Book Haul #28

It's been a great week for me with books. As good as it can be, because I started two books even though my workload at uni is crazy and I have no idea when I'll be finished with them, plus I need to get done with The Burning Sky at one point. I don't know why, but I'm not in the mood to pick it up even though I'm about half way through. Eh, yeah.. I hope you guys in the US had a great thanksgiving and the rest of you are ready to say goodbye to November and welcome December tomorrow :) If you have read any of these pretties down below, let me know what you thought and I can't wait to visit you guys back.

Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn #2) by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Burn for Burn was actually the first book I reviewed for a big publisher. Back when I had like 20 something followers. Don't even ask why I got approved, it still feels a bit of a mystery. Heh. However, I really enjoyed it and Fire with Fire, according to Amber [Books of Amber], is even better and she said that our ship becomes real in this one. OHHH YES!!! Plus, it's one of the prettiest things I've ever held in my hands. It's freaking gorgeous! And HUGE *__*

World After (Penryn and the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Boys #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Adorkable by Sarra Manning

Also, dear followers, if you want to win yourself a paperback of Lola and the Boy Next Door, do give your luck a try over here. Good luck!

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Review: In the Stillness by Andrea Randall

Title: In the Stillness
Author: Andrea Randall
Published: April 9th 2013
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Natalie is a wife.
Natalie is a mother.
Natalie is a cutter.

Clawing at walls built by resentment, regret, and guilt, Natalie cuts as an escape from a life she never planned.

Staying present is only possible when you let go of the past. But, what if the past won't let go?

I know that cutting is a big issue and it's, unfortunately, one of the most common ways to ease the emotional pain. I have read one book which dealt with cutting and I didn't end up enjoying it at all. Perhaps it was due to the paranormal elements of the book which kept me from investing myself in the story, maybe it was thanks to the rushed plot. As you can imagine, I was reluctant to try In the Stillness. Am I glad to have read it? Yes, yes I am.

“But, the thing about guilt is, no one can take away for you; you have to unpack it yourself.”

The story. Natalie is a cutter. She's also a wife and a mom. And practically a widow since she mourns the loss of a relationship she lost thanks to the war between USA and Iraq. 10 years ago she was in a relationship with the love of her life. When he went to war, everything came crashing down. Now, being married to another man, her hopes and dreams are gone. Her twin sons are her day job since she quit college to took care of them and be a stay-at-home-mom while her young husband continued his studies. Her life makes her miserable and the only way to relive some of her pain is to cut.

My thoughts. You know these deals where you pay for one thing, but get two? This is exactly what you get when you purchase Natalie's story. The story starts with her cutting in the present. She's so emotionally drained that she almost comes across like an angry, depressed robot programmed to get through the day. She has trouble enjoying motherhood and all she dreams about is getting out. Her past haunts her like a ghost with a vengeance. It pained me to watch her on a road to self-destruction. She was just so depressed that it truly, truly hurt. I kept rooting for her to pick herself up and start living her life and loving the people around her, but her heart is in the past and in the lost chances of what could have been.

So what's this 2 in 1 deal I was talking about? You see, she lives in the past because she lost the love of her life to war. Not physically, but emotionally. Ryke suffered from PTSD and their relationship couldn't survive that. We get glimpses of their relationship, them falling in love and losing themselves in it. At the same time, Nat tries to survive in the present and I kept wanting for her to fix things with Eric, her husband, whom she clearly didn't love anymore. As for Eric, he seemed like the perfect husband. I was rooting for him, for crying out loud! I can't believe he did that.

Watching Nat pull herself together and seeing her starting to love, respect and enjoy herself was beautiful. I'm glad she grew to enjoy being a mother and started to realize how much she loves her sons. When tragedy hits one of them, she womans up and does everything in her power to make her son feel better. (Boy, do I want to start bawling when I think back to it.) I found her to be a hard character to connect with at the beginning because she's so far gone and only the memories of her past offered me relief from her dark story. However, when she finally made the decision to get better for her sons, it was truly, truly beautiful and enjoyable to read.

