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

Follow Friday (32)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to make new blogger friends and promote your blog in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Alison Can Read and Rachel @Parajunkee.

Q: You are a matchmaker -- your goal, hook up two characters from two of your favorite books. Who would it be? How do you think it would go?

A: I would like to put Patch from Hush, Hush is the same room with Clara from Unearthly and just be a fly on the wall.  I don't expect anything romantic to happen between the two of them but I would really like to hear the kind of conversations they would have.  Either Clara would absolutely hate him and she would want to help him get his his wing back.  She might think it's her purpose!

I don't know what my obsession with Patch is today but I think things between Patch and Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone could get pretty hot and heavy.  I think he's the type of bad boy she would definitely go for! 

Thanks for reading and following my blog! Leave me a comment so I can read some of your match ups! 

Review- Tiger's Curse

Title: Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Series: Tiger's Curse #1
Publisher: Sterling
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Review copy provided by publisher

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

My thoughts: 

Tiger’s Curse was really a remarkable read for me. Within the YA genre, I find that books can tend to blend together because they’re so similar. But Tiger’s Curse has definitely stuck out in my mind. It was like a breath of fresh air and just packed full of action, adventure and romance. I think it’s definitely a must read!

Not only did I read this book I also listened to the audio book. The readers are by far the best I’ve ever heard! They do the accents of the Indian princes so well. I would be driving in my car and I would literally forget where I was going because I became so immersed in the story. It was just so vivid in my imagination!

Ren, my favorite character by far, is definitely one of my new book boyfriends! There is just so much I love about him because he reminds me of someone I know in real life. Ren is so sweet, kind, loyal, compassionate, funny and charming! Mixed with his good look and his to-die for accent, he is smoking hot in my book! This guy I know in real life is Indian (born and raised in America though) and he’s all those wonderful qualities and he’s hot and I’ve known him my entire life! Sigh, I might be in love!! But he’s not cursed be to a tiger. Ren is just a great character and everything I could hope for in a man!

I liked Kelsey through most of the book. She was patient and willing to travel to a foreign to try and lift this curse that has been plaguing the Indian princes for centuries. She’s getting along with Ren and it’s obvious that she’s falling in love with him. But then towards the end she does a total 180 with her feelings and lets her doubts get in the way. Which, I can understand because a lot of girls don’t think they’re pretty enough to be with a really gorgeous guy. But she wouldn’t give in and by the end I wanted to punch her in the face! I guess that’s what is going to get me to read the next book and the fact that they only broke part of the curse. There better be some really good Ren and Kelsey action going on in the next book!!

Tiger’s Curse is really great and I would recommend it to any YA fantasy lover! I give Tiger’s Curse 5 hearts because Ren is wonderful and makes me giddy and it is also one of the best books I’ve read this year!