Reading Right Now! (65)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

-- I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh-- I'm at about page 140 so far, and I'm liking it. This is a book that I won through a Goodreads FirstReads Giveaway. Those things are awesome. I highly recommend that you go and enter as many as you can. Winning a book is just the best feeling. So obviously, this book was sent to me so I could read and review it. I got it for free, didn't pay for it. I never know how to do these whole FTC things.

This is a thriller, set in England. It revolves around a mother named Jenna Gray, who lets go of her son's hand on the way to their home, he runs into the street, and gets hit by a car. The loss of her son is too much for Jenna to bear. Not only is he gone, but the driver hasn't been caught. Jenna leaves her old life behind, and goes to a small, coastal town and rents a secluded cabin. Her grief overwhelms her.

We also have two police detectives who want to solve this case very badly. There's some attraction between them, which is something I'm not really rooting for and not really a fan of for reasons. But they are determined to chase every lead until they catch the person responsible.

I've been reading this book in between other books. I'm trying this whole thing of reading more than one book at once, in the hope of finishing more books at a faster rate. I don't know if my plan is really working. Everytime I read this, I'm into it. It is kind of a slow thriller. I'm still in the first-part, and not much really has happened, but I don't mind because the story is still interesting. The viewpoints switch between the grieving mother Jenna, and the police detective Ray. I'm really curious to get to all the crazy twists that I've heard happen in this. 

So I'm going to continue reading this, might not finish it this week, but I'll definitely make some headway.

The Books I Plan To Add To The Mix

aka What I'm Going To Add To My Currently Reading Roster

aka What I'm Also Going To Read

 

-- Hereafter by Kate Brian-- I read the first book, Shadowlands, a little while ago and really enjoyed it. It had a very surprising twist at the end, and I'm excited to see where everything goes in this one. I think it will be a quick, fun read.

--Deceptive by Emily Lloyd-Jones-- I read the first book, Illusive, maybe like 6 or 7 months ago, and LOVED IT! It was sooo fun. It's about these people with super abilities who have to hide from the government and are essentially super criminals. The first book was just such a good time. I'm excited to see how it continues. I love books with super abilities. I wish I had a super ability, but a good ability, not a lame one.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading? If you've read any of my current reads, let me know what you thought of them.

Review: Behemoth (Leviathan Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Behemoth (Leviathan Book 2)

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Illustrated by: Keith Thompson

Published by: Simon Pulse

Released: 2010

Summary: The adventure continues for Alek and Deryn. The rumblings of war are getting stronger, and Alek no longer feels safe on the Leviathan. While stopped in Istanbul, Alek and his men make a run for it, but not everyone manages to jump ship. Deryn/Dylan is making a name for herself with the Leviathan crew, but still managing to keep her true identity a secret. With fabricated beasties, mechaniks of all kinds, and a fun, alternate history setting, The Leviathan Trilogy is one fun ride.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. My thoughts will probably be brief, because I don't want to give anything away for those who have yet to discover this series. Scott Westerfeld does a great job of imagining this alternate WWI world, with flying whales, terrifying krackens, and machines that would put Transformers to shame. This series is just a whole lot of fun, and I highly suggest you check it out.

I love Keith Thompson's art work scattered throughout. His illustrations just jump off the page and make the story come more alive.

Alek,  Deryn, and all the supporting cast, are great characters. They are all super interesting to read about, and fun. This could be a positive or negative, I'm not sure, but there are many times that I forget Deryn is a girl at all. She's so fearless and physical, and she definitely puts other airmen to shame.

This is a solid sequel in the Leviathan Trilogy. Full of action, danger, and spices! To understand that last one, you'll just have to read it. Probably the first and last book that you will ever read with a flying whale ship in it. This is a lot of fun, so go pick it up now!

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

A solid sequel full of action and fun!

Review: Death Note, Volume 5: Whiteout by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Title: Death Note, Volume 5: Whiteout

Author: Tsugumi Ohba

Art by: Takeshi Obata

Published by: VIZ Media, LLC

Released: 2003

Summary: The battle of wits continues between Light and L. In an effort to erase L's suspicions, Light volunteers to a solitary confinement to prove he's not Kira. L still suspects him anyway.

The Kira killings stop for 2 weeks, but then start up again with slightly different victims. Light offers his services to catch the new Kira Killer. L agrees, but is still suspicious of Light, and comes up with a way to monitor him 24/7.

