October Wrap-Up

Happy Halloween everyone!  I've been browsing around the internet and everyone has these amazing costumes and I'm just sitting here like "yeah... I'll be staying home and watching scary movies with people".  I have no imagination.  But no matter!  If you dressed up for Halloween, I'd love to hear/see what you dressed up as!  Now, onto the post!

October is gone already!  That means it's time for another wrap-up post.

During the month of October I...

Read (from their start date - meaning I started them in October not September) 13 books.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman: Review
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski: Review
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor: Review
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick: Review
Bloody Bess and the Doomsday Games by Nick Iuppa: Review
The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa: Review
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider: Review
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Review
Wings by Elizabeth Richards: Review to come!
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare: Review to come!
For the People: Post-Secession by R. Holland: Review to come!
Conspiracy of Ravens by Chrystal Vaughan: Review to come!
The Leopard Vangaurd by T.A. Uner: Review to come!

Read 6,318 pages (including currently reading).

Posted 11 reviews.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Black City by Elizabeth Richards
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
Bloody Bess and the Doomsday Games by Nick Iuppa
The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Posted 3 Waiting on Wednesday posts.

Fairest by Marissa Meyer
The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

Posted 3 Tags.

The Social Media Book Tag
The Zombie Apocalypse Tag
#TenBookChallenge

Posted 15 other posts.

September Wrap-Up
What I'm Excited For in October!
Stacking the Shelves (8) and A Week in Review
WWW (3)
Stacking the Shelves (9) and A Week in Review
Top Ten Tuesday (5)
Bookish Discussions ~ Paperback, Hardback, or ebook?
Mockingjay Part 1 Trailer!
Join the #BookBlogWriMo!
Release Day Blast: Reticulum by Marta Salek
WWW (4)
Bookish Discussions: Balancing Blogging and Real Life
The Heir by Kiera Cass cover!
Stacking the Shelves (11) and A Week in Review
Sunday Blog Tour and Giveaway: Cameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver (Giveaway still open!)


How was your October?

Mini Review Thursday: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings."

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  It features a book every Wednesday that haven't been released yet and you're anxiously awaiting!  My book this week is:

#TenBookChallenge

I saw this tag over at Fangirling misses and it was a... sort of open tag?  So I decided to do it anyway because it looked like so much fun and I just don't like following rules... So here are the rules!

“List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Do not take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They do not have to be the “right” books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. Paste these instructions and tag 10 friends, including me, so I can see your list.”

This was... beyond difficult.  There are so many more I wanted to include but alas.  Here we go (in no particular order)!

Mini Review Monday: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE."

Sunday Blog Tour and Giveaway - Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver

Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia

Facebook Page

Purchase:

Amazon

Blurb

"The city of Parole is burning. Like Venice slips into the sea, Parole crumbles into fire. And trapped inside is an entire population of people with bizarre, beautiful and terrifying abilities - people who really should not have them. When Regan, an anxiety-ridden hitman with the peeling skin of a lizard meets Evelyn, singer, revolutionary, and unofficial superhero, it’s up to them to get to the heart of the mystery of Parole and its quarantined inhabitants. Along with a diverse group of superpowered friends, they will evade a deadly totalitarian police force, discover the truth about their entwining pasts, and together find the strength to survive a cataclysmic disaster.

Chameleon Moon is the first in three books planned for the series. Book 1 sets up the explosive, sweeping story of Parole and the strange, wonderful people who call it home."

Stacking the Shelves (11) and A Week in Review

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It features books you've recently added to your shelves, be it from the library, bookstore, or ebooks.

The Heir by Kiera Cass cover!

If you religiously follow Kiera Cass or you have amazing friends on Goodreads or for whatever reason, you may have noticed that The Heir's cover was released!  Here it is!

Book Review Friday: The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"Vengeance will be hers.

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

Monster.

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie. 

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

THE FINAL HUNT IS ON."

Bookish Discussions: Balancing Blogging and Real Life

http://www.lindasdailylivingskills.com/2012/04/finding-balance-between-remediation-and.html

Being relatively new to the blogging community, it's definitely been a learning process of how to fit everything together.  As some of you know, I'm in school, and this year am taking a course load full of AP and honors courses.  So sometimes, it can get a bit crazy and sometimes, I get so behind on my posting and reading schedule.  Here are five ideas that have helped me balance blogging and school work!

