The Lost Saint (The Dark Divine, #2) by Bree Despain

January 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Lost Saint (The Dark Divine, #2) by Bree Despain
Release Date: December 28, 2010
Publisher: Egmont USA
Source: Audiobook
Rating: ★★★★☆
Buy It: Amazon
A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace’s relationship with Daniel is put in danger – in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her – not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

Bree Despain delivers sizzling romance and thrilling action in the heart-pounding sequel to the The Dark Divine

Review
As soon as I finished the first book in this series I had to start the second one, even though I feared the middle child syndrome. Although, to be fair, I fear that with EVERY series I read. This book did not suffer from the dreaded middle child syndrome as much as previous books have! The Lost Saint picks up quickly after the first book ends. Grace’s brother is still a werewolf, Grace has been infected with the curse, and her father is on a great search to find the golden child, Jude, because the matriarch of the family has slowly begun to lose her mind because her son isn’t at home anymore.

I thought The Dark Divine was a dark book, but The Lost Saint proved to me that Despain could get even darker and make me wonder what twist and turn she was going to make next. Throughout the book, Grace is searching for her brother, Jude, while she herself is becoming a stronger person/werewolf. Plus, a new mysterious person enters the scene, and while you could tell they were bad, you were never quite sure of what they were going to do. Of course, Grace, being a teenager, finds the appeal of the mysterious interesting (heck, I at almost 25 find the appeal interesting.) It was fast-paced with twists and turns that I did not see coming. That being said, if the two main characters, Daniel, the boyfriend, and Grace, would have just talked most of the conflict wouldn’t have existed. Yes, I get they are teenagers and they aren’t supposed to be “logical” (something I have issues with). But seriously, if I’m supposed to believe that you’re in love, but you never actually talk, it makes it hard to believe that you’re really in love.

Even with the conflict, which I tend to hate, I couldn’t put this book down. The ending had me gasping with shock on more than one occasion. I can’t wait to see where Despain goes with the third book.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Books We’re Excited For: 2013 Edition!

January 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

And we’re back with another awesome list! I know that all of us have TBR lists are that crazy long. Here we will discuss the books we’re excited to read in the upcoming year. They may be upcoming in 2013, or ones that have been sitting on our lists for months (that last one is mostly Ashley.)

Ashley is excited for…

1. Transparent by Natalie Whipple.  I have heard nothing but amazing things about this book and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of it. I have followed Whipple’s blog for quite sometime now and I’ve very excited to see what is to come from her.
2. Mind Games by Kiersten White. I am a huge fan of Kiersten White. Her humor came across clearly in her Paranormalcy series. That being said Mind Games is nothing like Paranormalcy. It is darker, grittier, and to be honest I can’t wait to read it. Through my job I was lucky enough to get an ARC of it, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet!
3. Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger. Although I read and reviewed this book last year, I am still patiently waiting to get my hands on a hard copy of this book. As much as I loved and adored the ARC, I can’t wait to see what the book is like published. A published book is always different to me than reading an ARC.
4. Taken by Erin Bowman. Bowman is another blog that I have read forever and I can’t wait to read her book. It sounds interesting and plus, dystopians are still the “hit” YA thing. At least it isn’t vampires anymore.

