In My Mailbox (19)

This is a weekly meme started by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people about what new books we've gotten over the week. All the links in this post go to the books amazon page if you want more info on them. Here's what I got this week:

From the library:
Gallagher Girls Book 1: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter-Really liked Heist Society and someone FINALLY returned the first book (it's been over due for like six months. I hate people that do that).
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.-Another one that someone finally decided to return. Really people, if you can't read it renew it or return it to read at another date. Just saying.
Theodore Boon: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham-Grisham is apparently writing kids stuff now. Not sure I feel about this. I'll let you know after if it's a good thing.
The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler-Interesting looking retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

Bought this week:
Caster Chronicles Book 2: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl-Couldn't resist buying it any longer. Though I still need to get through Red Pyramid, Incarceron, and Iron Daughter before I get to it.

So that's all I got this week. I hope everyone has a happy Halloween (and that you aren't working like I have to tonight ;sigh;).

Book Review: Finnikin of the Rock

TITLE: Finnikin of the Rock
AUTHOR: Melina Marchetta
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: fantasy, adventure
PREMISE: Finnikin's life is torn apart when his kingdom is taken over and destroyed. His father disappears and his king is dead. Years later, whispers start to grow that the prince has returned...
MY REVIEW: This is the first book of this author that I have read. She has apparently been around for awhile and has a few books under her belt already. I personally, wasn't all that impressed with this. Well written? Sure, to an extent. But honestly it was kind of boring.
This is your basic average quest story. If you read fantasy quest stories you know they all tend to look alike after awhile and this book is no exception. It was rather predictable, tended to drag and it just felt...flat. I will say some of the characters were interesting and the world building was sound. Also again, rather good writing.
But it's just boring and predictable. Perhaps I should have started with another one of hers because from what I understand her other books are rather good. So I may be looking into her other works in the future. This book had some good things about it, it just didn't wow me.
WHO SOULD READ: Melina Marchetta fans, high fantasy fans, you like quest stories
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five swords

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Sing Me to Sleep

TITLE: Sing Me to Sleep
AUTHOR: Angela Morrison
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: romance, drama
PREMISE: Her whole life Beth has been considered ugly. Then she lands the lead solo in her choir and her life starts to change...
MY REVIEW: The title of this book is an appropriate one not just because it's about singing but I was struggling not to fall asleep while reading it myself. This was that boring. It didn't help that it was one cliche after another and predictable as hell.
Now, you uber romance fans may get a kick out of this one so I do admit for the ones who crave the tear jerker kind of romance it's an okay book. But even if you're into it, you'll be able to predict where it's going because this basically is a redux of every other romance novel/Life time original movie/Nicholas Sparks book there is. There is seriously not one ounce of original thought in this book, except for maybe the singing choir angle.
I know books like this fill a niche and there is a market for them. I'm just saying, the author couldn't have made it a tad bit more original or interesting? Plus, if the author was going for an inner beauty angle in this story she fails because about three/four chapters in the main character gets a makeover and is suddenly hot. But naturally doesn't use it or flaunt it because she doesn't feel she's pretty despite hot guys flirting with her and all that ;rolls eyes;. Yeah, it's one of those. So not a godawful book but it's not great and definitely not good. It's just...there.
WHO SHOULD READ: Nicholas Sparks fans, romance fans
MY RATING: Two out of Five music sheets

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

TITLE: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Book 1 in the Millanium Trilogy
AUTHOR: Stieg Larsson
PUBLISHED: 2008
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: mystery, thriller, drama
PREMISE: Blomkvist is a reporter asked to investigate a decades old mystery. This investigation leads him to encounter Lisbeth Salander, a tough dragon tattooed girl who isn't like anyone he's met.
MY REVIEW: I want to start by saying I dispise this practice of hyping up books that has been going on for years (I also dislike it with movies and music). Far to often hyped up books don't live up to their potential for a person because that person had unrealistic expectations due to said hype. So please, can we stop it with the hype? I'd appreciate it thanks. That said, Dragon Tattoo is thankfully one of the few books that does live up to the hype, even though I still think the hype for these went overboard.
Now it's not perfect. It suffers from what a lot of crime thrillers suffer from (seems to be a staple with this genre): flat impersonal writing, little character growth, and an excess of details to the point that I kind of wished the author would get on with it. But as I said, most thrillers suffer from this so I can't really fault the author I guess. Because even while the writing was impersonal it was still very solid. I could easily picture everything in my head, I admit that the details easily explained difficult subjects such as swiss banking and politics(not an easy thing to do, you think the american system is complicated? Oi). Also, I admit the author did try to put in character growth, at least on the part of Salander.
Now that said, the best part of this book/series is hands down the mystery part. I love good juicy difficult mysteries and this book has that in spades. The author did a great job in setting up the mystery too and getting me engrossed in it. Almost too good because I found myself getting annoyed when he would throw in stuff that didn't have to do with it. For me, this was the great part about this book. It reminded me of why I used to love thrillers so much (I've kind of stopped reading them in the past few years). This book is also not for the squeemish or those who like their characters with good moral standing. There are some brutal scenes in here and all the characters kind of get annoying and do bad things at one point. In short, the people are human. I'd advise not to try and love the characters too much because chances are they will disapoint you at some point like they eventually did with me.
So is this book worth a read? Yes, most definitely. I can't wait to get my hands on the Girl Who Played with Fire the Girl Who Kicked a Hornets Nest. But I still wish people would stop with the hype. It just sets people up for disappointment.
WHO SHOULD READ: mystery/thriller fans, James Patterson fans, you aren't the squeemish kind
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five tattoos

