Soo I've been trying to film and upload this video for a couple of weeks now.. But I finally managed to get it up to YouTube so here it is! This is the first part of my book shelf tour. And I know, it's a bit long.. But I like to blabber - as you may notice, lol. I will film part 2 later this week, so stay tuned for that :)
Fellow book lovers: what program do you use to edit your videos? I'm looking for a free program that can do the basic things like trim the length and I want it to do an intro and outro. My video's have a .mov extension now, so maybe a converter will do - so I can edit it in Windows Movie Maker.
Thanks! :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
In My Mailbox (14)
It's Sunday, so it's time for another In My Mailbox! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where we show what books we got this week. It was a small but awesome week for me this week, so let's see what I got in this week!
Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton (Angelfire #1)
Publisher via NetGalley
Lost Voices by Sarah Porter (Lost Voices #1)
Publisher via NetGalley
Moleskine Book Journal
Big massive thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, HarperCollins and NetGalley for Angelfire and Lost Voices! I'm very much looking forward to reading both of the books :)
After seeing the book journal on a blog, I decided to pick it up! I was looking for a book journal for quite some time now, but all the journals that I could find were small and had only room for the title, author and a short comment. I was looking for something bigger, so I could also put a miniature of the book cover in it (I'm a dork, I know) and everything. And I've found it! If you'd like, I could do a review on the book journal too.
So this is what I got in my mailbox this week, what did you get in yours?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Book closet - my new baby!
If you are following me on twitter (you don't? What are you waiting for! @Lvngbooks) you may have seen me rambling about a new book closet because my big closet is getting too full. I had limited space, so I had to go for a small closet.. So I looked into IKEA's online catalog and went to the store. It took me some time to decide, but I finally decided to go for the small Besta cabinet with three shelves. The shelves were too close together, so I decided to only put one shelf in, so I have a total of two shelves.
The assembling went pretty good, if I say so myself! It went quickly and I only broke two nails - which is a win, in my eyes. So of course, I wanted to put my new precious cabinet in its place. But er, it didn't really fit. Well, actually, it did fit, but I didn't have as much room as I anticipated and I ended up having only a couple of centimeters to get to the bottom shelf. So to make a long story short: I ended up reorganizing my entire room and I ended up with a little book closet that now also functions as my night cabinet. Win!
Meet my new precious!
Isn't it pretty? It's dark brown, almost black and it has two shelves with enough space to doublestack books. I'll use the bottom shelf too, but for now, my blanket has a new home.
I really like how it turned out, even though I didn't plan it like this. I like it better than my initial idea, even!
I'll try to film a book shelf tour in the weekend. I tried it last week as well, but people kept coming in and yelling so they screwed up my material. Boo! I'll split it in two clips - because my other book closet is pretty big.
What do you think of my new little closet?
The assembling went pretty good, if I say so myself! It went quickly and I only broke two nails - which is a win, in my eyes. So of course, I wanted to put my new precious cabinet in its place. But er, it didn't really fit. Well, actually, it did fit, but I didn't have as much room as I anticipated and I ended up having only a couple of centimeters to get to the bottom shelf. So to make a long story short: I ended up reorganizing my entire room and I ended up with a little book closet that now also functions as my night cabinet. Win!
Meet my new precious!
I really like how it turned out, even though I didn't plan it like this. I like it better than my initial idea, even!
I'll try to film a book shelf tour in the weekend. I tried it last week as well, but people kept coming in and yelling so they screwed up my material. Boo! I'll split it in two clips - because my other book closet is pretty big.
What do you think of my new little closet?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Review: The Magician by Michael Scott
Published: June 24th, 2008
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
Pages: 496
Challenge: Off the Shelf!, 100+ Reading Challenge
Other: The Magician is the second book in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. There will be six books in total - the fifth book, The Warlock, will be published on May 24th, 2011.
Buy the book: Bookdepository
After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Pernelle is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicolo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He’s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Pernelle. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year—their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophecy is becoming more and more clear.
It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there’s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope—if they don’t turn on each other first.
The Magician is the second book in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott. The book literally takes off where The Alchemyst stopped and keeps on going at an incredible pace. If you've read the first book in the series, I wouldn't wait too long to read the sequel - it took me around three years after finishing The Alchemyst to pick up this book and I had difficulty getting into the story within the first 100 pages of the book, because I couldn't really remember what happened in the first book. Yeah, sure, I knew the outlining, but some smaller things were harder to remember.
The book follows Josh and Sophie Newman to Paris, along with Scatty and Nicholas. They need to find an ally within the city, because they are being chased by Dee and the ones serving him. Because everything is so entangled within the story, I don't want to tell too much because I feel that I would be spoiling it, even though it's not a major thing in the book.
Like I said, I had difficulty keeping up with the book. Once I was fully engaged in the story again, I read it incredibly fast and I was even a little sad - because I finished another book in the series. However, all the elements in the book are really making it a pageturner. Magic, immortals, the city of Paris, history, mythology, emotion and all the dark creatures in the book are simply amazing.
Rounded: 3,5 stars for The Magician - I decided to lower the rating with half a star because I think you should be able to understand what's going on in the story when it's been a while since you've read the book before it. Nevertheless, I loved reading it and I can't wait to read The Sorceress, which thankfully, is already in my book closet.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Review: Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Published: May 2007
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 306
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge, Off the Shelf!
Age group: Young Adult
Other: Marked is the first book in the House of Night Series. There's expected to be 12 books in the entire series. The eighth installment, Awakened, was published on January 4th - the ninth book, Destined, will be published in November 2011.
Buy the book: Bookdepository
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.
When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.
Marked is the first book in the House of Night series that will eventually hold twelve books. Zoey is Marked when she's at school one day, after the Tracker Marked her. She has to get to the House of Night before it kills her. She enters the House of Night and she immediately stands out with her filled in Mark.
I've heard from this series a couple of months ago and finally managed to pick up a boxed set for $ 18 during a sale. I thought that the story wouldn't contribute much to all the vampire books out there, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed myself while reading it.
What I like about the vampyres in this book is that they found a way to get rid of almost all the clichés that are out there about vampires. The House of Night reminded me of Hogwarts, but for vampires. I really enjoyed myself while reading it, even though the writing wasn't that great at some points. It was easy to read and easy to relate to Zoey. Even though the book is written from her point of view, you can still find out things for her, before she even thinks about it.
Because I really liked it! I'm glad I have the three books that follow this book, so I can pick it up any time I want - and I think it's going to be real soon.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Bloggiesta roundup!
So this weekend, I worked on my Bloggiesta goals! I listed a list with goals that I wanted to accomplish on the blog this weekend and here's how I did.
1. Make a cheatsheet!
This doesn't seem to work for my reviews. So what I did instead was prepare a setup for the books I plan to read this week. I made the 'skeleton' of the post: cover image and the list of facts. When I've finished reading the book, I can simply fill in my thoughts of the book and be done! I will prepare this once a week so I don't have to spend a lot of time finding Goodreads summaries/synopsis' and other things.
2. Create a review index page
Mission accomplished! I have a review index page now, which you can find at the top of the page - right besides the tabs 'about me', 'challenges' and 'the reading pile'. I think I'll get rid of the reading pile page in a couple of months, because it seems like I'm doing it double.. But I like the reading pile! Anyway, at the top of the page, you can click on how you'd like to see the reviews sorted. I've made three categories: Author A-Z, Title A-Z and in chronological order of date read. In the last category may be books that I've read, but that won't get a review on the blog.
3. Organize my TBR pile (including what-to-read-when)
Have I mentioned that I love organizing and reorganizing? I love order in my book closet and in my Goodreads account - labels are my best friends! I joined in on the challenge over at Jenns Bookshelves and on top of just organizing my TBR pile, I now have a fully organized Google Calendar and Spreadsheet! I can now actually keep track of which book comes out when, instead of trying to memorize everything from the top of my head (guilty!). I've planned my reviews and I scheduled when I need to read the ARC's I have in order to have the review go up around the release date. I feel all organized now! Note to self: don't get lost in all the organization, though.
4. Check reviews on Goodreads (did I post them there, too?)
I've been a good girl and most of my reviews were on Goodreads! I added those to Goodreads (they already had star ratings). I also found some books I've read (but don't own) and added those to my bookshelves, too. So this was easy to accomplish, really. Just keep it going :)
5. Answer unanswered comments
Still working on this! It will be hard for me to answer comments in a timely manner. I do read all the comments though, but I just have to push myself to answer comments right after reading them.
6. Create a review policy
And so I did! I removed the old 'About the ratings' page and I now have a page that's called 'Review Policy' instead. It's a bit long since I actually really enjoyed writing it.. Even though I put it off for so long. Weird, eh?
7. Find a nice meme
I think I even found a nice meme. I found a meme that's called Top Ten Tuesday, with a new top ten every week. I usually post a review on Tuesday, but I think I'll move that over to another day so I can do the meme. I'm not 100% sure though, so if it doesn't appear on the blog, don't be mad at me! I've also thought about doing Waiting on Wednesday, but when I'm not waiting on anything, it's going to be hard, hehe.
I think it's safe to say that I did good in this Bloggiesta weekend! I've also double checked my stats and thank god I did, because I forgot to paste my Google Analytics code in the HTML field when I changed layouts, which means I don't have any stats for about 3,5 weeks. Whoops! Well, it's fixed now so it should be alright.
My first Bloggiesta weekend was a success! How did you do in your Bloggiesta weekend? :)
1. Make a cheatsheet!
This doesn't seem to work for my reviews. So what I did instead was prepare a setup for the books I plan to read this week. I made the 'skeleton' of the post: cover image and the list of facts. When I've finished reading the book, I can simply fill in my thoughts of the book and be done! I will prepare this once a week so I don't have to spend a lot of time finding Goodreads summaries/synopsis' and other things.
2. Create a review index page
Mission accomplished! I have a review index page now, which you can find at the top of the page - right besides the tabs 'about me', 'challenges' and 'the reading pile'. I think I'll get rid of the reading pile page in a couple of months, because it seems like I'm doing it double.. But I like the reading pile! Anyway, at the top of the page, you can click on how you'd like to see the reviews sorted. I've made three categories: Author A-Z, Title A-Z and in chronological order of date read. In the last category may be books that I've read, but that won't get a review on the blog.
3. Organize my TBR pile (including what-to-read-when)
Have I mentioned that I love organizing and reorganizing? I love order in my book closet and in my Goodreads account - labels are my best friends! I joined in on the challenge over at Jenns Bookshelves and on top of just organizing my TBR pile, I now have a fully organized Google Calendar and Spreadsheet! I can now actually keep track of which book comes out when, instead of trying to memorize everything from the top of my head (guilty!). I've planned my reviews and I scheduled when I need to read the ARC's I have in order to have the review go up around the release date. I feel all organized now! Note to self: don't get lost in all the organization, though.
4. Check reviews on Goodreads (did I post them there, too?)
I've been a good girl and most of my reviews were on Goodreads! I added those to Goodreads (they already had star ratings). I also found some books I've read (but don't own) and added those to my bookshelves, too. So this was easy to accomplish, really. Just keep it going :)
5. Answer unanswered comments
Still working on this! It will be hard for me to answer comments in a timely manner. I do read all the comments though, but I just have to push myself to answer comments right after reading them.
6. Create a review policy
And so I did! I removed the old 'About the ratings' page and I now have a page that's called 'Review Policy' instead. It's a bit long since I actually really enjoyed writing it.. Even though I put it off for so long. Weird, eh?
7. Find a nice meme
I think I even found a nice meme. I found a meme that's called Top Ten Tuesday, with a new top ten every week. I usually post a review on Tuesday, but I think I'll move that over to another day so I can do the meme. I'm not 100% sure though, so if it doesn't appear on the blog, don't be mad at me! I've also thought about doing Waiting on Wednesday, but when I'm not waiting on anything, it's going to be hard, hehe.
I think it's safe to say that I did good in this Bloggiesta weekend! I've also double checked my stats and thank god I did, because I forgot to paste my Google Analytics code in the HTML field when I changed layouts, which means I don't have any stats for about 3,5 weeks. Whoops! Well, it's fixed now so it should be alright.
My first Bloggiesta weekend was a success! How did you do in your Bloggiesta weekend? :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
In My Mailbox (13)
It's Sunday again, which means it's time for In My Mailbox! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where we show what books we got this week. I only have one book to show you this week and technically, it didn't even arrive in my mailbox, lol! I bought this at my beloved English bookstore.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology
by Arthur Cotterell & Rachel Storm
I would have loved to post a link to Bookdepository and Amazon, but it seems like they're both sold out of this book.. I was fascinated with the Greek Mythology that I came across in The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and decided to look up some things online. Although I love Wikipedia for this kind of thing, I prefer to have an actual book to read all about it. So I went on a hunt for a book about Greek Mythology. Turns out, it's kind of hard to find a book that's purely about Greek Mythology! There are a lot of books about the Aztecs and Egyptian Mythology, but none I could find contained only Greek Mythology. Then I found this one and I love it! I've already read a couple of pages and even though it's a bit confusion at times (all of those names!), I love reading about it (which is kinda funny really, because I hated this subject when I was still in school).
That's all that I got in my mailbox this week. What did you get in yours?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Time for Bloggiesta!
So, what is Bloggiesta? Bloggiesta is organized by Maw books and it's basically a way to improve your blog. To check out everything, please click on the blog title and be inspired!
So - this is my 'start up post' and I will post once again on what I've done for the blog as a sort of summary of the challenges I've completed (or failed to complete).
I'm definitely going to join in the challenges with the organization of the TBR pile and the cheat sheet, which both should be great! I haven't looked at all the challenges yet, but I'm sure they'll all be of value to me :) I'm looking forward to it! I'm a bit of a dork with these kind of things, I love organization and statistics and spreadsheets and.. Err.. Okay. Right. Enough with the blabber!
My little to-do list so far:
1. Make a cheatsheet!
2. Create a review index page
3. Organize my TBR pile (including what-to-read-when)
4. Check reviews on Goodreads (did I post them there, too?)
5. Answer unanswered comments
6. Create a review policy
7. Find a nice meme
Not completely a Bloggiesta goal, but I want to create an outline for the story I'm working on. I was watching National Geographic today and I got the BEST idea to incorporate in the story so of course, I want to put it in my story as soon as possible.
Are you joining in on Bloggiesta?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern
Published: October 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers LTD
Pages: 320
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers LTD
Pages: 320
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge
Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and all that a girl could ever wish for. She's always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow. But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever.
Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood. With her mother shut away with grief, and her aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.
The Book of Tomorrow is the newest book by Cecelia Ahern. The book is about 16 year old Tamara, who loses her father. Her mom and she go to her aunt and uncle to live with them, because Tamara's father left them with mountains of debt and they can't stay in the house because of it. She's bored by everything around the house where she now lives, but she's fascinated by Kilsaney Castle.
Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood. With her mother shut away with grief, and her aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin.When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.
The Book of Tomorrow is the newest book by Cecelia Ahern. The book is about 16 year old Tamara, who loses her father. Her mom and she go to her aunt and uncle to live with them, because Tamara's father left them with mountains of debt and they can't stay in the house because of it. She's bored by everything around the house where she now lives, but she's fascinated by Kilsaney Castle.
This book is really slow on the uptake. It took about 80 pages for me to get into the story, as the first part is fully about Tamara. Tamara is 16 and to put it nicely, she's a spoiled brat. She takes everything for granted and only thinks of the things she wants. It's hard to feel with her when she tells about losing her father, which obviously hurt her in a way she never expected.
But then she starts telling about the weird behaviour of her aunt, Rosaleen. I love how Cecelia described her in the book - she managed to give me the creeps. She's trying to be very secretive about something and every time Tamara tries to help her mother, Rosaleen says she's asleep.
I loved the building up in this book. Yes, it was really slow at first and I thought to myself "Is this going anywhere?" for multiple times, but I'm so glad I kept on reading. I started to relate to Tamara, even though she was hard to put up with - if she was one of my friends, I would have slapped her, I'm sure. The plot was really something I didn't saw coming beforehand! Very well built up to fit all the puzzle pieces together at the end.
I do have to mention that there's a lot of swearing in this book. It's only logical with a spoiled 16 year old, but still. It was something I noticed, and I usually don't really mind a bit of swearing.
My overall rating:
Cecelia is one of my favorite writers and this book is one of the reasons why I love her. She can fully take me in with her story - even though there's a complete brat telling me her story :)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Published: May 2001
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 326
Age Group: Adult
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge
Other: The first book in the Sookie Stackhouse Series, officially known as the Southern Vampire Mysteries. There are 10 books published at this time: the eleventh book, Dead Reckoning, will be publised in May.
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge
Other: The first book in the Sookie Stackhouse Series, officially known as the Southern Vampire Mysteries. There are 10 books published at this time: the eleventh book, Dead Reckoning, will be publised in May.
Buy the book: Bookdepository
Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the kind of guy she's been waiting for all her life.
But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire. Worse than that, hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind.
And when one of Sookie's colleagues is killed, she begins to fear she'll be next.
Dead Until Dark is the first of the ten Sookie Stackhouse novels out there at the moment. Sookie is a young and pretty waitress, who works at a bar. She can read minds, which causes Sookie to sometimes appear crazy. When Bill walks in the bar, she instantly knows he's a vampire - and she can't hear his thoughts.
The book is the first adult vampire novel I've read and I have to say that I was disappointed. I expected a lot of this book since I hear lots and lots of people say good things about it. I ordered the box set for under € 25 so it's a steal at € 2.50 a book, but I don't know if I would have read any further if I only bought the first book.
This is my problem: there is a lot going on in the book. There's a mindreader as a main character, which should give some interesting stories. There's a vampire (well, more than one). There's a murderer on the loose who kills Sookie's coworker. And there's even more going on - but I won't tell it, so I won't spoil it for you if you're planning on reading it. What I'm saying is that there is so much going on, that it couldn't possibly be boring. But yet, that's exactly what it is. Charlaine Harris may have written a bestseller (series), but I couldn't really be taken in by the story. It dragged on too long - and that's with all the mysteries, action and the, eh, other things going on in the book. I was really disappointed. Most of the characters were really flat as well. That's usually not really a problem, but some flat characters have a role that's interesting to read and I couldn't figure out who said what, because I couldn't see the difference between the characters.
Having said that (Hi, Simon Cowell!), I did finish this book rather quickly and I sortof enjoyed myself. I think. I still want to read the next book, and since I have the whole box, I'll probably end up reading the whole series anyway, but I didn't think this was a good book.
Giving the benefit of the doubt - three stars. Honestly, it hoovers between two and three stars, so consider yourself lucky, Dead Until Dark. I really hope the story gets better!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
In My Mailbox (12)
Another Sunday, another In My Mailbox! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren where we show the books we've got. It's not a full IMM this week, but the books I got are all equally awesome so here are the books I've got in my mailbox this week!
Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler (Horsemen of the Apacolypse #2)
Publisher via NetGalley
Nightshade by Andrea Creamer (Nightshade #1)
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (Paranormalcy #1)
Big, big thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the ARC of Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler! I look forward to reading it!
I've been waiting since November to get Nightshade in and I can't even tell you how excited I was when the mailman finally handed it over to me! The same goes for Paranormalcy - I've been waiting for it to come in for weeks so I'm very, very happy that I now own it! *does happy dance*
Well, that's all that I got in my mailbox this week! What did you get in yours?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Review: Need by Carrie Jones
Published: December 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Pages: 306
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 306
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge, Off The Shelf!
Other: Need is the first book in the Need Pixies series. Captivate and Entice are already out. Book 4 is expected to be published in 2012.
Buy the book: Bookdepository
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.
She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.
She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.
Need is about Zara, who is sent away by her mother after her stepfather died. She is sent off to live with her grandmother in the cold, cold Maine. Zara suddenly sees the man that has been stalking her again in Maine - and again and again. Something's not right..
It turns out that the sleepy Maine town isn't as normal and quiet as it may seem, and everything points at Zara.
Let me start out by saying that I found Need to be a real pageturner. I couldn't stop reading, even though the stalker guy freaked me out. Carrie Jones did a great job on describing the tense situation and I found it very realistic - it was giving me the creeps. And it takes good storytelling to give me the creeps, I can tell you that. I don't want to give away too much, because I think this is one of the books that you will need to read for yourself to fully appreciate it, but I loved the whole romance/supernatural thing that was going on. My favorite scene was probably the 'cute puppy' scene. You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it :)
My overall rating:
If you haven't read Need yet, I highly recommend you do! I'm glad that I already have the second and third book (Captivate and Entice), so I can pick up the series again soon.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Published: July 2010
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 420
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 420
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge
Other: Part of the Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy. Shiver came out in 2009, the final book Forever will be published in July, 2011.
Buy the book: Bookdepository
Grace and Sam must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping dangerous secrets. For Sam, it means grappling with his werewolf past ...and figuring out a way to survive the future.
But just when they manage to find happiness, Grace finds herself changing in ways she could never have expected...
Linger is the second book in the trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater about the Wolves of Mercy Falls, and oh my does she know how to build up the tension. I loved Shiver and was stunned by the ending of it, so I couldn't wait til this book finally came in - and I read it within 24 hours.
In Shiver, Grace falls for the yellow eyed wolf in the woods, and after he turns back into his human form, they get together. Sam fights the cold to stay human - to stay with the girl he loves. Linger takes off where Shiver stopped and without telling you too much about what happens (because I think it's better to read it for yourself!) I loved it. Maggie Stiefvater knows how to build up the tension in the book and she got me on the edge of my seat within the first 100 pages. At some points, the pieces about Cole were a little long, but I loved seeing the situation from other characters' perspective. Plus, I think Stiefvater was building up to something that we will see happening in Forever - but I could be wrong :)
In Linger, Sam and Grace have to fight to stay together with parents who suddenly seem to realize that they have a daughter, and the fight Grace has to put up herself. I have to be honest and say that I loved Shiver more than I loved Linger, but as the sequel to my favorite book of last year, it lived up to my expectations. And now.. I'll have to wait for Forever to come out in July. I don't think I can wait that long..
My overall rating:
Because I love it. I love the way Stiefvater writes the story. Her storytelling is great and has me hooked - I want more!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
In My Mailbox (11)
Another Sunday, another In My Mailbox! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren where we show what we got in our mailbox this week. Be sure to check out her blog!
So I got in a very nice box filled with books in this week from my order over at Amazon! It felt like belated Christmas.. So awesome. Anyway, there are quite a few books in my mailbox again this week, so I'll just link the Goodreads, Bookdepository and Amazon links underneath them so you can check them out if you want to :)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Captivate by Carrie Jones (Need #2)
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Raised by Wolves #1)
The Sookie Stackhouse Collection, book 1 - 10 by Charlaine Harris (True Blood 1 - 10)
Got this one for around € 24 including shipping, while the box itself costs GBP 50 in the UK! Pretty nice deal if you ask me!
The Host by Stephenie Meyer (The Host #1)
Pet Peeve: I hate the fact that this book is covered in Twilight. There's Twilight Saga book covers on the back, on the inside of the cover (both at the beginning and the end). It's not a Twilight book!! [/end rant]
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (The Internal Devices #1)
If you're looking for Clockwork Angel: Amazon.co.uk offers it for GBP 3.50, which is around € 4,50.
I wasn't aware that Raised by Wolves was the first of a series as well! Just found that out.. Awesome! I seem to be more attracted to books that are part of a series.. No idea why. Maybe the idea of not having a definite ending when I finish the book? Hm, that would be it, I guess. LOL!
Anyway, this is all that I got in my mailbox, what did you get in yours?
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