What's Next (1)

What's Next is a weekly meme created by Iceybooks !! You pick 3-5 books that your thinking of reading next and not sure which one to read first. Then post the images or titles of those books on your blog in this meme and let your readers pick which one they want you to read next.

So I really want to get rid of my tbr pile. So first;

TBR PILE PICKS (links lead to goodreads):

 

FUTURE BUYING (link leads to goodread)

 

So now please leave a comment =D Vote 1 book for each category and then I will read those next week and review them the week after XD. 

The Book of Blood and Shadow By Robin Wasserman

Author: Robin Wasserman
Publisher: knopf
Pages:432
Source: Chapters
Links: Amazon/Chapters
Rating: 3/5

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark. 


But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.


Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

The Book of Blood and Shadow is a historical-murder case-with hints of magic involve. It talks about a young girl, Nora Kane, who lost her older brother tragically. Once she enters high school the only two people who can put her back together is her two new best friends: Chris & Adriane (who eventually become a couple).Then Nora gets her own boyfriend: Max. Everything seems to be going dandy. Nora is brilliant at Latin and spends her days (alongside Max & Chris) translating. More specifically Nora is translating Elizabeth Weston's (Historical person) diary entries to her brother. Soon an unsolved mystery is unravelled that is starting to mirror Nora's life and what is happening in the late 1500's is now happening in the twenty first century. Bad things are starting to happen: Chris ends up dead. Now it up to Nora, Adriane, Max & Eli to solve Chris's murder, unravel the mystery, figure out who Nora is and put an end to what is happening. All of this leads them to Prague.

This novel has a brilliant plot concept. It part History and part magical fantasy. The author knows the past and it really shows in how she writes. It even states in her bio that she "once studied to be a historian". This isn't the authors first book. She wrote the Cold Awakening Trilogy & Chasing Yesterday Trilogy. Both of which I have not read yet, however I have on my tbr pile.

As I read the novel I got to learn of Historical people that I had never once heard about (Elizabeth Weston, Edward Kelley, ect). The author states in her afterword section that "not much is known about Elizabeth Weston's youth" and "using my (her) imagination to fill in the blanks". Which I thought was pretty cool. I got to learn about people I have never heard about. To learn more, click here!!

Robin Wasserman is an amazing author. I love her writing it is absolutely stunning. However even though the idea behind this novel was really good, I was not jumping up and down for joy about it. I did not hate it, however I did not love it either.

It is fast pace and four hundred pages will go by in a jiffy, however I thought it was too long. It could of been shorter. The problem with The Book of Blood and Shadow is it has too much information. To much details a reader has to remember. So much details that I felt the imagery for setting and minor characters got over looked. It got confusing at times and I would easily forget the slightest details and then when it was mention a hundred pages later I would be like: what??

There was too much telling then showing. I could not really get clear imagery of Prague. I just felt like a bunch of tourist names were listed off which made it hard for me to imagine them in a foreign country.

I thought the character development for Nora was brilliant. That was where this book strive. Nora's loss of her old brother was really well done and you could definitely feel her pain. You could also really see the resemblances between her and Elizabeth. The translated diary entries were practically my favourite part of the novel. They intrigue me and kept me wanting more.

The killer behind Chris's death was a little to obvious to me. It was not really hard to guess who did it. I was a bit annoyed with Nora's constant non acceptance of who could of killed Chris. However I guess if I was in that situation I would do  the same.

My absolute favourite part of the whole novel was : Eli & Nora's relationship. I absolutely loved how the two interacted. The dialogue between them was brilliant and how they slowly went from strangers to friends was awesome.

Overall it was an okay read.

Waiting On Wednesday

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…



Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—


The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.


And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.


Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

I’m a 28-year-old reader, writer, lover of animals, and eater of cookies. I used to be a marine biologist, but now I write novels. And not novels about fish either, but novels about kick-butt heroines and swoon-worthy rogues (I really like swoon-worthy rogues).

I live in Germany with my French husband and Irish setter, and you can learn more about my crazy thoughts and crippling cookie-addiction on twitter, facebook, or Goodreads.

My debut, Something Strange and Deadly, will be available from HarperCollins on July 24th, and you will never believe how happy this makes me!

All Information (Including images) came from Goodreads!!!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted and created by Jill 

@ Breaking the spines 

Teaser Tuesday + Top Ten Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme that was started and is hosted by Should Be Reading.  Here is the rules

 Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO 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 other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

"My face burned with enough heat to destroy a small forest." -Page 148

"I paused in his doorway. Kyle was standing in front of the closet. He'd put on a pair of jeans his black Vans, but he was shirtless. He turned and I gasped."-Page 148

I really like this novel. It is really fast paste and I cannot put it down. I keep wondering what will happen next.
What is your teaser? 

Is an awesome meme created and hosted by The Broke and The Bookish 

Top Ten Books Written In The Past 10 Years That I Hope People Are Still Reading In 30 Years

1. Mortal Instrument Series By Cassandra Clare

2.  Infernal  Devices Series By Cassandra Clare

I am a huge fan of Cassandra Clare. I really hope that 30 years from now her books are still being talk about. Also I hope she is still writing 30 years from now =D 

3. Morganville Vampire Series By Rachel Caine 

I love this series. It just keeps getting better and better. Rachel Caine is an amazing author.

4. The Red Necklace By Sally Gardner

5. Evernight Series By Claudia Gray

Sally Gardner is just simply a brilliant author at historical fiction. Enough said =D With the Evernight series I just think it really enjoyable. 

6.Hush, Hush Series By Becca Fitzpatrick 

7. Tattoo & Fate By Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

8. Hold Still By Nina Lacour 

9.Beautiful Creatures Series By Kami Garcia & Magaret Stohl 

10. The Dark Divine Series By Bree Despain 

What's your top ten? 

Remember to enter my GIVE AWAY MONDAY contest. You can win a ARC of The Gathering By Kelley Armstrong. 

ARC (Monday) GIVE AWAY MONDAY:ARC of The Gathering By Kelley Armstrong

So I have been thinking of starting this new thing on my blog. Every Monday or maybe every other Monday (I am not quite sure yet)(Or maybe every once a month on a Monday) I am going to give away book(s) or swag to one lucky winner. I am calling this Give Away Monday. So to start off this new idea I am going to be giving away an Advance Readers Copy (ARC) of The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong.

I had been originally given 2 copies of The Gathering from the Publishers. However I have never given the second copy away.  So I thought I would do so now.

This giveaway is not international!! It is only open to Canadians and Americans. Sorry :( !!! Must be following both my twitter and blog (GFC or Linky) to enter!!
-The Winner will be notify immediately after the contest closes (next Monday). If I get no reply from the winner in 48 hours I will pick a new winner =D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In My Mailbox #27

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren

Hemlock By Kathleen Peacock (Amazon/Chapters)

Mac's best friend Amy has been murdered by a werewolf attack. Now she sets off to investigates her friend's murder. 

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman (Amazon/Chapters)

Nora dashes off to Prague to figure out the reason her best friend was murder. All of it having to do with a girl from the 1500-1600's letters to her brother. 

City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments #5) By Cassandra Clare Review #81

Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 534
Source: Chapters
Links: Amazon/Chapters
Rating: 4/5

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.


No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?


Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.


And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?


Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

I do not think there has been a single Cassandra Clare book I have not liked. Each and every one she writes get better and more exciting. I sometimes wonder how she continue on with the Mortal Instrument series so long and still have plot twists and plot ideas that boggle my mind and catch me off guard.

FIRST OFF.... if you have not read the others books in the series then I suggest not reading this review for it will probably contain spoilers of the last 4 books.

In the fifth book of the Mortal Instrument series, City of Lost Souls , Clary has learns that both Jace & Sebastian are missing. The Clave does not really seem to care about Jace.Worse of all is that the two boys are bound. Meaning the newly Jace thinks like Sebastian. Wants what Sebastian want. Does what Sebastian wants. So now with Sebastian cooking up an evil plan and Jace following along it up to Clary, Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Magnus, Jordan, Maia and a few others. However it must be noted that if you kill Jace then Sebastian will be killed. Kill Sebastian and Jace will die. They are bound. You cannot harm one of them without harming the other. Making it a intriguing plot mix in with all of Cassandra Clare's Specialities: Battling, Plot Twists, Emotional roller coaster, amazing description, setting and lets not forget memorable characters.

I enjoy City of Lost Souls just as I have with about any other Cassandra Clare novel. In this novel I cried (at the end), I gasped at shock and hit myself for not realizing something sooner. I also through my book across the room quite a few times out of frustration. In all Clare has a way with emotions, descriptions, character development and creating. She knows how to create a believable character in a fictional world (like the Shadow Hunters) and make it work. Throw in some surprises, make her characters go through hell and you've got a work of art. Admit it there has not been a single Cassandra Clare book that has not shattered part of are heart then have us long for the next book to fix it back in place.

Cassandra Clare also has a way with imagery. Her writing is flawless and is easy to imagine. It easy to dive into her books and not have a single moment of boredom.

What I liked most of this novel was that it did not just stay in one place. We got to see Paris, Prague and Ireland. As I read the novel I always felt like I was beside the characters, being where they were (even though I have never been there).

The humour also gets me every time. There is not a single novel without the unique humour that each and every characters shares with one another.

THERE IS ALSO SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS 0_________0 I have so many questions digging in my brain. I have so many conspiracies. DAMN IT!! Cassandra Clare what are you doing to your readers. Now I must wait a year until the six and final book of the Mortal Instruments come out, and the third and final book in the Infernal Devices trilogy.

ALSO I HATE SEBASTIAN. I thought I could love him...however nope. Though there is parts of him that I sympathize with. However I still hate him.

Also I think a lot of readers will be sad by the end of the book .Something happens that a lot of fans will not want to happen.

Ahh I really hope the sixth book isn't the final one T_T

Follow Friday #1

Follow Friday is a book meme done by AlisonCanRead & Parajunkee. It's a weekly blog hop.

Question: Who would be your dream cast of the current book your reading?  

This is hard because I am currently reading two novels. I am reading City of Lost Souls (Cassandra Clare) and Book of Blood and Shadows (Robin Wasserman). I can not really imagine any casting choices for The Mortal Instruments (other then Jordan, Maia and Jace). I do not even know any actors/actress who look even similar to how I imagine them in the books. 

So I thought I do the imaginary cast of: Book of Blood and Shadows. 

Nora 

I am not sure :0 

Max : Andrew Garfield 

Chris: Michael Welch

Adriane: Shelley Hennig

Eli : Thomas McDonell

I was not basing my casting off of description, however how I imagine them. I can not think of any actress who could portray the protagonist. None come to mind. 

WOW : Velveteen By Daniel Marks

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme done/hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine 

Author: Daniel Marks

Publisher: Random House

Release: October 9th 2012

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that's not the problem.


The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it's not a fiery inferno, it's certainly no heaven. It's gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn't leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what's really on her mind.


Bonesaw.


Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days. 
It'll be brutal . . . and awesome.


But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen's obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she's willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.


Velveteen can't help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

OMG!! I so want to read this novel. Like I would literally trade my soul.(maybe not that far,hehe). However I am passionate for this book. It comes out in October and is written by Daniel Marks.

I just think the idea of a ghost haunting her killer is a incredible idea and would make for an awesome storyline. It is also a revenge story so that should be interesting. 

The cover is absolutely gorgeous. The boy is so handsome and the dress the girl has on is so beautiful. 

This novel is written, as I previously stated, by Daniel Marks. 

Daniel Marks writes young adult horror and fantasy, spends way too much time glued to the internets and collects books obsessively (occasionally reading them). He’s been a psychotherapist for children and adolescents, a Halloween store manager, a cafeteria janitor (gag) and has survived earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons to get where he is today, which is to say, in his messy office surrounded by half empty coffee cups. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Caroline, and three furry monsters with no regard for quality carpeting.

You can check this author out at his BLOG  or his YOUTUBE videos. Today the author bio, author picture, novel bio and novel pictures is sourced from Goodreads. The WOW image is from Jill's site @ Breaking the Spine  ! 

Teaser Tuesday (May 22)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: • Grab your current read • Open to a random page • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page • BE CAREFUL NOT TO 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 other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Cited from: Should Be Reading

"But then he must have seen my expression, or felt my hand tense in his, because he cleared his throat and added, 'But maybe this will help.'" -Page 230, Robin Wasserman

 "'Adoped?'
 'I think you'll find the definition of the modern family is really changing at an impressive pace these days,' said Jace." -Page 285,Cassandra Clare

All These Things I've Done By Gabrielle Zevin Review #80

Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 354
Source: ARC
Links: Amazon/ Chapters
Rating: 4/5

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic.

Last year I had come home and found a packaged box for me in the mail. In the red box was confetti, coffee bean cover chocolates, a letter and an arc of All these things I've Done .

Immediately I dug into the book and devour it. It was as addictive as chocolates themselves. Sadly I went away for eight months to Taiwan and never got around to reviewing it before it was published. 

Now all that set aside , I just got to say that I love some of the promotional things they do with novels. The people or person that does them is both brilliant and hard working. I imagine for an author and others involve in the team it takes  a lot of work to promote a novel. In this case: Coffee Covered chocolates with the main character's (whose the daughter of a dead mob boss) last name on it's package. Not only was it  fun to dig into the book itself, but devouring the chocolates were also a yummy treat. So I just want to say thanks to Ksenia Winnicki @ Macmillan for sending this to me =D 

I found this novel to be witty, charming and overall a great read. 

It was easy to dive into the story. 

There was many circumstances where I could not put the book down.

 Zevin's did a amazing job with 

characters. She made each and every one of her character stand out

 and apart from each other. 

Every person in the novel had their own little trait about them 

(Natty; genius, Win;hats, Scarlett; theatre, Gable; Jerk ect;) 

that set them apart. 

The story flows flawlessly in first person. It was set in the big apple 

one of my favourite places. 

The originality of it was what peak my interest when it first

 arrived and through out the entire novel. 

Set in the future where chocolate is illegal.

Who would not want to read a story like that? 

All These Things I've done is definitely a book I will be finding myself

 read over and over again.

Especially since it set in NYC. After I received this novel in the mail I 

actually went on a vacation in NYC. 

So I got to see some of the many places that are actually talk about.

 It was cool reading the novel while actually visiting the places

 that the characters go to. 

Annie devotion and love towards her family, even when sometimes

 she went astray from that path, was mesmerizing and

 beautiful. I thought the strong sense of family ties 

and love (and how far you would go for them) was what made the 

novel more strong. 

The things Annie did and gave up for her family is what made her a 

strong protagonist. 

I felt heart broken every time she had to give up something up

 (that she truly loved) 

because of the situation she was in. 

This novel, though intriguing at every point, was not a hard read. My 

only complaint was that the ending did not seem satisfying enough. 

It did not feel like a ending but more of a cut off point. 

This September 2012 the sequel comes out, Because It is My Blood. I

 am definitely looking forward to the second novel. 

This is definitely a novel that readers should read or put on their tbr 

pile.

 Check out Gabrielle Zevin's website =D 

In My Mail Box #26

City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instrument #5) By Cassandra Clare (Amazon/Chapters)

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.


No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?


Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.


And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?


Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.




Until I Die (Revenants #2) By Amy Plum (Amazon/Chapters)


Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love. As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy. In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.