I really am here

Hi all - I really am around, but it is very busy with the end of summer and beginning of school coming up.  I feel like I'm trying to do too many things at once! 

So hopefully I will be back with some reviews tomorrow and also draw winners in my CSN Stores giveaway and also the Roseflower Creek giveaway (see I haven't forgotten).  I'm still reading and the reviews are getting backlogged, but I think I'll get back in the groove tomorrow.

Have a great Tuesday all!

Crystal

What are you Reading Monday - August 16

Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and join in!

Books Completed Last Week 

• Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner (review)
• Firelight by Sophie Jordan (review)
• The Candidates: Delacroix Academy by Inara Scott (review)  

Reading Now:

• Definitely Dead (audible on my Kindle)
• Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs (audiobook)
• The Phantom Diaries by Kailin Gow (review)

Next:

• Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Reviews completed this week (books read before this week):

• Virals by Kathy Reichs
• Catwalk by Melody Carlson
• Monster High by Lisi Harrison
• Freefall by Mindi Scott  
• The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer 

Other books still need to review:

• Wings by Aprilynne Pike (library) 
• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (mine)  
• The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz
• Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook)
• A Change of Heart by Shari Mauer (review) 
• Matched by Ally Condie (review)
• Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook) 
• Evermore by Alyson Noel (library)  
• Spells by Aprylynne Pike (library) 

Summary -

Even though my kids were out of town, it was a busy week.  I spent time with the hubby and that was nice - we even had a date night one night.  Hope to get more reading done next week, then school starts.

Favorite book of the week:  Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner - simply amazing suspense, it kept me glued to the book and I was fascinated by the three women who were main characters and their struggles and strengths.

Book Blogger Hop - August 13-16

To check out other answers and join the hop go and check out Crazy-For_Books.com for the Mr. Linky for the Blog Hop. 

This week's question:

How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?

My answer - I have absolutely no clue - I have a bookshelf full of my own books that I have collected through the years and haven't read.  I then have the piles of wonderful review books to get through as well.  I can't even imagine how many books I have.  But that makes me happy - I always have something to read!

I'm currently reading The Candidates by Inara Scott and hope to read that as well as Nightshade by Andrea Cremer this weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Book Review: The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer

 
The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer

Publisher:Scholastic

Publish Date: May 1, 2010

Hardcover, 352 pages

My Review:
Why I read this:  Suspenseful and dark, it sounded like a book that was right up my alley and different from the paranormal YA I have been reading.  I also loved the cover, creepy and effective.  So when I could, I signed up for it with 1-ARC Tours.

How is the novel driven: Character driven, the murder has happened and though there is a lot of action, most of the book is dedicated to what happened and why it happened, the reader never really knowing until the end.  The character development is mainly between the two sisters, Abby and Maya.  One good sister and one who has gone astray.

My thoughts:  
A very interesting book, different from a lot of the YA I have read recently.  This one is contemporary and suspense.  The book starts off with Abby finding a body of a boy who her sister, Maya was known to associate with and had a rather explosive relationship with.  Abby immediately thinks her sister killed the boy and is off on a mission to find her sister and protect her as she has protected her for years.

As the book progresses the reader learns more and more about Abby and Maya and why Maya might have commited the crime.  The reader is also introduced to some rather colorful characters from the shady side of Maya's life and friends of Abby and their beloved one time step-grandmother.

Mr. Schrefer does an amazing job of weaving the story lines together and guiding you where he wants you to go.  Scenes jump back and forth from past to present from what is going on with Abby and then adding Maya in.  It was a very effective form of writing as it drew me as a reader in and kept me enthralled until the very end.

This is not for the faint of heart, there is obviously a crime of murder committed, there is drug and alcohol use, and profanity in the book, but like others I have read lately because it is from the shadier side of life, it seems in place and not out of place.  The book is a real look at what can happen to a member of a family when they begin to slide away into the dark places that can be found anywhere.



My Rating:  4.25/5.0

About the Book:
Abby Goodwin is sure her sister Maya isn't a murderer. But her parents don't agree. Her friends don't agree. And the cops definitely don't agree. Maya is a drop-out, a stoner, a girl who's obsessed with her tutor, Jefferson Andrews...until he ends up dead. Maya runs away, and leaves Abby following the trail of clues. Each piece of evidence points to Maya, but it also appears that Jefferson had secrets of his own. And enemies. Like his brother, who Abby becomes involved with...until he falls under suspicion.

Is Abby getting closer to finding the true murderer? Or is someone leading her down a twisted false path?
About the Author:
Eliot Schrefer is the author of The School for Dangerous Girls, Glamorous Disaster, and The New Kid. He lives in New York City. He does not have a sister.

His Website
Facebook

FTC Information: I received this book through 1-ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Review: Freefall by Mindi Scott

 
Freefall by Mindi Scott

Publisher:Simon Pulse

Publish Date: October 5, 2010

Paperback, 336 pages

My Review:
Why I read this:  It sounded like a very intriguing premise and I signed up for it with 1-ARC-Tours.

How is the novel driven: Character-driven, the events that set everything into motion have already happened and the characters growing and developing and learning to deal with what life has dealt them is what the book is all about.

My thoughts:  Amazing, simply amazing.  See my note below as to why I almost put this book down, but I did not and I'm glad I didn't.  This is one powerful YA novel and I finished it over a week ago and it is still staying with me.  The book opens with Seth in a downward spiral that seems like it can only end one way, then he meets the lovely Rosetta and he starts searching for a way to make things better.  But this does not come overnight - it's not magic - he sees the girl, he falls in love and straightens out his life for her.  Nor is the girl perfect in every way, she has her own issues to work through as well.  But the book is about working through those issues and little by little, the reason Seth has become the way he is is revealed and that made it a fascinating read.  It's hard to like Seth in the beginning, he's binge drinking on the verge of flunking out of school and just generally not easy to like, but through the book I started to like him and then I was cheering for him.  It's a great book and one that I would recommend to a lot of teenagers, it has the angst that is so evident in those years, it has cliques and the social workings of high school, it has romance and most of all it has a character who works hard to better himself not only for a girl he falls for, but for himself and those around him.

