Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Review

Everything about this book screams beautiful. The cover, the story, the language. I fell utterly in love with it after the first chapter. If you want to steal away to a dark, fairytale world, this book is the perfect read.

We follow the story of Karou, an art student in the city of Prague (the European setting makes it all the more mysterious). Anyway, the strange thing about her is that she is an orphan, with no knowledge of her origins. You're obviously wondering "how does an orphan survive with no parents?" at this point, right? Well, Karou has been raised by a foster family of creatures from another world. Without giving too much away, this world has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is a big part of Karou's life.

My favorite aspect of this book was the author's use of language in writing the story. Everything is beautifully scripted and falls into place delightfully. She also manages to make the romance of "two people from two different worlds" work without it seeming cliché. While reading, I found myself drawing comparisons to Fallen by Lauren Kate, in which the romance is similar. While, the romance is a big component of the story, it doesn't completely devour the characterization or plot, which happens in Fallen. You should definitely give this book a shot if you're not a fan of the Fallen series.

I also enjoyed the world-building in this book. Every location and magical aspect, from the streets of Prague to the monstrous world is artfully drawn through beautifully poetic descriptions. Overall, Daughter of Smoke & Bone has the right mixture of romance, adventure, and intrigue that makes the start of an awesome series.

Rating: ★★★★ 4 stars

Renée   

Mini Review: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

Review

 

'We feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told best stories. And each week, we could hope to be lucky. That hope was our only joy. And that's how we came to call our little parties Joy Luck.'

 

I, personally, love family stories, and The Joy Luck Club is no exception. The book is a collection of short stories that are interconnected through the family relationships in the book. I loved this aspect because the author wove together the stories of old and new, and combined them with Chinese culture seamlessly that the short story aspect wasn't distracting at all. The mother-daughter relationships she presents are true to life, and I found myself able to relate to many of the stories for that reason. The stories presented all have a certain bitter-sweetness to them, much like real life, and this is what ultimately draws the reader in. Overall, I liked the style in which the book was written, and would definitely recommend it if you're into cultural/family literature.

Overall Rating: ★★★ 3 stars

Renée   

The Friday 56 (11): Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week's pick: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan 

Inside, it was a total freak show. When I'd visited before, it had been nearly empty. But clearly the holidays had caused a lot of family-time desperation, so there were all sorts of crowds around the unlikeliest of figures. I mean, was Uma Thurman really worth jostling for? Jon Bon Jovi? 

Renée  

Waiting on Wednesday (12): We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Expected Publication Date: May 13th, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
 
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.






My Thoughts

So you know me, just browsing through titles on Goodreads, when I come across this. I'd heard some murmurings about this book on the internet, but pushed them aside, until I read the summary on Goodreads. I've never read E. Lockhart, though I'm intrigued now. The story seems like the type of intense, dramatic reading I'm craving right now. May cannot come soon enough. 

Renée

Waiting on Wednesday (11): Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Expected Publication Date: July 8th, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Sci-Fi

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

My Thoughts

I feel the summary just speaks for itself. Time Travel? Maybe not Doctor Who-esque, but still, I just love Rainbow Rowell. Eleanor & Park was by far an amazing read. I can't wait to read what she has in store for us next!

The Friday 56 (10): Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week's pick: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

Ah, yes. When Karou was too small to show out into the world's streets on her own, Issa had kept her here. Hours they had sometimes crouched in this tiny space, Issa trying to keep her entertained by singing songs or drawing -- in fact, it was Issa who had started her drawing -- or crowning her with venomous snakes, while inside Brimstone confronted whatever lurked on the other side of that door. 

Renée  

Waiting on Wednesday (10): Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Expected Publication Date: March 18th, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins/ Balzer + Bray

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA

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 her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most? 

Julie Murphy’s SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality.

