Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I got this book as an advanced readers copy from an ad in Shelf Awareness. Later on there was an ARC on the table at the bookstore where I work too. It sounded really good. But then it sat on my shelf for a month or so. The back of the book said the publication date was April 3rd, so I picked it up the 2nd to last week of March, and when I walked into work that week, it was already out on the shelves! So this is not an advance review I guess. As I said, the book sat for awhile, other books seemed more interesting, and thinking I had till April, I waited. Well, I was crazy. Once I picked up the book, I was hooked from the very first page! Such a good story. The characters are so well developed, the back story is all there, and I thought the action and plots were good. I was on the edge of my seat at the end when Ismae was trying to help Duval. Of course you knew she would fall in love with him, but she knew to be cautious the whole time not knowing what he might really be up to. Ismae's life was horrible. Her father didn't want her, he even tried to make her mother miscarry her with homemade potions. It didn't work, and Ismae came out with scars. Everyone in the village thought she was cursed because of that. And finally her father got her married off to a man that was even more vile, and on the night he saw her scars, she was rescued by a priest, who passed her through the ranks until she came to the convent of St. Mortain. This was a time when the old gods had become saints in order for them to still be given respect with the new church. St. Mortain was the god/saint of death. And the girls here are trained to be assassins. Something that really appeals to Ismae, to be able to get justice on men who do things like were done to her. Who are traitors to their country. She is told who to kill, and she knows she is to do it when she sees the marque of Mortain on them. And quite often the marque is in the spot where they will be killed, the neck, the head, around the mouth for poison. One good thing Ismae has is that she is immune to the effects of poison.
Her first two assignments go well except for one small issue with each one. In fact, as she is getting assigned her 3rd person, it turns out that person shows up, and wants their help. It is Duval. She is assigned to show up as his "cousin" which during that time, is assumed to be a mistress. And she must help him protect the duchess from the French and help her find the correct suitor to save Brittany, their country. Duval is under suspicion though. And there are traitors and subplots going around the high court. Ismae must figure her way through all this intrigue and also deal with her feelings for Duval and knowing if that is why she trusts him, or if he is really trustworthy and has the duchess' best interests in mind. She learns that maybe Death's mark isn't always the end and that people can redeem themselves in St. Mortain's eyes. And she tests this, and finds it true.
I could just go on and on about how good this book was. Now, I feel it ended in a way that doesn't leave for a sequel, and this is part of a series. But from the blurb at the end of the ARC I see that we will follow one of the other convent girls, Sybella, who had become a bit of a mystery once she left the convent. So now I look forward to reading her story. My only complaint, not about the story, but that my ARC was missing pages in two places. The first place is where we learn that Duval is a bastard brother to the duchess, the 2nd part is where Ismae has finally found the marque of death on someone she has been ordered to kill, and she decides to test her theory of redemption. But we miss out on the whole thing, just getting in at the end. I will have to figure out how my ARC pages match up the real copy and go read those sections.
This will count as my "G" in my A-Z Reading Challenge. 

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Shelf Candy Saturday #1

I've seen a few of the blogs I follow doing this post, and it sounded like a fun idea, so this week I'm joining in for the first time.  This event is hosted by Five Alarm Books. 

For my first week I've chosen the cover to the Soul Screamers Volume 1 compilation book by Rachel Vincent:

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but it doesn't hurt to help me pick the book up and look at it.  When I saw this cover I had to pick it up.  Then I remembered I'd heard some good reviews of the Soul Screamers series.  I just love the way the dress spreads out and all the different layers.  I own a copy of the first book in the series, My Soul to Take,  but I'm really tempted to buy this because of the beautiful cover, as well as it has the 0.5 novella in this series:  My Soul to Lose. 

Review of the book from Goodreads: 

It starts with a scream….New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent's compelling Soul Screamers series keeps getting better—here, for the first time, the original stories are compiled into one special volume….My Soul to Lose—The prequel: never before in print!—Kaylee is just your average girl shopping at the mall with friends—until a terrified scream bursts from her that cannot be stopped. Taken to a hospital ward, will she be able to save her mind—and her life?My Soul to TakeShe's always felt different, but now Kaylee discovers why. The screams that cannot be denied mean that someone near her will die—and she can never save them. Because saving one life means taking another….My Soul to SaveGoing on dates with her boyfriend is still new to Kaylee. But when the singer of the band they're seeing dies onstage and Kaylee doesn't scream, she knows something crazy is going on. Soon she discovers souls can indeed be sold….

