Wednesday 30 January 2013

Review -- Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz


Title: Teeth
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publisher: 01 January 2013
Date Read: January 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

Be careful what you believe in.

Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house.

Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life.



I didn't really know what to expect from Teeth. Not a clue. I was just going by the cover because look how pretty that looks. And I had heard everyone shout such high praises for Moskowitz but after reading Gone, Gone, Gone, I thought she was just... ok. She's good, yes, but certainly nothing to be so damn excited about.

Never have I been more wrong. And never have I been more happy to be wrong. After reading Teeth, I literally smacked my head on the forehead and went, "Ohhhhh..." It's like the veil was lifted and gone is the false truth I believed in. I finally understand.

What I learned very early on (pg 4) in the novel is that Moskowitz writes so damn beautifully.

We are a groan away from a watery death and, we'll all drown without even waking up, because we're so used to sleeping through unrelenting noise.
It's the kind of beautiful that doesn't even realize it's beautiful because it's too busy not realizing how beautiful it is. It's also very dark and gritty with dry humour that made me cringe because that really wasn't an okay thing to make fun of but dammit I'm chuckling anyway. The writing is raw, simple and had the power to knock the breath out of my lungs and rip my heart out. But it's ok. I mean, it's not like I needed a heart to function. Go ahead andkeep it, Moskowitz.
He would know that without him, nine of us will be as good. Me, without a friend; and the fish, without a brother; and the island, without a story; and Diana, without her something real, we will all be a little but less than we were before we knew him.
Rudy's family hears of legends about magical fish who can cure any sort of illness. Dylan, Rudy's little brother, suffers from cystic fibrosis and they're desperate to try anything. Desperate enough to move to the little lonely island and leave their life behind for a legend. Rudy is an instantly likeable character. He's sixteen and his voice felt so real. His mannerisms, his speech, his thoughts were ones I could so easily relate to. Rudy is a lonely teenager and he always has been, even in the presence of his old friends. He meets Diana, the only other in the island close to his age. He thinks that Diana will fill the void the lack of human contact created. He thinks he will be happier with her around. He thinks they will develop a romance, at the very least a close friendship, because they're of the same age and who knows when they'll get off the island. But it's not with Diana that he finds these things. It's with Teeth, a fish/human/merman/fishboy. Some might not be content with the explanation Moskowitz provides regarding Teeth's origins but like she said in the book, sometimes it's not about the transformation. It's just happened and you just have to accept that because, that's not what the story is about. The story is about the loneliness, friendship, family, sacrifice and above all, love.

Kudos to Moskowitz for crafting such realistically developed and interesting band of characters. Rudy, I just can't get enough of. His love for his brother, Dylan and his even greater love for his whatever, Teeth. That was the most heartbreaking of all, the relationship between Rudy and Teeth. I wasn't really sure what to make of Teeth at the beginning. He did flirt with Rudy during their first encounter and in my experience, flirty creatures of the fish variety are something to be very wary of. But, like Rudy, I can't believe I used to doubt, even be scared of Teeth. He is one of the sweetest, most loveable, most fucked up character I've ever had the pleasure of reading. His past and predicaments are slowly revealed throughout the novel but it's long before that when I've completely fallen in love for him. I don't know how many times I cried for and because of these characters. Is it too much to ask for these people to exist in reality as my friends?

The romance is so different. Rudy didn't really like Diana. She was just there and so was he. It doesn't sound like a particularly nice incentive to be with someone, because they were there, and it's not at all. They craved human touch and for someone to want to be with them for a change instead of some responsibility they felt they needed to fulfil. They were just so lonely.

There's just so much in this tiny little book with its 246 pages that whatever I say couldn't possibly be enough. Nowhere near enough. You just have to read it for yourself. Please, you need this in your life. Just... read it, okay? Because that fucking fishboy.



Oh, who am I kidding? I would go through all that pain again. I'm a sick masochist that way.

Monday 28 January 2013

Reality Gets in the Way

Hey, guys.

I'll be posting less frequently and less scheduled in the upcoming weeks. School is starting up again for my side of the world and it'll take me a while to get used to the hustle and bustle of unawesomeness of schoolwork. Hopefully you guys stick by me until I get back into having a more organized blog schedule.

That's all.

Saturday 26 January 2013

Blog Tour -- Guest Post as Zoe: Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook

 I am hosting a stop on the Nobody But Us blog tour today with a guest post. It's a letter written by Zoe to Will. Plus, there's a giveaway for you guys at the end of the post so stick around!


Nobody But UsTitle: Nobody But Us
Author: Kristin Halbrook
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 29 January 2013

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending.


Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.





Guest Post as Zoe


Dear Will,

I’m not sure what it means to be strong but I feel like seeking the strength I know must be inside me is the most important thing I can do right now.

I know things like calculus. I know science and classic literature. I’ve spent hours reading poems that say words I hadn’t realized until now illustrate my world. What I haven’t done, Will, what I don’t know, is how to live. Be free. Be loved.

Until you.

I know you love me. I know you want me to be the best possible version of myself, just as you’re trying to be your best version. Sometimes I’m certain you and I can figure everything out ourselves. That we can harness the joy from our happiest moments and cultivate it until it possesses magical healing powers.

Other times I fear, I worry, I know that I’m not enough for you. I know I’m enough in the way I love you, I mean, but how capable I am of being a hero for you? How do I do that when I can’t be my own hero? I want to be the kindness, the trust, the support you need to know that not everyone’s going to leave when you need them most.

There are so many things I’m discovering about myself as I realize, analyze, let go of the wrongs that have been done to me. But I still need to be better. I worry I will never be the girl who opens up to others. Who lets people in. Who believes first in their goodness, rather than assuming the worst. I want to be so much better. For me and for you.

So how do we do this? How do we heal ourselves when we can’t do it on our own and we can’t do it for each other?

Let’s decide, Will. Because our story could be epic.

Love,
Zoe

Kristin HalbrookAbout the Author

Kristin Halbrook is a Seattleite who loves good coffee, good food, good music, good spots, good causes and good reads. She's both intense and and a goofball, introverted and gregarious. Nobody But Us is her debut novel.
Follow Kristin at:



Giveaway


Friday 25 January 2013

Follow Friday

Gain New Blog Followers
Feature and Follow is hosted by Paranjunkee & Alison Can Read every Friday. Complete Rules and Instructions are here: Feature and Follow

This week's question:
 What is the last book that kept you up late into the night just to finish it?

Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz. I was too sucked in the story and I was crying and there was just too much awesomeness for my brain to calm down and sleep. I'll be posting my review so you can read more of my thoughts for this book then.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library.

This week, I've got:
  • Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
  • Legend - Marie Lu
  • The Edge of Never - J. A. Redmerski
  • Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
  • Splintered - A. G. Howard
  • Bloodlines - Richelle Mead
  • The Golden Lily - Richelle Mead
Hopefully, I get to do some rereads this week. Prodigy is coming out soon and I can barely remember what happened. Daughter of Smoke and Bone ended up being a total dud for me. Maybe a reread would enlighten me on what amazing thing I missed about that novel. Oh, rereads. I feel like I'm wasting time when I do them. I'm already behind on my teetering pile of TBR book. Can all publishing just stop for like a month of something, while I do some rereads and catch up on the ones that are already released?

Thursday 24 January 2013

Blog Tour -- Review: Watch Me Disappear by Diane Mulligan

I'm hosting today's stop on the Watch Me Disappear blog tour with a review. Watch Me Disappear is Diane Mulligan's debut novel.


