Month: September 2012

Thorns (Frost Chronicles #2) by Kate Avery Ellison (Book Review)

Posted September 28, 2012 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 0 Comments

Thorns (Frost Chronicles #2) by Kate Avery Ellison (Book Review)Thorns by Kate Avery Ellison
Series: Frost Chronicles #2
Also in this series: Frost
Published by CreateSpace on September 6, 2012
Genres: Dystopia, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Author
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Lia Weaver went against everything she’d ever known when she risked her life to help a Farther fugitive named Gabe escape from the Aeralian soldiers, and her life changed forever. And the Frost changed, too—the Farthers have taken over her village, a new group of vigilantes calling themselves the Blackcoats are making plans to overthrow the Farther occupiers, and the Thorns are seeking for her to join them.

Lia seeks to fight back against the evil and injustice that has swallowed up her home, but danger lurks at every turn. The monsters that dwell in the deepest regions of the Frost are growing bolder and more dangerous every day, a Farther noble takes up residence in the village on a mysterious mission, and Lia discovers that her parents were harboring even more secrets.

As the frozen world of the Frost grows even more perilous, can Lia survive?

I absolutely loved Frost, the first book in this series, so I was extremely excited when Kate contacted me and asked if I would like to review the sequel! I did not even know it was out yet, which is just nuts because I have been thinking about that book for months. Thorns did not disappoint, and surely did not fall victim of the “second book syndrome” as I like to call it. So often second books are pointless bridges to the concluding book. Thorns was SO not that, though. I really enjoyed reading it, and am even more excited for the next one! As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. Just like in Frost, I love the setting of this book! The Frost is the coldest place I’ve ever read about, and I loved curling up under my covers and reading about it. Not a lot of books are set in a place like this one, and it’s just freezing, snowy, sparkly, magical place. 

2. Kate’s writing is still absolutely beautiful. Her descriptions of the scenery, the weather, the tense moments, and the simple sweet times are flawless. I could not stop reading.

3. Like I said before, this story is not one of those worthless second novels that authors write because they feel like they absolutely have to write a trilogy. This book gives us so much more information on the underlying mystery of the Thorns and the Farthers, and sets us up for a really awesome third novel.

4. In the last book, I really liked Gabe. Like A LOT. But since Lia helped him escape he was not in this book at all. So now… Adam Brewer… the guy I didn’t think a lot about, is this really mysterious, brave, swoonworthy lead! The romance is minimal, but there’s definitely some tension there. And because there’s no insta-love, that achy tension is extremely believable. I think I’m team Adam now, but I’m torn at the same time!

5. I kind of like that in this book we get to see Lia as more vulnerable and human. In Frost, she was rather emotionless, hardened, and skeptical. She just kept to herself and took life as it came. I think Gabe coming into her life softened her up a bit to the potential of love and also made her think about the life that she wants to be living. Overall, I think he challenged her to go against the rules and fight for what’s right. I enjoyed this change in her a lot. She became more relatable, but not so worn down that she got annoying.

6. I loved all the secrecy and sneaking around that Lia and Adam did as part of the Thorns. There were still some crazy suspenseful moments and a little danger. It was very exciting.

7. I also really loved that Kate gave us enough info to remind us what happened in the first book, but not too much that I felt like I was reading the first book all over again.

Overall, I loved this book just as much as the first one, but for different reasons. Rather than romance, this one focused on secrecy and rebellion. The details and descriptions are gorgeous as ever. I do think Kate is gaining a fan for life. I’m convinced now that I will love anything she writes.


Covers of the Rainbow: Red

Posted September 26, 2012 by Jana in Cover Talk, Covers of the Rainbow / 6 Comments

 

You know me! I love colors, I love art, and I love beautiful book covers. So this new feature here on my blog features my favorite covers from every color of the spectrum. I’ll also feature a short explanation of the color’s meaning so we can discuss if the predominate use of that color was a good choice.

 

This time, I’m featuring red covers. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.

So, what do you think? If you’ve read these books, does the use of red on the cover reflect the subject matter of the story? What other red covers do you like?


Fall for You by Cecilia Gray (Mini Review)

Posted September 19, 2012 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 4 Comments

Fall for You by Cecilia Gray (Mini Review)Fall for You by Cecilia Gray
Series: Jane Austen Academy #1
Published by The Alpha Division on February 10, 2012
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Retelling, Romance
Pages: 128
Format: eBook
Source: Author
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To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He's a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She's a driven study-a-holic barely keeping up with tuition. It's obvious that Dante thinks he's way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie knows Dante is a snob with a gift for pushing her buttons.

But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie's quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets... Secrets Lizzie can't seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries...

I absolutely love Jane Austen-esque novels, so I was quite excited to read this book. While the story is light and cute, and it started off promising, there just wasn’t much to it for me. It was a very quick read, so none of the characters were extremely developed or all that memorable. The writing itself was fine, but the plot line was not strong enough for me either.

I didn’t like Lizzie very much. She came off as being mean and rather annoying. The investigative journalist aspect of her character kind of bothered me, just because I’m not a huge fan of books with this angle. It turned her into a nosy girl, shoving her way into everything. The romance was not believable, and was kind of all over the place. And… I kind of hated the school’s nickname: Jasta. I know that’s a really silly thing to dislike, but it just bugged me!

I think this all boils down to the fact that the story takes place in a boarding school, which I rarely enjoy about a book. Most boarding school characters a stuck-up and arrogant, and I really dislike reading about people like that. Also, it was short but still had a lot to cover. If there had been an extra 50-100 pages, I’m not necessarily sure I would have liked the book more, but it would have been a more solid foundation for the rest of the series. While I won’t be continuing on with this series, I would encourage Jane Austen fans to give this a try if they are looking for a quick fix. I’ve seen a lot of raving reviews for Fall for You, so maybe you’d feel differently about it than I do!


Top Ten Bookish People I Want to Meet

Posted September 19, 2012 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 17 Comments

 

This week’s topic is all about the bookish people I want to meet. They could be bloggers, authors, characters, etc. I have a feeling it’s going to be hard to keep this list down to just 10 people, so you might find me cheating a little bit!

1. My Broke and Bookish Crew
I have been writing at The Broke and the Bookish for over 2 years now, and I have only met Kimberly! And I almost met Daisy when I was in Holland over the summer. I got extremely sick, though, and spent the day I was supposed to have lunch with her in bed with pneumonia. So, I want to meet alllll of them! Jamie, Lori, Daisy (we need to go shopping for sparkly things!), Jen, Julia, Kelly, Paula, Tahleen, and Bridget. Girls, we need a huge getaway. Like a cruise or something.

2. Alexa of Alexa Loves Books
I adore this girl! We’ve had fun discussing books and life… and I designed her blog for her, which was way fun. She’s one of my best clients ever. And we have the same kind of taste in books! Plus, she’s one of the sweetest people ever.

3. Estelle of Rather be Reading
I met Magan at ALA, which was so much fun! I adore Estelle. She’s so much fun to talk books with, plus her reviews are amazingly well done and her vlogs are very fun to watch. I just know we’d be great buds with lots to talk about!

4. Tracey Garvis Graves, author of On the Island
Tracey and I have become great friends over time as her book went from self-published, to Penguin published, to MGM movie rights and beyond. She’s an extremely nice person, and I think we’d get along wonderfully!

5. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
The movie version just did not do it for me. I want to meet the Katniss from the book and ask her all about her life. Her story is fascinating.

6. Mandee from Vegan YA Nerds 
I love Mandee! She’s so sweet and so much fun to talk to. I want her to teach me all the yummy vegan recipes too!

7. Sam from Incarnate
Seeing as how he has been reincarnated so many times, I’d love to sit down and talk with him about the evolution of the world. Plus, he’s got so much life experience. I’d love some advice!

8. Lauren Oliver, author of the Delirium Trilogy
She seems awesome, and like such an amazingly funny person! I LOVE the Delirium trilogy, and would love to hear her talk all about the development of the story, the characters, and how she plans to end it all with the final book!

9. Amy from Following the Reader
We’ve chatted on Twitter many times, and I know she and I would get along SO well!

10. YOU.
Hey, you’re awesome! And I LOVE it when you stop by my blog! I know we’d have so much fun chatting about books and bookish things.

So, which bookish people do you hope to meet someday? Link me up and I’ll come visit!


Ten by Gretchen McNeil (Book Review)

Posted September 17, 2012 by Jana in Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 4 Comments

Ten by Gretchen McNeil (Book Review)Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Published by Balzer + Bray on September 18, 2012
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 296
Format: ARC
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It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Sometimes I enjoy being scared. I’m a major chicken, so I don’t read many scary books, but this one sounded too good to pass up! I was also majorly intrigued when I found it’s a retelling of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. This was totally worth being scared for. As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. The location is really ominous, and a character all its own. It has the power to be a breezy, sunny escape or a stormy, treacherous nightmare. In this case, it was the latter and I loved it. The descriptions had me snuggling under my blankets, hiding from murderers.

2. Gretchen is amazing at writing suspenseful passages. All of a sudden, I was a speed reader with this book. It was not because I was bored or because there were too many details. It was because everything flowed and ran into the next story elements so nicely that I almost absorbed the words rather than having to shove them in my head. It was effortless reading. 

3. Now, I have not read Agatha’s original version of this story, but the reviews I have read lead me to believe that this version sticks very closely to the original. I didn’t read anything about it having the crazy weather like Ten does, which I loved. It reminded me of Stephen King’s Storm of the Century. Very creepy, and it added a lot to the story. Just like the location, the weather was a character.

4. There were a lot of people to keep track of. Meg is the main girl and her best friend is Minnie. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who in the beginning, just because they each had an “M” name. And all the other characters blended together a bit for me, except for T.J., the love interest. Even though everyone was being murdered, though, the story focused more on the scare factor and less on the characters. I actually enjoyed that, just because it was fun to be immersed more in my feelings and reactions than the characters’ stories.

5. The murders form and are all wrapped up into a pretty crazy web of details. We learn more and more and solve the mystery right along with the characters. I was just as confused as they were. And I figured things out at about the same pace as they did, which was fun. I enjoyed that the reasoning and resolution weren’t easy. I love my details!

6. SO many twists and turns and events. It never calmed down! It just got creepier.

7. I was so scared! I could not read alone or at night, or I started to get really paranoid. This is a great book for autumn, especially for around Halloween.

All in all, everyone needs to read a creepy book every now and again. I really enjoyed this one, and would recommend it to pretty much anyone who loves a good scare. It wasn’t my favorite book in the world, but it’s definitely worth a read. And it seems to be great for all ages, since my dad just stole it from me when I was done! I really want to read Agatha Christie’s version now!