Monday, February 29, 2016

February Monthly Wrap Up 2016

   Besides December, February is always the busiest time of the year for my family. With two birthdays in the family, my youngest sister and I, Valentines Day, and a new school semester starting,
everything is always so overwhelming! That didn't change this year either!
My younger sister's birthday dinner.
   The biggest event for me would probably be me turning 18, being in Canada that means a few things. I am officially considered an adult, I can also legally drink alcohol, vote, get a tattoo, donate blood, go to jail, sue someone, and many other things! My "brothers" gave me a huge list of things like that, so I can consider myself somewhat of an expert aha. Anyhow, I celebrated by having a big pizza lunch last Friday with my friends, and spending the Saturday (My actually birthday), with friends and family throughout the day leading up to dinner at my favourite bookstore, McNally Robinson, where I might have boughten a bunch of the books listed below. Oops. 
   Another thing that the month consisted of, was prepping for my San Fransisco trip at the end of March. I've been saving since last spring, and its finally here. So now I have to make sure I have the right clothing and shoes for the weather! Winter parkas have been a thing here since November, and I'm pretty sure I won't need those there... So for now I spring clothing shop, there goes my bank account!
   Overall February was a very busy month, next month will definitely be the same! With my trip, I'll probably take a bit of an online presence hiatus in March but I'll let you guys know before I do!
   That's it for this month, now for the bookish stats!
   

Books Read:

Book Haul:


Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass (International Paperback)
Titans by Victoria Scott (Hardcover)


   A big thank you to McNally Robinson, Doodle's Book Reviews, Maura, and to the lovey people who bought me books for my birthday, for so many of these fabulous books!

Books Reviewed:

Movies Reviewed:

March Books That I'm Excited For:




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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Book Review: Seven Black Diamonds by Melissa Marr

Release Date: March 1st, 2016
Read: December 22nd- 30th, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Seven Black Diamonds, #1
Format: ARC, 400 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/ Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from GoodReads:


    Lilywhite Abernathy is a criminal.

   Her guilt lies in her DNA. Lily is half human, half fae, and since the time before she was born, a war has been raging between humans and faeries. The Queen of Blood and Rage, ruler of the fae courts, wants to avenge the tragic death of her heir—a death that was the fault of reckless humans.



   Lily’s father has shielded her from the repercussions of her ancestry, but when she’s sent to the prestigious St. Columba’s school, she’s delivered straight into the arms of a fae sleeper cell --the Black Diamonds.

   Mysterious, glamorous, and constantly at odds, the Diamonds are planted in the human world as the sons and daughters of the most influential families, and tasked with destroying it from within. Against her will, Lilywhite’s been chosen to join them … and even the romantic attention of the fae rock singer Creed Morrison isn’t enough to keep Lily from wanting to run back to the familiar world she knows.


Review:


    You are their future.
   I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Marissa Marr's books, I first started off by reading her Wicked Lovely series which unfortunately did not sit well with me. Fast forward a few years, I had won a bunch of Marr ARCs which included Made for You. One of her more recent novels, this novel fortunately did sit well with me. It actually became one of my all time favourite reads. So when Seven Black Diamonds was revealed I knew to give Marr another chance, especially where Faeries where concerned.
   The book started off slow and a bit confusing, the novel itself is written in the perspective of 4 different characters. So when you're just starting to be familar with each of the characters, it's definitely a jumble of mixed feelings. After you've grown accustomed to the characters, everything becomes fabulous, especially since the plot also speeds up a bit and the action begins to happen.
   The plot and characters of the novel are everything you'd want them to be, fae being terrifying as always, their powers being maleficent, you couldn't help but be intrigued with their politics. I was particularly intrigued with the Black Diamonds and the history behind the queen, hopefully we'll get to see more action on that front in the next few novels.
   Lilywhite was probably my favourite character in the novel, with her Crime Lord father, and her demeanour. It all had me excited whenever her name would appear at the beginning of the chapter. She didn't do anything she was "destined" to do, or just because she was told to do something from the queen. She stood tall, and was the strongest her, that she could be, and you admired her for it. Lilywhite was the perfect Black Diamond without even knowing it, she was perfection.
   Seven Black Diamonds was a novel that showed that even villains have their motives for the way the are, and that people will do everything in their power to protect the ones they love. Thrilling and magical, Seven Black Diamonds will cure any Faery or strong willed character craving you have.
 
