IMM (21)

 In my Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

As you guys know, I'm currently not buying books. So, I didn't buy any of these.

Received:

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Goodreads - Amazon)

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert (Goodreads - Amazon)

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin (Goodreads - Amazon)

Various signed swag. :)

Signed Fever by Lauren DeStefano jacket (ZOMG, GUYS.)

Thanks to Shannon, Brooke, Kreag, and Lauren. 

What'd you get in your mailbox?

Review - Without Tess by Marcella Pixley

Without Tess by Marcella Pixley


Amazon Link
Goodreads Link

Page Number: 224 Pages
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars

Tess and Lizzie are sisters, sisters as close as can be, who share a secret world filled with selkies, flying horses, and a girl who can transform into a wolf  in the middle of the night. But when Lizzie is ready to grow up, Tess clings to their fantasies. As Tess sinks deeper and deeper into her delusions, she decides that she can’t live in the real world any longer and leaves Lizzie and her family forever. Now, years later, Lizzie is in high school and struggling to understand what happened to her sister. With the help of a school psychologist and Tess’s battered journal, Lizzie searches for a way to finally let Tess go.

I wanted to read this book for two reasons:

One, being that I wanted to read a book that was focused on an emotional situation. Every book has emotions, obviously, but I haven't read one that was based on something like this.

And two, being that I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy mixed into reality. This is obviously different, but the way it's described is very visual. I figured that if I couldn't like it in something like this, it probably just wasn't for me.

    But I did really enjoy this book. It's an interesting idea and I'm fairly sure that there's not anything else out there even remotely like it. The mythical elements of this book are pretend, which, in the end, is probably why it didn't feel confusing to me. I knew that, for the most part, it was a game.
    I absolutely devoured the strangeness of all of it. How serious Tess took her delusions. How far Lizzie was willing to go to please her sister. How their parents never seemed to notice it before it was too late. It was all  so odd and so different.
    I do really enjoy the writing style of this. It's honest with its descriptions. It knows when to be simple and when to use prose to its advantage. There are points when the descriptiveness of it nearly makes me wonder if Tess really does have some sort of magic powers.
    The potency of the last few chapters had my eyes misty and a lump rising in my throat. They were beautifully heartbreaking. It felt like Tess's spell had broken and her magic was seeping away, never to be seen again. And, even though Tess was very intense and a little frightening, I missed her. She added a lot to the book.
    Something that I both loved and hated was the extreme honesty of the situation. It was a little refreshing, but, at the same time, certain parts felt overly dramatic and a little crazy. Some of the roughness didn't feel natural  and it distracted me.
    But there is one thing that I did love, that others might not: Tess is certainly crazy. There was no sugarcoating it. She's completely delusional. There was no forced ending where the mother holds Tess above her head and screams, "She's cured! She's sane!" It's a sad story, with a sad ending and a light at the end of the tunnel. It went where the story was bound to go, and I respect that.
    This book has shown me that it's not impossible for me to enjoy some fantasy mixed into reality, even if it's only a child's imagination. I'm glad for that. I don't want to have to cross off a group of books that seem to be gaining in numbers if I don't really, really feel I can't enjoy them.

    I hope you'll give this book a chance. It's weird. It's quirky. But I love it. And, chances are, if you like this blog and it's writer, you might not be so afraid of something strange. ;)

Songs I listened to while reading:

Review - Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Amazon Link
Goodreads Link

Page Number: 308 Pages
Overall Rating: 5 Stars

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure-bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.
Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:
Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.
Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

