Book Review: Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling (Graceling Realm #1)
Author: Kristin Cashore
Kindle, 481 pages
Published:  October 1st 2008
Publisher: Harcourt
Genre: YA - High Fantasy - Romance

Kristin Cashore’s bestselling, award-winning fantasy Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, a smart, beautiful teenager who lives in a world where selected people are given a Grace, a special talent that can be anything from dancing to swimming. Katsa’s is killing. As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his thug. Along the way, Katsa must learn to decipher the true nature of her Grace… and how to put it to good use. A thrilling, action-packed fantasy adventure (and steamy romance!) that will resonate deeply with adolescents trying to find their way in the world.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo

“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?” 

  The reason that I read Graceling was because it was included in The Noob's Guide to Fantasy Reads. And, that it what I am - a noob in the fantasy genre. Indeed, it takes a while getting into fantasy books, and this one is no different.

  Graceling was a pretty good book, in my opinion. It has a good plot, I love the main characters, and the writing style was good. But the thing is, I felt like it lacked the element of excitement, when I would just turn the page until I got to the last one, pause for a while and process what just happened. With this book, I'm liking it, but I wouldn't mind putting down the book to do other things, and I wouldn't be mad if I was interrupted. Which is why it took me so long to finish the book. However, I still really enjoyed this one.

  The strong heroine that I always enjoy is present in this book. Katsa definitely is a strong woman, and not just physically. She can stand on her own two feet and doesn't like relying on anyone. She has a pretty great character development in this novel. She started from being enslaved by King Randa, to setting out on her own. From acting on her temper, to learning how to control it. From never letting feelings get to her, to letting go and accepting her feelings.

  I didn't really like Po in this novel. He always keeps things hidden from anyone, even Katsa, letting others figure things out before he confesses. Sometimes I'm really annoyed at him and I want to beat him up like Katsa wanted to, except I wouldn't know how to and Katsa would.

“Mercy was more frightening than murder, because it was harder.” 

  My favorite character from this novel is Bitterblue. She's just 10 years old, but she understands so much. She's a princess, but she's no brat. She's usually quiet, but when help is needed, no one needs to tell her to do so. She's very helpful, strong, understanding, and wise beyond her years.

  Overall, this was a pretty good book, but it lacks a little bit of excitement.

 Totally Awesome! I loved it, would read again.

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Cover Reveal: The Society by Jodie Andrefski

Welcome to the cover reveal for The Society by Jodie Andrefski!

The Society

by Jodie Andrefski

Release Date: May 3rd 2016

Published by: Entangled Teen

Welcome to Trinity Academy’s best-kept secret.

The Society.

You’ve been handpicked by the elite of the elite to become a member. But first you’ll have to prove your worth by making it through Hell Week.

Do you have what it takes?

It’s time to find out.

Samantha Evans knows she’d never get an invite to rush the Society—not after her dad went to jail for insider trading. But after years of relentless bullying at the hands of the Society’s queen bee, Jessica, she’s ready to take down Jessica and the Society one peg at a time from the inside out.

All it’ll take is a bit of computer hacking, a few fake invitations, some eager rushees…and Sam will get her revenge.

Let the games begin.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│iTunes│Kobo│
Amazon UK│Amazon CA│The Book Depository│Books a Million

About the Author: Jodie Andrefsk

Author Links:

   

Jodie Andrefski has been passionate about reading ever since she was a little girl, when she used to climb trees to escape with a favorite book. She now lives and writes in a small town in Pennsylvania with her teenage daughter. Though still an avid reader, she now prefers a comfy chair over the crook of a tree. An unapologetic coffee fiend, she's even happier if her java comes with pie. Jodie often draws on her background in education and mental health counseling to bring real world experience to her writing. She is a firm believer in the magic of a first kiss, and insists that you should never, ever give up on your dreams.

Cover Reveal Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

What does everyone think of the cover?

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Adult Coloring Book Giveaway: HOT DUDES!

Adult coloring books are all the rage now of days! So many of them are popping up in stores everywhere. I myself have a few that I color in often. 

Today I have a giveaway for you all to win a real "ADULT" coloring book made up of all sexy men. Yes, you heard it right, HOT DUDES! The wonderful people at Berkley & NAL (Penguin Random House) are hosting a giveaway on my blog for a copy of the coloring book. 

