Category Archives: Books

Book Review: The Raven Prince

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The Raven Prince CoverBook: The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

Published November 2006|Published by Grand Central Publishing|265 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Part of a series? Yes, Princes Trilogy #1

Genre: Historical Romance

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Elizabeth Hoyt’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: There comes a time in a woman’s life when she must do the unthinkable – and find employment. For the widowed Anna Wren, that means taking a job as female secretary for the Earl of Swartingham. Secretaries are always male – never female – as Anna well knows but the real downfall of her career is the realisation that she is falling in love with Edward de Raaf – the Earl. But when she realises that he is going to visit a brothel in London to take care of his ‘manly’ desires, Anna sees red – and decides to take advantage of the opportunity to also take care of her ‘womanly’ desires – with the Earl as her unknowing lover. But the Earl has another reason for going to London. He is formalising his betrothal and trying (with little success) to forget about a secretary that has no right being female. Unhandsome, he knows that no woman wants him. Except for the mysterious lady with whom he spent two unforgettable nights at Aphrodite’s Grotto, the most scandalous brothel in London. But when Anna’s plan is revealed, a bit of blackmail is thrown into the mix, a proposal is rejected and even the Earl himself will be unprepared for the intrigues that ensnare them.

Another romance novel!  I’m slowly finding romance authors that I love, and Elizabeth Hoyt has earned that place with The Raven Prince.

At the beginning of each chapter, there’s a quote from a fictional book called The Raven Prince, of which Edward has a copy.  I loved seeing this fictional fairy tale play out, and it went along with the book so well!

I really liked Anna, and she really was a sweet person!  I also liked that Anna and Edward had some tragic moments in their lives but we never saw them complain about it.  In fact, they generally went about their lives like they didn’t have any baggage…even though they did end up bringing some of their issues to their relationship.

I loved the setting, and how well Hoyt described everything.  The town they lived in sounded so pretty and quiet!  And while I knew it was historical romance, and even with the historical romance vibe, I didn’t really get a good sense of time.  A little bit of context would have been nice.  But maybe that’s because I just finished Revealed by Kate Noble, which had references to Napoleon and Jane Austen.  But it was still fun to read.

I just LOVED The Raven Prince, though!  Anna really is a good person, and I really liked her with Edward.  Seriously, they’re super-cute together!  Opposites really do attract.  Actually, the relationships between all of the characters were great…and Anna taking care of a sick prostitute, even when people got all judge-y, was so nice of her!  All of the minor characters are great, from Coral, to Mother Wren, to Mr. Hopple…they just made an already great book even better!

Final thoughts:

I LOVED The Raven Prince!  It was fun to read, with a cute couple and a lot of interesting characters.  It gets 5 stars!

Book Review: Revealed

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Revealed CoverBook: Revealed by Kate Noble

Published March 2009|Published by Penguin Group|368 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Part of a series? Yes, The Blue Raven #1

Genre: Historical Romance

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Kate Noble’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: From the acclaimed author of Compromised comes a tale of love and war among the ton. Phillippa Benning is the unrivaled beauty of the Season. But when another lady challenges her for a marquiss attentions, Phillippa entices him to a secret rendezvous only to stumble upon The Blue Raven, Englands most famous spy, lurking at the site of her planned tryst. The Blue Raven has uncovered an enemy plot directed at upcoming society functions, but hes unable to infiltrate London society. Phillippa makes an offer: in exchange for entre among the ton, he agrees to have his true identity revealed at the Benning Ballguaranteeing her unrivaled notoriety. As the danger draws closer, the mysterious spy and Phillippa give in to mutual desire. But when the game turns deadly, betrayal waits around the corner, and Phillippa must decide once and for all, is it the myth that captured her heart, or the man?

I totally wasn’t sure about Revealed at first, but by the end, I was so acting like a fan girl!  When I read a book like Revealed, I’m reminded of why I love romance in the first place, and it always makes me want to read more!

Like, I loved the parts where Marcus and Philippa were together.  Seriously, reading some of those scenes made me giggle.  They’re great on their own, but you put them together, and something magical happens!  And I so wanted Broughton to be the bad guy, but thankfully it wasn’t Byrne.  Phillippa was a fun character, and even when she acted like a total brat, you still couldn’t help but like her.

I liked the spy element of it, and Phillippa trying to help Byrne and Marcus was…interesting at times.  Especially when they had to call on Jane, Philippa’s rival, for help.  It’s too bad we don’t get more of their history in this one, but I loved the snarkiness between the two of them.  And of course, the whirlwind that is the Season, was fun to read.

