#WeekendReads(1)

All over the online book community people talk about what they are reading over the weekend. This weekend I am just starting two books and so tempted by a third. I've already started Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. The Raven Boys is a reread and my favorite book from last year while Ignite Me is the series final for the Shatter Me series that I have been tearing through over the past month! The third book that has been calling my name since I purchased it last weekend is, The Space Between by Brenna Yavanoff. The cover just draws me in! These are all very different, but all three appeal to me right now.

Anyway let me know what you are reading or what you think I should pick up first this weekend!

If you are interested in seeing what I thought of the Raven Boys the first time around, you can check out my review here. 

Bookish Five Friday(13) - Book Design Elements

I often buy books or don't buy books because of their covers. Unless I've heard something good about a book, I have trouble picking it up if it has a cover that doesn't appeal to me. These are some of my favorite cover elements or things I find appealing in covers.

1) Keep it Simple - When covers are too busy, I just put the book down and slowly walk away. I think a lot of times a simple cover coveys the book plot better than something overly complex. Sometimes I think eye catching isn't always a good thing. One example is The 5th Wave. The cover is simple and relevant to the story. 

2) Interesting Spine - Obviously if I'm walking through a book store and a book has a beautiful spine, I'll want to pick it up. Since books after often placed "spine out" on the shelf, I think its one of the best ways to bring attention to a book. I bought the hardcover edition of My Life Next Door just because the spine is pretty. It helps draw attention to the book more than a plain spine. Also I like it when people look at my shelves and ask about a book because they noticed it has a unique spine. 

3) Hardcover Surprise - One of my favorite things about buying hardcover books is there are often surprises under the dust jacket. I love it when a book has a design or something extra under the dust jacket. It makes buying books even more fun. A Monster Calls is a wonderful example of this idea. The physical book is beautiful and the inside cover also has a nice design. 

4) Deckled Edge - This is when a book has uneven pages and the book almost looks like parchment on the edges. I love this. I am 200% more likely to take a book home if it has deckled edges. I don't know why because I do think it makes it harder to flip pages, but I still love the look of the book. When Ignite Me arrived I was thrilled to see it has a deckled edge . 

5) Interesting Cover Texture - When a book feels different when I pick it up, its peaks my interest a little more. I'm not even sure why! Even so, I love it when books are soft or sleek. 

What appeals to you when you are shopping for books? Also if you want to see examples of covers and books that appeal to me you can check out last week's BFF which was my favorite covers right now. 

Last week's BFF----> Favorite Covers Right Now

January Month in Review

In January I read a total of 6 books and started a new way of picking the books I'll read in the future. If you want to read more about my new Book Jar system you can check it out here.

Books I read in January:

Back to the Divide - Elizabeth Kay 

Frigid  by J. Lynn - My Review

The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - My Review 

Frostbite by Richelle Mead 

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake - My Review 

Shatter Me by Tehereh Mafi

I didn't get quite as much as I wanted to, but I've started a 600 page book and it is taking me quite a while to get through it. Hopefully next month I'll be able to read a few more books. 

Bookish Five Fridays (12) - Favorite Covers Right Now

These are some of my favorite covers at the moment. I'll probably list more posts like these during Bookish Fives in the future, but right now these are my favorite book covers. I love them all! Be sure to tell me what your favorite covers are so I can check them out! 

  

 

Last Week's Bookish Five ----> Five Books I'd Want on a Desert Island

Girl of Nightmares - Review

 
   

by Kendare Blake

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy 
Hardcover - 332pgs.
Published - August 2012
Series: Anna #2 (Final Book) 

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears. Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

When I learned there was a sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, I was a little confused. I loved the first book but at the end of the first book it felt like a lot of this story was wrapped up and finished.  I might have forgotten some points though because I read it last summer. Even so, I was happy to jump back into this story and see what Cas and his friends were up to.

