Update

Oh my gosh - so I've been gone for how long? Technically, it's not even been two weeks yet, but it feels like two years. I've been so busy that I haven't gotten a chance to come on here. It's my last semester of college so I'm crazy busy with dumb paperwork!

While I abandoned my responsibility to blogging - I have still been reading! I didn't read "Endgame" and I didn't read "Zodiac", but I have read other books that I'm not going to review because they are very old and quite popular so I think you probably already read them. I got about 1/4 of a way through "Endgame", but there were just so many other books on my shelf that interested me that I kept my place and vowed to come back on another day. So, with that being said I'm going to just write two more reviews from this month in this post. Tomorrow or Saturday I'm going to do a "most anticipated books of February" post.


"The Coldest Girl In Coldtown" - Holly Black

Description: Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave. One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

So I was privileged with meeting Holly Black at a book signing this past month. She's so down-to-earth and her hair is so cool. She told really funny stories and I hope I see her at conventions this year. Upon asking her if "The Coldest Girl In Coldtown" will have another book she replied, "Well, I know what happens next". EEP! She said she is debating on what her next project will be and I would LOVE it to be the sequel to Coldtown. Wouldn't you?!

I loved this book! In the beginning, I didn't even get Gavriel's purpose. The writing was so good - every other chapter switched from present tense to reflecting on some important aspect of the past. I felt it was so well written it could be considered "fiction" and not just "YA", sort of like Anne Rice. The start of every chapter has quotes, which are so fitting for the chapter that I feel like quoting them myself.   It would look sort of like that "The Office" picture I put below, except with an extra name there, like "- original quote author" - Holly Black,  -Me.

It's so refreshing to see an author stick to the original vampire traditions too. By that I mean that vampires can't go in the sun, can get staked,  are allergic to garlic, etc. I'm sick of reading books and watching movies where vampires are going into the sun. It's like a regular person with fangs, NOT a vampire.

The book gets progressively more interesting. There is betrayal, it's dark and twisted. Tana is a great heroine, who develops more as the story goes becoming selfless and determined. Her ex-boyfriend is kind of stuck in this mess with her, and I really like him as a character. He is so stupid and silly, always managing to mess things up without meaning to. He goes to great lengths to make people like him. THE ENDING - it's such a plot twist. I didn't see it coming! It was very well thought out and not your typical YA book, it's much better!  I highly recommend this novel to anyone - even if you don't like vampires.

"You are more dangerous than daybreak-Holly Black" -Me 

                                     


"Midnight Crossroads" - Charlaine Harris

Description: Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town. There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

So who likes the Sookie Stackhouse novels? Just me? I mean it's not like it's my favorite series and I  have an entire shelf attributed to it complete with a bottle of "True Blood" on it or anything... I had super high expectations for this novel. I wasn't totally disappointed.

First, I've read that some of the characters were from a few of her previous series. Though, there was nobody from the Sookie Stackhouse novels (I'm hoping in book two, maybe). Everyone in the town has some kind of secret, but most secrets aren't revealed yet. It went back and forth a lot, so I really couldn't get too emotionally invested in any of the characters. While some characters seemed to manipulate a lot of the time, I don't think you can single any out as main characters. I'm most interested in Lemuel and Olivia, who run the pawn shop at night. Maybe I'm most interested in them because Lemuel is a vampire and I love vampires…?

The ending was a really big plot twist, which reminded me a lot of the plot twist in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. I will definitely be continuing with the trilogy because I want to know what will become of Fiji and Bobo and I want to know more about Lemuel and Olivia. So - I recommend this book for those that like mysteries. If you like YA novels, I don't recommend this book unless you're looking for something different. However if you do like YA novels, are not in middle school, and haven't read the Sookie Stackhouse novels - read them!!

"The DUFF"

The DUFF: (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Review

So, I don't know if you've seen the preview, but this book is going to be a movie! On my book it reads "soon to be a major motion picture". The promo for this movie looks funny - almost like Mean Girls or John Tucker Must Die. It doesn't look like anything that will be my favorite movie but it looks like something I'd watch when I'm sick or something. So the movie preview is DRASTICALLY different from the book plot. I'm thinking they only used the word "DUFF" and the character descriptions.

The movie preview looks like it's about this girl (Bianca) who gets called the DUFF by a cute boy (Wesley). I guess she doesn't want to be a DUFF anymore so they make a deal that he "unDUFFs" her and she'll help him pass science class. That's what I got out of the preview. I'll link it below. So - funny enough for a chick flick comedy with a predictable ending.

