Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This is where we share the books that we are waiting on.

OK, so in preparation of the upcoming release of Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, I'm going to do a Waiting on Wednesday so I can fanboy online. And scream a bit. And cry a bit. Also another chance for entries into my BZRK giveaway!

The Blood Of Olympus, Book Five
Published October 7, 2014

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them, and they’re stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake. The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance
Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it might be able to stop a war between the two camps. The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

*Sigh* Where do I start with this series? OK. So I first picked up The Lightning Thief in grade 3 and I've been a fan ever since. Like seriously, for a while I tried to learn Greek. Rick Riordan's books were the first ones I ever read without being bored to death. And I probably wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him.

I know, I know it sounds really cliché but its true. I really love these books. And this is the last book in the epic 10-book series featuring the Greek/Roman Demigods. This is kinda depressing isn't it? So just let that sink in.

Good? Okay. So I am really really really excited for this book, and I really hope that Annabeth and Percy can just go and get married. Seriously. I mean, I know they're still underage but c'mon, who doesn't want to see them get married? Am I right. IMHO, they should just go to Vegas and do a shotgun wedding so I can be happy for a while. And then they can have kids and they can be all awesome, and be smart, and funny, and cool, and cute. Ya... no. If Rick Riordan is anything like the other YA authors, one of them is going to die, and I am going to end up curled on my bed for the next 5hrs. But I swear Rick, if you break up Percabeth, you and I are going to have some choice words...

It's kinda obvious that Gaea won't destroy the whole world cuz if you have read Rick's blog recently, you'll know that he's writing a new Nordic Gods series and I'm pretty sure that's going to be set in the same world. Like really "Magnus Chase" Chase. "Annabeth Chase" Chase. C-H-A-S-E. Maybe her cousin or something... wait, doesn't she have brothers? What if they're her brothers. OMG that would be awesome. But then her dad had children with gods twice? Damn... what is it with her dad? But of course, Rick Riordan just puts us on a cliff and leaves us there to die until the next book comes out... here:

So yesterday on our webcast from Mount Olympus (er, the Empire State Building) I announced the title of my Norse mythology series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. So excited to share it with you! The first book will be out next October, 2015. The title for that first book will be announced at the back of Blood of Olympus.

And yes, I know what you're wondering. Chase . . . hmm, where have I heard that name before? Isn't that Annabeth's last name? Yes, it is. And no, that's not simply a coincidence. Beyond that, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you guessing.

And yes, OCTOBER 2015. WE HAVE TO WAIT AN ENTIRE YEAR. 365 DAYS. THAT'S A LOT OF TIME MR. RIORDAN.

I really need Blood of Olympus. Like now.

I just know this book is going to be awesome. And sad. Want to hear my conspiracy theory? Yes? Okay. Here it is. It's really common for us to us acronyms for book titles right? So, here it is. Blood of Olympus is BoO and Heroes of Olympus is HoO. Put that together and what do you get? BoOHoO. This has been eating at me for the past month. I've officially gone insane.

I hope you survive Blood of Olympus. Here's a question, what's your favourite book from Rick Riordan? Answer for another entry into my BZRK giveaway!

Finally, A Giveaway!

So this is a moment everyone has been waiting for, as a small thank you for reading our blog, we're hosting a giveaway in preparation for the release of the 3rd book in the BZRK series by Michael Grant! For those of you who don't know, Michael Grant is the bestselling author of the Gone series.

This series has an average 4 out of 5 star rating on GoodReads and believe me, it's awesome. Here's the synopsis of the first book:

Set in the near future, BZRK is the story of a war for control of the human mind.  Charles and Benjamin Armstrong, conjoined twins and owners of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, have a goal:  to turn the world into their vision of utopia.  No wars, no conflict, no hunger.  And no free will.  Opposing them is a guerrilla group of teens, code name BZRK, who are fighting to protect the right to be messed up, to be human.  This is no ordinary war, though.  Weapons are deployed on the nano-level. The battleground is the human brain.  And there are no stalemates here:  It’s victory . . . or madness. unfolds with hurricane force around core themes of conspiracy and mystery, insanity and changing realities, engagement and empowerment, and the larger impact of personal choice. Which side would you choose?  How far would you go to win?

Not convinced yet? Here are some reviews of the books...

“The graphic descriptions of what the real and artificial creatures . . . Add in some discussable ideas on the ethics of human experimentation and a smart, simple explanation of the potential in nanotechnology . . . . Round out the experience with realistically unpredictable characters and blockbuster action sequences to complete this thoroughly enjoyable, incredibly disturbing story.”—VOYA, perfect 10 review

“With simmering pots of sexual tension, near-nonstop action, and the threat of howling madness or brain-melting doom around every corpuscular corner, Grant’s new series is off to a breathless, bombastic start.”—Booklist, starred review

“A great choice for readers with a strong stomach, an interest in the future of biomedical technology and the essential ethical debate, or anyone willing to embark on an unnerving, frighteningly plausible thrill ride all around the globe.”—VOYA, perfect 10 review

So time for the giveaway! May the Odds be ever in your favour!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Catch Me When I Fall by Vicki Leigh (Jasper's Review)

I got this book from www.netgalley.com It's an awesome site for finding new releases in eBook form.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

Wow, this book as really good. The writing was spectacular, the plot was awesome, all in all, it was awesome. There were a few sections were I think that the plot was a little unbelievable. I don't think that many teenage girls would go with a man that they've never really met before to Paris and Rome... But besides that, there's really nothing bad about the book.

I just want to talk a little bit about Daniel, one of the Protectors. I like his backstory and everything, but I kind of felt that he was a little too weak to be a protagonist, but that being said... He's still really awesome, and I guess sometimes in this world, love at first sight does happen. But, trying to get into her pants before a third date? Not cool man.

I love the idea of having a "Protector" that protects you in your sleep. I think that the idea is much better than the idea of "guardian angels" that has been used over and over and over again.
The pacing for this book was wonderful, it's not too long (about 200 pages) so nothing was dragged out. It was fast paced and wonderfully action-packed.

I would definitely read this book again. I recommend this book for anyone wanting a short, supernatural thriller.

Review for Catch me when I Fall by Vicki Leigh

I got this book from www.netgalley.com It's an awesome site for finding new releases in eBook form.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

Wow, this book as really good. The writing was spectacular, the plot was awesome, all in all, it was awesome. There were a few sections were I think that the plot was a little unbelievable. I don't think that many teenage girls would go with a man that they've never really met before to Paris and Rome... But besides that, there's really nothing bad about the book.

I just want to talk a little bit about Daniel, one of the Protectors. I like his backstory and everything, but I kind of felt that he was a little too weak to be a protagonist, but that being said... He's still really awesome, and I guess sometimes in this world, love at first sight does happen. But, trying to get into her pants before a third date? Not cool man.

I love the idea of having a "Protector" that protects you in your sleep. I think that the idea is much better than the idea of "guardian angels" that has been used over and over and over again.
The pacing for this book was wonderful, it's not too long (about 200 pages) so nothing was dragged out. It was fast paced and wonderfully action-packed.

I would definitely read this book again. I recommend this book for anyone wanting a short, supernatural thriller.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Jasper's Review)

Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Info

552 pages

Published March 14th 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

This book is awesome. This book has to be in my current top ten, and most likely, always will be on it. Let's get down to the "why" shall we?


The Format

I loved the format for this book. Looking at it for the first time, I was kinda scared at the humongous tome lying in front of me. But once you open the book, you notice that the format that the book is written in is both quirky and different. The little blocks of texts that provide insight into that big chunk of text that you just read makes the 500-something page book bearable and not boring at all. But it is such a good book. Words can't explain. It's kind of like reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, another book that I love.

The Characters

Death - Death has to be my favourite character ever written on paper. Other than Elena from Bitten. Death in this book is portrayed as a kind of quasi-human character, except for that fact that he's kind of emotionally unattached, except for with Liesel Meminger, The Book Thief.

Liesel Meminger - Liesel is a live in the moment kind of girl. She's one of the best people that I've ever read about, she's nice, smart, and compassionate, but she's really naive. That's really her, only problem, but you grow to love her because that's the type of person she is.

The Plot

The plot for this book is good, but it can be slightly grade-school at times. Kinda childish, but in a good way. Marcus Zusak manages to write about a topic, that usually is gruesome and dark, in a way that makes you laugh at it instead of wanting to rip of Hitler's head. This book will make you laugh and cry, then laugh some more. Marcus Zusak's writing is truly amazing.

The only problem I have with the book is the extreme amount of profanity in it. Like I know that its about the amount of profanity you usually use in coversation. But really, there's at least 2 swear words on each page, tone it down a little. At least they're in German and not English...

The Verdict

Go to the bookstore, right now and buy this book. You will thank me. It has to be one of the best books ever written in this decade. It is really, really, really good. I recommend this book to anyone that wants a light-ish read.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Info

552 pages

Published March 14th 2006 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

This book is awesome. This book has to be in my current top ten, and most likely, always will be on it. Let's get down to the "why" shall we?


The Format

I loved the format for this book. Looking at it for the first time, I was kinda scared at the humongous tome lying in front of me. But once you open the book, you notice that the format that the book is written in is both quirky and different. The little blocks of texts that provide insight into that big chunk of text that you just read makes the 500-something page book bearable and not boring at all. But it is such a good book. Words can't explain. It's kind of like reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, another book that I love.

The Characters

Death - Death has to be my favourite character ever written on paper. Other than Elena from Bitten. Death in this book is portrayed as a kind of quasi-human character, except for that fact that he's kind of emotionally unattached, except for with Liesel Meminger, The Book Thief.

Liesel Meminger - Liesel is a live in the moment kind of girl. She's one of the best people that I've ever read about, she's nice, smart, and compassionate, but she's really naive. That's really her, only problem, but you grow to love her because that's the type of person she is.

The Plot

The plot for this book is good, but it can be slightly grade-school at times. Kinda childish, but in a good way. Marcus Zusak manages to write about a topic, that usually is gruesome and dark, in a way that makes you laugh at it instead of wanting to rip of Hitler's head. This book will make you laugh and cry, then laugh some more. Marcus Zusak's writing is truly amazing.

The only problem I have with the book is the extreme amount of profanity in it. Like I know that its about the amount of profanity you usually use in coversation. But really, there's at least 2 swear words on each page, tone it down a little. At least they're in German and not English...

The Verdict

Go to the bookstore, right now and buy this book. You will thank me. It has to be one of the best books ever written in this decade. It is really, really, really good. I recommend this book to anyone that wants a light-ish read.

Teaser Tuesday #2

Teaser Tuesday is a book meme hosted by Should be Reading. Description: Grab your current read, open to a random page and share 2 sentences from somewhere on that page (no spoilers please).

Jasper's Current Read: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared

The other discovery was in the mailbox when Aronsson [the police inspector] was leaving. Among the day's post, there was an official letter from the Vehicle Licencing Authority, which confirmed that a 1992 Yellow Scania K113 had changed owners. [From page 145]

Showcase Sunday #3

Showcase Sunday is a bookish meme started by Book, Biscuits, and Tea, where you list the new books or fandom merchandise you've received (from a bookstore, a library, as a gift, etc.) throughout the week. Since there will be a SS post every week*, the amount of books and merch shown on each, will vary

Manali:

~Books~

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Echo by Alyson Noël

Mystic by Alyson Noël

Horizon by Alyson Noël

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

~Merch~

If I Stay Movie Poster

If I Stay Bookmark

The Hunger Games:Catching Fire Wristband

YanLin:

 ~Books~

Other Words For Love

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Reality Boy by A.S. King

Let the Storm Break by Shannon Messenger

Looking for Alaska by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

~Merch~

 If I Stay Movie Poster

If I Stay Bookmark

Jasper:

~Books~

Forgotten by Catherine McKenzie

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

1984 by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

The Reckoning  by Kelley Armstrong

The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

 Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

If I Stay (Movie Tie-In Edition) by Gayle Forman

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

~Merch~

If I Stay Movie Poster

If  I Stay Bookmark

Review Copies:

              

Portrait of Woman in Ink

(Kelly I. Hitchcock)

Grayson's Surrender and Taking Cover

(Catherine Mann)

Scarlet Angel 

(C.A. Wilke)

Mortom

(Erik Therme)

*We will not post weekly Showcase Sunday posts since there will then be very few books on each post. 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Jasper's Review)

My Rating: 2 out of 5

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

Reaction upon finishing:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? :/

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

This book was confusing. Really, really, really confusing. Other than that, the book was... plain.

So on the inside flap, the message tells you "If anyone asks how it ends, just LIE." Obviously, I don't lie in my reviews, so I'll just say nothing. But... I can't help but tell you this: The end, is the absolute worst and most confusing part about the book. Seriously, read the book, don't read spoilers.

The Review

The book is just another YA novel. You see, most YA novels are written in a way that capitalise on the minds of very easy to please readers, that don't want anything overly complicated, but complicated enough to make themselves feel like they have accomplished something through reading the novel. I know this sounds really cynical but that's the feeling I get from a lot of books that are trying to be smart, but don't quite get there.

We Were Liars is a tale that has a million different faces. You could look at it in a light that is criticising advantage and privilege, where the people born into a family that has everything, don't want it. You could look at it in a way that shows that racism is still very much alive today. But of course, you can look at it and see a beautiful love story that will never end exactly the right way. But it's that last part that you see the most, and the first two only come to you after you've read the book another time because you were so confused the first time you read it.

The "Brilliant Damaged Girl":

Cadence is the type of person that you read about and while thinking "1st world problem, 1st world problem, 1st world problem, not a first world problem, wait never mind." Her character lacks depth that I love from the characters that I read about. Like Eleanor from Eleanor & Park (Click here to see what I wrote about her.) But Candace was that exact opposite. Most of the time, I have no effing idea what's happening in that head of hers. She changes her mind within 2 pages of making the decision, she as no appreciation for anything, or anyone, she's just so... shallow and fake. Sorry, not sorry to all of you that liked her.

The "Passionate Political Boy"

Okay, Gatwick "Gat" was the one person I didn't absolutely hate in this book. He was okay at most times... and really not okay at others. The thing about him is that I love his ideas and his opinions, but I don't think he fits in with the story very well. The whole point of him is basically to have him become best friends with and a boyfriend of what is probably a group of billionaires, and tell them, continuously, that he doesn't like wealth and he doesn't fit in. I mean like WTF dude, just don't go to their summer estate that is just chock full of that wealth that you just happen to absolutely hate. 

E. Lockhart doesn't really make sense in her choice of characters...

The plot wasn't actually half-bad most of the time... just that it was a little predictable and so plain most of the times. That last chapter was so terrible I can't even describe it. It felt like a rushed 3 page section that was tacked onto the end. So by the time you finish reading a chapter that isn't fit to end a book, you get to the "twist" that just doesn't make sense with the rest of the book. I really didn't like that part.

I think the only thing that redeemed it from a 1 to a 2 for me is that I love books that have an element that is so different and out there, it just kinda works. In this book, those sections are the "fairytale" kind of sections. About a "king and his three beautiful daughters"... those parts were really well written.

So bottom line. Would I recommend this book? No... with a hesitant yes that follows. I suppose that this book could be very good at being a lot of people's favourite book, but I think that there'll be a lot more haters than likers. Haters gotta hate.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Manali's Review)

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*WARNING: SPOILERS*

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Holy f*** this book was amazing. First of all, the cover is absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure why they changed it to that weird metal-y thing, but I don't like that new cover. I'm really glad I read it in it's original cover, because it'a absolutely beautiful.

The actual story was sooooo cool. The idea itself I found pretty cool. Cryogenically frozen so that you could be transported to terraform a planet called Centauri-Earth that would take 300 years to reach? That's cool. I love the way the pain of getting frozen was described. Yeah, thats a bit morbid of me, but I appreciated the detailed description. It made everything feel so much more real.



First, the Season. Like ew. That is so ridiculously gross, I can't even. Yeah, it does really show the lack of humanity aboard Godspeed, the way they have a set time to do it because they couldn't handle doing it whenever, yeah, but having to picture a bunch of people having sex literally everywhere? That's really gross. Nuh-uh.



And oh my god, the Plague. The fact that there wasn't a plague at all and they managed to cover it up scares me a bit. All history before then was wiped out. And then the fact that the ship had been running for way over 300 years, and would continue to run for another 100 or so years if it doesn't break down? Oh god. And the cryo level itself is completely hidden. And the chemicals being released into the water supply is causing people to lose their...humanity, I guess...except for the people who are supposedly crazy, who are on meds--they don't get affected. I don't know, it just bothered me how sick people were on the ship, specifically Elder.

And then the part about the chemicals in the water, and then everything is just...I can't think anymore. Elder, though. Hiding a plague, drugging inhabitants, controlling sex, and making people believe that they were close to their destination, and showing them fake stars that they could tell their children about. He's sick. Like the thing about stars. Harley suicided because of the stars, so he could be with them. And he painted himself with a background of stars before he died. And it makes me sad. I think the stars were the saddest part to me. What if we, who are...accustomed t stars were to be put on a Godspeed? We wouldn't have real stars, we would only have the occasional glimpse of fake stars. I suppose stars are taken for granted.

And then there's who whole part about who unplugged Amy and the rest of the people and the whole Elder, Amy, Doc, Eldest, Orion thing. I really couldn't figure out who I should suspect as the unplugger. Which is really good, I think. The author kept things suspenseful, First, I was thinking Eldest. Then I was thinking Doc. Then Orion. The Eldest, Doc, Orion, and so on. Eldest just seems like the kind of a****** to do it. Orion was just suspicious. And Doc...I guess he was suspicious too. And then BOOM, it was Orion, but Elder was the one who unplugged Amy, 'cause he thought she was cool looking, because she was different. Mind blown.



My review is going everywhere. I literally can't even think. My thoughts are just everywhere, and I'm having trouble forming proper sentences, and proper thoughts. And putting everything into orderly paragraphs which all make sense, and pertain to their own topics. But they don't. Sorry. So I think I'm going to end it here. I feel like this turned out more like a rant than a review.



Basically, this book was absolutely fantastic. And I can't even think, it was really good. I was having so many mind blown moments, and so many "Holy s***, oh my god!!" moments. It was so good, and I couldn't figure out anything about who did anything until the end. It was like everything fell into place, every single moment in the book, every single piece came together. Plus, I was bracing myself for a really romantic book, but it wasn't even. It was like one or two kisses, and that's it. Added bonus!

- Mannytee



View all my reviews

Down on the Other Street by Jennifer Cie (Manali's Review)

Down On The Other Street: Volume I by Jennifer Cie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Long winded, unemployed, and timid, on the first date Brendan Bloom is already in love. Comfortably arched over his body, Ryan contemplates murder. Cold, necklace gleaming against the pale tint of her collarbone, the passenger could have mercy. Not a little black book, but a faded love letter out from under the sheets. Some romances ignite on sight, others flare at the base of waterless tubs soaked in agitation. Rooted in the South, this collection of short stories delivers five electric confessions of love, sexuality, and identity across time.

To be honest here, I think this could have been a fantastic book, had it not been for all the confusion. Maybe it's just the lack of experience talking, or maybe it was just me being dumb, but I was quite confused. It was like a bunch of unrelated stories put into one book. I thought eventually, something would connect them all. Maybe something did connect them all, but once again, my lack of experience in reading blinded me, and prevented me from fully understanding. After that, I just chose to believe that the book was a compilation of stories. I'm not sure if I'm right in believing that, but apparently I am, according to the synopsis.



Other than the whole thing where I couldn't figure out whether it was one story or a compilation of stories, the confusion was mostly due to just not getting what was happening. A lot of the time, I couldn't figure out who's perspective it was in, or the sexuality of the person (were they straight, gay, etc.) or the gender of the person. Other times, I just couldn't picture anything in my head--the image wasn't really clear. On top of all that, I couldn't decipher the title. I couldn't really figure out why the title was the title.



I think most of the problem is that I was the reader of this book. If someone else had read the book, the review would probably be a lot more meaningful, because they would have had more understanding than I do. But it's just me. And I didn't get the book completely, so there's not much for me to say.

However, those problems aside, if I were judging the stories on their own, they were actually pretty good. Yeah, a bit sexual, but that's okay. The stories themselves were good. Different time periods with the same theme: accepting yourself, accepting who you love. Or rather, the struggle of acceptance.

I've nothing left to say now. I've explained my confusion, and I can't really say anything worth anything because I was confused by the book. This book did have it's good parts, and I'm sure I would've found the book a lot more enjoyable had I understood it. But it wasn't bad. I was just confused.

- Mannytee

View all my reviews

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Jasper's Review)

Awesome new cover of The Giver

My Rating: 5/5 PERFECTION

Book info:

240 Pages

First Published in 1993

Lois Lowry's  The Giver is the quintessential dystopian novel, followed by its remarkable companions, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

When a book leaves you breathless, you know that it has to be awesome. OK HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK WAS GOOD. You see, I've been hearing people fan over this book for a really long time already and I just never got around to reading it. I kinda thought that maybe it was a little over hyped? But no. No the raving over this book that people did was definitely not over hyped at all. It's completely and utterly worth the 12.20 I bought it with. Here let me give you some gifs

Ok. So basically, this book is about a pseudo-perfect dystopian society. I use the words psuedo-perfect because, no one know anything. Nothing about pain, death, war not even snow. The only people that know are the Giver and the Receiver. 

“I liked the feeling of love,' [Jonas] confessed. He glanced nervously at the speaker on the wall, reassuring himself that no one was listening. 'I wish we still had that,' he whispered. 'Of course,' he added quickly, 'I do understand that it wouldn't work very well. And that it's much better to be organized the way we are now. I can see that it was a dangerous way to live.' 

...'Still,' he said slowly, almost to himself, 'I did like the light they made. And the warmth.” 

They don't even know about colour. Somehow they believe that without anything to make people different, everything would be better. And somehow, I found myself wondering at this intricate tale that Lois Lowry has weaved and I thought to myself that maybe it would make a better world. That woman is really amazing.

Let's talk about the characters for a while (the pictures I'll be using are from the movie casting)

Jonas

Jonas is the awesome bad ass character in the book, there's always one. He's like Katniss from the Hunger Games... but smarter, nicer and better :D I actually love the casting for Jonas in the movie because that's exactly what I picture him as. He's tall but not too tall, skinny but still has some figure. If I were a girl, I'd be swooning over him. I mean have you seen that face? ;D OK back to the character. I think the way that Jonas started out as really rule abiding, that he wouldn't even think about breaking a rule. But then when he progressed, he turned into a bad ass rebel that does whatever the hell he wants. So AWESOME. I also kinda hated him though. He's pretty naive and stupid but at least he grew out of that...

The Giver

The Giver was a kinda love hate thing for me. First off I understand that he is basically smarter than everything that has ever lived before, but I don't think that he really has to be so condescending... He's just so cynical. So I guess I really didn't like him.

This book was really short. Too short. But it got to the point and I love that with books. The book was about the same length as a short chapter book that you would read when you were 6. But that's really all that I hated about the book.

I loved a lot more than I hated though. I loved that this is one of the original dystopian novels, that it isn't like the dystopians written in the past 5 years. Where the plot just gets repeated book after book, or in books like Divergent, that gets so much hype that you just have to read it. But when you do read it, you find that the book is actually really, really bad. I mean look at Tris. She's such a pushover. And she has basically no personality. But The Giver is so much better than that. the people in this book, lack the terrible character writing that's basically in every dystopian novel, the people are actually believable. Like, Jonas, The Giver, Lily, Fiona, they all make sense. I think a lot of dystopian authors get carried away making the characters all "futuristic" that they forget to make them human. And that is definitely not a problem in this book.

What else can I say about this book other than the fact that it's absolutely perfect. The characters, the plot, the everything is just the epitome of modern YA Fiction.

I really suggest you to read this book. Especially since the movie is coming out in 1 day!!!! SO EXCITED! Seriously. Read. The. Book. I hope I can get my hands on a copy of Gathering Blue. I am praying right now that this series doesn't degrade like Divergent and the Hunger Games did.

Reviews! (Or The Lack Thereof)

Hey everyone!

So as you have seen, we haven't been writing reviews at the pace that we usually do, and we hope that you do understand, that an unforeseen circumstance has delayed our reviews, and that they will be delayed by a couple weeks, though they are definitely being written!

Thanks,
-The Last Page at Midnight Crew

Secret at Haney Field - R.M. Clark (Brandon's Review)

First of, I'd like to say that it was a pleasure to read this book!

Now onto the review!

Twelve-year-old April O'Day's summer has gotten off to a flying start. As the new bat retriever for the Harpoons, her hometown's minor-league team, she's fetching bats and doling out great advice to players and coaches alike. In a word, she's becoming indispensable. But mysterious things are happening at Haney Field, which April and her best friend—and fellow baseball enthusiast—Darren Plummer are determined to uncover. As they quickly learn, this is no ordinary season. In fact, it's a whole new ballgame!

Review
I would like to start off by saying that this book is a great book! The character development was at a steady pace, coupled by the hint of time traveling, and history that is mentioned by the book, really does make it an all-around good book. I really enjoyed reading this book, (if you couldn't tell), and even appreciated the glossary, to refresh myself on the terms!

-Brandon

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Jasper's Review)

My Rating: 4.9/5

“Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young
and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”
— John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars,
for The New York Times Book Review
“Bono met his wife in high school,” Park says.

“So did Jerry Lee Lewis,” Eleanor answers.

“I’m not kidding,” he says.

“You should be,” she says, “we’re 16.”

“What about Romeo and Juliet?”

“Shallow, confused, then dead.”

“I love you,” Park says.

“Wherefore art thou,” Eleanor answers.

“I’m not kidding,” he says.

“You should be.”

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, Eleanor & Park is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

OMG. 

   Oh. My. God. I have no reactions for this book... Haha... no, just kidding. But that gif really describes what I looked like after reading that book. Right now I feel really conflicted because 1) I love Rainbow Rowell for writing this modern holy grail of YA Romance but 2) I really hated her for making the book end that way. Believe me. You know what I'm talking about if you've already read this book. So let's get right into the review.

Part 1: The Characters

Fan art from the Special Edition of Eleanor & Park

Eleanor...

         What can I say? I'm in love :D She's the red head in the pictures above. I really don't get her. Sh'es one of those people that you wish that you would meet some time in your life but you never really do. She protects basically everyone before she thinks about protecting herself, she will do anything for the people that she loves; including going through a complete makeover courtesy of Park's mom...

Park...

       He's a complete idiot. He's probably one of those people that wouldn't know what to do even if the instructions were right in front of him. I guess, it's his idiocy that makes him "cute." That and his good looks of course... Anyways, Park is kinda sweet if you look beyond his joking surface. He loves Eleanor with al his heart and I guess that's really all that matters. I know that kinda sounds sappy but really... THIS IS A ROMANCE. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?

Part 2: The Book

 

Excuse me while I go laugh and cry at the same time. I mean like WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING. This book is more than just a romance. It's a lot more. Its a Romance, Mystery, Thriller, wait. There's a book genre for this. *Don't fail me now brain* ITS A TRAGICOMEDY *proud of myself* Yes. It was a Tragicomedy. It makes you cry and laugh and die a little reading every page. Reading through Eleanor's pain was really something. How she managed to survive astounds me. And that SOB step father of hers... Just, no. I don't think I could read through that again. As a guy, I should be saying that this book is for little girls and that I didn't cry at all. But as a book reviewer, I'm going to tell you that the little tears just came out of my eyes. I think that the last chapter from the book was the last nail in the coffin containing my heart. This book was just too damn good. Too. Damn. Good. 

Part 3: Bring on the firing squad!

Firstly, I would like to say sorry, not sorry, to all of those people that saw absolutely nothing wrong with the book. But I did see something wrong. Everything just felt kinda weird in the middle. I'm serious. Like, I get that the real "climax" of the book was supposed to be in the middle but... I kind of felt that was some what weak. I personally thought the book would have been perfectly fine skipping the middle calm period. I guess I'm just one of those people that kinda think that there really is no calm in the storm that is a relationship but maybe I'm a pessimist. But then again... Park getting beat up for Eleanor is cute.

Part 4: The Verdict

Read this book when you're happy and need to get a grip on life again. A perfect gift for all your air headed friends *cough cough*

-Jasper

A Rant from Mannytee about Fated

This is not a review. I haven't actually completed any books since Control. I actually have only read about two pages of this book since I finished Control. This is just my little post to let out my thoughts, in more common terms; a rant.




So I have recently been reading a book called Fated by Alison Noël (or as I like to call it, Fatted), and I have to say I'm incredibly disappointed. I originally wanted to read this book because it has a pretty cover. Yes, I do judge books by their covers, and I don't know many people who don't. Actually, I don't think I can name even one person who doesn't. The cover was absolutely beautiful, at least I thought so, so I decided to pick it up. I generally don't like pink, but the rest of the cover makes up for it. Crows flying around the edges, and a girl (who looks like Selena Gomez with a weird chin that looks lie it sticks out but is actually only covered by a shadow. Ha, ha.) who wears dream catcher earrings with very long feathers on them. The point is, the cover is beautiful. Oh, and 20 minutes ago, I discovered the yellow cover, which is also beautiful. It features the same girl, and some crows, it's just arranged a bit differently, with a different font and a different colour.






I think they're both quite pretty. I can't decide which cover I like better, though I suppose it doesn't matter.











A little bit of back story on my history with Fated: I originally started this book on the 6th of June. I then continued my attempt to read this book throughout half of June. Then I just gave up, read some other books. I rebooted my attempt to read this book, then started Control, which I completed within two days. (I still feel bad about reading other books while trying to read this one, but on the other hand, if I hadn't interrupted the reading of Fated, I would still have not read any books at all.) I am now back to reading Fated, and as I type out this rant, I have read exactly 76 pages. I am currently considering switching books again.


In my experiences, books with pretty covers tend to have a good plot and good writing. This book is not one of those books. Yes the writing is good, the plot is good, but it's too much and not enough. Too descriptive, too boring, not enough action, not enough awesomeness. It's ridiculous. I'm not even at page 100 and I'm bored to death. To be honest, I was bored to death before page 10. I may have to do a DNF review on this book. I'm determined to complete the book, but I'm seriously doubting my ability to forge through this utter boring-ness. The girl in this book just wants to describe everything. Like, she can't just say, I'm walking through a field and the dew is making my dress wet. No, she has to say, I'm gliding gracefully through a luscious green meadow, the damp grass making dark splotches on my dress with it's fresh dew. This didn't actually happen in the book, I'm just making up something as an example. But I find it irritating that every single sentence is so descriptive. Nothing is simple. It's just so ARRRGGGHHHHUGGGHHHHH. I'm trying to keep things PG...so sorry for that word that wasn't a word. It was just a sound of frustration in place of some swearing.

No offense, but this book is like the worst thing ever. I can't even fully explain how I feel about it. I had high hopes on this book,not only because of the cover, but because of the synopsis, and because of other people's rating on this book. I'm not quite sure what they were thinking rating it so high...I guess I shouldn't say that, because I haven't read even half of the book, and it's most likely going to get better throughout the book, but based on what I read, 4 stars is quite generous. I'm very frustrated. I don't know what to go with this book. I don't know whether I should keep trying, or just put it down until I can handle ultimate boring-ness.

This rant has gone on longer than I thought it would. I have so much more to say, but I think that if I continue, I would just start babbling. So I think I'm going to end it here. I'm considering doing a part 2 to this rant, just because I have so much to say. I'm going to keep trying for a bit, and if it doesn't go well, I'll come back with another (hopefully shorter) rant. See y'all later.

-Mannytee

BLOG TOUR: Lex Thomas QUARANTINE

Synopsis

"Lord of the Flies in a 21st-century high school setting.Welcome to Quarantine 3: The Burnouts , where readers of The Maze Runner, Gone, and Divergent go when they're hungry for more dark, compelling survival stories."

  When an explosion rocks David and Will's suburban high school one morning, a deadly virus is unleashed on the school. After a year of quarantine, with no adults around, the students have created their own society. All of the social cliques have developed into gangs-The Nerds, The Geeks, The Freaks, The Sluts, The Skaters, The Burnouts, The Pretty Ones, and The Varsity-and each gang provides a service with which they can barter for provisions. Without a gang, it's almost impossible to secure food, water, territory, or supplies. In the final installment in the Quarantine trilogy, the brothers are reunited on the Outside and it appears as if, for once everything is going right. But inside the school, Lucy is alone with no gang and no hope, until the Burnouts welcome her into their filthy arms.  (Goodreads)

Lex Hrabe (left) and Thomas Voorhies (right), the authors of the Quarantine trilogy

Are you afraid when you try to write? I'm afraid every time I sit down to work. Sometimes I'm afraid enough that I pop right out of my seat and instantly come up with a reason why I shouldn't start writing just yet. I'll lie to myself that there are important chores to be done first, that there is some issue in my life that I should probably worry about for an hour, or I decide that I need to make another coffee or tea before I start. I make a lot of coffee and tea.

I'd like to tell you that after publishing three novels the fear has gone away or has lessened. I guess it has lessened some. When we sold our book proposal for the Quarantine trilogy, neither of us had ever written a novel before. Being told your first attempt at a novel is going to be published is an incredibly frightening opportunity. I don't get to quite that level of scared anymore, but the fear is still there, waiting for me every day. I'm afraid of writing a bad book. I'm afraid that I don't actually know what I'm doing despite what I've written in the past. I'm afraid of looking stupid. Most times I don't even know what I'm afraid of, but I'm sitting at the computer feeling the fear, and wishing there was a way to know exactly what I should say and how to say it, but there isn’t one. There's just the blank screen and my own gut feeling of what should happen next, or oftentimes no gut feeling at all. The fear tends to lessen once I actually start, and continue to dwindle as the hours pass and my word count rises, but it is always there before I begin and somehow I never get used to it. I always feel convinced that I have a real reason to be afraid no matter how many times I push past it and have a productive writing day. 

You can bully yourself into starting, you can play loud music to rile yourself up, meditate to calm yourself down, or do whatever else to deal with the fear, but the best days are when you drown out the fear with excitement. The more you're falling in love with your idea, your characters, your scenes, your settings- the more the fear falls away, and the easier it is to start. And starting is the point. Regardless of how you get there, the only way to make the fear go away is to start writing and then keep writing. I know that to be true.

I’m just really good at ignoring it.

                                                                                                                  

 -Thomas Voorhies