First Impression of The Hunger Games Movie

Okay, as this is a book blog, and The Hunger Games movie is based on the book, I feel I can go ahead and give my opinion on the movie.  I'm not going to make a big deal about how the book is always better than the movie, because that just goes without saying.  First, let me say the movie was a really good movie, I'm not saying that it wasn't.  This post is just to discuss my experience and feelings about how it was done.  So I want to start with the good things.  The fact that all the actors cast really fit the characters in the books is a huge accomplishment to me.  So often the person just isn't who I imagined when I read, or doesn't quite conform to that when I see the movie.  Not so in this case.  They stuck right to the story, anything added did not ruin the story, in fact a lot of the stuff added really enhanced the movie experience.  For instance, the book is told from Katniss's point of view, so there is so much we don't get to see because of that.  I liked how the movie showed us the Gamemakers' working on the arena, setting up President Snow's role for later as well.  I like that they kept in things that you might have thought would be too hard to do, like the Tracker Jackers, and the muttations.  Even though neither were quite as horrible as in the book.  I loved the interview with Cesar Flickerman and Peeta.  I think someone who has not read the books will totally enjoy the action and imagery.  Now I was really tired, I'd worked all day, and then only took about a half hour nap before the movie.  Plus, I went and saw another movie about 3 hours before it started.  And, they kept the theater so dark when we were sitting in there, I was having some trouble staying awake.  So I'm guessing there are some details I need to watch the movie when I'm more alert to catch.
Okay, the bad things.  I want to preface this with this statement.  I am going to compare this to some other movies from books, but I'm not comparing the actual movie content or quality, just my experience with them in comparison to the books and being familiar with the books.  Okay, I feel that they did a Twilight movie mistake in not really putting any of the relationship building between Peeta and Katniss in the movie.  If you haven't read the book, you don't really understand the whole "boy with the bread" thing because you don't know how bad off Katniss was, you don't really see what happened to Peeta because of that.  Time with Peeta and Katniss in the cave was left out, so we don't get to see how Katniss must play this relationship, or how much she is playing.  I still HATE that they left out Madge, the mayor's daughter, the REAL way Katniss gets the Mockingjay pin.  We don't know the whole story of what happened to make Katniss even go out and start hunting.  And wow, Rue, we don't get all the time she and Katniss spent together and so when she died, I didn't even tear up in the movie, and I was soooo sure I would! I think this experience also compares for me to when I went to see The Lightning Thief movie.  Let me assure you that this movie, The Hunger Games, was a really good movie, while The Lightning Thief was horrible.  But my comparison here is that I have taught both of these books in my class, and so I have dissected so much about the stories, the symbols, the characters, and I know them in so much detail.  So that makes going to see the movie and having so many things left out hard to take.  Talking about symbolism, the lessons I got to use with The Hunger Games has a huge activity about all the food in the book, and what it could symbolize and how it fits in with the story.  And yet in the movie, none of that.  We don't get to hear about what Katniss says she likes most in the Capital, the lamb stew, that gets sent to her and Peeta for a feast in the arena.  We don't get to hear Peeta describe all the different breads from the districts, tying in so well to his boy with the bread image.  Haymitch doesn't do his dive off the stage at the beginning, such a big part of the book.  And Haymitch is just not the drunk he is supposed to be.  One last complaint, I'm glad the muttations were there, but I tried looking so close to see that they had the characteristics they were supposed to, and they didn't.  Oh yeah, and I think they were trying to keep it to a PG-13 rating, and so the violence was almost completely skipped over, barely in the background. 
In conclusion, I will go see it again.  I do think they did a good job with the movie for what they did, and I would definitely show it when it is on video for my students to compare a book to a movie and see what they think.  I do recommend it, go see it, I did like it! 

