tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26668237020789696982024-02-07T10:27:48.106-08:00A Confession to Make......from a teenage bookworm - my little corner of the web for book reviews.Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-35184607315244052292013-01-23T14:36:00.000-08:002013-01-23T14:36:07.108-08:00Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBK9_Z9tk0eeHFKtLNkgTFoF40EeUOVwXTW_GGveO7tm9xC7R4cMQ7FgyY93kJU1G01P0jEiaM0vug4o0LewwmCohw-nk9oHTBfFC2ImD3IQgT3C-n_cGZD00obyqb9XTQKFWUmhgBMj0n/s1600/thirteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBK9_Z9tk0eeHFKtLNkgTFoF40EeUOVwXTW_GGveO7tm9xC7R4cMQ7FgyY93kJU1G01P0jEiaM0vug4o0LewwmCohw-nk9oHTBfFC2ImD3IQgT3C-n_cGZD00obyqb9XTQKFWUmhgBMj0n/s320/thirteen.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imagine you came home one day to find a package; within the package are thirteen cassette tapes. These tapes contain some of the last words of your classmate (and first love) who overdosed on pills two weeks prior. On the tapes, she explains the steps that led to her making her fatal decision; thirteen tapes, thirteen reasons, thirteen people…and you are one of them.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the subject matter, I really liked <i>Thirteen Reasons Why;</i> I think mainly because of the unique idea and Asher’s way of writing, which glues you to the pages, along with the content as you yearn to discover who is to blame and why. I also liked unique format and dual narrative – you have Hannah on the tapes whilst Clay, the recipient, listens and traces the of her story throughout town, bumping into various people on the way and giving the reader immediate reactions to Hannah’s words, instead of in alternate chapters which would have been a very bad idea. I also loved the atmosphere of the town, no doubt helped by the map that Clay uses and the fact that the majority of it was based on real places, that Asher has managed to capture in his wonderfully woven story. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My only complaint was that Hannah did not appear to be all that depressed in her manner of narrating the tapes (though I appreciate this is also representative of a person going through such a difficult time), and appeared more of a moaner who took things that happen to everyone way too personally and seriously; so although I quite liked her as a character, I found it slightly difficult to sympathise with her, especially pulling people who didn’t need to be into it, like the person with the other set of tapes, but I generally found her and everyone else fairly realistic and it was an usually accurate representation of high school. I also found it fairly difficult to believe that no one had any idea at all what she was planning to do, not even when suicide was brought up in class, leaflets were handed out and she displayed the classic symptoms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really (though I hesitate to use the word) enjoyed <i>Thirteen Reasons Why</i>, and it’s such a thought-provoking, well written and eye-opening novel that I really think everyone should read it.</span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGTzRH68KCKs5YfvgL63Cm-hgHKl_UvDBIdcsBI4sTA3x4wGQ4VnF6sA0NJPQqga-6yfHKbw0DlKkYD8FXyc02YEMG3MU2NLAIiCCiT_90r3KxoR90zV8WCa9-GhZJt1zqUBpWoOpOqzl/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRvPCKhkW8mNpDC7DT98mio2xxjVzxrUJAZBwdFywgVA6igo2TlJHUqrIZYSNGcazveAWF1rdiJ13C4keMV45XNUy5ExXtady3J1ldDxog8InmmkgUNc9SSyWxocGsMnOEpqIMgWGnXNN/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRvPCKhkW8mNpDC7DT98mio2xxjVzxrUJAZBwdFywgVA6igo2TlJHUqrIZYSNGcazveAWF1rdiJ13C4keMV45XNUy5ExXtady3J1ldDxog8InmmkgUNc9SSyWxocGsMnOEpqIMgWGnXNN/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;">__________________________________________________</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.</span></i><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-51067717370021283812012-08-09T13:02:00.000-07:002012-08-09T13:02:05.726-07:00The Demon Trappers: Forgiven by Jana Oliver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYgdXOeKGiU/T0zW8xg1wDI/AAAAAAAAAEw/eyS18oMvDrk/s1600/forgiven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYgdXOeKGiU/T0zW8xg1wDI/AAAAAAAAAEw/eyS18oMvDrk/s320/forgiven.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span initial="">**SPOILERS FOR </span><i><span style="color: #666666;"><a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/01/demon-trappers-forsaken-by-jana-oliver.html"><span style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;">FORSAKEN</span></a> and <a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/demon-trappers-forbidden-by-jana-oliver.html">FORBIDDEN</a></span></i><span initial="">, THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES (which you should definitely read first!)**</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve discussed how difficult I find it to give reviews of awesome books, but I honestly can’t do it! On the other hand, I do then I feel bad giving 4.5/5 stars to a novel with a tiny review that doesn’t really explain why I loved the book; so without further ado, I will list all the parts that I loved about this book (and yes, the vagueness is deliberate to prevent spoilers because you honestly should go out and read this book and I would hate to mar your enjoyment of this epic saga)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So the things I loved about this particular instalment:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The additional answers we get – I hate novels that think they can get away without answering major questions!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How caring Beck is towards Riley – this is how all men should act! (aside from the moodiness that is)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And on a similar note, how much I’ve grown to love the characters, especially Riley, from hardly caring about them due to the superb character development</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fun and witty writing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The shocks!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And, most epic of all in this book was the fight – much better than I was expecting and I love how creative Oliver is with her demons and such, though it was over a bit too quickly for my liking</span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only bad thing I can think of is the ending, which is one of those painfully-contrived-for-a-cliffhanger-to-make-you-read-the-next-book but that is only a minor complaint.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of those series that you<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><u>have</u><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to give a try – it’s seriously underrated. I cannot<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>wait</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for the last in the series<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Foretold</i>!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YkJ1G-C8OJpGpMqeNSj_EbV_59bupQyhXcAkAYMeqFmN77W9tx340T0VXN8vO2KWpFKf-oUWzG1imMRpsdnTbK47Kp-2rRV3TihEyvBDs9JqYQ7slAfcgCURjAQbNYwujByj29zN52Fr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRvPCKhkW8mNpDC7DT98mio2xxjVzxrUJAZBwdFywgVA6igo2TlJHUqrIZYSNGcazveAWF1rdiJ13C4keMV45XNUy5ExXtady3J1ldDxog8InmmkgUNc9SSyWxocGsMnOEpqIMgWGnXNN/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRvPCKhkW8mNpDC7DT98mio2xxjVzxrUJAZBwdFywgVA6igo2TlJHUqrIZYSNGcazveAWF1rdiJ13C4keMV45XNUy5ExXtady3J1ldDxog8InmmkgUNc9SSyWxocGsMnOEpqIMgWGnXNN/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></div>_____________________________________________________________<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666;"><b>[SYNOPSIS: </b><i>The days are growing darker for 17-year-old demon trapper Riley Blackthorne. With her father’s reanimated body back safely, Beck barely speaking to her because of a certain hunky Fallen angel, and a freshly-made deal with Lucifer, she has enough on her hands to last a normal teenage lifetime. Though she bargained with Heaven to save his life, her ex-boyfriend Simon has told the <st1:country -region="-region" st="on"><st1:place st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country>’s Demon Hunters that she’s working with Hell. So now she’s in hiding, at the top of everyone’s most-wanted list.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
<br />
But it’s becoming clear that this is bigger than Riley, and rapidly getting out of control: something sinister is happening in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:city>… or some</span></i><em><span initial="">one</span></em><i>. The demons are working together for the first time ever and refusing to die, putting civilians in harm’s way. Riley thinks she might know who’s behind it all, but who’s going to believe her? Caught between her bargain with Heaven and her promise to Lucifer, Riley fears the final war is coming – and it may be closer than anyone thinks…</i><b>]</b></span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-26590030313823018472012-07-22T10:30:00.001-07:002012-07-22T10:30:00.626-07:00In My Mailbox (19)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> and is my first ever meme </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">where you share all the books you received during the week whether it be from the library or in the <strike>mail</strike> post.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s1600/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s320/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I got:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKRjrKHjSO_SaIw69HyNNef93nWic9xgTEw2jgzPsyPqoGJJ6h0NEbjqR6fg5AehLzFiuyw_6p91COGsd0RGnP2xGQpUozUxXsCA2g0_q0mr65yVHumc6iyih4B4Ba1k_Tpie2jbiZnY_/s1600/20120717_130905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKRjrKHjSO_SaIw69HyNNef93nWic9xgTEw2jgzPsyPqoGJJ6h0NEbjqR6fg5AehLzFiuyw_6p91COGsd0RGnP2xGQpUozUxXsCA2g0_q0mr65yVHumc6iyih4B4Ba1k_Tpie2jbiZnY_/s320/20120717_130905.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Dreamless ~ Josephine Angelini </span></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(<a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/">MKB</a>)</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Finally! Can't wait to see how Angelini continues her saga :)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Fear ~ Michael Grant </b></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(Library)</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Already read; Grant is nothing less than a literary god - I adore this series!