Wicked Lovely

Title: Wicked Lovely

Author: Melissa Marr

Date Finished: May 22, 2009

Personal Book Count: 39 out of 100

Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: Young Adult/ Fantasy

First Line: The Summer King knelt before her. “Is this what you freely choose, to risk winters chill?”

Summery: from the jacket-

“Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.
Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning 21st century faery tale. “

Why did I pick this book? : I saw many great reviews for it over various blogs and had to check it out for myself.

Review: Wow, this one sucked me in right away and couldn’t let go. Before I read this one I was thinking “Do I really wanna read anymore teen fantasy?”. It was all starting to feel the same with all the angst and drama. Vampires, faeries, werewolves, superpowers. I was feeling a little overwhelmed and frankly, done. I didn’t know if I had it in me to get all the way through another. But I’m glad I took the time for this one.

Did it have angst? Yes, but very different then the kind I was expecting.

Drama? Some, but not a great deal of that either.

Faeries? Yes, but I don’t think those were what I expected either. I thought they would be more like all the other “things” we have run into lately. Vampires, werewolves, ect. Who live among people, but are still separate. Another species. And I guess to an extent the faeries were too, but them also struck me more like people who had special powers and could do things. (the main characters anyway. Some of the other fairies, were kinda creepy).

This story had a good mix of lore, and was well woven into the plot. Sometimes that is what makes a book interesting is the tidbit that are dropped throughout it, and it definitely added texture to this story.

I like that Aislinn was a good, strong, intelligent character. I like that Seth believed her, trusted her, and stood by her no matter what. And I like Keenan and Donia too, but I won’t tell you why here, you will just have to read the book. :P

I found myself cheering for different characters all the way through, and about 40 pages from the end, I couldn’t put it down, but just knew it wasn’t going to end well, and at that point I wanted EVERYONE to win. But, it ended just as I would have ended it, and so I’m a satisfied girl =D

I loved the story twist, turns and surprises. I had a couple of moments where the penny dropped, and I was left shaking my head at the brilliance, and wondering why I hadn’t seen it coming? It was a ride that kept the pages turning… I have a feeling this one will stick with me for a while…

Now, on to a nice mystery ;D

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D

How I Write

Title: How I Write

Author: Janet Evanovich

Date Finished: May 6, 2009

Personal Book Count: 38 out of 100

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: non-fiction/ writing

Summery: The title pretty much says it all. Advice and methods of Janet Evanovich. With notes from her daughter Alex and Ina Yalof.

Why did I pick this book? : It’s Janet Evanovich. Yeah, I’m a fan.

Review: Interesting. Evanoviches personality really comes through. I love the Stephanie Excerpts. I am a HUGE fan of her Stephanie Plum, and her NASCAR series, so it was fun to see the process. Are all the steps applicable to Canada? Who knows? And am I ever going to write a novel, and need to know all this? Once again, who knows? It was an entertaining read, none the less. =D

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D

Read My Lips

Title: Read My Lips

Author: Teri Brown

Date Finished: May 6, 2009

Personal Book Count: 37 out of 100

Rating: 3 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: young adult

First Line: What the heck? I stared at the small person waving her arms like a referee.

Summery: from the back cover-

“Popularity is as easy as a good secret.

Serena just wants to fly under the radar at her new school. But Serena is deaf, and she can read lips really well-even across the busy cafeteria. So when the popular girls discover her talent, there's no turning back.

From skater chick to cookie-cutter prep, Serena's identity has done a 180...almost. She still wants to date Miller, the school rebel, and she's not ready to trade her hoodies for pink tees just yet. But she is rising through the ranks in the school's most exclusive clique.

With each new secret she uncovers, Serena feels pressure to find out more. Reading lips has always been her greatest talent, but now Serena just feels like a gigantic snoop...”

Why did I pick this book? : I have always had an interest in the deaf culture, and when I saw this book, I wanted to read it because it combined this interest with the YA genre.

Review: Um, teen angst anyone? Serena made some very bad decisions. On the other hand the author made it believable why she would. The author covers issues that all teens face (sense of self, and wanting to fit in, ect.) Serena reminded me of a deaf teen that I once knew, and I couldn’t help feeling how much they had in common, and how much I think they would have gotten along. It was a buyable story, and I liked the style it was written in. Would defiantly liked this one as a teen, and it was ok as an adult, if you can get past the angst. =D

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D

Romance Reading Challenge 2009 Completed

I finished another challenge! I feel like a lean, mean, challenge completing machine! lol

It was the Romance Reading Challenge 2009 (links to original post) hosted by Naida (links to challenge).

