Waiting on Wednesday (23)

For those who don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme where we get to let everyone know about what books we are eagerly anticipating the release of. WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. Want to participate? Grab the logo on her page, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link on her blog!

*****

This week's Waiting on Wednesday pick is...

Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: April 24, 2012

Summary: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

~Why I'm Waiting~

Well, first oh-my-goodness the cover! I could seriously sit and stare at that cover all day, drooling over that dress. Then, there is the story-- a competition between 35 girls to win a crown?! This sounds like it is going to be amazing! I am so intrigued by this synopsis, and honestly cannot wait to get my hands on this book.

Leave me a link so I can go check out your WoW posts for this week too! Happy Reading everyone :)

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Book Review: Wildefire

Author: Karsten Knight

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Series: Wildefire #1

Release Date: July 26, 2011

Pages: 393

Read it in: 3 days

Source: The Library

Summary: Every flame begins with a spark.

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

LC's Take:

Yep, so in a nutshell, I was not a fan of this book. Like, at all.

My main issue with Wildefire was that I didn't like the main character.

Wait, scratch that-- I could not stand the main character.

Wait, scratch that again-- I wish the main character had taken a running dive off of a cliff and spontaneously combusted in mid-free fall, or met any other catastrophe a la Wile E. Coyote.

Like so: 

Yes, that's how much I detested Ashline Wilde-- I had to whip out some visuals of her cartoon-ish demise.

Why? Well, first of all she was violent and abusive, and walked all over everyone and treated them like crap. She was super-aggressive and mean and made me wish someone would slap her into next week. Because of this, she was impossible to relate to or sympathize with.

Not to mention, she was absolutely, positively crazy. Let me elaborate on this point by saying that, in the prologue, Ashline beats up some girl that supposedly "stole" her boyfriend-- she actually punches the girl so hard that she's knocked unconscious and loses a tooth. Now, this begs the question, why didn't Ashline confront her unfaithful, loser boyfriend first instead of taking out her rage on the girl? And second, um hello! She just committed serious physical assault! And you now want me to be on this girl's side?! She's a psycho! I'm not on her side, she should be headed to a JV detention center for crying out loud! Not cool.

Her craziness continued throughout the book with many random outbursts, leaving me thinking, "um... ok?" And finally, she just wasn't girly. If her name wasn't Ashline, I would've sworn she was a dude. Which made me wonder, why didn't Karsten Knight just make his protagonist a boy? Since he is a guy himself, he would have been able to create a much more believable protag. All in all, Ashline just came across as both unbelievable as a character and really nasty as a person, so I never felt any connection to her in the story. In fact, I was sort of rooting against her.

I wish I could say that the secondary characters made up for Ashline's complete douche-baggery, but they were equally nasty, annoying and immature. The only one I liked somewhat was Colt, but I still couldn't understand for the life of me why he was so smitten with Ashline, who was beyond obnoxious and belittled him every chance she got. The guy doted on her like a love-sick puppy. Really?! Nope, not buying it. Ashline was a real you-know-what. In real life, he would've ditched her without a second thought.

Call me a wimp, but I also wasn't a big fan of all the gratuitous violence thrown into the story, much of which seemed pretty unnecessary, especially the prologue and the whole fiasco with Lizzie Jacobs. Maybe that's just me, but really, you are going to be pretty hard-pressed getting me to like a character who commits serious physical assault within the first few pages of the book. Yeah. Major turn off.

Next on the list: The dialogue between the characters was positively dripping with sarcasm and undisguised venom, also for no apparent reason. Now I don't mind a little snark here and there, that livens up the interactions between the characters, but having every line be some biting comment or come back? Nobody talks like that first of all, at least not anyone that I know, and second it comes across as very forced and artificial. It was like, how cruddy and mean can we make these characters without them actually killing each other off? I definitely got annoyed with the mean-spirited, heavy-handed sarcasm after awhile.

Finally, and I've heard other people say this too but I had the same experience-- it took me a long time to really get into this story. There just wasn't a whole lot to keep me interested until a little over halfway through the book. Unfortunately by that point, I was so fed up with the characters that I didn't really care anymore anyways.