If you're in need of an emotional story, pick this up! I wasn't expecting what I found in In the Stillness and ugly-crying was also part of my experience with this one. I can tell you that it has a happily ever after as much as there could be. It's a dark, emotional, broken piece of work and gives the reader lots to think about. I found myself thinking for a long time after finishing Natalie's story and that is something I'm very grateful to Ms. Randall. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Guest Post and Giveaway: Addicted for Now by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Hey, lovelies. Today I'm giving my blog over to the lovely twins of Nawanda Files who are also the authors of the Addicted series. I read Addicted to You when it came out and it was pretty decent. (You can read my review here.) I had the opportunity to read an arc of the sequel Addicted for Now and let me tell you something: it was SO good! I loved it to pieces and I'm waiting impatiently for 2014 when we get another dose of this great cast in the upcoming companions. Connor. #lesigh

Title: Addicted for Now (Addicted to You #2)
Authors: Krista & Becca Ritchie
Published: Novemeber 30th, 2013
Add it: Goodreads

He's addicted to booze. She's addicted to sex...staying sober is only half the battle.
No. More. Sex.Those are the three words Lily Calloway fears the most. But Loren Hale is determined to be with Lily without enabling her dangerous compulsions. With their new living situation—sleeping in the same bed, for real, together—Lily has new battles. Like not jumping Lo’s bones every night. Not being consumed by sex and his body.
Loren plans to stay sober, to right all of his wrongs. So when someone threatens to expose Lily’s secret to her family and the public, he promises that he’ll do anything to protect her. But with old enemies surfacing, Lo has more at stake than his sobriety.
They will torment Lily until Lo breaks.
And his worst fear isn’t relapsing. He hears the end. He sees it. The one thing that could change everything. Just three words.
No. More. Us.

Sounds awesome, right? It's definitely different from the becoming-old-already formula that is trending in NA lit right now. Anyhow, moving on to the actual post. Take it away, girls!

Stranded on an Island: What would the Addicted characters bring and do?

Being deserted out in the middle of nowhere can really tell you a lot about a person. So what one item would our six main characters in the Addicted series bring if they washed ashore? And how would they react to the hot, humid jungles—a la Survivor season 1-27? Well, let’s find out.

Their private plane crashes. Only six people are onboard. They can only grab one thing with them before the plane explodes. And then what happens on the island? (Beware: This is slightly absurd!)

Lily Calloway (20)

Defining Trait: Sex Addict
One Item Grabbed: Too startled to be resourceful, she’d grab the thing in front of her—the Cosmo magazine in the seat’s pocket.
Outcome on the Island: It would be hard for Lily to concentrate on survival when Lo would probably strip down in the heat.

Lily also isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up in goofy likability. She’s awkward and slightly nuts. She’d have sex in a watering hole with Loren and obtain a microbe.

Loren Hale (21)

Defining Trait: Alcoholic
One Item Grabbed: He’d grab Lily and lift her on his back (piggy-back style) while she was frozen in shock, just to ensure her safety.
Outcome on the Island: Lo is one of the unluckiest people in life. He’d step on a poisonous sea urchin, and Ryke would have to pee on his foot.

Daisy Calloway (16)

Defining Trait: Adrenaline junkie
One Item Grabbed: The first-aid kit in order to help anyone who’s hurt.
Outcome on the Island: She’d explore and quickly realize that she’d want to live on the island and be away from everyday hassles. It would be her greatest adventure. And she’d hope a certain someone would stay with her.

Ryke Meadows (22)

Defining Traits: He climbs mountains. Without rope. For fun. And he’s a bit of a likable asshole.
One Item Grabbed: A knife.
Outcome on the Island: He’d go all Swiss Family Robinson out there and build a treehouse. But while he’s searching the island, he’d run into natives. He’d accidentally start a fight with them, and since they outnumber him, he’d be sacrificed to their island gods.

Rose Calloway (22)

Defining Traits: Neurotic, fashion designer who likes order and prefers toilet paper to leaves.
One Item Grabbed: Her purse that carries all of her essentials.
Outcome on the Island: The outwardly confident girl would panic. Rose needs a shower, a toilet, toothpaste and enough soap to make the ocean all bubbly. Without Connor present, she’d most likely jump off a cliff in a week. Good thing he’s here! He’d calm her down, and she’d stick by his side to help him find a way back to civilization.

Connor Cobalt (23)

Defining Traits: Intelligent and overly confident (which is just the nice way of saying conceited).
One Item Grabbed: The plane’s radio.
Outcome on the Island: He’d be the calmest of the six and take charge. And he'd approach the dangers with a cool mind.

He’d focus only on a way out and keeping Rose sane. He’d rewire the radio—probably working in some pieces of his cellphone that happened to be in his pocket—and he’d find a good signal to receive help.

Final Results: Connor and Rose would be the only ones to make it off the island. Nerds always win in the end!

Siiri: I KNEW it! Connor takes it all, baby! (Note to self: do NOT, under any circumstances, start fangirling. Again. Also, try not to mention his name again in the post. Less is more. You don't want to overbear your readers with him. Ha! Like that's even possible. Ok, calm the eff dowwwwn. *takes a deep breath* Ok, ok, ok. Let's continue.) Thanks so much for Becca and Krista for stopping by! Let me know what you thought of this post and give the twins some love :-)

Meet the authors

Krista & Becca Ritchie write New Adult books that make you cringe, gasp, and go ooh-la-la. (If you do that sort of thing.) They are currently working on the spin-offs and final books in the Addicted series. Connect with them on twitter and their website: kbritchie.com

Goodreads (K) | Goodreads (B) | Twitter (K) | Twitter (B) | Website | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest

Giveaway

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Follow the rest of the tour here.

Book Haul #27

Hey guys! My post should have went up this morning, but since I was seeing Catching Fire today, I decided to post this afterwards to share my feels because there were so many!!!! Oh, my, you guys! This movie... I have no words. I literally thought that Twilight had doomed every single YA adaption, but no! This movie held its own and I loved every moment of it. I read the books ages ago and didn't re-read them because I didn't want to be disappointed by the movie, but I'm pretty sure that even if I had read 'em, I still would have enjoyed it thoroughly. It was so good that I wouldn't change a thing. I laughed, cried and was anxious to see what happens next and it was just.. fantastic! Anyhow, you're here for my haul, so let's get on with it, shall we? If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen these, but this haul is so worth sharing again and again :) If you've read any of these, let me know what you thought!

Sentinel (Covenant #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton (my review here)

French Kiss (Diary of a Crush #1) by Sarra Manning

The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never #1) by J.A. Redmerski (my review here)

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead

The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) by Julie Kagawa

Losing Hope (Hopeless #2) by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless (Hopeless #1) by Colleen Hoover (my review here)

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard

That's it for me this week. I hope you guys enjoyed Catching Fire and if you haven't seen it, you'll see it soon. It. Was. Pure. Perfection!

Also, dear followers, if you want to win yourself a paperback of Lola and the Boy Next Door, do give your luck a try over here. Good luck!

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Review and Giveaway: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Published: September 29th 2011
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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.

I read Anna and the French Kiss last year and it was quite a decent read. It didn’t work for me that well then, but now, a year and a little more later, I realize that it was actually a very good book. I just didn’t know how to appreciate it back then and I guess my feelings and values on reading books have changed a little over time. When I pulled a paper slip of Lola and the Boy Next Door out of my paper slip jar, I was over the moon about it and boyyyy was I not disappointed.

“I know you aren't perfect. But it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for someone else.”

I don’t even want to start discussing the eccentric, lively girl that is Lola, because I think everyone should discover her by themselves ;) As for other characters, I loved Cricket. I mean, come on?! I’ve never had a boy next door. I’ve always had girls (that way I met one of my best friends) and old ladies or just friendly neighbors, but no boys. I wish I had someone like Cricket living next to me. He’s just.. made of all things wonderful! The way he is described is very nerdy and sweet. I was a huge bad boy fangirl once and in ways I still am, but I’ve become to appreciate sweet guys more and more. Cricket Bell was a brilliant character and I believe that any girl would be lucky to have him as a brother, friend, lover – whichever it would be.

I really enjoyed the parental issues in this one and the little that was talked about gay couples since Lola has two dads who did a way better job with raising her than her mom ever could have. Speaking of, her mom was present in the book as well, but at first she rubbed Lola completely the wrong way and caused more trouble than any good. After some time, they grew closer, but it was a tough journey for our girl. Also, when I read the final part of the thank you note by Stephanie Perkins, I had a HUGE smile on my face because it was perfect! I love how she combined these sweet and precious moments of her life into this novel and it shows how a great author can combine the happenings of one’s life into a novel and make them one’s own yet again. This was the perfect example of being inspired by real life experiences and combining them into the author's work. Take notes, people!

I am so glad I picked this out of those random paper slips I made for all my unread paperbacks/hardcovers and I can’t wait to see what I’ll pick next! I hope it’s that good. When I finished Lola the next morning after I started reading it, I felt so good and had this feeling that I could accomplish anything. It’s just one of those books that makes you feel and think and.. just makes you happy in general. Makes you inspired! It was perfect! One more thing, do you think it’s too early to do a re-read? ;)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Tumblr | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway

Now, on to the giveaway. I've thought about it a lot and here's what I'm going to do from now on. If I enjoy a book that much to give it full 5 stars, I'm going to give it away to one of my readers. Sharing is caring after all ;) It's open to everyone and the only condition is that The Book Depository must ship to you. I wish you lovelies the best of luck!

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Review: Reboot by Amy Tintera

Title: Reboot (Reboot #1)
Author: Amy Tintera
Published: March 7th 2013
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).
Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.
The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Dude! This book seemed like it had all the elements of a perfect dystopian novel. A great cover? Intriguing blurb? Heavy on the action? Possibly spiced with a little romance? I thought it was going to be amazing. Which it was at the beginning. I remember seeing very average ratings prior diving into it. Once I started reading Reboot, I couldn’t possibly understand why it had these mediocre ratings. Then I got to halfway and downhill it went...

“Humans had a brightness to them, a glow that only death extinguished.”

Reboot started out as a mystery to me. Wren is on an assignment and the person she is after is terrified of her after seeing Wren’s number: 178. You see, she is basically without emotions and when you start the story, she is pretty much colder than Antarctica. She is the perfect soldier and it was intriguing. I was all:

The way the system was described and how Wren found it to be righteous was the making of a good dystopian. You know, the way the main characters always discover themselves fighting against the system they previously thought was superior and built on the right reasons? I knew it was sailing towards that way and I was happy about it. To see Wren explore her human side again and to take this cruel system down and free the people of fear, slavery and murders? I was all about that. Until it happened...

See, we have Callum—a guy who brought light and color to this depressive system. He was dead for 22 minutes and is the opposite of a great soldier. He tries to befriend Wren and pushes the boundaries everywhere he goes which made me instantly like him. We all knew the romance was just around the corner and I love my romance in books. However, while there have been very rare cases I've liked this kind of happenings, I usualy do not like when books are disguised as dystopian, fantasy, thriller etc when it’s more about the romance. If I was running for my life, I wouldn’t stop to make out and forget myself making out in a battle field. These two just couldn’t get enough of each other and were making out or looking into each other’s eyes the entire time they were on the run.

Do you think Katniss and Peeta would have made out while they were fighting for their lives and the guys who were trying to kill them were right around the corner? Do you think Tris and Four would? What about Rose and Dimitri? I know not all couples are the same, but seriously? Seriously? This was just too much to handle. Were they high on adrenaline? If someone could explain this to me, it'd be very appreciated. By the time I was half way through, I was just hoping the book would be over soon, plus I already predicted the ending..

I tried writing my review after I finished the book, but the second half of it made me so frustrated that I couldn’t type a word. Here I am, three months later, and I still don’t know how I feel about Reboot. I want to read the second novel because I would love to see how things go with the world building and other characters, but I do not care for the romance and that’s a first. I have absolutely no interest in reading a romance book while I’m hoping to find a character-driven dystopian novel. What a huge disappointment Reboot was though. It was a book with great potential that turned into a big, big mess. Not impressed.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)
Author: Kiera Cass
Published: April 24th 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

The Selection in general is very talked about. Whether it’s in positive or negative light, most of the readers in YA fiction community know about it. All the drama aside, I was still a bit sceptical and I wasn’t sure I would like this piece of work. I’m still not sure if I entirely liked and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a huge disappointment which I thought it would be.

“True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”

On the premise. I found this novel to be decent and an okay-ish beginning to a trilogy. However, even though I wasn’t dying of boredom, I wasn’t that eager to pick it up every night and I didn’t get emotional or feel any amount of the promised swoon-worthiness. Plus, I’m an easy person to make emotional so.. Yeah. That says it all. I imagined it to be a Bachelorette vs. fairy tales of sorts, but there was very little of reality show stuff that seemed to be a huge deal at first sight. We basically only saw the camera crew when they were doing the weekly reports in the castle and on very, very few other occasions.

On characters. I love Aspen a lot! At first I was so bored with Maxon, but he grew on me and I’m kind of torn between the two, except Aspen is still the front runner for me. For now, at least. I get why he did that in the beginning of the novel since he wanted a better life for America. Did I agree with his actions? No! I do like his driven personality though and I feel like he gave life to America’s dull character. I did like the main idea, some of the relationship portrayals and America’s nobility and how she became almost friends with her maids. However, I didn’t find America’s humor or her personality to be very bright and all the other girls were pretty stereotypical, too.

On world-building. We got some of the backstory of the country in a history lesson and through America’s seldom thoughts about Illéa. In my opinion, first books in trilogies are for world building and I still don’t have the full grasp of what is going on in this world. I’m not a reader who favors details, but in this case, it would have been nice to have gotten some. For instance, there was this part where America said that girls have to be virgins to marry guys. Ok, fair enough. Why though? Because it helps to keep the castes intact. But... They have telephones, television, all these great resources and some castes like One, Two, Three are very rich and influential. How come no such thing as condoms and birth control to protect themselves or against unwanted pregnancy? Perhaps I’m just a weird person who found that ridiculous O.o

It seems more like a negative review, but don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad book, it was just too simple for me and I was looking forward to more conflicts, drama; a more complex society and some well-deserved explanations. I did get some, but not enough for me to fully invest myself in America’s story. The more towards the end, the more into it I got and them BAM!!! – it’s over.  So even though I had a lot of flaws to point out, I’m still looking forward to finding out what happens next. As for the love triangle, it’s pretty obvious that one person is going win America’s heart and I have a feeling I know who it will be so I really ought to switch teams. At the end of the day, I didn’t love this book, but I didn’t hate it either so I’m going with a decent three star rating. Here's to hoping that The Elite will rock my socks off!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Meet the author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Haul #26

Haven't done one in ages, but I've been busy with school and I'm basically blogging once a week and barely manage to visit all of your blogs. I'd rather visit yours and comment than blog every day though :) So you guys know the deal, if you've read any of these, let me know what you thought. I'm so everexcited about these pretties. Also, I hope you leave your links so I can visit you back which I'll be sure to do throughout the next week if not this weekend.

Physcal books

Ruby Red (Ruby Red Trilogy #1) by Kerstin Gier

The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken

Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2) by Alexandra Bracken

The Burning Sky (The Elemental Trilogy #1) by Sherry thomas

E-books

Addicted for Now (Addicted #2) by Krista and Becca Ritchie (e-arc)

Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

Wild Child (The Wild Ones #1.5) by M. Leighton (already read and loved loved loved)

Since Jasprit [The Reader's Den] read Easy and will be reading The Edge of Never, it's only fair I give a try to one of her favorite series which last book Fractured she reviewed on her blog this week. You know me, I'm impatient so I got both of the first book and the sequel as well. 

Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowland #1) by Sarah Fine

Fractured (Guards of the Shadowland #2) by Sarah Fine

Massive thanks to Krista and Becca for the e-arc of Addicted for Now! Will be starting it tonight :)

Also, I went to see Thor 2 yesterday with my friend and we both loved it! It was such a great sequel to the first movie which was so-so for me at times, but I loved every bit of the second one. It was filled with great humour, action and the graphics were pretty awesome. Marvel sure knows how to do its job and I can't wait for Captain America's and X-Men's new movies. Have you guys already seen Thor 2? What did you think? If not, are you going to watch it?

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Mod Podge Bookshelf and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews.