Off the Shelf #7

  Hello everyone and welcome to Off the Shelf!  This is my way of sharing any new books I receive or buy as well as let you all know what my reading plans are for the week and what I hope to get off my TBR shelf.

Finished Reading:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Currently Reading:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Up Next:

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon + ARC Giveaway (CLOSED)

#1 in the Carrier series
Published October 4, 2011 by HarperTeen - ARC
3 Stars
DAC 2011

Goodreads Review

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Review:  I'm sad to say I came away from this book pretty disappointed.  There was a lot of hype around this book so when I received an ARC I thought I was in for an interesting and unique read.  Instead I found myself reading yet another unoriginal paranormal romance info dump.  

The first third of the book was Twilight in Ireland.  New girl at school who makes instant friends and then fall head over heels in love with a guy who treats her like smelly garbage.  The middle of the book is insta-love and a massive info dump.  Seriously page after page of "oh you must be confused, here's tons of information about our secret powers.  Come back tomorrow for more and more pages of information".  I didn't think it was well written at all, and there was a lot of potential for Megan to discover this information in much more interesting ways, not just being told in one big conversation.  And then because this magical family decides they can trust Megan, the boy who was treating her like disgusting trash for the first 100 pages is suddenly madly in love with her.  That doesn't make any sense!  

The final third of the book we read about all of this drama about why Megan and Adam can'tbe together and how their love may not even be real, but just their powers being drawn together.  I actually really liked that idea and I hoped the book would explore this more, but pretty much the characters went "Nope, we're actually in love" and that was the end of it.  The whole mythology behind their powers was very weird too. It wasn't explained well and had an awkward incestual tone lurking around it which I just couldn't get over.


There were some good parts though.  I really enjoyed the descriptions of Ireland.  I've never been there so it was fun to read about the towns and the marina.  The setting was very well described and very interesting to read.  I also thought there were some cute moments between Adam and Megan.  I liked the small moments when they weren't acting like their love was this magical destiny and were just joking around.  The book only got bad when it started to take itself too seriously.


Overall Carrier of the Mark had an interesting premise, but fell far short of my expectations.  It seemed like a weak mashup of Twilight and any book series with elemental powers such as House of Night or Vampire Academy.  

Congratulations to angelface0911 on youtube, the winner of the giveaway!

Bookish Pet Peeves Part 3: Cover Redesigns

I really hate it when the cover styles change half way through a series, either in cover art or printing size.  A really good example of this is the Nightshade series by Andrea Creamer.  Here's the original cover for the first book:

Holy gosh, beautiful right?  I love this cover so much, and I HATE calla lilies, so that's saying something.  It's glittery and feminine while still being wolfish and fierce.  When I look at this cover, I want to read this book. 

But then for the paperback, they changed the cover!  And now all of the rest of the series will match the paperback.  I hate this so much because I HAVE to have all of a series either all in hardback or all in paperback, I absolutely refuse to mix the two.  

I don't mind the new cover art, but it definitely isn't as good as the original art.  It looks a lot cheaper and less interesting and unique.  They do go together nicely except for the fact that Nightshade will have to be in paperback to match.  So either I have to have mismatched hardbacks OR I have to wait until the paperbacks come out, and considering I already purchased the original hardback, I'm kind of stuck.  (P.S. I HATE the cover for Bloodrose.  I think it's ugly as shit.  Her hand is huge and has talon fingernails and she's looking too far to the right, her irises are almost off her head).

Another book series that has fallen victim to the cover art redesign is the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver.  I have the original hardback that looks like this:

And it's ok.  I mean, I don't love it, but it's not horrible.  I'd never really seen a cover like that before, so it definitely stood out.  But now there is a special re-release with a new cover design that will match the next book Pandemonium. 

 I like the new covers a lot more.  They have a more cohesive look and I really love the colors.  I just am annoyed that my original copy won't match anymore.  I wish they had just started these covers from the beginning because I want the new cover now.

There are many examples of this happening.  The first book is released then they change the design of the paperbacks for the rest of the series.  Here's the Claire de Lune series by Christine Johnson:

Original hard cover for first book

New paper cover for first book and hardcover for second book  

Here's the Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancy.

Original hard cover for first book

New paper back cover first book and following books 

The Elixir series by (mostly) Hilary Duff.

 Original hard cover for first book

New paper back cover for first book and hardcover for second book

Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta.

 Original hard cover for first book

 New paper back cover for first book and hardcover for second book

I picked these examples because they're all hardbacks that I already own and now will have miss-matched covers for the rest of the series.  I'm sure there are more examples of this out there, has anyone else run into the same problem with other series?  Let me know in the comments!

Bookish Pet Peeves Part 2: Feet Covers

I loathe books with bare feet on them.  LOATHE.  They're everywhere too, you can't escape them.  I think the worst culprit has to be The Dark Divine series by Bree Despain.

