“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine that highlights upcoming releases that we can’t wait for!
The book that I can’t wait for this week is. . . .
Ruin and Rising
By: Leigh Bardugo
Publication date: June 17th, 2014
The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.
I tore through the first two books in this series in the last week, and they were so good! Even better than I was expecting, and I had pretty high expectations going in. They even inspired me to make a design board that you can see here. I’m bummed that I’ve missed out on this series for so long, but also excited because my wait for the last one is much shorter. One more month!
This is me. I just finished Siege and Storm and . . . the feels are going to kill me! Luckily for me, it’s only a month until the last book comes out, and I can’t wait. I’m too overwhelmed to write a coherent review right now, but lets just say the first two books get 5 stars from me. I put together some idea boards of what I was imagining while I was reading the books. Enjoy!
Image Sources
Setting sources clockwise from top left:
1. http://holly-jayne.quazen.com/arts/architecture/10-most-unique-churches-in-the-world/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Katalnay_gorka_Ekateriny_II_v_parke_Oranienbaum_(Russia).jpg
3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/vamoose627/9248606914/in/set-72157634565927850/
4. Sergiev Posad. https://www.flickr.com/photos/72649331@N00/420771851/
5. http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian/videos/images/287.jpg
6. http://www.incredible-pictures.co/2013/01/church-of-elijah-prophet-in-yaroslavl.html#.U3ugJyhFIUU
Animal sources clockwise from top left:
1. http://www.harmanvisions.com
2. Deviantart – http://nightlyre.deviantart.com/art/Ocean-s-Fury-315552549
3. Source unknown – pinterest -http://www.pinterest.com/pin/180073685075331679/
The clothes sources clockwise from top left:
1. Source unknown – pinterest -http://www.pinterest.com/pin/180073685075331615/
2. http://tsarselo.ru/images/photos/c60be940e6907293e4900262bff02d7e.jpg
3. http://alixofhesse.deviantart.com/art/Grand-Duchess-Anastasia-redo-126473043?q=gallery%253Aalixofhesse%252F4827983&qo=285
4. http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/8015744
5. Etsy – http://www.etsy.com/listing/118538722/70s-vintage-red-and-black-fur-trimmed?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share
6. http://www.horse-drawn-carriage-hire.co.uk/
7. http://www.rubylane.com/item/307969-R3135/Victorian-Sun-Burst-Brooch-Pendant
8. http://americanduchess.blogspot.com/2012/02/v44-sacramento-antiques-vintage-haul.html
One of my all time favorite books is Vicious, by V.E. Schwab. She’s been talking about the latest book she’s writing, called A Darker Shade of Magic and it sounds awesome. Last week, she was also able to reveal the cover to everyone and it is gorgeous!! One of those that I would love to hang on the wall. So I thought I’d share it here so you guys can drool over it with me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t release until February 2015 through Tor books but I’m so excited for it. It has magic and parallel universes and London. Eeeek! Can’t wait.
And from Goodreads:
From V.E. Schwab, the critically acclaimed author of Vicious, comes a new universe of daring adventure, thrilling power, and parallel Londons, beginning with A Darker Shade of Magic.
Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands.
There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London…but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, who first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped.
This week on the blog. . .
Series Review: Eversea and Forever, Jack by Natasha Boyd
Waiting on Wednesday: The Fine Art of Pretending
Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Review: Falling by Design by Valia Lind
This week in real life. . .
So the 17th was my birthday! I am now only one year away from turning the big 30. So we’re going to a local park with my brother and sister in law and my dad to go do some canoeing and have a picnic. Should be fun, it’s a gorgeous day today!
Other than that, I’ve been working on the blanket I told you about last week. I’m making good progress and hopefully will be done this week sometime. Still working on the garden and trying to finish up the fence we’ve been working on as well so it’s been business as usual! The kids are in their last month of school, which they’re not too happy about. They’ve been so excited about school this year, which makes me really happy.
In book news, I just finished Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo which was sooo good! I don’t know why I haven’t read it before now.
The ends will get tied in later
We had a ton of rain last week, so we had some really awesome sunsets after.
Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
Falling by Design
Valia Lind
Publisher: self published
Date Published: March 12, 2014
Source: Purchased
Brooklynn Summers has a plan for her life: graduate from high school, get into a top fashion school, prove to her family that she’s not a failure. She wishes someone in her life understood her need to create because her parents sure don’t support her dreams, her sister hates her, and the deadlines are soon approaching.
