Wishlist Thursday[42]: Alienated (Alienated, #1) by Melissa Landers

Alienated (Alienated, #1) by Melissa Landers

Genre: YA Sci-fi Romance

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Release Date: February, 4^th, 2014

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Why?:

This all-around sounds like a really good book. I heard about it back when the cover was released, sometime middle of last year, I think, and it was immediately added to my want list. It sounds good, I’ve started getting an interest in sci-fi books, plus that cover is so pretty. I hope to get my hands on it some point soon.

Teaser Tuesday[83]: The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

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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The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Release Date: September, 2012

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Excerpt:

“‘Blue, if you get to know him—‘ Calla started. She was standing half-in, half-out of the doorway. ‘You’d better guard your heart. Don’t forget that he’s going to die.’” (Paperback, pg. 183)

What are you reading right now?

Novel Review: Animal Attraction (Neuri Chronicles, #1) by Charlene Teglia

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Erotica

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: 2009

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Chandra Walker has a secret hidden in her genes—she’s a rare female werewolf. Now that her all-male pack has located her, it’s her destiny to sample each man’s pleasures and choose a mate from among them—a mate who will become pack leader. Soon the strongest alphas are competing to bring Chandra the most ecstasy, but only one man will claim her. Find out who in Animal Attraction…

The Cover:

I actually don't mind this cover. It's a bit embarrassing, but not overly so. I actually rather like the color scheme and the way the pictures work together. And it fits the book really well.

Quotes:

• "Pack, I mused. Another word for home?” (Paperback, pg. 81)

Review:

This was a surprisingly good book.

I loved the characters, the main and minor ones, and would have liked to got to know them all a lot better. I liked Chandra, the main character, a lot. Her voice was well done, and it was fun being in her head. I also liked her two main guys, Zach and David. I wasn’t too sure where the romance was going, although I had my suspicions, and really like how it all ended up. I really felt her attraction and chemistry with David, and really liked him as a character, and while I think the intensity between them was higher then between her and Zach, I did still feel their connection as well. Then there were the other wolves, and I liked the ones we got to know.

The whole ritual thing was a little odd, but I didn’t mind that. It was a neat, and very hot, take on the werewolves. There was a lot of sex in this book, but it was very good sex, there was variety, and none of the scenes seemed to drag on or anything. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, to a surprising amount. I hope to pick up something else by Teglia when I get the chance, and I believe there’s also a short story for this series, so I hope to read that at some point.

Manga Review: Jiu Jiu, Volume 5, by Touya Tobina

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July, 2013

Volumes: 5

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A dark, sexy drama of a demon hunter and her werewolf familiars

Born into a family of “Hunters,” Takamichi’s destiny is to pursue and slay demons. When her twin brother is killed, she is saved from despair by a pair of Jiu Jiu—shape-shifting familiars—in the form of two wolf pups named Snow and Night. Now Takamichi is in high school and an active Hunter. Snow and Night can't wait to attend school in their human form to “protect” her. But are they ready to go off leash...?

Final Volume!

Takamichi’s Jiu Jiu Obedience Training Goals

1. Protect your mistress at all costs—and in any form.

2. Examine your puppy love deeply.

3. Whatever you do...don’t go feral!

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen plus audiences.

What Will I Miss?:

• The art. It's rather pretty.
• The story--where it went and how it went there.
• The characters--I love them, especially Snow and Night. And I'm going to miss them a lot. I will probably re-read this just for them.

Re-readable?: Average to high, probably. Yes.

Review:

I’m honestly a little confused about the ending. Probably mostly because I don’t really believe that what happened did, or because I really want it to, but don’t think that it actually did. What actually happened?

There was the whole horrid mess with Yuki, then a horrible thing happened with Snow and Night, and it seems like some of that was fixed by the end, but was it actually? It seems like Takamichi is happy at the end, either way, though, so I’m glad about that. The other characters are all in better spots. I still wish I’d gotten to know Takamichi’s father better. I feel like there was so much more still to explore.

I don’t know, I’m iffy about how I feel about this. 

Either way, I really hope that VIZ picks up another of Tobina’s series, because I know there are several, and I want more of hers.