Waiting on Wednesday

Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

(Viking Juvenile/June 14, 2012)

Between Noelle’s difficult home life and the bullying she endures at school, all she wants is to get out of her small town. Noelle would give anything to be with Julian Porter. But staying with her emotionally distant boyfriend is safer. When things heat up between Noelle and Julian, she has to decide whether she can be her true self with him.

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Chew.
Swallow.
Chew.
Swallow.
Don't look up.

Lunch is the worst, but there's no safe place at school for Noelle. Keeping her mortifying home life a secret and trying to ignore the kids who make her life miserable are Noelle's survival strategies. Her emotionally distant boyfriend, Matt, isn't the one she really wants to be with. But there's no way she could ever be with Julian Porter.

When Julian starts talking to her, Noelle is terrified. It seems safer to stay with Matt than risk a broken heart. But when the bullying of a friend goes too far, Noelle realizes it's time to stand up for herself - and for everything that makes her keep holding on.

I've been reading so much fantasy & paranormal lately, it's nice to find something a little different for a change! Definitely need some more contemporary & realistic fiction in my literary diet so I'll be keep an eye out for Keep Holding On!
Also sounds like a good one for Sarah Dessen fans like me!!

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly
meme hosted by The Story Siren!





Here's what I got this week!

For review:
Immortal City by Scott Speer
(^I finished this one about a day or two after it arrived! Review to come!^)
The List by Siobhan Vivian

What fabulous books did you get in your mailboxes this week?
Comment & let me know so I can visit your IMM too!

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Don't forget to enter my giveaway for 2 copies of The Sisters Queen by Sophie Perinot if you're interested!

Follow Friday! (5)

Follow Friday is a weekly feature hosted by Parajunkee's View & Alison Can Read! It's a great opportunity to meet new bloggers and connect with fellow book lovers!!

Q: What is the best book you've read in the last month? What is the worst book you've read in the last month?

Best book I've read in the last month or so is Divergent by Veronica Roth! Yes, yes I know, I'm late to the party but hey, better late than never, right? I'm glad I finally got the chance to read it because it was amazing & I can't wait for Insurgent!

Worse book? Well, I read it in January, but one book that was very disappointing to me was Halflings by Heather Burch (review to come). It was slow, not very well written, and well, rather boring at points. The main character ended up playing damsel-in-distress more times that I would've liked, especially since I had high hopes for her, being a karate student and all!

What about you guys? What's the best/worse book you've read in the last month or so? Leave me your thoughts; I'd love suggestions for my TBR list (or to know which books to avoid!)

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On the Site this Week:

Guest Post + Giveaway:
Check out the Guest Post by Sophie Perniot on time traveling! I'm also giving away 2 copies of her new book, The Sisters Queen! Enter HERE if interested!

Reviews:
Check out my reviews for Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffins and Perception by Kim Harrington!

400+ Followers Giveaway winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my 400+ Followers Giveaway!

The lucky winner of the ARC of The Selection is...Arianne! Arianne, I've emailed you already, please get back to me within 48hrs or unfortunately, I'll have to pick a new winner.

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If you didn't win, don't worry, I've got another giveaway going on right now for 2 copies of The Sister's Queen by Sophie Perinot! Enter here if you're interested!

Perception by Kim Harrington

Perception by Kim Harrington

Release Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher: Point
Pages: 288

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Clare's back! I definitely enjoyed reading the second installment of the Clarity series! The writing was as good as the first book. Clare's voice was still pretty strong in this novel, and she's also matured from her experiences in Clarity. It did seem to me, however, that Clare's voice wasn't quite as strong, nor as spirited, as it was in the first novel. Maybe it's because she's matured a bit? But I don't know, it just seemed to lack some of the spunk and brightness she had in the first novel. It was almost as if she was a bit more subdued (her voice at least) in Perception, despite having a more personal mystery to solve.

Another similarity to the first novel was the mystery part of the novel. I don't mean the actual mystery itself--Clare's on a completely new adventure this time!--but like the first novel, the mystery at hand in Perception was a bit predicable. While it was slightly less predictable than the mystery in the first book, I guessed the perpetrator about half way through the novel. The writing is good, however, and doesn't drag, so despite being predicable still, it was an enjoyable read!

