Not Just Nonsense

The Time Will Come #2

2012-02-16T09:55:00.000-02:00

The Time Will Come is a fantastic meme hosted by Books For Company where we can feature those poor books that we bought, put on the shelf, and haven't (yet!) read.

All you have to do is:
- Pick a book you have been meaning to read
- Do a post to tell us about the book
- Link the post in the linky
- Visit the other blogs!

This week my poor abandoned children are:

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. They are The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

___________

Man, I should have started this series already... I mean, I was so sure I'd love it that I bought them all at once (though I didn't find the box set, the picture is just for illustration. LOL. Too bad). I'll have to find some time to read at least the first one. Soon. ;)

What about you? What's been on your shelves for a while that you haven't read yet?

Review: A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

2012-02-15T09:51:00.001-02:00

A Match Made in High School

by Kristin Walker

When the principal announces that every senior must participate in a mandatory year-long Marriage Education program, Fiona Sheehan believes that her life can't get any worse. Then she marries her "husband": jerky jock Todd, whose cheerleader girlfriend, Amanda, has had it in for Fiona since day one of second grade. Even worse? Amanda is paired with Fiona's long-term crush, Gabe. At least Fiona is doing better than her best friend, Marcie, who is paired up with the very quiet, very mysterious Johnny Mercer.

Pranks, fights, misunderstandings, and reconciliations ensue in an almost Shakespearean comedy of errors about mistaken first impressions, convoluted coupling, and hidden crushes.

Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: February 2010

Publisher: Razorbill

Format: paperback, 278 pages

Series: no

Source: bought

______________________________

My Review

Fiona Sheehan is sure she is the unluckiest girl on Earth.

It's the first day of school and things couldn't be going worse. That is, until she gets to school and finds out that this year, in order to graduate, all seniors have to be part of a new mandatory course. Trying the Knot. This course is supposed to train the teenagers on how to act in a marriage and learn how to deal with many kinds of problems, and so, trying to aviod divorce. Names would be randomly selected, and the so-called couples would have to earn real cash in order to have a mock budget and mock possessions. Half of the total amount of real money would be divided between the couple that had the best evaluation and the other half would be donated to whatever charity the couple chose.

Fiona though it was all BS, but secretly she goped this would be her chance to get closer to her all-time crush, Gabe Webber. But, of course, she wasn't so lucky. He ended up being paired with her childhood arch enemy, Amanda Lowell. A pretty, blond, brainless cheerleader. And Fiona, the poor thing, got stuck with Amanda's "no-necked Neanderthal" of a boyfriend, Todd Harding.

Her new 'husband', Todd, is a real a-hole, fighting with her all the time, being downright mean and rude... but as they get used to each other, Fiona starts to enjoy their bickerings more and more. Even if he forced her to join the Cheerleading squad as one of their stupid mandatory activities for their mock marriage.

Fiona later finds out that her best (and only) friend, Marcie, was dating Gabe behind her back. She's furious and heart-broken, and ends up messing up her part in the cheering presentation and rudely turns down sweet Johnny Mercer's (Marcie's mock husband) declaration of affection.

In 'A Match Made in High-School' we watch as Fiona makes mistake after mistake, until she finally listens to her friends and see how selfish and self-centered she is. And changes for the best, finding happiness where she had never looked before.

This is a very cute, funny, quick and light story. An excellent read for younger audiences. Really, don't expect anything very deep and complex. Just quick fun.

"Waiting On" Wednesday #11

2012-02-15T09:44:00.000-02:00

On her flight back to Midway the cargo plane hits nasty weather, and goes down. It’s just Robie, the pilot, and Max, a co-pilot she’s never met till this flight, on board. Robie is pulled aboard a raft by Max, who is injured and slipping in and out of consciousness. They have a bag of candy and very little water between them. When they finally reach an island that seems abandoned, Robie hopes they’ll be found quickly. But she’s not sure she was even on the flight manifest. Her parents must be looking for her…aren’t they?

________

_______________

Oppression by Jessica Therrien

Expected publication: February 28th 2012

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous.

Dark Storm by Sarah Singleton

Expected publication: March 29th 2012

Ellie is staying with her maternal grandparents for the summer, while her recently bereaved dad takes off on holiday with his new girlfriend. Upset by his apparent callousness, missing her mother, and jealous for her dad's attention, she begins to spiral into depression. Her grandparents suggest she joins a local theatre group, to meet people her own age and get away from the dark thoughts that threaten to engulf her. But then she gets roped into a seance at the theatre, and is the only one who actually sees a real ghost.

___________

Such beautiful covers, huh? And the stories sound so mysterious! *-*

What are you waiting on?

Review: Waltz of Seduction by Natasha Blackthorne

2012-02-14T10:23:00.000-02:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you're all having fun!

Here's a great, romantic read that could very well be read by two... it's an excellent choice for today. :P

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Waltz of Seduction
Natasha Blackthorne

A painful personal experience makes Lord Lockhart believe that a gentleman doesn't inflict his passionate desires on a wife. The marriage bed is for begetting heirs, not animal lust. No matter how much he desires his wife. But under Lady Lockhart's shyness is a determination to tempt her handsome husband, to satisfy them both and spend every night together in her bed.

Innocent waltzing lessons in their chambers soon become indecent, and may lead the newlyweds to overcome their preconceptions and learn to be lovers, as well as man and wife.

Genre: Adult, Historical

Publication Date: 2011

Publisher: Ellora's Cave Legend

Format: e-book, 42 pages

Series: no

Source: review copy from publisher

___________________________________

My Review

Lady Sarah Lockheart wants nothing more than to tempt her husband. But nothing she tries seems to do the trick. Lord Colin Lockheart remains distant. He actually pays more attention to his clocks and star-gazing than he does her.

Sarah thinks herself very plain and comes from a commoner's family. She wonders if the only reason her husband married her was because of the money she brought from her family. Why is it that hardly ever visits her chamber, and why are his visits so brief? It seems as if he's always avoiding her or when they're together he's often eager to leave her presence. Sarah is afraid he regrets marrying her, and that he might find himself a mistress.

Colin finds his wife very beautiful in her own way. And almost too tempting. So much that he wants to bother her with his 'marital rights' more often than he thinks is acceptable. As a gentlemen, he believes he shouldn't treat his wife as a whore to sate his needs. He is convinced it might even affect her fragile female nerves. LOL.

He loves her and wants to show the world just how lovely she is, how much he cares and respects her, and that she means much more to him than just a trust fund.

He wants to waltz with her, in front of everybody. He just needs to convince her.

This was one of the most beautifully written short stories I have ever read!

The love between the characters was almost palpable! The sex scenes were so romantic, so cute, so right! (most books have some very vulgar, exaggerated scenes, but not this one.). Everthing was very tasteful and fit perfectly in the story.

I was really surprised with the quality of the writing! The author has such a great way with words! I really liked the alternating POVs, too! It's always nice to see how each character really feels, not just how the others see them.

I just wish it was a bit longer... I wanted to keep on reading about them!!! :) The story was short, but it was so well done it was able to show us perfectly just how sweet and complex the characters were within those few pages.

Really, I can't stress how great and entertaining the writing was. I'll certainly look for Natasha Blackthorne's other titles.

If you like erotica with some actual backgroung story and meaning, then you'll love Waltz of Seduction!

I'd like to thank the author and the publisher for the chance of reviewing this jewel.

Teaser Tuesday #11

2012-02-14T10:20:00.000-02:00

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read

       • Open to a random page
      • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
      • Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I'm afraid my teasers aren't very romantic, but the book is. :) LOL

"She had a knack for relieving the tension in a room by pretending my rudeness away with cooking. Many, many chickens had given up their lives to cover my conversationalist shortcomings."

"I was shameless in my supermarket-shelf mass-market taste. I loved King, Evanovich, Grisham and Brown. I won't lie; the oficial-looking filing cabinet in the corner is actually stuffed full of my paperbacks."

