In My Mailbox #25

What's In My Mailbox

For Review:


All These Things I've Done By Gabrielle Zevin (Gooodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble)

I was very shocked to find a red box in my mailbox. It was from Macmillan. Curious I open it to find red confetti, bag of chocolate cover expresso, and a note from the publicist and underneath all of that was Gabrielle Zevin's new novel All these things I've done. Which btw, judging from the first 100 pages, will definitely be a hit. It comes out this September 2011 :) Thank you very much Ksenia Winnicki.

What did you guys get in your mailbox this week? BTW if you haven't already figure it out. In my Mailbox was started by The Story Siren.
Yours Truly,

Die For Me By Amy Plum Review #77

Author: Amy Plum
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages:341
Source: Chapters
Available: Now
First Lines:"The first time I had seen the statue in the fountain, I had no idea what Vincent was."
Rating: 3/5

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Ah I want someone to die for me. Or *cough* I would like to be able to love someone so much that I would be willingly to risk my life for them. Society needs more Vincents(male lead). Miss.Plum may I ask where I can find one like him? Because seriously either chivalry is dead or it's hiding. Vincent is like every girls dream boyfriend. He's handsome, cute, gentlemanly, a bit of a flirt, rides a vespa and will do anything for his girlfriend. Of course their is a catch, like with all paranormal male leads. He is of course a paranormal creature, and no he is not a vampire (though by the title I see where you might of got that conclusion from). I also couldn't help but imagine Thomas Mcdonell as Vincent. I wonder how that actor would sound with a french accent.

However everyone must give props to Ms. Plum for creating her own, original, paranormal creature. I won't tell you what he is, you'll have to go and read it to find out. Yes other authors have created their own version of a already existing creature, but Miss Amy actually created her own paranormal myth/beings. This, in my opinion, was the best part of the novel. It makes it more interesting to the reader to not read the same-old-beings-story but to read a new-paranormal-beings-story. Don't get me wrong their is still the same Romeo/Juliet theme and the usual dilemmas in the paranormal romance genre.

Now you may be wondering why I rated it 3/5 instead of 5/5. Well even though the originality, fast pace and ending-that-left-me-wanting-more score high in my book, their was still some things that made me dislike the book. First of the dialogue, even though it gave me a few good chuckles, was unbelievable. I cannot imagine anyone talking like that. Secondly the book didn't have that much action in it, not until the end, and for me that was kind of disappointing.

What I liked about the book: Kate ( A Female Lead who is strong, normal, loves book and I can relate to) , the paranormal gang (Vincent's friends were awesome especially Ambrose and Jules) and the setting (which I will go into further detail below).

The setting in Die for Me is Paris. A setting which you don't see often in YA books (or I haven't anyways). I have never been to Paris or any of the places that are mention in the book. Usually when a author describes a historical, beautiful place I will have to go online to get further imagery because a lot of the time the imagery isn't describe enough for me to imagine it. However Amy Plum does a fantastic, tremendous, out shining job of describing Paris and all the places in me. I applaud her because she has now made me, more then ever, eager to go Paris. I really felt I was there.

Overall readers will definitely eat up this new Paranormal series. I think by the end of this book readers can agree that Kate truly deserved Vincent. Someone once told me that: When someone leaves your life, then another will walk right in. And I saw Vincent as that. Not as a paranormal being but as a person who saved Kate from further depression :) He was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Yours Truly,

In My Mailbox #24

What's In My Mailbox

Bought:

Exile By Anne Osterlund (Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble)
Die For Me By Amy Plum (Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble)

For Review:



Blood Red Road By Moira Young (Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble)
Facing Fire By Kc Dyer (Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble)
Blood Magic By Tessa Gratton (Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble)
Angel Burn By L.A Weatherly (Goodreads/Amazon)

Book Trailers:

Yours Truly,

Darkness Becomes Her By Kelly Keaton Review #76

Author: Kelly Keaton
Publisher:Simon Pulse
Pages: 273
Source: Chapters
Available: Now
First Lines: "Under the cafeteria table, my right knee bounced like a jackhammer possessed."
Rating: 5/5

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Add Greek Mythology and combine that with Supernatural beings and you get one hell of a book. A novel that will spin you around and around and will still leave you shock at the twist and turns. I loved this book. I literally wanted to marry it. I could not put it down. I am not going to lie I have been in a reading funk lately and Kelly Keaton brought me out of it. I also have been busy with school, life, graduating, exchange ect; however that another story for another time.

The Plot: Was well thought out and fast. Their is definitely not a moment in this book where you stop and ponder: "When is this going to end". Honestly it the opposite you'll think, "I hope this never ends". Sadly the ending comes faster then you want it to. It is a short book, only 273 pages, however it fits everything (without boring and overwhelming the reader) in it nicely. Kelly Keaton kept the plot twists well under wraps and it will leave the readers shocked and looking back to see the hints that led to them. The ending is of course a bit of a cliff hanger, however it will leave readers screaming for more. I am most certainly excited for the next book in the series to come out.

Imagery: NEW ORLEANS. I don't see many novels set in this setting, and especially not a futuristic one I might add. The author did a mesmerizing job of capturing it and it's beauty. Ever since reading this I have been dying to go to New Orleans. I think my absolute favorite scene was the party scene where everyone dressed up (in masks might I add). That scene definitely brought my imagination to life in it's fullest. It is also easy to imagine the characters (personalities, looks and actions). Kelly Keaton did a fabulous job of bring her world to life for the readers.

Romance: YAY---no love triangle (or not yet). It not often that you only see one male swooning for the female leads attention. Ari and Sebastian were a couple with real chemistry. They worked well with each other and were believable. They weren't overtop or to under-the top (if you catch my drift). I really am excited to see how their relationship develops over the course of this series. I am praying that they do not break up with each other (like in many other series).

Characters: The characters all fit so well with each other. The kids at the Garden District were like a real family (who I came to love and desired to be apart of) with their separate personalities. I love them all but I definitely have a special spot for Violet who was so unique in her own little way. I absolutely adored Ari's hair and tattoo which really set her apart from everyone else. The Villain was defintely evil and deep down I wish she had more book time. I hope in the next novel she does.

What was the best thing about this novel? Hands down the dialogue, emotions and tone. The author did a great job of making the readers feel what the characters were feeling through dialogue. The tone also came across well with the setting.

Overall I most certainly recommend reading this book :) Yours Truly,