Teaser Tuesday (2)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. Anyone can join in. Here's what you need to do.

♥Grab your current read.

♥Open to a random page.

♥Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

♥Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others.)

♥Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

"A hand touched my hair. I jerked awake, blinking blearily. I didn't know where I was and my heart was going too fast." 

Alyxandra Harvey Stolen Away (ARC) pg 149





Feel free to leave your Teaser Tuesday in the comments. I'd love to read them! 

Review "Pandemonium" by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium (Delirium #2)

Lauren Oliver

Publication Date: February 28, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

ARC 375 pgs

Goodreads

Summary: 

     In the follow up to Delirium, Lena has escaped Portland and now finds herself in the Wilds. The structured "safe" life that she she once knew is gone. Lena is now forced to survive along with the other members of the resistance. She discovers that in order to live in this new world she must let go of the old Lena and become a stronger tougher version of herself. Life in the Wilds is not what Lena expected but she is learning the ways of the resistance all the while dealing with her grief over losing Alex. Though Alex remains a big part of her life she must look ahead to what the future holds. 

Review:

     After I finished Delirium and I realized that Alex did not make it over the fence I knew I had to start Pandemonium as soon as possible. Pandemonium like Delirium is about discovery. To me Delirium is about the discovery of love and how precious it is, while Pandemonium is about the discovery of strength. Because of Alex, Lena has a romanticized vision of what the Wilds would be like but living in the Wilds is much harder than she expected. It is much more difficult to survive when things like electricity, food, or shelter are not readily available. But the people of the Wilds are tough and have learned to adapt to the difficulties of living in the Wilds. It is either adapt or die. 

     Lena goes through a great change in Pandemonium. Though she has always been brave she is even braver and stronger than before. As an active member of the resistance she has to do things that she never would have been able to do in the past. But as she settles into life in the Wilds she learns that in order to survive she must fight. Fight to be stronger, fight to live, and fight to be who she wants to be and not who she is supposed to be. The only way for her to do this is to let go of the time before and focus on the present. She has built a wall within herself where the memories of her past stay hidden. I thought that Lena showed just how much of a survivor she really is. When faced with difficult situations she's able to push through and do what needs to be done. Even though she is afraid she doesn't let that fear stop her.

     In Pandemonium we are introduced to many new characters but the one we learn the most about is Raven. Raven can be described in one word, survivor. She has learned what she needs to do in order to stay alive while living in the Wilds. Some of the others we meet are Tack and Hunter both of whom help to teach Lena about her new life. The people in the Wilds are hardened by a life that is never easy and definitely never safe. But they are fighters so they will continue to try and change how love is viewed. 

     One thing I had a little trouble with was the fact that the chapters go from then (right after she escaped) and now(the present). This set up does show how much has changed from when Lena first went into the Wilds as compared to what she is doing now as a member of the resistance. But at times it was confusing, it was hard for me to tell how much time had passed. I was often wondering when did that happen? We also see just how different life is in the Wilds. We see exactly what the world is like outside of the "safe" borders of the cities. Overall I really really enjoyed this book, it was heartbreaking yet I couldn't get enough. I am eagerly awaiting the release of Requiem. I can't wait to see what happens next for Lena and company. 

Cover:

     While I like the original cover for Delirium I also like the updated covers as well. But I'm not sure that the girls on the covers are the same or different. But back to this cover I like the fact that the girls face is only partially showing and how she is surrounded by some type of flowers and vegetation. It is definitely pretty! 

WHY (12)

This week the question I have been thinking about is, WHY do I have such a hard time with comments?

Since I started blogging one of the biggest issues I've had, besides time, is commenting on other blogger's posts. I'll read an amazingly written review, a super funny post that makes me laugh, or a thought provoking post but then I get down to the comment box and all I can think to write is Great Post! How sad is that? Someone has taken the time to write an amazing post and I can't even think of an original response that represents how I feel about what they wrote. Words seem to flow right out of my head leaving me staring at the screen trying to come up with something that doesn't sound generic or insincere. Other times I'll just simply give up without leaving a comment which seems wrong to me. I want the person to know that I liked and appreciated what they wrote but I don't ant to sound fake. In other words if I leave a comment on your post that seems general or fake it just means that I suck at leaving comments. It's not that it wasn't a great post but I just have issues when it comes to expressing how I felt about your post.

