Sunday, November 30, 2014

New Releases in YA! (December 1st-6th)

Every week I list all (or almost all) of the YA books (and the occasional MG) that are coming out within that week!
Here's what you get to look forward to this week:
P.S. Click on the book's cover for the Goodreads page!

               
                              
          



What books, if any, do you plan to buy?

Friday, November 28, 2014

Cover Lust: Elusion by Claudia Gabel & Cheryl Klam


Cover Lust is something that I do every week where I feature a book cover that I absolutely love!


Elusion (Elusion, #1)
Soon, Elusion® will change the world and life as we know it.

A new technology called Elusion is sweeping the country. An app, visor and wristband will virtually transport you to an exotic destination where adventure can be pursued without the complications—or consequences—of real life.

Regan is an Elusion insider. Or at least she used to be. Her father invented the program, and her best friend, Patrick, heir to the tech giant Orexis, is about to release it nationwide. But ever since her father’s unexpected death, Regan can’t bear to Escape, especially since waking up from the dream means crashing back to her grim reality.

Still, when there are rumors of trouble in Elusion—accusations that it’s addictive and dangerous— Regan is determined to defend it. But the critics of Elusion come from surprising sources, including Josh, the handsome skeptic with his own personal stakes. As Regan investigates the claims, she discovers a disturbing web of secrets. She will soon have to choose between love and loyalty…a decision that will affect the lives of millions.


Suspense, thrills, and romance fuel this near-future story about the seductive nature of a perfect virtual world, and how far one girl will go to uncover the truth behind the illusions.


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble






 Why did I pick this cover? 
Besides the awkward posing of the girl (Is she standing? Sitting? Crouching?), I really like this cover! I LOVE the colors and the overall fantastical feel and how everything is only within that little bubble!
And bonus! Correct me if i'm wrong, but I do believe that this cover is illustrated!

What are your thoughts? Tell me in the comments!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Cover vs. Cover: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

This week's pick is...

The Hollow (The Hollow, #1)VS.  The Hollow (The Hollow, #1)
Hardcover                      Paperback
I've never really been a fan of the Hardcover. It always creeped me out and looking at it again, I'm still not a fan. Although, now I notice the fact that her skin is wet and the way it's cut off, it looks like she's naked (except the necklace). Add the weird sparkles and the fact that the hand looks detached (again, because of the way it's cut off) and I just feel like there's too many weird things going on here. The Paperback is just a floating necklace, but I think it's a very pretty cover. I love how simple it is, the dark colors, and the textured background.

Final Verdict: Paperback
Do you agree? Give me your thoughts on which cover is the best!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where you talk about whatever book you are IMPATIENTLY WAITING for!

This week I am waiting for...

Salt & Stone (Fire & Flood, #2)What would you do to save someone you love?

In FIRE & FLOOD, Tella Holloway faced a dangerous trek through the jungle and across the desert, all to remain a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed for a chance at obtaining the Cure for her brother. She can't quit--she has to win the race, save Cody, and then fight to make sure the race stops before it can claim any more lives. In the next legs of the race, across the ocean and over mountains, Tella will face frostbite, sharks, avalanche, and twisted new rules in the race.

But what if the danger is deeper than that? How do you know who to trust when everyone's keeping secrets? What do you do when the person you'd relied on most suddenly isn't there for support? How do you weigh one life against another?

The race is coming to an end, and Tella is running out of time, resources, and strength. At the start of the race there were one hundred twenty-two Contenders. As Tella and her remaining friends start the final part of the race, just forty-one are left--and only one can win.

Release Date: February 24th 2015  
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble


Why am I waiting?
Fire & Flood was such an amazing book!
I can't wait to read more!


What book are you waiting for this week?

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

REVIEW: The Young Elites by Marie Lu



The Young Elites (The Young Elites, #1)
I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.


It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.





MY THOUGHTS
This book was definitely not what I was expecting. I didn't like this book as much as I hoped, but I did end up liking it. The main thing that surprised me about this book was how dark it ended up being.

The book's world is so interesting! It takes place in a fantasy world with many dystopian aspects and kind of a resemblance to a renaissance Venice. The world-building was very well-done, though, as I said, very dark. In this world, there was a fever that struck and all the adults with the fever died, children who had the fever and survived (not all survived) came out of it with special abilities. They are called malfetto. All of them are marked in some way (EX: Adelina has silver hair). Malfetto are feared and often killed for suspect of being with The Young Elites. The Young Elites are a group of Malfetto that are aiming to take back the crown to its rightful owner.
The overall world in this book is just so extraordinarily developed!

The characters in this book are a very interesting mix of characters. You will not see any cliche characters in this book. All of them are very different than the usual batch of characters seen in YA books. I'll say this again: they are dark. An example would be Adelina, who has had such a hard life and she is full of such darkness. Another thing I should warn you about: Marie Lu is not afraid of killing off her characters.

There is a brief romance in this book, but it does not distract from the storyline at all. In fact, there is hardly a romance at all.

My only issue with this book is more of a "It's not you, it's me" thing. I just could not relate to the characters. Did I feel for them? Yes. But they just felt flat to me. Same with some of the story. Though, this book is in third person and I usually have that issue with third person books.


IN CONCLUSION
This is a very dark dystopian/fantasy, but very well-done. The world is very developed and the characters are a breath of fresh air compared to most YA books. I had issues with relating to the characters, but all-in-all, a great book!
I do recommend this book (and the Legend trilogy) and I will be continuing the series!

I hereby give this book
4 Wheels
Meaning: It was amazing!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR

Hosted each week by The Broke and the Bookish, it's a meme for listing the top ten for everything bookish.

There are so many books coming out this winter that I want to read! These are only a few of them!


1. The Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London, #3)
Release Date: February 10th 2015

2. The Last Time We Say Goodbye
The Last Time We Say Goodbye
Release Date: February 10th 2015


3. Ensnared
Ensnared (Splintered, #3)
Release Date: January 6th 2015


4. This Shattered World
This Shattered World (Starbound, #2)
Release Date: December 23rd 2014


5. Salt & Stone
Salt & Stone (Fire & Flood, #2)
Release Date: February 25th 2015


6. Collide
Collide (The Taking, #3)
Release Date: December 2nd 2014

7. Gathering Darkness
Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms, #3)
Release Date: December 9th 2014

8. Dearest
Dearest (Woodcutter Sisters, #3)
Release Date: February 3rd 2015

9. Invaded
Invaded (Alienated, #2)
Release Date: February 3rd 2015


10. Golden Son
Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy, #2)
Release Date: January 6th 2015

What books do you want to read this winter?

Monday, November 24, 2014

REVIEW: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray




A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird, #1)
Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.


A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.





MY THOUGHTS
I've been wanting to read this book for a long, long time. I added it to by TBR list back in 2013 when it was still titled Can't Get Next to You. The title changed, it got that AMAZING cover (probably my favorite cover of all time) and I wanted it even more! I was insanely happy when I finally got my hands on this book and I'm happy to say, it did not disappoint!

A major reason why I wanted to read this book was this: PARALLEL UNIVERSES! Anybody who knows me, knows that I am a bit obsessed with parallel universes. The worlds that Marguerite travels to are so intricate and well-done. It is very interesting to see how similar and how different the worlds can be to Marguerite's own world! And all the science behind the technology to do this is explained very clearly and it makes perfect sense!

This will probably come as a surprise, but I actually loved the romance! It's odd, since there is a bit of a love triangle. Not much so in this book, but I get the feeling that it will progress later on. I loved the guy that the romance was focused on in this book and I was definetly shipping it! I was annoyed by Marguerite, though, because she was constantly not accepting the fact that she loves him. I want my ship to sail!



IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this was probably one of the best books I've read this year! I love the idea of parallel universes! It was so well-done and developed! I rooted for the romance! And the characters were great as well!
I, honestly, cannot wait for the next book!

I hereby give this book
5 Wheels
Meaning: A new favorite!

Sunday, November 23, 2014

New Releases in YA! (November 23rd-29th)

Every week I list all (or almost all) of the YA books (and the occasional MG) that are coming out within that week!
Here's what you get to look forward to this week:
P.S. Click on the book's cover for the Goodreads page!

          

What books, if any, do you plan to buy?

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Short & Simple Reviews: Every Day & Red Rising

This is a place for books that I didn't fully review.
Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)


Every Day (Every Day #1)
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
 It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day
  Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble





Review
This is such an interesting, new, and unique book! I've never really read magical realism books before and I now know that this will not be the last time. This book is very well written and it is full of meaning! I definitely recommend this book to everyone!

I hereby give this book
4 Stars!
Meaning: It was amazing!




Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy, #1)
The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.
Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.
Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.
 Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Review
It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I found such an amazing, new dystopian! This book is dark and disturbing, but this book is also brilliant and exciting! I definitely recommend this book!

I hereby give this book
5 Stars!
Meaning: A new favorite!

Stacking the Shelves (November 22nd 2014)

Hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Stacking the Shelves is where all the book nerds can post about the lovely (or not so lovely) books that they've got this week.

P.S. The covers take you to the book's Goodreads page!



Books I've Read in the Last Week



I saw Mockingjay this week (AMAZING!) and reread the book beforehand.


Books I Bought
Ebook Freebies:



Books I Won
One is an arc version, the other is a finished copy. Both are signed!

Thanks to A.C. Gaughen & The Halloween Book Trail


For Review

Books I Reviewed
(The covers are linked to my review)
Short & Simple






Anyway, what books did you haul in this week?