Waiting on Wednesday (94)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano (10/1/14):

Description (on Goodreads):

After escaping through the bottom of Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives aboard the great mechanical bird land on the ground to finally learn what has lived beneath their floating island home all these eons.

The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and customers watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park.

It is also a land at war.

Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven. But caught under the watchful eye of another king that wants to dominate his world, they wonder if coming to the ground will drag Internment down with them.

Why I’m Waiting:

I was blown away by book 1. I remember being surprised, moved, and slightly in awe with what DeStefano accomplished. Also, it had such a cliffhanger! I need this book like 3 days ago…This second installment sounds rather epic. I can’t wait to see the characters adapt to a new world. And also, see how their old world affects what the do now. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the new cover. I loved the first cover. And I’m always mad at cover changes done mid-series. Why can’t more series remain consistent? The new covers just aren’t nearly as pretty. What do you think?

Also, what are you waiting on this week?

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Summary (from Goodreads):

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

Review:

I love Rachel Hawkins. Her other series had me laughing out loud and biting my nails in suspense. And when I first read the description of this new series, I immediately thought, “If there is a YA writer who could pull off a Buffy-type series, it would so be Rachel Hawkins.” While I read this one rather fast, it did not get close to fulfilling my Buffy expectations (though I love that there were a few Buffy references in here –can more books do this?). When the main character was searching for her Giles, I practically did a little happy dance.

I super shipped the romance (which I did in the other books by this author too). It was one of those long-building, hate turns to love kind of romances. Harper and David have been competitors and enemies in all things since kindergarten, and seeing them have to deal with each other and then learn to be friends, and then learn to possibly be more then friends was spot-on awesome. I love those kind of Elizabeth/Darcy romances. There is so much passion and tension.

I also loved the idea of paladins, oracles, and mages! I’ve never read any YA that dealt with this kind of mythology before. And I loved the idea of gender reversal. Normally it’s female oracles and male paladins, and the role reversal here definitely made for a more interesting plot. I’d much rather read about a teen Southern belle learning to kick butt, than a teen guy.

So, while this book really did seem to have a lot of things going for it, I never really felt like I was connecting with any of the characters. Even in the cheesiest moments of the cheesiest first season of Buffy, I loved all the characters.

Harper is another main character dealing with a death in her family. Her sister died in a drunk driving accident (where she was the drunk one). But besides Harper continually trying to be the best at everything to prove she’s not her drunk sister, I never really thought this was handled at all. Harper just didn’t seem affected enough for me. And I get that everyone handles death differently, but still. This felt more like an added side note that was added to the story later on, and less like an actual element to the book overall.

Harper was also not the typical main character I would flock to in any way. She was a belle, preparing for homecoming crown and cotillion. She was super popular and always surrounded by tons of people. She was also already dating someone when she started to fall for David. And I hate when girls fall in love with someone new, but keep pulling their current boyfriends along any way.  But still, all these things are things I’d be willing to look past if I ever really connected to Harper more.

I also thought the pacing was a little slow. Serious paladin fighting and magic spells didn’t really happen until the end of the book. And I kept waiting for it to happen earlier. Too much of the book (before that epic ending) was focused on school dances and friendship falling-outs. I wanted a little more action spread throughout.

I read this super fast. I loved the snarky humor. I super loved the slow building romance. I thought the idea of paladins was interesting and unique. I do wish there was more action throughout the book, instead of just at the end. I also wish I connected more to Harper, and that her sister’s death added a little more depth to the story and character development. It really had an amazing ending. That ending plus the author’s easy going writing style will probably equate to me continuing with the series. I give it a 7/10.

Amulet: The Last Council (Book 4) by Kazu Kibuishi

Summary (from Goodreads):

Emily and her friends think they'll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn't right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live in crippling fear. Emily is escorted to the Academy where she's expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Council, the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors gets smaller and smaller, a terrible secret is slowly uncovered--a secret that, if left buried, means certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.

Review:

I know this is sort of becoming a theme for me with this series, but each book just gets better and better! Again, I found myself drooling over the artwork. I checked out the whole series from the library, but am now contemplating purchasing them all, and possibly purchasing a second copy of this one (so I can literally tare pages out and frame them to put on the wall of my living room. I like the art so much, I want to see it every day…

I loved the plot in this installment too! Things definitely took a Hunger Games/dystopia type turn, and I just loved every second of it. Other stonekeepers had to fight each other to stay alive, as part of a creepy test put on by the council. There’s kidnapping, prison breaks, haunting and desolate cities, more stonekeeper history, underground catacombs, and lots of amazing new characters! One of the new characters is a wyvern (a creature I’ve only ever read about in The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making)! While no other wyvern can be as cool as one that is combined with a library, this one was quite adorable.

