Safe on HALLOW Ground

 SEE? I TOLD you I would finish Hallowed last night. And I did! I stayed up late and everything; I just couldn't help myself.

BUT BEFORE I REVIEW:
Have any of you wonderful people ever visited the blog Literary Exploration? Well if you have, you're awesome, and if you haven't, then. . . DUDE. You should totally check it out. Well, Literary Exploration is ran by a super nice girl named Anna. Seriously, she is like my blogging idol. If anything I ever do becomes half as good as what she does, I will be the happiest person ever. But that's not the point. The point is that Anna wants to go to BEA. And she totally deserves to go. What can you do to help? Well, gee, wonderful friends, thank you for asking. What you have to do is SO SIMPLE. Just head on over to Anna's blog and she will tell you what to do. There was a link there, but if you missed it, click HERE to find out how to vote. I promise you, it's only clicking, like, three times. Such an easy way to help out such an amazing person. And, BONUS -  if you need more incentive, Anna's birthday was yesterday! Wouldn't be the awesomest gift ever if we sent her to BEA? I think it would be. So vote for her!

Okay, now I can get back on track. In case you didn't know, Hallowed is the sequel to Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. The second book in a trilogy. The first book was just purely amazing. I loved it. And the second book did not disappoint.

I've told you before how second books are usually either hit or miss, good or bad. This book exceeds good. It was such a great bridge to the next book (which I CANNOT wait to read, when it comes out, which will be I-don't-know-when). Hallowed was so many things. I laughed, I cried, I slapped people. (Just kidding about the slapping thing. Kind of.)

Something I really liked about this sequel was that there weren't any new characters forced on us. What I mean is that in a lot of sequels, there are new characters (to be honest, usually of the bad-boy variety, but not always) thrown on us to add to the story or something. Don't get me wrong, I can end up loving these guys along with everyone else, but in Hallowed, it was nice that the story didn't use characters that were thrown in for controversy. Yes, we will meet new characters - (none of which will be included in the character rundown because telling you about some of them could seem spoiler-like and I don't spoil. Plus, I like to stick to the very most main characters and the boys. Yeah, I'm such a teen girl) -we WILL meet new characters, but they are added naturally. They are very comfortable additions to our beautiful Unearthly world.

Another thing that was great about this sequel: it was sentimental. Now you're thinking WHAT? What ever do you mean, you LIKED how sentimantal it was? That makes no sense! But actually, my friend, it makes perfect sense. The last book was based around Clara's purpose. In this book, we are still wondering about what her purpose could be, but it isn't in the forefront of everything. This book is hugely about family. I was being honest when I said I cried. I seriously cried a bit. I didn't ball my eyes out or anything, but there were some sweet moments.

I always comment on the romance, and it was still present in Hallowed, but not the center of everything, and that was perfectly okay. The whole Tucker-or-Christian thing wasn't overbearing, but more of something that happened on the sidelines.

I am aware that I'm not going very in depth on much, but I really don't want to give anything important away. Because you must read this book. It is a beautiful piece of paranormal YA fiction, and I just know you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Character rundown! Clara, the main girl. An angel who is about to find out some things about herself that we never would have guessed. I like Clara, I really do. She is very ideal - beautiful, smart, an angel. But she has her faults, too: can be a little self-centered during crucial times (you'll understand when you read), indecisive in moments where it's not helpful. . . But I like her anyway. Now, to Tucker. Ah, Tucker. I feel so much for Tucker. The human who loves this angel and wants so much to keep her, to not be seperated by their differences. Plus, he's gorgeous and macho. But then we have Christian - OH CHRISTIAN. The perfect boy for Clara. An angel-blood. Determined to do what he was meant to do, what he knows in his heart is right. And again, he's gorgeous too! Seriously, Clara hit the jackpot in the guy department, that lucky girl.

In case you hadn't noticed, I am TEAM CHRISTIAN. I love Tuck, but I'm rooting for Christian all the way, folks. ;)

The ending. The ending gave us all a sense of closure about a very important event in this book. Which was good. But it also left us wanting to find out what happens next. Was Clara's decision for good, will she stand by it? What's going on with the Black Wings? And Jeffrey? And, dude, WHAT is going on with their purposes? So many questions, and no answers. But that's a great thing, because there will be another book! So my only problem here is that the next book isn't out yet. Nor will it be our for some time. So I shall sit here and twiddle my thumbs anxiously until I can get my answers.

My rating: 5 stars. I was leaning toward 4 stars for a while, but then I realized that there is nothing wrong with this book, in my opinion, to make me take it down a star. So a full 5-star rating it is! Which means you should most definitely read this book! It's amazing, it's funny, it's HEARTFELT. Oh, yes it's heartfelt. That is the word I have been searching for in my mind as I write this review. Heartfelt. That is the perfect word for this book. You should totally go figure out what I mean and READ THIS BOOK. Okay?

All right, that's it for my review, so I'll leave it there. In case you had not noticed, or didn't see my Teaser Tuesday post yesterday, I am reading Divergent right now by Veronica Roth. I have been told that it is a magnificent book and pretty much scolded virtually for not having read it yet. So I moved it up on my TBR list and am reading it right now!

Thank you all for stopping by, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

Teaser Tuesday!

So, I've decided to start participating in Teaser Tuesday! Honestly, because it looks like fun, to tease you all with the wonderful books I'm reading and making you all want to read some great books. Giving you more "exposure" to what I'm reading and blah blah blah, all that stuff. ;)

 Do you want to participate in Teaser Tuesdays? It's simple and hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. All you have to do is:

-Grab your current read
-Open to a random page
-Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
-BE CAREFUL NOT T INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
-Share the title & author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Now for MY teaser!

"He holds out his hand. I stare at it, fingers extended, beckoning, and I instantly flash back to my vision, the moment when we take hands under the trees as the fire roars down the mountain." ~pg. 218, Hallowed, Cynthia Hand

Quick Note: I am DEFINITELY finishing Hallowed tonight, and the review will be up tomorrow. My next book to read will be Divergent by Veronica Roth. Yes, this is at odds with my reading list I made before, but I am told that I am insane for not already reading this book, so I gave it priority. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

♥Jessica(:

Happy Easter!

 

Happy Easter, Friends! I hope you have a great holiday! Just dropping in to tell you all that 1. You remember my nephew we all wished happy birthday to a couple days ago? Yeah, well we were at the mall with him on Friday, and he was afraid of the Easter bunny! The one that little children get their pictures taken with. It was so adorable! Hmm. . .it's funny how we find things like small children being scared by innocuous things funny and cute. Either way, he was, and it was hilarious as well as precious. And 2. I'm Googling Happy easter pictures and am finding a bunch of cute ones, so I'm just going to throw a whole bunch on here. Hehe(:

  Remember how I said that I loved tulips? Well, these ones aren't red, but they're still pretty! :)

   

Okay, I'll stop with the pictures here before I get a wee bit too excessive. And heads up: I'm planning a giveaway soon! I got my SAT scores yesterday! ;)

Have a very happy Easter, Friends!!

♥Jessica(:

Easter Wishlist

Hello, Friends! So, after eating some super yummy cake, reading more of Hades by Alexandra Adornetto, and sleeping for a SUPER LONG TIME, I'm back! As we all know, Easter is on Sunday! You probably think I'm a little old for this, but my mom still makes my little brother and I Easter baskets. Actually, she sometimes still makes my older brothers Easter baskets, too. It pretty much depends on the situation. But the point is that my mom is going to make me an Easter basket. Usually it gets stuffed with candy, including those HUGE milk chocolate bunnies. This year, though, I have opted not to get any of those huge bunnies because, honestly, I'm not too fond of them. So, I asked my mom if I could get a BOOK in the bunnies' place. And she agreed (last I checked, anyway. . .) that I could get ONE book for Easter. Which means I need to pick a book.

BUT, here's the thing about me: I. LOVE. SURPRISES. I really do. The sad thing is that it's not easy to surprise me. I usually suspect something before whatever the surprise was happens. I'm not saying it's impossible to surprise me, just that it's not easy. I'm a very observant person a good deal of the time. Anyways, since I love surprises, I decided to give my mom a LIST of a few books that she could choose one from. I know that's not a total surprise, but it's sort of like making a Christmas list - you put on there what you WANT to get and hope the gift-giver sticks to it. As in, I talk to my mom a lot about the books I love and the books I want, so there is a small possibility that she'll go off the list and surprise me. Nonetheless, I shall share with you my list:

 SILENCE ♥ by Becca Fitzpatrick. I have wanted this books for a while. I've read the first two books (even own the second one), loved them, and am a firm TEAM PATCH advocate. Yet, I am in serious need of reading this book. So, onto the list it goes.

 WINGS OF THE WICKED ♥ by Courtney Allison Moulton. I borrowed the first book of this series (Angelfire) from my library a while ago and need to read this book. The first one was awesome, so I look forward to reading this one so much - if I ever get my hands on it, that is.

 DARKNESS FALLS by Cate Tiernan. Again, I read the first book in this series (Immortal Beloved) through the library and now really want to read this sequel. Plus, such a pretty cover, right? :)

 TWISTED by Gena Showalter. I actually reluctantly read the first book in this series. It was back when I was babysitting about two years ago and spent ALL of my money on books, always. I couldn't pick when book to get and decided that I GUESS I should get Intertwined since there didn't seem to be anything better to choose from Borders. (I was way more picky than I am now about what I read back then.) But then I read it, loved it, and the second book, Unraveled, ended up on my Christmas list a year later. I got it, and now I need to read this one, the third!

 THE SAVAGE GRACE by Bree Despain. I don't even need to explain this one, because the explanation is right here on my blog! Check out my reviews of The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint and you will most certainly understand why I want to read the third book in this trilogy.

For the record, this list WOULD have contained six books, but I got Hallowed by Cynthia Hand a few days ago from Barnes and Noble, so it did not need to be added to thr list anymore, obviously. :)

Oh, and these are not, by any means, the only books I want. I just picked a few that I thought I had a chance of getting. Another thing, I (partly) chose these books for the list based off of what I thought my mom would be able to find if she went book shopping. As in, books she might be able to find at Walmart or easily at Barnes and Noble based on my last recent trip there. If I thought there was only a slim chance of the book being found, I decided not to put it on the list.

All right, so I shall bid you all good day since I haven't even eaten breakfast, or I guess it might be lunch now. . .? A late lunch, maybe? Either way, I need to eat. Thank you all for readint his post! Remember to check out my other posts & reviews, and FOLLOW!

Thank you all so much, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the baby!

Four years ago today, one of the cutest children EVER was born. His name is Billy and he is my positively adorable nephew.

I love that little boy SO much. I am immensely serious right now. Yes, he can be a pain in my behind sometimes (this kid screams SO LOUD, I'm surprised I still have my hearing. . .Okay, I'm joking. Kind of. He really does scream loud.) but there is not much I wouldn't do for this cutie pie. He shall be called the baaaaaby forever, of this I am certain. And by that, I mean that I will be calling him the baby forever. Or until I forget to do it anymore. Whichever comes first. But, the POINT is that he's FOUR YEARS OLD now. Wow, time flies. Wanna see his cake? It is so precious!

In case you haven't guessed, the baby loves trains. Or as he calls them, "choo-choos." I know, CUTE, right? I wholeheartedly agree. And that is not just because he's my nephew. (Well, maybe a little. But still. Cute.) So, today was a nice day with the usual drama, but in the end good. (Don't ask about the drama. Not really a story worth telling.) The important part of the day was that the child is now a year older, and I feel so old. I mean, I know I'm young. I know this. But I can't help but FEEL old. I remember the day Billyboy was born. It was a Saturday and I was in sixth grade. I was living in the B-lo at the time, so we got a phone call that morning telling us that I was officially an aunt. It's hard to believe that little tiny baby is now FOUR. YEARS. OLD. *sigh*

Okay, nostalgic moment over. My point of this whole post is that today was my nephew's brithday! Let's all wish him a big happy birthday together. Ready?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for humoring me. That's all I had to say for today, but keep an eye out for my review of Hades by Alexandra Adornetto. It should be up sometime within the next few days. I have a four day weekend for Easter - thank goodness - and hope to get SOMETHING done on here in that time. The review of Hades will certainly be it. Maybe I'll even get through Hallowed, too. I guess we'll see, right? ;)

Thank you all for checking out my blog post and wishing Billyboy a happy birthday! Please feel free to check out my other posts, and FOLLOW. Yes, follow. My blog (on the top, on the side, whickever works for you), or even my Twitter. @makesmeworse12 Yeah, that's my Twitter username. I know it's weird. It's an insider thing, but maybe someone can guess why. . . ANYWAYS, thank you all and please visit again soon!

As always, I shall speak to you again in my next post. Stay safe until then, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

HOW TO RUIN my poor heart♥

Hey, everybody! So, I sadly finished reading How To Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation by Simone Elkeles. This is the third How To Ruin book, so if you haven't read the first two, I STRONGLY suggest you do, like, now. Before I start talking, I'll show you the cover(s). . .

NOW you understand why I said "coverS," right? I read the one on the left. I checked it out from my library and I am so happy/unhappy that I did. I'm happy because I got to read it and unhappy because now I've read it, but I don't own it. What a dilemma. . . Now on to the actual review!

I love love love love love love love love love love love love love this book. (I think y'all get the point now - I LOVE this book.) It was funny, it was sweet, it was deep, it was AMAZING. This is the kind of book that will have you laughing one second and wanting to cover your eyes the next. (I'm serious. I wanted to cover my eyes as I read this one, some things were just THAT. . .whoa, you know?) Yet again in this series, Simone has crafted an utterly beautiful story that will make you grin and want to slap somebody - in my case at least, but I promise no one was harmed in the reading of this book.

So, what is this book about? Amy goes on yet another adventure. What makes this adventure special? Why, Friends, Amy is going to boot camp! I am serious. She is going to boot camp in Israel because. . . you guessed it! She wants to see Avi. Honestly, no one can blame her for that. Avi = IDEAL MALE SPECIMEN. Then, of course, Amy gets into trouble and whatnot at the base she is being boot-camped at. (Yeah, probably not an actual verb, but hey, I'm creative.) Out of all three of these How To Ruin books, I do not think I even have a favorite. They are all equally stunning.

Now 'tis character rundown time!!!!!! Okay, you ready? First we have Amy. The most confident girl anyone could ever meet. A total city girl, who is lucky enough to have Avi as a boyfriend. She is a super emotional drama queen who has more guts than I could ever wish to have. I personally like her, though there were a lot of times throughout this book where I was practically yelling at her because she does some things that most people probably wouldn't do. And that's another great thing about her. Next, we have the most gorgeous Avi - OH AVI. Avi is so wonderful, I must say it again - OH AVI. He is a soldier in Israel who has problems with expressing emotions - but really, what guy doesn't? - and has just as much confidence as Amy. He fights for what he loves without hesitation and doesn't give what he cares about up easily. While he may seem like the rock-hard serious soldier-guy, he's really just a big sweetheart. And that makes me LOVE him. Honestly, I think I'm in love with him. Whew.

Now, I have to comment on the romance in this book. There is bunches. It is amazing. Not insane or anything, but super-satisfactory. It's mixed in very well with the other happenings in the story. Plues, there is more depth to the story than just Amy&Avi being the cutest couple EVER. There is regular friend drama, there is Amy's strong Jewish faith, there is Amy's lovely grandmother. None of this might make any sense to you right now, but READ THIS BOOK, and you'll get it, I promise.

As for the ending. The ending made me want to cry. Not because of any particular ending-thing, but because the book was over. This is the last How To Ruin book out, and as far as I know there are no plans for another one. I wish there were! But there aren't So now I shall be heartbroken and miss Avi forever and ever. Other than that, though, the ending wasn't bad, so don't worry. A wee bit abrupt, considering what happens just before the book ends, but all right.

Before I give my rating, I want to say something. This book tugged at my heart in the sweetest, cutest way. Truly. Amy and Avi are such a loveable couple. Their adventures always bring laughter and smiles with them, though some drama always ensues to complicate things. That's all right, though, because in the end, all that ever matters is known, and they believe in it. I've just been thinking of saying this as I read the book, so I had to tell you before I forgot :) On that note, I rate this book 5/5 stars (of course). If I could, I may have even rated it 6 or 7/5, but Goodreads (<--- yes, a link to friend me on Goodreads!) does not offer that option ;) I strongly suggest you check out these How To Ruin books. If you don't, I promise you, you're really missing something. THANK YOU, SIMONE ELKELES for writing about Avi and Amy (to behonest, mostly Avi, but Amy WAS important too. . .) and creating these wonderful stories. There may not be any plans for another one of these books right now, but I seriously hope that someday we get another story with the cutest couple EVER.

So, my blog Friends, I will leave you with a quick update: I am currently reading Hades by Alexandra Adornetto. I'm not sure when the review for that will be up, but I'd probably say this weekend at the latest. I have a four day weekend because of Easter, so. . . ;)

Thank y'll for reading my post! Remember to FOLLOW, too! Trust me, it'll pay off.

Until next post, Friends!

♥Jessica(:

Happy April!

'Tis April, Friends! I purposely did not post yesterday because I don't know about you, but I am very untrusting on April Fools Day. So I decided not to do anything that could be taken as a joke. I'm noce like that. ANYWAYS, I have some things to let y'all in on! I mean, it's probably not too "important" or whatever, but some fun things to know about what I have planned this month and such.

WAIT. Did I just say "planned this month"? Ha, that's funny. I have NOTHING "planned." I'm a very good go-with-the-flow kind of person. Usually. Back to my point, I'll tell you a bit about what I have planned AS OF RIGHT NOW for this month.

To start, I want to tell you folks about something I am personally very excited about. So, I know this author. His name is Jamie Manning. Have you heard of him? You very well may have, especially if you participated in the YA Scavenger Hunt this past weekend like someone else we all know and love (ME!).  Well, Jamie has this book coming out on April 24th. It's called Blood Born. Again, you may have heard about it. If you did, they were probably all wonderful things, because I think this book s going to be great. I'm not sure when I'm going to get to read it, but it WILL be on my wishlist, no doubt. Okay, now you're all getting impatient: WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT, GIRL?!!! Well, gee, I'm getting there. I am excited because today - yes, TODAY - the blog tour for Blood Born starts! That's right: to add to the super exciting fact that we are within the month that Blood Born is released, the BLOG TOUR starts today! This makes me happy. And so much more excited about the book! (AH, I so can't wait to read it!)

Yep, there it is. The blog tour is hosted by Once Upon a Twilight, and you should totally check it out. I know I will! (Actually I already did. Can you say GIVEAWAY anyone?) ;)

Now I must move on, unforunately, for I have other things to share. Like my current Reading List, for one!
I've been promising this for a while, and now here it is - finally!

Reading List (as of right now - can change at any point in time for various reasons):
1. How To Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation by Simone Elkeles (currently reading)
2. Hades (sequel to Halo) by Alexandra Adornetton
3. Hallowed (sequel to Unearthly) by Cynthia Hand
4. Slide by Jill Hathaway
5. Immortal City by Scott Speer
And . . . that's pretty much it for now. Of course, I'll post reviews as I finish the books. The review for How To Ruin will probably be up sometime around Wednesday, so keep your eye out for that!

Now, I believe that was all I had to say. I told you about the BLOG TOUR, my TBR list, and my next review. . . Yeah, that's it. Thank you all for checking out my blog and reading my post. If you liked this one, you should check out my others. Oh, and in case you hadn't noticed, I have reviews too! Take a look and see if you like? And please, remember to FOLLOW my blog. Trust me, it'll pay off. I just might have a few ideas up my sleeve. . . ;)

So, I shall leave you all wih this picture because it popped up when I Googled the April picture, and I love tulips! Yes, it may be a rainy picture, but you have to admit that the flowers are still GORGEOUS! :)

Until next post, Friends!

♥Jessica(: