Legend by Marie Lu

Published November 29, 2011 by Putnam
#1 in the Legend series
4 Stars

Goodreads Review
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

Review:  Legend is a great start to a series with will definitely fill your Hunger Games void.  It has fight scenes, snappy dialogue, kissing, and a government conspiracy!  I listened to the audio book and really loved the two readers. They were excellent and I recommend the audio book to everyone, especially if the gold text puts you off (as it did for me).

I really enjoyed Legend, especially the two main characters.  Day and June were both really great characters and I really enjoyed their banter as they got to know one another.  With that said, I do wish they lived up to the described intelligence.  We're told again and again how exceptionally smart they are, but they seem to get tricked and trapped a lot.  I really would have liked to learn more of Day's back story and his motivations behind his crimes.  We know he's done all of these crazy stunts (like attacking an airbase) but we never really learned why because he's kind of rogue and doesn't belong to a rebel group. 

I did have some issues with the world building. In dystopian books set in America I really like to understand how we got from present day to the current government in the novel. There were some hints at this so I'm hoping this will be discussed more in future novels. I also would have liked to know some more answers to the Republic plague conspiracy as well as why they are at war with the colonies, but again I think that will be covered more in later novels. I also wanted to know more about the trials, especially what exactly when down with Day's trial.  There are a lot of interesting concepts that I hope will be fleshed out in further novels.

Overall I really enjoyed Legend.  The writing was really great and the pacing was spot on.  I know dystopian is a real trend right now is YA literature, but Legend is at the top of the pack.  If you liked The Hunger Games and Divergent, make Legend your next pick.

Bout of Books Day 7 FINALE!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

This is the final day of the read-a-thon, we made it!  I have to admit I went out with a bit of a whimper.  I woke up today and just did not feel like reading, so I didn't.  I watched 3 movies instead (Fight Club, We need to Talk about Kevin, and The Ruins.  They're all adaptations of novels though, does that count?).

I did go to Starbucks for a little while and read 31 pages of City of Lost Souls, but that's it.  I'm ok with it though, because I made a lot of progress and finished quite a few books I'd been working on for a long time.  So what was your final count?  Did you meet your goals?  Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading with me this week!

Number of pages today:  31
Total number of pages:  1551

Books started:  2

Books completed:  5

Bout of Books Day 6

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

It's the weekend and the end of the read-a-thon is in sight!   We're having friends coming over to have a board game night so I'm not sure if I'll be reading more today so I decided to do my update a little early.  I've still had a good day for the read-a-thon.  I finished The Walking Dead graphic novel for 234 pages.  I also have been listening to my Shades of Earth playaway at every available opportunity and I think I'm around 67%, so an additional 102 pages. 

Today there were two challenges and the first one was hosted by Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf.  This challenge was easy, we just had to answer the following questions.

Question 1: If you could be like any character from a fictional book, who would it be? What do you like about them?Tell me why!

This is a really easy question because I've had the same answer since i was 11 years old.  I would be Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series.  I absolutely love and admire Hermione.  She's smart and brave and loyal and an excellent friend.

Question 2: There’s lots of books out there, but is there one that you've been dying to read that doesn't seem to be written yet? Describe it briefly.

This is a harder question to answer.  I think I would like to read a book that has a character with realistic new age/Wiccan/witchcraft beliefs and practices.  No flying broomsticks or shooting fire out of their hands, but a real spiritual belief.  That would be interesting because I have yet to read a book where that group of people is accurately portrayed.  

The second challenge was hosted by I Read, Ergo I Write and we were to create an acrostic poem using a title of one of your favorite books.  I decided to write a poem about Mira Grant's Feed because I love the book and the title is only 4 letters haha (is that cheating?  oh well)

Friends, rise up while you can.
Everyone has someone on the wall, and
Everyone must know the truth.
Do not be afraid.

So that's my update for today, it's a quick one, but I hope you are all doing well on your challenges!  Maybe I'll update this later tonight if my friends don't stay too long.  Happy reading!

