Hop & Follow Friday! (25)

Happy Friday, lovelies!

I hope you had a wonderful week and are looking forward to an awesome, book-filled weekend!

The Book Blogger Hop is a fun (generally) bookish Friday meme hosted by Jennifer over at Crazy for Books! Be sure to jump over to her post, read the rules, and link up your post!

This week's question:

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

Well, right now, I mostly read YA paranormal stuff.  I think my first option if they stopped writing that (heaven forbid!) would be to head for contemporary fiction. I definitely wouldn't give up reading! Heavens NO! 

"Follow My Book Blog Friday" is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View and Allison at Allison Can Read where bloggers make new friends, including this week's featured bloggers--Pedantic Phooka & Drying Ink!  Pop on over to Parajunkee's blog and join in the follow fun!!

This week's question: 

Q: Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of the story? If so, which one? 

  I'm not sure if he's really a "villian" but I would say that there were definitely moments (many, actually) when I totally wanted Linden to win over Rhine in Lauren DeStefano's Wither. It's not necessarily a villain winning, but it's the "bad guy" (although the "not as bad as his dad" bad guy) getting the girl. I think that's about as close as I have come to sincerely wanting the villain to win. I think that makes sense as most authors would want you to fall in love with and cheer for their hero.

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReadswhere she poses a thought-provoking question to prompt some blogger discussion!

Making a Difference: 
Books to Television: Which books would you love to see made in to a tv series? or movie? 

The IRON FEY series! TV, movies, I don't even care. :-) I think that the books have really fabulous world-building and dynamic characters as well as a solid mixture of action and romance that would appeal to a wide audience.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! I love your comments and try my best to return follows! 
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

(PS ~ See that link at the top of the page? The one for my potential 2012 challenge? Would you be so kind as to take a look and leave some feedback? I'd love to get an idea of if this is something that people would be interested in.  Or just answer the poll in the sidebar. Thanks!!)

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where book bloggers discuss the books that they are most anxiously waiting for! (And this fabulous button was designed by my dear blogger friend Lindsay at The Violet Hour)

This week I'm waiting on...

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

© 18 October 2011 by Del Rey Books


Pre-Order It! Amazon

Goodreads Description:

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

Steampunk + romance + zombies = awesome!

Also, I figured I would combine this post with W.W.W. Wednesdays...so here is some more info about my reading for this week! To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…Grab the logo...and post your link at Should Be Reading!


What are you currently reading?

(Currently listening to...)

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next? 

What are YOU waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday! (1)

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I haven't participated before but this weeks topic caught my eye. And...with my upcoming 2012 challenge, I kind of couldn't resist, because heaven's knows I'm stoked for a ton of 2012 sequels!

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth - I dare you to read Divergent and NOT be waiting on pins and needles to read Insurgent.  Impossible. I need more Tris and Four. Seriously--NEED.
2. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - Delirium was a book that surprised me by making me absolutely fall in love with it. It left us with such a cliffhanger too...
3. Fever by Lauren DeStefano - Wither was a fabulous debut novel for Lauren and I can't wait to read about Rhine's continuing journey!
4. Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh - Nevermore was a fabulous read (even if not a perfect one for me) and I can't help but wait impatiently for the sequel! There's so much I still need to know!
5. The Nightmare Garden by Caitlin Kittredge - I loved The Iron Thorn, need I say more? There's still so much more to learn about Aoife and I can't wait!
6. Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick - Okay, Ashes, which comes out today, has one of the best/worst cliffhangers that I've read in a long time. I could NOT believe it was over.
7. Surrender by Elana Johnson - If you've read and loved Possession, there's no way not to be excited about this sequel (okay, companion novel--same thing). THE ENDING. O.o
8. Shatter Me #2 by Tahereh Mafi - Hah, Shatter Me isn't even OUT YET! But trust me, when it comes out, you definitely want to get your hands on it. I promise that you will devour it--I did in one sitting!
9. Fuse by Julianna Baggott - Okay, so Pure doesn't even come out until February but I'm already dying for the continuation. Pure left me begging to know what happened next.
10. Dreamless by Josephine Angelini - Starcrossed is one of those books that I started reading and then stayed up into the early morning hours to finish. I just couldn't put it down!

Wow, that list was incredibly difficult to narrow down to just 10!! There are so many good series/trilogies just starting out there right now that it's hard to choose.  If you're interested, I'm hosting a challenge that focuses on sequels beginning in January and preliminary information can be found here. Check it out!

In My Mailbox (14)

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren where we can show some love to all the books that we got in the mail or otherwise!

Hello, my lovelies!!! So, this week, I have my first video blog! It turns out that I'm a bit chatty and really too lazy to edit much. Sooo....it's kind of long and you don't have to watch it, lol. But here it is anyway!

Bought:

• Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Tour:

• Pure by Julianna Baggott (thanks, Around the World ARC Tours!)
• Winter Town by Stephen Emond (thanks, Once Upon a Twilight ARC Tours!)

Borrowed:

• Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon (thanks, Neri!)

Won/Received:

• The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle (thanks, Jennifer!)
• Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (thanks, Jennifer!)
• Hideaway (CD) by The Weepies (thanks, again, Jennifer!)
• Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy) by Jennifer Estep (thanks, Sash & Em!)
• My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison (thanks, Heidi!)

For Review (from NetGalley):

Prized (The Birthmarked Trilogy) by Carah O'Brien (thanks, Macmillan Children's!)

Without Tess by Marcella Pixley (thanks, Macmillan Children's!)

