Recommend A ... book you read this year

 

 This brand new meme is hosted by Chick Loves Lit. 

Feel free to head on over to her blog to read more about it or to join in. 

Just click on the banner above! 

Recommend A ... book you read this year

Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days #1) | Susan Ee

from goodreads:

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

This book was fantastic! I saw lots of other people recommending it, so I gave it a try. Wow! So, so good. It was self published, too (which means you can find it cheap for your e-reader!). 

The only downside is that the second book in the series won't be out until sometime in 2013. If it's anywhere near as good as this one it will totally be worth the wait!

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga. It's a fun way for us to show what books we got this week to add to our shelves! 

Mystic City (Mystic City #1) | Theo Lawrence 

I got this one for review on netgalley to review. I think the cover is gorgeous! 

Fifty Shades Darker ( Fifty Shades #2) | E L James
I had to buy the next book after the way the first one ended!!

Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades #3) | E L James
Might as well pick up the third book too, right? 

Recommend A ... book by a male author

 

 This brand new meme is hosted by Chick Loves Lit. 

Feel free to head on over to her blog to read more about it or to join in. 

Just click on the banner above! 

Recommend A ... book by a male author

Wildefire (Wildefire #1) | Karsten Knight

From goodreads: 

Every flame begins with a spark. 

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned.

*** Warning - the rest of the synopsis is a bit of a spoiler!! ***

 

Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

I read very few books written by male authors. I think I just generally connect better with female protagonists, and those are usually written by, well, females. I've already recommended John Green a couple times, so I thought I'd go with someone different. 

This book has a pretty neat storyline to it. There's a part in it where Karsten tells us the history of all the other major characters in the book. Each person was totally different, and I loved reading about them... I guess it gave a way to connect to them on a deeper level. 

Plus, this book has one of my favorite book covers of all time; I just LOVE it. 

Stacking The Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga. It's a fun way for us to show what books we got this week to add to our shelves! 

Wolfsbane (Nightshade #2) | Andrea Cremer
I found a copy with the UK cover, and I thought it was pretty, so I picked it up! It was only $5 too.

 Storm Born (Black Swan #1) | Richelle Mead 
I picked this up last week, but forgot to include it in my post. I loved her YA series, so I'm looking forward to seeing something a bit more adult from her!

 

Glitch

Glitch (Glitch #1)

Heather Anastasiu
St. Martin's Griffin

Goodreads

This book will be released August 7, 2012

Synopsis from goodreads:

In the Community, there is no more pain or war. Implanted computer chips have wiped humanity clean of destructive emotions, and thoughts are replaced by a feed from the Link network.

When Zoe starts to malfunction (or “glitch”), she suddenly begins having her own thoughts, feelings, and identity. Any anomalies must be immediately reported and repaired, but Zoe has a secret so dark it will mean certain deactivation if she is caught: her glitches have given her uncontrollable telekinetic powers.

As Zoe struggles to control her abilities and stay hidden, she meets other glitchers including Max, who can disguise his appearance, and Adrien, who has visions of the future. Both boys introduce Zoe to feelings that are entirely new. Together, this growing band of glitchers must find a way to free themselves from the controlling hands of the Community before they’re caught and deactivated, or worse.

In this action-packed debut, Glitch begins an exciting new young adult trilogy.

I think this cover is so neat! I hope they do something cool with it in the finished version... like make it shimmery or foiled.

It took me a while to write this review. I would open up blogger and just stare at the screen. What did I think? What did I want to say?? Ahhhh!!

I'm glad I waited a while to let it kind of sit with me because I've discovered that I really liked it! Many of the dystopians I've read in the past year or so start out with a young character who is about to be changed or placed into something that molds them into the "ideal" person, where in this book the people are already programmed. Zoe, the main character, starts to glitch and discovers her own thoughts and feelings.

I really liked discovering things through Zoe. I can't imagine what it would feel like going from kind of numb to the world around you, to getting slammed with your own thoughts and feelings suddenly!

I have to agree with other reviews and say that the insta-love was kinda annoying. The little twist after the insta-love moment that kind of made it better for me. Actually, there were lots of little twists in this story that I wasn't expecting, and I loved that.

Glitch was a good read! It didn't blow me away, but it will definitely stick with me. I am looking forward to the second book!

Recommend A ... book published in 2010

 

 This brand new meme is hosted by Chick Loves Lit. 

Feel free to head on over to her blog to read more about it or to join in. 

Just click on the banner above! 

Oh gosh! I had to go back and look up books published in 2010, because I don't always read books the year they were published. 

Recommend A ... book published in 2010

White Cat (The Curseworkers #1) | Holly Black

from goodreads: 

 Cassel comes from a family of Curse Workers - people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn't got magic, so he's an outsider, the striaght kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail - he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen. 


I'm loving the newer covers for these books! I have the old covers for book one and two. I think the old covers fit the story better, but this is just so pretty!

White Cat was such a different book! Really, just such a unique story. The world that Holly Black has created here is so fascinating. If you're looking for something new, I'd highly suggest picking up White Cat!

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga. It's a fun way for us to show what books we got this week to add to our shelves! 

Hello my book loving friends! Hope you got some good ooks this week. I did! I actually went to the Powells downtown (and ended up spending 12 freaking dollars on parking, ugh!). It's fun to go to that Powells since it's huge and all, but I love the one that's close to me. Plus, the one close to me has free parking. :)

Here are the books I got this week:

Yay for pretty books! 

Fated (Soul Seekers #1) | Alyson Noel

Marie from Marie Loves Books sent an ARC of this to me for Random Acts of Kindness (see sidebar if you're not familiar with this program)! It's so pretty! I can't wait to read it. Thanks Marie!!!

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) | E L James

Yes. Yes, I totally bought this book. It's a guilty pleasure book, for sure! I'm excited to see what all the hype is about. I have to say though, why such a cheepo cover?? I like the picture, but the materials seem so cheap to me.

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1) | Kelly Armstrong

I saw a signed paperback copy and couldn't resist! I love signed books. :)

Shadow and Bone(The Grisha Trilogy #1) | Bardugo

It was 30% off at Powells, so I couldn't resist. I love the cover of this book! It's so unusual. 

Such a Rush | Jennifer Echols
I found a used copy of this in perfect condition!! It's not even out yet, right?? I had to pick it up. I've heard good things about Jennifer Echols. I am in love with this cover, too.

Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes Trilogy #1) | Shannon Dittemore
I got this one for review via netgalley. Thank you Thomas Nelson! I am reading it now! 

June ~ Random Acts of Kindness

I was able to participate in RAK again! Yay! I love it.

Random Acts of Kindness is a program hosted by Isalys and Vanessa over at Book Soulmates. You pick a person or two (or however many you want) and send them something from their wishlist. Someone might send you something, too!

I sent out 13 Little Blue Envelopes to Lisa at Badass Bookie

I'm still waiting on my book to come in the mail. I was RAKed an ARC of Fated, but it hasn't come in yet. Please don't be lost in the mail little book!!

UPDATE: Of course it showed up right after I posted this!! Yay for a pretty, new book!

 Marie from Marie Loves Books sent this to me! Yayyy! It's so much nicer looking than I thought it would be for an ARC. I am so excited to read it!

Rapture

Rapture (Fallen #4)
Lauren Kate
Delacorte BFYR
goodreads

Synopsis from goodreads: 

The sky is dark with wings . . . .

Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again.

Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen.

For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

 Wow. What an ending!

It took me a long time to read this book. I couldn't remember exactly how Passion (the last book) ended, so I spent a long time trying to figure it out. I finally gave up and reread the last 50 pages or so of Passion. I should have just done that in the first place! Then I started Rapture over again. Ugh.

The book lulled for me at the beginning, but I think that's totally because of having to start over again. Once I got to new stuff, it really picked up! The last bit of the book I just couldn't put down!

Without ruining anything for you, I loved the way everything played out. It was kind of how I expected to end, but also not. I think Lauren Kate did a good job of giving us just enough hints to guess what's coming, but threw in enough mystery to keep it satisfying.

There were still a few things that I'm left wondering about. Luce's story feels pretty much complete, but I'd love to know more about the other characters! I think this is one of those books that leaves you thinking... That's not a bad thing! I love it when a story sticks in my mind for a while.

I feel satiated. I'm sad that the series is over now (wah!), but I totally love the ending. As I read the last sentence in the book, I couldn't help but say "awwww" and smile.

Recommend A... contemporary book

 

 This brand new meme is hosted by Chick Loves Lit. 

Feel free to head on over to her blog to read more about it or to join in. 

Just click on the banner above! 

Recommend A ... contemporary book

Paper Towns | John Green 

from goodreads:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows. 


 After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.
Printz medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.


I love John Green. The End. 

I don't read a whole lot of contemporary,  but I really liked this book. I thought it was funny and original. Can't go wrong with John Green.