Number of pages today:  336
Total number of pages:  1520

Books started:  2

Books completed:  5

Bout of Books Day 5

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Day 5 of the read-a-thon was really busy day so my reading progress has been minimal.  I listened to more of my playaway of Shades of Earth and I think I'm about 40% finished, so I'm guessing I read about 72 pages today.  I was really bored with all of my books that I'd been reading so I decided to start The Walking Dead graphic novel but of course the pages aren't numbered, go figure.  I made it through the first chapter which was 70 pages after counting.

Today's challenge was hosted by The Space Between and it was a bookish madlib, which is a great idea.  Here are my randomly selected words

A. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
B. The Joker, Batman comics
C. Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
D. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
E. Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle mead
F. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
G. Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

And here is my completed madlib!

Help! I'm being held captive at The Red Pyramid by The Joker!
It is very Sweet here!
He is demanding 13 Gameboards to set me free!
I have just discovered that Hermione Granger was captured too!
On second thought, please send Cherries, and don't worry if you don't hear from us for awhile!

Much Love,Pearl the Book Girl

That was a fun little challenge!  Fill out your own in the comments below if you want!  I'm hoping to finish Shades of Earth and the Walking Dead graphic novel tomorrow, we'll see.

Number of pages today:  142
Total number of pages:  1184

Books started:  2

Books completed:  4

A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner

#1 in the Infinity Ring series
Published August 28, 2012 by Scholastic Inc.
4 Stars

Goodreads Review
When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel -- a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring -- they're swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.Now it's up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak's missing parents while they're at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

Review:  The Infinity Ring is a really fun and interactive series for kids.  Not only is it a fun science fiction series that incorporates historical events (educational!) there is also an online element where kids can play a game that continues the adventure.  It's a great series for reluctant readers and could be used by parents to connect with their kids on the computer as well.

I think the Infinity Ring series could be a great tool for teachers.  Each book focuses on a different point in history and this could be used in the classroom to discuss the events around those major historical events and why they are important.  The computer game is a great hook to help draw kids in to introduce them to reading about history.

I was lucky enough to go to a book signing for A Mutiny in Time.  James Dashner is one of the most passionate authors I have ever met.  Not only does he enjoy the writing process, but he really cares about education and getting kids excited to read.  On the day of the signing he had spent his morning at local elementary schools talking to kids about reading and getting them excited about books and school.  It was very encouraging to see many young kids (and boys!) at the book signing event.  Dashner had obviously made an impression on the kids and it was so awesome to see their enthusiasm about the series.

Overall A Mutiny in Time is a great start to a fun multi platform series.  The Infinity Ring will appeal to kids ages 9-11, which I think is a very crucial age for developing an appreciation for books.  It's series like the Infinity Ring that will lay the ground work a life long love of reading.

Bout of Books Day 4

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Well, we've passed the half way mark of the read-a-thon and I think I'm starting to burn out a little bit.  Last night before bed I finished a book I'd been working on for around six months, 158 pages of How to Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.  I gave it 4 stars.  I really liked the majority of the book which was about how your attitude and perception of a situation will influence what happens in your life, but I disagree that serious illness such as cancer is caused by resentment or childhood issues.  I think people just get sick sometimes, and there's no real reason for it.  Even with those concerns I still related to a lot of the book and found it to be an interesting read.  

I also listened to 25 pages of City of Lost Souls and I started Shades of Earth by Beth Revis, but I don't know how far I am.  I say this because I got a playaway from the library, which is awesome but they don't tell you page numbers.  The hardback edition is 369 pages and I'd guess I'm no more than 20% finished, so I'll estimate 75 pages read.  I'll be sure to finish this before the read-a-thon's end so I can know an exact page count.

And that's as much as I've read today.  When I got home I decided to play a new video game called Gone Home.  It's a beautiful story and at first I thought it was going to be scary but it's not so don't worry.  I won't spoil it for you but I would recommend it if you have a free evening.

There were two challenges today.  The first was hosted at In Wonderland, and this is the road trip challenge.  For this challenge we're supposed to come up with a list of places we want to visit and then find a book set there.  Here's my list, some of the places I've already visited and want to go back and some are destinations I've yet to see.  

Bookish Road Trip

Amsterdam, Netherlands - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Prague, Czech Republic - Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Florence, Italy - A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Portland, Oregon - If I Stay by Gale Forman

Seattle, Washington - Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead

New York City, New York - The Diviners by Libba Bray

Austin, Texas - Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

The second challenge was hosted by Paperback Dreamer and was definitely one of my favorite challenges so far.  It was a game of book shelf I spy and we had to look around our shelves and find books with certain images on the cover.  I managed to find 13/15 which is pretty good!

1.  Snowflakes - Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle  (You can't really tell but there are snowflakes on the wrapping paper of the present as well as on the spine)
2.  Flames - The Kill Order by James Dashner
3.  A City Skyline - The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
4.  The Moon - Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
5.  A Sword - The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
6.  A Wedding Dress - Envy by Anna Godbersen (this may be cheating because I don't know if that's actually a wedding dress or just a white one, but it could be a wedding dress so I'm counting it)
7.  High Heels - Cinder by Marissa Meyer
8.  Fog -  Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
9.  A Christmas Tree - ??? (damn my first one I couldn't find!  I have a copy of A Christmas Carol so I thought I had this one in the bag but nope!  The cover just has people at a party, not a tree in sight!)
10.  Sunglasses - Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John  (This might work for the combat boots as well)
11.  Lightning -  Drink Deep by Chloe Neill
12.  A Tattoo - Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
13.  Combat Boots - The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth  (Another one where I'm kind of cheating because I'm pretty sure those are cowboy boots.  Oh well close enough I guess)
14.  Hand Cuffs - ???  (And here's the second one I couldn't find.  Maybe I need to read more erotica?  What other genre of books would have handcuffs on the cover....uh true crime, police drama, dang it of course my mind goes to the dirty things)
15.  A Road -  Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

These challenges were a lot of fun!  How many can you find on your shelf?

Overall today was a lighter day, but that's ok I'd been going very hard for three days straight, I needed to do something else!  I think we're going to go see the City of Bones movie tomorrow and then we're having a board game night with our friends on Saturday, but I think I'll be able to finish at least one more book.  Good luck to everyone else in the challenge and happy reading!

Number of pages today:  258
Total number of pages:  1042

Books started:  1

Books completed:  4

Bout of Books Day 3

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Today is day 3 of the read-a-thon and I rocked AGAIN!  Woo!  I listened to 44 pages of City of Lost Souls (I didn't get distracted by my ipod this time!) and then I finished my second book of the challenge, Crescendo, with a final 129 pages to round it out.  I really disliked Crescendo and gave it 2 stars, and it was the interesting parent situation that saved it from 1 star. Crescendo was 65% mean girl drama, 30% boyfriend drama, and maybe 5% plot.  

I also managed to finish another book, A Million Suns by Beth Revis (88 pages).  I actually really enjoyed the second half of this book.  I rated it 3 stars, but it's more like 3.499 stars.  I thought the idea of a trail of clues was an interesting idea, but I don't think it was effect in this particular setting.  I also really disliked all of the rape threatening that was going on in the first half.  I did think the ending was pretty good and I'm really interested in reading the final book, Shades of Earth.  May start that tomorrow in fact. 

Today's first challenge was hosted by Musings of a Bookshop Girl who asked two questions, what are the 5 books at the top of your TBR pile and if you went into a bookstore right now what 5 books would you walk out with? 

The books at the top of my TBR pile are

 I'm working my way through The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series and am currently on City of Lost Souls, so Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare is next and I'm really excited to see what happens with Jem.  I want to read The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken for two reasons.  First Christine at polandbananasbooks loved it and second I got approved for an egalley of the second book Never Fade which is supposed to also be awesome.  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is another YA book that has gotten a lot of buzz on youtube lately.  I've had a lot of good luck with contemporary YA lately, so I'm really anxious to read this (plus cover.  So good!).  I've recently been reading my first Neil Gaiman series, The Sandman graphic novels, and I really want to read one of his novels.  I recently picked up a copy of The Ocean at the End of the Lane and it's been getting a lot of praise so I am really interested in reading it.  And Finally I have Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde this is a recent purchase that Karate really likes, so I want to read it!