I was pleasantly surprised with where this book went. I was thrilled to see how much potential Blake built into this story. There was more information about the athame, Cas's family and the lore behind Cas's job. I felt like she really built up the world and expanded the supernatural elements of the book which was really awesome except this is the end of the series. In some ways I could see Cas and his friends hunting ghosts for several more books, but in the end I realized this is Cas and Anna's story which Blake does a wonderful job of wrapping up in this book. Even though I'm disappointed that this awesome story is over, I was completely happy with the ending of this duology. I thought it was appropriate and it works for the world and characters that Blake created. The ending felt complete and final which made it easier not to pine for more (even though I still am...)

I really enjoyed the characters in these two books as well. Cas and his friends have realistic struggles in this paranormal story. Obviously they are looking for Anna, but at times the three of them struggle with the weight of keeping part of their lives secret from the rest of the world. The dynamics between the three freinds is excellent. I loved how Cas is a fish out of water sometimes with his friends because he isn't used to having long lasting friendships. The conflicts and problems that this friend group had throughout the book felt right and like a natural thing that would happen which is always nice. There is some repetitiveness throughout the book and sometimes I wanted things to move forward faster because much of the first half of the book is Cas and everyone else thinking he is crazy. However, the pace really picks up after Cas decides he is going to find Anna even though it is dangerous for him and his friends.

I'll be honest and admit that part of the reason I love this book so much is because it reminds me of a teenage version of Supernatural. I love all the ghost hunting and suspenseful scenes that are built in. I really enjoyed the minimal romance in this book. Even though there are romantic elements to this story that are essential to Cas's motivation to find Anna, Cas is worried about and balances many other things than just romance in the book. He isn't just some love sick boy looking for his girlfriend and thank goodness for no love triangle!

Something about the writing I loved from the first book which carried over to this one was the balance between horror and humor. There are some very dark and gory parts to this story that the author describes vividly. Sometimes when Cas sees Anna suffering its not pretty and Blake doesn't shy away from descriptions, but we know that from the first book in this series, where several people are brutally murdered and nasty looking ghosts are a frequent occurrence. Blake keeps the dark in check with humorous lines and witty characters. This balancing act in her writing kept the pace moving and kept the tone of the story lighter throughout the book.

I really liked this ending to this  series and I absolutely can't wait to pick up something else by Kendare Balke. She is quickly becoming one of my favorites even though I've only read two books by her.

Rating: 4/5

Book Jar of 2014

My book jar has failed me I have failed my book jar so many times because I just never remember to pick a title out of it or pick something I dislike. I just never go through with what I pick out of the jar. So I've stopped picking books from the jar over the past six months or so. I gave up on it. It sat on my shelf as a display item rather than something I actually used.

Recently I saw Marlin's video about putting numbers in the jar instead of titles. Therefore, I've decided to try this approach out to see if it works any better for me. I think this might help me because I will pick a number from the jar and look it up on Goodreads to see which book it is. This way I'll see reviews and ratings to encourage me to read the book and it reminds me how many unread books I own.... So far its been working well. I've already started reading the two books I picked out a few days ago and haven't given up on them yet (which I usually do).

I have an Owned to Read shelf on Goodreads and I've put number 1- 65 into the jar. I have over 150 unread books, but I've only used 65 number so that I will read some of the books that I've owned the longest but haven't picked up yet.

                 

So at the end of this month I picked out numbers 4 and numbers 37. Number 4 on my list was Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty. Since this is a large non-fiction book, I also picked out a second number so I could balance fiction and non-fiction. Number 37 was Peter and the Secrets of Rundoon. These are both rather large books but I am excited to read both of them. 

So my goal this year is to reduce this shelf to less than 100 books so hopefully I'll be picking numbers out of this jar often and reading more of the books I already own. 

Bookish Five Friday(11) - Books I'd want on a Desert Island

I always wish for more time to read books. I also love to read on the beach so if I was stuck on a desert island I would be happy as long as I had some of the following books (and maybe some sunscreen). While I'm freezing here at my house, I'm wishing for warm sand and sun.

I'm making a rule that I already have a book about building a boat and I've decided to ignore it for a while until I read all my other books first! =)

1) A Storm Of Swords - George R.R. Martin - This book is huge and is supposed to be very good. I would have plenty of time to read and reread this book.  If I never escaped the island I would always wonder about the end of the series, but it seems like a lot of people are going to be wondering about the rest of the series as well. 

2) Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Imagine a Series Bind Up!)- by Rick Riordan - This might be a cheat because it doesn't exist. However I'd want to read a bind up of this series. I loved these books because they were funny and really well written. Plus I think Percy's witty narration would keep me from getting bored in the hot sun. 

3) The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - I've been slowly making my way through these, but I wish I knew when I was going to get the chance to reread them. I really enjoy them, but it would be nice to have the time to read them all again which would be really easy if I was trapped on an island.

4) Days of Blood and Starlight - Lani Taylor - I've been wanting to read this for so long, but  I keep putting it off. Maybe if I had lots of time I'd finally pick it up. I'm very excited to finish this series as well later this year when the final book comes out. This book is long too so I wouldn't get bored!

5) Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce - I need to finish this series as well and I cannot make myself start this book for some reason. Hopefully sand and sunshine would put me in the mood to read it. Also this book is longer and pass the time for me.

Let me know what you would read on a desert island if you had a lot of time and nothing to do but relax.

Last Week's FFF -----> Most Anticipated Reads of 2014

Book Haul - January 2014

I did not receive any books as gifts over the holidays which is really disappointing. However I did receive some money which I decided to spend on books of course!

Books Mentioned

New -
Legend Box Set - Marie Lu
The Raven Boys - Maggie Steifvater
The Dream Thieves - Maggie Stiefvater
Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi
Unravel Me - Tahereh Mafi
Angel Fall - Susan Ee
World After - Susan Ee
Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers
The Diviners  - Libba Bray
The Yard - Alex Grecian

Used - From Better World Books
Captain Wentworth's Persuasion - Regina Jeffers
Sanditon - Jane Austen and Another Lady
Darcy and Fitzwilliam - Susan Wasylowski
This Dark Endeavor - Kenneth Oppel
Spirit Bound - Richelle Mead
I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Mistwood - Leah Cypress
Nightspell  - Leah Cypress
The Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier
The Son of Shadows- Juliet Marillier
The Child of the Prophecy - Juliet Marillier

Let me know if you've read any of these and what you think I should read first!

Bookish Five Fridays (10) - Most Anticipated Releases 2014

I'm a little behind, but these are my most anticipated releases of 2014! These are not in any particular order. I am just excited for all of them. Happy Friday!

1) Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Lani Taylor 
Book Three in Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series 
I've only read the first book in this series, but I bought the second immediately after I read this book because the writing style and the story were so amazing.  I am dying to get my hands on this one!

Expected Publication: April 18th 2014

 

2) Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
I have a confession. I'm afraid of monkeys and its all because of The Wizard of Oz. The monkeys freaked me out. Even so I am so excited for this book because it sounds so awesome. I've been in love with the musical Wicked for years and this sounds like it will be down a similar vein. This plot sounds really cool and I've heard people saying some really good things about it. I can't wait to check it out. It is already preordered!

Expected Publication: April 1, 2014

3) Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo 
Book Three in the Grisha Trilogy 
I loved the first book and need to pick up book two. I'm hoping to read this book as soon as it comes out. I've heard nothing but good things about the second book, Siege and Storm, so I'm sure this will be amazing as well.

Expected Publication: June 3, 2014

4) The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan 
Book Five in the Hero's of Olympus Series 

I'm about a quarter of the way through The House of Hades and I'm trying to stretch it out because I love this series (especially Percy Jackson) so much that I know waiting for the next book is going to kill me! I'm so excited to see what happens in the wrap up to this amazing series.

Expected Publication: October 14, 2014

5) The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey 
Book Two in the 5th Wave Series


Of course after reading The 5th Wave last year, I am so excited to see where Rick Yancey is going to take this series. I was blown away by the first book and I cannot wait for more! I didn't even know this was a series when I read book one so knowing now that there is more to this story and world is so exciting!



Expected Release: September 16th, 2014

Honorable Mention: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Book Six in the Mortal Instruments 
This is an honorable mention only because even though I love these books, I feel like I've been waiting for this book for forever! My excitement is actually down because I've been waiting so long. Even so, I am definitely going to preorder this book and I'll be reading it as soon as it comes out.

Expected Release: May 27, 2014

Locke and Key - Series Review

Written by Joe Hill and Illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez 

    

      

Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them, and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all!
Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box) creates an all-new story of dark fantasy and wonder, with astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez.

*Genre: Supernatural/Paranormal * Format: Graphic Novel (740pgs) * 
*First Vol. Published - Sep. 2008*

I first heard about these books from The Readables on Youtube. She raved about the books in one of her videos. I found the first five novels that are out at my local library.

First of all, these books is much more violent than I thought it was going to be going in. It isn't a positive or a negative for the books, but I think it is something that others should know before they pick these up. From the very first pages of the book, the plot is very dark.

Even though they are dark, this world and the concept of these books is so interesting. The keys open some extraordinary doors within the house that do so many amazing things for the Locke kids. I don't want to tell you what they are because discovering the powers of the keys is a fun part of the story. In some ways I wish this series was written in novel form because I wanted even more details about the keys. However the beautiful and detailed artwork makes up for my longing for more story.

There is so much going on in this story. Not only is there a story about murder and mayhem in present. There is also an amazing back story for the characters and origin story for the keys themselves. Over the course of the series we learn about how different generations have used the keys. Each book builds more on the mystery of the house, the keys and the villain of this story, Dodge. Dodge is smart and very resourceful which makes him very frightening as a bad guy and difficult to keep down for long. All the characters are interesting and even the best ones make choices that keep you turning the pages and kept my heart pounding as I was reading.

Overall I really liked these books and I'm excited to read the next book which I believe is the final book in the series. I'll also be on the look out for more of Joe Hill's work in the future it they are along these lines.

Rating 4/5 

Vampire Academy - Review

by Richelle Mead

   

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance 
Paperback - 332 pgs
Published - 2007
Series: Vampire Academy (1) 

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

I've heard so many people say they like the Vampire Academy Series and even thought I've had the first three books for ages, I've never read them. I was preparing for the Bout of Books readathon and picked this book up on the first day on a whim.

There is a lot of ground work being laid in this book. The world of the Vampire Academy is interesting and somewhat confusing at the beginning. Even though a lot of people deem this the worst book in the series, I give Richelle Mead a lot of credit for building a solid foundation for her series to start from. There were lots of details about beliefs, customs and traditions in this world that let me know Mead knew her story and her world.

With Rose as our narrator though, nothing stays boring for long. She is sharp and witty, but very much her age. I loved Rose. I think too often YA writers make their heroine too strong. In many boks she is the fastest/smartest/best at whatever she is doing without flaws that really fit into her character. I liked that Rose was flawed and made questionable, even terrible, decisions. She had to work to catch up because of her two year absence at the academy, and we saw her face the consequences of that decision and start to move past it and grow. Rose's inner monologue actually reminds me a lot of Sophie from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. She has that same kind of of witty humor and snark. I won't dish over the love interest in this story even though I could for ages and ages. I dig this romance to put it simply.

The story keeps moving, but it felt very disconnected. Instead of the story building throughout the book, I felt like one thing would happen until it was resolved then another plot point would start. The book was very engaging this way and it kept the pacing of the novel very even (and always exciting). However sometimes I wanted a little more complexity to the plot. There was some interconnection and since I've read the second book already I can tell you this improves in the second novel significantly.

I enjoyed reading this book so much. As I've mentioned several times on this blog, this year is my year to experiment with marathon reading. This was a good series to start that experiment with because I could not wait to read book two. I picked up the sequel the morning after I finished this book. So far it seems like what people say about this series is true. It is getting even better as it goes!

It is really hard for me to rate this book because there were obvious holes and gaps where I wanted more information. Also the character development could have been a little smoother for me. I like where the story is going, but there were some parts that were very predictable. Even though it had some problems, I really enjoyed reading this book. I had a lot of fun learning about the world and characters which really makes up for a lot to me.

Rating: 3.5 (rounded up to 4 on GR)