Book BFF Melissa

Sunday Post/Stacking the Shelves #27

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Both are a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and talk about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Thirteen Reasons Why

My cousin let me borrow her copy because she remembered I wanted to read it. She said she read this book in a day so I'm excited to get lost in it. If you've read it is it any good?

HOLY CRAP you guys! I'm so excited it's ridiculous. My brother's girlfriend told me they put up a bargain bookstore in a shopping center here. I was so bummed when the half price bookstore closed last year so this definitely makes up for it. And to make it even better it's next door to a DSW. I know where I'll be spending all my money lol.

7:05 PM
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{Review} The Truth About Letting go by:Leigh T. Moore

5 Stars

Publication date: February 21, 2013

Genre: YA, Contemporary

How I got the copy: From the author in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5 stars

Amazon/B&N/Kobo/Itunes

Ashley wants to smash everything in her once-perfect life.
Charlotte wants to walk in Ashley's seemingly charmed shoes.
Colt wants to turn Smalltown USA on its ear--with Ashley at his side.
Jordan wants to follow his heart... but Ashley is the one sacrifice he never expected to make.

Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing, played it safe, gone to church. And then her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. She rejects safety, rules, faith,

and then she meets Jordan.

Jordan has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, and he's a great kisser. But he's also safe.

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

I've been using a 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.

8/10: This book could not have come at a better time in my life personally. If you've been following my blog you know I was recently diagnosed with Crohn's Disease which has put me on bedrest for months. Much like the main character Ashley, who has lost her father in the beginning of the story, I'm left wondering why did this happen to me?

Ashley's journey to understand faith, love, grief, and acceptance really hit home and was almost a comfort to know someone else, even if they were fictional, had gone through the same thoughts when dealing with something so difficult.

Ashley's process was a little more extreme than mine...it's kind of hard to deface school property from my couch, but I did have moments just like her where I questioned faith and wanted to just scream or do something crazy so I could stop feeling so depressed and helpless. But just like Ashley I was able to figure out that I'm not the only one who's gone through this and being depressed doesn't really help anything. I just wish I had a hot geek like Jordan to help me figure it out like she did!

2:48 PM
5 Comments

{Review} The Ruining by Anna Collomore

4 Stars

Number of Pgs. 313

Publication date: February 7, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: New Adult, Thriller, Mystery

How I got the copy: Won it from Book Loving Mom!

Rating: 4 Stars

Annie Phillips is thrilled to leave her past behind and begin a shiny new life on Belvedere Island, as a nanny for the picture-perfect Cohen family. In no time at all, she falls in love with the Cohens, especially with Libby, the beautiful young matriarch of the family. Life is better than she ever imagined. She even finds romance with the boy next door.

All too soon cracks appear in Annie's seemingly perfect world. She's blamed for mistakes she doesn't remember making. Her bedroom door comes unhinged, and she feels like she's always being watched. Libby, who once felt like a big sister, is suddenly cold and unforgiving. As she struggles to keep up with the demands of her new life, Annie's fear gives way to frightening hallucinations. Is she tumbling into madness, or is something sinister at play?

The Ruining is a complex ride through first love, chilling manipulation, and the terrifying depths of insanity.

I've been using this 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.

7/10: Wow is all I can really say. Giselle over at Xpresso reads had told me this would be a mind f*ck before I started reading, but she wasn't kidding. It was one of those books that makes you feel like you're slowly going insane right along with the main character. After I finished the book I felt l like staring at a wall for a few hours and rocking back and forth...just kidding sorta. It really messed with me though.

I will say that it was a little predictable. I was able to figure out the big mystery, but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book. I also didn't really like the ending because it was all happily ever after too quickly. The mystery was solved and then five pages later everyone's happy and it's over. I craved more. Like what happens a year from then?

Also, I loved the reference to the sinister The Yellow Wallpaper story. I remember reading that in school one time and being thoroughly creeped out. It was kind of like a modern retelling in a way.

