tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86466648618330351832024-03-12T23:07:20.801-07:00Finding Bliss in BooksYA book reviews, incoherent ramblings, and lots of other super awesome things. You seem cool.Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.comBlogger458125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-29419917718531793012014-10-16T00:00:00.000-07:002014-10-16T00:00:03.057-07:00Review: Sacrifice by Brigid Kemmerer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17149158-sacrifice" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.brigidkemmerer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/E_Sacrifice_CVRIMG.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Sacrifice</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Brigid Kemmerer</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Elementals, #5</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">September 30, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Allen & Unwin (AUS)/ Kensington Teen (US)</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">2 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Why you disappoint me?</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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</span></b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17149158-sacrifice"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Earth. Fire. Air. Water.<br />
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One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.<br />
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Michael Merrick understands pressure. He's the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it in for his family, and he's all that stands in the way.<br />
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His girlfriend, Hannah, understands pressure too. She's got a child of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could put her life in danger at any moment.<br />
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But there are people who have had enough of Michael's defiance, his family's 'bad luck'. Before he knows it, Michael's enemies have turned into the Merricks' enemies, and they're armed for war.<br />
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They're not interested in surrender. But Michael isn't the white flag type anyway. Everything is set for the final showdown.<br />
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Four elements, one family. Will they hold together, or be torn apart?</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>I've been thinking about <i>Sacrifice </i>for a while now, and I honestly don't know how to write down how disappointed I am with the finale for Kemmerer's <i>Elementals </i>series. This was also the most anticipated addition to the series for me, because I've always wanted to read Michael's POV. I really only have one question: what happened here?<br />
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<i>Sacrifice</i> is Michael's story, and like all its predecessors, it was told in dual POV. As expected, the other person who we follow in this book is Hannah. I've always admired Michael, he has been through so much on and carries such a large burden between keeping an eye out for his brothers and trying to hide from the Guide. It was nice to finally see into his head, I really felt for Michael. He's always trying to do the right thing--even though sometimes the poor guy doesn't even know what that is at times. Unfortunately, Hannah's character barely scratched the surface. Sure, she's a tough one, with a baby and a job as a firefighter, but I never could sympathise for her because her narration constantly put me on edge. I just didn't like her as I did in the previous novels--she came off a little childish here.<br />
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The romance in here was surprisingly switched to low--mainly because Michael was avoiding Hannah for half the novel but the moments that they did share were very sweet. I just wish we got to see them be together more.<br />
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My main gripe with <i>Sacrifice </i>is the plot. Half the time, I felt like there was no plot--because there really wasn't. It's just this constant suspension but never much progression or development in it. I got pretty bored after half-way, which was a real shame because the previous books were full of action and movement. There was too much playing around with the mystery, is what I'm saying.<br />
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Furthermore, what kind of ending was that? I was expecting something much grander and conclusive, but instead we got something that left me feel dissatisfied. I've seen a few Goodreads reviews asking if there's a sequel, and I must agree, this felt like a book where there's another sequel following, if anything. This book didn't feel like a series ender at all, and that disappoints me.<br />
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In all, I'm incredibly shocked by how lacking <i>Sacrifice </i>was. The plot and action was merely here, and Hannah turned out to be a pretty annoying protagonist; along with that kind of ending? Yeah, very disappointed. I'll still read whatever Kemmerer has planned next, of course, because I know she can do way better than this. </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-1509557249507248472014-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:002014-10-04T00:00:02.492-07:00Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Since You've Been Gone</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Morgan Matson</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">None</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">May 6th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Simon and Schuster</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">4 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Best by Matson so far</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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</span></b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18189606-since-you-ve-been-gone?ac=1"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell. <br />
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But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.<br />
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<i> Apple Picking at Night?</i> Okay, easy enough.<br />
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<i> Dance until Dawn? </i>Sure. Why not?<br />
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<i> Kiss a Stranger?</i> Wait… what?<br />
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Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?<br />
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<i> Go Skinny Dipping? </i>Um…</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>I’ve read <i>Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour</i> and <i>Second Chance Summer</i> and now, <i>Since You’ve Been Gone</i> by <i>Morgan Matson,</i> and <i>Since You’ve Been Gone</i> wins gold for best out of the three. I devoured this one in one sitting and was up till 3am trying to finish it. It was <i>that</i> good. Actually, good is an understatement. <br />
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Emily and Sloane’s friendship is like “this”. Ever since Emily helped Sloane break into her own house, they became best friends. While Sloane is a little wild at heart, you have Emily, who’s a little awkward and tends to be the quiet one. They had a really exciting summer planned ahead, but then Sloane and her family disappear without a trace, and Emily freaks out. Sloane hasn’t replied to any of her texts, no answers to her calls and no one is at home. Then, Emily get’s something in the mail from Sloane: a list of 13 things to do before the summer ends. Emily hopes that by completing the list, she’ll somehow find Sloane, so a summer full of firsts begin. <br />
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I loved the friendships that Emily made during her summer. I didn’t really like Sloane at the start because she just ditched her bestie without a trace, but the flashbacks showed that I judged her way too quick. I can see the genuine-ness behind the friendship, and I loved how Sloane would get Emily to do new things—but she didn’t force her or anything if she didn’t want to, and that’s important too. <br />
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Collins, Drew and Frank are the new friends she makes during the summer. When she was with Sloane, she never really had any other friends. It used to always be EmilyandSloan or SloaneandEmily. But by trying to tick off things off Sloane’s list, Emily meets people who she never imagined to be friends with. Collins was such a comical character. He definitely had me grinning like a fool multiple times. Aside from that, <i>Morgan Matson</i> made sure he wasn’t just about the humour. Him and Frank were great friends, and I loved that Collins was always watching his back. <br />
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The romance is definitely adorable and the type I like. And what is the type I like? THE SLOW, PAINFUL BURN WHERE THEY ARE FRIENDS FOR MAJORITY OF THE BOOK. Why? Because I like to let myself suffer from feels. Definitely one of my top two favourite romance tropes. <br />
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At heart, though, this is a book about discovering yourself, growing and changing and taking chances. It’s fun summer cuteness with strong friendships and adorable romances—perhaps a little more work on the family department, but I was very happy with the end product. You want this, guys!<br />
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-56823832709354448222014-09-22T00:00:00.000-07:002014-10-01T23:25:56.637-07:00Review: Stray by Elissa Sussman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Stray</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Elissa Sussman</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Stray, #1</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">October 7, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Greenwillow</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">1.5 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I'm so confused I don't even care anymore</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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</span></b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17617617-stray"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">“I am grateful for my father, who keeps me good and sweet. I am grateful for my mother, who keeps her own heart guarded and safe. I am grateful for my adviser, who keeps me protected. I am grateful for the Path, which keeps me pure. Ever after.”<br />
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Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after.<br />
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When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray.<br />
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But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her-magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take.<br />
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After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn’t it?<br />
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STRAY is the first in a collection of intertwined stories, all set in a world where magic is a curse that only women bear and society is dictated by a strict doctrine called The Path. A cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and Wicked, with a dash of Grimm and Disney thrown in, this original fairy tale will be released October 7th, 2014 from Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins.</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>Magic! Princesses! Fairy Godmothers! FAIRYTALES. Sounds damn promising, but execution is another story.<br />
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At the rate I’m going, I’m going to fall into a reading slump in no time at all. There are only two reasons why this book was a total bust for me, firstly, there needed to be more depth and further detail in pretty much everything, and secondly, I was bored out of my brains because nothing happened in this book until much later on.<br />
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I will accept the Path I am taking. I will not stray. I will not yearn for what I cannot have. I will heed the words of my adviser and guard my loving heart against cursed magic. Ever after. </blockquote>
I really liked the direction the author was taking with this story and at the beginning, I was rather convinced that I would end up loving this book very much. But as the book progressed, my interest dropped because nothing really made any sense. I was confused about the Introductions and Redirections and I didn’t quite understand how the monarch system worked in Aislynn’s world. In fact, what I just mentioned were mere examples, I honestly felt like I was living under a rock while reading this because this book seriously lacked details and exploration of ideas. World building, was a notable aspect that needed to be explained in more detail. There were quite a few loopholes as well and it ruined the little enjoyment that I had for this novel.<br />
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This was me throughout the read:<br />
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And for the rest of it, I was like:<br />
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This book bored me to no end. Nothing happened in the first 30% that was remotely interesting or earth-shattering and then when things did pick up a little bit, they went back into boredom-land. Honestly, only about a quarter of this book actually had something happening in it. As for the rest, it was filled with absolutely confusing gibberish. <br />
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This book can be safely summarised as a complete waste for me. Perhaps, some people might like this because of it’s fairytale appeal, but the missing details and lack of things actually happening just was not good enough. </div>
Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-41926063572173604742014-09-10T00:00:00.000-07:002014-09-10T00:00:03.331-07:00Waiting on Wednesday - The Last Time We Say Goodbye<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17285330-the-last-time-we-say-goodbye">The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand</a>.</h3>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Last Time We Say Goodbye</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Cynthia Hand</b><br />
Series: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
Released on:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> February 10th, 2015</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> HarperTeen</span></b><br />
Waited on by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Mel</span></b> <br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17285330-the-last-time-we-say-goodbye"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></span></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">There's death all around us.<br />
We just don't pay attention.<br />
Until we do.<br />
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The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.<br />
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Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.<br />
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As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.<br />
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Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.<br />
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From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.</span></h2>
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If you haven't heard of Cynthia Hand, there's something wrong with you. SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY WRONG WITH YOU. Her <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7488244-unearthly" target="_blank">Unearthly series</a> is hands down best angel series ever read and that says A LOT because I've read countless angel books.<br />
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Anyway, I've been really nervous about the release of The Last Time We Say Goodbye because it's rather different in most aspects to the Unearthly series. Genre change, being one of the obvious ones. But I absolutely love gritty and emotionally draining reads so this is practically singing my name. Also, it's Cynthia Hand. PLEASE DON'T LET MY EXPECTATIONS BE DISAPPOINTED.<br />
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Also, veeeeery interesting cover. I'm not sure whether I like it or not. On one hand, never really seen something like it before but then again I don't think I'd pick it up at the bookstore if I never heard of the author. Well that's just me. </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-75751969357216779612014-08-24T00:00:00.000-07:002014-08-24T00:00:02.537-07:00Review + Giveaway: Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Don't Touch</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Rachel M. Wilson</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">None</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">September 2nd, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HarperTeen</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">4.5 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating:</span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Truly TOUCHing (Yes I know, I'm hilarious)</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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</span></b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13597757-don-t-touch"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A powerful story of a girl who is afraid to touch another person’s skin, until the boy auditioning for Hamlet opposite her Ophelia gives her a reason to overcome her fears.<br />
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Step on a crack, break your mother’s back. Touch another person’s skin, and Dad’s gone for good.<br />
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Caddie can’t stop thinking that if she keeps from touching another person’s skin, her parents might get back together... which is why she wears full-length gloves to school and covers every inch of her skin.<br />
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It seems harmless at first, but Caddie’s obsession soon threatens her ambitions as an actress. She desperately wants to play Ophelia in her school’s production of Hamlet. But that would mean touching Peter, who’s auditioning for the title role—and kissing him. Part of Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter—but the other part isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.<br />
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Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, this debut novel from Rachel M. Wilson is a moving story of a talented girl who's fighting an increasingly severe anxiety disorder, and the friends and family who stand by her.</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>Books that deal with mental illnesses are hard to get right. Either they are completely unrealistic and overdone or they just show blatantly, how little the author knows about that mental illness. <i>Don’t Touch</i>, gets it right. <i>Don’t Touch</i> transcended my expectations and hit all the right notes. <br />
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Our main character, Caddie, suffers from OCD and anxiety. She made this game with herself that if she doesn’t touch anyone, her family will come back together, that nothing bad would happen. That her father will come back to her mother and her brother and herself. So the game goes on. <i>Don’t touch</i>. And then the game gets in the way of her goal to become an actress. She wants to be Ophelia in the school production of <i>Hamlet,</i> but she can’t play the part if she can’t touch anyone.<br />