If I Tell by Janet Gurtler (thanks, Sourcebooks Fire!)

What's in YOUR mailbox?!

:-D

Hop & Follow Friday! (24)

Happy Friday, lovelies!

I hope you had a wonderful week and are looking forward to an awesome, book-filled weekend!

The Book Blogger Hop is a fun (generally) bookish Friday meme hosted by Jennifer over at Crazy for Books! Be sure to jump over to her post, read the rules, and link up your post!

This week's question:

What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation?

Two answers for this one, lol. First, my husband's first paycheck since May. YAY!! He's a full-time graduate student so it's clearly a 9-month gig. Sept. 30 can't come quite fast enough! Second, canning. :-) Were you expecting that one? I absolutely adore making peach butter, cinnamon pear jam, apple butter, etc. and fall is the best time to do it. (The house gets so hot at other times of the year and that somehow translates to me being too lazy to can things.) So, I cannot wait for a bushel of peaches from my great uncle so that I can make goodies to both have at home and give away for Christmas. :-D 

"Follow My Book Blog Friday" is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View and Allison at Allison Can Read where bloggers make new friends, including this week's featured bloggers--Once Upon a Prologue & Lisa Loves Literature!  Pop on over to Parajunkee's blog and join in the follow fun!!

This week's question: 

Q: If you could change the ending of any book (or series), which book would you choose? Why and to what?

I have to admit that nothing is coming to mind right off the bat. There had definitely been a couple of endings that threw me for a loop (POSSESSION) and there have definitely been some major cliffhangers (ASHES), but I wouldn't change either/any of those.  It may be a cop-out, but I honestly can't think of an ending that I was so upset with that I would want to re-write it at the moment.  

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReadswhere she poses a thought-provoking question to prompt some blogger discussion!

Making a Difference: 
Which book(s) would you put in the hands of today's teenagers in hopes of making a difference in their lives?

I would start with Speak and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson because I think that it speaks a lot to the teenage experience even while dealing with situations that the majority of teens will never face. The same goes for If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  I would say that those three books say a lot about what it is like to be a teenager. In my opinion, they offer support and understanding for teens in similar situations and they offer the opportunity for greater empathy for teen who will never experience these kinds of things.  They talk about difficult choices--a theme that will ring true with all teens.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! I love your comments and try my best to return follows! 
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

(PS ~ See that link at the top of the page? The one for my potential 2012 challenge? Would you be so kind as to take a look and leave some feedback? I'd love to get an idea of if this is something that people would be interested in.  Or just answer the poll in the sidebar. Thanks!!)

(ARC) YA Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Release Date: 30 August 2011
Publisher: Atheneum
Source: S&S Galley Grab

Pre-Order It Amazon

Goodreads description:

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who needs her...

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do

My Thoughts...

Wow...let's just say that this book plus Witchlanders by Lena Coakley have give me a whole new perspective on my "dislike" of fantasy. Obviously I just haven't been reading the right fantasy books!

The Girl of Fire and Thorns was a truly fabulous coming-of-age story. Elisa is married off to a foreigner on her sixteenth birthday, whisked off to a new land, and then hidden away as a secret. She can't reveal her Godstone and she can't reveal her marriage.  Not the best start to a whole new life! She feels even more alone and worthless than she did in her home. What she doesn't realize is why it is so important to hide...and what could happen when her secrets are uncovered.

Elisa was such a dynamic character and I absolutely fell in love with her. At the beginning of the novel, we area introduced to a fifteen-almost-sixteen year old girl who is preparing for her out-of-the-blue wedding. She is clearly uncomfortable in her own skin.  She's been chosen for some great act of Service, but she feels like it must have been a mistake. How can she ever be as successful as her beautiful older sister? How could anyone ever fall in love with an overweight, less-than-perfect naive Princess? Her lack of confidence is fed by the secretive nature of her marriage and the multitude of secrets that she is forced to keep when she arrives in her new husband's country. Elisa was such a fabulous character because you literally watch her grown up and come into her own. She is forced to embark on this harrowing journey and along the way she transforms into a strong young woman. She experiences the joy of first love and the pain of death that war brings.

The world and cast of characters that Rae Carson has presented in this book left me longing for more. The world is phenomenally and intelligently crafted. Carson's descriptions of the landscape gave me a real sense of the world without becoming cumbersome. In addition, her characters were understated but well-developed.  We learn about them through Elisa's eyes and for me, that worked here. When characters were successful, I cheered, and when bad things happened to good people, I got upset (VERY upset in some cases).

The religious overtones of this novel took me by surprise.  Not in a bad way--I just didn't expect it. I am sure that some people will find this to be a negative for the book, but I thought that it helped develop Elisa's character. It becomes the one trait that she holds on to throughout her transformation. It also never specifies that the god she is praying to is the Christian God. Since this is a fantasy novel, I think that point is definitely open to interpretation and best left to personal imaginations/beliefs.

My overall sense about this book is that it is the start to a fabulous trilogy that I cannot wait to devour.  I must also applaud Carson for wrapping up this book without any major cliffhangers! The world and characters have a lot of room to grow and develop in future books, but I wasn't left beginning for a conclusion to a completely undeveloped (or suddenly new) plot line.

(As an extra aside, after reading this book, I'm even happier that they chose to change the cover for this book.  The original was beautiful with it's swirling blues and beautiful girl in a dress, but it lends itself to the criticism that the publisher was white-washing and weight-washing.  Elisa describes herself as dark and overweight--not the thin, pale girl who was on the original cover.)