The White Oak (Imperfect Darkness #1) by Kim White

The White Oak by Kim White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this egalley.
Now, I really have been getting into stories about the underworld lately. So this sounded like a unique new take on it.
As other reviewers have said, the story jumps right in from the first page. The main character is Cora and she and her family are sucked into a sinkhole as they surround her father's casket at a funeral for him. Her father was a mean, abusive man. And now all Cora can think is that not only did he terrorize her in life, he's ruining her life even as he is dead. The whole farm they live on is on top of an immense cave system. She and her brother Lucas have spent their days exploring the cave. While Cora survives the sinkhole somehow, Lucas does not. Cora is met by a machine type object called Minotaur. Minotaur can change into anything, and he rescues her. But Cora soon wonders if she can trust him after being taken in by a woman named Sybil. Sybil writes people's stories. But she gives Cora the pen that writes them and tells her to go on and finish her story when it is destroyed in a fire. Sybil also tells Cora she will find her brother, even though he is dead. When Cora gets to the river before the Underworld, her brother is waiting for her. He helps her to get across the river and through the gates. But once through he is taken to where he is supposed to go, or so he thinks. He has been taken by Minotaur and his father/creator Minos. They use Lucas's genius programming skills to get him to stay. But Cora is captured and taken to trial.
Now, the story is interesting. However, so far I am a little confused. First, Minos, is this supposed to be the Minos from the myths? Or did I read that wrong? Second, I'm not sure about the whole computer programming bit, and how it ties in. And I have to say that the end is a HUGE cliffhangar, but so very abrupt! I guess it makes me REALLY glad that the 2nd book in the series is supposed to come out later this year, although I don't see it listed here on Goodreads. So, interesting take, just I'm a little confused about what exactly is going on. I did see another review compare it to the Matrix, and that kind of makes sense in that I did have a little confusion with the whole Matrix movie series.
I will add this to my A-Z Reading Challenge as the "K" for the author's name.

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Dark Eden 2: Eve of Destruction by Patrick Carman

I was lucky enough to get an advanced readers copy of this when Kristi at the Story Siren was cleaning out some of her shelves.  I was excited to get this as I hadn't read the first Dark Eden yet, and so I figured I could read them right in a row.  I did really like the first one.  And it ended in a way that could have been done, but also left with hanging questions, and a way to come back, and the story came back in the sequel perfectly.  At the end of the Dark Eden our seven who have been cured, all of them have been left with a side effect, which Will Besting knows why, but he has not let all the others in on the secret.  Well, one other does know, Avery, and that is because she is now with Rainsford.  Mrs. Goring has called the other 6 back to Fort Eden.  She says she has a cure for the side effects they have, as well as a way of stopping Rainsford.  Only, of course, she is still a part of his family, and does have her own evil reasons for doing all of this.  And so she traps them in what used to be a nuclear missile research underground lab and silo.  And forces them to figure out how to get to where the vials from their cure have been stored without dying.  It is a dangerous place to be, live radiation, huge holes that lead into polluted water, etc.  And come to find out, Mrs. Goring hasn't just invited them back, she's also trapped Rainsford and Avery in a room down in the underground.  And Rainsford gets out and throws yet another danger into the mix, because he doesn't want them to get the cures, because it will destroy him if they follow through with Mrs. Goring's plan.  Mrs. Goring has learned well and even improved her husband's devious cures, and now we have a new player in the game, Amy.  Who is once again, not who she seems.  I'm sure there could be a sequel to this, even though it seems to have ended with Will returning the final Goring 7 cures to their owners.
This has all the immediate links as you read through it, like inks to watch the cures that we read about in book 1 to start with.  I haven't gone to look at them yet, but I'm sure they will be really cure.
My only issue was that this ARC was missing pages 199-214.  And from the difference in where the story was on page 198 to what was happening on page 215, I know I missed some major action.  This will be one where I do have to buy the actuall book for sure so I can see what really happened!  It didn't totally ruin the whole story, I was still able to keep up with what happened, I just would like to know what events led up to the point where I joined back to the story. 
And again, this is a great series to get kids reading, with the interactive links and apps, it will pull in the kids who are reluctant readers, just like Patrick Carman's other books have.

Feature and Follow Friday 2012 #2

Feature and Follow Friday is a joint effort between bloggers to increase your following.  It is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  The point of the hop is to gain new followers, but also to follow others.  According to Parajunkee this week, I follow you, you follow me.  This week's question is:

What is the best book you've read in the last month?  What is the worst book you've read in the last month?

Hmm, that is a good question!  The best book I've read just in the last month would have to be Soul Screamers #1, My Soul to Take, by Rachel Vincent.  It left me wondering why in the world I hadn't picked up and read any of her books yet!  Plus, they have released that one, plus the short little novella they call #0.5, and the #2 in the series all in one book, with a gorgeous cover, that I may have to buy, because my copy of the #1 is a stripped cover I got for free at the bookstore where I work:  

Okay, the worst book is one I haven't finished, and am pretty much deciding at this point that I'm not going to because it is so bad, in fact, I'm debating whether to review it on Goodreads and explain why I didn't finish it.  It is called I'm With Stupid by Elaine Szewczyk.  The title and premise sounded so good!  But I can't really seem to care about the characters, or see why the characters like this guy, even though he is hot. It also makes me think maybe the chick lit novel I was working on isn't as bad as I thought.  I won't post a picture of it, just to try not to be too rude since some people may have read it and enjoyed it.


What are your best and worst books of the last month?

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

Now I have been waiting to read this one for what seems like forever.  Since I got to meet Patrick Carman last fall, and then the book didn't come out till November, then I didn't have the money at the time to buy it.  So it actually is part of my TBR challenge since I've been waiting so long. 
I really did like this book.  The main character is Will Besting.  He has been seeing a psychiatrist for a while, and she now thinks that there is only one way to fix his problem.  Now, Will is a bit sneaky.  His main issue is being around other people.  When his psychiatrist leaves the office, he goes through the files on her computer.  And the day she tells him about this "cure" and that he'll be there with 6 other people, he searches and finds the files for the other 6 people.  So he copies them to a recorder and takes them home and listens to them.  So by the time he goes to Fort Eden with these 6 other people, he knows all about their problems.  But, due to his problem, he chooses not to go with them, and finds a bunker to hide in on the premises.  From there he finds a room with monitors where he can see all his fellow patients, even see how they are cured.  He makes friends with one of the girls in the group, and even sneaks out to meet her.  But with his issues he is paranoid, and while he is seeing things the others aren't, he doesn't know what is something to worry about and what isn't. 
I saw what was going to happen when it came time for Will's cure, not in a bad way, just had a feeling that was going to happen.  And you wonder all throughout why the cures are so easy, but leave them each with different side effects.  But when you find out exactly what is happening, it's a good twist, and I like that it was left open for a sequel.  Which I am actually reading right now, thanks to an ARC I got from The Story Siren when she was clearing out some of her shelves.  I love when I get to read series books one right after the other. I often wish I would get into series after they were over so I didn't have to wait a year, or longer, in between each book.
What I also love about Dark Eden, and many of Patrick Carman's books, is the interactiveness, such as the app and website for this book.  The first segment of the app is free, you can find it under the keyword Dark Eden.  And the website where you can go is Enterdarkeden.com.  I learned when I met the author that he has a recording studio in his house and so is able to do all these cool things, which if you've read the Skeleton Creek series, you've seen some really creepy videos.  I brought these books in for our special education teacher to share with her kids who weren't big readers, and they love them! I think this is such a great way to get non readers hooked!

Waiting on Wednesday - Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

I haven't done this in a month or so, and since I'm on spring break I decided I'd better jump back on the Waiting on Wednesday train!  This is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  I've actually been concentrating on doing so much reading lately that I haven't really thought about what books will be coming out soon.  So I got onto Goodreads.com and went to the list of books for Can't Wait Books of 2012.  And did some looking.  I came across this title.  Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard.  It has zombies, which I mentioned in my last review as a new book topic I've become a huge fan of.  And the cover is beautiful as you can see, something not often found on zombie books.  Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

There’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Sounds really interesting to me.  How about you?  What are you eagerly waiting on this week?

