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Thursday, May 30, 2013

Wishlist Thursday[7]: Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) by Tahereh Mafi


Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Genre: YA Paranormal Dystopian Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins/Teen

Publish Date: February 5th, 2013




Goodreads Synopsis:

 tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Why?:

I realize that this book came out a couple of months ago, but as I said before, this doesn’t have to center around books that are coming out, but will also feature ones that have come out but I haven’t read yet, or maybe even that I want to be released (whether translated manga, or, I don’t know, something I make up).
Anyway. I read Shatter Me a couple weeks ago (review will be coming soon) and totally loved it. I don’t have this book, the second one, yet, but I’m hoping to get my hands on it soon, and I’m really excited for when that happens. Shatter Me surprised me, and really left me wanting more, so I’m excited to see what happens next. Although I'm also kind of not eager and want to wait to get it, because I know that there's going to be a third book and this one probably has a bad ending, and I kind of want to prolong it just so I don't have to wait forever.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Teaser Tuesday[48]: Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Genre: YA Paranormal Dystopian Romance

Publisher: HarperCollins/Teen

Publish Date: November, 2011




Goodreads Synopsis:

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior

Excerpts:

“I don’t remember what it means to breathe.
I never
ever
ever
knew
what it meant to feel.” (Hardback, pg. 178)

“The room beeps and blares to life and Adam stiffens, pulls back; his face collapses.
‘This is a CODE SEVEN. All soldiers must report to the Quadrant immediately. This is a CODE SEVEN. All soldiers must report to the Quadrant immediately.’” (Hardback, pg. 178)

What are you reading right now?

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Novel Review: Live Through This by Mindi Scott



Rating (Out of 5): ~4
Genre: YA Contemporary (Romance)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)
Publish Date: October 2nd, 2012
Spoilers?: Minor/Vague.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect.

Something Specific:
Quotes!:
  •  "Whenever Mom and Tony talk about What's on Boys' Minds, I want to scream." (Hardback, pg. 25) YES. I feel this way All. The. Time.
  • "'Please,' Jacob says, with a wave of his hand. 'I'm the jump freakin' master.'" (Hardback, pg. 82) Does anyone else get the reference that I made with this quote? Please?
  • "'You're not acting like yourself at all.' 'Maybe this is my real self and no one noticed before.'" (Hardback, pg. 273) I've thought about things like this so much...

Review:

I really wanted to love this book. And I did like it a lot. But the ending kind of ruined everything for me.
Coley is having problems. Her home life isn’t very good at the moment, and she’s trying to hide that behind a very chipper attitude. Her mom married someone else and had three kids, which makes her feel like an extra, unneeded. Her brother feels the same way, but he’s been away at college. Only, now he’s back, and while he and Coley have always been close, that’s not particularly a good thing.
At school, Coley has lots of friends, gets along with everyone. Except her ex-best friend, who she’s not speaking to anymore. She’s gotten closer with a different girl, Ming, as well as a boy at school, Reece. Then there’s Noah, a boy she’s known most of her life, who everything think she’s going out with, when she’s not.
(Also, throughout the story, there's this reference to a very popular movie/book series, which makes a lot of sense once you find out what the big problem Coley has is. It made sense to me because I've never read the books or seen the movies, but for someone who has (or is just faster than me), they'll probably catch the meaning much faster than I did. And, while I liked that a bit, I also think maybe it was a bit too obvious, given how often the movies are talked about. Just wanted to mention that before I really get into my opinion.)
I liked Coley. I liked how she tried hiding everything behind a smile, but I do tend to find those characters interesting—and there just isn’t enough of them out there. I like most of the characters, actually. Ming seemed nice and interesting, and her ex-best friend, Alejandra, seemed interesting near the end of the book. I really like Noah, he’s very sweet. And I also really liked Reece. I even liked Coley’s step-siblings.
My biggest problem is the ending. The ending just kind of ruined everything for me, as I said, and I’m not happy about it. If it hadn’t been for the rest of the book, and I was only rating on the ending, this book would have only gotten two stars. Because I didn’t like it. I was even mad at it. Like, I wanted to throw the book across the room, and would have, were I the kind of person who did that.
I’ve read other books that ended like this one did. It’s a common ending, and while I would usually like more to the story, sometimes it even fits. This one, didn’t.
Usually when it ends like this, the reader is left feeling like everything is going to be okay, like the main character, and everyone around her, is going to find out the truth and deal with it, and that they are ready to deal with it. It’ll be hard, but they will be okay and are capable. I didn’t feel like that with this one.
In this book, it felt like the rest of the story still needed told. It felt like things were just getting started when the book ended. I mean, I do want more story, I would like to read how things fall apart and come together after this, but I also feel very unsatisfied, and like the story isn’t finished. There’s more to it, and I feel like I should get to read what that is.
I mean, I want to read her parents reactions to what happened, and I feel like there were several hints within the book that would lead to the readers' seeing how they reacted, that deserve coming to a head. I don’t feel like what’s going to happen next with Coley and Reece is settled in any way, and I feel that should be told. Also, Noah’s reaction to finding out. And how her brother is going to react, which will surely be bad.
I’m just… I’m really unsatisfied and upset and angry, and I feel like there should be more. I want a sequel, very badly, and I don’t think there’s going to be one. I want there to be, I think one deserves to be made, but I don’t think there will be one.
Nonetheless, I am still planning, and looking forward, to whatever Scott releases next.