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I’m all covered up, but our cheeks might touch, our hands brush, and that’s not allowed.</blockquote>
Caddie’s such a realistic character. She is at war with herself and this game of her’s that has been going on for years. She wears gloves to school, long sleeves. All covered up so no skin shows. So no one can touch her. I felt a strong connection with Caddie because she was thoroughly developed and I was seriously freaking out and stressing with Caddie about her anxiety and don’t touch mantra. I actually did tear up around ¾ of the way in because damn, I felt so sorry for her. Moreover, I loved Caddie’s growth as a character. Throughout the novel, just watching her battle with her mental illness was truly spectacular and moving. I was rooting for her at every page. <br />
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I think what makes this book special is how the author doesn’t forget to make the secondary characters shine just as bright as Caddie. Mandy used to be really close with Caddie during primary school, but they drifted apart after Caddie got weird. But now, Mandy comes back really enthusiastic and nice. I adored her vibrant nature and how kind she was to Caddie despite her odd behaviour. As for Mandy’s friends that welcomed Caddie with equal amounts of openness—I loved them all. Oscar could always leave a grin on my face with his arrogant but humourous remarks, and that hug at the end! T’was so sweet. Peter, of course, was the best. He was so sweet and honest to Caddie. Their romance is a slow one—the type I love—and *fangirls* ALL THE SQUEALS. He’s also rather flawed and has a tough and touchy history and it was nice to delve deeper into that. <br />
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I have never been a fan of <i>Shakespeare, </i>but after reading this, I am really excited about picking up Hamlet. I loved how the play was incorporated into this novel—not just for the purpose of it being a play that Caddie wants to audition for—but also because how it draws parallels with the characters in this debut. <i>Ophelia</i> and Caddie actually have a lot in common as it turns out, and the play is also used well as something that helps Caddie through her journey to battle her demons. <br />
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<i>Don’t Touch</i> is a riveting novel that I devoured in no time. It’s powerful plot line and fantastically drawn characters just make it even better. I haven’t read anything like this and I seriously don’t think any other mental illness book can top this. Highly recommended!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Because I loved this book so much, Finding Bliss in Books is offering one hardback copy</span></h2>
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<u>RULES:</u></div>
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1. No cheating. Duplicate entries will be removed and you will be disqualified.</div>
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2. This giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.</div>
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3. Finding Bliss in Books is not responsible for any lost items.</div>
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<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f52a827543/" id="rc-f52a827543" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-83824791000993873362014-08-13T00:00:00.000-07:002014-08-14T11:37:44.509-07:00#IslaIsComing Tour Stop: Lola Nolan's "Bag"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS Isla is (officially) coming out TOMORROW. Can you believe it? Because this is clearly one of the most anticipated books in the entire blogosphere and beyond, this quintet of fantastic ladies known as <a href="http://cuddlebuggery.com/">Meg</a>, <a href="http://paperiot.com/">Judith</a>, <a href="http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/">Jamie</a>, <a href="http://abookishsinisterkid.wordpress.com/">Lindsey</a> and <a href="http://andiabcs.com/">Andi</a> took the amazing initiative of Isla Is Coming. I'm sure you've heard of it somewhere. More details on the entire ordeal <a href="http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2014/07/something-really-fun-is-happening.html">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finding Bliss in Books has the honour of closing out Lola week, which is excellent because it's my (Ellis) favourite book. Full disclosure: I haven't read Isla yet so anything is possible, really. For all things Lola, and some seriously fabulous shoes, check out the </span><a href="http://cuddlebuggery.com/blog/2014/08/07/isla-is-coming-lola-and-the-boy-next-door-readalong-kick-off/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="s1">Lola kick-off post</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you've read Lola, you know she's just this teensy bit obsessed with what's going on in Cricket's room. One such moment, for instance:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> His curtains are still open, and his bags are still on his floor. I’ve been strangely fascinated by the shoulder bag. It’s an old, brown leather satchel, the kind that should be worn by a university professor or a jungle explorer. I wonder what’s in it. Probably just a toothbrush and a change of underwear. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For all the curious souls out there, this happens after the HORRIBLY EMOTIONAL RECORD SHOP RUN-IN. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So we started wondering: what would be in Lola Nolan's bag/purse/handheld accessory of the day? Here's a tentative, obviously non-exhaustive list of LNNs (Lola Nolan necessities) Blythe and I came up with. Feel free to add anything you think is Lola crucial!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1. A wig, obviously: </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Called "our little drag queen" by her fathers (yes, two of them! diversity!), wigs are pretty much a necessity for Lola Nolan in every day life. Of all lengths and colors and poofiness. I like to imagine her going outside with the brightest and poofiest wig, but could also totally see her snapping on (is that what you do with wigs? what is this) this sleek little wig walking down the street. Plus, it's totally similar to her wig on the cover, just bright blue, so points. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> "Life is too short to be the same person every day." </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wise words from Lola Nolan. Live life like a drag queen and just be overall flawless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2. Watermelon bubble gum:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Budding fashion/costume designer or not, having a signature bubble gum is the dream. Lola seems to have a taste for watermelon (watermelon. serfbort. serfbort.) It's clearly a versatile flavour and the double entendre certainly isn't out of place in this series. Isla is coming, after all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 3. Black ballet slippers:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But real ballet slippers, not the flats that only look like ballet slippers. (Which, honestly, I'm not even sure the image I chose <i>is</i>.) Anyway, because Lola is a boss, she has to act like a boss, which may or may not include putting on ballet slippers mid-argument and ballet-ing the words out of her opponent to shut him or her up. (So I guess this could be considered a "may not," since technically it didn't <i>happen</i>, but to be fair we don't know what happens after the book ends. So.) Plus, Lola would totally ballet away from uncomfortable situations. While keeping eye contact and flailing her arms in those little ballet circle things. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 4. A cell phone, but for pie emergencies:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, you may think this is common sense, for Lola to have her phone with her in her bag. And it is, because WHAT IF THERE IS A PIE EMERGENCY? If there should ever be a pie emergency, a cell phone is an obvious necessity. She may need to call Cricket (!!), or one of her fathers (!!). Pie emergencies are big deals, you guys, and we should all have our phones equipped in case of one. Maybe even have an extra phone just <i>for</i> pie emergencies. You can never be too careful. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxVo7rdQK6HcdID-abNG0Z7oSSN24iXGRhk9rdIzqBMxvzAfr7hjN69xUCb9Y518D306acKfP5pc14o5AttTqH5VEr_ow60AeaW0mqUb_9EqgUBODRkwk9eU_QtKXXX8wNOzl-na-d5I/s1600/img-thing-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxVo7rdQK6HcdID-abNG0Z7oSSN24iXGRhk9rdIzqBMxvzAfr7hjN69xUCb9Y518D306acKfP5pc14o5AttTqH5VEr_ow60AeaW0mqUb_9EqgUBODRkwk9eU_QtKXXX8wNOzl-na-d5I/s1600/img-thing-2.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 5. White Jackie O sunglasses: </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunglasses are a necessity for when you're just too fabulous for the world around you, which, in Lola's case, is pretty much all day every day. I feel like the hypothetical day we're talking about would be a Jackie O kind of day, even though she's already worn them and has vowed never to wear the same outfit twice. She'll just have to change up the rest of her outfit then. Recreating with accessories. It's an art as well as a lifestyle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 6. Emergency sewing kit:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For more Lola Nolan emergencies (which, let's be honest, are very real emergencies). For someone who goes out in costume more often than not, an emergency sewing kit is an obvious must for obvious, fashion-mishap-related reasons. No one wants to walk around San Francisco in Marie Antoinette garb only for it to all fall apart until you're naked. Or, like, a rip. For less extreme instances, I guess.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OVQ45Akxt-DtD0qRUWKLyXnNeCf6TWVraL5ncqaO43PExyqAN45qEOYxImGorr33U5Wbm6q6UphNj5GZ9eN_ceGSTVSCcswoPMfdpSIPvKZU-g_6bwX_dpVDF4QKkAhNiMZkhW2qyTc/s1600/nailcolors_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OVQ45Akxt-DtD0qRUWKLyXnNeCf6TWVraL5ncqaO43PExyqAN45qEOYxImGorr33U5Wbm6q6UphNj5GZ9eN_ceGSTVSCcswoPMfdpSIPvKZU-g_6bwX_dpVDF4QKkAhNiMZkhW2qyTc/s1600/nailcolors_2.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. A rainbow of nail polish bottles:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When creating the perfect costume, accessories are everything. Immaculate and, ideally, colourful nails are an easy way to upgrade the hell out of your look. Knowing Lola, she wouldn't just keep things monochromatic. Nope, she'd <a href="https://twitter.com/TaherehMafi/status/459439781689057280">Tahereh Mafi</a> it all up in this joint. With 100% more dramatic nails. Which is why she needs her nail polish and thirteen back-up polishes close at hand (<i>geddit?</i>) at all times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 8. A sharpie:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once upon a time she might have used it to give out her number to skeevy musicians but since she now has Cricket (and let's be real, all you need is a Cricket) and is obviously touring the world with him, she only uses it to give out her phone number in case of figure skating costume emergencies. And other emergencies involving costumes and figure skating and Cricket. Like drawing stars when they've washed off. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGMy18Ftfkee8BzvfudK-ZDcUhddvVSoqMt7UUr-b48QdLmGAg8vSLdRVplvyLypHCUeVFuXiwGfsnbuWcxiRSwau_qIPq_Im8YyOIcwEhVIu9FCPsYHAi8qjItW2_h0c3Wqr61J6Wr0/s1600/2357942_orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGMy18Ftfkee8BzvfudK-ZDcUhddvVSoqMt7UUr-b48QdLmGAg8vSLdRVplvyLypHCUeVFuXiwGfsnbuWcxiRSwau_qIPq_Im8YyOIcwEhVIu9FCPsYHAi8qjItW2_h0c3Wqr61J6Wr0/s1600/2357942_orig.jpg" height="284" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 9. A metallic pink bottle cap:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If there's one item that would always, ALWAYS, be in Lola's bag, it would be this. Did she throw away the initial metallic pink bottle cap that is one of the fundaments of Lola and Cricket's relationship? Yes. But if you think Cricket wouldn't search high and low, left and right, all the continents, their islands, peninsulas, and all the water between for a perfect replica of the original, extremely significant metallic pink bottle cap, you don't know Cricket Bell. And look! He actually found a matching His & Hers set, because that is Cricket Bell, Boyfriend/Human Being Extraordinaire for you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Want more Lola and Cricket in your life? (Yes, you do.)</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You're in luck, because the amazingly talented Gillian Berry (you probably know her from <a href="http://gillianeberry.blogspot.be/">Writer of Wrongs</a> and if not, you fail) has recently opened her own society6 store and has some fabulous Lola themed merchandise. To celebrate both this occasion and Isla Is Coming, we're giving away some of this fabulosity. You can choose between <a href="http://society6.com/theartofyoungadult/lola-and-cricket-go-to-the-dance-in-style_cards#16=71">Lola stationary cards</a>, a <a href="http://society6.com/theartofyoungadult/lola-and-cricket-go-to-the-dance-in-style_mug#27=199">Lola mug</a>, and a <a href="http://society6.com/theartofyoungadult/lola-and-cricket-go-to-the-dance-in-style_bag#26=197">Lola tote bag</a>.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, and in line with the travelling theme present in this series, this giveaway of fabulosity is INTERNATIONAL. </span></div>
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<u>Rules of the Claiming Game</u></div>
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1. This giveaway is for either the mug, the tote bag or the stationary cards. You'll have to pick one. You can of course buy everything else in this store (as you should, btw), but that will have to be sponsored with your own monies.<br />
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2. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below.</div>
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3. Entrants need to be at least 13 years old and must have permission to share their address with me. I promise, I'm not going to use it for anything sketchy.</div>
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4. To be eligible for this giveaway, entrants must live in a country society6 ships to. You'll have to check the site for this. Once the mug/tote/cards is/are dispatched, I'm no longer responsible for anything that might happen to it/them.</div>
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5. This giveaway runs for 1 weeks, after which I will contact the winner. They have 48 hours to respond. If I don't hear from them, I'll have to pick someone else and that would be a shame, now wouldn't it? </div>
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6. Please leave your email address in the Rafflecopter below, not in the comments. </div>
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7. No cheating. I know the theme is present in this series, but it is staying far away from this post and its giveaway. </div>
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Good luck!<br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/954025d310/" id="rc-954025d310" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a> <script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script> </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anything you'd like to add to this bag? Go wild. Lola would.</span></h2>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-72160661559890144982014-07-23T00:00:00.000-07:002014-07-23T00:00:00.277-07:00Waiting on Wednesday - The Blood of Olympus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18705209-the-blood-of-olympus?ac=1">The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan</a>.</h3>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18705209-the-blood-of-olympus?ac=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://38.media.tumblr.com/d79778e3a9c461cd80d4b80b1e6403a1/tumblr_n7xfp2PSGe1svfcbho1_1280.jpg" height="640" width="422" /></span></a></div>
<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Blood of Olympus</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Rick Riordan</b><br />
Series:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Heroes of Olympus, #5</span></b><br />
Released on:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> October 7th, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Disney-Hyperion</span></b><br />
Waited on by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Mel</span></b> <br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18705209-the-blood-of-olympus?ac=1"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.<br />
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The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.<br />
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The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.</span></h2>
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If you didn't see this coming, I have no words for you. This is the last book to Percy Jackson's story, and while I am incredibly sad to acknowledge this fact, I am willing to sell my soul to whoever has the book right now in their hands. I live for this series, seriously.<br />
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Personally, I am not a fan of the series' covers, though the UK/AUS edition isn't much better, but this time I do hold a larger preference over the UK/AUS design for the last instalement because they have all the main characters on the front cover--it just brings happy tears to my eyes.<br />
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Do I even need to talk about the synopsis? The synopsis has basically promised us perfection and I honestly don't even need a synopsis to prove that it will be. 1) It's written by Rick Riordan. 2) There's Percabeth AKA BEST. SHIP. EVER. 3) There's also Nico Di Angelo....and the list goes on.<br />
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Now, time for some Percabeth judo-flipping badass-ery:<br />
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OH but what about in COLOUR</div>
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*happy sighs*</div>
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Excuse me as I go and re-read every Percabeth moment ever written. </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-80021220085262768722014-07-16T00:00:00.001-07:002014-07-16T00:00:00.985-07:00Review: Defector by Susanne Winnacker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Defector</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Susanne Winnacker</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Variants, #2</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 26th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Razorbill</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">4 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">FLIP. THAT. SHIP.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18045583-defector"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background: rgb(230, 231, 213); border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tessa has finally made peace with her life as a Variant. She and long-time love Alec are officially a couple, and for the first time, she has everything she wants.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But the air is tense at FEA headquarters. An agent has disappeared, and rogue variant organization Abel’s Army is likely the culprit.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">When Tessa is summoned for her second mission, she is unexpectedly launched into a massive conspiracy. Her best friend Holly is kidnapped and Tessa knows it was meant to be her. But who is after her? And more importantly, why?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">When the FEA’s efforts to rescue Holly don’t yield any results, Tessa takes matters into her own hands. Desperate to save her friend and uncover the mystery behind Abel’s Army, Tessa launches her own investigation—but nothing could prepare her for what she finds. Everyone in her life is harboring secrets: Alec, her estranged mother, even the father she never knew.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The truth will take her out on the road and out of her comfort zone, with danger lurking everywhere. Summoning all of her courage and strength, Tessa must decide who can be trusted and what is worth fighting for—even if it means going against the life she thought she wanted. Her final decision will leave readers breathless.</span></h2>
