September 2013 Recap

September 2013 Recap

Reviews:

Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce

Summerkin by Sarah Prineas

Wednesday's in the Tower by Jessica Day George

United We Spy by Ally Carter

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

TTT, WOW, and Teaser Tuesday posts:

Waiting on Wednesday: Open Road Summer

Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show

Teaser Tuesday 1

Waiting on Wednesday: Let The Storm Break

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List

Waiting on Wednesday: These Broken Stars

Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

Waiting on Wednesday: Summer State of Mind

Other posts:

Fan Art 2

Fan Art 3

Fan Art 4

What do YOU think? Re-reading

What do YOU think? Paperback vs. Hardcover

Interview at Read Books and Live Green!

Fun Bookish News, Posts, Etc. Around The Web:

If you want to see a post that has bookish news, go read Emz Novel News posts at Icey Cold Reads! They have a lot of information in them for book nerds! Here's the latest one!

Read Books and Live Green posted the latest Teens Take Over interview! Go read it!

Have you seen the Disneybound Tumblr blog? It's really neat!

My Most Played Song This Month:

Roar by Katy Perry

I love that song a lot!

What good books did you all read this month?

Review: The Chaos of Stars

Review: The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.
-summary and cover from goodreads

Plot: I love the plot in this book! It was fun. I love that everything got wrapped up in this one! The ending surprised me a lot!

Characters: I really liked Isadora as the protagonist, she was interesting! I love Ry! He was so sweet and adorable! I guessed the secret about him about a third of the way in the book. It was perfect!  I thought her parents and family were interesting, even though they were pretty messed up.   I love that Isadora is an interior designer , it was a different hobby for a main character in a YA book, but a fun one! I liked her brother and his wife.

The cover: I LOVE IT! I mean, the color and the gold detailing on it! It's just really pretty! Again, I love it!

Overall: I really loved this book! It was fun to read and it was exactly what I needed. I had been having a hard time finishing books recently, but this book pulled me in and made me want to know what was going to happen next! I'm definitely going to try the authors other books now! I really recommend this book!

I checked this book out from my local library.

Waiting on Wednesday: Summer State of Mind

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Summer State of Mind by Jen Calonita

Harper Mcallister is a sweet but spoiled freshly minted rich girl whose dad decides she needs a shot of reality. His plan: send her to his childhood sleepaway camp, Whispering Pines. Ziplines, mud, bugs, and bears are not Harper's thing and she'll hilarious have to navigate that world without her iPhone or beloved Twitter account. Can she hack it with the help of some former "Sleepaway Girls"?

-summary and cover via goodreads



I love the first book in this series, Sleepaway Girls! I'm really excited to read this one, especially because I did not know there would be another book! 

This book will be released April 22nd 2014

Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

While making this list I realized something about me. I don't read very many sequels. Which is very weird. I have started many series and never read the second book, I definitely need to fix that. Okay, enough about that! Just because I don't read very many sequels, doesn't mean these are not good! These are great books and I really recommend them!

Wednesday's in the Tower by Jessica Day George

Applewhite's at Wit's End by Stephanie S. Tolan

Only The Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Hexbound by Chloe Neill

Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce

Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis

The Magicians Tower by Shawn Thomas Odyssey

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Summerkin by Sarah Prineas

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

Interview at Read Books and Live Green!

I was interviewed at Read Books and Live Green for her Teens Take Over feature!

Go check it out!

And if you're a Teen and would like to be interviewed, 

go to this page on her site to find out more!

And while you're there, read the past interviews she's done with other teens!

They're fun to read! :)

Fan Art 4

This weeks Fan Art is for Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita! This is a really fun summer read! I was not sure exactly what to do for this book, but decided that this would work. I really love the colors in this one though. I just wish that I incorporated the feel better.

What do you think? Have you read this book?

Waiting on Wednesday: These Broken Stars

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.-summary and cover via goodreads

I think this book sounds awesome! And the cover is amazing!


This book will be released December 13th 2013

Review (but more just ramble): United We Spy

There are no spoilers for this book below (just me babbling)

I'm not going to write my review for this book the way I normally do, broken into plot, characters, the cover, and overall. It's impossible for me to write it that way without giving away huge spoilers about the book. This is what I'm going to say. I LOVED this book. It was perfect. A perfect ending to a series I've been reading for a while now. I loved how she ended it. I cried during parts of it, you'll know what parts when you read it. I laughed at parts of it. And I just felt very, very happy when I finished it. Though also sad because these books are now over. I will need to go back to re-read them all now that it's over to find all the little details that I missed the first time. If you have read this series up to this point, you will love this book. If you have never read these books before, what are you waiting for? There all out now and they are a perfect series to binge read. If you think they are just stupid books about teen girls then you need to give them a try even more because you are very wrong. If the first book does not grab you, then try the second book (that's when I got hooked on the series) I love this series and I'm sad that it's over, but I'm very happy with the ending! Now I'm going to stop babbling on about the book! Just read it! :)

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog

This week's topic was really hard! I always have a super long list of books I want to read. The books on this list are ones that have either not come out yet or that just came out because otherwise this list would be waaaay longer than ten if I listed older books on it!

