Unremembered by Jessica Brody

This was one of the books that I got in my Fierce Reads box.  One I was so excited to see because I'd wanted to read it.  And at some point, I will probably be doing a giveaway with the books in the box, so stay tuned!

This book begins with a plane crash, and only one person, a beautiful young girl is found alive.  The trouble is that she wasn't even listed as a passenger on the plane.  And she doesn't even have any memories of who she is, or why she might be there. At the hospital that they take her to, the doctors try to discover what might be wrong with her, as well as figure out why she can't remember anything. Nobody comes forward to claim her as their family or friend.  Except one young man who comes to the hospital and says he will take care of it all.  But some of the things he tells her she doesn't know if she should believe as they are kind of out there.  All she has left on her is a locket.  There aren't pictures in it, but it has an eternity knot symbol on the outside, and engraved on it is this:  S + Z = 1609.  The weird thing about that is the number is the year she thought it was when they asked her what year it was.  She has no idea what the letters mean.  Finally she is released to go home with a foster family. They seem really  nice, although her new foster brother doesn't seem to be a fan of her at first.  Although she does eventually win him over, or at least convince him to help her when she gets ideas of ways to maybe figure some things out.  Again the cute boy from the hospital shows up and tells her they are soulmates.  But she still isn't sure what to believe.  He also tells her that there are people after her who are dangerous.  She continues searching for clues, even learning to use the internet.  But it seems more and more strange things happen.  She starts seeing a man following her, and gets so scared that she busts out of her foster mom's car, and I do mean bust, the door flies off.  Finally she goes to meet this boy, who says his name is Zen.  He puts this little patch on her neck and then she begins remembering things.  Soon, they are caught, as she is finally remember things, and Zen is taken as she escapes.  Now she knows she must go back to save him.  But what will happen?  Will she be caught and forget everything as they continue to do whatever they were doing?  

The story is a mix of time travel, genetic engineering, and some futuristic technology as well.  It was an interesting new type of story, mostly different. Although the plane part did remind me of The Missing Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  And the loss of memory and some super-strong powers reminded me of Mila 2.0.  But this story did take the different parts and tie them all up in a different story.  One that I can't wait to see where it goes next.

Stacking the Shelves - August 11th, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected. Another slow week, but again, needed as I have a ton of books on my TBR piles to read already!  I did actually buy one book, but it was not for me, so that doesn't count, right?

Books won:

I was lucky enough to win the book Joshua's Folly by Taylor Dean sponsored on the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop at Christy's Cozy Corners.  Along with the book, I got the cool bookbag and two packets of hot chocolate.

Books purchased:  

I only bought one book, but I'm showing you both sides, because the picture on the back is the reason I bought it in the first place.  You can see the big red dot on the front, that is one of the clearance stickers from Barnes and Noble, meaning it went to 50% off, then 75% off, and when I finally bought it, it was $2.00.  I got it for my step-mom, because I'm going to ask her to make the little wiener dog that you see on the back cover.  

Books from Netgalley:

The first book, The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond, is one I'm interested in because I am fascinated with Egyptian mythology, as well as I enjoyed another book by that same author.  The second book, The Troop by Nick Cutter, was advertised in an email from Netgalley in a way that made it sound really interesting, so while it is not one I might have normally requested, I did to give it a try.  It's advertised as Lord of the Flies meets The Ruins, two of my favorite books!

That's my haul this week.  And actually, as I started doing this post, I realized I had more than the 2 books I originally thought was all I'd be able to talk about.  So tell me what books you added to your TBR shelves this week.

A to Z Bookish Survey

I was needing something to post, and saw this idea on Eveline's Books, originally from The Perpetual Pageturner.  If you think it is fun, join in!  Hope you enjoy learning more about me from my answers.