The book is a lot different. There is no "unDUFFing" or helping Wesley pass science class. In fact, Wesley seemed very smart in the book. It was darker than what I'd expected. Both her and Wesley's home life were abusive in their own way, sleeping with each other to escape their problems. Well, Bianca sleeping with him to escape her problems, Wesley wanting to sleep with everyone at first to escape his. Personally, I couldn't relate to Bianca because of her constant desire for hooking-up. I felt like she wanted it even more than Wesley by always initiating the hook-up. She was very hypocritical by calling Wesley a player and promiscuous. I don't like that she stopped talking to her friends after she started hooking-up with Wesley. I think it gives young girls bad examples of how to act after getting into a first time relationship. I wish there was more tension between Wesley and Bianca - after they started talking it seemed as though Wesley was too nice. He never fought and always sought her out. He let her walk all over him and that is never attractive in a guy. As for the characters, I liked everyone BUT Bianca. She was bossy and hypocritical - not my cup of tea… but I'd read another just for Wesley or Bianca's friends. I'll still probably go see the movie - Bianca looks like a more likable character! What do you think about the book to movie adaptation promo?

"The Jewel"

The Jewel Review 


I wanted to review "The Jewel" by Amy Ewing because it was just so good and I loved it so much. For me, I was having a really hard time finding a series book I really liked recently and I feel like I just found one!

So, it is definitely dystopiany. As I started reading it, I was reminde
d a lot of "The Hunger Games". Instead of the capital there is "The Jewel", and surrounding that there are 5 different cities (I don't know if cities is the right word) that are separated by walls. Each one getting poorer as you go, and having their own distinct function: shops, factories, farming; etc. Another thing that reminds me of The Hunger Games is the main character has I guess you can say a designer that really likes to her, and it just reminded me of Cinna. However, I don't want to give anything about him away.

So at puberty girls in The Marsh (the outermost city) have to be tested for this genetic difference which gives them powers called auguries. These auguries help the royalty who live in the Jewel have children, because otherwise they're babies will die (something to do with their genetics). If the girls have this difference, they are sent to a holding facility (they have no choice) until a certain age and then are auctioned off to royalty in the Jewel. The girls who were the best at these skills had a higher rating at the surrogate auction so they went for more money.Once in the Jewel, they are forced to be surrogates to whatever royals purchased them. They are essentially slaves and cannot ever go back to their family afterward. She does end up meeting a boy, but the book doesn't revolve around it. So, if you're looking for a love story - you won't get that until the latter half. Also, I feel like the second book in the trilogy is going to be a love triangle, just a guess :)

I've heard mixed reviews about this book before, but I think it was amazing. The characters are extremely well-written. I feel like the main character develops into a strong woman throughout the book, making a selfless, life-changing decision at the end. Also, the end has a plot twist! It makes me crave the next book - which doesn't come out until October 2015.

Books I'm Reading This Month

So my New Years resolution this year was to start blogging! Not that I've ever really made a New Years resolution before, but I figure if it's something I actually want to do I'll have a reason to do it. I read books all the time and I go to Comic Cons all the time! I listed 7 books I am going to read this month, so as I read them I'll post my review for them. I'll probably read more than 7 I just figured this would be a good start.

Books 

1. Midnight Crossroads (Charlaine Harris)
I really loved the Sookie Stackhouse novels and so I figured I'd give the first book in her new series a try. I don't expect it's going to be much like the Sookie Stackhouse novels but… that's ok!

2. The Jewel (Amy Ewing)
So, I've heard mixed things about this book but the overview of the book sounds really good. For those who don't know, it's about this girl who is purchased at a surrogacy auction. She is supposed to be a surrogate for a royal family because of some genetic factor that makes her and other girls sold at this auction beneficial to royal families.

3. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend (Kody Keplinger)
This is coming out in movie theaters and I totally love Robbie Amell as Firestorm in The Flash on The CW, but this does actually sound like a funny book!

4. The Coldest Girl In Coldtown (Holly Black)
I had this book recommended to me by a friend and I'm always down for a good vampire novel. It's about how people know there are vampires but they live in these isolated towns called "Coldtowns".

5. The Darkest Part Of The Forest (Holly Black)
I have to wait until this comes out, but I hear she's a very good author so I'm excited to read this!

6. Endgame (James Frey, Nils Johnson-Shelton)
I'm not so sure I'll like this one but I really liked The Maze Runner Series and it sounds a little along the lines of that so we'll see.

7. Zodiac (Romina Russel)
I received this as an advanced readers copy at New York Comic Con and have yet to read it, now would probably be as good of time as any since it just came out not too long ago.