Essay, exam, essay, exam= No time for Blog! Boo

Hi all!!

I just wanted to show you all that I am indeed alive! Just busy lately! I blame the ridiculous load of work on being a third year University student. However I have lotsssss of reviews and some new stories and ideas that I will begin to post this friday (november 27th) hopefully!

I also have fallen behind on my reading, well my "fun" reading that is. I order 'Beautiful Creatures' from the book depository a couple of weeks ago and am hoping that that comes tomorrow or sometime this week cause i am dying to get my calloused-little-essay writting-hands on that book! I've heard nothing but good things about that (for a more detailed synopsis on this book you can read below...)

Until I blog again all, happy readings!

Beautiful Creatures;

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.

We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.

At least, that's what I thought.

Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was a curse.

There was a girl.

And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Intertwined

Author--> Gena Showalter

Review--> 4/5

Release Date--> September 1^st, 2009

Product Description from Amazon.ca

Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.

One can raise the dead.

One can tell the future.

And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late....

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist.

Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger but not everyone will come out alive....

Review;

Intertwined is a great read. It’s a supernatural romance but one unlike I have read before. Intertwined is a multi narrative book, switching between the narratives of Mary and Aden. Although I usually get annoyed with books that switch narratives, I find I can’t get as “into” the book when authors do this, with Intertwined this wasn’t the case though.

Through Aiden’s eyes readers get to experience the life of someone who has four souls living in his head, you get to see him meet a mysterious “girl”, and you also get to watch him meet Mary. Through Mary’s eyes you get to see how she’s not as simple as she thinks she is, you get to see her meet a wolf, and through her eyes you learn that being ordinary isn’t so simple after all.

I really enjoyed Gena Showalter’s Intertwined. I thought that the plot was interesting; at times a little busy but it definitely kept me absorbed in the book. For two days when I wasn’t reading this book, I was counting the minutes when I could. It may have cut into my studying for Aegean Archaeology, but I thought it was wroth it. I will eagerly be awaiting the next book in this series, Unraveled.

My Christmas List *cough* List of Wanted Books*cough*

So, this may not be a valid reason for a blog post but hey I think its pretty darn toot important. So it’s that time of year again…CHRISTMAS!! I disagree with the idea of not getting excited for Christmas as you get older, I don’t care if I’m twenty now, I love Christmas time! Yummy foods, decorating the tree, snow, BREAK FROM SCHOOL, family get together, and new books!!!

So the other day I was talking to my mother and she asked me to write her a list of things I wanted for Christmas and not surprisingly my list was…..well books! DUH

Here’s the list (including the movie ‘The Proposal’ and season 4 of Supernatural, best show!);

-The girl in the Arena- Lise Haines

-Blood and Chocolate- Annette Curtis Klause

-The Demon King- Cinda W Chima

-The Maze Runner- James Dashner

Frostbitten- kelly armstrong

-Lips touch- Laini Taylor

-Leviathan- by Scott Westerfeld

And of course gift certificates for Amazon and Chapters. What are on your Christmas lists?

Tempted

Author à P.C Cast & Kristin Cast

Reviewà 3.5/5

Release Dateà October 27^th 2009

Product Description from ‘Amazon.ca’

So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul?

Review;

First, I would just like to say that I am an avid reader of P.C Cast and her daughter Kristin’s series House of Night. I couldn’t get enough of Zoey’s life at The House of Night school as a vampire fledging for the first four books, but I felt that by the fifth book things should have changed a little. I was disappointed that Zoey was still choosing between three (or maybe four) popular, hot boys who all were dedicated to her even though she “couldn’t” choose between them. Also despite the hardships that Zoey and her friends go through in the fifth novel, I couldn’t shake my annoyance with Zoey’s character. As I was reading through this installment, I had to force myself to get through some parts which I thought were slow and annoying, I mean, I do like this series but I can only take some many “oh my goddesses” and continuous references to teenage slangs that I felt the Cast’s over emphasized the teenage stereotypes to a point that it was annoying to read at times.

Having said that, I will continue to read the rest of the series. The book ended in another cliffhanger, which has me anxiously waiting the next installment. The plot was alright, but I felt it really picked up the last 20 pages.

The Hunger Games

Synopsis (Taken from Amazon.ca)

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor tohis or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capitol wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rule. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

So I'm just going to start off by saying this is one, if not possible the, number one favorite book of mine. I LOVED this book. The Hunger Games is one of those books that keeps you awake at night AFTER you've finished it. I couldn't sleep days after finishing it wondering what the characters would be doing in the next book and how their lives would play out. The concept of this book is pretty startling; to think about killing other teenagers to stay alive. However it has my favorite things in books, which is a strong and independent female lead character.

My one negative thing about this book, is i can't imagine how this could be classified as a YA novel. Although the key characters are young, their actions are not.

Suzanne Collins paints a very addictive, heartbreaking, and beautiful novel about a teenager girl living in hard times that loves unconditionally dispute her dire situation.

This book is a must read! I recommend it to anyone who loves a book with romance, a great plot, and a heart-clenching ending.

Can you tell I live in a student house?

So the other day when i was busy working away on a 12-page essay for one of my classes, I looked up from my computer screen, in what felt like the first time in hours, and was struck by how ironic the scene in front of me looked.

This should be a ad for what student life looks like, computer, cell phone, old library books, halloween candy, hot chocolate, water, coupons for KFC, and beer (in my defense the beer is not mine).

If this doesn't spell C-R-U-N-C-H T-I-M-E I don't know what does.

The Blog-Universe is a scary scary place!

This is my first official blog post! Yay! I have been wanting to start a blog that focused on the YA books, and just the books in general, that I read. Anyone that knows me is aware that reading basically consumes my free time. Who needs friends and jobs right? Kidding, but i do it every spare minute I have!

I love reading for so many different reasons, but probably the most important of them all is that reading allows you an escape. It gives you an outlet where you can be free of your troubles, forget about homework and daily stresses. You can escape from your skin and become a shadowhunter in New York, or a vampire at a boarding school, a 18th century girl, or simply fall in love.

I've created this blog for the sole reason of having a place where i can talk about the great books I'm reading, receive input from others, and learn of the other great books out there I have yet to find!