*Review* Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

 Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)

Suzanne Collins

391 pages

ISBN: 9780439023498

Read 2-19-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before…and surprising readers at every turn.

I loved the first book, and the second book was great, too.  There was a lot of action in the second half of the book and we get to see more of the menacing, evil President Snow in this one as well.

In the first book, I wasn’t crazy about Peeta and Katniss’ relationship since it was so forced and had no build, but they made up for it in Catching Fire and I am definitely Team Peeta.  Peeta is so protective of Katniss, and those of you who know how I am, know I am a sucker for protectors and he is definitely one of my book boyfriends.  For Katniss, we get to see how she has been affected by the trauma of being the arena.  She is plagued by terrifying nightmares and constant worry about President Snow and his threats.

The year’s Hunger Games is the third Quell and to mark the milestone, there is a horrible surprise in store.  It hurt my heart and made me so mad when I found out what it was and President Snow is a despicable person.  I really liked all the new faces when I met the past Hunger Games champions.  There were several intense moments during the second half of the book and I am so glad that I didn’t have to wait long to read the final book because of the way it ended.

Great new characters, evil President, loved Katniss and Peeta’s relationship, can’t wait for the movie!

*Review* Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor

 Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)

Laini Taylor

517 pages

ISBN: 9780316133975

Read 1-27-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

Add it to Goodreads!

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

This is one of my reviews I am behind on since I took an unexpected break from the blog when things got crazy at home, so here is my review which should have been posted 3 months ago…

I listened to most of this book on the drive down to Florida to see my best friend.  I am a horrible person to be driving long distances like that since I have a tendency to fall asleep, espcially when I am alone.  It’s realyl hard to stay awake, even if I am blasting loud music, but this audiobook was great and the 6 hour drive flew by.  Khristine Hvam is still my favorite audiobook narrator so far.  Her accents are awesome and she really gives life to the characters with her voice.

The first few chapters were a bit confusing because of the way the story jumped around.  We get to see some new faces and great descriptions of chimaera.  I love the chimaera and their world.  I also think it’s cool we get to hear origin stories of the chimaera.  I really liked where the story went and the twists that were taken toward the end.  I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book.  I enjoy Laini Taylor’s style of writing and I hope to see a lot more by her.  This trilogy is really a very unique experience!

The cover is beautiful and I love the detail, but my favorite part of it is the color splash; it gives the cover a great accent and pop.  Zuzana is one of my most favorite secondary characters of everything I’ve read.  She has quite a fiery personality and she’s a great friend to Karou.  We also get to see her and Mic together, which is fun since he knows how to handle her and banter with her.  We also get to see more of the angel’s world and how horrible some of them actually are.  Karou has to deal with a lot of stuff where she is now and she is becoming a stronger person.  I look forward to seeing how everything pans out and how she works out the problems between two different worlds.

Favorite reader, great secondary characters, twists, a bit confusing in the beginning.

*Review* On The Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta

 On The Jellicoe Road

Melina Marchetta

300 pages

ISBN: 9780670070299

Read 4-17-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham 17, finally confronts her past. Hannah, the closest adult she has to family, disappears. Jonah Griggs, moody stares and all, is back in town. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

THIS BOOK!  Oh, this book.  It is so hard to tell the wonderfulness that is this story.  When I read the synopsis I wasn’t really sure if I was going to like it since it really isn’t my normal kind of read, but I had heard a lot of great things about this book and decided that I wanted to see what all the hype was about, and I am SO GLAD I did.  This story was absolutely brilliant!  Very emotional and heart wrenching and amazing and I just want to hug everybody and it just draws you in and doesn’t let you go.

I feel like I know everybody involved in this book and the character development was incredible.  Taylor lets people think she really doesn’t care abotu anything and she comes off very abrasive with people at first, but she really changes through out the course of the story with everything she goes through and finds out.  Jonah also is not quite what he seems on the outside.  Raffy is a great friend and I really like her by the end of the book.

The story is a bit confusing at first (which is why I had to deduct half a star) and I had to figure out the lingo and what was going on before I really got into the book.  It will definitely be one I will want to reread and there will be no confusion the second time around.  There are actually two story lines going, the present and one with a group of 5 friends from almost 20 years ago, which crash together.  Everything is so well-written and intricate and the stories are woven so well together.

It really is hard to express how incredible this book is.  Really, really wow.  One of my new favorites!  Next time I think I will read the book (since I will definitely be buying a copy) instead of audio.  The reader was australian and she did really well, hoever I did not like the music that played before and after each chapter introduction and ending.  It was kind of annoying and I just wanted to hurry up and get back to the reading.  This one is a must have for book shelves!

Excellent characters, emotional, poignant, slow beginning.

Cover Crush (23)

 Cover Crush is my new meme here at On The Shelf where beautiful and eye-catching covers are spotlighted!  Any cover can be showcased whether it be old or new, read or still sitting in your TBR stack.  Please join in, link up and enjoy some beautiful covers!

My Cover:

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

Why I’m Crushing:

I like this cover better than the cover of the first book and I think it is because the way the title stands out.  I also like the shape of the title and the dragon at the top.  The whole thing just stands out to me more than Shadow and Bone.  I haven’t read Shadow and Bone yet, shame on me, but I do want to!

Waiting on Wednesday (33)

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I am waiting on:

 Dare You To
Katie McGarry

Release 5-28-13

 Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

Why I am Waiting:

I LOVED Pushing the Limits and thought it was an amazing debut and I just can’t wait to read Beth’s story.  I know it will be fantastic as well.  How could it not be?  Even the cover screams that it is gonna be incredible.  So what are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday (34)

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and The Bookish.  Each week a new top ten list is posted, and to participate all you have to do is fill in YOUR top ten for the list.

This week the topic is:

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND!

I get to pick any topic from all the past topics and I chose:

Top Ten Books I Feel Everyone Has Read But Me

1. The Iron Fey Series:  I am so horrible for not having read these first few series.  I heard they are so wonderful, yet I haven’t read them yet.  Why?  I don’t know!  There is just so many books and so little time to read.

2.  The Mortal Instruments Series:  See, told you I was horrible.  I won’t even start it until I see the movie.

3.  The Infernal Devices:  Hate me yet for what I haven’t read?

4.  The Across the Universe Series:  I really want to read that one since everybody has said it is really good.

5.  The Revenants Series: I love all of these covers and plenty of the bloggers I follow really like these books.

6. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight:  I bought this book about 8 months ago and I still haven’t read it yet, though I certainly do plan on it.  I have heard it is really amazing, but I am a little behind on getting to it.

7.  Shadow and Bone:  I have seen this one on a bunch of people’s favorites list and I do want to read it very much, and I am not sure why I keep putting it off.

8.  Grave Mercy:  At first I wasn’t very sure that this book sounded like it would be for me, but with all of the good stuff I have been hearing about it, I do want to give it a try.  I saw this one on lots of lists for favorite heroine and I need to see what the fuss is about.

9.  The Body Finder Series: So many bloggers have talked about this series and I bought the first book; just haven’t make it to opening it yet.

10.  The Vampire Academy Series:  I haven’t read any of these and then I went and read Bloodlines, which I think may have been a mistake because I wasn’t very into it and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I probably would have had I read Vampire Academy first, so I haven’t started this series yet.

So what was your TTT rewind?

Cover Crush (22)

Cover Crush is my new meme here at On The Shelf where beautiful and eye-catching covers are spotlighted!  Any cover can be showcased whether it be old or new, read or still sitting in your TBR stack.  Please join in, link up and enjoy some beautiful covers!

My Cover:

On the frozen planet of Kassouk, where a few aliens rule as dieties on a medieval Human world, Tora — a Human warrior trained by tigers — seeks her father’s murderer. But what she finds at the point of her sword confuses her. How dare Dragomir, the handsome Mutant, question her bloodline and her loyalties? And could a new enemy control the savage hordes of the fringe? 

Dragomir offers to help, but Humans and Mutants are forbidden to fraternize under penalty of death… Should Tora trust her mind, her instincts, or her heart? 

In the vortex of war, treason and intrique… among blizzards, avalanches and ambushes… will Tora solve the myster of her father’s death and unveil the secret of her birth? Can she and Dragomir escape persecutions long enough to save their planet from the invaders and fulfill their destiny?

Why I’m Crushing:

Two words…WHITE TIGER!  Any cover with my favorite animal is sure to catch my attention.  Also, I know this was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I found myself unexpectedly going to Atlanta yesterday to a Repticon and they had so many beautiful snakes! So yeah, distracted 😀 Back to the cover…gorgeous white tiger blue eyes just staring at me.  Completely sold.  I’m not much of a fantasy reader, but I do want to read this one thanks to the cover.

Waiting on Wednesday (32)

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I am waiting on:

 Reboot
Amy Tintera

Release 5-7-13

 Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Why I am Waiting:

I’m usually not overly into science fiction stuff, but this one doesn’t seem too heavy on the science fiction part and it’s also a dystopian, which I do like a lot. It sounds incredibly interesting and intense and it is a unique idea that you are less human the longer you are dead before you are brought back.  I look forward to reading this one!  What are looking forward to?

*Review* Dreamland – Sarah Dessen

 Dreamland

Sarah Dessen

250 pages

ISBN: 9780142401750

Read 2-7-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

Wake up, Caitlin

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He’s magnetic. He’s compelling. He’s dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else–her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

This was my first Sarah Dessen book, and I got to be honest, I think I chose the wrong one to start with.  This story was just not for me, and it wasn’t because of what it was about.  I wasn’t crazy about the characters or the way they handled the situation.

Caitlin is on of my least favorite main characters.  She continuously made horrible decisions and stayed with Rogerson for no real reason.  Caitlin said she loved Rogerson, but I’m not realyl sure why other than love at first sight.  Rogerson was a jerk and I didn’t like him at all, which is what was supposed to happen since he is not a good person, so of course I wasn’t supposed to like him.  Caitlin’s best friend annoyed me the way she flirted with EVERYBODY; she was the high school slut apparently.  Even the mother got on my nerves.  She sounded so dumb and worried over some very trivial things.

The book didn’t keep me enthralled like I hoped and it was slower than I would have liked it to be.  There were even several points were I wanted to stop since I was bored with the book.  Even the reader for the audiobook read slowly and I just wasn’t very into it.  Even though I didn’t enjoy this book very much, I am still going to try another of her stories since I have heard so many good things, I just think I picked the wrong one to start with, though most people have reated this one high.  Maybe I am just one of  the odd ones on this book.  And like I said, it isn’t because of the subject – I gave Split by Swati Avasthi a 5 bookmark rating, but it was done so much better in my opinion.

Dreamland just didn’t get to me emotionally, except to make me super mad and I had no sympathy at all for Caitlin.  I hate that I didn’t love the first Dessen book I read, but I’ll try another!

Disappointing, uninteresting, didn’t like the characters, thought about not finishing.

 

Cover Crush (21)

 Cover Crush is my new meme here at On The Shelf where beautiful and eye-catching covers are spotlighted!  Any cover can be showcased whether it be old or new, read or still sitting in your TBR stack.  Please join in, link up and enjoy some beautiful covers!

My Cover:

Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

Why I am Crushing:

I loved the cover to the first book and the cover for the sequel is just perfect!  It fits with the first cover and has great detail, plus the pop of blue really catches the eye.  These are some of my favorite covers because of how detailed they are, including the inside of the cover.  I enjoyed the first installment of this story so much more than I thought I would and I can not wait for this one to be released.  So what is your Cover Crush this week?