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Again, already read - such a stunning book! Cannot get over how much I liked <i>everything</i> about this amazing novel</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to check out your IMM :)</span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-40138727361338831132012-07-19T13:16:00.000-07:002012-07-19T13:16:18.074-07:00Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/Images/width/200/1f6da9f6-41a8-4d84-8494-9eb701013483/Books/Infinite_Days/InfiniteDaysMMEPB300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mykindabook.com/Images/width/200/1f6da9f6-41a8-4d84-8494-9eb701013483/Books/Infinite_Days/InfiniteDaysMMEPB300.jpg" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lenah Beaudonte is not a typical sixteen-year-old girl; for a start, she used to be a vampire, notorious for being the most dangerous of her kind. Secondly, she was made a vampire about five hundred years ago. Thirdly, her coven will be searching for her to reclaim her as their queen…and when they discover she is human once again, hell will break lose for Lenah and all those she loves.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sounds like an exciting and unique premise right? Sadly the fanfiction-esque writing, lack of character development and serious Mary Sue protagonist makes what should be a great book into a hard-to-get-through slog.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Inevitably hordes of boys fall in love with the beautiful, smart and interesting (despite the lack of evidence for all three points) Lenah; in fact, there was only one major shock for me in this whole novel (naming it would spoil though) whilst the rest plodded out exactly as I suspected it would. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only thing that separates this novel from others in its class is the amount of research that Maizel has clearly carried out, along with the amount of thought that has gone into the vampire mythology. If only she had put that level of consideration into making Lenah genuinely sound 500+ years old instead of the general confusion at today’s technology and the occasional dropping in of a sophisticated word to illustrate Lenah's true age, the novel would have been vastly improved.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interestingly Maizel uses Lenah to comment on the society of today, such as girls degrading other girls to make themselves feel superior and whether or not it had always occurred, which I found quite a nice addition. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found ‘I’ was way too overused – and yes, it is from a first person perspective but it jars the pace of the novel when you realise the number of times “I did this” and “I did that” it feels like an eight year old had written parts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nonetheless, I will probably end up pursuing the sequel <i>Stolen Nights</i> to see how the series plays out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaens1EDoYawBce_5bCDEVBF-tjzcWo2ZBhhEopvyl022REf65uIuW9lhhQLCkyHmhP0niagU-YB215khIyK5aCxcN_cyZBcz9XeEzZ1iE60SmIH8a11W-GrBsSZYzMGME_kfzwv2iKn9/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaens1EDoYawBce_5bCDEVBF-tjzcWo2ZBhhEopvyl022REf65uIuW9lhhQLCkyHmhP0niagU-YB215khIyK5aCxcN_cyZBcz9XeEzZ1iE60SmIH8a11W-GrBsSZYzMGME_kfzwv2iKn9/s1600/star.bmp" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaens1EDoYawBce_5bCDEVBF-tjzcWo2ZBhhEopvyl022REf65uIuW9lhhQLCkyHmhP0niagU-YB215khIyK5aCxcN_cyZBcz9XeEzZ1iE60SmIH8a11W-GrBsSZYzMGME_kfzwv2iKn9/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaens1EDoYawBce_5bCDEVBF-tjzcWo2ZBhhEopvyl022REf65uIuW9lhhQLCkyHmhP0niagU-YB215khIyK5aCxcN_cyZBcz9XeEzZ1iE60SmIH8a11W-GrBsSZYzMGME_kfzwv2iKn9/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">______________________________________________________________</span><br />
<div style="line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">SYNOPSIS</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">: </span></b><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">For 500 years Lenah Beaudonte has been a vampire. 500 years of seduction, blood and destruction. But she is sickened by her dark powers – and longs to feel the sun on her skin, grass under her bare feet, and share the breath of a human kiss. She wants to be mortal again. But is she really capable of being human, after her long years of darkness? Waking up as a sixteen-year-old girl brings Lenah many things – the life she has missed, taste, touch, love. But a vampire soul is not easily shed. And her coven – the four vampires she led in decadence and thrilling destruction – want their queen back . . .</span></i></span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> ]</span></b></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-39500585670730492962012-07-10T08:17:00.000-07:002012-07-10T08:17:46.076-07:00The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLg-neCUsTlQQIahxfeRe8_Xf2E0qqUyOy_Di1elrRvQpIjbVIevgMz9rEJV0-0tOAjBWVUJMUDT2mDCcJrWuIT7-DULwNC9zM7yEtMk0H-1BeRwpd_2S96x4ZPs9THkeMsFH-BsBIhC9t/s1600/The+Scorpio+Races+UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLg-neCUsTlQQIahxfeRe8_Xf2E0qqUyOy_Di1elrRvQpIjbVIevgMz9rEJV0-0tOAjBWVUJMUDT2mDCcJrWuIT7-DULwNC9zM7yEtMk0H-1BeRwpd_2S96x4ZPs9THkeMsFH-BsBIhC9t/s320/The+Scorpio+Races+UK.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thisby is a unique island where the resident’s lives centre around the capall uisce – beautiful but deadly water horses who rise from the sea. The residents either take care of the tourists that visit the island or are participants in the annual November Scorpio Races; those that are interested in neither escape to the mainland, which is what Kate’s brother is planning to do. In order to stem his journey and save the house, Kate agrees to partake in this year’s annual race, against all the odds and her brother’s wishes. It’s a difficult book to sum up, hence the vague synopsis and my own not-very-good attempt but it is an amazing read nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stiefvater maintains her beautiful style of writing, combined with very picturesque surroundings. However, I didn’t particularly like fact that we are given no indication of the period or of Thisby’s location in the world; this was probably to make the novel feel timeless but instead it felt a bit disjointed and messy to me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I loved the capall uisce idea – it is extremely original, believable and just generally well done overall as it really felt like fully developed age-old mythology; the world-building was extremely thorough, barring the missing out of details that I have already mentioned. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The Scorpio Races</i> features an excellent set of characters – you genuinely love some, like George Holly, and hate others such as Matt, although you are not compelled to feel so unlike in some other books – it is solely the way they act that makes you feel so. There was a nice pace of the romance developing, although in terms of action it was a bit lacklustre, particularly at the beginning. You really can picture the island, its customs and residents that Stiefvater writes so marvellously. One of my few complaints about the one other Stiefvater book I have read, <i><a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/08/shiver-by-maggie-stiefvater.html">Shiver</a></i>, is that the points of view of Grace and Sam were virtually identical; happily though, in <i>The Scorpio Races</i> the viewpoints differ a lot more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A simply stunning novel – very different from <i>Shiver</i> but still containing Stiefvater's 'magic touch' so I would recommend this book to everyone – I’m really not doing it justice in this review.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666; text-align: center;">______________________________________________</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="apple-style-span"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.</span></i><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-36808053613292336302012-04-11T09:44:00.000-07:002012-04-11T09:44:58.139-07:00The Fear by Charlie Higson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.horrortalk.com/images/news/colman-getty/the-fear/the-fear-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.horrortalk.com/images/news/colman-getty/the-fear/the-fear-01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">**POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR <i>THE ENEMY </i>AND <a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/07/dead-by-charlie-higson.html"><i>THE DEAD</i></a>**</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Higson wonderfully carries on his excellent zombie series with this third instalment. This time </span></span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">reading the prior books is fairly essential to the story and </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">we have a proper sequel and not just a prequel like </span><i style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/07/dead-by-charlie-higson.html">The Dead</a> </i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">was, as well as some nice links to all the gangs of kids, such as Waitrose, Morrisons, Buckingham Palace and The Tower lots. However, as I read the previous books a fair while ago, I found myself struggling to remember the kids from these groups, so perhaps a reread may be a good idea before embarking on the third book.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time we mainly follow the lives of DogNut, Courtney and a few fighters as they aim to reunite with their ‘Tesco van’ friends whom they were cruelly split from in <i>The Dead</i>, although they aren’t sure where they would be, or if they’re even still alive. London is as dangerous as ever, and a fatal mistake of leaving one behind is going to have serious consequences for them all…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <i>The Fear</i> was full of twists - some I saw coming, most I didn’t - with the same trademark fast pace that keeps you reading long into the night. Again, I have to warn off the easily disturbed and queasy as it is a zombie novel after all, and Higson does not shy away from gruesome events and descriptions, but this is not my normal kind of book and I found it added to realising the danger the kids are in and imagining the post-apocalyptic world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn’t enjoy <i>The Fear</i> quite as much as I did its predecessors <i>The Enemy</i> and <i>The Dead</i> – the plot and pace weren’t as tight and I felt this was more a lead up to the final books as it is a planned series of seven, which I personally feel is not really required. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to read the next one<i>, The Sacrifice</i>, probably this time next year.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">____________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">HE DOESN’T KNOW IT BUT DOG NUT IS ABOUT TO SET OFF A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT WILL AFFECT EVERY KID IN THE CITY.