:<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>#3 Get an extreme haircut<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>#6 Pierce something<br />
which she’ll use to show everyone around her that all the changes to her
perfectly organized life haven’t affected her in the least. Even though they
have. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>With the help of her quirky and cute co-worker Zack, Tori
will check off the crazy items on her list and learn what it means to give up
control and be free. But just how far will she go?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
AND NOW.<br />
THE COVER.<br />
DUN DUN DUN<br />
.....<br />
...<br />
...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheO0A_JRtDH2HEeYsZi-C27d0lIolmBVtRh94Lh3e_OqkFD2zCxPobtXBKz67D8qxOLcnMcsTitcL3UJ3LL0-25dPHo3-LY47ddRc7iQu5fSAqdL9Tmz4gJdWYa5B57Gyew07IdfQwpXGV/s1600/rebellion+checklist+susan+soares+medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheO0A_JRtDH2HEeYsZi-C27d0lIolmBVtRh94Lh3e_OqkFD2zCxPobtXBKz67D8qxOLcnMcsTitcL3UJ3LL0-25dPHo3-LY47ddRc7iQu5fSAqdL9Tmz4gJdWYa5B57Gyew07IdfQwpXGV/s1600/rebellion+checklist+susan+soares+medium.jpg" height="640" width="419" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(!!!)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If you are interested in this novel, be sure to check it out when it comes out <b>March 10th, 2015</b>! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Add it on Goodreads <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24499047-my-rebellion-checklist">here</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #93ffe8; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author</span></b><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Susan
Soares lives in a small town in Massachusetts where she balances writing
fiction with raising her three daughters. When she’s not writing she can be
found reading, experimenting with photography and planning her next Disney
World trip. Susan recently received her master’s degree in Creative Writing and
English from Southern New Hampshire University, and will be pursuing teaching
soon. She is available for guest posts and interviews. You can find her on her </span><a href="http://www.susansoares.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">website</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> or on </span><a href="https://twitter.com/susansoares1"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/shewritesbooks"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">YouTube</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, </span><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/shewritesbooks/"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Pinterest</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/susan.soares.94"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> and </span><a href="http://www.wattpad.com/user/shewritesbooks1"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Wattpad</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-15350619391787393392015-02-09T21:11:00.004-08:002015-02-09T21:11:54.353-08:00Tests, Conferences, Colds, and Crappy Sleeping HoursIt's surprising how behind you can be from missing a day and half of school after one fever.<br />
It's surprising how many tests teachers can give.<br />
<br />
So the February post....<br />
<br />
Yeahhhhh so story time.<br />
<br />
I had a MUN conference on the last couple days of the MUN conference, but I should've been back home in time to put up the post. But then...<br />
the conference was EXTREMELY EXHAUSTING.<br />
(Granted my roommate didn't help since we had to share beds and she hogged the bed and blankets)<br />
and I caught a cold. (All my friends caught a cold I kid you not we were that tired)<br />
<br />
So I came home and sleep 13 hours, cussed a little, decided I would write my post a day or two later since I had two tests coming up, and dragged my weary self to school.<br />
<br />
Then the fever struck.<br />
<br />
I haven't had a fever for the last three years.<br />
<br />
so as I laid moaning in my bed roasting at 38 degrees Celsius (that's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the Americans) the last thing I was going to do was write a post.<br />
<br />
I also didn't read any significant amount of books that month, and the only thing I was really excited for in February was The Ruby Circle so I decided EHHH SCREW IT.<br />
<br />
My commitment guys. I apologize.<br />
<br />
There will be a post tomorrow- and I'm really excited for this one guys! It's a cover reveal, my very first one!<br />
And it's super pretty.<br />
<br />
I will try to get a March one up for next month, but I might miss March because I'm on a trip at the end of February and beginning of March.<br />
<br />
okaaay bai.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-82151811903014635672015-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:002015-01-04T12:00:01.057-08:002014 Wrap-Up: Most Anticipated Books of 2015!I know, I know, I usually make a list every month already, but there are ones I ESPECIALLLLLY WANT. :DD<br />
<br />
I WANT ALLLLLLLLL THE BOOKS.<br />
<br />
I'm just going to list the book, the author, the release date and why I want this book! (YES YES, okay, hate me for not giving you a synopsis.)<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405960366l/18879761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405960366l/18879761.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> I Was Here<br />
<b>Author:</b> Gayle Forman<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> Janurary 27th<br />
<br />
It's another Gayle Forman book!!<br />
According to her, it contains the hottest guy she's ever written. So am I excited? YAS.<br />
#noshame<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402940130l/22489107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402940130l/22489107.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Fairest (Prequel to the Lunar Chronicles)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Marissa Meyer<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> January 27th<br />
<br />
I want to know why Levana is an evil evil evil bitch. I want to know what threw the whole series into motion.<br />
But I don't want to feel sorry for her. Can I just hate her in peace?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411150586l/18115187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411150586l/18115187.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> All Fall Down (Book #1 in the Embassy Row series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Ally Carter<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> January 27th<br />
<br />
ALLY. CARTER. NEW. SERIES. I. WANT.<br />
But seriously this sounds so awesome, and with me loving every single one of her novels, I NEEEEEEED IT.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412151228l/22328546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412151228l/22328546.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Red Queen (Book #1 in the Red Queen trilogy)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Victoria Aveyard<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> February 1st<br />
<br />
It sounds like the perfect blend of fantasy and politics/revolutions, I've heard so many good reviews on it, and the cover is gorgeous.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409815340l/8709528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409815340l/8709528.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> The Ruby Circle (Book #6 in the Bloodlines series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Richelle Mead<br />
<b>Release Date: </b>February 10th<br />
<br />
SYDRIAN.<br />
PLUS IT'S THE LAST BOOK LIKE WHAAAT?!?!<br />
<br />
*also can these covers get any worse? They just do not represent this series well.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411741455l/20443207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411741455l/20443207.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> The Winner's Crime (Book #2 in the Winner's Curse trilogy)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Marie Rukoski<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> March 3rd<br />
<br />
I WANT THIS BOOK SO BADLY. THAT LAST ENDING WAS NOT OKAY. I just want want want want want want this book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409837879l/22465605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409837879l/22465605.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Miss Mayhem (Book #2 in the Rebel Belle trilogy)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Rachel Hawkins<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> April 7th<br />
<br />
I love this cover so much. Can we hire this cover artist to redo the Bloodline series? This is so bright and colourful and represents the series so well. I'm so excited to see how the story is going to continues... since we kinda had a situation happen in the last one. PUMPED.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131l/20345202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131l/20345202.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> The Girl at Midnight (Book #1 The Girl at Midnight series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Melissa Grey<br />
<b>Release Date: </b>April 28th<br />
<br />
It sounds like a modernized version of Shadow and Bone... which actually sounds really good. I'm excited to see how this turns out, and I've heard really great reviews so far.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417957944l/20560137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417957944l/20560137.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> An Ember in the Ashes<br />
<b>Author:</b> Sabaa Tahir<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> April 28th<br />
<br />
You know how The Queen of the Tearling had all this hype last year because it sold for a 7 figure deal and Emma Watson signed on for the movie already? Yeah this book is getting almost as much hype, and the reviews have been GLOWING unlike The Queen of the Tearling. (I heard it also got sold for 7 figures or is that just the hype? CAN ANYONE CONFIRM THIS?)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415910285l/17342749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415910285l/17342749.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Rogue (Book #2 in the Talon series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Julie Kagawa<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> April 28th<br />
<br />
That last ending was the worst. It sucked. IT WAS PAIN.<br />
Honestly, at this point, I'm just like JULIE KAGAWA JUST TAKE MY MONEY I WANT YOUR BOOKS. *may or may not have read all her books<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413217438l/21570318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413217438l/21570318.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Crimson Bound<br />
<b>Author:</b> Rosamund Hodge<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> May 5th<br />
<br />
ROSAMUND HODGE. ANOTHER FAIRYTALE RETELLING. MY HEART CANNOT. I WANT. I WANT.<br />
<br />
Also the cover! WTFFF how it kind of mirrors Cruel Beauty but not really and AHHHHHHH ALL THE FEELS<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417961340l/16096824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417961340l/16096824.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book #1 in A Court of Thorns and Roses series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Sarah J. Maas<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> May 5th<br />
<br />
Sarah J. Maas+ Fairy/folk tales+ Faeries + Badassness= I NEED THIS BOOK. I NEED IT. I NEED IT. I WANT IT. I WANT.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u>And now the coverless/possibly release date-less & title-less ones.</u></div>
<br />
<i>End of Days (Book #3 in Penryn & the End of Days series), Susan Ee, May 12th</i><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I'm a little hesitant that this series got cut from its original 6 book plan to 3. I had no issues with where the second book ended because I thought at the time the series was going to be 6 books, but then I heard it got cut down to three, which now makes me really curious on how the series will actually conclude.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<i>Book #3 in The Fifth Wave trilogy, Rick Yancey, August??</i></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>I mean... it's the last one. I actually quite enjoyed The Infinite Sea, despite initially feeling very sketchy about it being so much smaller than the first book. I think the series is heading to a good conclusion and I'm excited to see how it wraps up. Unlike End of Days, I can actually see this series coming to an end. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<i>Book #4 in The Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas, September 10th </i></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Let's pray this release date is for sure because that's my birthday. #againnoshame I'M SO EXCITED for the next installment of this series! This series just gets better and better and I'm dying to see how everything in Heir of Fire links up with together</li>
</ul>
<div>
<i>Lady Midnight (Book #1 in The Dark Artifices series), Cassandra Clare, September??</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Emma and Julian! I loved little Emma in City of Heavenly Fire and I'm excited to see her grown-up and kicking ass with that fierce attitude of hers. If it's a Cassandra Clare book, we can expect pain. I'd like a shipment of extra tissues and chocolate please.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<i>Book #3 in The Elementary Trilogy, Sherry Thomas, September</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>THE END DRAWS NEAR. I'm so excited to see how this ends. YES YES. I actually think I could go with another 1-2 books in this series. I'd love to see a more drawn out novel focused on training or like politics and just UGH I DON'T WANT IT TO END :((</li>
</ul>
<div>
<i>Winter (Book #4 in the Lunar Chronicles), Marissa Meyer, November 24th</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>I NEED THIS. It's the last one oh my gosh!!!! I want to know Winter's story and just how everything's going to be resolved. After how things ended in Cress... this book cannot come soon enough. </li>
</ul>
<div>
*********************************************************************************</div>
</div>
<div>
2015 sounds like a pretty good year right now. These are the books I'm most excited for, and the chances of me actually writing a review for them are a little higher. I'm looking forward on what these books bring and ugh there's just so much to be excited about. Let me know what you're excited for!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's hoping I actually post a review this month. *fingers crossed</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-22676584801162735022015-01-03T12:00:00.000-08:002015-01-03T12:00:01.802-08:002014 Wrap-Up: Awards!Again, this is completely biased and based on what I've read in the past year. I just do these... cause I think they're fun. :)<br />
<br />
LET'S GO.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best First Book in a Series</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377023523l/16069030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377023523l/16069030.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<i>The Winner's Curse, Marie R:</i><br />
<br />
The Winner's Curse had it all in terms of a first book- wonderful characters and a intriguing world and plot, with an ending leaving you to want more. Fingers crossed for the next book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Snow Like Ashes, Sara Raasch</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Continuation in a Series</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398368877l/20613470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398368877l/20613470.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<i>Heir of Fire, Sarah J. Maas</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Let's face it. No other book of 2014 (and possibly to come) could be as badass as this series. Heir of Fire was action packed and introduced a whole new level to the setting and plot and left us tense for what's to come. Only halfway into this six book series, there's no guessing what's going to come.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>The Perilous Sea, Sherry Thomas</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Finale </span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389748702l/8755785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389748702l/8755785.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<i>City of Heavenly Fire, Cassandra Clare</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
This book just has so many memories and ties the bonds between The Infernal Devices and this series together so well. A finale that really wraps up all the characters and has character development like no other novel in this series with all the heart pounding you expect.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Blood of Olympus, Rick Riordan</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></u></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Debut Novel</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590l/15839984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590l/15839984.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<i>Cruel Beauty, Rosamund Hodge</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I think I've said enough things about this book for you guys to realize how much I'm in love with it. Such a edgy, sexy and dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Rosamund Hodge has made it onto my auto-buy author list. Just take my money.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>All Our Yesterdays, Cristin Terrill</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Stand Alone Novel </span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590l/15839984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590l/15839984.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<i>Cruel Beauty, Rosamund Hodge</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I mean....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Across a Star-Swept Sea, Diana Peterfreund</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Most Pain Inducing Cliffhanger</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397581124l/17331828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397581124l/17331828.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Talon, Julie Kagawa</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Oh what's that sound? RIGHT IT'S THE SOUND OF ME DYING FROM THE ENDING.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>The Winner's Curse, Marie Rutkoski</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Cover</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389744233l/18667779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389744233l/18667779.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<i>Everything Leads to You, Nina LaCour</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