    I'm going to start of by warning you: DO NOT bring this to places where other book nerds are. They will hurt you and you will probably get locked out of a room (*cough, cough* RILEY. *cough*) Not that it totally isn't worth stealing, because, in the opposite place, I would be locking people out of rooms, too.
    It's an awesome book. The entire story is deep and thought-out and amazing. It's a book full of jokes, don't get me wrong, but it was emotional, too. Honestly, that's probably the best quality of this book. It's balanced.
    Alex is hilarious and extremely relatable. I re-read things that she said a couple of times, because I say those things and didn't think anyone else did. Which was creepy, but very cool. And Alex is brave beyond belief. She says things, does things, even thinks things I would never have the heart to do. But that doesn't always mean that she doesn't regret her actions. She's a good person. That's more than I can say about a lot of people I know in real life. She isn't self-absorbed or spoiled. Ultimately, she's real. It wouldn't be the same book without her personality.
    Caleb might've been one of my favorite characters in the book. He was loyal and made me laugh. And, in the end, I think he really proved himself a good friend to Alex. Even though Alex is an only child, I kept picturing her and Caleb as siblings.
    Aiden. My gosh, Aiden. Talk about a swoon worthy character. And that may or may not have happened several times. That is for me to know and for Alex to not find out. Because, you know, I don't want to find out what titanium tastes like any time soon. But really, really swoon worthy. Did I mention that I'm Team Aiden? That is all.
    Seth had his moments. He was mainly annoying, in a sibling rivalry sort of way, which is why, as of now, Team Seth scares me. Maybe in Pure, but I hope not. Once again, Team Aiden. *coughs awkwardly* Nobody try to kill me. (Tiffany...)
    I fell in love with the entire world. That may have something to do with my love for Greek Mythology, but maybe not. Either way, I really, really love the setting of the novel.
    Also, please excuse me while I go sob over Alex's mom. I won't go into detail, since it's fairly spoilery, but oh my gosh. Alex has gained tons of respect from me there, because that would be SUCH a hard thing to go through.
 
    Also, Jen, I'm starting a fanclub. You've found your first intense fangirl. Just saying. But seriously, I have a feeling that Half-Blood is gonna be HUGE. And I know other people do, too. If it wasn't, would you have people locking other people out of rooms so they could read it? Exactly. You see my point, right? So, continue writing kickbutt stuff and people will continue spazzing in cars and scaring their aunts. :)

Songs I listened to while reading:

Daily Dose (22)

Daily Dose is hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly.

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BBM - Camille: Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Read

So, everyone. This is my friend Camille. I personally think she's hilarious, but she does use all-caps a lot, so if that bothers you, I'm sorry. She also curses once in this post, just so you all know. Don't know if that bothers any of my readers. If it does, I can assure you, we both apologize.

Now, without further ado, here's Camille!

These are the top ten sequels I can’t wait to read! I really wanna have these books, like, now.

1. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

With the way Delirium ended, I’ve been dying to get the sequel! It comes out in March of next year, I believe. IT’S TOO LONG. :(

2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Even though I was satisfied with Divergent’s ending, I really wanna see what happens next. Hopefully we’ll get more background on the factions in the sequel!

3. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Wither’s ending killed me. I didn’t see it coming AT ALL. Well, I did. In a way. I didn’t expect it to end as soon as it did. So, all in all, I’m dying for this book!

4. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Before I tell you the very obvious reasons why I can’t wait for this book, let me just say that this is an amazing title. It’s my favorite one out of the whole series. These titles are AWESOME. Anyway, I can’t wait for this book because I know it’ll break my heart. Cassie is a great writer, but she’ll probably end it in a cliffhanger, and someone we love will probably die. I can’t wait!

5. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Some very lucky people have already read this book and ADORED it, saying it’s Cassie’s best book. Personally, I like her TMI books better, but I cannot WAIT until I read CP because I just KNOW someone I REALLY DO NOT LIKE FOR TESSA will die. So yay! Can’t wait!


6. The Calling by Kelley Armstrong
I have an ARC of this, but I don’t wanna read it! If I read it now, I’ll have to wait a year and a half until the next one comes out. The way The Gathering ended made me wanna dive into this book ASAP.

7. Last Breath by Rachel Caine
These books also have kickass names. Just saying. I love this series! Cannot wait for this one, and the one after. Also, THERE WILL BE THREE MORE BOOKS OMG I AM SO EXCITED AND I AM FANGIRLING JUST LIKE I DID WHEN I FIRST FOUND OUT BUT I DO NOT CAREEEEE.
Uhm. *clears throat* I am very excited.

8. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
The sequel to Across The Universe, and one I REALLY want to read! Also, the cover is GORGEOUS.

9. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
The Hex Hall series is HILARIOUS and AMAZING and I LOVE IT SO MUCH! I can’t wait until this book comes out, because Demonglass ended in an awful cliffhanger.


10. Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh
Nevermore was absolutely confusing, mostly at the very end. It was still a really good book, and I can’t wait for the sequel!

So, that’s my list. What’s yours?

Great list, Camille! Leave a comment and tell us what sequel you're dying for!

Review - Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano


Amazon Link
Goodreads Link


Page Count: 358
Overall Rating: 5 Stars

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive. A dystopian fantasy series starter with wings. Editor's recommendation.