The Weepers: The Other Life 1 by Susanne Winnacker

The Weepers: The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Normally I would wait until a month before the publishing date to review a book from Netgalley, but since I see that the ebooks were "published" already, I thought it would be okay to go ahead and post my review. Once again, I'll say thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this egalley, as well as Marshall Cavendish, the publisher.
I'm kind of surprised by how many zombie books I've begun to read. And really, while yes, this is a zombie story, the zombies play a pretty small part. They are there, they are a danger, but again we're really reading about the story of the people not infected. In this story the zombies are humans suffering from a scientifically enhanced version of rabies. One that takes humans over and can change them into almost beast like creatures, hairy, running around on all fours, or still pretty human looking. The title of this, The Weepers, was hard to find on Goodreads at first. That's because most of the book listings for this are under the title The Other Life #1. The title "The Weepers" is due to the fact that the creatures all look as if they are crying, they have "tears" running down their faces, and their eyes are swollen as if from crying.
The beginning of the book reminds me a bit of by S.A. Bodeen. Sherry is our main character, and she is living in an underground bunker with her family. We know how long she's been down there because she has counted days, and tells us over and over. They've been sent into bunkers we're told, by the government. But recently the messages from the government telling them to stay there until they receive notification it is okay outside, have stopped. And they've run out of food. Apparently the amount of food they brought for 4 years, wasn't exactly enough. Even with Sherry's grandfather passing away while they are there. Everyone is going stir crazy, getting on each others' nerves, and the end of the food supplies means they must make a drastic decision. Sherry and her father choose to go out of the bunker and try to find some food, also hoping to find out what is going on outside now that they've not heard any news from outside. Fortunately their family has had a history of hunting and shooting, so Sherry is prepared and not overly scared of shooting a gun, whether she's any good of a shot or not. As she goes to a large store, I think it was a Walmart, she and her father hear strange noises, and see their first weepers. As they are attacked, her father tells her to run and meet him outside and be safe. But he never comes back. Sherry runs into a boy named Joshua. He saves her, and takes her back to a place called Safe haven. But Sherry knows she must get back to her family in the bunker before they try to go out on their own and something horrible happens to them. She also must try to find her father, especially when Joshua tells her that the weepers often take humans to their nests, and stockpile them, kind of like squirrels with nuts.
The story line was good, and I like the science behind the disease. I also like that there is government intrigue in what could be going on. However, and I don't know if it's just because what I read was an egalley, and maybe not quite ready for publishing, but there were some grammatical errors. First, one sentence that really stood out and bothered me was this: "On the fifth floor we didn't have more luck". I think it's missing the word "any" before more luck. Just doesn't sound right. There were a few other things like that. Nothing that won't hopefully be fixed with a quick edit before publication if there is time.
Also, we get these flashbacks of Sherry's life before all this started. And while at first they seemed to fit in okay, towards the end they didn't really fit where they were going. Again, I'm wondering if that has something to do with it being an egalley, and maybe there is something wrong with the formatting of the pages. Don't know. I like the idea of flashbacks leading up to the current time, they just need to fit into the story more smoothly. I will recommend it, the story is good, just a few editing things to get straightened out to make it the best it can be.
This will be the "W" on my A-Z Reading Challenge.

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Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I waited so long to read this from when I got to read the first book in the series, Wither. I wished really bad I'd get an ARC of it since I'd gotten to read Wither as an ARC. But it didn't happen, so I had to check the book out from the store where I work. I gave Wither 5 stars I loved it so much, and this was really good, but had some of the same issues that a lot of 2nd books in a series seem to have. I was a little surprised they that Rhine and Gabriel ran into a trap so soon, but I guess I'd have realized that if I'd read the summary on Goodreads. :-) But it made sense because that is where they met "Lilac" and her daughter Maddie. It is also where we got the idea that their former housemaster, Vaughn, Linden's father, had more secrets than we had even begun to find out in Wither. At first when Rhine started feeling sick, I wondered, was she finally pregnant? It doesn't really ever say that she and Gabriel go that far. But I was a little confused. Then, when you figure out what Vaughn may have done, it all begins to make sense. I knew that the whole situation with Linden couldn't be finished yet, it just wasn't completely tied up, and this is how we get back to begin to deal with it. I was so anxious for Rhine to find her brother as well. And I'm glad we do finally get some satisfaction on whether he's still alive at the end. I'm almost wondering though, if we still have more to learn about their scientist parents, and if they were as good as a child remembers their parent to be.
So now I'm eagerly awaiting the 3rd book! It would be so awesome to get an ARC of that, but not holding my breath, so at least this time I'll be waiting the same amount of time as everyone else who has to wait till the book is actually published. In conclusion, I liked the book, and am still hooked on the story!
This book will go on my "C" for the A-Z Reading Challenge, for being part of the Chemical Garden series.

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Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

