School Update!

Hey guys! So today WA y first day of school (went pretty well but it IS just the first day!) and since basically all my classes are PRE-AP (Except for my electives) I'm going to have MASSIVE amounts of homework! So I'm set for a month so that should keep me zOMG schedule for now. I have thus EPIC author thing planned for the next two weeks I'm calling GYDO. It starts on MONDAY and there'll be a *proper* introduction then!

I'll try to read at least 3-5 books per week and hopefully get some reviews done too! But if my reviews dwindle to 2 instead of 3 reviews I'm SINCERELY sorry! I'll try to stay ahead...hopefully my teachers wont give me much homework!

Wish me luck with school! Hopefully it'll be a good year in books, blogging, and school!

-Nikki

(P.S. Scroll down to see my review of Monstrous Beauty!)

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

Goodreads Blurb

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago.

I am completely stunned with Monstrous Beauty! It wasn’t a mermaid tale in the way that the current ones are. Yes, killer mermaid, but it seemed like Elizabeth Fama used the old legends to create her story. She didn’t try to make it into a modern fish tale, she worked on the legend and created a spectacular story.

There were two story lines entwined and I loved both. But you knew what had happened, you knew what caused this, and you knew what caused that. You knew what would happen, but instead of making this book boring and predictable, it made it even more amazing and it made me even more antsy, waiting for the characters to realize what was happening. You guys have no idea how much I wanted to scream out “I know what happened!” to the characters! My anxiety kept growing until finally, finally they discovered everything. And hey. That’s totally a good thing! But there were a lot of surprising twists as well, and a lot of times, the outcome wasn’t as clear as I thought.

And a YA book isn’t a YA book without romance right? I loved the romance! It was definitely different from the rest, but why, you’ll have to read it for yourself! Let’s just say it’s a tragedy, not a HEA. Trying not to spoil anything, I’ll just say that it’s definitely not insta-love despite what you’d think and that history repeats…sadly. The romance is definitely a key point and is definitely something special.

Character-wise, I felt like the characters weren’t very dimensional. They did have separate personalities, but they just felt…unreal. And no, not because Syrenka was a mermaid and Ezra was…well, anyways. I enjoyed reading about them, but I felt like if I met them, I would feel as if they were fake. Hester resembles a lot of other characters and I couldn’t find anything very likeable about her. I just couldn’t connect with them, but it wasn’t very obvious, and honestly, I almost didn’t notice!

The tag line on the back of the ARC fits perfectly—Scary, Sexy, Soulful. Chilling and Dark, Monstrous Beauty was an incredible read that made me shiver and stare. Beautiful prose, amazing plot, and stunning twists, this is definitely one to add to your TBR!

Pages: 304

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy/Romance/

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Rating: 4.5 ---> 4

"She screamed underwater, a high-pitched wail with a rapid burst of clicks that caused the sea life around her to scatter. It was as Noo'kas had foreseen. She had dared to love, and she had lost everything."

Blog Tour: Shift by Raine Thomas

Hey guys! As part of the Shift tour, I'm doing an Excerpt-Promo post. Since Shift is book 2, here's book 1 first! (Scroll down to see the excerpt and giveaway)

DEFY

Book 1 in the Firstborn Series.

 Seventeen-year-old Tate is about to make her parents’ dreams come true. Unfortunately for her, their dreams foretell her death.

Eager to explore more of the Estilorian plane and prove her abilities, Tate goes against her parents’ wishes and leaves the area of protection surrounding her home. Her choice puts her on a deadly path…one that leaves her alone, severely injured and battling for her life.

Her possible savior arrives in the form of Zachariah, a male who has removed himself from Estilorian society for more than fifty years. Fighting an unexpected connection to Tate, he must decide whether saving her life is worth destroying his.

As Tate struggles to find a way home, she ends up drawn into a dark Mercesti plot involving multiple murders and a powerful ancient artifact. With the unpredictable Zachariah as her only source for aid, she’ll soon find out if her abilities are strong enough to help her defy her Fate.

 Add it on Goodreads! | Buy it from Amazon!

SHIFT

Book 2 in the Firstborn Series

Having the ability to shapeshift, Sophia is familiar with change. But even she feels the rising tension in her homeland.

A shadowy male and deadly beast reside in their midst. The births of the newest Kynzesti loom. Hostile Mercesti continue to hunt for the Elder Scroll, and a traumatized female is too afraid to use her abilities to stop them.

