Saturday, June 23, 2012

Cover Reveal: Boundless (Unearthly #3) + Teaser


Boundless (Unearthly #3)
By Cynthia Hand
January 22, 2013

I really like the cover! I mean, I'm a tad iffy about the color right now, but I'm sure I'll grow to love it!




Also, if you guys didn't know, Cynthia Hand released a little preview during the April Scavenger Hunt!
If you haven't seen it, click HERE




Friday, June 22, 2012

The downside to romance novels....


*Nods grudgingly* 
Yes. This is true.
I might never find a real-life Will Herondale....
Well. 
That's highly depressing...

TGIF: Authors Are Our Celebrities



Who's ready for the weekend?? I know I am! Ginger @ GReads  
has created this super fun meme that poses a bookish question to be answered each week.


Authors are our celebrities:
Have you ever contacted an author you admired? How did that experience go? If not, which author would you love to have a chat with?


Unfortunately, I've never really been in contact with a much-admired author... unless you count that one instance a few days ago where I wished the fabulous Rachel Vincent a happy birthday on facebook, and she actually replied with a thank you.... and I then proceeded to squeal in an embarrassingly fangirl-ish manner...
But yeah, aside from that, no, I've never contacted an author before...


However, I would like, really want, LOVE give my firstborn child to chat with fantabulous authors like Cassandra Clare (where I would probably gush about how full-on obsessed I am with her male characters...) and Stephanie Perkins (because she just looks like such a cool person to hang out with--I mean, have you seen her hair?!) and John Green (because I am *slightly* obsessed with his books and youtube videos... but I highly doubt I'd be able to actually carry on a conversation with someone as smart and witty as he is, so most likely, I'd just oggle him and nod accordingly as he talks to me...).


Feature and Follow #3

Follow Friday is a really fun way to make new blogger friends and promote your blog in the process! This weekly meme is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. This week features Head Stuck in a Book and Books and Blossoms so go check them out!

This weeks' question: 
If you could "unread" a book, which one would it be? Is it because you want to start over and experience it again for the first time? Or because it was THAT bad?

This is kind of a no-brainer for me. If it were possible, I would definitely choose to unread Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn
Sorry and no offense Twilight-fans, but the thing is, I used to be one of you until I read the 4th book! I liked the series, I'll admit it! The "terrible" writing didn't bother me (I didn't really notice it) and the "whiny" main character didn't bother me either--well, didn't bother me too much. 

BUT THEN I READ BREAKING DAWN.
And I was just like: 

If I could go back and unread that book, who knows? Maybe I'd still be a Twilight fan...



Thursday, June 21, 2012

Review: Sweet Gum Tree

Sweet Gum Tree
by Katherine Allred
Published November 1st 2005 by Ellora's Cave   

   Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beans-everyday fare for eight-year-old Alix French, the precocious darling of a respected southern family. But nothing was ordinary about the day she met ten-year-old Nick Anderson, a boy from the wrong side of town. Armed with only a tin of bee balm and steely determination, Alix treats the raw evidence of a recent beating that mars his back, an act that changes both of their lives forever. Through childhood disasters and teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night when Frank Anderson, Nick's abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy trailer. Suddenly, Nick is gone-leaving Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick's abandonment, a bad marriage, her family and friends. But finally, she's starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is booming, and she's content if not happy -- until the day she looks up and sees Nick standing across the counter. He's back...and he's not alone. Once again Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something she resists with all her strength. Only one thing might break the protective wall she's built around her emotions-the truth about Frank Anderson's death. But when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal.
-goodreads

Rating: 5++++++ stars
Review:

You know that quote that went something along the lines of "If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it"??

W-ell. I might as well scrap any attempt I have made to write that book because Katherine Allred already did it!!! Sweet Gum Tree has just about everything I've ever wanted in a novel! There's emotion, a gripping and captivating storyline, fabulous characters, a fantastic voice, and one heck of a romance! I used to think that I there wasn't any particular romance archetype that appealed to me, but turns out I was wrong! Apparently, the whole childhood-friends-turned-something-more romance angel REALLY appeals to me. 
And Allred portrays one of the best, most heartbreaking, bittersweet, and beautiful romances I've ever read!!! It's like she could see into my head and put onto paper exactly the kind of romance that I would LOVE.

This story takes place over 15-ish years, and I must say, the pacing of the story was impeccable. Normally, when a story takes place over so long in only a couple hundred of pages, it's really hard to get the pacing just right--to know when to include detailed events, and when to give a generalization of the passage of time. Let me tell you: Katherine Allred knew exactly what she was doing when she wrote this book. 

The writing flowed beautifully and effortlessly. I also really liked how the tone of the narration reflected Alix's changing ages--by no means does this mean that the language goes from "baby talk" to inserting big words in every other sentence. The transition is actually super smooth and I didn't even realize it until I thought about it in the end!