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books

Book Review: Midnight Alley

TITLE: Midnight Alley
Book 3 in the Morganville Vampires series
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLISHED: 2007
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: vampires, adventure
PREMISE: Amelie has a task for Claire to complete and she discovers a startling secret about the vampires...
MY REVIEW: I am fast losing patience with this series. It was interesting at first but now...it's starting to get a more then a little ridiculous. I will give Caine this: she has found a refreshing new way to present vamps and there are interesting ideas floating around in this. Plus it's fast paced and doesn't take that long to read. Writing...not fantastic but not horrible either. Just decent.
My issues with this series comes from mainly this: it doesn't make much sense. The pacing is fast paced, but it's fast paced to the point of chaotic at times. There literally is very little breathing room in these books for anything other then all the events that go on and that I think is what makes the books suffer. Because of all the events she throws in, there's little chance to devote to character growth, of which there frankly is none. Claire is the same whiny slightly stupid smart girl she was in book one, and likewise all her friends are the same, unless you count the tiff between Michael and Shane which is about the only interesting character developement so far in the books.
I am trying to keep in mind that this is a long series that's about ten to twelve books (at least I think Caine said that's how many she has planned) so I'm going to give this series till book six. If no character developement has happened or it's still the same stuff going on over and over again, I'm giving up on it. Because really, this is just silly. Not House of Night silly (yet) but still, I think Caine can do a lot better then what we've been given so far.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those that read and liked the first two books, Rachel Caine fans, Twilight fans, vampire fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five stakes

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Alchemy and Meggy Swann

TITLE: Alchemy and Meggy Swann
AUTHOR: Karen Cushman
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Childrens
GENRE: historical fiction, drama
PREMISE: Meggy is sent to London by her mother in order to get rid of her. But when she arrives in London, she finds out her father doesn't want her either. Now what?
MY REVIEW: I remember reading Catherine, Called Birdy when I was a kid and I'm pretty sure that was the first historical fiction book (aside from American Girl) that really clicked for me and is probably responsible for my interest in the genre today. So I picked this up, especially since I believe it's yet another book where Cushman is getting award buzz.
As usual, Cushman does a splendid job of taking into the era that the book is set in. I was able to picure all of this, and had no trouble understanding it, despite not knowing much about the Elizabethan era. Meggy is also a fun heroine. She's no nonsense, and scrappy and loved the in-denial puppy love between her and Roger (so cute).
But I can really only rec this for younger readers. Adults probably won't get much out of it unless you really enjoy Cushman's writing which is really good. So for younger to middle-grade readers looking to get into the historical fiction genre, I can't recomend this book and Cushman's other books enough. For everyone else...only pick it up if you're interested, otherwise you're probably not missing much.
WHO SHOULD READ: Cushman fans, historical fiction fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five gooses

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Ascendant

TITLE: Ascendant
Book 2 in the Killer Unicorns series
AUTHOR: Diana Peterfreund
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: young adult
GENRE: fantasy, adventure
PREMISE: Astrid's world is changing. People know about unicorns now. Her friend is losing her powers, her boyfriend is off to college, and she is meanwhile struggling to find her place in the Cloisters...
MY REVIEW: So I read Rampant a few months ago and ended up loving it. It was such a cool concept and the book itself was refreshing in a YA world full of vampires and werewolf love triangles. The second book is equally as refreshing and also expands on the previous book. It went in a completely different direction then I expected and I must say, I loved that. I love when authors genuinely manage to surprise me.
I will say, sometimes the book drags and those who like romance may be disappointed because it doesn't focus on romance much. There is some (I guess one could call it romance...) but not a whole lot because that's not what the series is about. The series is about Astrid and her struggle with being a unicorn hunter. I love how the author deals with it. She doesn't mince either. Being a unicorn hunter is a dangerous job and she doesn't make it seem glamorous. People die from it, get serious injuries, and there are emotional consequences as well. I also love that the author keeps in mind that unicorns are essentially animals. So she brings up ethical questions in it such as, is what these girls doing right? Because really the unicorns are only following their natural instincts. Then there was the revelations at the last few hundred pages that sort of turned everything I thought upside down. I won't give it away but damn...
If you loved the first unicorn hunter book, I suspect you'll be pleased by this. It's a great continuation and I really hope there's another one because while it did sort of leave at a good spot, there were still quite a few questions left unanswered so I'm definitely looking forward to whatever comes next. I still rec this series to all fantasy fans.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those that read the first book, unicorn fans, Tamora Pierce fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five unicorn horns

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

TV Weekly Recap

Dancing with the Stars: Oh Florence, I shall miss you. At least you TRY which is more then I can say for Bristol. I mean seriously, all those lessons on comedy and whatnot and she still forgets stuff and how to smile? Really? If she's that uncomfortable out on stage then why is she doing this?! I know I keep asking that but it bears repeating. Not to mention: Republicans I know you're enamored with the Palins for some reason, but she's NOT GOOD. At least vote for a star that is good.

Castle: Fun as usual, but I'm more excited for this week. Looks like some major stuff is going to go down. ;rubs hands in glee;

Glee: I know this week was a repeat so I want to talk about the one last week that I forgot to chat about. Am I the only one disappointed with where they are taking Sam? I thought he was supposed to be a love interest for KURT. But no, instead he goes to the uninteresting Quin. What gives, writers? Also where's that love interest for Mercedes? Or that Christian girl who was supposed to come in a be challenging for everyone including Rachel? Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the season so far (and that number that Kurt did in this ep was AWESOME) but still, you promised stuff I was looking forward to and aren't delivering so far. Not happy about this. Unless you put it in later in the season, but you said it was going to be in the first couple of episodes so really, what gives? Still, it is a interesting season so far, I just want more from it. I do however look forward to the Rocky Horror Picture Show ep.

No Ordinary Family: I despise the way JJ is treated on this show. Not by his family but by his school (though his parents are also not very helpful). Maybe I just feel for him, because I was never that great with math at school so I related to him a lot in that first ep. This ep was rather boring but next week looks like they're finally going to pick the storyline up.

Project Runway: Wow. GRETCHEN got in? Seriously? Her stuff wasn't even freaking TAILORED. I mean, that linen thing practically screamed burlap sack. Look, I'm not saying Michael C is more talented (I actually think they're pretty even talent wise) but at least his stuff didn't scream off the rack discount cloths from Urban Outfitters. Also Gretchen suddenly does a turn around and is nice to everyone calling them "my boys"? Something tells me she saw the eps and saw how horrible she looked and is trying to do damage control. Plus maybe her husband leaving was a wake-up call. Although am I the only one surprised she was married? I don't recall her ever mentioning once on the show she had a significant other. I was under the impression she was single. Although him cleaning out her bank account was horrible. I don't like her or anything but no one deserves that especially as that's technically STEALING. But major happy for Mondo getting in. I personally think he has this one in the bag. Unless Andy or Gretchen manage to surprise us. Doubtful judging by what we saw.