2:19 PM
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Sunday Post/ Stacking The Shelves #26

Stacking the Shelves

Exiled

I won this from a giveaway over at Stuck In Books. Big thank you to Val and the author M. Merrick! I'm really excited to read this because Val says it's awesome and I totally trust her opinions. Also, look at all the swag. I might just have to share.

Beautiful Bastard

I liked 50 shades and Twilight so I'm really curious about this fan fic. Thank you to Gallery Books for the copy!

The Ruining

I won this from Amy over at Book Loving Mom! My goodreads friend who's reading this now was just raving about it so I'm very excited to start it.

I also received a copy of Opal that I won from a live chat with JLA! I'll be doing a giveaway for my bloggaversary in March because now I have two copies of it.

The highlight of my week was definitely reading Article 5. If you haven't read that book you seriously need to. I can't wait to review it and read book 2.

This week I had a lot of fun making the Valentines Day post! I took my favorite romantic movies and paired them with similar YA Contemps.

Dance of Shadows was kind of a disappointment for me, but I'm curious to hear what you guys thought of it.

Also, look for my guest post about The Carrie Diaries featured on Story Crush next week!!!

*The Madman's Daughter
*Boundless
*Article 5

*Blogging tips and tricks #2
*Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters in X Genre
*Passion for Bookish Fashion #3

2:03 PM
11 Comments

{Review} Dance of Shadows by: Yelana Black

3 Stars

Number of Pgs. 447 (ebook)

Publication date: February 12, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Genre: YA, Mystery

How I got the copy: Netgalley

Rating:

Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts . . .

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . .

Soon she attracts the attention of three mfen: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed . . .

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.

4/10: Ever wait months and months highly anticipating a book and then find yourself disappointed once you actually read it? Unfortunately, this happened for me. On one hand, I loved this book because it revolves around one of my favorite things, ballet. It also had an awesome mystery that I couldn't solve.

Then, halfway through this book it takes a strange turn. I knew going into this that there would be paranormal aspects. In fact, that was part of the reason I picked it up. But I like my paranormal believable and this just wasn't realistic at all. It was almost to the point where I was rolling my eyes. Luckily, the rest of the book was intriguing enough that I finished it regardless of my apprehensions.

3/10: I love books that make me second guess the characters. Yelena Black does this pretty well. I could not figure out who Vanessa should trust and who she should run from. Zep, the love interest, never made me swoon and there was something off about him. Same with Justin. He seemed reliable, but then he'd do something and I wouldn't be sure anymore. The romance just didn't seem real at all. Vanessa's group of friends wasn't really believable to me. It takes longer than a day to get that close to a bunch of girls. The main problem I had was becoming emotionally invested in the characters. I just didn't really root for anyone or care what happened to them. Also, we never learn anything about Vanessa's life except her obsession with finding out what happened to her sister.

6/10: Anything set in the ballet world makes me happy. I loved reading about Vanessa's experience going to rehearsals and the dorm life. The author was able to make this ballet school set in a big city feel really creepy and dark. Again, I enjoyed that there was paranormal aspects, but just wished it was more believable. The magical rosin was cool, but just a little silly to me.

5/10: The last half of the book, despite my reservations, had me flipping pages quickly to find out what would happen. I needed to know if my suspicions were right or not. The beginning was just a little too slow for me. It took me a week to get through it where as the last half of the book took me a day or two to read.

5/10: I tend to prefer first person narrative so I'm not sure if the fact that this is in third person altered my opinion. I think I might have connected with the characters more if it was. But I am grateful that another author tackled the ballet world and made it interesting by adding a twist of paranormal activity. Will I read the second book in the series? Maybe. I honestly don't know where the story could go from here. I just hope there's still a lot of ballet in the rest of the series.

If you liked the movie The Black Swan you should definitely try this book. It's an equally dark, but YA appropriate version. This won't make my top ten favorites of 2013, but after waiting a whole year anxiously to read it I'm really glad I finally did. Also, how gorgeous is that cover?!