{Review} Wild Awake by Hilary Smith

Contemporary

Number of Pgs.: 400

Publication date: May 28, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery

How I got the copy: Won from April

Rating: 3 Stars

From Goodreads:

Things you earnestly believe will happen while your parents are away:
1. You will remember to water the azaleas.
2. You will take detailed, accurate messages.
3. You will call your older brother, Denny, if even the slightest thing goes wrong.
4. You and your best friend/bandmate Lukas will win Battle of the Bands.
5. Amid the thrill of victory, Lukas will finally realize you are the girl of his dreams.
Things that actually happen:
1. A stranger calls who says he knew your sister.
2. He says he has her stuff.
3. What stuff? Her stuff.
4. You tell him your parents won’t be able to—
5. Sukey died five years ago; can’t he—
6. You pick up a pen.
7. You scribble down the address.
8. You get on your bike and go.
9. Things . . . get a little crazy after that.*
*also, you fall in love, but not with Lukas.

Plot: 3/10

Characters: 3/10

Setting: 6/10

Pacing: 7/10

Style: 8/10

Cover: The orange stands out among all those blue, black, and white covers that seem to be gracing the shelves these days. I like that the girls hair has fluidity and seems wild...like the title suggests.

27+50=77 (3 Stars)

In the notes that I took while reading the first few chapters, I actually wrote "Wtf did I just get myself into?". I think that pretty much sums up my experience with this book. I was thoroughly confused by the main character, yet highly entertained and intrigued at what she'd do next. The underlying mystery of how her sister died and then what Skunk was hiding kept me turning pages. And author takes her time revealing pieces to the puzzle so that your curiosity is killing you by the time you find out.

But I just couldn't get past my dislike for the main character. She has no self-preservation at all. And what's worse is what happens is not realistic. She goes to the ghetto to a hotel and trusts random strangers, at night, and didn't tell anyone where she was going. And yet she manages not to get raped and chopped up into pieces and thrown into a ditch. I understood she needed answers about her sister's death, but it just seemed so unrealistic and out of character for her since the beginning of the book she's little miss perfect. I also get that the truth "wakes her up" and she kind of loses her mind from being lied to for so long. It did make for an entertaining book, but personally it didn't work for me.

What I did enjoy was the character Skunk. He was like a big teddy bear, or a love bison as I think Kiri refers to him. He's quirky and kind. I'd never read another character like him before--especially not a love interest. I also liked the author's writing style. I think this is what kept me from DNFing the book the most. Her writing is so descriptive and flows so poetically. She uses a lot of similes which helped me become part of the story instead of just being an observer. However, there was a simile every other sentence it seemed. It got a bit excessive after awhile. I was reading an ARC though so maybe the final copy was different.

If you can get past all the cray cray, the writing is worth it. It was hands down the weirdest book I have ever read, but it was somehow captivating, entertaining, and interesting.

12:00 AM
12 Comments

Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

3 Stars

Title: Stolen

Author: Lucy Christopher

Publisher: The Chicken House

Publication date: May 4, 2009

How I got the copy: Library

It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him. This is my story. A letter from nowhere.

Told in a letter to her captor by 16-year-old Gemma, Stolen explores the influence that a really wild and remote space can have on the inner development of a young woman.

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops …but is this real love, or Stockholm Syndrome?

- Creepy captor somehow makes you like him

- Strong main character who never gives up

- Beautiful Australian setting

I'm still not sure what possessed me to take this book out of the library, but I actually liked it. It is one of those books that you can't put down because there are a thousand ways the book could end and it doesn't look like the main character will get their happy ending. It's also a book that once you finish it you'll be staring at the wall thinking for a few hours. It made me think about how my life isn't so bad, how I shouldn't take my family for granted, how some people are really sick, etc. While Ty, the kidnapper, is obviously mentally ill, he is also really relatble. Which is kind of scary. No one wants to sympathize with a kidnapper. Yet after hearing about his horrible childhood and why he kidnapped Gemma it makes you think...maybe his intentions were good. Although I did feel that Ty's character was a little inconsistent. He's really scary at the beginning having outbursts, but then towards the end he's tamer. Gemma is really consistent. She tries to escape as many times as she can. Me? I think I'd try to think up all those episodes of Law and Order I've watched and make a plan instead of doing something impulsive. But I do give her props for never giving up.