First I have to say thanks to Flux Books and NetGalley for letting me read the egalley to this book.  As I have mentioned before, I have been fascinated with the whole Jack the Ripper story for as long as I remember, and was really drawn in by the movie From Hell with Johnny Depp and the book Portrait of  Killer by Patricia Cornwell.  Recently there was the book The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson that also touched on the topic.  So when I saw the egalley of Ripper on NetGalley I had to request it.  And I have to say that I really liked this book.  There was a new take on who Jack the Ripper was.  And it included a somewhat detailed backstory, similar to the one in the Johnny Depp movie in some ways.  I did have one complaint, which I'll voice first, then I'll go on and talk some more about the story.  First, the author was trying to put romance in the story, which is fine, but it's like she was trying to get into the whole love triangle bit, and the way it was done, well, I just wasn't impressed.  There were lines about how Abbie, the main character, would blush and get all flustered around actually 3 different men in the book.  Okay, I do that, so that's okay, but it was just the way it was written, and I don't have any actual quotes, but it reminds me of all the bad things people say about Twilight, (which remember I love the Twilight series and don't really see what people are saying).  And it just seems to me that more authors would try to stay away from that so that people wouldn't say that, and this seemed to take that to the extreme.
So that's the one bad thing, everything else about this book I really liked.  We have Abbie, who has lost her mother, and has now gone to live with her grandmother on her mother's side.  Her grandmother had disowned her mother for marrying an artist and running away.  She now wants to make up for that with Abbie, so that she doesn't lose her as well.  But she still wants Abbie to grow up in the lifestyle she is such a big part of.  Her grandmother is wealthy, and in the social circles.  After Abbie complains of being bored with this leisurely lifestyle, her grandmother sets up for her to work a week or two with a doctor over at the Whitechapel Hospital so that she will learn to be grateful for her life, at least that's what her grandmother hopes she will take away from it.  But Abbie has grown up with quite the education while her mother was a governness.  She has learned to fight on the street, and how to take care of herself, as well as think for herself.  And going to the hospital only makes her want to become a doctor.  It is at the hospital that she meets two of these men that she finds attractive and become her love triangle.  She also is taken under the wing of the lead doctor here who encourages her to follow her dream of being a doctor.  While she is there the Jack the Ripper murders begin.  And Abbie learns that she has visions, and that her mother might have as well.  She soon learns that her mother didn't tell her a lot of things, and that her past wasn't quite what she thought.  As she tries to solve the murders that she is seeing in visions, she gets involved in something that wants her to become a part of it, and now her life, and her friends and family are in danger.
Great thought out story, great read, can't wait to promote it!
Also, this will be the R on my A-Z Reading Challenge.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (1)

It's Monday!  What are you reading? is a weekly event hosted by Book Journey where we share what we read last week, what we hope to read this week, and anything in between.  I first learned about this from Lost in Literature. 

Read last week:

Blood Rose by Andrea Cremer.  Check out my review here.

What I'm currently reading:

Transcendence by C.J. Omololu

I also pulled out of my car to read some more:  Revenge (Ghost Whisperer series) by Doranna Durgin.
What I'm hoping to start reading next:

I have a copy of Fever by Lauren DeStefano checked out from the store where I work to read next!

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I see there is a TON of controversy and dislike on this book, so I have to post my review here as well as on my blog. I loved the first book in this series. The 2nd was kind of slow, but I could see how it was necessary. This one was much better in lots of action and a REAL conclusion to the story. It's not one of those stories that are supposed to be a trilogy, but then at the end, all of a sudden it isn't quite over so we go on. My thought to those authors is to not call it a trilogy, call it a series. Even just to be safe. Anyway, beyond that. I will admit I am totally Team Ren, not Shay. But then again, I'm not Calla. It's like with Twilight, the book. If Bella had ended up with Jacob, that would have been wrong. And I'm only Team Jacob because of Taylor Lautner, and only after New Moon, so I'm more Team Jacob for me, than for Bella. I feel this book had a very logical ending. And I'm okay with who Calla ended up with, and with the way it happened. I loved all the different places they had to go to get the pieces for Shay to use to defeat the Keepers, and his uncle, who was actually a demon. Definitely some of the characters who died in this were some that were my favorite, but I compare that to Harry Potter, in that it seems more realistic, (yeah, I know this is fiction) if not everyone miraculously lives through it all. Plus, it adds more emotion and makes you feel more connected, I think. As I said before, I like that there was a very firm, no question about it, ending. While the Rift may be closed, they do also let on at the end that it doesn't mean all bad magic is over, just that it can't come from that evil anymore. I don't want to say too much that might give away the ending. And I can understand why some people were upset about it, I just don't agree with them. I understand their point about it not really being Calla's "choice" how it all ended up, but really, that was her choice seemed to be leaning towards, so....
The one complaint someone mentioned that I totally agree with, is the cover. I loved the original hardcover artwork , and am not a fan of the new covers, this book does actually make Calla look a lot older than she is.
I do look forward to the prequel. I think that will be neat to go back and see how it began.
This book will count as the "B" in my A-Z Book Challenge.
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