Saturday, October 13, 2012

Review: Silence (Queen of Dead #1)

Silence (The Queen of the Dead, #1)
Author: Michelle Sagara  


Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance


Pages: 289


Date of Release: May 1, 2012


Publisher: Penguin


Rating: 5/10


Summary: It began in the graveyard…

Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death….

Emma was not quite like others teenagers. It was true that other girls had experienced grief. Other girls had also lost their fathers, or had their boyfriends die in a senseless accident. But though she hadn’t known it till that night in the graveyard, unlike those other girls, she could see, touch, and speak with the dead. In fact, Emma could draw upon the essence of the dead to work magic. That was what Necromancers did. But Emma had no desire to be a Necromancer. She just wanted to help the ghosts who walked the streets of Toronto, unable to escape from the land of the living. And that was just as well, because had she chosen the path of the Necromancer, Eric would have had to kill her.

Instead, Eric and his fellow Necromancer hunter Chase found themselves violating every rule they were sworn to follow, becoming part of Emma’s group, helping her to stand against those who preyed upon the dead. But whether Emma and her friends could survive such a battle was anyone’s guess. And whether Emma could learn to use the magic of the dead against her enemies without herself falling victim to the lure of such power remained to be seen. Eric seemed to think she could, and her living friends would never abandon her. But only time would tell what Emma’s true destiny was… -
Goodreads

Review: The long summary was well written and pulled in, making you want to read it. Which is exactly what I did. Though honestly, the book was well written it was just a bit slow, boring, whatever you want to call it.

The book started off pretty good, with her grieving for her dead boyfriend and Eric showing up. But the details of Eric coming was a bit vague. I mean at the beginning, all Eric seemed to do was follow Emma around feeling guilty about having to kill her. Then Chase comes along and puts Eric back on the right road. The events following are a bit confusing.

Right now, typing this, I still don't why those four ghosts were chained up at Amy's House. They proved to have purpose to Emma after she freed them, but I never got a clear explanation about why were there. Which leads on to the woman in the mirror. Who is she? What is she? Eric seems to know her, but it isn't revealed how she will be presented in the series.

Emma is a strong character. She knows what she wants and how she is going to do it. I mean she did convince some guy not to kill her. Pretty awesome! Emma helped free a little boy's ghost from a burning house and helped his mother get over the trauma. Okay, during that part where the little boy is saying 'see you in Heaven' to his mom, I was bawling. Snots, tears the works. Let me tell you, Michelle Sagara sure knows how to write a crying scene. The little boy seemed so mature and was just so cute... in a tragic way.

To say I really enjoyed this book would be a fib. But don't knock to til you try it, eh? Haha. I will be waiting for the second book in this series and I will review it.

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Blogging Sisters

It has happened. All three of my sisters (One older, Two younger) have blogs. Willow was the last to make a blog, but today she has made one. Yay! It is called Amidst The WillowTrees. She has yet to make a post and I have been showing her the ropes of this little blogging business:) Hope you enjoy her posts in the future. Leave comments for her; she will be happy:)

Cover Reveal: The Elite by Kiera Cass

 
When I saw this cover, I basically melted into a pool of joy. Despite looking similar to the first book, it had amazing colours and I just fell in love with it. Just wish the red was a bit fiercer. I really hope you guys love it too. Can't wait until the book release!!!!!
The Elite (The Selection, #2)

October Book Releases


Stealing Parker
 Stealing Parker: Miranda Kenneally
Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.

After her family's scandal rocks their conservative small town, 17-year-old Parker Shelton goes overboard trying to prove that she won't turn out like her mother: a lesbian. The all-star third-baseman quits the softball team, drops 20 pounds and starts making out with guys--a lot. But hitting on the hot new assistant baseball coach might be taking it a step too far...especially when he starts flirting back.




Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls, #4)Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4): C.C. Hunter

Shadow Falls Camp is back in session with the most explosive installment yet. A shocking new threat will rock Shadow Falls—changing it forever and altering Kylie’s journey in ways she never imagined.
Even at a camp for supernatural teens, Kylie Galen has never been normal. Not only can she see ghosts, but she doesn’t seem to belong to any one species—she exhibits traits from them all. As Kylie struggles to unlock the secrets of her identity, she begins to worry that Lucas will never be able to accept her for what she is, and what she isn’t…a werewolf. With his pack standing in their way, Kylie finds herself turning more and more to Derek, the only person in her life who’s willing to accept the impossible.
As if life isn’t hard enough, she starts getting visits from the ghost of Holiday, her closest confidante. Trouble is, Holiday isn’t dead…not yet anyway. Now Kylie must race to save one of her own from an unseen danger before it’s too late—all while trying to stop her relationship with Lucas from slipping away forever. In a world of constant confusion, there’s only one thing Kylie knows for sure. Change is inevitable and all things must come to an end…maybe even her time at Shadow Falls.
The breathtaking fourth installment of the New York Times bestselling Shadow Falls series from author C. C. Hunter...Whispers at Moonrise.

Who I KissedWho I Kissed: Janet Gurtler         Samantha didn't mean to hurt anyone. She was just trying to fit in… and she wanted to make Zee a little jealous after he completely ditched her for a prettier girl. So she kissed Alex. And then he died--right in her arms.
Sam is now the school pariah and a media sensation--how did she not know Alex had a peanut allergy? Consumed with guilt, she'll have to find a strength that goes way deeper than pulling off a fastest time in the 200-meter butterfly. Because if she can’t figure out how to forgive herself, no one else will either.




Skinny Skinny: Donna Cooner
Hopeless. Freak. Elephant. Pitiful. These are the words of Skinny, the vicious voice that lives inside fifteen-year-old Ever Davies’s head. Skinny tells Ever all the dark thoughts her classmates have about her. Ever knows she weighs over three hundred pounds, knows she’ll probably never be loved, and Skinny makes sure she never forgets it.
But there is another voice. Ever’s singing voice, which is beautiful but has always been silenced by Skinny. Partly in hopes of trying out for the school musical—and partly to try and save her own life—Ever decides to undergo a risky surgery that may help her lose weight and start over.
With the support of her best friend, Ever begins the uphill battle toward change. But demons, she finds, are not so easy to shake, not even as she sheds pounds. Because Skinny is still around. And Ever will have to confront that voice before she can truly find her own.

Kiss & Make UpKiss and Make Up: Katie D Anderson
 A kiss is but a kiss—unless 16-year-old lip gloss fanatic Emerson Taylor is the one puckering up. When Emerson kisses someone, she can see into his or her mind. Her secret gift mostly generates anxiety, until she discovers that kissing smart boys, aka “Ivys,” can help her academic performance. Emerson plans to smooch her way to better grades (a fairly depressing premise) and stay enrolled at her pricey prep school, bolstered by a supply of lip gloss from her aunt Arch, a cosmetics rep who has been raising Emerson and her sister since their mother disappeared. Roadblocks pop up as Emerson fights with her sister and her boy-crazy BFF, starts to develop a reputation (due to all her kissing), and falls in love with the nerdiest Ivy of them all. Debut author Anderson, to her credit, uses this fun premise to get at deeper issues of teenage curiosity, identity, and self-doubt, as her characters play smartly off one another, and Emerson learns that the supernatural path to success isn’t necessarily the best one.

october 2012 ya book releases Time Between Us: Tamara Ireland Stone                                     
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.
As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.
Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning, spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new voice in YA fiction.

october 2012 ya book releasesOut of Reach: Carrie Arcos                                                                        
How do you find someone who doesn’t want to be found? A girl searches for her missing addict brother while confronting her own secrets in this darkly lyrical novel. Rachel has always idolized her older brother Micah. He struggles with addiction, but she tells herself that he’s in control. And she almost believes it. Until the night that Micah doesn’t come home. Rachel’s terrified—and she can’t help but feel responsible. She should have listened when Micah tried to confide in her. And she only feels more guilt when she receives an anonymous note telling her that Micah is nearby and in danger. With nothing more to go on than hope and a slim lead, Rachel and Micah’s best friend, Tyler, begin the search. Along the way, Rachel will be forced to confront her own dark secrets, her growing attraction to Tyler…and the possibility that Micah may never come home.