My Thoughts: This is a manga series that I really enjoy. It has a lot of intrigue and humor. Light and L are constantly trying to throw the other off their toes, but their intellect is pretty much equal. I'm curious to see how this series plays out and will continue reading.

I won't say this is my favorite volume of the series so far, but I still had fun reading it. Sometimes Light and L are too smart for me to follow their plots and plans to catch each other. There are times where I'm so confused and lost. Light and L do vast amounts of over-thinking during every situation, and sometimes I'm left there just scratching my head.

I'm interested to see how the story continues, now that we have this new, mystery Kira. I have no idea who it is and how the events will circle back to Light.

I really enjoyed the humor in this volume. Matsuda's little adventure was entertaining and I'm very surprised he's not dead. Misa is that typical, over-excited, crazy-in-love, Japanese girl that always amuses me.

DeathNote is an interesting manga series to read and I'm excited to continue it.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

They are too smart for me.

Reading Right Now! (64)

What I'm Reading Right Now! are the same books that I was reading last week. I'm not as quick of a reader as I like to think I am. So instead of going over all the same books, I'm just going to tell you what I hope to, would love to, finish this weekend. Don't know if it will happen, but I'm going to try.
So, here's what I'm Reading Right Now!

 

--The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre-- I'm about 70% through this one-- I believe that I can realistically finish this one this weekend. I'm enjoying it so far, it's very quick and addicting. It is also incredibly weird. This cam girl lifestyle is super strange. I now know more about sexual fetishes than I ever wanted to. Deanna is also such a strange character. At first, I thought she was 100% delusional, that she wouldn't actually try to kill anyone, but then I saw how crazy she really was. I'm still on the fence about how I feel about her. I've read books with questionable characters before, characters that thought they were destined to become killers, characters that had fantasies about killing. One of my favorites comes from I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells, named John Wayne Cleaver. He freaked me out, but I liked him at the same time. Deanna is not on the level of John Wayne Cleaver yet.

So yes, I'm excited to see how this one plays out. I'm probably, definitely, going to pick up the other books in the series. So far, it has been a very fast read. 

--The Uninvited by Cat Winters-- I'm about 49% through this one-- This one I hope to finish this weekend too. It's been a very quick read as well. I am also torn on the main character in this one. Ivy Rowan doesn't seem to have any real plans, which bothers me. It's 1918, she's an unmarried, single woman with no income or job. She leaves home and has no real place to go. She jumps into a relationship after she's known the man for one day, and it's partly out of guilt. I just don't understand her. She jumps from one thing to the next, and I just sit there, scratching my head. It's not a bad book, I'm just not the biggest fan of the main character. 

One thing that I've been enjoying is the historical vibe of the novel. I had no idea of all the anti-German hate that occurred around the time of WWI, that's just something you never hear of. I mean, history tends to acknowledge the hatred that happened towards the Jews, the Irish, the Native Americans, the African Americans, the Japanese, but you don't hear about other races that endured the same. All hate is wrong. So it was interesting to have that be illuminated for me while reading this book. Maybe it hit me extra hard because I have a lot of German ancestry. My Mom's Grandpa came from Germany when he was 19, and I bet he talked a lot like Daniel. History man, sometimes it can be so cool.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading? Let me know in the comments below. If you've read any of these reads, tell me how you liked them. And that's all I've got for this post. Ashley out.

Review: Dead of Night (#1) by Jonathan Maberry

Title: Dead of Night (#1)

Author: Jonathan Maberry

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin

Released: 2011

Summary: Stebbins, Pennsylvania thought the only thing they had to deal with today was a hurricane, but they were wrong. This day will turn into one of the most horrific days in Stebbins' history, the world's history. It all starts when a prison doctor injects a lethal, parasitic bioweapon into a death row inmate moments before his execution. It could have ended there, with the body of the inmate being buried on prison grounds, but instead the body gets shipped out to Stebbins' County Funeral Home, and the rest is history. Officers Dez Fox and J.T. Hammond thought they were responding to a simple break in, but when a murdered cleaning lady rises up and tries to bite Dez, they know they are not in for normal. Stebbins County has become the starting point for a zombie plague that the world has never witnessed before. Lock your doors and hold on tight. 

My Thoughts: I always enjoy Jonathan Maberry's zombie novels. They are so quick, full of action, and characters that I really root for. When I see Jonathan Maberry's name on a book, I know that I'm in for a wild ride. I even enjoy books Jonathan Maberry has blurbed. Obviously, it was no surprise that I picked this up and very much enjoyed it.

This novel is so fast-paced and full of action. The zombies are terrifying, and the science behind them is fascinating. Picturing these zombies with their wounds and black goo was extremely easy to picture. I love how it pretty much takes place in a 24 hour period. It is amazing how things can go to heck in that short of a time period.

I was okay with the characters. Sometimes Dez got on my nerves and I wanted to yell at her, but most of the time I was rooting for Dez, J.T., and Billy Trout to all make it out alive.

This book was a super enjoyable, full of intense action and some crazy, tearjerker moments. The ending was crazy, and I must check out the sequel to see what happens to the world next. All I really know is, it probably won't be pleasant. A great zombie read and I totally recommend it to zombie lovers.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

These Zombies Are Terrifying!

What Did I Think Of: The 100: Season 3, Episode 13 -Join Or Die- (SPOILERS!)

I look forward to watching The 100 every Thursday. It's the only show that I will race home for and be sad if I miss. I missed the original airing of this one waaahhh! But it wasn't my fault. I got home and the power was out. A storm had come through and blew down a bunch of trees. I thought for sure that the power would be back on by the time The 100 was going to come on. As 9:00 pm got nearer and nearer though, I had to accept the sad facts that the power wasn't going to come on, and I was going to miss watching it live. Totally first world problems, I know. I'm grateful that the storm didn't hurt anybody, or do anything to my home, the only thing it did to me, was made me miss watching The 100 live. I want to watch it live every time though, so I can give it the ratings. Not that my measly little rating probably has any impact. Anyway, long story short, I downloaded the CW App onto my phone, and was able to watch it on that. It worked really well actually, so now I know if I miss another one, I have that option.

Join or Die was crazy. It was another one of those episodes where it felt like a lot was going on in it. This season has kind of been like that. Jumping from here, to there, to everywhere. I'm not sure how I feel about the sensory overload sometimes, but I did enjoy this week's episode. The ALIE story is just getting more and more insane. The flashbacks were fun. And of course anytime Bellamy and Clarke are together, I'm happy.

Flashbacks

I think I'll start with the flashbacks. I actually really enjoyed them. It was fun to go back to the beginning in a way. See how clean and shiny our characters were before they made it to the ground. Some people weren't happy at the flashback scenes because they thought it was trying to cast Pike in a favorable light. Pike has already been painted as the Villain this season, and people don't want to sympathize with him, and try to see where he was coming from. I enjoyed the flashbacks for just that reason. I don't think The 100 has ever been 100% Good Guy, or 100% Bad Guy. They've always tried to show the cost of survival, how it can result in gray area choices. To save your people, sometimes others' have to be sacrificed. Every character on the show has made questionable choices. And then there have been some characters who've started off as the bad guys and developed into favorites.

I thought it was interesting seeing Pike teach a class full of juvies how to survive on Earth, when they don't know they are going to Earth. He had a very difficult task to complete, and no real help from the people who wanted him to complete it. The juvies weren't taking the class seriously, and why would they? They don't think they are going to Earth. Most of them are probably sure they are going to be floated as soon as they turn 18. So how does Pike make his lessons stick? He turns to violence and beats up on poor Murphy. 

LEAVE MURPHY ALONE!!!

I think this totally fits with Pike's character though. I don't always agree with his decisions, but at least he's consistent with them. Pike is a fighter. When he gets to the Ground, he's not going to give up, and he doesn't want these kids to either. I understood the lesson he was trying to teach, and it was a good lesson, just delivered in a questionable way. Pike's main problem is he took things too far this season, just like he took things too far in the class. He crossed a line from being a survivor, to being a person willing to wipe out everyone, for what he thought of as belonging to his people.

It was also so fun remembering how much I really didn't like Kane in the beginning. How he was kind of the villain. My how things have changed. And it was just weird seeing Jaha as Chancellor again after he's taken so many crazy pills this season. It was just fun going back to where it all started and seeing how much these characters have changed. Nostalgia was strong!

I really liked the ending of the flashback scenes, where everyone is getting loaded onto the dropships. The goodbye Abby gave an unconscious Clarke was emotional. My favorite part though was seeing Bellamy sneak up in his guard uniform and get onto that ship. Bellamy is my favorite.

Polis

Umm so Polis is pretty messed up now. Blood literally flowing through the streets. Kane and Pike have finally made their way there, too bad Jaha, ALIE, and the zombies made it there first. Polis is crazy now. If I was Pike, I would be scared about my fate right about now. There is a whole bunch of violence going on.

Polis had two parts mainly, what was going on with Pike and what was going on with Kane. Since Pike and Kane refused the City of Light pill offered by Jaha, they were both taken away. Pike was taken to a dungeon where Murphy and Indra (uh oh) just happened to be. Indra decided to take her revenge on Pike and proceeded to give him her 300 cuts for the 300 lives he took. A little dark. Indra didn't seem that happy in her revenge, like it didn't make her happier while doing it. She is very set on revenge though. Murphy manages to convince Indra not to kill Pike, yet, because they need all the strong people they can to escape the situation they are in. I'll be excited to see how this escape goes in the next episode.

Kane has the more tragic story. They send in Abby to try and get Clarke's location from him. Kane doesn't know that Abby has taken the pill, but once he realizes that Abby is not really Abby, the look of betrayal on his face is so sad.

And not only is he betrayed, they then decide to torture him until he gives up the location of Clarke. They nail him to a cross like thing!

THIS IS CRAZINESS!! I'm not really getting why a big X cross, or why people have to be tortured into taking the pill. Like why can't Jaha and ALIE just force feed people the pill? Why do they have to resort to torture to do it? Jaha is a baaaaad man.

When torture doesn't work, Jaha and ALIE threaten to kill Abby. That is all it takes for Kane to give up and take the City of Light pill. I felt so sad for Kane this episode. Why doesn't anyone talk about how evil Jaha is this season? It's always Pike or Bellamy. Jaha is the true vision of evvviiilll this season.

The Search for Luna

Hanging out with some of my favorite people, Oh yeah! Any scene with Bellamy in it, I'm going to like, so I liked this little quest. It seemed like an impossible quest, finding this mysterious Luna just based off of Lincoln's journal map. But lo and behold they did find her. I'm impressed. 

My poor Bellamy had it so tough this episode. He's still struggling with himself. Trying to do what is right. Trying to give Octavia the space she wants. Bob Morley man, that acting, the hurt in those eyes. He's been killing it every scene this season! So now I'm just going to include some pictures of Bellamy Blake, because he's my favorite, we all should appreciate him, and the level of feels I had for him this episode were everything.

You're welcome world. And the Clarke and Bellamy moments gave me more feels!! That hug, yes that hug!! 

I will argue fervently that those hugs between Bellamy and Clarke mean more than anything she's shared with anybody else. They are such a good team. Everytime Clarke says, I Need You, to Bellamy, it just makes me happy. They are so good together. I'm so happy that they are finally back together again. I really had to suffer the majority of this Season, them being separated all the time, and it's sooo nice to finally have that dynamic back together on the screen. And how about when they both looked at each other before they drank the strange Grounder liquid? Magic!

I also really enjoyed Jasper as the comic relief. He had some funny lines. The finding Luna bit was pretty cool too. How she was hidden on an old oil rig in the ocean, just a cool touch. I also kind of enjoyed how Clarke makes this big spiel about Luna needing to accept the chip to become the next commander. How she's the only one of her kind left and has to do it to save the world and the Grounder people. My favorite part was how she just said No and walked away. Priceless. So obviously, Clarke's going to have to do some more convincing.

Episode Grade A: So much happening. Flashbacks, yes! Polis is crazy. Jaha is crazy. Poor Kane. Bellamy and Clarke, so cute.

The 100 images from http://screencapped.net/tv/the100/ and all other gifs found through google image searches

Review: East of West: Volume 1 by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin

Title: East of West: Volume 1

Written by: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Nick Dragotta

Colors: Frank Martin

Letters: Rus Wooton

Published by: Image Comics, Inc.

Released: September 2013

Summary: ??? I don't know how to describe this one. I'll say this, it's a Western Sci-fi hybrid. The Earth is getting nearer to its Death. Four horsemen roam the Earth, but the last one has gone Rogue. Will Earth be saved or have our mistakes already doomed it? One of the weirdest westerns you'll ever read.

My Thoughts: So weird, yet really enjoyable. I flew through this just to find out what was going on. I really enjoyed the Western/Sci-fi hybrid feel this has. It's definitely a unique read and I'd recommend it just for that.

I loved the art style. That was probably my favorite part. The coloring captured the feeling of Western horizons and Sci-fi landscapes. Really interesting to look at.

This was weird and fun. I recommend checking it out if you want something unique.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.8/5

Weird, fun, and colorful.