Tina is excited for…

1. The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett. Unspoken got me on a gothic YA kick, and now I can’t stop. The main character, Dusty, is a nightmare. Not like a spoiled human, but a legit nightmare, the only one of her kind at her supernatural high school. According to the summary, Dusty lives in her mother’s shadow, so to me that means coming-of-age story and you know how much I like those! I got an ARC of this one from NetGalley, so look for the review soon!
2. The Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher. Fisher is a master at YA sci-fi, and this one sounds like it has a male narrator. I couldn’t pass up the ARC when I saw it, and I am super excited to dive into the mixture of fantasy and sci-fi that Fisher is sure to deliver. (Plus, that cover! I am drawn to shiny things over shiny dresses, it seems.)
3. Boundless by Cynthia Hand. There are four people we at Nose in a Book agree on–Veronica Roth, Stephanie Perkins, Kiersten White, and Cynthia Hand. Though some of us are Team Tucker, and some (me) are Team Christian, we all remain solidly devoted to this series. I cannot wait for the conclusion, which is only a few weeks away. I hope Clara picks neither boy and goes on to become an awesome angel of justice or something.
4. Dark Triumph by RL LaFevers. Grave Mercy was one of my favorite books last year, and Ismae’s story is one I can remember the best over the other 80+I read in 2012. On the sidelines of Ismae’s story, Sybella always lurked, sounding torturing and haunted, maybe even hunted. This novel is her story, and I am dying to be back in alternate universe Brittany, when feudal lords still ruled, and nuns with crossbows haunt the flagstones.
5. Antigoddess by Kendare Blake. Kendare Blake is amazing, and one of the nicest people I have ever had the fortune to have Ashley email (haha). Her Anna series and its narrator, Cas Lowood, are a few of my favorite things. I love retellings, fairytale, mythological, whatever, I’ll read it. This is no different, but Blake is almost guaranteed to bring her humor into the tale, which sounds amazing based on the summary alone.
6. Crash by Lisa McMann. Just saying, but Lisa McMann called me once, and she informed me that she set this book in the suburbs of Chicago (literally 10 minutes from where I live, 5 from where I work) specifically for me. SO THERE. But really, I’ve read nearly everything McMann has written, and I love it all, from her paranormal YA to her fantasy MG. She has never ever disappointed me, and I am dying to get to this one, especially after Ashley’s review!
7. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente. The first book in this series was like nothing I had ever read before, and I have read a lot of books about fairies. Valente’s prose is some of the best I’ve ever read in MG, witty and biting and sarcastic, but also sad. Basically, I need to read everyone Valente has ever written, but first, I need to find out what happens to September.
8. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. Holly Black is one of my favorite writers of all time. I love everything she writes, from paranormal YA to short stories, like this novel started out as. I read it in short story form and just had to have more. And now I will! Here’s the summary: “set in the not-so-distant future, where the vampire population has surged, resulting in the establishment of quarantined cities of vampires and humans where predator and prey coexist in a never-ending blood party of revelry.” Need I say more?
9. Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan. Unspoken ended in such a heartbreaking way that I am just pining for its sequel. I’m hoping we get to be more inside Jared’s head this time as he embarks on a life without Kami, a life he never wanted. I’m tired of Kami, even though she had her moments. We lived in her head for a whole book, and now I was a different perspective. I want more Ash and Angela and Holly too. I loved that crowd as a big team. I am such a huge fan of ensemble books.

Lauren is excited for…

1. Boundless by Cynthia Hand. I love, love, LOVE this series to death and with the excerpts coming out and the novella – I’m dying for Boundless! The end of the month cannot come soon enough for me. I’m going to be sad to see this series end but I’m so excited to see where Hand takes Clara.
2. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead. It’s no secret that I love the Vampire Academy series but this series is slowly growing on me. The last book was soooooo good. And I’m secretly holding out hope that we get to see Rose. We do get to see Dimitri though, so I can’t complain.
3. Requiem by Lauren Oliver. While I liked Delirium just fine, I looooooooooved Pandemonium. It turned the series on it’s head. It wasn’t the filler novel of the trilogy that so many second novels are. And Oliver is such a fantastic author, I know that she won’t disappoint with this finale!
4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. The final installment in the Anna and the French Kiss universe! Perkins took last year off so that’s just had me hankering for this one even more. Plus there’s little known about this still – cue the curiosity!
5. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen. I judge most things against Dessen. She’s my favorite YA author for a lot of reasons. She’s a solid author who always writes from the heart and captures feelings in the best ways. PLUS SHE’S FROM CHAPEL HILL. That’s where I live, y’all. Some of my friends know her. Like Perkins, she took last year off, so I’ve been hankering for something from her like crazy. Can’t wait for this one! Maybe she’ll even do a signing here ;)
6. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. Both Tina and I adored Shadow and Bone so of course I’m stoked for the next installment. It has so many elements that I love – namely Eastern European influences – and with the way that the last one ended, I’m really anticipating what Bardugo has planned for Siege and Storm!
7. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson. The second in this series may be my absolute favorite book from last year – I did name my new phone Hector after all – so of course I can’t wait for the next one. What’s going to happen to Hector? What’s Elisa’s plan? I might die while I wait. Seriously, you guys.
8. Divergent #3 by Veronica Roth. IT DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A NAME YET. ENOUGH SAID.
9. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. FEMALE ASSASIN AND PRINCES. AGAIN – ENOUGH SAID.