In My Mailbox (18)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week. All the links in my post go to the book's amazon page if you want more info on them.

Downloaded onto Kindle:
Mozart's Sister by Nancy Moser.-Kindle freebie.

From the Library:
Morganville Vampires Book 3: Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine.-I'm not to impressed with this series so far but there is something intriguing about it so I'm continuing mostly with the hope that it gets better.
Alchemy and Meggy Swann-This one's been getting award buzz I believe, plus I remember liking the author's other books so decided to give it a shot.
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta.-Part of my quest to get through the early 2010 books that I missed reading due to not being able to get it at the time I wanted.
Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison.-See above.

Well, that's it. I'm not really buying any books lately because I promised myself I wouldn't until I at least finished The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo (which I start tomorrow!) and Red Pyramid (probably will start sometime next weekend) because my bought book pile is growing and I need to get it down.
So what did you get your mailbox this week?

Book Review: Bleeding Violet

TITLE: Bleeding Violet
AUTHOR: Dia Reeves
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: urban fantasy
PREMISE: Hanna goes to live with her estranged mother when she's at the end of her rope. Her mother says she has two weeks to fit in or she's gone. Then she discovers the slightly crazy town her mother lives in...
MY REVIEW: Wow is all I have to say about this. It is also not a good wow. It's a "wow, I can't believe this managed to get published". To be fair to the author, it's not utterly horrible. I mean I give her props for using her imagination and writing something that wasn't a love triangle with vampires and werewolves in it. It also isn't as utterly sexist/anti-feminist as Twilight was. However, that's the only decent thing I can say about this book. Oh, and it has a pretty cover.
The main issue I have with this book is that there is no rhyme or reason to anything. It literally felt like the author was making this up as she went. Look, I know I said I wanted creativity but creativity needs bounderies/rules so that it makes sense to the reader and feels real and not just totally random. Unfortunately the author is not talented enough to do that because literally this made no sense and thus felt like a sloppy written in a month novel that wasn't edited.
Then there's a bunch of little things. Characters didn't seem to know what traits they were. Hanna was especially confusing. I know she had medical issues but that's no excuse for a poor main character such as this. Her actions made little sense and don't get me started on the fact that she literally has sex with Wyatt on like a day after she met him and the two decide that they're dating after a handful of conversations. Just...what? Does developing romance and relationships mean nothing to authors anymore?
Then there's stuff like how cold all the characters were, even Hanna. I'm supposed to care about jerks like this? I mean I kind of wanted the demon to win they were that horrible. Then there's the random thrown in violence that makes no sense, the horrible mother who even when she's nice is horrible (encouraging a teen girl to have sex with a guy she just met and to use him for protection? What?), and the bitchy so-called instant friends that Hanna makes. Basically, the whole book was bizarre, in a BAD way. Writing was just passable. I don't know if the author plans to make this a series (I hope to god she doesn't) but if she is, she needs to work on character developement, world building, and a little thing I like to call plot. No this is not the most horrible book in the world (for me, Twilight series still holds that honor) but it's still pretty bad. I wouldn't bother with it unless you want to read it out of morbid curiousity or something.
WHO SHOULD READ: um...I don't know...Twilight fans maybe? But even uber fans would probably raise their eyebrows at this.
RATING: One out of Five violet dresses

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Soulless

TITLE: Soulless
Book 1 in the Parasol Proctorate series
AUTHOR: Gail Carriger
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: adult
GENRE: historical fiction, urban fantasy, werewolves, vampires
PREMISE: Alexia is a soulless-a person born without soul living in victorian england where people know about vampires and werewolves.
MY REVIEW: I admit: I absolutely loved this book. Is it maybe a tad predictable? Sure. But I don't care. It's utterly charming. To get an idea, just think of it as if Jane Austen were alive today and decided to write urban fantasy. Because that's what this book felt like to me and it worked so well.
The best part of this series is hands down Alexia. She's hilarious. The author keeps in mind that this is the victorian era but Alexia is still awesome, she speaks her mind, has a great sense of humor, and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. The chemistry between her and Lord Maccon was also great. Actually, the chemistry between all the characters was great, from Alexia's human friend, to the flamboyant vampire she hangs out with to even the vampire queen. My favorite character by far though, was Professor Lyall. I just loved how he was a beta yet that didn't stop him from looking at his leader and going (in the politest way possible) "sir, you're being an idiot again".
The whole novel is just so enjoyable and I loved this world that Carriger created (though I did find how America was presented a tad bit odd but made sense in a way...I guess). I can't wait to read the next books in the series. This is a must read for all urban fantasy fans.
WHO SHOULD READ: Jane Austen fans, urban fantasy fans, Sookie Stackhouse fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five parasols

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
First in a Series

Book Review: The House of Dead Maids

TITLE: The House of Dead Maids
AUTHOR: Clare B. Dunkle
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: young adult
GENRE: horror, fiction rewrite
PREMISE: Tabby gets sent to Seldom House to be a maid. While encountering a savage little boy she also uncovers deadly secrets about what happened to the previous maids...
MY REVIEW: My first reaction to this idea was actually excitement. I mean come on, a ghost story set in the world of Wuthering Heights which is practically tailor made for a horror story angle? Awesome right?
Unfortunately, the book wasn't as neccessarily awesome as I'd have hoped. It's not bad or anything. It's actually fairly decent and could have been a whole lot worse. But really all the reader gets out of this is a wee little snippet into Heathcliff's childhood via a maid. Now I do not recall if Tabby is actually a character in WH (sorry, it's been YEARS since I've read Wuthering Heights) or is just a made up insert by the author. But it doesn't seem terribly important as this story is so short and quick that I have to wonder what the point of it is. Insight to Heathcliff? Not really, he barely features into the book.
Now I will say, it captures the creepyness and tone of Wuthering Heights perfectly. The writing is sound, and there are some interesting ideas bouncing around in it. But it didn't really have me super excited you know? Quickly as the story started, it ended leaving me wondering what the point was. Really all the short book acomplished was making me actually want to read Wuthering Heights again (I haven't wanted to reread it since high school so I do give Dunkle credit for that). So not a bad book. Just not a super awesome one either. It's just sort of there.
WHO SHOULD READ: Wuthering Heights fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five cloth dolls

