Teaser Tuesday (7/27/10)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should be Reading.

* Grab your current read.
* Let the book fall open to a random page.
* Share with us 2 teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 
I watch her walk up the aisle, fuming, and disappear out the door. Then a disembodied voice - soft, musical, and furious - whispers in my ear, "Murderer, murderer, murderer." - page 17

Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins

Thursday, July 22, 2010
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. 

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.


As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

I found this novel to be very charming, witty, and dark. I really enjoyed the characters and it was fun getting to know them. I especially loved the relationship between Sophie and Jenna. I have a funny feeling that there's more to Archer than what he's let on and I can't wait to read more about him.

The writing was excellent, and there was something so endearing about Sophie's sarcastic comebacks against her enemies and others that made me love her so. All of the characters had the same pull for me, and I found myself even liking the resident mean girl Elodie.

Above all, the plot was good and kept me wanting to finish the book, and the twist at the end satisfied me enough and had the right amount of closure. I still want to know what happens, but I felt it wasn't a huge and dramatic cliffhanger. A really great novel and I highly recommend it.

The second book, Demonglass, is set to release March 1st, 2011.

*****

Waiting on Wednesday (7-21-10)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
 His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her.

Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.

After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.

But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.

This looks so intriguing and a good read. Granted, I'm not a fan of the cover at all, it still is on my to read list. Shadow Hills is available in bookstores now!

Teaser Tuesday (7-19-10)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should be Reading.

* Grab your current read.
* Let the book fall open to a random page.
* Share with us 2 teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
"Good luck explaining to God that you used to spank one of his Heavenly beings."

Mom gave a startled laugh. "Sophie!" - page 25

I found this line hilarious! Then again, there's something to lugh about on each page of this novel. I should preface this teaser with the story so it makes more sense (and is a lot funnier) - "After the Great War between God and Lucifer, those angels who refused to take sides were cast out of heaven. One group chose to hide itself away under hills and deep in forests. They became faeries. Another group chose to live among animals and became shapeshifers. And the last chose to intermingle with humans and became witches."
Love it!

Wicked - Sara Shepard

Monday, July 19, 2010



In idyllic Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four very pretty girls just can't help but be bad. . . .
Hanna will do anything to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer's digging up her family's secrets. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men.
Now that Ali's killer is finally behind bars, the girls think they're safe. But those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. And they should know by now that I'm always watching.

Wicked is the fifth book in the Pretty Little Liars series and it didn't disappoint. The girls think they're safe and it's all over, now that a has been revealed and is dead. However they receive text messages from A all over again and are thrown right back into the game.

The writing was excellent, I think my reviews are the same when it comes to this series. Again, I found Hanna to be pretentious and annoying it didn't spoil the novel much for me.

****

Unbelievable - Sara Shepard

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Four pretty little liars' charmed lives have turned into living nightmares.
Emily's been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria's boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer's afraid she was involved in Ali's murder. But Hanna's fate is far worse: She's clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much.
If these girls don't start listening to me, Hanna's going to look like the lucky one. 

The last book in my box set! I seemed to have flown through this last one, before I knew it I was finishing up the last pages. I liked this one, and the ending was really good but I didn't get the same reaction out of it as I did with the first three books.

There were two things that annoyed me about this one. The first was Hanna and what a wench she was some of the time. Lucas is about the sweetest guy ever (I mean what guy would read you Vogue?!) but she is so caught up in appearances that she's totally cold.

The other thing I was a little annoyed with was Sara Shepard's intense need to describe the smell of every person and every room at every moment. I know it sets a scene, but after a while I just found it to be obnoxious. Other than that, great book and I really enjoyed it!

****.5

Perfect - Sara Shepard

Friday, July 16, 2010
 In a town where gossip thrives like the ivy that clings to its mansions, where mysteries lie behind manicured hedges and skeletons hide in every walk-in closet, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem. Three years ago, Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and their best friend Alison were the girls at Rosewood Day School. They clicked through the halls in their Miu Miu flats, tanned in their matching Pucci bikinis, and laughed behind their freshly manicured fingernails. They were the girls everyone loved but secretly hated—especially Alison.
So when Alison mysteriously vanished one night, Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna's grief was tinged with . . . relief. And when Alison's body was later discovered in her own backyard, the girls were forced to unearth some ugly memories of their old friend, too. Could there be more to Alison's death than anyone realizes?
Now someone named A, someone who seems to know everything, is pointing the finger at one of them for Ali's murder. As their secrets get darker and their scandals turn deadly, A is poised to ruin their perfect little lives forever.