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I can't believe these books had flown under my radar for so long, because damn, they're <i>good</i>. Whereas <i>Impostor</i> could be pitched as Veronica Mars meets X-Men, <i>Defector</i> could be pitched as Scandal meets X-Men, and both just as awesome those pitches would imply. In <i>Impostor</i>, the focus was more on the plot than the characters and relationships, which I was okay with since the plot was fun and the mystery, engaging. <i>Defector</i>, on the other hand, has all of the aspects of the plot that made the first one so much fun, with added character growth and relationship development, both of which are stellar. Basically, in <i>Defector</i>, Susanne Winnicker took all of the things I had disliked in the first book and flipped them, and I could not be more pleased with the outcome. </div>
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I loved Tessa's character in <i>Impostor</i>, with her tendency to defend and stick up for herself, but I think I may love her even more so in <i>Defector</i>. From book one, Tessa was vocal about her not needing protection from her boyfriend, Alec, or anyone else, despite their protests. This was my favorite thing about Tessa: how she was honest with Alec and wouldn't accept any protection from him because she knew she could fare well on her own. She's not a damsel in distress and is able to fend for herself, and it shows in <i>Defector</i>. Tessa's character arc evolves her into her own person as she tries to discover herself and her origins, and finally make decisions on her own, which she hadn't felt she'd been able to do much under the watch of the FEA (Forces with Extraordinary Abilities). I loved seeing this particular character growth, and also loved how she was rational under circumstances other authors may have portrayed their characters distraught. The only thing with Tessa's character that I wasn't a huge fan of was that some select moments bordered on describing her as "not like other girls" without actually <i>saying</i> it.<br />
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BUT, the development that I am most happy (read: relieved) with is the relationship development, namely the romance. The main aspect of <i>Impostor</i> that kept me from loving it completely was the romance, in which I felt Alec was overprotective and, as a whole, unlikable. I liked that they had bonded over classic horror movies, as that is the way to get to my heart, but that was it. A lot of big and interesting twists are taken into play nearly halfway through the novel that put Tessa's relationships to the test, and it did so really well. To not skirt around the topic, there is something of a love triangle present in <i>Defector</i>. I say "something" because Tessa is only interested in one love interest at a time, but theoretically they are both there and I can see both working out in future installments, although I hope not because I have a wonderful ship now. In this new relationship, it's actually acknowledged that Tessa can protect herself and the love interest respects that; the two have more chemistry than the previous ship in <i>Impostor</i>, and the bonding between the two holds more depth than just watching horror films and making out. Both Tessa and her love interest try to learn more about each other's lives and understand their origins, and it was all a damn pleasant and cute development. Not to mention the love interest thought he was a wizard after seeing Harry Potter as a child due to his mutations/powers. That alone probably would have sold me onto him and the ship.<br />
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Even with all the character growth and relationship development, Susanne Winnacker still manages to weave a tight and engaging plot that is just as intense as the aforementioned Scandal meets X-Men would have you believe. The political aspects were thoroughly intriguing, and I liked how we got to see more of the world and differing points-of-view with the rebels and their cause. There are confrontations aplenty, along with action and twists and betrayal, all of which made for an extremely fun and quick read yet again. To those who haven't read these books yet: you're sincerely missing out.</div>
Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-7748017166575108802014-07-14T00:00:00.000-07:002014-07-14T07:56:10.978-07:00Review: Feral by Holly Schindler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Feral</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Holly Schindler</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">August 26th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HarperTeen</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">2.5 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">cat mafia alert</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blythe</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15782742-feral"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background: rgb(230, 231, 213); border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened. </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.</span></div>
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To give credit where credit is due, <i>Feral</i> is truly unlike anything I've read before. Schlinder takes originality to new heights in here, and that's something to be noted, as mediocre and at times ridiculous this was for me. In some ways, <i>Feral</i> is the creepy YA novel I've been waiting a while for; Schindler doesn't hold back on the gore and gruesome descriptions, and as a whole her writing style fits really well for a story like this. The atmosphere of Peculiar, Missouri is well done, despite the fact that it borrows quite a few tiresome horror movie tropes, like the mysterious old hick who warns the main character of the town's dangers. (To whom, of course, our main character Claire does not listen.) It's basically: "Don't fuck with the cats." "OOH, KITTY!" All of the creepy stuff in this was pretty spot on, and I truly enjoyed those portions, but my disappointment in this book boils down to two words: cat mafia. </div>
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Reading the synopsis, I knew that <i>Feral</i> involved cats in one way or another, and also in one way or another, said cats are evil. A little part of me had hoped for something to do with werewolves, but alas, that is not the case in here. Initially, I found the cats and their roles in the novel to be chilling; the novel starts with a murder, from the perspective of the victim, and before the prologue ends she sees glowing yellow eyes approaching her. At this point, I was really excited to have a realistic contemporary thriller, with people versus hungry and demented cats, but with each new twist introduced that related in some way to the cats, I grew less interested and more annoyed. There's a leader of the gang, its name is Sweet Pea who is a total bitch, as the leader of a cat mafia would be; she and the gang organizes and corners the main character at a school dance; they all threaten her to large extents, because apparently cats are impossible to walk around, and that's not even touching the surface. I won't spoil anything big here, but the entire plot with the cats just becomes absolutely ridiculous, and then even more ridiculous, and then even more so. Schindler started this all off with what I felt was a really novel and creepy concept, and weirdly relatable too; we all know of a place with a few stray cats--I live in a neighborhood with some--and it added a chilling layer to the story that those strays could be feral and sinister. Then the realism decreased, and decreased even further, to the point where it was laughable.</div>
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Another plot stuffed into the novel, along with the many plots of the cat mafia, is the murder mystery regarding who killed the girl in the prologue. Who also has her own big plot. I penned down the killer and most of his or her motives down fairly early in the novel, and the motives I hadn't penned down were pretty ridiculous, to be honest. Regardless, this part of the novel was fairly well done in its red herrings and haziness, and although I saw the outcome far ahead of its reveal, how the characters got there was interesting. However, this plot brings another flaw of the novel for me: the novel is just too boring. The exposition is slow, and the plot is only hinted at about 100 pages in, and is only really taken into play about 200 pages in--halfway through the novel. That's 200 pages of exposition, and although some of those pages were dedicated to relationship development which I enjoyed, that's just too much in the end. Once the plot really got going, my interest in the novel had waned, and although some of the twists were interesting, I wasn't as engaged as I might have been had the exposition been slimmed down by 100 pages. </div>
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The relationship development is nice, though, in some ways. Most of the relationships are somewhat flimsy, but they're drawn well, especially considering many of them had been established before the main character moved to town. I liked how the girl Claire had initially judged as cocky and "the kind of beautiful that could inspire both lust and jealousy that bordered on hatred" ended up becoming one of her friends. Another relationship I appreciated was Claire's friendship with Rich, which could theoretically evolve into a romance (as there is none in here). The relationship itself was somewhat bland, but aside from that I have nothing negative to say about it. It's there. </div>
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In the end, the problem with <i>Feral</i> is that it gets off to much too slow of a start, and when things actually start to happen, the end result is too obvious and the happenings themselves too weird. Not to mention the ultimate resolution (I say ultimate because with so many plots, there are many) is both inaccurate and uninspired. I like the writing, the creepy moments (perhaps the creepiest thing being the amount of turtlenecks), and some of the relationships in here, but the aspects of the plot were far too weird and convoluted for me. I appreciate Schindler's originality and have no doubt other readers will as well, but as a whole, <i>Feral </i>manages to have too much going on at the same time and also too little. </div>
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*snaps fingers menacingly*</div>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-81985161530531976182014-07-13T00:00:00.000-07:002014-07-13T00:00:05.478-07:00Review: The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17847318-the-girl-from-the-well" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8-VihmcqeTKJ6SRR3nqzg4TujEI-4lidqv6mQDpz0qQPeZYxEnbDmfJ-AAmgZq45V_s5ONNYpCrEgEdS0Gx9GydDEoU-0KMimCjPQNTwN_EKMtJTB4P0ttjQ5g-rYvRZSGCacXZCKSw/s1600/The+Girl+From+The+Well.png" height="640" width="420" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Girl from the Well</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Rin Chupeco</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">None</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">August 5th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sourcebooks Fire</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">3.5 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Creeeeepy</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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</span></b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17847318-the-girl-from-the-well"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">You may think me biased, being murdered myself. But my state of being has nothing to do with the curiosity toward my own species, if we can be called such. We do not go gentle, as your poet encourages, into that good night. <br />
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A dead girl walks the streets.<br />
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She hunts murderers. Child killers, much like the man who threw her body down a well three hundred years ago.<br />
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And when a strange boy bearing stranger tattoos moves into the neighborhood so, she discovers, does something else. And soon both will be drawn into the world of eerie doll rituals and dark Shinto exorcisms that will take them from American suburbia to the remote valleys and shrines of Aomori, Japan.<br />
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Because the boy has a terrifying secret - one that would just kill to get out. <br />
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The Girl from the Well is A YA Horror novel pitched as "Dexter" meets "The Grudge", based on a well-loved Japanese ghost story.</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>It has been a long time since I’ve read a novel based on a myth so I really did not know what to expect from The Girl from the Well, though I am pleasantly surprised. This novel is based on a popular Japanese ghost story which was about a girl who was murdered, then thrown down a well, head first. As you may already know, I do not read horror novels all that often because quite frankly, I am a wimp. Talk about dolls and my imagination will go flying just like that. But this book looked too good to resist, so I decided to pick it up, and I can say that the creepy descriptions were somewhat worth it. <br />
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I feel that The Girl from the Well will be receiving a lot of mixed reviews because of two factors. Firstly, this book isn’t necessarily<i> that</i> horrific. It certainly has a creep factor to it, but don’t expect sleepless nights and monsters under your bed—after all, this is a YA novel. Nevertheless, Rin Chupeco’s detailed, gruesome descriptions and intense narrative are still pretty satisfying. Just don’t get too expectant. Secondly, the writing style is different. The writing is rather hard to describe; it’s from the perspective of Okiku, our girl from the well and being a ghost and all, no one can see her so it feels as if Okiku is just narrating the story in a third person narrative which feels rather emotionless and passive. Regardless, I loved the writing style, it’s very abrupt, but for me, engaging. I can see that the writing will make some wane away, though it’s worth giving a go.<br />
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Her bright, sunken eyes look out from the hollows of her face, and her lipless mouth is pulled back to reveal horrible brown teeth, sharp as a canine’s. Her hair is a mottled black, a symphony of disorder and disease.</blockquote>
Aside from Okiku who basically narrates the story in her quirky way, the other main characters include Tarquin and Callie. Tarquin has had a rough life, his mother once tried to kill him and even gave him weird tattoos on his shoulder when he was only a little kid—he wanted a normal mother, but clearly that was too much to ask for. Tarquin has also been seeing a ghost—the same one each time—the woman who wears a mask and a black dress, it’s like she’s bound to him, because he’s been seeing her for most of his life and ever since he moved to Applegate, the ghost’s appearances are more frequent. As for Callie, she’s Tarquin’s cousin and the assistant teacher at the local school. <br />
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Unfortunately, where this book went wrong for me was in the characters. I didn’t really mind having a distance between me and the narrator—Okiku the ghost in the white dress—she was rather intimidating and sometimes really scary, but I felt rather detached from Tarquin and Callie. I could understand and feel what the characters were going through but at times, I just wanted to grab their heads and open then wide so I could take a peek and see exactly what they were feeling and thinking. Essentially, I wanted a stronger emotional connection between myself and Tarquin and Callie—Tarquin especially. <br />
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In all, The Girl from the Well is a rather creepy though enticing read that I did enjoy, though failed to love. I found the story line to be really unique and I was very curious about how everything was to be unravelled, and I wasn’t disappointed in that retrospect. More effort on the characters would have been appreciated. This YA ghost story is definitely worth giving a try. </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-82825648164622720242014-07-09T00:00:00.001-07:002014-07-09T00:00:03.674-07:00ALL FOUR STARS blog tour: interview + giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey everyone! Today on the blog I have for you all an interview with Tara Dairman, author of <i>All Four Stars</i>, as part of the blog tour hosted by <a href="http://www.themidnightgarden.net/">The Midnight Garden</a>. You can check out their <a href="http://www.themidnightgarden.net/2014/07/allfourstarsnytour.html">kick-off post for the blog tour here</a>, and also the rest of the blog tour and its previous posts at the end! I read this one a few weeks ago, and you guys, it was <i>so</i> adorable and happy-making, and thankfully was totally worthy of all four stars. Seriously, if you're into MG or food, this is a book you should definitely pick up. It's well-written, diverse, and utterly charming, and you'll totally leave it feeling hungry. I had to take a stop at a nearby bakery to get some napoleons and whatnot to satiate my needs. With that having been said, I'm excited to share with you an interview featuring some of Tara's traveling and food-related adventures, of which there are plenty in <i>All Four Stars</i>, as well as a giveaway generously provided by The Midnight Garden below!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18289482-all-four-stars"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.)</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant review for one of the largest newspapers in the world.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must cook her way into the heart of her sixth-grade archenemy and sneak into New York City—all while keeping her identity a secret! Easy as pie, right?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/All-Four-Stars-Tara-Dairman-ebook/dp/B00FX7RD4Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404858100&sr=8-1&keywords=all+four+stars">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-four-stars-tara-dairman/1117163939?ean=9780399162527">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/All-Four-Stars-Tara-Dairman/9780399162527">The Book Depository</a></span></h2>
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On your website it says you had traveled much of the world on your honeymoon. Have your experiences while traveling influenced some of All Four Stars, like the recipes?</h2>