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Heist Society

TITLE: Heist Society
AUTHOR: Ally Carter
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: adventure, mystery
PREMISE: Kat thought she was out of the family business for good. Unfortunately, the family has other plans for her...
MY REVIEW: I honestly had low expectations for this. In my defense, I've never read Gallagher Girls (the author's other more well known series) and you have to admit that teenage theifs robbing a museum seems...rather campy and not believable. So I went into this not really knowing what to expect and not expecting my mind to be blown.
But I kind of ended up...loving it. Granted, it is not steller literature and the premise does still seem a bit silly. But the author makes up for it with awesome characters that have great chemistry and an exciting jaunt through Europe and interesting group/family dynamics and great humor. The best thing is that Kat is kind of awesome. It's so refreshing having a heroine whose biggest worry isn't which hot guy she's choosing. Yes, there was romance with Hale but unlike other YA books, I BOUGHT this romance. The chemistry between the two was obvious from Hale's awesome intro through to their banter back and forth and the way they were obviously comfortable with each other.
It was also refreshing not having a bunch of teen angst. Yes, there was a little but most of the book was spent with Kat figuring out the bigger issue of the museum heist. So this book was actually quite a surprise for me. I am most definitely going to be checking out Gallagher Girls now and I hope I'm right that it looks like there's going to be a sequel for this. I'm just guessing because of the ending, but if there's not I'll be satisfied with just this one.
WHO SHOULD READ: Ocean's Eleven fans, you like heist capers, fans of Carters other series Gallagher Girls
MY RATING: Four out of Five sunglasses

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Players Ruse

TITLE: Players Ruse
Book 3 in the Knight and Rogue series
AUTHOR: Hilari Bell
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: adventure, mystery, fantasy
PREMISE: Michael and Fisk are back and this time they get involved in a scheme with pirates and troupe players that brings them into contact with Michaels unrequited love and Fisk's old mentor...
MY REVIEW: If you've been reading this blog awhile, you know I'm a big fan of Knight and Rogue as well as Bell's other books. They're just so much dang fun. For those that don't know the premise: a noble who fancies himself a knight and a ex-con man basically hang out together and solve mysteries. It's basically a medieval take on buddy cop shows and I pretty much love it.
Now to warn, like the previous books, there's not much romance in this one. Neither of the guys gets a girl. I frankly approve of this. It's nice reading just a old-fashioned mystery adventure without falling into the typical romance triangle tropes of YA. Romance would distract from the fun of Michael and Fisk bantering back and forth anyway.
I will say this wasn't as interesting as the previous two till the last couple of chapters because we find out a bit more about Fisk and I find his character really interesting so I appreciated learning more about him and why he is the way he is. But it's still enjoyable and well written as always. I don't know if Bell's planning another Knight and Rogue book (I hope so!) but I do know there is a sequel to Goblin Wood (another of her awesome books) coming out in the next month or so. Can't wait.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Hilari Bell's books, if you've read the first two books, if you don't mind mysteries with lack of romance
MY RATING: Four out of Five ships

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we got over the week. All the links I provide go the books amazon page if you want more info. This week I just have three.

From the Library:
The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle.-This is a horror type story that is set in the early days of Wuthering Heights when Heathcliff was a child. Looked interesting and perfect for Halloween.

Killer Unicorns Book 2: Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund.-Loved Rampant and I can't wait to read this one.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves.-Looked interesting and I'm trying to catch up on the books released this year so...

That's all I got this week. What did you get in your mailbox?

Book Review: The Mark

TITLE: The Mark
AUTHOR: Jen Nadol
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Paranormal, drama
PREMISE: Cassie has the odd ability to see a light around a person when they are going to die that day.
MY REVIEW: I tried to be fair to this book as it was a debut and the author's first novel. So I'll say this: the writing is competant and it is a rather interesting idea so she does have potential. Unfortunately that's all the book kept being: an interesting idea that never went anywhere.
Part of the problem is that Cassie herself is the most passive female character I've read about in awhile (she even gives Bella Swan a run for her money, she's that bad). Seriously, the whole book is her going "oh I have this gift, oh woe is me, oh why me?", then she literally does nothing with it. When she finally goes "oh, maybe I should help people" she goes about it in stupid ways, and then when she fails, goes back to not doing anything about it. Whine, angst, don't do anything. That's all she did throughout the book. It was very annoying and made it hard for me to get into this.
Don't get me started on the "romance" with Lucas either. That totally came out of no where and then ended out of no where as well. Add to that that characters aren't fleshed out that much and that not much of anything really happens beyond her having this gift...it just made for one thankfully short boring book. If the author is planning on making this a series (which from the ending I have a feeling she is) then she needs to make Cassie actually DO something besides whine and mope about her gift and date random hot guys because otherwise this will get no where fast. But to be fair, I do see potential for a series just don't make it as boring as this first book.
MY RATING: Two out of Five clovers

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Naked Heat

TITLE: Naked Heat
Book 2 in the Nikki Heat series
AUTHOR: Richard Castle (ghostwritten in real life)
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: adult
GENRE: Mystery
PREMISE: Detective Nikki Heat gets involved in the case of a murdered gossip columnist with an enemy list a mile long. The case brings her and Jameson Rook back together again...
MY REVIEW: Okay, for those that have no clue what this series is. It's sort of a fiction series within a fiction series. Let me explain. The author is actually a character on a awesome tv show called Castle on ABC (watch if you get the chance, I promise you won't be sorry). Castle is a writer who follows around a female detective who is his model for a series of detective novels that he's writing. That series is this one, the Nikki Heat series. I have no idea who really writes these books (I personally think it's Stephan Canell or James Patterson or Michael Conelly all of whom have made cameos on the show, but I could be wrong...).
But whoever they are I love their stuff. This is exactly how I would imagine Castle would write a mystery: weird twists, sarcasm galore, humor, and many colorful and memorable characters. If you watch the tv show you'll notice several allusions to scenes from Season 2 (as well as one from the Season 3 premiere) so it makes it extra fun for Castle fans.
For regular mystery fans, you'll get fun banter, a twisty mystery with lots of suspects, and just a plain fun mystery that you'll have fun trying to solve along the way (I totally guessed wrong, ah well...). True it's not a literary masterpiece, but if you enjoy mysteries for mysteries sake, these books will definitely make you grin.
WHO SHOULD READ: Castle fans, James Patterson fans, mystery fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five police badges