 *Review may contain some spoilers*


This one has been on my TBR pile for a while now. It was almost the same thing as Divergent, where I was vaguely scared of reading it for fear of peoples' reactions to me not liking it. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that.


Something about this one was poignantly beautiful while being dark and, somehow, almost frightening. The ideas of being snatched from the streets, taken from my home, lured into traps all scare me enough, but being forced into a marriage certainly doesn't help that, either. I briefly thought of how I can't get flu shots (neither can my dad.) because they make me sick. Obviously, that won't kill me, but it's what I thought about.


Linden. Poor, sad Linden. I honestly can't say I've ever hated him in the book. I'll admit that certain things did creep me out, quite a bit. But, at the beginning of the book, I was almost positive that I'd like Linden more than Gabriel. I almost wanted Rhine to pick him in the end, however unpredictable that was. I liked Linden. And I still feel sorry for him.


Oh, Gabriel. What can I say about him? More than anything, he was sweet and nice. DeStefano's characters always have such deep layers that it's hard to describe them, I think. It feels strange to describe someone who honestly feels like a real person.


And Vaughn. Vaughn makes my skin crawl. He's that old man you pass on the street with the wandering eyes, the one you always walk a little faster to pass. He's the man who's not afraid to kill someone to ruin someone else's life. I despise him. I absolutely positively despise him.


Lauren DeStefano's writing is so gorgeous. I simply adore it. I've taken to tabbing paragraphs that I love in books as of late, but I didn't do that with this one. I'd run out of tabs. And I'm not saying this out of flattery.


I won a Fever jacket recently. I entered to win it on whim, because I love the cover. And now, I'm proud to own it. I liked it when I got it and I was happy. But I do feel lucky to have one now that I know how amazing Wither actually is.


I think this is the first book in a while that I've actually made sure that I read, at the very least, three chapters every night. I haven't done that in a while now. I miss wanting to do that.


Wither did something kind of amazing, as well. It didn't end on a huge flipping cliffhanger. It left ends open, things to expand upon in the next book, but it didn't leave me wanting to smash something because I had to wait a year for the next one, either. Don't get me wrong. I want Fever. I want it right now, so I can read it. But, at the same time, I have such respect for Lauren for being able to end her book that way. It was really, really refreshing to be able to sleep after staying up into the wee hours of the night to finish it.


In the morning, I was trying to grab a book, that way I'd have something to do in boring situations at school. But I found myself not wanting to pick something else up, because I doubted that I would be able to come off the reading-a-great-book high that I was on. I go through this sometimes, when I read such an awesome book that I don't want to read anything else for a bit, period.


And, quite honestly, I keep trying to think of something that I didn't like, but I'm drawing a blank. Usually there's at least one thing, but I can't think of a single one. I know I sound like a fangirl, just raving and singing the praises of this book, but it really was just what I wanted to read at the time.


Obviously, Wither earns five stars.

Amazing Quote:

Eventually I realize that I am holding on to him just as tightly as he holds on to me. And here we are: two small dying things, as the world ends around us like falling autumn leaves.

Songs I listened to while reading:

BBM: Angela - Literary Addiction or Healthy Obsession?

Today, we have Angela! She’ll be talking about her obsession with keeping books, even the ones she didn’t like. Hope you enjoy her post! :)
~Brielle
 
I don't know about any of you ~ Hi, by the way :). My name is Angela ~ but reading and writing YA are not only hobbies to me, they're obsessions. I have over 1000 in my collection. For some reason, even if I didn't REALLY enjoy it, I tend to place it on my shelf with those that left me breathless and sadly sighing because the story was over.
To my friends I am their own personal librarian. One of them always asks, “Is this any good?” and if I answer “No” or “Not really” they always laugh and ask me why I keep it. The honest answer is always, ALWAYS “I have no idea”
The proof is in the pictures...

(The sad part is that I have 5 more bookshelves that were too incredibly messy to take pictures of… FULL. )
Maybe I keep them in hopes that reading it the second go-round will be better????
Am I the only OCD, crazy person that does this or do any of you guys develop a weird attachment to the books you read, even if you didn’t really like them? I’d like to hear your thoughts… do I need professional help for literary addiction?
Nice to meet y’all — Angela

Author Interview - Apryl Baker

Hey, everyone! Today, I'm interviewing Apryl Baker, author of The Promise. I'm really excited to have her on the blog. And I know that everyone always says that, but I really am. I wouldn't have accepted the request had I not been, and I hope that you guys already know that.

