What do I have a plan about you ask? Why I have a reading plan! And by that I mean that I have a plan on the next, like, three? books I'm going to be reading. Ready? Here it is:
1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (I currently reading this and almost finished)
2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
3. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
4. Sapphique (sequel to Incarceron) by Catherine Fisher
These are all the books sitting on my "Need to Read" shelf in my room. There's usually more, but. . . well, I read them. I'm going to the library on Saturday after my SAT (I am so sacred) so I'll probably pick up a couple more to hold me over during my spring break which is... next week! After my SAT I am free as a bird for a whole nine days. Thank goodness!
As I said, I am currently reading Shatter Me, and I refuse to actually start on my opinion of this book because if I do, I will be unable to stop. I am going to write the review for this book TOMORROW after I finish it today. And I WILL finish it today. Of this I am certain. I do not have the self control to hold it off any longer.
I also feel the need to recommend a book. This is probably silly because I haven't even read this book - YET - but I'm going to say this because just talking about this book gives me a warm and tingly feeling and that's usually a good sign for me. I have a naturally good taste in books, what can I say? ;) I think we should all read Between by Cyndi Tefft. It involves a Scottish male which means something wonderful. ACCENT! If there were ever a reason to read a book, that would probably be it. (well, I kind of kidding here...). Either way, I think this book should be read by many, many people, myself included. I DO plan to read it sometime. I just haven't yet because my library does not have it and that's usually my main source of books, and I do not own an ereader or nook or anything, and I have not actually seen the book at B&N or anything and I do not have enough money to order it, so. . . yeah. Regular life dilemmas. I am figuring it out, though. Looking into PDF format to read on my computer. . . ANYWAYS, am 100% serious when I recommend Between. It looks like a book I can fall in love with. (I actually think I already did, and I haven't even read it yet!) So, yeah.
Okay, so I think that's it. . . if anyone checking out my blog does not already follow me on Twitter, then you should totally try it! @makesmeworse12 (don't ask, it's. . .actually, go ahead and ask if you want.) Now I am off to do other things! (SAT practice questions. . .) Bye, friends! :)
♥Jessica(:
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Keepers & Searchers & Wolves, Oh My!
I have finally finished the Nightshade trilogy by Andrea Cremer. This trilogy consists of Nightshade, Wolfsbane, and Bloodrose. Unlike my review for The Demon's Lexicon trilogy, I'm just going to do an overall review instead of breaking it down book by book.
First things first: the characters. Every single character in these books were awesome. Calla, the fierce leader, Ren her male counterpart, Shay the boy who messes things up (well, there's more to it than that, but it's still true), Ansel the little brother, Conner- OH CONNER- Conner. The funny new found friend. Ethan, the mopy(but with good reason) new kind-of-friend. There are way more characters, but those are a few. They are all intertwined together in a way that is so endearing.
These books are not just regular werewolf books. To be totally honest, the idea Andrea Cremer constructed in these books is genius. Pure genius. It is just different enough to set it apart from other books like it, but not too different so that the readers will be put off by it. The way this story is construed throughout the three books is absolutely perfect. The ending of each book leaves the reader (ME) wanting more, more, more! The wait for the next book is wholly torture. The way the wolf instincts are combined with human desires is completely balanced and believable. The humor in these books is fantastic and comes at just the right moments; when things are getting too tense, we can always depend on someone (usually Conner) to crack a joke.
Now on to ROMANCE. All three of the books in this trilogy have just enough romance to get the point of the feelings across, but not so much so that the feelings seem unrealistic. (Note: this is not something that really bothers me specifically; I just feel like I should point out that this is not the case in this trilogy.) It is so often in books that the romance is very overplayed and hard to imagine actually happening. These books, though, have a stunningly appropriate amount. If the romance is not needed, it's not there, and when you're hoping for something emotional to happen, well, it usually does. Of course it is back to the "two boys, one girl, who will she choose?" thing. In this book it has perfect reasoning behind it, everything has perfect reasoning backing it. Shay has his regular reasons to love Calla, and Ren- OH REN- has his absolutely real reasons for loving Calla. It actually makes sense that they love her. You will fall in love with someone in these pages, that's for sure. If it's not Ren, it's Shay. If it's not one of them, it's Conner. If it's not Conner, it's Ethan. If it's not Ethan. . . well, you get my point.