• Author you've read the most books by:  According to Goodreads it is Carolyn Keene, the author of the Nancy Drew books.  Makes sense since I've pretty much read all of them.  Although, I'm thinking about my bookshelves, and I feel like my shelf of VC Andrews books is pretty full, so Goodreads didn't list her books at the top though.
• Best sequel ever:  That's hard.  I think I'm going to go with Because it is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin.  I loved the books and the 2nd one was awesome too!
• Currently Reading:  Unremembered by Jessica Brody. It's one of the books I got in the Fierce Reads giveaway box.  Not sure if I'm going to be able to do the big party like I wanted and talked about when I first got this.  At least not at my high school.  Guess being a college prep means maybe the kids don't read for fun as much according to my co-librarian and some of the teachers at the school.  So I may do a big giveaway with it in October on my blog for my birthday.
• Drink of choice while reading:  Depends where I am and what time of the year it is.  At home in the summer it is usually Crystal Light or Dr. Pepper.  At home in the winter it is usually hot tea or hot chocolate.  And when I'm eating, it would be water.
• E-reader or physical book?  I've answered this before.  I love my actual, physical books.  I only bought an e-reader to use it for the e-galleys I could get from Netgalley and Edelweiss.  But as my bookshelves keep getting fuller, I am beginning to see more value in e-books.  But still not enough to spend over $5 on them.  
• Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school:  Well, as I really only had like 1, maybe 2 dates in high school, there really isn't anyone I could pick!  But who is the nerdiest, best friend guy, that you could never really like?  Can't think of anyone like that in any books I've read.
• Glad you gave this book a chance:  I'm going to pick a pretty recent one, The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.  I'm never quite sure about vampire books, I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, and the Anne Rice books to name a few.  But I'm always leery of new vampire series.  But I'm so glad I picked this one up.  I loved it, and was introduced to an awesome author, as shortly after I began reading an earlier series of hers, the Iron Fey series, and while I'm not always drawn to books about fairies, I really got sucked right into that one as well!
• Hidden gem book:  One that I loved, and I know others have loved, but I don't seem to hear as much about it as I think there should be, is Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz.
• Important moment in your reading life:  This one is hard.  I can think of several.  There was the MASL conference two years ago when I got to meet Heather Brewer and Jay Asher.  And then there was my very first trip to NYC 2 years ago when I got to meet Cara Lynn Shultz.  And finally, probably summer a year ago when I got to go to BEA.
• Just finished:  The Dark Between by Sonia Gensler.  See my review HERE.
• Kinds of books you won't read:  Well, first off, I'm not a fan of Manga or graphic novels.  Don't know why, just never have been.  I like to just read words and make the pictures in my head I think.
• Longest book you've read:  I think the longest I've read is The Stand by Stephen King at 1,153 pages.
• Major book hangover because of:  Probably would have to say either Breaking Dawn or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  The ends to two of my favorite worlds.  I didn't want to leave them.
• Number of bookcases you own:  Let's see, I have 5 tall white bookcases with 5 shelves each.  Then I have a shorter 3 shelf bookcase, and short and skinny 3 shelf bookcase, and finally a really tall, really skinny 6 shelf bookcase.
• One book you have read multiple times:  This is something I used to do a lot, before I had all the TBR piles I have now.  My Stephen King books, V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic series and Heaven series.  I re-read all the Harry Potter books before I would go see the movies.  As well as the Twilight books.  And then I've read The Lightning Thief, and The Hunger Games several times as I used to teach them in my class.
• Preferred place to read:  Really I can read anywhere.  But I prefer to read on my couch, in my spot on the couch, in my living room.
• Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:  This is hard.  I don't always remember exact quotes from books.  So, hmm.  Let's see, let me think.  Okay, I'm going to pick two from Twilight, they're not inspirational, just ones that made me smile, and I remember the books fondly when I hear them.  "Stupid, shiny Volvo owner."  "Sure, sure."
• Reading regret:  Hmm, this one is hard.  Not sure I have a lot of regrets.  I'm going to say none.  Although I wish maybe I'd been a kid when Harry Potter came out, I'm just as glad to have read it at the age I did.  Maybe a regret could be that I wished I'd thought about being a librarian when I first got to college instead of being a science teacher.
• Series you started and need to finish (all books are out in the series):  Probably the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I only have two more.
• Three of your all time favorite books:  Remember it is hard for a book lover to pick just one, or three, but here are the 3 that come to my mind first:  Twilight (of course), It by Stephen King, Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews.
• Unapologetic fangirl for:  I'll say it over and over, the Twilight series.  I actually have a tattoo of the original cover of the first book on my shoulder.
• Very excited for this release more than all the others:  At the moment it is Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater.   After that it will be Allegiant by Veronica Roth.
• Worst bookish habit:  Hmm, something I used to always do, and now only occasionally do with my paperbacks is fold the cover over to mark the page.  If you look at any of my books from the days before I had so many books, you will see that I probably folded every page in the book at one time since I read them over and over.
• X marks the spot:  Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:  The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson.
• Your latest book purchase:  I think it was The Douche Journals from the TV show The New Girl.
• ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):  Untold (The Lynburn Legacy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan.  Loved it!  Just like the first book in the series.

So, feel free to comment what you think about any of my letters.  And then go post it on your own blog!

Happy 4th Blogoversary to Me!!

I'm so excited to share my 4th Blogoversary with all my followers, old and new!  It's been a great year, met a lot more authors at the Romantic Times Convention that took place in my hometown of Kansas City this past May.  Finally figured out how to use Edelweiss and I got some cool e-galleys from that.  And I finally got a library job for this school year!  And of course I'd love to share the fun of this with you!  While I won't be doing the all month thing that I did last year, too busy with my new job this year, I intend to have a good giveaway this time.

Looking back at last year's post, I see that it has been a year since I won the contest to name one of Jonathan Maberry's novellas to his Rot and Ruin series.  Tooth and Nail came out just a bit ago, and you can click on it's title in this sentence to go buy it if you want to!

