Beta by Rachel Cohn

21 Jan

10382215

Book One in the Annex Series

Rating: Four out of Five Stars

Beta is like the teenage girl version of iRobot. But instead of robots they are clones (ahh epic sci-fi-ness!) And as my nerd girl status reaches “ninja master”, that basically means LITERARY GOLD in my mind.

Beta reminds me a lot of Glitch. And by a lot I mean pretty much exactly. Sure the characters have a different quirks and different worlds, but the premise of the book is the same: you shouldn’t feel emotions, but you do so now you somehow have to deal with it and if you let people know, you will be deactivated. But since you are a badass, you are gunna stick it to the man and survive with your boymanlover. Yup, pretty sure I could be talking about either one of those books with that description!

Lucky for moi, I loved Glitch so it’s only normal that I would enjoy Beta too. BUT OMG THAT ENDING. I think this is the WORST CLIFFHANGER I have ever experienced.

Seriously, this was me reading the last three paragraphs:

JDKIn

C0pUt

k78zS

And then it ended and I realized book two DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A RELEASE DATE YET

D1nx1

Heartbreaking… seriously. Probably one of the most intense endings I have read in awhile. It’s not even the intriguing ending like Crossed by Allie Condie was. At least she left me with something I could think about, mull over, and let fester in my brain until Reached came out. Oh no, not Rachel. She created this whole world for you and then WHAMBAM thank-you-ma’am turned everything inside out.

I  really enjoyed this book. I flew through it and was bugged eyed the whole time. It’s not a fast paced book but is does have a lot of twists that hold your interest and keeps you engaged in the story.

For the first book in the novel, it’s a great start to an awesome series. It’s dramatic, fast paced, sexy, and intense. But unless you want to be tortured like me for a year, wait until the second book comes out..

Tags: , , , , , ,

Pure by Julianna Baggott

17 Jan

9680114

Book One in the Pure Series

Rating: Three out of Five Stars

Oh my. Where’s my teddy bear?I am going to be completely honest here and say that this book terrified me. It gave me the internal creep crawlies, collywobbles, dithers, whatever you want to call them. 140 pages in I updated my status to

“This book gives me the heebie jeebies. It’s weird and creepy and I don’t think I like it very much because some of this shit is just freaky. Oh well.. power through until the middle and then I will reevaluate.”

In the end, I can’t pinpoint how I feel about Pure. It’s just… gruesome? The whole book is based on violence and horrible human tragedy. It has gag inducing descriptions in a world where I would cry myself to sleep every night. I was just so… uncomfortable.
That being said, and me having a few weeks to process this book (and read must more lighthearted dystopias), as much as the imagery in this book made me want to curl up in the corner and rock back and forth, it was amazing. It was tangible. It was real. It was imaginative. All the underlying YA Dystopia 101’s were there, boy meets girl, girl from wrong side of track, they work together to solve problem. Blahdeblah. But it was sick and twisted and a very probable world they lived. That is what makes me dislike this book, this shit could really happen guys! It was like an even darker version of the Unwind series, which is pretty impressive.

I wish Baggot would have spent less time describing the effed up effects the nukes had on people and spent more time on the story. Now that we’ve spent almost an entire book getting the shivers, I hope Fuse, Book Two will be more about the people and the story and the meat of the issues. She has some interesting characters and personalities to play with and really focusing on developing the dynamics between them could make an extremely interesting plot. I have connections with each narrator and although she bounces through what, five? view points, you really get an understanding of each of their unique minds and personalities. You know their fears, understand their decision making. It’s a beautifully crafted piece of writing, even if it does creep me out.

Pure gave me nightmares yes, but damn, Fuse could really turn out to be a badass book. And I will read it.

And then watch Disney movies before I go to bed…

P.S. Rumor has it the rights have been bought to make this book into a movie. Shit could get real crazy up in hurr if that was to ever come to fruition.

Tags: , , , ,

To-Read Tuesday – Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

15 Jan

10874177

Book One in the Finishing School Series

Previous Rating:  Nadda – new series!

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Why I Am Excited: First of all, who would NOT want to read this book with a title like that!?! It’s like The Luxe series, Graceling, and The Gemma Doyle series all wrapped up into one book of amazing tied with a giant bow of AWESOME! And since I am slightly obsessed with all things late 18th to early 19th century and badass heroines this book is like a dream come true! And apparently its a Steampunk novel?! *dramatic faint* So steampunk + Victorian era + kickass girls + pretty dresses? Gimme Gimme gimmegimmegimmeeeeeeee MEOW!

