Waiting on Wednesday

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest.
Author: Holly Black.

"Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?"

Release Date: 1/13/15.

Why I'm Waiting:

Holly Black has released quite a few Young Adult, as well as Middle Grade books. Each one of them kind of creepy looking. I'm not usually the one to grab a horror story, but absolutely love them. I can watch scary movies all day long, but for some reason when it comes to books, I usually tend to stay away from them.

But Holly Black has published quite a few amazing books, with tons of awesome reviews, including The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Curse Workers series, and The Modern Faerie Tales series. All books with good ratings on goodreads, and ALL books I haven't read yet.

Black has just been one of those authors that I've heard great things about, but just haven't gotten around to her books. I do plan on someday buying them all, locking myself up, and marathoning every single one of them, including The Darkest Part of the Forest!

I mean how creepy is that? I avoid forests and their darkest at all costs.

What book are you waiting for this week? Let me know!

Waiting on Wednesday

Title: Ensnared.
Author: A.G. Howard.
Synopsis:

"After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She’s determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world—a parallel dimension filled with mutated and violent netherling outcasts.In the final installment of the wildly popular Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that’s gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But if they succeed and come out alive, can everyone truly have their happily ever after?"

Release Date: 1/6/15

Ensnared is the third installment in the Splintered series, and just like the first two, the cover looks absolutely stunning! I have yet to read, Splintered and Unhinged, but the covers always stick out to me when ever I found myself roaming the book store.

Truth be told, I haven't read a review on either of these books, nor do I know what they are about. But after talking to a friend of a friend about this series, and finally getting around to reading the synopsis, I couldn't resist...the third book had to be my choice for this week's "Waiting on Wednesday".

Who doesn't love a good fairy tale retelling? I sure do! Especially an Alice in Wonderland one!

Be sure to leave comment down below, letting me know what you're waiting for this week!

Book Review: Bad Taste In Boys

Title: Bad Taste In Boys.
Author: Carrie Harris.
Series: Yes, Kate Grable #1.
Source: Purchased.
Publisher: Delacorte Press.
Published Date: 7/12/11.
Links:
Book Depository
Goodreads

"Someone's been a very bad zombie.
Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steriods are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate! She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town  . . . and stay hormonally human."





Review:

I'll be the first to admit, because of this cover and because of the title, I thought this book was going to be about a girl who likes "dating" bad boys. I was excited to see a YA book, where a teenage girl isn't always perfect, smart and/or shy. I was ready for a girl who plays the field and who couldn't care any less what other people thought of her. And I thought this book was going to be it.

...I assumed all of this without ever reading the synopsis.

After finally cracking it open and giving it a read, I realized just how wrong I was. This book is about ZOMBIES!! How crazy?!

*Note to self, at least read the synopsis!!*

Bad Taste in Boys is about a "nerdy" girl named Kate, who was basically invisible before she became the football team's helper. Kate is interested in medical sciences, so she enjoys working with injured football players and diagnosing them. The popularity aspect just simply came along with that.

After a very long losing streak, the football team has lost all of its hopes, and team members are losing confidence.

When the coach asks Kate to give each football player an injection of an unlabeled drug, Kate refuses to do so. Not only is she just a high school student with no experience, but she would never give someone a drug without knowing exactly what it is. She can't believe her own ears when this happens. Why is the coach giving the team these drugs? What are they? Steroids?

Kate knows she has to do something about this. But who would believe her without any sort of evidence?

Doing more research, and snooping around, Kate soon discovers that the players are starting to act really strange. The color of their skin is changing, some of them are getting aggressive, and some aren't even speaking English anymore.

Kate thought steroids were bad...but zombies are much worse...

Bad Taste in Boys was an EXTREMELY short read. And lighthearted in a zombie kind of way. It wasn't too brutal or gross, expect for a few feet breaking off legs, and scalps coming off heads. But it wasn't scary, so I could even read it before I went to bed.

Overall it was just a short light read. I wasn't too invested in the characters, or the story. For what it was, it was a good read.

But even after reading this entire book, and enjoying it, I still don't understand how the title plays in with the story...maybe because she likes zombies? But...she isn't really dating a zombie? So I'm still confused...

Link Your Review:

My Reviews, Your Reviews, Our Reviews? Whaaa?

What I love about the new year, is not only that it feels like a fresh start, but you can also look back at the last twelve months, remembering all the things you did. 

The things you want to continue doing (blogging, attending school, working), some of the things you don't want to keep doing (stressing out, drinking soda, eating too many desserts) and even the things you just want to change (study habits, book reviews, social media usage).

There are just so many things that are new, that can be changed or improved! And that's why I always get so excited for the new year!

And I'm here to tell you this....my reviews and your reviews are our reviews! YES! And we must share!

You're probably thinking, what in the hell is Lisa talking about, but trust me this makes perfect sense, just hear me out....

I've always wanted to make my reviews a bit more fun. So of course I added some sarcastic and snarky comments, some funny GIFs that describe exactly how I'm feeling, and bolded and highlighted some words. But even after all that I just felt like they needed a bit more of a "umpf". 

After doing some thinking...I came up with absolutely nothing.

I feel like honesty and personality are absolutely required for a book review. You want to tell people what you REALLY thought of the book, but you don't want to be completely boring while doing so. And I have both of those covered! (I'm pretty funny, right?)  But what else is there that I could add to make my reviews stand out, and fun?

(Sorry, this explanation is getting a lot longer than I expected it to...)