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Certainly. For example, apam balik—the peanut pancake that Gladys makes for Charissa—is a dish that I tried for the first time in Malaysia, though I've also enjoyed it in Malaysian restaurants in the states. I was lucky enough to live in or near New York City for most of my 20's, and I can't think of a better place to live if you enjoy eating lots of different cuisines. When I lived there, I would regularly take trips to far-flung neighborhoods to sample food from countries I'd never been to.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">(To read more about Tara's food experiences during her travels, check out <a href="http://www.xpressoreads.com/2014/07/all-four-stars-tour-stop-guest-post-giveaway.html">this post in the blog tour at Xpresso Reads</a>!)</span></b></div>
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Are there any certain stories or experiences from your world travels that are hinted at or make an appearance in All Four Stars?</h2>
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I would say that <i>All Four Stars</i> draws more from my childhood and my years in New York than it does from my travels, since I'd already drafted about two-thirds of it before I set off on my round-the-world trip. But a few things definitely snuck in during revisions. For instance, some of the details of Ms. Quincy's background, growing up in Togo and studying in Hong Kong, were inspired by my time in those places. And my travels have definitely had a lot of influence on the sequel to All Four Stars, which will be out in 2015.</div>
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Would you say you're more like Gladys in your cooking ability (read: actually good), or her parents (read: not-so good). (I'd say I'm like Gladys in that I've been known to start a small fire or two on occasion.)</h2>
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These days, I am more like Gladys (minus the fires, thank goodness), but it took me a long time to get to this point. As a kid, I was definitely more like her parents; in fact, I never even boiled a pot of water until I was 20 years old. It was all microwaving for me up until then.</div>
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What was the inspiration for All Four Stars?</h2>
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When I lived in New York, I worked as a magazine and website editor, and I had freelance writers who sent me work every week. I never met most of them in person or even spoke to on the phone—we only communicated by e-mail. So I started to think that, if there was a kid who was a really good writer and wrote professional-sounding e-mails, she could probably trick me into publishing her. And since I was getting really into food and cooking, I thought that it would be fun to make her a restaurant critic. </div>
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Quick fire questions: What's your favorite food? Least favorite? Food you initially disliked but have warmed up to?</h2>
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Favorite food is so tough! I do love a good pillowy gnocchi with pesto sauce...or some super-smooth Ethiopian shiro (a delicious bean puree)...or a sweet-sour rhubarb crumble... :) </div>
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I don't like melted cheese or eggs, so quiche is my nightmare food. </div>
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And as for a food I've warmed up to...lobster. The taste was too strong and strange for me as a kid, but as an adult, I love it.</div>
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How would you describe All Four Stars in 5 words or less?</h2>
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A funny, tasty, twisty adventure!</div>
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What are some MG reads and/or authors that you recommend?</h2>
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There are some really fantastic MG debuts that have been published this year. I adored WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE by Rebecca Behrens, which links a modern-day first daughter with the wild Alice Roosevelt from 100 years ago, via Alice's diary. Also, THE ACTUAL AND TRUTHFUL ADVENTURES OF BECKY THATCHER, by my fellow Colorado-based author Jessica Lawson, is a brilliant re-imagining of the Tom Sawyer story from Becky's point of view.</div>
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I also love humorous books—Roald Dahl is pretty much the reason I wanted to become a children's author—and there are some fantastically funny MG books that I love to recommend. Tim Federle's BETTER NATE THAN EVER and FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, NATE! are two of my absolute favorites, and I love pretty much anything by Adam Rex—especially THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY.</div>
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Thank you for the interview, Tara!</h2>
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Thank you so much for having me at Finding Bliss in Books!</div>
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Giveaway (US/CAN only)</h3>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e60848130/" id="rc-e60848130" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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Follow the rest of the blog tour!</h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tuesday, July 1st: <a href="http://www.themidnightgarden.net/2014/07/allfourstarsnytour.html">The Midnight Garden</a><br />Wednesday, July 2nd: <a href="http://thereadingdate.com/2014/07/02/blog-tour-all-four-stars-by-tara-dairman-author-qa-and-giveaway/">The Reading Date</a><br />Thursday, July 3rd: <a href="http://www.fwiwreviews.net/2014/07/all-four-stars-by-tara-dairman-book.html">For What It’s Worth</a><br />Friday, July 4th: <a href="http://spiritofchildrensliterature.com/2014/07/08/all-four-stars-author-interview-tara-dairman-world-traveler/">The Spirit of Children’s Literature</a><br /> <a href="http://www.abakedcreation.com/2014/07/blog-tour-all-four-stars-by-tara-dairman.html">A Baked Creation</a><br />Monday, July 7th: <a href="http://www.xpressoreads.com/2014/07/all-four-stars-tour-stop-guest-post-giveaway.html">Xpresso Reads</a><br />Tuesday, July 8th: <a href="http://www.fortheloveofwords.net/blog-tour-four-stars-tara-dairman/">For the Love of Words</a><br />Wednesday, July 9th: Finding Bliss in Books<br />Thursday, July 10th: <a href="http://www.candacesbookblog.com/">Candace’s Book Blog</a></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Review stops, July 7th – 10th:</u> <a href="http://cuddlebuggery.com/">Cuddlebuggery</a>, <a href="http://great-imaginations.com/2014/07/blog-tour-all-four-stars/">Great Imaginations</a>, <a href="http://www.lonestaronalark.com/search/label/books">Lone Star on a Lark</a>, <a href="http://www.logcabinlibrary.blogspot.com/">Log Cabin Library</a>, <a href="http://thehidingspot.blogspot.com/">The Hiding Spot</a>, <a href="http://fic-talk.com/2014/07/blog-tour-review-all-four-stars-by-tara-dairman/">Fic Talk</a>, <a href="http://www.carinabooks.blogspot.com/">Carina’s Books</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/942016781">Karen Brissette @ GoodReads</a>, <a href="http://www.bookjems.com/">Book Jems</a>, <a href="http://www.sporadicreads.com/">Sporadic Reads</a>, <a href="http://thesocialpotato.maryfaye.net/">The Social Potato Reviews</a></span></h2>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-43588851534799436282014-07-07T00:00:00.000-07:002014-07-07T00:00:01.017-07:00Review: Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Strange and Ever After</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Susan Dennard</b><br />
Series:<b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Something Strange, #3</span></b><br />
Released:<b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">July 22nd, 2014</span></b><br />
Publisher: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">HarperTeen</span></b><br />
Rating:<b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">overall satisfactory</span></b><br />
Reviewed by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blythe</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination than ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationships with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has curiously entangled herself in Eleanor’s mission.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">With the rising dead chomping at her every move and Jie’s life hanging in the balance, Eleanor is convinced that her black magic will see her through to the bitter end. But there will be a price. Though she and the Spirit Hunters have weathered every battle thus far, there will be consequences to suffer this time—the effects of which will be irreversible. And when it’s over, only some will be able to live a strange and ever after.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Susan Dennard will leave readers breathless and forever changed in the concluding pages of this riveting ride.</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">This review contains minor spoilers for the first two books in the series.</span></h3>
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What I love most about this trilogy is that you could really see how much it's grown with each book. I remember the first novel in the trilogy being solely a fun and entertaining zombie read, but when I think of it now, that's really <i>all </i>I remember it as; then, when I read the second book and <i>Strange and Ever After</i> back-to-back, I saw a noticeable change in tone, and I loved that. Novels that are just fun for the sake of being fun are perfectly fine by me, as evidenced by the high rating I gave <i>Something Strange and Deadly</i>, but ultimately the strongest points of this trilogy for me are the complex characters and their equally as complex relationships. </div>
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Eleanor remains a strong and likable heroine in this final installment, but what's most remarkable about her character for me is the darkness Susan Dennard lets Eleanor truly embrace. I've been comparing Eleanor's character development in this series, but especially in <i>Strange and Ever After</i>, to that of Walter White's in Breaking Bad, although to a lesser extent and, you know, without the meth: both are characters that start off with good intentions to benefit those they love, but over time they grow obsessed with the concept of power, security, revenge. Walter White takes it to admittedly further lengths than Eleanor does, but I think the basis for their character development is about the same. They're both morally gray characters who embrace the dark sides of their life, if you will, and it all stems from a manic thought growing with trauma. Dennard's portrayal of Eleanor's character, fragile state, and conflicting morals was absolutely one of, if not <i>the</i>, most brilliant aspect of the novel for me, and I loved seeing a main character that wasn't only just <i>good</i>. </div>
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Also high points of the novel for me were the relationships Eleanor shared with fellow Spirit-Hunters, namely with Oliver, her demon. Eleanor's relationship with her love interest, Daniel, was sweet but also rough, and realistic, and a bit heartbreaking; I loved that about the romantic relationship, and I appreciated how Dennard didn't make everything so perfect for them two, because it's rarely ever like that, least of all given the circumstances in the novel. Her relationship with Oliver, however, is one of the most emotionally complex, platonic relationships I've read about in a while. Almost every character is given a real chance to shine in this final installment, but Oliver and his love for Eleanor despite their fights, and her love for him likewise, shone through most of all. </div>
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With all of the amazing relationships in the novel, I had expected every single one to be like that, which I suppose is unfair on my part. With that having been said, I found myself ultimately very upset with how a particular character in the novel, and her relationship with Eleanor, was handled. <span style="color: magenta;">Spoiler »</span> <span style="color: white;">The relationship development between Alison and Eleanor was, as everything else, amazing. Up until the end, when Dennard took what was a truly great and original friendship and threw it all away for the sake of plot twists. </span>All in all, I felt that a great disservice was done to a truly refreshing relationship and character, and I found it all rather upsetting and...wasteful, really. So much more could have been done with this character and this relationship, and so much more <i>had</i> been done with this character and this relationship, and what happened in the end was a bit of a shame, in my opinion.</div>
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That aside, <i>Strange and Ever After</i> is an entirely satisfactory conclusion to the <i>Something Strange and Deadly</i> trilogy (or, as I've penned it, the Ke$ha zombie trilogy). The zombie fun is still there, and creepier than ever, but this time around the characters have gone through really dark things, and it shows in how they handle themselves and how they've grown. With its characters, plot twists, heartbreak, a sense of adventure, and a perfect final chapter, <i>Strange and Ever After</i> should please and destroy fans of the trilogy so far. It's got more and more to offer in regards to its characters and its world, and with it Susan Dennard has taken her entire trilogy to a whole new level.</div>
Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-26144562070762971542014-07-03T00:00:00.001-07:002014-07-03T03:23:57.411-07:00Review: Magnolia by Kristi Cook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Magnolia</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Kristi Cook</b><br />
Series:<b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
Released:<b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">August 5th, 2014</span></b><br />
Publisher: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Simon & Schuster</span></b><br />
Rating:<b style="font-size: xx-large;"> </b><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4.5 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">the tropes are strong with this one</span></b><br />
Reviewed by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blythe</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.</span></h2>
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I've made it no secret that my favorite trope of all time is when characters who dislike each other, or have minor issues with one another, are stuck together in a fixed location due to harsh weather or a natural disaster. I've searched time and time again for a contemporary romance wherein the main characters are trapped together during a natural disaster, and when I discovered <i>Magnolia</i>, it felt like I had won the jackpot; the two main characters of <i>Magnolia</i> hate each other, but are forced together during a hurricane and must provide comfort and protection for each other throughout the storm. From this magnificent trope stems sexual tension that is off the charts, relationship development that follows suit, and fantastic swoons. If <i>Magnolia</i> were to be summed up in one sentence, that would be it. </div>
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A reverse adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, <i>Magnolia</i> features two neighboring families of a small town in Mississippi; here, the parents are the ones who love each other, and their children the opposite. The parents have been practically planning out their children's wedding since their births, and such plans are met with groans from Jemma and Ryder, the two main characters of the novel. First off, I absolutely loved the references and nods to Shakespeare, and how the parts of the novels are acts, and the chapters, scenes. Although the parts and chapters themselves are not much different from that of which in any other novel, the feel of a Shakespearean play in format added a fun layer to the story. Along with references to Shakespeare, there are wonderfully geeky moments with references to both Star Trek, Gone with the Wind, and Clue. </div>
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Jemma's voice is absolutely flawless for this type of story, in that it's sweet and light, despite some darker events to occur later on. Kristi Cook's writing style and direction with Jemma's narrative will either work for you or it won't, but I absolutely loved how at times it read like she was writing in a diary; there are moments in the writing that could be considered Jemma breaking the fourth wall, like when she references the reader as "you," or says that the reader has remembered something mentioned early on in the novel. I can see some readers finding this narrative choice disorienting, but I personally have always been a fan of breaking the fourth wall in TV and film, and I certainly was in here. As for Jemma's character, I absolutely loved her. She's self aware, and knows when she's doing something stupid or acting irrationally, and she understands her motives well. She's fiery but incredibly thoughtful; impulsive and emotional but kind and with the best intentions. It was easy for me to connect with her character, and I did so fairly quickly, and seeing the relationships with her friends flesh out was amazing. It's not all too often that a main character two female best friends are portrayed in YA in a loving manner through healthy relationships, but that's exactly what Kristi Cook accomplishes in <i>Magnolia</i>. Moreover, even with the girls whom Jemma does not consider a best friend, or even much of a friend at all, she's more than willing offer help and kindness during the storm, but also before and after, which added so much more to Jemma's character for me. </div>
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The love interest, on the other hand, and Jemma's relationship with him, is virtually flawless. Although it got a bit too sappy and unrealistic for me towards the very end, I absolutely adored everything about this romance. The two confided in each other their fears, trusting each other with their college hopes, worries of their futures, and what went wrong between the two of them so much so that they had begun to hate each other. As Jemma and Ryder have more conversations together, their relationship becomes more and more sincere, and their characters do as well. They're both in vulnerable states given the circumstances, and this allows them to see each other like they hadn't gotten the chance to before. Ryder on his own is, like Jemma, a wonderfully flawed and layered character, and he manages to be a gentleman without being a douche about it. The banter between Jemma and Ryder was amazing, and the ship sailed strong and will continue to do so, despite the overt sappiness and holes in the last few pages. </div>
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There is so much more that I love about <i>Magnolia</i>, and it is the novel I've been waiting so long for. With fantastically frustrating sexual tension, an unbelievable grasp of setting and scenery, strong and healthy friendships and familial relationships, authentically portrayed teen issues, and of course, swoons, <i>Magnolia </i>is bound to please fans of Southern romances. In fact, I'd go off on a limb and say it's almost impossible for it not to. </div>
Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-70280364812165379572014-07-01T00:00:00.001-07:002014-07-01T14:06:17.528-07:00Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Kiss of Deception</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Mary E. Pearson</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Remnant Chronicles, #1</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">July 8th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Henry Holt</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">4 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">confused shippiness</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blythe</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16429619-the-kiss-of-deception?ac=1"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.</span></h2>