Filed Under: Meme Tagged With:

Crash (Visions #1) by Lisa McMann

January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Crash (Visions #1) by Lisa McMann
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Simon Plus
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: ★★★★★
Buy It: Amazon
Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode…and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

Review

I’m probably not the right one to be writing this. Tina and I daily email each other discussing who loves Lisa McMann more. That being said, my local bookstore happened to get their shipment in early. Because of this and the fact that I pre-ordered the book, I got to pick my copy up on Friday and quickly devoured it. Actually the only thing I stopped for was having to drive home, eat dinner, and watch part of The Shining with my parents.

Really, the book was that good. I couldn’t put it down. Of course I quickly finished (I’m a fast reader, my friends complain about it) and then got upset because the next one isn’t out yet. When I was reading McMann’s Wake series, what I was thrilled about was I read the first two the weekend before the third one came out so I had no real waiting for the series. This is different; the second book doesn’t come out until October. Although that’s only 10 months and not a year. I understand it could be worse.

Crash is the story of Jules, snarky, sarcastic, bitter Jules whose voice often seems like my own. Jules does not have an easy life. First of all, she is a teenager who has to drive a truck with giant balls on the top of it. They’re meatballs, but still, they are balls. Jules does appreciate the good puns that come out of having to drive the truck. Second, her father has…his problems. He is a hoarder. He’s a neat hoarder, but he still hoards. McMann is not new to writing conditions such as hoarding, with a previous book of her featuring OCD. Jules’ mother and father own the family business, an Italian eatery (hence the balls) and the hoarding affects the family business. Jules, however, deals with it. She isn’t on her own, she has a younger quirky sister and an awesome older brother. Her older brother, by the way, is gay. McMann inserts this so subtly into the story that, to be honest, I had to re-read that page because it was perfectly handled. It wasn’t handled as a big way, which in my opinion, is how it should be handled. McMann even brought the Church into it at one point; again, handled perfectly.

But still, Jules goes on with her life. Her crush doesn’t know he exists, because they were once BFFs and then he stopped talking to her. Of course he comes from a rival pizza-making family; they are serious arch rival enemies. At the end of the book when the whole horrid story finally comes out I gasped and then wanted to go in the book and hug the characters. What? That isn’t normal?!

Again though, she continues on with her life until she has a vision. This vision of people dying, including her crush, Sawyer. This affects her in various ways. It of course freaks her out, understandably. It makes her closer to her older brother, who thinks she’s a wee bit crazy, but is happy to help her and makes her on edge all the time because this vision keeps occurring. She can’t stop it from occurring and when she finally tells Sawyer, “hey! I think you’re going to die. Someday at some location” he of course thinks she’s crazy, which is no surprise because she thinks she’s crazy.

McMann’s writing continues to be strong and on point. From the first page to the last, where I am left wanting more, McMann had me hooked in, holding the pages closer to my face, wanting more, but at the same time hoping it would never end. And then when the moment happened? Perfection.

 If you love and adore the Wake series I promise you this one will have you hooked, too.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Panem Companion by V. Arrow

January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The Panem Companion by V. Arrow
Release Date: December 4, 2012
Publisher: Smart Pop
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ★★★★☆
Buy It: Amazon
-What does Panem look like?
-How does Panem define race?
-How do Panem’s districts reflect the major themes of the trilogy?
-What allusions to our world are found in Panem names like Finnick, Johanna, Beetee, Cinna, Everdeen, and Mellark? Go deeper into the home of the Hunger Games with the creator of the best-known fan map of Panem. The Panem Companion gives fresh insight into Suzanne Collins’ trilogy by looking at the world of the Hunger Games and the forces that kept its citizens divided since the Dark Days. With a blend of academic insight and the true passion of a fan, V. Arrow explores how Panem could have evolved from the America we know today and uses textual clues to piece together Panem’s beliefs about class, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, and more. Includes an extensive name lexicon and color-illustrated unofficial map of Panem

Review
This is the type of book you read and then want to go re-read the main books over again because you missed some major points. This blog is a huge fan of The Hunger Games Trilogy so I was quite excited when I heard that this book was coming out. I love and adore books that go deeper into books I have read. Now, yes, I understand all books I read don’t need background and research, but certain books, such as The Hunger Games, do.