What I Hope To See: Since this is the first book in the series and I have never read a Carriger novel, it’s kind of hard to fill out my usual to-read standards. But what I hope to see is lots of manners, a good dose of Victorian societal norms being pushed, a devious villain and some nasty catty girls.

My Predictions: Umm… ditto to above. 🙂

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Best Birthday Present Ever!

14 Jan

Today is my 24th birthday.

QZrSL

On Friday, I posted a review drooling over The Crimson Crown and fawning all over Cinda Williams Chima. All my reviews are posted to Facebook and my Twitter account and of course I am following Chima’s Tweets.

CindaTWEETEDmeback

SHE TWEETED ME BACK. CINDA WILLIAMS CHIMA TWEETED ME BACK!!!

vaTIC

5cfp4

Best birthday present ever. I can die happy now.

Tags: , , , , ,

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima – the most amazing book I have ever read.

11 Jan

The Crimson Crown

Fourth Book in the Seven Realms Series

Rating: Five out of Five Stars

After finishing this book, I am attempting to write my final review for this series. This is almost painful for me because I am so passion about this book, these characters, this author, I want to do them justice. I feel like I need to hone and perfect my writing skills purely to try to make this review captures just how incredible this book is.

I have been a high fantasy lover all my life. I grew up with Harry Potter throughout childhood and went through high school with Eragon. Wizards, witches, and dragons were my mind’s companion and I adore my author’s imaginary worlds more than the bleak, sometimes colorless and cruel world we live in. This book though, has introduced my mind and soul to a completely different delicious culture of imagery.

I wish I could explain just how amazing Cinda Williams Chima‘s work is, but unlike her I lack the language to articulate the emotions she creates in me while I read. Her gorgeous world building, incredible prose, tangible character had me so invested in this series. I laughed, I cried, I hurt with Han and I was desperate with Raisa. I hated and loved right along with everyone in the book. Han and Raisa are more than just characters to me. They are living and breathing friends in my mind. They are the most wonderful, passionate, fierce people I know. They have fears, insecurities, unwavering faith in each other, and a true epic romance.

The pure brilliance of this writing literally has me wonderstruck. I am gagging on my praise because I just can’t focus my mind on one thing long enough to get out all of my swooning. I love that there is heartbreak and deaths because that what really happens in the world. People have awful things happen to them, but this fantasy novel shows that you can overcome even the most insurmountable obstacles if you trust your instincts, believe in your friends, and rely on love to power all.

Basically what I am trying to say, is this is the best series I have ever read. It’s the most beautiful, real, tragically wonderful (although it does have the best ending!) book/series of all time. Sorry, JK, your HP books have been usurped.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

To-Read Tuesday – Top 20 To-Reads of 2013!

8 Jan

Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge - Mozilla Firefox_2013-01-07_14-33-42

Goal: 100 books by December 31, 2013

2012 Goal: 75

2012 Actual: 80

2013 is going to be a Fanstadactile!

The year 2013 is probably my most anticipated book release year of all time. There are some really interesting new series coming out and some redic second and third installments in legit badass series coming out. Wow… soo much lingo. But I am just so excited my uber poor use of slang is coming out. Eeeeeee!!!

