The Weekend Update - 4.12.14

So, since my end-of-the-week post isn't just about what I got in my mailbox or on my Kindle each week -- though that is a big part of it, I won't lie -- I decided to change up the title and intro a bit.  I might tweak the format a bit over the next few weeks, but for the most part, it'll contain the same stuff:  stuff I got, stuff I did, and stuff that's coming up on the blog.  Plus, I get to use the awesome GIF you see here and blow kisses to all the people who sent me lovely books and bookish things.  Oh, and I've started linking up to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews since I'm not using a specific meme title anymore.  April's also doing her own Stacking the Shelves posts on Sundays.  Stop by and say hi!  =)

It's bluebonnet season in Texas, which means my family will be hitting up the annual Bluebonnet Festival and Trails this weekend. I wish I could just plant myself out there in the middle of them all day and read to my heart's content, especially since we're going to have such beautiful weather this weekend, but I'll be satisfied with the photo ops the beautiful fields of flowers provide. :D





Anyway, here's what I scored this week:

Purchased:

Red Rising by Pierce Brown - $1.99 for Kindle! (April's been raving about this one!)
Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor - bought HC & audio :D (already read & LOVED)

Library:

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (audio)

Look at me, not requesting anything for review! I'd say I was proud of myself if I could also admit that I hadn't also been stalking Netgalley & Edelweiss daily, to no avail. o_O How about you? What did you get this week?

The Week in Review:

Reviews:

• Catch a Falling Star (April)
• Second Star (Jen)
• The Falconer (Jen)
• The Lunar Chronicles #1-3 (April)
• The Forever Song (April & Jen)

Current Giveaways:  All giveaways have ended. Check back soon for more, including our 3 Year Blogiversary, featuring a week of giveaways!

Promotional/Discussion Posts:  The Ones We Find Different and Unique, Joint Review/Discussion for The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Jen's Currently Reading/Listening To:

April and I are reading this one together, and though the story isn't all that unique, I can totally see why so many readers find this author's work so addictive. Oh, wait...didn't I mention that this was my first JLA novel? And April's? Yeah, we figured how better to experience our first JLA book than with a buddy read.

After reading/listening to Dreams of Gods & Monsters concurrently, I needed something less...dire. I've had this book on my shelf for ages, and having seen it available for download from my library, I decided to get the audio. Best decision ever! I love those Aussies and their awesome accents! =)

Got this from the library and it's due back soon, so I'm hoping to get through it this weekend. It's good from what I've read of it so far, and I've seen plenty of favorable reviews for it, which makes me hopeful.

Upcoming Reviews:

Like honest reviews & giveaways?  Be sure to follow us on Bloglovin' so you never miss out!

Read More

Labels: in my mailbox (imm), stacking the shelves, the weekend update

{Joint} Review: The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Forever Song
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood of Eden, book #3
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 15, 2014
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

So, The Forever Song is another book that April and I read "together" and discussed afterward. We chatted back and forth about it, and I pretty much pasted the contents of our discussion below for your reading pleasure. We tried to stay spoiler-free for the entire series, but as always, read at your own risk.

Jen:   As a series finale/the ending to a trilogy, I found The Forever Song to be adequate yet slightly mediocre. I liked it, but it didn't have the pull for me that the previous books in the series did. I found that I could easily put the book aside and read other things without my mind wandering back to it, wondering what all the vamps were up to while I was elsewhere. This saddens me because this is one of the best vampire stories I've read in awhile, but it also should be noted that my lackluster feelings on the finality of the series are in no way detrimental to my opinion of the series as a whole. It's still one of the best vampire series I've ever read.

April:  I really loved this one. Though I do know what you mean as far as being able to put it down. I didn't think about it much when I wasn't reading it. It's certainly not as gripping as the first two. But overall, this series is pretty awesome.

The thing that made The Forever Song for me was Jackal. He kept me laughing the whole time. While I love all of the characters, Jackal outshines them all in my eyes.

Jen:  No doubt about it, Jackal made this book for me, too. I mean, I loved him more with each book as the series progressed, but he was undeniably awesome in The Forever Cure. And how far his character has come...he's no angel by any means, but by the end, there's something redeemable about him. I'm really going to miss that guy. Probably more so because I always pictured him as Chris Hemsworth while I was reading. =) Also, he had the best lines. His banter with Allie was priceless. I think it's kind of obvious that Kagawa loved him as much as we did. I know this is probably wishful thinking, but I'd love to see him get his own spin-off series. I could read about him and his antics ad nauseam.

I also love what a survivor Allie has proven herself to be over the course of the series. She's suffered loss time and time again, and yet she keeps moving forward. Allison battles her humanity the entire time, questions whether she is a monster, and yet I don't think it was ever tested as much as it was in this final book.