The Cover:

 I rather like the cover, plus I think the meaning of it fits with what happens in the book.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Manga Review: Ceres: Celestial Legend, Volume 3, by Yuu Watase



Rating (Out of 5): ~3
Publisher: VIZ Media (Shojo)
Volumes: 14
Spoilers?: Some.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Aya Mikage leads a normal life until she turns 16. Then her own family tries to kill her Aya learn that she possesses the blood of the tennyo (heavenly maiden), and when severely shaked she will transform into Ceres. If allowed to live, she is destined to bring ruin upon the Mikage family. In this volume, Aya has a deadly encounter with a "firestarter," and Yuhi, in a moment of weakness, confesses his love for Aya

Review:

This volume went by much faster and easier than the previous ones, which was nice. That’s a good sign that the books are getting better, as I hoped/suspected they would.
So, there was more violence and death in this volume. There was also more romance. And some ‘funny’ scenes that were only there in an effort to lessen the ‘horror’ element of the series.
The violence and death are supposed to be really powerful, I think, but it hasn’t really affected me very much. It’s not good, and it’s changing things for the characters, but to me it hasn’t really seemed to be as horrifying as I think it probably should be.
Aya seems to be accepting Ceres a little bit, though, which is good. She needs to get over her reservations, and maybe just get the hang of having Ceres in her body. Honestly, Ceres doesn’t seem that bad to me. A bit too forceful in her ideals and not willing to change them even a little, but still not too bad. She’ll take care of things when they need taken care of, and she’s much more durable than Aya, so that’s a definite plus for me. Also, she doesn’t seem as sensitive.
Aya’s family, though, also don’t seem willing to change their ways any bit. They’re determined to get the celestial descendants, and they’re willing to kill in their efforts, and it’s just ridiculous. Also, they’re using Aki. I like Aki. I’m not really sure what’s going to happen with him, but I have hope that it’ll be good.
We met a new character, another descendent, in this volume, which ended rather terribly. I'm sure there will be similar encounters in future books.
The romance I am not a big fan of. I’m getting used to Aya and Toya, I even like Toya a bit. But then Yuhi confessed his love to Aya in this volume, and that just doesn’t work for me. I don’t believe that Aya and Toya can really love each other at this point, let alone throwing in Yuhi as well. It’s just too fast, with too little development, and I don’t believe any of them.
Also, the way that Yuhi goes about his confession, was not very good. It was very... forceful and it made me a bit mad, particularly how Aya did not fight back well enough, and how they didn't really confront the fact that he shouldn't have done that. That's all I'm going to say about that for the moment, though.
I usually don’t mind the humor from Watase. And it doesn’t really bother me too much here, aside from the fact that sometimes it’s not really funny. And it bothers me that Watase doesn’t seem to be able to make up her mind about whether she wants this to be horror or comedy. You can’t kill a character in one panel and then throw in a joke a page later. That just doesn’t work for me.
The volume ended with a dramatic cliffhanger, which didn’t really leave me in suspense. It was just overly dramatic, and I don’t have any doubt that the problem with be fixed in a little time while the other characters stress and dramatize the situation, and I just don’t really buy it.
So, it’s apparent that I’m not really feeling very warm and fuzzy about this series. It has its problems, and I’m not really connecting with it. But I still have hope. I believe that it’s going to get better, hopefully soon.

