Monday, April 30, 2012

In My Mailbox 4

Hello, I'm back again with another In My Mailbox, which is hosted by Kristi @thestorysiren. This week, I went a little crazy and got a whole bunch of books. Four of them are from the library, four I bought at Walmart, and the rest I got at my favorite bookstore, Edward McKay's Used Books and More. So, check out the video below (sorry it's so long)...
 Books in List Order:
  1. Snow White and Rose Red BY: Patricia C. Wrede
  2. Prophecy of the Sisters BY: Michelle Zink (Book 1 in the Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy)
  3. Intertwined BY: Gena Showalter (really excited about this one!)
  4. Before I Go To Sleep BY: S.J. Watson
  5. If I Stay BY: Gayle Forman
  6. Where She Went BY: Gayle Forman (sequel to If I Stay)
  7. Chime BY: Franny Billingsley (Throw her in the river! If she floats, she's a WITCH. If she drowns, then we're very sorry for your loss)
  8. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children BY: Ransom Riggs (I'm sooooo excited for this one. It looks simply awesome!)
  9. Divine By Blood BY: P.C. Cast (Book 3 of The Partholon series)
  10. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist BY: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
  11. Fringe Girl BY: Valerie Frankel
  12. Stormwalker BY: Allyson James
  13. Here Lies Bridget BY: Paige Harbison
  14. La Vida Vampire BY: Nancy Haddock
  15. Murder In Vein BY: Sue Ann Jaffarian
  16. Are You Going To Kiss Me Now? BY: Sloane Tanen
  17. Hearts at Stake BY: Alyxandra Harvey

That's it, all 17 of them *looks shamefully at the floor* It seems I might have a little bit of a book purchasing problem. So, that being the case, expect more IMM's/Book Hauls in the near future. YAYY!
HAPPY READING!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Review of: Red Hot Fury, By: Kasey Mackenzie

Yes, Yet Another Adult Book For You To Enjoy!
Title: Red Hot Fury
Author: Kasey Mackenzie
Publisher: Ace Books by Penguin Group
Released: 2010
Summary: Marissa Holloway is a Fury, she's also Boston's Chief Magical Investigator. Marissa gets called to the scene of a crime to discover the arcane (supernatural, magical) body of her best friend Vanessa, who has been missing for three years. Upon closer inspection, Riss realizes the body is actually a very powerful disguise and not the corpse of her best friend and sister fury. After announcing her suspicions, Riss is suspended from her job and someone tries to kill her. She needs protection and a chance to figure out what's going on, so she turns to her ex-lover and Warhound Scott Murphy. Riss realizes she has uncovered a bigger mystery than suspected, involving arcanes and mundanes. Riss has to work fast to uncover the secrets of what's really going on and what really happened to Vanessa.
My Thoughts: I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was full of action, supernatural beings, and a love story. All around great Urban Fantasy with a supernatural kick rarely seen before, a Fury heroine!
One thing that drew me in right away was the cover. The second thing was the subject matter, Furies. I've never read a book before where the main character was a Fury. The author just did a great job of mixing Greek supernatural beings with giants, goblins, sidhes, and Egyptian Hounds of Anubis. Just very cool and very original.
The action was nonstop and extremely enjoyable. The love story alternated between sweet and steamy and made this reader wish for a warm and loyal warhound of her very own.
Riss as the heroine was fantastic. She was tough and loyal to those around her and could definitely hold her own in a fight.
The ending was a complete surprise and the reveal of it was fantastic.
I just really, really, really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next in the series, which is called Green Eyed Envy, A Shades of Fury Novel.  One thing I will say is that this book is for adults or older teens. There are some steamy scenes that might not be mom or dad approved.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 5/5
Note to self, never piss off a Fury.

Monday, April 23, 2012

In My Mailbox 3

Hello, I'm back again with another In My Mailbox which is a meme hosted by Kristi @ the story siren, where book lovers show what they got for the week in books. I've got another bunch of awesome books that will be shown in my video below...
The Books I got this week in list form:
  1. The Big Empty BY J.B. Stephens
  2. Paradise City BY J.B. Stephens (The Big Empty Book 2)
  3. Desolation Angels BY J.B. Stephens (The Big Empty Book 3)
  4. No Exit BY J.B. Stephens (The Big Empty Book 4)
  5. Ruined BY Paula Morris (looks soooo good. GHOSTS!)
  6. Touch of Frost BY Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy 1)
  7. The Dark Elite BY Chloe Neill (Bindup of first two books in the Dark Elite novels, FIRESPELL and HEXBOUND)
  8. Inside BY Maria V. Snyder (Bindup of the Inside series with INSIDE OUT and OUTSIDE IN)
Well, that's all the books I got this week. They all look super fantastic and I can't wait to read them. That's it for now so...
HAPPY READING!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Review of Twilight Prophecy, By:Maggie Shayne


Avast! Adult Book on the Horizon!