Watch Me DisappearTitle: Watch Me Disappear
Author: Diane Mulligan
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: 01 September 2012
Date Read: January 2013
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Lizzie Richards isn’t excited to be starting over at a new school for her senior year, but she’s trying to take her mother’s advice and make the most of it—the only way she can: By disobeying her strict parents’ rules. Lizzie’s father has moved the family around every few years to advance his career, so she has never had a chance to develop the kind of “BFF” relationships she thinks most kids have. She’s bracing herself for another lonely year at her third high school when her neighbor Maura gets sick of watching her little brother when she could be partying. Thanks to Maura’s plotting, Lizzie becomes everyone’s new favorite babysitter. Seeing her opportunity, Lizzie decides to break her mother’s rules by using Maura’s computer to create a secret Email address and Facebook account. She is quickly friended by Missy, a fellow transfer student as eager for a friend as she is. Things are looking up for Lizzie until Maura’s ex-boyfriend Paul sets his eye on Missy. Caught between her new best friend and the neighbor whose friendship promises instant popularity, Lizzie doesn’t know what to do—because she’s fallen for Paul, too.



Watch Me Disappear is heavily based on its characters and their relationships with one another. I have to be honest, I didn't really like Lizzie and there's bound to be some problems if I didn't like the narrator of the book. I thought she was very vain, jealous, petty, up herself and most of the time, she wasn't even aware of doing it because she was so sheltered by her parents and I guess she doesn't know any better. Not only that, I can't really pinpoint my feelings towards all the other characters. They do something that makes me think, "Hey, good for you. You're awesome." Then there are moments where I just go, "Oh, shut your trap." There was Paul. He was cool for most of the time. He became good friends with Lizzie because he wanted to be closer to Lizzie's friend who he's got a crush on. That's definitely douche-y but they really did become good friends and it's not like she didn't know about his intentions. And he was really nice and sweet and funny. Missy is Lizzie's first best friend but once she got herself a boyfriend, she dropped Lizzie faster than a hot potato. Maura is Lizzie's neighbour and she's quick to judge her as a mean- vapid and mean. But she soon learns that everyone has got their own story and their own hard battles to fight. I didn't like the all the characters all the time but they were flawed with realistic faults that can be easily found within ourselves and in countless others.

Watch Me Disappear shows the desire we all have to have be normal, to fit in and to have friends. It shows the mistakes and bad decisions we have to go through to learn ourselves. Sometimes, those mistakes cost you a lot more than you realise and you can't undo them. All you can do is live through those mistakes. 
 

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Trailer Reveal -- Senshi by Cole Gibsen + Giveaway


I'm excited to reveal the book trailer for Cole Gibsen's Senshi, the second of Katana series. There are giveaways for awesome stuff for you guys. More details at the end of the post.


Title: Senshi
Author: Cole Gibsen
Series: Katana (2)
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: 08 March 2013

Is Rileigh’s only hope for salvation to team up with her sworn enemy?

Rileigh Martin just wants to do normal teenage things, like go on romantic dates with Kim, her boyfriend and past life soul mate. Although that seems impossible when she’s the reincarnation of Senshi, a fifteenth century samurai warrior. After a ninja ambush leaves her unable to control her ki powers, Rileigh vows to get them under control before her friends lose more than their eyebrows. But when Kim leaves her for his past life betrothed and the other samurai stop talking to her, Rileigh realizes she doesn’t have any friends left to worry about.

As the ninja attacks increase, Rileigh learns that the reincarnated kunoichi, a powerful female ninja, wants to kill her in order to reclaim her destructive powers. Alone and with increasingly unstable powers, Rileigh’s only offer of help comes from Whitley, her sworn past life enemy. Rileigh knows she doesn’t stand a chance against the kunoichi by herself, but Whitley’s sudden allegiance might be hiding a much deadlier agenda.



Pre-Order it now:

Trailer



Also in the Series

Katana (Katana, #1)Title: Katana
Author: Cole Gibsen
Series: Katana (1)
Publihser: Flux
Release Date: 08 March 2012

Skater girl or supernatural samurai? Rileigh Martin wants to believe that adrenaline gave her the strength to fend off three muggers in the mall parking lot. But adrenaline doesn't explain the voice in her head giving her battle tips and warnings.

While worrying that she's going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she's harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.

Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana--a deadly Japanese sword that's also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she's always been and embracing the warrior inside her.


About the Author

When Cole Gibsen isn't writing books for young adults, she can be found rocking out with her band, sewing crazy costumes for the fun of it, picking off her nail polish, or drinking milk straight from the jug -- provided no one is looking.

Follow Cole at:




Giveaway

Like I said before, there are many awesome stuff up for grabs. The giveaway is open to residents in USA, Canada and Mexico. Just enter in the rafflecopter below
  • ARC of Sensi
  • Signed Katana
  • 3 Mystery Books

Waiting On Wednesday

 
"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill on Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. New installment of a series/trilogy, new book by a favourite author or a new release that captured your attention. Whatever book it may be, it certainly tickled your fancy and got you bouncing on your seat, silently giggling to yourself. Waiting on Wednesday allows us to feature books we're eagerly waiting for.

This Week I'm Waiting On:

The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy, #2)Title: The Runaway King
Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
Series: The Ascendance Trilogy
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Expected Publication: 01 March 2013

Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?



I loved The False Prince so I'm excited3 for this one. Granted, the cover doesn't look that amazing but seriously the series more than makes up for it.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Review -- Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day (Just One Day, #1)Title: Just One Day
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: Just One Day
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: 08 January 2013
Date Read: Jan 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.


I had no doubts I would enjoy this book. Gayle Forman is brilliant. 
     I thought Just One Day would be like Anna and the French Kiss. Hot European guy, amazing setting, heart-to-heart scenes, BAM, new favourite novel. I got all of that and more. I'm warning you now, this is going to get rambly and it will contain some spoilers.
     I have a lot of feelings, okay.

     I have to admit, Paris was never the dream for me. It was always Italy. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go there but I never thought it would be as amazing as Italy. I feel like with the way everyone sees Paris, it's this land that exists right next to Narnia. It just seemed too perfect. Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy? Which is why I think Forman did a bang-up job with it. After having read this, screw Italy. Sign me up for French lessons, ship me to Paris and I will never leave. What Forman painted is a side of Paris I feel we rarely ever get to see.
     Allyson spent little time in Paris but it is during those times only when she's let go of all the constraints, became someone else and took on a new persona, Lulu. She was the daring, adventure-loving Lulu- the complete opposite of who Allyson believes herself to be. And she fell in love- with Paris, with Willem, with the freedom and with the person she found herself to be.
     Honestly, I didn't even realize things were going to go horribly wrong. I was so wrapped up in this cocoon of love and beauty that I forgot that this was YA fiction and when things seem too good to be true, they usually are. So that one perfect day ended. Willem left, Allyson is heartbroken and I couldn't believe that just happened.

Willem brief presence in the novel still rang clear throughout the rest of it. Willem is charismatic, funny, handsome and he speaks like a bank lion languages. He's perfect but we nor Allyson didn't really know him, which is why it's understandable Allyson reacted the way she did when finally faced with the bad. Willem was always this mystery, the guy that stained Allyson's life and after that fateful one day, she couldn't go back to before. She fell into a depression- not wanting to talk to anybody, not taking anything seriously, being tired all the time and still hung up on Willem. Because what if something was wrong and he didn't leave her but it was her that ended up leaving him? She missed Willem, she missed Paris and she missed Lulu. There was no way she could have changed things so she just did completely nothing. I admit, I got a bit annoyed at her for that. It was only one day and they both knew they were going to part ways when it was over. Did she really think things were going to turn out perfectly? At the same time though, it's like I felt that cloud of depression like it was a part of me, not completely but enough to have be crying non-stop for about 100 pages. (I wish I was kidding. I told you, I had a lot of feelings) It was perfect and now everything's gone to shit. Those were her lowest points.
      But the manner in which she bounced back and found life again, this time completely by herself, was Something Else. She's made and lost friends, established her relationship with her parents and most importantly, found what she really wanted for herself and taken control over her own life. I was so very proud of her. Allyson learned that the hard decisions are worth it if it means discovering yourself.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters, namely Melanie and Dee. Melanie has been best friends with Allyson since kindergarten and their own paths to self-discovery had driven the two apart, not to mention the distance. It's a hard fact of life to accept that people change and you're not necessarily going to like what they've changed into. You lose friendship but you gain new ones, too. Dee is Allyson's class partner and the first friend she's genuinely made in college. Dee, like everyone else, has many sides to his personality. He just shows them off more vividly and vibrantly than others. He's ghetto-wild, preppy smart, outlandishly gay, quiet, a romantic, a joker and that's all of him. Pfft. Who needs labels? I wished I had seen his character established more though.
      Actually, I feel like every character Allyson encountered, I loved. *looking back on all of the characters* Allyson's mom, Wren, those Aussies, Jen, Kali, Ana Lucia. Modou Mjodi, Captain Jacques, that guy having a baby in that random bakery. Yup. I did.

