Now I loved Cinder. So when Marissa Meyer's follow-up Scarlet showed up in my mailbox I was positively giddy with excitement. I immediately threw my reading schedule out the window, poured a glass of wine and cracked it open. Let me tell you, it was so, so worth it.I'm not even gonna lie. I normally don't like books that everyone else does and I generally try to stay away from books that have a lot of 'hype' surrounding them. For me, the books with the most 'hype' surrounding them rarely live up to my expectations and I'm usually left feeling disappointed and with a 'that's it' feeling by the end. I am happy to say that this is not the case with the second book in the Lunar Chronicles series.
Scarlet, not only has all the makings of being a great story, but it also furthers along what is surely becoming an epic adventure. The introduction of new characters, dynamic characters, only further adds to the believability and enjoyability of the story. Can I just say Throne (awesome) and Wolf (swoon)!
While Scarlet is a reimagined version of Little Red Riding Hood, a story that most of us is familiar with, there was such dimension and depth in this story, and the characters, that you kind of forget how the original Little Red Riding Hood goes. I think that is the true testament of Meyer's writing and storytelling ability that she was able to get me to forget about the original story completely and just delve right into what she had created and just enjoy it from beginning to end.
The only sucky thing about Scarlet is that it ended and now I have to wait until 2014 for Cress to be released! What ever will I do to pass the time?
Yeah, so this one wasn’t what I was expecting at all, but in a good way. For some reason, I had it in my head that this was going to be one of those love at first sight, all-consuming romance, can’t live without you type of stories that seem to be so popular in the Young Adult genre these days. Boy was I so, so wrong on that one. And trust me, I couldn’t have been happier to have been so wrong.Personally, even though I was hesitant to read what I thought was going to be another teen romance book, I decided to give it a shot due to the actual diversity being displayed. And that diversity ended up being more of the focus of the story than the actual romance itself. I have to be honest. While I was happy that this wasn’t the typical love story normally found in YA novels, I didn’t really find the romance angle all that believable and at times, it came off as a bit wooden.
Both main characters, Fred and Ryan, have less than stellar home lives. As a result, they both look for other outlets to focus their attentions on, and for both of them it happens to be playing golf. It really is the playing golf angle, and Fred’s subsequent appointment as a member of the golf team that really leads to the open displays of racism, bullying, and developing romance that becomes the cornerstone of the story. For me, this was huge. While there are a lot of YA books that address bullying, not many of them address racism, and if they do, it’s the all white main cast dealing with that one foreign outsider. Hooked on the other hand, explores racism as experienced and perpetrated by with the main characters and as a central part of the plot.
Overall, Hooked by Liz Fichera was an interesting read exploring topics that most YA novels never address or gloss right over. Quite honestly, you’ll start to read Hooked for the romance and stay for the feel-good story of overcoming obstacles and adversity.
Great book. Was expecting more scandal, but wasn't expecting it to be laugh out loud funny!Review to be posted closer to the release date.
This and other reviews can be found at: Nicole About TownI’ve got to admit. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while. I mean, I’ve had the ARC of The Marriage Bargain for ages, but for some reason I never got around to it. Until now, that is, and I’m honestly not sure why it took so long. It was a fun, easy read, with just enough drama and heat to keep you flipping the pages.
Dammit, it’s just like a man to put a rich, fattening meal in front of a woman and get offended when she won’t eat. Then you seem shocked in the bedroom when you’re looking at her hips and wondering how she put on the extra ten pounds!
I enjoyed the interaction between Alexa and Nick. It had just the right amount of fire, and tenderness. Their interactions with one another, and those around them, was very believable. It also didn’t hurt that the characters had grown up together, so there was much more background and history shared between Alexa and Nick. I just loved that while neither Alexa or Nick were what they said they wanted in a spouse they ended up being just what the other needed.
He didn’t think of her as a beautiful woman, more like as an annoying younger sister who grew up to be attractive. The difference was monumental, and she ignored the sharp sting of hurt.
As I was reading The Marriage Bargain, it really struck me that so much of the confusion and drama could be avoided if the characters would simply communicate with one another. Indeed, this seems to be a theme found throughout most romance novels today. There was lots of things going on with both characters, but as usual, they internalize their thoughts which inevitably results in heartbreak and drama. I know, I know, if the characters didn’t do this, then the book would be about 2 pages long, but I would have still liked to see Nick and Alexa work through their issues together as opposed to the instant fix and epiphany at the end.
Final Verdict: A hot and steamy little romance that will leave you reaching for book #2 in the series.
Rating: 3*
Source: Digital ARC from Edelweiss
When I originally received the email pitching Y by Marjorie Celona for this blog tour, there was something about it that just jumped out at me and made me want to read the book. I received the book and decided not to pick it up and read it right away. I decided to do a little experiment. As much as I wanted to read the book, would I still be as interested as I was when it was pitched if I put it out of sight, out of mind for a while? Would I still have that overwhelming desire to read the book that I had after reading that pitch? Would the same things draw me in? The short answer is yes. Time and distance didn’t dampen my desire to read Y one little bit, and for very good reason.The story begins when Shannon is abandoned on the steps of the YMCA by her mother and follows Shannon through her childhood growing up as she is bounced from one foster home to another. As Shannon narrates, she tells us two stories; that of herself and that of the mother who abandoned her. As you are reading you feel the same fear, sadness, desperation, and hope of the characters as their stories unfold. While switching from one story to another does take some getting used to, the story and the delivery flows so wonderfully that you aren’t left feeling like something is missing at any point.
As Shannon grows, we watch her question her past and in a sense, her future. She begins to ask the inevitable question of Y? Through her search for answers, Shannon learns much about her biological mother and family and begins to realize that not all questions have easy answers and that sometimes our families are the ones we have created for ourselves and not the ones we were born into.
Y is both Marjorie Celona’s debut novel and a triumph. A triumph of spirit, a triumph of determination, and a triumph of writing. Deeply moving and universal, Y explores the topic and dynamics of family with flowing prose and great ease.
Linhagem Sangrenta (Sigma Force #8)
Holy crap! He has done it again.Review to be released next week!