The characters were the absolutely spectacular. They were all so realistic and wonderfully flawed and   pretty relatable. Alix's family was hilarious and wondefully written. Aunt Darla and the Judge were two of my favorite characters! 
This should go without saying, but I adored Alix--her perspective, her personality, everything! It was great to see her journey from the 8-year old little girl who set out to save Nick to the woman at the end of the book who had experienced so much and matured as a result. 

And Nick! He was perfect. I mean, he had his fair share of flaws, but that's what made him rather perfect--especially for Alix. He was selfless and protective (but not in a bad way) and utterly swoon-worthy. Really swoon-worthy. Trust me, there were some moments in the book that had me fanning myself!

His and Alix's romance pretty much grabbed my heart and took it on one doozy of an up-and-down roller coaster. And I loved every minute of it! I was laughing and crying and intermittently yelling and rooting for the characters. And swooning! There was a lot of that going on....

As for the huge plot twist in the story--I kind of figured out what the big secret was fairly early on--I didn't think it was a huge mystery or anything, but it definitely wasn't blatantly obvious. Nevertheless, the story was so SO captivating. I. Could. Not. Put. This. Down. 

There's really not enough good things I could say about this book--and it's only with the utmost self-restraint that this review is not pure fangirl babble! I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this book to.... well, everyone

(As an added bonus, this is only a couple of bucks on an ereader!)


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

My Book Boyfriend: Daemon Black


For those of you who don't know, MBB is a weekly meme hosted by Missie over at the Unread Reader--if you're interested in making your own MBB post, check out the intro post here! 
If you saw the title of this post, then you already know who I'm crushing on this week (but really, it's more like the past few months...)
 Actually, I'm pretty sure female bloggers across the world are in love with him....
And if you don't yet know who DAEMON BLACK is, then ohmygoodness let me enlighten you on his amazingness....

  • Daemon is perhaps the strongest luxen on Earth--luxen= alien light being
  •  is the oldest of triplets (Dawson and Dee)
  • really loves his family
  • takes on a protector-like role among the luxens in town
  • "His stomach was ripped. Perfect. Totally touchable. Not the kind of stomach I expected on a seventeen-year-old boy, which is how old I suspected he was, but yeah, I wasn't complaining. I also wan't talking. And I was staring. My gaze finally traveling north again, I noted thick, sooty lashes fanning the tips of his high cheeks and hiding the color of his eyes as he looked down at me. I needed to know what color his eyes were."
  •  "His voice was deep and firm. The kind of voice accustomed to people listening and obeying without question. His lashes lifted, revealing eyes so green and brilliant they couldn't be real. They were an intense emerald color that stood out in vibrant contrast against his tan skin."
  • sexy and arrogant and brooding and hilarious.... but he's also got a totally swoon-worthy, melt-worthy sweet side! 
  • has a certain weakness for a girl named Kat--who he loves to call "Kitten" and poke with his pen
Daemon being arrogant, bad-boy Daemon
“Beautiful face. Beautiful body. Horrible attitude. It was the holy trinity of hot boys.”
-Kat while meeting Daemon

“My palms itched to have a close encounter of the bitch-slap kind with his face.”
-Kat while talking with Daemon


“Thanks,” I muttered and added under my breath, “Douchebag.”
He laughed, deep and throaty. “Now that’s not very ladylike, Kittycat.”
I whipped around. “Don’t ever call me that,” I snapped.
“It’s better than calling someone a douchebag, isn’t it?” He pushed out the door. “This has been a stimulating visit. I’ll cherish it for a long time to come.”
Okay. That was it. “You know, you’re right. How wrong of me to call you a douchebag. Because a douchebag is too nice of a word for you,” I said, smiling sweetly. “You’re a dickhead.”
“A dickhead?” he repeated. “How charming.”
I flipped him off. 

“You’re such an ass. Has…anyone ever told you that?”
He flashed a genuinely amused smile. “Oh, Kitten, every single day of my blessed life.”

Le Swoon

For a moment, I pretended. Not that we weren't two different species, because I didn't see him that way, but that we actually liked each other.
And then he shifted and rolled. I was on my back, and he was still on the move. His face burrowed into the space between my neck and shoulder, nuzzling. Sweet baby Jesus...Warm breath danced over my skin, sending shivers down my body. His arm was heavy against my stomach, his leg between mine, pushing up and up. Scorched air fled my lungs.
Daemon murmured in a language I couldn't understand. Whatever it was, it sounded beautiful and soft. Magical. Unearthly.
I could've woken him up but for some reason I didn't. The thrill of him touching me was far stronger than anything else.
His hand was on the edge of the borrowed shirt, his long fingers on the strip of exposed flesh between the hem on the shirt and the band of the worn pajama bottoms. And his hand inched up under the shirt, across my stomach, where it dipped slightly. My pulse went into cardiac territory. The tips of his fingers brushed my ribs. His body moved, his knee pressed against me.
I gasped.
Daemon stilled. No one moved. The clock on the wall ticked.
And I cringed.”  