This book is filled with so many great quotes, I couldn't possibly just pick one! LOL

What's your teaser this week?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #9

2012-02-13T10:46:00.000-02:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.

I'm Currently Reading:

Finished:

Next Reads:

What are you reading this week?

Early Review: Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

2012-02-12T11:21:00.000-02:00

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe
Shelley Coriell

Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by Amulet Books

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: May 2012

Publisher: Amulet Books

Format: eARC, 320 pages

Series: no

Acquisition: Netgalley

______________________________________

My Review

I have to admit that after reading the first few pages I wasn't sure I'd like this book. Chloe was all "Oh, me and my BFs are so close!", "My BF's rock!" and then "Oh, my God, how will I possibly survive without my BFs?". I seriously wanted to slap that girl. But then it was like another writer finished the rest of the book, becuase the story got so much better.

Chloe works at the Dos Hermanas Mexican Cantina, has a grandmother with Parkinson and absolutely loves old vintage shoes. Her parents are both doctors, and her older five brothers also intend to be. But Chloe has no idea what she wants for the future.

What she does know is that all of a sudden her BF Brie started to act weird and call her selfish, saying that she always talks too much and never listens to others, that it's always all about her. Chloe doesn't understand why Brie is being so mean, and, apparently following in her steps, so is her other BF, Mercedes. As a matter of fact, the whole school is acting weird, pointing fingers and whispering behind her back. There's no place for her to sit in the cafeteria. Nobody stops to gossip with her. Nobody invites her to parties or for a soda anymore. Her life is all messed-up. And she can't even figure out why.

What she does know is that A. Lungren, her new JISP (Junior Independent Study Project) counselor wants her to change the theme of her project from Villanous Vixens: The Not-So-Squeaky-Clean Women of Daytime Soap Operas to helping out at the school radio station. A radio that is literally fighting for air, because the scholl admin is denying to renew KDRS 88.8 The Edge funding for the next year, and without money for the equipments, maintenance, music, supplies and etc... they're done for. Chloe doesn't really care very deeply about it all, she really just wants to get her JISP done with, especially when all of the radio crew make it very clear they don't want her there. Well... most of them, because the maintenance guy, with his broad shoulders, dark messy hair and beautiful silver eyes has a way of making her feel more comfortable. And welcome.

When a show spot for the night period turns up, Mr. Tool-Belt, ahem, Duncan, announces that Chloe's voice and personality would be perfect for it. After quite a bit of (heated) discussion, Chloe officially becomes a radio star. Things start to get better for the station, but as Chloe tries to get closer to Duncan, she finds out that her life is not nearly as complicated when compared to his.

After a bit of a bad start, I ended up enjoying this book profusely. Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe is a very well-written book, approaching many difficult subjects, such as bullying, the impact of Parkinson disease and illegal drugs on families and even teenage pregnancy. They were all treated in a very light, open way, but that was also able to showcase the seriousness of these matters. It was very interesting to read more about them.

This a very, very good book for young audiences, but I'm sure even adults would have fun with it. :)

If you like creative, fast-paced Young Adults with clever, funny heroines, many complex characters and realistic issues, this is your book.

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Dystopian Reading Challenge 2012

2012-02-12T11:19:00.000-02:00

Okay, I promised myself that was enough challenges already, but Dystopians are my new addiction! I just HAD to be part of this one! :)

Dystopian Reading Challenge 2012

Are you living in terror and fear for your survival? Welcome to the dark and depraved world of DYSTOPIA.

Are you confused about Dystopia? Do you want to know – what exactly is a Dystopian society? Click here to read all about it.

Here are the general rules:

Timeline: January 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012

My Goal: GET OPRESSED — to read at least 18 dystopian novels in 2012

Reading Levels:

1. Propaganda – Choose 6 books to read

2. Contagion – Choose 12 books to read

3. Oppressed – Choose 18 books to read

4. Liberated – Choose 24 books to read

5. Totalitarian – Choose 30+ books to read

The reading challenge is open to everyone.
You don’t need a blog to participate.
If you don’t have a blog – you can leave a comment with your book selection in this post.
If you don’t have a blog and would like to write a review – you are welcome to do a guest review on this blog.
You can join at anytime to participate in this challenge.
If you are going to participate in this challenge, please post about it on your blog and add a link back to
this post.
You can grab the challenge button on the sidebar to use on your blog.
eBooks, audio, and already read all count.
The Selection List will be continuously updated
Please sign-up using Mr. Linky – be sure to use the direct link to your post so that people will be able to find this challenge.

This year I have already read the following dystopian titles:

Partials by Dan Wells
Revealing Eden by Victoria Foyt
Starters by Lissa Price
Catching fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Possession by Elana Johnson
Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Want to join the challenge? Sign up here.

In My Mailbox #11

2012-02-12T10:41:00.000-02:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Story Siren.

This week I got:

Tiger's Curse

The Avenger

Between Shades of Gray

The Avenger is a surprisingly small book. O.o But the description sounds great, so... I won't judge it by its ~~cover,~~ I mean, size. ;P

I got these from book trading online. Still sticking to my New Year's resolution to not buy more books this year. Whew... that is turning out to be much harder than I expected. O.o

What did you get this week?

On My Wishlist #2

2012-02-11T10:45:00.000-02:00

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where we list all the books we desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

From my wishlist this week I chose a couple of oldies that are now out of print. I haven't read them, but I want to. :)

I'm hoping they'll soon be available on Better World Books.

What's on your wishlist?

#FF: Feature&Follow #10

2012-02-10T10:31:00.000-02:00

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.

Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

Oh, I'd rather have ONE good book than 100s of bad ones. After I tried all of the bad ones (just to make sure they were really mediocre), I'd probably start to pull out my hair out of desperation. LOL. So, quality over quantity, for sure. ;)

If you're a new follower, please comment and let me know so I can follow you back.

Early Review: Starters (Starters #1) by Lissa Price

2012-02-09T09:58:00.001-02:00

Starters (Starters #1)

by Lissa Price

Expected publication: April 10th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . .

Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: April 10th 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Format: eARC, 368 pages

Series: yes

Acquisition: Netgalley

___________________________________________

My Review

Sixteen year-old Callie Woodland is an orphan and a Starter. After the Spore Wars all the people from the ages 20-60 were killed by the disease, which spread faster than the vaccines. The children and elders were immunized first, due to their 'vulnerability', and so were the only survivors post-war. The youngsters are called Starters and the elders, Enders. Due to the greater numbers of senior citizens, that started to be able to reach over 250 years-old, it became forbidden for teenagers under the age of 19 to work or vote, hence giving the control of the work space, politics and economy to the elders.

Minors without live grandparents or any other family are forced to live on the streets, eating scraps and living in abandoned buildings. They are called squatters. Callie, her brother Tyler and her old neighbor Michael are squatters. The only other option is legalized slave labor. Or maybe not... there is Prime Destinations, aka, the Body Bank. There, teenagers rent their bodies out for Enders, so they can enjoy youth, parties and sports again, for a limited time and astounding fees. Callie needs the money, but finds the business suspicious and outright creepy. But little Tyler has a rare lung disorder, and as he gets weaker and weaker, Callie gets more desperate. She decides to sign up for the job, the promise of money, medicine and food being too tempting.

Things go well during the first tries, but when she's hired for a whole-month contract, she wakes up in her own body, only 1 week after being put to 'sleep'. But why is she in her body when there are still 3 weeks of rent to go? Where is her renter? And whose voice is it inside her head, constantly repeating: Callie... important... do not go back to Prime Destinations... ?

As Callie starts to dig deeper into Prime Destinations, she discovers a far scarier and even more dangerous plan than just body rental. A plan that is enforced by the Governor and the wealthiest Elders. A plan that can affect the future of all Starters. For worse.

I loved that in this book nothing was what it seemed. As a matter of fact, no ONE was as they first seemed to be. When you finally think you got it, you discover that, nope, siree, still getting there. Of course that from the first page you automatically know that the body rental business will be super shady, but you never expect real humans to actually try and take it that far.

It was really hard for me to accept how the Enders/elders mistreated, abused and explored minors. They really couldn't care less about the children around them, even their own family. They were selfish, shallow, absurdly rich and mean. Maybe it was a way for the author to criticize how teenagers mistreat, deprecate and belittle their elders? A way to show us how things could be if it was the other way around? Anyway, it was a scary sight. No sweet old ladies and good ol' grandpas in this book. To them, the younger they are, the less they are worth... until their young, fresh bodies are needed, of course.

Callie was undoubtedly a strong and smart character, but it did get a little tiring to see how she always acted on her own, with no one's help and almost never really interacting with other people, except when she pretended to be her renter for a few minutes. The longest interactions she had (and the most interesting) were with Blake. I'd like to have seen more of her and Michael or even her and her brother.

Starters was a very interesting book and I can't wait to see what happens in the next volume, Enders, that is expected to be released by the end of this year. Hopefully there'll be more romance. :P

If you like your YA dystopias with lots of action, drama and suspense, go for it!!

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The Time Will Come #1

2012-02-09T09:50:00.003-02:00

This week my poor babies are:

The Highlander series.

I have the whole series here, just waiting to be read. Most of them are paperbacks in my shelves, but a couple are in e-book format.

Can't wait to just lose myself in this world of hot Highlanders and time travel! *-* (I'm tired of being the only person on the planet who still hasn't read this series. LOL)

What's on your shelves, just waiting to be picked up and read?

Review: Chubby Girl Hot! by Michelle Fawkes

2012-02-09T09:29:00.000-02:00

Chubby Girl Hot!
Michelle Fawkes

Katie is smart, attractive, and has a good job. She's a computer geek and graphic designer for a major corporation. People tell her she's pretty. And they always tell her she has a "great personality."

But Katie is chubby. And society has decreed that being chubby equals second class citizen. That's okay with Katie. She has dreams like everyone, but she's accepted her lot in life and makes the best of it. She knows she'll never get married or even have a real boyfriend, other than as a friend with sometimes benefits. Her life moves along in a quiet, predictable rut.

Until one day...

Genre: Adult, Erotica

Publication Date: Dec. 27, 2011

Publisher: Smashwords

Format: e-book, 22 pages

Series: yes

Source: review copy from author

___________________________________

My Review

Katie is a talented graphic designer. She's funny, she's smart and she's pretty... but her extra pounds make her feel very self-conscious.

When her recurrent "friend with benefits", Freddie, tells her he's moving to another state, she finds herself in need of a new 'fuck buddy'... and she wants Brad, the new IT manager at her company.

And Brad wants her, too. He asks her out for lunch. They talk, have lots of fun together, discover many things in common and decide to go out again, this time for dinner. After a lovely dinner out, things start to get really hot. For one night, Katie forgets about her restraints about her weight and has fun. And really great sex... but with the next morning comes the light of the sun and the reality sinks in. He's incredibly handsome and she's overweight.

Katie starts to push him away, no matter how much it hurts her. She goes out dancing to try and have some fun, but comes upon him kissing Regina, the evil marketing manager that always treats her like a zero and bothers her about her weight. She's devastated and leaves, but her best friend, Bibi, goes to deal with Brad, telling him about how much of an idot he is, about Katie seeing him with Regina, and that she loves him. Brad goes after Katie to explain that the other woman came on to him out of nowhere and to tell her he loves her.

It was nice to read about a real woman with a real body for once. It's a very short story, but it was interesting and certainly hot. There were a few editorial mistakes but nothing that got in the way of the story, but what did bother me was how fast the characters were to say 'I love you'... but that's usually how it goes with most romance novels, I guess.

Chubby Girl Hot! makes for a nice, light and quick read for before bed or to just pass the time. The story continues in Chubby Girl's Vacation and Chubby Girl's Wedding.

*I would like to thank the author for providing me with a copy for review.*

"Waiting On" Wednesday #10

2012-02-08T09:21:00.001-02:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Right now what I really want to read is:

Struck

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Monument 14

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. A huge store isn’t the worst place to be stranded. There’s food and water, bedding and books. But what if it’s not safe to leave? Emmy Laybourne had us from the get-go with her utterly fresh and fast-paced debut.

______________________

Can you say D-Y-S-T-O-P-I-A F-E-V-E-R? ;)

They both sound soooo good!!! They are now available for request on Netgalley, so... fingers crossed! *-*

What are you desperately waiting on?

Teaser Tuesday #10

2012-02-07T10:01:00.000-02:00

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read

       • Open to a random page
      • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
      • Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

"Maybe it was only goblin women who were restless and wanted to see the world. She didn't know."

"Maybe being brave was not highly desireable in women. Normal women would have fled, like Pansy."

The Peculiars is better than I thought. :) Lots of girl power there. LOL. I just had to share these two quotes with you.

What's your teaser this week?

Review: Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls #1) by Victoria Foyt

2012-02-06T11:24:00.003-02:00

Revealing Eden
(Save the Pearls #1)

Victoria Foyt

Eden Newman must mate before her 18th birthday in six months or she'll be left outside to die in a burning world. But who will pick up her mate-option when she's cursed with white skin and a tragically low mate-rate of 15%? In a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian, underground world where class and beauty are defined by resistance to an overheated environment, Eden's coloring brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. If only she can mate with a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class, she'll be safe. Just maybe one Coal sees the Real Eden and will be her salvation her co-worker Jamal has begun secretly dating her. But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she finds herself in the eye of a storm and thrown into the last area of rainforest, a strange and dangerous land. Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction. Eden must change to survive but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty and of love, along with a little help from her "adopted aunt" Emily Dickinson.

Reading Level: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 2012

Publisher: Sand Dollar Press

Pages: 307

Series: yes

Acquisition: received a copy for review

Heroine: Slim, light skinned, blond and blue-eyed

Hero: Tall, dark skinned, dark hair and dark eyes

__________________________________________________

My Review

Eden Newman is seventeen years old and a Pearl. Pearl is the racist term for the fair-skinned minority.

She lives in a post-apocalypctic world ruled by the Coals, people with darker skin. In this world, to show white skin is an insult so big that gives the Coals an excuse to finish you., so Eden is forced to use a dark coating to hide her skin color. She also has to paint her blond hair black and use brown contact lenses over her blue eyes.

It's very difficult for her to believe that a million years ago she would be considered beautiful. In this new Earth, she is nothing. Eden hates the Coals and everything they represent, but at the same time she wishes she was just like them, as beautiful and safe.

But if there is one thing she is not, is safe. As she approaches her eighteenth birthday, she gets more and more nervous, because she still has no mating option. If she doesn't mate by her birthday, she will lose her Basic Resources. No more food, the relative safety of her miserable job and all her oxy, the calming drug administered by the government. But who would want a Pearl? The only thing worse than being a Pearl is being a Cotton (albino), who are now supposedly extinct. (Any carriers of the recessive gene are forbidded by the Government to breed. Light skin is already quite unacceptable, but having no melanin at all is seen as an abomination that should cease to be.).

The civilization has long moved underground, hiding from the deadly levels of radiation, that causes The Heat (a terrible mutation of skin cancer that spreads very quickly). Coals possess higher levels of melanin on their skin, which protects them from most of the radiation. And because of that higher protection, they were the majority to survive after The Great Meltdown. Due to that, they considered themselves superior to the other surviving races and took control over them.

One of Eden's worse fears is that she might perish from The Heat like her mother (called a Pink Pearl, with red hair) did seven years ago. Her other fears lie in being killed by an angry mob of Coals for the smallest infraction or, even worse, being taken in by the FFP (Federation of Free People), that are the equivalent of Ku Klux Klan to white people.