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<i>The Kiss of Deception</i> gets off to a somewhat shaky start, following what I've begun to consider the standard high fantasy formula: our main character finds herself on her wedding day, a marriage arranged to a prince whom she's never met, and decides to break free from her father's control and runs away. What follows is about fifty pages of typical high fantasy road trip fare, albeit excellently written, and for those fifty pages I found myself worried about how the other 450 pages of the novel would go for me. Those worries about originality--or lack thereof--were soon put to rest, as Pearson brings into play engaging twists and stories which her characters follow, and the characters themselves bring forth dynamic relationships and developments. </div>
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The main character, Lia, is just as fiery as one would expect given the fact that the novel starts off with her defying tradition and authority and fleeing from home to lead her own life. She's a ballsy character, and I loved how she didn't take shit from anyone. Not only that, but she makes some questionable decisions and overall is a really complex character morally. She's a good person, but she at times has to lie to those she loves to save them heartache, and some of this requires her to set aside her morals. I love that Pearson took that risk with Lia's character, because it absolutely paid off. Also, despite the at times blurred morals, Lia always remained a thoroughly likable, interesting, and badass character. </div>
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The other characters are also really well fleshed out, and their relationships with Lia were really well drawn. I like Pauline a lot, and her friendship with Lia was totally awesome and refreshing, and the other women in Lia's life were so great and supportive. The relationships in <i>The Kiss of Deception</i> are overall really healthy, realistic, and well-written, and that includes the romance. And let me tell you, that ship is a brilliant ship. Of it, however, I will say not much more, because spoilers, but it's really sweet and develops really well. And there is an <i>amazing amazing amazing </i>twist about it later on in the novel that had me screeching in the middle of the night. It is seriously so clever and amazing, and I kind of saw it coming and was crossing my fingers for it. What I will say about the romance though, with no skirting around the fact, is that I was afraid having read other reviews that there would be a love triangle in here, and so I was really glad to see that that was not the case. I could see how the love triangle could <i>become</i> a thing in future novels in the Remnant Chronicles, but please no, leave my ship in peace.</div>
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Pearson's prose is absolutely spellbinding, and her world and characters even more so. After the aforementioned brilliant twist, things got a little rough for me and hit a bit of a slump, but the novel soon fixed itself and things went back to its amazing precedents. I'm extremely excited to see where Pearson will take her characters and her world in the next book in the Remnant Chronicles, and the ending of <i>The Kiss of Deception</i> assures that I will be pining for it. Recommended for high fantasy readers and non-high fantasy readers alike, <i>The Kiss of Deception</i> is an original and daring read with fantastic characters and dynamic relationships, and I will be waiting for book two with bated breath. </div>
Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-27334882059732258032014-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-30T00:00:07.973-07:00Review: Hexed by Michelle Krys<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13597755-hexed?ac=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://freshmanfifteens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Hexed.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Hexed</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Michelle Krys</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Witch Hunter, #1</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 10th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Delacorte Press</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">1 star</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating:</span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Alas, no.</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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</span></b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13597755-hexed?ac=1"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?<br />
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Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.<br />
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Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>Want a good witch book? Keep looking. As much as I wanted this to turn out well, Hexed was just filled with too many cliché tropes. This book made me want to laugh, and not in a good way.<br />
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Childish, stereotypical and idiotic main character? CHECK. Indigo is a cheerleader who once flashed her ass to a crowd at a football match; she is best friends with the Queen B, Bianca, she’s also the girlfriend of the captain of the football team, received the 3rd highest GPA at her school and uses everyone around her like pawns on a chessboard. Oh, and she might even be a witch with superpowers. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? Indigo has everything; she is everything. Oh, but that’s just what everyone thinks. Because her so called best friend flirts with her boyfriend who she doesn’t think she deserves, and is a total bitch to Indigo. Correction: a total bitch in general.<br />
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“Hey, bitches, I need help taking these mats back,” Bianca says. By “help” she means do it for her.</blockquote>
Aw, poor Indigo! What a rude friend. OR MAYBE, YOU SHOULD BE SMART LIKE YOUR 3RD-HIGHEST-GPA-IN-THE-SCHOOL SUGGESTS AND GET BETTER FRIENDS. Talking about Indigo’s smartness, not once does she prove that she’s actually as smart as what she got for her GPA. She legit does nothing but cry and wail until someone comes to help her. In most cases, that someone is the mysterious but smokin’ hot Bishop! Oh, and Indigo’s selfishness and self-importance are absolutely infuriating. To summarise quickly, Indigo has a loner neighbour named Paige, who would never take a hint and leave Indigo alone. However, one night when Indigo is in trouble and has no one else to go to, she calls Paige—who finally made a friend and was staying at her friend’s house for the night—then Indigo forces her to come and help her find a book and a stranger in the middle of the night. Riiight. Indigo, she’s not your bloody dog. Paige has her own life and like her, you can’t take a hint and just leave her alone. You’ve ignored her your entire life and yet you go up to her one day and expect that she will help you… just because you said so.<br />
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“Can we all not be having such a great time right now? My mom’s in trouble, remember?” Paige sinks back into her seat, as Bishop mumbles apologies.</blockquote>
We feel sorry for you, Indigo. But that doesn’t mean everyone has to be bawling their eyes out and being mournfully pessimistic like you.<br />
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And then I make my way to the Pretty People table.</blockquote>
What. You did not just call yourselves the Pretty People. No. Nope. NOPE. *headdesk* This book possibly has the worst possible heroine. Finding a book that she doesn’t give a crap about and trusting a stranger that you’ve just met because he’s good looking? Highly suspicious and idiotic, if you ask me. <br />
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The writing and plot are no better. I commend it for reflecting the main character’s personality well, but god, it was terribly childish. <i>“… blink at him a bunch…”</i> etc. Let me be blunt: it just doesn’t work. Furthermore, the plot is basically pulled together by coincidence after coincidence. There’s a scene when Indigo is in a crisis with Bishop and her mother stuck in a screen, and so conveniently, does a random chick fly in and save Bishop—who then saves Indigo. I totally believe everything and am totally okay with all this. I don’t suspect anything or find this incredibly mediocre or cliché. <br />
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Guys, save your time and don’t bother with this book. We have cliché characters, pointless drama, poor writing and plot and stupid romance. Nothing interesting here. </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-49212966354420641702014-06-29T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-29T08:49:48.313-07:00Showcase Sunday (45) - It's Been 84 Years... <h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.co.uk/">Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be bought, received from the library, from the publishers for review, etc. </span></h2>
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Fact: the last time either of us three has done a haul on this blog is January. I always tell myself I'll get around to doing one, but since the majority of my ARCs are usually of the e- variety, I never really get around to it. HOWEVER, this week I get a very large amount of review copies from publishers in the mail (absolutely my biggest week ever so far), and am expecting a few more packages next week, so perhaps this will get me back in the swing of things. But probably not. I'm just aspiring to not be lazy tonight, and because of that you get a rundown of this week's unusually large haul. Let's break it down. (Also keep in mind a few things: I forgot about this as usual; it's now extremely late as I am writing this; and I am exhausted, so this may/probably will be incoherent. And I plan on getting this done soon so I can collapse into pillows.)</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15782742-feral">Feral by Amy Schindler</a> (Solicited): I seriously have no clue what this book is <i>actually</i> about, since the synopsis is kind of painfully vague, but it gave off werewolf-ish vibes so I definitely had to request it. I don't know, something about feral cats and dead bodies. But I really tend to like werewolf-y stuff, especially considering they're not in high quantity so it's not like overkill, so I hope it goes down that direction. ALSO, the biggest selling point of this for me? It's pitched as Black Swan meets The Lovely Bones. Done. Not sure how that could possibly tie into evil cats, but done. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17902141-strange-and-ever-after">Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard</a> (Solicited): Currently reading this one and it is so awesome you guys. If you haven't read this series yet you should really get around to it soon. I binge-read the second book (kind of, since binge-reading is under the implication of speed and little breaks, which lol yeah no), and jumped right into this one. It's a really awesome series and the characters and relationships are so amazingly complex. ESPECIALLY THE MAIN CHARACTER. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18812716-sanctum">Sanctum by Madeleine Roux</a> (Unsolicited): I have heard really bad things about the first book in this series, <i>Asylum</i>, but I'm still oddly curious about this one. I skimmed through it and some of the pictures were creepy-ish (others laughable, but who knows, maybe with context), so I think I'll be reading this one. Problem is it's a direct sequel and I don't really want to read <i>Asylum</i>. So we'll see.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19346424-don-t-let-go">Don't Let Go by Michelle Gagnon</a> (Unsolicited): I do want to get to this one, since it's a part of a series I've heard good things about, but it's also book three in a trilogy I haven't started. And considering this is an August release and I'm kind of really swamped as it is, I don't know if I'll have time to read two other books just to get to this one. But if I'm ever ahead, a binge-read for this is in my future. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19099550-undead-with-benefits">Undead with Benefits by Jeff Hart</a> (Unsolicited): Yeah, I won't be reading this one for two reasons: one, I've heard pretty bad things about the first book in this series; and two, it's a Full Fathom Five novel. (If you don't know what that is, check out this <a href="http://www.snugglyoranges.com/2014/01/full-fathom-five-boycott-books/">post</a>.) Also, ketchup is all over this cover. Gross. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19099414-the-far-dawn">The Far Dawn by Kevin Emerson</a> (Unsolicited): LOL no thanks. Really, truly hated the first book in this trilogy, and it remains as one of the stupidest books I've ever read. In the dystopian world, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola merged to buy the Sahel region of Africa, naming it Coke-Sahel. Never forget. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19099494-deliverance">Deliverance by CJ Redwine</a> (Unsolicited): I really wasn't a fan of <i>Defiance</i>, but since CJ is a good friend of mine I'm pretty sure I'm going to be checking this one out.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18163646-falling-into-place">Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang</a> (Solicited): Jamie (<a href="http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/">Perpetual Page Turner</a>) says that this is a quiet and somewhat heartbreaking novel that sneaks up on you, and that's pretty much the type of contemp I love most. Not to mention Jamie and I agree on contemporaries more often than not, and since she really liked this one, I'm excited because I probably will too. Though I was nervous about requesting it because of the physics and math and whatnot on the cover, which is so not my thing. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16005219-get-even">Get Even by Gretchen McNeil</a> (Unsolicited): Oh, I'm excited for this one. It's all about revenge, which is always a must for me, and I know I like McNeil's writing since <i>Ten</i> was awesome. She knows how to build a creepy atmosphere and I am so excited to see what she does with this. Also, <i>Ten</i> is one of the few YA mysteries I've read that had a final reveal which genuinely surprised me, so I'm hoping the same goes for <i>Get Even</i>.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21418013-lock-in">Lock In by John Scalzi</a> (Solicited): Sometimes I need to cleanse my palate with a good adult novel, so when I saw this I had to request it. As far as I know it's about a near-future filled with disease, and about 1.7 or something people are falling ill--becoming paralyzed, or "locked in" their own bodies. And then apparently the President's wife and daughter have this disease, and also "locked in" people could put their minds into capable bodies and manipulate them as such? I don't know, but I think it's kind of like robots. The more I think about it, this could all be entirely false. But I know there's a disease. So. To be honest I'm hoping for White House Down with robots. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18367581-afterworlds">Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld</a> (Solicited): You guys, I literally screeched when I opened this package, because I was so not expecting it. This is my first package from Simon & Schuster and I had begun to think that my efforts with them were futile, but then this showed up and I am so excited. I had read some not-so-great things about this from friends, but the YA author aspect of the novel still really intrigues me, and apparently the novel-inside-a-novel aspect revolves around ghosts, which is absolutely my thing. So yeah, extremely excited to get to this. ALSO, fun fact: this book is a weapon. </div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18045583-defector">Defector by Susanne Winnacker</a> (Unsolicited): Another surprise package! When I saw this was from Penguin, I thought it would be something completely different, but I'm all for pretty finished copies. I haven't read the first book in this series but I've been meaning to since it's pitched as <i>X-Men meets Silence of the Lambs</i>, so hopefully I like it enough to continue, since I have the sequel.</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667769-the-merciless?ac=1">The Merciless by Danielle Vega</a>: I've heard really mixed things about this one, but I kind of needed it just for the cover, because I had to see what it would be like in person. And I absolutely love campy horror, and that's apparently just what this is, so I'm excited. It's also really short, so I think it will be a quick read that I could maybe finish in a day. I expect it to meet my horror needs that are so rarely met in YA, but we'll see. PLUS, it was like $6 in the end, and I couldn't pass that up.</div>
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So, that's my haul for this week! Let me know what you got this week and/or what books I got that you're looking forward to, or already have, or have read. </h2>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-24977293090752221412014-06-27T09:09:00.005-07:002014-06-27T09:11:10.006-07:00Giveaway: Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today I have for you a giveaway of a signed ARC of Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott, which is like if The Hunger Games had animals that resembled Digimon, pretty much. Victoria Scott and her assistant were generous enough to offer up an extra signed ARC they had from events, and I'm excited to be able to give you all an opportunity to win the ARC today! Below you will find information about the novel, as well as the giveaway details and the Rafflecopter itself. Good luck!</div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16069167-fire-flood?from_search=true"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background: rgb(230, 231, 213); border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Time is slipping away.... </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Victoria Scott's breathtaking novel grabs readers by the throat and doesn't let go.</span></h2>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/a38a2478/" id="rc-a38a2478" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></div>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-71932748734267006182014-06-24T00:00:00.001-07:002014-06-24T11:22:38.266-07:00Release Day Review: The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775255-the-secret-diary-of-lizzie-bennet?ac=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81sXYDk9-TL._SL1500_.jpg" height="640" width="420" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Secret Diary of Lizzie </b><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Bennet</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">by </span><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Bernie Su and Kate Rorick</b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Series:<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Released on: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 24th, 2014</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Publisher: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Touchstone</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Rating: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">4.5 stars</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Word Rating:</span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES.</span></b><br />
<span style="text-align: right;">Reviewed by: </span><b style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18775255-the-secret-diary-of-lizzie-bennet?ac=1"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice based on the Emmy Award-winning phenomenon, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.<br />
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There is a great deal that goes into making a video blog. Lizzie Bennet should know, having become a YouTube sensation over the course of her year-long video diary project. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries chronicled Lizzie's life as a twenty-four-year-old grad student, struggling under a mountain of student loans and living at home with her two sisters—beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia. What may have started as her grad student thesis grew into so much more, as the videos came to inform and reflect her life and that of her sisters. When rich, handsome Bing Lee comes to town, along with his stuck-up friend William Darcy, things really start to get interesting for the Bennets—and for Lizzie's viewers. Suddenly Lizzie—who always considered herself a fairly normal young woman—was a public figure. But not everything happened on-screen. Luckily for us, Lizzie kept a secret diary. <br />
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The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet provides more character introspection as only a book can, with revelatory details about the Bennet household, including Lizzie's special relationship with her father, untold stories from Netherfield, Lizzie's thoughts and fears about life after grad school and becoming an instant web celebrity.<br />
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Written by Bernie Su, the series' executive producer, co-creator, head writer, and director, along with Kate Rorick, the novelist, TV writer, and consulting producer on the series, the novel features a journal-entry format and design, complementing the existing web series, while including plenty of fresh twists to delight fans and new readers alike. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet expands on the phenomenon that captivated a generation and reimagines the Pride and Prejudice story like it's never been done before.</span></h2>
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<a name='more'></a>This is, hands down, the most pleasant surprise I've had this year. And by that I mean HOLY S**T I NEVER KNEW THIS BOOK EXISTED UNTIL I GOT IT IN THE MAIL *DIES*. If anyone doesn't know why I was so excited, SHAME ON YOU. This book, is basically the transcript/book version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisuGP2lcPs&list=PL6690D980D8A65D08" target="_blank">The Lizzie Bennet Diaries</a>, a webseries on YouTube that was created by Hank Green and Bernie Su (author of this book.) And there was no doubt that this would be anything but amazingly awesome.<br />
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The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet follows, you guessed it, a young woman called Lizzie Bennet.<br />
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She is very much like the Lizzie from the original novel by Jane Austen, but Lizzie here definitely has more sass and is much easier to relate to (most likely because she's been modernized). She currently lives with her constantly on the worry mother, father and two totally polarizing sisters; Lydia, a free spirit and incredibly melodramatic, and Jane, so very sweet and kind to the rudest of strangers. And that's what I love about this book, the characters are so diverse in terms of personality, and also racial backgrounds (for example, Bing Lee and Charlotte Lu <-- only people who have read Pride and Prejudice will understand how they came up with those last names.) </div>
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The friendships and sisterly love are some of the greatest highlights in The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet. They follow very similar arcs to the ones in Pride and Prejudice, and I love how they are so constant and feel genuinely heartfelt. I love how Lizzie and Charlotte can be so open and honest with each other; Jane and Lydia were also sweet additions and I'm glad that in this adaptation of Austen's classic, they kept the number of sisters to just 3 and chose two who had completely different quirks. And of course, we cannot forget Mr. Collins. He's just such a delight. *hint hint sarcasm* </div>
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I think what let this book down (which was only by a little notch) was the romance. Before you come charging at me with pitchforks, let me explain. I feel like it's inevitable, that while you read this that you will be comparing The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, with the book. And sadly, I just didn't find the romance as swoon worthy in this case. But seriously, don't let that be a deterrent. This novel is absolutely worth the time. </div>
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Personally, I think that this book is more fun to read while or after you've read this book. I did attempt rewatching the webseries while reading this book, but I only made it so far when I couldn't feel my fingers off the pages. I highly recommend this for lovers of Pride and Prejudice or the webseries, or just anyone who wants a good time giggling and fangirling. </div>
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And now, I leave you with episode 1 of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries... (Spoiler: you will get addicted. And I'm not sorry.)</div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-18684125138220434722014-06-13T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-13T00:00:02.622-07:00Review: On the Fence by Kasie West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OZAjQZAnW-vntThrCCep3jtd27kjNHltDzCkhzxkKQqfPH8o0cjM8Atn0wzVnRJNRiFDuX2UtMWxtOd7q6xbklq0xuUE-r6zs7R-zMrlFn_EjIj0kmrx3qKwBq1tauhtWRazvgHBl6GS/s1600/18298225+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OZAjQZAnW-vntThrCCep3jtd27kjNHltDzCkhzxkKQqfPH8o0cjM8Atn0wzVnRJNRiFDuX2UtMWxtOd7q6xbklq0xuUE-r6zs7R-zMrlFn_EjIj0kmrx3qKwBq1tauhtWRazvgHBl6GS/s1600/18298225+(3).jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">On the Fence</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Kasie West</b><br />
Series: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
Released on: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">July 1st, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> HarperTeen</span></b><br />
Rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4.5 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SHIIIIP!</span></b><br />
Reviewed by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blythe</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18298225-on-the-fence"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">She's a tomboy. He's the boy next door…</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she's got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she's falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.</span></h2>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Kasie West, you guys. I could literally end my review right there and I'm pretty sure most of you would still know exactly what I mean. Having read most of her novels (all but one, which I plan on reading in the next few weeks), I think it's safe to say that a few things are absolutely guaranteed with Kasie West: excellent swoons, brilliant snark, and amazing characters and relationships. As expected, Kasie West delivers on this with <i>On the Fence</i>, and I think the outcome of it all may just be my favorite of hers; with <i>On the Fence</i>, Kasie West proves her versatility as a contemporary writer, and showcases her talent of weaving engaging story lines each with refreshing characters and relationships. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">First off, with swoons, Kasie West succeeds in this department, as always. Even before starting the novel, I shipped Charlie and Braden, just for the <i>concept</i> of them, but their relationship is damn near perfection. Since the two characters already know each other well, relationship development between the two might have been difficult to show, but Kasie West uses the fact that the characters know each other to build the romance: each night, they go to the fence to have little chats, and, each of them being the competitive person they are, challenge each other to a game of who knows whom more. These fence chats are filled to the brim with high levels of swoon and cuteness, and with each small and intimate fact Charlie knew about Braden and vice versa, I found myself falling deeper into the ship. However, with that having been said, I certainly would have liked to see a bit more of it. The romance is an incredibly slow build, and while I was ecstatic to see the relationship finally take form towards the end, before I knew it the novel was over and my shipping feels were not entirely satiated. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The romance aside, also excellent are the other relationships in the novel, namely those that are built with Charlie and other females. Being a tomboy, Charlie's never found herself at comfort amongst girls of her own age, and seeing her break free from her shell in this way in particular was amazing. In so many other novels, if you have a main character who is female and whose friend group is predominately male, I've found she would more often than not shame and hate on other females who differ from her; this is not the case with <i>On the Fence</i>. Throughout the novel, Charlie branches out and opens herself to other women, and the results in each of the relationships are really sweet. I loved Charlie's character development in this sense, and also loved how she picked up more feminine things like make-up along the way, but still maintained her love of sports and everything else which she had had before; you're allowed to have both, and Kasie West shows this brilliantly in Charlie's character. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The family dynamics in here are amazing, and the novel gets darker than I've ever seen with Kasie West towards the end, which I loved. For Charlie, a constant conflict is between her and the grief she has over the death of her mother. West portrayed this grief authentically and with heart, letting some of the characters and relationships develop around it without ever letting the grief itself define one in particular. The lightness of the novel is not cancelled out by the dark subject matters taken into play throughout the novel, and the two serve as a balance to each other that makes neither overwhelming; the darkness makes the novel heartfelt but not depressing, and although the latter is not a bad thing for a novel to be, it's nice to have something that's sweet and light through and through, but also meaningful. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Fellow Kasie West lovers, I assure you that her streak of brilliant novels and excellent swoons only continues with <i>On the Fence</i>, as does her streak of awesome snark and refreshing relationships. This woman knows how to make her audience feel, and there is no doubt in my mind that I will always be able to rely on her for that. </span></div>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-172183444336138112014-06-12T00:00:00.001-07:002014-06-14T15:27:14.030-07:00Discussion Review: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcVj2lyKx6qzJ9s7NvQ51TsfGvDR-S6CMYZ4Sj5tjkjXnOm8n2yKrKftJCxM_ij_0_LeLZ4qB7bPbGjyhP0c4gmbsfSOCL10tbYlE1mYzs_hPNyPbduLrRpTPgecjxI9cUtfYDyxUJ9yY/s1600/17924987+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcVj2lyKx6qzJ9s7NvQ51TsfGvDR-S6CMYZ4Sj5tjkjXnOm8n2yKrKftJCxM_ij_0_LeLZ4qB7bPbGjyhP0c4gmbsfSOCL10tbYlE1mYzs_hPNyPbduLrRpTPgecjxI9cUtfYDyxUJ9yY/s1600/17924987+(2).jpg" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Fan Art</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Sarah Tregay</b><br />
Series: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone </span></b><br />
Released on: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 17th, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Katherine Tegen</span></b><br />
Rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">0 stars, 1 star, 1.5 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">BAAAAAAA</span></b><br />
Reviewed by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ellis, Blythe and Mel</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17924987-fan-art?ac=1"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">When the picture tells the story…</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.</span></h2>
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<span style="color: blue;">This discussion review contains minor spoilers.</span></h3>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> This book was just terribad.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> I think it might be the worst book I've read this year.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Definitely one of the most infuriating.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> I didn't hate it as much as you guys did, but definitely terrible in general. Definitely the worst LGBTQ+ I’ve read.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Absolutely the worst LGBT I’ve read. I can't imagine there being any other LGBT novel out there worse than this, honestly.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Maybe one with a bunch of Jamies.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Like a Jamie orgy where everyone just judges each other and leaves by the end of the novel. Just … Jamie, you guys. Jamie.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> There's the letting out a breath I didn't realise I was holding in here, too.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> YES. First chapter. That’s when I should have known this wouldn't turn out well. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Let's just get this all out of the way: I hated Jamie. A lot. Everyone else seemed to love Jamie, but I really, really wanted to punch him. So much. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> AGREED.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> SAME. He was constantly declaring he wasn’t one of those “stereotypical gays”, because he was *masculine*. How LGBTQ+ positive. </div>
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"I never had baby dolls, never played dress up in my mom's high heels, and never wanted to join the cheerleading squad, so it wasn't like my mom knew I was gay."</h3>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> BUT HE MUST BE MASCULINE, ELLIS. God forbid he embody stereotypes which he only perpetuates throughout the novel. <i>Our</i> Jamie is special and doesn't play with dolls or like high heels, he plays football! (But first off, get over yourself, Jamie. You played football once in the novel. You’re not the fucking spokesmodel for masculinity.)</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> I have one pro re: LGBTQ+ representation and that is that there's no bi erasure. At the end, when Jamie wonders whether Mason might be queer, he does mention the option of Mason being bi. That's a small plus.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> I <i>had</i> one pro, that being supportive parents, but Jamie managed to turn that into something to complain about.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> He makes everything good into something to hate.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> That's his entire character. And the entire plot of the novel hinges on how Mason will react to him being gay. But there was literally no indication that he would react negatively? </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Exactly, but for some reason he kept thinking he would. The conflict was very forced, in my opinion. There was just a general lack of plot and I also think it had the wrong focus. The blurb made it sound like the magazine would be the main issue, but it gets pushed waaaaay back in favour of some conflict Jamie made up in his head and isn't even really an issue. And then after 70% it suddenly comes up again.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Please, the magazine was a minor focus throughout.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Exactly. Nothing happens apart from Jamie fretting.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Nothing but worrying and complaining over a pretty much nonexistent conflict. There is NO REASON this book had to be nearly 400 pages. Absolutely NONE. And sure, for the comic/magazine portion of the novel (around which it is <i>named</i> after, but takes up about 50 pages) it would have been nice to have a LGBT comic in the magazine, but the COMIC WAS AWFUL. All of the people who didn't want the comic in the magazine said it had no plot and all these reasons, but I <i>agreed</i> with them. So there goes that aspect of the plot. And then Jamie cries homophobia. (Which, admittedly, it was in some cases.) </div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Because that’s what he does best.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Gah, Jamie, it's not always because that the people are homophobic and don't want the comic in there because of that. Sometimes it was, yes. But the comic was terrible. They don’t want to publish crap.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> The whole comic issue is a bit meta, because people didn't want it in due to the lack of plot, but he wanted to save it for its LGBTQ+ representation. And that's exactly the issue of this book, too: no plot whatsoever but we’re supposed to love it because gay protagonist, even though the messages towards homosexuality in general are very problematic.</div>
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"If there's one thing that girls--gay or straight--like, it's gay boys."</h3>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> You mentioned problematic? Because that is the characterization pretty much all of the girls in the novel are built upon.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Urgh.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Blurgh.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> You'd think an LGBT novel would try its hardest to stray from using stereotypes to define its characters but that's ALL this novel manages to accomplish. I'm glad so many people love this and think it's adorable, but it's so incredibly problematic. All the characters and every single aspect of the world are built upon stereotypes.</div>
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“He's one of those black kids everyone thinks should play basketball just because [he's tall]."</h3>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> More problematic characterization! Basically, for an LGBT book, Fan Art has REALLY shitty representation of minorities. Jamie always describes the POC character in terms of racial stereotypes. Then said POC says about 14 lines in the entire novel, most of which are about five words. I counted.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Yet it looked so promising.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> There wasn't much depth to any of these characters. Challis and Eden were basically just names.</div>
