Waiting on Wednesday

May 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to talk about the books that you’re eagerly waiting to be released.

Lauren is waiting on…

The Morning Star (Katerina #3) by Robin Bridges
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Why are you waiting for it?
I may have mentioned a few weeks ago that I love novels that have Russian backgrounds and this series is no exception. Not only that but it’s set in historical Russia with supernatural elements! And this is the last in the trilogy. There’s so much left to be resolved. The last book left me on the edge of my seat so I can’t wait to see how Bridges resolved everything for Katerina (and hopefully George!)

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Top Ten Tuesday

May 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I’ve Read

These are based solely on prettiness and not on how much I enjoyed the book. Some books have pretty covers, whether they’re good or not…

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Mind Games By Kiersten White
Cover Designed by: Michelle Taormina

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Taken by Erin Bowman
Cover Designed by: Alisdair Miller

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Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Cover Designed by: Angela Goddard

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The Selection by Kiera Cass
Cover Designed by: Gustavo Marx, Sarah Hoy

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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Cover Designed by: Lucy Ruth Cummins

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Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Cover Designed by: David Caplan

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Entwined by Heather Dixon
Cover Designed by: Becky Terhune

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Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Cover Designed by: Gustavo Marx, Joel Tippie

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Cover Designed by: Jen Wang, Rich Deas

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Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Cover Designed by: Richard Jenkins

* Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

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How to Read a Series

May 17, 2013 by 2 Comments

It seems like every time you pick up a book these days, it’s part of a series. Even if it’s a stand alone novel when you initially read it, the publishers will probably option it to become a series later on. Especially if it’s a young adult novel. At least that’s been my experience. Stand alone novels are few and far between these days so if we’re constantly reading and we’re constantly reading series – what’s the best way to read a series?

11283552I don’t have a bad memory, per se, but I have a good memory for trivial things — the things that don’t matter. I’m upset that they didn’t dye Shailene Woodley’s hair blonde for the Divergent movie because I know that Tris is supposed to be blonde, but I couldn’t tell you half of what happened in Insurgent even though I know I loved it. That’s just how I am. So how do I have time to reread these books before I read the sequel so I know what the hell is happening? The short answer is that I don’t. I try to and inevitably fail. I have a life outside of reading and blogging, sadly, that requires my attention so keeping up with new releases as well as rereading books I’ve already conquered is simply out of the question. I did an experiment, however, to see how well it helped me remember and how much it affected my thoughts on the series. I did it with the Delirium series from Lauren Oliver which I reviewed when I read it and while it might not have been the best series to try this out on, given the ending, it worked out.

Obviously reading the previous books in the series prior to reading the new book keeps the storyline and the characters fresh in your mind. A lot of the nuances that might have been without the reread, are caught and enjoyed. All the (undoubted) pain and anguish that was established with the ending of the last book is finally put to rest when you’re able to begin the new book. The downside, however, is that you’re not taking a break from reading the novels like the author took from writing them. A discerning reading will notice changes in voice, tone and plot points. This was a problem I noticed when I recently read the first two books in the Legend series from Marie Lu, which I’ll be reviewing soon. Unless an author sits down and writes the entire series at once, there’s bound to be some discrepancies.

So there’s pros and cons to reading a series as it’s released and reading it all at once. A lot of people might argue that reading it all at once would result in instant gratification but then I could argue that I have zero patience and can’t wait that long. So what do you do?

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Reboot (Reboot #1) by Amy Tintera

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Reboot by Amy Tintera
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Digital Copy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Buy It: Amazon | IndieBound
Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Review
I’m not quite sure why I decided to read Reboot but it had just come out and I was looking for something to read before I went to sleep as I had finished the book I was reading earlier in the day. I always have to read before I go to bed. It’s like a soothing mechanism. Anyway, I had just gone on a romance novel spree so this seemed like a good alternative, plus I’m not much for of a “robot” book person. Reading this one right before bed turned out to be a bad idea as I got really into it and ended up staying up until 3 when I had to get up at 6. Oops.


I can’t really regret it, although I was exhausted the next day, because I ended up thoroughly enjoying the book. For Tintera’s debut, I felt that this was really strong and a great concept, and although probably not the most unique, quite a fun read. I know that the market is flooded with dystopians right now and I debated whether or not this would be considered dystopian or sci-fi, but I think it’s truly sci-fi in the end. While it is set in the future with an overbearing government (classic dystopian!) there are such advances in science and technology that it’s impossible to deny that science fiction overrules the general dystopian aspect. So those that fear this is another run of the mill dystopian – think again!

