The Book Blogger Hop is weekly meme hosted by Crazy-for-Books. I love doing this meme every week because I get to discover so many amazing blogs.
Question:What's the one genre you wish you could get into but just can't?
My Answer:Basically any genre/book that doesn't have even a smidgen of romance. Yeah, I know, I've found that I can't really enjoy a book unless there is some romance in it-even if it is just the obscure characters, it must have some romance. Which is why whenever I read something without romance in it, I am utterly bored, and usually find it very hard to finish it. So genre-wise, it'll probably be Mystery, Horrors, and Thrillers. Also, there are many general fiction books that don't contain romance so I steer clear of those. It would be nice to enjoy a book for its writing for once instead of the story and characters ( and romance).
The most tragic love story in history . . . Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.
My Reveries and Ramblings:Did you hear that? I think I just heard something. *hears a faint "Buy Me!"* Yep. Definitely heard it. This book is just begging to be bought. I mean, just look at it. The cover alone is amazing. But when you add the story....Oh My Gosh! I devour anything that has a Romeo & Juliet theme to it. And this was definitely inspired by Shakespeare's tragic love story. Hence the "Buy Me!" you hear (and I hear) coming from the screen.
The Blog Hop and Follow Friday are a weekly memes hosted by Crazy-for-Books and Parajunkee's View. It is a great way to network and find new blogs.
Question:How/Where do you get your books? Do you buy them or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use like paperbackswap?
My Answer: I don't really limit myself to a specific source. Usually, I get my books from wherever is cheapest. Obviously the library is first. If they don't have the book or if its a book in a series that I love then I'll buy it. Even then I'll choose the cheapest format. Of course there's the weekly trip to B&N and the coupons that must be used. (It's a waste to not use them!) Then there's NetGalley (love!) and books I get from authors for review. So to actually answer the question-I get them from EVERYWHERE!
Question:What do I do when I'm not reading?
My Answer:When I'm not reading, I'm usually sleeping. When I'm not passed out on the couch or my bed, I'm baking. I LOVE to bake. It is so much fun! I do watch TV, but not a lot. I have bad ADD so when I watch TV, I have to be doing something else like reading, going online, baking, etc.
Check out my guest post/review of Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison on The Dorchester Publishing Blog.
The last thing 17-year old Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.
Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.
My Reveries and Ramblings: Tiger’s Curse begins with Kelsey starting her new job at a visiting circus. While working, she becomes attached to one of the animals, a very tame white tiger. When Kelsey is given the opportunity to help transport the tiger back to India, she readily accepts. Once she arrives in India, she finds out that the tiger, Ren, isn’t really a tiger, but a cursed prince. The real reason she was tricked to escort the tiger was to help break the curse. What follows is a journey filled with love, friendship, heartache, magic, and adventure. Tiger's Curse is such a refreshing YA novel. I have yet to come across a novel for teens that takes place in India. The romance was just so beautiful. It was touching and very real. It felt very natural. Although Kelsey's inability to make the, ahem, correct decisions at the end made me angry. I could go on an on and on about the awesomeness of their relationship and how devoted Ren was to her. It was so cute! I had a big smile on my face for 2/3 of the book. The other third was when Kelsey had her nightmare (which by the way, I was freaking out, I felt like I was in the nightmare-scary!) and the few chapters when Kelsey was acting irrational.
I absolutely loved every moment of this Indian adventure. There was so much going on. Ms. Houck kept throwing complicated Indian names and myths/legends around, but they all made sense later. The only problem I had was with Kelsey-specifically at the end, but I think I ranted enough about her. I did love her optimism, though. Her ability to compartmentalize was astounding. I wish I could do it that well.
The only problem I had with the whole book was that the quest was too easy. Yes, there was a lot of traveling. But, whenever they needed something, it somehow appeared. I never felt that life and death urgency. It was more like well-even-though-we're-camping-since-you're-a-tiger-you-can-run-a-few-miles-back-and-get-us-some-food type feeling. The only time when I was actually nervous or scared for the characters was towards the end when they were attacked by the kappas. However, even though this was something I had to overlook, I really loved this book. Kelsey's narration was funny and interesting to read. My favorite aspect of this book was the romance. The sweetness of it, just made my heart ache. I borrowed this book from the library. But I'm having pre-separation anxiety about it. I'm probably going to buy the book so I can re-read my favorite parts. While I'm out, I might as well buy the second book Tiger's Quest-because i can't just leave the series as is. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves re-tellings, traveling, quests, and a rich and beautiful romance.
<<SPOILER ALERT-RANT-highlight to read>> Oh My Goodness!!! I could just kill Kelsey for what she did. Doesn't she realize how lucky she is?! Ren loves her so much and she just leaves?!?! I would have done the exact opposite if I were put into the book. Ren's just too good to pass up. I wish I had a guy like Ren. A guy who's passionate, straight-forward, strong, confident, sweet, charming, and a prince all rolled into one furry package. Seriously, a girl couldn't ask for more. But nooooo, Kelsey just throws it all away because she's scared. I mean, I did understand why she did what she did; but at the same time I also didn't like her decision. She most definitely made the wrong one.
Hi everyone! Happy July 4th! So, I meant to post this yesterday....but, well, that didn't really work out too well, so I'm posting today. In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. I'm really excited for this week's IMM because last Monday, I went to my very first book event. It was hosted byLady Jane's Salon. Anyway, I met the author of the Strangely Beautiful series Leanna Renee Hieber and got my book signed! Right now I'm reading the first book in the series The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. I'm really enjoying it so far. The protagonist's love interest is like a much younger and hotter version of Professor Snape from Harry Potter.
Now on to all the books I got this week:
Purchased:
(Hard Copy)
Shadowcry (Wintercraft #1) by Jenna Burtenshaw-Goodreads|Amazon
Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater-Goodreads|Amazon
Title: The Mockingbirds Author: Daisy Whitney Series: The Mockingbirds #1 ISBN: 978-0316090537 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Pub. Date: November 2, 2010 Source: Library Genre: YA/Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Kisses Buy: Amazon | Book Depository Author's Website | Excerpt
Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):Some schools have honor codes. Others have handbooks. Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds. Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
My Reveries and Ramblings:The Mockingbirds is about date rape. The story begins with Alex waking up naked in Carter’s room with no memory of what happened the previous night. With her friends’ help, she goes to The Mockingbirds, a secret student run police force. The Mockingbirds are The Law amongst the students. In addition to taking Alex’s case on, they help protect her from Carter.
Alex begins the story a victim of a terrible crime. Over the course of the book, she slowly regains power over her life. She even acknowledges the fact that she’s letting the rape take over her life. Her schedule, eating habits, and personal life were all dictated by Carter. The Mockingbirds helped her get over all of that.
Martin, a member of the Mockingbirds, really helped Alex. Even though he somewhat blamed himself for what happened to Alex. Actually, many of Alex’s friends blamed themselves for what happened to her, even though it was no one’s fault but Carter’s. Martin was so sweet. I really liked how the romance in this book wasn’t overpowering. The rape and Alex’s transformation were the main points in the plot. The romance was more of a compliment to the story; it wasn’t necessary but at the same time it was much appreciated. Of course, their relationship wasn’t easy. Alex was raped, so its only natural for her to be hesitant about having a relationship with a guy. However, since Martin and Alex were good friends before she was raped, it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been if he was just some guy that asked her out.
The Mockingbirds was so wonderfully written! The dialogue was never awkward or choppy; it flowed nicely. The plot was well developed and it too was well paced. My favorite part, though, was not the plot but the actual writing. Ms. Whitney’s own experience clearly influenced her writing. By writing The Mockingbirds through Alex’s point of view, the reader can feel what Alex feels on a much more personal level than if she had written it in 3rd person. Ms. Whitney also uses quotes and draws inspiration from To Kill a Mockingbird. After reading The Mockingbirds, I want to go back and re-read To Kill a Mockingbird.
The Mockingbirds is a thought provoking novel involving rape and a girl’s decision to take a stand. I was reluctant to read it at first, mostly because I’m not a huge fan of serious books. I read to get away from all that. But I couldn’t help the fact that almost every review I read praised the book to the point where I said, “I might as well…” So far I’ve read the book twice, and loved it both times.
| 
| 
| 