Thankfully, there's more character development for Gabriel so he's not just the cookie-cutter handsome, mysterious, good-looking hunk again! I enjoyed learning more about Gabriel, Justin and the other characters in Perception. The writing is well-balanced; it doesn't focus so much on back story that the plot drags but it doesn't constantly throw you into the fray without letting you glimpse at the characters' pasts. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to learn anything more about Clare's father but hopefully there will be more light shed on that subject if there's to be a third novel!

I don't want to give it away, but I for one think Clare made the right choice between the two love interests! The strong character she exhibited in the first book was obvious in Perception as well and I'm happy that this was on YA novel where the female lead truly knows and understands her leading men and chooses between them for their personalities and the way they treat her--not just because his eyes are sooo dreamy, and the kisses are simply world-shattering. Don't get me wrong, those are desirable qualities as well, but they shouldn't be the only factors when agreeing to be someone's girlfriend! I could really feel the chemistry between the two and the development of the romance between them was realistic and believable, which is a breath of fresh air amongst all the 'star-crossed lovers' that have been dominating YA fiction lately!

All in all, it was enjoyable and I certainly appreciated the more realistic romance! I hope to learn more about Clare's family, especially her father, and her past if there's to be another novel!


Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 4 stars

Waiting on Wednesday

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR/May 8 2012)

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

'With great power, comes great responsibility?' Sounds like it!

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 320

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

What would you do if you were surrounded by misery and decay on all sides? Try to make changes and improvements to the world around you? Take advantage of the misfortune of others? Or would you be like Araby and seek solace in the arms of oblivion?

Just a few pages into the novel and I could see why Araby threw herself into oblivion every chance she could! The author certainly did a good job creating a dreary, painful world! The world building is quite good for this novel and I think the author was trying to go for a steampunk setting but I don't think that was fully developed...one or two bits of technology in a world dominated by bodices and carriages isn't quite enough to sell it for me. Maybe an update on the demeanor of the citizens and possibly the infrastructure and running of the country and I would have accepted it as steampunk! Nonetheless, the world building is well done here and the depressing mood dominates the plague-ravaged country!

Masque of the Red Death is a re-imagining of sorts of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. While the dismal state the world is in is similar to Poe's story, an aspect that is markedly different is Prince Prospero. In Bethany Griffin's re-imagining, he is a manipulative, power-hungry psychopath whereas Poe's Prince Prospero seemed much more ignorant and preoccupied with frivolous things. Prospero's lack of conscience and remorse in Bethany's novel was frightening! Bethany does do a good job of capturing the same depressed feeling though!

There was definitely some great world building, but I have a bone to pick with some of the characters! April was rather inconsistent, or maybe she's just a fantastic actress. Her secrets were a bit hard to believe at first since she was an airhead with a taste for booze and drugs. Elliot...well, he's a bit of a jerk, and as Araby found his personality abrasive at the beginning, I really don't understand why she jumped to help him every time he asked--no, that's too nice, ordered--her to do something for him. He asked her to risk her life for him multiple times and she complied from the get-go and I couldn't see any clear motivation for her to help a virtual stranger--and a rude stranger at that!

There was a twist in the novel and I don't think I entirely buy it. Although you could argue that it wasn't entirely out of character, it certainly seemed highly unlikely, give the development of events in the novel leading up to that point! I'm sure this sounds rather vague so I apologize, but I don't want to give anything away and spoil the fun!

A minor point I felt like mentioning was the Debauchery Club; when I read the blurb I was expecting something wild and possibly even borderline obscene since it was the once place people could escape all the gloom around them. But instead, it seemed like a rather tame place that certainly didn't live up to its name!

The ending felt weak compared to the rest of the novel. While I get that continuing the adventure could require quite a number of pages more, the ending felt rushed, as if the author had to hurry and find a spot to cut off the story until the sequel(s).

While I can say that I enjoyed this novel and will most likely read the sequel, I have this odd feeling that there's something off about it. I'm not saying it's a bad novel, but to me it doesn't seem entirely put-together. It seemed like the author put too much effort into developing the characters at points and the plot ended up dragging a bit and being put second. At other points the plot was being rushed along and became the only focus. I guess that's the 'off feeling' I'm getting; the plot and character development in the novel wasn't balanced.

Despite any misgivings I may have, I am sure many readers will enjoy Masque of the Red Death! The world-building is excellent, the love-triangle will appeal to many, and the slightly steampunk setting was pretty cool!


Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars