Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 12:30 AM


Series: Delirium #3

Format: ARC

Source: Traded

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Publication Date: March 5, 2013

Pages: 391

 Goodreads | Amazon





They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancĂ©e of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.
I really have no idea how to write this review, I really enjoyed this book for the most part, but that ending...WTF.  I have never been so disappointed in the ending of a series as much as I was after finishing Requiem.  It took everything in me not to sling the book across the room.

In Requiem we follow Lena and her group as the search for a place that's safe in the Wilds.  As you can imagine, their journey is in no way easy especially with regulators searching the Wilds for Invalids.  Lena and her group have to fight to protect what's theirs more than once during their journey.  I feel like Lena stepped up a lot more in this book, there was times when she put her life on the line in order to help someone else from the group.

This book also follows the life of Hana as she adjusts to life after the cure and as she prepares to marry Mayor Fred Hargrove.  At the beginning I really didn't think I would like reading from Hana's POV, but as it turns out I really enjoyed seeing what Hana was like after the cure.  I really like Hana but I wish she would have stood up for herself and what she wanted. 

I really didn't like the way that Alex acted in this book, at times it kind of seemed like he had two different personalities.  I liked Julian a lot more in Requiem, like Lena he also stepped up and put his life on the line.

There was a ton of action and not once did I get bored while reading this book BUT I can not get past that ending.  When I read the ending to a series I like to have some kind of closure for the characters but there in this series ender, there is NONE.  We don't find out what happens with Hana, if the Invalids win the war, or who Lena chooses.  We get an idea of who she will choose but she doesn't actually choose.

I was torn on what rating to give this book, but since I enjoyed the book up until that stupid non-ending ending, I think I'm going to go with 3 stars.







Top Ten Tuesday (11) Best Beginnings/Endings

Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 12:00 AM

 
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.
 
This weeks topic is: Favorite beginnings/endings in books.
 
Since I don't want to give away anything I'm just going to post the covers of my favorite endings and  post the first lines from my favorite beginnings.



 

 Favorite Beginnings:

 
 
 
 
The Garretts were forbidden from the start.             
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I'd been having the same dream for a month - the one where a dark stranger materialized out of the smoke and shadows to play doctor with me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door.
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientist perfected a cure.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Bronwyn Alessia St. Vincent Clare!"
Four names, five words, one pissed-off werewolf.  The math in this particular equation never came out in my favor.


Beat the Heat Readathon | Updates

Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 1:00 AM

I had so much fun participating in the Once Upon A Read-A-Thon that I thought I would sign up for another one.

This Readathon is hosted by Auntie Spinelli Reads & Phantasmic Reads.  If you would like to join you can find all of the info HERE.

My goal is to finish Prodigy by Marie Lu and read at least 7 more books within the next two weeks.  Below is a list of books that I plan to read, but the list may change depending on any new books I get in the next two weeks.
 
*The Readathon was extended until August 18th, so I'm going to try to read a total of 10 books instead of 7

The Books: 

Prodigy by Marie Lu


Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Icons by Margaret Stohl
 

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland
 
 


Are you participating in this readathon? Be sure to leave me a link so I can check out your progress :)

Updates: 

7/30

Finished Prodigy
Finished The Distance Between Us
Started on Nantucket Blue
 
8/2
 
Finished Nantucket Blue
Started on I Hunt Killers
 
8/7
 
Finished I Hunt Killers
Finished Stealing Parker
Finished The Infinite Moment of Us
Started on If He Had Been With Me
 
8/15
 
Finished If He Had Been With Me
Finished MacRieve
Finished Apollyon
Finished Team Human
Finished Reboot
Started Sweet Peril
 
 




Book Review | The Rules For Disappearing by Ashley Elston

Posted on 12:00 AM



Series: The Rules For Disappearing #1

Format: ARC

Source: Traded
 
Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: May 14, 2013

Pages: 314
 

 
 She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival
 
‘Meg’ has spent the last eight months in the Witness Protection Program with her parents and her little sister.  Natchitoches, Louisiana is the sixth place they have been and Meg is determined for it to be the last.  Meg has given up on trying to fit in, instead she is on a mission to find out what her dad did or saw that landed them in the Program. 
The only thing that bothered me about Meg was how dismissive she was.  I mean, it’s obvious that there is a threat on her and her family’s life since she is in the Witness Protection Program so I would think she would have paid a little more attention to the strange things that kept happening instead of brushing it off as paranoia.  I get that she didn’t want to move again, but still.
 
