Showcase Sunday (37): Quality Over Quantity!

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be from a book store, bought for your eReader, received from the library, or from the publishers for review, etc.

For Review:

Parasite: I've heard absolutely fantastic things about Grant's Newsflesh trilogy, so I'm crazy excited to get to this one. Thanks, Orbit!

Crown of Midnight: Starting this one after I'm done with Teardrop (which...ugh), and I cannot express my excitement. CHAOL, LET ME LOVE YOU! Thanks, Bloomsbury!

Where the Stars Still Shine: Another author whose work I've heard fabulous things about! I've yet to read Doller's Something Like Normal, but have heard that it's great, so I'm really, really looking forward to this. Thanks, Bloomsbury!

Still Star-Crossed: Um, a YA novel depicting the aftermath of Romeo and Juliet? YES, PLEASE. Thanks, Delacorte!

What did you get this week? Let me know in the comments, or leave a link to your haul, and I'll check it out as soon as possible!

Review: The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

The Alchemy of Forever
Avery Williams
Series: Incarnation, #1
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Number of Pages: 256
Rating: 3 stars
Word Rating: Fascinating

In the first novel of the Incarnation series, the immortal Seraphina grapples with a wrenching truth: Falling in love might mean succumbing to death. People say “love never dies”…but love might be the death of Seraphina.

Seraphina has been alive since the Middle Ages, when her boyfriend, Cyrus, managed to perfect a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. Sera ran away from Cyrus years ago, when she realized that what they were doing—taking the lives of innocent people—was wrong. Yet she doesn’t want to die, so she finds young people who are on the brink of death, and inhabits their bodies.

Sera has just landed in the body of a girl named Kailey who was about to die in a car accident. For the first time, Sera falls in love with the life of the person she’s inhabiting. Sera also falls for the boy next door, Noah. And soon it’s clear the feelings are returned. But she can never kiss Noah, because for her to touch lips with a human would mean the human’s death. And she has even more to worry about: Cyrus is chasing her. If she stays in one place for long, she puts herself—and the people she’s grown to care for—in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that’s eluded her for centuries: true love?

Providing readers with a thoroughly interesting and unique perspective on incarnation, Avery Williams has great promise to offer with her Incarnation series, a good portion of which is executed in The Alchemy of Forever. Williams' take on the thought-provoking concept of incarnation is certainly a refreshing and alluring one, touching less on religion and life after death, as I had initially expected, and more on science, which I found to be exceptionally original and fascinating.

The characters in The Alchemy of Forever, however, I feel were not met with that same interesting and fascinating quality as the plot. While the characters that were supposed to be likable are entirely likable, and the characters that aren't supposed to be likable are deliciously sinister, whether a character in The Alchemy of Forever was likable or not was some of the most insight we got into the characters, in my opinion. When I'm reading a novel, I try to connect to the characters as much as possible, but if I feel I don't know much about any of the characters, I find that pretty difficult to do. While I was entirely connected to the plot and what was occurring throughout the novel, with the exception of a rough patch in pacing around the halfway mark, I wasn't emotionally connected to most if any of the characters, and due to that, many of the events in The Alchemy of Forever didn't bear the amount of impact I'm sure Avery Williams had expected them to.

I do like the characters in this novel; I really like Sera, although I would have liked to see more depth and growth from her character, and I really like Noah, the love interest. But these characters are met with little development when separated from each other, that, while I care about what happens in their relationship, I can't muster up the same amount of attachment when concerning each of the characters when they're on their own. With a highly original concept, a strong writing style that reads briskly, and an even stronger central villain that is as nefarious as he is utterly captivating to read about, The Alchemy of Forever had a lot going for it, but the incredibly short page count got in the way of providing the protagonists with depth, and that is undoubtedly this novel's biggest downfall. Hopefully there will be more character development (and more villain appearances) in the next addition in the Incarnation trilogy, which I look forward to reading. 

Waiting on Wednesday - Crown of Midnight

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event 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 Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. 

Crown of Midnight

Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass, #2

Release Date: August 27th, 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Number of Pages: 432

An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.

But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

GAH, I'm dying to read this one. Throne of Glass was so much fun, and after its ending, I have been dying to get my hands on the inevitable bad-assery that is Crown of Midnight. Also, I must see how this love triangle plays out. Must. (TEAM CHAOL ALL THE WAY.) 

What are you waiting on?

 Let me know in the comments!

Today's Releases (June 4th)

Release of the Week

Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

A lot of good releases coming out today--I especially have my eye on You Look Different in Real Life and A Dawn Most Wicked (I need my fix of Daniel to hold me over until the release of A Darkness Strange and Lovely). Siege and Storm is absolutely fantastic as well, and was even better than Shadow and Bone, in my opinion. And I will definitely be staying away from Elegy. Am not a fan of this trilogy. At all. 

