Wednesday 31 July 2013

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
This week I'm waiting on:
Origin (Lux, #4)
Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release date: August 27.

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.
All Katy can do is survive.
Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?
Together, they can face anything. 
But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? 
And will they even be together?


-oOo-

If you've read Opal you know that cliffhanger ending was a killer and waiting more than half a year for the sequel just seemed cruel. Cruel! So I'm so happy that this will release in less than a month now. I can't wait to find out what happens next with Daemon and Katy, though after reading Obsession I think everything is going to change in this book. And that last line in the blurb gives me the chills.

What are you waiting on this week? Leave a link and let me know!

Tuesday 30 July 2013

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)
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In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.


My thoughts

This series just get better and better. Seriously, this book was amazing, and I've had a really hard time trying to put my thoughts in words, because.. wow. I read it in one day, because I simply couldn't put it down. I was on the edge of my seat several times, and when I was reading the last pages I was so consumed I think my house could've burned down, and I wouldn't have noticed. 

The plot continues from The Golden Lily where Sydney finds out about Marcus Finch being a former Alchemist who has managed to escaped. Sydney is not sure what to believe anymore, and she further questions the Alchemist teachings. When she finds Marcus she is let to further doubt the Alchemists, and soon finds herself on a daring mission to discover the truth. At the same time her powers as a witch is growing, and she starts to accept her abilities, even though it goes against everything she has been taught. And as if this wasn't enough, Sydney finds herself more drawn to Adrian, even though a relationship between them is absolutely forbidden.

There were many different plots going on simultaneous in this book, but I think Mead managed to wove them together perfectly, so it never seemed like too many different things were happening, and making the story flow effortlessly. Sydney has changed a lot since Bloodlines and is still changing with everything that happens to her and around her. I really liked Sydney in this book. Well, I've liked her all the books, but it was great to see her truly coming in to her own, and seperating herself from the Alchemists and all their prejudices and believes.
We also get to see a lot more of Sydney and Adrian together, which are always my favourite parts. I think it was interesting to watch her struggle with her feelings, and Adrian certainly isn't making it any easier for her, when he declares that he won't ever stop loving her. I actually really liked that he didn't pressure her in any way, but that he just was there for her. Otherwise, he was still very much Adrian, making me swoon just about every time he was mentioned. Which was a lot. 

“He was too perfect, despite being one of the most imperfect people I knew.” 

I was a bit sad that neither Jill, Eddie or Angeline played a very big role in this book, they were sort of pushed in the background. But we did occationally glimpse the awkwardness of the Jill-Eddie-Angeline triangle, and while I felt bad for Jill at times, it was quite funny to see their dynamics.

The Indigo Spell is one of the best books I've read this year, and the series is quickly becoming one of my favorites ever. Now I seriously can't wait to read The Fiery Heart

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

Sunday 28 July 2013

Uh-oh: That reading slump!

I've got a problem. A huge one. One that has creeped in on me, dragged me down and has no intention of letting go easily. It is ... the reading slump! 

So nothing much has happened around here for awhile. Okay, that's a lie. Nothing has happened around here. I've actually only written three blog posts in all of July! I'm ashamed of myself, that's what I am. But the reason is that I haven't been reading at all in a long time - or haven't been able to finish the books I start, which leaves me with very little to actually write about. 
And it's all because of the reading slump that I've been suffering from it in a about two months(!) and it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. (I blame the two months this spring that I spend on studying for my exams - they sucked all joy for reading out of me.) 
I've tried everything; taking a break from reading, reading something different, rereading books I love, reading new books, but I can't seem to get out of it. I just get bored and put the book away. Do you have any advice on what to do??? 

I'm all kinds of annoyed by this, because I have a very long vacation this summer, where I had planned to get a lot of books read and reviewed, and generally just write a lot on my blog. But then this happened and now I just really don't feel like blogging. I don't feel inspired, and the words are all stuck in my head. So I think I'll have to take a small break from blogging, and hopefully, hopefully I'll get back to reading and writing soon.

Source

Saturday 6 July 2013

Vacation!

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going on vacation tomorrow and for the next ten days, where I won't be able to blog. So it's going to be quiet around here. 

Hopefully, when I come back I'll get to write some more reviews, because I haven't written that many lately. And it's not because I haven't got books to review, but I just haven't felt like writing. So whenever I've tried to start a review I just stare at the screen while the only words that pop into my head are: "This book was amazing" or "I loved this book" or "I didn't like this book". Not really adequate for a review I should think. And when I do get a review written I'm not always fully satisfied with it. Have you ever had this problem in your time of blogging? And if so what did you do to get out of a writing slump?

Anyway, I hope I'll be inspired when I get home from vacation so I can share some great reviews and books with you. Have a great summer everyone!

Monday 1 July 2013

ARC: Saving Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith

Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series #1)
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For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig. 
She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.

Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls. 
When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.

Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why.

My thoughts

Charli lives alone with her brother Alex in Pipers Cove, a town where everybody knows everything about everyone, and where one rumor can all but destroy your life. All Charli has ever dreamed getting away and explore the world. A few months before graduation where she'll finally be free, she meets Adam. He has come all the way from New York to visit his cousin, and it might just be fate that has brought them together. As Charli and Adam fall in love, she can only think about being with him which would mean going back to New York with him and out all her travelling dreams behind her. But Charli will have to decide which dream to pursue; love or travelling. 

This was a true coming-of-age story about finding yourself, following your dreams and how first love plays into your decisions. I really liked this part in the book. Charli has always been determined on travelling the world, but when Adam enters the picture she is blinded by her love for him and can't imagine a future without him. But their dreams are so different, and neither of them will ever really be happy if they compromise on them. I liked how the author portrayed this dilemma, and also how Charli had to realize this. 

It took me quite awhile to get into this book, and even when I did I never really connected with any of the characters. I also think everything was a bit too rushed in the first part of the book. It took me a long time to figure Charli out, because she would just do something strange or react in a weird way to Adam, and it was never explained until much later. So I would just wonder why on earth she did what she did. Eventually, everything was explained, but I never felt like I truly got to understand Charli. I was, however, impressed by some of the choices that Charli made. She faced some really tough ones, and I think she was brave for making the choices she did.    

I have to say that I think Adam was way too perfect. Seriously, he didn't seem to have any flaws at all. How is that even possible? He did everything perfectly, said all the right things, and was just all around perfect. While I must plead guilty of often swooning over fictional guys, I never once swooned over Adam. Actually, he kind irked me, and I don't even know why. There was just something about all that perfectness.

There was a severe case of insta-love in this book, something I've come to dislike a great deal. I don't mind the characters being attracted to each other from the beginning, but talking about fate and love within the first week of meeting each other - and hardly knowing each other - was just too much. I might have rolled my eyes several times in the beginning of the book. 
I really liked how the difference between need and want was questioned. Charli claims that she needs to be with Adam (does that sound familiar?), but Alex tells her that she shouldn't need Adam she should simply just want to be with him. 

Overall, I really liked some parts of it, while other parts just didn't work for me. If you like stories about finding yourself, about having wanderlust, about love and family, Saving Wishes might be for you.

A copy was provided from the publisher via Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

☆ ☆ 

Cover reveal: Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Origin (Lux, #4)

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.
All Katy can do is survive.
Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?
Together, they can face anything. 
But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?

 
Origin will be released 8/27/2013

About the author

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.
She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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