Cover Crush (40)

  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:

Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.

Why I’m Crushing:

My favorite thing about this cover, aside from the fact that is it blue, is the way the beautiful dress melds into the ocean.  She is so sparkly and her hear is completely drenched and it looks like her dress is becoming the sea.  So lovely.  Does the model remind anybody else of Dakota Fanning? I also like the font of the title ans the swirls in them, it makes it not overly fancy and not plain either.  What do you guys think of the cover?  Have a crush?  Link up below 🙂

Waiting on Wednesday (47)

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:

 Hurt
Tabitha Suzuma

Release 9-5-13

Why? is the burning question on everyone’s lips. Why would a guy like Mathéo Walsh want to die? At seventeen, he is Britain’s most promising diving champion. He is a heartthrob, a straight A student and lives in one of the wealthiest areas of London. He has great mates and is the envy of everyone around him. And most importantly of all, he is deeply in love with his girlfriend, Lola. He has always been a stable, well-adjusted guy…Until one weekend. A weekend he cannot seem to remember. All he knows is that he has come back a changed person. One who no longer knows how to have fun, no longer wants to spend time with his friends, no longer enjoys diving. Something terrible happened that weekend – something violent and bloody and twisted. He no longer knows who he is. He no longer trusts himself around people: he only wants to hurt, wound and destroy. Slowly, he begins to piece back the buried, fragmented memories, and finds himself staring at the reflection of a monster.Tormented, Mathéo suddenly finds himself faced with the most devastating choice of his life. Keep his secret, and put those closest to him in terrible danger. Or confess, and lose Lola forever…

Why I’m Waiting:

I loved Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma and it really pulled at my heartstrings.  She is an incredibly fantastic writer and won me over completely, so I will read anything by her.  I expect my heart to be pulled in several directions at once and for it to be quite twisted.  I’m so glad this comes out very soon.  What are you Waiting for?

Cover Crush (39)

 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:

The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love”

Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she’ll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew-about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam-was wrong.

In Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi created a captivating and original story that combined the best of dystopian and paranormal and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” The sequel, Unravel Me, blew readers away with heart-racing twists and turns, and New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia said it was “dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and climactic end.

Why I’m Crushing:

Have you seen this beautiful cover??  I’m usually pretty weirded out by eyes, but these covers are lovely.  I really like how the eyes are like the seasons (this one would be spring, obviously :-D). I like the soft oranges that make up the eye shadow and the detailed flourishes of the little flowers and vine eyelashes.  Love it!  What do you guys think of this cover?

*Review* The Ruining – Anna Collomore

 The Ruining

Anna Collomore

313 pages

ISBN: 9781595144706

Read 8-22-13

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door. 
All too soon cracks appear in Annie’s seemingly perfect world. She’s blamed for mistakes she doesn’t remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she’s always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie’s fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play? 
“The Ruining “is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.

Sadly, this was another book that didn’t live up to my expectations.  I was hoping for something nice and creepy and a journey into madness and such, but really, it was slow and boring.  I even debating not finishing it, but being the person that I am, I can’t just not finish a book, so I trudged on through, hoping it would get better, but it didn’t.  I was not surprised by the ending, I already knew what happened when I reached a certain scene not even halfway through the book.  The first half was the hardest to read because it was so slow, nothing really happened yet, but the last third is where everything was and by that time, I was so ready for the book to just be over.

Annie was definitely not my favorite character.  She seemed kind of weak and she was constantly making bad decisions.  She would do something and I would just roll my eyes and and think to myself how much trouble she was about to get into, which she always did.  You would think a person would learn, but no, she kept making choices that would anger her employers.  Plus, she would act like such a kid at some points.  I don’t know why she liked Libby so much.  She was nice at first, but it didn’t take long before Libby  was acting completely snobby and treating Annie badly, but she still loved Libby.  Owen was pretty nice and I liked him, but I’m not sure what he saw in Annie since they fought most of the time, she even got mad at him the first time they hung out!

As for the psychological part, I wasn’t creeped out or feeling like I was going crazy.  I felt like there was an on-off switch for her mental state that was flipped it was so abrupt.  At one point, she questioned whether everything was real, at another (especially if Owen was around) everything was clear.  It just wasn’t quite right for me.  She seemed weak and did what everybody told her, even when she didn’t want to or thought it wasn’t right, she did it anyway and never stood up for herself.