Enter Grayson Banks.
There are a few things in life Brooklynn can’t stand: mismatched patterns, cheap polyester, and Grayson. No boy has ever publicly humiliated Brooklynn like Grayson has. When he suddenly moved away in eighth grade, Brooklynn happily wished him good riddance. But on the first day of senior year, Grayson comes back, with his piercing blue eyes and a smile that melts icebergs, he is not exactly the boy Brooklynn remembers. She quickly realizes that Grayson’s intentions have completely shifted, but she’s not sure if she can put their past behind her.
Grayson understands Brooklynn’s creative ambitions and he devises a plan to showcase her work to the world. When the two agree to work together, suddenly, there is more than just fabric paint that’s having a chemical reaction to its environment. Brooklynn cannot help but feel pulled into Grayson’s arms, but memories and misunderstandings surface, putting in danger whatever small comradeship these two childhood enemies have constructed.
Can Brooklynn overcome her own insecurities, finally making her dreams come true? Even a dream she didn’t know she had.
This is a story about a girl with big dreams and a boy who helps her achieve them.
2.5 Stars
My Review
So after saying that I don’t read that many self published books, I seem to have read two in a pretty short period of time. Oops. Anyway, picked this up after seeing a few recommendations about it but just couldn’t get past some of the issues I had with it.
What I Loved
1. Brooklyn, our main character, is an aspiring fashion designer. She’s dedicated, smart and determined to make it into a good fashion school to follow her dreams.
2. The love interest, Grayson, is actually a great guy. He takes care of his baby brother, volunteers and sticks around for all of Brooklyn’s indecisiveness.
3. I thought this was going to be a case of insta-love, and while there was some pretty unrealistic attraction in the beginning, the romance actually played out pretty slowly.
What Bugged Me
1. There’s nothing about this book that stands out. It’s a pretty straightforward girl sees boy again after a long period of time apart, boy used to be a giant jerk to her but now he loves her. Wow, talk about a run-on sentence. I kept reading it expecting something to happen, but at 90% in I realized, this was it. There’s not really any big conflict that drives the book forward. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of smaller things, but nothing that kept me hanging to see what happened. I pretty much already knew the ending before it happened.
2. The writing style. It’s not bad, but the writing is kind of stilted. Conversations don’t flow naturally, and there are some spelling/editing errors. A lot of what bugged me is the “show vs. tell” problem. A lot of the issues in the book that could have been demonstrated through the actions of the characters were just told to you. And that makes for a pretty dry book to read.
3. The conflicts in the story that Brooklyn addresses are repeated almost word for word throughout the story. Family drama makes up most of it, and you can predict the conversation before it happens. Also, a bigger opportunity for some action later in the book is kind of dropped in with no follow up.
4. Brooklyn is the most indecisive, wishy washy character ever. Grayson goes out of his way to do everything he possibly can to help her, make her trust him, etc. and she just continually pushes him away beyond all logical reasons. It drove me insane!
5. The story ties up neatly with a bow at the end. Conflicts magically resolved, no loose ends! It’s like a fairy tale. Except well, it’s not supposed to be.
6. Minor spoiler ahead —-> At the very end of the book, after pushing Grayson away forever, they kiss once and both immediately start exchanging “I love you’s.” Ugh. Could not have helped ruin the ending for me anymore.
So after writing all that, I realized I should downgrade my rating. I started writing this at a 3 but I’ve moved it to a 2.5. There were just too many things wrong that bugged me to no end.
The Author
Hi everyone! This Friday, I’m doing a Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by the lovely Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. I don’t know about you guys, but a big part of why I started blogging was to connect with a bunch of other people who were just as crazy about reading books (and talking about them) as I am! So the point of this blog hop is to gain new followers and friends. So please, leave a comment below, and I’d be more than happy to follow your blog and i’ll be stopping by as many as I can to follow you guys too! Please sign up on the linky below if you haven’t done so already.
This is a wordpress.com site so if you would like to follow me, please do so via Bloglovin or by email subscription. Thanks!
I was lucky enough to meet Rachel Hawkins at a signing last year but my camera ate the picture. 😦 Hopefully I’ll get to meet a lot more awesome authors over the next few years!
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The 5th Wave
Rick Yancey
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Date Published: May 27th, 2013
Pages: 480
Source: Purchased
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
DNF at 25%
My Review
So. I went into this book knowing it’s not my favorite type of read. I’m generally not a fan of aliens (Jennifer Armentrout’s Lux series being an exception) and I’m not a huge fan of science fiction either. But this one was recommended to me so many times over the last year that I’ve had it on my TBR pile for a while, and I honestly tried to go into it with an open mind.
Cassie is a 16 year old girl who’s survived the first four waves of the alien takeover of Earth. She had been with her family until a few weeks before, and now she’s on the run by herself, trying to stay hidden and alive. I thought I could get into this, I mean the premise is pretty cool, even if it’s been done in various forms plenty of times before. I think I could have gotten more into it if more focus had been on the aliens. In the first quarter of the book though, we just get some pretty bare bones descriptions of what’s been going on.
Cassie’s voice was also hard for to to get into. I don’t like to gender the way a character acts or talks as too feminine or masculine, but I couldn’t identify with her voice as a 16 year old girl. The things she said and the way she spoke were just really distracting. Ex. “I was like, Damn it old man, if you give me that g.d. condescending little pat one more time. . .“. I mean, I just never met anyone who talks or thinks that way, especially in the age range Cassie was supposed to be. The sentence structure was also pretty simplistic and it was a struggle to get through.
At a quarter of the way through the book, I was just bored. I wasn’t really interested in picking it back up, and I’ve decided that if I’m really not that into a book, I’m not going to waste time continuing it. I think this book could appeal to some people, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
About the Author
Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine that highlights upcoming releases that we can’t wait for!
The book that I can’t wait for this week is. . . .
The Fine Art of Pretending
By: Rachel Harris
Publication date: September, 2014
According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you’re friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date—Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.
With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from “funny friend” to “tempting vixen” is only a matter of time.
But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable “break up” leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.
I am super excited for this one! I love the idea of trying to find yourself and change how you’re viewed by the world. It’s a theme that pretty much everyone can relate to. And I love Rachel Harris’ books, so absolutely can’t wait until it comes out!
Eversea
Natasha Boyd
Publisher: self-published
Date Published: June 4th, 2013
Pages: 358
Source: Purchased
*Both of these books are romance novels and contain adult situations. Please note that these are not YA books. Thanks!*
An orphaned, small-town, southern girl, held hostage by responsibility and self-doubt.
A Hollywood A-list mega-star, on the run from his latest scandal and with everything to lose.
A chance encounter that leads to an unlikely arrangement and epic love affair that will change them both forever.
When his co-star and real-life girlfriend is caught cheating on him with her new director, A-list hottie, Jack Eversea, finds himself in sleepy Butler Cove, South Carolina. Jack hopes the sultry southern heat in this tiny coastal Lowcountry town will hide him not only from the tabloids and his cheating girlfriend, but his increasingly vapid life and the people who run it. He doesn’t count on meeting Keri Ann Butler.
Keri Ann has relied on herself so long, dealing with her family’s death and the responsibilities of keeping up her family’s historic mansion, that boys and certainly the meager offering of eligible boys in Butler Cove, have never figured into her equation. But fate has other plans. Suddenly face to face with the man who played the movie role of her favorite fictional character, Jack has Keri Ann yearning for everything she has previously avoided … and Jack must decide whether this funny, sassy girl is worth changing his life for, before his mistakes catch up to him.
Forever, Jack
Natasha Boyd
Publisher: NPRB
Date Published: November 25th, 2013
Pages: 372
Purchased
Keri Ann Butler’s life changed on the night she met movie star, Jack Eversea. She thought she knew a Jack that was very different to the man adored by fans the world over. In the wake of his betrayal and abandonment, Keri Ann has had to pick up and move forward with the life she was supposed to live and has put off far too long.
Suddenly Jack is back, and his explanations for why he left seem more and more plausible, and his declarations more seductive. But being Jack’s latest tabloid accessory isn’t on Keri Ann’s career agenda, no matter how much she is attracted to him. And how can she can ever trust him again?
Jack knows he let the only ‘real’ thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers. And his hands have been tied to try and stop it. Until now.
Jack is now fighting to save his relationship with Keri Ann, even as his crazy life threatens to tear them apart. Again. The question is, can he convince her she can have it all? And have him? Forever?
