Book Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

January 31, 2015January 26, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, prescription Fantasy

Pages:

355

Part of a Series?:

The first in a planned trilogy, I believe

Release Date:

March 4th, 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

My Review:

I’ve had this book sitting in my TBR pile for quite some time now and I can’t believe that it took me this long to finally get to it. I received it from Fierce Reads in exchange for helping to promote during their Spring/Summer releases last year and its a signed copy and everything. I was struggling to pick a book to read and my eyes landed on the absolutely GORGEOUS cover and decided, let’s do it.

And I am SO glad I did. I FLEW through this book. While the premise of the book sounded really great, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. It was just absolutely fantastic. The world that Marie created BREATHES off the page, it feels so real. The minute that you meet both Kestrel and Arin, you’re just sucked in. They both are such deep and compelling characters. Normally I’m not a huge fan of the split POVs but in this case, I loved it. You were given a chance to really get to know each character, to see them both struggle with the complicated friendship/relationship that builds between them. I also think it was a good way to build up to that incredible climax.

The book has a beautiful romance to it but there’s so much more than that. This is a country full of people enslaved to their conquerers. Arin is part of those people and you are so fiercely on his side, wanting him to overcome this life and take his country back. But you are also afraid for Kestrel, and her friends, her father, the people that you grow to care about because you’re in her head. When the climax hits (and I won’t say much more than that because, you know, spoilers), and everything kind of blows up, its incredible. It creates an incredibly complicated situation and you’re torn in pieces. You see everyone’s point of view and you want everything to just…work out and it doesn’t and its incredibly heartbreaking. Its very real and genuine and the characters are just beautiful.

What I really loved about this book is how realistic it felt. The realities of being a conquered country, of war, of a relationship between two people on complete opposite sides…it all felt so incredibly real. There was no fairy tale storytelling and that’s what I loved. You’re sitting here, thinking, how on earth is any of this going to work out…and then it hits you, maybe it won’t. And that is definitely enough for me to keep turning the page. Now I can’t wait for the second book!

Rating:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Inspire by Cora Carmack

January 28, 2015January 26, 20151 Comment

Genre:

New Adult, ampoule Romance, sick Fantasy

Pages:

284

Part of a Series?:

First Novel in a Trilogy (?)

Release Date:

December 15th, more about 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

Book Depository

GoodReads Summary:

Kalliope lives with one purpose.

To inspire.

As an immortal muse, she doesn’t have any other choice. It’s part of how she was made. Musicians, artists, actors—they use her to advance their art, and she uses them to survive. She moves from one artist to the next, never staying long enough to get attached. But all she wants is a different life— a normal one. She’s spent thousands of years living lie after lie, and now she’s ready for something real.

Sweet, sexy, and steady, Wilder Bell feels more real than anything else in her long existence. And most importantly… he’s not an artist. He doesn’t want her for her ability. But she can’t turn off the way she influences people, not even to save a man she might love. Because in small doses, she can help make something beautiful, but her ability has just as much capacity to destroy as it does to create. The longer she stays, the more obsessed Wilder will become. It’s happened before, and it never turns out well for the mortal.

Her presence may inspire genius.

But it breeds madness, too.

My Review:

Seriously. Cora. How can you do this to me? First, you made me fall in love with Carson. And then Silas. Then, let’s face it, I’ll probably fall madly in love with Torres. But in the meantime, I just fell madly in love with Kalli and Wilder.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. It wasn’t that I didn’t think it was going to be good because the Rusk University series has seriously made me fall madly in love with Cora as a writer. I read Inspire because it was on sale for 99 cents and I couldn’t really turn down a deal like that, especially when I was feeling a little slumpy (despite the hundred books sitting in a pile, waiting to be read), so I decided to buy it.

And I just love it. It was such a beautiful and addicting book. I didn’t think it was possible for Cora to make me love her more as a writer but it was. I immediately absolutely love Kalli. You’re in her head, and you feel her struggle. She’s a goddess, a muse, weighed down by this power that she has to use…but also is dangerous to use as well. You feel her struggle and you just want her to have a normal life. She immediately felt like someone I would want to be best friends with, and not just because she would help my writing flourish haha.

Then we enter Wilder. And they immediately have a connection, from their brief encounter at the grocery store, to their first encounter…in…the…shower, I was sold on them. Their romance was quick, thrilling, sexy, hot. There is a thread of fate between them and I knew that I wanted them together so badly. They had an incredibly chemistry, and there are some seriously steamy scenes between them that made me blush in all the best ways possible. You really want to root for them. You really want Kalli to have a normal life even though she really can never possibly be normal.

And that’s where things get complicated. The book is in split point of views, so that we get both sides of the story, Kalli and Wilder. And when we learn things about Wilder that Kalli doesn’t know (which I can’t say, because, you know, spoiler free), your hands are clutched tightly to the pages, frantically flipping, waiting for the moment when things are going to implode, because inevitably shit is going to hit the fan. And when it does, I was in near tears, hoping that things were going to work out. This book is an emotional roller coaster. It made me laugh and blush, and it made me pant and it made me tear up more than once.

What really gets me about this book though is that its so different from anything we’ve seen from Cora yet. She says that fantasy is actually her forte, what she had spent many years writing and that she went with the contemporary of Losing It, to try and get published. Now, having read Inspire, you can see how that was something she felt so comfortable writing for so long. It seems effortless, the world and characters that she has created and I bought into almost immediately. And its a story of Greek mythology that I definitely don’t think is out there. Kalliope and her sisters, the muses, you don’t see versions of that at all.

All in all, Cora completely scores with this fantasy romance, with her characters, her steamy scenes and the mythology she weaves into the novel. Its beautiful and she leaves me with such an epic cliffhanger that I was super disappointed when the book ended. Luckily, hopefully, I won’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next!

Rating:

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

January 28, 2015January 26, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult/Young Adult Romance

Pages:

392

Part of a Series?:

The first in a series of companion novels

Release Date:

June 1st 2012

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, medical the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

My Review:

Katie McGarry has been floating around in my peripheral vision of YA/NA literature for quite some time now. I think the first book I noticed by her was Crash Into You, which I believe is the third in the series. But I remember a lot of hype around it when it came out and I remember seeing it on the shelves of bookstores and all that and I remember thinking, well I’ll read it soon.

Now I’ve been in one of the worst slumps I’ve ever had. Ever. Guys, last year I read 208 books. With less than a month left in this year, I’m at 120 books. 120. I read two books total in the month of November. I have a stack of roughly 100 books that need to be read and I just can’t read right now. Its awful.

That being said, this book really helped to pull me out of a seriously rough slump. I immediately fell for both characters. They both felt real and it was easy to fall in love with them. I felt like it was easier to fall in love with them than it was for them to fall in love with each other. That was seriously cheesy. But very very true. They had instant chemistry and I believed in them right off the bat. Their romance had ups and downs, and it was difficult and there were secrets and it wasn’t perfect, but that’s what made it good. Romance isn’t perfect, relationships definitely are NOT perfect. And their romance is great.

What I really loved about this book is that the characters are great in themselves, separate from each other. Echo and Noah both have incredible stories, they’re both trying to figure out their lives and move on and come to terms with the things that have happened to them. And I’ve read books where it can seem cheesy or overdone or too dramatic but it didn’t feel like that at all. Everything that the two of them go through, especially Echo, really feels real. Even though I’ve never gone through these sorts of things, I felt connections with them. I felt their journey, their emotions.

Bottom line, great book. I’m excited to continue onto the rest of the series because truly, a great romance, a great character story and Katie is a fantastic writer.

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Tuesday Top Ten: Songs that Are Stuck In My Head!

January 27, 2015January 26, 2015Leave a comment

I’m really excited to do this post. One, viagra sale I said I would post more than just books on this blog. And two, visit music has been really huge for me the past few months. I mean, viagra don’t get me wrong. Music has always been incredibly important to me. But lately, its even more. Every moment that I start to feel sad or down or discouraged, I immediately put on my iPod and I feel much better.

So I decided I would share my top ten songs of the moment with you guys. They aren’t in any particular order or anything, its just all the songs that I literally can’t get out of my head. I hope you can check them out and I hope you can share some of your favorite songs with me!

Click on the song title for the YouTube video and click the band name to check out their website, and enjoy some lyrics as well!

**“The Langdon House” by Issues**

Did I fail to mention, it’s all part of my imagination
I could actually pick and choose my loose ends
And tie a knot, but all I do is
Run and hide, it’ll get ya boy
Run and hide, all I need is a friend
My whole life has been a war, so I battle myself until I
Run and hide

**“Bleak December” by Set it Off**

In that bleak December,
You’re just too cold,
But I need the answer,
Before you’d fold,
You would hold your cards inside your chest,
I think I drove too far,
For that bleak December and how full of shit you are.

**“Rainy Girl” by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness**

Rainy girl
I can’t wait to meet you
And I can’t wait to hear your name
And sing it to the skies above

**“Remembering Sunday” by All Time Low**

Forgive me, I’m trying to find
My calling, I’m calling at night
I don’t mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl?
She’s been running through my dreams
And it’s driving me crazy, it seems
I’m gonna ask her to marry me

**“Sad Ghost” by Issues**

Why do I do the things that I do
And they blind you
Yet you are the only one who can see what I’ve done

Guess I’ll never know what I meant to you
This year’s been lonely but at least it’s through
I’ll write a letter to my former self
Dear sad ghost, why’d you put your heart on the shelf

**“Same Old War” by Our Last Night**

Should I run away, and change my name?
or Should I, stay and fight through the night, and never close my eyes?
I’ll never close my eyes!

**“Seven Years” by Saosin**

That mistake was gold
I know that without you
is something that I could never do
That was why staple the eyes and
seven dates for me to sell machines
and tear on

**“I’ve Never Felt This Way Before” by Our Last Night**

Feet on the ground, I was lost, now I’m found
I took cover from the rain, ‘cause it was pouring down
You held me back, and now I’m on the right track
You couldn’t stop me if you wanted, ‘cause I’m never coming back

**“The Haunting” by Set It Off**

All I could find was an acoustic video, but check out this song. Literally, I can’t handle how much I love this song.

No one will love you like I did, will treat you like I did
So go on, wear that scarlet letter
No one will love you like I did, will you fuck you like I did
So good luck finding something better

**“Sidewalks” by Story of the Year**

Out on the front porch,
watching the cars as they go by
(Eighteen blue, twenty one grey)
Looking ahead for the first time that we could drive,
Out on our own,
To speed away

From the sidewalks,
Running away from the streets we knew,
Sidewalks,
Like the time we thought was made for you.

* * * * * *

What are some of the songs you can’t get out of your head right now? Share them in the comments and link them so I can listen too!

Book Review: My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins, Rainbow Rowell and More!

January 26, 2015January 26, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, help Romance

Pages:

321

Part of a Series?:

Standalone Novel

Release Date:

October 14th, cialis 40mg 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year’s there’s something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

My Review:

When I met Stephanie Perkins back in September for the second time, she briefly mentioned this collection of stories and so I knew I would have to read it. Its chock full of stories by incredible YA authors and its all about romance and Christmas. Well, when Christmas came, it was too hard for me to read it. Christmas was rough for me. But I just got in the mood to read it about a week ago and I thought, well, let’s extend Christmas a little longer ;)

I really liked it! There were some stories that I loved more than others but in general, I thought it was cute. Its a great holiday read. I know Rainbow’s story was SUPER cute, and it made me want a full novel with those characters. One of them was kind of supernatural and was little weird, I can’t remember who wrote it, but that one was weird. But for the most part, I thought they were all kind of cute, and fluffy and it was the kind of book you read when you want to curl up by the fire (people do that right? Not in California haha) and drink tea and enjoy something that’ll just make you happy. And its probably a really great book to read during the holidays.

The only real problem I had with it was…it took me longer to read it than I would have expected, mostly because it didn’t have that…how do I describe it? It didn’t have that hook that kept you glued to the pages until the end, because you’re dying to find out what happened next. As soon as I felt like I was getting involved in the story, or attached to the characters, or that sort of thing, it ended! And then I had to read a new story. I liked the idea, and I liked the collection but I don’t think that short story books are really for me. I need a hook that keeps me frantically turning the pages until the end and this book just didn’t have that.

In general I really did like it though. I especially liked Rainbow’s story, and Jenny’s, Stephanie’s, Gayle’s, and David’s. Those in particular stories really sounded like the authors that wrote them so it was awesome to read these short stories from authors that I love so much. Some of those stories were just SO good that I wanted more!

Rating:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Music Monday: “Same Old War” by Our Last Night

January 26, 2015January 25, 2015Leave a comment

I just saw Our Last Night for the second time this past Saturday night. They were absolutely incredible and I’m still reeling from it. Their energy and passion when they play live is just amazing. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, approved listen to this song here and scroll down for all their links :)

“Same Old War” by Our Last Night

I’ve been fighting the same old war,
against a disease, without a cure!
Been holding on for so long! For so long. For so long!
I’ve been wishing upon a star, if my universe falls apart!
I feel so far from the sky, as my dreams, are going by!
and They say, it’s a battle that can’t be won!
We need our knives, we need our guns!

Should I run away, and change my name?
or Should I, stay and fight through the night, and never close my eyes?
I’ll never close my eyes!

I’ve come too far, to go back now, turn into a face in the crowd!
Been on this road, for so long! For so long… For so long!
Convinced there is no way out, my world is turned upside down!
My sense of direction’s been gone, for so long! For so long…
and They say, it’s a battle that can’t be won!
We need our knives, we need our guns!

Should I run away, and change my name?
or Should I, stay and fight through the night, and never close my eyes?
I’ll never close my eyes!

Stay strong, keep moving, can’t let the darkness blind us!
Carry on, we’ll be the ones to pull the stars down to us!
Stay strong, keep moving, can’t let the darkness blind us!
Carry on, we’ll be the ones to pull the stars down to us!

Should I run away, and change my name?
or Should I, stay and fight through the night, and never close my eyes?
I’ll never close my eyes!