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></i></span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">The sickness struck everyone over the age of fourteen.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups . . .</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">They’re hungry. They’re bloodthirsty. And they aren’t giving up.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">Dog Nut and the rest of his crew want to find their lost friends, and set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world?</span></span></i><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-14582837630264962912012-02-25T18:18:00.001-08:002012-07-21T14:26:34.606-07:00In My Mailbox (18)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> and is my first ever meme </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">where you share all the books you received during the week whether it be from the library or in the <strike>mail</strike> post.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s1600/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s320/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I got:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCetlmn95Ne3b4-Owj6NvhgqpYlmun_FMvUvZvUizK5xdg1E2QIFGrBjqRMSbbFbO9zkqiV_GTdYyTbTrA1O5dLwZ-rZNbw9Mcx7w0eZ2QtJ3xInQt042Przn93k0gRMzup6Xuay_1RHF/s1600/forgiven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCetlmn95Ne3b4-Owj6NvhgqpYlmun_FMvUvZvUizK5xdg1E2QIFGrBjqRMSbbFbO9zkqiV_GTdYyTbTrA1O5dLwZ-rZNbw9Mcx7w0eZ2QtJ3xInQt042Przn93k0gRMzup6Xuay_1RHF/s320/forgiven.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://johngreenbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/PaperTowns2009_6A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://johngreenbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/PaperTowns2009_6A.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Forgiven ~ Jana Oliver</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #009900; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;"> </span></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(<a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/">MKB</a>)</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="line-height: 18px;">EEEEEP!! I love this series a LOT, so I'm really excited to get into this one, especially as each book has got better and better! Plus, I just found out there's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13487029-foretold">another one</a> so I don't have to say goodbye just yet :P</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Paper Towns ~ John Green </b></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(Library)</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've heard nothing but good things about this man, and I fairly enjoyed <i>Looking For Alaska</i> (review coming soon) so I'm hoping this is good :)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Forgot to take pictures again this week, but I promise I actually got them :S </span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to check out your IMM :)</span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-14381790711005311892012-02-22T12:46:00.000-08:002012-02-22T12:46:42.184-08:00The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://coffeestainedpages.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/the_knife_of_never_letting_go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://coffeestainedpages.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/the_knife_of_never_letting_go.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I always find it the most difficult to write reviews of books I loved; with awful books, I find it easy to rant why I disliked it, and put my feelings on finishing it into words, but with amazing books I never know what to put to be able to recommend so others have the chance to enjoy it as much as I did. This is the problem I have writing a review for <i>The Knife of Never Letting Go</i>, the first in the <i>Chaos Walking</i> trilogy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twelve-year-old Todd is going to be a man in just a month. He is the youngest boy in his town, and the only one who isn’t yet a man, thanks to the war that wiped out all of the women and half of the men in Prentisstown when he was a mere baby. One day whilst out walking with his dog, Manchee, Todd comes across a patch of silence, which, when you live in Prentisstown where everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts is a very dangerous thing; it’s time for Todd to run…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">The Knife of Never Letting</span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> go was very original and gripping, with a tight plot and fast pace, and lots of wonderful twists I never anticipated. I loved all of the characters, especially Manchee the dog and Viola, although I was annoyed because we didn’t get an explanation as to why she refused to talk at first. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The intentionally incorrect spelling and grammar, like tho and yer, severely irked the grammar Nazi in me, and almost caused me to put the book down, but I am SO glad I gritted my teeth and preserved as it does eventually add to its charm, and I would have missed out on this wonderful story. It takes a while to get into and to get used to Todd’s dystopian world, but when you do, it’s impossible to put down. I have to warn you that there are a number of gory, brutal and violent moments that I can imagine the faint-hearted reader would not like. I can very highly recommend it, and can’t wait to get stuck into the sequel <i>The Ask and The Answer</i>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRvPCKhkW8mNpDC7DT98mio2xxjVzxrUJAZBwdFywgVA6igo2TlJHUqrIZYSNGcazveAWF1rdiJ13C4keMV45XNUy5ExXtady3J1ldDxog8InmmkgUNc9SSyWxocGsMnOEpqIMgWGnXNN/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRvPCKhkW8mNpDC7DT98mio2xxjVzxrUJAZBwdFywgVA6igo2TlJHUqrIZYSNGcazveAWF1rdiJ13C4keMV45XNUy5ExXtady3J1ldDxog8InmmkgUNc9SSyWxocGsMnOEpqIMgWGnXNN/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></div>_____________________________________________________<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <span class="apple-style-span">But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?</span></span></i><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-70921205641316900442012-02-18T08:35:00.001-08:002012-07-17T12:47:28.843-07:00Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw42xR5CqzjS55jGNAJqEV3gcbQH5yzdcgWdd-2Vw1sNV0vBGEdaDHfglWf7gcKUUg9bOXICBE5DVOZ70GNtRy2XIviVnUyKE9MeKM9UwCpH0aTKHJuEvms457uZrsmAVWs-JSBn2NOdBt/s1600/dark+inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw42xR5CqzjS55jGNAJqEV3gcbQH5yzdcgWdd-2Vw1sNV0vBGEdaDHfglWf7gcKUUg9bOXICBE5DVOZ70GNtRy2XIviVnUyKE9MeKM9UwCpH0aTKHJuEvms457uZrsmAVWs-JSBn2NOdBt/s320/dark+inside.jpg" width="199" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An earthquake caused the end of the world; it triggered a change in people. Bloodthirsty crazy human ‘baggers’ possessed by a violent rage with black veins in their eyes perhaps wasn’t the way everyone expected it to happen, but they are certainly more efficient than global warming because in a matter of days civilisation has broken down and only a few survivors remain, clinging to life, or what’s left of it anyway; they include Mason, Michael, Clementine and Aries, whose stories of survival are the focus of <i>Dark Inside</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This had such an excellent premise but I feel it was ever so slightly let down in its execution, particularly the lack of plot – the four were clearly trying to survive and, in one case, find loved ones, but there wasn’t much else, unlike the similar <i><a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/07/dead-by-charlie-higson.html">Enemy</a></i> books which always feel well structured. Whilst reading, I felt it was a slight mistake on Roberts’ part to have four narrators as, although I did like the varied action, stories and a sense of the scale of destruction, I found it difficult to connect to any of them, none of them had a distinctive voice and I struggled to remember who was who, and what had happened to whom. I also found it annoying that you didn’t find out more about what caused people to become ‘baggers’ or whom Nothing, whose mysterious and confusing point of view we are also treated to, actually is, although it’s somewhat obvious; I have a hatred of purposefully unexplained stuff which can be easily explained in the first book – although I do appreciate you can’t reveal everything in the first book of a series – as I always get the impression it’s just to make you pick up the sequel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite this, I was seriously gripped by <i>Dark Inside</i> and its fast pace throughout, staying up long into the night to find out what fates awaited our protagonists and only very reluctantly putting the book down – it’s incredibly easy to get lost into.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The horror was very well done and of course you should probably steer clear if you don’t like that kind of stuff, although it doesn’t exactly dominate the book as much as you may expect; if you are a fan, you should definitely check out <i>Dark Inside</i> as it is a very good book. I love the cover too – I feel a bit stupid that it took me a while to work out that our leads are portrayed in the crack, but I think it makes a wonderful effect when you finally do realise. White is such an underused colour as well, so it really helps the book to stand out, along with the contrasting black and striking red – it’s a cover that, to me at least, screams ‘look at me!’ and I love it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic horror, a gripping fast pace or just a good overall novel, you should be sure to check out <i>Dark Inside</i>. It’s not perfect and it has a lot of room for improvement, but you won’t regret picking it up.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></span><span style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #666666;">______________________________________________</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><i style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Four teenagers on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #666666;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…. Now it’s our turn.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even worse is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, hooking on to weakness, turning the unwary into hunters, killers, crazies.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Mason</u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">: His mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground. Everyone he knows is killed.