Building the Book Stacks #3

Library:

 Elixir by Hilary Duff

Slide by Jill Hathaway

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Passion by Lauren Kate

School is officially out next week, so I decided to go ahead and grab some books from the library. :) These are all books I've been wanting to read for awhile; I've picked up 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Passion before but I never had the chance to read them. I'm hoping I'l actually be able to start them this time.

I've also already read Slide.. Sadly, while still being an enjoyable read, it didn't quite meet my expectations. Expect a review of it soon. :) 

If you've made a post about what books you've gotten this week, then feel free to link to it in the comments section. :) I'll be sure to check out all the posts in return!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Rating: ★★★★★ [5]
Release date: July 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Format: paperback
Source: bought - HPB
Pages: 310
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (#1)
Challenge: --
Summary: 

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

This book is exactly how I imagined a great zombie book to be.

I'll admit that the beginning of the book was rather slow, and I found that I didn't care about the characters or the little "love triangle" that was beginning to form. Nothing about the protagonist really caught my interest, either. I only kept reading really, because of my love for zombies.

Eventually, the book just became AWESOME. I'm not exactly sure at what point..Maybe when the zombie outbreak finally becomes big, and the characters are in actual, immediate danger. It might have taken a bit longer than I had hoped, but once the action started, it didn't stop. Plus, things just became so emotional. It was so terrifying and vivid, and it literally had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what was going to happen next.

I also started to feel for the characters. Although the protagonist had originally been very boring, I was suddenly rooting for her and feeling her pain when she had to make hard decisions. And you know, you actually got to see her go kinda crazy from all the zombie action. Plus, some of the ordeals the side characters had to go through were horrifying. I think I really enjoyed it because it was one of the more gruesome zombie books I've read in the YA genre. However, I didn't like the ending very much.. It was too abrupt, and left me wanting more. Still, anyone who loves zombies should give this book a try! :)

Building the Book Stacks #2

Bought:

Fear by Michael Grant

Won:

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini {ebook}

I'm so excited to be reading Fear! :D The Gone series is amazing, and it's one of my absolute favorites so I can't wait to get started. I'm kind of sad that there's only going to be one more book! And a special thanks to Some Like It Paranormal for hosting the Starcrossed giveaway! :)

If you've made a post about what books you've gotten this week, then feel free to link to it in the comments section. :) I'll be sure to check out all the posts in return!

Follow Friday #3

This weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Basically, it's a great way to meet and follow other bloggers.

This week's question is:

What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading & relax?

Hmm, I think if I could go anywhere I'd like to go to a beach, specifically in Hawaii! Everything is just so calm and peaceful there, and I'd like to just lay on the sand and read while listening to the waves in the background. 

Something like this would be perfect!

Remember to tell me if you've followed me and I'll return the favor! Don't forget to link me to your own FF! :)

Teaser Tuesdays #2

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

---

My Teasers:
This week's teasers comes from Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. I just started this today, and so far, it's a pretty good book. :) I love the werewolves that Cremer has created! They're just so different from the usual.

"You're a warrior, Calla. Remember that and keep it close. Distractions will only hurt you." (page 103)

"'You're like a dead man walking.' I pointed an accusing finger at him. 'Don't ever, ever try to pet a wolf. It's just insulting.'" (page 110)

Building the Book Stacks #1

So, I haven't been online recently due to finals at school and stuff, but that should change when summer rolls around. :) As most of you know, there has been some drama surrounding the Story Siren, but I won't go into that. I am not going to get involved and take a side, and I am still unsure whether or not I want to participate in IMM anymore. Because of that, for the time being at least, I will continue to post IMMs on Saturdays/Sundays, but under a different name.



Bought:
Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass

The last book is obviously for my summer reading assignment. :) Has anyone ever read it before? Do you guys know if it's a hard read? I was looking forward to actually enjoying my work-free break, but it turns out the teachers assigned a lot of work. Even better is that I'm going to be super busy with my job. \:

Negativity aside, I have to say that I'm really excited that I'm finally going to start Unearthly; I've heard so many good things about it. Plus, the cover is just so gorgeous and shiny!
If you've made a post about what books you've gotten this week, then feel free to link to it in the comments section. :) I'll be sure to check out all the posts in return!

Cover Spotlight: Unearthly Series by Cynthia Hand

Cover Spotlight is a post that I make sporadically to bring more attention to the beautiful covers that often draw us in. :)

---

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

I haven't yet started this series (although I bought Unearthly just this week!), but I've always admired the covers when I passed them at the bookstore. They're just so shiny and eye-catching! I really love the way the light reflects off of them. Plus, the girl on the cover, along with her dress, is very pretty!

I wish there was a bit more variety between the Unearthly cover and the Hallowed cover as they're nearly the same exact thing beside the color, the position of the girl and her dress. However, I think I still prefer the Unearthly cover due to it's color. I just love the blueish-purpleish shade they picked! I think it's much easier to look at than Hallowed, which is more of a strain on the eyes.

What are your thoughts? Have you seen a cover lately that's attracted your eye?

Torment by Lauren Kate

Rating: ☆☆☆ [3]
Release date:  Sept. 28, 2010
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Format: hardcover
Source: library
Pages: 452
Series: Fallen (#2)
Challenge: --
Summary:

Hell on earth.

That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous.

What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

I definitely liked this one a lot better than the first, which I thought was a so-so kind of book. In this book, I think Luce grows more of a backbone, especially when it comes to Daniel. There are times when she doubts whether her and Daniel's relationship is healthy, which I thought was pretty realistic, seeing as they met like not that long ago and they're already declaring their love for each other.

Daniel, who I didn't particularly like in the first book, really got on my nerves in this one. There were points when he acted possessively and controlling. I loved how Luce started to take matters into her own hands instead of relying only on him. Since he wasn't going to give up any of his information, she took the initiative and began to look for answers herself.

I always thought that their romance was kind of sappy and didn't have much substance behind it. It seemed like anytime after they had a fight, Luce would want to run up and just kiss him to make up for it, which is obviously not how real relationships would work. Still, I felt that she was growing more independent of him, especially in the second half of the book.

Just like in the first book, I think I really enjoyed reading about the side characters more than the main characters. Cam, who I loved in the first book, is back. There are also some great new characters that Luce meets, who seemed like genuinely normal people. The side characters definitely make up for the, in my opinion, lacking main characters.