Which of today's releases will you be getting?

Review: Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Another Little Piece
Kate Karyus Quinn
Series: None
Release Date: June 11th, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Number of Pages: 432
Rating: 4.5 stars
Word Rating: WUT

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.
On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Unquestionably one of the strangest, most stunning, and original novels I have ever read in my entire life, Another Little Piece seems like it was practically written by Kate Karyus Quinn with me in mind. What other readers have said about Another Little Piece is all true--reading this novel is an undeniably confusing, mind-boggling, and downright ambiguous experience. Yet, while those very attributes caused Another Little Piece to be a disappointing read for some readers, the ambiguity of the entire novel, and the brilliant atmosphere deftly crafted by Quinn among the confusion, is in essence what made me love this novel so much. Love Another Little Piece or not, there is no doubting the fact that, upon turning the last page, it is a novel that will linger in your mind and likely haunt you, and ultimately, that's all I can ever ask for in a novel.

Showcase Sunday (36): Entire May Haul Edition

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at Books, Biscuits, and Tea, where we showcase what books we've gotten over the course of the week, whether it be from a book store, bought for your eReader, received from the library, or from the publishers for review, etc.

Oh, boy, I am going to be exhausted after writing this post. This is what I get for taking a hiatus that lasts about a month long. This post will be my entire haul for the month of May, pretty much, so expect a lot of scrolling through book covers to see my commentary of the haul I've received this past month. Unless my haul is less than what I am expecting it to be, in which case please please please be less than what I'm expecting it to be... (It was less than what I was expecting it to be! *high fives*)

For Review: 

(click on the covers for Goodreads)

     

        

Gifted:

           

Thank you so so much, Kara! 

         

Thank you so so much, Jessie!

Bought: 

Mortal Fire: I'm really looking forward to reading this one, and it'll definitely be one of my next reads. I love anything that has to do with witches and magic, and this sounds absolutely spellbinding. Pun intended, of course. (Also, this is kind of irrelevant, but when I got this ARC, I realized that those things on the cover? They're bees. So when I'm reading this, I'll likely be reading it by holding the cover with my sleeves. I have this thing where I don't like touching pictures of things I'm afraid of.) Thank you, Farrar, Straus, and Girroux!

The Troop: EEEEEEE! This sounds so. freaking. awesome. My large amount of enthusiasm over a book that has a pitch of a bunch of boy scouts dying on a secluded island may not reflect too well on my character, but quite frankly I'm too excited to care. Thank you, Gallery!

The Impossibility of Tomorrow: I haven't read The Alchemy of Forever yet, but I've heard really good things about it, and I don't think I've read a book dealing with incarnation before, so I'm looking forward to reading this and its predecessor! Thanks, Simon and Schuster! 

Untold: I started this one a few weeks ago because I couldn't not jump into it immediately after finishing Unspoken, and what I read was fantastic. I had to put it aside to make room for other ARCs I had to read that were published sooner, but I hope to get back to it soon and have a Coming Attractions post for you all. Thanks, Random House!

Tumble & Fall: You probably know how excited I am for this book, and if you don't, let me just tell you I'm very excited for it. Pre-apocalyptic? Hell yeah! Here's to hoping this one stomps on my heart and leaves me in a crying heap on the floor in fetal position! Thanks, Farrar, Straus, and Girroux!

Always Watching: This sounds really interesting and creepy, and I've heard really good things about the author's other novels, so I'm looking forward to this. Thanks, St. Martin's Press!

The Wolves of Midwinter: I'll keep an open mind towards this one. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Wolf Gift, but it kept me entertained despite my contempt for the protagonist. I just hope Anne Rice doesn't send her horde of crazed fans after me should I dislike this. Fingers crossed! Thanks, Knopf!

All Our Yesterdays: Anything involving time travel and I'm in. Really looking forward to this. Thanks, Disney Hyperion!

The Cutting Room Floor: I haven't had the best luck with Flux, but this sounds really original and mysterious, so I had to at least give it a shot. Thanks, Flux!

Dance of the Red Death: I already read this, and really enjoyed it. I didn't love it quite as much as I did Masque of the Red Death, but I still found it to be a worthwhile sequel and a satisfactory conclusion to the series (duology?). Thanks, Greenwillow!

Fire with Fire: Another sequel to a book I haven't read yet! This one comes out in September, so I have a bunch of time to catch up and read Burn for Burn, but I'm really looking forward to it. I've been looking for a good old-fashioned revenge story since I read Premeditated. Thanks, Simon and Schuster!

Gated: Okay, from what I know about this one, it's a dystopian with ties to 9/11. Sounds interesting and original, though I really, really hope 9/11 is touched upon thoughtfully in this, because if it's not that would certainly impact my enjoyment a bit. Thanks, Random House!

This Song Will Save Your Life: This sounds amazing. Really. The last line of the synopsis got me, though, where it said this had a laugh-out-loud funny voice and how it describes the power of music and how it brings people together. Seriously, how awesome does that sound? Thanks, Farrar, Straus, and Girroux!

Across a Star-Swept Sea: I haven't read For Darkness Shows the Stars, but apparently instead of a sequel to that this is more of a companion novel, with a different story set in the same world, so I'm just glad this is a book where I don't need to stress about reading the first book. Thanks, Balzer + Bray!

Insignia & In the Shadow of Blackbirds: I've been looking forward to reading both of these ever since Kara gave them both rave reviews, and Kara, being the amazing person that she is, sent me both of them (much to my chagrin--you didn't need to get me anything, but thank you and I love you!). Thank you so much, Kara! 

Vessel and Let the Sky Fall: Have been looking forward to both of these immensely for quite a while, too, so thank you so much, Jessie! As I said above, you didn't need to get me anything, but I love you for doing so and can't wait to read these books!

The Alchemy of Forever: See my commentary for The Impossibility of Tomorrow above. 

Moonglass: Words cannot describe how much I adore Kirby's Golden, so when I saw this one was on sale for Kindle, I bought it like there was no tomorrow. Can't wait!

Parallel: If my 2013 reads has proven anything, it's that I really, really love parallel reality stories, and this one has gotten good reviews from friends of mine, so I'm looking forward to reading it eventually! 

Phew. And that's what I got throughout the month of May. What did you get this week? Let me know in the comments, or leave a link to your haul, and I'll check it out as soon as possible!

TV Talk #2: Buffy the Vampire Slayer & More

Netflix is a dangerous, dangerous thing. I've been meaning to post another TV Talk post after my Pretty Little Liars one (which, I admit, I haven't watched in a while, but I hope to get back to it soon. I have this problem where I start a show on Netflix, get into it, watch two or so seasons, then some other shiny show comes along and bam--I'm like that squirrel from Up), and I figured, it's not like I have any reviews to post (almost an entire month on hiatus and I have no reviews; I know, shun me). BUT, maybe this will clear up why I have no reviews to post. Because, as I said before, Netflix is dangerous to my productivity.

Reason for not reading #1: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Okay, now before you all shun me for not having seen this show until about two months ago, later is better than never, no? And if you still want to shun me, does it help if I say that I absolutely love this show? *bats eyelashes* While the special effects in Buffy may be horrendously cheesy (oh 90's, you so cray), this is one fun as hell show which absolutely fantastic character development and hysterical and witty dialogue. Xander is amazing, I adooooore Willow, Buffy is kick-ass, Giles is Giles (and trust me, that's a compliment), Cordelia... I'm warming up to her, mostly because I'm getting some Xandelia vibes from her, and everything else in this show is just absolutely fantastic. ALSO, Spike. I haven't reached the part where he becomes one of the good guys yet, but damn he is one charming villain. 

I should have known I would have loved Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy after loving Ringer with a passion (and yes, I'm still very bitter that it was cancelled), and I should have known I would have loved Alyson Hannigan in Buffy because she is awesome in How I Met Your Mother (another one of my obsessions that I stopped watching because I got distracted by something else. But I watched seven seasons of HIMYM, in far too short of a time period than I'd care to admit). I hadn't known any of the other actors in Buffy before watching it, but they're all spectacular, and I hear Michelle Trachtenberg (or however you spell her name) is in the show as Buffy's sister in the later seasons, so I'll keep my eye open for that. 

But I'm really torn on whether I want to ship Xander and Buffy, Xander and Willow, or Xander and Cordelia. I don't like Buffy with Angel, and Xander needs to be with somebody. He must. 

Fellow Buffy fan? Flail with me in the comments!

Other TV obsessions/reasons why I won't be getting much reading done, either: 

Masterchef: I am so excited that this has started up again last week, you guys, you have no idea. Easily one of my favorite competition shows, and easily my favorite show involving cooking. And Gordon Ramsey certainly doesn't do anything to detract from my love for this show. 

The Bachelorette: NO JUDGING. I watched the season premiere last week and I enjoyed it in that way you enjoy watching something like a trainwreck, and I will not apologize for probably continuing to watch this season, likely while in pajamas, eating ice cream. 

Big Brother (15): EEEEE! 24 days and counting!