Time Between Us Book Review

November 25, 2013November 24, 20131 Comment

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, price which brings him into Anna’s life, case and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.
As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning, spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new voice in YA fiction.

My Review:

It didn’t take long for me to get addicted to this story. Let me put it to you this way: at the beginning of November, I was 7 books ahead in my GoodReads challenge, and yesterday, I was a book behind. I’ve fallen behind because of NaNoWriMo and the Catching Fire fan camp, and because I’m just having a terrible time finding something to read. I have SO many books, all stacked up to read, and nothing is working.

I decided to go to the bookstore, even though like I said, I already have a TON of books to read. I have heard many good things about Tamara Ireland Stone and I’ve been itching to read more YA contemporary. The more sci-fi or dystopian I read, the more I find it bleeds into my novel, and I don’t want that. While there is a sort of twist to this book, with the time travel aspect, it is very contemporary and it is exactly what I needed to get back into the reading spirit.

I loved the book. It felt like it was such an easy and effortless story to fall into. Anna and Bennett were both such real characters, and it was also fun to read the way they sort of fall into each other. They are from two completely different times. Bennett is seventeen in 2012, and Anna is sixteen in 1995. But the way they are able to connect and work together is amazing.

Plus its just so sweet. Bennett is burdened with this ‘gift’, something that everyone wants something from. His dad uses him, his mother doesn’t quite like him, but Anna thinks its beautiful, and in turn, Bennett is able to give her something that she’s always wanted to have: freedom, exploration, adventure. I love that we get a fun, love story with Anna and Bennett but with that twist that Bennett has.

I did have a slight issue with the ending, only because I know there’s a sequel but I don’t know what the ending did that made me feel a sequel was necessary. Perhaps I need to read the sequel in order to find out? But I felt like it had an ending and it wrapped up, pretty neatly too. I think I would have liked it a whole lot more than I already did if it had ended perhaps a chapter earlier. Then the last chapter could have been the first chapter of the new book. That sort of agonizing wait makes a book so much worth it.

I love the sweetest to the story, and the genuine nature of it. There’s a beauty in how flawlessly it flows and how the two characters come together, fighting it but pushing towards each other as well. Sometimes we just need a good story wrapped around two people falling for each other, and this is definitely one that I liked it. I have an easy gag reflex when it comes to romance stories, and I find myself rolling my eyes. But this one didn’t. Each character is so sweet and genuine and real and I rooted for them the entire story.

I definitely cannot wait to read the next one, to read more of Anna and Bennett and how they work together, and how their 17 year distance in time works out for them. Its should be very interesting. Onward!

Rating:

3.75 out of 5 stars

Cinder Book Review

November 24, 2013March 26, 20199 Comments

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This review was done based on a recommendation of Erin from That One Geek Girl. You can check out her list on why you should read the book here.

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Review:

Cinder was one of those books that kept popping up on my radar, either on other blogs or just spotting the cover on shelves at bookstores. But I had never really thought to actually pick it up. I’m not really sure why. It just wasn’t on my radar that way. It wasn’t until Erin from That One Geek Girl asked me to read it, as a personal recommendation from her, for a contest, that I really took it seriously and read it.

And it took me a few days, being so wrapped up in NaNoWriMo and Catching Fire and Doctor Who that I was.

However, I just finished, not even twenty minutes ago, and I’m so glad I was finally able to get into it.

I’m not quite sure what I expected from this book, but it definitely defied my expectations. I’m not huge on fairy tale retellings, because I find that most of them just aren’t done very well at all but this is so definitely NOT the case in Cinder. Cinder builds its own world, a beautiful, scary, calculating and thrilling world that sometimes, for a moment, you’ll forget you’re even reading a book that’s based off of Cinderella.