One of the main things in books that I complain about is that I hate when they aren't realistic. I think that this book is borderline unrealistic. I mean, airports are really secure now. I really doubt a TSA worker would just accept that Gemma was "drunk" when she's 16 and couldn't even stand up or speak. Even if they did think she was drunk I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have allowed her to go on the plane. Also, Ty's house that he built seems a little far fetched. He set up pipes for water to get to the house from a stream. There's no electricity yet either. I also find it weird that this deranged 20 yr old wouldn't have tried anything on Gemma. He thinks she's beautiful and he's kidnapped her. I've been to college...let's just say Ty's behavior, while strangely honorable, is unreal for his age. And finally, I think if someone drugged me, took me to a place with giant spiders, no indoor plumbing or real food or air conditioning, and expected me to live there forever, I really don't think I'd ever have feelings for them no matter how bad their childhood was. Just sayin. I may feel pity for them, but I wouldn't want to date them.

Also, the ending really bothered me. I wanted a definite answer, but the author kind of left it up to the reader to make assumptions. I hate when books do that! Even though I have a lot problems with this book I still really liked it. I actually read it in about a day if that's any indication. The letter format that it's written in packs more emotion into every line making it impossible to put down.

“And it's hard to hate someone once you understand them.”
― Lucy Christopher, Stolen: A Letter to My Captor

“It sounded weird to hear you talk so much; normally you only said a few words at a time. I'd never imagined that you'd have a story, too. Until that moment, you were just the kidnapper. You didn't have reasons for anything. You were stupid and evil and mentally ill. That was all. When you started talking, you started changing.”
― Lucy Christopher, Stolen: A Letter to My Captor

Author's Site

Have you read it?

What did you think?

6:47 PM
4 Comments

A to Z Survey

survey

Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner created this fun survey for us bloggers to get to know each other better. It inspired me to make up my own type of survey that's in the works right now.

Author you’ve read the most books from:

Sarah Dessen hands down. I own all her books except for three and I reread them often. She's one of the few author's I auto-buy too.

Best Sequel Ever:

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi- The writing got even better if that was possible and the characters grew so much and I fell for Warner!

Currently Reading:

Just finished Anatomy of a Single Girl. Not sure what to read next. Any suggestions?

Drink of Choice While Reading:

Either hot tea or iced tea. I like regular, peach green tea, ginger green tea, or even passion fruit.

E-reader or Physical Book?

It's weird. I love me some physical books, yet I read faster when I read ebooks. But maybe that's because the only ebooks I read are mostly romances which tend to go faster anyway.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

Tucker from Unearthly series. He's just so sweet and family oriented and adorable.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

Golden by Jessi Kirby. I didn't want to read this because the cover isn't appealing to me, but it was chosen as the Book BFFs book of the month. I'm glad I read it because it's awesome.

Hidden Gem Book:

Every Little Piece by Kate Ashton I never would have tried this one if I hand't been part of the blog tour for it. It was really good!

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

This will sound silly, but creating a twitter account for my blog. Until I did that I didn't realize how many people had book blogs and that there was this whole community out there. It really started everything for me.

Just Finished:

Anatomy of a Single Girl

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

I want to try more Historical Fiction before I completely write it off, but I really don't like Steam Punk in particular. I also haven't felt like reading much Adult Fiction lately unless it's personally recommended to me.

Longest Book You’ve Read:

Probably one of the Harry Potter books, but I just started Anna Karenina the other day and that's like 1,000,000 pages so that'll win.

Major book hangover because of:

There's a reason it got 4.54 rating on goodreads. GO READ IT NOW!!!!

Number of Bookcases You Own:

Just one for now. When I move I'll get more for sure. I eventually want a library in my future house. Maybe like this.

Or This

Or This

Ya I basically need to marry a beast to get Belle's library one day.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Before blogging I never knew what to read so I just reread my old books. I've read this one a bunch.

Preferred Place To Read:

I like to read outside. Especially the park or the beach.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

“And while I could sit here and feel sorry for myself, wondering why all of this happened to me..I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to wish for a perfect life. The things that knock you down in life are tests, forcing you to make a choice between giving in and remaining on the ground or wiping the dirt off and standing up even taller than you did before you were knocked down. I'm choosing to stand taller. I'll probably get kicked down a few more times before this life is through with me, but I can guarantee you I'll never stay on the ground.”
― Colleen Hoover, Hopeless

Reading Regret:

Reading adult fiction or choosing not to read at all because I thought I wasn't supposed to read YA anymore once I reached college. I wasted time when I could have been reading amazing books!