Well when I first started blogging, I wrote reviews to tell people what I thought about a book. I read the book, wrote/posted my review, read comments that people left, and thanked them for doing so. Then I simply moved onto the next book, and did this cycle over again.

Blogging for almost four years, I've started not only reading other peoples' reviews but also comparing their ideas to mine, discussing those ideas, and even re-reading some parts of the book to see where that other reviewer was coming from. 

And that's what blogging IS. I mean, who comes on blogger, not wanting to communicate and discuss their hobby? No one.

So to make this ENTIRE process A LOT easier, I've decided to link our reviews together.

From now on, each and every one of my reviews, will have a link system towards the bottom of the post. Once you've finished reading my review, you can copy and paste the link to your review of that certain book, post it and then continue to leave a comment. 

For example...

Which means that your review will be linked to mine. There will be a list of reviews connected to mine, which everyone can click on, visit and be able to compare each others reviews!

MEANING my reviews and your reviews are our reviews!!

So I hope you're all as excited as I am to start writing reviews together! I absolutely love hearing what you guys have to say about the books I'm reading, and this linking system is the perfect way to that!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I can't wait to see all of your reviews!

Holiday Book Haul!

THE BOOKS:

True Fire, by Gary Meehan.

Doon, by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon.

Lessons From A Dead Girl, by Jo Knowles.

Read Between The Lines, by Jo Knowles.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, by Leslye Walton.

Fat Angie, by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo.

Thank you so much Krista @Cubicle Blindness for sending me these amazing books!

Rumble, by Ellen Hopkins.

The Terminals, by Royce Scott Buckingham.

The Spectacular Now, by Tim Tharp.

Eve and Adam, by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate.

Horde, by Ann Aguirre.

Thank you Shawnee @YA Fiction Review for this awesome Christmas present! You're the best!

The Pledge, by Kimberly Derting.

The Essence, by Kimberly Derting.

This Is What Happy Looks Like, by Jennifer E. Smith.

Perfect Ruin, by Lauren DeStefano.

Thank you SANTA!

What amazing reads did you recently pick up?!

Book Review: My Not-So-Still Life

Title: My Not-So-Still Life.
Author: Liz Gallagher.
Series: No.
Pages: 192.
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books.
Published Date: 5/10/11.
Links:
Book Depository
Goodread

"Vanessa is wise beyond her years. She's never really fit in at school, where all the kids act and dress the same. She's an artist who expresses her talent in the wacky colors she dyes her hair, her makeup and clothes. She's working on her biggest art project, and counting the days until she's grown up and can really start living. That adult world seems closer when Vanessa gets her dream job at the art supply store, Palette, where she worships the couple who runs it, Oscar and Maye. And she's drawn to a mysterious guy named James, who leads her into new, sometimes risky situations. Is she ready for this world, or not?"

Review:

My Not-So-Still Life is the story of an average teenager, who is ready to grow up, do important things, and who feels stuck in high school. Vanessa wants to be different, unique and wants to explore the person she really is. Which in her case, is dying her hair crazy bright colors, wearing bold makeup and dressing up like no one around her does.

Vanessa finds high school completely useless, and finally wants to go out in the world and do something that has purpose; for her that's art! Its seems like her dream comes true when she scores a job at her favorite craft store. Not only are her bosses really cool, but Vanessa doesn't mind the cute older guy that seems to spend a lot of time there.

What could be better than working at your favorite store? With cool people? And getting out of the house more often? Nothing!

But things quickly turn sour when Vanessa gets herself in a tough situation with the cute older guy from the store, and she finds herself taking half naked photos for his calender.
When things get a bit too hot and heavy, Vanessa escapes the entire situation. Her mom forces her to quit work, and instead to stay focused on school. Vanessa quickly learns that being yourself and sticking out, doesn't mean dying your hair crazy colors, and wearing extremely bold makeup. But being unique can be done in settle ways too.

My Not-So-Still Life was a light read. Its a book you can take outside or to the beach and read it in an afternoon. With that, I didn't invest myself too much into it. The book is extremely short, and there wasn't much time for me to connect with the main character. I understood why she felt so stuck, because when I was in high school taking P.E. and art classes the whole to pass time, I felt the same way. I was ready for college and continuing on with calculus, accounting and economics classes.

Overall I found the story to be enjoyable. I wasn't completely invested, but that's okay because I feel like that wasn't required for this book. I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Link Your Review:

Monthly TBR: January

Introduction to the new year post...check!

First giveaway of the year...check!

What's left?! Oh YEAH! My TBR list for this first beautiful month of 2015!

Another thing I wanted to carry on from 2014 into 2015 are my monthly TBR lists. When I first started posting these TBR lists, my biggest worry was that I would restrict myself when it came to what I would read. But looking back, I have no idea how I survived without them. Without TBR lists, I don't know how I would remember what books I need to read and review, and to include some books for myself.

My goal is to read about nine books a month, to read my one hundred book goal for the year...so here they are!

Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake.

Girl of Nightmares, by Kendare Blake.

Antigoddess, by Kendare Blake.

Fixing Delilah, by Sarah Ockler

Best of Me, by Nicholas Sparks.

Eve, by Anna Carey.

Once, by Anna Carey.

Rise, by Anna Carey.

Rumble, by Ellen Hopkins.

If you've read any of the books I mentioned of above, feel free to comment down below with your thoughts or even a link to your review! I would love to know what you think!