There wasn’t as much romance as I was expecting, but there was still a lot of tension between Marcus and Phillippa.  Just seeing the back and forth was so much fun!  Considering there was a (surprisingly) not annoying love triangle, and trying to figure out who was selling info to France, I didn’t mind that the romance took a back seat times.

Everything worked so well together, and I can’t wait to see what sort of trouble Philippa gets herself into in the next one!

Final thoughts:

I don’t have much to else to add, but I am definitely a fan of Kate Noble…after one book!  I’m looking forward to reading her other books, because I really enjoyed Revealed.  It’s a fun read, and it was just…delightful!  The characters are great, I loved the setting, and I love the mystery too!  Revealed gets 5 stars!

Is 218 Books A Bit Much?

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Because I don’t really want to end this year end stuff, and because I have a few things I still want to talk about, I’ve decided to do one last post recapping random bookish thoughts that I’ve somehow managed to not talk about the last few weeks.  I didn’t think of doing something regarding my non-bookish favorite stuff, but I may have to do that at the end of year.

I’ve talked about my favorite authors from the last year, my favorite books (be sure to check out part one and part two), and an end of the year book survey.  But…I haven’t talked about blowing my original goal of 115 books out of the water!

Seriously, I only meant to read 115 books this year, and read an astounding 218 books!  Of which 106 were from the library and 112 were books I own…9 audiobooks, 119 e-books and 90 “traditional” books.  And an average of 18 books a month and an average rating of 3.46.

As for how many books I want to read this year, I really have no idea.  I’ve settled on 150 books, but that’ll probably change as the year goes on.  I think there’s a lot that I’ve learned about my reading habits over the last year.

And changes!  Let’s talk about that.  A few days ago, I added a master list of reviews.  In addition to the yearly bookshelf, of course.  And I added my rating scale over to your right…currently above the Goodreads challenge.

Remember how I decided to do the post-a-day challenge last year?  Well, it was certainly a challenge.  Coming up with 365 posts can be really challenging sometimes.  But it’s a lot to keep up with…so I will not be posting everyday, but I am aiming for most days.  For now, I’m leaning towards posting around 5 days a week.

I’ve learned a lot, though.  Like, scheduling posts and having a bunch of drafts?  Totally amazing.  I mean, it’s great for those days when I have no clue what to write about.  And especially for those days when I’ve realized that I never posted anything.  Which only happened once, when I couldn’t remember if I posted or not.  But still important.  I’ve learned to pay attention to the date and time for posts that I’m scheduling…because accidentally publishing a post I’m not finished with is not fun, especially if it’s because I’m not paying attention.  But whatever, it happens to the best of us, right?

I really think that wraps up my end-of-2012 stuff, so onwards with 2013!

The Raven Boys

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The Raven Boys CoverBook: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater|Narrated by Will Patton

Published September 2012|Published by Scholastic Audio|Run time: 11 hours, 4 minutes|Audiobook via the library

Part of a series? Yes, Raven Cycle #1

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Maggie Stiefvater’s website

Goodreads.com Summary: Legend holds that Glendower, a vanished Welsh king, sleeps beneath the hills until he’s needed. The first person to find him will be granted a wish – either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart.

Gansey has it all – family money, a car, time for extracurriculars and friends – but he’s always loved the tales of sleeping kings. He thinks he’s found one too, or at least the area where one might be: in the town of Henrietta, VA. And the best way to be there is to attend prestigious Aglionby Academy for Boys.

Blue is the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, but is too practical to believe in things like spirits or true love. Her policy is to stay away from Aglionby boys…but it may be that one in particular can change her mind about magic, and maybe even love.

My Review:

I’m really not sure what to say about The Raven Boys.  I started out liking it, but by the end, I found myself getting bored.  I will admit that getting a wish by way of a sleeping Welsh king is intriguing, and I loved the idea of ley lines and magic and psychics.  But there was just too much going on for me to properly stay interested.  There were a lot of characters, who are all unique, and I loved that they were unique.  But many of them had their own storylines, and it felt like a lot of them narrated parts of the novel, so keeping track of everything I was listening to get a bit tiresome.  Plus, whenever I’d get interested in something, I’d lost that same interest minutes later.

Virginia seemed like a strange setting- and it took me half the book to realize that it was even set in Virginia.  With all the talk of ley lines, magic and psychics, it really seemed like it was set in, like, Scotland or England.  It just, whenever I hear ley lines, I think of the Southwest or the U.K., maybe even Central America, but not Virginia.

As for the narration, Will Patton was a great choice.  He did a great job narrating, and he really got it right.

I think the major reason why The Raven Boys didn’t work for me was because I listened to it.  There was enough going on that I had trouble keeping up with it, so it’s quite possible that I might have liked it better had I held the book in my own two hands.

Final Thoughts And Rating:

I kind of get why people like Maggie Stiefvater, but The Raven Boys had too much going on, and I felt like Stiefvater introduced too many characters and had more plot points than was really necessary.  It really didn’t work as an audiobook, even though Patton did a wonderful job narrating.  Nothing really seems to be explained but a lot is introduced.  It gets 2 stars.

Top Books Of 2012, Part 2

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So, in a recent Top 10 Tuesday post, I talked about some of my favorite books of 2012.  Except…I just couldn’t couldn’t limit myself to just 10.  I tried to do the honorable mention thing…

…only to list enough to do another list!  And that’s what I’m doing today!  Here are some of my other 2012 favorites:

  • In Honor by Jessi Kirby.  I loved In Honor, and how Honor went on a road trip to fulfill her brother’s last wish.  Such a great book!
  • And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts.  I feel like I’ve talked about this one frequently, but it really has stuck with me, and it really is one of the stand-outs of the year.
  • Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  A world where love is a disease and you have to undergo surgery so you don’t get it?  Definitely a strange world (and one that’s a little scary).  But still a great read!
  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  I can’t believe Cinder never made it on my first list!  I love Meyer’s take on Cinderella, and how it’s a futuristic, Cyborg Cinderella story.
  • Don’t Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala.  I think this one is one of my favorite YA contemporaries I’ve read this year.  I could definitely relate to Joy.
  • When She Woke by Hillary Jordan.  I love this cross between A Handmaid’s Tale and The Scarlet Letter.  Plus, it’s an adult dystopic novel and the idea that you have Chromes, who have their skin dyed according to the crimes they commit…it’s kinda strange.  But also interesting.
  • Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.  I think Shatter Me is one of my favorite dystopic novels, and I think it’s because Juliette can torture and kill people just by touching them…unless they are one of the two people who seem immune to her touch.  I’m really looking forward to Unravel Me, which comes out next year.
  • Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers.  A convent where you have assassins blessed by the God Of Death and serve the old gods?  I’m so there!  I loved the historical aspect of the book, and you have assassin nuns.  What’s not to like?
  • Wings by Aprilynne Pike.   I know I’ve talked about Wings a lot, but it really is one of my favorites.  I love what Pike did with fairies!
  • Need by Carrie Jones.  This one is another one I’ve talked about a lot, but this series has a lot of funny moments.  And Zara is a fun, cool character.
  • Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.  I am so excited about Boundless, which comes out next year.  This series is one of my favorites, at least where angels are concerned.  But it’s also one of my favorites, period.
  • Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  It’s Anna And The French Kiss, so how could I not include it?  Anna and Etienne are such an adorable couple, and I love that it’s in Paris.
  • Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.  I almost forgot about this one, and I don’t know how I can do that, because Evie is such a cool (and very memorable) character.

I really could go on and on about the books I’ve read this year, but I think I’ll have to save that for another day.  And for a post that’s not highlighting some of my favorites from the last year.

Ghost Town

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Ghost Town CoverBook: Ghost Town by Rachel Caine

Published October 2010|Published by Penguin Group|236 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Part of a series? Yes, Morganville Vampires #9

Genre: YA/Paranormal- Vampires

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Rachel Caine

Goodreads.com Summary: 

While developing a new system to maintain the town’s defenses, genius student Claire Danvers discovers a way to use the vampires’ powers to keep outsiders from spreading news of Morganville’s “unique” situation. 

But when people in town start forgetting who they are-including the vampires-Claire has to figure out how to pull the plug on her experiment before she forgets how to save herself…and Morganville.

My Review:

This is definitely an interesting book in the Morganville Vampire series.  Claire fixes the machine that keeps Morganville going…but everyone loses their memories in the process.  Well, most everyone- Claire and Oliver seem to be the only ones immune to the strange memory loss, which isn’t really surprising.  I’m not at all surprised that Claire came up with something that had serious (but temporary) consequences- but I was surprised that people didn’t remember the last three years.