The laydown:

Apryl will be regular font.

I will be bold and italicized.

Hi, Apryl. Thanks for being here today. To start off, would you give us a brief idea of The Promise?

I call The Promise my Post-It Note idea.  I was driving home from work and listening to Theory of A Dead Man’s Not Meant to Be.  I passed this little community called New Salem and the image of a girl sitting beside a gravestone popped into my head.  I couldn’t shake it so when I got home, I jotted it down on a yellow sticky and stuck it on the wall beside my computer.  Over the next few days, I kept jotting down ideas and before I knew it I had a complete outline of a book on a wall of yellow, purple, and pink.

So what is The Promise about?  In a sentence:  Armed with kick-ass shoes, can CJ stop a maniacal coven leader, save the town, and still get Mr. Melt In Your Mouth Gorgeous while surviving the darkness coming for her?

Cassie Jayne Bishop grew up the only non-believer in the town Coven. When a stranger comes to the sleepy town of New Salem, NC, everything she thought was true unraveled around her. Ethan made her question everything, even her sister’s death. Clues start to pile up and Cassie is determined to find out if the Coven was the real reason her sister died. What she uncovers terrifies her. Her fate lies in the very heart of the secret the Coven protects. It’s the reason she was born. Now, betrayed on every side, can she find a way to survive or will she be the catalyst that starts it all?

Have you always wanted to be a writer or is it a fairly recent goal?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember in one form or another, but The Promise is my first published book.  I was slightly terrified to see if I could get it published, but now I am so glad I had had the courage to start submitting it to agents and publishers. 

A lot of authors have playlists for their books. Do you have one? If so, would you mind sharing a few of the songs?

Here are a few of my favorites and many, many ideas were born out of these songs.  Music inspires a person as much as anything else and helps you to figure out sticky parts that give you trouble.

Theory of a Dead Man:  Not Meant to Be

Dashboard Confessional:  Dusk and Summer

Fall Out Boy:  I Don’t Care

Thriving Ivy:  Angels on the Moom

Buckcherry:  Sorry

Dashboard Confessional:  Stolen

Describe your main character in three words?

Sassy, shoe-a-a-holic, sweetheart

Have you ever had a moment, while writing, when you felt like it'd just be easier to give up? If so, how did you get through that?

All the time…lol.  Sometimes you get stuck or you write yourself into a corner you can’t get out of.  I tend indulge in good old fashioned retail therapy.  Shopping helps relieve stress, at least for me.  There is nothing like the rush of fighting with someone over the last sale item.  Get out of my way when I am on a mission to Target!  My head clears and I can think again, plus being out in the public around so many different people can inspire you where sitting at home staring at a wall can’t.

Would you like to give any advice for aspiring writers?

No matter how hard it is or how often you find yourself wanting to give up, don’t.  When you get told no, go back and just keep working on it.  Many agents and publishers will give you good advice on what they didn’t like about it.  Find the things that are consistent and rework them.  Just keep plugging away and eventually you will find a home for your book.  There are great books out there and soon yours could be one of them.

Also find yourself a great writing group.  The people there will help you to grow and hone your skills to an art truly worthy of the written word.  The best advice I was ever given was to check out www.thenextbigwriter.com.  The folks I met there are the main reason I am published today.  They are brutally honest, but they will support you and give you the help and encouragement you need to finish your work and make it the best it can be.  I owe them a lot.

Anything else that you'd like to add?

I love to write and if my writing can make one person smile or laugh or cry, then I’ve done my job.  I hope you all enjoy reading The Promise as much as I did writing it.  I laughed, I cried, I blushed as I wrote, and I loved every minute of my time in New Salem with Cassie and her Mr. Melt In Your Mouth Gorgeous.  I hope you do as well.  Thank you all for reading and being a part of The Promise Blog Tour.

You can find me here:

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Apryl-Baker/259303074080181

Twitter:  @AprylBaker

Blog:  http://apryl-baker.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the awesome interview, Apryl!

BBM - The Top Six Things All Writers Need To Know

Today, we have one of my favorite people in writing, Jamie. I'm sure that you'll all love her. We're pretty similar. :)


Hey all of Bri's awesome follows! I first want to thank my wonderfully awesome adopted baby twitter sister, Brielle for doing this meet up. It is a fantastic idea and I have met a lot of cool people while doing it.