Arrow goes on the path of looking into as much as she can in a short period of time, and yes, she covers a lot. Arrow discusses various different districts, such as 4 and 11, and also discusses gender roles, Panem in general, and certain characters such as Cinna. Arrow also includes maps and graphs to keep the reader engaged throughout the book, along with drawing many parallels that may have nothing to do with The Hunger Games but are too similar to not at least discuss.

It is clear throughout reading this book that Arrow has a passion for not only pop culture, but also The Hunger Games as a whole. Many reviewers have stated that this book is dry. I think reviewers are overlooking the fact that this is a critical analysis of a book series. Maybe I’ve read too many boring history textbooks in my undergraduate career, but I found this to be a very compelling read. My only pet peeve, and reason I didn’t give this five stars, is personal preference. I am not a fan of when authors’ use “I” in professional work; however, Arrow’s writing style and talent almost made me overlook that and give it five stars, because it was that good.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Prophecy (The Dragon King Chronicles #1) by Ellen Oh

January 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Prophecy (The Dragon King Chronicles #1) by Ellen Oh
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Edelweiss
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Buy It: Amazon
The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms… is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope…

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

Review

This is the story of Kira, a strong warrior girl. Her sworn duty is to protect her younger cousin, the Crown Prince Taejo, from any and all harm. At the same time she is fighting with her culture, because she is hated by everyone in the land. This is weird, to me, because her job is to save everyone from demon attacks. Personally, I think that would make her liked by everyone in the town, but alas it doesn’t. Another weird point is we, the reader, are told that people have no clue about her talent, yet everyone calls her the Demon Slayer. Weird, right?

Still though, I like Kira: she’s strong, she tends to hate tradition (like being told who to marry), and can stand up for herself. Throughout the novel this becomes clear when a huge betrayal ruins the country, and she ends up on the run with her cousin and a handful of others. The action scenes are extremely well written by Oh, and Oh isn’t afraid to have Kira kill anyone. In my opinion, this is awesome when reading a novel. I loathe nothing more than reading an action book is the fear of killing off characters. Oh doesn’t fear killing off characters one bit. It is also interesting that while this is heavily a YA book, the romance section is almost always on the backburner. YA tends to be so heavily romantic lately that it was interesting to read a book and have it involve romance, but at the same time not really involve romance. It was an unexpected twist.

All of this being said, I could not get into this book. I tried, I even finished it, but when I finished it I had no interest in being the excited about the second book, which is upsetting because I was so excited for this book. This book to me is like Origin: it’s a good book, but it isn’t the book for me. It is a book I would call a Tina book. Tina and I agree about 80% of the time when it comes to books, but 20% of the time I book I find “meh” Tina thoroughly enjoys and vice versa. So me calling this a Tina book isn’t an insult to the book, if that’s what you thought, because I didn’t mean that at all. If Tina’s reviews are spot on to your book taste then this is very much so your book, but to me it’s an okay one time read.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Favorites of 2012

December 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

We here at Nose in a Book love lists. Not only do we love lists, we love lists of books. We decided to compile our favorite books read in 2012 (that aren’t ARCs for 2013).

Ashley’s List

1. Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities #1) by Shannon Messenger. This is my number one book of the year. Hands down. No questions asked. I can’t stop talking about this book I love it so much favorite. Originally reviewed here my feelings on the book are pretty much the same. Sophie is perfection. The world that Messenger built is perfection. I just want more, ASAP. (I’m a needy reader. This is nothing new.)
2. Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan. This book came highly recommended to me by Tina who reviewed it here and my feelings are very much the same. My only problem with this book is that it is the beginning of the series and I need more…NOW. This book is not my type of book at all. It’s gothic. It ends on a cliffhanger. It makes my heart hurt. It’s everything I hate in a first novel, because again, I’m needy and I need to know more NOW. BUT even with that being said, Brennan’s writing and world building is so strong and powerful, that I don’t mind having to wait. Even if it is killing me.
3. A Mutiny In Time (The Infinity Ring #1) by James Dasher. The beginning of yet another series, even worse, it’s historical. I understand that me recommending a historical book goes against most things I’ve ever said on this website. But this series I adored. Tina reviewed it for us here. The Infinity Ring series is about what happens when certain aspects of time are twisted and are no longer accurate. Various authors are writing each book, yet making them tie together. I am quite excited to see where this series is going to go.
4. The Witness by Nora Roberts. Here is a secret of mine. I love Nora Roberts. Love and adore her. Besides books from my childhood, this past year I’ve read a lot of Roberts because she makes me happy and during the middle of grad school madness I like to be happy. This story is no different. It made me really, really happy. Plus, Roberts is including more and more dogs in her novels lately; you can win the way to my heart with a puppy and a good storyline.
5. Girl of Nightmares (Girl #2) by Kendare Blake. I may not be able to pronounce her first name (we joke about this on twitter), but I am a Kendare Blake fangirl, even if she couldn’t tell because I fail to email her back (sorry Kendare!!) I love and adore Blake’s writing style and her stories. Girl of Nightmares is no different. Girl of Nightmares had a lot to live up to after Anna Dressed in Blood, but Blake doesn’t only live up to the first book, she exceeds the first book. Girl of Nightmares is the perfect ending to the Girl series.
6. Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave: The Letterford Mysteries, Book I by Deron Hicks. Originally reviewed here. I love and adored this book. Read it one sitting loved and adored it so much.This is the type of book I would have wanted to read when I was younger, heck this is the type of book I wanted to read when I read it. It is a perfect mystery story. It is another one that I can’t wait to see where it is going.
7. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig. I spent 2012 catching up on Lauren Willig’s novels. My favorite out of the series is The Betrayal of the Blood Lily. That being said, it was really hard for me to choose one because as the series goes along, Willig’s writing becomes stronger and makes you fall in love with the characters even more. Now I want to go back and re-read this series.

Tina’s List

1. Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by RL LaFevers. This was the first ARC I got for 2012, so it sat waiting for me for a long time before I finally got to read it. This book was incredible, so dark with rich imagery, only glimpses of magic, and death. My boyfriend recently pointed out to me that I like it when books are written in a formal style, and he’s right. This one is the perfect example of that. How can you not like a book about a nun whose forte is poison? Ismae is one of my favorite heroines because she is strong, but not without weakness, and she makes her share of frustrating mistakes. And the next novel is Sybella’s story, which just makes me melt into a puddle of giddy goo.
2. Seraphina (Seraphina #1) by Rachel Hartman. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but my favorites tend to be fantasy novels, and this one was probably my favorite high fantasy of the year. I was really lucky in that almost all of my fantasy ARCs were great ones, and this one had something others did not–dragons. Seraphina’s journey to finding not only herself but others like her was really fun for me, and I remember just flying through this one. This book was also pretty light on the romance, as was Grave Mercy. I don’t think I have to say anything about that, do I?
3. The Assassin’s Curse (The Assassin’s Curse #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke. Pirates! And a GIRL, at that! Ananna of the Tanarau reminded me so much of Elisa from The Book of Fire and Thorns, which is really high praise from me. The tone of this one was really light and silly, but could switch to dark and angry in the blink of an eye. Once again, very low on the romance, with a cliffhanger ending that makes me so excited for the sequel.
4. The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan. This was the best mermaid book of the year, hands down. Adults could read this one and they’d never know it’s YA (not that YA is a bad thing). The story Misskaella Prout weaves is so very sad, and it sets the tone for the whole novel. This book is not happy, or silly, or joyful. It is a tragedy, a lesson, and a warning all rolled into one. Skip every other mermaid novel written this year and go straight for this one. I can’t recommend it enough.
5. The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats. This one isn’t fantastical at all, but it is my other favorite kind of novel: medieval European history. This one is set in Wales and follows Cecily, the spoiled daughter of an English lord who comes to occupy Welsh land. Things go swimmingly for Cecily for the first ⅔ of the novel before taking a very sharp nosedive. I follow Coats on Twitter, and she is always tweeting about making things more realistic. That’s what I loved about this novel. It was hella realistic. No overwrought, starcrossed romance, no deus ex machina. Straight up realism and horror and sadness and blood. Loved it.
6. A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz. When I read about Schlitz’s newest novel, Splendours and Glooms, I wanted to rush out and get it right away. My local library is not the best, however, and didn’t have what I wanted, but there was A Drowned Maiden’s Hair on the juvenile shelf, and I took a chance. Maud is a character both annoying and sympathetic, and the sisters had me wondering if I’d picked up a story about fairies. This novel sort of started my 2012 love affair with middle-grade novels, and that hasn’t stopped yet.
7. Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan. This book was nothing I thought it was going to be and it was a huge, wonderful surprise. The creepy Lynburns were so well-done, and the way the romance slowly burned, then self-destructed, was something I was really into as well. Sarah Rees Brennan has a great narrative voice, and the humor employed throughout really worked. Despite that, this book is angsty and hurt my heart as I read it. (And Ashley’s too, if her all-caps emails were anything to go by…)
8. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo. Ugh, Alina and Mal. And the Darkling. And the Grisha in general. It’s like this book was written for me, so dark and sad, but lush and beautiful, with magic and betrayal and horror. I admit to being fully in love with the Darkling, and wishing Alina was a little more evil and decided to do his thing. It would have made for an interesting story, but Alina’s true path isn’t any less intriguing. The world Bardugo weaves is rich and detailed, but I want to know more!
9. The Gathering Storm (Katerina #1) by Robin Bridges. So, ever since middle school, I’ve been a little obsessed with Nicholas and Alexandra and their descendants. I also love old Russian architecture, so this book was a no-brainer. And I loved it of course, and it’s one of my favorite novels. Reading about winter in Victorian Russia almost made me swoon, and not only is this one supernatural, but our girl is the necromancer! It can’t get cooler than that, and it’s made even more interesting by Katiya’s struggle to reconcile her power to her faith. And the romance! Georgi is lovely, and his struggle between duty and emotion is fun to watch unfold as well.

Lauren’s List

1. Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand. Technically, I read this one last year – yay for ARCs! – but it was released in January so it makes the 2012 cut!  It’s no secret that we adore Cynthia Hand here at NIAB but I think I might be more attached to this series than the others.  Even though Hallowed crushed my heart and soul, I adored it to bits.  Hand’s writing is just sooo perfect.  The way that she writes Clara’s feelings AND the angel-verse – I can’t wait for the next one!
2. Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver. I liked Delirium just fine, Oliver is a good author, but I wasn’t particularly attached to any of the characters.  She turned all of that around with Pandemonium and made me completely obsessed with the series overall.  She gave us a new love interest that had me falling even more in love with the book as well as some plot twists that were anything but predictable.  This is anything but just another dystopian!
3. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth. Do you even need to ask?  I feel like a cop out putting this on my list when Ashley and Tina didn’t but, damn it, I LOVED THIS BOOK.  Overrated?  I don’t care and not my problem.  It’s well-written and impossible to put down.
4. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson. This one gets on the list simply because it made me cry.  I don’t cry.  Ever.  I can’t tell you the last time I cried before I read this book.  Matson’s first book was a solid YA debut and this one was even better.  It covered pretty much every possible thing that a teenager could go through and she wrote about it so very well.  I loved it and can’t wait to read more from her.
5. The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead. While we’re all fans of Mead, my love of Rose and Dimitri has me reading the Vampire Academy spin-off series, Bloodlines.  The first book in the series was okay – not up to my VA standards – but I was not ready to give up hope!  These series are my last hope for great vampire novels (plus the mix of Eastern European heritage – yum) so I was pleasantly surprised when this novel turned out to be totally awesome.
6. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo. These next three all fall in the category of surprise of the year for me.  Of course when I pick up a book, I hope to like it, but I was truly shocked when I loved these so very much.  Shadow and Bone also made Tina’s cut so it shows good taste on both our parts I think.  I found it a little late in the game, but that doesn’t change my feelings.  The fantasy, dystopian and Eastern European aspects were practically screaming for me to read it.  Not to mention love interests and royalty!  Right up my alley.  Sigh.  I might die of boredom waiting for the next one.
7. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas. Next on the surprise list is Throne of Glass.  A hitgirl.  Let me repeat myself…a hitgirl.  AND royalty.  How amazingly fantastic is that?  I pretty much flipped out when I got my hands on this one.  There’s crime and espionage all kind of scandal and a love triangle!  PLUS all the badass stuff that Celaena pulls off.  Just writing this is making me crave a re-read.
8. The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson. Last, but certainly not least, is The Crown of Embers, which had me reeling for days.  I loved the first one but I didn’t think I could like it even more.  Boy, was I wrong.  New love interests and magic and plot twists and all kinds of fun.  I even named my new phone Hector in honor Elisa’s new love interest in the novel.  Why, yes, I did just admit that on the internet.  Either way, that’s how much I liked it!

What were your favorite books this year?

Filed Under: Meme Tagged With:

Book Break: Suburgatory

December 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Suburgatory on ABC
Airs: Wednesday, 9:30 EST
Rating: ★★★★☆
Watch It: Hulu
The series follows George Altman, a single father who decides to get away from New York City to the suburbs so he can give his teenage daughter, Tessa, a better life. However, their move to the suburbs has the daughter wondering if they just entered the world of The Stepford Wives after they see how “perfect” their new locale is, right down to the neighbors who welcome them into the cul-de-sac.

Review

This show is the story of George and Tessa Altman, a father/daughter duo who move to the suburbs from New York City. George found condoms in teenage Tessa’s room and quickly moved her to the burbs where everything is perfect and she’ll be safe. And while the town they live in is freakishly perfect in many ways, it also has its share of problems which Tessa and George work through together and the help of their various friends.

This isn’t the perfect show by any means, but it’s cute and it works. Jane Levy plays the New York City teenager who was forced to move to the burbs, quite well. She quickly becomes friends with Malik, the high schools so-called token black kid who happens to be dating Tessa’s best friend Lisa, who lives across the street from Tessa. I relate to Tessa a lot. She’s awkward, she’s a teenager who’s convinced her parents don’t understand her (although hers don’t for various reasons. Mostly because they’re weird).

Tessa of course has a rival, this is high school, and TV. Her rival is Dalia, a materialistic popular girl, who has her smart moments, but often has things go over her head to the annoyance of everyone around her. Dalia’s mother, Dallas,  is really good friends with George and often throws signals at George that she would like more. He is currently ignoring most of them.

I didn’t expect to fall in love with this show. I assumed I’d get it from the library (thanks local library for having massive amounts of TV shows), put it in and have it as background noise while I complete everything on my to-do list. Yet that didn’t happen at all. I got sucked in. Hard. I want more of it and I want more of it now. I like the friendship between Lisa and Tessa. I like the father/daughter relationship between George and Tessa because even if it isn’t a ‘normal’ relationship, it’s theirs and it works. I like that they portray relationships well between Tessa and guys, too. There was a brief love interest in the first season and one that you don’t know is there, but it’s perfect.

I put this show in the area I put Raising Hope. I wish it got more attention because it’s a good TV show.

Filed Under: Book Breaks Tagged With: , ,

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke

December 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
Release Date: October 1, 2007
Publisher: The Chicken House
Source: Audio Copy
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Buy It: Amazon
In the spirit of DRAGON RIDER and THE THIEF LORD, an enchanting fairy tale told with Cornelia’s trademark warmth and wit: Perfect Funke fare for readers in the middle grades–Cornelia’s “sweet spot”!

Igraine dreams of becoming a famous knight just like her great grandfather, but the truth is, life at the family castle is rather boring. Until the nephew of the baroness-next-door shows up. He’s got a dastardly plan to capture the castle and claim as his own the wonderful singing spell books that belong to Igraine’s magician parents. To make matters worse, at the very moment of the siege, her mom and dad botch a spell, turning themselves into pigs! Aided by a Gentle Giant and a Sorrowful Knight, it’s up to Igraine to be brave and save the day–and the books!

Review

Can you picture growing up wanting to be a knight? Well, Igraine can. That’s all she has ever wanted to be. A knight.

There is a slight problem with this. Igraine is a girl, and girls can’t be knights. That’s a known fact. Igraine doesn’t listen to people when they tell her this. She is an amazingly strong character who likes ‘non-girly’ things. This is of course uncommon during the story’s setting. Igraine’s family also has a secret. They’re magical. Her whole family is. Another problem is Igraine is horrible at magic, unlike her brother Albert who is amazing at anything magical. Her parents are, too; it is their specialty. They have magic singing books, they play with it; Igraine on the other hand has no interest in playing with magic. All she wants to do is have a sword fight with someone!

Everyone thinks Igraine looks funny in her chain mail and noisy armor, plus, not only are girl knights unheard of, so are knights in general. Igraine’s life takes place in what is known as The Tower. No danger has come to The Tower in well, forever, or at least recent memory! Why would someone want to become a knight when they can play with magic?! Igraine fights this exact question throughout Igraine the Brave and along with fighting this question, she figures out who she truly is.

With the help of a Sorrowful Knight, a battle to fight for The Tower, and the fact that her parents don’t stay human throughout the book, Igraine takes the reader on a really fun adventure.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls By Claire Legrand

December 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Source: Library Copy
Rating: ★★★★☆
Buy It: Amazon
At the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, you will definitely learn your lesson. A dark, timeless, and heartfelt novel for fans of Coraline and The Mysterious Benedict Society.Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does too.)

But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out…different. Or they don’t come out at all.

If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria—even if it means getting a little messy

Review

This book came highly recommended to me by one of my dear friends. Even with that recommendation I was wary of starting. Mostly because my TBR list is already forever long and I put a lot of thought into adding another book to the list. Okay, who are we kidding, of course I add a lot of books to it. Reason my Goodreads list is currently pushing 400. All of that being said, I am thrilled my friend recommended this book to me. I can tell you I would have never ever picked this up on my own for various reasons; however, I am glad I did. This is a really good/thrilling YA book.

The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls is at its heart the story of Victoria. Victoria who hates most things, including her only true friend Lawrence. She doesn’t even consider Lawrence a friend, she considers him a project that she needs to fix because he isn’t perfect and often troublesome (to her). One day, however, Lawrence disappears. His parents have a cover story, but even to Victoria the story sounds fake. She is convinced there is more to this story than Lawrence’s parents are letting on. This becomes more obvious when more of Victoria’s class disappears.

Victoria starts to research this when it becomes obvious. She notices people go into the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, but they rarely come out. When Victoria begins to research this, she notices she has much in common with the owner of the home, Mrs. Cavendish. This is a fact that ends up worrying Victoria, because she hates who Mrs. Cavendish is. Slowly Victoria herself becomes trapped in the Home and starts to break her down. Victoria, the one who always must be strong, starts to break down because of what the house, and Mrs. Cavendish, do to people once they become stuck there.

The ending is amazing and very fitting to the story and will make you look at common aspects of your house twice. Also, have I mentioned the illustrations? They are perfect and even fit the story perfectly. Sarah Watts perfectly captured the tone of the story in an illustration. I only wish Legrand had other YA/MG books out right now for me to read!

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Dark Divine (The Dark Divine, #1) by Bree Despain

December 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Release Date: December 22, 2009
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Buy It: Amazon
Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared–the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood–but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude’s high school. Despite promising Jude she’ll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel’s shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy’s dark secret…and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it–her soul.

Review

This is the story of Grace Divine. Yes, that is her name. Her father is a preacher who named his eldest son Jude. Jude, who happens to be the perfect child. But we’ll get more into that later. Grace Divine lives a fairly normal life. She has a loving family, goes to school, volunteers. She is a completely normal teenager. Until the day her brother comes home after a night out with his friend Daniel, who Grace happens to be in love with. Jude and Daniel’s friendship was forever changed that night and no one talks about it again. That was over three years ago and that night is still not discussed in the Divine household.

Until Daniel comes back. Grace didn’t know how much she missed or how much she was drawn to Daniel until he comes back. They are drawn to each other like two magnets. Daniel is artistic and makes Grace want to be a better artist and makes her look at things in a way she never truly did before. Of course this is problematic because Grace promised Jude that she would stay away from Daniel and she doesn’t lie to anyone, family or not. She takes that very seriously. She also turns many shades of red which make it next to impossible to lie, but that’s not the point. When she promises something to her family it’s important to her to stay truthful and honest.

Of course she doesn’t stay away from Daniel. She can’t. The magnets! The more she stays near Daniel and talks to him, the more she comes to find out what happened that night with Jude three years ago. This is where the mysterious element comes into play which I will not ruin for you. I will state that Despain handles it in an interesting way and with this being a series, I will be interested to see how it continues.

I wanted to like this book, and I did. Don’t get me wrong, I totally liked this book, I just expected more from it in the end. Thankfully it is a series and more is coming. Despain has a very interesting writing style and while I enjoy it, I often found it a tad too preachy for me. The fact that Grace’s father is a preacher, Jude is perfect, Grace often makes sure her point gets across in a childish way while continuing to be the good girl. I have no problem with the good girl character. However this version of the good girl was so sickeningly sweet it often hurt to read in parts. That is honestly another reason it didn’t get another star from me. I hate when books get preachy with me. You can get your point across without repeating it over and over again.

Alas, I will be reading the rest of the series because well, I am hooked.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,
«Older Posts