Oh, Hey

Hey everybody.  Sorry it has been a while.   Life happened, you know how it goes!  I thought since it's (almost!) the end of the year, and I finished my Goodreads challange, (woo!  Be my friend?) I'd list my fav books I read this year.  Not that it was always an easy journey, especially with some of those YA books I read  Oy VEY!

Enough talk!  On to my books of the year!!

The Winter Rose 
by: Jennifer Donnelly

I love this woman.  I didn't think I would like this one but I did.  Donnelly is amazing
















Slave to Sensation
by Nalini Singh

Yeahhhh this cover....this cover is BAD.  But the story inside was SO good.  I'm glad I didn't look too much at this horrid cover  ;)















The WHOLE  Demonica series
by: Larissa Ione


I loved this series!  And the spin off so far is pretty good.  My fav stories were Lore and Shade (even tho through the rest of the series he was anoooooyyyinnngggg)

Stolen
by Lucy Christopher

This book made me want bad things.

The Sky is Everywhere
by Jandy Nelson


Aww this one was soooo good.  I cried, I think.  I'm not sure, the details are a little fuzzy  :)

Go Fetch
by Shelly Laurenston

I have to thank amazon for having low prices on some e-books.  I would have never picked this up if it hadn't been .99 cents!
This book was HI-Larious!
















Unholy Ghosts
by Stacia Kane

Ok this whole series was amazing.  I love this druggie heroine.

Terrible is pretty amazing too.

Thanks Bestie for the recommend!
















Magic Bites and the rest of the series
by Ilona Andrews


I love me some snarky heroines, and Kate is my savior.

Dead Undead or Somewhere in Between
by J.A. Saare

Once again, thank you amazon!  And goodreads friends!  I would have never found my new fav heroine if not for yoooou!




















And last but certainly not friggin least...



Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins

Yeah, I guess people were right for once.  This was SO cute and fuzzy!
















SO, that's it!  What do you think?  Have any of you read these and also enjoyed them?  What were your favorites this year?

OOPS!

Sorry blog!  I still love you!

I found funny cat comics.  Enjoy!


This is going to be me someday yay!

This is me already   :)

Check out more of her funny cat comics at the website!   Cat versus human!

Things I need to get caught up on

There are SO many freakin' books on my stupid shelf.  Here's the series that I most need to get around to...




Kate Daniels

I finally got around to re-reading Magic Bites.  Would you believe I liked it better the second time around? I know many who have read this series didn't like the first and second books, but I loved the hell out of them.  Maybe it's because Kate and Curran didn't hook up right away?  I do love it when characters are friends first.  Whatever it is, I am loving it!
I'm on the third book right now, but I'm not too far into it.  I'm excited to see why everyone loves this third book so much.












Night Huntress Novels

I have a good reason for not reading this book right away.  I saw that JF was going to release a second book this year and decided to wait until both were out.  After I'm all caught up with Kate Daniels, Cat and Bones are next! WOO!

















Lords of Deliverance

Same deal with this one. Read all the Demonica books, then LI came out with this spin off series.  Saw she was releasing a second book later this year and decided to wait.  BFF told me she LOVED this one so I'm def excited to start it  :)














Kitty Books

UGH I am like three books behind on this series.  I'm not even sure if I want to read them.  I mean, it's been SO long, I don't even remember what is going on.  All I know is that I like Cormac!!
















Psy-changeling

I loved the first book.  I just never got around to reading the rest of the series.

It was pure torture trying to get through the first two books of this series.  As in, I hated the first book and might have disliked the second one even more.  BFF assures me that the series gets better and I just have to get through one more book before they start getting good.  I trust her and all but uuugggghhhhhhhh I don't know if I'll make it!












I have more series that I need to get caught up on but many of them I haven't started yet and have the first two books sitting around.  I don't know why I keep buying the second book of a series if I haven't read the first, it's just a bad habit of mine.  I should probably stop doing that lol  :D

Ohh pretty bird!

I don't have anything to talk about.  Look at these pretty things from Dan Dos Santos

He is amazing, no?