So, on a scale from 1-10 I rate this trilogy a 9. I would have rated it a 10, but the ending, though it makes perfect sense, just did not leave me with a good sense of closure. It's probably just me. I mean, I ADORED these books from beginning to the almost end, but then something happened that crushed my heart and the ending just. . . the ending just eats at me. I still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, or even just fun adventure wolf type things. Seriously, you should give these books a whirl, they are totally magnificent!
Until next time, Friends!
♥Jessica(:
First things first: the characters. Every single character in these books were awesome. Calla, the fierce leader, Ren her male counterpart, Shay the boy who messes things up (well, there's more to it than that, but it's still true), Ansel the little brother, Conner- OH CONNER- Conner. The funny new found friend. Ethan, the mopy(but with good reason) new kind-of-friend. There are way more characters, but those are a few. They are all intertwined together in a way that is so endearing.
These books are not just regular werewolf books. To be totally honest, the idea Andrea Cremer constructed in these books is genius. Pure genius. It is just different enough to set it apart from other books like it, but not too different so that the readers will be put off by it. The way this story is construed throughout the three books is absolutely perfect. The ending of each book leaves the reader (ME) wanting more, more, more! The wait for the next book is wholly torture. The way the wolf instincts are combined with human desires is completely balanced and believable. The humor in these books is fantastic and comes at just the right moments; when things are getting too tense, we can always depend on someone (usually Conner) to crack a joke.
Now on to ROMANCE. All three of the books in this trilogy have just enough romance to get the point of the feelings across, but not so much so that the feelings seem unrealistic. (Note: this is not something that really bothers me specifically; I just feel like I should point out that this is not the case in this trilogy.) It is so often in books that the romance is very overplayed and hard to imagine actually happening. These books, though, have a stunningly appropriate amount. If the romance is not needed, it's not there, and when you're hoping for something emotional to happen, well, it usually does. Of course it is back to the "two boys, one girl, who will she choose?" thing. In this book it has perfect reasoning behind it, everything has perfect reasoning backing it. Shay has his regular reasons to love Calla, and Ren- OH REN- has his absolutely real reasons for loving Calla. It actually makes sense that they love her. You will fall in love with someone in these pages, that's for sure. If it's not Ren, it's Shay. If it's not one of them, it's Conner. If it's not Conner, it's Ethan. If it's not Ethan. . . well, you get my point.
So, on a scale from 1-10 I rate this trilogy a 9. I would have rated it a 10, but the ending, though it makes perfect sense, just did not leave me with a good sense of closure. It's probably just me. I mean, I ADORED these books from beginning to the almost end, but then something happened that crushed my heart and the ending just. . . the ending just eats at me. I still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, or even just fun adventure wolf type things. Seriously, you should give these books a whirl, they are totally magnificent!
Until next time, Friends!
♥Jessica(:
Monday, March 5, 2012
Oh, Mondays & BLOODROSE (my current reading-endeavor update!)
What. A. Day. I am personally not a fan of Mondays at all, but some day of the week has to be this way, right? I had school today. Is it just me or can school be immensely frustrating? I was having a fantastic day. I really was.
Until I went to chemistry class.
For those of you who don't have to take chemistry or never did or whatever the case might be. . . well, you're missing out on nothing. It is a pointless subject for most people that I will never use once I get out of high school. I want to write. When in any part of my future will I have to know how to balance a chemical equation or know the difference between desposition (or whatever it's called) and sublimation? NEVER. I have no problem with school in general; I understand its importance and whatnot, but it can be so irritating. Especially when your most difficult class is something so unneeded.
Our chemistry class is a mess. We are on our third teacher. I'm not even kidding. We had one teacher for the whole first semester, and he was actually doing a great job. I sort of understood what was happening with him around. Then after Christmas Break, we had a new teacher. She had an accent that no one could understand, and didn't explain anything thouroughly enough. (Note: I have absolutely NOTHING against accents. I love them. I wish I had one. Sometimes I slip into using one without trying because I love them so much. In this situation, though, it was mighty inconvenient and so unpredictable.) Science has never been my strong suit. Ever. It's just not my cup of tea. So when I have a teacher that does not seem to be doing her job well at all. . . well I am not going to be happy. But I was sort of getting used to her. I could barely understand what she said, but she gave good fill-in-the-blank notes that kept me doing well on the three tests she was actually, you know, here for.
Because at the beginning of last week, I walked into class. And we had a new teacher. She told us the old teacher wasn't teaching us anymore and she would be here for the rest of the year. Explain this to me: since when to we just get new teachers out of the blue without any warning whatsoever? Oh, that's right. It isn't supposed to happen. So now we're dealing with this new teacher. She's okay. She seems nice enough, but stern enough, too, like she's not a push-over. That's good. Our class is insane. No one knows how to be quiet and listen for more than five minutes. Who knows, I may actually learn something now. But my problem is, what made me so annoyed about today. . . SHE HELD US AFTER THE FLIPPING BELL. I know, it sounds juvenile and immature to whine about this. But I have that class last period of the day, and when that bell rings I want to go home. I do not want to sit in class and listen to my chem teacher attempt to explain the procedures of a lab we aren't going to do until, like, Friday. Plus, I have a bus to catch. Luckily, I made my bus and got 10 extra credit points (along with everyone else who stayed and listened) for remaining somewhere around two minutes after the bell.
Yeah. So now that I got that out - gee, this blogging thing will be great for venting - I will move on to the book I am currently in the middle of reading. First, I just want to ask: you understand where my frustration comes from about chemistry, right? It makes sense? Being irritated at the total instability our class has? Good.
I am currently reading the last book in the Nightshade trilogy, Bloodrose. I plan on finishing it today or tomorrow (let's see how my Gatsby homework goes later. . .) then I'll just write a review on the whole trilogy. But I'll let you know my impression of the books so far: GENIUS. These books are so much more than just the ordinary werewolf story. There is so much background behind it that makes total sense in the world created in these pages. Bloodrose in particular is very well-written so far. I am happy with where the story is going, though I have a doom-y feeling about what is going to happen to a character whom I love. Yupp, read these books and you'll fall in love with someone. At the moment, I am fully aware that this book has the power to break my heart when I finish it. I'm kind of hoping that doesn't happen, but it usually does.
I'm a sucker for the underdogs.
Alright, so lastly I want to say thank you to everyone who is reading this right now! If you haven't read my revieew of The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan yet, then I think you should check it out. . . like, NOW. Those books were phenominal. READ THEM. Okay, bye Friends!
♥Jessica(:
Until I went to chemistry class.
For those of you who don't have to take chemistry or never did or whatever the case might be. . . well, you're missing out on nothing. It is a pointless subject for most people that I will never use once I get out of high school. I want to write. When in any part of my future will I have to know how to balance a chemical equation or know the difference between desposition (or whatever it's called) and sublimation? NEVER. I have no problem with school in general; I understand its importance and whatnot, but it can be so irritating. Especially when your most difficult class is something so unneeded.
Our chemistry class is a mess. We are on our third teacher. I'm not even kidding. We had one teacher for the whole first semester, and he was actually doing a great job. I sort of understood what was happening with him around. Then after Christmas Break, we had a new teacher. She had an accent that no one could understand, and didn't explain anything thouroughly enough. (Note: I have absolutely NOTHING against accents. I love them. I wish I had one. Sometimes I slip into using one without trying because I love them so much. In this situation, though, it was mighty inconvenient and so unpredictable.) Science has never been my strong suit. Ever. It's just not my cup of tea. So when I have a teacher that does not seem to be doing her job well at all. . . well I am not going to be happy. But I was sort of getting used to her. I could barely understand what she said, but she gave good fill-in-the-blank notes that kept me doing well on the three tests she was actually, you know, here for.
Because at the beginning of last week, I walked into class. And we had a new teacher. She told us the old teacher wasn't teaching us anymore and she would be here for the rest of the year. Explain this to me: since when to we just get new teachers out of the blue without any warning whatsoever? Oh, that's right. It isn't supposed to happen. So now we're dealing with this new teacher. She's okay. She seems nice enough, but stern enough, too, like she's not a push-over. That's good. Our class is insane. No one knows how to be quiet and listen for more than five minutes. Who knows, I may actually learn something now. But my problem is, what made me so annoyed about today. . . SHE HELD US AFTER THE FLIPPING BELL. I know, it sounds juvenile and immature to whine about this. But I have that class last period of the day, and when that bell rings I want to go home. I do not want to sit in class and listen to my chem teacher attempt to explain the procedures of a lab we aren't going to do until, like, Friday. Plus, I have a bus to catch. Luckily, I made my bus and got 10 extra credit points (along with everyone else who stayed and listened) for remaining somewhere around two minutes after the bell.
Yeah. So now that I got that out - gee, this blogging thing will be great for venting - I will move on to the book I am currently in the middle of reading. First, I just want to ask: you understand where my frustration comes from about chemistry, right? It makes sense? Being irritated at the total instability our class has? Good.
I am currently reading the last book in the Nightshade trilogy, Bloodrose. I plan on finishing it today or tomorrow (let's see how my Gatsby homework goes later. . .) then I'll just write a review on the whole trilogy. But I'll let you know my impression of the books so far: GENIUS. These books are so much more than just the ordinary werewolf story. There is so much background behind it that makes total sense in the world created in these pages. Bloodrose in particular is very well-written so far. I am happy with where the story is going, though I have a doom-y feeling about what is going to happen to a character whom I love. Yupp, read these books and you'll fall in love with someone. At the moment, I am fully aware that this book has the power to break my heart when I finish it. I'm kind of hoping that doesn't happen, but it usually does.
I'm a sucker for the underdogs.
Alright, so lastly I want to say thank you to everyone who is reading this right now! If you haven't read my revieew of The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan yet, then I think you should check it out. . . like, NOW. Those books were phenominal. READ THEM. Okay, bye Friends!
♥Jessica(:
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A Much too Lovable Demon
My first review! I though it would be very appropriate to start off my book-reviewing with a trilogy I have just finished and loved dearly. It's called The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan. Book 1: The Demon's Lexicon, Book 2: The Demon's Covenant, and Book 3: The Demon's Surrender.
First thing's first. I LOVED THESE BOOKS. They are fantasy, but in a way that isn't all that mainstream, like Twilight or any other vampire or werewolf book out there. There are demons and magicians and you'd think that would be kind of boring, but it is actually enthralling. It is not like Harry Potter. There is no comparison to me.
So, the first book, The Demon's Lexicon. This one is written around Nick. Yes, Nick is a jerk. Yes, Nick can be infuriating. But give him a chance. Read the whole book, and everything about him will make sense, I promise you. The book begins in a totally everyday way: a leaky pipe under the sink. Then, BOOM. Nick and his brother have to fight some birds that fly into the kitchen. It sounds cheesy, but in reality it is a great way to jump into the plot. They get past the birds, and then enter soon-to-be new friends Mae and Jamie. These two are such wonderful characters, that make up for any complaints that could be made concerning Nick's. . .ways. Mae and Jamie have a problem, and come to Nick and his brother Alan for help. Since Alan is a kind guy, he tries to help. That is where a bunch of the book's issues come in. I refuse to give anything away, but there is a lot to find out throughout the story; secrets up the yin-yang. There will be a huge surprise at the end, that honestly is not something a reader would just be able to guess. I loved that. A lot of books these days have endings that are too prdictable: not this one.
So, give the first book a try, and then you get to move onto the second book, The Demon's Covenant. This one is based around Mae, and that is so refreshing. After the first book, full of Nick and his solid personality, it was nice to move onto Mae who has more feeling in her. Mae is such a strong character, and she is believable. Realistic. A reader can understand her desire to protect her brother and family while helping out friends who did so much for her. I am not going into detail at all here, because that would give away too much of the first book, but this book was an improvement on the first one, for sure. It added a lot of emotion that was lacking-for understandable reasons-from the first book. For people who like some romance in their books - like me - do not worry, there's some there. You will fall for someone in these pages, if not the pages of the first book, I'm sure. I did.
Lastly- The Demon's Surrender. This one is based around Sin. Before this book, I hadn't liked Sin. At all. She just annoyed me. She seemed too fake and full of herself and entitled. The fact that the third book was based around her put me off at first, but I had loved the begninning of the trilogy so much, I had to give it a try. I had to know how the brothers' story would end. So I gave it a shot, and it was phenominal. Do not count this book out because you have a predjudice against Sin. Once you see things through her eyes, she will not seem so bad. This book continues with problems that had been revealed in the first book. That's another great thing about this trilogy-the consistancy. The problems the characters face don't just disappear; they are faced realistically and in a clever orderliness. There is such a wise way that the characters deal with their problems that I found so fascinating. I would never have thought of a lot of the solutions they come up with, and I admire that. The characters are a satisfying mix of clever, brave, and personal. They have flaws. They have things to regret. But they are that much better for these facts. The ending of this trilogy is not a perfect ending. It leaves room for things to go wrong. But it is an ending that will not leave a reader wishing for something else. Well, other than another book because you will not want to say goodbye to these characters.
All in all, this trilogy was something I thought I would be unlikely to read. I gave it a shot anyway because I usually give books that are suggested top me a try. How else would I find new, wonderful stories to satisfy my fictional attractive character needs? If you have one of those cravings too, these books will satisfy them. There are lovable, realistic characters to choose from that you will not want to let go of. They face challenges that are entirely unreal, but we want to believe in anyway. That's the point of reading fantasy books, right? To escape to a world that is real in our minds, that we wish could actually happen in real life? I loved these books oh, so very much. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say it's a 10. It had everything I look for in a book and so much more that were just wonderful perks. READ THIS TRILOGY. :)
First thing's first. I LOVED THESE BOOKS. They are fantasy, but in a way that isn't all that mainstream, like Twilight or any other vampire or werewolf book out there. There are demons and magicians and you'd think that would be kind of boring, but it is actually enthralling. It is not like Harry Potter. There is no comparison to me.
So, the first book, The Demon's Lexicon. This one is written around Nick. Yes, Nick is a jerk. Yes, Nick can be infuriating. But give him a chance. Read the whole book, and everything about him will make sense, I promise you. The book begins in a totally everyday way: a leaky pipe under the sink. Then, BOOM. Nick and his brother have to fight some birds that fly into the kitchen. It sounds cheesy, but in reality it is a great way to jump into the plot. They get past the birds, and then enter soon-to-be new friends Mae and Jamie. These two are such wonderful characters, that make up for any complaints that could be made concerning Nick's. . .ways. Mae and Jamie have a problem, and come to Nick and his brother Alan for help. Since Alan is a kind guy, he tries to help. That is where a bunch of the book's issues come in. I refuse to give anything away, but there is a lot to find out throughout the story; secrets up the yin-yang. There will be a huge surprise at the end, that honestly is not something a reader would just be able to guess. I loved that. A lot of books these days have endings that are too prdictable: not this one.
So, give the first book a try, and then you get to move onto the second book, The Demon's Covenant. This one is based around Mae, and that is so refreshing. After the first book, full of Nick and his solid personality, it was nice to move onto Mae who has more feeling in her. Mae is such a strong character, and she is believable. Realistic. A reader can understand her desire to protect her brother and family while helping out friends who did so much for her. I am not going into detail at all here, because that would give away too much of the first book, but this book was an improvement on the first one, for sure. It added a lot of emotion that was lacking-for understandable reasons-from the first book. For people who like some romance in their books - like me - do not worry, there's some there. You will fall for someone in these pages, if not the pages of the first book, I'm sure. I did.
Lastly- The Demon's Surrender. This one is based around Sin. Before this book, I hadn't liked Sin. At all. She just annoyed me. She seemed too fake and full of herself and entitled. The fact that the third book was based around her put me off at first, but I had loved the begninning of the trilogy so much, I had to give it a try. I had to know how the brothers' story would end. So I gave it a shot, and it was phenominal. Do not count this book out because you have a predjudice against Sin. Once you see things through her eyes, she will not seem so bad. This book continues with problems that had been revealed in the first book. That's another great thing about this trilogy-the consistancy. The problems the characters face don't just disappear; they are faced realistically and in a clever orderliness. There is such a wise way that the characters deal with their problems that I found so fascinating. I would never have thought of a lot of the solutions they come up with, and I admire that. The characters are a satisfying mix of clever, brave, and personal. They have flaws. They have things to regret. But they are that much better for these facts. The ending of this trilogy is not a perfect ending. It leaves room for things to go wrong. But it is an ending that will not leave a reader wishing for something else. Well, other than another book because you will not want to say goodbye to these characters.
All in all, this trilogy was something I thought I would be unlikely to read. I gave it a shot anyway because I usually give books that are suggested top me a try. How else would I find new, wonderful stories to satisfy my fictional attractive character needs? If you have one of those cravings too, these books will satisfy them. There are lovable, realistic characters to choose from that you will not want to let go of. They face challenges that are entirely unreal, but we want to believe in anyway. That's the point of reading fantasy books, right? To escape to a world that is real in our minds, that we wish could actually happen in real life? I loved these books oh, so very much. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say it's a 10. It had everything I look for in a book and so much more that were just wonderful perks. READ THIS TRILOGY. :)
My Beginning
This is the first time I've ever actually tried blogging. I thought I'd give it a whirl, though, since I love to read and I'm a writer (a young, unaaomplished one, but a writer no less). It seems that blogging is a big thing with people who love books and people who write, so what could it hurt?
I guess I should say what I intend to do here. So. I am definitely going to review some books. No doubt about that. It will probably be a ton of books I like because if I don't like a book, I probably won't realy read it. I do not plan on reviewing a book I don't finish. That would be unfair- if I don't give the whole book a chance, I shouldn't have a right to say anything bad about its entirety. I may possibly talk about some of m works in progress, vent about things that irritate me, or gush about things I love. I could possibly amuse some people, so even though this post is boring, give me a chance.
So, yeah. I don't really have anything else in mind to say right now. So... yeah. Haha(: Until next post, Friends!
♥Jessica(:
I guess I should say what I intend to do here. So. I am definitely going to review some books. No doubt about that. It will probably be a ton of books I like because if I don't like a book, I probably won't realy read it. I do not plan on reviewing a book I don't finish. That would be unfair- if I don't give the whole book a chance, I shouldn't have a right to say anything bad about its entirety. I may possibly talk about some of m works in progress, vent about things that irritate me, or gush about things I love. I could possibly amuse some people, so even though this post is boring, give me a chance.
So, yeah. I don't really have anything else in mind to say right now. So... yeah. Haha(: Until next post, Friends!
♥Jessica(:
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