I was really getting into the book, starting to get mad and desperate over the injustice of this world, liking the characters, the setting and the situations... but then, BAM. All of a sudden it was like a whole new book was inserted in the middle of the one I started. Out comes the dystopian race war and my hopes for some kind of revolution, in comes the Beast man and the Amazonian jungle, indians and wild animals.

I really didn't see it coming. O.o Not that it was bad, you see, but it was weird. It was like the author had changed her mind on what the book should be about after already starting it. It was interesting to see how Eden and the Jaguar Man (that's how the indians called the Coal who received DNA from three different animals in an experiment to try and get more resistance to radiation. He looked like a wild, mixed creation. Half-man, half-animal) got involved. The sexual tension was sizzling, but secrets and disappointments kept coming up to keep them apart.

In a nutshell, the whole thing was nothing like what I expected, but it wasn't bad. Just very different. I wanted to have seen more of their society, some sort of rebellion and change... I don't know, maybe in the enxt volumes?

The beginning Revealing Eden reminded me of Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses, what with the african american supremacy. I found it fascinating to see how things would be if it was the other way around. If white people were the ones on the receiving end of all the prejudice that black people have to deal with nowadays.

If you are open minded, like crazy science fiction books with dystopian touches, jungle settings, mystery and romance, give this one a try. ;)

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

In My Mailbox #10

2012-02-05T09:38:00.000-02:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Story Siren.

This week I got:

(sorry for the horrible pic)

I swapped a couple of my old books for these pretties here. :)

I still have to read Ink Exchange, but Fragile Eternity sounds really great!

And Demon From the Dark will be my first title by Kresley Cole. I hope I'll enjoy it. :)

What did you get this week?

Manga Rec #10 : Butterflies, Flowers, vol.1 by Yuki Yoshihara

2012-02-04T12:25:00.000-02:00

Butterflies, Flowers, vol.1 (Butterflies, Flowers #1)

by Yuki Yoshihara

A hilarious office romance!

Choko Kuze is the sensible daughter of a venerable family who went bankrupt. She joins a real estate company as an entry-level office worker, but her eccentric boss is harder on her than anyone else in the company! After hearing him inadvertently call her "milady," she realizes he was the young servant boy she knew as a child. At work he's a tyrant, but after hours he insists on treating her like a lady of the nobility. Is romance even possible for a couple locked in such a crazy role reversal?

__________________________

I have been anxiously waiting for some publisher to translate Yuki Yoshihara's work. You can't possibly imagine how happy I was when I found out that VIZ Media was going to start this series!!! *-*

(Even if it's not my favorite series of hers, it's till her work anyway. LOL).

Masayuki worked as a servant for Choko's family when she was a kid... so when he become the boss in the company she now works, things start to get weird. He's very conflicted.

Sometimes he treats her badly, like a very demanding boss would.

Other times, he's very sweet and caring, almost like a babysitter or white knight.

Choko gets very confused... and starts to fall for him.

This manga is so preposterous it's hilarious. There are certain situations that make this an adult manga, but nothing actually happens for a long time. :P

All in all, Butterflies, Flowers is sure to make you laugh. The drawings and the characters expressions are remarkably funny.

There's no way you won't fall in love with Masayuki. He's such a dear! And Choko is unbelievably amusing.

Need some fun and are tired of reading about teenagers?

Give this one a try and let me know what you think. ;)

On My Wishlist #

2012-02-04T10:52:00.003-02:00

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My list this week contains already published books.

I can't keep up with my poor TBR list. :)

What's on your wishlist?

Early Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

2012-02-03T09:59:00.000-02:00

Wanderlove

by Kirsten Hubbard

Expected publication: March 13th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond? No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back. Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry into this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.

Reading Level: Young Adult

Publication Date: March 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Pages: 352

Series: no

Acquisition: received a copy for review

Heroine: Slim, short dark hair and eyes

Hero: Tall, swimmer's build, longish dark hair and blue eyes

______________________________

My Review

Bria Sandoval loves to draw. Ever since she was kid she would draw in every surface with anything available, and have the time of her life doing it. On her senior year she met the guy who looked perfect for her. An artist. Toby went to fancy art classes, knew secret drawing techniques and dreamt of going to SCAA, a big, famous arts school. And he made her want to go, too. They studied together, improved their skills and applied.

Bria got in. But Toby didn't... he was jealous and bitter, so he dumped her.

Bria was completely crushed. After moping around for weeks, she decides to travel to Europe with her friends, just like she and Toby planned to do once they went to college together... but her friends end up not being able to go, and she can't possibly go alone to a place like Europe, right? Well, she certainly can, but not to a place that would make her think of him all the time.

She's going to Guatemala. To see the Mayan Ruins. With the Global Vagabonds, adventurous youngsters looking for knowledge and fun... At least that's what the pamphlet said. But when she gets to the Guatemala airport, all she sees are middle-aged people. And all they do is stick to safe places, seeing only what the travel plan states they should see, and for how long they should see it.

Bria starts to regret the trip until she sees a beautiful kind of creature wondering along the boring tourists. A backpacker. A tall, bronzed-skin, ponytailed backpacker. Who invites her over for dinner on an island that is not on her travel guide. When she gets there, she remembers she doesn't know his name, but ends up finding more beautiful, tanned creatures like him. And one of them is Starling, an outspoken humanitarian. She explains to Bria that the 'ponytail guy' is her half-brother, a reformed troublemaker called Rowan, who teaches scuba diving.

When Starling invites her to join them on their trip, she's scared, but very excited. After all, this whole thing was supposed to make her more independent, but the Global Vagabonds obviously weren't helping her with that cause... so she takes the risk, gives up two thirds of her suitcase's content and becomes a brand new backpacker. Rowan isn't exactly thrilled with the tag-along, but he accepts her well enough... until Starling up and leaves for a job in a small town called Flores, without even saying goodbye to her brother. Because, like she told Bria before leaving, they don't do goodbyes, they're just too painful. Rowan is even more not thrilled when he finds his sister gone and himself as the 'babysitter', but Bria starts to show him how great a companion she can be. How great a friend.

Bria learns that backpackers do things cheap. And saving money means giving up on comfort. And life luxuries, such as showers, hot water and cold drinks. But they also see the most amazing things that ordinary travelers always miss out on. They see hidden natural beauty, they see the reality of life in Central America, they learn and they grow as they travel. They ake new friends and they fall in love.

I have to admit that at the beginning there were a few times the book was a bit boring, but I'm glad I endured it, LOL, because then it gets crazy good! I stayed up late just to finish it! I didn't want to wait to see what happened. Bria is a an excellent artist, and her drawings fill the book, making it so much more... personal (author Kirsten Hubbard was also the artist). You can literally picture what's happening, what she's seeing and feeling. And it's a beautiful addition to such a great story. She finds herself, her art, her heart. And helps Rowan finds himself and his purpose, too. It's truly touching.

If you enjoy realistic fiction young adult books with a lot of travel, growing up, romance and drama, grab Wanderlove right now. :)

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

#FF: Feature&Follow #9

2012-02-03T09:58:00.000-02:00

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.

Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

Well.... my heroines are usually pretty strong and opinionated, they make people respect them. No weak willed, silly girls for me (but I do give them a chance to grow a backbone before giving the book up). My heroes are generally strong, too, yes, but they'd never try to force themselves or their will on their heroines. They respect each other, they're equals. They are a team. And they have lots of fun teasing each other.

But it's not unheard of for me to favorite a book just because I like the hero better than I do the heroine. LOL

What about you?

If you follow, please leave a link so I can follow back. ;)

Dirty Little Secret #8

2012-02-02T10:20:00.000-02:00

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by us at Under the Covers. Every Thursday we get to know other bloggers and our readers more intimately by asking them a question hoping to reveal their dirty little secrets. We hope that you will all join us!

This week's question:

If you could travel back in time, what era would you like to find yourself in and why?

