Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yay for another book review! I have now run out of books to review. This is the third and final book I read last week...and now I have to start reading again if I'm gonna review any more.

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

So at the beginning, this book had me like,



I was so confused. I was so, so confused. It took me a while to figure out that they were just con artists (haha), and I couldn't figure out how they would just jump to places. And then, as the first chapter began, I didn't notice that there had been a time jump since then and the prologue. I should have known, but at the same time, it wasn't shown clearly, to me at least.

After the confusing bit was over, I started to really like the book. It was so cool. I love how it was told in olden times--1800s--which is not really something I usually read. The only teen books that I have read that took place in that time period would be the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. But even then, this book had so much more of an old-style feel to it. It was even less modern. Which was so amazing; it brought a much more real feel to the book.

I liked the characters as a whole. The author made me like them, made me hate them, made me change my opinions of them. For example, Caroline: I hated her. I thought she was a killer, but the way she cried for Tabitha made me completely change my mind. More importantly Mr. Travis: I hated him even more. He was so creepy, and Rowena's "Mr. Tra" message kinda creeped me out, and made me believe that he was a murderer. But he only loved Rowena, so I liked him. Violet's mother...simple. She's just a b****. Tabitha, I didn't like her at first, but I grew to like her, because once again, her broken side showed through, and it showed that she wasn't all bad. Elizabeth was such a sweetheart; she was so cute, and supportive, and I loved her. Peter...I hate him. Go die in a hole, Peter. And Colin...Colin.

Let's just discuss Colin and Violet. They are so cute, and Colin is so brilliant. Like he's always there for her, while trying to maintain his annoying reputation. And it's so cute. Too cute.

This book was really good. I actually had my doubts about it, I didn't think I would be able to finish it. But I actually wasn't able to put it down. And when I finished, I had literally nothing to do. It was so good.

- Mannytee

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The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan (Manali's Review)

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*WARNING SPOILERS*

This was the second out of the three books I read last week...and this book literally brought me to tears. Not to many--one or two--but still.

Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.

Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their love.

This book was so John Green. It was so sad, and it was written in that John Green style...and it didn't have that happy ending.

This story was so beautiful though. Not just the love story, but more because of Tim's story. The way he lost his sight, his innocence, the way he never got his happy ending. Duncan, I couldn't care less about, to be honest. I didn't like him, I didn't like his story, I didn't like his girlfriend. I was more concerned about Tim.

Tim is a lot better out of the two characters. Tim's story is so tragic; it was good for Duncan to have used it as his tragedy paper. It made so much sense. His story was so wrong, and so sad, and it was tragic.

It wasn't fair that Vanessa nearly died, and that Tim went blind, and that Tim never got Vanessa, because that's how stories work; they always get each other...but they didn't. And it added to the story so much more. Usually it's the story that makes something sad. Here, not only was the story sad, but the ending as well. I think that was the point. A sad-ish life, made so much sadder.


I'm really very sad. And I'm glad that there wasn't a sequel. One, because I wouldn't have been able to take the feels, and two, because I feel like it would have taken away from the story. But I do want to read more from this writer. She is absolutely brilliant, even if she did make me cry a bit.

- Mannytee




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Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (Manali's Review)

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*WARNING SPOILERS*

I'm not going to bother with my little commentary at the beginning. I'm just gonna get right to the review.

It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.

Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at first.

Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

Let me just start by saying that this was a huge improvement from the first book. I found that Under the Never Sky was really boring at the beginning, and maintained it's boring-ness until the last 100-or-so pages. Originally, I did not want to pick up this book, because I really didn't like the first one. But I'm glad I read this, because it was absolutely brilliant. This book was so much better. This is probably because in the last books, the characters were all set up, and now it was time to get into the action and drama and all that stuff that makes a book good.

Second - Perry and Aria are so cute. There was so much fighting between them, but I think that makes them so much better. Every time one of them did something cute, I was just like



I mean just....awwwwwwwwnnnnnn.

I found the cover beautiful. I think I like it more than the cover for Under the Never Sky if not as much.

Back to the main point: I feel like the author did a much better job with this than with the first book. I feel like in the first book, too much time was wasted on how much Dwellers and Outsiders hated each other, and how different the worlds were, rather than focusing on the problem. But in this book, after everything was set up in the previous book, the plot became more focused. Also, Liv was just totally bad-ass...and I got really mad that she died. No happy ending for Liv and Roar.



But I can't wait to pick up Into the Still Blue.

- Mannytee

View all my reviews

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (Manali's Review)

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

*WARNING SPOILERS*

Hello again. I know I haven't posted a review in a while, and this is because I went on a two month reading break, during which I just couldn't pick up a book and read, because I couldn't focus and stay interested and so on. So I just stopped reading. But I'm glad to say, that I'm back into it. Now, this isn't one of the three books I read in this past week, I actually read this back in May. Actually, one of the books I read this week was the sequel to this book, Through the Ever Night, and I couldn't post the review without posting this one, this being the first book. I was feeling a bit OCD. So here's my review.

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered.

This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage--and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Oh my god. I really didn't like this book. It was written very well, but it was too boring more me. It was so descriptive; it focused on every single detail of everything, which would be okay, but it got to the point where it was no longer focusing on the big picture.

Second, and this is along the same lines as my previous comment, I felt like Aria and Perry payed to much attention to what was wrong with each other, and their differences, and the differences between their worlds, once again not focusing on the problem. It seemed like the author was too caught up in setting these two up. There was too much character development, and while character development is good, we still need some plot development. And for me, there wasn't some real plot until the last 100-or-so pages. I felt like the beginning of the book was a bit of a waste of time, and it kind of turned me off from the series, because at that point, I assumed that the rest of the books would be the same.

Once it got into it, though, the book was brilliant. I think Aether is cool. And Cinder is cool. And I wish someone would die already.

I was just waiting for someone to die like


My god. I didn't like this book for the most part. Too boring, too slow. But I think the ending salvaged the whole thing a bit. But the end is making me feel a bit more optimistic about the following books.

-Mannytee

View all my reviews

Showcase Sunday #2

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.

So...about the "...there will be a SS post every week", yeah...no. Not sure what happened, but no one ended up posting this for about three weeks. Now because of that, we've stuck all of the books that we've gotten over the past month into one post.

Manali:

Silver by Chris Wooding
Fated by Alyson Noël

Echo by Alyson Noël

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

A "Maybe okay will be our always."  TFIOS bookmark 

YanLin:

If  I Stay by Gayle Forman
The Book Thief  (Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition) by Markus Zusak
Of  Poseidon by Anna Banks
City of  Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
"An Abundance of John Green" booklet of  snippets  from  Barnes & Noble

A "Maybe okay will be our always." TFIOS bookmark 

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Lux: Beginnings by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Lux: Consequences by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Jasper:

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
Looking For Alaska (Barnes & Noble Exclusive Collector's Edition) by John Green

The Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin

The Vampire Academy Series (Box Set) by Richelle Mead
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

...and the book where I (YLC) facepalm at...

German For Dummies (All-in-One) 

Review Copies:

Sacred Choices by Karen Hulene Bartell

Cover Reveal - Vampire Down by Steven Montano!

Today, I am very excited to be able to help author Steven Montano reveal the cover for his final installment in the Blood Skies series, Vampire Down!!

Releases June 27, 2014

Blurb~

Who ever knew the end would come so soon?

In this final volume of the BLOOD SKIES series, Eric Cross and Danica Black find themselves facing impossible odds in the desolate ruins of the world they once knew.  Hunted by the mercenary forces of the newly formed East Claw Coalition and desperate to find the elusive White Mother, the two refugees will be pushed to the limits of their abilities and sanity as they struggle to survive.

Meanwhile, in the near future, the undead hunter called Reaver searches for the lost city of Bloodhollow, the place where humankind will make its final stand, while the undead of New Koth and the rebellious White Children make their push to end the reign of the Ebon Kingdoms once and for all.

As timelines collide and the spider weaves her web, the battle for the fate of the riven world will come to its violent conclusion in the depths of a forgotten city, where unlikely heroes will emerge and hidden evils will finally be revealed...

Available Friday June 27^th in Ebook and Print format.

About the Author~

Steven Montano was something terrifying in his previous life.  Now he’s an accountant, so not much has changed.

An avid hiker, reader, San Antonio Spurs fan, goofball husband and father of two, Steven writes novels (the seven volume Blood Skies series, the Skullborn Trilogy, something black..., and the upcoming thrillers Blood Angel Rising and Colder) and drinks a lot of wine when he isn’t busy pulling his hair out over payroll or trying to balance the company books. 

Visit the author’s website and check out the Vampire Down page on Goodreads!

Thanks for stopping by, make sure you check out this series. Book 1, Blood Skies is currently FREE on Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Start your journey now.

Voice of an Angel by Becky Lower (Jasper's Review)

5/5

*looks up from cellphone* "THE BOOK IS DONE?!"

OH. MY. GOD. This book was pretty darn awesome. But before I get ahead of myself, I just want to tell you the genre of this book. Its a romance. But even if you hate sappy romances, read on, please, you can thank me later ;D

Synopsis:

Who knew that being a hard news reporter in a war zone could be that bad. Running around with the army, wearing fatigues, hiding in bushes, getting shrapnel in your heart. Awesome right? Well it kind of is all worth it in the end when you wake up from your drug-induced sleep in the US, being tended upon by the sexiest nurse you've ever seen. That's the life of Max Bainbridge.

This book was one of the most awesome romance novels that I have ever written. Seriously. And this is coming from a guy, I didn't nearly fall asleep from the cheesy dialogue, I didn't find myself predicting every single moment in the book, nor did I feel that this book expressed the type of "book love." It comes down to the nitty gritty stuff. Love not being all 1-dimensional, love being one of the most complex things anyone can ever write about. I find that the author's interpretation of love is one of the best I have read in a long time. A loooooooong time.

So final verdict: I recommend you to read it when you want to see what real love is supposed to be.

I know this review is really short, but all I can say is that I loved it.

Buy links:
AMAZON.CA
AMAZON.COM

My Rant(ish) #1: CoHF, TFioS, Canadianisms, A French YouTuber and German.

OK I know I haven't been posting anything for the past while and I just want to tell y'all that I've been really busy reading so there should be a few reviews up soon.

To Cassandra Clare:

I finished reading CoHF and I kinda angry at you. What the hell happened Malec. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED??? YOU REALLY CONFUSED ME. I'VE NOW READ THE WHOLE BOOK TWICE AND YET TO FIND ANY END RESULT WITH MALEC OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT MAGNUS IS STILL IMMORTAL (THANK GOD) AND THAT ALEC STILL LOVES HIM. Y YOU DO THIS TO ME????? What else do I hafta say about the book.... oh, right.

I EFFING LUVED IT!!!


To TFIOS Producers:

I EFFING LUVED THAT TOO. I BAWLED MY EYES OUT I TELL YOU. All of us here at the blog actually went together today. That was pretty awesome. YanLin and I just died halfway through. And... she kept on crying after we came out. We went into the Indigo pop-up store in Scarborough Town Centre and the cashiers gave her a box of tissues :P It was that good. All those feels.

Sorry, I couldn't help it :D

I've also recently discovered this awesome French YouTuber named Cyprien. So for all of you who speak French, I really suggest you to check him out. And for those of you who don't...Check him out anyways, he's hilarious.

En Français...

J'ai découvert un YouTuber qui s'appelle Cyprien, pour les personnes qui parlent Français je suggeste que vous allez regarder ses vidéos. Il est hilarant. Vraiment hilarant. Mais pas pour les enfants...

His/Son YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/user/MonsieurDream

For those of you who don't know, we are actually from Toronto, which is in Canada, where we live in igloos, see polar bears everywhere, say eh and "aboot." And we start learning French in Grade 4. Actually you Americans out there reading this, if you still think we say aboot, we actually say it closer to "aboat" than anything else. And that's only in certain cases. It's difficult to explain. Kinda like the word "eh." And yes, eh deserves to be a word. In Canada, we say "eh" kinda more like a word to be inclusive. To invite others into your conversation. Like "Weather's nice out, eh?" it's kinda like saying "isn't it" Its kinda like you're expecting an answer.

OK then... that went into an unexpected tangent...

I've also recently bought a German for Dummies All-in-one book... it's not going to well. I have to remember 16 different forms of the word "my" well... not really 16 different forms. But 16 forms. I'm dying. But I love learning languages so... yeah.

Ich kann ein klein Deutsch spreche. Aber... es ist nicht sehr gut. Ich sterbe. <----- that's all I got.

Anyways. That's all I got for today. Hope to be posting a lot of reviews soon. Cy'all later!

Agent Ai by Michael Wreford - DNF (Brandon's Review)

Hi, my name is Brandon! (if you couldn't read in the title) I'd like to start by just saying that I've known these guys for a long time, and that this is going to be the first review that I have ever written. So have fun!

-Brandon

Synopsis

Journalist and SIS (MI6) contract agent George Quant arrives on the run in Beijing. Estranged from Karen, his Moscow-based handler, George is thrust into Asia's clandestine underworld of gentleman spies, nefarious business people, and murderous Party members. With his past catching up with him, George discovers that not everyone in China can be trusted.

At the centre of George Quant's dilemma lie two men: investor-adventurer Pierce de Havilland, and Karen's trusted contact known only as "Ho". Both successful in their own right, the rivals offer diverging perspectives on China's future. As their intentions grow clearer, George recognises that an important choice looms - adopting the life of a millionaire fugitive, or accepting the call of a higher moral imperative.

From his initial assignment in Cambodia in the late '90s - between the drinks, drugs and dangerous card games - George's high octane adventures spill across London, Moscow, and Beijing, before culminating in Hong Kong. Alarmed by Karen's increasing demands and damaged by her unrequited love, he begins to search for a way to disentangle himself from an expanding web of deception.

Review

So as I note in the title, this is a DNF review. Just a note, I read up to Chapter 2, Part 6. Honestly, I just didn't find the beginning of the book very interesting and easy to hook onto, and that's why I'm here writing this DNF review.

-Brandon

Fandom Friday: PERNICO!

**SPOILERS**

Today is...

*drumroll*

FANDOM FRIDAY! 

I just wanna start this post off by saying I LOVE PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS. It's definitely on my list of best series ever written. But... it's not gonna be the first series I'll be talking about today. It's about the fact revealed in House of Hades. About Nico's secret love. All you Demigods reading this should know where I'm going with this. If you don't know, shame on you. So think a bit more. A little bit more. No? You don't know? OK fine, this post is about the awesome new fandom that sprouted up last October, PERNICO! P. E. R. N. I. C. O.

WHO ARE THEY?

It's the ship of Percy and Nico. DUH. 

WHAT BOOK IS IT FROM?

House of Hades by Rick Riordan

EXTRAS?

• Percy doesn't know
• Nico didn't want to tell anyone
• DAMN CUPID, wait is it Eros? Cupid? Y'know what, I give up. If anyone reading this knows who forced it out of Nico, reply in the comments below.
• Yes it is a same-gender ship
• Damn you pessimists. We Pernico shippers know it'll never sail but don't kill our hope. Please.

PICTURES!!!

FOR AWESOME PERNICO MERCH CLICK HERE.

PERNICO FANFIC!



Thank y'all for reading my rant today ;) Come back next Friday for the next one! I'm thinking.... Mortal Instruments in tribute to CoHF. But ya never know. PERNICO FOREVER