So gorgeous. This cover reflects the artistic feel of the actual novel as well. Such a great combination of colours. Even prettier in person. (I own it!)<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Rebel Belle, Rachel Hawkins</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Most Disappointing</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407318399l/20821111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407318399l/20821111.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<i>The Young Elites, Marie Lu</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It almost kills me to put this book on my list. I loved Marie Lu' s Legend trilogy, it's probably one of my favourite dystopian series ever. I had such high hopes for The Young Elites. If a debut author had written this, I probably would've just given it a pass, thinking that perhaps the next novel will improve. But I know Marie Lu can do better than this, and I guess my standards were too high cause I was really disappointed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>(Dis)Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Landry Park, Bethany Hagen</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Ultimate Tearjerker/Heartbreaker</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681l/19063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681l/19063.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<i>The Book Thief, Markus Zusak</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I went through a lot of tissues.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>In the Afterlight, Alexandra Bracken (*for that one thing. That one freaking thing.)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Funniest </span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371650817l/8475505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371650817l/8475505.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<i>Rebel Belle, Rachel Hawkins</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Other than perhaps Rick Riordan, no other author knows how to combine humour with action so well other than Rachel Hawkins. This book was funny in all the right ways.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Blood of Olympus, Rick Riordan </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Biggest Surprise</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391708085l/18513759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391708085l/18513759.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
<i>The Dark World, Cara Lynn Shultz</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Call me crazy. Call me insane. I should've hated every single trope and cliché in this book. But I didn't. I ended up loving this book. I was so surprised by how much I loved it. Cara reminds me why I love tropes and clichés.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Jessica Day George</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Most Overrated </span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1284130161l/8635145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1284130161l/8635145.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>
<i>Embrace, Jessica Shirvington</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I've heard so many raving reviews for this series, so I finally gave it a try.<br />
It does not live up to what it says. It just doesn't.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>(Dis?)Honourable Mention:</u> <i>The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Worst Book</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314278928l/12432229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314278928l/12432229.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<i>Struck, Jennifer Bosworth</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Look, I don't like chewing out books. As bad as they can be, I know that people have put effort in it. But this book. This book has so many fucking issues. The clichés don't work. The premise is great but torn apart by execution and plot. Just. I don't like this book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>(Dis)Honourable Mention:</u> <i>Fates, Lanie Bross</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
*********************************************************************************<br />
SO THAT WAS FUN. Um I feel like I write these for myself mainly... I think they're really fun (and torturing) and it highlights more aspects of books. I don't know maybe I'm just weird haha.<br />
ONE MORE DAY TO GO.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-73632898732003990242015-01-02T12:00:00.000-08:002015-01-02T12:00:00.751-08:002014 Wrap-Up: My Top Ten! (Blog-A-Thon Day 2)The most biased thing I'll write all year. Not all of these are 2014 releases... cause lord knows if I can even keep up with new releases anymore.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First up though, some honourable mentions BECAUSE THIS WAS REALLY HARD TO DECIDE. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Honourable Mention </h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375972497l/13188676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375972497l/13188676.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Ignite Me</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Series review found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/02/series-review-shatter-me-by-tahereh-mafi.html">here</a>. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I surprised myself but how much I liked this book actually. While I've always been a big fan of the Shatter Me series and Tahereh Mafi's AMAZING writing, it never actually got anywhere near my favourites list. But um yeah this one. I really liked what happened in this one. (Chapter 55 #noshame) I wished we got a bit more of a conclusion but how everything came together and how far we've come in terms of character development is astonishing. As always, Tahereh Mafi is an amazing writer I literally cannot like HOW?!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362062511l/13411546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362062511l/13411546.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Prep School Confidential</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This book. I've been wanting it for a while but I finally got my hands on it this year, and can I just say MOST MISLEADING COVER EVER. Literally do not take the cover seriously. This book is so much more thrilling and well paced, with good tension and red herrings, making a great intricate mystery novel and a fun novel with a likeable sassy queen bee character with a fun teenage-y dramatic romance. So much fun to read. (I have the second one on order IT'S COMING)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The Top Ten</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590l/15839984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371652590l/15839984.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Cruel Beauty</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Review found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.ca/2014/03/book-review-cruel-beauty-by-rosamund.html">here</a>. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
How much did I love Cruel Beauty? Let's see... I read it in February/March, and by then I KNEW. I knew that it had to be on my top ten list at the end of this year. I <s>was</s> am OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK. I love it so much. It is so sexy, edgy, and dark and unique and and and ASDFGHJKLHGDSF FEELS. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's such a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with such interesting ideas thrown into it and a chilling but thrilling atmosphere with such different and refreshing characters, I CAN'T DESCRIBE IT. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Just read this book. You'll thank me for it later.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377023523l/16069030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377023523l/16069030.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>The Winner's Curse</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When this book came out, I really wanted to read it, BUT I didn't get around to it. I eventually did get my hands on it and OHMYGOD. Can I just. It was mindblowing. I was so BLOWN AWAY by the plot, the world, the characters JUST EVERYTHING. AND THE END. WTF WAS UP WITH THE ENDING HUH. Like ugh I couldn't believe how good this book was I was in so much shock. Then I was like Marie Rutkoski... hey that sounds familiar. One Goodreads search later and I realized it was the author of The Shadow Society, a novel I had really liked last year, and like everything just came together and SPFTYSYT EXPLOSION OF FEELS. The characters are so likeable, the relationships so genuine, and such an interesting plot combining politics and heartstopping action with high stakes and just wow. I'm just so in love with this novel.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398368877l/20613470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398368877l/20613470.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Heir of Fire</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div>
This is the third book in the Throne of Glass series and I swear this series just somehow keeps overcoming the ridiculously high standards I have for it. I ADORED Throne of Glass and while I loved Crown of Midnight, I was a little concerned when I heard this was a six book series BUT NOT ANYMORE. This book was SO badass and such a great addition of new funky and interesting characters and how it continues of the ending of Crown of Midnight and just. Somehow character development can still happen, despite the fact that Celaena feels like an old friend by now. I don't understand how Sarah J. Maas does this but OHMYGOD. Seriously, this is starting to compete with Harry Potter as my favourite fantasy series. If you have not started on this series YOU HAVE GOT TO GET ON THE BANDWAGON.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379083526l/13206828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1379083526l/13206828.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Cress</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
THIS BOOK IS CRUEL AND UNFAIR AND MEAN AND IT'S EVERY FANGIRL'S NIGHTMARE BECAUSE MARISSA MEYER LITERALLY SENDS A TSUNAMI TO YOUR SHIPS.<br />
She just continues to nail this series and meld it so well with the original fairytales, somehow making everything connect. I adore the characters so so so so much. I love Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, and Captain Thorne, my beloved fugitive. :)) So basically everyone.<br />
I hate Levana with a burning passion though. *slight hisssss<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681l/19063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681l/19063.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>The Book Thief</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I did it. I finally read it. And I cried really really really hard.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360807066l/16102412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360807066l/16102412.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Across a Star-Swept Sea</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I wonder if any of you guys have heard of this one? I love this book and went out and bought it along with For Darkness Shows the Stars because I love it so much. I know it was inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, but as we all know, Carmen sucks at reading classics so I can't give you an opinion on how well it takes on the original (thought I've heard it does a good job) but I can say that it's such a great plot and characters and set in such an interesting world. Those who have read For Darkness Shows the Stars will have a nice surprise in store for them, but you don't need to read For Darkness Shows the Stars at all to understand this novel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392936410l/20359719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392936410l/20359719.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>The Perilous Sea</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Let's be honest, is anyone surprised this is on my list? I loved The Burning Sky last year and Sherry Thomas continues to wow us with such a tense and breathtaking way to continue The Perilous Sea. When I read the first two chapters I had like a panic of feels and this whole novel was told from past to present and you're just waiting for everything to connect together. Iolanthe and Titus are still characters so enjoyable to read from and the world of these novels continue to expand and add layers, with badass magic. And then the end. ohmygosh the end. I'm so excited for the third novel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361898093l/13638131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361898093l/13638131.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>The Unbound</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Wesley. Ayers.<br />
Okay maybe a little more than that. This is a fantastic follow up to The Archived, with so much more revelaed and like heart palpitations from the mystery and hotness that is Wesley Ayers. (Seriously, no one makes guyliner work more than you. Except for maybe Park.) Mackenzie continues to grow as a protagonist and I adore her and Wesley's relationship. The way they begin to learn to trust one another and the more they learn about each other is really well done and the plot is great. Victoria Schwab continues to be an author who really knows how to place her characters in dangerously thrilling worlds yet still be able to have good character development within that world. With such a great premise, I will fucking scream if this is the last Archived novel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383578978l/13138635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383578978l/13138635.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>These Broken Stars</u></div>
<br />
I thought I was going to hate this book. It sounded so cliché and despite all the glowing reviews I heard, I just thought it sounded too good to be true.<br />
Turns out I was wrong. This book could've been annoying and cliché but... it wasn't. The characters had layers and were complex which I think made everything work out. While there was attraction between Lilac and Tarver, it was not insta-love. The world in this novel felt so big and unexplored, so many different tidbits that we could discover from it. So many cool sci-fi elements that were incorporated and everything meshed together in a really enjoyable space-travel romance, which has been a genre I've never particularly enjoyed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392224823l/17399160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392224823l/17399160.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Snow Like Ashes</u></div>
<br />
I describe this as Frozen meets Game of Thrones. I haven't read Game of Thrones or watched the show, (#shame) but from what I know and what I imagine it to be, that's how this book would be like. Meira is such fiery burning character, with insecurities that she acknowledges, and is badass. The love triangle is not annoying. The two love interests are, get this: <i>likeable. </i><b><i>Both of them.</i> </b>The plot is well paced, and the world is well developed. I'm looking forward to the next novel, because let's face it, we need MORE THERON.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Wow, another year and another set of books that have given me <s>pain</s> joy. This year has been the weirdest reading year me for sure, because a) school and b) I didn't read a lot of the new releases. I also read less cause again SCHOOL (honestly, university students please tell me uni is easier).<br />
<br />
This year, I'm setting my challenge number down again, to 90 which makes me really sad, recalling that three years ago, my number was over 200. (and I completed it, thank you very much) But hopefully within the 90 there will be ones that excites me like these ones did.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-47414617829758505252015-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:002015-01-01T12:00:03.326-08:00Janurary 2014<div class="p1">
Monthly Wish List for this month and what I've read and seen this past month.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book List: </b></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<i>*synopses may be </i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i> if you have not read the previous books in the series. All synopses were found on Goodreads</i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397755014l/20958632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397755014l/20958632.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> The Darkest Part of the Forest</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Holly Black</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> January 13th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Until one day, he does…</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410275946l/17134589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410275946l/17134589.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> The Conspiracy of Us</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Maggie Hall</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> January 13th</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">To fight her destiny as the missing heir to a powerful and dangerous secret society, sixteen-year-old Avery West must solve an ancient puzzle in a deadly race across Europe. Forbidden love and code-breaking, masked balls and explosions, destiny and dark secrets collide in this romantic thriller, in the vein of a YA DaVinci Code.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada at the Champs-Elysees when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">They are part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle of Twelve, and Avery is their missing heir. If they discover who she is, some of them will want to use her as a pawn. Some will want her dead. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">To thwart their plans, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the landmarks of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul and through a web of ancient legends and lies. And unless she can stay one step ahead of beautiful, volatile Stellan, who knows she’s more than she seems, and can decide whether to trust mysterious, magnetic Jack, she may be doomed after all.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411150586l/18115187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411150586l/18115187.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> All Fall Down (Book #1 in the Embassy Row series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Ally Carter</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> January 27th</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">1. She is not crazy.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">2. Her mother was murdered.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her–so there’s no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door who is keeping an eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can’t control Grace–no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn’t stop it, Grace isn’t the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world all stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
