Emo & Jes E-Book Talk Tuesday

From: Jes
To: Emo
Subject: So how goes North of Beautiful?

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From: Emo
To: Jes
Subject: RE: So how goes North of Beautiful?

 

Well... It went smoothly for a while... then sputtered to a stop when I picked up Scorpio Races again.
 
I really liked it. It had its moments of greatness, humor-wise. And it's poetic, y'know? But I feel like it tries a bit too hard. Too many metaphors. Too many references to maps. And there were inconsistencies with the characters.
 
I might be being a little nit-picky.
 
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed what I've read of it so far, and plan to finish it soon. But it wasn't my favorite. And I now know why you had a hard time remembering if you read it.  I do wanna finish it though.

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From: Jes
To: Emo
Subject: RE: So how goes North of Beautiful?

Yeah, it is hard to get around the map stuff, but I liked it enough to finish it. But it definitely went through one ear and out the other so to speak, because I read it not listened to it, you know what I mean?

 

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From: Emo
To: Jes
Subject: RE: So how goes North of Beautiful?

 

Haha! In one eye and out the other just doesn't make much sense either. And I wanna finish it, but distractions. I've got less than 50 pages left of Scorpio Races then I am definitely picking it back up.

 

Check it out @:
North of Beautiful be Justina Chen @ Amazon.com

 

Just Around the Corner: Ink (Paper Gods, #1) by Amanda Sun

So I have read and re-read this blurb like a million time (exaggeration) and I can't help but find the idea behind this book so creative and inspiring! Plus I kind of love Japanese culture and legends! The blurb and cover are below:



I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.


Ink by Amanda Sun is to be published by Harlequin Teen on June 25, 2013.
Find it at:
Ink (Paper Gods, #1) by Amanda Sun @ Amazon.com

A Review: Stung by Bethany Wiggins

(The Blurb again!)

There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

My Review:
Oh, Stung, Stung, Stung. Sigh.....
Where to start?
So I have been really excited about reading this book since about late January. It's not so much that it disappointed me, it's just some things I found a little strange, so I guess I'll start with the main characters:
Fiona- I just really love her name. Also I felt for her, she wakes up alone in her home which is abandoned and falling apart (which is not how she remembers it) only to be attacked minutes later by a creature who turns out to be her twin brother. I can't think of anything that really bothers me about her character, I'm super grateful she wasn't a complainer even when sometimes she definitely could have been, but sometimes she was a tiny bit naïve and very quick to pull the trigger (sometimes that was literally). Plus I wish she was more of a fighter (not like skilled but just spirit wise) I guess it came in spurts.
Arrin-Oh Lord this one angers me. I was all the time torn between liking her (or maybe him?) or if I totally wanted to slap her in the face. I definitely made up mind be the end and so did her gender. But I will give her /him credit she was such a scrapper even when I did not like her for it!
Bowen- Oh Bowen, I know some reviews gave him hell for hitting a girl, but one he did not know she was a girl, but a fec who could probably handle it (they are usually super strong) and, okay, so I don't have a two except for he has a bunch of built up anger issues which are understandable and plus he is stuck with this job he does not want and with a creature he is afraid of, still not good reasons for hitting anybody, but I just like him and after a little while he kind of opened his shell and became the guy in  a book where I skip ahead a few pages to make sure he is coming back soon then go back to where I was at so I don't really skip anything but know in ten pages I will have more Bowen! Also he has one of my favorite lines in the book!
I really liked the idea of this story and the bee aspect was pretty cool and I think the author did execute it pretty well.
Now the BAD:
(Disclaimer! If anyone ever shoots me I will NOT, I repeat, will NOT be forgiving them three seconds later without even an apology and apology aside it will be years before we are square again, I'm just saying.)
I don't have many complaints with this story other than sometimes it could be a bit cheesy (romantically and otherwise), sometimes things went by without an explanation or I guess a second thought (see disclaimer). I'm sorry but that one really shocked me and I felt not enough was said about it!
Other thing is the ending felt a bit rushed like maybe it could have been dragged out a bit longer (I never say that about a book usually but....)
The ending does leave a cliffhanger so I am sure there will be another book to the story and I am sure I will be reading it. All and all I liked it! Now this story is not a 4 more like a high 3 so I will round:

                                                                         My Rating:

Favorite Line: "You might as well have eaten my heart straight from my living body. I would rather die a thousand times at your hands than see you captured. Even if you eat my heart. Because you already own it." ( I find this extremely hilarious and maybe sweet at the same time, maybe...)

Favorite character: Jonah (read the book you will know why)

 

 



 

............What I've Purchased This Week............:

                                  Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

                                   (The Blurb)

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

(So I don't typically like fantasy-ish books(every once in a while there is something that comes along and I love it, but it's so rare), but this one sounded pretty good + the cover is kind of boss, that lady looks like she is kicking butt and taking names, except she's too busy to take names so she is just kicking butt! Love it!)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas @ Amazon.com

Emo & Jes E-Book Talk Tuesday: The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors

From: Emo
To: Jes
Subject: So... I finished The Sweetest Spell book...

 

It was really funny. Kinda cheesy, but not in a bad way. Haha! Now to begin North to Beautiful.

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From: Jes
To: Emo
Subject: RE: So... I finished The Sweetest Spell book...

