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Bloody Bookaholic's Commandment:

Thou Shall Read Till Thy Eyes Bleed

Wednesday 18 December 2013

US VS UK: Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series by Laini Taylor (6 Different editions!)

So I am currently reading (or trying to read; finals week is a bitch) Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor (a book I've been waiting for my whole life -seriously) and so I had to make a blog post about the series. So let's play my favorite game, let's compare covers!

 
US-UK Hardbacks

I have a thing about the UK edition. It does look like a simple cover made for a 1.5 novella, but it also manages to be so beautiful in it;s simplicity. It's the winds, the font, and the exquisite color. The US edition is interesting, but the black and white person freaks me out. It doesn't look as clean as the UK one does that's a given! Though the font of the US cover is also to die for I would have to vote UK for the hardbacks.

UK-01 US-00

 
US-UK Paperbacks

This is NO competition! Look at that beautiful red door! First time I saw it I completely fell in love. The door is important to the story, and doesn't it remind you a little of Harry Potter in a way? The color texture, the red of the door... It's something. And look at the hand print!!!! Though I was imagining it being on the door but still, it's there! Love it, love it, love it. The US cover, well, a variation on the first cover and the mask does have something to do with the story, but still have you seen the red door?!

UK-02 US-00

 
US-UK Hardback


I love them both. You can't make me choose!

UK-03 US-01

UK was going to be win anyways. They had some kick ass editions!

Monday 16 December 2013

NEWS: Karen Mooning is Continuing her original Fever series!!


I've read every single Fever book. I posted my review on the first one but haven't yet posted my reviews for the other 4 (blame finals!). Anyways, the finale of Shadowfever left it wide open for the possibility of a continuation, not only that but Ms. Mooning is writing currently a side series featuring Dani (which I have yet to read but am not feeling too excited about because this girl's vocabulary annoys me). Now she is thinking about continuing the freaking series!! Oh gosh so excited!!
Exciting news: I’ve agreed to write two more books after that (i.e. the Fever spin-off trilogy). Once the new trilogy is complete, I’m returning to the core story begun in the FEVER series, and will resume writing about Mac, Barrons, V’lane, Cruce, the Unseelie king, the concubine, the Song of Making. 
All in all, there are five more books coming about the Fever World! 
Because I know you guys, I know this is going to make some of you as nervous as it makes you excited. Trust me. I’m making no compromises with the characters or the story. It’s all unfolding exactly as it should, true to itself-which means, it’s a sometimes rocky road. Dark times ahead, guys. But I write it all with genuine love for the characters, the world, and you the reader." 
-Karen Marie Moning
Well, what do you think? Are you as excited as me?! Do you think Barrons and Mac will continue to be "happy" or do you think there are some more obstacles they need to get over? Ah, I'm just happy we get to read about Barrons again!

Friday 13 December 2013

Review: The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Title: The Secret Year
Author: Jennifer R. Hubbard
Series: Stand Alone
Book #: 1
Pages: 192
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: Photobucket
Goodreads Rating: 3.53
T.B.Published: Jan. 7th, 2010.

Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly. Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year and no one, not even Julia's boyfriend knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can't mourn Julia openly, and he's tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia's journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he's desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

Taschima's POV:

For some reason I thought this book was going to be more exciting. It is titled The Secret Year. It's about a secret relationship that lasted for about a year between a rich girl and a poor boy. But we start the book at the end of the relationship, having the girl been killed and the boy been left in this vertigo full of doubt. We see their story through the girl's POV in diary entires, the boy is the main POV.

Going into this book I was expecting a juicy YA read, I expected the words to impact me more, I expected it to be more scandalous. I felt like Julia and Colt's relationship wasn't explored thorughly enough. We don't get a first glimpse into their relationship because the relationship is told in flashbacks, moments caught in the wind, and that really didn't work for me. Plus, they weren't that meaningful. They had sex, a lot. So what? The diary entries also weren't very exciting. She said a few things, and most of the entries were completely skipped over. I just felt there was something lacking, missing, from the entire book. Emotion? I don't know, it was just lacking that "it" thing.

It finally started getting interesting when people little y little started to find out about the relationship. But again, this wasn't exploided. A lot of things in the novel weren't. The novel is only 192 pages, with the potential for more, and it falls flat on it's face.

The characters for the most part were boring. The only one I could have really gotten into was Julia, and she died. She is described as being artsie and daring, and complicated. I felt like I never really got to kow her well, we only get to see Colt's version of Julia. Not anybody else's. I felt like Colt didn't do any impacting things in the story, he just coasted through the entire thing. Like he was invisible. Our own main character was freaking invisible. Even when his brother (my favorite character of the book) makes a big announcement he is just like "whatevs, let me eat and well be good." He is unremarkable, and unmemorable.

I felt like everything was unexciting, the characters, the plot, the romance... It really wasn't what I was expecting. I wasn't invested in the characters, I wasn't invested in the story. Sad, it had potential.

Monday 9 December 2013

Some Yummylicious Covers You Might Have Missed

Lover At Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #11)
You know how long we Qhuinn/Blay fans have been waiting for this installment?! It seems forever now! They have definitely have their sections in every other book, but they finally get a book all of their own. The cover is just the cherry on top of the ice cream of awesomeness that is this book. If you look closely at the eyes you will be able to see they are two different colors... Qhuinn!! I love the cover, and I know Blay will also have his part of the story so I am not getting all touchy feeling cause he isn't on the cover.
I was there at BEA for the BIG reveal of the final cover for the Hush Hush series. I think I like the covers more than I like the books, though I never was really able to go past the first book so. Also if you look very closely at the girl model's face, doesn't she remind you of Kristen Stewart? I mean, they could be twins! Why is she at the end of a cliff? Is she going to throw herself? Do we want her to throw herself? I don't know, maybe?
Scandal (The Ivy, #4)
SCANDAL! I love The Ivy series, it's like my guilty pleasure. It's all about college and frenemies and boys and bad decisions... It's like if Gossip Girl went to college and stayed there. Still, I love it. I need to get the third book in the series, Rivals, soon. I like how for these covers it isn't anything fancy, they just change the color, the title, and make it work. It makes it feel like it's part of a series.

Sunday 8 December 2013

Review: Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

Glimpse
Title: Glimpse
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Series: N/A
Book #: 1
Pages: 484
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: Photobucket.7
Goodreads Rating: 3.86
Published: June 22th, 2010

In one moment it is over.
In one moment it is gone.

Twelve-year-old Hope’s life is turned upside down when her older sister, Lizzie, becomes an elective mute and is institutionalized after trying to kill herself. Hope and Lizzie have relied on each other from a young age, ever since their dad died. Their mother, who turns tricks to support her family, is a reluctant and unreliable parent—at best. During the course of this lyrical and heartbreaking narrative, told in blank verse from an exceptionally promising YA voice, readers will discover the chilling reason why Lizzie has stopped speaking—and why Hope is the only one who can bring the truth to light and save her sister.

Taschima's POV:

Fantastic, powerful story, yet it felt incomplete. It left me with a ton of questions by the end and with an unfinished feeling in my stomach. Just when it was getting good and when we were finally getting some answers I turn to the next page and I see the two most undesired words in the english language The End. What the... The story sort of feels like an inverted checkmark, only we get a solution to the problem along with no answers.

The story is about a girl (Hope) who is trying to come to terms with her sister's (Elizabeth) suicide attempt and her mother's (Momma, lol) debauchery. It has nothing to do with the paranormal or supernatural, but instead it is a somber contemporary. It is also a quick read. So we spend the entire novel learning about Hope's life, how she and Liz have this incredible bond, and their relationship with the mother. It really was a very dark and powerful read that was cut short. It left me with questions mostly regarding Elizabeth, and the sister's future. How will things turn out? What will happen to these girls? Why did some things happen? The world will never know!

Nevertheless, beautiful writing. I have a soft spot for books that are written in verse format. The writer has to be damn good to be able to write a book like this and make it engaging, and I am happy to say that Carol Lynch is that good a writer. The way she lets you in into the main characters mind... I felt like I was wearing her skin. The first few pages got me entirely hooked, I felt like the middle dragged a little at times but it still passed fairly quick, and the end, well it was interesting but lacking.

The "big secret" that moved the story along was, at least for me, painfully obvious. When it was finally revealed I was mostly interested in seeing how the characters would handle it and how it actually transpired because it was so obvious through the novel what happened that I am surprised the main character didn't catch on sooner (then again, maybe not since Hope seems to live with a blindfold on most of the time).

Will I read more work by Carol Lynch? Hell yes, I love her writing! It was just the partly un resolved ending that made me give this book a 3.7 star rating.

PS; Remember to enter my latest giveaway for a total of 6 awesome books ;)

Saturday 7 December 2013

So I Started Reading Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

Momma was quiet a moment,
Then she said,
Moccasins.
My God, they're moccasins.
Run, Hope.
Run, Liz. 
The snakes must have
seen us by then. They
turned in our direction. 
Momma didn't pick up a thing.
Not the umbrella,
not the towel she sat on.
Not even that sweet smelling
olive oil. 
She just ran,
leaving me and Liz behind. 
Wait,
Liz hollered after her.
Wait for us.
Liz grabbed me by the hand but all the sudden
I couldn't even more.
I really like how the book is written in free verse. For now, it's my favorite part of the book. I mean, I also like the story, it's about a girl who is trying to come to terms with her sister's suicide attempt and her mother's debauchery. It has nothing to do with the paranormal or supernatural, but instead it is a somber and quick read with amazing writing. Review to come soon!

Remember to enter my giveaway for the total of 6 awesome anthology books ;)

Thursday 5 December 2013

STOP Whatever you are doing! A Harry Potter Prequel, The Greater Good, is out! Dumbledore vs Grindelwald!


The Greater Good, a fan made Harry Potter small film depicting the first battle between Grindelwald and Dumbledore is sure to make you stare in awe. The film, while fan made, looks really good. The visual effects are incredible and the actors all seem to be really talented (not to mention cute... Hello Dumbledore ;) )


Some fans have called out, saying that some things in the film are inaccurate. But I digress, not every film is extremely accurate, not even the original HP films. For a fan made film is quite brilliant and I hope all that were involved in it have prosperous careers (maybe some work at the upcoming HP film perhaps?).

Hmm, which other Harry Potter moments would you like to see on film? I vote for the moment James and Lily make Peter Pettigrew their Secret-Keeper and everything went to hell. That would be very interesting to watch.

Greater Good's Facebook Page and official website.

Monday 2 December 2013

Review: Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

Title: Juliet Immortal
Author: Stacey Jay
Series: Juliet Immortal
Book #: 1
Pages: 307
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: Photobucket
Goodreads Rating: 3.69
Published: August 9th, 2011


The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

Taschima's POV:

I liked it more than I like the original story of Romeo and Juliet, one which I hate because I think it's not romantic but utterly stupid. Nevertheless I loved the cover of this story so I was anxiously waiting for it and I was expecting a dark though utterly investing revenge/love story. I was expecting fireworks, instead I got normal light bulb. It was a let down in some places, and in others it wasn't... mostly a let down.

The irony? The let down was the romance. THE ROMANCE! Since the story is a re told of one of the world's most beloved romantic stories (though admittedly not one of mine) I was thinking that this book would take it up a notch and create a real romance story that tackled all the big and dark questions about love. Instead it tackled love at first sight, a type of love I am so not in the team of. Love at first sight, soul mates, etc. In other words a love that doesn't need a backbone (yeah it does). Juliet meets a boy and almost instantly falls in love, what is even more impressive is the boy falls in love right back after picking this crazy girl with blood on her clothes up from the road after she had a serious fight with her "date of the evening" otherwise known as Romeo, otherwise known as Dylan (they inhabit bodies while they are on earth). And all we get that they are really truly in lurve? He can see past the scars in the girl's face and see her true inner beauty. Ta da! Even though Juliet never really fesses up, and he is always painted as this 2 dimensional character with no true depth and no true possible future. I was not a fan of the love interest.

Also weren't Juliet and Romeo supposed to be mortal enemies? I didn't see it. At the beginning it started great, Romeo was out to get her and Juliet was fighting him and all was right with the world, but then suddenly Romeo needed Juliet and she went along with it. Oookay. Not okay. I liked it better when you guys were beating the crap out of each other.

The relationship between Romeo and Juliet though, that was interesting. Their hate/love/hate relationship was interesting to read about. Juliet was this feisty character that learnt from the mistakes she did in the past and is trying to re invent herself while still kicking Romeo for being an asshole and Romeo is this crazy ass character who is a little insane and has no real moral compass  but all in all he seems to be one of the most interesting characters of the entire story, go figure (that rings true). His insanity keeps the story interesting. [Spoiler]  Though to be completely honest, even though Juliet was the idiot who took her own life in the end I don't think Romeo should have had a second chance so freaking quickly and I am not positive if I could ever root for him seeing as he truly is evil and killed people for the hell of it, he could have quit and faced the consequences. So reading the second novel is going to be interesting[Spoiler ENDS]

Another note on Juliet, I have no idea how this girl could have ever actually helped any soul mates to end up together. She seems to be crappy at her job, and without the help of her boss's she hardly knew what she was doing (even though she has been doing the same thing for 700 years). And it isn't like it was so hard to tell who the lovers were, the big red tell tale sign gives it away pretty quick. [Spoiler]  so when Nurse said she wouldn't re hire Juliet I was like "good, understandable, she sucks at her job so I understand why you wouldn't like to hire her back" it was funny how Romeo's boss's though wanted to give him a promotion at the drop of a hat with only a bit more of work, Romeo was good at his job of being evil though.[Spoiler ENDS]

The whole story was a bit confusing too. I feel like this book needed another book before it that gave us more of a look into the supernatural world that is being built up, plus that could give us a glimpse at what truly happen in Verona. The whole mythology was a bit fucked up, and to be honest I didn't feel that invested in the whole cupid thing. At the end I was like "so what?"

Okay, let's see what else. The ending. It was fast paced and the decisions that Romeo did were unexpected, but I felt like how it ended undermined the entire story. I felt like the final key that helped everything better was, too easy. [Spoiler]  the whole "other worlds" thing undermined the story! It was like, this easy escape route where everything that happen in the beginning of the story didn't matter. It was too easy, and it was so out of the freaking blue. An easy ending.[Spoiler ENDS]A suckie ending.

So you might be wondering how exactly did I like this book since it seemed that I have a complain about it every other turn. I liked Juliet, and I liked Romeo, and I liked the beginning where they were mortal enemies, I didn't like the romance, but I guess I liked the concept of the book more than the book itself, and it had it's moments (like the moments where Juliet wanted to make Ariel's -the body she was inhabiting- life's better by making things right with her mother and such), but they were too far in between. I think I shall read Romeo's story just to see how it ends and to see what happens to him. Great concept, not so great way of conducting the story.

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