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books

Book Review: The Trouble With Magic

TITLE: The Trouble With Magic
Book 1 in the Bewitching Mysteries series
AUTHOR: Madeln Alt
PUBLISHED: 2006
CATEGORY: adult
GENRE: mystery, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Maggie gets a new job at the store Enchantments and then almost immediately after, her new boss gets accused of murder. With a town already deciding she's guilty, Maggie takes matters into her own hands and discovers a magical world in her small town that she had no idea existed...
MY REVIEW: I love mysteries. I also am getting into this urban fantasy genre (a little late to the game but oh well) so the fact that someone thought to combine the two gives me a major happy. There are a few flaws to this book. There's not a lot of character developement, it sometimes dragged (and characters, particularly Maggie's mother and sister and small town folk, got annoying), and writing...average at best.
But for the most part I enjoyed this. It's a cozy mystery with magic added. It's fun. I liked Maggie and I loved Felicity. There are interesting ideas going on in here and I can't wait to explore more of this new world that Alt created in these books. I also hope that the members of Felicity's ghost group become regulars and we learn more about them because they all seem very interesting.
So a decent start to an interesting looking series. I look forward to reading more of it and recomend this to mystery and urban fantasy fans, particularly if you like both genres.
WHO SHOULD READ: cozy mystery fans, urban fantasy fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five ghosts

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
First in a Series
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Moon-Called

TITLE: Moon-Called
Book 1 in the Mercy Thompson series
AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs
PUBLISHED: 2006
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Urban fantasy, werewolves
PREMISE: Mercy is a were-coyote who does her best keep her head low in the world of the werewolves/fae/vampires. But when her Alpha werewolf neighbor Adam gets attacked she has no choice but to be drawn into the world again...
MY REVIEW: Once again, I must say, not a terribly original idea. Is no one creative anymore? I mean this series is pretty much Sookie Stackhouse redone with an emphasis on werewolves. Nothing new, nothing I haven't seen before.
Now please don't take this to mean I didn't like the book. I actually did like it. Possibly a bit more then Sookie Stackhouse because the plot is more organized and Mercy isn't as frustrating a character as Sookie can be. But still...not original. But that aside it's a good interesting book. I found the look into pack life interesting and liked her world building. In fact, other then the originality my only other complaint is the covers of these books. It's well done artistic wise, don't get me wrong (although her boobs look fake), I'm just a tad bit confused about why Mercy is dressed like a slut on the cover. I'm not a prude, it's just a little annoying because I didn't read one instance in the book where she's dressed like that. From what I read she was mostly a t-shirt/jeans sort of a gal. Yet all the covers have her bearing her middriff and looking like she's auditioning for a driveing porno or something. It gives the wrong impression about not only her character but what the books are about and probably makes a lot of women hesitate to pick up the books (I did for awhile because of the cover myself). I just think it's a poor decision on the part of the publishers to do that as it kind misrepresents what the books are about.
Other then the annoying cover and lack of originality, I liked the book. Mercy is an awesome character that I'm looking forward to reading more about and learning more about this interesting world that Briggs created. I highly reccomend it to urban fantasy fans. Please, don't be put off by the cover like I was for the longest time. These are decent books.
WHO SHOULD READ: Werewolf fans, Sookie Stackhouse fans, Kelley Armstrong fans, Twilight fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five cars

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
First in a series

TV Weekly Recap

Dancing With the Stars: Is it me or is Bristol this seasons Kate? Meaning, she isn't very good, is obviously there for the controversy of her character, and you kind of get the feeling that she doesn't want to be there. I mean she seems really uncomfortable out there which makes me wonder why she signed up in the first place. Oh wait, it's the Palins...never mind.

Castle: Not much to comment on in this episode, though I found some of the background stuff on Beckett rather interesting.

Glee: Now THIS is when Glee is at its best. The last two eps have just been meh so far, but this is an example of just how good this show can be. I really wish the writers would all sit down and decide once and for all on a direction for this show because the way it is right now is very uneven. I mean you have fun yet pointless eps like last weeks Britney show, but then you suddenly get thought provoking writing about serious stuff like they did with this one. I like both kinds of eps, I just wish they'd be more consistant. Still, this ep was great. I love that they weren't afraid to do all these different views on religion and I swear I near cried when Kurt sang I Want to Hold Your Hand (plus how adorable was that kid they found to play his younger self?).

No Ordinary Family: Show is maybe getting better. I still it rather cheesy and predictable. Am I the only one having trouble differing between Stephan's Collins bad guy character and the dad on Seventh Heaven. I keep expecting the evil dude to break out in a preachy lecture...

Undercovers: Still waiting for my mind to be blown Abrahms. I like the banter, don't get me wrong but something needs to happen here or I'll stop watching.

The Whole Truth: See above comments for thoughts on this show.

Project Runway: For the love of god, can we get rid of Gretchen already? She's whiny, she's arrogant, and she frankly doesn't have the skills to back up her attitude. Get rid of her. Her and Michael because I'm not crazy about him either though I felt for him this ep. I have never wanted to smack a contestant as much as I have wanted to smack Ivy. Actually this whole group is kind of whiny and annoying with the possible exceptions of Peach and Andy. Still say it'll come down between Mondo and Andy.

In My Mailbox (16)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week. Here's my haul. All links go to the book's Amazon page if you want more info:

Downloaded onto Kindle:
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange-Not sure why all these Jane Austin related novels are being put onto the free list but I must say I love it!
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving-getting in the mood for Halloween ;)

Bought at store:
Incarceron Book 1 by Catherine Fisher.-Probably the last of the book bloggers to read this.
Iron Fey Book 2: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa.

From the Library:
Bewitching Mysteries Book 1: The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt.
Knight and Rogue series Book 3: Players Ruse by Hilari Bell.
Heist Society by Ally Carter.
The Mark by Jen Nadol.

That's all I got this week. What did you get in your mailbox?

Book Review: Wish

TITLE: Wish
Book 1 in a planned series I believe
AUTHOR: Alexandra Bullen
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: drama, romance, teeny tiny bit of fantasy
PREMISE: Olivia has lost her twin sister and still dealing with the grief as well as a new town and school and making new friends. Then she gets a dress that she learns grants her three wishes...
MY REVIEW: I'm trying to rack my brain to figure out why exactly I didn't get into this book and I think it boils down to this: the idea of the book was more interesting then the actual book itself. Let me explain. I love the idea of a dres granting wishes. I mean who wouldn't? A thousand questions come to mind when you think of it: who made the dress? Why did they make the dress? What are the rules? Why those rules and just so many others. Unfortunately the author apparently didn't think this was worth exploring, instead we get told the boring day to day drama of the wisher instead. Then it plays out like a rehashing of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Minus the interesting characters and good writing.
That's another issue too: the writing is amatuerish. Long vivid descriptions that we don't need, needless detail, and stereotyping of high school and a rather blah main character that I just didn't get a feel for. Basically stuff we've seen before in YA. Nothing new. It's disappointing too. I mean if the author had done it in maybe the dressmaker's point of view I would have been a tad more interested then I was in the predictable angst tastic drama between Olivia and her friends.
It's not that the book is horrible, it's just been done a million times before and is rather boring. Plus again, the idea of the dress was more awesome then the actual book itself. Apparently there's going to be a second one out next year. Not sure if I'll bother with it.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fans, Gossip Girl fans
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five dresses

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: The Dead Girl's Dance

TITLE: The Dead Girls Dance
Book 2 in The Morganville Vampires series
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLISHED: 2007
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Vampires, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Claire and company continue to deal with the vampires of Morganville and now Shane's crazy dad is in the mix...
MY REVIEW: I will say that I like this series. There is something intriguing enough about it that keeps me reading. However, I'm not in love with it like I am with Vampire Academy. I think it's a multitude of things that do so but two major ones are mostly to blame.
The first one is: the characters are flat to me, particularly Claire who is the main character. Don't get me wrong, there is SOME characterization. Caine does actually try. Unfortunately she doesn't try hard enough because really these characters are more stereotypes then characters. I feel no real attachment to them as a result.
The second reason, kind of ties into the character thing: it's too over the top. I think Caine is too focused on having excitement/angst/romance and then some and cramming it all in less the three hundred pages that the characterization sort of gets lost in the shuffle as result. Seriously, like every ten pages Claire or one of her friends are running for their lives, dealing with danger, or angsting over something. Then suddenly they go into cute couple mode. It's rather inconsistant. I'm all for excitement but there needs to be a balance. Look at Sookie Stackhouse. There are a lot of things happening in a single Sookie book, but Harris never forgets to add in character developement as well which makes me more attached to Sookie and co. Here, I don't really feel any attachment, I just want to know how all this going to go down, but I won't cry very hard if any characters are killed.
Those two things I think are what keep me from truly loving and enjoying this series. I like it well enough that I'm continuing it but if I never pick up the next book, I'll manage you know? About the only character I feel strongly about is Monica: I want her to get either her butt kicked or to get some sort of payback because her character is utterly dispicable (but once again it's also over the top).
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, House of Night fans, vampire fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five crosses

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Locoal Library

Book Review: Magic Bleeds

TITLE: Magic Bleeds
Book 4 in the Kate Daniels
AUTHOR: Ilona Andrews
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: urban fantasy, mystery
PREMISE: Kate wrestles with Curran over their relationship as secrets from her past emerge to threaten her world...
MY REVIEW: Definitely the best Kate Daniels book yet. As always what sells me most is the relationship between Kate and Curran. Finally, a relationship that I buy and support wholeheartedly. These two are actual EQUALS and you actually see that they work well together as well as have chemistry.
I will say I was surprised in the direction this took but I'm happy about it. I look forward to Kate dealing with now being sort of in charge of the pack and now apparently starting her own order. The only thing I'm slightly disappointed about is Andrea and how that turned out. I'm hoping she does a turn around in the next book and that things work out for her because Andrea was one of my favorites in the series. I sort of hope she ends up joining Kate in her new order.
If you read this series already you know what to expect: snarkiness, lots of action, interesting world building, and a great female lead. Though it feels like the series is ending, there is going to be a book next year apparently and I personally can't wait for it. I'm also now going to check out Andrews' new series The Edge which started last year for those that don't know it.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those who have read the first three books, Urban fantasy fans, Patricia Briggs fans, Kelley Armstrong fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five black poodles

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
Finish that Series (finished!)
Support Your Local Library

Book Review: Paranormalcy

TITLE: Paranormalcy
AUTHOR: Kierstan White
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: urban fantasy, faeries, vampires, werewolves
PREMISE: Evie has worked for IPCA nearly her whole life, bagging and tagging paranormals for their own protection. But then a paranormal her own age breaks in and makes her start to question everything she thought she knew about IPCA and even about herself...
MY REVIEW: Doubtless, you bloggers have already heard of this one and are tired of the rave reviews. I'm sorry to say my review will be no different. I adored this book to death. Definitely one of my top books this year. I will say that it isn't totally unique, the idea is vaguely similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (lucky for the author I consider that one of the best shows ever so I didn't mind too much). Writing could also use a bit of polishing description wise and I would have maybe liked more character developement.
But other then those minor issues, this book was phenomenal. Especially for a first book. Evie is a fantastic character that you just can't help but grow to love. She's fiesty, hilarious, has vulnerability but isn't weak, and I actually bought that she was a teenager for once. I also found her romance with Lend very refreshing. Finally, a couple I buy and see why they work. But literally every character in this had their own type of personality that made you just enjoy them. Even the love triangle was refreshing. Mostly because I'm not sure if it counts as a love triangle. Reth seems more obsessed with Evie then in love with her but that's just me. Plus, Evie doesn't go around saying she and Lend are soulmates. Yes, she says the l-word by the end but only once and to herself. they don't see each other go "oh this is my life mate, we're spending the rest of our lives together" like other couples in YA have been known to do, particularly lately.
Then there was just other things that made the book for me. I loved the world building and the different takes on vamps, shifters, and faeries. I loved that Lend had a FAMILY (finally teens with involved parents, because even Evie had Raquel as a parental figure) and friends and that high school wasn't treated like the circle of hell nor was it treated like the best place on earth either (unless you're Evie but her worship is more understandable) it was just that: high school.
So yes, I loved the heck out of this book. In fact, I kind of had to dig to find something I didn't like and I'm coming up blank, aside from the uniqueness and perhaps lack of character developement (but there still is some developement). I'm kind of torn about whether or not I want a sequel to this. Part of me does want one, another part of me wants to see what else White can create because if this is her first book, just think about what ideas she can come up with next! Either way, this author is definately one I'm watching in the future.
WHO SHOULD READ: Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans, paranormal fans, urban fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five pink tasers

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge

Book Review: Royal Blood

TITLE: Royal Blood
Book 6 in the Vampire Kisses series
AUTHOR: Ellen Schreiber
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: vampires, romance
PREMISE: Alexander's parents come to town and they want to meet Raven...
MY REVIEW: As enjoyable as these books are, I have to say this series is starting to lag. Screiber either needs to wrap it up now, or at the very least have stuff happen. Because in this book Alexander's parents showing was literally the ONLY thing that happened. Granted it was still fun with Raven's hijinks, but really, plot needs to start happening otherwise this series will become utterly pointless.
I also want the author to develop Raven's character. I enjoy her, yes. But she needs to do some more growing up. Now I will say there is some developement but there needs to be more of it and not much of it happened in this book that's for sure.
So if you read Vampire Kisses this is frankly more of the same. If you've missed it, you're not missing much because nothing big really happens so I'll repeat: please add in actual on-going plot otherwise I'm sorry I'm going to have to quit this series.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those who read and liked the first five vampire kisses books, Twilight fans, younger vampire fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five lace gloves

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
12 by 12 in October
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

In My Mailbox (15)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week. The links all go to the books Amazon page if you want more info on them. I got a pretty decent haul this week:

Downloaded onto my Kindle (I just realized I haven't been doing ebooks on here, shame on me):
According to Jane by Marilyn Brant.-Kindle Freebie that looked fun.
Nikki Heat series Book 2: Naked Heat by Richard Castle.-What can I say, I'm a big Castle fan and I enjoy my murder mysteries...

Bought at store:
Kane Chronicles Book 1: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan.-Enjoyed Percy Jackson and if you think Greek gods have issues...wait till you find out about Egyptian Gods.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larssen.-Finally caved and got the paperback. When everybody and their mother starts reccing a book I usually take that as a sign that maybe I should take a look.

From the library:
Kate Daniels Book 4: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews.-After this one I'm all caught up!
Wish by Alexandra Bullen.-Debut novel I believe...so I picked it up because the debuts have been rather good this year.
Morganville Vampires Book 2: The Dead Girls Dance by Rachel Caine
Vampire Kisses Book 6: Royal Blood by Ellen Schreiber.

And that's all of them. What did you get in your mailbox this week?

TV Weekly Recap (aka my excuse to chat about my guilty pleasures)

Dancing with the Stars: Not totally surprised about Michael Bolten leaving either, though I am surprised Brandy was in the bottom. Perhaps I will change my theory about her and Jennifer being the top two at the end. I also must say I'm rooting for Kyle Massey. He's just so darn adorable. Plus, I remember when he started out on That's So Raven/Cory in the House (yes, I'm a Disney Channel watcher, don't look at me like that some of their shows are hilarious even if they're not exactly intelligent).

Castle: Oh this was so much fun and embodies everything I love about this show: witty banter, Castle not afraid to make bad jokes and snark with the other cops. I really felt bad for Martha at the end though, what happened with Chet sucks.

Glee: Despite the kids claims in this episode, it's really people my age (those in their mid to late twenties) who REALLY grew up with Britney Spears. We are the ones who remember watching her on Mickey Mouse Club (I for one would like to say I totally predicted that she, Justin, and Christina would make it big; to those that didn't believe me I say HA!), had Christina vs Britney debates (I was Team Christina all the way), and remember a time before she became tabloid queen. So this episode was rather nostalgic for me. I wonder what it says about me that I still know all the words to Hit Me Baby One More Time? Oh well, this was a fun ep but I missed the new characters. The only new one still there was the new coach and while I like her I thought she was supposed to rival Sue? How can she rival Sue if she's nice? Maybe more will be done in the future because I am rather intrigued by her and by Sam (who I hope is the guy who will become Kurt's boyfriend).

No Ordinary Heroes: watched this on Hulu and I am kind of intrigued about it but it still needs a lot of work. Right now it's full of the drama cliches and it's keeping the show from being the utter fun that I was anticipating it would be. If they get rid of the cliches and obvious plot ideas then I bet this show will be great fun like Heroes was (I'm still bitter about it being canceled...) so I'll be tuning in probably.

Project Runway: Mondo! Oh my God. I totally want to send him flowers and chocolates right now because that was some serious revealing the poor guy had to go through on national tv (for those that don't watch, he revealed that he's been HIV positive for the past ten years and literally hasn't told ANYONE before the events of this episode). I'm so glad he won to. He also didn't win because of his revealation, the judges were ohing and ahing over his outfit before the big reveal. The only sour thing about this ep was Gretchen (as usual). God, I wanted to smack her when she was all "I'm so grateful I could be here to share this journey with you." God Gretchen, it's not all about YOU you know. Can we please get rid of her already?

Didn't get to watch Undercovers and The Whole Truth due to that pesky thing called work this week.

Book Review: Hourglass

TITLE: Hourglass
Book 3 in the Evernight series
AUTHOR: Claudia Gray
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: vampires, romance, urban fantasy
PREMISE: Bianca and Lucas are now in the hold of Black Cross. If they find out about her nature, they'll kill her no questions asked, even the few friends she's made. Then there's a raid and Bianca's friend Balthazar is caught...
MY REVIEW: The first half of this book is rather dull. I did find learning about the ins and outs of Black Cross interesting but I found it annoying the way Bianca's mind was like 'Lucas, Lucas, Lucas' almost twenty-four seven. Come on girl, you've got more important things to worry about you know? Plus, I still don't understand her big attraction to Lucas because I'm still not sure what exactly makes them such a good match though I do say the pairing has grown on me (though I still prefer Balthazar but not for Bianca because she frankly doesn't appreciate him).
So the first half of this book was rather annoying for me. Then I got to the middle and was finally on board. For one thing, Vic and Ranulf were back! These two are my absolute favorite characters in this series, they're such a breath of fresh air after the angst buckets that are Balthazar, Bianca, and Lucas. The scene with Vic revealing he knew about the vampire school all along and looking at Bianca and co. going "duh, I'm not stupid guys." was PRICELESS. Then the way he and Ranulf bantered back and forth? Awesomeness. I hope there's much more of them in the next book (and I wouldn't mind a spin-off book with the two of them Gray, hint hint). Also after these two things finally start happening that push the plot forward into ways I didn't expect.
So if you are still a fan of this series, you won't be disappointed. I know the first hundred pages or so aren't the greatest but stick with it, it gets better I promise. Still one of my favorite vampire series out there even if it's not the best thing in the world. Can't wait for the next book Afterlife which comes out in Spring of next year.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those who read and liked the first two books, Twilight fans, House of Night fans, Vampire Academy fans, vampire fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five crosses

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library

October Releases

Here's a list of interesting looking books that I (or you readers) may be interested in that are coming out in the month of October. If it has this by it: (!) that means I'm excited about it and you can expect a review from me on it at some point in this blog. The links go the books Amazon page if you want more info on them.
iDrakula by Bekka Black. Paperback, released October 1rst (today!).
Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bruce. Hardcover, released October 1rst (today!).
Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde. Hardcover, released in October (no exact date is given but it says in stock on Amazon so I'm assuming the first).
The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K.Madigan. Hardcover, released October 4rth (!).
The Devouring Book 3: Fearscape by Simon Holt. Hardcover, released October 5th.
Ash by Melinda Lo. Paperback version, released October 5th (!).
Twisted Tales: Cinderella, Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan. Paperback, released October 5th (!). She's also releasing one about Sleeping Beauty as a Vampire Slayer. Don't tell me these ideas are made of awesome even if I have no clue how she'll make them work.
Leviathan Book 2: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld. Hardcover, released October 5th.
Jane by April Lindner. Hardcover, released October 11th (!).
The Goblin Gate by Hilari Bell. Hardcover, released October 12th.(!)-no, your eyes do not decieve you. This is a sequel to Goblin Wood. Totally excited for this.
The Dragons of Noor by Janet Lee Carey. Hardcover, relased October 12th.
Maze Runner Trilogy Book 2: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. Hardcover, released October 12th.
Elixir by Hilary Duff.-yes, THAT Hilary Duff of Lizzie Maguire (man I miss that show...) fame. She's apparently taken to writing now. I'm a little curious to see if she's any good...
Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst. Hardcover, released October 12th.
The Caster Chronicles Book 2: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl. Hardcover, released October 12th (!!!).
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen. Hardcover, released October 12th.
Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein. Hardcover, released October 12th
Banished by Sophie Littlefield. Hardcover, released October 12th.
The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy Book 3: Archenemy by Frank Beddor. Paperback version (!).
Crossing Over by Anna Kendall. Hardcover, released October 14th (!).
A Girl, A Ghost, and Hollywood Hills by Lizabeth Zindel. Hardcover, released October 14th.
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. Hardcover, released October 19th (!).
Hush, Hush series Book 2: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick. Hardcover, released October 19th.
The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb. Paperback version, released October 25th.
The Exorsistah by Claudia Mair Burney. Paperback version, released October 26th.
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee. Harcover, released October 26th (!).
House of Night: The Fledgling Handbook 101 by P.C.Cast. Paperback, released October 26th.
Blue Bloods Book 5: Misguided Angels by Melissa de la Cruz. Hardcover, released October 26th.
Morganville Vampires Book 9: Ghost Town By Rachel Caine. Hardcover, released October 26th (!).
Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck. Hardcover, released October 28th.
Witch and Wizard by James Patterson. Paperback version, released October 31rst (clever timing Patterson, I tip my hat to you and your publishers).
Also being released this month: annointed versions of Jane Austens novels, boxed sets of series like Mortal Instruments, Maximum Ride, Twilight, Vampire Academy and more (just in time for Christmas/Hannekuh/Kwanzaa); graphic novel versions of Daniel X, re-release of The Good Neighbors by Holly Black and Sandman by Neil Gaiman, and even re-releases of Thirst by Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan's horror novels just in time for Halloween. October is definately a good month for books. As you can see, my most anticipated release this month is Beautiful Darkness. How about you guys? What are you looking forward to most this month?

Book Review: The Dark Divine

TITLE: The Dark Divine
Book 1 in the Dark Divine series
AUTHOR: Bree Despain
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: werewolves, fantasy, romance
PREMISE: years ago, Daniel left leaving Grace heartbroken and big secrets among her family. Now he's back and those secrets are threatening to change everything she thought she knew.
MY REVIEW: I really wanted to like this book. The writing was good, it was nice seeing something that didn't involve vampires, and there were some interesting things going on. But I just didn't and I think it's a combination of things.
First is that it suffers from what I like to call Twilight-ism. I have a feeling this author was a Twilight fan and it shows because there were many elusions to the series, down to a scene that was outright stolen from it and Grace suffers from Bella Swanism like whoa (though she at least has SOME backbone. Not much, but some). It disapoints me too. Because I felt like there was a lot of potential in this and without the author trying to dumb it down by appealing to the Twilight crowd it could of been so much better.
The second major thing is that throughout it I felt like I was being preached at/condescended to and that there was much judgmenting going on. It got very annoying very fast. Then there were little things like I didn't like any of the characters (they were all annoying at some point, even Daniel, the one I liked most of all), it was very dull up till the last hundred pages or so and even that was slightly lackluster (another similarity to Twilight), the whole werewolves being a gift from God or whatever was so much of a stretch that I didn't buy it and much more.
But this is all mostly just because I wasn't really the audience for this series. Twilight fans (particularly the Team Jacob camp) will probably enjoy this immensely. Me, I just wanted more from it and so was slightly disappointed. Maybe the second one will be better...who knows? Like I said, there is potential here.
WHO SHOULD READ: Twilight fans, werewolf fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five moonstones

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
One Hundred Plus Books
YA Challenge
Support Your Local Library