Once again, I am absolutely stunned by this series! I should be learning my lesson by now, eh? ;) These books are just awesome, and addicting. I just adore them and could read these over and over.

The girls' problems in Perfect are coming to the surface and they are getting exposed...things aren't what they seem. The writing, as always, is on spot and addicting. I couldn't put this book down - I finished it in about seven hours.

Above all - WHAT an ENDING! Oh my gosh I never saw that one coming. If the rest of the book is like that I'm going to be in for one shock after another. I haven't read a book series in a long time that the story gets better with each book.

I'm on my last one from the series, Unbelievable, and I'm SO upset I don't have the others. I'll have to nab them soon before I just explode.

*****

Flawless - Sara Shepard

Thursday, July 15, 2010
Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is making her sick. And their most horrible secret yet is so scandalous that the truth would ruin them forever.
And why shouldn't I tell? They deserve to lose it all. With every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message I send, I'll be taking these pretty little liars down. Trust me, I've got enough dirt to bury them alive.

Flawless definitely lived up to its name - flawless!

Sara Shepard has such a way of speaking to the reader and making it seem like they are right in the action. I found myself not wanting to read at night because I got so paranoid! That's the kind of book I crave.

In Flawless, the girls are still struggling with their problems and they are becoming more advanced and more people are beginning to suspect something is wrong with them. A is becoming more vengeful and more into blackmailing them, their worlds are crumbling beneath them.

I think if I could only read one series for the rest of my life, this would be one of the top contenders. It takes you on a ride that has so many twists and turns that you start to think crazy thoughts about who A might be. I am both annoyed and happy I haven't figured it out yet!

This series is absolutely wonderful!

*****

Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard

Monday, July 12, 2010
Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.
Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.
But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.
How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.

There's only one appropriate thing to say - holy @#$^ wow!

I can't tell you how much I adored this book and pretty much devoured it in one day. The stories were amazing and were so typical teen but not at the same time. I found myself scowling and laughing right along with these fab four (or five ;)) girls.

Sara has such a gift for entertaining the reader from the beginning and I have to say that I'm SO glad and relieved I got the box set of the first four books or I would be in agony wanting to know what happened next - what a cliffhanger she left us on! The writing and plot is intense and wonderful...and so far I think my favorite girls are Aria and Spencer but we'll see if that continues!

Off to read Flawless! ;D

*****

Kissed by an Angel - Elizabeth Chandler

Sunday, July 11, 2010
Ivy always believed in angels. When she meets Tristan, it's the love of a lifetime. When he dies, her heart is broken and her belief in angels vanishes. And without that belief, she is unable to feel Tristan's presence when he returns--as an angel. Now Ivy is in terrible danger, and Tristan is struggling to save her. How can he protect her if she's lost her faith in angels? 

I thought this novel was good, but it wasn't, to me, what others have been saying about it. I thought Ivy fell a little flat to me at times, and it was very reminiscent of the year it was published (1995) and wasn't current enough for me. For me there was never a question of 'whodunit' because I suspected the culprit from the beginning. They were just too sly and too sleazy for something not to happen with them.

The writing was fair and I really enjoyed Tristan and Ivy's relationship in the beginning of the book. It was very sweet and I love their names together. To me, they scream tragic romance, just as Romeo and Juliet does. There was a part that I'm not going to get into, but it involved an animal and I thought it was a little over the top for a YA book in my opinion.

Overall, I thought this was a good book though I didn't like it as much as I thought. I'm bummed about it because I love Elizabeth Chandler as an author, especially Dark Secrets. I couldn't put that one down!

***.5

In My Mailbox (7/11/2010)

IMM is a weekly Meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

I hope everyone is doing well and had an awesome week! I'm sure everyone is in the nice AC curled up with a good read, yes? ;] I had a great week in both books and general goings on around. Enjoy!