Emily is becoming stronger with her new abilities, and she’s definitely building her confidence levels. Her crew seems to slowly be accumulating new friends and hopeful rebels. Yet, at the same time, the ever-powerful Elf King is also growing in power (particularly now after a certain plot arc comes to pass).

 I feel a little bad for Emily’s mother and brother who always seem to get the short end of the stick. Their main purpose tends to be being captured and being used as a motivator for other characters to use Emily. This is sad because her brother is pretty cool, as far as little brothers go. And the mom, who is usually the logical thinker in a lot of cases, is also kind of awesome for agreeing to stay and help her daughter do what needs to be done.

I have fallen in love with this series. I’m slightly postponing reading book five because then I’ll be stuck waiting for the next installment for months (thought I might have heard a rumor about it being at BEA this year…). I give this one a 10/10. And I really can’t recommend these graphic novels enough.

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Summary (from Goodreads):

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

Review:

After my little obsession with the Lux series, it was only a matter of time before I started reading more by this author. Thankfully, I’d already received this title for review (special thanks to Disney-Hyperion!) And I was so happy to hear it was a stand-alone. I would not be counting down the minutes till the next book came out, after reading another cliffhanger!

It read a lot differently than Armentrout’s other books. It started a little more slowly for me. Knowing that the romance would be awesome and that writing style would be great, was still not quite enough to keep me a little skeptical of the plot. I’ve read the whole main-character-with-no-memories story before, several times. I knew this would need to stand out for me to get over the very used storyline.

And at first, I wasn’t sure if it would stand out. It actually kind of reminded me a little of Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall mixed with Sara Shepard’s The Lying Game. It had all the redemption earning of Before I Fall, with a main character that isn’t the easiest to like, and all the suspense of a Sara Shepard novel. The suspects, like with The Lying Game, are all people Sam is close to –which makes it all the more suspenseful.

Despite the rather familiar beginning, I couldn’t stop reading this. I had to know things! And I know I keep comparing this to other books, but I just have to make one more comparison; it also seriously used a lot of the creepy elements I loved from The Unbecoming of Mara Deyer by Michelle Hodkin. The main character here (like Mara) wasn’t always sure if she was actually seeing/hearing what was real, or if she was possibly loosing her mind from posttraumatic stress. And having an unreliable, possibly crazy main character seriously made this book stand out for me.

I did guess who the murderer was, but like I said, I have read a lot of similar books. On the other hand, there were some reasons behind what the murderer did that I absolutely did not guess at. So, props for a little bit of surprise! The author also wins point from me for getting me to care about so many wealthy, entitled teens. It helps that Sam can look back at her life and see how shallow she used to be, but still…I did not think I would end up liking her as much as I did.

And yes, the romance was excellent. Armentrout has serious romance skills. She is just so talented at building tension between the two romantic leads. Also, the story was very well thought out. The amount of people who could and did lie to Sam (knowing she wouldn’t remember things) was rather disgusting. But, I guess I do think it’s rather believable. If you could take away all the bad things from a relationship or friendship, without your significant other/friend knowing, would you?

On a weird side note, I’m seeing a lot tree houses popping up in YA lately. I think I need to add it to my list of random things that tend to pop up in a lot of YA books (maybe this will be a post soon). I’m adding tree houses to the list that also has learning to play pool and romantic interactions that involve the small of the girl’s back.

Any way, I super enjoyed reading this one. It was not as action packed as this author’s other books. I guess the majority of the action had already happened, and it was more about the main character trying to remember it. There were definitely a lot of familiar elements to the story that I have seen in plenty of other YA. However, the possibility of the main character loosing her mind and the sizzling romance more than make up for this. I give it an 8/10. I highly recommend it to fans of Michelle Hodkin, Sara Shepard, and Lauren Oliver.

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers (book three) by Kazu Kibuishi

Summary (from Goodreads):

Emily, Navin, and their crew of resistance fighters charter an airship and set off in search of the lost city of Cielis. There they hope to find help from the Guardian Council's powerful Stonekeepers. It's a mission that Alledia's survival depends on, and time is running out--Emily's got to find Cielis before the Elf King finds her.