4 Stars!
My Review
Normally, I try and steer away from most self-published books. It’s not that I don’t think there are some great authors out there going a non-traditional route, it’s just that I’ve been burned one too many times by really bad writing/editing. And I don’t have that much time to read anyway, so I just started staying away from books that were self-published. I started hearing a lot of buzz about this last year though and I was in the mood for a summer-time romance, just a light read that I could breeze through. So I grabbed Eversea for my kindle and I was pleasantly surprised by it.
Keri Ann (ugh the name – not one of my favorites) lives in a small town on the coast in South Carolina. She’s been working hard to keep their house, waiting tables at a diner down the street while her brother is in school to be a doctor. Since their parents died, it’s just been the two of them trying to make it work. You can tell the author knows this area of the country really well. There’s a lot of good imagery and I felt this was one of the strong points of these books.
The author immediately introduces us to Jack, a movie star who’s trying to escape his fame and his ex-girlfriend by hiding out in the little sea-side town. Now i’ll be honest. I’m a sucker for movie star books. Or books that deal with the side-effects of fame or fortune. So part of that was definitely an appeal for me for this book. Part of what was so intriguing about the characters was that Keri Ann knew Jack as a movie star, and has a pre-determined idea of what he’s like based on what the media has been saying about him for years. She also loved the movies that he was in, had read the books, etc. that they were based on (you get a strong Twilight implied reference from this). It was interesting to see them try to have a relationship, when Keri Ann feels so out of her league because she thinks Jack is a player who’s going to love and leave her.
The romance in this book is definitely hot. It builds up fairly quickly, and the books center around the relationship between Jack and Keri Ann. Jack is very much a swoon-worthy leading man. He’s gorgeous, thoughtful, and knows how to work with his hands, fixing up Keri Ann’s house to stay out of the public’s eye and spend time with her. Keri Ann becomes his unofficial assistant, running errands so that he can stay hidden.
Jack has a pretty horrible past, and the two of them make a lot of mistakes when it comes to communicating and trusting one another. The first book ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, which I normally hate, but in this case it didn’t bother me since the next book was already out and I just read them back to back. If that’s a deal breaker for you though, be warned the first book will leave you hanging.
These books have some really good secondary characters, including Keri Ann’s best friend Jazz and her brother. They’re well-developed and do help the story out a lot. Part of what I really liked about the books was that Keri Ann saw the importance of being her own person. Faced with dating a really famous movie star, she was concerned about her wants and needs not being overshadowed by him. I thought that was refreshing, since I feel like a lot of the times, the girl in these kind of books gets swept away to be coddled and provided for without batting an eyelash.
The books weren’t perfect. Sometimes the writing came across as a little stilted, and I felt like some of the plot in the second book dragged along a little bit, but the characters really shone through and I didn’t want to put them down. Definitely pick them up if you’re looking for some hot romance and a fun, summer time read!
About the Author
This week on the blog. . .
My review of Poison by Bridget Zinn – 4 stars!
Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Covers I’d Frame as Pieces of Art
Waiting on Wednesday: Talon by Julie Kagawa
Ugh, only one review this week. Hoping to do 2-3 reviews a week, so fingers crossed this week is better!
This week in real life. . .
First off, Happy Mothers Day everyone! I have three little kids, so Mothers Day is always fun seeing all the things they make me at school. I got woken up bright and early to see them and we had a fun morning. I got my Mothers Day/Birthday (my birthday is the 17th) present early: a new Kindle! My old one died a while back and when I read e-books, i’ve been reading them on my phone. So my husband got me a new Paperwhite, which I love. It’s so nice to be able to read on a bigger screen again. Now to find a pretty case. . .
I also wanted to offer condolences to whoever might be hurting on this Mothers Day. I lost my mom over 11 years ago, and every Mothers Day is bittersweet. It never gets any easier, but I’m lucky to have a lot of good memories of her.
I’m on the left, my brother is in the middle.
One of my other hobbies is crocheting and knitting. Right now I’m working on a baby blanket that I kind of made up the pattern for. I’m super slow, so these take me a while, fitting in a little bit in the evenings usually. Hopefully it’s done in a month or so.
Granny squares FTW!
A few years ago I bought a nice camera, so sometimes I like to fool around with that as well. Spring is one of my favorite times to photograph, since everything is new. My brother got me a really pretty poppy plant the last time he was here, and I love up close photography so I’ve been trying to get a good one. I like the one below I think. How was your week? Do you guys have any cool hobbies? If I had the time (and the money), I’d like to try out everything!
Reading On The Farm 