Blame it all on my roots

   I'm done with the YA paranormal genre.  D.O.N.E.  Maybe even done with YA in general although I will admit that I have found a few that  I really enjoyed.  Hex Hall, Revolution, The Sky is Everywhere and Perfect Chemistry.  But other than that I mostly want to throw all the other books against the wall.  I'm sick of the insta-love, the love triangles, the TSTL heroines.  I mean, I know that many of these problems occur in adult paranormal, but at least those have sex scenes and swearing!

So, what's made me want to cut YA paranormal out of my life?

Yeah.  That's right. Forgotten.

This story.  ARG!! It could have been SO much more.  But it focused on a love story.  This stupid girl falls in love with the same stupid boy everyday from reading notes?  Are you kidding me?  What is this?  50 First Dates?  *Throws a hissy fit*

Couldn't this have just been a story about figuring out a way to get her memories back?  Why did the whole story, except for the incredibly rushed ending have to be about a BOY.  

Has no one heard the saying "boys are stupid, throw rocks at them?"

You know what really pisses me off?  The fact that London  says that she wouldn't have been able to fix things about herself if she hadn't fallen in love.  WTF boys fix everything? NO HELL NO!!!!!

Sorry if this is someone's favorite book, or anything.  I'm not saying that the writing was bad, or that the characters were awful, I'm just saying I'm disappointed with the way the story went.

Which is why, I can't read YA anymore.  Maybe I just expect too much out of them?  Maybe I'm jaded, or even worse, what if all the child in me died and I can't enjoy stories like that anymore?!?!  Oh man, that would suck  :(

I'll read the books I've got left on my shelf but after that, I'm going back to my comfort genres, scifi, fantasy, and paranormals.  Not that I ever stopped reading them  :P

Why you so obsessed with me?

I have a new obsession.  Instead of reading, I play this awesome facebook game.  Gardens of Time.

I. AM. OBSESSED.
It's a really simple game.  Find all the objects as fast as you can.  Like a modern day Where's Waldo!

Seriously.  I wake up early to play this stupid game.  And pace the floor when I have to wait for my energy to go back up.

I even circled all the items from the above picture while I was typing this out.  That's how obsessed I am.

I used obsessed way to many times in this post.  Obsessed.      Ok I'm done.

I finished reading the first Arry Potta book.  It was magical.  Unfortunately it did not cure my slumpage, but I have managed to read two books this week.  Yippie!   I am hoping that the BRAND SPAKIN NEW DRESDEN FILES BOOK THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING A MILLION YEARS FOR will totally and completely bring me back in to the land of words and non-creased book spines.  (Marry me Harry Dresden? )

Oh yay!  I have 10 energy now!  I can play one game, reach a new level and have my energy filled all the way back up to 60 YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

(I need help)

Chasing the ghost of a good thing

Something terrible has happened...  

I don't feel like reading A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

Seriously.  I only read one book last week, and the only reason I read it was because it was short and I knew I could finish it.

That picture up there is what I see when I start reading any book lately.

I've decided to re-read the Harry Potter books.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Divergent

Divergent
by: Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, 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 suprises everyone, including herself.


During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are-and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating 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 t can mean death.  And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves...or it might destroy her.




I'm sure you've heard of this book and all of it's awesomeness already.  But I have to say that while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was as amazing as everyone said it was.  I think the hype ruined it for me.  Sure there were some good parts, but most of this book was Tris getting trained.  Nothing all that special really...
The ending was good, I'll give you that, and I definitely want to know what happens next.

This might sound a little weird, but a lot of the book reminded me of Ender's game.  The whole training thing, and how people started to not like her because she was so small, and yet so strong.  There was even a naked shower type scene!

I have a lot of questions though, like how can people be expected to only be one virtue?  You can only be intelligent but you can't be fearless?  How the hell would that even work??  Are they dumbed down humans and can only process one emotion?

Tris, to me, was not easy to relate to.  Her inner voice was stilted and kind of emotionless.  And Four was alright but I would really be annoyed if everytime I talked to someone they grabbed me under the chin and made me look at them.   I'd feel really demeaned and childlike...but that's just me.