The novel begins when we meet 178 as she’s out on a mission. She’s looking for a human for committing a crime and HARC has given her orders to take him into custody. This is what she does. As a reboot, someone who has come back to life, this is how she lives her life — full of missions provided by HARC, emotionless and following a fairly strict regimen. I’m pretty sure we don’t even learn her real name, Wren, until the second chapter because HARC (the government) is more concerned with the reboots’ numbers than their names. Their numbers are the minutes that they were dead before they rebooted. The longer that they were dead, the less human qualities that they’ve retained in their new state and the easier they are able to take and follow out orders. It’s kind of like the SATs of dying. How long can you stay dead until you come back? The higher the score — the better!


Wren’s world is shaken when a new batch of reboots comes into her facility and she meets Callum 22. He’s hopeless. He was only dead for 22 minutes. Pennies compared to the incomparable Wren 178. Callum doesn’t mind being a reboot so much as he minds all of the rules that HARC has in place for the reboots. Why does he have to eat what they give him? Why does he have to train and become a soldier? Why why why? He has all these questions that Wren isn’t particularly ready to answer. He also raises some questions that make Wren question herself. Why do they say you don’t have as many emotions? Why are we both reboots but we’re still different? The opinion that she’s had of her life as a reboot for the past 5 years has completely gone out the window by meeting this one person. And that’s all it takes doesn’t it — one person? Either way, Wren is completely blindsided by these personal changes the come about as well as some changes that HARC puts in place. They begin running life threatening tests on the reboots. They aren’t going to risk her, precious 178, but what about the few reboots that she cares about — Callum included? She has to do something!


A lot happens in the novel, plot-wise, that I won’t spoil, but in the end I felt that this was more a coming of age novel than anything else. It was about Wren finding her place in the world — and continuing to do so — outside of an arbitrary number that the government has assigned her. Even as a reboot, she’s still a person with unique thoughts and abilities, right? She shouldn’t be any different from anyone else. It’s the beginning of a revolution that she never saw coming and never really wanted. It’s like being told your whole life you’re a shoe and then waking up one day and realizing you want to be a hat instead.* Overall, Tintera’s writing was intriguing and solid. The characters were engaging and the plot kept me engrossed. I’ll definitely be reading the next in the series and I think Tintera shows great potential as a new author!

*Cupcakes if you get that reference.

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Waiting on Wednesday

May 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to talk about the books that you’re eagerly waiting to be released.

Lauren is waiting on…

The Bitter Kingdom (Fire and Thorns #3) by Rae Carson
Release Date: August 27, 2013

Why are you waiting for it?
I adored the first two books in this series and I’ve already read them again this year. Carson just has a way with words that is exquisite and the world that she created is so lovely and unique. Not to mention that Crown of Embers ended on a bit of a cliffhanger! I’m going to be sad to see this series end, but I can’t wait to see where Carson takes Elisa (and hopefully Hector) on her final journey. Is it August yet?

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Top Ten Tuesday

May 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Top TenFive Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

As a rule of thumb for myself, I don’t typically read books with subjects that may be difficult for me to deal with, so I only have five for this list, but they’re good ones, I think. I’m also going to be pretty quick about this since I don’t really want to get all weepy while writing this.

  1. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen: This deals with the loss of Macy’s father, which isn’t something I’ve had to go through (thankfully) but definitely something that I can relate to. I’ve talked about this book before and I love how Dessen perfectly (and imperfectly) shows how differently everyone deals with loss and grief.
  2. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: Second Chance SummerLike The Truth About Forever, Second Chance Summer is about Taylor losing her father, although he we get to see his illness take him in this one. Matson is a wonderful writer and again, this one hit really close to home for me and I appreciated all of these feelings that I once felt being put to paper.
  3. A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle: Again, this one deals with the loss of a loved one, but this time it’s a grandfather. Again it hits home and although it’s a younger young adult than what I read now, it’s been one of my favorite books since I was young. Not only do we see Vicky dealing with her sick grandfather, but Zachary dealing with his dead mother. There are a lot of feelings addressed and a lot of situations that come to light.
  4. Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle: This book comes after A Ring of Endless Light and although there is a lot going on this book (international espionage!) there’s also this little thing called date rape that L’Engle addresses. I remember reading this before I was even in high school and thinking, “I’ll never let anyone do that to me.” And they never have, but I think exposure like this — where it is addressed and handled properly — definitely helped mold me and helped me make the decisions that I did.
  5. Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson: This is the only adult novel/series on this list mostly because I don’t read a lot of adult works and those that I do, I don’t typically enjoy. Either way, this series addresses so many tough subjects — the one most people jump to is rape — that I don’t know where to start. There’s rape, mental illness, abuse of authority, animal cruelty and all kinds of things that might not be difficult to read for some, but takes me quite a while to get through. While a fantastic read and a fantastic series, it definitely doesn’t leave you feeling light and fluffy afterwards.