I love Cinder as a character. She’s a cyborg, part human and part machine, and forced to work and live under the rule of her guardian/stepmother. She’s a lower class citizen, not just because her stepmother makes it so but because she’s a cyborg. But I think the strength and intelligence that she possesses throughout the novel, the courage and determination, really makes her so much better than any other Cinderella character I’ve ever met. She both accepts who she is, but fights it at the same time. And she doesn’t wait for someone to come and save her, she does everything she can to save herself. She’s incredibly unique. I also love the twist that comes at the end of the book for. I think it sets up so much for her growth and for her future. I can’t wait to dive into the next book.

I also think the mix of science fiction and classic fairy tale is truly inspired. It helps to carry the story along. The mix of the plague and the cyborgs and the mysterious Lunars and the sort of dystopian world that Earth has become. It is an incredible example of world building. You recognize the world but its been tugged and pulled into something else. There’s sort of elements from the past and then brand new elements from a future. Its brilliant. I love that we get these sort of old school markets, where Cinder is a mechanic and fixes things, and we have the future feel of hovercrafts, and then she finds a gasoline car in a junkyard and is determined to fix it. So many familiar things and yet things that we’ve only dreamed of. I like the idea that there is still a Europe, and an Africa and all that, but wars and other things have also made it kind of unrecognizable.

Also, the characters! We see those familiar characters/archetypes of the familiar story: Cinderella, the prince, the stepmother, the stepsisters, and so forth, but they are so different too. They are super deep and rich characters and so much better than any other characters I’ve seen in a story like this. You really get a sense of all of them. You understand all of them, even the ones you aren’t supposed to root for.

I think Marissa creates a compelling familiar story in a mixed up world, and creates enough mystery and romance and action and tension to keep anyone reading. The conflict between Earth and the Lunars, the relationship Cinder begins to build with Prince Kai, and the mystery of Cinder herself is really what holds this book together, and I can’t wait to read more about all of it in the second book, Scarlet.

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

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Fictional Crush of the Week-Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games Trilogy

November 23, 2013November 21, 20137 Comments

In spirit with the rest of my posts this week, check I’m keeping The Hunger Games and Catching Fire trend going by featuring one of my favorite fictional crushes, this Peeta Mellark. By the time this posts, I’ll have seen it twice, and I know I’ll go to see it more times than that. It was a brilliant movie, Peeta is amazing and Josh captures Peeta SO perfectly.

As always, all Fictional Crushes of the Week will have spoilers. Sorry :(

Character Name:

Peeta Mellark

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Author/Creator:

Suzanne Collins

Played By:

Josh Hutcherson

Who They Are:

Peeta Mellark is the secondary main character of The Hunger Games Trilogy, the counterpart to Katniss Everdeen. He is a boy from District 12, the son of the baker, and is reaped into the 74th Hunger Games with Katniss. He has a very open and genuine attitude, and we find out in book one, that he is in love with Katniss and has been for years. He doesn’t have the survival and hunting skills that Katniss has but is incredibly intelligent, and clever, and has a way of being so genuine and sneaky at the same time. He’s caring, and sweet, and the most loving, most deserving character of all the characters in this trilogy.

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Why would anyone crush on Peeta Mellark? Peeta is the PERFECT boyfriend in that there is literally no boy in the entire world who will ever be even close to what Peeta is to Katniss. There’s just now way. He’s kind and gentle and incredibly intelligent and he’s so loving and genuine and he is so sacrificing and real. He’s the best person in the books, which people recognize over and over again. He knows how to handle every person that comes his way. He knows Katniss and his parents and Haymitch and Effie and his prep team, and the other tributes, and everyone. He knows how to open himself up to all of them, and to gain their trust, but in such a real way. He’s not sneaky. He makes clever moves but they’re never to harm, only to help.

Plus does anyone love anyone else the way Peeta loves Katniss? Honestly? I think not. He genuinely loves her and it takes more than being hijacked by tracker jacker venom to keep him from loving her. Sure, it makes it quite difficult but eventually his love for her survives, and they survive together. Its beautiful. He’s perfection in the form of a male lead character, and I think that’s why Katniss has a hard time with him, because he’s so GOOD, and she doesn’t feel like she deserves him. Hell, no one deserves him. But it doesn’t stop him from being this week’s crush :)

Notable Quotes:

“If you die, and I live, there’s no life for me at all back in District Twelve. You’re my whole life. I would never be happy again.”“It’s not necessary. My nightmares are usually about losing you,” he says. “I’m okay once I realize you’re here.”

“I’m more than just a piece in their Games.”

“So after, when he whispers,” You love me. Real or not real?”
I tell him, “Real.”

“I just don’t want them to change me, if I’m going to die I still want to be me.”

“She has no idea. The effect she can have.”

“I remember everything about you. You’re the one who wasn’t paying attention.”

“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you.”

“I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever.”

“So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent…and right when your song ended, I knew – just like your mother – I was a goner.”

“Actually I painted a picture of Rue. How she looked after Katniss has covered her in flowers. I just wanted to hold them accountable, if only for a moment. For killing that little girl.”

* * * * *

Hope you enjoyed this week’s Fictional Crush and that you’ll be back next week for more!

EPIC Catching Fire Prize Pack Giveaway!

November 22, 2013November 21, 201361 Comments

Happy Hunger Games!

Today is the day that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire releases in theaters!

How excited are all of you? I hope that you like it, look and for those of you who were able to see it at a premiere, or at a late night showing last night, or you’re in a country that’s hours ahead of me here in California, I hope you liked it!

I know I did :) You can read about Days One, Two and Three of my experiences at the Catching Fire Fan Camp and Red Carpet Premiere, and my spoiler free review of the movie. I had an epic time this weekend, and I sincerely enjoyed this movie, so much.

Now I’m ready to have a giveaway all for YOU lovely people!

I have four prizes for you!

Prizes:

Three winners Will Win:

An Exclusive 2013 Catching Fire Fan Camp Poster, as pictured below.

One Lucky Winner Will Win:

A Catching Fire Wristband

An Exclusive 2013 Catching Fire Fan Camp Poster, signed by:

Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair), Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen), Jena Malone (Johanna Mason) and Francis Lawrence (Director).

Signed by Sam Claflin, Francis Lawrence, Jena Malone and Willow Shields. Hard to tell but I SWEAR they are there :)

Who wants to win these awesome prizes? I know you do!

It’s so easy to answer, via the Rafflecopter link below, but FIRST, some simple rules!

RULES!

The contest will run from today, November 22nd to December 1st!

The winner will be contacted within 12 hours of contest end, and if the winner does NOT respond within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

The contest IS International

Make sure to come back every day to tweet about the giveaway and earn extra entries!

Share with your friends!

This contest is in no way endorsed by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, Lionsgate, etc. WhatANerdGirlSays is not responsible for any lost or damaged prizes.

Enter Now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor!

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Book of the Week-Catching Fire

November 21, 20131 Comment

In spirit of the release of Catching Fire in theaters tomorrow (or for some of us, viagra 100mg today), pharmacy I decided to do an oldie for the Book of the Week.

Okay, I also haven’t read anything new this week. I know. Its awful. I’m trying to catch up, and I’ll have book reviews up soon, I promise! I just gotta get back in the groove!

But until then, let’s talk about Catching Fire, and why I think its the best book in the trilogy. Don’t forget to see the movie this weekend; it is SO amazing. You can read my review of the movie here.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, Dystopian

Part of a Series?:

The second novel of The Hunger Games Trilogy

Age Recommendation:

14+

Plot Summary:

From Good Reads:

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before…and surprising readers at every turn.

The Review:

This is the strongest book in the trilogy, easily. We’ve had the world established in the first novel. We know Katniss and Peeta and the world they live. We understand the cruelty of the Capitol and the heads of Panem, and President Snow and the Gamemakers. We know all this. The Hunger Games is a great book, something that grabbed me from the very first page.

But Catching Fire takes it to a whole new level. For one thing, the entirety of Panem grows in this novel, which opens our eyes even more to the cruelty of President Snow and his government. The Victory Tour shows us all the various different districts, and I love that. I think that this is where Katniss really begins to see what effect she had, and that her effect isn’t necessarily a bad thing. All she’s ever known is District 12 and the small amount of time she spent in the Capitol. Seeing the other districts only fires her up more.

I also love that we meet so many new important characters in this novel too like Johanna and Finnick and Plutarch, and people like that. Not only does it open us up to new victors besides Haymitch, but we see how the Games have effected other people as well. Plus its good to meet characters that you can get attached to like Katniss and Peeta. My favorite character in the entire series is Finnick Odair and he’s introduced in this novel.

The Games! The Games in this novel just takes it to a whole new level too. It was scary enough in the first book, but at least Katniss seemed to feel almost at home. She knows woods; she can’t hunt and she can take care of herself. Not only is she in the unfamiliar territory of the jungle but the arena also has that clock twist to it, which is awful! A new horror every hour? No thank you! Crazy killer monkeys, jabberjays that sound like your loved ones being tortured and poisonous fog? Its insanity.

I think the most important part of this book though is Katniss’ transformation. She goes from being focused only on herself, her familiy and her own survival (which is NOT a bad thing at all) to being concerned about so much more. She becomes concerned with Peeta, and Haymitch, and her prep team, and Cinna. She even begins to be concerned about the other tributes, even though they’re trying to kill her. Remember who the real enemy is.

Lastly, I think this book has one of the BEST cliffhangers ever. I remember reading it and wanting to throw the book across the room. How could this possibly be happening? What? What?! WHAT? I couldn’t handle it. Luckily enough for me, Mockingjay was coming out within a month, and I didn’t have to wait too long to find out. But an epic cliffhanger, and they nailed the cliffhanger in the movie, just an FYI.

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

Of course. And I recommend seeing the movie too, which is out in theaters tomorrow!

* * * * *

I hope you enjoyed this impromptu, last minute Book of the Week, and that you’ll head out to see the movie and that you enjoy it just as much as I do!

Happy Hunger Games and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor!

NaNoWriMo-The Reawakened Playlist!

November 20, 2013November 20, 2013Leave a comment

Hey ya’ll! How’s it going? We’re nearing closer and closer to the end of November, tadalafil which means that we’re heading closer to the end of NaNoWriMo.

Now, mind no matter what your goals are, you’re a winner! Because setting the goal out to write a novel, and doing the hard work for it? Its an incredibly daunting task and I commend each and every one of you who decides to do it!

And if you don’t finish, its okay!

But keep writing :) NaNoWriMo is only one month, and I want to see some finished novels from all of you!

Now, let’s see, what is today’s post? Oh yes! MUSIC! I love music! In high school, music was my LIFE. I was so passionate about music, it was insane. I’ve fallen a little bit out of it, because I focus more on keeping up with all the books and the book world, but I still love music.

And music really helps me to write. I know there are some authors who listen to music and there are some authors who need silence, but I definitely need noise. I write with the TV on, but mostly I write with music.

I’ve noticed that a lot of authors do playlists for their novels, and I realized I’ve never done that before. I just put on whatever I feel like listening to, but I decided to change it a bit for The Reawakened.

So that’s what this post is. I’ll be posting the songs I’ve been listening to like crazy, in order to help me write the novel.

You may want to pay attention a little bit too! Since you guys can’t actually read The Reawakened, you can get a little sneak peek of it by paying attention to these songs!

So here is my The Reawakened playlist!

Also, if you click the song title, it will take you to the song on YouTube for you to listen to!

Novel Theme Song:

Nightmare by Set It Off

They’re coming, creeping from the corner

And all I know is that I don’t feel safe
I feel the tapping on my shoulder
I turn around in an alarming state
But am I loosing my mind?
I really think so
Not a creature in sight
But what you don’t know is that

My breathing gets faster
And so does my heartbeat
I wish this was over
I wish that this was a dream

The Rest of The Playlist

Sidewalks by Story of the Year

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

All of the days have passed us by,
All of the sun is gone…away

Partners in Crime by Set It Off

You’ll never take us alive
We swore that death will do us part
They’ll call our crimes a work of art

This tale of reckless love
living a life of crime on the run
A brush to a gun
To paint these states green and red

Zzzz by The Cab

I’m high and dry, and kicked to the ground
I’m lost, and I’ll never be found

Singing myself to sleep
and you’re still my favorite melody
It’s been three weeks
How long can his go on?
Singing myself to sleep
You’re haunting every memory

Distance Disturbs Me by Set It Off

Separated by a scream,
its just a bittersweet success with a dash of failure
I’m hanging by a thread, intentions cut to shreds
I’m starting to lose my grip so
Someone please distract me, I need a new obsession
Am I just going crazy?
I’ll never learn my lesson because

I would kill to be a mile away
or feel the breath you’ll take
But fate won’t let me

Swallow the Knife by Story of the Year

So let’s make this night be our best mistake
So let’s take the time to wipe the blood away
Now our hands our tied
and our world is caving in

Now our hands are tied
and the problems lie within
So we pray for night
to start over again

Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy

If heaven’s grief brings hell’s rain
Then I’d trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday

I wanted this song so bad for City of Bones. I really want it in City of Ashes or City of Glass. Let’s do this.

Monsters by I Am King

And there’s something behind the clouds
that we can’t see
All things that once had meaning drag behind me
We’ve been living a lie
We’ve been living a lie
A masquerade that will end in destruction
You’ve been living a lie
You’re not all what you pretend to be

Get down on your knees
and we see the darkness and the light
Entwine, as the end of the world
becomes so clear to me

It’s Over When It’s Over by Falling In Reverse

Take it back, take it back, my friend,
All the things that you said about the end.
This is it, this is me telling you it ain’t over til it’s over

Death Valley by Fall Out Boy

We love a lot
So we only lose a little
But we are alive
we are alive

We’re gonna die
It’s just a matter of time
Hard times come, Good times go
I’m either gone in an instant
or here til the bitter end
I never know

In Dreams by Like Moths to Flames

I’ve been asleep for too long
In a life that’s not my own
Never wanted to feel alone

Come wake me up
I’ve been asleep for too long
Never wanted to feel alone
Lost myself
Slow to love
So cold

We watch the world turn
But never stop to think about who we are
Take me back to the start
Mend all the pieces that fell apart

Breathe by Sienna Skies

There comes a time when we will choose
A time in life which we’re confused
this feeling we will share exists
It sometimes translates with a kiss
The floor is ours
Let’s not waste any time now
Or we’ll regret everything

Nothing Like Today by Divided by Friday

Take me back to when I had it all
Before I let my feelings fall
‘Cause lately I’ve been hating who I am
I took for granted what I had
and watched it wash away
But tonight, I’ll let it out
Tonight, will be nothing like today

No Control by Set It Off

Fall to my knees, God I beg you please
Show me just an inch of mercy
help me, help me, I’m doing all I can
Pretend I’m unaffected, but their pain became my present

Swear this isn’t what I wanted
God, this house is haunted
The way that this could, if things were a melody
And after all of this we’ve been through
I wish we could switch shoes
This life ain’t fair for us all

My walls are built, and on display
I drown in guilt, due to dismay
Maybe someday I can see how this has shaped me
Bite my tongue, with swelling lungs
I gasp for air and let this go

* * * * * *

I hope you enjoyed listening to some of the music that has been inspiring to me!

What are some songs or some bands that help you when you are writing? Share in the comments!

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

My Review:

Rating:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

My Review:

Rating:

Character Name:

Book or Series They Appear In:

Author/Creator:

Played By:

Who They Are:

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Notable Quotes:

Prizes:

Three winners Will Win:

One Lucky Winner Will Win:

RULES!

Enter Now!

Good Luck and May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Genre:

Part of a Series?:

You May Like if You Liked:

Age Recommendation:

Plot Summary:

The Review:

Rating:

Recommended or Not?:

Novel Theme Song:

The Rest of The Playlist