Today I’m happy to welcome a guest blogger to the show! I have been wanting to write a post about cosplay but lets face it guys, I don’t do it. I wish I would and I wish I had the creativity and motivation to do so but I just don’t. I hope that I will try and get better about it in the future but….probably not. Its a nice thought.
But I have a dear friend and follower of mine, Sam, who would LOVE to share and so here is her guest post!
Enjoy!
Books Pledged to Read in 2014: 150 Books
Am I On Track: Nope, medications 6 books behind. Trying to get out of this ridiculous reading slump.
Books Read So Far: 18
Total Books For February: 9
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How did you guys do this month? What was your favorite, sale least favorite of the month? Did you discover someone new or reread some old favorites? Share in the comments!
I’m hoping that this is the book that is going to bring me out of the nonstop reading slump I’ve been in since the second week of January. I would have read this all in one night but I got sleepy, purchase and then busy with school and such. But I powered through it in about a day and a half, drug with lovely responsibilities in between and I’m so proud of myself haha. After it took me two weeks to read Cress (which I LOVED), I was feeling down on myself as a reader!
Leave it to Jessica Brody to bring me back with a bang!
Here’s this week’s Book of the Week!
GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository
Young Adult, Science Fiction
The middle novel to Jessica Brody’s Unremembered Trilogy
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
13+
From GoodReads:
After a daring escape from the scientists at Diotech who created her, Seraphina believes she is finally safe from the horrors of her past. But new threats await Sera and her boyfriend, Zen, at every turn as Zen falls prey to a mysterious illness and Sera’s extraordinary abilities make it more and more difficult to stay hidden. Meanwhile, Diotech has developed a dangerous new weapon designed to apprehend her. A weapon that even Sera will be powerless to stop. Her only hope of saving Zen’s life and defeating the company that made her is a secret buried deep within her mind. A secret that Diotech will kill to protect. And it won’t stay forgotten for long.
Packed with mystery, suspense, and romance, this riveting second installment of Jessica Brody’s Unremembered trilogy delivers more heart-pounding action as loyalties are tested, love becomes a weapon, and no one’s memories are safe.
Please note that while this review will not have spoilers for Unforgotten, it will for Unremembered. You can read my review for Unremembered here.
Woohoo! This book is finally out guys! I read Unremembered right after WonderCon last year, which was in very early April. Nearly a year ago. And immediately after reading Unremembered, I thought, ‘WHAT? What kind of cliffhanger is that?’
And I think that’s what made me so happy about this book. There is no fuss and bother. It jumps right into the story. While Sera explains plot points from the first book, to remind of those details that we may have forgotten since our last read, she goes face first into the story. We are immediately in 1609, with Zen and Sera, hiding and trying to have some semblance of normalcy in their life.
What I love even more about this novel is that after the build up of the world that we get in Unremembered, we get action and uncertainty, lots of kissing and so much adventure in this novel. We are literally hurled into this novel. Sera and Zen are immediately in the story. There’s no build up. That was the purpose of the first book and Jessica did that well. But now that we have the story, now it’s time to question everything and to go on a whirlwind chase to find out the truth and for Sera to find out if she can ever just have a normal life. There is a ton of action and a TON of time traveling, hem, excuse me, transession, and I love that. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping up which time period I’m in or where I am in the world while reading but I like that. Sera’s world is turned upside down and all around, and the book makes you feel that with her.
I was very excited about the reappearance of a character I never thought we’d see again: Cody. I won’t go much into his part in the novel because, well, spoilers, but let’s just say if you’re a Cody fan like I most definitely am, you’re going to love his part in the novel. I was squealing with excitement every time the name “Cody” appeared on the page.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I really liked the new character. When…”they” made their first appearance, I was immediately in dislike mode but they honestly grew on me to the point that I am eager to see what happens to them. I am not sure how I feel about them, I’m so conflicted! I feel like its an incredibly real and compelling character and they immediately became a favorite for me. I can’t say much more than that because its so incredibly spoiler filled and you guys know I try my very hardest to keep my reviews spoiler free. But if you go into this book and meet this new character, and you’re unsure, give them a chance. They just might surprise you.
I’m incredibly impressed with this novel and I love how you can see Jessica’s confidence in her ability to write science fiction just double in this novel. The first one was very good, and this one is great. She really brings it all together, and creates this crazy, beautiful, sci-fi story, full of action and romance and humor and fun. And she leaves me wanting to have the third novel in my hands, like, days ago. Seriously. Is this a possibility? How can I possibly wait to see what happens next…
I decided not to do “Ratings” or “Recommends” anymore. I felt it didn’t quite do the review justice. Instead I’ll be doing the last word, which basically wraps up everything I say above if you’re too lazy to read all of the above. This will tell you either to buy the book, borrow the book or to just stay away.
For Unforgotten, its a definite buy. I mean, if you’ve read Unremembered, I can’t imagine that there’s a single bone in that reader body of yours that isn’t dying to get your hands on this sequel. But if there is some buyer’s doubt, rest easy now, and get out to the bookstore and buy this book. Its action packed, but it also creates a beautiful internal battle for Sera, for so many things, and the decision she makes in the end leaves me panting for the third book.
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I hope you enjoyed this week’s Book of the Week!
Check back next week for more!
And go out and read some Jessica Brody!
Its my birthday in TWO days!!!! Oh yes, February 27th, just two days away and I’ll be, thumb well, I’m not sharing haha.
I’m trying to be very excited about this. I mean, usually I AM very excited about my birthday and this year isn’t too different. But I’m getting older, and realizing that you’re closer to the age of thirty than to your high school graduation day is totally NOT a happy realization.
Its going to be okay though! Because I’ve decided that getting older only sucks if you let it! So yeah, I’m getting older but I think I’m only getting better. I’m getting more confident, more sure of myself. My goals are becoming bigger and better, and I feel more confident in my abilities to achieve them. Getting older means that I’ve been spending more years with my boyfriend and it means that I’ve experienced more and you know I’ve had more experiences. I believe this year will be just as great as the years before and the years to come.
Okay, enough being sappy :) Let’s move on to my wish list for my birthday!
Okay, ambulance this is absolutely late in the day, but I finally managed to get this up and I’m proud of myself for that. I was working quite late last night and didn’t check my email until I woke up this morning and discovered that there was an epic cover reveal for a favorite author of mine (and she hasn’t even been published officially yet!), Lindsay Cummings.
Lindsay is a brand new, debut author, with TWO novels being released this year. First you have her novel, The Murder Complex, coming out this summer. Its a YA dystopian and I’ve already read it and I absolutely loved it. I’ve been waiting to post my review once it gets a bit closer to release time so you’ll all remember to go preorder it and add it to GoodReads. In fact, go add it to GoodReads right now, click this link!
Now, she also has a MIDDLE grade novel by the name of Balance Keepers: The Fires of Caldron coming out this fall. I’m very excited about this one as well, so check out the blurb on it:
After following a mysterious map into the woods and then under the woods, eleven-year-old Albert Flynn learns he’s a Balance Keeper—someone with special magical skills for fixing problems in three underground Realms at the Core of the earth. His new job is important; if the realms fall out of balance, the world above could be in great danger.
Albert and his Balance Keeper teammates Birdie and Leroy arrive in the Core not a moment too soon. There’s an Imbalance in the Calderon Realm and it’s threatening to bury Albert’s hometown of New York City in a mountain of ash.
The three must train hard completing mental and physical challenges, but above all, they must harness the power of their Tiles—unique superpowers given to each Balance Keeper. So far, Albert’s mastered the art of not mastering his Tile….
With the situation in Calderon growing worse every day, can Albert, Leroy, and Birdie restore balance before New York is destroyed forever? Will Albert master his Tile before it’s too late?
Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson, The Unwanteds, and the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Doesn’t that sound SO super fun? I think it does!
You can add it on GoodReads, or preorder it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!
You ready to see the cover? I’m sure you are!
Here it is:
What do you think? I LOVE it. Its so adventurous looking and I think its really going to grab kids’ attentions. I’ve got a LOT of faith in Lindsay, she’s such a talented writer and a fun person to get to know (even if it is over the interwebs) and I can’t wait to support her through her publishing journey this year.
Don’t forget to follow Lindsay on her blog (linked above), and her Twitter and Instagram, and to add those books to your GoodReads list!
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Tobias “Four” Eaton
Though I call him Four. I can’t call him Tobias because it reminds me of Tobias Funke from Arrested Development and as much as I love David Cross…no…just, healing no.
The Divergent Trilogy
Divergent, buy information pills Insurgent, store Allegiant
Veronica Roth
Theo James
Tobias “Four” Eaton is the main character counterpart to the main character, Tris Prior, and also her love interest turned boyfriend. When Tris makes the switch from Abnegation to Dauntless, Four is the head of Dauntless training. He’s a mystery to her, but he’s a great teacher and she finds herself intrigued by him. As time goes on, we learn that Four is in fact a boy named Tobias Eaton, a transfer from Abnegation, the son of a well known leader named Marcus. He transfers to Dauntless to escape the emotional, mental and physical abuse that he endures every day. Eventually, he opens himself up to Tris, and shows her the reason behind his name (Four), showing her the four fears in his life. They eventually fall in love and become a couple, though their relationship is constantly going through turmoil as they break apart the world that surrounds them.
There is something about Four that stands out right away. Its obvious that he is brave, strong and resilient and possibly dangerous too but there’s also a softness and a gentleness…a calmness to him. From the very beginning, you’re addicted to him, you’re drinking him in, trying to figure out what it is about him that makes you so drawn to him, just as Tris is drawn to him. He is so mysterious and I love that about him. Part of you keeps reading the book because you want to know more about him.
And when you begin to unfold the mysterious of Four? (Sorry I can’t call him Tobias. I just can’t. He’s Four). He’s just even more perfect. The thing is, the whole tortured, abused man with walls up? Not exactly new to literature. I mean, its the basis of so many romance novels, it starts to get boring. But Veronica Roth does it so flawlessly. She makes it subtle, and Tris breaking down the walls is so subtle that you don’t notice any of it unless you’re really paying attention to it. Four is abused by his father, and it changed him and he ran away to Dauntless, where he came into his own and learned about himself, and learned that he didn’t want to just be brave or selfless, but all of the others as well. And he works hard at it.
And okay, let’s be honest. Even from the book (not just Theo James), you know this guy is hot. He’s built, and fit, and he’s a great fighter, and he’s amazing with a gun, and he’s worked hard to become great in Dauntless. And he’s called Four, meaning that he only has four fears. That’s incredible. He’s a fighter but he’s emotional, and real and raw, and I don’t know any girl that read Divergent and was like “FOUR!” (Which weirdly has a golf connection thing going now…damn it…)
I think I like that there’s layers there with Four that makes him seem “Divergent” even if you later realize that he isn’t. But I think that’s the point in the end. Even though they have these labels for them, you can’t just go around labeling them. Even though Four is NOT divergent, he is. He’s selfless, and brave, and incredibly intelligent and he can be honest and truthful and he can have the peacefulness and friendliness of the amity as well. He’s divergent without being obviously so, without striving to be, and that’s what makes him the incredible character that he is. He’s funny and serious, and loving and sarcastic and an amazing character.
I can’t wait to see what Theo James does with him in Divergent. I can’t wait!
Notable Quotes:
“Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”
(Okay, I know that I have a Divergent tattoo already, but I kind of like this quote. Okay, I really love this quote)
“I might be in love with you.” He smiles a little. “I’m waiting until I’m sure to tell you, though.”
“‘Well,’ he says, ‘I would only go if there was cake.” (Talking about Tris’ pseudo funeral)
“Fear doesn’t shut you down; it wakes you up. I’ve seen it. It’s fascinating.”
“I’ll fight the bad dreams off if they come to get you.”
Look at that sexy walk. Pure sex. . Geez. Cold Shower. Now.
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