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    * Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

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Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon #1) by Anna Banks [Again]

May 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Digital Copy
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Buy It: Amazon | IndieBound
Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

Review
Much like Crewel, I picked this one up because Anna Banks is going to be in my neck of the woods for the Fierce Reads Tour next month. While I loved Crewel, I wasn’t as big a fan of this one. It wasn’t a bad book, but mermaids just aren’t my thing really — I liked The Little Mermaid growing up (and I still do) but otherwise I’m kind of like MEH. So I was a bit nervous going into it — what are mermaid books even about and/or like? Do they talk about smelling like fish? Do they think humans are weird? Are they just like us? Do they have a separate language? Inquiring minds, people.

Banks addresses most of these things because the main character, Emma, is a human who knows absolutely nothing about mermaids (or the Syrena as Banks calls them.) It all begins with Emma going on vacation with her best friend’s family in Florida when she literally runs into Galen. It’s cute, if a bit overdone. Galen thinks there’s something about Emma and Emma obviously thinks he’s hot but she’s on vacation, nothing can come of it, right? That all turns on its head when her best friend is attacked and killed by a shark. During the attack Emma is able to talk to the shark and somehow get it to leave her alone. This is when Galen knows that something is definitely up with her.

Before I go further, however, I must address the fact that Emma’s best friend was African-American (extremely cliché with a weave and fake nails at that) and then killed within the first five chapters of the novel. As a rule of thumb, I try not to let race alter my opinion of a novel or think of it at all while reading. Sometimes it’s impossible — Hooked is a prime example, as is Eleanor & Park which I DNF — and while this time it’s not impossible, I felt compelled to point out that I felt it was in bad taste. I felt it wholly unnecessary to portray the character that way and then play into so many clichés and tropes (one of the biggest being that black people can’t swim/always die in the water even if LL Cool DJ did survive Deep Blue Sea.) So that irked me a bit and we weren’t even into the meat of the story!

Once we get the meat, it does get interesting, however, so I do need to give Banks points for that. It turns out that Emma is Syrena but she can’t transform once she’s in the water. Add to that, the fact that she can speak to sea creatures? It’s a special gift given to special descendants of Poseidon — Triton’s gifts are a bit different (I might also have them backwards so apologies if I do.) Anyway, they can’t figure out how she’s Syrena because both of her parents are human and Emma is certain that she wasn’t adopted. She and Galen do some investigating, with the help of a doctor who is in the know about Syrena, and make some shocking discoveries, leaving for quite a cliffhanger. There were certain aspects that I was expecting but others that I weren’t, so the end was actually quite exciting.

Finally, the love story is fairly cliche but easy enough to get behind. Galen is kind of an asshole, but it’s not your typical asshole, as he doesn’t understand a lot of what actually happens in a human relationship. He’s not abusive or anything like that, but he kind of stalks Emma a bit and doesn’t realize that isn’t okay because HEY HE’S A MERMAID. He truly hasn’t interacted much with humans outside of his assistant and the trusted doctor, so the excuse is viable and not like the Edward Cullen “he’s a hot vampire” excuse. Galen is ok, I’m not super attached to him, but I wasn’t bothered by his borderline overbearing moments because it is early on established that he is not human and does not know how to even pretend to be.

The things that saved the book the most for me were the characters, who were quick witted and feisty, and the interesting storyline. There are royal mermaids included! More appeal to me. While there were some drawbacks, I felt like the good parts were good enough for me to continue on with the series. This is Banks’ debut novel and I found her writing quick and fast paced, which I enjoyed so I’m hoping that her writing evolves because I think she shows a lot potential and with the right plot and characters — who knows! I would give this a “quick summer read” status.

