Review: Shadow of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Title:Shadow of the Mark (Click title for Synopsis)
Author: Leigh Fallon
Source/Format: won, paperback
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Harper Teen, July 9, 2013

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My Thoughts:

     Ok, so I’m going to keep this kind of short today. Recently I’ve tried to read some of the older unread books on my shelf, and so I picked Shadow of the Mark as one I was going to get to at last.

     I’m not going to lie: this one took me weeks…WEEKS to read and it’s not even that long. I’ve read the previous book, and it wasn’t bad, the writing was consistent and it was mildly entertaining. But with Shadow of the Mark, I found myself sort of bored, and I kept putting it down for days at a time. The middle was the worst for me, and everything else was just sort of meh. The writing was once again consistent, but the plot…well the pacing felt a little off. The beginning and middle were slow, and it wasn’t until the last so many pages that the action really picked up. The romance was just…romance, that’s all I’ve really got on it. The twist at the end with a few of the characters was pretty out of nowhere—I didn’t expect it at all—and probably the most interesting part for me, so I did enjoy it and I found that I was a little more interested in what was happening. The ending wraps up a few plot points, but leaves things wide open for the next book.

     So in the end this book was sort of average for me. Would I read the next book? I don’t know, maybe, just to see where the story goes.

Musing Mondays (2)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the week...

     Let's talk about bookends: to use bookends or to not use bookends? It seems like a simple question to answer but once I sat down to really think about it, I realized that I don't use them. As someone with a lot of books you would think that I would have at least one set, but no...I guess I never saw the need to. But they do come in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and colors that could fit the decor of any room.  So here's why I personally don't use them: I don't keep books on my desk, and my shelves are usually stuffed-to-the-brim, so there's just no space for them. So in the end its a good thing I don't own any since they would just end up collecting dust on some shelf...or on the floor since I don't have much space left on my shelves.
     So, what about you guys do you use bookends?  Maybe just for decoration or serious use to hold up your books?

Release Day + Giveaway: Four Houses by Victoria Scott

Today is the release day for Victoria Scott's Four Houses, which is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iBooks!

Summary from Goodreads
A frightened girl.

An empty field.

Four houses.

Which house would you choose?

FOUR HOUSES is a dark short story told in an unusual format that leaves readers wondering how they'd react if found in the same situation as seventeen-year-old Maddy.

Amazon     Nook     iBooks: 

     So now it's giveaway time, below you'll find a Rafflecopter form where Victoria Scott is giving away a digital copy of Four Houses and a signed copy of The Warrior.  I've read The Warrior, so trust me when I say you're going to want that book and Four Houses! Without further ado, go forth and enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Friday 56 (1)

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"However, no one else in their right mind would want to deal with that amount of people, not for minimum wage."-Living Violet by Jamie Reed 




What's on your page 56 this week?

Review: Living Violet by Jamie Reed

Title: Living Violet
Author: Jamie Reed
Source/Format: freebie, iTunes ebook edition
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Dafina, December 27, 2011



My Thoughts:

     It occurs to me now that I never reviewed this book even though I read it last year…a shocking fact since it was so good. Living Violet is an interesting take on the typical paranormal romance with a diverse cast of characters who had interesting familial backgrounds. The opening scene was entertaining to say the least and caught my attention almost right away. The paranormal aspect of this book was vastly different from the vampires, werewolves, witches, and so on that you normally find. Cambion’s, demons who steal the life right out of people…yeah, they certainly weren’t vampires. And to top it all off Samara Marshall wasn’t your typical run-of-the-mill, clichéd main character, she was a character with mixed heritage. Caleb and the rest of the characters…well if you want to know about them, then you’ll have to read Living Violet. So, if you’re looking for a paranormal book with a different take on demons, and a variety of characters, then I highly recommend taking a look at The Cambion Chronicles. (Actual rating is 4.5 birdcages.)

Musing Mondays (1)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week...
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the week...

Trilogy ends, sometimes I kind of dread them because my expectations might run a little higher than it would be for a debut book. I'm invested in the books, the characters, and I want to see how it ends. But I still have my reservations. Regardless I've come across a few good trilogy end's that I've already read this year, and I'm looking forward to a few more...

     The Warrior by Victoria Scott. I personally like this series since it's hard for me to find angel and demon books that can hold my attention for more than a millisecond.

     The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw by Christopher Healy, a truly wonderful middle grade series with an interesting take on classic fairy tales.

     I'm sure I missed a few but I probably haven't read them.  So as far as the one's I'm looking forward to, all I can think of at the moment is one:

 Double Vision: Alias Men by F.T. Bradley

     So that's it for my musing this week.  But what about you guys, do you have any hesitation when going into trilogy end's, or are you just excited to see where your favorite characters end up?

Review: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Title: The Archived (Click on Title for Synopsis)
Author: Victoria Schwab
Source/Format: Purchased/ iTunes ebook edition
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Hyperion, January 22, 2013

My Thoughts:

     I’ve had my fair share of woes with the YA genre as of late, and I haven’t read much in a long time. But I finally sat down to read Victoria Schwab’s, The Archive, at last. I found the book to be highly entertaining, as well as refreshing with a cast of interesting characters, and a plot that kept me otherwise in the dark until the very end. I truly did enjoy The Archived.

     To start, The Archived had an interesting premise: the dead supposedly being placed on shelves and you know, cataloged like you would books. Right from the beginning that premise caught my attention, and I wanted to know more about the Archive and the people who worked there. One such person associated with the Archive is none other than the main character, Mackenzie Bishop. She, unlike some YA characters, wasn’t perfect and made her own fair amount of mistakes. Mackenzie also grieved a great deal, but all of her faults made her a well-rounded character that I found relatively likable. And her parents weren’t cookie-cutter folks either they dealt with their emotions in their own way. They had separate…I guess you could say, identities, which made them stand out rather than blend right into the background. Then there was Wesley Ayers…hmmm, what should I say about him? Well for starters he was an interesting character with little quirks mentioned here and there—you could really tell that he cared. 

     The setting, which is something I rarely ever mention in reviews, was very fascinating. The Coronado was and old hotel that was renovated into apartments and you could almost say it was borderline dilapidated. And yet the place held on to its old world, mostly faded, charm. Would I visit the place? Um, no! With all of the trouble that Mackenzie experienced there in the Archive, I have to say no on that one. And by trouble, I mean the plot. The Archive’s opening chapter basically solidified my reason for finally reading this book, and from then on I blew through the rest. So without spoiling things, I’m just going to call it a day. But in my opinion The Archived was a solid opening to a series, and I intend to continue on with the next book as soon as I get my hands on a copy of The Unbound. Five birdcages. That is all.

Mortal Enchantment by Stacey O'Neale

Starting on Thursday July 10th, Mortal Enchantment by Stacey O'Neale will be on sale for $0.99.  The only catch is that the deal will only last for 7 days, so get it while it lasts! Sorry, the deal is now over.

Click here