Series Love #25: Shatter Me

Series Love is a meme we came up with. There are so many amazing book series out there. We love to share the love and help spread the word. If you want to play along all you have to do is pick a series. It doesn’t matter if it only has one book or a million, as long as you include the authors name and the covers of the books


I picked this series for one main reason. After reading Ignite Me I found myself feeling differently about the series as a whole. In a good way, of course. After reading Ignite Me I wanted to go back and reread the whole series. I already loved the series with my whole heart. But, I ended up rethinking everything. I've never had a book in a series make me rethink the series as a whole. I found myself mainly wanting to give a certain character a chance. I also found myself thinking about what else I could take from each book.  So that's why I picked this series this week! If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend!

Rory by Ciye Cho Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Self Published
Source: Author
First book in the Ghosts of Pallodino series
*This was gifted to me by author for review*
Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape.

Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant... and perfect.

But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory... or destroy her.

Review
I wasn't sure what to expect from this story. It was a little hard to get into. I did end up enjoying it. It was very original! 

Rory is living a fairly normal life when a demon kidnaps her and takes her to Palladino. She's expected to become elegant and graceful but is unsure why. When a crazy inventor shows interest in her, Rory learns more than ever about the strange world she's found herself. 

Rory was a pretty good character. It was easy to relate to her. I liked how strong she was. She may not have liked where she was but she still tried. I loved her adventurous side. She also had a caring side. I loved Martin. I loved how unique he was. I loved that we had to wait to learn all about him. I loved all his inventions. I'm gonna be honest and say Cookie was my favorite character. He was the cutest thing ever! 

This had an interesting storyline. It was almost like two stories in one. The charm school was one, Martins castle was the other. I enjoyed both but they didn't quite match up. They didn't have that flow. This story has a ton of unique aspects. I could never guess what was coming next. Once the story got going, it was very fast paced and action packed. The world building was great. I loved the different settings. Overall this was pretty good. I can't wait to read more! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Storm by D.J. MacHale

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:

Storm by D.J. MacHale

Expected publication: March 25th 2014 by Razorbill

So I couldn't find a synopsis anywhere. I'm kinda cheating with this one since it came out this week. I meant to do this one a few weeks ago and forgot! I really enjoyed Sylo. It was a unique alien story. This cover was what drew me in. It looks fantastic. I cant wait to see where this series goes!

Top Ten Tuesday (54)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists

This weeks topic is Top Ten Things On My Bookish Bucket List. This is going to be a pretty generic list! I'll try to get creative but no promises.

1. See more of the world. Book events happen all over the place. I've been all over Texas for book related things. I think it would be so fun to see more of the world doing bookish things.
2. Meet more authors. I think meeting authors is my favorite thing about blogging and reading. It's amazing to connect with them and meet them in person. 
3. Widen my reading. I try and stick to what I know I'm going to like. In the past year I've been really trying to read different things. 
4. Connect with more bloggers. I love meeting new bloggers. We have so much in common. Even if its someone I only know over the Internet its still amazing to connect with them.
5. Reach more blogging milestones. The more this blog grows, the more dedicated to it I become. I know milestones aren't the most important thing in the world. But it really makes you feel like the work is worth it.
6. See more book to movie adaptions. Good or bad watching a book come to life on the screen is always amazing! 
7. Stay dedicated while having fun. Bookish things are one of the most important things in my life. The older I get the harder it is to stay on track while still enjoying myself. 

I didn't quite make it to ten. That's okay though!  Let me know what you guys would pick in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: Take Me On by Katie McGarry

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:



Take Me On by Katie McGarry
Expected release date: May 27th, 2014
from Harlequinn TEEN


Acclaimed author Katie McGarry returns with the knockout new story of two high school seniors who are about to learn what winning really means

Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping her-fighting for her-is a shot at redemption. Especially since it's his fault his family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.

Hayley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.


Katie McGarry is one of my favorite authors. Every book I read by her I love more than the last. Even though I miss the characters from the book before at the same time I love the new characters already and this one is no exception. It also comes out on my birthday so it's extra exciting.


So that's my pick this week. What was yours? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday (53)



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This weeks topic is Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR. There are plenty of great books coming out this spring and I'm also going to TLA in April so I'll be keeping my eyes out for a some there. This list will be a mix of those. I think on my next TTT I'm going to do my top ten books I want to get at TLA. We'll see!

 

• The Mortal Instruments series-Since the last book comes out in May I'm hoping to reread this whole series. I haven't started yet, but I hope to soon. Wish me luck!
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone-Yet another series I want to read to prepare for the last. I'm almost as terrified for this one as I am for City of Heavenly Fire. I'll love reading the series again, though!
• Take Me On by Katie McGarry-It's no secret that I love Katie McGarry's books. They keep getting better and I'm sure this one won't disappoint. May needs to get here faster.
• The Warrior by Victoria Scott-I love this trilogy so much. I can't wait to see Dante's happy ending. Wishful thinking, much?
• What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick-I loved, loved this authors other book, My Life Next Door, so of course I cannot wait for this. 
• Plus One by Elizabeth Fama-As soon as I saw this cover I knew I wanted to read it. Then I read the synopsis and saw that there's a futuristic world and forbidden love. Some of the best things in a book if you ask me.
• Of Neptune by Anna Banks-I love this series so much and I need to know what happens to all the characters. 
• Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman-First heard about this on a Tea Time and wanted to read it super bad. The main character lives in Nazi Germany, her "Uncle" is Hitler, and she falls for a Jewish boy. Sounds like my kinda book.
• The Taking by Kimberly Derting-This authors Body Finder series is one of my favorites so of course I want to read this. It sounds super scary and interesting.
• Neptune Red by Leila Howland-I loved Nantucket Red so even though the synopsis for this kind of worries me, I still want to see where the characters are now.

 

 Those are my picks this week! I would love to know what is on your TBR this spring so be sure to link me in the comments.

 

 

 

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberson Sloan Review

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Publisher: Dial
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
In the tradition of Out of My Mind, Wonder, and Mockingbird, this is an intensely moving middle grade novel about being an outsider, coping with loss, and discovering the true meaning of family.
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life... until now.
Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.




Review
This book is honestly perfection. At first I had my doubts, then it blew me away! I'm so glad I had the change to read this story. 

This tells the story of Willow. Her life takes a turn for the worst when both her parents die in a car crash. She finds herself in the hands of people she barely knows. As she figures her life out, she realizes things don't stay the same forever. 

Will did take some getting used too. She's a very complex character with an interesting voice. I ended up really enjoying her character. She was very mature and smart. She was very loving. She never gave up. I loved that she didn't take her problems out on anyone else. She was very grateful for anything anyone did for her. She has a personality you can't help but love. This has quite the set of secondary characters. They also took some getting used too. But, they were very well done. The story wouldn't have been the same without them. 

This is one of those books that make you think. There is so much to be taken from this story. Nothing was obvious. You really had to think to get the full story. The writing had this way of leaving things unsaid but understood. I had some troubles getting into the story. Once I did I couldn't put it down. It never got boring. Personally, I think this is one of those books everyone needs to read. I highly recommend checking it out.

Author Love #24: Rainbow Rowell

 Author Love is a meme we came up with. There are so many authors and books out there that we love so much and want the world to know about. If you want to play along all you have to do is pick one of your favorite authors. Write what you like about them and/or their books. You can also include an author bio and synopsis of their book if you want.


My pick for this week is Rainbow Rowell!

Author Bio:
Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.
When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.
She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.


I've become a really big fan of this author lately! I read both of her YA books back to back. I had seen all the hype before reading. I didn't want Eleanor and Fangirl to be ruined for me because of the hype. I was so impressed by the writing style this author has. Her books blew me away! It's impossible not to connect with them. I cannot wait to read more from her! If you guys don't know who this is or haven't had a chance to read her books yet, you should fix that. I promise, it will be worth it!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Treatment by Suzanne Young

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:

The Treatment by Suzanne Young

Expected publication: April 29th 2014 by Simon Pulse

Can Sloane and James survive the lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end? Find out in this sequel to The Program, which Publishers Weekly called “chilling and suspenseful.”
How do you stop an epidemic?
Sloane and James are on the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program. But they’re not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each other, The Program isn’t ready to let them go.
Escaping with a group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who they can trust, and how to take down The Program. But for as far as they’ve come, there’s still a lot Sloane and James can’t remember. The key to unlocking their past lies with the Treatment—a pill that can bring back forgotten memories, but at a high cost. And there’s only one dose.
Ultimately when the stakes are at their highest, can Sloane and James survive the many lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end?

I am the biggest fan of this author! The Program blew me away! The ending  definitely leaves you craving more. Plus, this is the last book in the series. I cant wait to see how it all wraps up. April couldn't come fast enough! If you haven't checked out this series, I highly recommend doing so!  

Let me know what you guys are waiting on this week in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday (52)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This weeks topic is Top Ten Favorite Books in X Genre. This is a super fun topic. I'm going to go with contemporary because that's one of my favorite genres. Of course this will be YA Contemporary.

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This one is kind of a given!
2. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I have been dying to reread this one lately!
3. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. This is the best like summer read!
4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I loved Eleanor and Park but Fangirl takes the cake!
5. Anything by Katie McGarry. Katie is the queen of contemporary!
6. If I Stay by Gayly Forman. This was the first not rainbows and unicorns contemporary I read. It has some really serious aspects to it.
7. Every Day by David Levithan. This isn't the average story. It touched my heart and made me a huge fan of this author!
8. This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. This book is the definition of happy!
9. Golden by Jessi Kirby. Jessi Kirby is also a contemporary queen!
10. A Need so Beautiful by Suzanne Young. I read this story like over a year ago and I still haven't stopped thinking about it.

Man, I love me some contemporary. If you guys haven't read these books, you need to get on that! Let me know what your favorite contemporaries are in the comments!

Let the Storm Break by Shannon Messenger Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Won
Second book in the Let the Sky Fall series
Vane Weston is haunted. By the searing pull of his bond to Audra. By the lies he’s told to cover for her disappearance. By the treacherous winds that slip into his mind, trying to trap him in his worst nightmares. And as his enemies grow stronger, Vane doesn’t know how much longer he can last on his own.
But Audra’s still running. From her past. From the Gales. Even from Vane, who she doesn’t believe she deserves. And the farther she flees, the more danger she finds. She possesses the secret power her enemy craves, and protecting it might be more than she can handle—especially when she discovers Raiden’s newest weapon.
With the Gale Force weakened by recent attacks, and the power of four collapsing, Vane and Audra are forced to make a choice: keep trusting the failing winds, or turn to the people who’ve betrayed them before. But even if they survive the storms sent to destroy them, will they have anything left to hold on to?


Review
I may not have enjoyed this as much as the first book but it was still amazing. I loved getting to see some things we didn't get to see in the first book. 

This continues Vane's story. Audra is gone. He is forced to continue his training and take up his role as king. While Vane struggles with what's expected of him, Audra uncovers some dangerous information. 

We got to see a different side of Vane in this. He was very strong. He stood up for himself but still took the advice offered to him. I liked that he was honest with the people he cared about. Even though he's become king and has all this super cool power, he still cares about his human life and family. I hated that Audra spent so much of the story away from Vane but I understand why. It was cool seeing her learn so much about Westerly. She is quite the force to be reckoned with. Gus and Solona made awesome secondary characters. I can't wait to see more of them in the next book. 

This was a very action packed story. There was always something going on. I loved getting to learn lots of new things about the world. I read this in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. I definitely didn't see some of those twists coming. This didn't lack in the story department at all. Or in any department. Overall I thought this was a fabulous sequel. The wait for the third book might just kill me.

Waiting on Wedesday: Winterspell by Claire Legrand

****"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.****

My pick this week is:

Winterspell by Claire Legrand
Expected release date: September 30th, 2014
from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers


 The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

The cover for this book just came out yesterday and it made me want to read this book even more. The first thing that interested me about this book was the retelling of the Nutcracker. I'm not going to lie, it's mainly because I was obsessed with the Barbie version of this story when I was little. I loved it so much. Since I no longer have the VHS or a player to watch it on even if I did still own it, of course I'm going to jump on reading a different version of the story.

So there you go. Now you know my pick for this week and one of the many movies I watched over and over as a wee thing. You're welcome. Let me know in the comments what your waiting on this week!

Top Ten Tuesday (51)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This weeks topic is Top Ten Authors I've Never Read. Once I got to thinking about this it was really easy for me to come up with over ten authors. Even worse is the amount of authors listed whose books I actually own. But I'll get to them someday. Hopefully.

• Jane Austen-I know some people will agree with me and some people will be appalled. She was like the woman author of her time and her title still holds. Obviously, they're classics, but I know that they are still very relevant today. I love the adaptions that I've seen, and I know I would enjoy them I just need figure out where to start.
• Holly Black-I've heard such great things about her many books, she's friends with Cassie Clare, and she has really cool hair. Plus I own her entire Curse Workers trilogy. I hope to get started on it this month so don't fret.
• C. S. Lewis-The Narnia movies are some of my favorites and I had a few of the books read to me when I was younger, but I've never actually read them. I have a bind up of them all so maybe one rainy day I will read them.
• Patrick Ness-The praise for this mans books is insane. I've had The Knife of Never Letting Go on my TBR for ages and it constantly mocks me. I need to see what it's all about.
• Charles Dickens-As you can tell from this list I'm lacking in the classics department. Not gonna lie The Infernal Devices is what made me want to read A Tale of Two Cities, but I've heard good things about Great Expectations, as well. Which is also a theme in Cassandra Clare's new series. Oh well.
• David Levithan-This man has written a lot of books. And I own three of them. And I haven't read any. What even. I feel like there's a fire under my butt now.
• Stephen King-It's not really my genre, but I've seen tons of Stephen King films and tv shows. Mainly due to my dads love for this author. I'm sure I would enjoy them, I just wouldn't know where to start.
• Marcus Zusak-Don't hate me. I know. I know. The Book Thief is so many people's favorite book. I've heard amazing things about the movie, but I have been wanting to read it for so long that watching it first just feels wrong. I'll get there, y'all. As soon as I buy it.
• Kristin Cashore-I'm sorry. Really. I have her whole trilogy signed and waiting for me. It's awful.
• Rae Carson-As shown above I neglect fantasy so bad. I wanted to read the first one before it had even come out and now the last one has been out since last year. Ugh.

Well that kind of depressed me. But now that I've told you guys I feel like you can hold accountable to read these authors books sometime before I die. Feel free to yell at me in the comments and tell me what your top ten for this week are!