Does anyone share this problem? If not let me know how you feel when you get semi-generic comments?

Review "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver

Delirium (Delirium #1)

Lauren Oliver

Publication Date: February 1, 2011

Publisher: Harper Teen

Hardcover: 441 pgs

Goodreads

Summary:

     In Delirium, scientists have developed a cure to keep people safe from...love. Love is unpredictable unsafe and at times deadly. The only way to keep people from succumbing to this deadly disease is to cure them. Seventeen year old Lena Holoway is 95 days away from getting the cure for the deliria. Once she gets the cure she will be safe, life will be predictable, happy, she'll be free to live the rest of her life safe from getting infected by the deliria. But Lena soon discovers that what she believes and has been told her whole life may be wrong. Why?...Lena does the inconceivable and falls in love. When that love is threatened Lena will do whatever it takes to save and preserve this precious thing she has discovered. 

Review:

     First and foremost I must say that I had forgotten what Delirium was supposed to be about, so when I started reading I was like What? They have banned love? The concept drew me in instantly. It was so unique and different. I wanted to see how people lived and functioned without being able to love. Once people get the cure they are devoid of personality. They are like living zombies going about their daily routines with no passion, pain, or true happiness. They have jobs and families but without love it's more of an obligation to do what they are supposed to. It was kind of scary to see how love could be outlawed and almost everyone just went with it and didn't question it. But some people, invalids, did question it. Most of them live in what is known as the wilds, an area outside of the town's heavily guarded borders. If people are unable to love then they are unable to feel compassion for those around them. Which was evident when the regulators conducted raids. They did so without mercy and at times it seemed as though they enjoyed hurting and threatening others. The regulators like the power they have over others. Instead of protecting the people they were used as more of a scare tactic to keep citizens in line. People are afraid all the time even when they aren't doing anything wrong, since they can be arrested and killed at the mere thought of being a sympathizer. 

      

     Lena comes from a troubled background which has made life somewhat difficult for her. But despite her childhood and maybe because of it Lena is more then ready to get her cure and move on with the rest of her life, safe from getting the disease. Lena will change once she gets the cure, the things she once cared about like her best friend Hana, will no longer be important since she will be unable to love. She is a dreamer and sees the beauty in life even when she knows she's not supposed to. But when Lena meets Alex a boy who has already gotten the cure things start to change. She does things that are out of character, like agreeing to sneak out to meet him. But when he tells her who he really is she freaks out and refuses to go near him again. Eventually the two meet up again and Lena starts to fall in love. Something that has terrified her her whole life. I was tense and anxious the entire time I was reading. I never knew if Alex and Lena were going to get caught. I liked Lena, she had a healthy respect for what she has been taught, but she also had a mind of her own. She was also a lot stronger than she realized. When it came time to do something scary or difficult she did what she had to do despite the fear. 

     This book is filled with a delicious tension that had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Delirium is filled with amazing descriptions and vivid details that allowed me to easily see the world that Lena inhabits. It is an intense heartbreaking read that I couldn't put down.

Cover:

     I'm a fan of this cover. I like that we can only see the girl, who I assume is Lena, through the title and authors name. 

     

Swoon Thursdays (21)

The ladies at YA Bound have created a hot and fun new meme called SWOON #YABound. If you want to join in here's what you need to do.

All you need to do is pick up the book you are currently reading or just finished reading. Find what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding and your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. Then shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag  #YABound, post in the comments, or grab the awesome button from YA Bound (above) and share it on your blog!

This week my SWOON comes from Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. 