The second portion of this challenge is really hard.  I think if I were to go in a book store right now I would pre-order books, so here are the top 5 that are coming out soon that I really want.

 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black is coming out soon, September 3rd, and I love the title and the concept is really cool.  I plan on asking for this for my birthday.  Allegiant by Veronica Roth is the final book in the wildly popular Divergent series and is set for an October 22nd release.  With the movie coming out next year I want to be hipster and finish the books before the movies.  Cress by Marissa Meyer is the third book in one of my favorite YA series ever.  It's not coming out until February of next year but you best believe I'll be getting it the day it drops.  Right along the same line is Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor.  This is the final book in another of my favorite series and I have to get it, April cannot come fast enough.  And then finally I have Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.  The release date has been pushed back multiple times and we can only hope that by May it will be ready.

The second challenge was hosted at Such a Novel Idea and we were to write a poem using the titles of books we own.  I loved this idea and knew I was going to write a haiku because they are my favorite.  

Torn teeth, flesh, and bone
The outsiders crash and burn.

Ashes rage within.

Yeah, that turned out kind of angry not sure why lol. 

Ok this post has been long enough.  In summary, I finished 2 books and read 261 pages.  I will probably start Shades of Earth tomorrow and perhaps try and make progress on one of my netgalley books.

Number of pages today:  261
Total number of pages:  784

Books started:  0

Books completed:  3

Bout of Books Day 2

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Day 2 has been a great day for reading.  I listened to 14 pages worth of City of Lost Souls, got through 109 pages of Crescendo, and finished my first book of the read-a-thon, Assassins in Love with the final 74 pages.  I gave it 3 stars, I thought it was fluffy and fun but I would have liked a little more focus on the murder conspiracy.  Overall an enjoyable but forgettable read.  

I then decided to re-pick up A Million Sun by Beth Revis and read 90 pages.  I started it back in June and got about half way through before putting it down.  The story just wasn't holding my attention.  However a month later I am enjoying it more though I still don't care about Elder and Amy's romantic relationship.  I would rather the story just focus on the ship's politics and getting to the new planet.  

Today's challenge was hosted at Music Plus Books and we are to rename the book(s) we are reading for the challenge.  Let's see, I would change "City of Lost Souls" to "Why is Jace Always Getting Possessed?" because that seems like a really convenient plot device that gets used again and again.  "Crescedo" I would re-name to "Mean Gurl Dramaz" because that's basically all this book has been.  I think "A Million Suns" is an awesome title and I wouldn't change it, and "Assassins in Love" is so bad it's actually good.  I honestly can't think of a more blatantly accurate title so I'm going with it lol.  

So all together I read for around 6 hours including approximate audio book time and finished 287 pages and my first book!  I didn't get through Crescendo like I planned, but I hope to finish it tomorrow and maybe A Million Suns as well.  

Number of pages today:  287
Total number of pages:  523

Books started:  0

Books completed:  1

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

#1 in the Paranormalcy series
Published August 31, 2010 by HarperTeen
3 Stars

Goodreads Review
Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Review:  Paranormalcy is very cutesy and a little cheesy but overall enjoyable.  I'd really give it a 3.4, but not quite enough to earn a 4 star round up.  The characters are fun but kind of annoying at times, the plot is interesting but rather predictable, and the writing is definitely geared toward the younger end of the YA spectrum.  

Evie, the main character, was equal parts obnoxious and endearing.  I loved that her taser had rhinestones all over it, but hated that she called it "tasey".  I loved her girly sense of style, but hot pink boots and a zebra dress?  Come on.  However, I think a character that starts off rather naive has a lot of room to grow.  I loved her friendship with Lish and I wish we could have gotten to know Lish better.  I understood Evie and her motivations and my inner 16 year old girl could totally related to her.

Lend, the love interest was also great.  I thought their relationship was really well done, it developed at a believable pace and I thought their interactions were really cute.  He definitely helped bring the overall rating up.  The romance was believable and it also isn't the main focus of the book, which I found really refreshing for a YA paranormal book. 

I did have some problems with the pacing of the story.  I thought the characters were kind of going in circles and I wish the special powers and the mystery were explained better.   I finished the novel with a lot of questions unanswered, and while I suspect they might be addressed in the next book in the series it wavered between cliffhanger and unsupported plotting. 

Overall I found Paranormalcy a fun read that will appeal to fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Paranormalcy is a spunky coming of age story with a lot of heart, I would definitely recommend it for your summer reading list.

Bout of Books Day 1

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Day 1 of the read-a-thon has officially begun!  Who is excited?  I know I am!  I am in the middle of 7 books right now, and I hope to finish them soon so I can maybe read some of my TBR picks.  Here are my day 1 starting stats.

City of Lost Souls - pg. 141
Crescendo - pg. 115
Assassin's in Love - 50%
A Million Suns - pg. 208
You Can Heal Your Life - pg. 109
Shutter Island - pg. 37
Ink - 8%

I listened to the audio book of City of Lost Souls in my car and got 22 pages read and I also listened to the audio book for Crescendo and made it through 94 pages.  I'm not really liking either of these stories though so it was definitely a struggle.  

After work, jogging, shower, and dinner I was finally able to start reading at around 8pm.  I picked up Assassins in Love, this month's pick for the vaginal fantasy book club and went from 50% completed to 79%, which is around 120 pages.

There were two challenges for today, the first being hosted at sarah says read.  She asked  "What is one bookish thing you want to do before you die? OR what is one thing you want to do before you die that was inspired by a book you read?"  I have many bookish ambitions and have managed to achieve some of them.  I've gone to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, I've visited The Strand in New York City, and I've met John Green and was able to tell him how much his work on The Fault in Our Stars meant to me. However, one wish that I've had since I was a little kid was to have a giant library with a ladder I could slide on like Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  Considering I currently live in a two bedroom apartment it looks like I'm going to have to wait on that dream, but I do hope one day I will be able to see it happen. 

The second challenge was also a lot of fun.  It was hosted over at Book Pairing and we were supposed to post a photo of a book we were reading and what we were eating and drinking as we read it.  Here's mine.

I paired hot chocolate with Assassins in Love, which I thought was extra appropriate since the book is semi-erotica and chocolate is supposed to be an aphrodisiac lol.  

So all together I read for around 5ish hours (if you count the audio book time) and got through 236 pages.  I still haven't finished a book, but I'm going to try and finish Crescendo and Assassins in Love tomorrow.  It has been a great start and I'm excited for tomorrow!

Number of pages today:  236
Total number of pages:  236
Books started:  0
Books completed:  0

Sever by Lauren DeStefano

#3 in the Chemical Garden Series
Published February 12, 2013 by Simon & Schuster
1 Star

Goodreads Review
Time is running out for Rhine in this conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

Review:  I am a literature sadist.  I don't know why, but I have a sick need to finish every book that I've started, no matter how painful, stupid, or rage-inducing.  I really did not like Sever, nor the Chemical Garden series as a whole.  I think this story could have definitely been a stand alone because all of the plot really happened in the first book and the second and third were full of pretty prose of little consequence.  I was particularly disappointed with this series because there were so many really interesting ways this story could have gone and a lot of great topics that could have been explored but none were really committed to which just left for a weak series that didn't say anything.

Sever was a very monotonous ending to the series where nothing really happened and none of our questions were answered.  The first third of the book was Rhine hanging out at Lindon's uncle's house (did we know about this uncle before book 3?  I don't think so, and this character suddenly living just down the road was very convenient) doing nothing.  I thought finding her brother was really important but she's really not in any hurry to do anything other than putz around.  I also was wondering what was going on with Gabriel, but Rhine must really have an out of sight, out of mind personality because I don't think she spared one thought for him for at least 200 pages.  But you know what, Rhine and Linden should have stayed together because they're both as exciting as a bump on a log covered with a wet blanket.  I seriously don't think I've read two more wishy washy characters in my life.  The only semi redeemable character in Sever is Cecily (I know I was surprised too).  There was some character growth there and Cecily actually took some action in this book.  I couldn't believe it.

I also had huge problems with the general plot of Sever and how the big issues of the world were glossed over or just not addressed at all.  I don't want to post too many spoilers, but the big revelations about Rhine's parent's work on genetics or Vaugh's motivations behind his terrible abuses or how the world because the messed up society felt so contrived, like the author didn't know how to tie things up so she just brushed it under the rug with the barest of explanations.  The plot of this series is so sloppy, it's laughable.  All of the pretty prose in the world can't replace a well thought out story.

The other aspect of Sever that is really damaging is sex, namely the lack of sex that our main character has.  I mentioned this in my review for Fever, but to have a world where young girls are forced into marriage and prostitution as basically broodmares, and then put your main character into situation after situation where all of her peers are forced into sex but somehow miraculously she doesn't have to have sex is so ridiculous I can't even properly form words.  This is the biggest cop out I have ever seen.  If you're going to create a world like this and put your character in those situations (I mean, she was in a prostitution circus FFS) then you have to follow through, even if that means bad things have to happen to that character.  If you don't back up your world building the entire series falls apart and I won't be able to take the story or the characters seriously.  That's a problem with YA in general I think, writers don't want to do anything really bad to their characters so they put them in dangerous situations but don't actually put them in any danger. 

Sever, and frankly the entire Chemical Garden series, is just a hot mess.  Weak characters, weak plot, and very weak world building makes up this train wreck of a series.  Flowery prose cannot make up for this pile of pseudo scientific drivel. 

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

#1 in The Infernal Devices series
Published August 31, 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
3 Stars

Goodreads Review
Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013.In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them....

Review:  Clockwork Angel is an interesting novel in that it produces a conundrum.  I think it was better than The Mortal Instruments books, but pretty much the exact same story and characters.  I would love to see Casssandra Clare write something other than a love triangle of sarcastic teens with modelesque good looks.  All of her characters are the same, and it's getting old.   

While the writing was better, this did not really work as a historical or steampunk novel.  These characters are most certainly not Victorian, they are written in a modern voice with mostly modern sensibilities.  Occasionally Tessa will think that something isn't proper or that servants shouldn't act a certain way, but because none of the characters ever seemed to follow Victorian propriety all this did was make Tessa look judgemental and prudish.  It felt like all of the ideas about Victorian society came from Wikipedia.  Also, just having a cheap imitation of Dr. Who's cybermen doesn't make your novel steampunk.  Steampunk is highly stylizied speculative fiction and just inserting a few robots and putting "clockwork" in the title doesn't cut it.  This felt very gimmicky and like a way to cash in on a popular trend.

Now with that said, I still did enjoy Clockwork Angel.  Third times a charm I guess.  I think this is largely due to Jem, the one character that felt new and fresh to Cassandra Clare's world.  Tessa and Will are pretty much carbon copy's of Clary and Jace, but Jem actually felt like a fleshed out character with a unique back story.  I was actually surprised at how excited I was to read a different character from Cassandra Clare (can you tell that I've been marathoning all of her books back to back?). 

Overall the best offering from Cassandra Clare, but when you consider her other novels that's not saying much.  I think if I hadn't read The Moral Instruments before Clockwork Angel I would have enjoyed it a lot more, but sadly this comes off as a more polished version of the novel she has already written.

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon 8.0 Sign Up and Goals

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

You all know how much I love a good read-a-thon.  Whether it's hosted by another blog, a youtube challenge, or something I just decide to impose upon myself, I love pushing myself to see how much reading I can accomplish.  So I'm signing up for yet another read-a-thon, this time over at bout-of-books. 

My goals for this challenge are as follows:

1. Read at least 3 hours a night during the week
2. Read at least 6 hours on the weekend
3. Listen to my audio book for the entire drive to and from work
4. Start and finish at least 1 novel

So what will I be reading?  Here are some of my ideas, though I can't say for certain I will be reading all of these.

So those are what I would like to read for this read-a-thon, but I highly doubt I'll make it through all of these because I tend to be a slow reader.  I'll probably get distracted by comic books or video games, but I'll try super hard to get at least a couple of these read. 

