August Book Releases

Sorry about not having a list for July, but as I was on vacation when July started...anyway, here are some releases in August that either I'm super excited about (of which there are a few), think people reading this blog may be interested in, or think may be worth checking out. If it has this by it: (!) it means I'm eager about it and you can probably expect a review about it on this blog sometime in the future.
Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. Paperback, out August 1rst. (!)
Prophecy of the Sisters Book 2: Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink. Hardcover, out August 1rst.
Mortal Instruments Book 3: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. Paperback version, out August 3rd. (!)
Twilight Saga Book 4: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. Paperback version, out August 3rd (personally could care less, but maybe some Twilight fans read this and care, who knows?)
The Hollow Book 1: The Hollow by Jessica Vernay. Paperback version, out August 3rd.
Thresholds by Kiriki Hoffman. Hardcover, out August 5th.
Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer. Paperback version, out August 10th.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield. Paperback version, out August 10th.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Paperback version, out August 24rth. (!)
Hunger Games Book 3: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Hardcover, out August 24rth. (!!!)
Wintersmith: A Story of Discworld by Terry Pratchett. Paperback version, out August 24rth. (!)
Delcroix Academy Book 1: The Candidates by Inara Scott. Hardcover, out August 24rth (!)
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade. Paperback, out August 24rth.
Halo by Alexandra Adornetto. Hardcover, out August 31rst.
Infernal Devices Book 1: The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Hardcover, out August 31rst (!)
Unraveled by Gena Showalter. Hardcover, out August 31rst.
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones. Paperback version, out August 31rst.
The Hollow Book 2: The Haunted by Jessica Verday. Hardcover, out August 31rst.
Lots of good ones coming out this month. In case you couldn't tell by the access of exclamation points, I'm all about Mockingjay this month (I just bought Catching Fire yesterday!) as well as Cassandra Clare's series which is one of my guilty pleasures right now. For those that don't know, she's supposed to be doing a video chat August 4rth around 5 o'clock and announcing some news concerning the series (I'm hoping it's either another planned trilogy or something about the movie like say a planned cast?) but as I'll be working then, I'll have to wait till after to find out what the news is. ;is bummed about this; Anyways, happy reading in August!

Book Review: The Body Finder

TITLE: The Body Finder
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in a planned series
AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: paranormal, romance
PREMISE: Violet has always been able to find the bodies of the dead due to her "gift". When a killer starts preying on girls in her small town she starts using this gift to try and track him down...
MY REVIEW: I'm sort of split on this book. Parts of it I liked, parts of it were eye-roll worthy, mostly this is one of those rather forgetful books. I will say this: it was nice seeing believeable high schoolers. For once there's no, average girl falls for super hot supernatural guy...chaos ensues. No, it's instead the old best friends falling for eachother trope which is kind of a trope I miss in YA, about the only one who does it anymore is Cabot. The dialogue between Violet and her friends is great as was the banter between her and Jay. The premise was also different from what is going on in YA now.
On the other hand...it was kind of blah. I mean, you knew she and Jay would get together and after they get together they get rather boring fast. There's no major shock factor about who is killing the girls and of course he gets caught. It's just all very predictable. No real surprises, everything tied up neatly so much that it sort of felt like a tv-movie of the week thing. That said, I'm confused about why they're making this into a series because I was pretty satisfied with what went on and felt it was pretty much finished. Is Derting going to make things more interesting next time around? I hope so because I personally am not all that interested in a sequel for this.
In other words, this is one of those shrug books. There's not much to set it apart from the crowd but if you're in the mood for a decent paranormal cute book, it does the trick.
WHO SHOULD READ: paranormal fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five dead animals

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12 by 12 in July
YA Challenge
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Wednesday Weekly Chat (2)