Review:

This may be my favorite book in the series so far! The artwork just gets better and better as the story goes along and become more and more fantastical. A large portion of the book takes place in the sky, and all the panoramic views of the ship and the skies were just plain beautiful.

This one focuses more on getting the help the characters need and finding this mysteriously missing city in the sky than it does on Emily learning not to give in to the stone. This on was also definitely more action oriented then book two was. I also liked that the characters have developed a truce of sorts with two elves (and past enemies). I like the idea that not all elves are bad.

I also found myself a lot more interested in the elf storyline with this book. Like what really went down with the elf king? Who is this crazy assassin who can steal memories? And why did he steal the memories of a certain character?

Also, what is with this mysterious city that has disappeared? Why haven’t the stonekeepers there been helping with any of the stuff that is expected of Emily? And why did so many characters refuse to believe it existed? I have so many questions. And I was sad that the book ended where it did because I have a feeling a whole bunch of questions were about to be answered. I’ll have to get to book 4 soon.

I like that the mom is in the story, though all of her dialog seemed a little too forced –too motherly, or too much like a mom in a sitcom and not enough like a real mom or a mom in a fantasy setting. Also, it’s clear that Emily is in charge and not the mom, which is super interesting.

This one also had a bit of a steam punk vibe to it. It reminded me a little bit of Scott Westerfeld’s Levithan, which also took place partly on an airship. I can’t wait to see more of this beautiful world. And I certainly can’t wait to have my questions answered. I give this volume a 10/10. And I’m so looking forward to reading more of these.

Waiting on Wednesday (94)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (12/23/14):

 
Description on Goodreads:

The second installment in our epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

The stunning second novel in the Starbound trilogy is an unforgettable story of love and forgiveness in a world torn apart by war.

Why I’m Waiting:

I absolutely loved the first book in this series. I’m just dying to get my hands on this one: another epic sounding sci-fi romance. I will miss the characters from book 1, but how cool do these new characters sound? Seriously, I have a feeling all these books will be amazing! I like the cover is consistent with the first one, thought it definitely is nowhere near as pretty.

What are you waiting on this week?

Die for Me by Amy Plum

Summary (from Goodreads):

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

Review:

I’ve read mixed things about this series. I’ve owned the book for so long; how can I not own such a pretty book? I feel like reviewers either hate this book or love it. And I’m definitely more in the love category.

I super related to the main character. She just suddenly lost both her parents. And a couple months ago, I suddenly lost my dad. My blogging in March was rather limited…I wasn’t really capable of writing much. I’m working on a book (that may never be finished and that I haven’t really been working on since before March), and I blog (clearly). But, writing anything meant feeling something and that was hard for me. And maybe I just came across this book at the right time or maybe this author really gets what it feels like to loose a parent, but either way I felt so much of what Kate was feeling.

I feel like a lot of main characters in YA and MG have lost at least one parent, but in a lot of cases I feel like this loss doesn’t stay with the main characters very long. It stays for the first book or the first chapters, and then the rest of the story erases it. In this book, Kate’s loss was always there. And my fascination with her relationship with Vincent was multiplied when I realized what Vincent was and what she would have to endure if she maintained a relationship with him. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.

I also of course super related to Kate’s reading addiction. As one can assume, I’ve always been an avid reader. However, my last couple of months have involved an increase in books and tv shows –the ultimate need to be lost in a good story, in someone else’s story. And I love that Kate was the same way.

I found the whole revenant idea to be super interesting too. I’ve never read about anything quite like it. I think my favorite thing about the book though was the romantic Parisian setting. Why don’t more YA books take place in other countries? Seriously, I fell in love with the art museums, the cafes, the long walks, and the boat rides. It makes me want to go to Paris even more than I did before. I want to go to one of those cafes and read a book, and people watch, and order a coffee every hour.

The one thing that didn’t pull me in quite as much as I wanted it to was the romance. It was very PG. But more than that I’m not quite sure what they had in common. Vincent didn’t ever really seem to be reading. I guess they both like looking at art, but in Paris, who doesn’t? I plan on reading the rest of the series, but I hope there is a little less insta-love and a little more sustenance to the relationship.

I recommend this one to paranormal fans. I also think you’d like these books if you like Jennifer L. Armentrout. I read it super fast. The setting was magical. And the main character was beyond relatable. Again, I’m not sure if I loved it so much because I happened to read it at the right time or just because it was awesome, but who cares? I give it a 9/10.