As for the other twist in the book, it just seemed really unrealistic.  Here is my SPOILER complaint: Libby killed Walker’s first wife by cutting the break lines of the car and since she made it look like a suicide and like she saved the child from the car, they put an investigation on hold for years until young Owen came along and dug up stuff in a matter of weeks that the police force couldn’t see was obvious (including cut break lines on the car).  Really? No, it just doesn’t seem realistic.  So that is my gripe.  This book just wasn’t for me on many levels.  I am glad some people enjoyed it, but unfortunately, I wasn’t among those.

Unrealistic, didn’t like the characters, wasn’t creepy, not at all for me.

 

Waiting on Wednesday (46)

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:

 3:59
 Gretchen McNeil

Release 9-17-13

Josie Byrne’s life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she’s betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can’t get worse.

Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

Jo’s life is everything Josie wants: she’s popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they’re just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo. 

Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo’s perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.

But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo’s boyfriend, he hates her. Jo’s mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.

By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?

From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.

Why I am Waiting:

This just sounds really exciting!  I really enjoyed Ten and liked the fast paced writing style of it.  Alternate realities are something that I have been seeing more and more of in upcoming books and this one sounds like it will be quite suspenseful since her doppleganger traps her on the other side.  Definitely looking very forward to this one!  What are you Waiting on?

Also, don’t forget to check out my giveaway!

Top Ten Tuesday (42)

 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 Things that Make Life Being a Reader/Blogger Easier

1. Goodreads: I LOVE Goodreads!  This is one of my favorite places to go everyday.  Reviews, ratings, suggestions, recommendations, giveaways, summaries, author info, upcoming books, beautiful covers, and a ton of other stuff all in one place.  What’s not to love?

2. Bookworm App:  I have a lot of books, nearly 700, and I have (on more than one occasion) bought a book I already had.  So, this app is great because it lets me add books by scanning, searching, and even manual input to add to my collection and I can keep up with my whole personal library on this one app, including ratings and notes.

3. The Book Depository: I like to host giveaways whenever I can, and since international postage can get kind of pricey, The Book Depository is a great way to be able to send books internationally without racking up that horrible fee.

4. WordPress App: At first, this app wasn’t that great, but once they fixed it with an update, it has been wonderful ever since.  I notifies me of several things and lets me reply or post on the go.  My whole dashboard is mobile.

5. Google Drive:  I like to keep up with my giveaways in a document so I can just click the link and go, but I got tired of forgetting my thumb drive I had it stashed on, so when I found out about Google Drive and how you could get to your stuff on any computer, I switched it over to a document on there and now I don’t have to worry when I forget my thumb drive at work, or any other bookish documents I may need.

6. Library:  Do I really need to explain this one?

7. Rafflecopter:  When I first started my blog, I used to do giveaways by using a Google form, then inputting the entries into Random.org, now with so many entries, I am very thankful for Rafflecopter.  Not only does it keep up with the entries, but it will randomly select one and let you email them right from the giveaway.

8. Planner:  I try to be more organized, and sometimes, when I keep up with it, my planner helps for things.  I don’t schedule which books I am going to read, but I do like it to write down choices and lists for memes such as this one.  Plus, the weeks have lined dates, so I can fit my lists nicely 🙂

9. Bloglovin’:  This is the best blog reader.  Ever.  I tried to have Google reader for some of them, and I tried to have Linky, but they didn’t work out for me very well and I had to manually update my posts on Linky, which I never remembered to do, but Bloglovin’ makes everything so much easier.  It posts everything automatically and keeps everything nice and clean and simple, plus you can organize any blogs you follow however you want.

10. The Blogger Community: Duh.  Without all the other readers and bloggers that I have found in this great community, I wouldn’t know all the stuff I know now.  I would never have found out about NetGalley or Edelweiss, I’d never get to read reviews from people whose opinions I trust and I never would have met such awesome people with the same love of the written word as I do.

So what kind of things make it easier for you?

*Review* Dangerous Girls – Abigail Haas

 Dangerous Girls

Abigail Haas

400 pages

ISBN: 9781442486591

Read 8-18-13

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

Paradise quickly gets gruesome in this thrilling page-turner with a plot that’s ripped from the headlines and a twist that defies the imagination.

It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives.

But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend’s killer, she discovers harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge’s decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone ever imagined…

This was quite an exciting read and it was very fast paced. However, my mind was not blown like I hoped.  I saw a few reviews where people were really shocked by the ending, but I was not shocked and I think that some of the possibilities I was thinking up were so much more out there than the actual ending that when I finally finished it, I was like “oh, okay, yeah sounds right.”

The beginning was just a little confusing at first since there were so many people in there group, but eventually you get everybody straight. All the characters were really well written and seemed like real people and I think that the media was portrayed well with how things can get skewed and misinterpreted.  Several times I found myself wanting to strangle the reporters.

