Waiting on Wednesday (2)

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we talk about upcoming releases we are excited for.

This week I'm pretty psyched for:

The Golden Lily

By: Richelle Mead

Publication date: June 12, 2012

From Goodreads: 

 The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series

Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

AND

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

By: Michelle Hodkin

Publication date: October 23, 2012

From Goodreads: 

Two days after Mara walks into a police station in Miami at the close of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, she is committed for psychiatric treatment for what her parents believe is a mental breakdown. But what seems like a hallucination to everyone else is a chilling reality for Mara. Someone from her past has discovered her strange, disturbing secret and that someone wants her to pay. But she's about to discover that the price is more than she can bear. 

Dark and thrilling, suspenseful and passionate, The Evolution of Mara Dyer will have readers breathlessly turning pages to find out what will become of Mara Dyer next.

 

I'm super excited for both of these, because I am just dying to know how each story continues! I desperately want Adrian and Sydney to get together in The Golden Lily, and I need to know if Noah and Mara are still together!! 

So, tell me what you guys are excited for this week or gimme a link to your WoW posts in the comments!

<end transmission>

Fear

I'm too tired to really research through the book, even though I have a major book crush on Sam Temple, so I'm just gonna do another regular review.


Fear
Michael Grant

It's been one year since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

Despite the hunger and the lies, even despite the plague, the kids of Perdido Beach are determined to survive. Creeping into the tenuous new world they've built, though, is perhaps the worst incarnation yet of the enemy known as the Darkness: fear.

Within the FAYZ, life breaks down while the Darkness takes over, literally—turning the dome-world of the FAYZ entirely black. In darkness, the worst fears of all emerge, and the cruelest of intentions are carried out. But even in their darkest moments, the inhabitants of the FAYZ maintain a will to survive and a desire to take care of the others in their ravaged band that endures, no matter what the cost.

Fear, Michael Grant's fifth book in the bestselling dystopian Gone series, will thrill readers . . . even as it terrifies them.

So... yeah. This book was really, really amazing. I loved Sam and Astrid in this one, because they weren't bickering constantly. There were a lot of parts that kind of shocked me, and it made the whole book even more amazing. The whole time I was thinking "This is so Lord of the Flies... but with girls, too." 


I love the countdowns Mr. Grant puts at the beginning of the chapters, because, when I'm not too engrossed in the action to actually pay attention to them, they add a certain level of suspense. By now I've learned that the countdowns always mean something big is gonna happen when they hit 0, and it got me speculating throughout the whole book what exactly was going to happen. Unfortunately (or fortunately, it depends on how you look at it), I never could figure out what was going to happen, and the end seriously shocked me. The end was probably the craziest part of the whole book, and it was awesome. No more on that topic, though!


The characters were all so much more grown up, that I kept forgetting that Sam and Astrid were just over 15. They acted way older (most of the time) than you would expect of a couple 15 year old kids to act. Even Caine came into himself, and was less neurotic by the end of the book. And I didn't even hate Diana. In all four of the other books, I really, really, seriously hated that chick, like I was supposed to. But, in this one, she wasn't even that irritating, and she was kinda funny. I even felt bad for her at times!


He also tells us what's going on outside the FAYZ, which is really freaky. I don't wanna let too much on about that, but it was amazing how the rest of the world reacted to the anomaly of what happened to Perdido Beach.


This was a serious 5 out of 5 on my like-o-meter. I mean, I already loved this series, but this one was just as awesome as the first one (which was freaking amazing, if I do say so myself). I dig me some sci-fi, and throw some crazy kids and romance in it and its one YA smoothie that is bound to be good.


Yup, that's my excited rant for the day (did I mention I just finished this book like ten minutes ago?). I loved it a lot, and this series is just so insanely amazing, that I think everyone who is mildly interested in it should read it.


<end transmission>

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, (for more info click on the picture) where we bloggers talk about the books we have received/borrowed/bought for the week. Again, I am broke and can only afford library books....

Fear: Michael Grant

Y'all have no idea how excited I am to have this in my possession. I need to know what happens next to the kids in the FAYZ. There are few book series I love more than these Gone books. It isn't even funny. I'm broke, otherwise I would have bought it the minute it came out.

Hemlock: Kathleen Peacock

I heard about this when I saw it on the Goodreads giveaways page, and I thought it sounded really cool. Yup, that's about it for this one. I don't quite remember what it's supposed to be about, but the cover sure is pretty.

The Fire: James Patterson and Jill Dembowski

Yes this book is probably written for 12-year-olds. That does not matter to me. I still love Percy Jackson, no? Besides, I gotta know what happens to Whit and Wisty now! Plus, I love the way Mr. Patterson writes his YA books, they always make me laugh out loud and get weird looks from my mom.

Yup, that's what I got this week. Usually I have more (think around 7-10), but the library is running out of books I actually want to read. However, I got money, so I will be buying some books soon enough to share next Monday!

<end transmission>

Ashfall

Ashfall (Ashfall #1) 

Mike Mullin

Pages: 466

Publisher: Tanglewood Press

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Age Group: Young Adult

Date Published: October 11, 2011

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

I loved the premise of Ashfall, because it reminded me of Gone. In Gone, Sam has to grow up a lot, because he has to deal with being separated from his parents. Like Alex, Sam also falls in love with a girl who probably wouldn't have looked twice at him before their disasters happened.

However, unlike Gone, Ashfall was way darker. The cover was dark, and the writing matched. Alex encountered a lot of evil throughout the book, which made it feel very real. I liked the plot of the book, and I liked the way the characters reacted to the situations they were thrown in, because it all felt like it could happen, and that the characters were normal people in a bad situation.

