A Peek at my Summer Reading List!

A few weeks ago, I took a look at my bookshelves and I thought to myself, "what a mess!" I knew I needed to get some serious reading done this summer and try and read the books that I've bought but have been forgotten on my shelves.  But everything was just so unorganized, with books buried under books, how was I supposed to get a solid hold of what I was really going to read?  So I started by pulling out all the books that I absolutely wanted to read this summer.  And I got a little carried away! But after a few revisions and really thinking it over, I landed on a great summer reading list with an incredible mix of contemporary, paranormal and dystopian.

I know that picture is not very good (I can't find the memory card for my camera) but most of those books are books I've bought! There are only 3 books in there that I received for review.  This is one of the main reasons I don't request books for review anymore because I neglect that books that I've bought! Now these are just the physical books that I want to read so it's not counting the books on my Nook! Let me make you a list:

1.  Easy by Tammara Webber

2.  The Vincent Boys by Abbie Glines

3.  Hourglass by Myra McEntire

4.  Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

5.  The Tale of the Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater

6.  10 Things We Did and Probably Shouldn't Have by Sarah Mlynowski

7.  Half Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

8.  The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

9.  Slight by Jennifer Sommersby

10. Everblue by Brenda Pandos

11. The Strange Case of Finley Jane by Kady Cross

12. Switched by Amanda Hocking

WOW! I've got one busy summer coming up! What are some of the books you guys are most looking forward to reading this summer?

Review- Unwind

Title: Unwind
Author: Neal Shusterman
Series: Unwind Trilogy #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publisher
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

My thoughts: 

**CAUTION!!! This review contains SPOILERS!!! Read at your own peril!!**

I don’t know any other way to start this review except by saying that Unwind is totally awesome! I read this book in one day and stayed up way past by bed time to finish it. Neal Shusterman is just a fantastic writer and I can’t believe this is the first book I’ve ready by him.

One of the main reasons I barreled through this book is because I had to have confirmation on what it meant to be Unwound. Throughout the whole book the concept of being “unwound” is only implied, saying that life doesn’t technically end because every part of that person is used in some way or another. At first when I started reading it I thought that it was really weird but I didn’t really understand what was going on. As the book progressed it became more and more clear what was really going on. This book takes place sometime in the future where advanced technology and medicine allows doctors to transplant any part of the body onto another person.

Unwind is told through the prospective of a bunch of different characters but mainly through Conor, whose parents chose to have him unwound, Risa, who had become a burden to the state and Lev, whose parents raised him to be a tithe, a sort of sacrifice for the good of the people. The book chronicles their journey of escape and trying to avoid a horrible ending. Because abortion in the womb has become illegal in this world, life cannot be touched until the child is between the ages of 13 and 17. Once they turn 13, their parents can choose to have the child unwound. Even though it’s such a grizzly concept it made for a fantastic book!

The three main characters end up at a “harvesting camp” where they are supposed to be unwound. When one of the other characters is taken to be unwound, the character witnesses the whole thing and it is one of the creepiest scenes I’ve ever read. They don’t put him to sleep (because they’re not allowed), they put each of his limbs on a separate table and as each part of him is removed he sees them taking away the tables. It’s so, so creepy! I thought for sure I was going to have dreams of being unwound.

Unwound is just so full of adventure that I just had to read it in one day! I love the whole futuristic feel with a little bit of science fiction thrown into it. I have to give Unwound 5 hearts because I have not read a book like it!!

Waiting on Wednesday (57)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: Dead and Buried
Author: Kim Harrington
Hitting the Shelves: January 01, 2013

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school -- until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

Why I want this: I'm a big fan of Kim Harrington's novels! She really has a knack for mystery writing.  I'm hoping this one is a little scarier than her previous books because I'm always on the look out for a really good horror book!

What are you waiting for?

Tween Tuesday: Partners in Crime by Kim Harrington

Tween Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens.  Middle grade books are great and super fun to read!

Title: Partners in Crime
Author: Kim Harrington
Series: Sleuth or Dare #1
Genre: Mystery

Whodunit?

When best friends Darcy and Norah have to create a fake business for a school assignment, they come up with a great idea: a detective agency! Darcy loves mysteries, and Norah likes helping people, so it's a perfect fit.

But then their pretend agency gets a real case. Someone is missing, and it's up to Darcy and Norah to take on the search. Unfortunately, there's someone else out there who doesn't want the two detectives stirring up any trouble. . . .

With the help of hidden clues, spy gadgets, and trusted friends, can Darcy and Norah crack the case in time?

My thoughts: 

Honestly you guys, I never thought I would be interested in reading middle grade. But when I discovered that Kim Harrington had written a new middle grade mystery series, I thought I would give it a chance. And I’m so glad I did! It’s fun, fast and a really great adventure.

Harrington’s Partners in Crime really packs a lot of punch in less than two hundred pages. It literally had me guessing until almost the very end. It was a really in-depth mystery that I don’t think I would have been able to figure out on my own. After two seventh graders, who are best friends, create a fake detective agency as their class project, they get a real case and decide to see it out until the end.