"I run my tongue along his lower lip and he freezes for a second. His lips are warm and full and wonderful. His tongue traces my lips and then suddenly we both let go; and we are breathing into each other, and he is holding my face with his hands, and I am riding a wave of pure joy." SWOON #YABound

When I read this I knew what my SWOON was going to be this week.

Teaser Tuesday (1)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. Anyone can join in. Here's what you need to do.
♥Grab your current read.
♥Open to a random page.
♥Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
♥Be careful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others.)
♥Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My body goes prickly all over. Now the fear draws my insides hard and taut." Lauren Oliver, 
Pandemonium pg 116.

Feel free to leave your Teaser Tuesday in the comments. I'd love to read them!

WHY (11)

This week the question I have been thinking about is, why don't more books have pronunciation guides?

     Authors create amazing worlds and characters but sometimes I find it difficult to pronounce some of the words that they create. Have you ever been reading and all of the sudden you stumble upon a word you have never seen before? Sounding it out is kind of useless since most of the time these names, places, creatures, are derived from languages I don't speak or at other times they are made up. For example when reading the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead I came across words I had no clue how to say such as strigoi, moroi, or dhampire.  I still don't know how to say them. I can make an educated guess but most of the time my pronunciation and the correct pronunciations aren't even close. I hate when I have to trip over these words as I am reading. Try explaining a book to someone and you have to work around these words since saying them out loud is not even possible. When I did talk about the book I had to use words like bad vampires(strigoi), good vampires(moroi), mix between humans and good vampires(dhampire). No I didn't sound weird. Okay, maybe I did. I just think it would make reading and explaining these books a little easier if books with new or different words had some type of pronunciation guide. 

     So imagine my surprise when I picked up Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout and what did I find, a pronunciation guide. It made reading words like hematoi, apollyon, Agapi Mou, really easy. I didn't have to try and figure out how to say these words. When I gushed about this book I found it so much easier to explain things since I was able to use the proper terms without sounding like I was making up my own language. This is the only book that I have come across or remember reading that has a pronunciation guide. 

Have you ever come across books that you wish had some type of pronunciation guide? Or have you read books that have a guide? If so let me know.

Swoon Thursdays (20)

The ladies at YA Bound have created a hot new meme called SWOON #YABound IF you want to join in here's what you need to do.

All you need to do is pick up the book you are currently reading or just finished reading. Find what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding and your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. Then shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag  #YABound, post in the comments, or grab the awesome button from YA Bound (above) and share it on your blog!

This week my SWOON comes from Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter.

"His hand moved up to the back of her neck. He shifted her head slightly so her mouth was more accessible to his. The slightly rough texture of his shaven cheeks felt wonderful. His tongue moved inside. Slowly at first, then without hesitation. Warmth built inside her and she couldn't seem to get close enough to him." SWOON #YABound

Steamy right! Of course I had to go with the extended version, I had to keep all the hotness intact.

Review "Bleeding Hearts" by Alyxandra Harvey

Bleeding Hearts (Drake Chronicles #4)

Alyxandra Harvey

Publication Date: December 20, 2011

Publisher: Walker Books

Paperback: 347 pgs

Goodreads

Summary:

     As the Blood Moon gathering approaches the Hel-Blar threat is only getting worse. Lucy's cousin Christabel comes to town, and keeping her from discovering how dangerous Violet Hill really is, is proving to be extremely difficult. Especially since the Hel-Blar seem to be everywhere and they tend to stand out a bit. When Christabel is mistaken for Lucy and kidnapped Conner Drake is determined to find her no matter the cost to him. Why was Christabel taken, and will Conner be able to find her before it's too late?