Topping off Sophia’s stress is Quincy, the male she’s convinced can’t stand her. She rues the loss of their friendship, but can’t figure out how to move past it. She’ll soon learn, however, that mending that rift bears more significance than she ever imagined.

The search for the Elder Scroll takes on unexpected urgency, and Sophia finds herself in a race across the mainland. To stop the Mercesti led by Eirik, she and her companions must get past their differences and unite against them. If they don’t, Eirik will acquire the immense power he seeks, and two of the beings Sophia loves most will die.

Add it on Goodreads 

SHIFT Excerpt #1
There was a time when Sophia would have come to Quincy regarding one of her experiments. They had spent hours together in her laboratory or in his medical lab. Of course, it had been a number of years since the last time he felt that he had enough self-control to be alone with her for very long.
Zachariah was quiet for a moment, his gaze considering. “With the right equipment,” he said at last, “it could probably be done.”
Sophia smiled. The sight of it had Quincy’s gut clenching. She used to smile at him that way.
“Great,” she said. “Would you be willing to work with me on it? I’ll need to retrace what you did and see how we can adapt it to be effective on full Estilorians and those of us who are mixed with human DNA.”
“Ooo…sounds fun!” Tate said. “I love watching Soph in action during her experiments.” She gave her cousin a wink.
Zachariah shrugged. “I can work with you on it.”
Quincy waited for Sophia to turn to him, figuring she would surely ask him for his assistance, too. After all, no one knew the properties of human, Estilorian and combined DNA structures like he did.
But she didn’t. She thanked Zachariah and then moved up to continue her conversation with Clara Kate. She never even looked at Quincy, a fact that brutally pained him.
He couldn’t help but feel in that moment that her heart would be forever beyond his reach.

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Book Haul?

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't make one of these last week. I didn't get ANY books at all then remembered that I had a Weekly Wrap Up post to go along with it. Anyways, here are the books I got and my posts for the last two weeks! (I need to get used to this, geez!) ALSO! Voting for The Bloggy Awards is up. Please go vote for me? http://thebloggyawards.blogspot.com/2012/08/nicest-blogger-nominees.html

Bought
                    

Given

I'm officially on a contemporary kick. I blame you Eileen. But I've read all of these and GASP most of them are AMAZING!!! I love me some contemp.
DUDES, YES. THOSE ARE three finished hardcopies of The Innocents straight from the author. SHE'S SO NICE! :D I've been cooing over these for a while and am halfway through it! LOVING it so far! And yep. Some BR bookmarks were in there too!
What Happens Next, I've already read and WOW. My review is in about...2 weeks. I'm SORRY! But I've got something big planned for all of y'all next week.

August 12-18

Review: Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Waiting on Wednesday

Interview with Kaidan and Anna

Review: Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

August 19-25

Review: the Dark Light by Sara Walsh

Review: Origin by Jessica Khoury
Review: Burn for Burn

Burn for Burn by Siobhan Vivian and Jenny Han

Goodreads Blurb

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.
Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.
Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.
Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.
Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

The professional (ish) reaction: Burn for Burn is most definitely in my Top 5 books (of 2012)! It’s a sinister cotemporary that touches on a few paranormal aspects, making it an exciting new read! Dramatic, devious, and stunning, Burn for Burn met, and exceeded, all expectations!

MARY: Mary really does act like the kind of girl she’s portraying, shy and meek, but she’s got some anger and betrayal hidden in her and I loved that even though she was quiet, she had an undeniable spark in her that just makes you love her! Ever since she was betrayed by the one guy she trusted, Reeve, she’s been a bit on the don’t-notice-me side, but that’s about to change.

Something strange is happening too. Whenever she gets emotional, freaky things start to happen—a sudden wind storm, lights exploding. What, exactly, is happening to her? It’s just one of the questions raised and left unanswered. Hopefully we’ll find out why in book 2!

KAT: Kat has beef with Rennie, the Queen Bee of the school and also her ex-best friend. But now because of that same person, Kat is left out all because she got “boring” and got replaced by Lillia, out other narrator. Kat is incredibly rebellious and fiery and she was such an interesting character! She’s the “devious” one and came up with most of the revenge plans and man! They were evil! But the one thing about Kat was that she took so much glee from the hurt of others and that…kind of unnerved me. But otherwise, she was an amazing character!