I would love to be back in the time of Sparta (around 600BC). Spartan women enjoyed considerably more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world, so lots of girl power there. :)

Spartan women could own property, were encouraged to develop their intellect and had a reputation for boldness and licentiousness that other Greeks found unseemly.
Oh, and Plutarch wrote that “the men of Sparta always obeyed their wives.”

But even there, things weren't perfect... still, if I had to go back in time, I would prefer to at least have some rights and respect. Not to mention the opportunity to see the yummy warriors, all strong and sweaty. :P (Remember 300, anyone?).

Living with vikings would be interesting, too, but their women were treated like rubish, so... maybe not. O.o

You can read more about Spartan women here.

What time period would you prefer?

"Waiting On" Wednesday #9

2012-02-01T10:03:00.004-02:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Right now what I really want to read is:

After the Snow

S.D. Crockett

2059. The snow begins to fall. Only the few are prepared. A new ice-age has begun. Born after the snows, fifteen-year-old straggler kid Willo Blake has never known a life outside hunting and trapping in the hills. When his family mysteriously disappears, leaving him alone on a freezing mountain, Willo sets off into the unknown to find them. Meanwhile, across Britain, outlawed followers of survivalist John Blovyn are planning an escape to the fabled Islands talked of in a revolutionary book. When Willo meets an abandoned girl on his trek across the hills, his world collides with outlaws and halfmen on an epic journey that leads him to the new world of the city - a place where the dog spirit inside his head cannot help him. It is a journey of betrayal and violence. A journey of awakening love and humanity. A journey that changes everything he ever thought he knew.

_______________________

Yup, I'm very into dystopian books now. :) I think I just really like the Post-Apocalyptic scenarios, how people have to learn to survive, no mater what the conditions thrown at them. It's fascinating... if a bit terrifying.

What are you waiting on?

Review: Partials (Partials #1) by Dan Wells

2012-02-01T09:51:00.000-02:00

Partials (Partials #1)

by Dan Wells

Expected publication: February 28th 2012 by Balzer + Bray

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

___________________________________

My Review

It is the year of 2076. Sixteen-year-old Kira Walker works gathering data from dead human babies in order to help researchers find a cure for the deadly virus RM that killed most of the human race during the Break.

The Senate controls everything and everyone and has approved the Hope Act, which makes it obligatory for every fertile female to start breeding from the age of eighteen. They hope that the more babies are born, the bigger the chances one of them will survive longer than three days, becoming somehow immune to the RM.

When there is talk about the Senate wanting to drop the pregnancy age to sixteen, the Voice of People (a group of terrorists that disagree with the breach of human rights that is the Hope Act and all the intense control the Senate inflicts on people) start to attack the perimeter of the city, burning things and killing innocents

But even an even worse threat than the Voice are the Partials. Machines with human DNA built to be stronger and faster, made to protect the humans and fight for them during war times... until they turned against their makers and released the RM virus on all mankind.

Kira is tired of seeing babies die and mothers suffer from their yearly losses. So she decides to look for a cure herself. There are great amounts of data on how the virus works in the infants it infects, but not much in how the survivors became immune to it. After a lot of researching, she comes to the conclusion that the ones who created the virus should have the cure in their blood. Kira gathers all her most trustworthy friends and asks them for help with capturing a Partial for study. After a lot of debate and hesitation, they have it all planned out, but the Partials are so much more powerful than they could have imagined, and only with much luck do they get one as a prisoner... just so the soldiers of the Senate can have him killed. But the Partial is saved by the bell. The senators decide they want to 'interview'

Kira intervenes and is allowed to study him for five days, on the agreement that afterwards the specimen is to be exterminated. The Partial, Samm, turns out to be brighter, more complex and more human than she was led to believe. He may also carry the secret to cure the virus. A virus he insists his kind did not create. Samm starts to make Kira doubt everything she's ever been taught. He also needs her help. Their only hope, for either of them, is to work together.

Sometimes your enemies aren't as bad as you were led to believe... and your heroes aren't nearly as good as they claim to be.

Partials was just pure action, packed with a whole lot of tension, drama and polemic issues. Teenagers being forced to breed like cattle for the survival of the species, a government controlling every single breath you take, hiding and distorting every piece of information to keep you under their thumbs, machines that are also part human...

You won't regret it. I bet my firstborn on it. Well....maybe. LOL. Seriously, you'll love it. When I first saw that cover, I just knew I had to read it. The synopsis almost blew my head off, it sounded so good. I'm glad it delivered everything it promised and more!! I devoured the whole thing in one afternoon, in one sitting. I just wish I had the next volume in my hands already. Oh, the waiting!!! Dan Wells, will you hurry up, pretty please? *-* (BTW, a love triangle with Samm really wouldn't hurt, now, would it? ;))

If you like creative, fast-paced Young Adult books with science fiction,post Apocalyptic and dystopian themes, GO FOR IT. If you don't, just read it, anyway! Or you'll be missing out on a really awesome new series. ;P

*I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this -unbelievably good- book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

2012-01-31T10:30:00.000-02:00

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

by Jesse Andrews

Expected publication: March 1st 2012 by Abrams, Harry N., Inc

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl’s terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make them for other people. Until Rachel.

Rachel has leukemia, and Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl make her a movie, and Greg must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It’s a hilarious, outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a prodigiously talented debut author.

__________________________________________

My Review

The book starts with 17 year-old Greg S. Gaines introducing himself, his school and the chaos caused by the vacuum at the top of said school's hierarchy.

He explains that once you join a group (Rich, Jock, Smart, Theater, Goth...) you automatically make an enemy of every other group you failed to join. His solution to this issue is to not join any group outright. (because groupless people are simply prey). By doing that, he can, theoretically, be protected and/or accepted by all cliques.

However, this choice may bring many complications, such as having to act as a sort of 'spy', always hiding his presence in one group from the other groups. He also can never really be part of a group, just a peripheral 'participant'. Oh, and he has to be especially careful during all mixed congregations, like lunch or even his classes.

It's Greg's senior year and things are surprisingly not sucking as bad as they usually do. Until he discovers that his childhood jew classmate, Rachel Kushner, has an acute form of leukemia. And their mothers insist that he be especially nice and friendly to her. And, at least in his head, that starts to make his life a nightmare at school.

Things get even worse when Earl, his weird 'best friend' shows their house-made movies to Rachel (which makes her happy and distracted during those horrible chemo sessions) and Greg's childhood crush, beautiful, popular Madison, finds out about his secret hobby. And asks him to make a movie for Rachel. Word quickly travels through school and soon people are calling him 'Spillberg' and telling him how touching what he's doing is and how they also want to be in the movie.... problem is, Greg and Earl have NO idea what the movie should be about. Their plans were hilarious... in very disturbing ways.

This was possibly the weirdest and craziest book I have ever read. There were jokes thrown in the middle of very serious sentences, there were "scripts" between the narration... and the narrative itself was so very blunt that it was sometimes shocking. But in a good, clever, surprising way.

I absolutely loved the huge scolding Earl gave Greg about him caring so much about what everybody at school thought about him. In Earl's words:

"You all worried 'bout what they think about you, man, they don't give a fuck. They don't give a fuck if you live or die, you pussy-ass bitch. (...) Rachel is the only one who do give a fuck. She don't have big-ass titties, so you don't fucking care, but that other bitch don't give a shit about you and, and fucking Rachel do, and you don't fucking give a shit cuz you're a dumb little bitch."

Excess swearing and troubled household aside, Earl is a really good person and Greg totally had it coming, if you ask me. That was probably the only thing that was a bit tiring about the book, the endless self-deprecating and feeling sorry for himself... but at least there was some really good character development, so Greg made up for his annoyance. LOL

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has a very refreshing take on cancer, friendships, growing up and movie-making. Like I said before (and the author himself repeatedly announces), this a weird book, but everybody should give it a try. Honestly.

