Review: Linger (ARC) by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Linger
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover: 368 pages
Published: July 20, 2010
Reading Level: YA
My copy: Around the World Tours
My rating: 4 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb from author's website:

This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one.

Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease we couldn't cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend.

But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it's only me who's not firmly in my own skin. 

My quick wicked thoughts...The 2nd in a trilogy packed with wolves, parental boundaries, teenage rebellion, and friendship. There is also the addition of a few new characters.

Why I was tempted to read this...Shiver was just awesome and I could not wait to hear more about Sam and Grace.

Cover thoughts...Understated but also cool in the fact that it looks like tree limbs, but one of them is actually a girl walking.

Romance Meter...Well hello, Sam and Grace were together most of the book!  If you read Shiver and remember the book store nook part..you know what to expect.  While the romance isn't so much new anymore, it is comfortably settled and they are always in the others thoughts.

Character and Plot...The book told from 4 alternating view points and surprisingly flows extremely well. I usually feel a little cheated when the author is popping from person to person, but this is seamless.  The two obvious voices are Sam and Grace, also added in was Isabel and Cole.  Cole is one of the wolves newly turned by Beck to help carry on the pack since Beck was convinced he was not coming back from being a wolf this year.  The whole book spans the winter months so you really get to see very little of the other wolves, it is mostly tied up in the drama of Grace's sickness and the issues she is having with her parents.  It seems a little slow at times and I wonder why we are not getting to the part we have been waiting for the whole book, but there is plenty to keep your interest. Sam is having to deal with a few of the new wolves, stepping into Beck's shoes, which he really wants no part of, especially the troublemaker, Cole.  I really wished we learned more what was going on with the other wolves, there are mysteries galore that I am sure the author will clear up in final book, or I certainly hope so!

The Ending...The ending was not surprising, but was left wide open for the final book, Forever, coming out July 2011. 

Fun Author Fact...If you are like me, and really unsure how to pronounce Stiefvater, Maggie gives you some help on her website FAQ. It is pronounced "Steve-Otter". 

Review: Low Red Moon (ARC) by Ivy Devlin

Title: Low Red Moon
Author: Ivy Devlin
Hardcover: 256 pages
Published: September 14, 2010
Reading Level: YA
My copy: Around the World Tours
My rating: 4 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb from ivydevlin.com: 

Low Red Moon is about Avery Hood, who is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben? 

My quick wicked thoughts...Murder, romance, mystery and werewolves packed into a pretty quick read.

Why I was tempted to read this...I enjoy reading about werewolves and this one looked to have a different take on it.

Cover thoughts...The ARC cover is not the final cover to be used per the author's website, and I forgot to take a picture of it before I shipped it off, sorry!  It was pretty cool...lots of red and spooky trees and a moon.  I heard the final cover is amazing, can't wait to see it!

Romance Meter...There was definitely some sparks going between Avery and Ben, especially when he would give her smoldering looks and his eyes flash silver.  I would give it a good 4 out of 5 on the romance meter.

Character and Plot...I have to say when I was about 1/4 of the way thru this book, I just thought the story and telling of it was just...weird.  Not necessarily weird-bad, just different so it took me awhile to be immersed in the story. That being said, I certainly didn't want to walk away from the book, I needed to know what was happening! Avery is a strong female character that was being raised quite "green"...for a lack of a better word. She lived with her parents out in the woods with unreliable electric service so they survive with solar panels and grow most of their own food.  Her parents were murdered but Avery doesn't remember anything about it except a flash of silver.  Avery then goes to live with her Grandmother, who appears to have her own secrets, but she is a rock for Avery even though they were not previously close.

The Ending...Avery's journey to discover what happened the horrible night that her parents died spans the whole book, with various tidbits of things she remembers on the way. The ending is not necessarily predictable so I enjoyed not really knowing for sure what happened until the end.

Fun Author Fact...The inside cover of the book stated the Ivy Devlin is a pseudonym for a popular and critically acclaimed author of teen fiction.  News around the merry-g0-round is that it is Elizabeth Scott, who you might recognize wrote The Unwritten Rule and Something Like Fate.  Her website does not confirm this.

Book Blogger Hop (4)

It's Friday and time for the Book Blogger Hop!  What is this craziness you ask? Well it was started by Jennifer over at Crazy for Books and this is what she says...

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!  So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!  So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun!  This is a weekly event!

So go HERE and join it! It's Friday...and it's Fun!

Review: The Education of Bet (ARC) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Title: The Education of Bet
Author: Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Published: July 12, 2010
Hardcover: 192 pages
Reading Level: YA
My copy: Around the World Tours
My rating: 4 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb from Amazon.com:

When Will and Bet were four, tragic circumstances brought them to the same house, to be raised by a wealthy gentleman as brother and sister. Now sixteen, they’ve both enjoyed a privileged upbringing thus far. But not all is well in their household. Because she’s a girl, Bet’s world is contained within the walls of their grand home, her education limited to the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing. Will’s world is much larger. He is allowed—forced, in his case—to go to school. Neither is happy.  So Bet comes up with a plan and persuades Will to give it a try: They’ll switch places. She’ll go to school as Will. Will can live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.

My quick wicked thoughts...A quick and hilarious book about a girl determined to follow her dreams, no matter what it takes.

Why I was tempted to read this...I have been a fan of Lauren's writing for awhile (see my review on Crazy Beautiful) and I love historical fiction, this was a no-brainer read for me and I have been looking forward to it for months!

Cover thoughts...Very pretty, very time-period appropriate.

Romance Meter...It was about a 3.5 out of 5 on the romance, there is definitely an attraction between Bet (or Will as she calls herself when she is in disguise) and her roommate, James.  This romance of course cannot be pursued too much because James thinks she is guy!  When Bet gets to attend a dance as herself when "Will" is sick, the romance starts there with the obvious spark between the two and keeps things heated up, especially when she has a tendency to want to act like Bet when she is Will around James!

Character and Plot...Bet is determined to get an education, something not allowed to women in the era she lived, even if that means cutting off her hair and learning how to be a guy.  Will, the boy that was brought up as a brother to her, doesn't appreciate school and would really rather join the military and start living his life, so Bet proposes a trade.  She will be him and go to school (since he has to start a new one for getting expelled from the last one) and he can go join the military.  While trying to plan for everything, of course, Bet forgets some very important things and doesn't know about others, so needless to say she isn't really prepared for a lot of things at school.  This book had me laughing out loud at some of the stuff she was doing and how she reacted to certain things, but this girl has backbone and I really liked that about her.  James, her roommate and future love, is very mysterious and different from most of the kids at the school, his character develops more towards the end of the book.  At 192 pages, this is a quick, light read but one I finished in an afternoon because it was really fun to read.  Bet and her antics will have you laughing out loud and flipping pages because you will want to know what kind of trouble she will get into next.

The Ending...It ended was pretty predictably but good.  Everything wrapped up nicely with no major surprises except with James, because you just didn't know much about him.  You will walk away chuckling and smiling and wishing the book was a little bit longer so you could stay in Bet's world to see what she will get into next.  If you haven't read any books by this author, I urge you to grab one and get ready to crack up, she has a great sense of humor.

 
Fun Author Fact...Throughout college, on semester breaks she worked as a doughnut salesperson, a job she swears gave her white lung disease from inhaling all the powered sugar flying around. Oh I would gain so much weight working there! ha ha

Review: Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

Title: Heavenly
Author: Jennifer Laurens
Paperback: 294 pages
Published: August 2009
Reading Level: YA/Adult
My Copy: Around the World Tours
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb from Amazon.com:

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever. 

My quick wicked thoughts...This book was SO much more than I was originally expecting.  I think I expected a quick, fun read and while it is that...it is also so much deeper.

Why I was tempted to read this...I knew it was about a guardian angel so I was definitely interested.

Cover thoughts...It's pretty cool, you see Matthias's face in the clouds.

Romance Meter...It was an intense 4 out of 5 on the romance scale...while there wasn't a lot of actual touching, the desire to do more was definitely there!

Character and Plot...I have to say this book made me reconsider my first impressions of main characters.  When we first meet Zoe, my first impression was a spoiled, self absorbed, bitchy, unappreciative little teenager...having a pity party because she is needed to help out with her little sister who is autistic.  With that first impression, I stopped...and thought, who am I to judge someone based on their thoughts and actions when I myself have never had that responsibility of being caregiver for someone that is autistic or extremely dependent upon someone else? How do I know that I wouldn't be feeling the same why at her age given the responsibilities she has to deal with?  At that turning point for me, I became very wrapped up in the characters lives and a lot less judgmental.   Matthias is all that a girl could want; attractive, sweet, caring and having a sense of humor.  You can follow Zoe's progression of falling in love with him and fighting that, knowing nothing can come of their relationship, I mean..she's human and he's a guardian angel,  a guardian angel that has never said anything about feeling the same way about her.  Along with fighting her attraction to Matthias, Zoe has to deal with things at home including her brother's addiction to drugs and the care of her little sister. She also has to deal with the drama at school with her best friend and the guy drama, that turns out to include her more than she originally thought.  With all this, this author keeps your attention as you are sucked into Zoe's world.

The Ending...I had a hard time putting this book down to do normal "life" things (like work and sleep, ha ha)...I had to know how this would end.  What could change that they could be together? Is it going to be heart wrenching or a sweet, perfect ending?  Well, let me tell you...the ending was awesome and I was a happy little camper until I read the included sneak peep of the second book, Penitence.  This shook up everything, thanks a lot Jennifer, now I am DYING to get my hands on the next book!

Book Reading Level Info... I rated this book YA/Adult because it has a little more adult situations than your normal YA book in regards to drug and alcohol use and reference to sexual matters. Nothing too graphic tho.

Sequel...YES! Penitence was released April 29th. The third in the series, Absolution is due out October 11, 2010.

Fun Author Fact...Jennifer has 6 children ages 11 to 23, one of which has autism. I believe this is how she writes so beautifully about Abria in the book. She is also the author of Falling for Romeo.

Review: Everlasting (ARC) by Angie Frazier

Title: Everlasting
Author: Angie Frazier
Hardcover: 336 pages
Published: June 1, 2010
Reading Level: YA
My Copy: Around the World Tours
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb from author's website:

Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty. On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous - and alluring - magic. The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who - and what - matters most.

My quick wicked thoughts...Take family values, throw in some forbidden love  and family secrets and add a dash of Indiana Jones action and you have Everlasting.

Why I was tempted to read this... I am a fan of historical fiction, so when that is combined with a YA novel with hints of magic and curses, I couldn't pass it up!

Cover thoughts...The cover is okay, nothing dramatic or showy, but you get an idea that there will be some romance on the water.

Romance Meter...It was about a 3 out of 5.  Camille is engaged to a decent sort of guy but there is just isn't a spark with him, as bad as she wants it to be there.  The chills and sparks come from the average guy that works on her father's ship...and he has been forbidden to her, being below her station in life, by her father.  The romance between Oscar and Camille is denied until the last part of the book, she is constantly fighting what she wants and what she needs to do out of duty.

Character and Plot...Camille is a likable character, trying to live up to what her father wants for her and trying to make that work with what would make her happy out of life.  Oscar is a good guy, faithful friend and later in the book proves to have backbone so that she doesn't walk all over him. Go Oscar!  The plot was consistent and you know where it was going, it was fairly predictable, no huge surprises for me.  It kept my interest with the budding romance and the journey that they were on. Camille has some very tough decisions and gets thrown for a loop with family secrets along the way and it makes for an exciting trip!

The Ending...It was fairly predictable but I was satisfied with it.  It set up nicely for a sequel, because there are some loose ends that are dangling.

Sequel...According to the author's website there is a sequel in the works! YAY!

Fun Author Fact...Everlasting is Angie's debut YA novel and she has two destructive cats...hey, i have one of those. NOT FUN haha

Review: The Ghost and the Goth (ARC) by Stacey Kade

Title: The Ghost and the Goth
Author: Stacey Kade
Hardcover: 288 pages
Published: June 29, 2010
Reading Level: YA
My copy: Around the World Tours
My rating: 4 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb from author's website:

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star…and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?

 My quick wicked thoughts... This was a fun and entertaining story about a girl everyone loves to hate and guy that few know exist and how they are pushed together for a common goal.

Why I was tempted to read this...Well I love a good ghost story and the twist of a goth guy sounded fun.

Cover thoughts...Well my ARC was just a plain red cover, but looking at the picture of the book that will be released...I love it! I think it is fun and colorful, definitely eye-catching and it will stand out on the shelves.

Romance Meter...About a 3.5 out of 5.  There is a lot that Alona and Will have to overcome before they can even recognize that spark between each other and pursue that, but it is a fun trip all the same.

Character and Plot...Alona appears shallow, self absorbed and honestly just a bitch in the first of the book, I was wondering if she was going to get on my nerves or not.  Once you got some background information on why she was the way she was...and her thoughts shifted some throughout the book dealing with friends and a boyfriend that wasn't what she thought, she got a reality check and became fun and likable.  I have to say I was laughing out loud at some of the snarky, smart-ass comments she made, it really kept the book rolling along.  Will is your average loner guy with a few select friends, just thought of as the weird guy by most in school.  Poor guy had a lot to deal with considering the principal hated him and he sees ghosts everywhere, plus a black cloud he suspects is his father following him around.  The plot had direction and you know what it was leading towards but there were still some surprises thrown in to change your thinking. The author did a good job of keeping the readers interest up and the plot developing.

The Ending...I have to say I am a lover of happy endings and about half way thru this book I realized there is NO WAY it could end happily like I wanted it to, things just couldn't work out that way given the information I was given at that point.  Closer to the end of the book, I knew I was right and was getting a little bummed out, I admit.  BUT, happy ending lovers do not despair, the author had a few more tricks up her sleeve and things ended satisfactorily for me and I look forward to reading more!

Sequel news...YES! in the works per the author's blog, as of the March post it was titled Princess Poltergeist.  Definitely on my wish list!

Fun Author Fact...This is Stacey Kade's first book but this isn't the first thing she has written. She is an award winning corporate copywriter and has written everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps.  Now that's depth!