Meeting Lauren Kate

What did I do yesterday on my day off from the bookstore? I went to the bookstore of course, to meet Lauren Kate and get her latest book signed!

I sort of realized I’m a little behind in my Lauren Kate reading. I own all her books, but I don’t think I’ve read them all. There are two I need to read…But that’s okay. I will get to them. A) Her covers are just too pretty, B) The romance in them is so addicting, and C) Lauren Kate, herself, is just so awesome.

I loved getting a chance to hear what inspired her, how her writing process works, and what it feels like to be done with a whole YA series. She mentioned a new book she was working on (separate from this series) and I’m excited to see what else Lauren Kate will write! She was just such a fun person to listen to. You could tell that she is one of those lucky people who just loves what they get paid to do.

I also loved how focused her fans were. I swear it was the quietest line I ever waited in, to get a book signed. All the girls in front of me and behind me were focused on what Lauren Kate was saying to each individual. At first this weirded me out a little. But, then I joined in and learned that movie rights were released for Fallen!

I have to give points to Barnes and Noble for just being so awesome and having another fantastic signing. I’m glad I spent my time off there.

Picture time! Here’s one of me with Lauren Kate!

And here’s my signed copy of Rapture!

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

So words cannot quite express the amount of excitement I had for this book’s release. I absolutely loved Cashore’s other two books: Graceling and Fire.  I remember talking about Fire with a friend who’d read it before me. She told me it was better than Graceling, and of course my response was, “How can anything be better than Graceling?” And now when I find myself describing these books to people, I find myself leaning more toward Fire than I originally thought I would.

It is a rarity for me to ever really like book 2 more than book 1. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this one. I didn’t like this one more than Fire, but I was still really impressed with it. Instead of making this book about someone graced with a powerful ability or about someone considered a monster for their rarity and gifts, Cashore finally writes a book about someone normal…or as normal as a queen with no magical abilities can be. And while the characters of her other books lived through some seriously harsh situations, they always seemed to epitomize the word strength to me. They always kicked some serious butt. And I loved them for this.

Bitterblue, lacking in a grace, kind of comes across as the opposite. And it took me a little while longer than I was expecting to love her as a character. Sure, I felt sorry for her immediately. Her life was anything but easy. But, I didn’t love her until she really seemed to take on her role as queen, and my goodness did she take this role to heart.

The book takes place almost a decade after King Leck’s death. Leck, Bitterblue’s father, was as evil as evil tyrants come. He was graced with the ability to control people’s minds. And he did some extremely horrifying things with his ability. Bitterblue knows which people she shouldn’t mention Leck around at all, because each person who suffered through the man’s reign, is still suffering afterwards.

A lot of this book deals with truth. It’s about Bitterblue learning the truth about what her father really did, beyond what she saw. It’s about her advisers wanting to keep the truth about King Leck at a distance from Bitterblue and away from everyone it could hurt. It’s about keeping certain truths to yourself out of fear. And then of course it’s about dealing with the truth and suriviving with it, after you know it.

Bitterblue, in a rather Jasmine-ish fashion has to escape the confines of her castle at night, dressed as a man, to explore the land she is meant to be the ruler of. She finds herself loving the nightlife and learning about her people by going to various pubs and listening to stories. People tell stories about history, about King Leck, about Bitterblue’s famous and wonderful friends, and about so many things that Bitterblue has never heard. And these stories begin her quest for truth. Why does no one in her kingdom seem able to read, even when her advisors say that most can? And why is nothing quite as she is told it should be?

She befriends a thief and printer (Saphire and Teddy), and pretends to be someone she’s not. She learns about truth-seekers and people who work to steal things back from King Leck. Her new friends steal things her father had stolen and give them back to their rightful owners (in a Robin hood type fashion). Though, in a lot of cases, the things go to the owner’s children because most of the owners were killed by Leck.

There’s revolutions, new lands discovered, old friends joining up with new friends, romance, treason, hidden passageways, mazes, art, prisons, lots of betrayals, lots of owning up to past lies, kidnapping attempts, fighting, suicide, depression, and so much planning!

This was not an easy book to read. So much of it dealt with recovery. Leck raped, tortured, experimented on, ruined, and hurt so many people. The extent of his evil is fully learned by Bitterblue, after much digging, deciphering, and learning. All of the adults in this book had suffered so much. Everyone has lost someone. And it was horrifying to think of all the damage just one man could create.