The five books I read are:

P.S. I Love You- Cecelia Ahern

The Last Chance Cafe- Linda Lael Miller

Talk Me Down- Victoria Dahl

Hot Blooded- Lisa Gardner

Fire and Ice- Julie Garwood


It was a fun challenge, and over before I knew it! It wasn’t until I was filling in the latest book I read; that I realized it was my last ‘required’ book. Not that I’m by any means done ;) It was a bit of a surprise/shock. But I still love that “I accomplished something” feeling… =D

Thank you for hosting Naida. I really enjoyed this one, not that I NEEDED an excuse to read romances. ;)

Now what is next?

MIA

I know I have been a little MIA. The weather is finally turning, which is the start of our busy buying (as opposed to selling, which is obviously Christmas) season. And then I have been suffering with this cold that it seems everyone else has had, that last forever. I have been in bed for 4 days, and am actually blogging from there now. :P

And so this post is interesting, and has some actual content, here is a quote from a book I have been reading (albeit slowly) while I have been sick. The book is Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning.

"When insane things start to arrange themselves in sane patterns around you, you know you've got problems."

anyhow, it amused me. Are there any amusing quotes in what you are reading right now? =D

knit two

Title: Knit Two

Author: Kate Jacobs

Date Finished: May 5, 2009

Personal Book Count: 36 out of 100

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: fiction/ knitting

First Line: It was after hours at Walker and Daughter; Knitters, and Dakota stood in the center of the Manhattan yarn shop and wrestled with the cellophane tape.

Summery: This book picks up 5 years after The Friday Night Knitting Club left off, following the lives of the various members.

Why did I pick this book? : It was the sequel and I remember enjoying the first.

Review: It was ok. It took me a while to get in to. I found that I was very uninterested in half the characters. They weren’t relatable and I didn’t care. I thought of putting it down a few times. But then I reminded myself how much I enjoyed the first, and I requested it from the library for a reason, so I kept on. I was glad I did. Although a little predictable in it’s various storylines, it was an enjoyable journey. And although I never fully bought in to some of the characters, I found that I care about some of the people connected to them.

I wonder about a sequel. I had the last one pegged as a stand alone, after the way it ended… but the author surprised me, and was able to get another book out, but fast forwarding 5 years in the future. And it worked. Because there were characters of all age ranges, phases in life, professions, economic standing, and values, it was fascinating to see where they were. And how they had stayed together. Now, I wonder, where could they be in another 5 years? Because of the staggered generations, it could go on indefinitely. I hope one day Kate Jacobs see fit to write another one and show us. =D

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D

April Wrap Up

It’s time for the April wrap-up. April I picked up my boots, and got 10 read. To be honest, I think the readathon helped quite a bit with that, but I’ll talk what I can get… =) I also finished 3 challenges! I think I am still on track for reading 100 books this year. We are 4/12ths (33%) of the way through the year and I am 35/100ths (35%) done my books.

Anyhow, the summery for March is:

Books read

Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer 4/5

Nothing But Trouble- Susan May Warren 3.5/5

Vampire Academy- Richelle Mead 3/5

Fire and Ice- Julie Garwood 4/5

Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer 3.5/5

Dear Mr. Henshaw- Beverly Cleary 3/5

How Sweet it is- Alice J Wisler 4/5

Never Tell a Lie- Hallie Ephron 4/5

The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman 4/5

Hot Blooded- Lisa Jackson 4/5

If you are interested in seeing my thoughts or reviews on any of these books, please click on the link on the left side bar. =D

Challenges Complete

2009 Young Adult Book Challnege

Vampire Challenge

Romance Reading Challenge 2009 (no links, I haven’t blogged the wrap up yet, should be done in a couple days...)

Percent on track

4/12ths of the year done (33%)

35/100 books read (35%)

Goal for next month

I have a couple more challenges I’m on the brink of finishing, and I would like to make a dent some of my Red Dress books, and get the chick lit challenge going.

I also have a few book that are taking me longer to read then I would like, that seem to have been on my side bar forever. I would like to see if I can get a couple more of those knocked off.

What are your goals for May?