Since it is my 4th year, I'll give away $40 to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  And since I haven't had a chance to celebrate the fact that I hit 1500 followers, I'll have a 2nd prize of $15 to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  There will be a 3rd prize of some swag I have from the Romatic Times Convention and other Swag I have.  And, if by chance I make it to 1600 fans by the end of the month, I'll add $10 to the first prize, and $5 to the 2nd and 3rd prizes.  How does that sound?  Good?  I hope so.  Thanks to all of you who have followed me and commented.  I appreciate all of you, and enjoy reading your blogs as well!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Dark Between by Sonia Gensler

First thanks to Edelweiss and Knopf Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book.  I'm glad to see more ghost stories these days, or at least it seems like there is more.  Although while this is a ghost story, and that is a main theme throughout the story, it is not as if that is all that happens.
There are 3 main characters.  First we meet Kate.  Kate works for a medium, but one who fakes thins for her customers.  The way she fakes things is by having Kate appear during part of the seance looking like a ghostly creature, then she'll disappear.  She also has boys who live on the street that will do investigating for her of her customers, so that she can find out the things that will convince them she is for real, because how else would she know these things?  Well we begin with one of these very seances.  All is going as planned until someone says the name Frederic Stanton.  This shocks Kate as she is "disappearing back into the spot behind the medium's chair, and the cover to her hiding spot drops loudly.  At which point she is grabbed by one of the men there and the medium is said to be a fraud.  Turns out this man is Kate's father, or was.  She was illegitimate.  He supported her and her mother, but one day the money stopped, and now Kate knows it was because he died.  Unfortunately now that she has been unmasked in front of the patrons, she is fired.  She goes to hang out with her friends, the street boys, and tries to figure out what she will do next.  Her friend Billy, who is about 8 years old, is getting ready to do some really important investigating, and wants to trade his knife to Kate so she will be safe.  And in exchange, he holds her father's watch.  He tells her if he doesn't come back in the morning, the deal will have gone wrong.
When he doesn't come back, Kate fears the worst as he said, and decides to go to the man who caused her to get fired and demand that he make up for her lost job.  The man is Mr. Thompson.  He lives and works at the local women's college, Summerfield.  So she heads to the college.  As she approaches the gates trying to get past the man at the gate, a young man walks up.  This is our 2nd main character, his name is Asher.  Asher is a man unhappy with his father, and things that happened to his family.  He has come to Summerfield as well, to visit with Mr. Thompson, as he is a friend of his father.  He is able to convince the man at the gate to let them in, especially when Elsie, Miss Atherton is asked to show them around while they wait to meet with Mr. Thompson.  Elsie is a photographer  And she has seizures, one happens at this very first meeting.  She also takes a medicine for it that makes her very sluggish.  As Kate must run to get her medicine, and then Asher carries her inside the house, they are thanked by the Thompsons.  And are asked to stay.  Even Kate, after she tells Mr. Thompson why she is there, is asked to stay, and given something to help out with while she is there.  The three of them spend a lot of time together, and we soon learn that Elsie sometimes sees ghosts when she has her fits.  And when Billy's body turns up dead, Kate begins to wonder what happened to him, as well as what this all may have to do with her father.  The three get involved in the mystery, searching to find answers.
I enjoyed this book.  I feel that Elsie annoyed me a bit with her almost insta-love it seemed.  But I like that it wasn't the true insta-love, in that it didn't work out.  And that Kate would call her on it.  I think that the story left off in a way that could be the end, or that there could be more.  And I would be interested to see what happens next with these characters.  There was some interesting science type stuff in the story, which I've always, as a former science teacher, been intrigued by how science is used to try to prove ghosts exist.  At the end of the book the author also included some information about what science topics were actually going on during that time period, and even gives suggestions for those who want to learn more.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Worlds We Make (Fallen World #3) by Megan Crewe

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. My choice this week is the final installment in a post-apocalyptic trilogy that I've really enjoyed and been lucky enough to read e-galleys of the first two.  Here is the blurb for it from Goodreads.com:

When Kaelyn and her friends reached Toronto with a vaccine for the virus that has ravaged the population, they thought their journey was over—but hope has eluded them once again. Now there is a dangerous group of survivors intent on tracking them down and stealing the cure no matter the costs.Forced onto the road again, Kaelyn redoubles her efforts to find a safe haven. But when the rest of her group starts to fall apart, the chances for her success grow slim. Kaelyn's resolve is strong, but is she willing to surrender everything in order to stay alive?

I've really enjoyed the series, and can't wait to see how it will finish up.  What book or books are you eagerly awaiting this week?

Teaser Tuesday - August 6th, 2013

I've been crazy busy with my first real week at my new job, well with meetings and such, and my review isn't ready yet since I just started my newest book, so today to meet my every day post will be another Teaser Tuesday.  Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser:

"Asher had little regard for young ladies, having yet to encounter one who wasn't a hardened schemer, but a curious feeling of tenderness settled over him as he carried Elsie Atherton toward the college buildings.  With her head resting against his chest, all that mattered was to have her peaceful and smiling again."

~ p. 28 - "The Dark Between" by Sonia Gensler

From Bad to Cursed (Bad Girls Don't Die #2) by Katie Alender

I got this book for a good deal at a Scholastic Book Warehouse last December, bought it the same time as I bought the first one, Bad Girls Don't Die, which you can see by clicking the linked title that I loved!  This one was still good, but kind of seemed a bit longer and maybe went on a bit longer than it needed to.  I don't know, it was still good.
Our same characters are back in this one, Alexis and her sister Kasey, Alexis's best friend Megan, Alexis's boyfriend Carter, and even Lydia, who had been one of her friends at the beginning of the first book.  We start out and Kasey is away at a special place for people who need to get away.  The family now lives in a neighborhood where all the houses look the same.  Kasey comes back from school and will be going to high school with Alexis.  She soon meets some girls to be friends with, and joins the Sunshine Club.  All the girls in this club start dressing very nice, and wearing makeup, doing better in school, and holding each other to the high standards.  Kasey tells Alexis that she thinks there is something weird with the group.  Some weird things happen with a Ouija board, and then when Alexis goes to pick Kasey up at a party, so she kind of believes her.  In order to try to save or stop or just find out what is going on, Alexis and Morgan go to one of the Sunshine Club meetings with Kasey and join.  Only now they've said the oath, and they're in.  At the same time Alexis has entered a photography contest, and actually becomes one of the finalists.  Turns out that the famous photographer that Alexis has admired was also once in a similar club, they are all Aralt's girls.  Aralt is a ghost, or a man that lost his love, and was put in the book by his lover.  Things just get better and better the more they belong to the club.  The only thing that doesn't seem to be working right is Alexis's relationship with Carter.  And this is when she starts thinking maybe Aralt isn't all he's cracked up to be.  Not to mention other things she learns about the whole back story and the "book" online.
It's really hard to describe this story I think.  It was pretty detailed.  In a good way though!  I still enjoyed it, especially the beginning.  But once Alexis and Megan got sucked into the whole Aralt thing, I began not liking them quite as much.  And maybe that is why I didn't like this book just as much the first one.  I'm going to read on, I still like the author's writing, and the characters.  And I want to know what happens next with them.

September is for Sequels Giveaway Hop Sign Ups

In honor of my September is for Sequels Challenge, I asked Kathy from I Am a Reader, Not a Writer if she'd be willing to co-host a giveaway with me during the challenge.  And I was happy that she agreed!  Now, sorry that my button is a bit small, but I'm new at making them.  If I have time I may go back and do some re-editing of it before we actually get started.  

You see, I noticed last year that I had a bunch of sequels to books that I'd been allowed to read the first book as an ARC or e-galley, and then just hadn't time to read the sequels due to reading more first in the series books. So I set a goal for myself of reading sequels in September.  Now, the idea of September wasn't actually mine, I got it from Em's Book Reviews.  So for the Giveaway, these are the rules if you want to join.

• The book must be a sequel in a series, can't be the first one, but it can be any number from 2 on.  It doesn't matter if you  offer a physical copy or an e-book, as long as it is part of series.
• Your giveaway post must include the hop image and linky, or at least a link to one of the hosts' sites if you can't get the linky to work.
• Please only 1 mandatory entry.  All the others must be optional.  Try not to have a huge list, probably no more than 5 entries possible. 
• Your post must be live by 12:01 EST on September 2nd (That is 9 pm September 1st if you live in California).
• Please include September is for Sequels in your title, and the giveaway must be for this Hop exclusively.
• Your site must be family friendly – no erotica or 18+ sites. Your site & giveaway must be free of steamy images and book covers. If it would embarrass me to have my teenagers see it, it can’t be on your site.
• It is your responsibility to check the linky on September 2nd to be sure you are still on the linky and that your link is accurate. Please send Lisa a direct link to your post when it goes live to ilovebooks1972@hotmail.com.  
• If you are using Rafflecopter set it to begin on September 1st and to end on September 10th, 12:01 AM.

To sign up to host a giveaway add your blog to the linky. Please include your shipping info in parenthesis following your blog name (US) (US/Can) (INT).

This is a Blog Hop!

Stacking the Shelves - August 4th, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected. Kind of a slow week, but that's okay, it means less money spent!  In fact, no money spent!  On books anyway.  

E-galleys from Netgalley:

First is Witch Hunt by Tabitha Morrow, which sounds like a really good book about the Salem witches.  Second is the 3rd book in the Alone series by James Phelan, Quarantine.  Now I haven't read the 2nd book in the series yet, so I'll be looking to find that from my library I hope.  The third book is another 3rd in a series, it is Storm (Swipe #3).  However I have read the other two and actually posted this one as a Waiting on Wednesday post one week I think.

Free e-book from Amazon:

I saw this as a free e-book, so I went ahead and ordered it for my Kindle app that I have on my Nook.  I love True Blood, or I did when it first started.  It's gotten kind of silly now, and strayed too far from the books in my opinion, but for free, this should be a fun book!

So nothing to stack on an actual shelf this week, but still 4 pretty good books I'd say!  How about you, what did you add to your shelves this past week?

Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard

Thanks to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book in June 2013.  I loved the idea of reading a book about boys who were genetically designed in a lab to be the clones of serial killers.  While I wasn't quite sure what the scientific research in this would be, other than maybe to see if it was nature or nurture that caused their violence, it just sounded like a unique story.  And that it definitely was.
The main character is Jeff, and he was cloned from Jeffrey Dahmer.  He was raised by one of  the actual scientists.  Told his mother died in a car accident when he was younger, that he was also in, and that is why he can't remember her.  Well, the book starts out with his "dad" telling him that is actually not true, and leaving him with papers explaining what really he was, and then being left alone.  Left alone until men from the DSTI labs come to take away everything his father has left.  He hides in his father's secret room until they go.  Until another man shows up, Castillo.  Castillo has been hired by the labs, or maybe the government, to find all the clones that were just set free from the labs.  Set free probably by Jeff's father, and amidst murders of doctors, nurses, and other people at the labs.  At first Castillo think that Jeff can help him.  Until one night Castillo gives him some money, and tells him to get lost.  Jeff can't just take the money and leave.  He has nowhere to go, and he figures that Castillo is his best chance at finding his father.  Along the trip to find these cloned serial killers, Jeff and Castillo's relationship will change.  As Jeff begins to see what kind of life he really had growing up, how he was actually lucky compared to some clones that were subjected to some of the horrible same abuses their originals dealt with, he finds that Castillo's messed up life kind of fits well and matches his needs for a friend.
I loved the idea of this book.  And it is a good story, had a good plot, characters, all of that.  Only, it kind of started slow.  They sit in a hotel room for a LONG time at the beginning.  And it is kind of boring.  I know that is the point of it, but it made it hard to get going in the book and stay hooked at first.  If you keep going, and give it time, it will get you hooked to where you are wanting to keep reading because you need to know what is going to happen.  So just keep that in mind.  I found the information about the serial killers that was included, which also included pictures of them, was fascinating.  The back story of Jeff's father, the scientist, and how he wondered if he himself might have been related to one of the possible suspects of Jack the Ripper, was interesting, so that added as well.  Again, I could see it being a hard read for someone who needs to get right into the story, but if you can push through that first part, and just keep reading for the info on the serial killers, I think it is enjoyable.

Feature and Follow #10 2013

Feature and Follow Friday is sponsored by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  The purpose of this event is to learn about the two featured bloggers each week, as well as to increase your own blog following by joining in on the fun! This week's question/activity is:

How do you handle a book you don’t like? Do you DNF or do you power through?

Wow, this is such a great question this week!  I've been actually thinking of posting something asking all my followers to give their opinions about this.  I used to feel like if I didn't finish a book I'd started, I wasn't really giving it a chance.  But now, I have so many books I want to read, and that I have to review, that I just don't have the time to finish something that I'm not enjoying.  About the only time I'll finish a book I'm really not enjoying is if it is to help choose or nominate a book for an award or something like that.  Now, I don't have a policy, which everyone says I need, on what kinds of books I will accept for review.  I've had a couple authors lately who have offered to send me their books without me necessarily soliciting them.  In one case it was a book I had entered a contest for on Goodreads, and then I was offered a copy by the author.  The others have been authors who just sent me messages on Goodreads and asked me to read it.  Two of them I've not really enjoyed.  One I quit, and emailed the author to tell them I wouldn't be able to finish it or give a good review.  I really prefer to post about books that I've enjoyed or can recommend in some way.  Is that wrong do you think?  I know it is good for people to see why someone might not like a book, as it might help them decide whether to read it.  But, I don't feel like spending my time on that, and I don't like to be mean or hurt people's feelings.  I hate it when people bash my favorite books, example:  Twilight.  I always tell people if they don't like something, why waste time thinking or talking about it?  I'd rather talk about what I like, and wish people would do that too.  

So, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.  Do you think it is okay if I DNF when I don't enjoy?  I usually give it at least 50 pages, if not more.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I got a free copy of this book at the RT Convention back in May.  I think I saw the author there, but didn't get an autograph, although now that I've finished the book, I wish I had!  I'd heard so many other bloggers talk about this book.  But I really don't read that much realistic fiction, and not a lot of romance stories really, well, not just romance when it is YA.  But, I started reading, and when I did, I was quickly caught up in the story and loving it.  So, for those few of you out there, besides myself, who hadn't read this yet, here is my review.
Anna is the main character and her famous author father has decided that she is going to spend her senior year at a fancy boarding school in Paris.  (P.S. - I love that her name is Anna and she is going to Paris because my younger sister's name is Anna, and she loves all things French.) Anna doesn't want this.  She has a wonderful best friend, not to mention a growing romance with a boy named Toph.  So of course we start out with Anna in her room at her boarding school and her parents leaving.  Now this boarding school seems to be for children of rich/famous/important parents, like Senators, etc.  Whereas she doesn't really consider her dad to be that.  You would probably compare her dad to Nicholas Sparks for what type of books and movies he writes.  Fortunately for Anna, her next door neighbor comes over and introduces herself. Meredith is really nice, and Anna is so glad for the immediate friend, and then her friends that kind of come along as a package.  One of them she meets the first night as she is leaving Meredith's room.  His name is St. Clair, Etienne St. Clair to be exact.  And he is that boy.  You know, the one that is just as cute as can be, and so funny and nice that all the girls have a crush on him.  And of course, he has a girlfriend.  Her name is Ellie and she went to the school with all of them last year, and is now at a college nearby.  The others in the group are Rashmi and her boyfriend Josh.  Throughout the year as Anna gets closer to all of them, there seems to be a connection between her and St. Clair.  And it seems that he may feel it too.  But since he has a girlfriend, she just assumes it is that he's such a nice guy she mistakes that.  And they do become best friends.  Which makes it harder whenever one of them seems to give in or do something that brings to light their feelings.  St. Clair's dad is a jerk, but rich.  When he finds out his mom has cancer, his father won't let him come home to visit for Thanksgiving, makes him wait till Christmas.  Now, St. Clair has an English accent (swoon!), but his father is French, and  his mother lives in California, and really he is American.  Anna also doesn't get to go home till Christmas, why waste the money her dad figures.  So they get even closer since the rest of their friends, and his girlfriend do go home over that break.  Now this is a school for American children, so when people leave, they go out of town for real.  When Anna goes home over Christmas, something horrible happens, and the only person she feels she can talk to is St. Clair, and as you can guess their feelings get even stronger.
Of course there are all kinds of mixed signals, and stubborn moments that keep them from really ever being able to get together.  At least until they get some things figured out.  I love how there are real life examples and things that happen in their classes that help them figure things out.  It's not like they just have these epiphanies out of nowhere.  And really the story is told from Anna's point of view, so we only get to hear about St. Clair's epiphanies when he tells her about them.  Personally, I enjoyed and really connected with the story because I know how often I have been in what feels like the same situation as Anna.  At least at the beginning.  Being in love with such an awesome, funny, nice guy who is a friend, but has a girlfriend.  So while it seems they're  flirting with you, you know they can't really be.  Unfortunately for me, it's never changed and turned out the way it does for Anna.  Which is why I read books like these.  Such a good, good read.  Love it, and will be reading more by the author from now on!

Waiting On Wednesday: Snakeroot (Nightshade Legacy #1) by Andrea Cremer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  This week I've chosen a book that is a new series by an author that I really enjoy. It's one I tried to get an e-galley on Edelweiss from, but was turned down.  :-(  So now it is on my WOW List.  It is Snakeroot (Nightshade Legacy #1) by Andrea Cremer.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads.com:

Fans asked for it, and now they've got it! Andrea Cremer is continuing the story she began in in her internationally bestselling trilogy: Nightshade, Wolfsbane and Bloodrose. In this new installment, Bosque Mar haunts the dreams of both Adne and Logan, trying to escape for the Nether, where Calla, Shay and the other Guardians trapped him in the final battle in the War of All Against All. Will he turn Adne to the dark side? Will Logan reclaim his birthright? And will darkness take over our world? In a novel filled with magic, romance and breakneck action, master storytelling Andrea Cremer's newest installment will not disappoint!

I still need to read the 2nd book in the prequel series, it is part of my list for my September is for Sequels challenge, which I plan to post sign ups for in the next week or two.  So tell me, what are you eagerly waiting on this week?

Gated by Amy Christine Parker

First I will say thanks to Random House books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  This was a good book about a young person in what would most likely be called a cult situation.  In a way reminded me of the book The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams, and you can read my review of that HERE.  This was a much more involved book, and you almost, at least at first, didn't think it was such a crazy place.  In fact, the main character, Lyla, seems to really be happy there.
Now Lyla's family came to live at Mandrodage Meadows, following Pioneer, after several things happened.  Lyla's sister disappeared off the sidewalk outside their brownstone in New York City.  Then shortly after, the Twin Towers fell on 9/11.  Of course once that happened, the search to find Lyla's sister ended.  There was too much going on for the police to worry about that.  Pioneer showed up at their house around that time.  Saying that he'd seen their story on the news, and The Brethren had sent him a vision saying to help this family.  Soon, Lyla's family, along with others had decided this world was only getting worse, and they all went to help build the community that Pioneer had said would be their way to be safe when the world ended.
  From the outside it just looks maybe like an Amish community, in that they garden and have simple cabins, and keep to themselves.  But they do have electricity.  They aren't really religious, you see the Brethren are aliens that have told Pioneer who to choose and when the end of the world will come.  And how to build a Silo under their community to go into and wait once the world ends.  There are only people of a certain age, and all of the children, none are very young, at a certain point, around the age of 12 I believe, all were told who their intended spouse would be.  For some, like Lyla, she was glad it was Will, her best friend, even if she didn't have "romantic" feelings about him.  For her best friend Marie, her match wasn't anything special at first, in fact the kind of boy they hoped NOT to be matched with.  But he grew up, and got cuter.  And it all seemed like it was right. They had horses, which Lyla loved to ride hers.  They only visited the nearest town like once a month, and that was to pick up things they couldn't take care of with their own farm, and to sell furniture.  Like the Amish, they sold handcrafted furniture.  Lyla's only problem is when they practice shooting.  Lyla is fine with all of what they have to do, and she understands the people outside of the compound are evil, but shooting a person, to her that seems evil.  And so when they practice, she aims for the knees.  An idea she got from the Terminator movies.  They are allowed movies, they show them at the clubhouse, and as you can see, they are some more modern movies.  They do have books to read, and go to school as well, well school with each other.  Pioneer is not happy about her not taking the shooting seriously and even comes and stands over her until she is able to shoot the wooden "people" cutouts with kill shots, the head, the chest.
One day the sheriff from the nearby town shows up and asks to speak with someone.  With his son there, Lyla ends up being asked to give a tour of the compound to his son Cody.  There seems to be a spark between Cody and Lyla, but she fights it.  She is intended for Will, and Cody is one of the bad people, he wasn't chosen for the compound, so he must be bad, right?  Then one night Will, Marie and her intended Brian, and Lyla, all sneak out of the compound.  They're not trying to run away, they just want to go down to a more private area.  While they're out, the alarms sound back at the compound that say it is time to go into the Silo.  It's early, months early, but not knowing if it is a drill or the real thing, they run back, scared to death.  When they get there, everything is empty, and the Silo door is shut and locked.  The alarm has gone off, and the second rule is that once the door is shut and locked, they will not open it until the Brethren come to save them.  After they have given up and begin to try to figure out what they will do next, the door opens.  It seems that Pioneer knew about them sneaking out, and did this to scare them, and their families.  Their families who went into the Silo without looking for them.  This leads to a very harsh punishment for the four teens.  Even with this punishment, they mostly seem to still believe in Pioneer.  But Lyla really begins to have doubts now.  She knows she might get to see Cody again when her family goes into town on the next run.  And Pioneer shows them news clips of natural disasters that have begun to speed up, all in the past weeks, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis.  And begins to speed up the timeline to go into the Silo.
It all begins to add up now, much quicker.  Accidents and unexpected things lead to the town becoming more of an issue for them.  And Lyla begins to doubt Pioneer, and wonder if what she is doing is really right, and how can all the people outside of the compound be so bad?
A great story, very in depth look at it, and how maybe the people in the cults may get swayed, without being stupid, or gullible.  Definitely a good read.  I could see this on a few State Readers' Award Lists in the future, like the Gateway in Missouri?  Or maybe now that I'll be in Kansas, I can get them started with a high school level Readers' Award list as well.

Stacking the Shelves - July 29, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  Not too bad of a haul this week, and a couple of my e-galleys I got because I saw other blogs had them, so I went and searched for them!  And I was kind of bad this week.  I bought two books, well two physical books, and one e-book that was a deal for my Nook this week.

Purchased e-book:

I saw this was one of the Nook deals for only $2.99 this week, and I had to get it, even though I rarely buy e-books.  But I've been a bit obsessed with learning more about the Hatfields and the McCoys since I saw the History Channel's tv movie.  So, excited to have this to read whenever I want now!

Purchased physical books:

I saw the first book when working one day at the bookstore.  It is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book for adults!  Anyone besides me that loved those when they were a kid?  This is much longer, so much more to choose and have happen I guess.  Can't wait to read it!  The 2nd book is from one of my favorite tv shows, New Girl.  I love that Douchbag Jar they have for Schmidt, that he has to put money in whenever he says anything like that.  So it will be fun to read through this book.

E-galleys from Edelweiss:

The first two you see above I had to go get after I saw other bloggers had gotten them from Edelweiss.  Two authors that I really have enjoyed their books, new stuff from them.  The third book is a new series by another author that I really like, so I was excited to find it today on Edelweiss when I got the newsletter to go check out new review titles.  

So how about you, what books did you add to your shelves this week?

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

Now I know I'm way behind in just now reading this book, since it came out two years ago.  But I just finally got a copy with a gift card I won to use at Amazon, well, earlier this year I got it.  And I just finally got around to reading it, and once again, I totally can see why it was so talked about!  While the cover is really cool, I feel it is a book that may be good for boys, because the main character is a boy.  And the cover doesn't necessarily show as one to get a boy's attention.  But anyway, this was a good old ghost story.  But a really good one.  While there were many great pop culture references throughout the story that I loved, Ghostbusters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I believe one really good show that it reminded me of was left out, Supernatural.
The main character is Cas Lowood.  He is a ghost hunter, one who sends them on to wherever they are supposed to be, kills them if you want to think of it that way.  His father also did this, until one ghost hunt ended his father's life.  Now Cas's goal is to take over for his father, and get good enough, even better than his father if possible, so that he can go back and get the one that got his dad.  Like the TV show Supernatural, Cas and his mom travel the country following legends and local ghost stories.  Often people even send letters to Cas with places he should go try.  The ghost, Anna Dressed in Blood, as she is called, seems like it must be one of those myths that are just told to get tourists.  But no, something about it seems real, there have been more people that have died lately, meaning that Cas feels it is worth checking out.  When he gets to the town, he follows a routine.  His mother is a witch, a white witch, and so has her cat, Tybalt, that travels with them, and always leads the way into houses in order to "sniff" out any entities that might already be in the houses they move into.  Because while Cas may be there to solve one ghost issue, that doesn't mean there aren't many others there that are simpler, but could be dangerous.  The cat doesn't seem to find anything in their new house, other than maybe climbing up Cas's leg at one point in the walk around the house.  So they move in, and his mother puts a spell on the house keeping things out.
The next part of Cas's MO is to get into the school, find the most popular girl, the Queen Bee, and befriend her.  See, Cas is a good looking guy, so it's not that hard to do.  And once he's in, he can ask around about the local ghost stories.  But Cas also picks up a shadow right away.  A boy named Thomas, who actually is a bit of a warlock himself, and actually sent the tip that got Cas on his way to the town.  And Carmel, the Queen Bee, is very friendly.  But unfortunately she has an ex-boyfriend who is very jealous.  And so at the first party that Cas meets Carmel at, he gets a hit on the ghost story of Anna right away.  In fact, her ex, Mike, and his friends, Chase and Will take him right to Anna's house.  And they dare him to go all the way up to the porch.  Now of course this is no big deal to Cas.  But as he is looking in the window, Mike comes up behind  him and hits him in the head with a board, knocking him into the house, and out for a bit.  As Cas comes to, he sees Anna, and she is all that she is said to be.  She comes toward him, and he fears for his life, but she stops for some reason.  Then she sees Mike at the window, and reaches out and pulls him in, and tears him in two.  Cas tries to get out, but is still too out of it from being hit in the head.  Thomas runs up and pulls him out.  Everyone else has seen what has happened, but runs, not wanting to deal with Anna.  Right away, the next day/night, Cas goes back.  He wants to talk to Anna, he needs to know what makes her so powerful, because as it is, he knows there is no way he has the strength to kill her.  And also, why didn't she kill him, why did she let him live?  But it's more than that.  He feels a connection to her, something different about her.  And it's not just that this ghost, Anna, is different, he seems to have picked up his own Scooby Gang (thank my love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for that title), something he's never had to deal with, something that may make his job that much harder, or maybe they will come in handy, and actually help him with this new ghost.
The story was great, all the back story worked perfectly, it all set up to make you like Anna, or at least it made me like her.  And so I hoped that maybe Cas could save her, and just fix whatever was the problem behind her horrible wrath.  Again, I loved this story, and despite the somewhat "girly" cover, I will be recommending it to boys who like a good ghost story.

Reading Road Trip: Washington

I joined into the Reading Road Trip on Day 1, and here I am again, almost at the very end.  This time I get another state that is a favorite, and it is because one of my favorite series takes place here, Twilight.  But that's of course not all that is cool about Washington.  While the state flag is kind of boring (in my opinion), I still want to include it!

• Like the flag shows, the state was actually named for George Washington, and is of course the only state named after a president.
• Its nickname is the Evergreen State.
• The capital city is Olympia, while Seattle is the largest city.
• Mt. Ranier is there, and is the highest point.  But it also includes Mt. Saint Helens, a volcano that erupted back in 1980.  And when I visited it a few years ago, it was active again, although nothing has really happened.
• The state fossil is the Columbian Mammoth.
• As it is summer, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you that it is where the world's first soft-serve ice cream machine was located.
• You probably know that Starbucks was founded in Seattle.
• Washington contains the only rainforests in the continental United States.
• It became the 42nd state on November 11th, 1889.
• The state of Washington is one of only 7 states that doesn't levy a personal income tax.  (Hmm, maybe I need to move there)

Some famous people from Washington state are:

• Bob Barker, the original host of The Price is Right
• Octavia E. Butler, a science fiction writer, Orson Scott Card - author of Ender's Game and other science fiction books, Ann Rule- best selling author of true crime books, Gary Larson - cartoonist and creator of The Far Side, and Chuck Palahniuk - author of Fight Club.
• Famous singers such as Jimi Hendrix, Bing Crosby, and Kurt Cobain.  And a favorite rapper of mine, Sir Mix-A-Lot.
• Bill Gates, one of the world's richest men
• Several actors and actresses such as Anna Faris (Loved her in What's Your Number, based on the book 20 Times a Lady), Rainn Wilson from The Office, and Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek and more recently Fringe.
• Apollo Anton Ohno, US Olympic Speed Skater, also starred on one season of Dancing With The Stars.

Unlike my giveaway at the beginning of the month, I will only be keeping this one going for a week.  You will have a choice of one of the books below, they include books by authors from Washington, or that take place in Washington.  And it is International as long as The Book Depository ships to you.

• Beyond the Far Side, It Came from the Far Side, or The Hound of the Far Side by Gary Larson
• Any book from the Ender that is available in paperback
• Any paperback copy of any book from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
• Any paperback true crime story by Ann Rule
• The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, or The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart
• Stuck in Neutral or Cruise Control by Terry Trueman
• Misfit by Jon Skovron

Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.  There are no mandatory entries, in fact the first one is free!  You may choose to follow my blog or any of the other choices for more entries though.  And when you're done filling it out, you can click on the button on the sidebar to go to the other stops on the tour.  

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