*Review* Black Heart – Holly Black

 Black Heart (Curse Workers #3)

Holly Black

296 pages

ISBN: 9781442403468

Read 5-4-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

Add it to Goodread!

In a world where Magic is illegal.

Cassel Sharpe has the most deadly ability of all. With one touch, he can transform any object – including a person – into something else entirely. And that makes him a wanted man. The Feds are willing to forgive all his past crimes if he’ll only leave his con artist family behind and go straight. But why does going straight feel so crooked?

For one thing, it means being on the opposite side of the law from Lila, the girl he loves. She’s the daughter of a mob boss and getting ready to join the family business herself. Though Cassel is pretty sure she can never love him back, he can’t stop obsessing over her. Which would be bad enough, even if her father wasn’t keeping Cassel’s mother prisoner in a posh apartment and threatening not to let her leave until she returns the priceless diamond she scammed off him years ago. Too bad she can’t remember where she put it.

The Feds say they need Cassel to get rid of a powerful man who is spinning dangerously out of control. But if they want Cassel to use his unique talent to hurt people, what separates the good guys from the bad ones? Or is everyone just out to con him?

Time is running out, and all Cassel’s magic and cleverness might not be enough to save him. With no easy answers and no one he can trust, love might be the most dangerous gamble of all.

I thought this was an excellent conclusion to the Curse Worker series!  It was the most suspenseful of the three and really showed Cassel’s powers off.  Cassel is quite witty and sly and takes a lot of risks.  If I was in position, I know it would be very hard to trust anybody and make a huge decision like the one he faces.  In the end, I like the way he handles things and takes care of a few issues.

I felt so bad for Cassel at several points because of how much he cares about Lila, but he thinks she can’t love him back because of his mother working her.  I like Lila, even if she is the daughter of a crime boss.  Cassel’s mother on the other hand, I never cared for through any of the books, but I guess you’re not really supposed to.  She is so selfish and manipulative and shallow.  Sam I also still like and he is still very loyal to Cassel, even though there is some danger for him being Cassel’s friend.

I really like the way this one ended, and thought it was a good wrap up for the trilogy.  I kind of wish there would be another book for the series, but even if there never is, I would still be satisfied with the way it ended.  I own the first book, and I will be buying the 2nd and 3rd books as well since I enjoyed them so much. I love the dotted cover art and hopefully I will be able to get the author to sign them like my first one if she comes to YallFest again this coming November.

Good characters, exciting, good descriptions, good ending.

 

Waiting on Wednesday (36)

 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:

 Belle Epoque
Elizabeth Ross

Release 6-11-13

When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service—the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive. 

Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect foil.

But Isabelle has no idea her new “friend” is the hired help, and Maude’s very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.

Why I’m Waiting:

It’s set in Paris!  Plus, it has aristocracy and secrets and probably balls with pretty dresses.  I love descriptive stories that are visually beautiful in my mind.  The concept is pretty interesting, too and very different.  So what are you Waiting for?

Top Ten Tuesday (36)

 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:

FREEBIE!!!!

This week is a freebie week, so I get to do any topic I want.  For this freebie I am choosing:

Top Ten Books with One Word Titles

1. Cinder / Scarlet: Cinder was my favorite book of all last year, so much so that I did something I have never done before- I reread the book this year.  I NEVER get to reread books, and if I do, it is years past the first time I read it, like The Great Gatsby (I read this in high school 12 years ago).

2. Incarnate / Asunder:  I love the musical scenes in this book.  There are such beautiful descriptions and I could almost hear the music the imagery was so clear.

3. Chime:  I loved this audiobook and the way it was written was fantastic.  The Near Witch was another favorite that was like this book.  Both were excellent witchy tales.

4. Forbidden:  Something that is taboo, but I heard how great it was and if it is a good book, I don’t care if it is taboo.  There are very few things I would not read just because of comfort level.  Even though this love story was outside the norm (brother and sister), it was still beautiful and heartbreaking.

5. Starters: A scifi book I enjoyed so much more than I thought I was going to.  It was very exciting and full of action and I highly recommend it to people who don’t often read sci-fi , but would like to try it out.

6. Wither:  A great concept and a very scary one on top of that.  It so unique and there are so many questionable things in this story.

7. Ashfall:  Scary natural disaster book that shows how ugly people can get when the world gets horrible.  The most terrifying part of this book is the fact that it could really happen.

8. Origin:  I really enjoyed this book and was glad that it was a stand alone since there are so many trilogies it is nice to have a good stand alone, too.

9. Pandemonium:  I liked the chaos of this book.  The first one was a bit more laid back until the end, but this one had a lot more going on.  Team Julian!

10. Lolita:  Another taboo book, but it was so incredibly written that there is no way I couldn’t have it on my favorite reads.  I was very cautious reading it a first since it is told from a pedophile’s POV, but it was not nearly as disturbing as I thought it was going to be.  I love the flow of Nabokov’s writing and I want to read everything he wrote.

What did you guys choose for your freebie week??