Note from Carmen: WHO IS FLIPPING EXCITED CAUSE I AM OH MY GOD</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410798753l/18801694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410798753l/18801694.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> We Can Work It Out (Book #2 of The Lonely Hearts Club)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Elizabeth Eulberg</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> January 27th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span id="freeText1723084583017285050" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When Penny Lane started The Lonely Hearts Club, the goal was simple: to show that girls didn’t need to define themselves by how guys look at them, and didn’t have to value boyfriends over everything else. Penny thought she’d be an outcast for life…but then the club became far more popular than she ever imagined it would be.<br /><br />But what happens when the girl who never thought she’d date a good guy suddenly finds herself dating a great one? She doesn’t need a boyfriend… but she wants it to work out with this particular boyfriend. And he wants it to work out with her.<br /><br />Only, things keep getting in the way. Feelings keep getting hurt. Words keep getting misunderstood.<br /><br />Penny Lane worked hard to declare her independence. Now she needs to figure out what to do with it — and how to balance what she wants with what everyone else wants. In We Can Work It Out, Elizabeth Eulberg returns to the world of her first novel, The Lonely Hearts Club, and gets to the heart of how hard relationships can be… and why they are sometimes worth all the drama and comedy they create.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402940130l/22489107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402940130l/22489107.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Fairest (Prequel to The Lunar Chronicles) </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Marissa Meyer</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> January 27th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span id="freeText1861798671078432269" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.<br /><br />Mirror, mirror on the wall,<br />Who is the fairest of them all?<br /><br />Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.<br /><br />Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
Note from Carmen: I WANT THISSSSSSS *grabby hands</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405960366l/18879761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405960366l/18879761.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> I Was Here</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author: </b>Gayle Forman</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> January 27th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Cody and Meg were inseparable.</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Two peas in a pod.</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Until . . . they weren’t anymore.</strong></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I Was Here</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: It's Gayle Forman. I love Gayle Forman's books. I'm so FREAKING excited.</div>
<div class="p1">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<div class="p1">
<u>December Obsessions</u></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b><u>Books:</u></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Prep School Confidential</div>
<div class="p1">
Snow Like Ashes</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b><u>Other Stuff:</u></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Annoying my dog with my Christmas singing</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b><u>Things I Read/Saw in December:</u></b></div>
<div class="p1">
Lord of the Flies</div>
<div class="p1">
Everything Lead to You </div>
<div class="p1">
Easy (Book #1 in the Contours of the Heart)</div>
<div class="p1">
The Shadow of the Wind (Book #1 in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books)</div>
<div class="p1">
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories</div>
<div class="p1">
In the Afterlight (Book #3 in The Darkest Minds trilogy)</div>
<div class="p1">
The Young Elites (Book #1 in The Young Elites series)</div>
<div class="p1">
Say What You Will</div>
<div class="p1">
The Distance Between Us</div>
<div class="p1">
Talon (Book #1 in the Talon series)</div>
<div class="p1">
Thornhill (Book #2 in the Hemlock trilogy)</div>
<div class="p1">
Being Sloane Jacobs</div>
<div class="p1">
Rebel (Book #2 in the Reboot duology)</div>
<div class="p1">
The Cadet of Tildor</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-61880711927099428452014-12-31T12:00:00.000-08:002014-12-31T12:00:00.901-08:002014 Wrap-Up: The End (Blog-A-Thon Day 1)This is a celebratory post to the series that have ended this year and a wrap up of my thoughts to all of them because I suck at writing reviews for all of them. I didn't manage to catch the end of EVERY series of 2014 (cause girl can only read so many of them) but these are the ones I finished.<br />
<br />
*This post only applies to series that ended in 2014. I might have read some series late and didn't finish them in time. I'M SORRY TO THOSE ONES IF I REALLY LOVED YOU I PROBABLY TRIED TO WRITE A REVIEW TO YOU GUYS OR ACTUALLY WROTE ONE<br />
<br />
**Also I don't count novels that are companion novels to each other as a series (like Anna and the French Kiss, Lola the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After) but it doesn't mean I don't love them.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>Article 5</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yuUVrRsdGBD7jHoO0S9ym6nRTO2y44spjDxNcyXIBOSrtOMZBYxFGGH3l_vzvYNDTlT5PC15F3LEhe6GoBue4xcR4oZ9TqPo_wENTDV19GfZnOti1gSSpKzUwiyeiQDYweuyaBnZFMwm/s1600/Article+5+series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yuUVrRsdGBD7jHoO0S9ym6nRTO2y44spjDxNcyXIBOSrtOMZBYxFGGH3l_vzvYNDTlT5PC15F3LEhe6GoBue4xcR4oZ9TqPo_wENTDV19GfZnOti1gSSpKzUwiyeiQDYweuyaBnZFMwm/s1600/Article+5+series.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Series review found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/02/series-review-article-5-by-kristen.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Oh jeez I forgot about this series haha. I read Article 5 in my fetus dystopian rage trend years and I blew through SO many dystopians and Article 5 certainly did not escape me with it's haunting and gorgeous covers. I loved it at the time while my more rational friend Summer (who some of you may remember from that one cameo review she wanted to do on the blog) thought that the characters lack dimension. Obviously me being me, I shrugged it off. By the time Breaking Point came out, I had calm down a little on the dystopians and gotten a better grasp of what my standards are of a series.<br />
<br />
It's a very simple classic dystopian stories without too many crazy twists, really focusing on the main idea of what a dystopian novel is, but that also comes with a con of it not having something extra unique to its world setting.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Shatter Me</u></b></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukVFzmmkG-EzAFmYL8vk7BgWMjlN_mHElsggmfocuDBiJY9E4mvU8OAeTZfp_iEbsezlo7G_1yFhOCv45Lmb0f4BEVxeCX1rczT31GlFf5Jq4Fk0Ava6f1qKYi0QpUGkYZY-WkLvtTKoo/s1600/Shatter+Me+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukVFzmmkG-EzAFmYL8vk7BgWMjlN_mHElsggmfocuDBiJY9E4mvU8OAeTZfp_iEbsezlo7G_1yFhOCv45Lmb0f4BEVxeCX1rczT31GlFf5Jq4Fk0Ava6f1qKYi0QpUGkYZY-WkLvtTKoo/s1600/Shatter+Me+Series.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Series review found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/02/series-review-shatter-me-by-tahereh-mafi.htm">here</a>.</div>
<br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Chapter 55. </i>:3<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Under the Never Sky</u></b></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://missdreamymarie.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tumblr_inline_mxnvuvwjb61qderbh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://missdreamymarie.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tumblr_inline_mxnvuvwjb61qderbh.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Series review found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/03/series-review-under-never-sky-by.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I have such fond memories of this series. It certainly is not the most well written or thrilling dystopian series out there but Veronica Rossi does it right with her well rounded characters with relationships that you can't help but feel for, and simple basic premise that doesn't overly complicate everything. It's clean, thorough, and angst free, making it an easy feel good series for the dystopian fan.<br />
<br />
(Also the covers and the titles!!)<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>Blood of Eden</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZvqZo06KhEI1Mj7Jy05m5hc_RWvPMPqCh_kxsrhYhMQcKCxD-ZIjDHM2s_ICpuK-b16cCm8pULAfP7zvF_lnBbchQZV8BZqjFv2VZJTJc2wnhgQpwfisdXavumqsviBpR5mwMGl4mlRS/s1600/Blood+of+Eden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZvqZo06KhEI1Mj7Jy05m5hc_RWvPMPqCh_kxsrhYhMQcKCxD-ZIjDHM2s_ICpuK-b16cCm8pULAfP7zvF_lnBbchQZV8BZqjFv2VZJTJc2wnhgQpwfisdXavumqsviBpR5mwMGl4mlRS/s1600/Blood+of+Eden.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Series review can be found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/series-review-blood-of-eden-by-julie.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I hope by now you guys know how much I love Julie Kagawa because holy cow can that lady write. I love her Blood of Eden series way more than her Iron Fey series and the fangirling was REAL. #thestruggle<br />
SHE LITERALLY SPARES NO FEELS. A cruel cruel writer (for fangirls) and so good at GOOD cliffhangers. (*cough The Eternity Cure) Just a wild ride. I just finished her new book on her new dragons series and I want to just take my feels and strangle Julie Kagawa with it because ASDFGHJKL. Highly recommend this one.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Mortal Instruments</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9Uw3CPUAG3sVV6VQcaGnmcE8FPwvXNyRfjTb7gREGjeOn_eOmCe-2z4LJy3UTEO3NdbQ8t_0Uao4IaEwdkpm0VCT_csb9BmQFF5Dfaaqq8wds1eWx_ovVyzKr3OaaPCP_Di0hWER5Apj/s1600/The+Mortal+Instruments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9Uw3CPUAG3sVV6VQcaGnmcE8FPwvXNyRfjTb7gREGjeOn_eOmCe-2z4LJy3UTEO3NdbQ8t_0Uao4IaEwdkpm0VCT_csb9BmQFF5Dfaaqq8wds1eWx_ovVyzKr3OaaPCP_Di0hWER5Apj/s1600/The+Mortal+Instruments.jpg" height="105" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Review for City of Heavenly Fire <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-city-of-heavenly-fire-by.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The fact this has ended is like mind blowing to me. LIKE IT ENDED. IT ACTUALLY ENDED. It's been so long and such a great ride and just. Ah. There's a lot I want to say but the one thing I can really say about this novel is nostalgia. I started the series just before finishing elementary school and I've been looking forward to a new TMI book every other year (as TID crossed in inbetween) and now it's just. Over. There's a lot to love about it but it's also not everyone's cup of tea. Obviously I was a MAJOR fangirl at the start and now while I still love the series, it's no longer my obsession, but I'm still so glad that I read this because it lead me to The Infernal Devices which is one of my favourite series EVER.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Syrena Legacy</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.booksofwondershop.com/images/products/detail/oftritonseries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.booksofwondershop.com/images/products/detail/oftritonseries.jpg" height="198" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Series review can be found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/08/series-review-syrena-legacy-by-anna.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
This series is a roller coaster. It literally threatens to kill me with everything it throws me with. I'm not a huge fan of mermaid novels, but by far this is my favourite series for mermaids. Now this series isn't without it's flaws, completely suffering from the second book curse, but there's something about the setting and the characters that just almost makes up for all of it.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>Mythos Academy</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GSA4RnxCwP87EEJoEJKIrkTB0RMO4cUtkIdNPUM64s4NmuezjI1FnubwkiV8XRkEmMrjJGTpPHSGLpZFzgS_90xNcbpmfqI3kkh-oGOR7uEQKz4cOtRgKMQRpicd95GmgNB2pvHdTI9X/s1600/Mythos+Academy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GSA4RnxCwP87EEJoEJKIrkTB0RMO4cUtkIdNPUM64s4NmuezjI1FnubwkiV8XRkEmMrjJGTpPHSGLpZFzgS_90xNcbpmfqI3kkh-oGOR7uEQKz4cOtRgKMQRpicd95GmgNB2pvHdTI9X/s1600/Mythos+Academy.jpg" height="105" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Series review can be found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/08/series-review-mythos-academy-by.html">here</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Oh gosh another long time series come to an end. I started Mythos when Kiss of Frost had came out so I think I've been following this series for.. two years? While there are definitely rocky moments in this series and it could've been shorter, it is a great norse mythology series and I definitely really enjoyed it.</div>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<u>Also Known As</u></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0JhbIFBEU74Sagw9UkQBU0lJbAUTXuYNV7ujQ8Su_VWYGWTX1cvy1z7L9kqSrQbC8E9H1vcwU3BCJqS1ngJq2o07CfRvbqnfdkZ1bUDA2ENmDhpn8tZkkhMSBoP5kZeScSGah_zVEBJx/s1600/Also+Known+As+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0JhbIFBEU74Sagw9UkQBU0lJbAUTXuYNV7ujQ8Su_VWYGWTX1cvy1z7L9kqSrQbC8E9H1vcwU3BCJqS1ngJq2o07CfRvbqnfdkZ1bUDA2ENmDhpn8tZkkhMSBoP5kZeScSGah_zVEBJx/s1600/Also+Known+As+Series.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
I love this series. It's adorable and quirky and brings back those early Gallagher Girls' series feels. The characters are loveable and endearing and the plot is well paced and mixed perfectly with serious espionage and funny moments. Recommended if you're a fan of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series or Heist Society series.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>Everneath</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-bZb9AwkSRfIuMXArT3o8xbrZxvVN9a0BA4XHyOy0eN17bkYcTGEqLvCnwFif80jj1h8M8ztwnk9_X2_QDcfgThMnwdS-Kf_pAhG6s_G0bWQOxoMnB__ys6pW7wRQMZS3vteQP1OeJR4/s1600/Everneath+Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-bZb9AwkSRfIuMXArT3o8xbrZxvVN9a0BA4XHyOy0eN17bkYcTGEqLvCnwFif80jj1h8M8ztwnk9_X2_QDcfgThMnwdS-Kf_pAhG6s_G0bWQOxoMnB__ys6pW7wRQMZS3vteQP1OeJR4/s1600/Everneath+Series.jpg" height="206" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I won't lie, I started this series purely because Everneath was a gorgeous cover.<br />
#judgeme<br />
But it turned out to be a pretty good series. Nothing shocking or amazing, but it held its own. I enjoyed it for what is was, but it's nothing mindblowing. Good characters, plot and premise. Simple, cohesive and thorough. I will say though the covers are amazing.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Steampunk Chronicles</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCKGCag9BwG_TFAcTXSMeQks46jf-_B6ZbK8Lk1Ld_o1iT5ydTQfa2kvUG8lLmMDaj-kI5VrKhDhvV5K16tCM-HVE4EsGuV0IyO7KH4_1w9QaCIERbWqILmZ5iP8ko7wNIMDR1WoK4dn4/s1600/The+Steampunk+Chronicles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCKGCag9BwG_TFAcTXSMeQks46jf-_B6ZbK8Lk1Ld_o1iT5ydTQfa2kvUG8lLmMDaj-kI5VrKhDhvV5K16tCM-HVE4EsGuV0IyO7KH4_1w9QaCIERbWqILmZ5iP8ko7wNIMDR1WoK4dn4/s1600/The+Steampunk+Chronicles.jpg" height="145" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I meant to do a series review on this but never got around to it. I haven't read a great deal of steampunk but of what I've read, I like this series quite a lot. It starts off very strong with The Girl in the Steel Corset, and though it takes a bit of a div around the third book of the series, the fourth one wraps up everything in a very satisfying conclusion- although I will say the fourth one shifted focus of the main characters a bit.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Grisha Trilogy</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://firewaterman.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/grisha-trilogy-covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://firewaterman.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/grisha-trilogy-covers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Series review found <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/09/series-review-grisha-trilogy-by-leigh.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
This series is fantastic. It's high fantasy that's dark, edgy and sexy in all the right ways and has a fantastic premise and set up. Leigh Bardugo does not disappoint when it comes to writing, and a strong heroine who has flaws. And let me tell you, a villain to die for. Fantasy done right.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Lux Series</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.entangledinromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Lux-Series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.entangledinromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Lux-Series.jpg" height="166" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(I refuse to acknowledge the cover change of the fifth book. No. No. IT DOESN'T MATCH THE REST OF MY BOOKS ASDFGHJKL)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Oh gosh another Jennifer Armentrout series. She sure knows how to write paranormal romance. (or sci-fi in this case) I adored this series in the beginning. The beginning is the strongest of the series, as it is for most of Jennifer's series as I found. I didn't particularly love Origin or Opposition but it wrapped up the series. If anyone's who's looking for a snarky steamy series that pushes the boundaries of YA a little... wellllll :))<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Heroes of Olympus</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBL89Ri7clAkACGecTU4x8pIIkjkeGHSij77v_HMjULbDSm318_sB-gUm4xdDlLgt_22ZtvoWD1R7KC1mdyUPXlIIhk0FoZt38sUuCnE4mBJ8MdLoCmnzwEX0aFqTw-cph9Gs3JxrEQ2BD/s1600/The+Heroes+of+Olympus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBL89Ri7clAkACGecTU4x8pIIkjkeGHSij77v_HMjULbDSm318_sB-gUm4xdDlLgt_22ZtvoWD1R7KC1mdyUPXlIIhk0FoZt38sUuCnE4mBJ8MdLoCmnzwEX0aFqTw-cph9Gs3JxrEQ2BD/s1600/The+Heroes+of+Olympus.jpg" height="131" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Series review <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/10/series-review-heroes-of-olympus-by-rick.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
THANK YOU RICK FOR LEO VALDEZ. BLESS YOUR SOUL.<br />
And what are the chances we'll get more Percebeth???!!!!<br />
<br />