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Aries</u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">: A school bus, an aftershock and a crash. Pulled out of the wreckage by a mysterious stranger, she’s about to discover a world changed forever.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Clementine</u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">: An emergency meeting at the town hall that descends into murderous chaos. Outside the rest of their community encircle with weapons. How can those you trust turn into savage strangers?</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<u style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Michael</u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">: A brutal road rage incident. When the police arrive on the scene they gun down the guilty and turn on the by-standing crowd. Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad?</span></i><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-82541101869837847922012-02-14T13:54:00.000-08:002012-02-14T13:54:55.603-08:00Cover Reveal: Dreamless UK/rambling apology/IMM (17)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/Images/width/200/d198af90-cef6-4c39-b818-9ff60111cd92/Books/Dreamless/starcrossed-dreamless-978033052974701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mykindabook.com/Images/width/200/d198af90-cef6-4c39-b818-9ff60111cd92/Books/Dreamless/starcrossed-dreamless-978033052974701.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh my days...isn't it beautiful? I think I prefer it to <i>Starcrossed </i>- I just LOVE that shade of red! :D This has got me even more excited now - I want the release date to hurry up!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">~</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a completely unrelated note, I owe you guys a bit of an apology as well - I'm aware of how terrible a blogger I've been recently, but I've had fairly valid reasons (namely sixth form work, extra curricular stuff and me being really bad at time management) and I hope to get back into reading and reviewing sometime soon and I will be making up for it come summer :) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">~</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd also like to do an extremely belated In My Mailbox and thank the wonderful <a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/">MyKindaBook</a> for giving me the amazing looking <i>After The Snow</i> by Sophie Crockett - I'm sorry I'm behind with reviews for you guys too, but I have some lined up with more to hopefully come :)</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e9EYSNeAGXM/TywoRvUyu5I/AAAAAAAAAC0/8vqiwQR9Y98/s1600/AfterTheSnow300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e9EYSNeAGXM/TywoRvUyu5I/AAAAAAAAAC0/8vqiwQR9Y98/s320/AfterTheSnow300.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-78649050296440219392012-01-19T09:26:00.000-08:002012-01-19T09:26:03.472-08:00Sister, Missing by Sophie McKenzie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/files/shared/events/SISTER_MISSING_colourweb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/files/shared/events/SISTER_MISSING_colourweb.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I remember reading <i>Girl, Missing</i> years ago when it first came out in 2006, and absolutely loving it; however, I never even began to consider it as having ‘sequel potential’ – much like <i>Finding Nemo</i>, <i>Beautiful Malice</i> and <i>The Graveyard Book</i>, there could not be less call for a sequel, other than to ring in the cash cow; so it was dubiously that I accepted this news, and even more so when I ordered it from my library.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I was pleasantly surprised. The highlight of <i>Girl, Missing</i> was, for me, the unpredictability, and this is where <i>Sister, Missing</i> fell a little flat for me as I guessed at least half of the twists quite a while before they occurred, whereas I did not with its predecessor (although I was a lot younger at the time!). I love McKenzie’s writing – it’s rather simplistic but wonderful at the same time, and a joy to read. I like the cover – it’s very striking, although it took me a while to fully work out what the illusion is and the Lauren on the cover in no way matches what I perceive her to look like, though that may just be me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our characters are fleshed out even further than they were in the original, and my major complaint is that it was too short - I felt a lot more could have been elaborated on as I felt a bit overwhelmed at the pace. It’s wonderfully gripping and awfully heartwrenching, but I wholeheartedly recommend it; though you should definitely pick up <i>Girl, Missing</i> first to ingratiate yourself with Lauren’s story prior to the events of this novel, which is in my opinion better, though that’s not to say this isn’t a worthwhile read.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU8kM0P3HxsjK_FXYeDUA4_4Zu6ukTVKmPUFlrZdvEdwI6O63rMTneyg_9AJMxl-WShSshVsDBOz_xy-L5eiAidDvA-1sm9kVQtQY53nHqbiTKfJUDWGk7_MTS0QLxeBwaCbywumaxxmzy/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXXyCq5H_iRQUprWYx1mLRdx_RREkUbhAyjgHKIpdmq6lApkxYqIeEj0QHtPYyL4Ewx5yuad2OJpFuKTbRJYY7biBkt0t_QnENGdqp-HcTEF2zEkKVPicp5Qn8Wzt_NSHiB5iGahmTxt0/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXXyCq5H_iRQUprWYx1mLRdx_RREkUbhAyjgHKIpdmq6lApkxYqIeEj0QHtPYyL4Ewx5yuad2OJpFuKTbRJYY7biBkt0t_QnENGdqp-HcTEF2zEkKVPicp5Qn8Wzt_NSHiB5iGahmTxt0/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">______________________________________________________</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It's two years after the events of Girl, Missing and life is not getting any easier for sixteen-year-old Lauren, as exam pressure and a recent family tragedy take their toll. Lauren's birth mother takes Lauren and her two sisters on holiday in the hope that some time together will help, but a few days into the holiday one of the sisters disappears, under circumstances very similar to those in which Lauren was taken years before. Can Lauren save her sister, and stop the nightmare happening all over again?</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span></span><b><span new="" times=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-48282048235445929392012-01-05T11:23:00.000-08:002012-01-05T11:23:58.173-08:00Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5219305274_053318c07f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5219305274_053318c07f.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Darkness Becomes Her</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> was very interesting, and this was probably its saving grace. Our focus is on Ari, an orphan who’s always felt alone since her mum committed suicide aged just 21; in fact, it seems a reoccurring pattern with the females in her family…So when she finds a letter warning her of the danger she is in from her deceased mother, she has no other option than to run, and find out what from. Her search leads her into more danger than she can ever imagine, revealing more of the world than she thought possible…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Darkness Becomes Her</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> features a lot of paranormal and mythology to further the story and add to its intriguing – with vampires, witches and a fair amount of Greek mythology…which is butchered, yet again – Athena was the goddess of tactical warfare, not war in general – that was Ares! And though of course I am open to modern interpretations of how she would change and act there is no way she would drop the f-bomb or act the way she does in the book. Those are my main complaints with how Keaton handled this aspect of the book, which, without giving too much away is a pretty major part, and caused me to not enjoy <i>Darkness Becomes Her</i> as much as I would have liked, though I don’t suppose it would annoy people who weren’t Greek mythology nerds like myself. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did mostly like it, as it was fairly gripping but we have an awfully lacking instaromance, lacklustre writing and an unlikable heroine who’s supposed to be ‘sassy’ but is more annoyingly stupid, and accepts the existence of the paranormal creatures with little-to-none questions or freak out moments. I don’t really get the need for the teal eyes and silver hair – it only contributed to Ari feeling isolated with no other reason, nor why twenty one was the chosen age, though I hope this is explained in the sequel, which I probably won’t read.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, I didn’t really enjoy <i>Darkness Becomes Her</i> – it felt far too rushed, as though Keaton had been given a week to write it and didn’t plan much beforehand or make much effort to make events flow, although I can see others enjoying it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">__________________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b></span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.</span></i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Her search for answers uncovers a message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> her<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.</span></i><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-70497204382331880102012-01-01T15:42:00.001-08:002012-02-25T18:12:41.451-08:00In My Mailbox (16)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> and is my first ever meme </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">where you share all the books you received during the week whether it be from the library or in the <strike>mail</strike> post.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s1600/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s320/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I got:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AEHxIwMIPVk/TvOrbXZqCBI/AAAAAAAAAM8/8lQjegRT_sQ/s1600/IMG2623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AEHxIwMIPVk/TvOrbXZqCBI/AAAAAAAAAM8/8lQjegRT_sQ/s320/IMG2623.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Tempest ~ Julie Cross</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #009900; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;"> </span></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(<a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/">MKB</a>)</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Wow, this looks like a really good read! Stunning cover too :) </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>If I Stay ~ Gayle Forman </b></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(Library)</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I got this a while ago and forgot to take a picture :S Anyway, I thought it was alright, I don't appear to like it as much as other people do</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to check out your IMM :)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you all have a fantastic 2012!