And Shane knowing that he was still into Claire, even when he didn’t remember her?  It was such a sweet moment in the book!  Myrnin was his usual crazy self, and Shane’s dad totally did something unexpected.  Amelie and Oliver really do have an interesting relationship, and you really see that during the brief time Oliver took control over the town.  I really can’t wait to see how that relationship continues to develop.

Ghost Town certainly adds to the series, especially with that cliffhanger ending!  I feel like it’s been a while since we’ve had one, and I was wondering when Caine would bust one out.  Again, the characters are pretty consistent, except for when they’re not…and there is usually a reason for them acting weird.

Final thoughts:

I really liked it, and while it’s a fun and interesting read, it’s not one of my favorites.  Still, it’s pretty consistent, and each book keeps building on the last one, so it gets 4 stars.

A Blue So Dark

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A Blue So Dark CoverBook:  A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

Published September 2010|Published by Llewellyn Worldwide|200 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Part of a series? No

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Holly Schindler

Goodreads.com Summary: Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that “creative” equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

My Review:

The plot: The connection between creativity and mental illness is one that’s pretty interesting.  There were times when things were predictable- like when Aura’s boss at her part-time job turned out to be her grandmother.  Or her mom getting help and acting perfectly fine after what seems like a month of treatment.  That, to, me didn’t seem too realistic. However, I liked that her mom was schizophrenic and not depressed, which is what I’d expect.  Also predictable?  Aura being okay with her interest in art in the end.

The characters: I didn’t really care for Aura’s mom, grandma or dad.  But I did like Aura.  I liked seeing Aura struggle with her own creativity because of her mom.  Aura’s artistic talents seemed similar to her mom’s, in that they both drew and painted and whatnot.  I like that there’s that connection between them, but it was also irritating because I would have liked Aura to be creative in a different way than her mom.

Other Thoughts: I didn’t really like how no one seemed to notice or care that Aura was the one taking care of her mom.  Like, she gets called into the counselor’s office, who didn’t even ask if anything was going on at home.  Granted, they do call her home quite a few times, it’s almost like there was no effort to call her dad.  I get why Aura didn’t tell anyone, and I’m not sure she would have told her counselor, even if she had been asked about her home life.  Is this reality for some kids out there?  Sure.  I could relate to Aura in some ways, and overall, she was pretty likeable.

Final Thoughts and Rating:

I liked A Blue So Dark, but not as much as I thought.  It was a little predictable at times, and some things just didn’t fit.  But the connection between mental illness and creativity is a pretty interesting idea, and I did like the parallels between Aura’s creativity and how creative her mom and grandma are.  It gets 3 stars.

Meant To Be

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Meant To Be LM CoverBook: Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

Published November 2012|Published by Random House Children’s Books|304 pages|Purchased for my Nook

Series or Stand-alone? It’s a stand-alone!

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|Lauren Morrill’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question. 

It’s one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she’s queen of following rules and being prepared. That’s why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that’s also why she’s chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB (“meant to be”).

But this spring break, Julia’s rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she’s partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

The Review:

I was really excited about Meant To Be, because it just sounds so fun and cute!  It was fun and cute, and I liked it, but not as much as I thought I would.

I loved that it took place in London on a school trip.  And I LOVED that Julia’s idea of her MTB changed.  I wasn’t a big fan of Julia, and thought she was kind of annoying.  She’s really determined to follow the rules, to the point that she’d rather look through her many guidebooks instead of visiting the places in said guidebooks.  It was clear early on that she and Jason would end up together, and I honestly don’t get why she was so interested in Mark.  Maybe to show how you can put someone on a pedestal or something?  Jason was all over the place- sweet and fun one minute, and ignoring Julia the next.  And I don’t completely get their attraction to each other.  There’s the obvious opposites attract thing going on, but their relationship could have been a little more developed.  Overall, the romance was pretty predictable.

You don’t really get when Jason started to like Julia…and while you see the moment she realized she liked Jason, it felt really random.

I think my favorite part was the descriptions of London- it just makes me want to visit London even more than I already do.  It just felt like Julia was going through the motions when she was visiting.  I was kind of reminded of Anna And The French Kiss, in the sense that they’re both about teens exploring a foreign country while falling in love.  If you liked Anna, you might want to check this one out.

 Final thoughts:

It was a cute, quick read.  I didn’t like it as much as a I thought I would, but I still enjoyed it.  And the cover is just beautiful!  Meant To Be gets 3 stars.

2012 End Of Year Book Survey

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I still have a couple ideas for end-year-bookish stuff, but I figured I’d start with this end of the year book survey hosted by Jamie over at The Perpetual Page Turner.