I also plan on doing a daily wrap up post to let you know my progress and maybe participate in a challenge or two.  I hope you all participate as well because I know it will be a ton of fun!

***Updates***

8/19
Number of pages today:  236
Total number of pages:  236

Books started:  0

Books completed:  0


8/20
Number of pages today:  287
Total number of pages:  523

Books started:  0

Books completed:  1

8/21
Number of pages today:  261
Total number of pages:  784

Books started:  0

Books completed:  3

8/22
Number of pages today:  258
Total number of pages:  1042

Books started:  1

Books completed:  4

8/23
Number of pages today:  142
Total number of pages:  1184

Books started:  2

Books completed:  4

8/24
Number of pages today:  336
Total number of pages:  1520

Books started:  2

Books completed:  5:

8/25
Number of pages today:  31
Total number of pages:  1551

Books started:  2

Books completed:  5

The Conjuring Movie Review

Released July 19, 2013
Rated R
Directed by James Wan
Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston

There were a lot of factors that made me really excited to see The Conjuring.  James Wan also directed Insidious (2010) and the original Saw (2004), two amazing horror films, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are two of my absolute favorite actors, and literally every person who had seen The Conjuring raved about how awesome it was.  And after finally seeing The Conjuring for myself, I have to say that it definitely lived up to my expectations.

The basic (no spoilers!) plot of The Conjuring is like many other haunted house horror movies out there.  A family unknowingly moves into a haunted house that steadily becomes more and more frightening until the family breaks down and calls a paranormal investigator, psychic, or priest to exorcise the house.  Yes I know how cliche that sounds, but where The Conjuring excels is in creating suspense and tension and breathes new life in the traditional haunted house story.

The casting for The Conjuring was fantastic.  I especially enjoyed Patrick Wilson (Insidious, Hard Candy) and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air).  They had great chemistry and I got a good sense that the Warrens were in it for the right reasons.  They weren't thrill seekers who got in over their heads or con-artists looking to scam unsuspecting victims, they were people with certain skills and knowledge that allowed them to help people in danger.  I also really enjoyed Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under) and Ron Livingston (Office Space) who play the wife and husband who move into the haunted house.  They don't spend a lot of time arguing about the scary stuff that is happening, they move from confused to scared to believing they are haunted rather quickly which really helps the plot move along.

Like I said earlier, The Conjuring may have a very formulaic plot, but the use of creative camera work and some very excellent actors produce some very suspenseful scenes.  Vera Farmiga in particular did a great job.  Her character is a lot more sensitive to the supernatural and her reactions to seeing something that no one else can were spine chilling.  Simply looking in a mirror was enough to have me white knuckling my seat. 

Photo Credit

That ultimately is what makes The Conjuring so great.  This movie is rated R, not because there's gore, sex, graphic violence, nudity, language, drugs, or any other factor.  No, it's rated R simply because it will scare the piss out of you.  Little things like a game of hide and seek, a door slowly creaking open, or a shadowy figure seen out of the corner of your eye will terrify you for more than any amount of blood and guts.

Friday Face Off Cover Reveal: Starters and Enders

Friday Face Off is a meme hosted by one of my favorite book bloggers Misty over at The Book Rat. Usually this meme focuses on different cover designs for the same book and decides which is better for the story. I wanted to take this meme and add a little twist to it today by discussing a cover reveal!

I read Starters by Lissa Price over a year ago and while I didn't really like the story, the cover was striking.  Even a year and a half later this cover still stands out in my mind.

 

Like I said, it's striking.  In real life the cover is a super shiny silvery color which also really made it stand out on shelves.  Now, I'm not 100% sure but I think the author is German because this book was released in the US in 2012 and the second book, Enders, is scheduled for a 2014 release.  And of course for the release of book 2 they've changed the covers.

 

 





Yeah, no.  lol I really dislike these new covers, especially Enders.  The silvery whiteness of the first cover for Starters made it interesting and unique.  These new covers look like something I could have done in photoshop (and trust me, if your cover looks like something I could have done it's not good lol). 

But what do you all think?  Do you like the colorful covers or the silver one?  Post in the comments below!