 “I've always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are the ones who are quietly unaware of their effect." His eyes searched mine intently, and for a moment we stood there toe to toe. "The ones who throw their beauty around, waste what they have? Their beauty is only passing. It's just a shell hiding nothing but shadows and emptiness.

And now for some excerpts in Daemon's POV

But no matter where I went, what I was running from would still be with me—Kat. She wasn’t just back in the house, in that bed. She was with me now, inside me. And there was no outrunning that.

"You're perfect for me," I whispered in my own language"

And then I saw Simon’s jock-douchebag friends head toward the door and I knew that meant Kat was here. Leaning back in my chair, I casually looked over my shoulder.
(From the Homecoming Scene)          

 Something unexpected happened to my chest. It felt like someone had walked right up to me and socked me in it. I might have stopped breathing. Right there, surrounded by humans, in front of still yapping Andrew.

            “Oh Mary, mother of baby Jesus,” I muttered.

            Kat stood by the door, her hands clasped around a tiny clutch as her eyes bounced around the gymnasium nervously. The dress… aw man, that dress should be illegal. Tight around the bodice and waist, then flowing over her hips like a river of crimson silk. Her hair was up, revealing a long, graceful neck I didn’t know she had.

            Red.

            Red was my favorite color.

            Kat wasn’t cute. She wasn’t even sexy. She was beautiful—absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

Le SWOOOOON. Daemon Black, you are too much. 
And OHMYGOODNESS does anyone NOT think Pepe Toth when they think of Daemon? He and Sztella are the cutest couple ever! 
Yes... I *might* be a tad obsessed with them...  and shamelessely stalk them on facebook.... but not in like a creepy way or anything...

Review: Obsidian

Obsidian (Lux #1)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published November 29th, 2011 by Entangled Publishing

Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.
If I don't kill him first, that is.

-goodreads.com

Rating: 4.5 stars
Review:
I knew it. 
I KNEW it!
I just knew it was only a matter of time before I, too, joined the ever-growing Obsidian-loving cult because goshdarnit the book really is that good!!

This series focuses on a not-as-popular supernatural-ish entity.... ALIENS.  And good golly miss molly, if there are more aliens out there in the universe who look like Daemon Black, then please come visit Earth!!!! But that's for later on in the review, so let's continue before I enter into full-on fangirl mode. *calms self* 

Now Katy, the main character, doesn't know that Daemon and Dee are luxen, but as a reader, I already did, which kind of made the first quarter of the book a little boring because the whole time, I was just waiting and waiting and waiting for Kat to finally learn the truth! Once that happened, the book really "started" for me. The pace picked up, there was more action and fighting, and (my favorite) more learning about luxen! 

I really REALLY liked Armentrout's luxen because I don't think aliens have ever been handled this way. (Although I could be wrong because I haven't read many alien-oriented books...) The whole concept of light beings vs. dark beings was really interesting and their respective powers and abilities were super cool. Sorry ET, but I just don't think you're gonna cut it for me anymore...

The characters were all pretty great and I loved all of them--except for Ash and Andrew because they were pretty sour-faced every time they appeared in the novel.
Katy is freaking AWESOME! She is tough, selfless, hilarious, oh and did I mention she's a book blogger?! Yeah. Bonus points right there. I loved Katy. She never backed down from a challenge and she wasn't afraid to stand up to Daemon or the other luxen when they were being mean. However there were a few moments in the book when Katy pretty much just walked right into a blatantly obvious situation and I was pretty much screaming at her to come to her senses. Yeah, those moments were kind of annoying. But other than that, she was a fantastic character. 

...and OF COURSE, I couldn't conclude this review without mentioning the male protagonist of the series. The very swoon-worthy bad-boy err alien: Daemon Black! *Le sigh*
I will admit that when I first started Obsidian, I was a little iffy about Daemon. I mean, let's face it: he was kind of a jerk to Kat.
Confession time: I was starting to worry that there was something seriously wrong with me because I was not falling-to-the-ground-swooning at Daemon. 
BUT THEN! 
Then, I learned more about Daemon... like how much he loved his family, how protective he was of his family, how he grieved for his brother Dawson, how he worried that Kat's presence would harm his sister, and that worry was why he was so mean to Kat at first. And after that--after he started accepting Kat--well... Well. Let's just say that was when I did fall-to-the-ground-swoon at Daemon and all his hotness. I don't know what it is about YA guys that makes them attractive even when they're kinda arrogant.... but for Daemon, it totally works for him! Some of his one-liners were the most hilarious parts of the entire book! However, don't think that Daemon's all about toughness and arrogance because he has some seriously sweet moment. Just.... aww I'm having a little fangirl moment just thinking about it!
Bottom line: when I finished the book (and the Daemon's POV excerpts) I was like this....


Except just when things were getting super interesting.... Jennifer Armentrout decides to end the novel!!!!
And now, I am forced to wait agonizing months for the release of Onyx, though from what I've heard from people who've received ARCs, the sequel is 100x better than the first! can't wait!
Highly recommend this book!

Warning: prepare to swoon and squeal at alien hotness.



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