{Review} Perception by Kim Harrington

Release Date: 1 March 2012

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Kindle Edition

Pages: 288

Rating:  5- Wonderful

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you? 
Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past. 
Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her. 
But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back? 
One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

My Thoughts:

 In Clarity, I instantly fell for the characters in the book and found myself addicted to the mystery and intrigue that can be found within Harrington’s writing. I was so excited when I got the chance to immerse myself in her writing, in Perception.

Perception starts off pretty much where Clarity ended and follows a new set of events. The first chapter was short and extremely enticing because it was an exciting little glimpse at what was to come. Another factor that made this book so addictive was the fact that every chapter pretty much has a cliff hanger of some sort and it made the book so entertaining as it meant that there were many suspenseful events that could keep any reader entertained.

Clarity is an interesting character that has developed from the first book in the series—to me that is. I feel like the whole cast of characters is just as fun to read about as they were initially and even more so due to the new circumstances they find themselves in.

Kim Harrington’s writing is simple, effective and addictive. Simple as that. No matter what I believe that her books will always be addictive due to the fact that she is able to weave mystery into her stories that will keep you guessing—I often found that I was guessing who did what and trying to figure out who was suspicious and who wasn’t and I turned out to be wrong sometimes and others, I had been wrong.

Throughout this book, I was on the edge of my seat and wanted more! So am eagerly anticipating Kim Harrington’s next book and hopefully it will be filled with just as much intrigue, mystery and suspense as Clarity and Perception have been!

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{In My Mailbox} 16

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at: The Story Siren. You can find official information like how to participate, why it was started and other goodies about IMM on the IMM Page.

In My Mailbox This Week:

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows (read my review here)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (read my review here)

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr (read my review here)

Fever by Lauren DeStefano (read my review here)

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

This IMM was a catch up post from not posting an IMM last week or the week before, I also received more; but will be saving it for next week's IMM post!

What did you receive in your Mailbox this week?

{Review} Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Release Date: 31 January 2012

Publisher: Katherine Tegen

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 516

Rating:  5- Wonderful

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.She’s been warned. Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself. She’ll be betrayed.Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

My Thoughts:

 At first I was hesitant to start reading another book about Angels and Demons so to speak as I had begun to think that I was extremely burned out on angel books and was dreading the fact that I may not enjoy this book. I was instantly drawn into this book when I read the first page—I was hooked.

The book starts off with action and made me addicted right from the beginning. Courtney Allison Moulton sure knows how to write action scenes; filled with rich description that demanded my attention and truly made me visualize the scenes extremely vividly. I found myself enjoying the various action sequences, whereas I would usually find them boring. But Moulton sure knows how to write an action scene that is truly entertaining and fantastic.

In other scenes I found myself to be thoroughly entertained too, especially in some of the scenes that one could only swoon over and that seemed too heat up the entire book.

Moulton writing did not disappoint as she kept me entertained throughout the entire book. It’s simple, descriptive where it needed to be and effective. Her action and sizzling scenes were the two aspects where she really shone as an author for me.

The chemistry between Will and Ellie was clearly evident in this book and I loved each and every single character in this book despite the amount (there are many awesome characters in this book). I felt that Ellie was more quirky in this book and I often found myself laughing at some of the things she said in her dialogue.

This book did not disappoint one bit, and I am glad that the sequel lived up to the first book in the series, to me; Wings of the Wicked was even better than Angelfire and I look forward to the final book in the trilogy. This book was sizzling, sexy, action-packed and so much fun to read!

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{Review} The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Release Date: 10 January 2012

Publisher: Dutton

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 313

Rating:  5- Wonderful

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My Thoughts:

I had heard so many things about John Green—such amazing things about him and his books. The Fault In Our Stars exploded onto the scene and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to read a book by John Green for the first time.

There was so much hype that I was afraid that as I begun to read it, that it would disappoint me. But instantly I was addicted and drawn into Hazel’s compelling story.

Hazel and Augustus are two quirky characters in my opinion and I loved the odd and romantic relationship they had, they were true and sincere to one another despite the events that take place within the book. Green sure knows how to throw in curve balls that slap you in the face and then keep you on the edge of your seat.

This book was about cancer in a sense—more Hazel’s story and her struggles, but at the same time, this book was humorous and was a bit hard for me to read as it ripped my heart into pieces. When I was twelve or so, I lost my best friend to leukaemia. It was hard and I didn’t really experience the pain and mourning I should have then, that I did whilst reading this book. Losing someone is not easy as many of you may know and dealing with not having that person makes life hard for you.

John Green’s book throws one majore curveball at the end of the book which made me sad, but the last words on the final page left me the most breathless and kept me up thinking because the writing was so beautiful and humorous, but at the same time it tore me up inside—but those final words are what actually made me happy—they gave the story a sincere ending despite what shocking things may have occurred.

By then end of the book I was happy, sad, depressed, joyful and whatever other emotions you can feel. I also happened to fall in love with John Green’s books and plan on definitely reading more of them!

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{Waiting on Wednesday} 20: Masque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Masque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Everything is in ruins.
A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.
So what does Araby Worth have to live for?
Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.
But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.
And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

This cover is absolutely awesome and oh so intriguing. I have heard so many great things about Maque of Red Death and cannot wait to get my hands on a copy to instantly immerse myself in! 

What are you Waiting on this Wednesday?

Leave a link and a I'll be sure to check out your post!

{Giveaway} Springing into Spring Giveaway over on A Cupcake & A Latte

When the opportunity arises to support one of my favorite blogs and a blogger that I truly idolize comes along, I will do what I can. How much better does it get when a giveaway of some of the freshest upcoming YA titles is included?

Wendy over at A Cupcake and A Latte is an awesome blogger who I look up to and aspire to be like! She is a hard worker and is truly an amazing blogger! Did I mention that she is even generous enough to host this awesome giveaway?

Here's What You Can Win:

1 winner will be randomly selected among valid giveaway entries to win 1 book of their choice from the below fabulous spring YA releases!

So set your sights on one of these awesome titles and enter here:

Springing into Spring Giveaway Celebration

Follow A Cupcake and A Latte:

• Blog
• Goodreads
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Go Get Your Entries In & Support!

{Review} Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Release Date: 31 January 2012

Publisher: Katherine Tegen

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 384

Rating:  4- Great

New soul
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
No soul
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Heart
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

My Thoughts:

Incarnate has a beautiful cover that looks even better on the actual hard cover than it does on the internet. It is intriguing and beautiful and only makes you wonder if the world inside—in the pages of this books—are equally as beautiful.

This book was different and something that I had heard good and bad things about, but luckily I found little to my disliking. Meadows’ writing is something completely different to what I have ever read and I cannot exactly pin point her style but it sure is beautiful. Her description and use of diction left me amazed and kept me wanting to read more as I ravished myself in this world.

The world building was quite good in this book and fitted the cover, for me though, there were so many threads left open and I am hoping that these unanswered questions will be explored and answered within the next book, as I will definitely be reading the next book.

While reading Incarnate; I sometimes found that I did not know where everything was set because I was lost in the beautiful writing—I do not know if this is a good or bad thing, but I often had to reread pages to get a sense of where the scene’s were set. This may have just been me falling in love with the way Jodi Meadows’ writing style.

Ana was an interesting character and it was fun and relatable for me to read from someone’s point of view who is also an outsider in a sense. Ana’s story is compelling and I will be happy to pick up the next book and continue reading her beautifully written story.

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