I really liked Ethan; he was very sweet and extremely charismatic, I can completely understand why Meg had a hard time staying away from him.  I also loved that Meg and Ethan’s relationship took time, that it wasn’t the instant love that we see in a lot of books.
I don’t want to give anything away so I will just say that everything changes for Meg when the truth about why her family is in the Protection Program comes out.   
Overall, The Rules For Disappearing is an engaging read that has just enough suspense and romance that will keep you hooked until the very last page.  I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.
 
 



 

Early Book Review | Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Posted on Sunday, July 28, 2013 4:30 AM

Series: Throne of Glass #2

Format: e-ARC

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Publication Date: August 27, 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Pages: 432



An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?
 

*Warning – Contains spoilers from Throne of Glass*


I just recently read and LOVED Throne of Glass (you can find my review HERE) so I was absolutely ecstatic to get approved to read Crown of Midnight a little bit early.

In Throne of Glass we get to see Celaena compete to become the King’s Champion in exchange for her eventual freedom and in Crown of Midnight we get to see everything that being the King’s Champion entails.

As the King’s Champion, it is now Celaena’s responsibility to execute anyone the King deems a threat. However, Celaena hasn’t been killing the people the King has asked her to, instead she has been giving them the choice to die or disappear and live. Celaena must figure out what the King is up to before he finds out that she hasn’t been killing her targets because if the King found out what she was doing he would have her and everyone she cared about killed.

You would think that an assassin wouldn’t be a very easy character to relate to, but Celaena is extremely easy to like. Even though her job is to kill people, she is a very loyal and caring friend that will do anything to protect those she loves. Chaol is another person that I adore; I love how protective he is over Celaena.

This book has so many twists and turns that you will not expect. There were quite a few things that happened is this book that stunned me to the extent that I had to put the book down to catch my breath and come to terms with what had just happened. Even though I was surprised and heartbroken with what had occurred I can understand why it was written this way, Celaena needed that push to get to where she needed to be.

Once again I’m absolutely amazed by the world that Sarah J Maas created. Sarah’s writing is astonishing, these characters and this world will completely draw you in. This is one series that you do not want to miss.




 



Stacking the Shelves (19)

Posted on Saturday, July 27, 2013 12:30 AM

 
Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme that is hosted by Tygna's Reviews that showcases what books we got during the past week.
 
Here's what I got:
 
Left Drowning by Jessica Park
 
Prodigy by Marie Lu
 
Icons by Margaret Stohl
 
Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins
 
 
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
 
What books did you get this week?
 
 

Judging A Book By It's Cover: A Kid's Perspective on Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Posted on Friday, July 26, 2013 1:00 AM

 photo 238fe345-0540-4850-8306-6be742e1de5d_zpsfd88eb8e.jpg



I saw this feature over at Forever 17 Books and I loved the idea, so I asked Sara if I could get my 6 year old son in on the fun since he thinks it will make him famous.








 




  “I think it’s about Knights and Princesses, because only Knights and Princesses have castles.  Maybe Dragons and Zombies too”
















                                                                 Cover Art

 
 
 
This is such a fun feature.  I loved hearing what Landon thought about this book and he loved drawing the cover. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next time.
 
 
 

Book Review | The Ghost and The Goth by Stacey Kade

Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2013 8:31 AM

 
Series: The Ghost and The Goth #1
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date:
Pages: 281

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?
Alona Dare seems to have it all; she’s a senior, cheerleader, homecoming queen and has a hot boyfriend, but all of that changes the day Alona steps out in front of a school bus.  Now, the only person that can see and hear her is the school freak, Will Killian. 
Will Killian spends his days avoiding the dead people around him.  But when the jerk of a principal takes his iPod, which is his safe haven for drowning out their voices, he accidentally lets it slip that he can see those who are no longer living; from there on they get harder to ignore and Alona is the most demanding of them all.
Since Alona was a cheerleader I was really expecting her to be shallow and dense, and at times she was.  But surprisingly, she was also smart, witty and caring and I immediately liked her.  I loved the chemistry and the teasing between Alona and Will and I wonder if she would have ever noticed him if she hadn’t died and needed his help.
Overall, The Ghost and The Goth was a very fun and humorous read with just enough mystery to keep you turning the pages.  I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to seeing what happens with Alona and Will in the next installment.     
  

My mouth fell open.  “You tried haunting people?”

“No, I tried communicating.  It’s not my fault if they got scared.  Besides, it was only a few people, and they totally deserved it,” she said defensively.


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