Movies
The Bone Collector
High School Musical 2 (yeah...)

Books
Frostbite - Richelle Mead
Blue is for Nightmares - Laurie Faria Stolarz
Plainsong - Kent Haruf
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Match Made in High School - Kristin Walker (already read, wanted it for collection)

Have a great week everyone! :)

The Year I Turned Sixteen - Diane Schwemm

Friday, July 9, 2010
Rose dreams of becoming a singer, but when her obligations as the oldest sister start to hold her back, she faces an impossible decision.
Sick of being the "good" sister, Daisy is drawn to a boy with a more dangerous edge and pulls away from the people who care about her most.
Laurel must deal with the loss of someone close, but a new love in the wake of tragedy might be just what she needs.
With her sisters all figuring out their futures, Lily feels lost, and for the first time she must figure out who she is all on her own.
With more than cupcakes and candles on their minds, each of the Walker sisters is in for a sweet sixteen that will change everything.
Wow...a 700 page book in two days!

At first I was only reading this book because it's my largest novel, and I wanted to get it 'over with'. After beginning to read however, I was really glad I chose it just because it was a charming book! These four sisters were very real to me and having to deal with real situations. The book is long, but the voices of the girls are so easy that you get right through it.

I thought the writing was great and sometimes was a bit melodramatic, but it was still good. At times you could tell that it was written in the 90's because of some language, but then they'd add something contemporary to make it more updated.

This book was excellent and I think all readers will find something they relate to with each sister, if not all of them, A great read for anyone who is looking for their place in life and embarking on a journey to find your inner self.

*****

Dreaming Anastasia - Joy Preble

Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.


In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams...

This novel was quite an unexpected surprise! I wasn't sure what I was hoping to get from this book but by the time I was finished with it, I was actually sad to see it end. The characters were deep and I loved Anne as a heroine. She was really strong but was still vulnerable at the same time.

I loved the spin about Anastasia Romanov and the whole Russian family and royalties fascinate me. The author certainly did her homework with the bloodlines (I'm actually quite obsessed with Russian royalties and Anastasia which is why I got this book to begin with) and she also added an intriguing element of magic with the witch Baba Yaga. The ending was a tiny bit weak, but it didn't affect my overall rating.

The sequel to Dreaming Anastasia is coming in January of 2011 and it is called Haunted. I took a peek at her website and the synopsis of that one s a girl being haunted by a mysterious and malevolent mermaid. I can't wait!


*****

Waiting on Wednesday (7/7/10)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
 
 The Deviners by Libba Bray!
A supernatural fantasy series set in Manhattan during the 1920s that follows a teen heroine reminiscent of two of the era's most famous literary women—Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker. The story will be a wild new ride full of dames and dapper dons, jazz babies and Prohibition-defying parties, conspiracy and prophecy—and all manner of things that go bump in the neon-drenched night.
I adore her and her writing so much - she seems like the sweetest person and I can't wait to get my hands on this one. I'm sure it's going to be fabulous because let's face it, she knows how to write! :) It is set to release in 2012.

In My Mailbox (7/6/10)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010
IMM is a weekly Meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

Wow, it's been way too long, hasn't it?! I had tons of fun in Florida with my sister and was so sad to come home! All good things must come to an end though, and it feels good to be back in the swing of things. I finally have an IMM for you! Yay! I bought three books in Florida.


Jekel Loves Hyde - Beth Fantaskey
Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
Willow - Julia Hoban

I know it's a little late, but better late than never! :)

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...


Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Once again, I thought this book was good, but I was anticipating it would be better than it was because of all the hype. The characters were okay, except I found it a bit irritating that Lissa tended to play the martyr sometimes, and Rose was a bit too cocky and presumptuous for my liking. I didn't find many of the characters to be relate-able,and I was thinking that Rose and Lissa need to kiss and just get over the sexual tension already ;).

The plot was genius and made me forget that I didn't like the characters too much and that was what kept me reading through the book. Richelle Mead has a gift for writing and I will consider reading Shadow Kiss for sure.

****