</span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-24080934754832124702011-12-29T12:51:00.000-08:002011-12-29T12:51:25.222-08:00City of Bones by Cassandra Clare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.book-club-queen.com/images/city-of-bones-by-cassandra-clare-21238827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.book-club-queen.com/images/city-of-bones-by-cassandra-clare-21238827.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I get why so many people adore this series, but at the same time, I don’t – everything feels very ‘samey’ like I’ve read it somewhere before and Clare has just poorly borrowed from the idea, which makes more sense when you discover that she was a fan fiction writer before she became published, and then when you discover she mainly wrote about Harry Potter, the similarities become striking – the Mortal Instruments are the Deathly Hallows, mundane are muggles, Valentine is Voldemort, Clary is Ginny – and so on and so forth…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Clare’s writing isn’t awful, but nor is it brilliant, and she makes far too much use of awfully pointless similes. Parts of the story were fairly interesting, but even the action scenes weren’t anything exciting, and I never felt worried for our protagonists, who themselves were pretty interesting, unlike most YA characters these days, but I still had issues with them, and they were <i>still</i> annoying – for some reason, all the boys were in love in our supposedly ugly Mary Sue protagonist Clary. And the random Luke-point-of-view chapter was <i>so</i> confusing, for me at least. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The quote from Stephanie Meyer on my cover didn’t particularly endeavour me to want to read either. I feel that <i>City of Bones</i> was way too long for what it was – we didn’t need the information dumps that we got about the details of the Shadowhunters and their world, and pointless dialog scenes. There was a very rushed romance and an-ever-so-slightly clichéd plot, although I did like the twists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite all of this, it was a fun read, and I’ll be looking to pick up the sequel, <i>City of Ashes</i>, sometime soon as I’m very curious where the story will head, and I can definitely see potential here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">____________________________________________________</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS:</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #666666;"> <span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....</span></span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-86216118866617636892011-12-22T12:23:00.000-08:002011-12-22T12:23:25.660-08:00Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Knife_Edge_by_Malorie_Blackman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Knife_Edge_by_Malorie_Blackman.jpg" width="204" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">**SPOILERS FOR <a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/06/noughts-and-crosses-by-malorie-blackman.html">NOUGHTS AND CROSSES</a>**</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">I loved <i>Noughts and Crosses</i> a lot, so I was very much anticipating the sequel, <i>Knife Edge</i>. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I did its predecessor, but it was still an excellent story nonetheless. This time we focus on Sephy and Jude, Callum’s older brother. Jude is on the run for being a member of the Liberation Militia whilst Sephy is struggling to cope following the birth of her and Callum’s child, Callie Rose; Sephy discovers something that shakes her world whilst Jude lets his heart rule his mind with consequences that will once again link the two…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Blackman has a way of writing so that you are literally inseparable from her words, no matter the actual plot; it was a bit slow and non-eventful in places, but I was still gripped. I had a few more niggles with <i>Knife Edge</i> than I did <i>Noughts and Crosses</i> – I didn’t really like the colour associations at start of each section or the song lyrics, although I did like newspaper snippets. It was refreshing to find the points of view being genuinely different, unlike some other novels I could name, and each character is really well developed and unique, which was something else refreshing to encounter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">The plot was very good, with a few nice twists, but I felt it lacked a bit of the intensity that we saw in <i>Noughts and Crosses</i>, and it doesn’t quite have the same impact, and is a lot bleaker; perhaps though it is suffering from ‘Middle Book Syndrome’ to set up for the final two books, which I’m sure will continue the brilliance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Blackman superbly carries on her <i>Noughts and Crosses</i> series, and I highly recommend you start reading this brilliant, powerful and thought-provoking series it if you haven’t already – I cannot wait to read <i>Checkmate</i>!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3-xWnOZHDQ-qkU3DWCnMwv2O9-8rJJNiEEysCPl0YlAdt7LSokfpqORUUVsvAW0h8hoUGB_o5i4DqwdsW1n5h5K9vxBuwUFs8ToYwObX9Va-VAoKC3uspogOFoM-CeTshyphenhyphen2UoSTm98Kr/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">________________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">[SYNOPSIS:</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Sephy is a Cross, one of the privileged in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts as inferiors. But her baby daughter has a nought father - Callum. Eaten up with bitterness, Callum's brother Jude, blames Sephy for the terrible losses his family has suffered. Now Jude's life rests on a knife edge. Will Sephy be forced, once again, to take sides?</span></i><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">]</span></b></span></span>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-74914503545996803942011-12-15T10:43:00.000-08:002011-12-15T10:43:33.504-08:00Junk by Melvin Burgess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-YkodDMsYD1upIds6A8oJl-Tr9boo8m9r1zWsZFe2wt3Jp3ZEunI_WKhe8alm81FI3AsYKyoo7a8SASxDZeCXKfXO5qCPZI9gjkl-2Eq9uZc7NHHb9O4wDA2yH3pn288pVagU4xVQNU/s1600/junk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-YkodDMsYD1upIds6A8oJl-Tr9boo8m9r1zWsZFe2wt3Jp3ZEunI_WKhe8alm81FI3AsYKyoo7a8SASxDZeCXKfXO5qCPZI9gjkl-2Eq9uZc7NHHb9O4wDA2yH3pn288pVagU4xVQNU/s320/junk.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NOTE: I believe this is also called ‘<i>Smack</i>’ – both titles are slang for heroin<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tar and Gemma are young teenagers who run away together; Tar has a reason, Gemma doesn’t – Gemma is bored of her life at home and sick of her parents, whereas Tar’s dad regularly beats him. They become squatters, and meet up with other runaways who introduce them to drugs; they are soon addicted, especially to heroin, and end up doing awful things like stealing and prostitution to fund their addiction. But whilst it is the central focus, this novel isn’t<i> really</i> about that; it’s about growing up – struggling and evolving as a person, or at least that’s how I interpreted it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take Gemma for instance – at the beginning of the novel she was an annoying and selfish character who was immensely dislikeable, but by the end she had subtly changed into a much better person. The novel was written in the nineties, but set in the eighties and still manages to feel as though it is in the present-day, which shows that this is an ongoing problem, and I like the messages that the book holds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I felt that there were too many points of views, some of which were hard to keep track of, although they did provide a good insight into character’s heads, and each one was unique. I wasn’t too keen on Burgess’ writing style – it was easy to get into, but a bit jarring at times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> It’s very bleak, realistic and hard to read some of the time, as well as being one of the grittiest books I’ve read, as Burgess doesn’t shy away from anything, and although it isn’t my kind of book (the reason why I’ve rated it lowly), I can see a number of people enjoying this powerful read.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">_____________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">[SYNOPSIS:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><em><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Junk = heroin = bliss = despair = a love story you’ll never forget.</span></em></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Gemma wants to fly. But no one can fly forever. One day, somehow, finally, you have to come down</span></em><em><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal;">.</span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">An uncompromising, compelling and true-to-life story of two teenagers drawn into the dangerous and destructive world of heroin addiction.</span></i><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">]</span></b></span></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-26143872721909557322011-12-08T12:22:00.000-08:002011-12-08T12:22:28.726-08:00Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRx-maAAOeTHRTsXExx1A2X5rXEGceBtgb6chrLLaeFpRyxn0zrl8gK6kcqMpz-mdiSD-qnfGEkzmAshRTImtY8XHvGCAkPOAPAGFOmMR9HoTM7fzeCFib5DbTKV69CpaIuMhz24b4xU/s1600/Vampire_Academy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRx-maAAOeTHRTsXExx1A2X5rXEGceBtgb6chrLLaeFpRyxn0zrl8gK6kcqMpz-mdiSD-qnfGEkzmAshRTImtY8XHvGCAkPOAPAGFOmMR9HoTM7fzeCFib5DbTKV69CpaIuMhz24b4xU/s320/Vampire_Academy.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> Morois are vampires who have to be protected from evil vampires – Strigoi – by half-vampire, half-human Dhampirs. Lissa is not only a Moroi, but a member of the elite royalty and as a vampire princess, it is very important that she be protected; it is lucky that her best friend is Rose Hathaway, a brave and able Dhampir. They both attend St Vladimir’s Academy where they are trained in various subjects – trouble is, they aren’t much taught how to avoid ruthless students, and which may turn out to be a fatal mistake for Lissa…<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <i>Vampire Academy</i> was really different to most books of the vampire genre and I especially liked the spin regarding the Dhampirs, Strigois and Morois. Our heroine, Rose, is sassy and likeable – qualities that you don’t often find in YA protagonists, let alone YA books – although she is selfish, arrogant and irritating, especially when she meddled in Lissa’s life. I found her to be the only interesting character in the entire book as every other character was pretty bland and predictable.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Mead knows how to keep you hooked by teasing you with information, like the girls running away, and not reveal the reasons until near the end, though I do feel that a number of pages could have been cut out as there wasn’t much of a plot to write home about, and it was pretty predictable. The writing was pretty average, but something about it made you want to write on – it was simplistic in a good way. I enjoyed <i>Vampire Academy</i> – despite its flaws and lack of impact on me (hence the relatively short review), it was a great read.</span></span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2buMMxODuTSuLmjTBqWsNKyY_4WlTykPOXzpPlOKpv-VlBF2HscP1J49js5VqzhhKPxGwktJxdNmKgLDLlZYZTBFqO-TJQEMlWLPBX_Xrn6shsgCIqM61yEsKGcjKOMxCns6XXofnKS/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2buMMxODuTSuLmjTBqWsNKyY_4WlTykPOXzpPlOKpv-VlBF2HscP1J49js5VqzhhKPxGwktJxdNmKgLDLlZYZTBFqO-TJQEMlWLPBX_Xrn6shsgCIqM61yEsKGcjKOMxCns6XXofnKS/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2buMMxODuTSuLmjTBqWsNKyY_4WlTykPOXzpPlOKpv-VlBF2HscP1J49js5VqzhhKPxGwktJxdNmKgLDLlZYZTBFqO-TJQEMlWLPBX_Xrn6shsgCIqM61yEsKGcjKOMxCns6XXofnKS/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2buMMxODuTSuLmjTBqWsNKyY_4WlTykPOXzpPlOKpv-VlBF2HscP1J49js5VqzhhKPxGwktJxdNmKgLDLlZYZTBFqO-TJQEMlWLPBX_Xrn6shsgCIqM61yEsKGcjKOMxCns6XXofnKS/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2buMMxODuTSuLmjTBqWsNKyY_4WlTykPOXzpPlOKpv-VlBF2HscP1J49js5VqzhhKPxGwktJxdNmKgLDLlZYZTBFqO-TJQEMlWLPBX_Xrn6shsgCIqM61yEsKGcjKOMxCns6XXofnKS/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6L2buMMxODuTSuLmjTBqWsNKyY_4WlTykPOXzpPlOKpv-VlBF2HscP1J49js5VqzhhKPxGwktJxdNmKgLDLlZYZTBFqO-TJQEMlWLPBX_Xrn6shsgCIqM61yEsKGcjKOMxCns6XXofnKS/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></div>______________________________________________________<br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">[SYNOPSIS<i>:</i></span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #666666; font-weight: bold;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></i></b></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">St Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school - hidden away, it's a 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 where the girls must survive a world of forbidden romances, a ruthless social scene and terrifying night time rituals. But most of all, staying alive.</span></i><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">]</span></b></span>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-26667043492490896282011-11-30T11:50:00.000-08:002011-11-30T11:50:35.693-08:00Divergent by Veronica Roth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialrWKx3tgtPDgnHSD3OeDAS75hPqSEpDRLM3-4Ame1jw9jcU8bfbfWFJSToIoN6LE9adQOcCree5r-OxxAsBe4LDURmsLxIlm-4QZDkxSOk_E56yeUN41IXMVuyArMjvgnorzp6ssqJo/s1600/Roth%252C+Veronica+-+Divergent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialrWKx3tgtPDgnHSD3OeDAS75hPqSEpDRLM3-4Ame1jw9jcU8bfbfWFJSToIoN6LE9adQOcCree5r-OxxAsBe4LDURmsLxIlm-4QZDkxSOk_E56yeUN41IXMVuyArMjvgnorzp6ssqJo/s320/Roth%252C+Veronica+-+Divergent.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Beatrice lives in a world divided by factions which hold certain traits of character highly –</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> there’s </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Abegnation (selflessness), Amnity (peace), Dauntless (courage), Erudite (knowledge) and Candor (honesty). When you are 16, you are subject to a test determining which faction you should be in for life, although you still have the final choice in the Choosing Ceremony, which tends to be the one you grew up in. </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Beatrice’s results, however, are unusual – dangerous, even – she is labelled Divergent, as she fits into more than one faction. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Divergent</i> sat in my To Be Read pile for months before I finally picked it up. Why? I assumed it couldn’t possibly be as mindblowingly amazing as everyone was making out, and didn’t want to be disappointed by yet another book. Thankfully, I was wrong - it <i>is</i> as brilliant as everyone is making out!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sure, there are a number of gripes I had with<i> Divergent </i>– although Tris was fairly likable, it really put me off her character towards the end when deaths hardly affect her. Roth is much more of a storyteller than a writer, a la J.K. Rowling, which isn’t a bad thing, but if we had some nice prose instead of dull description I might be tempted to give Divergent the extra half star; however, it does mean that the pages fly by, even if closing on five hundred there are perhaps a few too many. Finally, we don’t see an awful lot of world building, and you are left with a lot of questions regarding Tris’ society.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cover is pretty striking, especially the fireball and the rainbowesque shine that it has and I'm so glad the theme is continued in the next book <i>Insurgent</i>, but I don’t like the couple on the bottom, who look very photoshopped in, and I notice that they wisely aren’t on the US cover. There were some nice twists, likeable characters and for once a romance that was actually believable – I don’t want to say much else for fear that I may spoil the book, so I’ll just highly recommend <i>Divergent</i> if you haven’t already discovered it – a fun, gripping novel that I can’t wait to read the sequels to.</span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxMbL1EJeLxC_YuiYWGH-LlWHFU9nSP5DvfGloN09fGf-7A8qcblQlIJ0b3wk1EhyphenhyphenJpvO6mcJ0pIauSqFtzb6D6lznd5E_fRWJHId58fIdUb1VVPR0MtKsOr1ZK_UbEBa3x_ErZbqpsLP/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg430f-uTYnneZkbuTTbFELTtZMtNNJSx1eR27ihcEARuhTEM-Vgb6HotUJEhnVOhmTGCmCS8sXxI30P-2h7k7odUzO2H1wnBpOMr56qVcdw4CtEQHk9W3_RvgHGH1vlRl8Sl8m2injKoAG/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg430f-uTYnneZkbuTTbFELTtZMtNNJSx1eR27ihcEARuhTEM-Vgb6HotUJEhnVOhmTGCmCS8sXxI30P-2h7k7odUzO2H1wnBpOMr56qVcdw4CtEQHk9W3_RvgHGH1vlRl8Sl8m2injKoAG/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">_______________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b></span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">She turns to the future in a world that’s falling apart. For sixteen-year-old Tris, the world changes in a heartbeat when she is forced to make a terrible choice. Turning her back on her family, Tris ventures out, alone, determined to find out where she truly belongs. Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead….</span></i><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-46366551550982498822011-11-23T14:40:00.001-08:002012-07-17T12:48:11.806-07:00Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DXCnrULMAQTJvRqzw4CZzzEPraxA7rXKGpuKgqbx0xT1EXyMAkVojs3ZJ5IAPGFZLxMLPUx5xhyphenhyphenfIVgtNQNYgQQgee4CRvP45FbMTZ8yoFcJLE7XrFKHQfGAPUUEADB_MJhVVCQtWQ7R/s1600/Glow+UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DXCnrULMAQTJvRqzw4CZzzEPraxA7rXKGpuKgqbx0xT1EXyMAkVojs3ZJ5IAPGFZLxMLPUx5xhyphenhyphenfIVgtNQNYgQQgee4CRvP45FbMTZ8yoFcJLE7XrFKHQfGAPUUEADB_MJhVVCQtWQ7R/s320/Glow+UK.jpg" width="211" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In an attempt to preserve the human race, two spaceships – <i>the Empyrean</i> and <i>the New Horizon </i>– were launched into space to colonise a new planet deep in space, deemed New Earth; everything appears to be going swimmingly towards the end of the mission, until the first launched ship, the religious <i>New Horizon</i> slows down in what the <i>Empyrean</i> assumes is an attempt to meet up earlier than planned; except it’s not for a rendezvous – it’s to attack their allies and kidnap the girls, thus separating parents from children, friends from friends, brothers from sisters and boyfriend from girlfriend, including newly-engaged-couple Waverly and Kieran – will anything ever be the same? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i>Glow</i></span><span class="apple-style-span"> was very gripping, although I didn’t like the way the cliffhanger at the end was done, as it was obviously concocted to make you buy the next book, <i>Spark</i>. I found the plot to be pretty original, and full of great twists, along with being very beautifully written, although it is <i>extremely </i>dark. We’re treated to a third person narrative which switches between Waverly and Kieran’s point of view, although I felt a bit detached from the characters it was still excellently done, and Waverly’s viewpoint was far more interesting to me. It had a few minor flaws, as it dragged a bit in places (especially at first), I felt certain aspects could have been fleshed out further, Waverly and Kieran’s romance could have been made more of, and I didn’t like the offhand cancer comment on first page but on the whole, it was extremely enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m the first to admit that I don’t know the first thing about space and space travel, so I haven no idea how accurate Ryan’s detail is, but it seemed to make sense to me, and the regular scientific language used also helped to make it more authentic and shows that Ryan has clearly done more than a fair amount of research.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Glow i</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s unusual in that it’s a Young Adult book that is intelligent, philosophical, symbolic, believable, makes you think, where nothing is black or white, and it’s an excellent, highly recommended read.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBOUV0UrescO2WTAlqkm9RejwofjY1wja-85HAJ2G_Imeynk28ZrUnFcVOSGIiIza6J1DLdELXii8K3QhD5lW_TQL7nGzRInfYw6Fav5NiRXc7ugNmmFQQFqbm9Ll6R5M09fslvtthTOk/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5EeVukdB1KuCzGVMPZmQ1XU1XE-TADTW8b_alZgg6KnkxQcDfnGBR_uCuXXTC4wdzez3zIM_nWgERHxmwiUPCM4xpXZrrcSunkj5yDl7ss1kMk3si08VCQBeQi6hg5U7JCC6RA3Y2IYu/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5EeVukdB1KuCzGVMPZmQ1XU1XE-TADTW8b_alZgg6KnkxQcDfnGBR_uCuXXTC4wdzez3zIM_nWgERHxmwiUPCM4xpXZrrcSunkj5yDl7ss1kMk3si08VCQBeQi6hg5U7JCC6RA3Y2IYu/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">____________________________________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPIS: </span></b></span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">16 years ago, Waverly and Kieran were the first children born in space. Now a perfect couple, they are the pride and joy of the whole spaceship.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">They represent the future.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>The ship is their entire world.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>They have never seen a stranger before.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>Old Earth is crumbling, and the crew is hoping to reach (and colonise) New Earth within fifty years. Along with their allies on the second spaceship - who set off a year before them and whom they have never met.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">One day, Kieran proposes to Waverly. That same morning, the 'allies' attack - and Kieran and Waverly are separated in the cruellest way possible. Will they ever see each other again?</span></i><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">]</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-37223457195672511262011-11-17T12:07:00.000-08:002011-11-17T12:07:50.137-08:00Paranormalcy by Kiersten White<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1302502265l/7719245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1302502265l/7719245.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Evie is special – she is the only person in the world to see through ‘glamours’ – how every paranormal creature hides their true identify – and so is invaluable to International Paranormal Containment Agency, where she has lived perfectly content since she was eight. But weird things are starting to happen – paranormals are being killed, Evie dreams of frightening prophecies, and she comes to realize that the two are connected, and that is a <i>very </i>bad thing…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although at times when reading<i> Paranormalcy</i> I felt like I was reading really bad fanfiction, I came to realise that it was more of a ‘fun’ read than anything else, along with a breath of fresh air. Evie, our Mary Sue (beautiful, only one with a certain power, everyone adores her, everything works out fine for her, involved in a love triangle – I could go on…) protagonist is, like the majority of other YA protagonists out there, annoying, but she is also fun and full of wit, though I had to draw the line when I read that she has called her pink rhinestone decorated taser ‘Tasey.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We don’t get an awful lot of explanation regarding how Evie’s alternate world came about, although we do get a bit of world building and originality with all of the creatures and the whole ‘International Paranormal Containment Agency’ organization. I wish the cover had more to do with the story rather than Evie in a random dress in a random wheat field – it is pretty, but I think a lot more people would be inclined to read <i>Paranormalcy</i> if there was just a hint of paranormal creatures like faeries, mermaids, hags and vampires that are featured.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">If you’re looking for a bit of light relief and something a bit different, then </span></span>although I personally didn’t like it so much, <i>Paranormalcy</i> is for you – it’s fun from beginning to end, with a few nice twists and good storyline, although I warn you now that there is another bloody love triangle which I’m sick to death of by now, but the faerie involved is a very interesting character at leas; what's more, it features a, what I found, hilariously embarrassing quote from Becca Fitzpatrick.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vGNwYaiw6Q0fA_1bXZhIyCQqi90h7m91hNAdaLLQ86IYdpKZXrR4n1iI6muIMs1NDjjPrIM5bSpNcZr6rwq0l8kOvsJMazbida2EOne5rovRf8HfDKIz6dbIog5PH4lVURS9j6FyY-9K/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vGNwYaiw6Q0fA_1bXZhIyCQqi90h7m91hNAdaLLQ86IYdpKZXrR4n1iI6muIMs1NDjjPrIM5bSpNcZr6rwq0l8kOvsJMazbida2EOne5rovRf8HfDKIz6dbIog5PH4lVURS9j6FyY-9K/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vGNwYaiw6Q0fA_1bXZhIyCQqi90h7m91hNAdaLLQ86IYdpKZXrR4n1iI6muIMs1NDjjPrIM5bSpNcZr6rwq0l8kOvsJMazbida2EOne5rovRf8HfDKIz6dbIog5PH4lVURS9j6FyY-9K/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vGNwYaiw6Q0fA_1bXZhIyCQqi90h7m91hNAdaLLQ86IYdpKZXrR4n1iI6muIMs1NDjjPrIM5bSpNcZr6rwq0l8kOvsJMazbida2EOne5rovRf8HfDKIz6dbIog5PH4lVURS9j6FyY-9K/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vGNwYaiw6Q0fA_1bXZhIyCQqi90h7m91hNAdaLLQ86IYdpKZXrR4n1iI6muIMs1NDjjPrIM5bSpNcZr6rwq0l8kOvsJMazbida2EOne5rovRf8HfDKIz6dbIog5PH4lVURS9j6FyY-9K/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vGNwYaiw6Q0fA_1bXZhIyCQqi90h7m91hNAdaLLQ86IYdpKZXrR4n1iI6muIMs1NDjjPrIM5bSpNcZr6rwq0l8kOvsJMazbida2EOne5rovRf8HfDKIz6dbIog5PH4lVURS9j6FyY-9K/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">_________________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS: </span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> <span class="apple-style-span">Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the centre of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.</span></span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">So much for normal.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">]</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-51330398133357117062011-11-13T07:28:00.000-08:002011-12-22T14:11:52.350-08:00In My Mailbox (15)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> and is my first ever meme </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">where you share all the books you received during the week whether it be from the library or in the <strike>mail</strike> post.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s1600/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s320/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I got:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRtoYe-bMbtIA6eKAWDt_pdkXERnmDiC0p258pi0kVdy5AkGZrkFUzXtvIXLW89C_laTrcQDQ39xkicG9-84PKuIdtWpjCCdTlqkX405HOjXJmq9xsxfOQcA1EqMMCUwUY8TlFQHouaTl/s1600/IMG2425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRtoYe-bMbtIA6eKAWDt_pdkXERnmDiC0p258pi0kVdy5AkGZrkFUzXtvIXLW89C_laTrcQDQ39xkicG9-84PKuIdtWpjCCdTlqkX405HOjXJmq9xsxfOQcA1EqMMCUwUY8TlFQHouaTl/s320/IMG2425.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">The Night Circus ~ Erin Morgenstern</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #009900; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px;"> </span></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(Library)</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">This looks really special, I can't wait to read it :)</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>The Scorpio Races ~ Maggie Stiefvater </b></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(Library)</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Wow, this looks great too - seems like a really unique and intriguing story!</span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to check out your IMM :)</span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-53899213640194661972011-11-10T09:31:00.000-08:002011-11-10T09:31:29.331-08:00Torment by Lauren Kate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://laurenkatebooks.net/wp-content/themes/thestars/images//2010/07/TORMENT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://laurenkatebooks.net/wp-content/themes/thestars/images//2010/07/TORMENT.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">I would say there are spoilers for <i><a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/09/fallen-by-lauren-kate.html">Fallen</a></i> in this review, but honestly, the plot of <i>Fallen</i> is so predictable that you know from the moment you read the blurb that girl and boy will get together, so there really is no need. Anyway, the plot of <i>Torment </i>follows on from that of Fallen, and has a few added ‘twists’, which <i>Fallen</i> was lacking in; Luce and Daniel have to separate after finally having found each other because he has to kill the people who want to kill her, so Luce is hidden at a special school for Nephilim</span> (the offspring of fallen angels and humans</span>), where she learns a lot of things – about herself, the shadows that she sees…and Daniel through manipulating the shadows to see into the past, which isn’t quite his version…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the main reason I read and reviewed <i>Torment </i>(anyone else find hilarious irony in the title?) was so I could have its cover on my blog–I don’t know how each cover of the series is made to be so devastatingly gorgeous, but serious kudos to the designers, although it does trick people into reading the garbage inside–and to warn others who have not yet made the mistake of carrying on with the <i>Fallen</i> series to not do so. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I should mention the good points about <i>Torment</i> first – with every book she writes, Kate’s writing improves quite a considerable amount, and whilst I preferred the plot of<i> Fallen</i> as it was much less confusing and more interesting, the writing was a lot better here, although Kate annoyingly clearly likes to consult a thesaurus every now and then. Also, the cover is stunning, as I keep on mentioning, but seriously that is worth a star all on its own!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now the bad: what is it with YA romance that when you fall in lurve, you cannot be even comprehend being separated for weeks; yes, you read that right – not seconds or minutes or even hours but entire <b>weeks</b> – even if it is for their own safety it just makes everything laughable, especially when both concerned are annoying characters – I always find Kate’s secondary characters to be far more interesting than the protagonists. I found <i>Torment</i> pretty dull with a slow pace, and quite a few pages too many; but then when things started to happen, it got really confusing and left more questions than answers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">To me it speaks volumes that the snippets of praise for <i>Fallen</i> is from the Sun (a vile, lying, not-to-be-trusted scumbag of a newspaper) and rabid fans, who claim Kate is a “genius” and that Fallen was “the most romantic page-turner of all time” – seriously?! Ooh, and we have ANOTHER gorgeous boy who falls in lurve with Luce, whose lurve tale is a night-time story to Nephilim</span> for reasons completely unknown – it can’t possibly because she’s interesting or witty, as throughout eight hundred pages I haven’t seen a shred of evidence showing these traits – it’s inexplicable why most of the couples who fall in love in YA these days actually do – her only character development is to get even more annoying and even more stupid. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxT2N83wQQJdkDgEgkn9n3or2AiraWh1qB9D_yngHmq1_T8lKDKe2oUXpQtFYoSzxcmSliz6NWg5Xv116KENA95OT4m9OleKgPGXt_DzzPOcPOOLqtS_dDIFh5Tgiz2vzWSbg0u57xKTP/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxT2N83wQQJdkDgEgkn9n3or2AiraWh1qB9D_yngHmq1_T8lKDKe2oUXpQtFYoSzxcmSliz6NWg5Xv116KENA95OT4m9OleKgPGXt_DzzPOcPOOLqtS_dDIFh5Tgiz2vzWSbg0u57xKTP/s1600/star.bmp" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">___________________________________________________________</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[SYNOPSIS:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><i style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Torment<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>fallen angel Daniel and his mortal love Lucinda think they are safe but evil forces are massing against them. As Luce learns more about her past, and discovers that the lives she’s already lived hold the key to her future happiness; she starts to wonder if Daniel has told her the whole truth. What if his version of events isn’t the way things happened? What if that means that she’s really meant to be with someone else?