In My Mailbox

I know that technically this is a Sunday meme, and it is in fact Monday but considering how sucky we've been in posting things anyway I feel that posting something on time would just be considered overachieving at this point. :) Also... just to cheat a little more... a few of these titles I didn't get this week. Just a few though.

Side Note: Every time I try to copy from goodreads it turns my background white and then won't let me fix it. So if you are interested in the book and want to know more about it you can just CLICK on the book cover and it'll pop you on over to its goodreads page. (does anyone know how to fix the stupid white background problem??)

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

While wondering around BN waiting for my friend Dave to be done working and come hang out with me I was meandering through the adult fiction section when I happened upon a book entitled The Labryinth of Book City... or something of that nature. I read the first couple sentences of the synopsis and quickly discovered that it was a book in a series. I noted the authors name and went to the "M" section looking for the previous titles. I found this one... the first book and began to read the first couple of pages. It's hilarious! Let me explain: it is not a book that one should take seriously at all. I'm about 160 pages into it right now and it's episodic so their really is no plot or point really. It's a lot of European dry humor which if that is your thing (like it very much is mine) then you will love it. However, I'm starting to wonder if authors should be tested for drugs because it also seems to enhance their performance with story telling and creative avenues. Not saying Moers does drugs but his ability to create unique characters rivals Lewis Carrolls. More on that later when the review comes out. I wasn't going to do a review on it at first BUT considering it is more or less a childrens book with big words... I feel that you all would enjoy it.

A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies

I ordered this one a while ago but it's been sitting behind the counter at work waiting for Employee Appreciation week... which started today... As a BN employee a few times a year we get an extra 10% off of our already reduced price. I ordered Reached by Ally Condie and this one. Reached hasn't come in yet, but I made sure to pop in today and buy this one. I really liked the first one in the series but it's the second book that always makes me love a series. I'm excited to start this one as soon as I finish BlueBear. I've already read a few pages during some downtime at work so I'm excited to see what happens.




Saving June by Hannah Harrington

This finished copy was sent to me from Harlequin Teen and I haven't quite gotten around to reading it yet. I've started it and it looks good but I haven't really been in the mood for a downer, my sister is dead story quite yet... but I'm sure I'll read it sooner rather than later.







Renegade by J.A. Souders

This title had been on my "watching" list but honestly I don't think I even knew what it was really about. When I saw it at BN and read the summary it sounded like The Little Mermaid meets Delirium. I was intrigued to say the least. It sounded really different. It was! I flew through it... or swam through it ...hehe in less then a day. Be on the lookout for a review up in the next day or so.

A Little Harry Potter Fan Girling

Don't yell at me... but before this Thanksgiving break I had never read Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone...

To answer your question... Yes I have read all of the other books... and seen all of the movies.

Stop looking at me like that!!! Let me explain:

Harry Potter came out when I was what nine?! (pause while I look up the actual year) 1998... ok So I was 8. I've never been one to read the "hip trendy book" that everyone is currently raving about. I didn't read Twilight until Nic practically tied me down and told me that If I didn't read it she'd never untie me. I didn't read Hunger Games until just before the movie came out... and I didn't read Harry Potter either.

UNTIL....
I saw the first movie. I loved to read as a kid, I did, I read all of the time... And I tried reading the first HP about 3-4 times but I never could get passed the Hagrid coming and getting Harry out of the shack part. When I saw the movie... I fell in love. I loved the characters, I loved how fast paced it was, I loved Hogwarts but the reason I wanted to read the series was because of the end scene (spoiler) when Quirrel is explaining everything. How he was the one trying to make Harry fall off his broom, how HE let the troll into the castle on Halloween. I loved how J.K. Rowling tricked me into thinking Snape was the bad guy. I would also like to add that from that moment on I always trusted Professor Snape, never doubted him once. After I saw the first movie in theatres, I rushed home and momentarily questioned if I should read the first one or go right into the second... I decided that I'm sure the movie was very much like the book and I can just skip it. I'm pretty sure Harry Potter three is the first book that I read cover to cover without stopping.

Now... bounce up about 15 years and you come to present time. My boyfriend Jared is THE biggest Harry Potter fan I know... which is SAYING something because I myself am obsessed. He found out that I had never read the first book and basically flipped out. He told me that he was going to buy me the first Harry Potter for every Christmas, Birthday, Valentines and Anniversary present until I finished it. So when we went home for Thanksgiving, I grabbed it off my shelf and read it. I had always planned on going back to finish it, I didn't feel like I could really say that I'd read Harry Potter without having to add "except the first one." But Thanksgiving break was as good a time as any. Not gonna lie inner child Del was totally proud of me when I got passed the Hagrid part. :)

I read the Chronicles of Narnia years and years and years ago. It's another one of my favorites. A few years back they decided to reorganize the series in chronological order... I won't really go into how disappointed this made me, but what I will say is that it ruins the excitement of The Magician's Nephew. The reason that book is so interesting when it was book 6, instead of 1, is because you already know about the lamp post, you already know about the wardrobe so it's exciting learning how that all came to be. You find out how the white witch became the White Witch... with that being the first book... it ruins so much of the "oh wow... thaaaat's how it happened" moments. It completely ruins that book... which is why i'm glad they are doing the movies in the correct order. How is this relevant at all you might ask??? After finishing the 2nd through the 7th books I know all the characters and plot conclusions, I know who Sirius Black is. I know why Hagrid get's expelled. BUT... it was really cool to pick up on little foreshadowing moments in the first book that I never would have picked up if I'd had read that book first. I'm not saying skip all the first books in series... that would be silly. I'm just saying it was a nice little treat now and then when I'd see Sirius Black's name two books before anyone knows who he is.

I felt like OFFICIALLY completing the series from sort of beginning... to end... to beginning again deserved some sort of celebration. In this case, a rather lengthy blog post. Kudos by the way if you've made it this far. I am just soooo glad that I'm part of the Harry Potter generation. :)

Side note: Sorry to all of our followers about how few blog posts we have been able to publish lately. It's a really hard time of year for both of us. With Winter break coming in only a few short weeks Nic and I will be together again and produce lots of new posts. Thanks again for being such good followers!!

Review'd: Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Book Review:
Title: Finale
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Published on October 23rd by Simon and Schuster

Goodreads Summary:
Will love conquer all?

Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.

Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

DeLibrarie Review: 
It was a hard decision but THIS series is my favorite. It could be because I love angel books. It might be because Nora reminds me more of myself than any other YA book character (seriously it's scary). Ok, let's not lie... it's probably because of a certain sexy, fallen angel named Patch. I'm sure if you read this book then you like the series already so I don't really need to convince you, or you could be the type of person who just continues to read series you hate so you can say nasty things about them on Goodreads. I won't judge either way but still I don't need to convince you to read it... If you've read the first three, I'm sure this one is on your list. A lot of people seem to be weary of the fact that the once 3 title series became a 4 title series. To be honest I was a little disappointed myself. Not because I was sick of Nora and Patch but more because I was anticipating a concrete conclusion in Silence. I wasn't expecting having to wait ANOTHER year to find out what happens. BUT... I am really glad that she stretched it out to 4. I think that everything in Finale really helped the plot and I can't really imagine the story as a whole without it. As a fan of these series... I hate to see them end, but endings are inevitable and frankly I dislike it more when authors keep writing 8-15 books... they just get old. I think 4 books was perfect but I'm SUPER sad that there will be no more Patch and Nora books. One thing that I actually like about when my favorite series conclude is that I am really excited for what these authors but out next. Now that Becca Fitzpatrick, Lauren Kate and Rachel Hawkins books are done... what beautiful untold story will they publish next?? I can't wait to get just as engrossed in those stories as I did in this one. 

In My Mailbox

Hello! So this post is LONG overdue but since I've barely had time to appreciate them, nows as good a time as any.
So my dear friend Del and I had fairly large personal libraries and we live pretty close to each other. So our libraries are always open to each other to exchange/borrow books. Well, this year was extra special because while Del still went away for school, I decided to live at home for the year while attending my final year of schooling. Because we're both like daughters to each others' families, Del gave me free reign over the books in her library. She has allowed me, for the year, to pretty much borrow whatever I want, whenever I want. So that's exactly what I did. A couple months ago I went over to her house, hung out with her family, and carefully chose a stack of books to borrow. I have been reading a few pages from each every few days, but not enough to get substantially far in any one of them (yet - the Christmas break is coming soon folks, in which I'll finally be able to put the textbooks aside and pick up a nice, friendly, fiction read! While curling up next to the fireplace with some hot cocoa and a nice warm blanket. Mmmm, I love the holidays...).
Anyway! I would like to do a post on the stack of books which I borrowed from her because I am very excited about all of them and now that I'll actually begin reading them, I wanted to share them all with  you! So here we go, get ready for some gorgeous covers and some squeeling over some pretty awesome-looking books :)

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

This is the one I'm most excited about. I've started it and it is SOO hard to put it down!!!