(Honestly if you haven't read Percy Jackson... REALLY!! Even I did it okay I like procrastinated on this series until The House of Hades)<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Darkest Minds</u></h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba3EVZuoxTVw32l7yV9Y8qmf7ABgETB7IYMHYTwDFwMj2eMhOjBb1lC5NzmlAazn16ypTEGTcYNqWdxBFV86hkiyN3tUe1lYc4HoG_5XZwvxdqnTT1gmuWy8AduI25LUTw_-R6fUMVh7M/s1600/The+Darkest+Minds+series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba3EVZuoxTVw32l7yV9Y8qmf7ABgETB7IYMHYTwDFwMj2eMhOjBb1lC5NzmlAazn16ypTEGTcYNqWdxBFV86hkiyN3tUe1lYc4HoG_5XZwvxdqnTT1gmuWy8AduI25LUTw_-R6fUMVh7M/s1600/The+Darkest+Minds+series.jpg" height="202" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I literally just finished this a while back. ALEXANDRA BRACKEN. WHY. WHY DO YOU LIKE TO TORTURE US. HUH. DO OUR HEARTS NOT MATTER??!!<br />
*breathes<br />
That aside, this series has such a cool premise, well written, AND UNBELIEVABLY GOOD CHARACTERS. Honestly you get so attached to them. I had a few issues with pacing, feeling like it dragged a little in the middle, but the characters are so worth it. The last book was a good conclusion but I wanted a little more out of it.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
DAY 1 OVER. Oh my gosh I forgot how much work these are with the picture formatting *drowns in self-pity for sucking at technology<br />
<br />
Thanks if you made it to the end of such a long post!<br />
Tomorrow will be my monthly post, and then two more days of Blog-A-Thon. WHEEEE.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-52292910141684673882014-12-21T20:33:00.001-08:002014-12-21T20:33:55.294-08:00Blog-A- Thon 2014 I'M ALIVVVE YESS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/majere616/media/GIFs/tumblr_lol0bmzOBd1qdx7pdo1_500.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt="I Live photo tumblr_lol0bmzOBd1qdx7pdo1_500.gif" border="0" src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z408/majere616/GIFs/tumblr_lol0bmzOBd1qdx7pdo1_500.gif" /></a><br />
<br />
I lived through my exams. Holy crap this isn't even my last year of high school yet. I AM NOW TERRFIED FOR NEXT YEAR. ASDFGHJJKL<br />
<br />
<br />
BUT ANYWAYS. I AM DONE. I AM EXCITED TO BE ON BREAK.<br />
So like last year, I'm going to be doing Blog-A-Thon again! Three days of posts to end off the year! Usually consisting of a year-end wrap of reviews for series, awards, and my top ten of the year. I'm going to throw in one more post this year. (A very opinionated end to the year... hehe)<br />
<br />
SO DATES: Janurary 1st will be my usual monthly post. I'm going to split Blog-A-Thon up a bit so the dates aren't to crazy. I will have one post on December 31st and then Janurary 2nd, 3rd, 4th will be the rest!<br />
<br />
<br />
Other than I'm going to see if a) I can finish off my reading challenge and b) if I can actually blog something.<br />
<br />
OKAY LATERRRAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-75867844543726977232014-12-06T16:10:00.000-08:002014-12-06T16:10:44.413-08:00Blog Tour: The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer by Laxmi Hariharan (Review + Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghwkuJa7Wm32eOy9OW4DHBYkzuiYUw86W8CWVHUgWm5_bQywkqAqgzimDU63vbF36amLRY9oNwVNd6LV9uFwpRZYcNawxlVACdCX8BHfKInFU0qBQEy4mdFME0Al-vTnQ1usRR8W2h_xiD/s1600/RubyIyer-TourBanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghwkuJa7Wm32eOy9OW4DHBYkzuiYUw86W8CWVHUgWm5_bQywkqAqgzimDU63vbF36amLRY9oNwVNd6LV9uFwpRZYcNawxlVACdCX8BHfKInFU0qBQEy4mdFME0Al-vTnQ1usRR8W2h_xiD/s1600/RubyIyer-TourBanner.jpg" height="133" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414869538l/23486880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414869538l/23486880.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer<br />
<b>Author:</b> Laxmi Hariharan<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4.25/5 stars - a suspenseful thriller but needs some backstory<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><strong><span style="color: #141412;">A girl desperate to
rescue her best friend.</span></strong><span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<strong>A cop willing to do anything to save the city he serves.</strong><br />
<strong>A delusional doctor bent on Bombay’s annihilation.</strong><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>When
Ruby Iyer’s best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr Kamini Braganza, she
will do anything to rescue him. Anything, including taking the help of the
unpleasant Vikram Roy, a cop on a mission to save Bombay.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>The
city needs all the help it can get, and these two are the only thing standing
between Bombay and its complete annihilation by Doctor Braganza’s teen army.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>As
Bombay falls apart around them, will Ruby be able to save her friend and the
city? Will she finally discover her place in a city where she has never managed
to fit in? And what about her growing feelings for Vikram?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<b><u>Get it on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Ruby-Iyer-Bombay-ebook/dp/B00NB3CP9C/">Amazon</a>, shelf it on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23486880-the-many-lives-of-ruby-iyer">Goodreads</a>.</u></b><br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>*Much thanks for Laxmi and her publicist Ally for sending me a copy of the novel so I can participate in this blog tour. Apologies for the post being a bit late as I had technical difficulties.</i></b><br />
<br />
I had not previously read of Laxmi's novels, but The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer was quite exciting.<br />
<br />
I would've gotten to this novel sooner had it not been something called finals, but when I finally found like to sit down and enjoy this novel, I finished it in one sitting. Laxmi has such wonderful control on the tension and the plotline of this story. It's tense in all the right places, and nothing too revealing is given away which keeps the plot fast paced and leaving you to want more.<br />
<br />
Our main character Ruby Iyer is a likeable protagonist who we can sympathize and understand through the story. There are hints to her childhood that give us an idea to why she is who she is today, and it shows why she has such loyalty to her best friend because of her own past. Also. BAD. ASS. Can I please have her fighting skills. PLLLLLEASE?<br />
<br />
My own issue was the book was I felt like it needed a bit more to it. I wanted more on Ruby's childhood and backstory, as well as more on the other characters, especially her best friend Pankaj. He's an equally interesting character and there were more things I wanted to know about him! Perhaps they will be explained in the second novel... (<s>BUT I WANT IT NOW).</s><br />
<br />
While the romance was not what I was particularly interested in throughout the story, it certainly didn't take away from the story. So don't worry if you're concerned that it becomes the main issue of the story!<br />
<br />
There were so many elements to the story that I did wanted to get some more information on. No spoilers, but I wanted to know why certain things were the way they were or a little more on why this happen the way it did. Whether or not it was because we needed to wait until the second book, I don't know, but I would've like a little extra background to go with everything.<br />
<br />
All in all, The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer was an riveting and action packed novel. I'm <s>dying</s> looking forward to the next novel, and perhaps try out Laxmi's other novels.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">About the Author</span></u></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: #f9b7ff; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9F_aHTm55GvN3SNKlZMejW4e8UqX7x-gxIVxPpUY7Knv0jtZVzuzedyIrs-mYH0zMeu6cbk6vSa31kRwot_ZAZaBEXhOBH4-CBwQ4WI3bkTY0PtyUbjvZMLQJAvahBYA72UKQ3tjDcR-/s1600/Laxmi+Hariharan+Author+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9F_aHTm55GvN3SNKlZMejW4e8UqX7x-gxIVxPpUY7Knv0jtZVzuzedyIrs-mYH0zMeu6cbk6vSa31kRwot_ZAZaBEXhOBH4-CBwQ4WI3bkTY0PtyUbjvZMLQJAvahBYA72UKQ3tjDcR-/s1600/Laxmi+Hariharan+Author+Photo.jpg" height="200" width="159" /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">
</a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Laxmi Hariharan</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
near life experience told Laxmi Hariharan to write. She never stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Laxmi
is the creator of Ruby Iyer, and the Amazon bestselling, eLit Gold winner<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="mso-field-code: " HYPERLINK \0022http\:\/\/www\.amazon\.com\/Destiny-Shaitan-Inspired-Mythology-Chronicles-ebook\/dp\/B007M2IBH8\/\0022 \\t \0022_blank\0022 ";"><em><span style="color: blue;">The Destiny of Shaitan</span></em></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Bombay Chronicles, 1). She has been a journalist and a global
marketer with NBCU and MTV. Laxmi also blogs for Huffington Post, among others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";">London
is where she writes. Bombay is what fires her imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reach
her<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">@laxmi</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="color: #141412;">or at</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #141412;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">http://www.laxmihariharan.com/</span>. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Giveaway!</span></u></div>
<br />
'Cause who doesn't love free stuff. It's a simple as you can get: a rafflecopter giveaway. Good luck!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/22bd3a2a38/" id="rc-22bd3a2a38" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-2831912956471929172014-12-01T09:00:00.000-08:002014-12-01T09:00:00.116-08:00December 2014<div class="p1">
Monthly Wish List for this month and what I've read and seen this past month.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book List: </b></div>
<div class="p1">
<i>*synopses may be spoilery if you have not read the previous books in the series. All synopses were found on Goodreads.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399982893l/13138734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399982893l/13138734.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Book:</b> This Shattered World (Book #2 in the Starbound series)</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Authors:</b> Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Release Date:</b> December 23rd </div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<i><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.</span></i></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Note From Carmen: WHO ELSE IS SUPS EXCITE FOR THIS? I'm a little sad it's not Lilac and Tarver.... but hey I'm sure it'll be just as great.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392421314l/17342700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392421314l/17342700.jpg" width="133" /></b></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Book:</b> Gathering Darkness (Book #3 in the Falling Kingdoms series)</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Author:</b> Morgan Rhodes</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Release Date:</b> December 9th </div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">• THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved.</span></i></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
Note From Carmen: Every time I feel like I'm getting a grasp on this series and can predict what's coming and who I ship, THE BOOK THROWS ME AGAINST THE WALL and is like NOPE HAVE A TASTE OF THIS PLOT TWIST. </div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404743153l/20821306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404743153l/20821306.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Book:</b> Zodiac (Book #1 of the Zodiac series)</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Author:</b> Romina Russell</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Release Date:</b> December 9th </div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<i><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">At the dawn of time, there were 13 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now only 12 remain….</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancerian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Embark on a dazzling journey with ZODIAC, the first novel in an epic sci-fi-meets-high-fantasy series set in a galaxy inspired by the astrological signs.</strong></i></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389315985l/18782855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389315985l/18782855.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Book:</b> Princess of Thorns</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Author: </b>Stacey Jay</div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<i><span class="elementTwo" id="freeText1066744357205902580" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Game of Thrones meets the Grimm's fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty's daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.<br /><br />Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne ten years ago.<br /><br />Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403756468l/18657327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403756468l/18657327.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book: </b>Transcendent (Book #3 in the Starling series)<br />
<b>Author: </b>Lesley Livingston<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> December 23rd<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">LOVE CONQUERS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">On a storm-swept terrace high above the streets of Manhattan, Mason Starling holds the fate of the world in her hands as her beloved Fennrys lies bleeding at her feet, his life hanging in the balance. The ancient Norse prophecy of Ragnarok stands poised on the knife edge of fulfillment. Mason’s transformation into a Valkyrie—a chooser of the slain and the one who will ultimately bring about the end of the world—is complete. Still, she remains determined to thwart her father’s apocalyptic desires. Whatever is to come, it won’t happen because of what the prophecy foretold, or what Gunnar Starling has planned, or what the fates have already decided. What happens next will be up to Mason and the Fennrys Wolf. The world had better hope they haven’t reached the limits of what their souls and swords can survive.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, and set in the same universe as Lesley Livingston’s much-loved WONDROUS STRANGE trilogy, with roots in Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, and Celtic myths and legends, this thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Starling trilogy is filled to the hilt with sweeping adventure and soaring romance.</span></i><br />
<br />
Note From Carmen: SO. EXCITED. I love Fenn way too much.</div>
<div class="p2">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<div class="p2">
<b><u>November Obsessions:</u></b></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Books:</b></div>
<div class="p2">
The Perilous Sea</div>
<div class="p2">
The Book Thief</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<b>Other Stuff:</b></div>
<div class="p2">
Nothing Much to Do</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<b><u>Things I Read/Saw in November:</u></b></div>
<div class="p2">
The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer (<b><u>*Blog Tour coming soon!</u></b>)</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
*again, sad reading month much... sigh</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-45331976774750926692014-11-29T21:07:00.002-08:002014-11-29T21:07:26.849-08:00Excuses, ExcusesHEEEY GUYYYS DID YOU MISS ME?<br />
<br />
Okay maybe not really haha. I'm actually kinda sick right now.<br />
<br />
I'm sorry I've been so absent this month... I finally made it to end of term so I got all my tests done! I just wanted you guys to know I lived. :D<br />
<br />
Just a few quick updates:<br />
<br />
a) there will be a December post<br />
<br />
b) I watched Mockingjay!! It was pretty good- though I would say Catching Fire was better. Even any of you want a review on that, just comment!<br />
<br />
c) I'm hosting part of the blog tour for The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer! There will be a <b>giveaway</b> because who doesn't love giveaways? I have read the book.. (i.e. today because EFFING EXAMS) and I will say right now that it a great thriller. Come back on <b>December 6th </b>for the full post!<br />
<br />
Other than that, I think that's preeettty much it. Okaaay baaai.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-53253596227834921392014-11-01T21:37:00.001-07:002014-11-01T21:37:08.542-07:00November 2014*WHOOPS A LITTLE LATE THIS MONTH SORRY GUYS<br />
<br />
<div class="p1">
Monthly Wish List for this month and what I've read and seen this past month.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book List: </b></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<i>*synopses may be spoilery if you have not read the previous books in the series. All synopses were found on Goodreads</i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395159015l/16303287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395159015l/16303287.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book: </b>The Bane Chronicles</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Authors:</b> Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> Nov 11th</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span class="elementTwo" id="freeText8402571844126751398" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><strong>A Collection of Ten Short Stories centred around Magnus Bane. Each short story is going to be published as an ebook followed by a Full Single Print Coming 2014</strong><br /><br />Ever wondered about the enigmatic, mysterious warlock Magnus Bane? The only character to appear in every Shadowhunter book, Magnus has a past even more shrouded in mystery than his present. I’ve teamed up with acclaimed YA writers Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan to create the Bane Chronicles, the back (and front) story of Magnus told in ten linked tales.<br /><br />Look for short stories like Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale; The Rise and Fall of the Hotel Dumort; Saving Raphael Santiago and What To Buy The Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You’re Not Officially Dating Anyway). Each story will be available as an ebook on a monthly basis starting April 16 with the tale of What Happened In Peru.<br /><br />Each story will be released monthly online for the next ten months — and then for those who don’t read e-books, the full print collection will be available in bookstores and wherever else books are sold after the Chronicles have been finished.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: I actually haven't read the short stories- I knew I wanted to own the print edition and to save money I decided to wait until the print edition came out. BUT OMG FINALLY TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED IN PERU.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392675344l/20522640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392675344l/20522640.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Mortal Heart (Book #3 in His Fair Assassin series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author: </b>Robin LaFevers</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> Nov 4th</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span class="elementTwo" id="freeText5705455067241500131" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.<br /><br />She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392311753l/18889290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392311753l/18889290.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Forbidden</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Kimberley Griffiths Little</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> Nov 4th</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span class="elementTwo" id="freeText15483993093024019397" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.<br /><br />Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying.<br /><br />With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.<br /><br />Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY GOOD THINGS I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS. I want this so badly.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<u><b>October Obsessions:</b></u></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Books</b></div>