My biology teacher often says that a good sci-fi book should actually be able to happen, and, according to some documentary we watched freshman year, there is a super volcano under Yellowstone, and it can erupt and cover lots and lots of places with lots and lots of ash. Judging by that scale, this book was a pretty good science fiction read.

Overall, this was actually a pretty cool book. Though, I would give it 4 out of 5 'staches, mainly because it was a little too dark for me.

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we talk about upcoming releases we are excited for.

This week I am getting painfully excited for:

Onyx (Lux #2)

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication date: August 14, 2012

From Goodreads:

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarre connection. I’ve sworn him off even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But against all common sense, I’m falling for him. Hard. 

Our relationship issues aren’t out biggest problem…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And when a new boy shows up a school with a secret of his own, things get complicated fast. I need to choose between my own instincts and Daemon’s.

But then everything changes… 

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. Daemon’s never going to stop searching until gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies.

I am dying for this book!!! With the end of Obsidian being as cliffhangery as it was, it depresses me that I need to wait until August! Oh well, I shall get it eventually :)

<end transmission> 

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, (for more info click on the picture) and I thought it was super cool, and thought Why not? I really only get books from the library these days (I am BROKE), but I thought I would share all I got!

                                    

                                     

Until I Die: Amy Plum

I loved Die for Me, so I was pretty psyched when my library had this waiting for me! I just started it, so I should have a review later in the week.

Anna Dressed in Blood: Kendare Blake

Kinda already read this one, so I can't say how psyched I am to read it! I'll try to write about it if I get the time.

Destined: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

I was at the library, and I realized I was really curious about what happened to the HON gang, and this was the newest one, and the next one I had to read, so I picked it up!

Swoon: Nina Malkin

I heard about this a while ago, and it looked pretty interesting, and I was in need of something to read while I was bored in Biology!

The Pledge: Kimberly Derting

A friend of mine recommended this for me, and so did Goodreads, and my school had it, so I checked it out. Kinda excited to read it.

Ashfall: Mike Mullin

I love post-apocalyptic sci-fi stuff (think Gone series), and this looks really interesting!

That was kinda fun(:

<end transmission>

Obsidian

       So, I am a loser and this blog post is SUPER late, but I've hated all the books I've read lately so much that I couldn't bother myself to try and review them. However, I have *finally* found one I don't want to throw at small children, so:

Love: Daemon Black

Book: Obsidian

Characteristics: Basically, he's super sexy, and looks like this (the hot guy, not the back of the chick's head):

Plus he has rock-hard abs.


Why I love him: 


1. He is a complete and utter jerk. It sounds kind of weird that I like that in him, but his jerkishness is kind of endearing. He's witty, typically at Katy's expense, and that makes the book really funny. I realized he really wasn't as big of a jerk, though, after I learned about his past, and he had the right to be about 1/10 the amount of jerk he is (that leaves 90% of uncalled for jerkishness, for the math challenged). He makes me think of Jace Wayland (in City of Bones) and Will Herondale (in Clockwork Angel) combined in the way of being a total jerk. (I think total jerks are kind of hot, though)


2. He is super protective of his sister, Dee. It's really kind of sweet. He basically is afraid to let her do anything that could put her in danger, and that includes having friends. Right from the beginning of the book, Daemon tries to keep Katy away from his sister, because Dee desperately wants friends, and she and Katy really clicked. Unfortunately, this protectiveness leads to Katy and Daemon kinda hating each other for the majority of the book (there are times when they are frenemies, but they pass pretty quick).


3. He's totally amazing. Like, I'm pretty sure that if Jace and Dimitri Belikov (Vampire Academy) teamed up and tried to fight him, they would lose. And they are both GODS in the department of kicking butt. He got rid of a bear (not by, you know, fighting it off, but with his own awesomeness). In Daemon's own words: "I'm just that awesome."


4. He thinks Katy's book obsession is cute! She has a book blog, and he checked it out, and didn't even say anything mean about it. He watched her "In my mailbox" video, and told her he thought it was cute that she loved books so much. Let me tell you, I have been dying to see an author have a guy character who was cool with a total geek, not tolerant, but actually like her geekishness (hello, books are my life, I need hope!). 


5. And he's smart. It's not super apparent in the book, but in the Daemon's POV stuff at the end, he says he learns really fast, therefore he is smart. I like smart guys, as I would never date (or fictionally date, as the case here) a guy who was OK with doing poorly in school.


So, yeah, Daemon's super hot, and I like his evilness. He also has a super cool name, and it totally suits him.


My thoughts on the book:


I loved this book! I talked my mom into letting me buy it on my Nook late last night, and then I finished it in 3rd period today (it's difficult to read fast while your Biology teacher wants you to be taking notes). 


I adored Katy! She was hilarious. Not only was she a book blogger, she could fire her own insults right back at Daemon when they fought (which was on almost every page of the book). She wasn't afraid to stand up for herself (she dumped her spaghetti on some people) and she could accept that she was pretty when Daemon said it the first time. I hate it when the girls in books are all "Oh, I'm just plain, I'm really not pretty." and then they don't believe it when the totally gorgeous guy tells them they are. He says it once or twice, and she doesn't really dwell on it, nor does it really distract her from how mean Daemon usually is to her. She has fairly brilliant judgement throughout the book (she does have one VERY stupid moment, and it irritated me). She was basically a breath of fresh air in YA heroines, and I just really liked her.


Daemon's sister is super adorable (she is his twin). She's super bubbly all the time, and kind of reminds me of a puppy. She is Katy's BFF, and they are kind of opposites, which is fun. 


The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that I wish it had been longer, so I could have gotten more Daemon! And, it depressed me when I found out Onyx doesn't come out until August! I need more Daemon nooow. 


FYI: Jennifer L. Armentrout is giving away Onyx ARCs at book signings in June (dates and info here: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/).

<end transmission>