Wouldn’t we all look guilty if someone searched hard enough?  pg. 255

Elise was somebody I liked sometimes and didn’t like other times.  She was a good friend to Anna, but as a person she wasn’t the best and she slept around a lot, but she was there for Anna when nobody else was. I liked Tate at first, but it didn’t last too long.

The storyline bounces around a lot from the vacation to the trial to the time she is waiting behind bars and so on, so if you get confused by back and forth changes be warned. I think the bouncing around added to the drama and the frenzy of what was happening.  The author even threw in TV transcripts and text messaging, very different.  I also found myself getting quite anxious when it came time for the verdict.  It was a very enjoyable read and it kept me turning the pages, so it was quite interesting, just not shocking.  I recommend it to people who like a good murder mystery and a twist ending.

Fast paced, full of tension, good  characters, not as shocking as I hoped.

550 Follower Giveaway!

Woo!  550 Followers!  When I started my blog two years ago, I was so excited when it reached 100 followers, and now it is at 550!  I find that quite amazing and I am grateful to all those followers and blog friends I have out there 🙂  So in appreciation, here is a GIVEAWAY!

One winner will get a book of their choice from The Book Depository (International as long as they ship to you!) and if I can reach 600 followers by the time the giveaway ends, I will add on a second winner.

Usually I don’t require you to be a follower, but since this is a follower giveaway, it is a requirement.

The giveaway will run until Midnight on September 1st and the winner(s) will be notified by email and need to answer within 48 hours, otherwise somebody else will have to be chosen.

Please make sure that any comments are left HERE at ON THE SHELF not on my giveaway hosting site.  Follow the link below to get to the giveaway.  Good luck to everybody and thank for being wonderful followers!!

Go to the GIVEAWAY!

Cover Crush (38)

 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:

Delancy Sullivan has always known there’s more to reality than what people see. Every time someone makes a choice, a new, parallel world branches off from the existing one. Eating breakfast or skipping it, turning left instead of right, sneaking out instead of staying in bed ~ all of these choices create an alternate universe in which an echo self takes the road not traveled and makes the opposite decision. As a Walker, someone who can navigate between these worlds, Del’s job is to keep all of the dimensions in harmony.

Normally, Del can hear the dissonant frequency that each world emits as clear as a bell. But when a training session in an off-key world goes horribly wrong, she is forbidden from Walking by the Council. But Del’s not big on following the rules and she secretly starts to investigate these other worlds. Something strange is connecting them and it’s not just her random encounters with echo versions of the guy she likes, Simon Lane.

But Del’s decisions have unimaginable consequences and, as she begins to fall for the Echo Simons in each world, she draws closer to a truth that the Council of Walkers is trying to hide ~ a secret that threatens the fate of the entire multiverse.

Why I’m Crushing:

This cover is so soft and beautiful.  I love the color scheme of fading blues and purples and the dress is lovely.  The girl being shown multiple times on the cover is a great representation of parallel worlds and it looks kind of like a memory.  I also really like the echo of the title.  What do you guys think of this cover?  Link up and share your covers if you have any, too!

*Review* Requiem – Lauren Oliver

 Requiem (Delirium #3)

Lauren Oliver

391 pages

ISBN: 9780062014535

Read 8-14-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

Add it on Goodreads!

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

Well….this was the last book of the Delirium trilogy and, well….hmm….

Unfortunately, I have to say that this is my least favorite of the three books (the second was my favorite), and well…I feel like there should have been more.  There probably could have been a fourth book and now I  am left feeling incomplete with this series.  It was left so open and unfinished.  I want to know what happens with everything, and I didn’t get that, no resolution.

This is how I felt…and I was like “Where’s the rest??”

Wanna know?  Here is the SPOILER: By the end of the book, nothing has been solved between the invalids and the cured, Lena tells Alex she wants to be with him, but hasn’t told Julian, and everybody is still fighting when it ends.  Nothing is solved!!  It just really bothers me when a book ends this way.

As for the writing, it was great of course.  I really like Lauren’s writing style and her characters are really good.  I liked the change in Lena and how she grew to be the strong person she had become.  I also liked the alternating point of view between Lena and Hana, you get to see an inside and outside view of what is going on.

I really enjoyed the book up until the end.  I liked seeing it from both sides and everything that was happening with the uprising.  We got to be in on a bunch of secrets, but we didn’t get to find out more!  So yeah, the score definitely got a lowered because of it feeling so incomplete and wide open.  It might not bother a lot of people, but it definitely bothers me.

Good characters, good POVs, a lot going on, felt incomplete.