Novel Review: The Rising (Darkness Rising, #3) by Kelley Armstrong



Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5
Genre: YA Supernatural/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: HarperCollins/Teen
Publish Date: April 2nd, 2013
Spoilers?: Minor/Vague.

Goodreads Synopsis (may contain spoilers!):

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.

Something Specific:
Quotes!:
  • "I'm not sure which was more condescending--calling us kids or thinking we'd respond better if they humored our delusions of maturity." (Maya's thought when a guy calls them children, then amends it to young adults.) (Hardback, pg. 184) I knew exactly how she felt just there, and I'm sure a lot of other teenagers do, too.
  • "If it was love, why was it so complicated? Shouldn't I just be able to turn to one, and say, 'It's you. I want you.'" (I ommited a tiny bit of one line to avoid spoilers, just so you know.) (Hardback, pg. 386-387) I just liked her sentiment on it, honestly.
What Will I Miss?:

  • I'm going to miss all of the characters, both from this series and the previous one. All of their relationships, particularly the ones with the parents.
  • I'm going to miss the romance between the main characters.
  • I'm going to miss the twists, even if some of them were expected--pretty much what Armstrong did with the series, while I wait for whatever she releases next. 
 
Review:

This was a very satisfying ending to this series, even more satisfying than I thought it would be.
Some things happened in this book that I wasn’t expecting, some of which I definitely should have thought about but hadn’t. Pretty much all of which were good. The characters from Armstrong's first YA series, Darkest Powers, showed up, although they showed up later than I thought/hoped they would. Either way, it was very nice to see them again. And it was nice to see how all of the characters acted around each other.
The ending for all of the subjects, the agreement that they all decided on, was something that I wasn’t really expecting, but something that I’m very happy about. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I thought that it worked really well, and fit very well for all of them.
The romance also took a turn that I wasn’t expecting. Usually it’s very obvious from the beginning where the romance is going, who the main love interest is, but for me it wasn’t here. And I really liked how it ended. It fits better, makes more sense, and is generally just very nice. From the first book, it looked like it was going to be one person, in the second book I was a little conflicted although still sure it was going toward one person, and then somewhere in this book, I was starting to think that maybe I was wrong. And I was. But it turned out even better than I was expecting, and I’m really happy with how that happened.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m just really happy with how things turned out. For all of the characters, for the romance, for the parents. For everyone.
I want to gush a bit about what happened, but I’ve decided not to spoil anything, so I’m just going to have to stop there.
Now that this series is over, though, and this book had a pretty definite, non-cliffhanger ending, I’m really wondering what Armstrong has planned next. I hope she’s working on something else YA, or at least planning to, sometime soon. Whatever it is, though, I’m sure to pick it up. Until then, I’m probably going to have to catch up on her Women of the Otherworld series, seeing as how I’ve only read two of the books, and there are a lot more than that out.

The Cover:

I'm not a very big fan of the covers for this series. They're just not very exciting, or eye-catching to me. And they all look much too similar, as are the titles, in that's it's very easy to get confused as to which book is which in the series. Embarrassing Factor isn't very high, though, I don't think.