Title: Twilight Prophecy
Author: Maggie Shayne
Publisher: MIRA Books
Released: 2011
Summary: The fight for vampire survival has begun. Dr. Lucy Lanfair has just finished a translation on an ancient Sumerian tablet that foretells the fate of the vampiric race rests in the hands of the mongrel twins. Lucy is asked as a guest on a popular talk show to reveal her findings. In the guestroom, she meets the guest who is to go before her. The guest is a former government DPI who has just released a tell-all book about the existence of true vampires in the world. As Lucy watches in the greenroom, the guest she had written off as crazy gets assassinated on live television. She runs, and is rescued by the two "mongrel" vampire twins James and Brigit. James has the power to heal, while Brigit has the power to destroy. Lucy feels an instant attraction to James and joins him in the battle to save the vampire race from certain annihilation.
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It did the job it was supposed to do, entertain! I was a little disappointed to learn that it was the 17th book in the series, which I was unaware of before picking it up. The book had lots of action, some adult romance, and a good story. The characters of James and Lucy were solid and their love story was sweet. I liked the way the vampires were portrayed. I will say Brigit's character was the most interesting because it made me think, does being given the power to destroy with a glance make one evil? I thought this was an interesting proposition and Brigit's struggle with her true nature was the most interesting thing to witness.
Some problems I did have in the book were just the attitude vampires exhibited toward humans. Most specifically, James leaves his vampire relatives to go do good in the human world but then when he gets called back in, he's very dismissive and superior to the human race as a whole. Lucy's attitude towards humans also becomes this way. I guess it just irked me because all vampires were human at one time, so how can these characters have such contempt for what they once were.
James also got a little big headed as the novel progressed. Just because he had the power to heal and restore life doesn't mean he always should. He got a little bit of a God complex, which made him a tad annoying.
In short, this was just a fun, entertaining novel to read!
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Did someone say vampire apocalypse? 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

In My Mailbox 2

Sorry my blog has been idle for a week. School and graduation stress have kept me super busy. I have a lot of assignments and readings due so my reading for fun has suffered as a consequence. I'm going to try to be better at this and post more, which I should definitely be able to do once school is over.
I did get time to buy some books this week and film an In My Mailbox in order to show them off. I think this video is a lot better than my last one, but tell me your opinion on it. Before I forget, In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ thestorysiren.com
I got some pretty awesome books this week. I'll list the titles and authors below.

Books I got in no particular order:
  1. Goddess Interrupted, By: Aimee Carter (A Goddess Test Novel #2)
  2. Awake At Dawn, By: C.C. Hunter (Shadow Falls Book 2)
  3. Taken At Dusk, By: C.C. Hunter (Shadow Falls Book 3)
  4. The Dead Tossed Waves, By: Carrie Ryan (a companion novel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth) ZOMBIES!!!
  5. Thirteen Reasons Why, By: Jay Asher
  6. Once a Witch, By: Carolyn MacCullough
  7. Sunshine, By: Robin McKinley
  8. Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, By: Rachel Cohn and David Levithon
  9. Pretty Little Devils, By: Nancy Holder
  10. The Road of the Dead, By: Kevin Brooks
  11. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, (hardback and gorgeous) By: J.K. Rowling
side note: I was so excited to hear the announcement for J.K. Rowling's adult book 'The Casual Vacancy' can't wait for that one!
Well that's all the books I got this week. I didn't realize that I got so many of them haha. I should be back next week with another haul. Books are my drug. If you like what you see then subscribe to my channel or follow my blog, it would be much appreciated. See you later!
HAPPY READING!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

In My Mailbox numero uno

Here it is, my very first vlog!!!  Sorry for the background noise in it. I was a little embarrassed that someone in my house would hear me so I had the t.v. turned on. I plan on making more of these in the future and if you like them then let me know.
Books I got for the week of April 6, 2012
(in no particular order)
  1. Fated (Soul Seekers Series book 1) By: Alyson Noel- I won this book from Goodreads.com through their First Reads program. My first ever arc! Comes out May 22, 2012 so look for a review of it near that date. Really excited to read it.
  2. The Goddess Test, By: Aimee Carter
  3. Boys That Bite, By: Mari Mancusi
  4. Secrets and Shadows, (A 13 to Life Novel Book 2) By: Shannon Delany
  5. The Dead and the Gone, (Companion novel to Life As We Knew It) By: Susan Beth Pfeffer
  6. Sight, By: Adrienne Maria Vrettos
  7. Born at Midnight, (A Shadow Falls Novel Book 1) By: C.C. Hunter
  8. Watched, By: Sharde Richardson
Well that's all the books I got this week. I plan on making one next week so look for that. If you enjoyed my video then let me know. If there's anything I need to work on or make better then let me know that too. I plan on posting reviews for all these books on my blog sometime in the future. Thanks for visiting and I would love it if you followed my blog or subscribed to my channel.
HAPPY READING!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Review of: A Discovery of Witches, By: Deborah Harkness