   

Rating:



Favourite Quotes:


"He left her there with tears on her cheeks and a lie still burning on her lips."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


Young Adult, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Faeries, Fae, Crime Lords, Celebrities



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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Be First Book Club: Riders by Veronica Rossi

   This months Be First Book Club took place last Thursday, February 17th, where we discussed Riders by Veronica Rossi.  
   After discussing the book for a little while, our little group all came to the same conclusion, Riders
was not what we were expecting. And not in a good way. Like I discussed in my review, the members all felt relatively the same way. The book was just too sexist for us.

   It was one of those books that you want to forget as soon a you started, and so we went onto discussing the next book that we were going to read.

   Next month we will be reading Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke. We will be meeting on the 17th of March, so once again expect a post a few days after that!


Riders by Veronica Rossi


Release Date: February 16th, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen
Series: Riders, #1
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages

Description from GoodReads:


   Nothing but death can keep eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

   While recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can’t remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

   Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen—Conquest, Famine, and Death—are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

   They fail.

   Now—bound, bloodied, and drugged—Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he’s fallen for—not to mention all of humankind—he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

   But will anyone believe him?

Check out Ohana Reads' Review of Riders Here


  Are you in any book clubs? What about book discussion groups? I'd love to hear about them if you are! What about Riders? What did you think of it?



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Sunday, February 21, 2016

Book Review: Riders by Veronica Rossi

Release Date: February 16th, 2016
Read: February 13th-18th, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen
Series: Riders, #1
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/ Be First Book Club


Description from GoodReads:


   For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does.

   Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse.

   Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen--Conquest, Famine, and Death--are brought together by a beautiful but frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence.

   They fail.

   Now--bound, bloodied, and drugged--Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends and the girl he's fallen for--not to mention all of humankind--he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger.

   But will anyone believe him?


Review:


    I think it makes you human.
   Riders was one of those must have books of early 2016, especially when it came to ARCs. People raved and raved, you couldn't just not want one. Unfortunately in the end I did not find myself to enjoy it, after all the raving you would think that the hype is what killed it for me. But that was not the main reason, Riders was a book little pieces of work for me.
   First of all, the premise of the book messed with me a little. When you think the four horsemen, you think the bringers of the apocalypse, not the ones that save it. So Rossi taking the main idea of the story and swapping it really messed with me. I just couldn't be content with how Rossi planned it all out.
   Then there was the way the story was written, I've only ever read maybe one or two stories that were told like the way Riders was, a story told in the present while experiencing the story that the character is telling, and each time I would become so confused. The swapping was unnecessary, going back and fourth between past and present. In the end it'll make the sequel all that much more weirder to read. That's probably the only reason I'd read Seeker.
   Finally the biggest thing that made me dislike Riders, it was full out sexist. Rossi made the females in the novel to appear weak, while the men just had to be superior. Even the female demons in the novel were degraded, the male demons had these extraordinary powers, shapeshifting, being able to control darkness, but no. The females were given the powers of breeding more demons, both of them. And this wasn't the only time this sexisim appeared, it was ongoing throughout the novel. I just couldn't stomach it. If I wasn't reading Riders as a Book Club book then I'd probably would have DNF'd it.
   Riders was a disappointment, with a poorly developed plot, and all the sexisim, I am very disappointed with Veronica Rossi and do not see myself reading it's sequel in the future. 

Rating:



Favourite Quote:


"You'd be surprised. Sometimes the most average-seeming people are killers. You'd never know it by looking at them."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Apocalypses, Urban Fantasy, The story of Sleepy Hallow, Horses



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Friday, February 19, 2016

Book Review: After the Woods by Kim Savage

Release Date: February 23rd, 2016
Read: February 11th- 13th, 2016
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Series: N/A
Format: ARC, 304 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/ Two Thumbs Up Program


Description from GoodReads:


   Would you risk your life to save your best friend? 

   Julia did. When a paroled predator attacked Liv in the woods, Julia fought back and got caught. Liv ran, leaving Julia in the woods for a terrifying 48 hours that she remembers only in flashbacks. One year later, Liv seems bent on self-destruction, starving herself, doing drugs, and hooking up with a violent new boyfriend. A dead girl turns up in those same woods, and Julia’s memories resurface alongside clues unearthed by an ambitious reporter that link the girl to Julia’s abductor. As the devastating truth becomes clear, Julia realizes that after the woods was just the beginning.


Review:


    What happened in the woods?
   YA thrillers have become a trend in the publishing world lately, from fall 2015 to now, and from what I've seen, we're going to be getting a lot more in 2016. Being not a huge contemporary fan,  I didn't know what to feel about thrillers at first but after loving the first one I read, I hopped on the bandwagon to thrillville. I thought After the Woods would have the same excitement and would leave me sitting on the edge of my seat like many others did, unfortunately that wasn't the case.
   The first thing I noticed when I started the book, was that the summery didn't give off the same vibe as the book did, or rather you didn't get what you expected when going into the book. Especially when it came to Liv and Julia.
   Liv was just a terrible person, the fact that Julia would sacrifice so much for this girl made me feel disappointed. The two were described as best friends, and when you think best friends, a person thinks of a close connection between two people that love and care for each other, to me the girls had a one sided relationship. Julia was the only one that really cared for the friendship, Liv was an abusive friend. In the novel Savage wanted to showcase the horrible relationship between Liv and her mother, but really the foul relationship was between Liv and Julia.
   I never really understood why the body of the other girl was necessary in After the Woods, was it to bring back the original investigation? Why was she relevant? The girl left me with more questions than what I started with.
   Finally one thing that stood out positively for me was Julia's family situation. It's not often that you read a book were the main characters father was a sperm donor. Or that the sperm donor is actually still close with the family. It was a first time experience for me while reading After the Woods, and I think it would be interesting to see again.
   After the Woods was not the thriller I was looking for, to someone else it might be, but for now I look forward to the future 2016 thriller releases.


Rating:



Favourite Quote:


 "What do you do with the girl who comes back?"

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


 Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery Triller, Psychological Thriller

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: (54)

Broken Crowns

Lauren DeStefano
The Internment Chronicles, #3
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Expected: March 22nd, 2016


Description from GoodReads:


   The city is falling out of the sky…

    Morgan always thought it was just a saying. A metaphor. The words of the dying. But as they look up at the floating island that was their home, Pen and Morgan make a horrible discovery—Internment is sinking.

    And it’s all Morgan’s fault.

    Corrupted from the inside by one terrible king and assailed from the outside for precious resources by another, Internment could be destroyed because Morgan couldn’t keep a secret. As two wars become one, Morgan must find a way to bring her two worlds together to stop the kings that wage them…
   Or face the furthest fall yet.

Why I Want It:


    I first received Perfect Ruin as a christmas present after I'd fallen in love with DeStefano's first trilogy, The Chemical Garden series. Then after falling in love with it, I requested it's sequel, Burning Kingdoms from the publisher and was lucky enough to receive a copy. And finally here we are, needing the final book in the trilogy. The idea of this series is just phenomenal, I would recommend this series to everyone and anyone who is interested in a unique read.


That's my Waiting on Wednesday this week! Will you be picking up Broken Crowns? What are you waiting on this week?



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Monday, February 15, 2016

Book Review: The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: October 13th, 2015
Read: February 8th-10th, 2016
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Series: N/A
Format: Hardcover, 340 pages
Source: Gifted

Description from GoodReads:


   Riley Vasquez is haunted by the brutal murder of the couple she was babysitting for.



   Max Cross is suffering under the shadow of a life-altering diagnosis he doesn’t dare reveal.



   The last thing either of them wants is to spend a weekend away at a therapy camp alongside five other teens with “issues.” But that’s exactly where they are when three masked men burst in to take the group hostage.


   The building has no windows. The exits are sealed shut. Their phones are gone. And their captors are on a killing spree.

   Riley and Max know that if they can’t get out, they’ll be next—but they’re about to discover that even escape doesn’t equal freedom.


Review:


    Haven't you been held hostage before?
   Kelley Armstrong has been a must read author of mine since I read her first YA series, The Darkest Powers, oh so many years ago. Then as the years went on, I read her second YA series that just happened to connect with the first one, The Darkest Rising, then eventually going on to reading her adult novels, reading books like Bitten or Stolen. But it wasn't until her Omens event in Winnipeg back in 2013 that I became officially hooked on her books.
   Right off the bat I knew that The Masked Truth was going to be so much more than the description foretold. Instead of just a thriller, you were also reading a murder mystery where not everything was as it seemed. With so many factors ands characters involved, you couldn't help but root for one character or another. Armstrong pieced every little detail nicely together that you could not find one end untied.
   Along with the perfectly written murder mystery, you were also given these perfectly written characters as well. These characters being faced with PTSD and Schizophrenia, and those terms weren't just thrown around nilly nilly. Armstrong did her research and was able to portray the two in her book perfectly, and not only was that done well, she wrote her Schizophrenia as being normal or at least attempting to lead a normal life. Not everyone with Schizophrenia will turn into a psychopath and go on a murdering spree, it was nice to finally have someone show and explain that, especially in a novel.
   Finally the last thing that made The Masked Truth exceptional, the diverse characters. There was a particular scene in the beginning of the novel that continues to pop up in my mind, that I just can't forget. When first entering the building where the novels' events occurred, Riley was accused of being Mexican because of her skin tone and the more foreignness of her last name, even though she descended from Spain. Although the accusation was cleared up and corrected, it still showed the ignorance that the world shows when it comes to nationalities. I personally think that we need to become more educated with ethnical matters, so this little shove in the face will hopefully cause discomfort to others in hope that they too, will hope to end the ignorance.
   The Masked Truth was everything and more that I expected from Kelley Armstrong, and I definitely hope that she'll continue to write more YA in the future.

Rating:




Favourite Quote:

"Right as rain."

"My parents taught me that life .... helps those who help themselves."


Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Murder, Survival



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Friday, February 12, 2016

Book Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Release Date: May 7th, 2013
Read: January 22nd - February 8th, 2016
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Series: The 5th Wave, #1
Format: Hardcover, 457 pages
Source: Borrowed, Class Library


Description from GoodReads:


   After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.


   Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.


Review:


    That's a lot of bloody tears.
   Having been released for a few years now, most people have known about The 5th Wave for a while. The same went for me, expect I first discovered it when its sequel, The Infinite Sea was being released. At the time dystopian books were just coming down from their trend, and I had just become so bored of them. It wasn't until they released the first trailer for the movie adaption, that my interest was peaked and I wanted to give the book a try.
   After reading The 5th Wave, I found myself not impressed with the story. There was nothing special about it, the aliens or even the characters. I thought with the waves being so advanced that these aliens would be exciting and special, but really they were just spirits inhabiting human bodies. For once when someone says aliens I want a odd looking green guy, not another human looking creature. If I wanted another human inhabiting alien book I would have read The Host again, or even the Lux series. 
   The characters like I said, were nothing special. I felt no connection to either of them, even with the 3 different point of views that we got. Not to mention the confusion I had when we switched the narratives, when we first swapped from Cassie to Ben I had no idea that it had happened and so I went on thinking I was still experiencing Cassie's point of view. Even with the black page separating the views, I'd have at least liked to know whose view I was swapping to.
   Another item that I could just not comprehend was Cassie repeatedly going back to Evan, she knew he was lying and eventually even found out the truth about him, but the second he mentions saving her brother she was all for trusting him to get Sammy back. You're a very bipolar one there, Cassie.
   Even though The 5th Wave was not my favourite, I still look forward to seeing it's movie as well as possibly reading its sequel in the future.

Rating:


Favourite Quote:


"Love is a weapon they have no answer for. They know how you think, but they can't know what you feel."

"Nothing is not important anymore."


Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Aliens, 



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Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Book Blitz: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard


   Hello and welcome to the Glass Sword Book Blitz! For all you Red Queen fans out there, the day is finally here, Glass Swords release day! So to celebrate, we have the perfect giveaway for you! Good luck!

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard


Release Date: February 9th, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Red Queen, #2
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages


Description from GoodReads:


   Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. 

   The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

   Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. 

   But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. 

   Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

 


   Victoria Aveyard is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen. Victoria was born and raised in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, a small town known only for the worst traffic rotary in the continental United States. She moved to Los Angeles to earn a BFA in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. She currently splits her time between the East and West coasts. As an author and screenwriter, she uses her career as an excuse to read too many books and watch too many movies. She has sold several television pilots and feature-length screenplays. You can visit her online at www.victoriaaveyard.com or on Twitter at @VictoriaAveyard. 

One winner will get a RED QUEEN Prize pack from HarperTeen, which includes:

- 1 Physical Copy of CRUEL CROWN (0.1 & 0.2 Red Queen)

- 1 Red Queen foam sword that reads “Kneel or Bleed”

- 1 Scarlet Guard scarf


Must be 13+ To Enter | Ships in US only | 
See Terms & Conditions for full contest rules before entering some restrictions apply

a Rafflecopter giveaway

   Thanks so much for stopping by! I have yet to read Red Queen, but I promise to get to it soon! Once again, good luck with the giveaway!




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