Monday, 30 January 2012

{Cover Crazy} 13: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Cover Crazy is hosted by Tawni at The Book WormsStop by and join in on the fun.
This week I am crazy about the cover for:
Rapture by Lauren Kate
The sky is dark with wings. . . .
In RAPTURE, the highly anticipated fourth and final novel in the FALLEN series, Luce and Daniel are together . . . but for how long? Can history be rewritten? Or are some punishments eternal?
The covers for Fallen and Torment were great and I really enjoyed the books as well, as for Passion; well I didn't enjoy it that much and I didn't like the cover all that much either. But this cover, for the fourth and final novel is just stunning and I can't wait to see how this series will end. This cover is all dramatic and such in all its wondrously beautiful glory! I apologize for my obsessive gushing but it all just works so well and ties in with all the other covers.
What Cover are you Crazy for this week?

Sunday, 29 January 2012

{In My Mailbox} 11


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:
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
What did you receive in you Mailbox this week?

Friday, 27 January 2012

{Review} The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


Release Date: 5 January 2009
Publisher: Scholastic
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 454
Rating:  5- Wonderful
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature.




My Thoughts:
 I was a little late to hop on The Hunger Games band-wagon, okay I was very far behind but I decided to give these books a shot once I heard a movie was being made, like any other avid YA reader out there, I had once upon a time, sworn to read books before I watched the movies.

Book-to-movie adaptations are always strange as books are always better, and I knew that I would not be able to watch the movie without reading the books first – I mean, if I had watched the movie and thought it was good, then I would’ve wanted to read the books and that would have ruined the books for me as I would have mental images of what the characters looked like from the movie. Imagination is everything and more!

Anyways, I was glad that I had finally sat down to read this book because it was fantastic! I don’t do well with books about actions, but this book was just so thrilling and fast paced.

With this book I had great expectations from all the hype I had heard as well as all the books people have compared to THE HUNGER GAMES, this book truly is legendary and I was finally able to see why people enjoyed it so much.

Suzanne Collins made the book so beautiful despite the tough situations Katniss may have been in, the way suspense was ever present and anything could happen – anyone could die at any given moment was great!

I liked the fact that this book, despite being almost too addictive and exciting to put down, had a great message and that message was to face your fears. We all have fears and I think this book taught me that I can face some of them.
I’ll leave you with this statement: I now know why so many people are comparing books to the Hunger Games, it means that the book is almost as good as the legendary series created by Suzanne Collins!
| Amazon

Thursday, 26 January 2012

{Review} XVI by Julia Karr


Release Date: 6 January 2011
Publisher: Speak
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 325
Rating:  4- Great
Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay. 
Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help--and he just may hold the key to her past. 
But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure... 
My Thoughts:
 This book was interesting as it deals with topics which are not often raised in YA literature, with interesting situations and a fight to remain who you are can only leave you wanting more.

I enjoyed reading about Nina, she was an interesting character, unlike any I have read about before with a punk edge of sorts. I liked how she wanted to remain pure and did not want to become a sex-teen or get the XVI tattoo. The XVI tattoo shows that a girl is old enough to have sex and should possibly want to throw herself at men.

I think Julia Karr did a great job with this theme and concept as it deals with teenage-sex. This book should teach everyone a lesson and hopefully change some people’s lives. This book is also a dystopian novel so it made everything all the more interesting.

I thought that the way this book was written could have been a little better and maybe a little less repetitive; there were some parts which were written beautifully and were extremely engrossing.

Another important aspect of this book is the fact that family is very important. I really enjoyed reading about Nina and her sister, Dee. The bond they shared was special and interesting to read about.

I am excited to read the second novel; Truth as the ending for XVI was really something that made me happy.
| Amazon |

Monday, 23 January 2012

{Cover Crazy} 12: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake


Cover Crazy is hosted by Tawni at The Book WormsStop by and join in on the fun.
This week I am crazy about the cover for:
Girl of Nightmares by Kandare Blake
In this follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas begins seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong. These aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears. 
Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.
I love the cover for the first book in this series; Anna Dressed in blood and I like the fact that these books have such an eerie feel to them and we get to see a face on the cover! I don't have much to say about this cover other than the fact that I think it fits the blurb perfectly. I find that those two figures reaching out are a bit freaky and I think that it will represent this book perfectly.
What Cover are you Crazy for this week?

Friday, 20 January 2012

{Review} Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: 4 October 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Childrens Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 432
Rating:  4- Great
The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.
My Thoughts:
  At first I was hesitant to read yet another angel book but then I thought about how much I loved Hush, Hush as well as Crescendo and then I couldn’t wait to plant myself within Nora’s brain yet again.

Fitzpatrick wrote this extremely well and I found that it was just as addictive as the first two books, if not more – I think of the main reasons that contributed to this was the fact that I had completely forgotten what went on in the last two books and so when Nora couldn’t remember anything, neither could I! Now I know that this may sound extremely stupid of me, but it made me enjoy it so much due to the fact that I, as well as Nora, had to try and figure things out.

I think that Fitzpatrick did a great with foreshadowing as I could pick up tiny hints and clues as I went along with the story.

One thing I did miss at the beginning of the book was the romance between Patch and Nora, I found the book to be great but I wished I could have seen more of Patch and Nora at the beginning of the book, as an item. I also missed seeing Vee, you get to read about her but do not read about her as often as you did in the first two books.

Despite the aspects that disappointed me, I still think that Becca did a great job, the story had to be that way in order for the book to work the way it did.

Overall; I enjoyed this book and am so excited to read the fourth book, yes there will be a fourth book! 
| Amazon |

Thursday, 19 January 2012

{Review} A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

Release Date: 22 February 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 419
Rating:  4- Great
Eden didn’t expect Az. 
Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings. 
Yeah. 
So long happily-ever-after. 
Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven. 
She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else’s game. Her heart is her own. 
And that’s only the beginning of the end.
My Thoughts:
 I had not heard much about this book before I had decided to order a copy and read it and I am proud to say that I enjoyed this book immensely and was so glad that I read it!

This book is, in a way, about Angels, but do not fret if you were thinking; oh great! Yet another book about angels... this book is completely different to anything I have ever read when it comes to angels and demons of sorts. Clifford did a great job of putting her own twist on the angel fad that has been going on for a while now, the concept was well thought out and I believe, she executed it perfectly.

I have to speak about the cussing in this book as I swear(no pun intended) to give honest reviews; there is quite a lot of swearing in this book, with that being said – the swearing almost became invisible to me as I read on through the book, so if swearing is something that puts you off, please do not be afraid to try this book out as it is really was a great read!

I found that sometimes I was lost in this book, lost in places of the book where time jumped forward but I actually think that it fitted the story and actually made me want to try and read more to figure things out, I was able to figure out certain aspects of the story.

Leah Clifford actually has a brilliant writing style that is flowing and I thought that it fitted the story, the characters, as well as the concept extremely well.
In my eyes this is a great book that I believe everyone should have the chance to read as it really did blow my mind with its uniqueness, despite the theme one would deem, common.
| Amazon |