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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Things I Know About Love

Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann
rating 8/10
Release Date June 22, 2010

Livia's experience of love has been disappointing to say the least. But all that is about to change. After years of illness, she's off to spend the summer with her brother in America. She's making up for lost time, and she's writing it all down in her private blog. America is everything she ever dreamed of - and then she meets Adam. Can Livia put the past behind her and risk falling in love again?

I started this book thinking that it was going to be a cute, fluffy, quick read. While it was quick and cute at times, by the end it was anything but fluffy.


The whole book was written from the main character's, Livia's, blog, or what is her diary, and occasionally Adam's, too. The book was mainly about Livia, who has had cancer, visiting her brother in America. there, she falls in love with Adam. Most of the book was cute and fluffy, just your average chick lit, and I really enjoyed that. But toward the end that changed.

I won't spoil the ending. All I'll say is that it's very heartbreaking. I would have liked this a lot better, but, and this could just be me, I felt that the ending was very short-changed and abrupt. It's like, all is going well, then suddenly something happens, and it ends. I think that more could have been added instead of ending so abrupt. but then again, I'm not sure I could handle what happened being dragged out for much more. I was already crying hard.

If you're looking for a short read, this might be good. Just be aware that it does not have a happy ending.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

IN My Mailbox (26)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren


Bought:

Okay, so I went to a Melissa Marr book signing on Thursday! That's where I bought Radiant Shadows. I was so excited and it was my first book signing. I got all 4 books signed. I dragged one of my friends there who hasn't read these books yet. but she got the first one and is going to read it. But so yeah. It was really cool and I can't wait until I get to go to another one!













For review:
Forget You- Jennifer Echols: There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.


But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Around the World Tours:

Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann- So this is really my first proper blog, but I don't want to do just a straight diary. I need to have a purpose, and this one's about love. Love, my loves, and why, no matter what the world spits at me, I will always chase after that one supreme emotion...because when you feel it, it makes all other things seem a little 'yeah, yeah - and?'. Livia is starting a new chapter in her life. She has been ill with leukaemia for most of her teen years and, as she heads out to America to visit her brother Jeff, she plans on making up for lost time. She's had a lot of time to think about love - but her observations, theories, previous crushes and boyfriends all pale in comparison to what she finds in New York...

Bought cont.: (sorry I don't feel like going back and adding this above)
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain-
 A prodigal son

A dangerous love
A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . .
why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey- Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents’ rules – especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father’s office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To better her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen’s sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill’s accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything – even Tristen’s love – just for the thrill of being… bad.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Harmonic Feedback

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
rating 9/10
Release Date May 25, 2010

Sixteen-year-old music and sound design obsessed Drea doesn't have friends. She has, as she's often reminded, issues. Drea's mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger's."



Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a trip-hop band after an impromptu jam session. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea's preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.


It's obvious that Drea can't hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she's found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them?

I don't know how to start, other than say that this book was fantastic. One thing that makes it so great was how real it was. The caracters, the story, the writing; it was all just something else. Tara Kelly did a wonderful job on this debut novel.


In the beginning, we meet Drea, who has Asberger's Syndrome and ADHD. Even though I can't really relate to either of those, Drea herself was very easy to relate to. Then Naomi comes along and is Drea's first friend in a long time. Naomi has a lot of issues, adn even though she was stupid at times, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. Then Drea meets Justin, and can't help but fall for him through the book.

This is one of the better novels that I've read in a while. Once I started I couldn't stop. The ending left me both breathless and speechless.

IN My Mailbox (25)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Since I've been a little absentee the past couple weeks, I got some of these a week or two ago.

Won:
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins- Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Around the World Tours:

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly- Sixteen-year-old music and sound design obsessed Drea doesn't have friends. She has, as she's often reminded, issues. Drea's mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger's."


Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a trip-hop band after an impromptu jam session. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea's preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.

It's obvious that Drea can't hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she's found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them?




Winter Longing by Tricia Mills- A plane crash in Alaska takes


Winter’s first love away forever . . .

When Winter's boyfriend is killed in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, she's robbed of the future she'd only just allowed herself to believe might be hers. Winter and Spencer had been destined for one another. And after his death, Spencer's presence continues to haunt her.

But when her next-door neighbor becomes an unlikely friend, Winter begins to accept all that she can't change. Can she open herself to a new future . . . and a possible new love?






For Review:
The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride- It’s been two years since Noelle disappeared. Two years since her bike was discovered, sprawled on a sidewalk. Two years of silence, of worry, of fear.

For those two long years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her own life in a state of suspended animation. Because how can she allow herself to enjoy a normal high school life if Noelle can’t? How dare she have other friends, go to dances, date boys, without knowing what happened to the girl she thought she would share everything with?

And then one day, someone calls Noelle’s house. She’s alive.

A haunting psychological thriller taken straight from the headlines, The Tension of Opposites is a striking debut that explores the emotional aftermath of a kidnapping on the victim, and on the people she left behind.





The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade- After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck here in spirit form with no sign of the big, bright light coming to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser/outcast type who hates the social elite. He alone can see and hear her, but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.

Can they get over their mutual distrust—and this weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?

Monday, April 5, 2010

Clear Away the Clutter Read-a-Thon


So I'm on Spring Break (Finally!!) and there conveniently was also a read-a-thon this week, too. Clear Away the Clutter Read-aThon is hosted by Kate at The Neverending Shelf. Now I've got a lot of books that I need to catch up on, so this was perfect. I was hoping to get a lot of reading done this week.

Here's more info about the Clear Away the Clutter Read-a-Thon:

Who can participate:


Anyone. You do not have to be a participant of the Clear Away the Clutter challenge to join in the read-a-thon. Or even have a blog.

When:

Begins: 7am, Monday, April 5th
Ends: 11pm, Sunday, April 11th

Kate says, "There are no real goals... just the ones that you may set for yourself. So this will be a nice easy week for you to just focus on your books and clutter."

For even more info, go here.

And here's some books that I want to get through, just off the top of my head:
The Reckoning
Two Way Street
Harmonic Feedback
Why I let my Hair Grow Out
How I found the Perfect Dress
The Tension of Opposites
Stealing Heaven
Impossible
The Secret Life of Prince Charming
Sandpiper
Captivate
Breathe
Ruined: A Novel
Heist Society
Dark of the Moon

I'll stop there. Now, I'm most likely not going to read all of these, but I'm gonna get through at least 7. Hopefully more, though. But I'll also be throwing in reviews in there when I can and I'll also do a post at the end of each day to say what I've acomplished.