 Ew.  That first book is jacked.  Seriously, that is disgusting.  The leg's arent' in a graceful position and the feet look like they've been beaten with a hammer.  The Lost Saint isn't as bad, but in this cover we get side butt.  Don't need to see that.

Sarah Dessen is another author that has fallen victim to multiple feet covers.

  

I don't have such a huge problem with the feet on a beach or in water (though that girl should NOT be showing her crotch to the world, but that's another conversation) but with Along for the Ride I can't help but feel she's breaking some sort of safety code.  You should never ride a bike backwards without shoes, that's just asking for blood.

There's also the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCaferty.  I know these are very good books, but I cannot get past the covers.  At least in the second book her feet are cut off, but on the third one the girl is HOLDING A FLOWER WITH HER FOOT.  Seriously, does that need to be on a book cover?  I think not.  (Not to mention it's yet again another crotch shot).

 There's another trend where dead feet with toe tags is really popular.  I mean really popular. I understand that the book is a murder mystery or the memoirs of an undertaker, but really?  That's just gross.

However it doesn't stop there.  Feet covers are everywhere and they just keep coming...

and coming...

and coming....

Ok I'm grossing myself out...I need to stop.  I don't understand what the publisher's think would be appealing about these covers.  It's gross and tells almost zero about the story.  I totally judge these books by their covers and think that the stories inside them are silly girl stories with no real depth, which isn't true (case in point Judy Blume's Forever...).  I really hope publishers get over this trend soon because it's not lending anything to the contemporary genre.  I'll stick to dystopian, thanks.

Frostbite by Richelle Mead

#2 in Vampire Academy Series
Published in 2008 by Razorbill
4 Stars

Goodreads Review

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…

Review:  Frostbite is the thrilling continuation of the Vampire Academy series.  There is even more action, mystery, and suspense in the second installment of this exciting series.  Rose our heroine is still as engaging as ever, ensuring the reader will not be missing the atmosphere so wonderfully set up in the first novel.

Frostbite shows a lot of growth for our characters, especially Rose.  This is the first time she experiences true loss and she comes to terms with the full responsibility of being a guardian and that people could die if she doesn't take her role seriously.  She also grows a lot with her relationship with Dimitri and with love in general.   There's still tons of the sexual tension we loved so much in the first book, but now their relationship has reached a new level.  There's an understanding that if you love someone you need to be willing to let them go so they have can happiness.  Rose stops being so self centered and learns how to put others before herself.


I really enjoyed the action sequences in this book.  There are some great training sessions with Rose and Dimitri and Rose and her mom Janine.  The ending is way more exciting than Vampire Academy.  I found myself staying up late into the night because I had to know how it ended!


The only negative is this book takes a while to develop and is very slow at the beginning.  There are some side stories that I don't think are very important to the book nor to the series story arc.  I also think this book felt like a transition book.  Frostbite read a bit like it was just all of the information you needed before you could get to the real story in the next book.  However, it was still very entertaining and a great continuation of the series.


Overall Frostbite is an exciting second book in the Vampire Academy series that introduces new characters, information, and dangerous situations.  Fans of the first book will not be disappointed!

Top 100 YA Book List

So I guess there's a list of the best 100 YA books floating around (I found it at Kaitlyn in Bookland) and I thought it would be really fun to see what books I own and what books I've read. I can assure you the later category will be much smaller than the former.  I'm going to follow the same convention as Kaitlyn and mark my progress as follows:

bold=read (links to reviewed ones)
italics=owned, but not yet read
bold and italics=owned and read

1. Alex Finn – Beastly

2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones 

3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)

4. Ally Condie – Matched

5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills

7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)

9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)

10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)

12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)

13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret

15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)

16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)

17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)

18. Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)

19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)

20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)

21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)

22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse

23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply

25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)

26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere

27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest

28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)

29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)

31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why 

33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)

34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines

37. John Green – Looking for Alaska

38. John Green – Paper Towns

39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)

40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)

41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)

42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)

43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)

44. Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)

45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)

46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)

47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

48. M.T. Anderson – Feed

49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)

50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)

52. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger

54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time 

55. Mary Ting – Crossroads

56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)

57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)

58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now

61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)

63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road

64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)

67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion

68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind

69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline

70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust

71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )

73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)

74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9, 10)

75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 

78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks

79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)

80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip

81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride

82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key

83. Sarah Dessen

84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

85. Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)

86. Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3, 4)

87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days

88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy

89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)

90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)

92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host

93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)

94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees 

95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)

96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)

97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)

99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)

100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped


So my totals are:

130 books owned
43 books read
90 books owned but have not read

WOW.  I have so much reading to do!  I'm actually proud that of the 43 books read, I own all of them but 3 and one I sold, one I have no intention of buying, and one I'm waiting for the paperback version.  I think I'm also doing a good job of reviewing the books I've read, I need to review Perfect Chemistry and the rest of the Vampire Academy series.  Those are the only ones I'm surprised I haven't reviewed yet.

So how many books have you read?  Let me know in the comments!