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List

Exile by Shannon Messenger

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Jessica Darling's It List by Megan McCafferty

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

First Date by Melody Carlson

Two Lies and a Spy by Kat Carlton

Sleeping Beauty's Daughters by Diane Zahler

Lost in London by Cindy Callaghan

A Question of Magic by E. D. Baker

Pawn by Aimee Carter


Wow, that was hard to narrow down! What books are on your Top Ten list this week?

Review: Wendesday's in The Tower

Wendnesdays in The Tower by Jessica Day George

(Minor spoilers for first book below)

A castle that is constantly rearranging itself, and a young royal family sworn to protect it... Celie, Rolf, and their beloved Castle Glower are back in this exciting sequel.

Strange things are afoot in Castle Glower: new rooms, corridors, and even stables keep arriving, even when they aren't needed. Celie's brother Bran, the new Royal Wizard, has his hands full cataloguing an entire storeroom full of exotic and highly dangerous weapons, while Celie has her hands full . . . raising the creature that hatches from a giant egg she finds! Will they be able to find out what's making the Castle behave this way in time?

-Summary and cover via goodreads

Plot: The plot was a lot of fun! It was nice to revisit these characters and the castle again. And that cliff-hanger. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Characters: I still love the characters in this book! Celie is great. Lulath was fun! I loved what direction Pogue is going in. Rufus the griffin was so sweet and adorable!

The cover: The cover is cute and fits with the first book well!

Overall: I loved this book! I had been wanting to read this because Tuesdays at the Castle was one of my favorite books last year. And it was so good! After that cliff-hanger I can't wait for the next book in the series due out in the spring!

I checked this book out from my local library.

What do YOU think? Paperback vs. Hardcover

I was thinking about whether or not I like hardcovers better than paperbacks and decided that it would make a good blog post to ask all of you and see your opinions about it. I thought I would make a list of pro's and con's about them both to see what would win.

Well, for me paperback wins! What about you all? What would win for you? Tell me in the comments!

Fan Art 3

This weeks Fan Art is for Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg! A really fun book! Go and read it if you haven't already! I decided to make it look like a book cover this week, with a fun quote from the book at the top. I also tried to go with the original color scheme from the cover of the book.

Tell me what you all think!

Waiting on Wednesday: Let The Storm Break

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking The Spine

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Let The Storm Break by Shannon Messenger

(Spoilers for the previous book in series!)

Vane Weston is haunted. By the searing pull of his bond to Audra. By the lies he’s told to cover for her disappearance. By the treacherous winds that slip into his mind, trying to trap him in his worst nightmares. And as his enemies grow stronger, Vane doesn’t know how much longer he can last on his own.

But Audra’s still running. From her past. From the Gales. Even from Vane, who she doesn’t believe she deserves. And the farther she flees, the more danger she finds. She possesses the secret power her enemy craves, and protecting it might be more than she can handle—especially when she discovers Raiden’s newest weapon.

With the Gale Force weakened by recent attacks, and the power of four collapsing, Vane and Audra are forced to make a choice: keep trusting the failing winds, or turn to the people who’ve betrayed them before. But even if they survive the storms sent to destroy them, will they have anything left to hold on to?
-Summary via goodreads

I LOVED the first book in this series and I'm really excited for this next one!

This book will be released March 4th 2014

Teaser Tuesday 1

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should Be Reading

My Teaser Tuesday this week is from: Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

From page 28,

"Which meant not only was there a new shop in Bluepointe, but it was my favorite kind of shop ever-the kind that sold books." and a little later on that page "Welcome to Dog Ear!"

I LOVE that name for a bookstore, Dog Ear! What's your book teaser for this Tuesday?

Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog

This week was one of the easiest ones I've done since I started participating in TTT! The only hard part was narrowing the list down because I had a lot more than ten I wanted to put on it.

Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show
1. The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
I would love to see this series as a movie or a TV show. It would be awesome!


2. Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
I think this would make a really fun animated movie!



3. Heist Society series by Ally Carter
This would be a fun heist movie!

4. The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller 
I think this would be a neat movie!

5. Amelia Rules series by Jimmy Gownley
I would love to see this as a animated TV show.  



6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
This would be really interesting as a movie! I also think it would make a cool anime!



7. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
The whole time I was reading this book I was thinking what a fun movie it would be!

8. Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene

I would love to see a modern Nancy Drew TV show.

9. Phantom Stallion series by Terri Farley

I think this would make a good show along the lines of Heartland.

10. Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita

I know this is only one book but I think this would make a fun summer TV series!

What's your Top Ten this week?

Review: Summerkin

Review: Summerkin by Sarah Prineas

(Warning: spoilers for the first book in the series in the summary and review below)

"Down through the Way she fell, feeling the wind and the pressing darkness, the dizzy thump when she landed on the bank. She was through. The air felt softer here, the shadows deeper—and the pull of her connection to the land settled into her bones."

In the Summerlands, time moves slowly, roots grow deeply, and change is not welcomed. But change is needed.

After defeating the wicked Mor and freeing her kin from deadly oaths made to this false ruler, Fer is now the rightful Lady of the land. Yet her people don't know what to make of their new Lady's strange ways, and neither do the High Ones, the rulers of the magical realm, for Fer is an outsider—half human.

To prove herself worthy of the Summerlands crown, Fer is summoned to compete in an epic contest where her strengths and skills will be tested and her loyalties challenged. Can she trust Rook, the puck she calls friend? Can she trust herself? If Fer fails, she will lose her land and the Way will be closed to her forever.
-summary and cover from goodreads

The plot: I really liked the plot, though not quite as much as the first book. I think because in the first one I really enjoyed watching Fer discovering the Summerlands for the first time, while in this one she ventured outside of that land and into another that I did not like quite as much. I did still like it a lot though! It was still a very fun story that made me want to find out what would happen! I also loved the choice Fer made in the end about the oaths!

Characters: I love that Fer is very loyal to friends even when things look bad about them. Fer is a very good heroine. I love Rook and I loved being able to meet the other pucks in the book, like Tatter. 

The cover: I love it! I loved the first books cover also. And I've seen the final books cover and it's amazing too! The covers in this series are amazing!

Overall: I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it! But if you have not, go and read the first book before this one, a lot more will make sense if you do! A really good MG fantasy series! I'm looking forward to the next one!

I checked this book out from my local library.

What do YOU think? Re-reading

                         

Do you re-read?

I was talking to my mom about re-reading today and what kind of books make you want to re-read them. I realized that the books I tend to re-read are either funny books that make me laugh or books that I find comforting in the sense that I either love the characters or just the feel of the story. I also realized that I re-read MG books much more often than I re-read YA, which I guess says that I find MG books more comforting? For instance some of the books I've re-read in the past year are Artemis Fowl which is a book that can make me laugh a lot and why I love to re-read it!

Also The Penderwicks is a book that you just feel happy reading.

And a more recent favorite to re-read is Tuesdays at the Castle which is another book I love.

What about all of you? Do you like to re-read? And if yes, what kind of books make you want to re-read them?

Fan Art 2

This is one I made for Let The Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger. I love that book! If you have not read it yet you definitely need to. (While you're at it, go and read Keeper of the Lost Cities by her too! It's even better in my opinion!) I'm not entirely satisfied with how this turned out. I wanted to make something that better represented the wind in the book, but could not figure out how to do that and have it not be overwhelming. I thought the lightning might help with making it feel unsettled, like before a storm. I am happy though with how the colors and the background turned out.

Tell me what you all think about it! And also tell me, have you read the book and loved it yet? And are you excited for the next book? And when you hear the title do you think of the Adele song? : )

Waiting on Wednesday: Open Road Summer

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking The Spine

This week I'm Waiting on: Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.
-summary and cover via goodreads


This book looks really good! I love the cover too!

This book releases April 15th 2014

Review: Emperor Mage

Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce

(spoilers for the previous books in the series!)

Sent to Carthak as part of the Tortallan peace delegation, Daine finds herself in the middle of a sticky political situation. She doesn't like the Carthaki practice of keeping slaves, but it's not her place to say anything -- she's just there to heal the emperor's birds. It's extremely frustrating! What's more, her power has grown in a mysterious way. As the peace talks stall, Daine puzzles over Carthak's two-faced Emperor Ozorne. How can he be so caring with his birds and so cruel to his people? Daine is sure he's planning something. Daine must fight the powerful Emperor Mage, knowing that the safety and peace of the realm depend on stopping Ozorne's power-hungry schemes.

-summary and cover via goodreads

Plot: I liked this book, though not as much as the other books I've read in the series so far. The plot was pretty good and I liked that we finally got to meet Emperor Ozorne since we heard so much about him in the first two books in the series. Daine's power in this book was creepy and definitely not my favorite of her skills. I did like that we got to see another part of that world other than Tortall.

Characters: As always I liked Daine a lot. I appreciate that she is not a weak main character and I don't mean how physically strong she is, but in her personality. I also continued to really like Numair and thought that he was his usually charming self. Kitten is so much fun! Zek was not a favorite in the beginning for some reason, but by the end of the book I liked him. I thought that Alanna was a fun character in the book. I still miss some of the characters we met in the first book.

The Cover: The cover above is not the one I read, but I could not find a good image of that one. This one is not bad but I liked the other one because it matches the other books I've read in the series so far.

Overall: I liked this book a lot. Not as much as the first two, though this one did have a few moments that had me liking it as much as them. If you have not read the others in this series I don't recommend this as the one to start with, though don't let that scare you away from it because this series is now quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I think once I read the last book ( Which I have now put on hold at the library and can't wait to get! ) I will go back and re-read the whole series because I love it that much!

I checked this book out from my local library