Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wendesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where bloggers like me get to share what makes their hands all grabby.

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. Of Pandemonium, ALA Booklist noted that “like all successful second volumes, this expands the world and ups the stakes, setting us up for the big finale.”

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 fiancée of the young mayor. 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.

Sorry I haven't done one of these in a while, by the way!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this book because, like the big fat blockhead I am, I read the first to books pretty fast.  And, if you've not read Pandemonium yet, the ending makes me all fsdaolfneusdiocljka.  So, I'm dying for this one to come out, which happens to be in the SPRING of NEXT YEAR.  It's madness!  Absolutely killing me right now. 

Oh, and I also like the cover because it's all pretty-like and stuff.  And have you read the synopsis up there??  Sounds like excitingly crazy!

The Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

The Synopsis:
For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness….
Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal….
Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another….
James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others;but never knew true loss before….
Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope….






My Thoughts:
Okay, so once again I will tell you guys that my heart melts with barest thoughts of Greek mythologies.  There's just something about it that pulls me in with so much force and you won't see me for days.  And with Carter's works, The Goddess Test and Goddess Interrupted, I'm falling deeper in love with the mythology.  Instead of portraying Hades as a really bad dude, he's actually pretty decent, and I like this new twist on it.  And he's desperate for companionship, which he finds in Kate, and more. 

But the series isn't just about Henry and Kate.  There's James and Calliope and Ava and all of the other council members who have their own stories to tell.  Mind you, The Goddess Legacy isn't just about how all the characters got to be the way they are now; it's a book of heartbreak and all-consuming love.  There are it's sweet moments and there are those terrible, terrible ones.  Not everything the gods have to tell will have a happy ending.

The plotting of this book was absolutely spectacular.  Just not the way it's woven for the one book, but for the entire series (The Goddess Test and Interrupted).  It was pure genius.  You could tell there was room for some short little scenes between the characters outside of the book, but I didn't expect so much of it!  I'm not complaining here at all because I swallowed up every single page in the matter of two days.  The Goddess Legacy was insightful and I got to read even more about some of my favorite characters.

So here I thought that Calliope was pure Crazy with a side of Nuts, but she's more than that.  James?  My heart goes out to you, sweetheart!  Your story made me get all sniffly and pathetic!  Ava, I'm not sure what to think of you yet.  You certainly had two sides of you: sweet and loving and a complete bitchiness.  I never once doubted Persephone and the choices she made, but her personality was not exactly what I thought it to be.  And Henry, nothing has changed with you for me.  If anything, I think more highly of you!

I've grown even more attached to the characters.  Not only did I learn more about the characters mentioned about, but I learned more about the others on the council, including Walter (Zeus).  Especially Walter. 

I don't believe you have to read this one to read the last installment to the series, but I'd recommend it.  It was wonderfully spun tales for each of the characters, even if it didn't end all heart-melty gushy.  Because it was a retelling of Greek gods, I almost immediately loved it.  Almost.  So, if you love Greek mythology as much as I do, or even if you're on the fence, pick this one up!  I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I did.

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

The Synopsis:
Blood doesn't lie...
Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...





My Thoughts:
So, after being an engaged participant in the YA Crush Tourney hosted by The YA Sisterhood, I was deeply disappointed when my man, Daemon, lost.  I was also wondering who this Adrian was.  I mean, he won the Tourney and all.

My impressions of him?  I was not impressed, sadly.  Sure, he had this devil-may-care attitude and could be quite the charmer when he wanted to be, but I wasn't feeling it.  Honestly, I found him infuriating (and not in the good way) and annoying.  He smoked and drank and slept with just about every Moroi out there in a 100 mile radius.  I guess because of the Tourney I had such high hopes for him, but I was let down.  I thought he was going to be this unimaginably smokin' hot dude with a mysterious side.

I was also deeply confused.  I was under the impression that this series was a companion where you could read one and not the other and not be confused.  But I was.  I struggled to remember the differences between dhampir and Strigoi and Moroi and then remember that they're all vampires.  Moroi equals good.  Strigoi equals bad.  There were too many of these terms being thrown at me and I'd have to slow down a little bit just to process it all and make sense of it.

And then there was the story itself.  I did enjoy it and found myself engaged in Sydney's adventures.  The beginning, though, was very slow and I almost tossed it aside because it got very boring.  Then, towards the end, things picked up pretty fast, so I was glad I kept on reading.  I was expecting adventure and romance, but I didn't get much of either.  That disappointed me, but I was happily surprised by the outcome of the ending.  Very happy.

In all, don't make the mistake I did and don't read The Vampire Series.  I don't think I will because I think I ruined most of it and I'm not that interested in reading it.  I will, however, read Golden Lily and Indigo Spell.  I'm most curious to see how it will all turn out, but I can wait.  I'm sad that I didn't enjoy this book as much as other, but my opinion is my own.  By all means, if you enjoy Mead's writing, go ahead and read Bloodlines.  Please, don't let my opinion ruin your own entertainment.

Happy reading!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

The Synopsis:
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.



My Thoughts:
Here is another example of a book I decided to put on the back burner just because it was dystopian.  Well, thanks to my buddy ol' pal, Monica, over at Cover Analysis, she sent her copy of this book to read because she loved it so much.  Also, she said it was like X-Men and I may or might not have went a little crazy at the thought of that.  (If you don't know, I'm pretty much in love with X-Men.  Actually, if it has anything to do with superheroes, I'm all over that stuff.)

Juliette is a damaged girl.  She's been cooped up in this psych ward/jailhouse for just about a year and she hasn't seen or touched anyone in a while.  List time she did touch someone, that person died, and she's almost content to live a life where she won't have to hurt anyone ever again.  She's never had somebody love her, and somewhere deep, deep, deep inside of her, she craves it.  But she can't have that love when she's a monster.

Lemme just say right off the bat here that Mafi's writing was spectacular.  I soaked up each and every single word, basking in the wonderful glow of all the similes and metaphors and whatnot.  The only author that rivals her technique would be Lauren Oliver, I think.  I've never read something so deep before.  If there was a reading geek heaven, Mafi's writing would be it.  The only think that irked me would be how she didn't write out the numbers.  For example, instead of one, it was 1.  It wasn't that big of a problem that I wanted to toss the book aside; it just rubbed me the wrong way a little.

There was plenty of action and adventure tied in with lies and mysteries that left me going 'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes . . .'.  I tore through all the pages.  I wanted to know what would happen.  I wanted to devour it.  Adam, I thought was so badass, a lot of the time, rocking his tattoos and shooting off his gun occasionally.

Speaking of Adam, I'd like to talk a little about the romance and such of this book.  Alright, it was absolutely adorable, okay?  Just, met-your-heart adorable.  Adam was so sweet and he just swooped and made Juliette realize she isn't that monster she thought herself to be.  Sadly, I felt like it just happened too fast.  It was one of those inst-love situations that bugged me a little bit.  Instantly, they were devoted to one another and all mushy, touchy-feely.  Also, I was a little disappointed with Adam.  Here I thought that he was going to be some really hot guy, completely irresistible.  But, I, for some strange reason, wasn't attracted to him. 

Shatter Me is a book of self-discovery.  It's a book of the impossible love and a world built around an evil society.  I traveled along this journey that Juliette took, getting all depressed when she cried, my heart beating faster when she was in an adrenaline-filled situation.  It was beautiful.  I'm not sure what else I can say about the writing because there just aren't that many words to describe it's intricate beauty.  If you haven't picked up this book yet, I hope you do because it certainly has made one of my top favorites for 2012.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The Synopsis:
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.









My Thoughts:
So it seems that I'm really late getting to this series.  It looked good, but if you've been hanging around this blog for a while, you'd know that I wasn't too enraptured by dystopian/apacolyptic books.  It really was one of those 'It's not you it's me' kind of situations.  It wasn't the book that was holding me back from enjoying the story; it was me.  But, since I have this philosophy to give all books a shot, no matter their genre, I've been reading more dystopia and stuff.  I can tell you right now that I'm getting there.  I'm still a little uncomfortable with trying all of these books, but I'm noticing that I'm enjoying a lot of them, Delirium not being an exception.

Lena cannot wait for her birthday.  Because, come birthday time, she'll be able to get the cure.  She'll be free of the delirium.  It's what fuels every child's nightmares.  But things change when she meets a boy that flips Lena's world upside down.  He introduces her to a life she never knew about, feelings she never knew she had the capability to express, lies that were told by her own government.  Now she's beginning to realize her life isn't so black and white.  But the question is, What is she going to do now?

This book would have been extra awesome and amazing if more would have went on throughout the book.  Don't jump to conclusions, though, because I really enjoyed this book.  The writing was fabulous and talented.  I was hooked to the story from almost the very start and I was dying to know what would happen in the end. 

I enjoyed how very independent Lena was.  She was hardened by the fact that she was never loved.  My only problem with her is that she goes from Miss Goody-Goody to regular rule breaker from 0-6 seconds.  I didn't think that her reckless behavior was very believable at times and it didn't exactly bother me, but I thought it was one of those inconsistencies that you pick out in a book.

Overall, the story was something I loved.  Being taught from a young age that everybody should be treated with respect and equality, I found myself angry at the government in here that would make loving people illegal.  I would get frustrated and would frown at the page thinking, 'But that's not fair!'  It was a childlike thought, almost, but it was true.  How could somebody take away love?

Anyway, it was a great book and I cannot wait to read the next installment to the series because the idea is original and the writing is noteworthy.

Happy reading!