Best of 2012 Giveaway Hop! (US/CAN)

This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer! The complete linky list is here.

It's already the end of the year! That sure went by fast. I've read about 150 books and most of them were pretty fantastic. Now, I'm offering up the choice between two ARCs of books I haven't in fact read, but I've heard great things about them. Both were October releases actually. Anyway, as usual, enter with the Rafflecopter below! :)

Choice between my ARCs of:

The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab

The Slayer Chronicles: Second Chance by Heather Brewer

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Teaser Tuesday: 12-25-12 (Merry Christmas!)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Stop by there, to see other blogs participating as well! :)

Slated, by Teri Terry

"I drift through trees, spin and sprawl down on grass and daisies on the ground, alone. I stare at clouds drifting across the sky, making half-known shapes and faces. Names slip away if I grasp at them, si I let them wash past me: just lie still and be me." -Chapter 4

"Choking smoke; bloody hands beating at windows that don't open; more screaming. Another whistle; a flash; an explosion. There is a gaping hole in the side of the bus, but most are silent now." -Chapter 16

I really can't wait to get to this...just opening it up...and it smelled so nice!

The Essence: review

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the first book in the series, The Pledge. If you're planning on reading it, don't read any further!

Title: The Essence (The Pledge #2)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: McElderry Books
Pages: 352
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.

Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

   I absolutely loved The Pledge. It was a great, engaging, and unique book, and with an outstanding ending...and then I heard it wasn't a standalone. Yeah I really hate when that happens, especially with a creepy ending like The Pledge had. It was perfect! But, I'm happy to report that I'm really glad to have gotten over my annoyance and decided to continue the series. Trilogy? Let's hope. Because The Essence is just as exciting and memorable as the first, and there wasn't even a horrible cliffy, to my relief. So here are my thoughts.

   Technically the series is dystopian. (I'm feeling some deja vu here, so bear with me:) It reads like fantasy. With the tiny bit of background about the past world, but I don't think that's the point at all. This is sounding familiar to you too, right? Well I recently read Rebel Heart and pretty much said the same thing. It's just one of those coincidences I guess! Every now and again an unusual dystopian is stumbled upon. Back to my subject: Fantasy. Charlie's new world is split up into "queendoms" which is a concept I try and try to get used to, but still let out a giggle every time I read or hear it. Which, as a feminist, I shouldn't. But it's funny sounding, right? Right. So. I really think this series could use a map. All good fantasy novels have a map of their world. Though, I liked making one up in my head because I am 90% sure this takes place in the dystopian Europe/Asia. Which is a first besides, like, Cinder.

   And there's magic! I love magic. Just thought I'd stick that thought in there. Magic. :)

   Okay, so while you're reading, try to picture where they are in your head. I am pretty sure Ludania is somewhere in mid-western Europe. Vannova's castle may be in Iceland? Some of the 'Empresses' are presumably from the middle-east/asia area, and Queen Thea is queen of 'New Rome' which is the easiest to figure out. It was kind of a game for me, while I read about Charlie meeting all the different queens at the annual summit. I'm curious to what other people got out of that, or if I just read way too much into things...

   I feel I can really relate to Charlie and her situation. She's been thrown into this life-changing situation, living somewhere else, learning different rules, running a freakin country...so she's a little unstable. Oh, and not to mention the spirit of an evil queen is trying to take over her body? I like that she doesn't immediately become all warrior-awesome, this change of becoming queen is nothing I can't handle attitude. Because honestly, she kinda needs some help being queen. Good thing she has her body guard, Zafir. Her sword lessons are crap, and she's scared of horses. Misses the old life, and loves her sister so very much, it hurts her sometimes. She just seems real to me, and that makes her more human, respectively.

   What probably surprised me the most is the lack of romance. Don't read into that wrong, that I'm complaining, or the opposite; I'm only observing. Max, Charlie's beloved isn't in the story much, because he doesn't accompany her to the summit. This makes way for a complicated love triangle/square thingy to appear. Think: The Host. Sabara's essence is stuck inside of Charlie's mind, and Sabara is in love with this dude from like centuries ago...and since Charlie is having problems keeping in control of her body, and her mind separate...you can see where I'm going with this. I think the next (last?) book will address this even more, and have Max in the picture as well. I'm looking forward to that, because Max is really sweet, and deserves to be clued in on everything.

   I think I like this series so much because it has everything to do with language, and language is my passion, so it hit a nerve. The good kind. I can't get enough of the way she differentiates different languages and cultures, and that Charlie's 'super power' is the ability to understand all languages. I envy that soo much. Reading about it is the closest I can get to actually having that awesome ability.

   If you're trying to decide if a friend might like this series, I think it's good for fans of Star Trek (you know, I wrote that down, but I have no idea why, now. So just trust me.) Or Kristin Cashore's Graceling and The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. There's plenty of gender roles switching and awesome girl-power, so if you appreciate things/writing like that, then you'll most definitely enjoy this series.

   And don't you just love these covers?? Happy reading!

-Jane

Wishlist Wednesday 12-19-12

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Dani, at Pen to Paper, and it's a meme in which you can post a book that you've had on your wishlist for a while, but haven't found the time to actually read yet.

This week's pick: Ultraviolet by B. J. Anderson (<--click to add on Goodreads!)

Summary: Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. 

This is not her story.

Unless you count the part where I killed her. 

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison’s condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can’t explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori—the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that’s impossible. Right?




Three words: Twilight Zone, anyone?

:)

Jane

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Favorite Standalones

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Because they like lists. ;)

Standalones are fun even though I prefer series. Every now and then I find this awesome which I just hug and hug and convince everyone to read. I'll try to come up with 10, but we'll see:

1) Forgotten by Cat Patrick: It's at the top for a reason, I love love this book. It's short, unknown about, and utterly unique. It takes a while to get used to the main character remembering her life backwards...but it's completely worth it.

2) Shift by Em Bailey: Shift is her debut and only book at the moment. If you're looking for something you won't easily be able to describe or explain, maybe some sci-fi psychological twist...then read this.

3) The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: No explanation needed.

4) I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak: Almost as good as tBT and it has a cool ending. Also, there's like a moral message that made me feel happy while reading. And sad.

5) So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld: Besides the fact that Scott is one of my favorite authors ever, it's a great different read. My brother just listened to it on audiobook and he really liked it too. And now I want to go re-lace my shoes like in the book.

6) Harbinger by Sarah Wilson Etienne: One of those *weird* books that never quite settles right. It's far fetched but drastically fascinating. It sucked me in on the first page.

7) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: Magical realism rocks! And so does Maggie. Anyone who likes horse books, and especially those who don't (like me) will love this. The mythology and her writing are beautifully crafted.

8) Fateful by Claudia Gray: Werewolves on the Titanic. Need I say more? Didn't think so.

9) Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard: Inspired me to go backpacking. I leave for Europe in six months.

10) For Darkness Shows the Stars by Dianna Peterfreund: Waiiit...okay apparently this is a series, but I think the other books might be just vaguely related, like Sarah Dessen's books? I sure hope so!


All it took was a look around my room! Totally didn't expect to come up with all ten. :)

-Jane

Requiem: review

Warning: this following blurb and review has spoilers for the first two book in the Delirium series, so read no further if you plan to read them! :)
Title: Requiem (Delirium #3)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Rating: 5 bright stars!
Summary: Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

   First before I forget! I really recommend reading the three .5 books, Hana, Annabel and Raven before reading Requiem. Hana is already out and Annabel comes out the day after Christmas and...Raven comes out the same day of Requiem. :) I've only read Hana so far and it was really worth it. Gave a whole different pov that added to my reading experience of Requiem.

   This series didn't really start on a good foot for me. When I read Delirium I passed it off as another "pretty okay" dystopian. Back then (a few years ago) is when the genre started to get really popular, so books like these were popping up all over the place. Honestly, I thought it was a little formulaic. But then I read Pandemonium and totally LOVED that book. I'm not sure, maybe it was the whole different mood of seeing the other side of the rebels taking action, and behind the scenes. Lena changes the most in that second book, and I still think it's my favorite of the three. This of course defies the Second Book Slump theory, and I was pretty delighted.

   My favorite aspect of this series as a whole is the pacing. Lauren Oliver manages to keep you really hooked into the story to where there isn't really a good place to pause. Now, I don't actually think the first book had anything special (again) but in Pandemonium Lena is in a state of serious depression from Alex's death and keeps switching back from memories with him, to current day. This way each chapter ends and switches again, the action/interest never ceases! This tactic is great for getting through a book, but then you realize you've missed a whole days worth of meals... :P Anyway, in Requiem a similar style is used, but this time switching between Lena's crazy on-the-road-surviving-in-the-Wilds life, and Hana's calm, cured, and perfect impending future--at least, on the surface. At first, Hana kind of annoyed me, but she means well, and I got more used to switching away from Lena as the chapters flew by. Especially near the end, when the two povs finally coincide.

   It was great having Alex back. Sort of. I got really worried for a while, about why he's acting so strangely. (Which you see on the third page, so don't worry that wasn't a spoiler.) Thankfully my predictions were wrong! You might find that too, or I might just have overanalyzed like usual. Julian on the other hand, didn't really have much to say; he was like Lena's much-needed rock while Alex is all crazy. He's still not used to the Wilds but adapts a whole lot more than I expected.

   I'm very happy with how this trilogy ended. Requiem has the right amount of down-time and suspense; a great balance to the very last page. Especially when the climax comes, and gunfire is aplenty, Hana and Lena's paths finally converge. I really liked how Lena focuses on reconciling with Hana, and finding her cousin, Grace. Worry for the love interest is there too, but it doesn't just overwhelm her and make her do something stupid and one-track-minded. These connections outside the main love triangle are explored, and everything; the characters, rebellion...comes to a great ending that feels real and complete.

   Definitely don't waste any time getting to Requiem!! March 5th 2013! Hey, you can pre-order your copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or The Book Depository already. Whatcha waiting for?

;) Jane

End of the World Giveaway Hop! (US)

It's been a while since I've participated in a giveaway hop. But I'm back now! This hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & My Life With Books. The complete linky list you can find here.

If the world doesn't end when the hop is scheduled to be over...then we'll have a winner! (US this time, sorry!)

Now what book would I grab if it came to the end of the world? That's a tough question. It'd probably be Obernewtyn. Or City of Bones. But sorry, not giving away either of those because I'm a little tight on funds for the holiday, and I already own an "end of the world" book. So the prize for this hop will be an ARC of Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson. Book number three in the Maximum Ride series; a whole series dedicated to the world ending. It's quite exciting.

Well, that's it, happy holidays!

Enter the Rafflecopter below:



a Rafflecopter giveaway