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Mason is a big hot fudge cake Jamie thinks he can't have. This is legit how he thinks.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> I felt like Mason was just a name as well, to be honest.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Mason was a plot device. Everyone was a plot device for Jamie. Jamie was a plot device for Jamie. It's like Inception but with gays and I want to burn it. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Not to mention he always describes Mason's colouring in terms of food. "The chocolate-cake softness of his eyes", "his hot fudge eyes", etc.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Ugh, YES. The stereotyping was some of THE WORST EVER. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> I think I might have more stereotypes, like the Redneck who was homophobic. Because of course. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> And it didn't help that it was <i>only</i> pro-gay. And when I mean pro-gay, I mean "masculine gays" at that. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Yeah, none of those stereotypical gays according to Jamie--you know, dolls, high heels, make up, cheerleading. The usual gay stuff.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Oh yeah, none of the *girly* gays, because girls are icky.</div>
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"Woo-hoo!” Challis leaps off her desk and opens her arms as if she's going to hug me. But then she stops, as if she thinks twice. I wipe the unintentional girls-are-icky look from my face and open my arms.</h3>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> So the way I'm interpreting this it's that he unintentionally has this look because it's his default expression.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Makes sense since he's always hating on girls.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> ALWAYS. All he does is hate on girls and judge on lesbians, but because he's gay it's okay? Yeah, sure.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> It was ridiculous how he kept giving reasons why he wasn't dating girls. I threw a fit when Eden and Challis were like "omg Jamie you're such a good person" at the end.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> HE IS NOT. HE IS NOT A GOOD PERSON. ALL HE DOES IS JUDGE YOU FOR YOUR SEXUALITY BECAUSE YOU'RE DIFFERENT FROM HIM. And yeah, we know you don’t date girls, Jamie. That’s why we’re reading this book.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> He was 100% the wrong protagonist for this.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> AGREED.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> He was honestly one of the most unpleasant protagonists I've read in a while. THE STORY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT ANYONE BUT JAMIE. ANYONE.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> I lost it when he said “Eden calms down a notch” in interior monologue. That’s not how people think. He always disrespects his girl sort-of friends because HYSTERICAL WOMEN ARE HYSTERICAL AMIRITE.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Add that with being gay and we've got the most hysterical women in this book. Teenage girls, right? </div>
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"Instead DeMarco and I head to the kitchen in search of more drinks. We both get fresh sodas and munch on pretzels with Brodie and Kellen, while complaining about the upcoming exams."</h3>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> So basically Jamie goes to cool parties to hang out with the popular crowd and complain about exams. What a wild child.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> And we're TOLD he's complaining about the exams. Not like I'd need to read about more of Jamie's complaining, but quite literally everything in the novel is told to us.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> Exactly, pretty much everything was told, not shown. The dialogue was just plain bad. It was unrealistic and forced.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> The dialogue was absolutely painful.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Everything was absolutely painful. I also think that Jamie's interior monologue sounds very artificial at times. She wanted to make him sound cool and edgy, but it just fails.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Can't make him sound not-cool and -edgy because then he might sound gay. And we don't want that. He certainly doesn’t.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> But like a <i>masculine</i> gay.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> The most masculine. And then the Redneck was trying to pull a Carrie at the graduation. I WAS DYING. WHAT WERE THEY EVEN DOING.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Graduation was A MESSSSSSS. LOOK GUYS I HAVE REMEMBERED WHAT PLOT AND CONFLICT IS LET ME THROW IT IN REAL QUICK.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> And also, jumping around a bit but with the conflicts, I just really hated how Jamie acted like it was a bad thing that his stepfather was involved in his life. His mother, no complaints. But once his stepfather tries to get him a decent job for the summer, Jamie loses it.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> He kept insisting that was not his "real" father, even though he's been nothing but supportive.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Which I get and I’m sure is realistic, but his stepfather was supportive as hell of him. Meanwhile, his two best friends have the exact OPPOSITE of supportive parents, but he complains to them about his parents who threw him a fucking party for coming out.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> I got so mad when Mason told him he was kicked out because the story should have been about that. It should have been about Mason who faces real challenges, instead of some manufactured conflict that only exists in Jamie's head.</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: start;">Mel:</span> I'm definitely for anything apart from Jamie.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Ugh, and the fake curses.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> THE FAKE CURSES. I PROMISE YOU, high school seniors do NOT say "frigging" or "effing" or "I'm joshing you”. PROMISE.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> Who even says that these days?</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Jamie and Mason and Challis and the really annoying friend, who says "Oh. My. Gaga" and whatnot. Because authenticity. </div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> Eden. The girl he fake-dates. And again, it was extremely annoying how he kept giving reasons why he wasn't dating girls. Dude, you’re gay. You don’t need to convince us. We believe you. I don’t think he does, though. I sort of hate you for giving Homophobey the Dinosaur as an option because I was really hoping he'd make an appearance.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Well, Ellis, I didn’t believe him; he doesn’t like cheerleading or dolls. It was very shell-shocking for me to see a gay person who is not like that. And I’m still holding out on a sequel from Mason's point of view about his realization that he's made a huge mistake. 500 pages, coming out (GET IT) from HarperTeen in 2015. And ah, yes, Homophobey the Dinosaur; at the end of <i>Fan Art</i>, a homophobic dinosaur comes and eats all the gays in the world except for Jamie, because he <i>so</i> doesn't come off as gay because EDGY MASCULINE DOESN'T LIKE DOLLS. So then he's the only gay left and it ends like that as he screams "NO!!!!!!!" into the sky.</div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Ellis:</span> To be fair, Jamie<i> is</i> the residential homophobic dinosaur. </div>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-8810706960293447342014-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-09T00:18:24.078-07:00Review: The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Half Life of Molly Pierce </b>by Katrina Leno<br />
Series: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
Released on: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">July 8th, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">HarperTeen</span></b><br />
Rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">4 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mind-bendiness</span></b><br />
Reviewed by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Blythe </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16068973-the-half-life-of-molly-pierce?ref=ru_lihp_up_rv_3_mclk&uid=1690930103"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">You take it for granted. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Waking up. Going to school, talking to your friends. Watching a show on television or reading a book or going out to lunch.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">You take for granted going to sleep at night, and getting up the next day, and remembering everything that happened to you before you closed your eyes.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">You live and you remember.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Me, I live and I forget.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But now—now I am remembering. </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led…and the love that she can’t let go.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a suspenseful, evocative psychological mystery about uncovering the secrets of our pasts, facing the unknowns of our futures, and accepting our whole selves.</span></h2>
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You guys, the pitch comparing <i>The Half Life of Molly Pierce </i>to Memento is so accurate. Although it may not be as psychological or deliciously puzzling as the film to which it's compared, <i>The Half Life of Molly Pierce </i>is an extremely entertaining and escapist mind game of a novel. The plot, characters, and relationships are all enticingly twisty, and Leno's unique writing style adds a layer of instability and vulnerability to her characters that makes the novel itself irresistible. </div>
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<i>Molly Pierce </i>is the type of mystery/thriller that relies heavily on its ending; what you think of it and whether or not you saw it coming could make or break the entire novel for you. For me, it absolutely made the novel. According to other readers, it seems the final twist wasn't as unexpected for them as it was for me, but I think that may be because I had neither much knowledge about the novel going in, nor much knowledge about its central disorder and how it's handled in other forms of media beforehand. Because of this, I can't exactly attest to how original the final twist and its effects on the novel are, but from my standpoint, I found it to be an incredibly well-written and well-executed development. However, with that having been said, I would have definitely liked a bit more psychological depth towards the end with the introduction of the bigger twists. But, to make up for the lack of psychological depth is the unexpected emotional depth taken into play with the final twist, which was more than a welcome surprise. </div>
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As for the writing style, I'm a reader for whom a stream-of-consciousness writing style <i>rarely</i> ever works, which makes the use of it in <i>Molly Pierce</i> and how much I enjoyed it all the more impressive. At first, I found the steam-of-consciousness rather jarring, but as the novel went on the writing style found its stride, and stayed there comfortably. I am especially a fan of the writing in the latter half of the novel, when revelations are made and twists are revealed; there are a lot of moments that are extremely quotable and surprisingly profound, and I loved what they added to the atmosphere of the novel and the complex emotion of the characters.<br />
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All in all, <i>The Half Life of Molly Pierce </i>is a fun and thoroughly engaging psychological thriller with mind-bending twists and captivating characters. It boasts tight plotting with punches along the way, interesting family dynamics, and positive portrayal of mental health professionals and the field in general; Leno's writing style is perfectly evocative for both Molly's character and her condition, and the effect it had on the story was absolutely intoxicating. At such a short length, <i>Molly Pierce</i> will be an easy novel to breeze through, but if you're like me, you'll find it lingers in your mind for weeks thereafter. Fans of Memento and Identity, which are two awesome movies which you should totally see if you haven't already, should find a lot to enjoy with this one; it's a quick popcorn thriller, and an awesome one at that. </div>
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Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-32000647287703616452014-06-08T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-08T00:00:04.231-07:00Coming Attractions: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #5f5f5f; font-family: 'Josefin Slab'; font-size: 36px; line-height: 32.400001525878906px; text-align: center;">Coming Attractions is inspired by </span><a href="http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/tag/save-the-date" style="background-color: white; color: #ff3da3; font-family: 'Josefin Slab'; font-size: 36px; line-height: 32.400001525878906px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">The Perpetual Page Turner's Save The Date</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f5f5f; font-family: 'Josefin Slab'; font-size: 36px; line-height: 32.400001525878906px; text-align: center;">. Coming Attractions showcases a book that is not released for a while that I've read, and gives you a sneak peek (like a pre-review) as to what I thought about the book, since I can't post the review until closer to the release date.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20646933-top-ten-clues-you-re-clueless?ac=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://readeroffictions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Top-Ten-Clues-Youre-Clueless-Liz-Czukas.jpg" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Top Ten Clues You're Clueless</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Liz Czukas</b><br />
Series:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Standalone</span></b><br />
Released on:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> December 9th, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> HarperTeen</span></b><br />
Rating:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> 3-3.5 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Definition of fun</span></b><br />
Reviewed by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Mel</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20646933-top-ten-clues-you-re-clueless?ac=1"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day<br />
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5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market<br />
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4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi<br />
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3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm<br />
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2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)<br />
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1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000 <br />
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Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Top Five Reasons Why I Adored Top Ten Clues You're Clueless</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">1) Diverse mix of characters</span></h3>
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I absolutely loved the diversity that was in Liz Czukas' latest novel. It's absolutely amazing to watch completely different types of people bond and grow friendships. Sammi was definitely one of my favourite side characters, she's a brick and doesn't let crap get to her. And when I say diverse, I don't only mean diverse in terms of personality, most of them are from different racial backgrounds, so yay! </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2) Awesome main character</span></h3>
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Speaking of diverse characters, the main character, Chloe has diabetes. She's rather secretive about it, not because of anything but the fact that she hates people treating her specially because of it. She also happens to be a bit of a clutz--she did crash shopping carts right into a customer's car in the parking lot and her brain seems to always be one step behind her mouth. I absolutely adored Chloe for her flaws and how realistically portrayed she was. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">3) Lists. Allll the lists!</span></h3>
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I could absolutely relate to Chloe because she is constantly making lists. And like my friends like to point out constantly, I make 'too many' lists. I don't make as many as Chloe does, but apparently 3 is considered a lot according to my friends. For example: I make one when I'm on the train, for the things I must do for homework. I even write out my schedule if I'm feeling particularly overloaded with homework. Anyhoo, Chloe is obsessed with making lists and I don't know about you but I love lists! There was about one at the start of each chapter. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">4) Cute romance </span></h3>
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I actually expected the romance to have a bigger focus in Top Ten Clues You're Clueless but that's not really the case. Sure, it's there but it wasn't one of the main plot lines like in <i>Ask Again Later</i>. I definitely appreciated it, and when the romance was on the spotlight, so many squeals! I admit there isn't as much banter and swooning like in Ask Again Later, but it was still very sweet and convincing. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">5) A whole lot of fun</span></h3>
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Liz Czukas is so far delivering with the amount of fun she has to offer in her novels. This read flew by quickly and I enjoyed every bit of it. It might be a little too dense for some, but it is all about the fun and fluff in these novels. Having running races around in a supermarket and zooming around in shopping carts, anyone? </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-27726679061033329442014-06-06T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-06T13:22:18.501-07:00Discussion Review: Vivian Divine Is Dead <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">Vivian Divine is Dead</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Lauren Sabel</b><br />
Series: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
Released on: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 3rd, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Katherine Tegen</span></b><br />
Rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">1.5 stars</span></b><br />
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Reviewed by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mel and Blythe</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18651963-vivian-divine-is-dead"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Filled with surprising twists and poignant moments, Lauren Sabel brings a fresh new voice to contemporary fiction with Vivian Divine Is Dead. Creepy, clever, funny, and romantic.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">When a death threat arrives with teen celebrity Vivian Divine's fan mail, Vivian has no choice but to go on the run to Mexico. She soon discovers, though, that her Oscar-nominated performance killing villains on-screen did nothing to prepare her for escaping a madman in real life. Some people say he's a hero, others tremble in his presence, but one thing is clear: he won't stop until Vivian is in his grasp. Why didn't she pay more attention during those judo lessons for her role in Zombie Killer?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Vivian finds an ally in the mysterious and charming Nick. He is everything Hollywood boys are not-genuine, kind, and determined to see Vivian for who she really is. But even he seems like he can't be trusted-what could he be hiding?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Beat up, hungry, and more confused than ever about who she's running from, Vivian is living in a real-life blockbuster horror flick. But there's no option to yell "cut" like there is on set....</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Lauren Sabel's Vivian Divine Is Dead is a creepy, witty, fast-paced adventure about family, fame, and having the courage to save yourself.</span></h2>