April:  Yes!! Allie has always been strong through-out the series, but in The Forever Song, she really shows her strength. Both mental and physical. I can't imagine what it must be like for a vampire fighting off that hunger. But I do love food and if humans were like cupcakes to me, it would be really hard to contain myself. So major props to Allie.

And how about that twist? That "No Freaking Way" moment! I won't mention what it was, but I so didn't see it coming and I'm not sure why I didn't, but wow. I was hesitant at first whether I was happy about it, and it took me a while to warm up to it, but in the end I think it worked out alright.

Jen:  Ha! I actually had a few of those moments, but I think I know which one you're talking about. :) I actually expected something along those lines, and I was anticipating and dreading it at the same time. But you're right, it did work out plot-wise and hurting-my-heart-wise, so I'm okay with where Kagawa took the story from there. That last thing that happened, though, that last major thing...that gutted me. I actually cried some. I don't cry often or easily when reading, but damn.

I wish I'd felt such powerful emotion -- even if it was only hatred toward Sarren -- for the entirety of the book, and not just in a few spots. It just felt like the guts of the book was lacking: we're moving along well, exciting things are happening, then we fall into that valley of a middle where I stayed away from the book for well over a week because I was kind of bored, and then we're at the end, which is damn near explosive with all the things that are happening. I mean, the middle wasn't a total snoozefest because we were learning things about the characters, even when things weren't happening to them, but I needed more to hold my interest at that point.

April:  Oh my gosh, yes that last thing. That might have killed me just a little bit. But I guess it made sense and I can see why she wrote it that way. Still it didn't make it less heartbreaking.

I agree that the middle didn't hold my interest as much either. I put it down as well, but picked it back up way sooner than you did lol. I found it interesting enough, but I think my biggest problem is that I'm not as into vampires as I was when I first started reading this series. The ending sure was jam packed though! Near explosive is the perfect way to describe it. Once I neared the end it was hard to put down and I was pretty happy with the conclusion. I'm kinda sad that it's all over now but I feel like there could definitely be a spin of if she chose to write one.

Jen:  Yep, I was in the market again for a good YA vampire story when I found The Immortal Rules, but I've since overcome that desire. I do appreciate that Kagawa's vampire tale featured a post-apocalyptic setting, which made it very different from those that came before it, and the series will forever have a place on my shelf. This ending is bittersweet but satisfying. And, yet, I still find myself hoping for more of this world by way of a Jackal spin-off. (Nope, I'm not going to let that go. :D)

GIF it to me straight:

We want more Jackal!!

About the author:

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.

Find Julie:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Read More

Labels: blood of eden, favorites, harlequin-teen, julie kagawa, must-read, post-apocalyptic, reviews, vampires

{Mini} Reviews: The Lunar Chronicles 1-3 by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher:  Macmillan
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2012
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future

These are my thoughts on books 1-3, so there may be spoilers unless you've read all three of these books.

AHHHHHH!!! Why did I wait so long to read this book!!! I’ll tell you why. Fairytale retellings don’t really wet my muffin. I’ve read a few, but it takes me a while before I get the urge to pick one up. So many things can go wrong, especially when your messing with stories I loved as a child.

Take Cinderella for instance… a cyborg Cinderella? Come on now, that sounds lame as shit. Or so I thought. You see, I saw the cover and saw everyone talking about it when it came out. Still, I thought, Nah! This book is not for me. Then Scarlet came out… more raving! *sigh* Really? It can’t be that good, it doesn’t sound that good. Alas, Cress was released and I couldn’t put it off anymore. The blogger applause was deafening, so I proposed to Jess that we give Cinder a try and if we liked it, then we would read the others.

WE Loved it!!! Our normal 25% a day turned into finishing it in about 48 hours. Lol. Some books you just can’t put down. You just can’t. I think Jess almost wet herself the night I told her we could continue reading past 50%, she was fiending, but truth be told, I was too!

As a retelling of Cinderalla, I thought it was excellent. So different and original, but I loved all the little details that were thrown in, that would immediately bring my mind back to the fairy tale.

Love Love LOVED!!!! This Book!

Title: Scarlet
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Publisher:  Macmillan
Publication Date: February 5th, 2013
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

The week after we read Cinder, we picked up Scarlet. It picks up right where Cinder leaves off. I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only do we read from two knew pov’s, we still got to keep everyone elses!

It confused me at first, but I quickly got used to it bouncing around between them all. And it really gave you a feel for what was going on at all time. Scarlet, she’s feisty and I like her. I liked Wolfe too, but I’ll be honest, I’m still weary of him. He’s the wolf!!! Ya know?

The same as in Cinder, this retelling is so original. I’m kind of blown away honestly and I’m not sure how she comes up with this stuff. Authors are awesome. I loved that you get to learn more about Cinder. More about the revelations that are revealed at the end of book one. It’s good stuff.

Title: Cress
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3
Publisher:  Macmillan
Publication Date: February 4th, 2014
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Oh my freaking gosh, If I thought these books couldn’t get any better, boy was I wrong. Cress, I loved her. Rapunzel is one of my favorite stories, so I was all over this one.

Again, it’s such an original take on the whole thing. So much happens in this one. There is an “OMG, No WAY!” moment towards the end. I love those moments. I love how all these books tie into each other, and the characters too.

This was another buddy read with Jess. We read them all in three weeks. We thought Cress was the last one! Nope, now we have to wait for Winter. *sigh*. It will be worth it I’m sure.

I decided to review all of these together, because they are just too good to review on their own. I had trouble finding enough words for mini reviews. I really feel like if you haven’t given this series a try, you should! The first one is only 2.99 for kindle I believe, so you should totally....

Give it a shot!!! 

About the author:

Marissa Meyer lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and three cats. She’s a fan of most things geeky (Sailor Moon, Firefly, color-coordinating her bookshelf . . .), and has been in love with fairy tales since she was given a small book of them when she was a child. She may or may not be a cyborg. Cinder is her first novel.

Find Marissa:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

Read More

Labels: cinder, cress, macmillan, marissa meyer, retellings, reviews, scarlet, the lunar chronicles

Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Title: The Falconer
Author: Elizabeth May
Series: The Falconer, book #1
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Heiress. Debutant. Murderer. A new generation of heroines has arrived.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

I always think I'm done with fae stories, and then a book like this comes along and I'm pulled back in. I wasn't even going to read this one, not with the original UK cover (to the right), anyway. I know, I know...don't judge a book by it's cover, but that cover just did not appeal to me. Once the new cover was posted, though, I took notice...not because I love it or anything -- it's just another headless body -- but it's slightly less ferocious in nature and I actually read the synopsis this time around and felt compelled to pick it up.

And after reading The Falconer, I can say that the UK cover actually does the story justice because Kam, the heroine of our story, is fierce and determined and an altogether kickass protagonist. She's hellbent on avenging her mother's death at the hands of faeries, her reputation be damned. Well, for the most part. Everyone thinks she had something to do with her mother's murder, including her father, because of the manner in which they found her with her mother's body. So, in truth, she'd like to clear her name and earn her father's love. But considering that everything that's happened was because of faeries that aren't supposed to exist, that's a lot easier said than done.

Rather than trying to expose the fae and risking society believing she's a lunatic, Aileana sneaks out at night and battles the fae on her own. Well, not completely on her own. She does have a little pixie who lives in her wardrobe, mending her garments in exchange for honey, which makes him hilariously drunk. And she does have MacKay. Broody and menacing as he may be, he is Kam's mentor in her battle against the fae. And being fae himself, Kam knows better than to trust him completely.

Kam's father is an arse. Her best friend is a ninny who is only there as a means to connect Kam to her brother Gavin. And Gavin has his own issues, but he's a friendly enough guy. There is a love triangle of sorts, but I felt as if one side never fully legitimized itself, at least not based on true feelings, so I discounted the triangle pretty much from the beginning. Honestly, I really liked the romance in general, without the intrusion of a third party, because it was slow to build but also because it was rarely at the forefront of the story. (And because it provided some seriously swoony moments!)

After all, this is a story about kicking some fae ass, and it does it's job well by also providing us a truly awesome heroine. Aileana is ferocious in battle, but she's also clever, inventing all manner of things to make her fae-hunting adventures even more advantageous. There are steampunk elements in this story, as well, and I enjoyed the parallels between industry and machines versus the fae magic. I also loved the writing and pacing of the story, even when the action was particularly, ahem, violent.

I've seen comparisons to Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, but I can't speak to those, having never read that series myself. However, if they are even remotely accurate comparisons, I'm sure I will find myself picking up those books in the very near future. Preferably on audio so I can get to them that much sooner. Either way, I think it's pretty clear that I was impressed with this story, much more so than I expected to be. And after that ending -- which I'm not sure can adequately be described as a cliffhanger because the story just stops abruptly -- I'm dying to read more of Kam's story. I can't believe I almost passed on this novel!

GIF it to me straight:

Please tell me more...now, not next year.

About the author:

Elizabeth May was born in California, where she lived during her formative years before moving to Scotland. She is currently working on her PhD at the University of St Andrews. When she isn’t writing or doing academics, she can be found with a camera in hand; her photography has been published on an array of book covers and in magazines. She currently resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband. THE FALCONER is her début novel.

Find Elizabeth:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Facebook | Tumblr

Read More

Labels: 2014 debut, book trailers, chronicle books, elizabeth may, faeries, fantasy, favorites, historical fiction, must-read, reviews, steampunk, the falconer