Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wish List Wednesday

0 comments


Out of boredom one day I decided to troll around Amazon.com while at work. I have the attention span of a small child so I constantly need to be doing about 3 things at once in order to stay focused. While browsing I came across this cover and was automatically intrigued. I love anything set in a different time period; there is simply something amazingly romantic about lords, ladies, corsets, and gloves. If the cover alone didn't capture my attention, than the summary did. 

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.

After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams? 
I am super excited to begin reading this book. Only problem is, I currently have about 15 books in my que--damn my friends for loaning me things! So, I've added this to the new feature on the blog, Wish List Wednesdays. Books that I plan on reading and reviewing ! Feel free to leave comments about the books on your Wish List. I'm always looking for new suggestions. 

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Unbreakable (The Legion, #1)Beautiful By Kami Garcia

0 comments



I'm going to be honest. I was not a fan of Beautiful Creatures.  I liked the general idea of the book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Normally, when I haven't enjoyed a previous piece from an author I avoid them. It's really important to impress me early on in your career, cause boy am I a YA snob. With that all said, when I read the excerpt from Unbreakable,  Garcia's solo project and the first book in The Legion series, I figured I would check it out.

A book about demon hunters, featuring a girl hunter, hand it over! When I did get an opportunity to sit down and read the book I was extremely excited. The reviews were great, the summary was good, and it was time for something a little bit different. Honestly, I cannot remember reading any recent YA about demon hunters, but I'm a big Supernatural  fan. 

The book itself was a very quick read and had enough adventure to keep it interesting. It follows main character Kennedy, as she learns that she is part of a secret-demon hunting society called The Legion of the Black Dove. I don't like Kennedy. She annoyed me. Personally, I like a strong, female character--one who kicks butt and possibly has a bow and arrow. Kennedy is a little too much of a baby for my taste. She did develop as the novel progressed and I'm hoping that as the series continues she will grow. 

The overall story was great. I anticipated every chapter. But, I also have some issues with the lore. Writing is difficult and I have great respect for people with the ability to create totally new worlds, and that kind of happened here. I get that you can only talk so much about demons and demon hunting techniques, but Garcia seemed to borrow a lot from the show Supernatural and their creators. It's not that it hurt the book, it'll definitely draw similar fans, it's just hard to lose yourself in the world Garcia created when you are waiting for Sam and Dean to make a guest appearance. 

Overall I give this 6/10 I'm exciting to see what the rest of the series brings for Kennedy especially but I was not blown away.  

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Lauren Kate Splashes into the Tempid Tides

1 comments



Hey everyone! Sorry for the super long delay in posts- I've had some computer issues recently which resulted in a brand spanking new laptop. Wooohoo.

Now onto my latest review. So from speaking with my fellow YA readers and trolling through Goodreads, I have come to the conclusion that people have mixed feelings about Lauren Kate and the Fallen series. Personally, I really enjoyed the series--well the first book and the last one. I came at Teardrop with some hesitation. I was BEYOND excited to start reading this, but it ended up taking me months to actually pick it up; reason being that the summary sucked. Really, really blew.

Finally, I decided to go ahead and give it a whirl and I have to say that I genuinely found myself engaged. These days between my fulltime job and all of my boring adult responsibilities, finding time to read is precious and difficult. With that said, I finished Teardrop in two days.

As I write this, I honestly am having trouble figuring out what exactly I enjoyed. Kate's writing has always been truly engaging. I adore her ability to take ideologies that are already engrained in common culture and create her own story line and cast of characters. So, let's start with what I did enjoy.

I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the story. I found both totally engaging, which explains why I finished in such a short time.

Things I didn't like. The characters. Seriously. There was not a single character in this book that I could relate. The main female character, Eureka, was unlikeable and selfish. Two traits I normally do not find appealing in my heroines. Ander, the love interest, was barely a spec in the story despite the fact that it begins from his point-of-view.

Overall, readers I would say that the story and the writing warrants a read, but if you aren't someone who generally enjoys Kate's work than you probably won't like this book either.

5.5/10
 

The Golden Mantle Copyright © 2012 Design by Ipietoon Blogger Template