Anyways, it was just an okay read for me.  I'm sure most of you would disagree with me though so go out and read it for yourselves!

Blood and Chocolate

Blood and Chocolate
by: Annette Curtis Klause

        Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf.  At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail.  But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland.  She longs for a normal life.  But what is normal for a werewolf?
       Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meatboy.  Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack.  He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him.  Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.
       Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack.  Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either.  What is she really- human or beast?  Which tastes sweeter - blood or chocolate?




  I'm not sure what to think of this book.  I think if this had been my first werewolf book I would have loved it.  I think if this book had nothing to do with Aiden, and only been about the inner workings and the shambles of the broken wolf pack I would have loved it even more.  Instead this book was 50% about how Vivian really likes Aiden and how she wants to taste him, and 50% bad ass crazy werewolf stuff.

I had a really hard time liking Vivian. She was....kind of a bitch.  There!! I said it!
Aiden was UGH!  He turned into such a ..GRRRR  I just wanted to slap him.  I wish Vivian had.
I liked Gabriel, but it was definitely odd how he kind of went from being the creepy older man, to a good guy.  Didn't really see that one coming.

Anywho, I liked the last bit of the book the best.  Most entertaining.  This book was just okay for me.

Farro

Farro

By: Arreana

Khensa, a girl from the slums, is one of the last of a dying breed.  Farro blood courses through her veins and for it she has suffered countless atrocities.  Orphaned, kidnapped, imprisoned, and tortured, she endures without knowing if it shall ever end.  For eleven months she endures...

Enter Bomani, her unintentional savior.  Sent by his father to assassinate the high priest, he finds her, bloody, starved, and naked upon the floor.  She is feral and half-crazed and yet still he takes her away.  He introduces her to a whole new world- his own.

Together they navigate their way around a fragile society of kings, vendettas, and magic.  Their story crosses deserts and mountains.  It begins with fire and ends with water.

This book was awesome!  Right from the start you are dragged into Khensa's story.  The first chapter is probably one of the most exciting first chapters I've read in a while.

Khensa is a great lead.  She is incredibly strong and doesn't take crap from anyone.  She always does things with the best of intentions, and learns from her mistakes.  Bomani is a total ass at the beginning, but as the story progresses, you see him open up.  Their unlikely friendship is great to watch unfold, and you see them begin to have mutual respect for each other.

The world Arreana has built is insane.  And you pretty much have to love a world where krakens exist!
I could not believe where some of these story lines went.  I mean really, who would have thought that playing one song on a harp would end up making you have a price on your head?  I would explain more but honestly, you just need to read this book to find out.

Farro has so much going on, this story is just so huge, but Arreana does an amazing job keeping the story together and clean.  I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

If you enjoy books with strong female leads, magic, political intrigues, back stabbing, and tiny bits of love in the making, then you should give this book a try!

Once Bitten

Once Bitten

by: Kalayna Price


Kita Nekai, on the run and the smallest of her shifter clan-a calico cat among lions and tigers-is being hunted.  She was expected to accept her role as her father's successor whether or not her cat was up to the task of leading the clan.  She disagreed.  Now she's less than a step ahead of the hunters, bone-tired, cold, and living hand-to-mouth in the city of Haven.  And that's the high point of her day.  She's also drugged, "accidentally" turned into a vampire, and sentenced to death for recklessly creating as rouge shifter who tortures its human prey.  She's got seventy-two hours to find the rogue, evade a city full of hunters, prove she's not responsible for the rogue, and keep the vampire council from killing her.  All while sorting out an apprentice mage, a married ex-boyfriend shifter-hunter, and the vampire who made her.



WOW. That is a really long synopsis.  Pretty much tells the whole story if you ask me.  I had some problems with this book.  Mainly, the world building.  I mean, usually I'm not too fond of all the descriptions, but even a girl like me needs SOME background information.  Like what the hell is Haven anyways.  And where exactly is Firth, not to mention....what the hell is it?!

So Kita is on the run from hunters.  Ok still not entirely clear on the hunters thing.  Were they trying to kill her or just drag her back to...Firth(?)  Kita gets turned into a vampire.  Don't you think if you were turned into a vampire that you would want answers IMMEDIATELY?  Yeah? me too!  Kita?  Not so much. She's more concerned about why she doesn't feel cold anymore,  (maybe because you're a vampire?)  and why does my ex-boyfriend smell so good all of a sudden?  Maybe it's the vampire thing again?  There is a vampire standing right behind you, why not ask him??  No?  oh okay then.  ARG!  Kita continues to do this through out the book.  Always wondering and never asking the one person who can at least give her some answers.  Very frustrating!

Then there is a side character Gil who is...I dunno some random person who is basically only around to glamor people when they are trying to get answers.  Useless.

Anywho, aside from Kita and her refusal to get answers, I'd say that overall it was an okay story, but I just can't get past how passive for answers Kita was.  I like my heroines to have a little less fear and drive to get answers.  I will  not be reading the next book in this series!

I have another book by this author sitting on my shelf and am looking forward to reading it.  Grave Witch...have you heard of it?  Is it good?



That is all.  Continue on with your day.  :)

Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between

Dead Undead or Somewhere in Between
by: J.A. Saare

One bad corpse can ruin your whole day.


No one knows that better than Rhiannon Murphy.
She left behind the flash and sass of Miami for the no-nonsense groove of New York City, eager for a clean slate, and a fresh start.  A bartender by trade, a loudmouth by choice, and a necromancer by chance; she managed to keep her nifty talent hidden from those around her - until now.
   The deliciously good looking vampire Disco knows her secret.  When he strolls into her bar to solicit help investigating the mysterious disappearances of his kind from the city, Rhiannon discovers he's not the kind of person that appreciates the significance of the word no.
But in a world where vampires peddle their blood as the latest and greatest drug of choice, it's only a matter of time before the next big thing hits the market.  Someone or something is killing vampires to steal their hearts, and unlike Rhiannon this isn't their first stroll around the undead block.



I love Rhiannon.  End of story.  She is so sassy, and loud mouthed, and sarcastic, it's hard to contain one's love for a character like her.

I liked how the plot of the story moved along, there was never a dull moment, and it was fun getting to know all the characters like Goose and Disco.

I know that vampires have been done to death (ha haha) in these recent years so obviously ideas from other books are going to make it to another persons book eventually, but the whole vampire blood drug industry really reminded me of the Sookie Stackhouse series.  But that is pretty much where the similarities end  :)

Disco was enjoyable, and their relationship was awwww (kind of sappy).

I can't wait to read the next book becauuusssseeee.......IT ENDED ON A CRAZY CLIFFHANGER!!!!   OMG!!!!!!!



Next book comes out August 23!



Oh, there is excessive amounts of swearing, and several bloody descriptions in this book.
(probably why I loved it so much)

Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies
by: Isaac Marion

     R is a young man with an existential crisis - he is a zombie.  He shuffles throught an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains.  He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing.  He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams
      After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend.  Julie is a blast of color in the dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R.  His decision to protect her will transform not only R but also his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.










I can honestly say that I loved this book.  And can I just say thank goodness?  Because it's been a while since I could actually get through a book without wanting to put it down and do something else.
I started reading this in the airport, and finished before the plane landed, which kind of sucked because I really wanted MORE R!!!

R was an excellent leading zombie man.  He was thoughtful and insightful and wanting so much more from his zombie life.  His descriptions of what he did during the day had me giggling, and I loved how he told his story.  I loved the fact that when the zombies eat other peoples brains they got to re-live that persons memories.  Fan- freakin- tastic!

Favorite line:  "My friend "M"  says the irony of being a zombie is that everything is funny, but you can't smile because your lips have rotted off."

If you don't like random descriptions of how throats are being ripped out and blood gets spattered everywhere, then this is probably not the book for you.  However, if you don't mind a little violence, a tinsy bit of romance, and lessons on how to take down a human for consumption, then this will be a great read for you.

Impulse

Impulse
by Ellen Hopkins

Tony's painful childhood memories can be quelled only through pills.  Vanessa has a secret that keeps her coming back to the blade.  And Connor seems to have the perfect life on the outside, but his inward battle with his parents, his peers, and himself give him one last choice-to pull the trigger.


These are three lives that would have been cut short if not for the hasty intervention by loved ones.  Or fate.  Now they are given a second chance at a better life- but only if they help one another, and if they find the strength to let go of their inner demons.  For good.







I could not get into this book.  I couldn't relate to the characters.  I think the switiching perspectives really slowed the story down.  Also,

           *Spoilers ahead* 



 What is with the mommy hating?  All three characters had some serious mommy issues and the daddies where the saviors, well, in most cases.

Also I kind of did not like how much the kids depended on being medicated.  I understand that for a lot of people they need it, but towards the end when it's the last final step before they can be released out into the wild, they are still being medicated day and night.  And the one boy who decides to stop taking his meds on the trip gets severley depressed and ends up killing himself.  I have to say that I am not quite sure I like the message that this book sends out.

1. Blame everything on your mother
2.  Medicate youreslf to cure yourself.

weird.

And the love connection that happened, to me at least, seemed really out of place.




               *end spoilers* 






Uhh that is all.

I like Hopkins' Crank trilogy much better.

Enclave

Enclave
by: Ann Aguirre

In Deuce's world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years.  By that point, each unnamed 'brat' has trained into one of three groups- Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms.  Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.
As a Huntress, her purpose is clear-to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks.  She's worked toward this goal her whole live, and nothing's going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade.  When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce's troubles are just beginning.
Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn't like following orders.  At first she thinks he's crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don't always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth.  Her partner confuses her; she's never known a boy like him before as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.
As Deuce's perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival.  The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their seer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy...but the elders refuse to heed any warnings.  Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead.  No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tied that carries her far from the only world she's ever known.






Yaaay another dystiopian book! heh.  I read this book right after I read Divergent.  I don't know about most of you but I enjoyed Enclave slightly more. I think because Deuce actually gets some hints as to what happened to her world.  Not just that but she defies the rules and gets kicked out of her Enclave and has to survive above the tunnels with her only companion Fade.

Fade was an interesting character and I liked their interactions and growing relationship.  That is until an event happens where they end up adding two more people to their group.  After that their conversations and everything comes to a halt.  Fade is hardly even mentioned!  it was sad.  And seriously? The ending is horrible!  What happened?  It's like the book got cut off halfway through.  The ending was NOT an ending.  Even though the story is suppose to continue in the next book, I feel like....I feel nothing really.  The story just ended, not on a high note, not on a low note, it just ended!  And there was no climax, no ultimate goal to achieve.





Also.... I have a cat named Deuce.

Isn't she cute  :D


I'm still excited for the next book to come out, even with the 'not really an ending' ending.

City of FAIL Angels

City of Fallen Angels
By: Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass.  In it, a mysterious someone's killing the Shadowhunters who use to be in Valentine's Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary's plan to lead a s normal a life as she can - training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace.  As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discver a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them - consequences that may strengthen their relationship , or rip it apart forever.


Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon - the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side - can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics.  Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.




This book.  This book was not good.  This book should not have been written, and this series should not have started again.  EVERYTHING should have ended with City of Glass. This book had no point, it was slow, and boring, and nothing happened.  Jace was a whiny bitch, Simon is not funny, Clary is dumb and Alec is also a whiny bitch. It's like Clare thought "hmm what can I do to ruin all of my characters?" and then did it.  Every single character is now ruined for me so thanks for that Clare.

As readers, we should be angry that we were presented with this pile of crap.  We aren't stupid readers, and Clare isn't a stupid author.  Obviously she had previously written something that we all enjoyed, so what happened here?  I'll tell you what happened.  She took the easy road and rehashed all her old characters because it's easier to get in on the cash cow this way.

Come on Clare, I know you can do it.  Write something new, and fresh, in a different world with different characters!  And no, your Clockwork Angel series does NOT count.  Switch the names out and all the personalities are the same.  Please, I beg you, give your readers something worth reading, something you write because you really believe in it, not because you see a quick and easy way to get more money out of your Mortal Instruments empire.  PLEASE!

Rules of Attraction

Rules of Attraction
By: Simone Elkeles

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn't want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado.  Carlos likes living his life on the edge and carve his own path - just like Alex did.  Then he meets Kiara Westford.  She doesn't talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos' wild ways.  As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she's too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him.  But soon he realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.
















Awww this book was sooo cute!   Ugh did I just say that?  YES, yes I did.  Am I slightly ashamed?  Of course,  but I can handle it because this was one of the few books I actually enjoyed reading last month so I will proudly say that I was highly entertained by this book with the stupid cover.

This book was told from alternating viewpoints and awwww Carlos is so cute.  *girly giggles* And Kiara was awesome, and I really don't have much to say about the book except, you should read it, cause if I enjoyed it, then it must have been good.  *twirls hair around fingers, snaps gum, and giggles again*

Previously on...

my blog. lol  Hmm I think I was reading Larissia Ione's series.  Ok I finished those and Lore's story was my favy.  But since then?  I think I've only read about 2 or 3 books that I really enjoyed without being annoyed by a character or a slow plot.  Isn't that sad?  So hmmmmm which book do I talk about?

Portal
By: Imogen Rose

Come find me two years ago...

Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension.
She suddenly found herself in the past.  In on moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey, to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates.  Apparently it's a life she's always lived in.
Everyone knows her as Arizona Darly, but she isn't.  She is Arizon Stevens.
As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible...


Portal is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley's attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children.  Arizona's quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed.








Ok so when I first started reading this book I was like "YESSSSSS!!!!!!  Awesome!!!!"  Then as I continued reading  my face went from this:  :-D  to this  :-/     then to this   >:-(   <--that is an angry face by the way.

Arizona gets transported to an alternate time line and what does she do?  Tries out for the hockey team, gets a boyfriend, and half heartedly tries to find her dad.  And instead of talking to her mother about it, conversations that should be important get pushed aside until after a hockey game, or after a barbecue.  I mean SERIOUSLY.  I get that she doesn't want people to think that she is crazy, but I mean...what was the point of the book then?

And don't even get me started on the weird awkward language, the constant label dropping, or the fact that more than half way through the book, even though it's been all from Arizonas POV, suddenly we get some boring little snippets of the mom's POV.  Totally worthless and pointless snippets I might add.

 How did Olivia (the mom) figure out how to go back in time?  How did  Rupert (? I think that was his name?) know to tell Olivia to come find her.  How did he meet her in the first place?!  These are answers that I wanted to know!  Not how Arizona's stupid hockey tryouts went, or her feelings for her the boy that she just met, but OF COURSE IS NOW IN LOVE WITH.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.  GR.

No, I will not read the next two books.  I don't even care what happens.   *cries*

Oh hey! It's June!

YAY!  Good news.  Summer arrived  yippie!  Well, at least for this week, it's here  :)

I know I've been slacking but I really do have a good excuse.....

OK, so that didn't take up the whole month of May, but you've got to be impressed with the size of him, eh?

Ummm....My irises bloomed?

Ok this month, I'm really going to try to post more on here.  Really.  REALLY.  In fact, I'm going to start on my post for tomorrow right now!



After I go grocery shopping...

Rumor Has It....

that I haven't been around in a while.  WHY?!  Because I can finally go outside and sit in the sun!  I'm off to go back to working in my garden.  Enjoy this lovely pic of a sunrise that I caught   :)

I Whip My Hair Back and Forth

Wow, it's been a while since I've done a book update!  I really like these short snippets.  Less work for me ha!  This time around I got my hands on some good books, one's I really didn't think I would like, and others that I normally wouldn't have even given a chance! I'm glad I did though because they turned out to be some of my favorites.  Enjoy!








Where She Went
By: Gayle Forman
I was really excited to get my hands on this book.  If I Stay made me cry like a baby and I usually don't cry when I read books...so yeah.  Adam's story was definitely interesting and while he was telling his story I found myself getting really angry at Mia for how she left him.  I really started to not like her!  In the end though, I found myself forgiving her, and that is some really good storytelling right there.  I enjoyed Where She Went, but I feel like I enjoyed If I Stay just a little bit more.

Ender's Game
By: Orson Scott Card

OOH this book!  This book!  It was really good!  I loved Ender, he was awesome, I want to be a genius child!  Loved all the details of "war games"  they had to play and how he overcame everything.  Awesome read!

The Ghost and the Goth
By: Stacey Kade

I picked this book up on a whim and I really didn't think I would like it.  Annoying cheerleader?  Ugh, no thanks.  OH but I was so wrong.  Alona is one feisty character, and I loved how the relationship with Will was built up.  I really liked seeing Alona realize that even though she was so popular she was really alone and seeing her soften up listen to some of Will's advice.  Can't wait for the next book!

The Sky is Everywhere
By: Jandy Nelson

So I saw this book around a lot and sort of avoided it because of the cover.  It just wasn't pretty to me.  But then I opened it up and started reading and fell in love.  Lennie was an awesome character and I felt her pain and her confusion.  And I loved her little snippets of memories and poetry that were scattered throughout the book.  I did however feel just a tad disconnected from Joe.  For some reason, he just didn't feel fully formed to me.  Maybe it's because in my eyes, he was just too perfect.  Too sweet, too understanding, too willing to help.  Ya know, that perfect boy that no real boy could ever be.  Besides that, I loved this book.  Read it!

Please Ignore Vera Dietz
by A.S. King

I read this one right after reading The Sky is Everywhere which was probably a bad idea.  This one is kind of about the same thing dealing with grief and the loss of someone special.  It took a little bit for me to get into this one because I kept comparing the two books and how I felt much more connected to Lennie than Vera.   I dunno,  it was good but I shouldn't have read it right after reading TSiE.

Unearthly
by Cynthia Hand

Initially I thought this would be another disappointing YA supernatural book and I'm happy to say I was presently surprised!  A little slow at the beginning, especially when she has to go to the new school, I was seriously dreading a biology partner scheme.  Thankfully none of that nonsense showed up.  Clara actually made her own friends and stuck with them instead of dropping them once she had a boy (yay). Clara and Tucker's growing friendship was done perfectly, I loved watching them get to know each other.  The ending however seemed rushed and, I don't know something was just off about it.  Looking forward to the next book!

Samson's Lovely Mortal
By: Tina Folsom

Seen a lot of this author around, but initially found her on Smashwords.  I enjoyed this but at the same time, my feelings about this book are just on the meh side.  I wasn't overly excited, and I didn't hate it, so that's good  lol.  I might try reading the second one in this series at a later time.

Wither
by Lauren Destefano

Oohhh pretty cover!!!  This is another book I thought I would hate.  But I didn't.  Even though some of the things that happened in this book were totally crazy, and the world building SUCKED, I still liked it.  Maybe it's because I'm a character person, I could really care less about some other things like describing peoples hair or how a garden looks when the light is shining on it.  I love conversations and growing relationships and this book had it.

Wintergirls
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Did NOT like this one.  I wanted to know more about Lia and Cassie's relationship, why it fell apart, why Cassie pushed Lia away.  But I got none of that.  I did not like Lia at all she just...ugh she bugged me.  I'll keep the rest of my criticisms to myself.












Demonica Series:
Pleasure Unbound
by Larissa Ione

Okay so, I've been seeing lots of mixed reviews about the first book in this series, that it's kind of slow, lots of world building and setting things up. But honestly I really enjoyed the first one and I can think of a few first in series books that were a lot worse.

Pleasure Unbound is Tayla and E's story.  I really hated Tayla at first, she was so ignorant to everything, but she eventually grew on me.  Blah blah, great set up. Love Wraith.


Desire Unchained

This second book was SO good.  Shade was awesome, Runa was awesome.  And now I love Wraith even more  <3










That's it for now.  I'm currently reading the third book in the Demonica series, which is Wraith's story and, so far....I'm kinda NOT digging it.  I dunno Wraith seems...different some how.  I just got to a good part though so I'm hoping it will pick up  :D