october 2012 young adult book releases The Space Between Us: Jessica Martinez                                        
 From the author of Virtuosity, a novel about two sisters and the secrets they tell, the secrets they keep—and the secret that could tear them apart. Amelia is used to being upstaged by her charismatic younger sister, Charly. She doesn’t mind, mostly, that it always falls to her to cover for Charly’s crazy, impulsive antics. But one night, Charly’s thoughtlessness goes way too far, and she lands both sisters in serious trouble. Amelia’s not sure she can forgive Charly this time, and not sure she wants to . . . but forgiveness is beside the point. Because Charly is also hiding a terrible secret, and the truth just might tear them apart forever.




october most anticipated book releases yaThe Evolution Of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2): Michelle Hodkin
 Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past. She can’t. She used to think her problems were all in her head. They aren’t. She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. She’s wrong. In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?                                        







october 2012 contemporary new releases yaThis is Not a Drill: Beck McDowell                                          
 When high school seniors—and former couple—Emery and Jake find themselves held hostage in a first grade classroom, they must do all they can to protect the kids. Brian Stutts, a U.S. soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving in Iraq, pulls out his gun to convince the teacher to hand over the son he’s not allowed to check out because of a custody battle. The situation turns deadly when a security guard appears at the door and Stutts impulsively opens fire. When the teacher is carried from the room, the children’s fate is in the hands of Emery and Jake. While Jake searches for a way to communicate with the policemen surrounding the building, Emery, fighting her shyness, fear, and POTS symptoms, tries to reach out to the soldier. She gains a new understanding of what he faced in Iraq, and discovers remarkable strength in his small son.

new october 2012 paranormal sci-fi book releases yaGravity: Melissa West                                           
 In the future, only one rule will matter: Don’t. Ever. Peek. Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die. Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

Just Your Average Princess Just Your Average Princess: Kristina Springer
Jamie Edwards has loved everything about growing up on a pumpkin patch, but ever since her cousin Milan Woods arrived, things have really stunk. Jamie can't imagine it was easy for Milan to leave her life back in Los Angeles and move to Average, Illinois, population one thousand. But it's kind of hard to feel sorry for her since (a) Milan's drop-dead gorgeous; (b) she's the daughter of two of Hollywood's hottest film stars; (c) she's captured the attention of everyone in town, including Danny, Jamie's crush since forever; and (d) she's about to steal the title of Pumpkin Princess right out from underneath Jamie!


I noticed something about most of these books. Their conflicts are mostly internal. So the protagonist dealing with a problem within their selves.                                     






Upcoming Books Reviews

 
I will try my best to get all these reviews done by the end of the month! Oh and these books are mostly in order of when I will post them.

Book Reviews:
  • Silence (Queen of Dead #1): Michelle Sagara
  • Team Human: Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan
  • Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1): Beth Revis
  • 52 Reasons to Hate My Father: Jessica Brody
  • Triple Review on TRYLLE series
  • Speak: Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Past Perfect: Leila Sales
  • Endure (Need #4): Carrie Jones
  • Second Skin: Jessica Wollman
  • Entwined: Heather Dixon
  • Crave (The Clann #1): Melissa Darnell
  • Starling (Starling #1): Lesley Livingston
  • Fins are Forever: Tera Lynn Childs
Wow... Those are a lot of books I have to review. Hehe...
Did you guys also know that Mark of Athena came out. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
I have to pick it up at the library and then I will become a curled ball in my room while I slowly devour every single part of it. True to-become Story.

Sad Story: I have to wait and pick it up after Thanksgiving.
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Happy October!


Happy_october



Okay, I'm getting better. Only seven days late this time:) Well Happy October everyone!!! This is one of my favourite months. Can anyone guess why? HALLOWEEN! Free candy always makes everybody happy... no matter how old or how young. The thing is I don't know what to be for Halloween? I was thinking cowboy, because I got this cool cowboy hat. I'll confirm my decision closer to the date.











My Month-Long Time Out

The title is self explanatory. My mom put me on time out from everything electronic or social for a month. Sure I was un-grounded for about two days until I forgot to pick up my phone... again. Anyways, I am free!!! So I will blog the weekend away! Yay! It might be a slow process, because my fingers are stiff from not typing for a long time.