Title: A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Publisher: Viking, By Penguin Group
Released: 2011
Summary: Diana Bishop is a scholar whose expertise lies in the understanding and study of old alchemy texts. She is in Oxford doing research for a speech that she will give in a few months time. One day, while in the library, an extra book has been added to her study stack, the Ashmole 782 which has been lost for centuries. Not only does Diana have her doctorate, she is also a witch who doesn't use her magic. Ashmole 782 is filled with magic, it's essentially a bewitched book. Diana has broken the spell of Ashmole 782 and this surge of power has called all the creatures to Oxford to discover the secret of the book that has been hidden for so long. Matthew, a vampire, answers the call of the book and meets Diana and feels an instant attraction to her. Diana and Matthew band together making a forbidden pairing of witch and vampire. They must protect themselves, discover the secrets of Ashmole 782, and protect the book from falling into the wrong hands. Diana also must learn to control her awakening power that has lain dormant for so long. As Diana and Matthew's bond strengthens, so too does the danger that surrounds them. They must protect each other and figure out the secrets hidden within Ashmole 782 before it's too late.
My Thoughts: I felt a tremendous amount of bookcitement for A Discovery of Witches, and found the first few chapters promising, but then everything went to crap. This story proved to be a major disappointment and didn't live up to the hype that surrounded it.
One major problem I had with the book was there wasn't enough action in it. The pacing was soooo slow. There would be pages and pages consisting of nothing but Diana sitting and studying in the library, being sleepy or hungry, and once she started being with Matthew a lot, endless passages about the taste and texture of wine. Those sections got repetitive and boring. The book had too many sections where nothing of importance was happening and I think a lot of those scenes should have been removed before the final printing. That might sound harsh, but the novel was 579 pages! If a book is that long, it has to be filled with enough action and suspense to keep the reader reading and this just wasn't. There were many times when I was tempted to just stop reading. The only reason I stuck with it is because once I start a book, I feel I have to finish it. 
I didn't feel a great likeness for the main characters of Diana and Matthew. They were both horrible in controlling their emotions, almost bipolar sometimes. Their love story at times made me gag with the stupid things they said to each other. Calling each other husband and wife when they never married and the only real commitment was exchanging words of love was cheesy and gagworthy.
The ending of the book was also a disappointment in that there was no ending, only a setup for the next book. I have no intention of reading the next book. I don't care what happens to Diana and Matthew as they go [Spoiler Alert] timewalking in the 1500s. Overall, I expected something much better and more magical from this book and was extremely disappointed. If you really want to read it, I would suggest borrowing it from a library instead of buying it.
Also, this book ate up my reading time for the month of March, taking me a couple of weeks at least. So be warned, this book is a boring mammoth of a read and won't be finished quickly.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 1.67/5
A waste of time.


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

March Favorites!

I'm back with my favorite books for the month of March. Sorry this blog has been a little inactive lately, but I've been a little busy. I'm going to try and be better and post stuff more often. So anyway, I didn't get a lot of reading done for the month of March, but I did have some favorites in the bunch that I read.
Title: The Agency: The Body at the Tower
By: Y.S. Lee
This book makes the list because I really enjoyed it. This is the second in The Agency Series which involves a secret female spy agency set in the Victorian time period which is like the 1860's. I really like the main character of this book, Mary. She is strong, resourceful, and smart. I like the love interest in the story and the interactions that him and Mary have. Also the book really immerses the reader in the Victorian time period, it's full of rich detail and imagery. I will continue reading this series simply because I enjoy it and want to know what happens next.

Title: Shadowed Summer
By: Saundra Mitchell
This one makes the list because it surprised me with how creepy the ghost story actually was. At first glance this book seems like a sort of middle grade book, which can be very enjoyable to read, but you don't really expect to be scared stiff while reading it, and this book did just that. The haunting that went on in this story was very scary and the main character was much braver than I would ever be. The book also is very atmospheric and it really brings Louisiana to life, I felt like I was there. The actual reasons behind the haunting is also well developed and revealed. The reason the ghost had for sticking around made sense, which is always a plus.


Title: The 39 Clues: One False Note
By: Gordon Korman
This is another book in a series that I read this month and I found it very enjoyable. The story is full of action, adventure, and cool history. I enjoy reading about Amy and Dan's adventures as they hunt for the mysterious clues and try to keep alive. I will continue on with this series and recommend it to anyone who wishes for a quick and enjoyable read.

Well that's it, my list for the month of March is complete. Hopefully I can get more books done in April and I hope to get better at keeping my blog updated. For everyone who has visited my blog, thanks! I would love if you decided to follow it, especially if you share my love of books! So that's it. Add these books to your reading lists because they are awesome.