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<span style="color: magenta; text-align: justify;">Blythe:</span> More like Vivian Divine is Dead <i>ON ARRIVAL</i>, amirite?! *ahem* So basically, this book is a huge hot mess. Like, me trying to make a dinner hot mess, but such that every time I make a mistake I react like a woman in a Spanish soap opera. That kind of hot mess.<br />
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<span style="color: red; text-align: justify;">Mel: </span>Yeah, I cannot think of much that I actually enjoyed about this book. And if I ever did, the unmemorable-ness of it made me forget.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> IT WAS SO FORGETTABLE. Honestly, right now we're discussing this a few days after finishing the novel, and I am having trouble brainstorming what exactly went on. But okay. The sole positive thing I can say about Vivian Divine is Dead is that, for some of the beginning, I found myself entertained. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> I did wonder for a few minutes why I saw so many one star reviews from trusted friends in the beginning, but then Chapter 2 onwards it just went downhill quickly.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Yeah, and I was going to say that the plot was original, but in the end that didn't really work out too well in its favor, I think.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> Nope. It's one of those books that just get worse and worse as it goes. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Absolutely. Not to mention that, for all its originality, I was able to pen down nearly every single twist throughout the novel. Even though I shouldn't say throughout, since for about 200 pages we're strung along with little answers, and in the final 50 pages we're given several twists and shoddy executions for each.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> I couldn't see the big twist coming, but the last few chapters made me want to laugh because it was just so terribly absurd. <span style="text-align: left;"> It felt like a joke, this book. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> I'd say most of the novel is like that, but especially the last few chapters. Also absurd is Vivian and her (attempted) character development. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> O<span style="text-align: left;">h god, I absolutely hated Vivian. She was not only a spoiled brat, but an idiot. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> Right? </span><span style="text-align: left;">Like, I'm still trying to wrap my head around her character and <i>how?</i>: she's a spoiled brat for literally 90%, maybe 95% of the novel, but then by the end she's made out to be like a changed person?</span><span style="text-align: left;"> I kind of see what the author was trying to do with her character, but it definitely didn't work for me. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> I know! And every time she was in trouble, there was someone who was there to help her out of it.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> It's such a shame, too, because I felt like it all could have been really interesting; a spoiled movie star placed in a life-threatening situation has a lot of potential for development, but in here that potential was not met because she never made much of an attempt to either grow as a person or save herself. <span style="text-align: left;">And WHAT IS WITH THE SYNOPSIS? This book is not about "having the courage to save yourself"; if anything, it's about having the lack thereof to have others save you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> LIES. THE SYNOPSIS IS ALL LIES. And of course, her love interest did most of her saving. <span style="text-align: left;">According to Vivian, he's the sexiest guy ever and has longer eyelashes than her which is totally unfair!</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Yup, THE SEXIEST GUY SHE'S EVER SEEN. First boy she sees in Mexico, and bam, sexiest one she's seen in her life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> And because of this </span>she doesn't worry if <span style="text-align: left;">he's some murderer and follows him. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> Mel, hot people can't be murderers. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> But also, MEXICO. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> I KNOW. MEXICO. </span><span style="text-align: left;">Vivian's bodyguard finds out that there is a killer after Vivian, and is all "omg no so dangerous a killer is after you! You know what I'm going to do? I'M GOING TO DYE YOUR HAIR AND SEND YOU TO MEXICO ALONE WITH ONLY A CELL PHONE. BE SAFE. DON'T GET KILLED."</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span>OMG ugh. Like if she's such a popular movie star, why the heck would her bodyguard just ditch her?</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Worst bodyguard of the year.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> Like if she's such a popular movie star, why the heck would her bodyguard just ditch her?</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Because she dyed her hair and gave her color contacts. Shh, it's the perfect disguise. So chic. So now. So Hannah Montana. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> <span style="text-align: left;">I was surprised no random person recognized her. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Considering the unbelievable things that go on in this novel, it was fitting that no one did recognize her.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Nearly nothing here is logical or realistic. </span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Honestly, absolutely nothing. And I get that's the appeal for the novel, but it gets so tiring after a while. And it's only 250 pages! I shouldn't be so worn out by such a short novel! </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> <span style="text-align: left;">Whoa, really? I thought it was longer than that because it FELT longer than that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span><span style="text-align: left;"> Right? And the plot doesn't help, since</span><span style="text-align: left;"> for most of the novel is really just running around, Vivian hearing Spanish, Vivian reminding us she doesn't know any Spanish (she was confused about what <i>familia</i> meant), and then action in the last quarter. But of course, the action is described to us like this: </span></div>
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It happens like this: I slam my knee between his legs. The knife clatters to the floor. Paloma gasps. I shove the door open and burst onto the stage. Everything stops.</h2>
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BOOK, YOU'RE 200 PAGES. YOU CAN AFFORD TO ACTUALLY DO ACTION SCENES. </div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: justify;">Mel:</span> Plus, the plot feels like a soap opera: it's overly dramatic and goes nowhere.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> It is absolutely a Spanish soap opera. And maybe that was the intention, but that doesn't make it <i>enjoyable</i>. With every twist I half expected the characters to each look at a different camera with wide eyes and gasp.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> And the romance was clearly no better.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> I do not understand the romance one bit.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> It's so terrible, and she is always comparing the love interest to her ex, Pierre.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> YES. Ugh, so annoying. It's like the author couldn't make Nick's merits stand on their own because they weren't enough to build a likable character or love interest around, so she compared his characteristics to an awful person's to make him look like some Jesus love interest. </div>
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And as a side note, his name is Pierre; don't act all surprised when he turns out to be a douche.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> YES. Unfortunately so true. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Blythe:</span> Right? Not to mention the relationship is given little development (there's a theme here), so when stuff like this is thrown around:</div>
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"When I met you on the bus, I thought you were just another rich American. But you're not. You're . . . different."</h2>
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I CAN'T SHIP THAT BECAUSE HE'S WRONG. SHE'S NOT. THEY DON'T KNOW EACH OTHER.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> Oh, yes! Romance quotes! *rubs hands together*</div>
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"I feel like there's a cut straight through his soul, and I'm looking into it. I see your soul, I want to say, but I bite my tongue, and hope he sees mine."</h2>
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<span style="color: magenta; text-align: justify;">Blythe:</span> YES YOUR BLACK SOUL GET OUT OF HERE VIVIAN. </div>
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"You may be all gristle, but you're pretty and kind and, um . . . a good listener, too." </h2>
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Just saying, but you don't love someone if all you can say about them is that they're pretty, kind, and a good listener. Least of all when you have to hesitate to come up with a third thing, and of those three things, two are false and the other is superficial. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">Mel:</span> At least he didn't say smart or witty, because she's far from it. AND ALSO:</div>
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"What do you see?" "Something even better," Nick says, looking right at me.</h2>
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<span style="color: magenta; text-align: justify;">Blythe:</span> "That tree behind you. Gorgeous."</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: justify;">Mel:</span> I would definitely prefer the tree over Vivian any day. </div>
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<span style="color: magenta; text-align: justify;">Blythe:</span> Vivian Treevine is Dead.</div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-73787335799207752872014-06-05T00:00:00.001-07:002014-06-05T00:00:10.738-07:00Review: The Things You Kiss Goodbye <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPylHRMVPGjTxH-7zstem5c_8mzXpUCVG5tn5ep7e-af_aOrtfWydT1vQFMO5D8bW_s0QoQFrLRtyUJyowxt_X4vrUxEgW9Gbmd7SldGSzl8pJWs5sOkPBX8QuKGMawnh8znZRTjoBop_/s1600/18651924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPylHRMVPGjTxH-7zstem5c_8mzXpUCVG5tn5ep7e-af_aOrtfWydT1vQFMO5D8bW_s0QoQFrLRtyUJyowxt_X4vrUxEgW9Gbmd7SldGSzl8pJWs5sOkPBX8QuKGMawnh8znZRTjoBop_/s1600/18651924.jpg" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;">The Things You Kiss Goodbye</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Leslie Connor</b><br />
Series: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Standalone</span></b><br />
Released on: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">June 24th, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Katherine Tegen</span></b><br />
Rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3 stars</span></b><br />
Word rating: <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Brought to you by Lifetime Network..."</span></b><br />
Reviewed by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Blythe</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18651924-the-things-you-kiss-goodbye"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when basketball star Brady Cullen asks her out, and she just about faints when her strict father actually approves of him.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But when school starts up again, Brady changes. What happened to the sweet boy she fell in love with? Then she meets a smoldering guy in his twenties, and this “cowboy” is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Bettina knows that breaking up with Brady would mean giving up her freedom—and that it would be inappropriate for anything to happen between her and Cowboy. Still, she can’t help that she longs for the scent of his auto shop whenever she’s anywhere else.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Leslie Connor has written a lyrical, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about family, romance, and the immense power of love.</span></h2>
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Although it has its shining moments, <i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye</i> was just as soapy as its title had suggested. This, of course, will either mean really good things for your reading experience with it, or really bad things. It meant neither particularly for me, but I do think if would have enjoyed this more had it not relied on some clichés from soap operas revolving around abuse. Also, compared to the several dark contemporary romances I've read recently, <i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye</i> lacked for me genuine emotion, and in the end that was its biggest downfall. </div>
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<i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye </i>more or less follows the standard storyline of a Lifetime movie, with an abusive boyfriend, a mysterious older man who helps out our main character, consequential infidelity, and, ultimately, tragedy. It's not a particularly happy novel, and I like that Leslie Connor never tried to pass it off as such, but for me the novel had laid on the verge of sappiness and sincerity, fluctuating between the two throughout the novel. What Connor does really well in <i>The Things You Kiss</i> is portray a toxic relationship and its effects, and also depicting the vulnerability in victims of abuse. The abuse used by Bettina's boyfriend in <i>The Things You Kiss</i> is something I rarely see portrayed well in YA, and that is both physical and emotional, but not all at once. With each little thing Brady does to hurt Bettina both physically and emotionally, Bettina becomes more and more guarded and vulnerable, which I found to be a really poignant and realistic representation of abuse and its effects. The novel shows that every single instance of abuse is damaging, and it doesn't have to be overtly violent, and I think that's an important message to send. </div>
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<i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye</i>'s biggest fault with me, however, was with its characters. Usually when I have issues with characters it's because I don't like them very much, but that's not exactly the case with <i>The Things You Kiss</i>. For the most part, I really did like the characters in this novel. I enjoyed seeing their relationships develop, and I thought the main romance between Bettina and Cowboy was cute, infidelity aside. (Although Cowboy's age being ten years more than that of Bettina's made me uncomfortable at select moments.) With that having been said, I can't say I fully connected with any main characters in <i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye</i>; I liked the ones I was supposed to like enough, and I cared for Bettina's safety and the relationships throughout the novel were really well drawn, and I was a fan of the friendship that had been built in the novel. But, despite that, the intended emotional impact towards the end didn't affect me as much as I had hoped it would; I recognized what was going on, and felt sad for the characters going through the tragedies, but I didn't feel sad <i>myself</i>, which is ultimately what I'm looking for with contemporaries like <i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye </i>but did not fully find. </div>
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One trend I'm really starting to see become more prevalent in YA is the importance of family, so to see a main character whose parents are active in her life was nice. Bettina's father is very strict, and I felt there was more that could have been done with their relationship and its development, but in the end it was a sweet progression. I also really liked Connor's writing style, but it did take me a bit to adjust to how the novel is told, since it's entirely in past tense, which I find a bit jarring at times. <i>The Things You Kiss Goodbye</i> may read like a novelization of a Lifetime movie, but it is still well written, with an exceptionally portrayed toxic relationship. It has a lot of substance, and I'm sure it will appeal to a lot of readers, but it lacked the raw emotion necessary for it to be an outstanding read for me. </div>
Blythe Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09017061225288032634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8646664861833035183.post-15522175132652422902014-06-04T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-04T00:00:02.505-07:00Waiting On Wednesday - I'll Give You The Sun<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we post upcoming releases we're highly anticipating. My pre-publication selection for this week's Waiting on Wednesday is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7943654-i-ll-give-you-the-sun?ac=1">I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson</a>.</h3>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7943654-i-ll-give-you-the-sun?ac=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/813qvuc5b6L.jpg" height="640" width="422" /></span></a></div>
<b style="font-size: xx-large;">I'll Give You The Sun</b><br />
by <b style="font-size: xx-large;">Jandy Nelson</b><br />
Series:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> None</span></b><br />
Released on:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> September 16th, 2014</span></b><br />
Published by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Dial Books for Young Readers</span></b><br />
Waited on by:<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Mel</span></b> <br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7943654-i-ll-give-you-the-sun?ac=1"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Add to Goodreads" border="0" src="http://i1052.photobucket.com/albums/s444/bms5576/12083233-drowning-instinct.png" style="background-color: #e6e7d5; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 229, 208); box-shadow: rgb(187, 187, 187) -1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px; padding: 5px;" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell<br />
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Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world. <br />
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This radiant, fully alive, sometimes very funny novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once. </span></h2>
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I love this synopsis. It's so freaking amazing; I don't know why, it just <i>is, </i>y'know? I do like the idea of one person narrating the first half and then the other twin narrating the last half--it could go terribly wrong but after all the praise I've been seeing for The Sky Is Everywhere, this is likely to go so so well. There's also a GLBT romance in this so yay! Annnd, story about siblings. I AM SO SOLD. </div>
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Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17035338608975371558noreply@blogger.com1