I loved the power of words in this book! Between one character writing a book of words, all the characters writing in code, the bars where stories were told, the embroidered words Bitterblue’s mother left for her in her blankets, the journals Bitterblue and her awesome librarian deciphered and managed to use to learn about Leck, the powerless people’s illiteracy, and the illegal printing presses, so much seemed to about language, and it all connected so beautifully!

I also grew to love Bitterblue. Instead of complaining about her ignorance, she did something about it. She learned from her mistakes, and she went about solving her problems so bravely. She’s such an intelligent and loyal main character. Her attachment with characters from the other books was wonderful. Her friendships with people in the castle were adorable. And I loved how much she wanted to learn, how much she wanted to be queen, and how much she wanted people to be able to move on.

It did move a little too slowly for my liking. I’m not sure all the stuff about the revolutions and wars amongst the other kingdoms was necessary. Though, I really did end up feeling as Bitterblue felt, so frustrated and impatient for news or things to happen, and incapable of making them happen myself. Cashore knows how to write characters, create worlds, instigate action, prolong nice romance, and really just make a fantastic book.

I give this one a 10/10. I did not like it as much as the other two, but I really can’t find much in the ways of flaws. As with the first two, I’m still letting this book sink in a bit. I really hope Cashore continues to write, and I look forward to anything she would have to say in the future.

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop

Thank you I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting another fabulous blog hop!

If anyone needs to clear some space on her bookshelves, it would most definitely be me. And to really make some space, I would need to give away at least three books, so that’s what I’m doing!

My standard rules apply: I will email a winner as soon as the giveaway is over, and you will have 48 hours to respond to my email with a shipping address. Otherwise, I will pick a different winner. I am only offering this giveaway to those in the U.S.

I like to give people options, too. So, if you win, you will have a choice between two options (each would give you 3 free books!).

Option 1:

 
The Hunter’s Moon by O.R. Melling
The Summer King by O.R. Melling
The Light-Bearer’s Duaghter by O.R. Melling

(All of these books have been read once. They are all paperbacks. And they’re kind of the books that got me interested in YA fairies.)

Or you can pick option 2:

 
Black hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill
Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw

(Gill’s and Pfeffer’s books have never been read. Shadowcry and Blood Wounds are hard covers and Black Hole Sun is in paperback.)

Whatever option does not get picked by the winner, will most likely be given away at a later time on my blog.

To see the other blogs participating, keep scrolling down to the end of this post, or just click on the picture (of the bookcase) at the top of the post.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Good Week in Books (9)

I had a relatively good week in books! I bought two more books with my special discount at work. I got one new one on Net Galley. I got another book to review for Romantic Times. And I was given a Barnes and Noble gift card from one of the coolest parent volunteers ever, and got three more new ones!

With my discount, I got these (I already own the other Smith-Ready books and I somehow have the sequel already to Carter’s book, so now my series are complete!):

 
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

From Net Galley (thank you Disney Hyperion!):

 
Dark Star by Bethany Frenette (comes out 10/23/12)

To review for RT:

 
Until Next Time by Amy Lignor

With my gift card, I got these beauties:

 
Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Witches of East End by Melissa De La Cruz

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (I already read this one and reviewed it, but I just had to own a physical copy of it –that’s how much I loved it).

How was your week in books?

Hidden by Sophie Jordan

I got this ARC at the RT Booklovers Convention. It doesn’t come out until 9/11/12.  It’s the third and final installment to the Firelight trilogy. I had a ball reading these books by Sophie Jordan! The whole dragons-can-sometimes-be-human-idea is fantastic! There’s dragons, love triangles, crazy societies, hunters, fire breathing, twin sisters, flying, and so much fighting for what is right. What’s not to love? It took me a little longer to read this book than I thought it would, but I think part of it was because I had a feeling for how it would end, and I wasn’t sure I wanted it to go there.

Any way, it starts immediately after book two finishes. Jacinda, Will, and Cassian go right into their plan for rescuing Cassian’s annoying sister.  And the plan is for Jacinda to go in as bait. After a long, painful day as bait (where Jacinda witnesses all the other draki (aka: dragons) who have slowly been experimented on and tortured, she and her friends manage to infiltrate the system, save Cassian’s sister, and free the other draki.

