Book Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Forever
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: July 12 2011
My Source: Borrowed ARC

Other Books in Series:
Shiver
Linger

***WARNING: Contains mild spoilers for the 1st two books in the series!***

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Goodreads Summary:

then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.

That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.

Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

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My Review:
I recommend you read my reviews for Shiver and Linger before this one so you know where I'm coming from. I thought Shiver was ok, but I loved Linger, and that was due to the introduction of actually interesting characters- Cole and Isabel. Not that I don't like Sam and Grace (they have an amazing romance) but I think they work better as side characters and I would be lying if I said I didn't occasionally get bored reading the sections of the book from either one of their perspective because it's the same thing over and over.

The first 100 pages were a little difficult to get through because neither of the two couples were talking to each other- either by choice or not. So it was really slow. But after I got past that part, it was unputdownable!

I love seeing how all of the characters in Mercy Falls have grown. In paticular Isabel- probably my favorite to read her sections- I was frustrated with her for a lot of the book but I was so proud of her when she finally took the stand that she needed to at the end. Sam finally overcame the fears crippling him and I was happy for him too.

There's not a whole lot I can think of saying about this book that isn't reiterated from my reviews of the first two books. If you liked the first two books, you'll like Forever as well. I'm not exactly sure about the title though. I wished the ending could've given us a better definition of what forever was for our main characters- it wasn't a cliffhanger but I would've loved an epilogue or something.

In conclusion, if you like romance and emotion and beautiful writing, read this series! Shiver is my least favorite of the three, but if you make it through that one you'll have a treat to look forward to in the final 2. Though I know there are some that disagree with me and think Shiver is better... I guess that means you'll have to read them and decide for yourself!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Series: None
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: March 29 2011
My Source: ARC from publisher

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Goodreads Summary:

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

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My Review:
Entwined is a re-telling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses (link to the wikipedia article here if you've never heard the original story- which I hadn't before reading this book). Knowing it was a fairy tale retelling- which is perhaps my favorite genre ever because it's filled with the 2 best things- fantasy and romance- I was so excited to get an ARC of this book.

The main character, Azalea, is the eldest of 12 sisters (all named after flowers or plants and also alphabetical to their birth order which is very clever and cute of the author). She was a fantastic main character because of the way she carried the responsibility of being the oldest unselfishly but struggled with pursuing her own desires. I could relate to Azalea and really rooted for her. Her sisters were also just as charming and 3-Dimensional- Bramble, the second eldest, was a hilarious trouble-maker, and Clover, the third eldest, who was the most beautiful but had speech issues which she worked to overcome. All the younger sisters were very cute and funny as well.

The thing that lacked in this book was a rich world building. I was never sure if we were in the real world or a fantasy land (most likely some combination of the two) and for all the political stuff this book contained it didn't explain much about the kingdom at all. I would've loved to see an in-depth world being built, but it just wasn't there. So I had trouble placing this story and figuring out what the real stakes of losing the kingdom were.

The romance was subtle, but very sweet. Rather than love-at-first-sight, it was a gradual build up that culminated at the end of the book where I couldn't stop turning the pages. I found myself rooting for all 3 of the eldest sisters to find love and squealing in delight over the fairy-tale ending that was not entirely predictable.

One thing I struggled with though was the lack of a plot for about the 1st half of the book- it took me awhile to get into it because all that was happening was the girls mourning their mother's death and hating their father. Even when the plot and conflict arose, I found it seemed very simple and uncomplicated and like the world-building, it could've been way more in depth.

The writing quality itself was relatively simple, so it wasn't hard to read but it wasn't that fantastic or lyrical either.

Overall, I enjoyed the princesses characters and their love interests the most, but I disliked the lack of depth in plot and world building. I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tale re-tellings, though I would probably recommend a few better ones first. Still, I'm glad I read it and overall I liked it.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: none
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: December 2 2010
My Source: Won

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Goodreads Summary:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

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My Review:

LOVED THIS BOOK! It was super hyped up, so I had high expectations for it, and usually those expectations aren't met. But that was not the case here. I understand why everybody loves it now. It made me like contemporary fiction which is not my favorite genre. So real, so funny, so cute, so laugh-out-loud, so perfect!

Little things bugged me here and there- but nothing that was really a big deal. For example, I actually didn't like St. Clair for awhile because he seemed stuck up. (Maybe I was the only one who thought that!) Paticuarly when he made fun of Anna's friend Dave who I couldn't help but think of one of my own friends when I was reading about him. Even so, but the end it worked out very well. Predictable, yes, but nice.

Anna was a brilliant, funny, and clever narrator but very real and human at the same time. Her obsession with movies was a neat plot element that gave her a lot of character and really contrasted with the types of stories/movies her Dad writes. You can see why they don't get along.

Unlike some contemps, the plot was not boring. It was driven by misunderstandings in relationships- a theme that worked very well and seemed almost Shakespeare-ish. I had to keep reading to see what would happen next with Anna and St. Clair!

If you're looking for a fun, unputdownable read this summer, go buy Anna and the French Kiss (yes- buy it! Don't check it out from the library or borrow it- you'll want to own it so you can read it over and over again!). It's a really, really fantastic read!

5 out of 5 stars

In My Mailbox (Sorta, But Not Really...)

Since I sort of made an announcement about leaving my blog 2 weeks ago, I've accomplished more reading than I ever would've thought without the pressure of a blog that needs to be updated! It really is sort of a freeing thing not to be obligated to blog and it makes reading so much more enjoyable. And now it's practically summer I'm going to try to find time to review most of what I read.

I reviewed The Liar Society, a 2011 Debut book earlier this week. In addition, I recently finished Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (already reviewed on Goodreads, hopefully will have it added to the blog soon), along with Entwined by Heather Dixon (another 2011 debut!) and A Spy In The House by Y.S. Lee, and I'm speeding through The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell- I should have it finished soon. And I'm almost finished reading The Great Gatsby for school... who knows, maybe I'll review that too. :p

Another anomaly of my life- besides getting more time to read- is that I've started writing again! I haven't touched my WIP since NaNoWriMo and although I'm still leaving that one be, I started writing some short story fanfiction just for writing practice and I'm starting to outline a new fantasy WIP that I had the idea for awhile ago but haven't had any time to start on. My NaNoWriMo book is certainly not finished but it feels like I don't have anywhere left to go with it. I'll probably come back to it sometime, but I'm moving on for now. I'm so happy to start writing again. I do aspire to be a writer someday, although I'm not going to college for it. For now I'm just going to continue writing and see where it takes me.

I know I labeled this post In My Mailbox. I figured that would imply it was some sort of general update. Not sure why I'm even posting this, I just felt a random desire to.

I haven't actually gotten any books for a very long time (busyness kills) but I have accumulated quite a wish list of books recently released. In fact, I can't believe I don't own some of these yet! I'm been waiting for them to come out for so long. I either need to make some money and go to a bookstore or something........

Divergent by Veronica Roth

• dystopian being compared to the Hunger Games that I've been dying to read ever since I first read the blub? YES!

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

• I'm being extremely careful to stay away from reviews of this one, but let's face it- can Cassandra Clare do anything wrong?

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

• And this one's been out for a few months! Why have I been waiting so long?!?

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers

• This one actually isn't out yet, but it releases next week and I'm excited!

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

• I've been dying for this book for so long and it's finally out!!!

I know I must be leaving out a few books on this list, but I think if I got every book on this list, I would be happy forever... or that is, until I finished them. This is my ultimate 5- book wish list. Hopefully I'll be getting copies of some of these books soon.

Happy reading anyone who ends up reading this! I'm sorta nervous to see if people still comment on my blog after I wrote that post about practically leaving. (I know a couple of you did on my last book review- THANK YOU!)

Book Review: The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura

Title: The Liar Society
Author: Lisa and Laura Roecker
Series: Liar Society #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 1 2011

Goodreads Summary:

Kate Lowry didn’t think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, who died mysteriously a year before, she’s not so sure. When the emails continue, Kate is forced to confront her school’s resident druggie, a sketchy administrator, and even her own demons.

As Kate moves closer and closer to the truth, she teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not so)shining armor–the dangerously attractive, bad boy, Liam and her love-struck neighbor, Seth. The three uncover an ancient secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school with the power to destroy them all.

But the truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes it’s only the beginning.

My Review:

Kate's best friend died a year ago and Kate's convinced it's not an accident. Through a series of clues, she solves the mystery that involves her best friend and her private school's secret societies. Mystery is an aspect of a book I LOVE- it's something that usually keeps me reading. However, I didn't find there was quite enough suspense or guessing built in in the plot of this book. I felt like I knew the end the whole time, and for the most part I was right.

In addition, the characters felt flat to me. I never really did make sense or get to know Kate, and Liam, the love interest, was described as a "bad boy" but he never really did anything that made him seem bad. If anything, he was just this perfect, sweet guy who happened to be there for no reason at the right time just to be a perfect love interest for Kate. And Seth- he was adorable at times and I was annoyed with Kate for being annoyed with him! Don't get me wrong- I liked Liam better, but I liked Seth a lot too and I don't think Kate gave him enough credit for being her friend who was always there for her.

Even so, it was a cute, funny book with some great dialouge and situations that kept the pace going. It certainly wasn't boring or slow. The mystery, though predictable, was worthy enough to keep my attention.

I know a lot of people have simply loved this book, so don't let my review discourage you from picking this book up and trying it for yourself. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers of mystery and contemporary high school fiction that's not all fluff. Even so, I had high standards for The Liar Society and I don't think they were quite met.

Cover: 4/5 The pink hair is pretty cute! And I think the cover goes with the book very well. Kate has the private school uniform, and it's a mix between fun (pink hair) and dark (black background). But it's also a little boring and I might easily have passed over it in the store if not for the pink hair.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I Never Thought I Would Say This

I have a confession to make. And I'm not sure if anyone is going to read this post, or if anyone reads my blog anymore. I know it's frustrating when you're following a blogger and they suddenly stop posting. And I feel like I've really let my readers down (if I even have any anymore), so I thought I would explain the situation.

Blogging used to be a lot of fun, something I would make time out of my busy life to sit down and commit to. Even when it felt like I didn't have time, I made the time because I wanted to.

But back when I started blogging, I was a fairly ordinary boring kid with way too much free time. But now I'm moving on with my life and starting to actually DO things. I joined the track team, I auditioned for jazz choir and made it, I got my first job (lifeguarding!), and I got my own car. All in the last few weeks. Not to mention I'm going to college in a year and have been taking ACT/SAT's, planning visits, and worrying. It's not like I wasn't involved in things like this before- I've taken piano lessons for years, sang in treble choir, and I acted in the Fall school play.

But I'm just starting to focus so much more on my actual life that time to sit down and browse the internet and blogs just doesn't feel valuable to me. It used to be my release from the business of everyday life, but now it feels like it's just something I keep putting off. I procrastinate getting on my blog because I don't have anything to say.

I still LOVE reading though. Reading is still my escape- just maybe blogging isn't so much anymore. I guess I'm also getting sick of blogging making reading feel like such a chore- I have to review ARC's, I get daily review requests.... I guess I'm complaining, aren't I? So pretty much I've completely ignored by blog for the last month. (and my blog email, for the most part. I read it but haven't replied to anything in forever.)

I'm not trying to put down blogging, I just don't think it's something I can follow through with anymore. It's way too much of a chore for me, and I need to make time for the other things going on in my life.

I never thought I would say this, honestly. Up until the recent hiatuses I've been taking, blogging was my passion and escape. But now, I really think I'm just a different person. Nothing better or worse, just different.

I'm not deleting my blog or anything. I don't think I could EVER bring myself to do that. I've put so much hard work into it. And I'm not saying I'm going to stop posting, either. Summer is coming up, and even though I have a job I probably will have more time to read. I hope to continue posting reviews after I finish books because critically thinking about a book is still something I love to do, and that is really the main purpose of this blog.

So I'm not going away! But I am moving on.... I guess this is just an apology, if anyone actually reads it. I just had to say something about the way my life is going right now and the future of my blog, which looks pretty narrow.

But I love all the people I've gotten to know and amazing new things I've learned about the book publishing and writing world! And I won't stop stalking a few of my favorite bloggers because I still love to know what kinds of new books are out there. So even if I lay low on my blog perhaps indefinitely (minus hopefully occasional reviews!), I still have had a great experience and I appreciate if any of you have been there to share it with me or have been one of the MANY bloggers I admire!

Book Review: The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Dark and Hollow Places (Goodreads/Amazon)
Author: Carrie Ryan
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth #3
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release Date: March 22 2011
Other Books In Series:
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
The Dead-Tossed Waves

Goodreads Summary:
There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

My Review:
The final installment in Carrie Ryan's zombie trilogy did not disappoint, though I don't think it quite lived up to the full awesomeness of it's predecessor.

The strength of this series is the realness of the characters. I really liked Annah- she was strong enough to survive in The Dark City (aka New York as seen in I Am Legend with a few more humans and just as many zombies), and yet she was fragile about her appearance and her scarred face as any girl would be. Though it was a little strange seeing how she hated Gabry, who I've come to know and appreciate after being in her head in The Dead-Tossed Waves.

Here's what I didn't like about this book- and I apologize that I talk about this a lot in reviews- it lacked an engaging plot. I felt like the book dragged on and didn't really go anywhere, even by the end. There were a couple of action scenes, a pretty good romance (I've always loved Catcher, even in the previous book), but that's about it in terms of the plot.

The tone of this book is very dark- the whole world is taken over by zombies- and the whole time I felt like there really was no hope. Carrie Ryan did an amazing job portraying the feeling of aloneness this futuristic world, but I never really felt more than that desolateness. This book lacked other emotions, maybe even the whole series did. It was hard to root for Annah (even though I was) when nobody in the book had hope for the situation and it never really got better. The end was a disappointment just because I knew it was the end of the series and it still left us with hardly any resolution to a solution to any problem. Some people might disagree with me here, or at least that this was bad, but that's how I felt upon the conclusion. It's not like I think every book has to have a happy ending, but I think the ending should mean something more. Also, if you're looking for cheery books, this is not the way to go.

I still liked it a lot though. The characters, world, and emotions were beautifully created. Read this book if you're a fan of Carrie Ryan's previous books. It might not be neccesary to read them first, but I'd recommend it. My favorite of the three is still The Dead-Tossed Waves. I wish we could've got a better resolution to the zombie infested world (or Carrie Ryan would just write us more!).

Cover: 5/5 Creepy but perfect!

4 out of 5 stars