What was it about again??

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From: Emo
To: Jes
Subject: RE: So... I finished The Sweetest Spell book...

 

Hmm... It's historical; in the kingdom of Anglund (I know! Ha!), where chocolate is only a legend, the daughter of a poor dirt-scratcher must journey to free her father from captivity.
 
Because of her deformed foot, she was cast aside after she was born and left at the edge of the forest to be eaten or stolen by wood spirits. But, 4 cows wondered up and protected her. She was found the next morning and given back to her family. From then on she's been viewed as unnatural. And cows follow her around.
 
The men of the town were called to a draft and she was left alone, then a flood washed away her village, and she was washed down river. Then, another cow saves her (sort of).... it's hysterical.
 
Along the way she meets a lot of wonderful characters, that you can't help but love, not to mention the handsome son of a dairyman.
 
It was hilarious. If anything, it made me laugh.

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From: Jes
To: Emo
Subject: RE: So... I finished The Sweetest Spell book...

 

LOL that sounds hilarious 4 cows follow her around ha J

 

 

 

You can check out The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors by clicking the link below:

The Sweetest Spell @ Amazon.com

Author Spotlight: Carrie Ryan

I just want to start by saying this woman's books scare the heck out of me!
But that is a complete compliment :)
When I read this author's first book I was creeped out to the max, I legitimately thought that her book "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" was following me around my room when I could have sworn I put the book up on my book shelf and there it was right next to my bed again. I remember constantly checking out my window shades to make sure nothing was out in my yard lurking in the dark.
But after I got over my creep out factor I realized that she had an amazing gift as a story-teller! Her characters were just so completely real and reading it felt like I was watching a movie! I could feel the characters desperation and the hopelessness of their situation. Gosh my chest never ached so much reading a story.
I did not realize the book was about zombie's when I first picked it up, I swear that this is the only zombie book I've ever heard of that never once uses the word zombie to describe the not living characters! Can you say clever? That really impresses me for some reason!
Also I have to just say that even though these are zombie books, the zombies really just do become background noise. These books are all about the characters!
Then I read her second book in the series (well I'm not sure it is a series, book one could stand alone, but two and three must be read together!!) and wow! Just wow!
Again just blown away, the romantic tension (Gabry and Elias! Be still my heart), the despair, and the fight that drives these characters had me reading into the night! Instead of being completely scared this time though I could not read fast enough, I needed to know how the story ended and when I finished it I was sad because I had to play the waiting game for the last book to come out *sad face*
And can I just say that the last chapter of that book had me sitting up, back tense, brow furrowed with stress and literally I was screaming at my book! But that is only a further example at how marvelous of an author she is to create a world I completely despise and find so without hope but I have to come back again to know how the story ends because I'm so completely attached to these characters.
 And OMG when that final book did come out I thought my head would spin off my shoulders with the huge 360 degrees my brain had just preformed. I have no idea how she at one time made me completely love a character and then hate them within the matter of one sentence! It was my favorite book in the series/ may not be called series ever!
After reading her amazing stories I cannot wait for her next full length YA novel. I think she has just this wonderful ability as author at creating the character and world building you can't help but be intrigued by. You can visit her website if you follow this link: Carrie Ryan.
On her website you can find additional links to her blog, join the email list to get the latest update on books, also a link to the authors books, and FAQ!

Books mentioned in my post: (Links take you to Amazon.com!)


The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Book 1)
The Dead-Tossed Waves (Book 2)
The Dark and Hollow Places (Book 3)

Just Around the Corner: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

So when I was sixteen my aunt took me to a Barnes & Noble, gave me 100 bucks, and said "Pick what ya want!" A book lovers dream!
I found my way to the YA station and stayed there for at least an hour! Later that day I came home with six books (I never spent the whole $100, something I regret) and one of those six so happened to be called "Just Listen" by Sarah Dessen.
I believe I read this book in a day and a half (up to this point I had never read a book so fast!). It was wonderful, real, sad, funny and so relatable, even if you didn't go through Annabel's exact situation you could definitely identify with any one of these characters in this book.
I admit I was not familiar with the author *sad face* (I picked it for the cover because my love for music is just as big) but that is something I have since then rectified! Because have found and read I'm sure everything she has written. Now I will say that Mrs. Dessen does have a certain formula to her books, to say what it is would spoil the stories, but it is one I that I so much love.
My awesome friend Emo once said in reference to Sarah Dessen's wonderful books,
"They remind me of summer!"
And I could not agree more and cannot wait for her new summer book "The Moon and More" to be released June 4, 2013 by publisher Viking Juvenile. I know this one will be as near to my heart as her others! The Blurb and cover are below:


Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

Find it at:
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen @ Amazon.com
                                                   



Also mentioned in this post:

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen @ Amazon.com

When Annabel, the youngest of three beautiful sisters, has a bitter falling out with her best friend—the popular and exciting Sophie—she suddenly finds herself isolated and friendless. but then she meets Owen—a loner, passionate about music and his weekly radio show, and always determined to tell the truth. And when they develop a friendship, Annabel is not only introduced to new music but is encouraged to listen to her own inner voice. with owen’s help, can Annabel find the courage to speak out about what exactly happened the night her friendship with Sophie came to a screeching halt?