WWW (4)

WWW Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading!  All you have to do is answer three questions:

1.  What are you currently reading?
2.  What did you recently finish reading?
3.  What do you think you'll read next?

Release Day Blast: Reticulum by Marta Salek

Goodreads  Amazon

Genre: NA Fantasy

Release Date: October 15th 2014

Blurb:

Matthew’s life has one focus: magic. Pleasure, for him, is achieving the unachievable, learning that which has never been understood before. The Reticulum is a dream come true—a magic that promises him everything. With it whispering in his mind, what other companion does he need?

Andrea is determined to take on the world and her talent is such that she might just succeed. But an apprenticeship with an unscrupulous wizard shatters her self-confidence, leaving her friendless and alone.

When the two meet, they learn that isolation is not inevitable, after all. That being able to break the laws of the universe means little if there’s no one to break them for. That when you allow yourself to need, and trust, and love, you can take on anything.

Join the #BookBlogWriMo!

Hello everyone!  I was just reading the latest post over at Sassy And Dangerous and Talina was talking about this awesome thing called the #BookBlogWriMo!

Click here for more info!
Visit Book Bumblings to join the fun!






"Basically, it’s a lax version of NaNoWriMo for book bloggers. I created prompts for each day, discussing different topics around books, blogging, and books + blogging.

There’s no word count requirement, no daily writing requirement, very little requirements in general. Just post the posts on the day they should be posted!

Your answers to the prompts can be as short or long as you like."

The Zombie Apocalypse Tag!

I was nominated by Tia at Read it Write Now!  I was nominated back in August... yeah I'm pretty behind on tags... I'm getting better though!  So here are the rules in the lovely Miss Tia's words:

"So the rules are basically that you choose 5 books from your physical book shelf and each book will have two questions. You flip through the book to a random page and the first name you see will be the answer to that question. For example: "Who is the first to get shot?" *opens to random page* Day from Legend!"

So there you go!  Let's get this party started!

The books I choose are...

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

R&R Book Review Monday: Bloody Bess and the Doomsday Games by Nick Iuppa

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"The castle of 15th century duchess Elizabeth Laskaar looks down on the little Swiss village of Murdenwald and the secretive military complex nearby. There, the UN hopes to end world conflict with a vast military simulation that will dramatize the apocalypse that will follow the next major war. To head the project, they hire notorious Hollywood producer Donald Vito, master of explosive action adventures, who still mourns the murder of his teenage love in the 1950s.

Vito and the simulation team use new technology to build hundreds of virtual soldiers and terrorists you can touch, speak to, and reason with. But they also begin to feel the influence of Elizabeth Laskaar. She’s often called Bloody Bess – the first real vampire – because she maintained her youthful beauty by slaughtering her maidservants and bathing in their blood.


Recklessly inspired by their surroundings, the team creates a virtual vampire that soon takes on the characteristics of Elizabeth’s magnificent, long-dead husband. Soon, he and Bess stalk the compound, seducing everyone working on the project, until vampire blood surges beyond the humans to the virtual characters with unthinkable consequences. In the end, perhaps, only the power of Vito’s long lost love can save humanity."

Mockingjay Part 1 Trailer!

So if you didn't know already, a new Mockingjay trailer came out for the movie that's being released in November!  Here it is:

I love how this trailer is all about Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her return to District Twelve.  I also love how they included the rose!  The music (by Lorde) gave me chills!  Not to be a spoilsport but I hope this is the last trailer because with all three combined, they're getting close to revealing all the good parts in the storyline.

What do you think of the trailer?

Stacking the Shelves (10) and A Week In Review

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It features books you've recently added to your shelves, be it from the library, bookstore, or ebooks.

I recieved a variety of books this week!  Some from the physical library, digital library, and an R&R for November!

Physical Library:

Goodreads

It's the last book! *wails*  But I can't wait to see how this ends!

Goodreads

I've been wanting to read this for quite a while now... it's also the last book in the series!  It's been so long since I read Phoenix (the preceding book) but I'm slowly remembering as I work my way through it!

Digital Library:

Goodreads

I've actually already read this book but I was reading the first few chapters of the third book and realized I had absolutely no idea what was going on.  So I'm going to reread the entire series now.

R&R's:

Goodreads

Yes, I'm not accepting any R&R's until November 15th.  However, Eva Vanrell requested to be put on the November list so I decided, why not?  So I'll be starting this one once I finish the R&R's from the summer!

A Week In Review

Sunday: Review of Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Monday: Review of Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday

Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday: Book Discussion: Paperback, Hardcover, or ebook?

Friday: Review of Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Book Review Friday: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"WHEN SILENCE IS ALL THAT'S LEFT, CAN THE TRUTH FINALLY BE HEARD?

Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend.

But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows.

And this unshakable feeling that a part of her is missing.

Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again."

Review:

Ho hum... how to go about this...  I'm not actually sure how I feel about this book.  It was kind of surreal actually reading it which is weird because there's absolutely no reason it should be surreal.  But anyway, while I was reading, I just wasn't concentrating at all.  Luckily, I still managed to scrounge up some general notes about the book!

So the enjoyable things...
I really liked the complex angel and Neph problems going on.  They kept the entire book from being a 'love with triumph' sort of book.  I also loved all the new information on fallen angels and Nephilium.  The author is really doing a good job of keeping their roles and information consistent.  There aren't any confusing sections where I wanted to say 'how did THAT' just happen??  I also loved the villain.  It was totally unexpected (well maybe a little...) and they did an excellent job of doing the villain.

And the not so enjoyable things...
I was so frustrated by Patch and Nora's relationship.  I felt like it wasn't real at all in the first place.  And the amnesia at the beginning, they just felt fabricated.  Like a fake plot point to keep the book going because the author couldn't think of anything else to put.  Also, while I was reading, I felt like it was written in a hurry.  Key details were left out that didn't seem intentional at all.  Things were just... missing.

The Final Verdict:
I loved all the complexity and new information regarding the fallen angels and Nephilium and the villain was amazing.  However, Patch and Nora frustrated me all throughout the book and I just wanted to slap them and say 'just get on with it!'.  Important details pertaining to the plot were also left out.
3.5 stars


Quotes:
“Angel... I don't think you understand the lengths I would go to if it means keeping you here with me."


“I love you.” His voice was straightforward, affectionate. “You make me remember who I used to be. You make me want to be that man again. Right now, holding you, I feel like we have a shot at beating all odds and making it together. I’m yours, if you’ll have me.” 


“You're mine, Angel. And I'm yours. Nothing can change that.” 


“Since we're keeping it primal, you smell good," he observed. 
"It's called a shower...," I began automatically, then trailed off. My memory snagged, taken aback by a compelling and forceful sense of undue familiarity. "Soap, shampoo, hot water," I added, almost as an afterthought. 
"Naked. I know the drill," Jev said, something unreadeble passing over his eyes.”


“If I lose you, I lose everything” 

Bookish Discussions ~ Paperback, Hardcover, or Ebook?

Hello everyone!  So I was thinking... now that my life has started back up again, reading enough books to post four reviews is looking like a daunting task.  So I'll be replacing my Thursday reviews with these bookish discussions!  I'll talk about whatever strikes my fancy that day (anything bookish of course!).  So here is my reworked schedule:

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  It features a book every Wednesday that haven't been released yet and you're anxiously awaiting!  My book this week is:

Top Ten Tuesday (5)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  Every week, The Broke and Bookish post a new topic that that week's top ten lists are based on!  This week's topic is: Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit (real or fictitious)!

Let's get started!

Book Review Monday: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Here's another review from the review pile!  I wrote this review all the way back in December of 2013!

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-old Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths."

Book Review Sunday: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Blurb:

"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?"

Stacking the Shelves (9) and A Week In Review

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It features books you've recently added to your shelves, be it from the library, bookstore, or ebooks.

Some books came from the library this week AND in the mail (I'm especially excited for this one!!!).  Here they are *flourishes hand in fancy gesture*