Jump Into Books

So January's been a bit of a slow month for me again, but January is always just kind of depressing and boring so I feel like I can be let off the hook a bit because of that. Though this January wasn't as awful and boring as it could have been because I got some lovely books and got to go to some lovely events and see lovely people. Books Read: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead Vicious by V E Schwab Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce Dead Ends by Erin Lange So, only 8 books this January, but I liked all of them. Though I feel like I should probably start reading more books from this century again... But I can kind of see where the whole Tamora Pierce lovefest thing has come from now. I wasn't that keen on the Alanna books when I read the first two around this time last year, but the I got on with the Immortals series much better. Mayb...

Secrets, romance, murder and lies: Zoe shares a terrible secret in a letter to a stranger on death row in this second novel from the author of the bestselling debut, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece . Fifteen-year-old Zoe has a secret—a dark and terrible secret that she can't confess to anyone she knows. But then one day she hears of a criminal, Stuart Harris, locked up on death row in Texas. Like Zoe, Stuart is no stranger to secrets. Or lies. Or murder. Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. Armed with a pen, Zoe takes a deep breath, eats a jam sandwich, and begins her tale of love and betrayal. Best Bits: The reader is introduced to "Zoe" through letters that she writes to a death-row inmate. Zoe isn't her real name, of course...not when she's confessing to a crime and writing to someone who has murdered his wife. For the most part I enjoyed the format of the book. We rea...

Dead Ends Erin Lange February 6th 2014 (UK) Faber (UK) Dane Washington and Billy D. couldn't be more different. Dane is clever and popular, but he's also a violent rebel. Billy D. has Down's syndrome, plays by the rules and hangs out with teachers in his lunch break. But Dane and Billy have more in common than they think - both their fathers are missing. They're going to have to suck up their differences and get on with helping each other. There are answers to be found. Powerful, funny, moving - the ultimate coming-of-age novel . I was a little surprised at how much I properly liked Dead Ends. I knew that I would like it, of course, because books about friendship are kind of what I'm all about a lot of the time. Don't know if I've ever mentioned that (I've definitely mentioned that I'm always going on about friendships I LOVE THEM). But I read it while I was having a bit of a Tamora Pierce thing and I thought I was only in the mood for 90s YA fantasy...

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at  Breaking the Spine . This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about. A World Without Princes (The School of Good and Evil 2) by Soman Chainani In the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The School for Good and Evil , Sophie and Agatha are home, living out their Ever After. But life isn't quite the fairy tale they expected. When Agatha secretly wishes she'd chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed. Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love-and this time, it comes from within. Published by HarperCollins Re...

What is Teaser Tuesday? It's a meme hosted by  Should Be Reading  and here are the rules:  • Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!  (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!   "'The road that I speak of leads to the Mines of Moria,' said Gandalf. Only Gimli lifted up his head; a smouldering fire was in his eyes." -The Fellowship of the Ring, Page 287, by J. R. R. Tolkein Ok seriously, this is my last one from this book because I'm almost finished. Still, so many great quotes!

The Golden Lily Richelle Mead June 12th 2012 Razorbill Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist. But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi—the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that—special, magical, powerful—that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in e...

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at  Tynga's Reviews ! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week. For Review:  Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you? When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission. Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as h...

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at  Breaking the Spine . This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.   Nantucket Red by Leila Howland (Cover not Final) Cricket Thompson's lifetime of overachieving has paid off: she's headed to Brown University in the fall, with a spot on the lacrosse team and a scholarship that covers almost everything. Who knew living in the dorm cost money? An Ivy League education seems to mean living at home for the next four years. When Cricket is offered the chance to earn enough cash to afford a real college experience, she heads back to Nantucket for the summer. But the faraway island challenges Cricket in ways she hadn't anticipated. It's hard to focus on earning money for next year, when she finds her world opening up in entirely new ways-to art, to travel, and, most unexpectedly, to a future completely different from the one she has been working toward her whole life. A friendship blossoms ...

Vicious V.E Schwab 10th January 2014 (UK) Titan Books (UK) Victor and Eli, due to a research project gone wrong, become ExtraOrdinaries with supernatural powers. Ten years later Victor escapes from prison,determined to get his revenge on the man who put him there, while Eli has spent the years hunting down and killing other EOs. Driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge... Vicious was a really interesting book that was kind of out of my usual reading comfort zone, I guess (it's an adult novel and I don't usually go there unless it's for college), but regardless of that it was book that I could not resist. I mean, science? Vengeance? Superpowers? Who could say no to that?! Not me, that's for sure. The real core of this novel is the relationship between Victor and Eli, how it all goes wrong and they are both sort of driven by each other towards this crazy path of revenge. From the start in college, their relationship is kind...

What is teaser tuesday? It's a meme hosted by  Should Be Reading  and here are the rules:  • Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!  (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!   'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo. 'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.' -The Fellowship of the Ring, page 50, by J.R.R. Tolkein *I'm fairly certain the between the two of us my sister and I have at least 3 different covers of this book! They're all so pretty, but we have a problem.

Being permanently based in a local New York City high school as an undercover operative has its moments, good and bad, for 16-year-old safecracker Maggie Silver. Pros: More quality time with her former mark-turned-boyfriend Jesse Oliver and insanely cool best friend, Roux. Getting to spend quality time with her semi-retired and international spy honorary uncle, Angelo. Cons: High school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. But when Maggie's parents are falsely accused of stealing priceless gold coins, Maggie uses her safecracking skills to try and clear their names. Too bad it only serves to put her and everyone she loves in danger. Maggie and her "new team" flee to Paris where they must come up with a plan to defeat their former allies. Best Bits:  Diving into Going Rogue was a bit like visiting family. It was fabulous to read about all the characters, and see what had been going on since the events in the fi...

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn I wasn't really sure what to expect with this one, but what I got was dark, twisted, and riveting. I first heard about this one on the TeaTime weekly book chat, and it lived up to my expectations. It was creepy in the right way, and I can honestly say that I was not expecting the twist at the end. The themes that the book focused on were great. Selfishness, consequences to actions, life's purpose...okay I know I'm doing a really bad job selling them. To summarize: the book may be dark and violent, but Quinn has a purpose for all of those scenes. Overall: It was hard to sleep after this one, but it left me with some great existential questions. Published by HarperTeen Allegiant by Veronica Roth Well, I knew with all the Twitter outcry that the ending was going to be brutal. I somehow managed to avoid spoilers, and I'll do so here. What I will say is that I found the ending to be emotional (I totally cried), and satisfying. There ...

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at  Breaking the Spine . This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.   The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel  Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash. Some work at the Gap. Becca Williamson breaks up couples. 

 After watching her sister get left at the altar, Becca knows the true damage that comes when people utter the dreaded L-word. For just $100 via paypal, she can trick and manipulate any couple into smithereens. With relationship zombies overrunning her school, and treating single girls like second class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even her best friend Val has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend. One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. They are a JFK and Jackie O in training, masters of sweeping faux-mantic gestures, but if Becca can split them up, t...

What is teaser tuesday? It's a meme hosted by  Should Be Reading  and here are the rules:  • Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!  (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  "Back on the bus we pass around the charred remains of my peanut butter tasties. Everyone's being pretty nice to Davey, trying to make light of what happened, even though they saw him freak out in a child's corn maze."  -No One Else Can Have You, Page 242, by Kathleen Hale

A Face Like Glass Frances Hardinge May 10th 2012 Macmillan's Children's In Caverna, lies are an art — and everyone's an artist . . . In the underground city of Caverna the world's most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare. They create wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned. Only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear — at a price. Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell's emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. And that makes her very d...

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga at  Tynga's Reviews ! It's a way to highlight the books that everyone got throughout the week. Purchased (with a birthday gift card, so it doesn't break my book buying ban...see how I am justifying that?)   No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale Small towns are nothing if not friendly. Friendship, Wisconsin (population: 689 688) is no different. Around here, everyone wears a smile. And no one ever locks their doors. Until, that is, high school sweetheart Ruth Fried is found murdered. Strung up like a scarecrow in the middle of a cornfield. Unfortunately, Friendship’s police are more adept at looking for lost pets than catching killers. So Ruth’s best friend, Kippy Bushman, armed with only her tenacious Midwestern spirit and Ruth’s secret diary (which Ruth’s mother had asked her to read in order to redact any, you know, sex parts), sets out to find the murderer. But in a quiet town like Friendship—where no one is a s...

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard. In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can. Best Bits: My emotions! I really liked Cinder , and Scarlet was even better. That's a formula that usually means I...

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at  Breaking the Spine . This weekly meme shares the upcoming books that I'm most excited about.  A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka Set in an altered—yet terrifyingly familiar—present-day USA, a riveting debut about a teen girl who must decide whether to submit to a forced marriage... or run for freedom Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl's life is these days.  After a synthetic hormone in beef killed 50 million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death threat is past, but fathers still fear for their daughters’ safety, and the Paternalist Movement, which was begun to “protect” young women, is taking over all the choices they make. Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she's also dreaming about college and love and what she'll...