ABOUT HOT DUDES COLORING BOOK

In the tradition of Color Me Swoon, an adult coloring book featuring handsome heartthrobs and sexy bad boys.

Handsome heartthrobs and sexy bad boys have stepped out of your fantasies and slipped into the Hot Dudes Coloring Book. Enjoy bringing the men of your dreams to life—in living color!

You can also purchase Hot Dudes on Amazon | Release Date: Feb 02, 2016

Here are a few samples of what's inside:

Giveaway is open to US residents only.

Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Judged by Liz de Jager

Judged (The Blackhart Legacy #3) by Liz de Jager
Publisher: Tor UK
Released: January 14th 2016
My Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

Kit's job description includes solving crimes - the supernatural kind...

Glow, a fae-created drug, is rapidly going viral and the suppliers have to be shut down. Teaming up with Aiden and Dante, Kit follows leads across London, tracking down dealers. They stir up trouble, making themselves a target for the gang they're trying to stop.

In the Otherwhere, Thorn stumbles across a secret that could destroy both the human and Fae worlds. The Veil that separates our human world from the fae realms is weakening and the goddess is dying. And if she dies and the Veil fails, madness and chaos will wreak unstoppable havoc upon both lands.

Thorn turns to the only person he knows who'll be able to help him: Kit. Torn between working the Glow case and her loyalty for the young prince, Kit is propelled headlong into a world of danger. She faces enemies from both the Otherwhere and our world. And as the stakes are raised, the consequence of failure for both Kit and Thorn, and two realms, could be devastating. (from Goodreads)

While Judged wasn’t my favourite book in the Blackhart Legacy trilogy, it was a satisfying ending to a series I’ve really enjoyed, and I’m sad to see it go.

Kit was back and up to her usual antics - I really liked her character and the approach she took when it came to investigating. She was doubting herself a little in this book though, wondering about her magic and why she, as a human, possessed it (I would have liked a bit more explanation in this actually). But despite all the crazy stuff that was happening and everything she had to witness, she managed to get through it. Kit was nothing if not determined and I also really loved her sense of humour (especially her comments and comeback to Aidan and Dante!). Her friendship with Aiden and Dante was wonderful and I loved they could all joke around and make funny comments and get along so well - it was really nice the way they all supported each other as well, whenever one of them was troubled, and the dynamic between them was great to read about. Some of the dialogue could be cheesy at times, but it was bearable amounts, not “I need to shut this book and roll my eyes” amounts.

Speaking of Aiden and Dante, I loved them both! I found their relationship really sweet and funny and they just had such great chemistry. Dante grew on me in the second book and I think I liked him even more in this one. Aiden, I’ve always liked. In this book especially he was concerned about Kit and I liked that he could go from serious to joking around - he was always the person you could turn to when the situation called for it.

Thorn though, he was just not in this book enough! I did enjoy all the scenes he was in and the parts where he and Kit were together were cute, but I would have liked to have seen more of him. I did expect this was going to happen in this book though, after the ending of book two, so I wasn’t that disappointed.

Things started a bit slow in this book and it took a while for me to really become engaged with the story. The beginning was all about Glow and Kit and Dante and Aidan trying to find the dealers - more of what we’ve already seen before, really. They also hadn’t heard from Thorn in a while and a were concerned about him. There wasn’t too much actually going on - it wasn’t really until we started to understand why Glow was being distributed that things really started to pick up - and from then on, I really enjoyed the story. There were a few twists too that surprised me and I didn’t see the ending going down like that! Most things were wrapped up nicely but I wouldn’t say no to another book set in this universe if Liz de Jager wanted to write one!

Overall, I struggled with this book a bit at the beginning but enjoyed it overall, and thought it was a nice way to conclude the series.

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Waiting on Wednesday #76

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton

February 4th 2016
Find it on Goodreads

"Tell me that and we'll go. Right now. Save ourselves and leave this place to burn. Tell me that's how you want your story to go and we'll write it straight across the sand."

Dustwalk is Amani's home. The desert sand is in her bones. But she wants to escape. More than a want. A need.

Then a foreigner with no name turns up to save her life, and with him the chance to run. But to where? The desert plains are full of danger. Sand and blood are swirling, and the Sultan's enemies are on the rise. (from Goodreads)

I am so excited about this book! I've read the first two chapters (which are available online) and it sounds amazing! Magicy and awesome and just everything I want in a fantasy novel. And I love the writing style and the characters so far seem very cool. Plus, everyone who has already read this book seems to have loved it, so that's another reason I can't wait to read it! And would you LOOK at that cover? It's beautiful! Beautiful! At least February isn't too far away (oh my God, February isn't even too far away anymore. To quote Ally Carter because it seems fitting- "time, the greatest thief of all").

What are you waiting on this week?

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Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Released: January 7th 2015
My Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

A gorgeous debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.

One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them... until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over. (from Goodreads)

It’s been so long since I’ve written a review, I feel like I’ve forgotten how to do it! Bear with me here, I’ll get back into the swing on things. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I’d heard a lot of good things about it beforehand, so I went in with some high expectations, and I wasn’t disappointed! It was just the kind of contemp I was looking for, and I’m excited to read whatever Huntley Fitzpatrick writes next.

Sam was our main character in this book, and oh man. Did I feel sorry for this girl. Her mother. She was awful. I don’t even understand how Sam put up with it, or was as forgiving as she was. And when the mum brought home Clay, or Creepy McCreeperson as I liked to call him because he was SO creepy, right from the start, I knew things would get even worse. Sam herself was actually (surprisingly, considering how she grew up) quite funny and never found it hard to come up with some witty sarcastic comments. She often watched her next door neighbours, The Garretts, from her window, wondering what it’d be like to grow up with lots of siblings and live in a normal family. And then she suddenly found herself talking to Jase Garrett - and then meeting his family - and then babysitting his siblings - and everything was changing for her. She was starting to see things outside the confines her mother had kept her in. It was nice to see her changing little by little - though she (of course, as a human being) still was unsure of herself and made a lot of mistakes. The events that occurred towards the end - I just. I really think it was wrong of Sam to have kept that secret. I sort of get why she did it, but if I were an involved party, I would have been angry that she lied about it.

Jase was seriously so sweet and adorable and kind. He knew Sam was a bit messed up and her family life wasn’t great, and he always made an effort to speak to her and hang out and try to make her forget about it all. And he was so great with all of his (SEVEN) siblings! I loved the relationship the Garrett family had, and it was so nice to see a family portrayed that way. I loved seeing Sam with the Garretts, especially the Garrett parents because it was such a contrast to her own home life. The romance was very cute too and built up really nicely. From the start you just knew that Jase and Sam would be great together and it was so great seeing them interact and start to realise that for themselves.

Nan and Tim - well I saw that coming, really. I knew what Nan was up to and Tim? I had mixed feelings. It’ll be interesting to read The Boy Most Likely To (the companion novel to My Life Next Door) where Tim is a main character, because I am interested to find out what happens to him. Hope it will be published in the UK! Though back to this book, I’m just more surprised that the parents of these two had no idea what was going on with their children. I’d say they were almost as bad as Sam’s mum but that’s a lie because Sam’s mum was the worst.

Plot-wise, this book was a lot funnier than I expected (there was a lot of awkward humour that I found hilarious), and while it was mostly slow paced, it was really enjoyable and gave us a lot of time to get to know the characters. The events at the end were surprising and seemed to come out of nowhere at first, but I got used to the change in tone and ended up really enjoying the book as a whole.

Overall, this was a really engaging, very sweet contemp with some more serious parts as well. Recommended!

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Books Read in 2016

YA Fiction

The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones
Calvin by Martine Leavitt
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larsen
The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
I Crawl Through It by AS King
Juba by Walter Dean Myers
Rocks Fall Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar
A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Rook by Sharon Cameron
Tyrell by Coe Booth
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood
Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hattmer
Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Tumbling by Caela Carter
Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel

Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse
Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn
Amy Stacie Chelsea Dee by Mary G. Thompson
The Memory Book by Laura Avery
I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil
Replica by Lauren Oliver



Fiction

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
The Secret Place by Tana French

MG Fiction

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park

Schooled by Gordon Korman
Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

Non-Fiction

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer
Stoned by Aja Raden

Graphic Novels

Prez by Mark Russell
Hereville by Barry Deutsch
Scott Pilgrim Vol #1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta (Lunch Lady, #3) by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

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