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

I just created a FictFact account to keep track of all my series, but I guess the one I want to finish the most is Gone by Michael Grant. I only read book 1, but I really liked it.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

I'm not sure what my answer will be a few days, months, years from now, but my current favorites are:

These books just made me feel alive by pumping so many emotions through me all at once. I will definitely reread them many times.

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

All Jennifer L Armentrout books. If I could I'd become her publicist because I push her books on anyone I can.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

Speaking of JLA...this little gem comes out in a week or so and I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER!

Worst Bookish Habit:

Tricky! What I deem as my worst bookish habit or what you all would? haha. I already laid out mybook crimes and you guys cringed so I’ll just go with what I deem it to be…overdue library books! ALWAYS. I can never get it there on time!

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

John Belushi Is Dead by Kathy Charles

Your latest book purchase:

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson. I loved The Girl of Fire of Thorns and got book three for review and then I saw this one was on sale!

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

The Program by Suzanne Young. I was going to put it down before bed but was like “what’s one more chapter?” and then uh oh…it’s 3am.

12:45 PM
3 Comments

{Review} Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Fantasy

Title: Pure

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Number of Pgs. 329 (Paperback)

Publication date: April 3, 2012
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal

How I got the copy: bought

Rating: 5 Stars

There is need. And then there is Fate
Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome--especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom--so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do--and sacrifice--for her.
When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies--lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude or killing her.
When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

I've been using a new way of reviewing that I saw over at Making the Grade. It breaks the book down and makes it easier to rate. The way it works is each category gets a score out of ten points. Then you add them all up + 50 (50% automatically for each book) and that's your score out of 100.

9/10: Holy Moly this book is insane. I thought I liked the Lux series, but let me tell you... this one is really good. So much has happened in 329 pages it's crazy. I love the way the romance is playing out. I was all ready to stock up on Team Aiden paraphernalia until halfway through the book Seth didn't seem so bad. I've never had an author make me questions the side I've taken...which says a lot. The first book, Alex is just trying to stay out of trouble and also stop her mom from ruining her world. But this book delves even deeper. It was like her world was a snowglobe and the daimons and Minister Telly just shook the hell out of it. There was only one thing I didn't enjoy and that involves someone Alex is really close to. I mourned a long with Alex and I didn't really understand why it had to happen.

10/10: Alex is so irrational and acts on impulse mostly. I really wish I could act on impulse. I calculate everything before I do it. So when she does something crazy I'm green with envy...that is until she ends up in heaps of trouble or almost killed. And she seems to be the type of girl that is really pretty without even trying because she exudes confidence and purpose.

Aiden is still ridiculously hot. J.L.A really knows how to write them. And I love that every guy character she writes is different. Aiden is so good. He wants the best for Alex and he doesn't give in to temptation because it would mean the end of freedom for Alex. But the few moments when he does give in...well those are fun swoonworthy moments sprinkled in for our enjoyment.

Seth bothered me like I'm sure he was meant to. But after awhile I started to realize he's not half bad. It really takes a lot for me to change my mind about a character so I was pleasantly surprised when I, along with Alex, didn't feel the need to punch him after he opens his mouth. I'm excited to see where this goes.

10/10: THANK YOU GODS...as Alex would say. Finally this book has more locations than just a school. Alex starts off at school and this time we actually get to see many parts of the campus. But she also goes to Council. And this is were so much happens and again there are many locations including a labyrinth.

9/10: The beginning of this author's books are always slow, but I like it that way. We get to develop feelings for the characters and we understand them more. By the time we get to the gripping action we're so attached to them we're literally on the edge of our seats hoping they make it out alive. This story gets so fast paced halfway through I couldn't put it down without finishing the rest of it, even though it was 1 am.

10/10: Once again I am amazed by this author. She has the right mixture of romance, action, character development, suspense, and my favorite...snark. Her books are the long island iced teas of literature (it's late while I'm writing this review so please ignore my randomness). But seriously, I love her writing and will continue to buy all her books without even reading the summary first. Because if it says Jennifer L. Armentrout on the cover, I know I'm in for a crazy and swoon-worthy ride.

GO BUY THIS SERIES NOW! It's so good you really won't regret spending the $10 on it. You could spend that ten bucks on cheap fast food that you'll regret eating later or The Covenant series that you will consume over and over again for the rest of your life (for 0 calories).

Total: 98/100