Cover Crush (27)

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:

All seventeen-year-old composer Ien Montgomery desires is an escape from his family’s rigid expectations for his life; someone to inspire his music. When he meets a beautiful violin-prodigy, Kiera McDougal, his life music takes on new life. With her, he imagines a future outside of his parents’ control. That is, until a horrible accident tears them apart. 

Sent to die in a sanatorium, Ien’s obsession for Kiera grows unbearable. Tortured by thoughts he can’t escape and the truth of his monstrous disfigurement, he flees, desperate to exact revenge on the people that ruined his life – his parents. But, vengeance is empty. Betrayed by those closest to him, Ien discovers that the price for his happiness may be his sanity.

Set amidst the landscape of New York’s Gilded Age, and inspired by Phantom of the Opera, TRANSCEND exposes the fine line between love and madness.

Why I’m Crushing:

I love The Phantom of The Opera so much!  This cover screams Phantom and it is obvious without reading the synopsis that it is.  So of course, I think the cover is perfect for the story and I love the detail in the mask; wish I had one to hang on my wall.  I haven’t been lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of this book yet, but hopefully I will soon.  I am only finding paperback copies and this is one I definitely want in hardcover.  What do you guys think of this cover?

Top Ten Tuesday (35)

 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 Favorite Covers of Books I’ve Read

1. Tiger’s Curse – Colleen Houck

2. Wicked Lovely – Melissa Marr

3. Alice in Zombieland – Gena Showalter

4. Renegade – J.A. Souders

5. Incarnate – Jodi Meadows

6. Cinder – Marissa Meyer

7. Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor

8. Wither – Lauren Destefano

9. Matched – Ally Condie

10. The Peach Keeper – Sarah Addison Allen

I really love eye catching covers and I have bought numerous books just because of the covers.  These are definitely some of the most beautiful covers I have come across!

Cover Crush (26)

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:

No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she’s finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she’d lost forever.

Why I’m Crushing:  

I’m not really one for eyeball, they kind of gross/freak me out, but the covers for this series is exceptional.  I bought this book before they had the new cover and I wish I had this one instead.  Very beautiful.  Trees for eyelashes, a waterfall for tears, and the soft colors for clouds.  They even added birds flying around the tree tops.  The artist did a wonderful job and I look forward to seeing the rest of the covers!

The Great Gatsby!

Has anybody seen this movie yet?!  It was AMAZING.  I absolutely loved it.  Of course, I knew I would since Baz Lurhmann directed it.  My favorite movie of all time is Moulin Rouge, which is also by Baz, so of course I would love Gatsby.

This movie is so incredibly beautiful and sparkly and rich.  I have read The Great Gatsby, and though it was very well written, it just isn’t the style of book that I fall in love with, but the movie is so magical!  All of the characters were well portrayed and flashy and dramatic.  It also has a great soundtrack with  popular songs redone to fit the movie.

For those of you who have seen the movie what did you think of it?  For those of you who haven’t, you definitely need to!

I had been excited since last year for this movie and I certainly was not disappointed.  I can’t wait to see what he is going to do next.  Baz Lurhmann is beyond awesome!

Waiting on Wednesday (35)

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:

 Impostor
Susanne Winnacker

Release 5-28-13

Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late? 

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

Why I’m Waiting:

This is a different kind of “going under cover” and it gives a completely new look at what it could take to catch a killer.  I think it will be really interesting to see how she gets through everyday as someone else.  It’s definitely a cool idea and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.

 

*Review* Asunder – Jodi Meadows

 Asunder (Newsoul #2)

Jodi Meadows

406 pages

ISBN: 9780062060785

Read 4-30-13

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

Jodi Meadows writes some of my favorite book scenes and she writes some of the best musical scenes!  I can almost hear the music swirling around me when I read those passages.  Her descriptions are really wonderful and magical; love it.  The first book was mostly very beautiful, but this book takes quite a different turn and is full of angry people and scenes that make me really angry, but it does show how ugly people really can be just because someone is different.

I really like Ana.  She is very strong and fights for whatever she believes in.  She has a good heart and wants the best for everyone, even after everything the people of Heart put her through.  Much of this book left me feeling very angry because how Ana is treated and it really made my blood boil.  I don’t like when people discriminate the way they do.  Sam is great also, I still love him and he is still one of my top book boyfriends.  He is just so amazingly sweet and loyal to Ana.  Dear Council, I hate you.

There were some interesting story twists along the way and I really can’t wait until the third book, which is sometime next year, and see how everything works out.  Religion is not something I seek out in a book, but I like how this book has a religious aspect without it being overkill.  This book is definitely easy to get yourself lost in and I didn’t want to put it down; it just really sucks you in.

Beautiful descriptions, bubbles emotion, great characters, didn’t want to put it down!

Cover Crush (25)

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:

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

Why I’m Crushing:

I really like how the covers are done for this series!  It is an awesome way to portray two people being in one body.  I also really like the soft colors.  Both covers are pretty simple, with simple fonts, but I think they are perfect for what the story is about.  So, have any covers you’re crushing on this week?