Reading Right Now: An Early Thoughts Post

Title: Semi-Charmed Life

Author: Nora Zelevansky

First off, thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read and review this book.

Releases July 3, 2012

According to my kindle I am 40% of the way through this book.

This book isn't too bad so far. It focuses on Beatrice Bernstein who comes from a family that is big in the New York Art Community. Beatrice is kind of the different one in the family of artists. She likes gossip and reality t.v. while her parents and sister love Proust Readings (?) and openings or showings for artists. Beatrice goes to college and is in her senior year for a degree in journalism. All that would be fine, except Beatrice's little moleskin notebook is empty and she doesn't know what to write about. Her senior year of college is overtaken by the arrival of "It" Girl Veruca Pfeffernoose who comes to Beatrice with the proposition to ghost write her blog to herald her into the art world. Beatrice agrees and suddenly she's shadowing Veruca to the hottest parties and events.

Sorry for the little synopsis there, but that's about all I know of it so far. I'm reading this on my kindle from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. The writing style kind of reminds me of Candace Bushnell who wrote Sex and the City and 4 Blondes. I'm liking this book but not loving it. Sometimes the writing goes off on tangents that I lose interest in. Sometimes it breaks out into page long lists that I don't care about. The romance aspect of the book is intriguing and I want to know what happens. Also Beatrice is a pretty likable character. The cover is simply stunning. I think that's what drew me to this book. I love the watercolor effect. If you like Candace Bushnell or The Gossip Girl series then I urge you to check out this book.

This book comes out July 3, 2012 so look for my full review of it near that date.

That's my thoughts at the moment so keep on reading.

In My Mailbox/Book Haul 10

I got some more great books this week that I would love to show you. In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren. This week I got some more awesome titles from Netgalley and the rest I bought. A video of my haul will be posted below...

Now for the books in list form. I'll start with the Netgalley titles first.

1. Moonglow BY Kristen Callihan (thank you Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing. This book comes out July 31, 2012)
2. Monster In My Closet BY R.L. Naquin (thanks Netgalley and Carina Press. Comes out July 30, 2012)
3. The Ravenous Dead BY Natasha Hoar ( thankyou Netgalley and Carina Press. This releases July 16, 2012)
4. The Assassin's Curse BY Cassandra Rose Clarke (Thanks Netgalley and Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry. Releases October 2, 2012)
5. Poltergeeks By Sean Cummings (Thanks again to Netgalley and Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry. This one comes out October 2, 2012)
6. Gale Force BY Rachel Caine (Weather Warden Novel #7)
7. Cape Storm BY Rachel Caine (Weather Warden Novel #8)
8. Total Eclipse BY Rachel Caine (Weather Warden Novel #9)
9. Thorn Queen BY Richelle Mead (#2 in the Dark Swan Novels)
10. The Postcard BY Tony Abbott ( looks fun!)
11. Can You Keep A Secret? BY Sophie Kinsella (one of my favorite laugh out loud authors.)
12. Blood Feud BY Alyxandra Harvey (Book 2 in the Drake Chronicles)
13. Tempted: An It Girl Novel BY Cecily Von Ziegesar (#6 in the series)
14. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus (Contains Coyote Moon BY John Vornholt, Night of the Living Rerun BY Arthur Bryan Cover, and Portal Through Time BY Alice Henderson)
15. Wildthorn BY Jane Eagland
16. The Host BY Stephenie Meyer (already read it and loved it, so now I finally have my own copy.)

Egads! I went a little book crazy this week. So tell me what book goodies you got this week or what you're currently reading. Have a great day and as always...

HAPPY READING!

Review of: The Mermaid's Mirror By L.K. Madigan

Title: The Mermaid's Mirror

Author: L.K. Madigan

Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Released: 2010

Summary: Lena has always been drawn to the sea. Her father used to surf the waves, but after a severe accident he has never entered the water again. Lena has been allowed to swim and wade in the water, but has been forbidden to surf. As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena has been having weird feelings and some nights she has sleepwalked all the way to the beach. Her parents are worried for her and seem to be keeping something from her. One day, Lena's longing to surf has proven to be too much, so she starts to secretly take lessons. Then in an act of bravado and overconfidence, she decides to surf at Magic Cove, the place where only proficient surfers ride the waves. Lena almost drowns, but is saved by someone or something that presses an old-fashioned key in her hand. With that key, Lena unlocks the secrets about who she really is and what really happened to her mother who died when she was four. Lena's uncovering of the truth leads to a shocking journey of discovering who she really is.