Anywho… here are my Top 20 To-Reads of 2013

  1. 1/29/2013 – Prodigy, Legend #2 by Mary Lu 13414446
  2. 4/23/2013 – The Elite, The Selection #2 by Kiera Cass 14748094
  3. 2013 – Penryn and The End of Days#2 by Susan EeNo_Cover_
  4. 2/12/2013 – Override, Glitch #2 by Heather Anastasiu14759331
  5. 10/29/2013 – Horde, Razorland #3 by Ann Aguirre10596724
  6. 2/12/2013 – Sever, The Chemical Garden #3 by Lauren DeStefano12383869
  7. 2013 – Annex #2 by Rachel CohnNo_Cover_
  8. 2013 – Crewel World #2 by Gennifer AlbinNo_Cover_
  9. 2/19/2013 – Mind Games, Mind Games #1 by Kiersten White12578294
  10. 3/5/2013 – Requiem, Delirium #3 by Lauren Oliver9593913
  11. 9/26/2013 – Divergent #3 by Veronica RothNo_Cover_
  12. 1/8/2013 – Through The Ever Night, Under The Never Sky #2 by Veronica Rossi13253276
  13. 3/19/2013 – Clockwork Princess, Infernal Devices #3 by Cassandra Clare6131164
  14. 7/2/2013 – Shutdown, Glitch #3 Heather Anastasiu16045008
  15. 1/29/2013 – Asunder, Newsoul #2 by Jodi Meadows13043180
  16. 2/5/2013 – Etiquette and Espionage, Finishing School #1 by Gail Carriger10874177
  17. 3/19/2013 – City of Heavenly Fire, Mortal Instruments #6 by Cassandra Clare8755785
  18. 1/22/2013 – Everbound, Everneath #2 by Brodi Ashton13115995
  19. 7/9/2013 – Dracomachia, Seraphina #2 by Rachel HartmanNo_Cover_
  20. 4/30/2013 – The Program, The Program #1 by Suzanne Young11366397

“Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon . . . is not the dragon the hero of his own story?”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Promised by Caragh M. O’Brien

3 Jan

13010211

Book Three in the Birthmarked Series

Rating: Three out of Five Stars

I enjoyed this book, but overall I think it’s the weakest in the series. Still, the ties and emotional connections I had to the characters from the previous books makes me want to bump my rating to 3 stars.

Here is my criticism: Why oh why do authors think it will be boring if people have normal emotions? Fo reals. I understand the need for drama and foreshadowing and plot twists blah blah blah. But heavens above! I could not keep up Gaia’s epiphanies or Leon’s brooding love-sick control freak-ness. Gaia seemed to change direction in each chapter and I was so flustered by her mood swings I almost stopped reading. Now I understand men when they deal with PMSing women! For a character who was so steadfast and determined, solid and stubborn in the first two books, she sure does a lot of roller-coasting in this one. And I find it hard to believe that she would just get up after that tragedy happens, shrug and move on. I wish O’Brien would have spent more time focusing on her emotions during that realization. And Leon, oh brother. Just the same old same Cassandra Clare type love interest. All passionate brooding but nothing I could really sink my teeth into until the final chapter.

With my love loss for Gaia and Leon, it was hard to truly adore this book the way I did the others. I was infatuated with Gaia’s bravery in book one and two but her heroism in these books stretched by WSOD a tad too far. I couldn’t connect that way I wanted to. Thank goodness the story was technically well-written or I would have set this down. I would have also enjoyed a quick recap from the first books. I hadn’t read the other two books in awhile and it took me a quarter of the book to play catch up before I remembered everything.

If you have read the first two books (and the bridge), you should definitely read the third to complete the series. The story itself is still captivating, even if its pushed to be unrealistic. Just go into with the notion that the characters are not the same they were when you met them.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Best Of 2012 – Not just the boring categories!

2 Jan

Hello and Welcome to the year 2013!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! 2013 has some amazing book releases so I am SUPER STOKED for this year. Now, like all book lovers and bloggers, I just had to create a Best of 2012 blog. While most people do one in December, I read lots of books over the holidays so I wanted to wait until the year actually ended before I created my list. You never know what gems you can find in the last weeks of the year! I also wanted to add some variety to the blog so I asked my book soul mate Amy to pick her favorites in each category. You can read her Top Ten Books Read of 2012 here.

Please note that these books are not only the books that were published in 2012. We wanted to included all the books we read so some of them are a few years old. I hope you all enjoy and please add your favorites in each category in the comments!

Favorite Book of 2012

Sydney                     Amy

Selection3236307

The Selection by Kiera Cass     Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Favorite Author of 2012

Sydney               Amy

940946914497

Cinda Williams Chima         Neil Gaiman

Best Female Protagonist

Sydney           Amy

1150021713335037

Penryn – Angelfall by Susan Ee          Beatrice – Divergent by Veronica Roth

Best Male Protagonist

Sydney         Amy

94094693236307

Han – Seven Realms Series        Po – Graceling Realms Series

Best Romance

Sydney         Amy

Selection3236307

America and Maxon, The Selection               Katsa and Po, Graceling

Most Resourceful

Sydney         Amy

69095442118745

Gaia, Birthmarked  by Caragh M. O’Brien    Viola, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Best “Come to Jesus” Moment

Sydney         Amy

607641312578077

James, Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater    Katy, Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Most Badass Character

Sydney         Amy

101930623236307

Deuce, Razorland Series by Ann Aguirre       Katsa, Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Favorite Series

Sydney                Amy

940946924770

Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima      Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Best Fantasy Book

Sydney                Amy

323630716793

Graceling by Kristin Cashore            Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Best Dystopian Book

Sydney                Amy

996957113450339

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline      Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

Best World Building

Sydney                Amy

940946913335037

Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima         Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

Best Cover

Sydney                Amy

115002178525590

Angelfall by Susan Ee                   Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Most Looking Forward to Release of 2013

Sydney                Amy

1341444612106940

Prodigy by Marie Lu                       Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What I mean when I say “Fluff Book”

28 Dec

271693789989793496_XRXLwmXy_c

I am a variety reader. I have my favorite genres, of course, but I pride myself in not sticking to only one “type” of book. I try to love all books equally.

One of my favorite kinds of books are what I call “Fluff Books”. I’ve mentioned them a few times in passing in some of my previous posts but an explanation will clear all doubt as to what I mean.

The easiest way for me to fully describe what a fluff book is, is to give some examples and then find the common trends between them. Analyzing is always my favorite!

Top Three Favorite Fluff Books of 2012

Selection

1254951

8428195

The Selection, The Luxe Series and Entwined are lovely sweet treats, dark chocolate mouthfuls filled with rich rosey love, glorious estrogen boosting stories filled with amazing dresses, handsome men, and lovable heroines. These are the books we adore on a purely feminine level. Our romance loving subconscious’s  ache for these beauts. Flowery, gorgeously written plots and 100% hands-off for men.

These fluff books are Jane Austen‘s descendants of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. They have enticing and adoring love interests like Mr. Darcy, feisty females like Elizabeth Bennett, and harrowing plights of Dashwood induced love follies. They also have Austen’s underlying themes of women’s morality, the injustices of societal norms, and they highlight the breathtaking ability of the “weaker” sex to adapt and overcome.

Looking at what I’ve just written and comparing the books I consider fluff, these are the basics of fluff books:

  1. Female Protag
  2. Swoon worthy love interest
  3. Epic romance
  4. A villain trying to corrupt our heroine
  5. Underlying ethical or moral questions
  6. A happy ending

The happy ending though, does not, and I repeat DOES NOT, always end up with ooey gooey love-shall-overcome BS. Some of the best fluff books end with the female lead giving a dainty middle finger wave and riding off into the sunset by herself (those are my favorite).

So there you have it my friends. Questions, concerns, comments? Send any awesome fluff my way. I can always go for some romance 😉

“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten” – G.K. Chesterton

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

27 Dec

12394100

First Book in the Seraphina Series

Rating: Three out of Five Stars (I’m stretching the three stars status)

Seraphina came to me as a recommendation. And the fact that Christopher Paolini endorsed it by having a quote from him placed on the cover I was like “yeah buddy! Score zone!”

And then I started reading and I was all:

EnNx1sdfsdf

My issue with this book was that the world wasn’t explained enough in the beginning so I felt like my mind was whirling around plot points without actually getting a hold of them. I like the concept, I can grasp the concept, but it was too much too soon. Where was the meat and potatoes of the world building in the first chapter? I was thrust into the world, that’s very surreal and different from my own, and wasn’t given the chance to acclimate. My WSOD was accosted.

The only time I was completely on board and ingrained in this story is when the characters were having conversations. The dialogue is fantastically written. Those scenes felt less like reading and more like watching a movie. So engaging! I just wish that the rest of the book was as fascinating and griping.

With the character’s being mediocre (although Seraphina finally grows some ladyballs in the end) I was really disappointed in this book. Maybe I put it on too high of a pedestal to begin with? I don’t know. I just wanted so much more from this book. I wanted action, romance, adventure! I wanted all the amazing things in Eragon that I loved so much but it never developed into anything. It was just fluttering on the edge decent. Sad day 😦

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →

Straight Mommin’ Bro

Straight Mommin’ Bro

a bookish peach

Cuddlebuggery Book Blog

Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience

Just another WordPress.com site