So altogether, this book was a fail for me. Not only wasn't I invested in any of the characters, I couldn't stand them. The sarcastic dialogue got really old about half-way through the story and finally, I didn't think that the graphic violence did anything for the plot. The one redeeming aspect of this book was the ending-- not just because it meant I could stop reading, but it was admittedly quite the cliffhanger. I think that for anyone who did enjoy this book and the characters, it was the perfect ending to entice them into reading the next one.

Unfortunately-- and this probably won't come as a big surprise-- I won't be reading the sequel.

~Cover Talk~

I think that this cover is very intriguing, not to mention very beautiful. It's also different, and I like that it relates to the story without being too literal of a translation. Hmmm... I wish I had liked the actual book as much as I like the cover!

LC's Rating:

The main reason that I disliked this book was because of how thoroughly unlikable the characters were. This, along with the bad dialogue and unnecessary violence, really turned me off of this book.

Book Review: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Series: Hush, Hush #1
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Pages: 391
Read it in: 2 days
Source: The Library

Summary: For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

LC's Take:

Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously?? I LOVED this book!! I almost feel guilty for how much I loved this book, because I honestly thought I would hate it. But here I am, could not put it down, read it in about 2 sittings, and am dying to get my hands on the next in the series. Now, this was unexpected!

I know, I know. This is one of those controversial books that everyone has drawn a line on, and then taken love or hate sides. And honestly, I went into this book *slightly* biased (Lauren Kate's Fallen series sort of turned my stomach against the fallen angel genre) but then lo and behold, it totally suckered me in and didn't let me go until the last pages-- I loved it.

What's more, I loved pretty much all of the characters, and was absolutely on Nora's side the entire way through the story. Some people have said that Nora Gray is worse than Bella Swan. I beg to differ-- I thought she had an intelligent voice, she had courage and vulnerability, and she had an interesting point of view to read the story through. I didn't even find her internal struggle about her feelings for Patch to be annoying, in fact, I completely sympathized with her. Finally, I loved the fact that she was just your regular, everyday girl but she wasn't flat or boring. I really liked Nora.

And obviously, I need to spend a few minutes talking about Patch Cipriano. Holy Moly. I cannot even describe how freaking hott Patch was. And trust me, I am not one to go all gaga-eyed fan girl on  lots of boy love interests, but I make an exception for Patch. Ah, Patch... He's so wrong, he's right. (Wow, that was cheesy lol). He's the quintessential mysterious bad boy who you just can't help but swoon over. And boy, did I ever. Loved Patch!

The story itself had me so that I literally could not put this book down until I finished-- I started it yesterday, got about three quarters through last night, and finished it first thing this morning. The whole thing took a few hours to read, and I loved every minute of it. There was steamy romance, mystery and suspense, action, drama and pretty much every other amazing thing you could cram into a YA novel. It wasn't Shakespeare by any means, but there was never a dull moment and like I said, I really loved the characters. Hush, Hush totally took me by surprise and was definitely one big guilty pleasure from start to finish!

~Cover Talk~

Seriously, how hott is this cover? Cannot even stop staring at it. Like you needed to give me yet another reason to be head over heels in love with Patch, right?! I think the black and white effect with the traces of blood red was a good choice too, since it just amps up the drama even more. Definitely cover love with this one!

LC's Rating:

Absolute love. I was a total sucker for this book. I almost feel guilty for liking it so much, especially since I sort of understand other people's caveats with it. In the end though? I could not put it down and I want more-- now!

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk Publishing
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Pages: 352
Read it in: 3 days
Source: The library

Summary: A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

LC's Take:

I absolutely HAD to read this book. As a sucker for anything creepy, bizarre, or otherwise strange and phantasmagoric, I had this one on my TBR list from the moment I saw that disturbingly odd little girl levitating on the cover. Add to the fact that the story centers around an abandoned orphanage on a mysterious island?? Yup, I was all about it.

Jacob has just lost his grandfather. At 16 years old, all Jacob has left are memories of the fantastical, sometimes horrifying, stories that his grandfather used to tell him as a child, and the last words his grandfather uttered-- clues to the real story Jacob never knew. Now Jacob wonders if the nightmarish monsters his grandfather spoke of were not just metaphors for the Nazi soldiers that killed his family, but real monsters that still exist somewhere...  and whether they are out to get him like they got his grandfather.

I'm actually not really sure what to say about this one. It's not that I didn't like it, but I had pretty much the same reaction to it as everyone else: it just was not at all what I had been expecting. I think the main problem is that people going into this book are like me-- they saw that extremely creepy cover and flipped through to see some equally creepy old photos and thought that this book was going to be scare-your-pants-off terrific, but then when you get into the actual story it just... wasn't. Definitely no scary-pants-action going on here.

And honestly, it's not that the story was bad-- there was a lot of suspense, some romance, some folklore, some mild creepiness with the villains. But I went into this book expecting something totally different. The kids were not creepy. And I was looking for creepy ghost children. I was looking for a story that gave me chills and shivers and made me jump every time I heard a noise while reading. What I got instead was a good story, but it fell a little flat next to what I had worked myself up to experience.

The concept was really great, and I loved how the pictures were incorporated into the story. That was such an incredibly unique and awesome idea, and it definitely kept me interested throughout the book. The story told through Jacob's voice was very real, incredible funny, and I loved all the uncensored snark and raw emotion that came through from his perspective. Jacob's point of view really made this story come alive for me.

In the end, I was a bit disappointed with this book, despite some great characters and an interesting premise. I really needed this story to amp-up the creepiness factor because I had been expecting a bone-chilling ghost story and got something very different instead. Not bad, just not totally living up to my expectations.

~Cover Talk~

Seriously one of the most intriguing covers I have ever seen. If I was walking past this book, I would stop dead in my tracks to pick it up and see what it was about, even if I was running late to be somewhere. It would be like an involuntary reflex, that's how awesome this cover is. That picture of the levitating girl with the creepy face is so haunting, and the pics on the back of the book are even more nightmarish-- like, super scary! I wish that the story had the same creep-out factor as some of the photos did.

LC's Rating:

A good story with a good premise that unfortunately fell slightly flat for me. I was expecting a very scary, creepy story with freaky ghost children, and got something totally different. It wasn't bad, just unexpected. I did really like the mix of old photos with the story! Altogether, still a unique and intriguing book.

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

For those who don't know, Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme where we get to let everyone know about what books we are eagerly anticipating the release of. WoW is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. Want to participate? Grab the logo on her page, post your own WoW entry on your blog, and leave your link on her blog!

*****

This week's Waiting on Wednesday pick is...

Title: Night School
Author: Christy Daugherty
Publisher: Atom
Release Date: January 2012

Summary: Allie Sheridan's world is falling apart. She hates her school. Her brother has run away from home. And she's just been arrested.

Again.

This time her parents have finally had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to a boarding school for problem teenagers.

But Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Its rules are strangely archaic. It allows no computers or phones. Its students are an odd mixture of the gifted, the tough and the privileged. And then there's the secretive Night School, whose activities other students are forbidden even to watch.

When Allie is attacked one night the incident sets off a chain of events leading to the violent death of a girl at the summer ball. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, Allie must learn who she can trust. And what's really going on at Cimmeria Academy.

~Why I'm Waiting~

I have a major weakness for covers with redheads on them, let me just say that first. I know, I'm biased in this way, being a redhead myself, but I can't help it! They draw me in before I even realize it. But then, I also really like the mystery and sexiness of this cover in general. The story may or may not end up being to my liking, depending on how the author approaches the overdone boarding school genre. I definitely think it's possible to take a subject or setting that has been done ad nauseum and turn it into something fresh and new, so we'll have to see! Also, I do like reading books that take place at schools. And that little "hook" written on the cover is definitely intriguing! I wonder what exactly is going on at this school and what Allie is going to find out?

Leave me a link so I can go check out your WoW posts for this week too! Happy Reading everyone :)

PS!

Book Review: Luminous

Author: Dawn Metcalf
Publisher: Dutton Childrens Books
Release Date: July 7, 2011
Pages: 371
Read it in: 3 days
Source: The Library

Summary: As reality slips and time stands still, Consuela finds herself thrust into the world of the Flow. Removed from all she loves into this shifting world overlapping our own, Consuela quickly discovers she has the power to step out of her earthly skin and cloak herself in new ones-skins made from the world around her, crafted from water, fire, air. She is joined by other teens with extraordinary abilities, bound together to safeguard a world they can affect, but where they no longer belong.

When murder threatens to undo the Flow, the Watcher charges Consuela and elusive, attractive V to stop the killer. But the psychopath who threatens her new world may also hold the only key to Consuela's way home.

LC's Take:

I like to think of Luminous as a very unique piece of modern art-- you're either going to love it or hate it, and everyone is going to interpret it differently. Now, I actually fall on the side of people who loved this book-- I thought it was creative, different, kind of bizarre, and always surprising!

Consuela Chavez is just your typical teenager-- until one night while she's in the tub, she finds out that she has the ability to step out of her own skin-- quite literally, she can pull it off like she's taking off a sweater-- and put on new skins made of fire, air, and water. I know, kind of creepy, huh? Stepping out of her bathroom, Consuela finds herself sucked into "The Flow," a kind of alternate reality where others with special abilities like her exist in order to save people from untimely deaths. However, once in The Flow, Consuela has no way to get back out and go home. To make matters worse, people start mysteriously dying in The Flow, and Consuela is the only one who can stop the killer.

The best parts about this book were the concepts it presented and the mood it created for the reader. The entire story brings you into this dreamy, almost trance-like state, where it's difficult to tell which end is up. The ideas that it explores were very metaphysical, like, what is the purpose of life? What comes after death? What is the standard for morality? What makes a person good or bad? The thought-provoking questions underneath the layers of imagery and imagination of The Flow had me completely wrapped up in this book.

The one thing that made Luminous difficult to grasp was that the plot and the setting were not clearly defined-- I don't even know how to describe The Flow or what it really was, and the series of events that took place were very much like when you dream-- one minute you're there, the next you're inexplicable somewhere else. I liked how this really gave you the feeling that you were in a dream, but at the same time, it made it tricky to pinpoint exactly what was going on.

I had actually already read a few reviews for Luminous before I read it, so I had a pretty good idea of what the book would be like. Which is probably a good thing, because it's one of those books that is just so wacky and bizarre, that if I went in totally unsuspecting, my first reaction to Chapter 1 would probably have been: What the CRAP is going on!?! Haha but anyways, I knew going in that this book was going to be very different than any others I've yet read. I really did enjoy it, and thought that Luminous was daring, unexpected and creative. I would definitely give it a try!

~Cover Talk~

I've heard mixed reactions about this book cover. Some say it's absolutely stunning. Some say it looks like Photoshop threw up. I for one, really like it. In fact, I was so in love with this cover, it was the number one reason I read the book, that's just how much I like it. It's one of those covers that if it was sitting on the shelf alongside a hundred others, it would make me stop and pick it up without even thinking. The colors, the patterns, the butterflies-- I don't know, I just really love it! And the back and insides of the jacket cover are just as beautiful.

LC's Rating:

Luminous was a super-crazy, very imaginative book like no other I have ever read! Go into this one with an open mind and appreciate the unique concepts and vivid imagery that it presents. I think you will enjoy it if you don't mind something a little different every once in awhile!

Follow Me Friday (22)

First a quick promo...
 
OK guys, first thing's first-- if you didn't know, I have reached 1,000 followers, and that means GIVEAWAY TIME!! Be sure to click on the image above, or click HERE to enter yourself in my 1,000 Follower Giveaway, where you can win your choice of some amazing book Prize Packs!! Good luck to everyone! 

This week's Follow Friday question:

In light of 11.11.11 and Veteran’s Day tell us about your favorite soldier and how he or she is saving the world. Fictional or real life.

Hmm... OK, so honestly I don't I don't really know anyone close who is in the military! My grandpa who is in his 80's now was in the army and fought in the Philippines, but I don't know too much about it! Yikes, this week's question really has me stumped lol :/ But I am still very thankful for the men and women who do serve our country, I don't think I could ever do what they do, so I greatly appreciate all of their many sacrifices  ♥

<--- TGIF at GReads is a Friday Feature hosted by Ginger at GReadsBooks.com!

Love-Hate Relationship: Which characters from a book do you love to hate?

Now THIS one is easy: Lucinda Price and Daniel Grigori from the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. I absolutely cannot stand this couple. They are horrible. Beyond annoying. Incredibly dysfunctional. I think that covers it! And yet, I still am shamelessly addicted to these books. Why? I have no idea lol.