If you like eclectic, funny and bittersweet Young Adult books that are also a quick, interesting kind of realist fiction that is different from everything you've ever read before, this is certainly your book.

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Teaser Tuesday #9

2012-01-31T10:29:00.000-02:00

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read

       • Open to a random page
      • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
      • Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

"What is the world coming to, with these modern women? A man can't tell them what to do."

"Probably my favorite body part. No one ever complained about a fat brain. No one ever accused their brain of being too short or too tall, too wide or too narrow. Or ugly. It either worked or it didn't, and mine worked just fine."

What's your teaser this week?

100 Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2012!

2012-01-30T22:01:00.003-02:00

I'm signing up for the Book Chick City's

100 Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2012!

Challenge Details
• Timeline: 01 Jan 2012 - 31 Dec 2012
• Rules: Read 100+ books in 2012 (any genre)
• You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
• You can join at anytime. All books read in 2012 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
• At the beginning of Jan 2012, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.
• Audiobooks do not count, but all other formats are accepted.
• Only fiction, no non-fiction.
• This challenge can crossover to other challenges.
• You DO NOT have to write reviews of the books you read, but if you decide to then Mr Linky will be available each month so you can link up your reviews.
• You don't have to have a blog to join in - for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don't have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link:

http://www.bookchickcity.com/2011/12/sign-up-100-books-in-year-reading.html

You can keep track of the books I've read in 2012 so far right here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #8

2012-01-30T09:53:00.000-02:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.

I'm Currently Reading:

I'm really loving them. :)

Finished:

(reviews to be posted soon)

Next Reads:

What are you reading this week?

2012 NetGalley Reading Challenge

2012-01-29T20:41:00.000-02:00

In My Mailbox #9

2012-01-29T09:33:00.000-02:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Story Siren.

This week I got:

And those were probably the last books I bought last year (it took them forever to get here), so they don't count as 'breaking my New Year's Resolution to not buy more books this year'. :P

Aren't they pretty? *-*

So cute and in tones of purple.

Oh, and this special volume of the Wallflower has THREE volumes in it (22, 23 and 24), so it's pretty huge!

Can't wait to read them!

What did you get this week?

On My Wishlist #1

2012-01-28T09:55:00.000-02:00

I'm just dying to read those titles! The first two have been recently released, but the other ones have been published for a while now.
What's on your wishlist?

#FF: Feature&Follow #8

2012-01-27T10:10:00.001-02:00

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.

Q: Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?

I'm not really a big fan of nonfiction. I guess it's because when I read, I usually want to read about something fantastical, not ordinary or from everyday life. Obviously, there might be exceptions, but those are the ones I normally skip when browsing bookstores.

What about you?

If you follow, please leave a link so I can follow back. ;)

Review: First Date by Krista McGee

2012-01-26T09:51:00.001-02:00

First Date

by Krista McGee

The orphaned daughter of missionaries, Addy is quite content to stay in the shadows and never draw attention to herself. But when she's selected for a reality TV show to try to become the President son's prom date-a show she didn't audition for-she's suddenly in America's spotlight.

The lights, the make-up, the competitions, and the blogs discussing every move she makes all make Addy incredibly uncomfortable. But through her time at The Mansion, Addy comes to realize that first impressions aren't always right, that hiding out may not be what God had planned for her life, and that her faith should affect everything she does. It may just be that her selection wasn't random at all and that she's on this show "for such a time as this."

_____________________________________

My Review

Addy is very curious when she is suddenly called to the principal's office. And completely surprised when she finds out that the reason she's there is because she will be her school's representative in the new TV Show, The Book of Love, where Jonathan Jackson, the handsome son of the president will choose a girl from other 100 to take to prom.

She is not thrilled, not in the least, but everybody keeps saying that this is her chance to bring God to others, what with her parents having been missionaries and all that. But Addy just wants to stay home, with her friends and books, calm and quiet. Just hanging out... close to Spencer Adams, the half-cuban hottie, if possible.

But she has little choice, and so she goes to the show, planning on being sent home as soon as possible, but for some reason her honesty seems to enchant Jonathan and enrage her contestans to no end. They all think she's been planning to act nonchalantly an uninterested all along... and that makes her the enemy of many. She does get to America's heart, though. After all, she looks just like the girl next door, so simple, ordinary and clumsy, different from the beauties that are competing with her.

Between the chapters we get to see the interviews from some of the most important contestants, which gives us some great insight on their reasons for being there.

I especially loved Addy's roomate and best-friend in the competition, Kara. She's loud, outspoken and not afraid to say what's on her mind. And she's especially good when dealing with bullies (I really wanted to slap a few of those girls sometimes). Jonathan is very kind and cute. Totally smoochable.

I did like the premise for the book, it was interesting to see the other side of 'reality' TV shows, the real side of the contestants, how the shows are extremely manipulated and false. I also liked knowing more about the security proceedures involving the President and his son. It's all very complicated, poor Jon.

What I wasn't so excited about, though I knew I should have expected, was the constant and unending mentions of God and Jesus and Christ. It is a christian book (I noticed it only after I requested it, I'm afraid), but reading the word God over 96579 times gets a little annoying. Also, it bothered me that she wanted to fix everyone all the time! Maybe people aren't completely bad, sure, and we all have our reasons to be bitter sometimes, but if people don't want to be helped, you can't force them.

What disappointed me the most about the story was this: how Addy's lovely uncle Mike makes it very clear to her that if she likes Jonathan, she better be sure he 'shares their faith', otherwise they can never be more than friends. I don't mean to be very judgemental here, but isn't God all about Acceptance & Equality? It doesn't matter how great and sweet a young man Jon was, he would never be good enough if he's not a freaking Christian? And doesn't LOVE conquers it all? Addy kept going on about how much she loved him, but it was obvious she would give him up just as easily if he wasn't Christian. Talk about hypocrisy and half-heartedness.

Anyway, of course he turned out to be Christian (he was almost too perfect, after all) and very enthusiastic about learning the Bible with Addy. And they lived happily ever after.

I think this book had a lot of promise, but it turned out to be a very long religious pamphlet with short stories thrown in the middle. If you do ignore the excessive Christian content, you can actually have fun with some very well-written scenes.

If you like quick, funny, sweet, christian romantic stories, this may be your book.

*I received an eARC form Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

"Waiting On" Wednesday #8

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000-02:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Right now what I really want to read is:

Expected publication: March 13th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

____________

I recently discovered the Dystopian genre and now I simply cannot get enough!! Starters sounds so fantastically different, I really just can't wait to have it in my hands. :)
Here's hoping the publisher will allow me to review it from Netgalley. *-*
Ooooh, I wanna read it, I wanna read it! LOL

Now, what are you dying to read?

Review: Farsighted (Farsighted #1) by Emlyn Chand

2012-01-24T09:27:00.001-02:00

Farsighted (Farsighted #1)

by Emlyn Chand

Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all.

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future.

______________________________

My Review

I was lucky enought to have won this book from a giveaway offered by the author at vvb32reads. I already had it in my TBR list for a while and was really looking forward to reading it. :)

At the beginning of Farsighted we are informed by the author that every chapter will include a rune and a corresponding 'prophecy', which will give us, readers, a hint to try and 'predict' what will happen. I, personally found this to be very good addition to the book, a nice touch to the story. But you can skip them, if you want to. No harm done.

Right from the start we can see how difficult Alex's relationship with his father is. Not to mention how difficult Alex's life is. He is visually impaired. He and his mother have accepted it and do their best to deal with it, but his father... it's like he prefers to ignore his son altogether.

It's the first day of school and on top of the usual bullying and hardships caused by his blindness (having to have special school material, navigation of unfamiliar ground...), he starts to listen to things that didn't happen. Yet. Simple things, like his father asking for butter during breakfast, when he didn't. Hearing his father 's voice saying he's there to pick him up from school when he just got there, but it's actually his worst bully, Brady, that is there, making school even more unbearable to Alex.

