Up Coming

Yay!!! Soon I'll be getting some new books up.  Firstly is The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare! After reading her Mortal Instruments series and LOVING them, I've been waiting with bated breath for the first release in her newest series The Infernal Devices. And it's finally here!!!!
    Next will be Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantasky.  Her first book Jessica's Guide to Dating the Dark Side was actually one of the first YA novels I ever read, so her works bring back good memories for me.
    After that will be Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles.  I absolutely ADORED her book, Perfect Chemistry and have been greatly looking forward to the next in the series!
   Following RoA will be The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa and Extraordinary by Nancy Welin. I'm especially wanting to read Nancy Werlins novel because her book Impossible was and continues to be one of my favorite YA books of all time.
  I'll probably review these periodically in the next two to four weeks.  Can't Wait!!!!!

Numbers by Rachel Ward

"Since the day her mother died, Jem has known about the numbers. When she looks in someone's eyes, she can see the date they will die.

Life is hard, until she meets a boy called Spider. Suddenly her world seems brighter.

But on a trip to London, Jem foresees a chain of events that will shatter their lives for ever..."

     If you read the front flap of Numbers it gives you the impression that it is Jem and Spider and them during a terrorist bombing in London.  Not so.  The bombing takes up about one chapter of the book and has no great importance the book! Extremely miss leading.  From the very beginning of the book you get a feeling deep inside you of helplessness.  Jem's pain is catchable, letting you feel like you are her.  That is the result of good writing. Simply put, Numbers is a very bleak and blunt book about life, death, and relationships.

      Seriously, my feet were dragging throughout this whole book.  I've read a lot of books and have found that there are about three types of books.  The Awesome books (were it's got you hooked from the very beginning.) The Pick-up books, (this type of book is the one were it's boring, slow and dry at first but within a few chapters it picks up and gets you involved.) and the Doomed books. (were the books never strikes your interest and even though you stick it out, You feel as though it was a waist of your time. These books are doomed from the beginning.) I rate numbers as a Doomed book.  It never piqued my interest.  I was depressed by the end of the book. 

     Character Development wise, I didn't ever connect with Jem or Spider. Jem was a strong pessimist and while Spider was cheerful no matter what the circumstances it got annoying after a while. 

     Numbers seems to be a book that you either love or hate.  I just so happen to have not found many redeeming qualities.  I was very dissapointed in this book and most liklely will not be reading any of Rachel Wards future works. 

my favorite covers of 2009-2010

2010 and 2011 upcoming books

Here is a lists of upcoming books that I'm really really looking forward to reading!
#1: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. (Love all her other books!)
#2: Forever by Maggie Striefavter (Mercy Falls series book three!!!)
#3: Passion by Lauren Kate (Fallen trilogy book three.)
#4: Firelight by Sophie Jordan (Never read anything by her, but it looks interesting)
#5: Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantasky (I read her first novel and it was OK.)
#6: Paranormalcy by Keirsten White (Looks good)
#7: What happend to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (One of my favorite authors. I love almost all of her works)
#8: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto. (I've heard good things about this one)
#9: City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (Loved the other four books in the series)
#10: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa (Can't wait to see how she finishes up the series)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

"Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers. 


Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. 


Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself."
      I had read an expert of The Body Finder and after finding the writing fun, light and enjoyable decided to read it.  And boy! I"m I glad I did!  The Body Finder had an excellent plot, full of excitement, close to death experiences and the supernatural, (sort of.)! 
     Best of all were the characters. All of the characters were well developed.  By the end of the book, you feel as though you are the believably real Violet, you fall in love with heroic Jay and absolutely abhor the evil villain. Here is a book that people can relate too.  I personally really loved that the parents were understanding and on Violets side.  To many novels nowadays portray parents as evil monster people, who are just on this earth to annoy and get in the way of the 'all knowing' teen.  A realistic out look on them exited me a lot.
     If you've read my reviews before, you probably have go the feeling that I really go after, characters, plot and writing.  I loved the writing style of The Body Finder.  It was refreshing to read a book with such crisp, clean wholesome writing.  Ms. Derting goes out of her way to make sure that the book is chockful of great big describing words that make it so that you always know exactly how or where Violet is or is feeling. 
    On the down side though, I felt that too much of the beginning was Violet moaning and groaning over Jay.  I also thought that the end was much to rushed.  It felt as though the book needed another two or three chapters to make the last fight a bit more exiting instead of cramming it all in there like she did.  It was still alright, I just think that it would have been better if it hadn't been so rushed.
     Even though this is her first book, Kimberly Derting definitely has a gift for writing.  I look forward to reading the next installment in the series, Desires of the Dead which will be released March 15 of 2011. Also, I LOVE THIS COVER!!!!!!

New post soon

Hopefully I'll have a new review up by Tuesday.  I'm looking forward to critiquing this one because it's so good.  So look for The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting tomorrow or the next day. :D

Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel

"Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at school. On the first day of summer vacation, while boating on the lake with his friends, Travis attempts a silly stunt dive that goes wrong. He fears he has broken his leg. Instead, his trip to the hospital reveals he has a rare form of cancer, and to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. In an instant, Travis’s life and the lives of everyone around him are forever changed.

Travis is determined that he and only he should decide the course of his life. He has a plan, but he can’t carry it out alone. Will he convince one of his friends to fulfill his most important request?"

A very thought provoking read, Breathless confronts the very difficult subject of euthanasia.  I was expecting it to be somewhat short due to it's small size but I was not expecting the quickness of the book.  Once Travis discovers he has euthanasia, ever thing moves in fast forward.  It's just decision after decision.  No room for the characters to grow. Unlike books with good character development, I did not feel as though I knew the characters.  For me they were just as foreign as in the beginning. The book moves so fast that if feels as though you dont' have time to catch your breath.  

Breathless does make you think though about life and what it is worth.  Lurlene does not push one side or another leaving room for you to decide for yourself on what is the right thing to do.  That is something that I greatly appreciate. 

I was not overly fond of the book at all.  Even though it was written well, it just didn't have enough redeeming qualities.  

Can't wait!!!

I can't wait till Torment by Lauren Kate comes out!!! OK, I take it back, I can wait, I just don't want to.  The officail release date is....September 28th!! Coming right up.  Look for my review of Torment some time next month. If I can I would like to get it up this month but I'm not sure I can.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

"After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents are arrested. 

Badly scarred since childhood, Gaia is a strong, resourceful loner who begins to question her society. As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she herself is arrested and imprisoned. 

Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where one girl can make all the difference, and a real hero makes her own moral code."

Written in a utterly complex and highly detailed manner, Birthmarked an amazing  contribution to the literary world.  At first I was a little wary that I would not enjoy this read and yet now, I have rated it as my favorite read of the year! It was a extremely enjoyable book.  

To be perfectly honest though, I was very tempted to put Birthmarked down at first.  For the first 40 or so pages it was quite boring.  Not the most catchy beginning chapters.  But when Gaia goes through that wall, it's like BAM! Excitement!  The characters evolve well by the end of the book.  I was so impressed with the plot, I've actually not read a plot so thought out and creative for a long time.  In the very beginning O'Brien's writing was rather bland, a bit too dry and stiff for my likings. But as I said above, about the time the plot starts to pick up so does the writing.  Absolutely amazing. 

Gaia is an stunning character, in both her actions and thoughts. I love the way that once she makes up her mind on what's the right thing to do, she will do it and no one is stopping her.  Very strong.  Not only does this novel entertain you though, it also makes you think on what is right.  The choices that Gaia faces are extraordinarily tough to gauge what is right. At first glance you seem to know  what is right and yet once you see the other side your confidence begins to waver.  

I look forward to what Caragh O'Brien brings us next.

Stargazer by Claudia Grey

Both Bianca and Lucas will stop at nothing to see each other again—even if it means living a life of secrets and lies. But even as Bianca finds herself torn between two worlds, she soon discovers they aren't the only ones keeping secrets. Will powerful forces within Evernight Academy keep her from deciding her own fate, or claim her forever?

I was actually really impressed with Stargazer.  The plot is noticeably better. No weird nonsensical plot turns in this book, thank goodness! I really appreciated it that Claudia Grey put in some major character development on Balthazar's part.  Seriously I like him better than Lucius.  Charity was honestly not that villain like though.  A very lame villain indeed.  Once again Claudia Gray astounds me with her unique writing capabilities.  I will review Hourglass as soon as I can.   Happy Reading!!!!!

Linger by Maggie Steifvater

Grace: "This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one. 

Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease we couldn't cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend. 

But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it's only me who's not firmly in my own skin."

OK! I began reading this wondering how Maggie Stiefvater was going to pull off writing a book that even begins to measure up to the greatness of the first installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. And yet, by the end of the book, I was so impressed.  Not only did the author manage to create a book that is just as good, she also managed to produce a book that is even better!  While Shivers plot was sad with a sense of urgency to it, Linger was a bit more relaxed until the last 30 pages or so when it got pretty  intense.  

I totally loved the way that Ms. Steifvater brought in two new narrators in addition to Sam and Grace.  Cole and Isabel are wonderful characters.  I really look forward to seeing how they play out in the next book,  Forever.  

The characters develop even more in this book making them so realistic and alive. I have heard that some people on the web have problems with Graces parents.  They claim that they just seem to be in the story in order to complicate the romance between Sam and Grace.  I felt none of that.  To me, the only reason that they came into the book and were hitting so hard is simple.  They fond Sam and Grace sleeping together! For goodness sakes, if you had a daughter and found her sleeping with her boyfriend in your house, would you not be at least a little concerned?  They just  don't want Sam breaking Graces heart.  I did think that their way of acting on those beliefs were a bit to much and the way that they would not listen to the kids side of the story was very unfair though.  

I can not wait to see what Maggie Striefvater has to offer next year

I am completely confident that she will again blow readers off their feet.  The Wolves of Mercy Falls are must reads!   

Recommendations

If anyone would like to recommend books to review, can you email them to me at nessa4books@yahoo.com.  I really do welcome recommendations and comments so please feel free to email me.

Reading Linger

I'm reading Linger right now and I just have to , so far it is even better than Shiver! I'm loving it!. Lets just hope it stays that way....If all goes as planned, I should have the review up tomorrow.  Stargazer by Claudia Gray will be next after that.