2014 Reading Resolutions

It's the end of 2013, and yeah, I  know, I haven't really been review that many books. Mostly because I got all tuckered out by all the books I had reviewed in 2012. There are so many stories that stuck in my mind and that I was experiencing all at once everyday that I thought it would be best if I didn't add more to my hallucinating state. 

My plans for the New Year is to only read books that I am genuinely interested in, and give the most honest and out truth reviews I possibly can, because I miss this connection and habit that I built up to write down my thoughts on a book I just finished. Some books I'm planning to read are:

Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Book 3 of Divergent Series)

My review for the Divergent and Insurgent are hyperlinked. So go ahead and feel free to read my thoughts on the series. 

Summary:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. 

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

from goodreads

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Summary:

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

from goodreads

I've heard really good things about this book, and I have been wanting to read a really cute and girly love story lately. 

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

Summary:

There's a creepy new terror haunting modern-day London.

Fresh from defeating a Jack the Ripper killer, Rory must put her new-found hunting skills to the test before all hell breaks loose…

But enemies are not always who you expect them to be and crazy times call for crazy solutions. A thrilling teen mystery.

from goodreads

I have had this book on my shelf for what seems to be close to a year, and have not been in the mood to read a ghostly story. Hopefully I will get to this book in 2014. 

There are many more indie books of series I want to finish of course, and much more to come. 

Happy reading

Clara

In My Mailbox (#19)

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city's secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late.

In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spectacularly gruesome details to the streets of London that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

from goodreads


I was so excited to find this book in my local bookstore, and have it signed!! I knew Maureen Johnson stopped by the area I live in during her book tour, but I didn't know she went to my bookstore! It was the most wonderful surprise. The novel seems shorter than the first novel, but I am hoping to read it sometime during spring break. :D

5 Authors I'd Autobuy Tag

I saw this somewhere either on Booktube(Youtube's book community) or tumblr. I'm not sure, but I wasn't tagged either way, so who's going to stop me? I'm pretty sure it's originally 10 authors, but I don't have such a long list, so here is my 5. 

John Green

I say a lot of good and bad things about John Green. Though, in the end, I'd still buy every book he writes. 

Here are some of the books I've read of his and reviewed:

The Fault in Our Stars

Looking For Alaska

Paper Towns

Maureen Johnson

I loved her Jack the Ripper series, well the first installment, The Name of the Star. I need to get my hands on her other novels, but would like to read the Madness Underneath, which has recently been released. 

BR Myers

I've only read a couple of her short stories, and novels on wattpad, but they are all great. I will have a review on her full novel on wattpad tomorrow. 

E.A. Riggs

I just have to mention E.A. Riggs for writing Casey Barnes Eponymous. She's a debut author, and I can't wait for whatever she comes out next. Also go check out her kickstarter, please @ dft.ba/-4K-X

Kiersten White

I love Mind Games so much, that when Kiersten White does come out with a new book, I will automatically buy it if I could. I should get reading on her series, Paranormalcy. 

March Wish List To Read

Mind Games by Keirsten White
Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

from goodreads



Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Sophronia Temminnick at 14 is a great trial more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners -- and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Her poor mother, desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady, enrolls the lively tomboy in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage -- in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

from goodreads

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city's secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late.

In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spectacularly gruesome details to the streets of London that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

from goodreads




Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

from goodreads

Book Tag: Playing With Emotions

Saw this tag on tumblr, and decided to do it.

1. Happy

To Kill a Mockingbird just made me happy. Not because the book is a light fun read, but because it was the first book that I liked to read on my own as a kid.

2. Sad

This one goes to The Fault in Our Stars, it's just over all sadness after you read it. I've been meaning to reread it, but I kind of like the idea that there a tear stains in it, and the book preserves them.

3. Angry

Clockwork Prince, I don't like it as much as I thought I would, and I don't think that I will be finishing the series.

4. Nostalgic

Again this is To Kill a Mockingbird, and I think it's because of the innocence of the book that just makes me nostalgic.

5. Scared

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. The book is about Jack the Ripper, as a ghost, so who wouldn't be scared.

6. Surprised

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do. I always say it's a good book to cuddle up with. :D

7. Disappointed

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, I think everyone had a shocked face when they read this book. It took me literally forever to dig my way through it.

8. Distressed

Divergent by Veronica Roth, my adrenaline was pumping on mad high throughout the book. I read it in like a day in a half. It's very action packed and suspenseful.

9. Confused

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, got this for my b-day last year, and just got confused and stopped. I should pick it up again, because it's a hardback copy and I feel like money was wasted. :(

10. All of the feels

It's a tie between The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. Both wonderful books, and the feels are really feely.

Seven Deadly Sins of Reading Tag

1. Greed: What are your most expensive and inexpensive books?


My most expensive book is probably a school textbook, but I have never bought a book over 20 dollars. Most inexpensive book is A Midsummer Night's Dream, I got it for a dollar and some cents at Barnes and Noble because I had a giftcard.

2. Wrath: What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?


John Green is my love/hate relationship, because I love his writing, but his stories are easy to see the solution of. That's probably is just me, but I love The Fault in Our Stars, but Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns were a bad experience for me.

3. Gluttony: What book have you deliciously devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

I wouldn't say there was no shame whatsoever, but I was one of those Twilight fans. I was hooked for a couple months or so, but now I look back and think,"What could I have possibly like about that series?" Don't judge me.

4. Sloth: What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Cinder by Marrisa Meyer

5. Pride: What book do you most talk about in order to sound like a very intellectual reader?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, just because it's a classic and is also one of my all time favorite novels.

6. Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in male or female characters?

Confident guys are never a bad thing in a male character. Someone like Gus from The Fault in Our Stars.

7. Envy: What books would you most like to receive as a gift?

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson and a new copy with a pretty cover of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Thriller Thursday (#1)

Because it is October and the only interesting thing this month is Halloween, I'd like to start Thriller Thursday. No, I'm not someone who watches horror movies or reads "scary" books, but I do read a fair amount of thriller/adrenaline novels. So in that case this week's Thriller Thursday will be three books that I think have the Thriller aspect down pat. Because you know three thriller novels on Thriller Thursday is what you do in October.



1) Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent is the only book that has kept my heart racing and my hands shaking the whole way through. So that was about two and a half days straight. I know Divergent is huge in the ya world, and you probably have read it before, but you should read it again this October.

If you want to know more of my thoughts on Divergent, here's my review.




2)The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson


If you didn't know about TNotS already, it's a ripper book. Oh so your interested?? YES!!! Because you should be and the fact that it's coming out in paperback soon is enough. Nevertheless, read it, tell me your thoughts, did you get chills from ghosts haunting you? Good. Very good.

Read my thoughts on TNotS by MJ here.




3) Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

By the title you might guess that it is has something to do with Edgar Allan Poe. Don't mind the cover of the novel, I don't like it much either, but Nevermore will blow your mind. I give it the seal of approval, if you trust my word, which I doubt you do. Poe is known for the dark poetry, so why not on Thriller Thursday?! Yeah!

Read my obsessive review of Nevermore here.

September Favorites!

Favorite Book

You've probably gotten tired of me talking about this book so much, but it was the best book I read this month. The review can be found here.

Favorite Character

Casey from Casey Barnes Eponymous is my favorite character this month because her personality is magical, and hilarious. Even though her actions from time to time gets on my nerves, I think she's a wonderful character to read from her point of view.

Favorite Author

Sorry for making this month's favorites so CBE oriented, but I truly believe that this is an amazing book, and E.A Rigg is on my to be watched list in her future novels. I'm going to link here blog here. I am very excited for her a series she's working on to come out. 

Favorite Song/Album

I've been playing this album nonstop and it's the  album that I'd dance to all day if I could. The Wombats are a British band, and their lyrics and catchy tunes making me all fluffy inside. 

If you want to check out their album for free click here. 

My favorite song is Walking Disasters, btw. :D

Favorite Quote

This quote has been in the back of my mind all month and I smile every time I think of it, because it is true. So do smile. :)

Favorite Post From Another Blogger

I poop stars: An IMO guide to book reviews from Tough Critic Book Reviews

Go read the post first. Go ahead I'll wait...

Okay, so there's a reason why I put my rating at the end of my reviews. I want you to read my review, and my rating system is based off of how I'd tell a friend about the book. So since you're reading this you are a friend, and how I'd tell a friend about the book is in my review. Then at the end is how I'd express myself. Whether it's a thumbs up and head nods, or smiling like it's no tomorrow, that's how I truly show my recommendations to friends.

Favorite Blogger of the Month

Delaney had her thirteenth birthday this month, and I think she deserves to be Blogger of the Month because she always involved in the book blogging community, and her posts make me smile. Thanks Delaney for everything!! :)

Delaney is known as The Random Ranter.