I don't know what else I can say - the book must be read to be understood and while it's not a happy-go-lucky book, it is amazing.  Great job Ms. Scott on your first book - I will be looking forward to more books from you in the future!


Note:  Honestly I almost put this book down after the first few pages.  The language is rough, there are sexual references, drug use and alcohol use in the form of binge-drinking.  However I am glad I did not put it down.  For those of you that saw Jerry Maguire - you know how in the beginning, he is crass, has horrible language, horrible values and it's just rough in the beginning, but through the movie he changes and you see the point of the roughness of the beginning to show the journey.  That is what the beginning of Freefall is about and it's important to the book and therefore I don't feel it was just put in to titillate or just be gratuitous.  We have to be honest with ourselves, teenagers do talk that way so this book is not over the top.

My Rating:  4.5/5.0

About the Book:
How do you come back from the point of no return?

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .
About the Author:
Mindi Scott lives near Seattle, Washington with her drummer husband in a house with a non-sound-proof basement. Freefall is her first novel. Visit her online at .
Her Website
Twitter 
Facebook
Blog
Goodreads

FTC Information: I received this book through 1-ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Review: Monster High by Lisi Harrison

 
Monster High by Lisi Harrison

Publisher: Poppy

Publish Date: September 1, 2010

Hardcover, 272 pages

My Review:
Why I read this:  I love The Clique series by Lisi Harrison and this premise sounded very intriguing so I signed up as soon as Book It Forward Tours put it up.

How is the novel driven: Characters are the star, but the plot drives as well.  I loved getting all the setup for the series in this book - it was well-done, and still enough story to go along with the set-up to really enjoy it.

My thoughts:  What made this book really interesting to me is that it wasn't cut and dried who the good guys were and who the bad guys were.  You thought you knew after one episode in the beginning, but truthfully there were two different cliques and there was friction between them, but seeing it from both sides I saw that neither was particularly in the wrong.

Both Melody and Frankie are new girls and learning to fit in at the high school.  Melody is a normal girl in an area that is filled with Monsters, though people don't know that.  Frankie was created by her parents and is one of the monsters, but she just wants to be who she is not some put on person.  Her naivete coupled with her pop culture knowledge made her a great character to watch develop.  Melody on the other hand was an ordinary girl until her father helped her along with some cosmetic surgery, now she is the girl all the girls are jealous of at her new school and this causes problems.  Not to mention the one guy she is interested in seems to  have two very different sides.

As the monster community collides with the normal community mayhem ensues and the book ends settling matters in one way but setting things up for the next book which I am eagerly awaiting.  I really like both Melody and Frankie and look forward to learning more about the monster community that Lisi Harrison has created in this book.


My Rating:  4.5/5.0

About the Book:
From Lisi Harrison, the New York Times bestselling author of The Clique and Alphas, comes a new series with a fresh twist on high school, romance, and the "horrors" of trying to fit in.

The monster community has kept a low profile at the local high school, but when two new girls enroll, the town will never be the same. Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and prom.

But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters stalking the halls, Frankie learns that high school can be rough for a chic freak like her. She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver-but can a "normie" be trusted with her big secret?

About the Author:
Lisi Harrison was the Senior Director of Production Development at MTV, and was responsible for creating and developing original programming for air on MTV. She also served as Head Writer for MTV Production and before that had her own column in Jane Magazine.

Lisi lives in Laguna Beach, California, and is currently working on her next Alphas novel, coming in April 2010, as well as her next Clique novel.

Her Website
Twitter 
Facebook
Blah-G

FTC Information: I received this book through Book It  Forward Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Series Talk: What's Your Opinion - The Immortals series by Alyson Noel (Giveaway at end)

I was at my wonderful local library yesterday picking up my reserved copy of Blue Moon by Alyson Noel.  I finished Evermore last week and couldn't wait to get my copy of Blue Moon.  While there, the girl who was checking my books out told me she really didn't know what to think about The Immortals series.  I told her I read the first one and loved it and she confessed as she read the series she went back and forth on her thoughts about it and after the latest one she really just didn't know how she felt.  This gave me the idea of this post and if popular enough maybe a weekly or bi-weekly series discussing various series books out there.

Now I trust her opinion, she is a very sweet girl and actually closer to the YA age group than I am.  She helps the children's librarian and my 9-year-old adores her.  What she said got me thinking - I think I remember hearing mixed views about the series all over the internet.

So have you read the series and what did you think?  Try to keep the spoilers away and don't bash the author, but you can be honest - did you love the series, is there one or two books that just didn't do it for you?  Are you still reading the series?  I'm just curious - I'm still going to read the series and form my own opinions, but the comments made by this sweet girl just got me wondering.

For those of you unfamiliar with the series here are the books.  I have read Evermore and loved it, review will be coming later this week and I should start Blue Moon in the next week or so.

       

Note:  Night Star comes out November 16, 2010.

To sweeten the deal and generate some discussion, let me know what you think and you'll be entered for a book of your choice under $15 at the Book Depository, so that means if Book Depository has free shipping to your country - you are welcome to enter!  Simply let me know your opinion on this series and if you haven't read it, are you interested in reading it.  Giveaway ends 8/18.  No extra entries for this one, but I always appreciate tweets and blog mentions. :)