Goodreads Summary:
On the night of Skye's seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites--like fire and ice–-Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye's life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move--only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher - whom she can't help falling for, and Devin - whom she can't stay away from, the consequences of Skye's choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

"A Beautiful Dark" is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.

Rapture by Lauren Kate

When I first picked this one up, I read fifty pages into it and then had to force myself to put it down... I hate this whole, not-having-time-to-read-EVER thing...

Goodreads Summary:
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.

Until I Die by Amy Plum

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!!

Goodreads Summary:
Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Another series I LOVE. I'm behind though... Finale just came out and I'm still on Silence! Ah! At least now I don't have to wait for Finale or anything... yay!

Goodreads Summary:
WHEN SILENCE IS ALL THAT'S LEFT, CAN THE TRUTH FINALLY BE HEARD?

Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend.

But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows.

And this unshakable feeling that a part of her is missing.

Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Goodreads Summary:
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

I started reading this and within the first chapter I was crying... I'm gonna have to have a good, happy read to follow up this one I think.

Goodreads Summary:
Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever.

BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally.

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after.

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Goodreads Summary:
What happens when happily ever after... isn’t?

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

Venom by Fiona Paul

Goodreads Summary:
Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape.

When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco?

Beauty, love, romance, and mystery weave together in a stunning novel that’s as seductive and surprising as the city of Venice itself.

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Goodreads Summary:
Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Goodreads Summary:
Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Goodreads Summary:
Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

Coffeehoues Angel by Suzanne Selfors

Goodreads Summary:
From the author of Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down. Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . .

 

What did you get in your mailbox this week (or last few months in my case)?

 

Review'd: Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

Book Review:
Title: Ripple
Author: Mandy Hubbard
Published: July 21st 2011 by Razorbill/Penguin

Goodreads Summary:
Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. The water calls to her, draws her in, forces her to sing her deadly song to unsuspecting victims. If she succumbs, she kills. If she doesn't, the pain is unbearable. To keep herself and those she cares about safe, she shuts herself off, refusing to make friends or fall in love-again. Because the last time she fell in love with a boy, he ended up dead.
Then Lexi finds herself torn. Against her better judgement, she's opening up again, falling in love with someone new when she knows she shouldn't. But when she's offered the chance to finally live a normal life, she learns that the price she must pay to be free of her curse is giving him up.

DeLibrarie Review:
This book was wonderful. It really was. Hubbard took a classic, supernatural being and applied it to the every day person. She made this creature relateable, real, possible, and captivating. I found all of these characters to be credible and relateable. The story/plot itself was just so realistic that I felt as though this story could actually have happened. There was no superhuman guy or will of fate stepping in to save the day, nor was the heroine or hero so unreal or lucky that everything just worked out for them; on the contrary, bad things happened and you were never quite sure where the story would go next. The writing style was smooth which made this a fast read. I honestly wasn't sure how the story was going to end because it wasn't predictable which I appreciated. I hate seeing the ending before it happens but that didn't happen here. The only reason I put this book down and took so long to read it, was because I knew it was a stand alone and I did not want the story to end so I prolonged it for as long as I could manage, and I'm glad I did because I enjoyed this book every step of the way. The main character also has to go through something which takes a couple years and (before the start of the story) and so by taking my time, it sort of helped me to truly understand how long this story has really been taking place for. This is the first book I've read by Hubbard and I was blown away. I loved the voice she used to write this and I felt so attached to the characters that I wanted to help even though I never could. For being a paranormal book, it was very real and believable; I loved that. It's rare that you get that in the paranormal romance genre of teen fiction nowadays. I do wish that she had taken a little more time with certain parts, specifically concerning Eric but honestly there's not much that I can say I didn't like about this book. I know I'm being fairly obscure with this review and not very detailed about my likes and dislikes (the few that there are), but it's because I really don't want to give anything away. This book is a gem and I very highly suggest that everyone go out and read this book if you haven't already. It's short, sweet, yet heartbreaking and enthralling. I'll miss this book. And I absolutely cannot wait to see what else Hubbard has up her sleeve!