Friday, August 16, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0. - I'm Participating! + My Goals

I will be participating in this Read-a-Thon next week. and below is the information if you want to join:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I am very excited for this event. Here are the goals that I hope to accomplish:
1. Read "Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo, "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson, "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown and "We'll Always Have Summer" by Jennie Han.
2. Finish any books that I did not finish prior to the readathon.
3. Participate in some of the challanges!
4. Not go crazy.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Book Review - "Karma" by Cathy Ostlere

Publisher - Razorbill
Release Date - March 31, 2011
Number of Pages - 528

On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that sixteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world.


Well, I have not posted anything on this blog for quite a while, but I fully intend to start blogging more regularly from now on. I'm starting with this review that I am quite excited to write!

1. This book is one of the selections for the school book club that I am a part of, and it is the main reason why read this novel. Overall, I was very satisfied by what this book offered.

2. The setting of this novel is in 1984 India, right after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. The entire country is thrown into chaos, that is the result of the conflict between Sikhs and Hindus. The atmospehere of the novel reflected the events so well, probably becuase the author actually travelled India during that time. Many of the small details described seemed totally believable to me.

3. The novel was written in verse, which gave it the abiluty to capture a lot more emotion and sensitivity than if it was written in prose. However, at some points the verse would make it hard to understand what was going on or what was meant by quote. Even though it was well-written, not everything was always clear.

4. The two main characters, Maya and Sandeep, were both quite well developed and the romance between them was not instant, but it dveloped over some time. Some of the minor characters though, were not all that interesting and sometimes just blurred in the background. It would have been great if some of them were more defined and if they played a bigger role in the story.

5. One of my favourite parts of the book, was the back story of the main characters and of Maya's parents. They were so intriguing to read about and  added a lot more depth to the charatcers and to the plot.

Rating -  B+

Happy Reading!


Monday, October 1, 2012

30 Day Book Challenge - Day 1

So, I decided to do this Challenge that was created by Jude over at In Between. I think this will be a very fun challenge to do and I hope that you will learn more about my reading life. So, I'll just get started!

Day 1 - Your favorite books and the best one's you've read of all time


In no particular order, here are some of the books that are the best that I ever read:

1) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling









2) "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky











3) "City of Glass" and "Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare






















4) "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins











5) "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins











(All links lead to Goodreads)

Happy Reading!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

In My Mailbox #18

Hi guys! I'm here with a new In My Mailbox post! (Finally)

Borrowed:
- "Something Strange and Deadly" by Susan Dennard
- " Pandemonium" by Lauren Oliver

Bought:
- "The Replacement" by Brenna Yovanoff
- "Possess" by Gretchen McNeil
-" The Book of Even More Awesome" by Neil Pasricha

Happy Reading!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Book Review - "The Near Witch" by Victoria Schwab

Publisher - Disney Hyperion
Release Date - August 2, 2011
Number of Pages - 282
Series - none

Summary:
 The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen.
The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.



This book was absolutely wonderful! It was creepy, haunting...and beautiful.

Victoria Schwab spins the words together in a fashion that makes the story (or the Near Witch) appear at your mind (or your house). The writing was absolutely was amazing and it made the book spooky. It was definitely a high point of the book.

The main character was great and well developed, but she was very different from me, so it was hard for me to relate to her. Lexi was rebellious and I am usually not.

I also really loved the setting of the story. I absolutely love novels set in small towns, probably because I grew up in a small town. The author described it in a way that was very easy to visualize in my head and that made it a lot more real for me. I also loved this aspect of the story.

This book was very good and I definitely recommend this for everyone!

A-
Happy Reading!

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Thursday, September 6, 2012

Book Review - "The Dark Divine" by Bree Despain

Publisher - Egmont USA
Release Date - Dec. 22, 2009
Number of Pages- 372
Series - The Dark Divine #1





Synopsis:
 Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.




I did not know what to expect from this book when I picked it up, but I am glad to say that I enjoyed it quite a lot.

It is hard for me to pinpoint what I liked about the book, and what exactly made it enjoyable for me.

For one, I enjoyed the religious aspect of the novel. I have never read a book about a "preacher's kid" before, therefore that aspect of the novel was very interesting to me.

I also really liked Daniel and Grace's dad. They were very likeable and I enjoyed reading about them.

What I thought was very cool, were the headings at the beginnings of all the scenes. They made the book a lot more organized and easier to read. This was very good for me, because I hate being confused when reading. When I'm confused, I'm frustrated and I take out my frustrations on the book and because of that I don't like the book.

This book was a very enjoyable read, but not a mind blowing one.

B+

Happy Reading!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

 "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Currently, I am most anticipating "Velveteen" by Daniel Marks, which is coming out Oct.9 this year. Below is the cover and the synopsis.

 Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.