LILLIA: Lillia was definitely my favorite character and no, not because she was Chinese. But I’m glad there was diversity! But a guy took advantage of Lillia and when she finds out that her sister may have…done it with her friend, she’s more than pissed. I loved how Lillia was so protective of her sister and how kind she was. I definitely think Lillia was the stronger character. In this revenge plan, she’s hurt 3 of her friends who’ve been with her since…almost forever. But she didn’t break and I loved her spunk!

I loved the way Han and Vivian wrote it. Written in all three POV’s, we still get a feel for all the narrators, each of them with their own separate personalities. The best thing is, none of them got blurred together. Even without them telling you, it would be extremely simple to figure out who was who! The voice was amazing and I think Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian are literally the perfect authors to write this story! I can’t think of anyone else writing it as awesomesaucely. Yes, that is a word.

The plot? Yes, it was insanely dramatic (and I doubt that anyone would actually do it) but that’s one of the best things about Burn for Burn. The drama and the cleverness! And the ending just about killed me. He..he…remembers her! ACK. Anyways, the supernatural element is a giant part of the ending, in the beginning not so much. I love how the plot unfolded and progressed with each act of revenge. And is it wrong to feel a tad gleeful when Rennie got her turn for revenge? On the other hand, the attacks on Alex and Reeve seemed a bit more malicious than the ones on Rennie…but anyways, I can’t wait to see what they have in store in book 2!

The unprofessional reaction: Holy craptastic! This is literally one of the best books I have ever read. And I can’t wait to get book 2! I’m seriously dying here and I can’t believe that Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian could be so mean to make us wait! Y’all have got to read this AH-MAE-ZING book! People should line up to read this book and I bet that they will!

Pages: 368

Series: Burn for Burn #1

Genre: Contemporary/Spernatural

Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR

Release Date: September 18

Rating: 7/5 stars! (Not as good as Sweet Evil or Venom, but still AMAZINGLY awesome!)

 

"Reeve sprints over to her, grabs her, and practically throws her in the air. "Shit." I say."

Origin by Jessica Khoury

Goodreads Blurb

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.
Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia’s origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.
Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost. This is a supremely compelling debut novel that blends the awakening romance of Matched with the mystery and jungle conspiracy of Lost.

Um wow. Just wow. I’m so impressed by all the Breathless Reads so far and Origin has just made me love them even, more!

Origin is an amazing debut and I really wish that a sequel will be on its way, but sadly…it won’t. But Pia and Eio are definitely some awesome characters and I’m hoping that there’ll be at least a short story for them after the ending of Origin! (Please? Pretty pretty please?)

I loved the world of Origin. Or, rather, the description of it. It’s the real world, but the way that it’s described seems way more enchanting. Maybe it’s because it’s set in the Amazon or maybe it’s just Jessica’s writing. Maybe both. But the world and descriptions are amazing and…magical? Even if it’s a sci-fi book. Origin definitely has some amazing descriptions and scenes that I’d kill to see! Apparently, I’ve had this secret craving to see the Amazon. Huh. Who knew?

The thing about Origin is the development you see throughout the story. Not just character development, but something else. Slowly but surely, you can almost feel Pia’s trust shift from her family of scientists to the wild boy she meets secretly and starts falling for.

But there’s more than just that. Pia herself goes through changes. In the beginning, her dream was always to become the lead scientist in the Immortis team, creating more Immortals, more perfects, like herself. But when things start getting suspicious and the Wickham test (A test designed for each scientists specifically, making sure they’re prepared to become an Immortis scientist) getting more brutal, her hackles are raised and she starts searching for answers herself. Suddenly this protected, whiny (bragging-ish) girl suddenly becomes this independent strong character who I loved reading about.

And speaking of characters, can I use these three sentences on Eio? Eio is extremely sweet and caring and I loved his character! Have native and half…scientist? He’s different and he’s strong, being the perfect match for our Pia. He’s just SQUEE worthy!

There were so many mysteries in Origin, some predictable, others less so. All of them contributed to the plot, though, and I did end up shouting “I knew it!” a lot while reading Origin. Origin is an original story that bakes your heart skip and your jaw drop. It’s a stunning debut (there’s a reason it’s called “Breathless Beauty”!) and I can’t wait to see more from Jessica Khoury! Even if it’s not a sequel. Sighs. But Origin is definitely one you should add to your TBR pile and read ASAP!

Pages: 372

Series: Stand-alone (cries)

Genre: Sci-fi/Romance

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: September 4

Rating: 5 stars

"Afer I shove the chair back in place, I plop down on it and wait for my nerves to stop humming while Alai stretches on the floor below me. That's when I see the hole in the fence."