On My Wishlist #3

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Carolyn at Book Chick City where we can spotlight all those books that we desperately want but haven't bought yet (can't get them all!). I am on a self-imposed book-buying ban at the moment, so all the following books I've been gazing at with longing recently!

• Hourglass by Myra McEntire. I love the look of this book- a time travelling romance story.

• Watched by Sharde Richardson. Ok- I think the main reason I want this book is just plain old coverlust. It's so pretty! It does look like a good story as well though, about a girl who can see people's auras.

• Fade by Lisa McMann. This is book 2 in the Wake trilogy, about a girl who can fall into other people's dreams. I read book 1 recently and really enjoyed it, so now I want to see how the rest of series plays out. Unfortunately my library doesn't have the rest of the series, only book 1  :(

• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Lovely Kate over at That Book Blog read this recently and raved about it, so now I really want to  read it. This looks like a tragic but powerfully emotional book about a girl who is kidnapped.

• Ripple by Mandy Hubbard. This is a story about mermaids and destiny, a love story (and again, I just love the cover!)

I'm determined not to buy any more books until I've read some of the books I've already got piled up at home! I shouldn't be drooling and hankering for even more because I have lots to read already!
Anyone already read any of these? What did you think?

The Time Will Come #24

The Time Will Come is a weekly meme hosted by Jodie at Books For Company where we can spotlight those books that we've had sitting on our shelves for too long. Books that we really want to read and never seem to get around to.

I've had Glimpse on my shelves for absolutely ages. I bought it after reading a few good reviews, (and partly because I thought the cover was really pretty- I'm shallow!)
I knew when I bought it that it was about a girl who was close to her sister, whose world fell apart when said sister tried to kill herself and she realised that she had no idea about her life. I thought it sounded like a powerful story. What I didn't realise until it dropped through the letterbox is that it is all written in verse. I'm not too sure how I will get on reading a 500 page poem, I think I need to be in the right frame of mind to tackle it. Anybody else read this? Is it good?

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Twelve year old girl Hope's life is turned upside down when her older sister Lizzie becomes an elective mute and is institutionalized after trying to kill herself. Ever since their dad died Hope and Lizzie have relied on each other from a young age. Their mother is a reluctant and unreliable parent at best, who turns tricks to support the family. Throughout the course of this lyrical and heartbreaking narrative readers and Hope discover that the mother is prostituting Lizzie and it’s up to Hope to bring the truth to light to save her sister.

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5/5 stars



Here's what it's about (Synopsis from Goodreads)

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.


During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

The first in a new series, Divergent is a brilliant dystopian novel with a twist- action packed and romantic all at the same time. Dark and violent but also tender and hope-filled. I love dystopian stories anyway, but this is one of the better ones. An extraordinary world, a heart-in-mouth battle, heart-wrenchingly painful moments, a love story to make you swoon- just excellent. Full of fantastic characters that you can really connect with, and especially Tris, who we get to see develop into this kick-ass powerful girl by the end of the story, but still with her fiercely protective attitude and her determination to make the world right. I loved the relationship between her and Four, which I thought developed at a good pace, and felt so sweet and believeable. They are both strong characters but their relationship is full of respect and supporting each other's weaknesses. They are not too proud to show vulnerability and to lean on the other for support. They are very well suited to each other, and I loved the strength of feeling between them.


This is one of the most talked about debut books of this year and it's easy to see why. Divergent flows so easily and holds you gripped all the way through, just rooting for Tris and Four. I didn't think it was quite as gripping as The Hunger Games but still brilliant. For all it's focus on politics and social ideas, I also didn't ever really think that society is headed towards being split into these factions in the future- you don't ever think that this could really happen 20 years down the line- but if you look past all of that and just accept the story for what it is- it is a fantastic story. I loved it, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

In My Mailbox 17th July 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, where book bloggers can talk about the books they've gotten the past week- whether bought, borrowed, swapped or given for review. This feature was started to increase interaction between bloggers and improve our awareness of all the new books coming out.

I tried to go easy on the books this week and reign myself in... didn't really work! I'm really REALLY not going to buy any more books (apart from ones I've already pre-ordered) until after my birthday in October. I mean it this time- I have waaaaaay to many books to read now!
This week I got...

Bought:

• The Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld. Heard good things about this series- love these covers. I saw these in the bookshop but forced myself to put them back, and managed to pick them up on Amazon Marketplace for 1p each + the cost of postage, which worked out that I got all three of them for the same price as one new one in the bookshop. They are a little yellowed and worn around the edges, but perfectly readable.

Bought for Kindle:

•  Girl Parts by John Cusick. I love the sound of this book about what happens when a robot designed to be a boy's ideal "companion" develops a will of her own. Futuristic but also scarily current in a world where everyone has so many online friends but some guys lose the abilty to connect with the real world and to interact face to face with real people. I got this in Amazon's kindle summer sale.

For review:

• Eve by Anna Carey. Wow- I was so excited to get this book- a dystopian romance- which I've had on my wishlist for months. Love the sound of this book! This is published in October.

Received with thanks from the publisher.








So those were the books I got this week- what did you get?
Happy reading!
x

Review: Wild by Aprilynne Pike

Wild by Aprilynne Pike


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Book 3 in the Wings series


This was published under the title Illusions in the US and other parts of the world.


Laurel and David have been happy together but are starting to plan ahead to what they will be doing after high school. Laurel is undecided about whether to go to college, or, whether to continue her studies away in Avalon. When Tamani shows up as a new student at school Laurel is even more confused, and David and Tamani battle jealousy, and start off a series of rivalry and on-upmanship against the other. This is definitely a mid-series book, as it has that "filler book" feel to it, where nothing is still really resolved. Most of the story revolves around Laurel's struggle to work out her feelings for the two boys, and the love triangle between them is the main focus of the book. Laurel can't decide if she should pick sweet dependable David who has been her boyfriend for two years or intense Tamani, who is at least of the same species. Laurel cares strongly for both of them and cannot imagine either one of them not in her life, and both boys care passionately about Laurel.


Laurel must be protected at all costs, since she is to inherit the land which the gate to Avalon lies in, and Tamani manages to persuade the faeries that he is the one to protect her. Tamani's duties as Laurel's guardian, and undercover student take up most of his time and energy. He is watching Laurel constantly and leading the team of sentries outside her house. A distraction is thrown into the mix in the form of Yuki- a faery grown up outside of the teachings of Avalon- a Wild fae. Since it is unclear where Yuki's allegiance really lies and how much she truly knows about her heritage, it is up to Laurel and Tamani to watch her and try to befriend her, and see if the suspicion that she is possibly linked to the troll attacks is founded.


This book does however tell us a lot more about the faery world, and some of the background stories, myths and legends of Tamani's world. It seems to take a sprinkling of every faery story ever written with the legends of King Arthur and Guinevere, and also Queen Titania all mixed in together, along with the author's own unique take on faeries as plants. We also find out more about the caste sytem of spring/summer/winter faeries, and some of the politics and plotting behind the scenes.


Nothing at all is resolved by the end of the book, neither Laurel's choice of relationship, the threat from the trolls, or Yuki's role in everything, forcing us to wait again for the next book in the series to find anything out. But this is a decent continuation of the series and will probably appeal more to younger readers.



Favourite quote:
"You could be David's friend too". She glanced at Tamani when he said nothing. He was frowning. "The two of you really have a lot in common, and we're all in this together".
He shook his head. "It wouldn't work".
"Why not? He's a nice guy. And it would do you good to have some human friends", she said hinting at what she suspected was the root of the problem.
"It's not that", Tamani said, gesturing vaguely with one hand.
"Then why?" Laurel asked, exasperated.
"I just don't want to cosy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing"
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