</i><b>]</b></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-53943770884901944372011-11-07T09:19:00.000-08:002011-11-07T09:24:38.870-08:00Cover Reveal: Rapture and Dreamless<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://p.twimg.com/AdpuAbfCIAAksaI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://p.twimg.com/AdpuAbfCIAAksaI.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not the biggest fan of Kate's <i>Fallen</i> series, but I certainly am of the covers, and whilst I think this is an improvement on the heavily photoshopped <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T6LhWjSS5zLxKL9gUtikW2ztsXkApGn1V8OjoYKDpaijCX-EKhyphenhyphenQUeIdA3j7xtYq69PKfho90gSX43d_7_fYZdw2WkwFPdPJC-ykIGc-NTEg7WP_KhWOKa8jTQiYmYm2CiEqVNvl3d4/s1600/passion+lauren+kate.jpg"><i>Passion</i></a>'s, I don't think it matches up to <i><a href="http://laurenkatebooks.net/wp-content/themes/thestars/images//2009/10/book-fallen2.jpg">Fallen</a></i> or <i><a href="http://laurenkatebooks.net/wp-content/themes/thestars/images//2010/07/TORMENT.jpg">Torment</a></i>; nonetheless, it is still gorgeous!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.josephineangelini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Dreamlessfroncover1-198x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.josephineangelini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Dreamlessfroncover1-198x300.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I loved </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIH53l6fRbCU_UIzX4ujshC-L6he5Erin6u_3PHPU4UcjhV9i7QJfKIsRThAv6dIMGz87W46sbdK9rg_SaCvEONkWUxz9mJ5Io6gqRazElO4WFvat7Dh55d27ZPwO6X8ixKpYzLc1jWpU/s1600/starcrossed.jpg">Starcrossed</a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, and was thrilled to recently </span><a href="http://aconfessiontomake.blogspot.com/2011/09/josephine-angelini-interview.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">interview</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> its lovely author, and I think this is such a beautiful edition - I love how they've kept to the style and I cannot wait to see the UK version! Definitely my favourite of the two :)<br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are your thoughts? :)</span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-62529090041424970462011-11-06T07:50:00.000-08:002011-11-12T10:10:31.604-08:00In My Mailbox (14)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.thestorysiren.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">The Story Siren</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> and is my first ever meme </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">where you share all the books you received during the week whether it be from the library or in the <strike>mail</strike> post.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s1600/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK162qvDuEA3fuf4A-ph9u3tMmBwNeedV2FbcuG71VUwUnnpA3agjC3oTpZFv3II_TtR8sQz9JvEZU7d89R3YUyXjzQ8sdIh0ZsXAeb4iOFFHmiBXbdSdnzMFUbpZayij7xDnl5DYyBOc/s320/In+My+Mailbox.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I got:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2emUCDFwzirvnG-1P5D903sbW_6TWx0gYPSYKZ7Qz6pTAexZDNA6z3K8UymFx7qRE9swBUOJ46iAHARKJrQpS596VShyTlVOmqYYsb5VP6oH5YG9BaTr_7JdSz8inEuS26PGAfCyV8TV/s1600/IMG2404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2emUCDFwzirvnG-1P5D903sbW_6TWx0gYPSYKZ7Qz6pTAexZDNA6z3K8UymFx7qRE9swBUOJ46iAHARKJrQpS596VShyTlVOmqYYsb5VP6oH5YG9BaTr_7JdSz8inEuS26PGAfCyV8TV/s320/IMG2404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivgKIxmAG9Fu4rD4bfcdgaCRmpDdhPON4ar2ARoYTlZo8wW_8_ceuoMParzld9OFzX0E9yxUzvExdi6tXPGmgU5nIuAnG4upLn4rK6wcRux0rORg4v4wjcigs8U7to-t0Rqp9sFlGODXd/s1600/IMG2410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivgKIxmAG9Fu4rD4bfcdgaCRmpDdhPON4ar2ARoYTlZo8wW_8_ceuoMParzld9OFzX0E9yxUzvExdi6tXPGmgU5nIuAnG4upLn4rK6wcRux0rORg4v4wjcigs8U7to-t0Rqp9sFlGODXd/s320/IMG2410.jpg" width="151" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forever ~ Judy Blume </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(<a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/">MKB</a>)</span></b><br />
<div><div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I have to admit I've not read anything by her yet, but I have certainly heard of her and her talents</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>The Hunger Games Companion ~ Lois H. Grish </b></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">(<a href="http://www.mykindabook.com/">MKB</a>)</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I loved the Hunger Games so this should be good</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>Don't Let Me Go bookmark (won - thanks to Nikki-ann @ <a href="http://www.notesoflife.co.uk/">Notes of Life</a>)</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">This is very pretty and cute!</span></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to check out your IMM :)</span></span></div></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2666823702078969698.post-24026470578304727752011-11-02T14:37:00.000-07:002011-11-12T11:00:01.359-08:00POD by Stephen Wallenfels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.firstnews.co.uk/site_data/images/pod_cvr_4e0201a0d0bdf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.firstnews.co.uk/site_data/images/pod_cvr_4e0201a0d0bdf.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Earth has been invaded – nothing will be the same. Everything was normal on the day it started, until metallic spheres began to appear in the sky, and people on the street disappeared in a terrifying beam of light. The PODs continue their menacing existence in the sky, and the only survivors are those hiding in buildings, including Megs in California and Josh in Washington. Josh’s food supplies are running out, along with his unsteady relationship with his father, whilst Megs is frightened and alone, afraid that the dangerous men from the hotel next door will find her and throw her out into the street, or worse...<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I really liked the short, alternating chapters – they really pull you in to the story and leave you eager to find out what has happened to the respective character, as most finish on a shocking moment or a cliffhanger. POD has an excellent pace, and is very well told by Wallenfels; the atmosphere he creates is so realistic and tense, that you find yourself genuinely worrying that our two protagonists, Megs and Josh, will come to harm or fall victim to the PODs (‘Pearls of Death’), who cause anyone who is not in the safety of a building to disappear in a deadly beam. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both Megs and Josh have flaws (some purposeful, like Josh being a typical teenage boy – lazy, rash and selfish; others not so much, like Megs acting way above her age of twelve – it would have been much better if she were also fifteen), which generally makes them realistic characters, and contributes to how much the reader likes them and feels for them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I don’t like cover – I find it far too plain and simple for what it is, and I think it would put a lot of not-very-curious people off reading POD, which is a bit gruesome at times and deals with more adult themes, like cannibalism and suicide, so it’s not really suitable for younger readers. At first, I didn’t like the present tense POD is written in, as I’m not much of a fan because it’s rarely done right, but by the end I felt immersed in the action, although it was only within the last few chapters that I felt this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">POD reminded me of the <i>Gone</i> series at times, which, I hasten to add is a high complement, and I don’t mean that the stories are similar at all, but they both grip you in the same way, and make you genuinely fear for characters you come to care about. I liked the way the two protagonists are linked by the end, because at the start you are wondering why Wallenfels is choosing to focus on them, and it leaves you a bit confused. There were some shocking moments, but they propel you to keep reading to see their effect on particular characters, and make for more gripping reading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t read much of the Sci-Fi genre, so I don’t know if POD is completely original (though it feels very 'War of the Worlds-esque'), or how it compares, but although I have read similar dystopian tales, I found POD a unique and gripping read, which I highly recommend, even if POD isn’t your usual type of read, and I hope the sequel is published soon as I'm eager to see where the story will head.</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PjwMknbBZclc2Uaa4M3C3b0TvJcQy_F6GoPujpuYilExf7_dmsMxCXbDHPihjQCAVazOsZ_XEL9scDI1y3Mle59Jz9MTE5-ErRsfzVrhuvB72-T_w2pKB0yU3nNFZc__5aYhEyBFZZgb/s1600/star.bmp" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBrvuvZ8IS_6f8B97wiqH14_NU1ejicCZF4Te0Yqy70LP6bKkFzi8y3SAXgq8SorROVnWSlFHopknr2txdGGUyeKlkjXBPTo7t1IRqSjWGT7Tj7o-WCLWH743SpQYvr7In-yNxLINMXVb/s1600/halfstar.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBrvuvZ8IS_6f8B97wiqH14_NU1ejicCZF4Te0Yqy70LP6bKkFzi8y3SAXgq8SorROVnWSlFHopknr2txdGGUyeKlkjXBPTo7t1IRqSjWGT7Tj7o-WCLWH743SpQYvr7In-yNxLINMXVb/s1600/halfstar.bmp" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">__________________________________________________________</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">[SYNOPSIS:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">PODs - strange alien spheres hover menacingly in the sky, zapping anyone who ventures outside.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Will is 15 and stuck in his house with his OCD dad. They're running out of food...</span><u1:p></u1:p></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="apple-style-span"> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Megs is 12, alone and trapped in a multi-storey carpark. The hotel next door is under the control of dangerous security staff, but Megs has something they want, and they'll do anything to get it...</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">When the aliens invade, the real enemy becomes humanity itself. What would you do to survive?</span></i><b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">]</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></span></div>Aliciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05851093741297493551noreply@blogger.com0