And this is only the very beginning of the book…So much happens in this one. Things are found out about Jacinda’s father. They meet some interesting new draki, including a love interest (finally) for Tamra (Jacinda’s twin). After the escape, the teens are running for their lives, constantly being followed by hunters. And soon, Jacinda figures out that one of them has a locating chip in their head! All the scenes with just Jacinda, Will, and Cassian were fabulous. And it becomes clearer and clearer that there is no triangle. It’s just Will. Though, there’s a lot of arguments between Jacinda and Will about Jacinda always picking her pride (which she hates) over him. And I thought this was so real and interesting to read about!

The gang eventually has to return to the pride. There’s the matter of saving one girl, getting revenge/justice, and helping a new friend. Things change quickly for the draki society. There’s one crazy, full-out battle between the pride and the hunters. There’s some death, a lot of injuries, and definitely a broken heart or two. I’m not going to spoil the end. Just know that it was full of action, realizations, and awesome!

I loved this book! I did predict all the major plot points, and at first this was irritating, but then it wasn’t. Jordan writes the predictable well. I just got so c aught up in the romance and the action, that the predictability took the way back seat. The romance between Jacinda and Will was so hot! I loved how things ended for Jacinda’s pride.  And I love how brave and loyal Jacinda was. She’s such a great main character!

There were two things that really bothered me though. One, was the whole death being taken back thing. One character seemed to have really died, but then it turns out, didn’t. And I hate when authors do this because it makes me feel so stupid for believing it. But then Jordan did this again with another character. And after two characters weren’t dead, I found myself kind of angry, and not very trusting. What about the other characters who are believed dead? Is everyone fair game? Was the author too afraid to kill major characters? I just thought doing this twice was overkill. Once was acceptable, but twice just made me loose too much faith in everything in front of me.

And the second thing that kept nagging at me was this: why was it such a big deal for the humans not to know that dragons were also human? I wanted them to know so bad! While I don’t think all hunters/creepy torturers would stop what they were doing, it would make them all re-evaluate something about their jobs. And why is this so bad?

There are a few times (between the first book and this one) where people see that dragons are people, and then I was always like, “Yes! Finally!” But then the dragons would conveniently erase the knowledge from people’s brains. It was kind of like the author killing people, and then bringing them back. I kind of think the story would have been more interesting if stuff wasn’t always being taken back. Bad things can happen in books, and when they keep getting taken back, I feel like I’m getting a sugar-coated version of the real story.

Besides the stuff being taken back, I did really love this one. I was hooked from the action of the first pages. And I probably would have read it even if there was no action because the romance was just that good! I give it a 8/10. And I will definitely keep my eyes open for more things from this author.

Dark Days Tour

 Elizabeth Norris, Aprilynne Pike, Veronica Roth, and Bethany Griffin

Yesterday, after work, I went to the Evanston Public Library for a Dark Days Tour Stop, hosted by the library and by the Book Stall (a bookstore in Winnetka). At the event, were authors: Veronica Roth, Bethany Griffin, Elizabeth Norris, and Aprilynne Pike.

I got there early enough to sit in the first row for the Q&A part of the evening. I felt a little bad for the other authors, when the majority of the questions were asked to Veronica Roth. And then I felt even worse when the lining up for the book signings began and Veronica’s line filled up the whole space. I was glad though that the other authors were there. And I brought along my copies of Insurgent, Masque of the Red Death, and Unraveling, the latter two I still need to read, but am now even more excited to do so.

I went and got my books signed by Norris and Griffin first. I haven’t read anything by Pike yet, and I don’t own any of her work, though, as a person she sounded awesome and I have a feeling I will read her stuff eventually. Thankfully, I thought ahead enough to bring my books with me so I wouldn’t have to buy them.

What I really loved about this event was the enthusiasm in the room! There were people of all ages (most between the ages of 10 and 30). And everyone was so excited to get their books signed. And more than that people were excited to hear Veronica Roth speak. As soon as a question was asked to her, the whole room would go eerily silent. And I was seeing some crazy amounts of focus from the kids in the room.

I also loved having the chance to talk to fellow YA fans, and these were some of the things I got to talk about yesterday: Peeta versus Gale, Matched versus Delirium, favorite YA heroines, The Vampire Academy, the upcoming Immortal Instruments movie, Harry Potter accessories, Leaky Con, John Green, YA blogs and YouTube channels, and so much more! Really, YA fans are just some of the coolest people ever.

All in all, I had a lot of fun, and I’m super glad that I had the opportunity to attend this one.

Also, got some awesome pictures!