The new girl at school, Simmi, who smells like cherries and almonds and is actually nice to him, gives him some hope that this year might be a bit better... that is, until he starts seeing her death.

A new store opens next to his mother's flower shop. It's called Miss Teak, and the owner is, quite obviously, psychic. At first, Alex finds her very weird and keeps his distance, but after seeing such a horrible thing in the near future, he'll get any help he can... and Miss Teak is the only that can help him understand his new abilities.

He's very surprised to discover that Simmi is also special. She can sense and manipulate people's emotions, and has been training with the psychic for a while now. They start to train together, and as their powers start to grow, so does Alex's hope that he'll be able to save her AND make her fall for him. Or at least make her stop thinking of him as a freaking brother. LOL.

Things get even harder for Alex when he finds his father in a very suspicious situation with Miss Teak... an event followed closely by his father abandoning his mother. And, if that wasn't bad enough, he starts having visions of Dax, the guy who is suppose to kill Simmi, being all lovey-dovey with her. O.o

Sometimes during the book I actually felt like I was blind myself, trying to 'see' things through Alex's eyes, trying to figure out what was happening in certain scenes, what expressions the characters were wearing... that was confusing but enlightening at the same time.

I also found the inevitable comparison between Alex and the blind greek prophet Tiresias, from The Odyssey (a book Alex had to read for school), a very creative touch.

All the characters are very mysterious. Once you think you got them figured out, the author surprises you, showing that you didn't know them that weel at all. The ending was very surprising! I can't wait to read the enxt book, Open Heart.

If you like your Young Adult with a lot of mystery, fantasy, psychic powers and sweet romance, this is your book. :)

Teaser Tuesday #8

2012-01-24T09:23:00.002-02:00

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read

       • Open to a random page
      • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
      • Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

This week's Teasers are from:

Expected publication: March 13th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

' "You almost fell off the balcony flashing half of Tijuana in the hot body contest -"

"I'm talking about the fifty billion kamikazes you threw back before puking in the taxi on our way home." '

____________

Wanderlove is more of a growing up/drama book, but it has very funny moments. ;)

What's your teaser this week?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #7

2012-01-23T10:44:00.002-02:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.

Currently Reading:

Wanderlove

Finished:

Heavenly (click to read review)

Next Reads:

What are you reading this week?

Chicago (2002)

2012-01-22T09:59:00.001-02:00

Chicago (2002)

Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

____________________

Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) leads a boring life with her husband Amos (John C. Reilly) while dreams to become a Cabaret dancer in the 1920s Chicago. She takes as a lover Fred (Dominic West), a man who claims to have connections in the entertainment world and promises to make her a star. When he breaks up with her and tells her it was all a lie, Roxie loses her mind and shoots him to death. She persuades her husband to tell the police that Fred was a bugler who had broken into the apartment and that he had shot him to protect his wife. But as Amos finds out the identity of the deceased, he realizes he was the man who had sold them their furniture and that he wasn’t a thief after all.

Roxie goes to jail while awaits for her trial that could end in her execution. The prison is controlled by the agent Matron (Queen Latifah), who calls herself “Mama” and gets the girls special favors in exchange for money. There, Roxie recognizes Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a former Cabaret dancer who shot her sister and her husband after catching them in bed together. She also learns the story of five other women who like her are facing death row. She finds out about a lawyer called Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) who has never lost a case and charges $5,000 to represent her. As he takes Roxie’s case, Billy makes her his new favorite client, creating a whole life story for her and teaching her what to say and how to act for the jury. Roxy becomes the new media sweetheart, stealing Velma’s place on the spotlight.

Everything is going well for Roxie, as she has fame and all the newspapers talk about her. Things get in jeopardy when a new killer, a socialite called Kitty (Lucy Liu) is arrested for a triple homicide and Billy forgets about Roxie and tries to take Kitty’s case. She then fakes a pregnancy in order to get back the media attention. This strategy is very successful as she regains her place on the front pages and her trial is set.

After a very dramatic trial, staged by Roxie and Billy, she is declared innocent by the jury. But on the same moment, a woman shots a man on the street outside the courthouse and all the reporters leave the building without taking a single picture of her, which makes her very upset. A few years later she’s trying to get a part at a musical and meets Velma who suggests that they work together, even though they hate each other. And, finally, Roxie has the fame she always wished for.

The movie shows the magic and glamour of the cabarets in the 1920s with great singing performances from both Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It also shows how easily a person can be on top of the world, with fame, admirers, and lots of attention, but it also shows how it all can go away just as fast. When we think about lawyer Billy and his tricks, we wonder how many times we let ourselves be fooled by other people’s acting as they twisted the truth. As Billy told Roxie, the truth doesn’t matter, people just want to be dazzled by an act filled with sparks and all that Jazz.

Reviewed by:

Amebugi

In My Mailbox #8

2012-01-21T23:00:00.000-02:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Story Siren

This week I got a prize I won on the blog The Itzel Library. (It was no longer than a month ago! That was super fast. There are prizes I'm still waiting for, after almost 10 months! LOL). It was

"HURT ME SO GOOD" by Joely Sue Burckhart.

The book was signed and there was also some really cool swag. Looks really great, right? :))

I also received a super cute book thong from a giveaway made by Secrets of a Book Lover. It was from this awesome place: Crystal's Etsy Shop, Dalla Luna. The book thong was based on the book. You can get onehere. (The book was already mine, in case you're wondering. :P ).

What goodies did you get in your Mailbox this week?

Follow Friday #7

2012-01-20T09:50:00.001-02:00

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View.

Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get your hands on any particular book?

Well, I suppose this will be a boring post for all of you super crazy fans, but as I have no access to book signings and/or huge book events, I'm afraid I haven't really done anything that crazy to get a book.

Unless you consider harassing my country's Customs's call center in order to get more info on where my books are going (they're not reaching me, that's for sure. >.>'). Oh, and begging people to swap certain books with me.
I usually do more crazy things to get people to read books. LOL

But I'm curious, what's your answer? ;)

Review: Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens / Reading Romances January Challenge

2012-01-19T09:37:00.000-02:00

This post is part of the Reading Romances Challenge. For January I chose the following option:

- Read a book that is first of a series, by an author that is “new” to you or a debut novel by an author.

Heavenly (Heavenly #1)
by Jennifer Laurens

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him.

Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

_____________________________________________________

Review

I knew this book would be good because of all the great reviews I've read about it, but I wasn't really ready for the impact it made on me.

Jennifer Laurens was able to make me feel much of everything with Heavenly. I was surprised, then sceptic, sad, mad, scared, sad again and happy.

Zoe is a teenager with many problems. Her sister is autistic, which brings many hardships to her family and their lives together. Her mother is very tired and looks older than she should. Her father is always trying to control her moves, but at the same time doesn't give her much attention at all. Her brother is almost never home and is involved with drugs. She feels as if their worlds all revolve around her little sister's needs, which are many.

To escape all that tension, to try to forget and relax, she drinks and parties with the wrong crowd.

One day, after taking her little sister Abria to the park, Zoe gets distracted while texting and realizes the girl is nowhere to be found. Trying not to panic, she scans the surroundings and sees nothing, no one, anywhere. She's ready to call her parents and the police when an attractive young man appears hand in hand with Abria, who is strangely calm and subdued.

Zoe is suspicious about the guy's inner motives at first, because he seems to be everywhere they are, always close to the little girl. She starts to think he could be a sex offender or something of the kind, but later on discovers he is the definition of all that is good. He is Abria's guardian angel. And, with the exception of her sister, she's the only one who can see him.

Matthias is everything the guys Zoe is used to hang out with are not. He is kind, respectful, he pays attention to her, cares about her. He really looks at her. And he doesn't look at her sister with fear or disgust like other people usually do.

He helps Zoe see the mistakes she is making in life. She learns to not be so impulsive, to respect and try to help, but not force people to do things they should decide to do for themselves. She learns to see all the happiness, goodness and purity in the handicapped sister she used to think was empty and, therefore, unhappy. She is even able to help her brother defeat his addiction, one step at a time. (and many mistakes in the middle)

With small changes, the whole family gets more united and happy.

I have to admit I didn't see that ending coming at all, but I suppose it had to happen. Zoe became a much better person, who touched many hearts and changed many lives, all because she was first touched by an angel. Love really is a very strong weapon. :)

There were many second characters that brought life to this book. Zoe's "friends", who were always trying to hold her back and use her in any way they could, a guy from school who also knew about angels and always supported her, the suffering parents who didn't know how to handle with their problematic children, but made up for it... I liked them all.

I recommend this book to everyone with a heart. LOL. If you enjoy YA with real-life situations and a paranormal touch, or just enjoy romance and/or angels, go for it.

I have won this book from a giveaway made by the author. I'm very grateful for the opportunity, Mrs.Laurens. :)

Dirty Little Secret #7

2012-01-19T09:36:00.000-02:00

Hum... my favorite alpha of all time is Michael Wyndham, by MaryJanice Davidson. His 'second-in-command' was Derik, until he became an alpha himself. :D

But others come to mind: Micah, the Nimir-Raj (an alpha equivalent for wereleopards) from Anita Blake. And I suppose Nathaniel could also be categorized as a second-in-command.

Nah... that's probably just wishful thinking. LOL :P

Now, who is your favorite?

Waiting on Wednesday #7

2012-01-18T09:24:00.001-02:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Right now what I really want to read is:

Partials (Partials #1)

by Dan Wells

Expected publication: February 28th 2012 by Balzer + Bray

The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic in training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws threaten to launch what’s left of humanity into civil war, and she’s not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will discover that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

____________

Normally I'm not that big a fan of science fiction, but I love me some dystopia, so... go figure. O.o LOL.
I'm crossing my fingers hoping the publisher will give me the chance to review it through Netgalley. It looks absolutely fantastic!

What are you waiting on?

Teaser Tueasday #7

2012-01-17T10:41:00.001-02:00

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read

       • Open to a random page
      • Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
      • Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

This week's Teasers are from:

"“Go ahead,” I say, tossing the novel over to her. It hits her body with a thud. Note to self: don't throw things at girls."

and

“I'm more of a dog person. But I admire cats and their ability to take so much while giving so little.”

Leave me a link to your teaser and I'll be happy to visit. :)

Review: Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton

2012-01-16T08:14:00.003-02:00

Everneath (Everneath #1)

by Brodi Ashton

Expected publication: January 24th 2012 by Harper Collins / Balzer + Bray

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

_______________________________________________

My Review

Nikki Beckett has lost her mother to a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Her father hardly speaks to her, he's so busy with his political campaign. Her best friend, Jack Caputo, finally became her boyfriend, and everything was peachy... until she caught a half-dressed girl coming out of his room at camp. Many sad and stressful events started to pile up until she couldn't take it anymore. She wanted the pain to stop, or, even better, to stop feeling. And Cole Stockton was the guy to help her.

Cole is an Everliving. He's been alive for many, many years, but every 100 years he needs to Feed, or he'll die. He feeds on human emotions and energy. Nikki has fed him for a whole century at the Everneath, but after she woke up still remembering her past life, she decided to Return to the surface, where only 6 months had passed since she 'disappeared'.

Nikki feels completely empty of feelings, but still she wants to fix things with her family and loved ones, who assumed she got involved with drugs and all kinds of bad things when she went missing so suddenly. All she wants is to say good-bye properly, and use those last six months she has to make amends. But she isn't ready to feel again. And that's what happens when she sees Jack after so long.

Jack slowly starts to approach her, to try and understand what caused her strange behavior of 6 months ago and to know what exactly happened to her during the time she went missing. Nikki tries to push him away, but she can't. She still loves him. And he, her. But Nikki only has 6 months on Earth. After this time is over, she'll have to go to the Tunnels, where she'll end stuck in a nightmare, paying back her 'debt'.

However, Cole offers her another option. He was so surprised when she woke up from the Feed still looking like herself and with most of her memories intact, that he asks her to become an Everliving like him. He tries to convince her to become his queen. The Queen of the Everneath. But Nikki wants nothign from him. She con't stand the thought of Feeding on innocents to survive like she's been Fed on. She plans to use her time to the fullest and then go to the Tunnels like she has to.

I wasn't sure what to say about Everneath. It gave me very mixed feelings. I didn't care for lots of things about it, but I was really interested in others.

It took me a while to get into the book, but eventually I got used to it, especially the confusing alternating timelines (the narrative kept count of the time the main character still had on Earth/The Surface, and kept going back and forth to past events in order to explain things).

I did like the story, with all the mythological mentions and touches to it, but I just couldn't feel the heroine. Sure, I understood her thoughts and actions, but she always came around a bit empty to me. Unfeeling. And I don't mean literally, like in the book, but as a human. Just didn't really leave a mark at all. I guess what I mean to say is that she didn't feel like a heroine to me. Maybe more like a secondary character? >.<'

I liked the cover more than I liked the heroine.

On the other hand, I was crazy about Cole and I certainly went nuts over Jack. They were strong. Very strong characters. They had energy, they had intense, firm, almost palpable feelings. Doubt, fear, anger, irritation, despair, love... They felt real to me. I just wanted to read more and more about them, when, in fact, I felt like I should be caring more about Nikki.

Most of the time I found myself cheering for both boys. I wanted them both to end up happy. Looks like I can never pick sides. LOL.

Oh, and I thought the 'ability' to taste feelings thing was quite interesting. Wanted to have seen more of that.

The ending wasn't very surprising, that's for sure. But, nonetheless, still very aggravating. And not much was explained. Almost nothing at all. Book 2, come quickly. I'm not especially excited, but I sure am curious. Does that make sense? O.o Man, I really wish this one was a stand-alone...

If you like young adult paranormal books with a flavoring of mythology and romance, this is your book.

*I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Not Just Nonsense

The Time Will Come #2

Review: A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker

A Match Made in High School

"Waiting On" Wednesday #11

Oppression by Jessica Therrien

Dark Storm by Sarah Singleton

Expected publication: March 29th 2012

Review: Waltz of Seduction by Natasha Blackthorne

Teaser Tuesday #11

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #9

Early Review: Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Dystopian Reading Challenge 2012

In My Mailbox #11

On My Wishlist #2

#FF: Feature&Follow #10

Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

Early Review: Starters (Starters #1) by Lissa Price

The Time Will Come #1

Review: Chubby Girl Hot! by Michelle Fawkes

"Waiting On" Wednesday #10

Teaser Tuesday #10

Review: Revealing Eden (Save the Pearls #1) by Victoria Foyt

In My Mailbox #10

Manga Rec #10 : Butterflies, Flowers, vol.1 by Yuki Yoshihara

Butterflies, Flowers, vol.1 (Butterflies, Flowers #1)

On My Wishlist #

Early Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

#FF: Feature&Follow #9

Dirty Little Secret #8

"Waiting On" Wednesday #9

Review: Partials (Partials #1) by Dan Wells

Early Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Teaser Tuesday #9

100 Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2012!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #8

2012 NetGalley Reading Challenge

In My Mailbox #9

On My Wishlist #1

#FF: Feature&Follow #8

Q: Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?

Review: First Date by Krista McGee

First Date

"Waiting On" Wednesday #8

Review: Farsighted (Farsighted #1) by Emlyn Chand

Teaser Tuesday #8

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #7

Wanderlove

Chicago (2002)

Director:

Writers:

Stars:

In My Mailbox #8

Follow Friday #7

Review: Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens / Reading Romances January Challenge

Dirty Little Secret #7

Waiting on Wednesday #7

Partials (Partials #1)

Teaser Tueasday #7

Review: Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton