What a crazy summer this has been! I wanted to just say how happy I am to be featuring a book haul this weekend because it has been soooo long... I took a bit of a break from my blog over the past 5-6 weeks due to life getting nuts but I am definitely trying to get back into the swing of things. Here is a brief update of what's been going on at LC's Adventures lately!
Hello all my lovely readers and followers! Today I am announcing my latest GIVEAWAY which I am SO excited about because it is for a book that I have really been looking forward to reading. AND there will also be second and third place winners for some awesome book swag as well-- Find all the details below!
First Place Prize
One lucky winner will get an ARC of What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang!
Author: Kat Zhang Series: The Hybrid Chronicles #1 Publisher: HarperTeen Release Date: September 18th 2012 Pages: 356
Summary: Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.
The Rules
1.) Be a follower of LC's Adventures in Libraryland-- or become a new follower :)
2.) Fill out the Rafflecopter form below
3.) Giveaway open to US residents only (sorry! It's due to shipping costs :/ )
4.) Last day to enter is August 31st, 2012 at 11:59 EST
5.) Winners will be notified by email on September 1st and will have 48 hours to respond
LC's Summer Reads will be featured throughout the Summer of 2012-- These are books that I decided would be perfect for on the beach, in the sun, or pretty much wherever I happen to be this summer! Click on the button above to see what other books I plan on reading! :)
*****
Author: Kathryn Williams Publisher: Henry Holt and Company Release Date: August 21, 2012 Pages: 240 Read it in: 1 day Source: ARC from the Publisher
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Sophie Nicolaides was practically raised in the kitchen of her family’s Italian-Greek restaurant, Taverna Ristorante. When her best friend, Alex, tries to convince her to audition for a new reality show, Teen Test Kitchen, Sophie is reluctant. But the prize includes a full scholarship to one of America's finest culinary schools and a summer in Napa, California, not to mention fame.
Once on-set, Sophie immediately finds herself in the thick of the drama—including a secret burn book, cutthroat celebrity judges, and a very cute French chef. Sophie must figure out a way to survive all the heat and still stay true to herself. A terrific YA offering--fresh, fun, and sprinkled with romance.
LC's Take:
Pizza/Love (my lazy way of writing that super-long title) was a really cute and light-hearted read-- definitely perfect for summertime! I knew from the moment I read this plot summary that this was going to be one of those books that is just a lot of fun to read, and puts you in a good mood :)
Sophie Nicolaides has spent pretty much her entire life living and working in her family's Greek/Italian restaurant, surrounded by the sounds of the kitchen and the smells and tastes of amazingly delicious food. Cooking has become her passion, but it isn't until her best friend Alex convinces her to join a teen cooking reality show that Sophie starts thinking she might have a chance at making it big-- maybe one day owning her own 5-star restaurant. As the show progresses, Sophie finds that being a reality star is nothing like she thought it would be, and she has to figure out how to remain true to herself and her family heritage while also making some of the best food anyone has ever tasted to win...
So this book was actually the second one I have read that centers around a popular kind of reality show-- the first one was The Selection by Kiera Cass, which was a spin-off of The Bachelor. I definitely think that Pizza/Love did a much better job at capturing the action and conflict of being on a reality show, and since cooking reality shows are my all-time favorite, it was a lot of fun to read this kind of plot. The author takes the time to introduce us to all the contestants, and you definitely get a sense of all the crazy drama taking place as the show makes it more and more difficult to compete.
Another fun aspect of Pizza/Love was how it included recipes that were woven throughout the book-- I thought that this just added a unique touch and made you feel more connected to the whole story.
I guess there were only two major problems that I had while reading-- the first was that I sometimes found the characters and even some of the writing to be slightly generic, even formulaic, in its style and the way things were presented. There wasn't anything blatantly horrible about either the writing or characters, but at the same time there wasn't anything incredibly mind-blowing or truly memorable about them either. The second issue I had was with the love triangle between Sophie, Alex, and Luc, which got to be sort of confusing. You never really had much of an idea of where Sophie stood-- it seemed as though she chose whatever guy was right there in front of her at the moment, and the other one was just conveniently forgotten.
I think maybe some readers could be a little iffy about this book, thinking that maybe it's a little *too* cutesy. I mean with that quirky title and slightly juvenile cover, I sort of knew going into this one that it was going to be targeted to the younger YA audience. However, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that there was some edginess to the story-- nothing crazy, but the book wasn't so sickeningly sweet that I couldn't stand it or anything, and it didn't come across as being so juvenile that I felt like I was way too old to be reading it either.
Altogether, this was a fun and entertaining book that provided a really nice break from the darker paranormal/supernatural genres I'm reading this summer. I would say that if you are looking for a light, quick read to add into your summer TBR pile, this one is a good choice! But be warned-- you're going to want to eat a lot after finishing it ;)
~Cover Talk~
Totally going along with the cuteness of the story, the cover for Pizza/Love is really fun and adorable and immediately made me go "awww!" when I saw it. I guess the only thing that I don't like so much about this cover is that it does comes across as being a bit juvenile-- it just looks like a book cover for readers much younger than the 16-year old main character, maybe more like the 12-13 range. And I think that could be slightly misleading, because the story itself was definitely a lot of fun to read and isn't targeted only at a young crowd.
LC's Rating:
Totally cute and light-hearted, Pizza/Love was a perfect summertime book that can easily be finished in a day. The writing was slightly bland, but the reality show twist still made this one a lot of fun!
LC's Summer Reads will be featured throughout the Summer of 2012-- These are books that I decided would be perfect for on the beach, in the sun, or pretty much wherever I happen to be this summer! Click on the button above to see what other books I plan on reading! :)
*****
Author: Ann Redisch Stampler Publisher: Simon Pulse Release Date:March 6, 2012 Pages: 369
Summary: Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving—and without a single memory of the accident that landed her there. But what she can recall, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the crash.
As Gabby describes her transformation from Invisible Girl to Trendy Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why has Gabby been left to take the fall?
As she peels back the layers of her life, Gabby begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex... and that nothing about her life is what she has imagined it to be.
LC's Take:
It isn't very often that I sit down to start a book and have it finished about 4 hours later-- As much as I love reading, I'm pretty slow at it and I usually lose steam and need a few breaks in between. But every now and again, I get my hands on a book that I just cannot put down, that I just cannot get enough of, and end up devouring the whole dang thing in one day. Where It Began was one of those books...
Gabby Gardiner has what many people would call a "privileged life." She's grown up in the "Three B's" -- Bel Air, Brentwood and Beverly Hills-- she goes to a prestigious private school, and her mom just dumped a ton of cash to give Gabby a totally hot new makeover. But Gabby's life is far from perfect, and she feels completely out of place among the other rich and beautiful people at Winston High. The pressure is constantly on for her to be absolutely perfect, to get into an Ivy League school, and to not under any circumstances come across as being "regular," or God forbid-- a "sub-regular" freak who wants to go to art school.
It isn't until Gabby somehow miraculously catches the eye of the God-like Billy Nash that her life is saved from sub-regularity. For Gabby, Billy symbolizes the perfection she's supposed to attain-- her savior that rockets her into popularity and brings her new acceptance from everyone, including her parents. Unfortunately, Gabby's entire life ends up crashing down around her when she finds herself in the hospital after getting drunk and wrapping Billy's BMW around a tree. With no memory of what actually happened, Gabby now has to figure out how to pick up the pieces of her not-so-perfect life and somehow hold onto the guy who seems to give that life purpose.
So I thought that in Gabby, the author was able to create a main character who was flawed but who you just can't help loving to death and completely sympathizing with. She was smart and sarcastic, but she was also very innocent and susceptible to the world around her. She had a rather cynical outlook on life but at the same time she had a good heart. And even though she was lost and misguided throughout pretty much the whole book, I was still rooting for Gabby hardcore and wishing her a happy ending.
Now, as some of you may know, I absolutely hate when books portray female protagonists who are pathetically dependent and obsessive about their loser jerk-face boyfriends. But in this case, the dynamics between Gabby and Billy really worked marvelously with the whole plot of the story. Yes, Gabby has pretty much zero self-esteem and clung to Billy as if he were God himself, being completely unaware of what a creep he really was. But this insecurity and vulnerability in the main character didn't make me hate her at all or think that she was pathetic or crazy-- If anything, I felt sorry for her and could relate to her in many ways. As the reader, you could definitely understand why Gabby thinks and feels the way she does, and how she came to value superficiality over real love and a healthy relationship, due to the fact that her parents, her friends, and her whole school expects her to look and act a certain way. She was still likable and interesting, and her weaknesses only made her that much more likable and interesting.
The world-building was another plus in this book. I just adored how the author presented the world of Winston High and the society Gabby lives in-- from the jocks to the "Slutmuffins" to the doctors and nurses at the hospital, it was just one hilarious character sketch after another that had me giggling to myself throughout the book. Gabby gets just how ridiculously fake her world is, and life through her eyes was definitely entertaining to follow! There was clearly a tragicomedy feel to this book and I really loved that aspect of it.
Besides the main character and world-building, the other major thing that really struck me about this book was the writing. Narrated through Gabby's voice, it was both snarky and sarcastic, but also incredibly smart and heartfelt. Not to mention it flowed really well, which is probably why I couldn't put the book down and finished it in a day. The internal thoughts and emotions that are woven throughout the story not only revealed Gabby's life leading up to the car accident, but also worked perfectly to keep me totally wrapped up in what was going on. The twist at the end threw both Gabby and myself for a loop, but thanks to it, Gabby becomes much wiser and aware of what really matters-- and for me, that kind of character growth is what makes a book worth reading.
I am definitely giving 5 stars to Where It Began-- which I haven't done for a book in a really long time, since I very rarely pass out 5 stars. I thought this book was very real, the main character was really genuine, and I'm pretty sure that I laughed out loud at least three dozen times as I was reading. This was one awesome coming-of-age kind of story-- intelligent, but not taking itself *too* seriously. If you are thinking about reading a YA in the contemporary genre any time soon, I would definitely recommend this one to you-- trust me, it won't disappoint!
~Cover Talk~
The cover for Where it Began is not one that really stood out to me much at first, but I think that when you really take a look at it, you see just how gorgeous it is. There is something about it that I really like-- maybe because it's very simple and understated yet makes an impact on you at the same time. It isn't one of the showiest covers out there in the YA world, but you can clearly tell the genre is contemporary and the girl's direct and unapologetic gaze makes you look at it a second time.Very beautiful!
LC's Rating:
A smart and heartfelt contemporary book that deals with some really hard issues in a direct and approachable way, Where It Began was also really funny and entertaining. I COULD NOT put this one down!!
So after a rather major blogging-slash-designing hiatus for the past month, I have an all-new MAKEOVERto show you guys! Today's blog design is for The Reading Enchantress...
Olivia is the fabulous book blogger behind the YA Book Blog The Reading Enchantress, a blog that had already caught my eye awhile back for the awesome rich colors and elegant patterns she had in her design. However, Olivia was looking for something a little brighter and she also really wanted a custom vector illustration as a focal point in her blog to have it really stand out.
Let me just say-- this gal had some AWESOME ideas! We both have a slight obsession with Marie Antoinette and Versailles-style things, so we began talking about creating a Custom Blog Makeover with a 1700's-French-style vibe, complete with a Marie Antoinette character with red hair to match Olivia's. We also added lots of details to the dress, a masquerade mask, a fancy bookcase, and chandelier. So here are the before and after pics of Olivia's all new blog design-- TA DA!! :D
Vector Design: Paper To Digital Graphic...
For most of the custom vector graphics I design, I first sketch them on paper, upload them to my computer, and then use a graphics program to create the digital image to be used in the final design :)
Before...
After!
So as you can see, the major things we changed were adding a vector character to customize and really highlight Olivia's blog header, and we also brightened things up quite a bit with a whole new color scheme. I think it turned out super cute and I was really happy to be able to bring Olivia's gorgeous vision to life! Be sure to stop on by The Reading Enchantress to let her know what you think and to follow her lovely book blog!! :)
~Grab a Button!~
*****
Are you considering a new look for your blog? Do you just need an extra little something to spruce up the look you already have? Please stop on over and see me at Lea Christine Designs by clicking on the button below-- you can check out the services I offer and all the designs I have already done!
Author: Marianne de Pierres Series: The Night Creatures #1 Publisher: Random House Australia Release Date: March 1, 2011 Pages: 316 Source: Burn Bright Book Tour, hosted by Dani of Refracted Light Reviews
Tag Line: "Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with the creatures of the dark."
Summary: In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .
Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.
But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother. When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?
Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?
LC's Take:
Holy. Crap. This was seriously one of the trippiest books I have ever read! I'm not even sure what genre to classify this book in-- Paranormal, yes. Dystopian, kind of? And the story itself was... unreal. It was as though you are walking through some dark and really weird dream from beginning to end, where you aren't really sure what end is up or what could possibly happen next. The writing flowed together creating the oddity that is Ixion-- a world of nighttime pleasures and hedonistic revels. It was strange, it was bizarre, and it was thoroughly addicting.
So I received Burn Bright as an incredibly lucky participant in the Burn Bright book tour, being hosted by the lovely Dani from Refracted Light Reviews. Since this book is only published in Australia, I'm not sure I would have had much of a chance to get my hands on it otherwise, so I was super excited when it arrived for me in the mail!
Retra is the main character- a girl who comes from a very conservative society called the Seals. The Seals pride themselves on discipline and being quiet and reserved, but after Retra's older brother Joel does the unthinkable by running away to Ixion, world of pleasure and desire, Retra's father brings punishment down on Retra for her brother's disobedience. A warden comes to sew an obedience strip into Retra's leg, and her family is constantly watched. By some miracle, Retra finds a way to escape, and the story takes off just as Retra climbs onto the barge that will take her and other reckless youth to Ixion-- where Retra is determined to find Joel once again.
Ixion-- how to even explain this place? It was super creepy but also really... alluring. It had the strangest juxtaposition of churches and night clubs, and everything is weirdly perverted and turned upside down. You can only stay in Ixion if you're young, and no one really knows what happens to you when you pass a certain age. In this world, Retra has to somehow find her brother but also learn to fit into a new society governed by pleasure and pain. And then, of course, there are the Night Creatures that will carry you away if you step of the well-lit paths into the dark...
So this book... yeah. I'm going to be perfectly honest and say that I did have some issues with it. In fact, based on the points I usually use to rate a book, I'm surprised I liked this one as much as I did-- the main character wasn't terribly memorable, the other character development wasn't all there, the story line got to be rather wishy-washy and confusing for me, and the writing wasn't always as descriptive as I thought it could have been. BUT for whatever reason, I was so thoroughly wrapped up in this book that its less-than-perfect aspects just didn't really bother me. And by the end, I just couldn't help but love it, flaws and all.
Also-- was it just me, or was this book like, border-line kinky? (Yes, kinky lol-- pretty sure that's the first time I've used that word in a book review!) I mean it was pretty subtle since it's YA, but there were points in the book (Umm... Retra's "Enlightenment" anyone?!) where I was just like-- are they talking about what I think they're talking about? Hmm... maybe I just have a dirty mind haha ;) Not to mention, some of the descriptions, even when they weren't overtly sexual-- well, they were still pretty damn sexual. I think that this fit in with the whole hedonistic, crazy world of Ixion which exists solely for the pleasures of its citizens, but it definitely pushed the boundaries of what I'm used to reading in YA books...
All in all, I found Burn Bright to be completely intoxicating. And this was despite the fact that the writing could have been better and there were some major flaws to the story. Heck, a lot of it didn't even completely make sense to me, but gosh darn it, there was **something** about this book that just made it such a guilty pleasure! I guess you'll just have to read it for yourselves to see what it is about Burn Bright that has me DYING to get my hands on the next in this series!
~Cover Talk~
This has got to be one of the most incredible and kick-ass book covers I have ever seen. I want a poster of it, no joke. Where to start? The artwork is insane. The image of the girl's face is stunning, and the details just make me want to stare at this cover for hours on end. Like the story, it has a dark appeal, and I think that the dripping paint and splatters that form the model's dress are totally gorgeous. Argh, I absolutely adore it! And it fits the story so well.
The cover for Burn Bright definitely earns a spot on my Top 10 YA Book Covers. Love, love, LOVE IT!!!
LC's rating:
This book was completely addicting. Strange, bizarre, and not even logical-- but still 100% addicting. I can't even pinpoint what it was about it, but Burn Bright was freaking AWESOME. If you have a way of getting your hands on it, I highly recommend checking it out!
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi Series: Ship Breaker #2 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Release Date: May 1, 2012 Pages: 437
Summary: In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man--a bioengineered war beast named Tool--who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible.
This thrilling companion to Paolo Bacigalupi's highly acclaimed Ship Breaker is a haunting and powerful story of loyalty, survival, and heart-pounding adventure.
LC's Take:
Whoa.
Um, where do I even start with this one? The Drowned Cities was one of the most intense and brutal stories I think I've ever read. This was one of those books that pretty much grabbed hold of me from the first few pages and left me completely breathless by the end-- it was a gripping and fast-paced story set in a war-torn world of both hope and desperation, and everything about it pushed the boundaries of YA fiction. Absolutely. Insane.
The story is set in a war-torn, post-apocalyptic world where society has basically broken down into decentralized rebel groups that live to kill each other off. Neither side ever really gains an advantage, and the resulting stalemate between these war groups has led to the world of The Drowned Cities-- crumbling ruins of a once productive civilization, now the center of hatred and death. (I know, real uplifting right??) But even though this wasn't exactly a cheerful read, I definitely appreciated the story because it was clearly well-thought out and even addressed what is happening in other areas of the world today. With it's rebel troops made up of soldier boys, and names like Army of God and the United Patriot Front, I was reminded of the political turmoil going on in Africa and other Third World countries. Mahlia and Mouse, the two main characters in this book, had to live out the realities of civil war and exploitation of children-- only in the book they face these scenarios in a nightmarish future version of America. The result was pretty terrifying, but also not too difficult to imagine...
Mahlia was an awesome main female character. And she was tough as nails. I'd even say that she was possibly tougher than Katniss, no joke. Her ability to fight in a world that is literally out to rip her to shreds and not give up when the odds are impossibly stacked against her was reason enough to read this book to the end. It was a constant struggle for her to not only survive, but also to not become like the monsters she's running from-- to maintain her humanity in a completely inhuman world. Katniss of course also had similar struggles, but there was something more desperate about Mahlia's situation. She's an orphan with no family, and her only one true friend becomes lost to the enemy, so the fact that she was still willing to fight and work up the courage to try and escape to safety and freedom was just mind-boggling! Mahlia's story was heart-breaking, but it was always laced with hope, which definitely kept me reading to the end.
I do have to warn everyone-- this was one extremely gory book-- the brutality of The Drowned Cities is not even remotely censored, and there were many scenes that left me cringing with how gruesome the descriptions were. I almost had to put it away at certain parts, to be perfectly honest. However, I think that a lot of the more horrific and grisly scenes were meant to really show the breakdown in society and how it had reverted to a barbarous place where there is a fine line between remaining human and becoming no better than an animal. The world-building-- although sometimes difficult to read about-- was complete, and vividly memorable.
As much as I can appreciate The Drowned Cities for its raw and uncensored portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world and its fully-developed characters, I have to admit that I didn't like it quite as much as I did Ship Breaker. It's only my personal preference, but I just enjoyed the world-building, characters, and story more in Ship Breaker than in this second YA book by Bacigalupi. However, I am definitely glad that I read this one, because it was a very refreshing break from the typical YA genres I read, and it really took risks and stepped outside the boundaries of what we usually expect from YA books. Definitely not for the faint at heart, I would recommend this book if you're looking for something a little more serious and a lot more uncensored than your typical YA... altogether, this was an unforgettable book, and absolutely worth checking out!
~Cover Talk~
I do like this book cover-- I think it really captures the dark grittiness and just the whole oppressive and dismal world of The Drowned Cities. I also really like how you can see Mahlia's eyes, hardened and defiant, at the top. This is one of those books that I would stop to check out just because it is so different from other YA covers with swooning female models or brighter colors, and I think that after reading the story, I like it even more.
LC's Rating:
A brutal and intense Post-Apocalyptic adventure, The Drowned Cities was filled with action, political turmoil, and memorable characters that kept me reading to the end. If you're looking for something really different (and aren't too squeamish when it comes to gory scenes) I would definitely put this one on your TBR list!