Favorite Booktuber of the Month

Renee from Nehomas2 has been the best booktuber out there in my opinion at uploading videos constantly. Also I love the fact that since she's in Australia I get to watch her videos in the morning and they wake me up when I'm a tired bear dreading school.

Favorite Book Cover

It was released this month that The Name of the Star paperback cover looks like so, and I have an itch to buy the paperback version, when I already have the hardcover. *sigh* 

Anyways love the mysterious, and haunting people walking. I kind of hope that the second book cover looks something similar to this, but also distraught that it won't match the first novel first edition copy. :( 

What are your thoughts about this cover, and any new novel covers you are obsessing over? Let me know in the comments below. :D

Authors on Twitter

There are many people on twitter. A lot of them are nobodies, or creepers. So, I want to share with you some awesome twitter authors, so you can follow, and maybe mention that I made you follow them? Huh, huh? *winks*

John Green

Maureen Johnson

BR Myers

Kelly Creagh

If you know any amazing authors, and twitterers please notify me in the comments below. 

Series I'm Currently Reading or Waiting For

Since there are just so many covers for this novel, I'm not sure which one is the actual cover. I'll just say the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess. I have the first two books in the series, and I hope to read the last one soon when it comes out.

The next series is one of my most recent favorites, the Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson. The next novel comes out in January and I'm extremely eager to read it. I have know doubts that I won't like it, but there is always a chance.

Days of Blood and Starlight is also the second novel in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. I don't know how long I can wait for the book to come out, but I maybe the few who love the first novel.

Please comment below and tell me some of your favorites series, or series you are reading/waiting for. 

Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Author: Website Twitter Goodreads
Book: Amazon Website Goodreads B&N

Earlier this year, I read half of The Name of the Star, and didn't really enjoy it so I put it down. Months now later, I picked it up at the height of the novel, and really want to kick myself in the shin for not continuing to read at least the next few pages. The Name of the Star is an unexpected modern "Ripper" novel with a paranormal twist, which I absolutely love and adore. 

I remember kind of trashing MJ the first round I read the novel, and I want to take that down right now, but I'm not because it shows how opinions can change and drastically at that. I started following MJ on twitter a few months ago on a whim, because I knew she was one of the most tweeting author there is. Also she makes me laugh at really long twitter stories. Through her writing the novel I found that twitter writing in her very different and the same, and I guess that is because she is constantly changing as an author, and this novel did come out last year. I loved how she incorporated small stories at the end of a section of the novel, to open a whole new world, and people to the next. I appreciate how much British things she added to the novel, and how much I learned from this novel alone. From a levels, to the layout of East London it was all very well informed and carefully written to not overwhelm the mind, and screaming at it " This is SO MUCH BRITISH!!!!". Fyi not trying to say being British or their culture is bad or anything like that, it's only because it's new stuff to Americans and anyone else.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson Review

Reading level: Ages 12 and up

Hardcover: 384 pages

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First Edition (September 29, 2011)

Language: English


Author: Website Twitter Goodreads
Book: Amazon Website Goodreads B&N

I think it's time to write a review on this book. On my goodreads account it says that I've started reading this book at least a month ago, but personally I don't see anything special about it. I'm on page 176 and there 's not much that keeps me going. The characters are mundane and the setting is the main focus of the novel. Even though that's awesome, I love character driven novels. NOT ohh let's put this person in this situation and see how they react. That to me is some what equal to animal testing if you understand where I'm coming form. 

The main character Rori or Aurora is only interesting from where she comes from and why she moves to London and there's a new ripper in the city. She's very mundane to other characters I've read. Although mundane is good for supernatural and fantasy stories telling the world, as for historical fiction you want the leading protagonist to be strong and independent or lost and finding themselves. I felt that Rori was in the middle. She was just riding along on this roller coaster her parents put her on. Only positive thing I can say about her is that I love her name. It's the name of one of the Gilmore Girls and that was my favorite show growing up. 

Book Reviewed

The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Common Criminals by Ally Carter
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Envy by Gregg Olsen
Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Believe by E. Leighanne Grimm-Weever
Uglies by David Westerfield

April Books!

So April is here and we are in to the book reviews once again. This month I'll review:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part -Time Indian by
Sherman Alexie

The Fault in Our Stars by
John Green

Ship Breaker by
Paolo Bacigalupi

The Name of the Star by
Maureen Johnson

Clockwork Angel by
Cassandra Clare