This is a picture of Veronica Roth and me! And then here’s my signed copy of Insurgent (!):

      

This is a picture of Elizabeth Norris and me! And then here’s my signed copy of Unraveling (!):

This is a picture of Bethany Griffin and me! And then here’s my signed copy of Masque of the Red Death (!):

Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

Can we take a moment to just thoroughly stare at the gorgeous cover? I keep looking at it, way past even finishing the book. There’s a blurb from what of my all time favorites: Tamora Pierce. And then as the story goes on and tarot cards become rather significant pieces of the mystery, the cover just screams tarot card, which I for some reason didn’t see before.

The book, itself, shocked me and surprised me in ways I have not been shocked or surprised in for a long time in YA. For starters, I for some reason thought the book would be a witchy sort of paranormal romance. It was actually very much dystopia. Mix dystopia with a boarding school story, a main character that hallucinates, some insane levels of mystery, and just a pinch of love and you get this book.

It’s not exactly easy to summarize the plot of this one because the plot is just plain crazy. I literally had no idea where the author was going with this until the end. I had no guesses! I was completely lost in my feeling of uncertainty, and I loved every moment of it. Sometimes being lost was hard. What is real? What is Faye hallucinating? The main character is anything but reliable. She’s constantly seeing things like a never-ending ocean swallowing her up. She’s hearing drum beats and having nightmares that make her wake up screaming. And then there’s all the stuff she can’t remember, which reminded a little bit of The Maze Runner.

Okay, I’m backing stuff up a bit and hopefully making more sense now. The book is about Faye, a girl abandoned by a family who pretty much gives up on her. Her dad leaves her at a boarding school. And while at the school, she is getting fed three times a day and “educated,” while the rest of the planet seems to be dying off. There have been oil wars. And oil has hit an all time low, so people have been rationing off any lingering supplies. But, while the school is meant to make Faye better, it is just run so horrifically that I can’t possibly see how it could help anyone with mental illness at all, no matter what the circumstances of the world are.

There’s barbed wire fences, guards patrolling the grounds at all times, guards who are trained to use tazor guns and pepper spray on any rebellious teens, and punishments that go far darker and more painful than even pepper spray in the eyes. Her first day, Faye is put in solitary confinement, locked up in a dark room. Other times she is forced to squat on her legs for long periods of time. There’s even one scene that reminded me of the beginning of Jane Eyre where Jane has to stand in front of her whole school and be publicly humiliated. Well, at Faye’s school, she has to stand in front of everyone, be humiliated, take loud, angry insults from fellow students at the encouragement of the head of school, and then suffer through things being thrown at her. Seriously, this school was so messed up that I found myself physically shaking in anger at certain parts.

But the real story revolves around the mystery. Every night, Faye and her new friends wake up with red hands. And in Faye’s room there are red pictures on her floor of strange designs and people. Eventually you learn that the characters are digging. But, you don’t know for what. It’s clear that others know something is happening. There’s secret passageways, hidden diaries, tarot cards predicting a terrible future, friends who all hear the same drumbeats, and the ever-present dream of the ocean.

I was confused for a lot of the story because Faye was so confused. But this was actually okay. I was okay being confused because I just needed to know what on earth was happening. And somehow Etienne pulled off the crazy, suspenseful, and confusing writing style really well.

I remember being about ¾ of the way through the book and I was on my break at work, trying to explain to a co-worker just how crazy and confusing, yet awesome this book was, and I’m not sure if I ever was able to adequately explain how much I was on the edge of my seat here. I couldn’t guess the outcome yet, and I loved that about this book.

I loved the main character, and how rebellious she sometimes was. I loved all of her sayings she kept telling herself about fear and illusions. I love how much the truth was something she needed to find. And I definitely loved that the main character’s beliefs and needs overshadowed the whole love thing. I loved reading about the side characters, though I would have loved a little more development for them. I only really felt like I got to know her roommate, but all of the school “family” was rather mysterious, and definitely interesting.

What I didn’t like: the end! Okay, I’m not being completely honest. I was still shocked all the way to the last pages. And I loved that. But, once everything made sense I really think the book should have gone a different direction. It kind of had that sugar-coated, let’s make everything sunny kind of ending, which just did not fit with the rest of the incredibly dark book at all. Does it sound bad that I was kind of hoping for the sad ending? I never really want the world to end in books; I just felt like this could have happened here and I would definitely have accepted it better.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I loved being surprised. I loved the mystery. I loved the characters. I was disappointed in the very end of the ending, but I was still mostly just impressed. I would look forward to reading more from this author, and I hope she writes more soon. It gets a 9/10.