First off: Huge and Pretty Little Liars.
Okay, for Huge. Was I the only one snickering throughout the obvious parody of Twilight? I hope not, but seriously, that was fantastic. I also found it interesting that they had the nerve to have an asexual character (or a girl who thinks she is). I believe this is the first time someone has done that on TV? Either way, kind of cool though a bit of a bummer because I was kind of hoping for a romance between her and hot counselor guy whose name escapes me. But I can settle for interesting friendship thing they have going on instead.
Pretty Little Liars: kind of a dull episode but found the flashbacks interesting. Am I the only one who is confused about why these girls were all friends with Allison? Because it kind of seemed to me that they didn't like her that much and that she was basically blackmailing them with all the stuff she knew. But that could be me because I frankly can't stand Allison. From the memories it seems like she's one of those over priviledged-world revolves around me because I'm pretty and popular types and I can't stand girls like that.
Second topic: Hunger Games Trailer
Won't post it because I'm sure we've all seen it by now but god, does it look awesome. I haven't even read book 2 yet and I'm excited for it. Definitely picking up Catching Fire next week so I can join in on the festivities when the third one is released.
Third topic:
Apparently Daniel Craig (the new Bond, even though apparently Bond movies are on hold right now ;sad face;) is going to be in the american version of The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. Yay. Note to self: pick up book when you finish Catching Fire (this is yet another trilogy I haven't read yet).
About all the topics I have this week.

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures

TITLE: Beautiful Creatures
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in The Caster Chronicles
AUTHOR: Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: fantasy, romance
PREMISE: Ethan lives in the most boring town in the south. Then a new girl shows up and this new girl shakes up his world in ways he never imagined possible.
MY REVIEW: Warning: there will be lots of gushing in this post because I absolutely adored this book. So I will get the few minor qualms I have with it out of the way. One qualm is that while I love that they did a book from a guy's point of view for a change, sometimes it didn't seem like Ethan was a guy. The other is that the whole "town versus Ethan and Lena" thing was a little over the top for me, even with the revelation at the end about Mrs. Lincoln (won't give away revelation for those that haven't read it).
But other then that, this whole book just clicked the right way for me. For one it wasn't full of all the common tropes that are going around in YA fantasy nowadays (although there are maybe one or two but not enough to bitch about). There are no vampires and werewolves, just good old regular magic casters for a change. No love triangle. No macho guy who protects the whiny girl from a danger he brought on her(Ethan is a gentleman who isn't a wuss but he's no Edward Cullen which is good because otherwise I would have hated him). The romance takes time to develop for a change as well. Finally, a couple who does normal things like deal with school, having to study, going on dates as well as the magic stuff. Also, actual parental supervision! They have adults who are actually present in their lives and who aren't treated like some big nuisance that needs to be protected from themselves. It was just very refreshing to read.
But two things really made this book for me: the setting and the characters. There seems to be a semi gothic revival thing going on in YA right now and all I can say is bring it. I love me my gothic novels and if it's gothic fantasy like this one all the better. The characters were also nicely written and varied and just plain fun. For those curious my favorite characters are Marion, Amma and Link. In that order. I found Ridley kind of interesting too because I don't buy that she's totally evil and will be curious to see if we see more implications of that in the next book.
So despite a few minor flaws, this is an excellent first book (this was a debut novel in 2009) and I highly reccomend it. The next book in the series is Beautiful Darkness and comes out in October (there's a widget in the sidebar if you want the actual date).
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone interested
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five charm necklaces

FOR THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:
One Hundred Plus Books
12 by 12 in July
YA Challenge
First in a series

In My Mailbox (5)

This is a meme started by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what books we've gotten over the week.

This week I managed to snag two books (from this year!) at my local library:

Alice, I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin.-Been wanting to read this one ever since I first heard about it but it's been on reserve up until now.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting.-Debut novel from this year and another I've been curious about.

So that's it. What did you get this week?

Book Review: The Color of Magic

TITLE: The Color of Magic
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Discworld series
AUTHOR: Terry Pratchett
PUBLISHED: 1983
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: parody, fantasy
PREMISE: A bumbling wizard and tourist get stuck on a journey together through the crazy world of Discworld.
MY REVIEW: So I finally have officially started this series (yeah yeah I know, it's sad I haven't picked it up till now). Now Pratchett may not be for everybody. If you like logical clear cut stories...he's not for you. Discworld is first and foremost a parody of fantasy novels (I'm pretty sure Rincewind is supposed to be a parody of Gandalf...could just be my opinion though...). The first book contains random adventures that the two have so it's not exactly a organized book.
But what makes this book is the humor. Pratchett is one hysterical writer. He takes all the common tropes that are in fantasy books and runs with them and has a blast while doing so. There are some hilarious one liners in this book. In fact, someone needs to come up with a quote book just for Discworld alone.
So in short, the book is hilarious. It may not suit all tastes, but if you don't mind somewhat chaotic storytelling (and in this case I certainly don't) it will be utter fun for you.
WHO SHOULD READ: parody fans, fans of Monty Python (there are echoes of it in here)
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five demon boxes

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

Book Review: The Hunger Games

TITLE: The Hunger Games
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Hunger Games trilogy
AUTHOR: Suzanne Collins
PUBLISHED: 2008
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: Science fiction, action/adventure
PREMISE: When Katniss's sister is called forward to participate in the deadly Hunger Games, she steps forward to take her place. Soon she gets involved in the deadly game that pits children against one another in a fight to the death...
MY REVIEW: Normally, I don't care for these battle to the death type things (HATED Lord of the Flies) but this...is GOOD. For one the battle to the death is actually just a plot device for a much larger story that involves a complicated futuristic system that is intriguing and a much more involved story arc then you normally get with these type of scenarios. Now I will say, I wasn't all that interested in the games part themselves, I was more interested in the political/possible rebellion type stuff going on, but I do give Collins credit for not shying away from the violence aspect of it.
But the thing that made me really love this was Katniss. Finally a teen heroine who is concerned about more then her social life or love life. She cares about things other then herself. So refreshing from what is normally going on in YA fiction nowadays. Also refreshing is that the romance isn't contrived or cliche, what little romance there actually is in the book. Because the author is not using the romance to drive the story, it's a secondary thing to the excitement going on which is the way it should be in these types of stories.
Now, since I know someone will ask me eventually I'm going to state it now: I really don't care who Katniss ends up with. Yeah, I know, something wrong with me. But I honestly like both Peeta and Gale so I have no qualms with her ending up with either one. Now bear in mind I haven't read the second book yet so that may change, but for now I'm Team I don't give a damn cause both guys are pretty cool.
So in short, I'm now in love with this trilogy and am kicking myself for not picking it up sooner. But hey, I'll be picking up the second as soon as my bills for the month are paid so I'll be caught up with the trilogy in time to celebrate the third book's release on August 24rth. There's going to be a release party right? I hope so.
WHO SHOULD READ: anyone inclined to pick it up
MY RATING: Four and a half out of five bow and arrows

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

Wednesday Weekly Chat (1)

Wednesday Weekly Chat is something I'm going to be doing on this blog from now on. Obviously it'll be every Wednesday and I'll chat about random fandom, mostly book related things/topics. So without further ado, here's the first things I want to chat about.

Huge and Pretty Little Liars on ABCFamily
Most of the first part of these chats will be me discussing these two shows which I have become utterly addicted too. Both are based off of books and are completely different. Huge takes place in a weight-loss camp and deals with the drama that goes on with the campers. The ever awesome Nikki Blonsky is in it (as well as Paul Doosey of Happy Days fame and the girl from Firefly whose name escapes me) and she plays Will. I really love this show. For one, it's nice seeing plus size people on a show but not being mocked/shamed about their weight nor are they stereotyped to death. For another, it's very relateable even if you aren't overwieght, the characters are nicely varied and again not stereotypes. Then the writing is just good. Nice and subtle lines that make you think and they manage to get a lot of stuff in one episode without being overwhelming. If all this doesn't convince you to give it a shot, it was created/written by the same people who did My So-Called Life. If you are too young to remember My So-Called Life it was a awesome teen drama (possibly one of the first teen dramas out there, but I may be wrong on that so don't quote me on it) back in the nineties that aired on MTV back when MTV wasn't completely lame and full of reality shows like it is now.
Now Pretty Little Liars...I'm kind of embarressed and surprised about how addicted I've become to this show. I'm surprised because after trying out the books in preperation for the show I didn't care for them. They were amatuerish (and not in a good way), the characters were annoying and bratty, the pacing was really bad, and there was the annoying habit of label dropping and pop culture referencing. About the only thing the books had going for it was the mystery aspect of it. So I watched the first few episodes to see if the show was better and yay, it was. The characters are much more tolerable (though I still do want to shake some of them like for instance, Spencer's whole selfish family), the mystery part is the important thing in the series and that's good because sometimes the melodrama parts are a little silly and cliche. The pacing in the series is also ten times better.
So what I want to discuss this week: Pretty Little Liars (Huge didn't have much going on sadly). Now that we know for sure it's not Toby, and I'm pretty sure it's not Jenna, who is the possible A? If you've read the books and already know, please no spoilers. Because honestly, I'm drawing a blank right now and that never usually happens to me on these shows. It's both exciting because for once I don't see it coming, and both annoying at the same time. So, thoughts please? I need to discuss this with people as most everyone in my non internet life doesn't watch the show so I can't discuss it with them.

Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

TITLE: The Thirteenth Tale
PART IN SERIES: Standalone
AUTHOR: Diane Setterfield
PUBLISHED: 2006
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: drama, mystery
PREMISE: A young writer gets an invite by a famous author to come and write her biography and ends up getting caught up in the writers family secrets...
MY REVIEW: Does anyone remember V.C.Andrews? When I was a teen I devoured her books, even though I freely admit they aren't the best thing written and they aren't even usually the type of thing I go in for. Why do I bring up her books, you ask? Because this book is basically a V.C.Andrews book, just slightly classier in tone.
If you're trying to remember where you've heard about this book before, it was probably a few years ago when the book first came out. For awhile it seemed this was on EVERYONE'S book list of best books. I believe it was even mentioned on Oprah once (not being a big watcher of Oprah I can't say for sure if this is the case, but it certainly feels like the kind of book she'd go for). I myself kind of ignored it as I usually do hyped up books but I saw this in a bargain bin and figured what the hell.
Now I'm kind of scratching my head about why people went so gaga over this thing. I mean it's not totally horrible. I like the feel of it (it's a gothic Jane Eyre type of thing and I have a thing for those types of books normally, hence my whole love affair with the V.C.Andrews books in the first place), and there are some really great lines in it, and the mystery part was interesting. Other then that though...it was kind of just ho hum for me.
The writing was terribly amatuerish (but did hint that the writer had potential, I believe this was the author's first book?) with bad pacing and way too much telling and not showing. I didn't care for how it jumped around between Vida's story and the writer's story because frankly the writer just wasn't that interesting to me. The book wavered a lot between kind of dull to kind of interesting but never got to that OMG!I have to find out what happens next point.
So honestly, the book was just okay. I don't understand all the hype but then I rarely get why some things get over hyped and other things don't (when you all figure out the Twilight thing let me know please).
WHO SHOULD READ: V.C.Andrews fans, those who like family saga type books
MY RATING: Three out of Five old musty books

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

Book Review: School Spirit

TITLE: School Spirit
PART IN SERIES: Book 1 in the Suddenly Supernatural series
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
PUBLISHED: 2008
CATEGORY: Childrens
GENRE: Paranormal
PREMISE: Kat's mom has the ability to see ghosts and therefore is resigned to the fact that her life will always be strange. She doesn't appreciate it though when she herself turns thirteen and discovers she has gotten the same gift because seventh grade is hard enough...
MY REVIEW: Most of what I can say about this book is cute. It's not phenomenal but it's not horrible either. For the audience it's aimed for (older elementary schoolers and middle schoolers) it's appropriate and very relateble and they'll probably get a kick out of it.
Kat herself wavered for me. Sometimes I felt she was a little whiny but even she acknowledged things weren't so bad so it didn't get out of hand. I also felt the mean girls of the school were grossly stereotyped and a little over the top. The ghost story part was also pretty easy to figure out and was of course neatly dealt with, though there is a hint of something being at the school that may be dangerous so that may play out in an interesting way in later books.
So honestly, this book just gets a okay from me. It's good for the audience it's aimed at but for anyone else it'll probably just feel silly. If you have kids in that tough middle grade age who like ghost stories but aren't ready for Stephan King, this is a good book series to suggest.
WHO SHOULD READ: middle schoolers, older elementary school kids
MY REVIEW: Three and a half out of Five flutes

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