Review:

     Bleeding Hearts is the fourth book in the Drake Chronicles. In this installment we get three POV's (Lucy, Christabel, and Conner) instead of the usual two like in previous novels. A majority of the book is told from Lucy and Christabel's perspectives. Christabel is the first narrator in this series who does not know that vampires exist. While I enjoyed seeing the Drake's world from an outsiders POV, I wasn't a big fan of the character. Christabel is in love with classic authors and poets, and she quotes them constantly. No matter where she goes she can be found with her head in a book. For some reason I just didn't connect with Christabel. Something about her felt off. At times I found her to be annoying. I had a hard time getting through her sections especially when she said things like: "I read a lot. I love books. If they came in a bottle, I'd be a drunk too. I'd bloat myself on the wine of Wordsworth, the Gin of Charles Dickens, the licorice liqueur of Edgar Allan Poe." (25) She just didn't seem believable to me. 

     Conner Drake is the brother being highlighted in Bleeding Hearts. Conner is the high tech brother in the family. Give him any type of technological device and he knows what to do with it. Unlike his twin, Quinn, Conner is more comfortable with electronics than he is with girls. But he is a Drake so he knows his way around a variety of weapons and like his brothers he definitely knows how to use them. My one issue with him is that I didn't think enough of the book was told from Conner's POV. I didn't feel as though I got to know him as well as the other brothers in previous books. We already knew he was good with electronics but outside of that I'm not sure I got to know that much more about him.

     I was glad to get back into Lucy's head. She's so stubborn, determined and I like seeing this world through her eyes. In this book Lucy, who is used to spending most of her time with the Drake's finds herself drifting further from her best friend. Since Solange's change the relationship between the two has been strained. I kind of feel bad for Lucy. All she wants is to hangout with her best friend but everyone including Nicholas keeps telling her that it's too dangerous to be around the Drakes. It's as though she's supposed to forget everything about the past and move on. Which of course is easier said than done. She's stubborn and refuses to stop hanging out with the Drakes. She has known them practically her whole life and has come to feel like one of the family. But Lucy is getting some training from Hunter (Quinn Drake's girlfriend) a student at the Helios-Ra Academy. Lucy makes a decision that she hopes will help her be better prepared to face the dangers in Violet Hill. It was an interesting twist that I did not see coming and I liked the move. I'm interested to see how this plays out for Lucy. 

     Generally these books have been among my favorites but for me this one fell short. I'm used to a bit of tension between the two leads, which is one of the reasons I like this series so much. The witty, snarky banter thrown around seemed to be lacking. As I stated earlier I wish more of the story would have been told form Conner's POV. Fortunately we do see many of the characters that had starring roles in previous books such as Hunter, Logan, Quinn, Solange, and a few others. 

     It's always fun to learn about the different varieties of vampires. Instead of just good or bad vamps there are many types and each has their own back story. In Bleeding Hearts we are introduced to the Na-Foir, a type of vampire not seen before. I thought these new vamps added a great twist to the story. They shake things up a bit and make readers realize how quickly things can change when new elements are added to the story. I liked learning about them and finding out why they suddenly made their presence known. Overall, I have to say I only liked Bleeding Hearts, I didn't love it nor did I hate it. Plus I was not a fan of the cliff hanger. I'm hoping the next book draws me back in.

Cover:

     I'm a fan of the cover redesign for this series. I haven't really liked previous covers of the Drake Chronicles but this one I like. It's simple and mysterious. The couples pose is dramatic and dangerous making me want to read what their story is all about.

Book devouring state = bad blogger

I have been wanting to read constantly as of late. Which is great I finished a ton of books. But the downside is I haven't down a single review for the books I've read. I figured I was 5 or 6 reviews behind. Unfortunately, I was sadly mistaken I just counted and I have nine reviews to write. Nine reviews!! I must like to punish myself. I do have one done and I should be posting it sometime soon, hopefully tonight or in the morning. Luckily I did take notes so my reviews should be at least 5 sentences:)
This all started when I wasn't feeling well. When I was sick I read and then I guess I just didn't want to stop. But since I have been better I know I should get some posts done but then I pick up a book to read a few chapters and the next thing I know it's light outside and I have finished the book and my post was never completed. Bad Blogger I know. Sometimes I just can't help it. But I will try to put down my books and actually get some reviews posted.
Just wanted to let everyone know. I haven't stopped blogging I just get lost in books sometimes.

Why (10)

This week the question I have been thinking about is Why do updated book covers bother me? This question is kind of a continuation of last weeks post: why do some series have inconsistent covers? 

     It has happened to me a few times. I get the first couple books in a series and the next book that comes out has a completely new look. Which doesn't match at all with the ones I already have. A lot of the time I like the new covers better, but really don't want to buy them since it's just a cover. But for some reason it still bothers me and makes me want to replace my old covers. Which may be the point of the new covers. Sometimes they look so interesting and enticing that readers(me) want to get these new lovelies and put them on their shelves. Other times the new covers are not as appealing and it makes me wonder why the change? 

     I like when covers are consistent and follow the same type of theme. So when you pick up the next book you know it's a part of a series that way there is no confusion on the part of the reader(me). And they don't end up making my book shelves look odd. Of course I'll still get the book even if it has a mismatched cover but I'm not happy about it. This issue keeps me up at night thinking about my poor book shelves and their oddly mismatched covers. I'm totally kidding. I don't really stay up thinking about this but since the question popped into my head I wanted to do a small rant about it. 

I'm not sure if this is an issue for those with e-readers, I'm referring to physical books. Does any one else toss and turn thinking about covers or is it just me? Because if it is just me I can accept my own craziness  and move on but if not leave a comment and let me know.

Sorry I haven't been posting this week. I was sick for a bit. Nothing major but I didn't have a ton of energy so I used what energy I did have to read. Fortunately I was feeling better on Thursday and was able to attend a book signing by Becca Fitzpatrick, which I'll probably do a post for on Monday.

Swoon Thursdays (19)

The ladies at YA Bound have created a hot new meme called SWOON #YABound IF you want to join in here's what you need to do.

All you need to do is pick up the book you are currently reading or just finished reading. Find what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding and your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering. Then shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag  #YABound, post in the comments, or grab the awesome button from YA Bound (above) and share it on your blog!

This week my SWOON is from Soul Thief by Jana Oliver.

"She wanted him to kiss her, keep kissing her until nothing else mattered.When his lips delicately touched hers, they felt like the brush of a dove's wing. The second kiss was more insistent. A fire ignited in her belly. She felt his fingers brush her neck, gently grazing an ear as he leaned closer and kissed her check." SWOON #YABound 

Did you find anything steamy this week? If so let me know.

Review "Kiss of Frost" by Jennifer Estep

Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2)

Jennifer Estep

Publication Date: November 29, 2011

Publisher: Kensington

Paperback 354 pgs

Goodreads

Summary:

     In Kiss of Frost we are back with Gwen as she navigates life at the Mythos Academy. After nearly being killed in Touch of Frost, Gwen is forced to take warrior lessons from Logan Quinn and some of his Spartan friends. How will Gwen deal with being so close to the guy that rejected her and cracked her heart? She gets a brief break from all the training and heartache when her best friend Daphne forces her to go to the Winter Carnival which is pretty much a fun filled party with skiing during the day. But someone is after Gwen and trouble follows her all the way to the Winter Carnival. Will Gwen be able to figure out who is after her before it's too late?

Review:

     The main reason I like Gwen as a leading character is because she seems so real. It's the moments that she is unsure of herself that allow me to connect with her. If she were perfect and knew what she was doing all the time the story wouldn't be as fun for me to read. I like watching Gwen slowly start to grown into who she is, as she gets stronger and becomes more secure with her psychometry (touch magic). This is one of my favorite parts of the series that and the mythology. Since Gwen is still young she makes plenty of mistakes. Mistakes that could have been avoided but she doesn't entirely think things through at times. And of course these lapses in judgement end up endangering her life. We also get to see that Gwen's powers are growing as she learns a new skill that could be very useful especially since the Reaper of Chaos want her dead. 

     Logan the super hot Spartan has been tasked with teaching Gwen how to use weapons so that she can defend herself if and when the reapers come after her. We do learn a little more about the mysterious Logan. This information gave me a little insight as to who Logan is but of course I would still like to know more. There wasn't as much Gwen and Logan interaction as I would have liked. but it makes sense that they wouldn't spend a lot of time together after Logan rejected her. But I really like exchanges between them and hopefully there will be more in the next book.

     Daphne and Gwen's friendship continues to develop as the new best friend's spend more time together. She helps Gwen learn the ins and outs of the Academy.  I love that Daphne used to be one of the stuck up popular girls but she has shown that she is much more than that. Plus, I love that she has pink sparks flying out of her fingers because of her Valkyrie magic. Daphne is still with Carson a Celt who is also the leader of the marching band. Carson is super nice, kind of shy and also becoming good friends with Gwen. We meet a few new characters who are friends of Logan's, Oliver and Kenzie. The two guys help Logan as he tries to help Gwen learn to fight. 

     In this installment we learn more about what it means for Gwen to be a champion and how challenging and dangerous that role really is. We also meet another mythological creatures, Fenir Wolves. The mythology aspects of these books are part of the reason the story is so entertaining. I love learning about new pieces of Gwen's mythological world in each book. More insight is given into what the Reaper's of Chaos are up to and why. Though I liked this book and read it in a day I was a little disappointed by it. At times I found the story to be predictable. I would have liked to be a little more surprised when certain plot twists were revealed. But overall Kiss of Frost was a quick, light, fun read that had me smiling. I am eager to see more of these characters, and their world in the next book, Dark Frost.

Cover:

     So far Kiss of Frost is my favorite cover out of the series. I like how the girl has her eyes closed and is covered in snow. It's pretty and makes me want to know what's up with all the snow? 

Why (9)

This week I have been thinking about cover art. So I was wondering why do some series have inconsistent covers?

     Before I started blogging I didn't pay too much attention to how consistent the covers of a series were. I just read the books put them on my shelf and moved on to the next book in my pile. But when I started blogging I decided to not only rate the books I read but also their covers. That's when I realized the inconsistency on the covers of some of my favorite reads. Of course this is a superficial issue but one that I have thought about each time I picked up one of these books. 

(Vampire Academy, Blood Promise, Last Sacrifice, My Soul to Take, My Soul to Steal, If I Die)

     One such series I am referring to is Vampire Academy. It seems that each cover has a different model, ones that don't even resemble the main character. I understand that the Rose in my mind will not match the Rose the author envisioned. I know authors don't have a lot or any say in covers but you would think that those in charge of the cover art would want the covers to have some consistency. But when the girls on the covers have light hair as opposed to Rose's dark hair it leaves me wondering, is that supposed to be Rose or another character? The covers of the Soul Screamers also have this same issue. The models are different and their appearances don't match the main character Kaylee.With different models for each cover it leads one to believe that these girls apparently have the ability to change their appearance. I'm kidding of course. I just think it's confusing for the reader(me) to have so many versions of one character. I really love both of these series but the covers drive me crazy. I'm not opposed to having cover models on the covers of my favorite books, I just don't like it when the covers conflict with one another. For some reason this inconsistency just annoys me. Not enough that I won't still buy the books but enough that I will rant about it. I have noticed that some series use cover models but have the same one for each book of the series.

(Evernight, Stargazer, Afterlife, The Summoning, The Awakening, The Reckoning)

     I just wanted to highlight some covers that are more consistent. One example would be the Evernight series by Claudia Gray. I had to examine these books to see if the girl was the same and from what I can tell she is. It's not obvious from just a glance whether it's the same girl or not. Not only is the theme consistent but so is the cover model. If the model on the cover of The Darkest Powers trilogy is different I can't tell. Having the same model on each cover can be done. That's why it bugs me so much when it isn't done. This is just my opinion of course. And I may be crazy for spending time getting annoyed by this but I can't help it, it just bothers me. I can't help it that I want my books to match so when they don't I tend to get a little annoyed. 

Does cover inconsistency bother you? Or do you even notice? Leave a comment and let me know.