2012 Year End Survey

Best In Books

1- Best Book You Read In 2012 (You Can Break It Down By Genre If You Want)

I am so glad I can break this one down by genre!  I don’t know how I’d pick otherwise.

Best YA Paranormal- Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine, The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Best YA Dystopic- Divergent by Veronica Roth, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Best Adult Fiction- When She Woke by Hilary Jordan, The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Best Overall- The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, Reason To Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

2- Book You Were Excited About And Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

This is a hard one because I liked most of what I read.  I think I’m going to have to go with A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.  It totally seemed up my alley, but I just couldn’t get into it.

3- Most Surprising (In A Good Way!) Book Of 2012

Reason To Breathe by Rebecca Donovan had me all over the place.  It’s also one of the books that I WILL NOT allow myself to read at work, because I don’t want anyone to freak out if they see me crying.

4- Book You Recommended Most To People In 2012?

If you’re talking about books I mention a lot, then check out question #1.  But I’d also recommend Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Unwind by Neal Shusterman and My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

5- Best New Series You Discovered In 2012?

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Wings by Aprilynne Pike and Need by Carrie Jones top the list of series I read and loved this year.

6- Favorite New Authors You Discovered In 2012?

I’m not going to recap my favorite new authors here, because I’ve already covered some of my favorite new authors in this post.

7- Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

This is a hard one, mostly because I mostly stick to YA and history.  But I loved Still Alice by Lisa Genova and really liked Good Fairies, Bad Fairies by Brian Froud.

8- Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

There are so many choices, and part of me wants to go with something I haven’t said already…but I really have to go with Morganville Vampires.  It’s a very addicting series!

9- Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read In 2013?

Hmmm…probably The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers.

10- Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012

One of my favorite things about reading is seeing all the really pretty covers!  This one is my favorite:

Unearthly Cover

11- Most Memorable character in 2012?

A from Every Day by David Levithan.  I didn’t care for it, but A is pretty memorable.  Lennie from The Sky Is Everywhere is also my top choice.

12- Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

My choice for this one is The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.  It’s so beautiful, and I LOVED LOVED LOVED the random memories on the scraps of paper found around town.

13- Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

It’s a toss-up between And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts and A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier.  And The Band Played On is a great look at the few first years of AIDS and it’s strange seeing how it was back then, especially knowing what AIDS is like now.  As for A Mighty Long Way, it’s still mind boggling that schools were desegregated not that long ago.

14- Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

It’s a tie between Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and Looking For Alaska by John Green.  I just can’t believe it took me so long to read them!

15- Favorite Quote/Passage From A Book You Read In 2012?

From The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson: “My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn’t go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That’s just how it is. Grief and love are conjoined, you don’t get one without the other. All I can do is love her, and love the world, emulate her by living with daring and spirit and joy.”

16- Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2012?

Shortest: I have a ton of books that are around 200 pages, so I’m not even going to bother listing all of them.

Longest: 11/23/63 by Stephen King- it’s an astounding 863 pages.

17- Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Reason To Breathe by Rebecca Donovan.  It had quite the ending- to the point that I immediately bought Barely Breathing (the sequel) and starting reading it.

18- Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)

Joe and Lenny from The Sky Is Everywhere and Anna and St. Clair from Anna And The French Kiss.  Both couples are so adorable, and I couldn’t help but fangirl over Joe and St. Clair.

19- Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

I’m going to go with The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling…because I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while.  I really liked it, and it was great to see a new book from her.

20- Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else

Looking For Alaska by John Green.  I saw this one on so many Top 10 Tuesday lists that I requested from the library immediately.

Book Blogging/Reading Life In 2012 (Optional)

1- New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012? 

There are so many, but The Broke And The Bookish and The Grown-Up YA are just two I read.  I really could go on and on about some of my favorite book blogs.

2- Favorite review that you wrote in 2012?

I think my favorite review that I wrote is the one for Anna And The French Kiss.  Mostly because I kind of acted like a fan-girl.

3- Best discussion you had on your blog?

I don’t really do a lot of discussion-type posts on my blog.  The only one that really jumps to mind is the post where I talked about why I love (but sometimes hate) my e-reader.  Maybe I should have some more discussion-y posts.

4- Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?

I really like the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down posts that Jamie (from The Perpetual Page Turner) does.  Tara, from The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say “Shhh,” has some great posts on her journey to her Ph.D.

5- Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Honestly, I LOVE Top 10 Tuesday.  It’s so much fun coming up with a different list every week.  Some weeks are easier than others, but either way, it’s fun to write my list and see what other people come up with.

6- Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

I think my best moment was when I realized that book blogging is something I love to do and where I want to focus my attention, in terms of blogging.  Although getting an audible account and getting my Nook are great too, because I have a ton of ways to feed my reading habit.

7- Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Endure by Carrie Jones got 119 views.  Top 10 Tuesday posts are always popular too.

8- Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Besides the obvious answer of all of them, I really have no clue.  Nothing is really coming to mind, even after looking through a bunch of old posts.

9- Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Being able to download e-books and audiobooks from the library!

10- Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

My original goal was to read 115 books, but I ended up changing that to 200…and I’ve currently read 215 books!  So, yes, I have completed my only goal in terms of reading.

Looking Ahead

1- One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?

Where do I even start with this one?  I could go with all of the books I wanted to read and didn’t get to, but I think The Daughter Of Smoke And Bone is at the top of the list.

2- Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

If you want to know which books I’m listening forward to, be sure to check out my list of my most anticipated reads of 2013.

3- One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2013?

The one thing I really want to do next year is read outside of YA more.  As much as I love YA, I really want to expand my horizons a little more.

And that wraps up this year-end book survey!  Have a lovely day!

Every Day

Posted in Books by

Every Day CoverBook: Every Day by David Levithan

Published August 2012|Published by Knopf Books For Young Readers|219 pages|e-book via the library

Part of a series? No

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads|Barnes And Noble|Amazon|David Levithan’s Website

Goodreads.com Summary: A has no friends. No parents. No family. No possessions. No home, even. Because every day, A wakes up in the body of a different person. Every morning, a different bed. A different room. A different house. A different life. A is able to access each person’s memory, enough to be able to get through the day without parents, friends, and teachers realizing this is not their child, not their friend, not their student. Because it isn’t. It’s A. Inhabiting each person’s body. Seeing the world through their eyes. Thinking with their brain. Speaking with their voice.

It’s a lonely existence–until, one day, it isn’t. A meets a girl named Rhiannon. And, in an instant, A falls for her, after a perfect day together. But when night falls, it’s over. Because A can never be the same person twice. But yet, A can’t stop thinking about her. She becomes A’s reason for existing. So each day, in different bodies–of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, walks of life–A tries to get back to her. And convince her of their love. But can their love transcend such an obstacle?

I really wanted to like Every Day.  It’s such an intriguing concept, but I have quite a few issues with the book that I just couldn’t get past, no matter how hard I tried.

Like, I like the idea that A is in a different body every day and that everyday, he is still in love with Rhiannon, no matter who he is inhabiting.  But I felt like a lot of those characters were really superficial and like he relied very much on stereotypes.  You have the suicidal girl with no friends, the boy who’s home-schooled and has a crazy mom, and a person who’s over 300 pounds and gets a lot of looks of disgust.  A lot of the characters felt like the token fill-in-the-blank group.  Interestingly enough, the only characters that didn’t feel like the token whatever were the GLBT characters.  They were easily the most believable characters, but even with being more believable than the other characters…they too felt superficial.

Every Day just felt one-sided and kind of preachy.  I think having a couple scenes (or maybe even a chapter or two) from Rhiannon’s perspective would have made it interesting.  You don’t really get what Rhiannon’s really feeling or thinking, and you don’t see her trying to deal with loving someone who’s in a different body every day.  And the book being kind of preachy?  It really felt like Levithan wanted the reader to know that race, gender, appearance and sexual orientation don’t matter, but it got so irritating by the end of the book that I just didn’t care about how much they loved each other.  The whole thing- the romance, the clichéd characters, the gender-neutral A who switched bodies- felt really forced.

You do think about accepting people for who they are but it really felt like A wanted Rhiannon to love him no matter what, even when she didn’t seem completely into A.  I just don’t get why they’re attracted to each other, and I think that’s something that should have been explored a little more.

And we do have to talk about the body-switching.  We just know it happens every day, but we don’t learn about why or how it happens.  We just know that it does happen.  And it isn’t until the end that we get hints that it happens to other people too.  It seems like there might be a geographic limit, but I’m not completely convinced of that, because A is never more than 4 hours away from Rhiannon.  It seemed more convenient than any other reason.

Final thoughts:

I get why people love Every Day, and why it has so many rave reviews.  The concept is intriguing and A having no gender is really unique.  The characters and plot were really superficial and it just didn’t work for me.  Every Day gets 1 star.