The two best friend characters, Darcy and Norah, are super cute. Harrington is able to accurately portray the hopes, doubts, fears and the mindset of a middle school tween. I remember getting the butterflies in my stomach when a cute boy would smile at me and dramatically overanalyzing the super very important question “does he like me?” You get all this and more in Partners in Crime which is what makes it so fun.

This book was such a great and quick read. I can’t think of a better way to catch up on my Goodreads Reading Challenge than to read a book like this! I have to give Partners in Crime 4 hearts because there was actually somewhat of a cliffhanger and I’m really excited to read the next book!!

Top Ten Tuesday- Rewind

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a meme of lists.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a rewind and we can choose from any topic that's already been done.  Since I'm pretty new to TTT, I had a lot to choose from.  I chose Top Ten book I feel like everyone has read except me. 

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore.  I've had Graceling on my TBR list for a long time but it always fell under my radar until recently when Bitterblue started to get a lot of hype.  So I finally bought Graceling and it still sits on my shelf, unread.  

2. The Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Cain.  All I've been hearing lately is how excited everyone is that the latest book in the series is coming out soon.  I read the first book in the series and I thought it was pretty good but I just never got around to reading the next one.  

3.  Nightshade by Andrea Cremer.  Bloggers really like this book and even though I'm a big fan of werewolf book, I still haven't read it.  I even have a copy on my shelf.  

4.  Firelight by Sophie Jordan.  I got this book right when it came out because I was so excited to read a book focusing on dragons and people that shift into dragons.  And yet I still haven't read it but it's definitely one of my must read books for the summer.  

5.  A Need so Beautiful by Suzanne Young.  At first this book didn't appeal to me and I'm still not crazy about the cover.  But Mollie @ Once Upon a Prologue was really talking it up in one of her videos and it really piqued my interest.  

6.  The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.  I know a lot of bloggers who've read it and really loved it. I've only recently gotten into contemporary but I have a copy and I fully intend to read it!

7.  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I haven't read this book but I have definitely seen the Lifetime movie adaptation.  I really liked the movie and I really want to read the book!

8.  Forgotten by Cat Patrick.  Blogger were raving about Forgotten last year and I had every intention of reading it when I bought it.  But like a lot of my other books, it got pushed to the back of the pile, and like the title, it got forgotten.  My MOM has even read it.  Definitely on my summer list!

9.  The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward.  I literally have the first three in the series just waiting for me to read them.  It must be a popular series if the author is already on book nine!

10. Hourglass by Myra McEntire.  I really want to read this and I've been wanting to read it for a long time now! For some reason, I just can't bring myself to buy it and I don't know why!!! Maybe someone will let me borrow it ;)

Review- The Immortal Rules

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

My thoughts: 

This is a very difficult review for me to write. So many people are big fans of Julie Kagawa, her Iron Fey series and of The Immortal Rules. I’ve read the first two books in the Iron Fey series and even though I thought they were pretty good and enjoyable, I felt like they were unnecessarily long. And I have the same feelings toward The Immortal Rules. I enjoyed it enough, but I felt it was unnecessarily long.

When I heard Julie Kagawa was writing a vampire series, I inwardly groaned because I have grown somewhat weary of vampire books. There are only so many ways you can write a vampire story and after a while they all start sounding the same. But somehow Kagawa was able to make it different. I really enjoyed the dystopian aspect of the book and the world building. Allison is human in the beginning and she talks of humans being taken over, books being outlawed and not a lot of use for the modern technology that we have now. What really made her vampire story different was the hierarchy of the vampire race and the mass population of rabid vampires. When a master vampire creates anther vampire, the bloodline become diluted. So when that new vampire tries to create a new vampire it becomes even more diluted and it doesn’t take as easily. Thus ending up with rabids who have no inclination of common sense or self control.

But there the story becomes the same is the vampire who is struggling to hold on to her humanity. This is a very common story line in vampire books which is understandable because the vampire was once human and they don’t want to be some kind of killing machine. They don’t want to become what they once hated.

Allison is an enjoyable main character. She’s a strong, kick ass, Asian girl who wields a samurai sword! That’s pretty awesome! She has a fierce survival instinct but can also be compassionate. She took a weaker kid under her wing; she protected him from the bullies and fed him when she was struggling to feed herself. I really felt for her most of the time. She’s had it rough. As for the romance, I think it's doomed from the start! She meets Zeke on the road to Eden where vampires are not allowed in, but they still managed to fall for each other. I don't see how this romance could possible continue in the future! But it definitley has me looking forward to see how it's going to play out!

Even though I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, I have a feeling it was all build up to the next one. It makes me really excited to thinks that the second book is going to be completely awesome! I give this book 3.5 hearts for an action-packed adventure and incredible world building!

Stacking the Shelves (3)

Hey there! Welcome to this week's Stacking the Shelves! This awesome meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and we get to show each other the books we acquired this week whether bought, from the library or for review!

Now, you might say that this week's Stacking the Shelves looks a lot like the last Stacking the Shelves post that you did! Well, you would be right! I got two book this week for review that I already received previously.  I included them anyway! Now lets get down to business!!

For review:

In Honor by Jessi Kirby 

Betrayal by Gregg Olsen

Envy by Gregg Olsen

Purchased:

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

Crossed by Ally Condie

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini 

Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

My NetGalley Haul:

Burn Mark by Laura Powell

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond