Me on Recent Books I've Read Part 2

here's part 2 of recently read book reviews, now that i'm all full of dinner (fish & rice & peppers & sauce). we get such good fish out here in BC.

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough: i wasn't sure what to expect from this, but i was hooked when i saw family of witches when girl has no powers of her own in an overview or something for this book. it's almost become a cliche, but i like books like this. especially ones with witches (yes, i had one of those high school Wiccan phases). Tamsin was cool, & not just because of her name (i love odd names in books). she's a little bitter, but still interesting & very family-oriented. plus Gabriel is hot & he doesn't give a crap about Tamsin's lack of powers. awww. looking forward to the next book. :)

Wake by Lisa McMann: at the beginning i was unsure about liking it. it took me a couple of days after reading it to realize i liked it. i think what put me off in the beginning was how it was written. present tense, kinda choppy, no absolute concrete chapters. but then i got it, how Janie's pulled into people's dreams & how dreams can be weird at the best of times. Fade and Gone are on my to read list, as is Cryer's Cross. (i also still have it so i'll be reading it again in an attempt to write a better review)

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast: i'd either pushed this series to the back of my mind or decided to wait until it was over to read all the books, but it took me this long to read the first one. it felt like lots of things were squished together, like vampires AND magical/witch-like powers AND goddesses that have their favourites, and it felt like i was reading something written for a teen audience, the teen slang felt obvious & not natural. Zoey's name is cool.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff: holy freaking crap. i love this book. Mackie was confused and tortured and a gorgeous hero (book crush). Tate was brutal and sad and so kicked butt (girl book crush). the concept of fae-ish creatures replacing human babies with their own kind sent me back to grade 6 when a teacher gave me a copy of Eloise Jarvis McGraw's The Moorchild. i'll admit, reading this book late at night did jack up the creepy factor, but it so added to it. this book is supposed to be creepy. if it wasn't, it wouldn't have all the Morrigan or the Lady or the Cutter or the blue girls. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves was another book i read at night that had enhanced creepy. in conclusion, i love this mysterious and haunting book, & Mackie is hot (proof can be found here ;)). and yay for it debuting on the NYT children's bestseller list. :) also, this was not a library book, i bought this one cause i wanted it so much.

Torment by Lauren Kate: i really liked Fallen, and this just continued it. the lack of Daniel was to be expected, but Luce needed him not to be there so she could figure things out. the cover jacket flappy thing is unbelievably soft, i keep wanting to stroke it. the almost end felt a little hokey (i know how big Thanksgiving is to Americans, it's not as big here in Canada), & then the end was a shock, but a good one. the first book was all Luce's intro to what's going on with her, the second is her dealing with that & learning what had to happen/might happen/did happen, as well as her growing a spine & not being passive. the end sure was ballsy, and i approve. :) i have one question, though, which might be spoilery if you haven't read the first one, but i have to ask: if the reason the bad people went after her in the first book was because she wasn't baptized as a baby, why didn't they emergency baptize her once they saved her butt? this one was also bought with actual money. :)

so, that was the last 10 books i've read. i have 3 library books i picked up yesterday, plus another i have to pick up soon before they fine me for letting it sit there for too long.

and more props to @abbymumford. i really need to blog more.

Me on Recent Books I've Read Part 1

(and props to @abbymumford for making me blog)

i've been reading a lot lately, mostly because i just figured out the password for my library card for the library in downtown Vancouver. ;) i also learned that i get 50 free holds a year. i've been using them.

a lot. :)

most have been YA, because i've come to love it over the last few years (thank you, children's lit class). i haven't been writing enough of it because of this book overdose that started last Monday, but i'm going to try and write some more. i really need to get this book out of my head and into the Word file.

below is a quick and dirty review list of recently read books. most i really liked, some i sort of liked. none i totally hated, so yay. :)

and Falling, Fly by Skyler White: i don't think i read enough urban fantasy. i read a fair amount of paranormal romance, though, and i sort of wanted a change. plus it sounded cool: angels and vampires. :) i liked it. i thought the change in tenses/narrators was a bit odd (1st person when focusing on Olivia, 3rd person for Dominic), but it was okay.

A Year in Europe: Three Novels by Rachel Hawthorne: i've read 3 out of 4 of her YA werewolf novels, & when i saw this at the library i had an instant high school flashback when i'd read 1 or 2 of these 3 three stories. reading this was a wonderful refresher, and i felt it was like a pre-read for Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (X-mas present hint hint ;)). it was cute YA chick-lit that appealed to my inner 16 year old hopeless romantic (and so i bought my own copy because i know i'm going to read it again). ;)

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev: YA plus Shakespeare plus magic. it was sweet and beautiful. it brought me back to my love of Shakespeare, especially the comedies. Bertie is wonderful, a young girl having grown up in this strange magical theatre, surrounded by characters from many different plays. her close friends are the faeries from the plays, like Peaseblossom and others (i'm spacing out on the names, please forgive me). i want my own copy of this book. it reminds me that theatre is far from dead, & that YA doesn't always have to be about kids in high school dealing with peer pressure. book 2, Perchance to Dream, is in my library book bag upstairs. :) also, i loved Nate. love interest who's a nice pirate?? yes. ;)

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston: the spine had a little Canada flag sticker on the spine cause Lesley's a Canadian author. :D i loved this. this was like book 2 out of 2 in my YA Shakespeare/faerie pile. more in the modern world than Eyes Like Stars, more dangerous & action-y, still good. i bought a copy. i want to read the next 2, then Lesley's next series. i'm all for supporting Canadian writers & their books (& also for getting more YA authors to come up to Canada on book tours, but that's a topic for another day *getting off my soapbox*).

The Devouring by Simon Holt: it was creepier than i'd expected. i thought there'd be an easing into the Vours and Reggie's little brother getting taken over by them, but no. and then there was all the weird stuff about what the Vours do and the Fearscape and Reggie going after Henry to find him. i liked it, don't think i didn't. it got weird and twisty and turned into a book i didn't expect to read (The Replacement also did this to me).

part 2 with the rest of my mini-reviews will be up later tonight. i have to make dinner. :)

Me on Forgetting More Things

i really need to blog more. it would keep me from talking to myself.

i think i forget because i don't think i have anything interesting to share. usually nothing exciting happens during the day for me, unless i get something in the mail or i have to go to the store and i see cookies on sale.

why does that sound like i'm middle-aged?? i'm only 23.

maybe i should share what i'm researching for the Ghost Idea (search #GhostIdea on Twitter if you're curious). it's pretty much what i'm working on right now, a YA paranormal novel about a teen girl that starts to see ghosts after (almost) dying in a car accident.

or share what i've been reading. i really liked Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Take, and Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim books. and Kiersten White's Paranormalcy. :)

or what music i'm listening to. right now it's Keane's "Your Eyes Open." very good. :)

hmmm. well, with any luck i'll remember to blog more often. maybe.

if i leave myself a note. ;)

At Home with Paranormalcy contest entry

in case you weren't sure, i loved Paranormalcy. it was wicked cool. Evie was interesting, Lend was so hot (book crush), Reth was... not quite sure how to put it. what word means creepy and dangerous and attractive all at the same time?? but i like Lend more. ;)

and i think Kiersten White is funny. i wish there was a signing closer to me. the closest right now is on the 11th in Salt Lake City. but it would be a 16 hour drive. *sigh*

so, when this contest came up, i thought i would enter. i've only ever won one contest before, and that was for some makeup and i forgot i'd entered it. then there was the signed copy of a Michele Jaffe book that arrived in the mail one day. i was really confused for a little bit, cause i thought i'd entered for that 6 months beforehand. hmmm.

well, even if i don't win this one, it was still fun to plan out pictures. i'll put up all the other ones on Twitter so you can see my weird ideas.

i think this one was the best, though.

"Queen of the Mountain" ;)

tsk tsk, Paranormalcy. beating up on some of my favourite YA books. and they're all there: Hush, Hush (i'm on pins and needles waiting for Oct. 19th). Jealousy. Linger. The Dark Divine. Sisters Red. (oh, the werewolf love :D) Forgive My Fins. Sea. Sea Change. (mermaid love. :) now i'm thinking about Lish. oh, bleep) Bleeding Violet. Wings. Vampire Academy (and Spirit Bound). Revelations. The Forest of Hands and Teeth. plus, there's a hidden Meridian by Amber Kizer in there somewhere. :)

and, of course, Scott Pilgrim. :D

so, this is what happened to me when Paranormalcy arrived: she kicked some book butt to show who's boss (and without a taser, too).

oh, and no books were harmed during the taking of this picture.

i might've gotten a paper cut, though. ;)