My Thoughts

Stories like this always force the reader to reevaluate their lives with the simple question of living as if your next breath could be your last. I find that it's an interesting take on reality, especially in YA novels since the characters are so young and you can actually connect with some of the issues they are going through. This looks to be a promising debut. I can't wait to check it out. 

Renée  

Mini-Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2) by Stephanie Perkins

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.









Review

Ah, yes the next companion to Anna and the French Kiss. I went into this book with mixed expectations as sometimes the second book isn't as good as the first book, and this one has different characters, etc... I was half right. While, this book doesn't have the same feel as Anna and St. Clair's relationship did, it still has the same quirky vibe.

This book is the story of Lola, a 17 year old girl with a wild fashion sense, who has been in love with her next door neighbor, Cricket Bell, for as long as she can remember. He goes out of her life when his family moves away, but when he moves back into his old home it's a whole lot of awkward for both of them due to misunderstandings of their feelings for one another.

 I did like the characters, with their flaws and all. Lola was exactly the type of fashionable, crazy, and adorable person you would want to be your friend. I would admit she tends to run the line between maturity and childishness, but of course she's a teenager trying to make sense of her life in the only way she knows how: through costume. This book gets a lot of criticism for its "happy ending" story line, but that's the point. It's a book, about a cute love story between two teenagers. It's not supposed to hold the meaning of life between its pages. It's just an adorable story about young love.

I found Cricket to be an endearing protagonist. He complements Lola perfectly. She has her fashion sense and he has his pants (as weird as that sounds, it makes much more sense in the context of the book). Cricket also has a severe sense of honesty and honor, which we see when he's questioned about his ancestry to the famous (or should we say infamous) Alexander Graham Bell. He is definitely another lovable book boyfriend from Stephanie Perkins' writing pen. Putting him right up there under Etienne St. Clair.

Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend this if you are the type of person who loves quirky YA, with a dash of romance, and happy endings.

Overall Rating: ★★★ 3 stars

Renée  

The Friday 56 (9): Slammed by Colleen Hoover

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

"Just think," I say. "You'll be gone three whole days. That's the same length of time I've known you."

 He laughs and pulls me even closer. "This will be the longest three days of my life," he says. 

Renée  

Waiting on Wednesday (9): Panic by Lauren Oliver

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Panic by Lauren Oliver
Expected Publication Date: March 4th, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Contemporary, YA

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

My Thoughts

I fell in love with Lauren Oliver's books wayy back when I first picked up Before I Fall. It was so lovely and heartbreaking at the same time. Of course, Panic's blurb, screams Hunger Games, one of my favorite series. I can't wait to see how this dystopian story-line plays out.

The Friday 56 (8): The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

 

After a while I didn't think it was a terrible life, no, not really. After a while, I hurt so much I didn't feel any difference. 

Renée 

Waiting on Wednesday (8): Fates by Lanie Bross

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Fates (Fates #1) by Lanie Bross

Expected Publication Date: February 11th, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, YA

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again--this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

My Thoughts

I love it when authors take mythology and give it a modern twist. This story looks so interesting as it ties in the idea of the Greek fates and how they control the lives and destinies of people. It should turn out to be a good YA fantasy. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Renée

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.








Review:

I was truly amazed by this book; the language, the humor, the adventure. This book was 2 parts mystery, 1 part romance, 1 part a coming-of-age story, and 1 part a comedy. The sardonic writing style gave it a hilarious touch as we get an insight into the lives of high school seniors as their last year slowly winds to a close.

Our main character, Quentin "Q" Jacobs is introduced as irrevocably in love with a girl from his childhood, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo is one of those girls who always seems as if there is an aura of awesomeness about her; the queen, too coin a term, of school society. As the years pass Quentin finds himself drifting toward his own friend group aka the band-geeks, and Margo takes her place in the popular crowd. One night, Margo bursts into his room, and asks for his cooperation in executing a revenge campaign on anyone who has wronged her in high school. Then, the next day she mysteriously disappears. And Q sets out to figure out the mystery that is Margo Roth Spiegelman.

Q is an interesting character. In spite of his uptight character, he falls in love with Margo, and admires her from afar. But when she disappears, he embarks on a journey to find her. I found that sweet, because he didn't want her to turn into one of those crazy mess-ups that people warn their kids about. I felt that showed he truly loved her. Despite his age, he has deep thoughts of what people's lives are really like. He is able to put himself in someone else's shoes and think about what their lives might be like. I liked the fact that he was a multi-faceted character. His relationship with Margo definitely changed him for the better, and this is what's so hard about John Green books. You can't describe the plot and characters too much or you lose the essence of the book. So, I would just say, read it. I'm sure John Green fans understand what I mean by this. If you liked The Fault in Our Stars, you will enjoy this book.

Overall Rating: ★★★ 3 stars

Review: Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) 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 tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student 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.

Review

Hex Hall was a likable book, which surprised me. Usually, I'm wary of the whole witches and warlocks plot, because I feel like they always end up being cheesy stories about young teens casting spells etc., but this one put a unique spin on the idea of witches and warlocks. 

Our protagonist, Sophie is sent to a reform school for supernatural beings after a spell with good intentions goes awry. Due to the risk she presents of revealing the secret of her kind, she sent to "Hex Hall," to learn to control her abilities until she turns 18. Unfortunately, this school is nothing like Hogwarts, as the students aren't there to learn magic, they're there to learn about all the terrible deaths a witch could endure if she is found out. Pretty happy subject material. Besides that, she needs to deal with not falling in love with the hottest boy on campus, surviving the mean girls, and avoiding a gruesome death by "The Eye" aka a terrorist organization against supernatural beings. 

I'd say Sophie is your standard teen girl, with the exception of the magical abilities. While she was a benevolent and strong character in some cases, as we see when she casts a spell to give a girl her perfect prom date, she doesn't realize the extent of her own abilities. This tends to get a little annoying as she is a little too trusting of those around her. There were points in the book where I was thinking, "Hasn't anyone told you about Stranger Danger. Hello?" Of course, the naivete fosters the process of "finding themselves" that YA characters go through, but I feel she could have been more mature in her decision making skills, as she was in high school, but that's just a personal opinion. I would definitely say this book is more upper middle-school level, than high school, so maybe the people in those grades think high schoolers act like she does, who knows?

Still, I liked the plot element of the reform school. It reminded me a little of Gallagher Girls with a darker mood. Rather than espionage, the subject is magic, the story has the same feel of a girl in a boarding school trying to uncover secrets about her past. I'm certain fans of that series would like this book as well. Overall, this book ended up being a better read than I had initially expected. I will be continuing the series, just to see how the story-line plays out. 

Overall Rating: ★★★ 3 stars 

Review: Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry #1) by Simone Elkeles

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created 'perfect' life is about to unravel before her eyes. She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. 

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Review

This was my first Simone Elkeles book. I've been meaning to start Perfect Chemistry for forever, but it got pushed back as the years went on. Anyway, I finally read it, and it was AMAZING. I loved every moment, and I did not want to put this book down at all. This is one of those books that I would definitely go back and reread just for the sheer joy of losing myself in the story again.

The book is the story of Brittany Ellis, a seemingly perfect girl, who lives in the rich, North side of Chicago, and Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the south side. Alphabetic order has them sitting next to each other on the first day of senior chemistry class, and despite mutual hatred they fall in love with each other. What I loved about this book was the whole people with differences finding similarities theme. Even though, there's a 1% chance that this love story would play out in real life, the way the story's told sets aside the cliches, and you are swept away by the story Elkeles tells.

I loved Brittany's character because she had so many layers. Having a mentally-disabled sister had to be tough, yet she deals with it just fine. She always puts her sister's needs above her own, even deciding to go to college close to home, so she could still take care of her. I was surprised at her parents' treatment though; they were concerned with image and prestige wayy too much, always putting pressure on her to appear perfect. Still, Brittany remained a strong character throughout the book, which gave the story a lot of depth.

Alex was also an interesting character. The gang dynamic Elkeles provided was insightful, and interesting to read. Alex isn't in a gang for the drug money and such, but rather to secure protection for his family. It was interesting to read about the dangers he faced and life he wished he had instead. Alex, like Brittany, was quite different than what people thought him to be. He's smart and motivated; the only thing holding him back is his gang rep. I felt he and Brittany were complementary opposites; they found similarities within their differences and that was what made their relationship unique.

Overall, this book was a great read, and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series, and checking out the rest of Simone Elkeles's books.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

Renée

Stacking the Shelves (4)

Stacking the Shelves is an event at Tynga's Reviews where we showcase books we've bought, borrowed or received during the week.

Hey there! Alright, so despite the arctic temps, I was able to take enough time to get down to the library and bring back the books that have been dusting away on my holds shelf for quite a while. Here's what I got.

Trust in Me (Wait for You #1.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn)

The Smoke Thief (Drakon #1) by Shana Abe 

Frigid  (Frigid #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn)

Losing It (Losing It #1) by Cora Carmack 

On Dublin Street (On Dublin Street #1) by Samantha Young

Slammed (Slammed #1) by Colleen Hoover

Easy (Easy #1) by Tammara Webber

Because of Low (Sea Breeze #2) by Abbi Glines 

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis

I am so excited to start the New Adult romances I got! And, yes, I am giving Abbi Glines another chance by reading Because of Low, maybe the second book will be different. Anyway, I have no idea which to choose first. I'm leaning toward On Dublin Street or Slammed...we'll see. Also happy to finally get Across the Universe, I have been craving another space adventure ever since I finished These Broken Stars (which was fantabulous by the way; I will have a review up shortly). Overall, it's been a pretty good book haul. Then again, aren't they all? ;)

Cheers, 

Renée 

The Friday 56 (7): Sleepless by Cyn Balog

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week: Sleepless by Cyn Balog 

The rain filters through the trees, weighing down the leaves, making my branch wet, but I cannot feel the dampness on my skin. Sandmen are not affected by the weather, or so Chimere tells me. Yet just as I did as a human, I find rainy days to be gloomy. So many years have passed since I would arrive at the mill looking like a drowned rat after trekking the four miles through the city of Newark, and no longer do I have to endure the water seeping through the soles of my well-worn shoes...yet there is still something utterly melancholy about gray skies and softly falling raindrops. 

Waiting on Wednesday (7): Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Expected Publication Date: April 15th, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Contemporary, Fanstasy, Romance, YA

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?

My Thoughts

Another Jennifer L. Armentrout book? I'm totally on board here. Her writing style and characters are just so awesome! Really can't wait for this one.

Still on my Mind (2): Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Still on my Mind is hosted by Haley at YA-Aholic where we feature a book we read a while back that was so good it's "still on our mind."

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

Why this is still on my mind...

I picked up Graceling for the first time this summer when I was looking for something to read after Hunger Games. My older sister had recommended it to me a while back, so when I saw it lying there on the shelf, I thought why not? Anyway, long story short I simply fell in love with the world and characters Kristin Cashore created. I loved Katsa's! She was the heroine I wanted to be at the time; tough, brave, unrelenting, and a total bad-ass. And I loved the romance between Katsa and Po; they were definitely made for each other. Graceling was probably one of the best YA fantasies I've read so far.

The Friday 56 (6): These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

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This week: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

I clamp my mouth shut, struggling not to say it aloud. Miss LaRoux notices me biting back a response and her expression darkens. But I can see where the holes punched by her earrings are still oozing, and that her nose is swelling up from the blow she got while hot-wiring the escape pod, and that her lips are chapped and raw. It's a wonder she hasn't completely fallen to pieces -- it's what I would've expected of someone like her. 

Renée