One last thing. Now I have read many books with cliffhangers and I have hated them all (the cliffhangers, not the books) but Just One Day really sucker-punched me. My immediate reaction to it was that I wanted to punch Forman back on the throat for leaving me hanging like that. Not just because of the way it ended so abruptly and gah I want to know what happens already, but also because I can't wait for Willem's story. He had his own journey, his own personal growth and I don't doubt that it will be just as captivating a story as Allyson's was.


Just One Day is a must read for all. It's one of those books that will stay with me, its characters, themes, events just randomly popping up in my mind every now and then for me to relive. Would it be too soon to proclaim Just One Day as one of the best books of 2013? Probably. But I can guarantee you this book will end up in my Top 10 list by the end of the year.

Monday 21 January 2013

Cover Reveal -- Blurred by Tara Fuller

Hey guys, I'm happy to bring to you the cover of Tara A. Fuller's Blurred, the second book in the Kissed by Death series. We've got a giveaway for an ARC of Blurred. It is not yet available but when it is, the winner will get the very first copy.

Title: Blurred
Author: Tara A. Fuller
Series: Kissed by Death (2)
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: 02 July 2013


Cash is haunted by things. Hungry, hollow things. They only leave him alone when Anaya, Heaven’s beautiful reaper, is around. Cash has always been good with girls, but Anaya isn’t like the others. She’s dead. And with his deteriorating health, Cash might soon be as well.


Anaya never breaks the rules, but the night of the fire she recognized part of Cash’s soul—and doomed him to something worse than death. Cash’s soul now resides in an expired body, making him a shadow walker—a rare, coveted being that can walk between worlds. A being creatures of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on.

The lines between life and death are blurring, and Anaya and Cash find themselves falling helplessly over the edge. Trapped in a world where the living don’t belong, can Cash make it out alive?

 Here is the cover!

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/b/394/u/0/?ui=2&ik=a05c750046&view=att&th=13c4a87f8c90fc39&attid=0.2&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_QqXz9IHZcVL6TDKqEcK_s&sadet=1358467038570&sads=YRXjhdDOniMinpkdQr-kgUapRHc

About the Author

author pic 2.jpgTara Fuller writes novels. Some about grim reapers​. Some about witches. All of course are delightfully full of teen angst and kissing. Tara grew up in a one stop light town in Oklahoma where once upon a time she stayed up with a flash light reading RL Stine novels and only dreamed of becoming a writer. She has a slight obsession with music and a shameless addiction for zombie fiction, Mystery Science Theater, and black and white mochas. Tara no longer lives in a one stop light town. Now she lives with her family in a slightly larger town in North  Carolina where they have at least three stoplights.

Follow Tara at:

Now for the giveaway!

Ta-da!

Look, I've got a whole new look! I'm really happy with it and kinda proud. The template I got was a little screwed up and it didn't let me customize it the easy way. I had to edit the html code to change it to the stuff I wanted. Since I only know the basicest html code, I just crossed my fingers while I deleted and altered random chucks of the code and hope that those weren't important. There are still some things that wouldn't work but hey, it seems to be working just fine so I'll just leave it like that.

Anyway, lemme know what you think of the new design.

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