Monthly Recap: July 2013

Well, summer is pretty much over for me. Volleyball starts next week and school starts the week after that. Oh, and I have summer work for two AP classes that I haven't finished. :/ Oops. But I read a good bit this month! Aaaand I had my blogoversary. So this moth was great and I hope I can still keep up during August. Things will definitely start slowing down as the school year picks up. But I will continue to read whenever I get the chance.

Books Read (Favorites are in bold):

1. The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride #1)- James Patterson
2. Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)- Kiersten White
3. School's Out Forever (Maximum Ride #2)- James Patterson
4. Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride #3)- James Patterson
5. Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card
6. Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3)- Kiersten White
7. Pushing the Limits- Katie McGarry
8. School Spirits- Rachel Hawkins
9. Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1)- Veronica Rossi
10. Heist Society (Heist Society #1)- Ally Carter
11. Maximum Ride Manga (Volume 1)- James Patterson
12. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1)- Ally Carter
13. Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2)- Veronica Rossi
14. The Trouble With Flirting- Claire LaZebnick
15. The Final Warning (Maximum Ride #4)- James Patterson

Books Reviewed:

1. Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1)- Kiersten White
2. Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1)- Melissa Marr
3. The Ask and the Answer (Chaos Walking #2)- Patrick Ness
4. Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3)- Patrick Ness
5. School Spirits- Rachel Hawkins
6. Rebel Heart (Dustlands #2)- Moira Young

Teaser Tuesday #19: Scorch Trials

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading

The Scorch Trials
Maze Runner #2
James Dashner

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

DNF Books

I hate not finishing books. Even if a book is really bad, I will try to just skim to get through the rest. Because of this, it is very rare for me to start a book and not finish it, but there are still a few. Right now there are only five and I hope that number doesn't go up very far. Some day I want to try again with these books.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Maureen Johnson

This one was interesting, but when I was about half way through I lost interest. 

Behemoth

Scott Westerfeld

This is the second book in the Leviathan series. I really did not like the first book so I don't know why I even picked this one up.

Bumped

Megan McCafferty

The topic of this book bothered me.

Falling Kingdoms

Morgan Rhodes

I honestly don't know why I put this one down. I think I was just really busy and I never got back to it.

Partials

Dan Wells

This one just bored me from the start.

Did you like any of these?

Review: Rebel Heart

Rebel Heart
Dust Lands #2
Moira Young

Saba thought her world would return to normal after they defeated the Tonton and rescued her kidnapped brother Lugh. The family head west for a better life and a longed-for reunion with Jack. But a formidable enemy is on the rise. What is the truth about Jack? And how far will Saba go to get what she wants?

Stacking the Shelves: Tigers and Beauty Queens

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a great way to show other people the books that you've bought or received for the past week!

Library 

Goddess Interrupted

Goddess Test #2

Amiee Carter

Tiger Lily

Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger's Curse

Tiger's Saga #1

Colleen Houck

Unraveling

Unraveling #1

Elizabeth Norris

Used Book Store

Beauty Queens

Libba Bray

Red Glove

Curse Workers #2

Holly Black

That Summer

Sarah Dessen

Feature and Follow Friday #1

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet new blogger friends. This weeks question is:

What do you do with your books after you are done reading them?

My Answer: If I liked it I put it on my shelf with my other books. It takes a lot for me to get rid of a book. I either really didn't like it or never wanted to read it in the first place. In that case I sell them to a used book store. It's a win-win. I get rid of books I didn't want and I get credit to buy more!

Book Blitz: Spirit

Spirit (Elemental #5)

Shauna Granger

Release Date: April 30, 2013

Not even a guardian angel is more powerful than Death.

Always careful to watch out for others, Shayna put too much trust her abilities to keep herself safe and has been cut down by crazed man. Now she is trapped in the land of the dead, watching as her two best friends suffer the consequences of her death; their powers are fading and soon they will too. Shayna is desperate to return to the land of the living to save them from a similar, cold fate. To save her friends Shayna must turn away from the Light and, in doing so, sacrifice her wings.

But the longer Shayna stays among the dead, the further she slips from sanity. If Shayna cannot find her way back she will be condemned and lost forever among the restless souls of the dead. With nothing left to lose, she will do whatever it takes to fight her way back, with or without her wings.

Available from:

    

Excerpt:

In the distance, I heard something echoing my screams. I had a moment of panic and looked right and left, but the monstrous cries stopped. I held my breath to listen, not even daring to move. In the sudden quiet, the snuffling breath and breaking twigs behind me sounded like gunfire.

I was no longer alone.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Holly Black
September 17, 2013

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

Teaser Tuesday #18: Linger

Linger
Wolves of Mercy Falls #2
Maggie Stiefvater

Grace and Sam found each other. Now they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

Review: School Spirits

School Spirits
Rachel Hawkins

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Favorites: Books That Made Me Cry

Before I Fall 

Lauren Oliver

This is a book about I girl who lives the same day over and over until she "gets it right". But doing the right thing isn't always easy. 

Clockwork Princess

Infernal Devices #3

Cassandra Clare

While reading this book I either had a huge smile on my face or I was crying. So hard. 

Monsters of Men

Chaos Walking #3

Patrick Ness

This whole series is very strong and gripping, but I never once cried except for the very end of this book.

The Fault on Our Stars

John Green 

Do I even have to explain?

Twenty Boy Summer

Sarah Ockler

This one is about a girl coming to grips with the death of someone she loves. It has that before/after thing, that really makes you see what she lost.

What book has made you cry the most?

Stacking the Shelves: Marked, Maximum, and Manga

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a great way to show other people the books that you've bought or received for the past week! 

Library:

A Midsummer's Nightmare

Kody Keplinger

I'd Tell  You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Gallagher Girls #1

Ally Carter

Marked

House of Night #1

P.C & Kristin Cast

Maximum Ride 

Manga Vol 1

The Final Warning

Maximum Ride #4

James Patterson

The Lost Hero

Heroes of Olympus #1

Rick Riordan

The Summoning

Darkest Powers #1

Kelly Armstrong

Through the Ever Night

Under the Never Sky #2

Veronica Rossi

My friend has been trying to get me to read manga, so I am taking baby steps with the Maximum Ride manga. Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Review: Monsters of Men

Monsters of Men
Chaos Walking #3
Patrick Ness

War," says the Mayor. "At last." Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await? But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on revenge - the electrifying finale to the award-winning "Chaos Walking" trilogy, Monsters of Men is a heart-stopping novel about power, survival, and the devastating realities of war.

Blogoversary!

Yep. It has officially been one year! I know everyone says this, but it really hasn't felt like a year. I remember first starting and putting my posts on Goodreads in an attempt to get an audience. There are a few people I want to mention. First Delaney from The Akward-ness, she has been with me consistently since literally the very beginning. Also Grace from The Humble Watermelon was there with me in the beginning. Every time I got a comment, I was just so excited and wanted to blog more! Who am I kidding, it is still like that! And more recently I have been getting people who consistently read my blog and comment, like Ariella from Secrets of Lost Words and Janina from Synchronized Reading and that makes me a very happy girl XD.  I love everybody who reads and comments on my blog !!

Since I Started:

~159 GFC Followers
~48 Bloglovin Followers
~381 Comments
~206 Posts

Thanks so much to everyone who has read and commented and I hope my next blogging year is even better!

Quote Unquote: The Angel Experiment

Quote Unquote is a series of posts of my favorite quotes from certain books. Today I am doing The Angel Experiment by James Patterson. This is the first book in the Maximum Ride series and I absolutely loved it. It was a bit sad and serious some times, but there were definitely a couple lines that had me laughing.

~“'Man, You weigh a freaking ton! What have you been eating, rocks?'

 'Why, is your head missing some?'”

~“I feel like, like pudding," Iggy groaned. "Pudding with nerve endings. Pudding in great pain.”

~“Feeding a crowd?' the woman behind the counter asked.
Yes, ma'am ,' Fang said sweetly.
Yeah, him and all his split personalities, I thought.”

Cover Characteristics: Rain

This is a meme hosted by Sugar & Snark. Each week they will post a characteristic and we'll choose our favorite cover’s with that characteristic.

4

3

2

Review: The Ask and the Answer

The Ask and the Answer
Chaos Walking #2
Patrick Ness

Part two of the literary sci-fi thriller follows a boy and a girl who are caught in a warring town where thoughts can be heard — and secrets are never safe.

Reaching the end of their tense and desperate flight in THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, aimed at overthrowing the tyrannical government. Todd, meanwhile, faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives — Todd’s gritty and volatile; Viola’s calmer but equally stubborn — the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?

Stacking the Shelves: Spirits, Games, and Heists

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a great way to show other people the books that you've bought or received for the past week! 

Library

Endlessly

Paranormalcy #3

Kiersten White

Gameboard of the Gods

Age of X #1

Richelle Mead

Heist Society

Heist Society #1

Ally Carter

Mind Games

Mind Games #1

Kiersten White

Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits #1

Katie McGarry

School Spirits

School Spirits #1

Rachel Hawkins

The Moon and More

Sarah Dessen

The Program

The Program #1

Suzanne Young

Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky #1

Veronica Rossi