What I'm Reading Wednesday

Easy by Tammara Webber
Released: November 6th, 2012
Published By: Berkley Tarde
 Pages:310 pages U.S. Paperback
Source: Own 

"Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love."

More Information on: www.goodreads.com

Through the Ever Night

Released: January 8th, 2013

Published By: HarperCollins

Series: Under the Never Sky #2

 Pages:341 pages U.S. Hardcover 

Source: Public Library 

"It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable."

More Information on: www.goodreads.com


I am super excited to get started on these two book. I have heard such great things about them on GoodReads.com. Hopefully they live up to the hype. 

[review] Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer 
Rating: Fangirl
Released: January 3rd, 2012
Published By: Feiwel & Friends 
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
 Pages:390 pages U.S. Hardcover 
Source: Public Library 

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future."

Description from goodreads.com 

Review

This book had elements that I love in it.

 Fairy Tale? Check!

 Robots/Cyborgs/Androids? Check!

 Strong Female Character? Check! 

This book was just so much fun. The characters were pretty well developed. The story was fun, but predictable at times. This book was just one of those books that I want to tell my friends “I can’t explain this, Just Read it! You will like it! Trust me!”.

Cinder, you are one classy cyborg. I love how strong she is. I really enjoy her inner monologues she has. I just like her.  Cinder’s journey was fun, yet predictable. Though I was able to figure out most of the twists and turns her character was so intriguing I wasn’t bored or annoyed. Iko, the fabulous android, was a great comedic and sidekick. Prince Kai was Dreamy (of course), but stronger than he thought he was. Stepmother Adri was, well, the evil stepmother and played the cards well. Queen Levana, the Lunar Queen was as manipulative as she was beautiful. And Dr. Erland, now, I really liked him. That is all I will say to that.

With all I liked about the book, there were still some things I didn’t really enjoy. The Evil Stepmother and sister I felt didn’t get as good as character development. I know, I know. They are the Evil Characters, but this is a retelling and I was craving some redeeming qualities for these women. Besides Cinder, Peony, and Iko (who is android so technically…) all the main women’s characters are Evil, Manipulative, and just plain selfish. The Main Male Characters, Dr. Erland and Prince Kai are the exactly the opposite.

New Beijing really needs to be fleshed out more. I wanted to dive into the landscape, have a better understanding of this interesting world that Ms. Meyer’s created, but I felt that it kind of was flat. I hope in the sequels to this series that the landscape is more detailed so I can just throw myself into the story with the main character.

Okay, Back to my favorites again, no need to dampen the mood more.  I am super excited for Cress to come out (in 2014?! Sigh!) With her little cameo she had, I want to know more! OMGoodness, it is going to be epic. And the ending, I am so glad I read this book Only a few weeks before Scarlet comes out, because otherwise I don’t know what I would do.

So, read this book. It is awesome! The end!

[review] Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Released: December 1st, 2009
Published By: Little, Brown and Company
Series: Caster Chronicles #1
Pages:536 pages U.S. Hardcover
Source: Goodwill 

"There were no surprises in Gatlin County. 

We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.

At least, that's what I thought.

Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was a curse.

There was a girl.

And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything."

Description from goodreads.com 

Review

So, you know how sometimes, when you are reading a book, you just can't put it down and you devour everything. With Beautiful Creatures, this was not the case. This book took 100 pages to get going, and 436 pages of stalling. Now, don't get me wrong, this book at potential. The concept was interesting  though predictable, the book had some Southern Gothic undertones to it, which i love, and the book had witches (okay, Casters). All things I LOVE. The main issue, was the main characters.

Lena & Ethan, I didn't really care about them. Lena was just a flat character, too angsty, and just all around annoying. Ethan was just too perfect. The only one in his small town to see and understand what was going on with Lena, and was just boring. The Insta-love also was annoying and each time they got the 'spark' i secretly hoped that Ethan would be electrocuted  I was hoping with the dreams and the mystery that was so promising with the story just crumbled.

With all the disappointment, there are some things i loved about the book. Ravenwood being one, I loved the house. The Description, the changes in furniture and style, 'kitchen', i think Ravenwood was one of the best characters in this story. Ethan's 3 Aunts, Loved them, they were spunky, fun and everyone has at least one of those crazy relatives in their family that you just love all their strange quirks.

So, in conclusion, This book is just a bit too much like Twilight for me, but with a male protagonist. I hoped so much for this book, but as per normal, the book didnt live up to the hype. The book was just too long, This story could have been told in about 330pages vs. 530 pages and would have had exactly the same effect on the reader (well... hopefully better effect).



::rating::
2 out of 5 stars

[review] Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Released: Feburary 7th, 2012
Published By:Harper Collins Publishers
Series: Under the Never Sky #1
Pages:374 pages U.S. Hardcover
Source: Public Library

"WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers."

Description from goodreads.com 

Review

To me, world building is what makes or breaks a dystopian or sci-fi novel. I have to feel fully committed and understand the world that the characters were living in. In Under the Never Sky, i felt that the world that Rossi created was both complex but subtle. Aria and Perry's world takes place in the future, where the earth has been harshened by the elements, creating communities that either live in dome like structures or out in the open land.   Each one of the main characters comes from a different background; Aria growing up in Reverie under the dome and living most of her life in the Realms (virtual spaces) and Perry growing up on the outside.  After Aria gets exiled from Reverie she is left to to die in the outside world also know as"The Death Shop". She and Perry find out they can both help each other.

The story in this book i found to be a bit slower pace in the beginning. The first few chapters, while intersting and important to the world building, i felt needed to be a bit less stiff. However, once the chapters switched between narrators the story moved quicker.  Switching between narrators is hard to do well, and Rossi succeeds with this. I found myself excited to see what Aria's perspective of the story was while reading Perry's and vice versa. The supporting characters where also rich and inviting, however, i felt that Cinder could have been a bit more rounded out ( i hope that this happens in the next book).

The relationship between Perry and Aria was not a insta-romance, which i respect and enjoy. I felt Rossi did a great job creating a world that Perry and Aria could slowly fall into place. Their romance and relationship build throughout the story at a very real pace. However, they never lost each other in the relationship but instead grew to be stronger individuals

In the end, i really enjoyed this book, it has not been been the best book i have read in a while, but it was great and i will continue on excitedly to finish the series

::rating::
3 out of 5 stars