<div class="p1">
The Blood of Olympus (THE. END. OMG. Series review <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.ca/2014/10/series-review-heroes-of-olympus-by-rick.html">here</a>.)</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Other Stuff</b></div>
<div class="p1">
Nothing Much to Do (Web Series) (CAN WE JUST.)</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>What I Read/Watched in October and Didn't Review:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater</div>
<div class="p1">
What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Frankenstein, MD. (Web Series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>*side note: THIS IS THE SADDEST READING MONTH I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. AND I GENUINELY MEAN THAT. DAMMIT SENIOR GRADE OF HIGH SCHOOL.</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-9737713577007746602014-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:002014-12-30T20:49:23.171-08:00Series Review: The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-Eum3-z8uU-XG-0VyoJVZ4nfkVLzkrXSsNZYXmLuWRvg0p9gKCbkeZutarikqlYeAFNmAma1EI6E_x4xWKll0-_-tTRPWjQ0nd7wReGi17Pl_vLSMirWzYTzn2guG1EMN5T9hYQkM3ux/s1600/Heroes+of+Olympus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-Eum3-z8uU-XG-0VyoJVZ4nfkVLzkrXSsNZYXmLuWRvg0p9gKCbkeZutarikqlYeAFNmAma1EI6E_x4xWKll0-_-tTRPWjQ0nd7wReGi17Pl_vLSMirWzYTzn2guG1EMN5T9hYQkM3ux/s1600/Heroes+of+Olympus.jpg" height="117" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Series:</b> The Heroes of Olympus<br />
<b>Author: </b>Rick Riordan<br />
<b>Books:</b> The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, The Blood of Olympus<br />
<b>Series Rating:</b> 4.5/5 stars- a great follow up series but not without it's flaws<br />
<b>Book #1's rating:</b> 4/5 stars- Enjoyable but I need Percy. Leo Valdez is amazing.<br />
<b>Book #2's rating </b>4.75/stars- PERRRRCCCCY<br />
<b>Book #3's rating:</b> 5/5 stars- CRYING EVERYTHING IS JUST NOT OKAY<br />
<b>Book #4's rating:</b> 5/5 stars - breathtaking in the perfect balance<br />
<b>Book #5's rating:</b> 5/5 stars - clean, enjoyable, I really loved it, but I do have to give it a small slap on the hand<br />
<br />
<b>Synopsis of The Lost Hero:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.</span></i><br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
*just a heads up guys, I'm anticipating this to be a looong review<br />
<br />
So if you guys don't know, The Heroes of Olympus is the spin off series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians! There will be spoilers for Percy Jackson, but not (any major spoilers, but minor tidbits of knowledge) for The Heroes of Olympus. (except for the spoiler section cause how can I not?) So if you haven't read Percy Jackson- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING GET ON BOARD ALREADY EVEN I DID IT AND I PROCRASTINATE ON EVERYTHING.<br />
<br />
*cough<br />
<br />
That aside, I will not be doing a fangirl reaction, not because I didn't fangirl, but because god knows how long that section will be on top of this review that's already going to be pretty long.<br />
<br />
The Heroes of Olympus was a bandwagon I jumped on late... like Percy Jackson, but this time I did hold on with a purpose: that I wouldn't have to die with anxiety for the books to come out. HAHAHA. So yes, I feel really bad for all the people who had to wait for House of Hades... but yeah I read Mark of Athena after it came out. >:) I did have to wait for Blood of Olympus though.<br />
<br />
While I enjoyed The Heroes of Olympus, I definitely can think of flaws in this series that made me prefer the Percy Jackson series more. DON'T GET ME WRONG: this is series is fantabulous. It has one of my most favourite characters in it and one of my otps. But Percy Jackson just happens to be more fantabulous.<br />
<br />
<br />
In this review I mainly want to talk about the characters and then just a mishmash of other thoughts. OH AND THE ENDING BRIEFLY (but more about that in the spoiler section hehe)<br />
<br />
LET'S GET TO IT<br />
<br />
<b><u>Characters</u></b><br />
<br />
Before I talk about each character individually, I want to say that my personal opinion for The Heroes Olympus is that there were too many characters. I thought seven demigods was too much, and I would've been happy with five, plus Nico and Reyna. I feel like everything was so scattered and some characters could've been completely eliminated.<br />
<br />
Jason:<br />
<br />
Let's start with the controversial Jason Grace. I know from other reviewers that they think Jason... is a bit useless. I personally don't think so- I definitely agree that he wasn't too defined in the beginning of the series, but I did warm up to him a little at House of Hades and beginning of Blood of Olympus. His character growth is most apparent there and his internal conflict is a good and important one once Rick Riordan introduces the idea of two camps. Having a son of Zeus to kind of balance Percy out is definitely... interesting. Two children of the Big Three... there's got to be some fun interesting demigod powers on display.<br />
<br />
Piper:<br />
<br />
You know how people thought Jason was useless? I thought Piper was beyond useless for at least the first three books. I warmed up a little to her for House of Hades and Blood of Olympus but I still thought she was annoying. I feel like Rick Riordan tried to "break" the stereotypes with her character and it didn't really work on me... and she just wasn't interesting, and truthfully speaking, plain annoying. I feel like she was only needed for her charmspeak, and... yeah. You know which demigod I would get rid of.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/gross_zps07964699.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo gross_zps07964699.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/gross_zps07964699.gif" height="165" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Leo:<br />
<br />
Remember how in the beginning I said this series has one of my favourite characters and otp? Well otp aside, LEO VALDEZ IS THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER. I loved this damn boy. There was something about him being the single of the seven that's not matched up with everyone else that gave him an edge of vulnerability and he just tried so hard to be strong and hide it. OHMYGODS. He's absolutely hilarious, probably he and Percy are my favourite comic relief during the story, and just the way he acts and how loyal he is to everyone makes him so much more of a dynamic character than Piper and even Jason. By far, of the seven demigods, beside Annabeth and Percy, I definitely connected to Leo the most and understood his backstory and character best.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/Tumblr_m6s63y6eQm1rq9fz6_large_zpsdcec8b7d.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Tumblr_m6s63y6eQm1rq9fz6_large_zpsdcec8b7d.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/Tumblr_m6s63y6eQm1rq9fz6_large_zpsdcec8b7d.gif" height="150" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Percy:<br />
<br />
He's Percy FREAKING Jackson. Done. No more words needed.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/RIcCnj4_zps5fbf3e9c.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo RIcCnj4_zps5fbf3e9c.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/RIcCnj4_zps5fbf3e9c.gif" height="229" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Annabeth:<br />
<br />
I originally was a bit iffy on Annabeth's return. I loved her in Percy Jackson. But as soon as she was alone without Percy, it almost seemed like it snuffed out the spark in her. Which totally makes sense, but makes for a bit of a downer. But I grew to love her even more in Mark of Athena. Her quest and part in this prophecy is something really fearless and is proved that she is meant to be here, even though she doesn't have lightning like Jason or control over everything water like Percy.<br />
<br />
Also PERCEBETH. Just. Sigh. Seedweed Brain and Wise Girl. Forever an otp of mine.<br />
<br />
<br />
Hazel:<br />
<br />
I feel like Hazel is the counterpart to Piper. She's not annoying, and I actually quite liked her. She's very quiet and determined, but when the girl needs something done, SHE GETS IT DONE. She might not be the most talented and use her powers sparingly throughout the story but she is a comforting presence and how she makes Frank embarrassed and blushy is funny as hell.<br />
<br />
Frank:<br />
<br />
My homie. Basically. How can I not love a fellow Asian Vancouverite?! I loved his character growth throughout the series, becoming more and more confident in himself and being more and more comfortable in his own skin. I especially love the dynamic between Leo and Frank, they're so just much fun to read about when they're together.<br />
<br />
Nico:<br />
<br />
I have to give Nico a shoutout. I know some people thought he got really weird and emo-y and stuff BUT LITERALLY I DON'T CARE. He's like the character I want to just hug and reassure and say "everything will be okay" will patting them on the head and feeding them tubs of ice cream. His vulnerability in this series finally came into the spotlight and just... everything came into place at the end. I absolutely love what Rick Riordan did with his character.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/tumblr-the-perfect-gif2_zpsc686b122.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo tumblr-the-perfect-gif2_zpsc686b122.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/tumblr-the-perfect-gif2_zpsc686b122.gif" height="131" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
Reyna:<br />
<br />
Reyna is every bit the badass strong fearless person I want to be that I probably can never be. I really grew to love her in Blood of Olympus and that final scene... ohmygosh. Her backstory was interesting and I'm really sad we didn't get to see more of her.<br />
<br />
<b><u>General Thoughts</u></b><br />
<br />
In general, I really liked how we saw more of the different gods and places and myths in this series, and the dynamics of the entire prophecy coming together. I didn't care for all the POVs, I really would've prefer to have less characters for that reason, and I agree with everyone else, we needed a Percy and Annabeth chapter in Blood of Olympus to wrap everything up nicely. I just want a final farewell, and just everything to kind of fall into place. I wasn't dissatisfied with the ending, but I definitely want Rick Riordan to write a short story after because it ends in a bit of an awkward ending.<br />
<br />
The humour is still on point here, and the plots are written very well- good climax, good rising action and in some cases VERY TOO GOOD PAINFUL CLIFFHANGERS UGGH<br />
<br />
<br />
(this is so hard to try and do without spoiling everything)<br />
<br />
But although I don't think this series quite matches up with Percy Jackson, it was definitely an interesting pace and different way of storytelling and I think it's worth reading. Go give it a go! And those of you who have read it- READ THE SPOILER SECTION THEN LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS :))<br />
<br />
(I finally figured out how to hide a spoiler section guys aren't you so proud of me?!!)<br />
<a href="javascript:expandcollapse('subtopic0001')">
</a>
<br />
<h4>
<a href="javascript:expandcollapse('subtopic0001')">CLICK FOR SPOILER SECTION</a></h4>
<span class="posthidden" id="subtopic0001">
Just a quick run down on stuff for some characters that I didn't say up there.<br />
<br />
Jason: Liked him, don't hate him but I wouldn't cry without him. I did like when he promised to do his best to recognize minor gods. His internal conflict of being Greek or Roman was also great as well, it gave more layers to him and I ended up liking him much better by the end of the series.<br />
<br />
Percy & Annabeth: As much as I wished Percy & Annabeth was more of a central role in this series, I acknowledge that he and Annabeth had their major moments in their own series, and that they were more supporting in this series, and truthfully speaking, they completed their part of the prophecy by House of Hades.<br />
<br />
Except for the nosebleed for Blood of Olympus. DIED OF LAUGHTER. Wakes Gaia up by a nosebleed. Such a Rick Riordan thing. On top of that, Percy complains about it. Hilarious.<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/492476_zpsd1904996.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 492476_zpsd1904996.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/492476_zpsd1904996.gif" height="240" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
They were adorable though, and him falling down into Tartarus for her... just. WHERE CAN I FIND A BOYFRIEND LIKE THAT?<br />
<br />
Also- just a part I also really liked: when the camps are fighting Gaia and Reyna and Frank were commanding the Romans into an efficient army with all their fancy Latin commands, and Percy's just like "Umm Greeks... LET'S FIGHT. AND STUFF. CHARRRGE!!"<br />
<br />
DIED.<br />
<br />Nico: I really want things to work out between him and Will Solace. I love how he find his self-esteem in the end and confronts Percy with his feelings and comes clean. It's like a heavy baggage off his back. And his relationship with Reyna was such a great bond in Blood of Olympus.<br />
<br />
Reyna: THE SCENE OF HER RETURNING ATHENA TO CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Reyna is basically amazing. I loved her determination, the small guilt she carries with her, and that fighting spirit. LOVE HER. Like I said, her and Nico's relationship was really beneficial to each other in the story and I really really wished we could've seen more between them. Instead of being annoyed by having even more POVs in the story, I genuinely enjoyed reading from their point of views.<br />
<br />
Leo is getting an entire section because he's basically the entire ending of the series. THAT SELF SACRIFICING FOOL. I was scared and freaked out all of the novel that he would actually go suicidal for the greater good and just ugggh. The whole time I was just screaming at him that he made a promise to Calypso and he better keep it. I loved him and Calypso. Them together in House of Hades... ohmygosh. The fact that we got Calypso to return and we gave her freedom is just.. EVERYTHING CAME FULL CIRCLE. But luckily Leo pulled through and reconnected with her and it was happy and beautiful and everything was great. I wanted though, to read when Leo met up with everyone else with Calypso. Can you imagine him coming home on Festus with Calypso clinging to his waist and him screaming "I'MMMM BACK GUYS!!"<br />Seriously I WOULD KILL TO READ THAT SCENE.<br />
<br />
I definitely wanted a more conclusive ending to Blood of Olympus- whether or not Rick left it open-ended intentionally for his next series, I have no idea, but I rather he wrapped it up and start one with no relevance to this world. Sort of like The Kane Chronicles.<br />
<br />
I can't say I was disappointed with what I got though. This series has been a great joy to read and I have some definitely favourite moments and characters and being able to see more of Percebeth and meeting this lovely character called Leo Valdez... all worth it.</span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-13305650999306921002014-10-23T23:37:00.001-07:002014-10-23T23:37:34.357-07:00Quick Announcement!HEELLLLO PEOPLE<br />
I AM STILL ALIVE.<br />
woooohoooooo.<br />
<br />
Okay so by now you guys are probably used to use me having impromptu hiatus, and yes this one is no different. School started, and since I'm a senior grade high school student now (!!) LIFE IS DIFFICULT. (Also, to my fellow Americans, I'm a junior I think by your school system... not exactly a senior haha)<br />
<br />
So why am I semi-back? I have a longer extended weekend this week, and I plan to use it to FINALLY WRITE MY REVIEW FOR THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS.<br />
<br />
I know, I'm so late. SORRY. But better late than never right? Also, just warning you, it's going to be a LONG REVIEW. I'm debating if I want to split the series review away from the last book and do a review on the last book alone since there's so much to talk about! But we'll see how the series review goes first.<br />
<br />
There will be a November post, so breathe. I will try to squeeze in another review, and trust me I haven been meaning to do a review of a couple things but honestly the amount of time I have is virtually nonexistent sometimes.<br />
<br />
I WILL SEE YOU SOON. (Or talk to you via writing technically...)<br />
Love y'all <3Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-4488017207428912852014-10-01T14:00:00.000-07:002014-10-01T14:00:03.991-07:00October 2014<div class="p1">
Monthly Wish List for this month and what I've read and seen this past month.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book List: </b></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<i>*synopses may be spoilery if you have not read the previous books in the series. All synopses were found on Goodreads</i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i>*again the fall season is so bad for my wallet</i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400098639l/18705209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400098639l/18705209.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> The Blood of Olympus (Book #5 in the Heroes of Olympus series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Rick Riordan</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 7th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Argo II</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Athena Parthenos will go west; the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Argo II</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: HOLY SHIT IT'S THE LAST ONE OMG </div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397581124l/17331828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397581124l/17331828.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Talon (Book #1 in the Talon series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Julie Kagawa</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 28th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: JULIE'S BACK WITH A NEW SERIES YAAAY</div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1401809311l/20309175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1401809311l/20309175.jpg" width="123" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Authors:</b> Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt de la Pena, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Myra McEntire, Stephanie Perkins, Rainbow Rowell, Laini Taylor, Kiersten White</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 14th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.</i></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: LOOK AT THAT LINEUP??!! HOW COULD I NOT.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407450870l/18518923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407450870l/18518923.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Chaos (Book #3 in the Guards of the Shadowlands trilogy)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author: </b>Sarah Fine</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 7th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis: </b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">With Juri in control and everything in absolute chaos, Lela plunges into the depths of hell to free Malachi from creatures that have waited decades to exact their revenge. But the Judge has her own way of doing things, and Lela must work with Ana, the new Captain, who has a very personal mission of her own. Together, they infiltrate the most horrifying realm either has yet encountered in the Shadowlands—the bitter landscape ruled by the Mazikin.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The stakes could not be higher, and Lela must accept the help—and love—of people she barely knows or trusts. As alliances and loyalties shift and she realizes the soul she came to save isn’t the only one in need of rescue, can Lela summon the strength to see the fight through to the very end?</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: can we just. that ending. ugh I NEED THIS.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407808006l/20757521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407808006l/20757521.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Love and Other Unknown Variables</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Shannon Lee Alexander</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 7th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: Being a complete math nerd, I absolutely love the premise of this.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407318366l/17984141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407318366l/17984141.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> The Young Elites (Book #1 in the Young Elites series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Marie Lu</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 7th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<em style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></em></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: MARIE LU IS BACK GUYS AYYYYYYY SO EXCITED</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392224823l/17399160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392224823l/17399160.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> Snow Like Ashes (Book #1 in the Snow like Ashes series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Sara Raasch</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 14th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<strong style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400697474l/16150831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400697474l/16150831.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book:</b> In the Afterlight (Book #3 in the Darkest Minds Trilogy)</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Author:</b> Alexandra Bracken</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Release Date:</b> October 28th </div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Synopsis:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.</span></i></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Note From Carmen: RUBY. LIAM. CHUBS. MY BFFLS. </div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>September Obsessions:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<u>Books:</u></div>
<div class="p1">
Heir of Fire (HOLY SHIT)</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<u>Other Stuff:</u></div>
<div class="p1">
You From Another Star (K-Drama) (can we just. I'm ONLY ON EPISODE 8. BUT SCHOOL STARTED NOOO)</div>
<div class="p1">
My birthday. and all the fun stuff that comes with it.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>What I Read in September and Didn't Review:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
Crash Into You (Book #3 in the Pushing the Limits series) </div>
<div class="p1">
Take Me On (Book #4 in the Pushing the Limits series)</div>
<div class="p1">
The Promise of Amazing (ssh... possible review on that one)</div>
<div class="p1">
Landry Park (Book #1 in the Landry Park series)</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-87751654594309962202014-09-25T11:30:00.000-07:002014-09-25T11:30:01.364-07:00Birthday Haul!!My birthday was in September. I bought myself some stuff and got some as well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRigOpBnB9BeCK-7PsqPsUt5Av261vQ8kAdr2-EK66dHYAgO6v_U44BIm9cpwtx3v9Io4aJFkx9TtapM_n98TGlYqf_29zuBb1bKhahhWWHdBmm7I2ULi2zl30eSLU24oOCD0XO0EPjze/s1600/DSC_0328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRigOpBnB9BeCK-7PsqPsUt5Av261vQ8kAdr2-EK66dHYAgO6v_U44BIm9cpwtx3v9Io4aJFkx9TtapM_n98TGlYqf_29zuBb1bKhahhWWHdBmm7I2ULi2zl30eSLU24oOCD0XO0EPjze/s1600/DSC_0328.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zavin</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The entire Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Much thanks to my friends and family who were so generous, and myself for buying myself most of these books :D (hey self love is much needed for birthdays, and what better way to express that then to by yourself a boatload of books? Like the ENTIRE TIGER SAGA? Hush sensible Carmen, you didn't spend <i>that</i> much on yourself) </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have read a couple of the books in that stack, and I would recommend My Life Undecided to contemporary fans, and if you want to check out my review of the Grisha Trilogy you can find it <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/09/series-review-grisha-trilogy-by-leigh.html">here.</a> You can also find my review of The Tiger Saga <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/book-series-review-tiger-saga-by.html">here.</a></div>
<br />
Also this post is a little late because I waited after my birthday to haul The Perilous Sea and The Infinite Sea along with everything... they just had to come out after my birthday. BUT I JUST NEEDED THEM.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-46416482465829208652014-09-23T11:30:00.000-07:002014-09-23T11:30:01.791-07:00Book Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393621595l/16059938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393621595l/16059938.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Black Ice<br />
<b>Author:</b> Becca Fitzpatrick<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4/5 stars - I feel like I enjoyed this more than I should've.. but hey it was fun<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> October 7th<br />
<b>Synopsis (as found on Goodreads):</b><br />
<br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Sometimes danger is hard to see... until it’s too late. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there... and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span><b>
Review:</b><br />
<br />
<i>*I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway, but this has in no way affected my review. (except for getting this review out earlier I guess) Merci beaucoup :)</i><br />
<br />
If you guys didn't know or have been living under a rock <s>for 5 years</s> recently, Becca Fitzpatrick is the author to the good old Hush, Hush Saga. Now my feelings about that series are... mixed to say the least so to be completely honest, I didn't really walk in with high expectations.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's because of those expectations, but I weirdly enjoyed the book. I certainly had issues with it, it was by no means perfect, but I did like it enough.<br />
<br />
Now going into this I knew it was a thriller/mystery type novel (which is why it was an awful idea to read it in like the dead of night) so I was looking to see if there was that edge of tension and dark atmosphere and a solid mystery with good foreshadowing that didn't give away too many clues.<br />
<br />
The prologue? ABSOLUTELY CHILLING. The tension was done so well, and the atmosphere was quickly introduced and it spurred us to keep going to see how it all linked together. I don't know if it's good or sad that it might be my favourite part of the book.<br />
<br />
One thing I did really like from the Hush, Hush Saga is how well Becca Fitzpatrick made a dark, edgy almost grim atmosphere in a real world setting. I think that's something hard to do well, and I think that is one thing Becca does very well, and it shows through again in Black Ice. The atmosphere is gritty, bleak and yet it felt like it could actually happen on that off chance of luck.<br />
<br />
The mystery held up a lot longer than I thought it would (for me), and even once I started putting two and two together, there was still good suspense, because once you know, the next thought is: <i>wait so how is everything going to come crashing down???</i> I think the plot was built very well to let readers kind of figure things out one step ahead, and even after, there's still this small amount of suspense to keep you going to see how it all unfolds.<br />
<br />
My main problem is that I didn't care for the main character at all... there's really no stakes in it if you don't really care if the main character lives or not. Britt was your typical hormonal teenage girl... seriously this book probably would have never happened if she wasn't so nutty over her ex. I can let the teenage stuff slide a little because I am a teenager and I get it. Other than that though, there's nothing about Britt that particularly stands out, besides being REALLY STUPID AT CERTAIN TIMES.<br />
<br />
That aside, the other characters were enjoyable, the romance was... okay? I had issues with it but it's not like completely unbearable. A part of me wants to yell about it, a part of me thinks it's kind of weirdly cute.<br />
<br />
Overall, Black Ice is a gripping, tantalizing and dark thriller, but it lacks a bit (okay kind of a lot) of a punch in the character department. Gold star for the atmosphere though.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-26725912012441104942014-09-18T18:18:00.000-07:002014-09-18T18:18:01.024-07:00Web Series Review: Emma Approved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://38.media.tumblr.com/de24782475c289f36e68c3d3027ef66f/tumblr_mwocum5smE1s5iqtro1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://38.media.tumblr.com/de24782475c289f36e68c3d3027ef66f/tumblr_mwocum5smE1s5iqtro1_1280.jpg" height="203" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Series:</b> Emma Approved<br />
<b># of episodes:</b> 72<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 4.75/5 stars- I think might love this more than LBD??!!<br />
<br />
<b>Synopsis (as found on the Pemberly Digital page):</b><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #555555; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 15px;">
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Pemberley Digital presents Emma Approved, a full-length adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Emma. The series follows the iconic Emma Woodhouse, re-imagined as a young brilliant entrepreneur who runs a life coaching and matchmaking business with her business partner and lifelong friend Alex Knightley.</i></div>
<div style="color: #555555; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; margin-bottom: 15px;">
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">As Emma’s elaborate schemes to make everyone’s lives better lead to unexpected dramas and revelations, she learns to listen to the people around her and open her own heart to the possibility of love.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Review:</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
*this review comes to you from a girl who is only halfway through Emma. Therefore, comparisons between the book and series will not be made. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Going into this series, I obviously had high expectations, because of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (Emmy worthy need I remind you) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My impression when I watched the first episode that there was a lot of room for character growth. Emma, while I loved her sassiness, had a couple things to learn. (Like those khakis were actually pretty hot <i>*cough</i>)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Over the weeks, I grew to love this wild and confident character who was unnervingly loyal to her friends, and <i>tries</i> to do the right thing, even though her ways <i>may</i> be a little twisted.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Joanna Sotomura plays Emma with such earnest and honesty. I loved her portrayal of Emma, and she and Brent Bailey had some <i>serious</i> chemistry. (Probably because they became a real life couple halfway)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking of Brent Bailey, his portrayal of Knightley was AMAZING. Of all the characters, I think he had the most realistic feeling to him and one of the most enjoyable adaptations of Knightley.<br />
<br />
The story arc was pretty well done, with the hiatuses timed in well with the storyline. I liked how we had a set arc for each month and how everything came together, the transmedia (I was kind of on and off on the transmedia side of things though) and the characters.<br />
<br />
If you guys know, Emma Approved is set in the same universe as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and the little shoutouts to the series is great, and a character from the Lizzie Bennet Diaries returns to make a <i>forceful</i> impact to this series. I think that story arc where that character returns is probably my favourite because I feel like that created the most character growth.<br />
<br />
In terms of transmedia, personally I really enjoyed Emma's blog. I think it emphasized her "lifestyle excellence" side of her character and it was really cute and fun. It's also a really great way for some fans to be able to purchase what those characters wear. (because sometimes you see a character on TV or wherever wear a shirt you want SO MUCH but you have no clue where to find it)<br />
<br />
I feel like Emma Approved being a series coming after The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was bound to have them compared. While I think Emma Approved maybe not be as widely everybody's cup of tea as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was, I personally enjoyed Emma Approved a whole lot more. Maybe it was just really good casting, but I feel like the bonds between these characters are much stronger and there's so much more humour in this series. The characters are also much more unique. Aside from Lizzie, most of the other characters are very similar to the original novel (and yes I have read P&P shocker, I know) and it was very much just simply a modern adaptation, which of course made it successful because who doesn't love faithful adaptations. I think Emma Approved was more risky and creative, and for me, it really paid of, because Emma has a lovability in this series that I don't feel in the book (as least as far as the book I've gotten) and Alex is like 50 times more interesting.<br />
<br />
As for Harriet and B-Mart I really liked them as well, although Harriet's character was sometimes so timid that I actually wondered how she's managed to not get taken advantage by other people all this time... but she did become a stronger character, and while her character growth was a bit slow, it did happen.<br />
<br />
This series was much shorter than The Lizzie Bennet Diaries but it was just as enjoyable, if not more in my opinion. I think it's definitely worth checking out, and if you're a little put off by Emma's character at the beginning, I really encourage you to stick through and see it unfold. I hope that a continuation will continue (it's in the talks from what I've heard) and I would probably leap for joy if it did.<br />
<br />
(Also, no need to wait until episode 98 guys... hehe)<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-38964189122712252812014-09-04T11:30:00.000-07:002014-09-04T11:30:00.979-07:00Series Review: The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://unexploredbookshelves.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/grisha-trilogy-covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://unexploredbookshelves.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/grisha-trilogy-covers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Series:</b> The Grisha Trilogy<br />
<b>Author:</b> Leigh Bardugo<br />
<b>Books:</b> Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising<br />
<b>Series Rating:</b> 4.25/5 stars- spellbinding fantasy with a lush Russian background<br />
<b>Book #1's rating:</b> 5/5 stars- I LOVE THIIIS<br />
<b>Book #2's rating:</b> 5/5 stars- Ireadthatwrongright? RIIIIGHT???!!<br />
<b>Book #3's rating:</b> 4.5/5 stars- a clean wrap up, but my heart...<br />
<br />
<b>Synopsis of Shadow and Bone (as found on Goodreads):</b><br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.</span></i><br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
<i>*there will be a small spoiler section. </i><br />
<br />
The Grisha trilogy has been a fantasy series I have been nuts about ever since it came out. Actually before Shadow and Bone came out. I was dying to read it BEFORE it came out. (That's right. I was on that bandwagon before it blew up. WAAY before people even knew it existed.)<br />
<br />
When I read it, I knew it was changing moment for fantasy. I didn't read fantasy with such rich, luscious culture and background for SO LONG, with a great idea/concept for the fantasy aspect, and ahhhhhhh fangirling.<br />
<br />
Which leads me into a segment called: Fangirl Reactions.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
Shadow and Bone:<br />
<br />
Oooh.<br />
OK.<br />
OOOOOH.<br />
Oh.<br />
But I mean I feel like he's going to turn out bad but like maybe not and he's so charming but but but<br />
shit. I just kinda melted in a corner<br />
shit.<br />
oh okay I guess we're pulling a The Selection move here<br />
aww crap don't do this to me<br />
is it bad that I kind of want the other guy instead despite the fact he's like an evil Edward Cullen<br />
well then. waiting begins. .___.<br />
<br />
Siege and Storm:<br />
<br />
hmm.<br />
Can we please spice this guy up a bit?<br />
okay things just got rocky.<br />
wooow okay nbd just slay it<br />
OH. OH NOW THINGS ARE DIFFERENT. NOW WE'RE TALKING.<br />
I'm starting to feel a Shatter Me romance dynamic here.<br />
So how will this romance work out??<br />
*drools slightly<br />
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG<br />
WAIT WHAT<br />
WHAT<br />
I MUST BE MISSING SOME PAGES RIGHT<br />
NO<br />
NO<br />
<br />
Ruin and Rising:<br />
<br />
FIX EVERYTHING LEIGH BARDUGO<br />
YAAAAY BADASSNESS TO THE RESCUE<br />
and once again the love interest makes me want to throw a rock at him for his stupid stubborn honour crap<br />
EHHHH MY BABY HAS ARRIVED<br />
NOOOOO MY BABY OMG PLEASE<br />
*the moment when two of your favourite characters does shit to each other and you don't know how to feel<br />
*awe in the continued momentum of badass powers at work<br />
*more rock throwing at stupid honour crap<br />
HOLY SHIT.<br />
OMG. SO THAT'S.<br />
*blown away<br />
the moment has come. omg omg omg omg<br />
NO<br />
NO<br />
DON'T LEIGH BARDUGO<br />
I MEAN I KINDA SAW IT COMING BUT<br />
wait all that and-??<br />
OH.<br />
OH...<br />
damn Leigh Bardugo sure knows how to work the evil charming guy<br />
wait so that's it??<br />
mmmmkay but.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
I haven't written a fangirl reaction so intensely for a while with no gifs. I forget sometimes words are best, even though gifs are fun. (at least for me words are best)<br />
<br />
<br />
What I want to focus most on in this review is talking about the characters. I'll go over the rest of the stuff a little later.<br />
<br />
Alina: I liked Alina. I didn't think she was a particularly stand out protagonist, but she certainly wasn't an annoying one either. I enjoyed her character growth, but it again, it never blossomed into anything special for me.<br />
<br />
Mal: He has this weird integrity and honour crap that makes me want to bitch slap him for and he's pretty much the cliché good guy you fall in love with stuff. I thought his character was bland and somewhat unoriginal. I can take this cliché if there are elements added to it but ergdfhkn HE WAS SO MEH. I only started caring for him a little more in Ruin and Rising, and where I was with his character in Ruin and Rising at the<i> end</i> is where I wanted to be at the <i>latest</i> is in the <i>middle</i> of Siege and Storm.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Darkling: I was way too freaking attracted to this guy. I drooled a little in Shadow and Bone, I dropped the obsession in Siege and Storm and SHIT I ALMOST TUMBLED INTO THE DEEP END in Ruin and Rising. If Leigh Bardugo had made Mal even 20% as interesting as The Darkling, I might have given this series a solid 5.<br />
<br />
Nikolai: Possibly my favourite character in this whole series. I can see why he could be thought as stereotypical, but he was such a welcome change from Mal's moodiness that I just loved him. He's so much fun out of all this serious, almost stiff characters in comparison to him. And somehow I feel like he had more character depth than Mal. Which is ridiculous if you read the series and think about it logically.<br />
<br />
I also really like the side characters, but there's a) a fair amount of them and b) nothing I want to say about them that <i>isn't</i> a spoiler.<br />
<br />
<br />
Characters aside, I think my next most favourite thing about these novels is the world setting. It's so rich with the Russian culture (not that I'm an expert) and it's absolutely stunning. One thing in fantasy that's really hard to do is to set up an entirely new world with non-existent places and have them work cohesively with everything else. But Leigh Bardugo did this so beautifully, almost highlighting the setting with the events.<br />
<br />
Plot wise, it wasn't the most unpredictable, but there are a couple twists and turn here and there.<br />
<br />
The ending. Oh the ending. I have two "sets" of feelings for it.<br />
<br />
a) as a more critic-y reader<br />
<br />
It wrapped up beautifully, it ended the way that fitted the characters, and it was a great end to everything. It was clean, it was explosive, it was an end well suited for the series.<br />
<br />
b) as a fangirl<br />
<br />
I WANTED SOMETHING ELSE. I HUNGER FOR MORE. I WISH FOR DIFFERENT ENDS.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
Guys, I'm so torn about this. I really did like the ending because I think it ended the way that suited the characters the best. But personally... I wanted more. And that's the reason for the messed up rating. (for those who noticed)<br />
<br />
<b>*SPOILER SECTION </b><br />
<br />
scroll down now really fast<br />
.<br />
..<br />
...<br />
<br />
I wanted redemption for the Darkling. I wanted him to realize what he was doing and to change. And I thought that there was a chance in Ruin and Rising, as we got to know him more and more as a human (which I had hope would happen in Siege and Storm but..) and I wanted him to change for the better. I wasn't asking for him to end up with Alina or suddenly be forgiven for his crime. but for him to take the first step to change. I wanted Nikolai to have a chance. I wanted him to be a serious competitor for Alina's heart. I want a better ending for him.<br />
<br />
I mean, those are really more fangirl demands more than anything but I feel like they matter. Especially with the Darkling, I wanted to see him change.<br />
<br />
I wanted to meet and to get to know Aleksander.<br />
<br />
<b>*END OF SPOILER SECTION</b><br />
<br />
<br />
For fantasy fans, I think this trilogy is a must. I think it would a great one to marathon, a really nice series to just.. indulge. The fantasy aspect in this series is awesome and the relationships, romantic and friend, are great and the world will definitely take you away. While the ending was a little disappointing for my inner fangirl, I think it was a clean ending nevertheless. Give it a try.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-87016035909265868032014-09-01T11:30:00.000-07:002014-09-01T11:30:00.896-07:00September 2014<div class="p1">
Monthly Wish List for this month and what I've read and seen this past month.</div>
<div class="p2">
<br />
<i>*So many books this month... the fall and winter seasons are always the best for books. And the worse for my wallet.</i></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Book List: </b></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<i>*synopses may be spoilery if you have not read the previous books in the series. All synopses were found on Goodreads.</i></div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398368877l/20613470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398368877l/20613470.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Heir of Fire (Book #3 in the Throne of Glass series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Sarah J. Maas<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> September 2nd<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. </i></span><br />
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></i>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?</i></span><br />
<br />
Thoughts from Carmen: MY BESTIE BADASS FRIEND CELAENA IS BAAAAACK.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392936410l/20359719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392936410l/20359719.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> The Perilous Sea (Book #2 in the Elemental Trilogy)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Sherry Thomas<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> September 16th<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><i><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></i></span>
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i>Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.</i></span><br />
<br />
Thoughts from Carmen: I'M SOOO EXCITED YOU HAVE NO IDEA<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395351812l/16131484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395351812l/16131484.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> The Infinite Sea (Book #2 in the 5th Wave series)<br />
<b>Author:</b> Rick Yancey<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> September 16th<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<strong style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">The riveting follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as “wildly entertaining.”</i></strong><br />
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></i>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.</i></span><br />
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></i>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.</i></span><br />
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /></i>
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><i style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392558479l/7943654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392558479l/7943654.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> I'll Give You the Sun<br />
<b>Author:</b> Jandy Nelson<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> September 16th<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world. </span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This radiant, fully alive, sometimes very funny novel from the critically acclaimed author of </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Sky Is Everywhere</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393855405l/18475593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393855405l/18475593.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Winterspell<br />
<b>Author:</b> Claire Legrand<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> September 30th<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><strong style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.</strong><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">not</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">need</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Inspired by </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The Nutcracker</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">, </span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Winterspell</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.</span></span><br />
<br />
Thoughts from Carmen: The Nutcracker is one of my favourite tales. I really hope this does it justice.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392408196l/19367070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392408196l/19367070.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Illusions of Fate<br />
<b>Author:</b> Kiersten White<br />
<b>Release Date:</b> September 9th<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><strong style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Downton Abbey meets Cassandra Clare in this lush, romantic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.</strong><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power, money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can stop him.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.</span></span><br />
<br />
Thoughts from Carmen: Let me explain to you how torn I am about this. I'm really interested in this concept and I think it could go places but I have lost a lot of faith in Kiersten White over this year and this makes me very hesitant about this novel. BUTITSOUNDSSOGOOD</div>
<div class="p1">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="p1">
*********************************************************************************</div>
<div class="p1">
<b>August Obsessions</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<u>Books:</u></div>
<div class="p1">
Isla and the Happily Ever After (You can see my review <a href="http://thoughtswishesdreamsandbooks.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-isla-and-happily-ever-after.html">here</a>.)</div>
<div class="p1">
Mark of Athena/House of Hades (HOLY CHEESECAKE OF POSEIDON.)<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<u>Other Stuff:</u></div>
<div class="p1">
Emma Approved (The ending! ahhhh)</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>What I Read/Saw in August and Didn't Review:</b></div>
<div class="p1">
The Art of Lainey<br />
The Girl with the Windup Heart (Book #4 in the Steampunk Chronicles) [Will be reviewed]<br />
Four: A Divergent Story Collection<br />
Abandon (Book #3 in the Posession trilogy)<br />
Ruin and Rising (Book #3 in the Grisha trilogy) [Will be reviewed]<br />
Sentinel (Book #5 in the Covenant series)<br />
These Broken Stars (Book #1 in the Starbound trilogy)<br />
Opposition (Book #5 in the Lux series)<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-30661012900708514572014-08-26T11:30:00.000-07:002014-08-30T21:47:25.587-07:00Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362064564l/9627755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362064564l/9627755.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<b>Book:</b> Isla and the Happily Ever After<br />
<b>Author:</b> Stephanie Perkins<br />
<b>Rating:</b> 5/5 stars- MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED<br />
<b>Synopsis (as found on Goodreads):</b><br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;" /><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br /></span><b>
Review:</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>*NOTE: There will be a spoiler free section and a spoiler section of this review.YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</u></b><br />
<br />
SPOILER FREE SECTION<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/tumblr_mubs10zj3r1sixr64o1_400_zps71b32224.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo tumblr_mubs10zj3r1sixr64o1_400_zps71b32224.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/tumblr_mubs10zj3r1sixr64o1_400_zps71b32224.gif" height="176" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/tumblr_mgp2lj2luk1rh7yseo1_500_zps1511a441.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo tumblr_mgp2lj2luk1rh7yseo1_500_zps1511a441.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/tumblr_mgp2lj2luk1rh7yseo1_500_zps1511a441.gif" height="179" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/fangirling_zpseed1f703.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo fangirling_zpseed1f703.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/fangirling_zpseed1f703.gif" height="172" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/large_zps910bf3f9.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo large_zps910bf3f9.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/large_zps910bf3f9.gif" height="179" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/774217_zps948e3e2b.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 774217_zps948e3e2b.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/774217_zps948e3e2b.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
Um yeah. I had to restrain myself on the gifs a bit.<br />
<br />
People who have read Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door will understand why I'm so happy, excited, sobbing with joy etc. (If you haven't read them... why are you still here GO FUCKING READ THEM I PROMISE YOU I HAVE CHANGED YOUR LIFE FOR THE BETTER NOW GO AND COME BACK WHEN YOU'RE DONE.)<br />
<br />
Three years. That is how long I've waited for this book. It was worth it. To give Stephanie Perkins the time to craft something so beautiful, so heartwarming, something that gave me the feeling I had reading Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door, and just ah.<br />
<br />
Isla and Josh relationship took a different turn than how Anna and Lola's relationships happened in the previous two books. To me, Isla had a sharper sense of what it was, it was fun because it was real, and it represents the two characters very very well. Though I would say it's a little different from Anna and Lola (certainly a little steamier :P), it's very obvious it's Stephanie Perkins novel. There is the same feeling of wistfulness and sweetness and a romance to die for, set in gorgeous city settings that are seemly enhanced by some kind of magical Instagram filter.<br />
<br />
I don't know how Stephanie Perkins does it, but it's like somehow her books stab you with sweetness so subtly, that you don't realize it until you're drowning in it. But it's like happy drowning. It just makes you so happy, and smiley and it seems like it should be sappy and cheesy but somehow it does what sappy cheesy clichés do without it actually being sappy cheesy and cliché. It's like Stephanie Perkins is a witch or god or whatever, working some kind of amazing magic.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Of Anna, Lola, and Isla, I connected with Isla the most. I think personally she's the most like me, and I would just totally do and say the things she does. Isla and Josh aren't my favourite couple (I have a certain love for Anna and St. Clair since they were what set me off on this journey) but they are a cute and a "fit together like a puzzle piece" couple. I loved getting to know Isla, seeing that faint glimpse of her in Anna made me excited to get to know this girl. And this girl feels easy and comfortable to be around. Her voice made her a comfortable presence as a protagonist. While Anna was kind of a pure adrenaline-y teenager, Lola the wild carefree outburst like a star, Isla was the quiet reassuring presence. </div>
<div>
<br />
Josh. Oh, I think personally I loved Josh the most of the three guys. While St. Clair was basically mouthwatering (there I said it. DON'T JUDGE ME) and Cricket was this geeky kind of awkward cutie (which is my type technically... this is starting to get awkward) Josh had this charisma, this vulnerableness that made him so open with Isla, and he is so loyal to St.Clair and ahhh so cute. He's kind of the complex artistic almost poetic guy. He and Isla worked really well together as characters, and they are perfect for each other in a weird way.<br />
<br />
Enough embarrassing fangirl babble, GO READ IT. READ ANNA FIRST THOUGH. JUST READ THESE BOOKS. Please?<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
SPOILER-Y SECTION<br />
<br />
click away now.<br />
now.<br />
any time now.<br />
.<br />
..<br />
....<br />
.....<br />
......<br />
........<br />
<br />
DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU GET SPOILED YOU HAD FAIR WARNING<br />
...........<br />
............<br />
..............<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
HOLY SHIT WHEN ST. CLAIR PROPOSED TO ANNA</div>
<div>
I FREAKED. OUT. I screamed at the top of my lungs as if the world had suddenly turned into cheese, and I kept chanting OMG OMG OMG OMG over and over and over again<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/tumblr_mexpmoydQS1qal0zgo1_500_zps0da407d5.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo tumblr_mexpmoydQS1qal0zgo1_500_zps0da407d5.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/tumblr_mexpmoydQS1qal0zgo1_500_zps0da407d5.gif" height="151" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
The fact he proposed on Point Zero. The fact that he worked at that theater in Lola was to buy Anna a ring.<br />
<br />
IT'S ALL TOO MUCH FOR ME<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
And how Cricket and Lola came as well was so cute, and Calliope just added the cherry on top :)<br />
<br />
JUST SEEING THEM MADE EVERYTHING BETTER. It helped my momentary depression from Isla and Josh being apart. :((((((<br />
<br />
I kind of wish we got someone to illustrate a little of Isla, just to kind of emphasize Josh's artistic skills. But ahhh reading Isla reading Josh's book was kind of amazing, especially when she was summarizing everything that happened in Anna and the French Kiss from Josh's point of view and calling it a soap opera. I loved the fact that Stephanie Perkins kind of poked fun at herself.<br />
<br />
And I was squealing through most of the first part (and the fact that Isla got a blood nose on their first kiss XD) and then <i>bawling</i> through the most of the last parts. I was just wanted them to be happy and cute and then everything gets lost to the wind and I'm like "STEPHANIE FIX THIS" and I kept telling myself, "it'll be OK, it says happily ever after on the cover, it's got to be a happy ending" but despite that it still hurt and it still gave me all the feels. And even though they were apart, there were worthwhile moments in there.<br />
<br />
And what I loved also was the fact that Stephanie's books are never just about the romance. True, it's focused on the romance, but some of it is always about self-discovery and growth. Isla learning that it's OK to not know where your future leads, Anna learning to mend things between Bridget and her family, Lola about who she is as a person, they are all important aspects of the book. The guys equally go through their own journeys, with St.Clair coping with his family, Cricket going for his dreams for once and Josh coming to terms with who his family is and what he really wants, whether who he is or where he wants to be.<br />
<br />
And the line where Isla's telling Josh it's okay to be a blank canvas to be inspired by artists and Josh telling her blank canvas inspire artists as well because of the unlimited possibilities- SLAYED. SLAYED. I lost it.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/FANGIRLING_-2_zps5cb148d5.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo FANGIRLING_-2_zps5cb148d5.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/FANGIRLING_-2_zps5cb148d5.gif" height="135" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
So yeah. Um that's my fangirling review for the day. Go read this book guys, you really won't regret it. Of all the books I recommend people, these ones are always ones I can safely say that if you have human emotions, if you have a heart and you enjoy contemporary (actually even if you don't), you will love it.<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-39819500511024814932014-08-23T16:33:00.000-07:002014-08-23T16:33:22.759-07:00Haulin' It (Day #7 of Summer Blog Craze)Let's end the this with some gorgeous pictures.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xllL01A5nUTAg3jgr1tCKe9SrY_N8cbR8fLYahRkeYTuPb44OJ5wZ7l8iKbNXJQhqfmziQiYYW52v4Eb5EnMrlHHbtGOArXET9bczycgk8ePkVa2-rt1kTWMCdKf0q58Zvq_uM7XE2De/s1600/DSC_0314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xllL01A5nUTAg3jgr1tCKe9SrY_N8cbR8fLYahRkeYTuPb44OJ5wZ7l8iKbNXJQhqfmziQiYYW52v4Eb5EnMrlHHbtGOArXET9bczycgk8ePkVa2-rt1kTWMCdKf0q58Zvq_uM7XE2De/s1600/DSC_0314.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Emma by Jane Austen<br />
Jane Eyre bu Charlotte Bronte<br />
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen<br />
Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout<br />
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins<br />
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo<br />
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead<br />
The Fiery Heart bu Richelle Mead<br />
Landline by Rainbow Rowell<br />
<br />
(The three classics were a 3 for $10 deal. I couldn't resist.)<br />
<br />
I also might have gone a little crazy with Isla.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKH79cmUXTEl8Nn5LtTmNljkZ52KeP6Pj75sQKcesWhjfWaLXedTgIkFgMKktGKO8yJf787fcbZ33Ai8nzA4TMPxeo_AAVxlnE_3FbCpKKwQyWZgo2PHtoGN5LyiS-2p5SpooENNnpz1b2/s1600/DSC_0315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKH79cmUXTEl8Nn5LtTmNljkZ52KeP6Pj75sQKcesWhjfWaLXedTgIkFgMKktGKO8yJf787fcbZ33Ai8nzA4TMPxeo_AAVxlnE_3FbCpKKwQyWZgo2PHtoGN5LyiS-2p5SpooENNnpz1b2/s1600/DSC_0315.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF05ku5NHBN-HBGZnXA3PA3YrrKKHr71XuelqutG_btjk630tiWRBmbHIbTAL8WL-fIp8GYSDLuXjywL852sQPL-bxihePLvFL9pTsuGJjKjjFFTFtWQx_pr5gnHWYt1NvrK6qmhfP2Uh/s1600/DSC_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSF05ku5NHBN-HBGZnXA3PA3YrrKKHr71XuelqutG_btjk630tiWRBmbHIbTAL8WL-fIp8GYSDLuXjywL852sQPL-bxihePLvFL9pTsuGJjKjjFFTFtWQx_pr5gnHWYt1NvrK6qmhfP2Uh/s1600/DSC_0316.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(For those of you wondering, the Paris bookmark was a gift from my friend from when she visited Paris.) </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Also, the three classics looked like this if you were wondering:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8m77FyEoocNhVZ-ILtdUKVNXUaGNPiX_eHReThFIMe_8S6tsCh5XUYyQ_TrCCYF8E85eVkwruGM5qbFqe6QJTDW355dUbumw8zDWl2_2-_NskplL_jh0EGcJXw6hhONDl9RtrPzRxwoyY/s1600/DSC_0319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8m77FyEoocNhVZ-ILtdUKVNXUaGNPiX_eHReThFIMe_8S6tsCh5XUYyQ_TrCCYF8E85eVkwruGM5qbFqe6QJTDW355dUbumw8zDWl2_2-_NskplL_jh0EGcJXw6hhONDl9RtrPzRxwoyY/s1600/DSC_0319.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(I would've gotten Pride and Prejudice if they had it... but sadly they did not. I picked Jane Eyre over Sense and Sensibility in the end because I wanted to read that first.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thanks to everyone who's been reading this entire Summer Blog Craze! I'm sorry that it ended somewhat anticlimactically, but I think rather prettily. (Although EVERYONE ON TUMBLR IS BETTER AT PICTURE TAKING THAN ME)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I will have some reviews come up soon including a review of Isla SO FOLLOW ME OR STALK ME (no don't stalk me I'm kidding) but make sure you watch for that because man. the feels. ooooooooh the feels.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
LOVE Y'ALL.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-24500702552663070882014-08-22T21:41:00.000-07:002014-08-22T21:41:53.156-07:00The Debate: Ebooks vs Physical Books (Day #6 of Summer Blog Craze)Day 6! I actually really love this topic for some reason. I love to hear people's opinions about it and what they prefer. As technology continues to evolve, the ways people read and experience stories and the written word continue to expand and change and I think it's really cool that we have more and more options to enjoy a story. Audiobooks too, are becoming really popular.<br />
<br />
Let's do what Cammie Morgan loves best: a pros and cons list.<br />
(to those who got that reference, I LOVE YOU)<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">EBOOKS</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<u>Pros:</u><br />
<br />
1) Convenience. Instead of stuffing 5 books into my suitcase/bag, I could pack 1 iPad/kobo/nook/electronic reading device.<br />
<br />
2) Easy access. Simply click and buy, and it'll download into your device. No need to wait for the physical copy to ship or go pick it up.<br />
<br />
3) There's no way the "bookstore" will ever run out of copies of the book you want.<br />
<br />
4) You could probably find any book you want. There is no need to worry if your bookstore has the physical copy or not.<br />
<br />
5) It is much cheaper than a physical copy of a book.<br />
<br />
<u>Cons:</u><br />
<br />
1) IF IT RUNS OUT OF BATTERY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK IT IS THE WORSE THING EVER<br />
<br />
ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS NO CHARGER AROUND<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/zxQoLMh_zps65ad5b81.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo zxQoLMh_zps65ad5b81.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/zxQoLMh_zps65ad5b81.gif" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
2) If you lose it, or it breaks down or anything electrical-y goes wrong, there goes all your books.<br />
<br />
3) PLUS, you'd have to replace it.<br />
<br />
4) The author could never sign your books.<br />
<br />
5) It isn't as pretty as a physical book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">TANGIBLE BOOKS</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<u>Pros:</u><br />
<br />
1) It will always, ALWAYS be more impressive to own physical copies of books.<br />
<br />
2) Nothing beats the feeling of reading with paper books. There's just something about it.<br />
<br />
3) It's prettier. You can pet it. You can make giant Christmas trees with it.<br />
<br />
4) The author can sign your book.<br />
<br />
5) You can own different covers of one book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Cons:</u><br />
<br />
1) IT IS MORE FLAMMABLE. IN THE CASE OF OF A FIRE YOU'RE FUCKED.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/tumblr_m0ob17d0BP1r3vur9o2_400_zps7ee607e0.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo tumblr_m0ob17d0BP1r3vur9o2_400_zps7ee607e0.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/tumblr_m0ob17d0BP1r3vur9o2_400_zps7ee607e0.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
2) THERE'S NO BACKUP EITHER. YOU CAN'T JUST REDOWNLOAD IT.<br />
<br />
3) They are much much more expensive.<br />
<br />
4) Very heavy to lug around. Requires much room in your purse.<br />
<br />
5) It is hard to keep them in pristine condition.<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Personally, my preference is paper books. There's something that can't replace that feeling, the smell of paper, and the feeling of smooth paper underneath your fingertips. I grew up on that, so I just can't imagine reading all my books through a screen.<br />
<br />
That's Day 6! Sorry it's late again... heh. But let me know your thoughts. Ebooks or paper books? Or maybe Audiobooks? Love y'all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-12596488134530349382014-08-21T18:55:00.000-07:002014-08-24T22:44:46.080-07:00Thoughts: "Never Ending Series" (Day #5 of Summer Blog Craze)So today I wanted to just justify my thoughts through words on a screen. If that made sense.<br />
<br />
<i>*Warning: this is another personal opinion fest. If you think you're just going to be offend by what I say ... too bad?</i><br />
<br />
Okay first of all I want to clarify on my definition(s) of "Never Ending Series".<br />
<br />
I consider it as two subcategories:<br />
<br />
a) The Never Ending Series of Novels<br />
<i>noun; singular. a series where there are way too many fucking books in one series about the main character(s).</i><br />
<i>e.g. Pretty Little Liars, Morganville Vampires, etc.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
b) The Never Ending Series of the Same World<br />
<i>noun; plural. a series of series that are set in the same realm or world. Series are often spinoffs of each other, where each series focuses on a different main character(s). Can be set in different time periods.</i><br />
<i>e.g. Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles, Tamora Pierce's Tortall Chronicles</i><br />
<i><br /></i><b><u>
My feelings on both:</u></b><br />
<br />
a) I am so done with you all.<br />
b) It's either a yay or nay.<br />
<br />
Look, whether we like it or not, there's always going to be someone criticizing an author writing too many books on something as a way to milk a franchise, whether that is true or not. I will say I'm equally guilty. I'm human, I react in the way every other person will. If I dislike something, of course I'd be more judgement, and more loose with the things I like.<br />
<br />
Personally, I am so fed up with the first example. I get it, every fan wants more episodes of TV show, or more books, YES. I UNDERSTAND. But at some point, there needs to be an end. IT SUCKS. I get it. I didn't want Harry Potter to end, but would it make sense to continue? And that's my problem- if you're going to start making up random stuff to hash out a series to a <i>unnecessary</i> length. A <i>reasonable</i> extension, fine. But at some point, enough is enough. I don't even care about the money aspect. What I care is that by writing random irrelevant issues completely destroys the integrity and how a series is woven together.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm not saying I'm against expansions. (Look at The Mortal Instruments as an example) But the ones I see tends to be wildly spinning out of control and just not well written at all. I love if something gets an expansion but I don't want that expansion to be the thing to bring down the series.<br />
<br />
However, spin off series I think have a little more room to play with and possibly expand. As long as it's not the same characters, using the same world and principles in another time period or place or whatever seems reasonable to me. I think those ones really depend on a) the author and b) the actual spin off series. If the series sucks... well shit. Is it because the author was trying to cling on the train of fame? I don't know and I don't particularly care. I critique the work, the intentions and goals of what that novel was trying to achieve. In my opinion spin off series are the bomb. It's a great way to experience something new in familiar place, and see old faces with new. (Granted if the series, is actually good.)<br />
<br />
If your argument is because "omg can this author stop using this same like idea and place and like race/species" it's really lame of an excuse, because basically everyone who's writing contemporary are "milking it" then because they're using humans as their species and the earth as a setting.<br />
<br />
Just saying.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/readinginparis/media/GIFs/tumblr_lohwfooahu1qigl62o1_500_zps083b9ffb.gif.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo tumblr_lohwfooahu1qigl62o1_500_zps083b9ffb.gif" border="0" src="http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s648/readinginparis/GIFs/tumblr_lohwfooahu1qigl62o1_500_zps083b9ffb.gif" height="190" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Honestly the people who judge a book because it's a spin off from something before they see the premise kind of piss me off.<br />
<br />
I guess that's kinda it. I just wanted to let this out because I had been "inspired" when my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/294275736?type=review#rating_27480120">review</a> that I wrote on Goodreads for Lady Midnight (The third series Cassandra Clare is writing in the Shadowhunter world) started picking up... And no guys, I'm not bragging about that review. I'm actually a little ashamed of it, and to be honest, I cringe a little every time I get a notification on it. I wrote at a younger age, at a time where I don't think I understood everything as well. I haven't taken it down (believe me, I've debated) because I'm proud of where I am now, compared to then. So I made mistakes, and I'm going to live with them and not hide by deleting them. I'll have the review linked up there if you're really curious. (but it's not relevant really)<br />
<br />
That's the end of Day 5! If I offended anyone... (like the PLL fandom...) I'm sorry. But this is my opinion, and this is how I feel and I'm not going to change it, or admit that I'm "wrong". (I mean, factual things aside.) We're almost done this blog fest! AHHH. Love y'all!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1848375340709708873.post-64413846374585812172014-08-20T21:28:00.001-07:002014-08-20T21:28:23.881-07:00Top 5 Middle Grade Recommendations! (Day #4 of Summer Blog Craze)DAY 4!<br />
EHHH sorry this is kinda late cause shit happened<br />
This list is complied assuming you have read Harry Potter AND Percy Jackson. IF not go read those first cause you're idiot for not reading them yet seriously<br />
<br />
Middle Grade was what I grew up on, so my knowledge of books in that area is somwhat outdated technically, but I think the ones I'm recommending are timeless classics. Well maybe not timeless classics. That's a little much. But really good despite how old it might be. (*minor spoilers)<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart</span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342715444l/83369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342715444l/83369.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>
When I read The Mysterious Benedict Society in grade five I was mesmerized. I could not let the book down. I came home from school and read for a good four hours before I set the book down for dinner, and picked it right back up to finish it off. Somehow so ordinary yet extraordinary at the same time. It's simple, it's not completely realistic, but realistic enough that it's exciting and it's so much fun. The style of how it's written, the puzzles, a great plot with four equally great children that have a fantastic friendship, The Mysterious Benedict Society is a book that I think is perfect for all ages.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335947642l/22232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335947642l/22232.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
If you guys read my post yesterday, then you know that Stargirl has a really meaningful place in my heart. I think it's great novel to read, I think it has a great meaning behind it that you start to understand as you get older, and the story is simply beautiful. It's enchanting in the best way.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>3. Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328842996l/728654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328842996l/728654.jpg" width="124" /></a></div>
I think this book is funny in the best way possible. I love the fact that this guy, San, is considered a Zen master just because he took a course on World History and knew all about it, and answered too many questions about it by accident. I love how it becomes his armour almost, to the point where he believes it. It's funny watching him engage other students, try to catch the eye of the girl he likes. It's a roaring fest of fun and just good times.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Schooled by Gordon Korman</span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406136827l/1025250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406136827l/1025250.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
Words cannot describe how good Schooled is. I find in Middle Grade that the best novels are the ones with spunky and quirky characters who are unafraid to be themselves. Like the novels above, Schooled featured a lovable protagonist, Cap who is just so out there, but in the best way. It's just fun fun fun fun. Seriously, it takes a lot to live up to driving THE SCHOOL BUS to save your bus driver from a heart attack UNDERAGE.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>5. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388554293l/331920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388554293l/331920.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
There were so many other books I wanted to put as well, but eventually I chose Flipped. Like Stargirl, if you read my post yesterday, you'll know that Flipped was super important to me, and I loved it in the best way possible. I think it's just funny, heartbreaking, and perfectly cute. It's like introducing chick-lit in the best way possible, in a very fresh and innocent sense but with meaning.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
DAY 4 COMPLETE. AHH SORRY KINDA LATE TODAY<br />
<br />
Let me know what are you guys' favourite middle grade reads! Love y'all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09873919574168979289noreply@blogger.com0