My Thoughts: Writing a summary/synopsis for this book was hard. I didn't want to give anything away because spoilers can be mean. This book is a hard one to place. I liked it overall, but there were some parts that I didn't like. I was excited to read a book about mermaids and I liked the surfing aspect that was portrayed in the book. While reading the book, it reminded me of a couple of movies. The surfing aspect reminded me of Blue Crush while the mermaid aspect brought to mind an old Disney Channel movie called The Thirteenth Year and The Little Mermaid story. It was an interesting combination to read about.

The first 100 pages were a little hard to get into. At times the writing seemed too young. I also didn't like the relationship between Kai and Lena. It felt very childlike except for the more grown up kissing scenes. The middle part of the book was really good and engrossing. Lena finding out who she really was made for really riveting reading. I didn't like all the decisions and sneakiness Lena embarked on, but was intent on finding out what was going to happen.

The ending sort of killed me. I didn't like it, it was too final. Making her have to choose definitively between two worlds just seemed too mean. I wished that she was able to have the best of both worlds instead of having to leave one behind forever. And having to leave Nix- gahh so not right.

Overall, I have very conflicting emotions about this book. It was good, but the ending was not to my liking at all. This book is a great summer read though because while reading, you can hear the waves crashing on shore and smell the salt in the air. The mermaid aspect to the story is very interesting too, although at times the merpeople felt too alien and it was hard to connect with them. It was a good book though and if mermaids are your thing then you should definitely give this book a shot.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

beachy and mermaidlicious!

Reading Right Now! An Early Thoughts Post

So I thought I needed a little bit of scheduling for my blog and I thought up this nifty new feature. I guess I'm calling it Reading Right Now! An Early Thoughts Post, which could be the lamest title ever but I'm gonna roll with it.
This new post will be my current thoughts of the book that I'm reading right at the moment. This means that I could have just started, be halfway through, or super close to the end. I'll just give my current thoughts on the current book before I write my full finished review.
So lets see how it goes...

Title: The Hidden Child

Author: Camilla Lackberg

according to the mathematics genius that is goodreads: pg 329 = 65% done

Okay first off this is the 5th book in the Erica Falck series. That being said, I found out that it wasn't a smart idea just to jump right into this one without having read the first one. At the first 70 or 80 pages I was mega confused. None of the characters are specially introduced, as a reader you're supposed to already know all their back stories. This lead to massive amounts of confusion on my part. I was under the mistaken impression the I could jump in and understand situations and people.

Cool thing about this book is the mystery and the many characters that we get introduced to. Sure the story jumps around from one person to the next, but I kind of like it. And I have no idea who the culprit is at this point. Maybe I'm just slow and not good at recognizing clues, but I feel that the mystery aspect is well played. I also like the chapters where the reader is sent into the past. It's like an episode of Cold Case which I enjoy.

I don't like the main character Erica. She is mean and nags at her husband a lot. She blows up and starts arguments about stupid things. Sometimes she gets on my nerves.

Thoughts as of this second... Not bad. Good Mystery, Bad Erica

Okay, so that's the first one of these posts. Hopefully it was enjoyable and will add more regularity to the blog and won't bore anybody.

In My Mailbox/Book Haul 9

It's that time again to show what books have recently come into my possession. If you want to watch the visual video then that will be down below...

As always, In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. And now I will give the books in list form starting with the review copies.

1. Something Strange and Deadly BY Susan Dennard (thanks to Edelweiss and Harper TEEN. Release date is July 24, 2012. I've heard that zombies are somehow involved.)
2. Drain You BY M. Beth Bloom (thank you Edelweiss and Harper TEEN. Releases July 24, 2012. Vampires!)
3. The Dead Girl's Detective Agency BY Suzy Cox (Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper TEEN. Comes out September 8, 2012)
4. League of Strays BY L.B. Schulman (Thanks Netgalley and Amulet. Releases October 1, 2012)
5. The First Days: As the World Dies BY Rhiannon Frater (ZOMBIES! Enough said.)
6. Glow BY Amy Kathleen Ryan ( A Goodreads Firstreads Win! Thanks to Goodreads and especially to St. Martin's Press for sending me a beautiful hardback.)
7. Delirium BY Lauren Oliver (I've heard good things about this one.)
8. Torn BY Amanda Hocking (Book 2 in Trylle Trilogy)
9. Ascend BY Amanda Hocking (Book 3 in Trylle Trilogy)

Well that's it. I didn't even go into double digits this week which means I did pretty well haha. So go ahead and tell me what awesome books you got or what awesome books you're currently reading. Hope your day is great and as always...

HAPPY READING!

Review of: Erebos By Ursula Poznanski

Thanks to Netgalley and Annick Press for letting me review an e-arc of this great book!

Title: Erebos

Author: Ursula Poznanski

Published by: Annick Press

Released: February 1, 2012

Summary: Nick Dunmore has discovered an addicting game that knows him and watches him. The game has been going around his school in secret. Players are handed the game in secret and have to promise not to tell anyone about it. Nick finally gets his own copy and he's instantly hooked. Real life has been put on the back burner and the game takes up all of his waking hours. Then the game starts to get weird, it gives Nick tasks that must be completed in the real world and when Nick fails to complete a task, he's kicked out. Now Nick must find out the real purpose of the game, the meaning of the Messenger's tasks, and stop it all before it's too late.

Be careful, the game Erebos is watching and if you break the rules then being kicked out if the least of your worries.

My Thoughts: This book was so good! It took me about 20 pages to get into it, but by then I was hooked. The game Erebos sort of resembles World of Warcraft or Runescape. Even as a non-gamer person, the fictional game of Erebos was still incredibly addicting. The descriptions of the game were incredibly vivid, it causes the reader to feel like they're actually in the game. It was just an awesome awesome book.

I really liked the two distinct characters of real world Nick and Erebos world Sarius. It was very skillfully done. Knowing that Nick was really Sarius, but there was still a separation between the two.
I also liked the feel of this book. It was like a mystery/thriller/action adventure novel playing in the cyber world.
The creepiness of the game was also very well done. Having these real world tasks that Nick has to do and how they keep getting more and more questionable and dangerous was very good. Also the character of the Messenger, and everytime he appeared you knew it was not good.
The only weird aspect of the book was that it was originally written in German but then translated into English. I guess I was expecting it to be set in Germany so having the setting be in London and having the place of London be so important came as a little bit of a shock.
Overall Erebos is a great book. It's an incredibly addicting thrill ride of a book. It questions the addictiveness of this game, how it takes over these character's lives and through their decisions, shows what kind of people they really are. 
Erebos will hook readers in and have them turning pages until the big finale. I've never read a book where the world of a game was captured so perfectly and so vividly. Erebos is a great read and definitely not a waste of time. I highly recommend this book!

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4.3/5

Utterly engrossing and addicting. Game On!

IN MY MAILBOX/BOOK HAUL 8

Hello Hello, I seem to be back again with another In My Mailbox which is hosted by Kristi over at thestorysiren.com
I can't seem to resist the lure of books. Some people might view this as a problem, but I accept and embrace my addiction. Anyway, I got 3 books from Netgalley, 3 library books, and 4 books that I bought that have been just sitting around. A video of my haul, if you want to check that out, will be here below...

Okay, now for the books in list form. I'll start with the Netgalley titles.

1. Erebos BY Ursula Poznanski (thanks Netgalley and Annick Press. This book came out February 1, 2012)
2. The Weepers BY Susanne Winnacker (Thank you Netgalley and Marshall Cavendish. This title is a survival book and came out May 12, 2012)
3. The Goddess Legacy BY Aimee Carter (Thanks Netgalley and Harlequin Teen. This book comes out July 24, 2012)
4. Three Quarters Dead BY Richard Peck
5. Leviathan BY Scott Westerfeld (Should be good!)
6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gatekeeper Triology BY Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder (contains Out of the Madhouse, Ghost Roads, and Sons of Entropy)
7. Storm Born BY Richelle Mead
8. Wicked Game BY Jeri Smith-Ready
9. The Tomorrow Code BY Brian Falkner (looks interesting)
10. Divergent BY Veronica Roth ( I hope it lives up to the hype)

Well that's everything I got. I really need to get on those Netgalley and library books. Oh, so many books and so little time. If you want, tell me what you got in your mailbox or what you're currently reading. Yayy books and as always...

HAPPY READING!

Review of: No Proper Lady BY: Isabel Cooper

Title: No Proper Lady

Author: Isabel Cooper

Published By: Sourcebooks Casablanca imprint of Sourcebooks Inc.

Released: 2011

Summary: Joan lives in a world ruled by the Dark Ones, demons and other hellish creatures that have made the present world a nightmare come alive. The surviving free humans, like Joan, live in caves and tunnels and fight the Dark Ones everyday, but in this battle the humans are losing. Joan has been chosen for a very important mission, she must go 200 years back in time and kill the evil magician who let the Dark Ones out and whose actions created the world they all suffer in. Joan is sent back in time to 1888 with the mission to kill Alex Reynell. Simon Grenville, a magician and aristocrat, witnesses Joan's entrance into his time. His sister has just had a nasty run in with Reynell, so Simon is sympathetic to Joan's mission. Now, Joan must endure a different kind of training. She must learn how to dress, act, and behave like a 19th century woman and carry out the all important mission of stopping Reynell before he creates a horrific future.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. The concept and idea behind it is very interesting and intriguing. It's an interesting mash-up of many things I enjoy, magic, a bleak future, the 1800s, and a kick-butt female character.

The characters in the story were really strong. Joan was tough and her transition from tough girl of the future to a woman living during 1888 was well done and believable. The character of Simon was also strong too. I liked how both Simon and Joan were tough and true to their duty and didn't try to steal the spotlight from one another.

I really enjoyed the concept for this book and while I wouldn't know exactly how to categorize it, it made for an exhilarating and at times edge-of-your-seat read.

My only problem with the book was that the writing style was a little jumpy and confusing at times. It would be on one subject and then jump to something else with no warning.  Also Simon's brand of magic wasn't really explained too well.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read that combined the future and the past with a pulse pounding (especially near the end) save the world action. A very good read, but be warned, this is an adult book with adult scenes.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

Ballgowns and Demons! A pretty tempting combination.

cover image came from goodreads.com

May Favorites!

Well now that the month of May is over it's time for me to inform you of my favorite books I read during the month. I had another disastrous reading month, I only managed to finish four books. Absolutely abysmal. I did pick 3 favorites out of the bunch and will highlight them here.

 

FATED

By: Alyson Noel

I won this book from the Goodreads First Reads program, so thanks to them and thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for mailing me my first ever ARC! Woo hoo!

I enjoyed Fated. I thought it was an excellent introduction to the series and while I didn't always like Daire, I was eager to find out what would happen next. Also, two hot twins with piercing blue eyes *swoon*. I also really liked the Native American and Mexican culture and traditions that were sprinkled within the story. Overall, just a good solid read that I would recommend.

 

GREEN-EYED ENVY: A SHADES OF FURY NOVEL

By: Kasey Mackenzie

This book is a solid second in a series to the fantastic first, Red Hot Fury. I can't seem to stop gushing about the first one and while the second doesn't reach the greatness of the first, it's still a good read. This is a series I would recommend to anybody. It's a great adult urban fantasy series with Furies, Warhounds, and Bastai OH MY! But seriously, just a very good series that you need to read now! A third one is coming out soon and it looks amazing too!

THE WHITE OAK: IMPERFECT DARKNESS BOOK ONE

By: Kim White

I would like to thank Netgalley and The Story Machine Studio for letting me read an e-arc of this highly enjoyable book. It brings to life an Underworld that is unique and different and a girl named Cora Alexander who must survive in it. This book is full of action and adventure and leaves you guessing until the last page. Anyone in search of a quick, action packed read should definitely pick this one up.

Well that's it for the month of May. Hopefully I'll be able to finish more in June and maybe get on track with my Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge. I've already finished one for June, so lets hope I keep that reading fire within me. Well that's it and hope you enjoyed. Now go check out those books I mentioned because they're good!

Review of: The White Oak: Imperfect Darkness Book 1, By: Kim White

Title: The White Oak: Imperfect Darkness Book One

Author: Kim White

Published By: Story Machine Studio

Released: April 9, 2012

*Thanks to Netgalley and Story Machine Studio for letting me read an e-arc of this book*

Summary: On the day of her father's funeral, as the Alexander family is gathered around the graveside, a sinkhole opens up and swallows them whole. Cora Alexander is the only one to survive the sinkhole and she somehow manages to enter the Underworld alive. As Cora wanders through the Underworld she meets Minotaur, an advanced computer program and Sybill, the writer of everyone's life story. With the help of these two and her shade of a twin brother Lucas, Cora must navigate through the Underworld while staying alive and finding out what her greater purpose there is.

My Thoughts: This book is unlike anything I've ever read before. It's full of action and a dreary, depressing Underworld that makes for an unputdownable read.

This book starts off with a bang and the action never stops. There is never a slow part to the story which makes for a fast read because you have to find out what happens to Cora next.

The Underworld setting was also unique. White goes into vivid description of the Underworld and its inhabitants, making it come alive in its own bleak and depressing way. White's writing also has a sort of musicality to it that makes it very enjoyable to read. 

The only half-way negative thing I'd say about The White Oak is the reader is constantly left in a state of confusion. We don't know what's happening at the beginning of the story or the end of it. This could be what White wanted the reader to feel by putting the reader in the same state of confusion as Cora.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was very fast-paced and White's description of the Underworld was very interesting. People should definitely go check this one out!

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

Unlike anything I've ever read before, in a good way!

cover image came from goodreads.com