Friday, March 29, 2013

Reading Right Now! Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

Ex-Heroes (Ex-Heroes, #1)

I just want to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this novel. I was drawn to it b/c of the concept, superheroes and zombies together! I'm about 20% of the way through and so far it's not really living up to its awesomeness. There isn't really much in the way of a story or plot and not a whole lot of characterization. It's not a bad book, in fact it's kind of enjoyable. It's just not what I was expecting. I'm going to keep reading this one. I hope everyone is having a great reading weekend. Tell me in the comments below what you're reading this week. That's all I got for now
HAPPY READING!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Review of: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly (Unearthly, #1)
Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Published By: HarperTeen
Released: 2011
Summary: Clara is an angel-blood and with that title comes responsibilities. All angel-bloods have a purpose, something that they're meant to do. This purpose usually shows itself in a vision that plagues them until the actual event occurs. Clara's vision is that of a smoke filled sky and a boy, with his back turned, waiting. Clara and her family follow the clues of the vision, selling their house in California and moving to the rugged terrain of Wyoming. Clara meets the boy of her vision and she also meets another. Clara must fulfill her purpose and also choose between the two boys fighting for her heart. Nobody said being an angel was easy.
My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book. The story was fun, the revelations were astounding, and both boys were very swoonworthy.
The idea of Clara being an angel-blood was pretty cool. I wish more angel-blood history would have been revealed. Clara and the reader were pretty much kept in the dark. Her mother was also a bit of a mystery. I want to know more about her story. I thought it was also a little weird that there were so many angel-bloods living in this one, small town.
I thought the love story aspect between Clara and Tucker was really sweet. I liked the two of them together. Throughout the majority of the book, I was firmly on Team Tucker. The ending however, promises something crazy in the next book. How is Christian going to come into this.
Unearthly is a very enjoyable book overall. It has a beautiful cover, an interesting concept, and two boys vying of Clara's attention. If you're a fan of angel stories, then check this one out.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Angel-riffic and just look at that gorgeous cover!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Book Haul 26!

Hey guys!!!
I know it's been quite awhile since I posted one of these things. I've been pretty good at keeping my youtube channel: acbsgotbookcitement updated, but not so much my blog. So this is a book haul that I filmed just a couple of weeks ago and it's number 26. Gasp! I buy entirely too many books, but I'm somehow okay with that. I might fill in my other past book hauls into posts if you guys want them. You can see just how crazy I can go while shopping for books. My wallet weeps but my heart is happy when I do. So, here is my Book Haul 26 in video format and I will list the books below the video. Just in case you can't understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, which is always a possibility.

Now for the books in list form, because I promised it. The first four are library books. I encourage you all to take advantage of your local library because there is nothing better than being able to borrow a book without having to pay full retail price. The way I look at it is that if I end up loving the book, I can always go buy a copy for myself.
1.  The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury BY Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga (this is the second book in a trilogy that delves into the origins or back stories of other characters. I'm reading the first one right now which is The Walking Dead: The Rise of the Governor. It's supposed to tell the story of how Phillip Blake became the Governor. So far, it's okay. )
2. Bad Glass BY Richard E. Gropp (This book looks so cool. I first saw it on another youtuber and friend of mine's channel. Her name is Charley and her youtube channel is duvetdaydevours You should go check her out b/c she's awesome. This book looks so freaky and just that cover sold it for me.)
3. London Eye BY Tim Lebbon (I'd never heard of this book before, but I saw it at my library and thought it looked pretty cool. It says it's Book One in the Toxic City series. Looks interesting. Also love the cover.)
4. Written In Red BY Anne Bishop ( I believe this is the first book in a series called Novels of The Others or something like that. Don't really know why I picked it up. I think it was more on impulse and I do always love a good urban fantasy which I think is what this is.)
5. The Farm BY Emily McKay (it's a dystopian or post apocalyptic novel where humans, especially teen ones, are raised like cattle for the consumption of vampires. Sounds interesting and it also has kind of a cool cover.)
6. Soul Screamers Volume 2 BY Rachel Vincent (Contains the books: My Soul To Keep, My Soul To Steal, and the novella Reaper. I'd been looking for this one since it came out and was lucky to snag it at Target. Haven't started the series yet, but I can't wait to. I'm really interested to see what Rachel Vincent's writing is like. I also want to try out some of her adult series.)
7. Pandemonium BY Lauren Oliver (sequel to Delirium. Excited to eventually start this series. I've heard their basing a t.v. show on the first book.)
8. Requiem BY Lauren Oliver (final book in the Delirium trilogy. Very pretty covers overall, but the girl on front is a little strange.)
9. Delirium Stories BY Lauren Oliver (for the first time in printed form, contains the novellas Hana, Annabel, and Raven. I'm so glad they decided to combine them and sell them in a paperback format. I don't really like all these novellas only offered in e-format. Just another way for the publishers to make more money off a series in my opinion.)
10. The Indigo Spell BY Richelle Mead (This is the 3rd book in the Bloodlines novels which is a spin off of The Vampire Academy Series. I haven't finished with The Vampire Academy series and haven't even started with The Bloodlines series, but I plan to.)
11. Out of the Easy BY Ruta Sepetys (I've heard good things about Ruta Sepetys and own her other novel which I haven't exactly got around to reading yet. I'm noticing a sad trend here. But this looks like an enjoyable historical with a murder mystery wrapped in.)
12. Prodigy BY Marie Lu (this is the sequel to Legend and the really funny part is, I don't own Legend. If I spy a paperback copy of Legend, then I'm totally snatching it up, if I'm not able to find one I'll just check it out from the library. I really couldn't resist picking it up because it's soooo pretty. It has this great blue cover and blue writing in certain spots. I'm a sad case.)

So yeah, that's all the books I picked up and showcased in this haul. I'm sure I'll be filming other hauls in the near future. I just can't seem to stop myself. Thanks for sticking around with me and my blog. I'm trying to be better at this. So, if you want to leave me a comment, do. I like comments and if you want to follow my blog then I would heart you forever! That's all I got for now.
HAPPY READING!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Review of: The Summer Prince By Alaya Dawn Johnson

The Summer Prince
Title: The Summer Prince
Author: Alaya Dawn Johnson
Published by: Arthur A. Levine
Released: March 1, 2013
Summary: June Costa lives in the technological paradise of Palmares Tres, a city created out of necessity after natural/nuclear disasters and the Y Plague that killed off a majority of the men. Because of this plague and man's habit of ruining things around him. Palmares Tres is ruled by women. Every 10 years, the public comes together to elect its Summer King, who will live for a year and then be sacrificed and through his sacrifice he will pick the Queen who will rule for the next 10 years. June Costa finds herself very involved in this years election. She hopes that a boy named Enki from the Verde will get elected and when he does, June's life starts to change. As June gets to know and love the real Enki, will she be able to let him go at the end of the summer? Enter the lush, fantastical world of Palmares Tres to find out.
My Thoughts: I just want to thank Netgalley and Arthur A. Levine books for letting me review an eARC of this book. My enjoyment for this novel grew with the more that I read. In the beginning, I wasn't too sure about whether it would be my kind of book or not. And, while The Summer Prince was different, it was a good, enjoyable kind of different. I loved the world building and writing style of Alaya Dawn Johnson. She created a beautiful, fantastical, futuristic, and slightly barbaric world and her writing had almost a lyrical and otherworldly quality to it. 
The structure of Palmares Tres reminded me of the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the famed Amazonian women warriors all mixed in with opulence and technology. Just a very cool world.
It's definitely not a typical YA story, in fact, I don't think I would recommend this for younger YA readers. I think the writing style is more advanced and their are some suggestible, adult like scenes. Also, our main teenage characters were kind of free with their affections and sexuality.
While I did really enjoy this book, there were aspects of it that made it not as great. I felt that the whole reasoning behind electing and then sacrificing a Summer King wasn't very well explained. The same goes for the Y Plague and whatever disaster happened to the world to pave the way Palmares Tres, Tokyo 10, and other cities like it. Another thing that hindered my enjoyment of the novel was the jumpiness of the story. For some people, this book might be a little too weird and out there. I will say that the more I read, the more I was drawn into the world and the characters.
All in all, I enjoyed The Summer Prince. I grew to like the main character June as the story went on and found her journey throughout the story to be captivating. I also enjoyed the art aspect of the story, the outlandish art exhibits and projects that June creates to be recognized by the city. Enki remained an absolute enigma throughout the story. I also loved that this story had an ending.
Overall, The Summer Prince is a very interesting and enjoyable story that will grow on readers as they progress through it. Just let the story take you away to the beautiful and vicious city of Palmares Tres.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Interesting and Fantastical!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Review of: The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

The Peculiars
Title: The Peculiars
Author: Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Published by: Amulet Books imprint of ABRAMS
Released: 2012
Summary: Lena has always been different. Her extra long hands and abnormally long feet make her uncomfortable in a society that frowns at differences and where whispers of Peculiar blood abound. Lena has become adept at hiding her hands and feet and trying to attract as little attention as possible. On Lena's 18th birthday, her mother delivers a letter she has been saving from Lena's father, who left when she was 5. In the letter, Lena receives a cryptic message and an inheritance. Lena decides to travel to the Scree and try to find out just who or what she really is.
My Thoughts: I found this book to be really interesting. I was pulled in by the gorgeous cover and the promise of steampunk elements, and found out the story inside wasn't half bad. It was a very mysterious sort of story. Trying to figure out who or what Lena really was was really quite interesting. I liked the characters I was introduced to and found the story to be believable in its Victorian period context. I felt that the characters had traits and physical actions that were believable within the context in history they were place in. I don't really like it in a historical novel where characters have more modern day brave/headstrong traits that aren't believable in the world they're supposed to be occupying. The definition of a strong, female character has shifted with time and culture.
I did have some issues with the story. I sometimes thought Lena was a bit of an idiot. Sometimes she was too trusting and lacked the ability to think things through. The story was also very slow moving. Not boring per say, but in the grand scheme of things, not a lot happened. I also felt that the story didn't really have an ending. I don't know if this book is the first in a series, but it sort of had that feeling to it. The journey and mystery were so hyped up and drawn out and the actual reveal was a little disappointing and seemed to end as soon as it had begun.
Overall, I liked and enjoyed this book. It was fun and maybe a little different than what I was expecting. Good for people who love that odd feeling of mystery and wonder, who like trying to figure out just what is going on. If this does turn out to be a series, then I would be pleased to find out what happens next.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
Odd, Peculiar, and Good!