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Crewel (Crewel World #1) by Gennifer Albin

May 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Release Date: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: ★★★★★
Buy It: Amazon | IndieBound
Enter a tangled world of secrets and intrigue where a girl is in charge of other’s destinies, but not her own.

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls. Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power. Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it.

Review
I originally read this book because Gennifer Albin is going to be part of the panel coming to my area as part of the Fierce Reads Tour and I wish that I’d found it sooner! Dystopians are a dime a dozen these days, but I continue to love them and any author that can make them new and exciting will get my attention, which is exactly what Albin does in Crewel. From the very beginning, her prose grabbed my attention and I knew that there was no turning back.

From the very beginning Albin makes us weary of the government as Adelice has to control this ability that she has, one that we’re not privy to for a bit longer. If the heroine is hiding something from the government then she must have good reason right? Except her parents are the ones telling her to keep it a secret and she’s not exactly sure why. They don’t want her to become a Spinster – she knows that – but she doesn’t know why. A Spinster is a female taken by the government after a series of tests and used to help shape the fabric of the universe. Sounds kind of cool right? I mean, I thought so, but again her Adelice’s parents don’t want her to be a Spinster so something’s got to be up with this whole Spinster business, right? Soon enough we get a glimpse of just how important the Spinsters are to the government when Adelice accidentally lets her power show.

Now Adelice is taken from her family and put in the control of this government that cares little for her and more about the image that she projects. (Isn’t that just like every government, though?) She meets a bunch of interesting characters, including the man who she’s seen on TV all her life and is now vying for a bigger leadership role. She’s treated poorly and soon learns that this is actually uncommon among Spinsters — that she’s a special case — and she’s not sure whether this is a good thing or not. They aren’t afraid to treat her poorly, so just how negligent and abusive will they get? Once she arrives at her Coventry, where the Spinsters all live together, she soon learns that even though she is special there is also a lot of politics involved in being a Spinster and she best play her cards right if she wants to stay alive.

All of this is taking place while Adelice is trying to learn how to work the fabric of the universe along with the other Spinsters. And I mean fabric literally. There are threads for people and places and things. It’s really quite intriguing and Albin describes in a way that I never could, so I recommend that you just read the book to understand it entirely. Either way, Adelice is trying to learn how to use her ability and hone it properly while still navigating the politics of being a highly recognized Spinster. (She’s very TALENTED! The government has made her a poster child, of course!) And none of this has made her particularly popular with her peers, but she tries very hard to not make enemies. Her one attempt at making a friend backfires so wholeheartedly that I don’t think she even so much as speaks to her other peers afterwards. Either way, as we’re reading and learning about this wonderful new world that Albin has created, Adelice is learning just as well. Just like the movies, the government has glamorized and sugar-coated just what the Spinsters do and now that she’s forced to do the actual work, she’s not sure that she can. Oh and did I leave out the part about her being the next head Spinster (called the Creweler)? Yeah, there’s that too.

Oh, and there’s a love triangle. A good one at that. I didn’t really pick a side, although I did, but then by the end I was kind of in the middle again. It’s difficult to explain, really. Albin throws some whammies out in the last quarter of the book that I wasn’t expecting at all and had me up into the late night reading so I don’t want to spoil anything, the love story included. Overall, this book was a surprise hit for me and I’m so glad that I read it (no matter the circumstances) and I’m definitely going to try to pry some details about the next book out of Albin come June!

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Waiting on Wednesday

May 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to talk about the books that you’re eagerly waiting to be released.

Lauren is waiting on…

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Release Date: July 2, 2013

Why are you waiting for it?
I love loved LOVED West’s Pivot Point so I’m excited to see what she has in store for us in the YA contemporary genre! Plus it will keep me happy until we get the second in the Pivot Point series. And I’ve just had a lack of contemporary lately – everything has just been fantasy and paranormal and dystopian – not that I’m complaining! – but this will be a great break. So ready for it.

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Waiting on Wednesday

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to talk about the books that you’re eagerly waiting to be released.

Lauren is waiting on…

Isla and the Happily Ever After Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: September 17, 2013

Why are you waiting for it?
Stephanie Perkins happens to be one of my favorite contemporary YA authors out there right now and the fact that she took two years to write Isla has had me looking forward to it even more than others! Add to that, I got to meet her (along with Maureen Johnson) back in February and she spoke about Isla a little bit – it’s just got me so anxious. Perkins also happens to be from NC (much like my ultimate favorite Sarah Dessen) so I have a special place in my heart for her. Tarheels represent!

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