Now, when I was asked to do this guest post, I had no idea what I should write about. After asking Bri for what she thought and getting a list of great ideas, I came up with the top six things all writer's need to know. So, here they are and I hope you all enjoy!

1. Word Count:

This is usually the number one question that most new authors ask. What is the standard word count for my novel's genre? It's safe to say that most novels start at 50,000 words and go longer. Depending on genre, it can go up to 60,000 or 130,000. This is a great post by Cassandra Marshall on word counts that will help.

2. Genre:

This is a place that I believe where it's easy to get confused and make a mistake. For example, I once called my novel a YA (Young Adult) Fantasy Romance. After one of my awesome CP's (Critique Partner) pointed out that I should actually call it a YA Paranormal Romance because it made it a lot neater, I realized that wikipedia should be an authors best friend. Any time I think about writing a new genre, I look it up to make sure it isn't listed under a different genre that would sum it up better. So, make wiki a part of your life. It'll help tons. I swear!

3. Know Your Audience:

If you're writing a young adult novel, then get to know the young adult audience. Don't write something and not have at least one teen read it. If only adults read something that you intend on teens reading, then you will never know what your audience will think of it until it's too late. Honestly, my teen readers are very important to me and I value their opinions more than they actually know. If they don't like it, then I know something needs changing. All of this goes for MG and Adult novelists too.

4. Critique Partners and Betas:

To me, these two things are very important as an author. Not only do I have CP's, but I also have some pretty awesome betas. If you don't know what the difference is between a CP or beta, then you should check out this awesome post. My CP's have helped me to take my ms from okay to WOW! I actually love this! Betas have let me know that something's off and that is very important for an author to know before trying to query an agent. If you don't know, then you can't fix it. So my advice is to have at least a CP or use betas. They will save you tons of headaches!

5. Research is a must:

You would never stay in a place (town, hotel, country) that you didn't research first. Well, you should never write about a subject that you have no knowledge of until you research it first. Get to know your subject like you do your favorite T.V. show. If you find during research that it doesn't interest you, then it's better you know before you begin writing then finding out later after you've put so much blood, sweat, and tears into something that you just want to toss in the end. Do yourself a favor, always research before you write anything. It'll save you time later. I promise.

6. Don't be afraid to go through the looking glass:

I know. This sounds crazy. But it's the best piece of advice that I can give. To me, the looking glass in Through The Looking Glass is the doorway to your imagination. If you're afraid to dive into the darkest corners of your mind, then you'll miss out on all of the awesomeness that is the Cheshire cat! Don't be afraid to lay fingers to keyboard, hand to pencil that meets paper. Don't even be afraid to write crap cause we all do it. In fact, we all say the first draft is the worst! So, have fun with writing like you do with reading. Go through the looking glass and meet the handsome Hatter from Syfy's Alice. Who knows, you might find what you've been missing when you do!

I hope my top six things a writer needs to know helps answer any questions you have and also gives you a laugh. Just remember, all authors go through the crazy moments of, “This book is horrible!” It doesn't make it true though. The most important thing you should take away from this is, writing should be fun. If you're not having fun then maybe you need to take a trip down the rabbit hole and have an adventure of your own. Happy writing/reading everybody!

-Jamie 

Come back on Wednesday to check out Jessie's guest post!

And don't forget to go to visit Ali and Elizabeth today!

Review: Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Amazon Link

Goodreads Link

Page Count: 273 Pages
Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is. 

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued. 

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very…different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her. 

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

Darkness Becomes her is one of my best friend's favorite books. She adored it. Be it because we have slightly different tastes in books (Which are usually pretty similar, but sometimes stray, as all things do.) or because of the Greek mythology (which we're both pretty into.), she ranted over it for a bit and told me I needed to read it.

I read it after a while, still wondering what it was even about. I'd read the back and it sounded interesting, but it didn't particularly give away one thing I felt like I needed to know. It's a Greek mythology book. Yes, the series is called Gods and Monsters, so I assumed after I found that out. But I went through a pretty large amount of this book not knowing what the hell was going on.

I did like it, I will say that. I swooned over Sebastian. I liked Crank and Violet. But this book didn't change anything for me.

Maybe it's just that a large portion of this book is spent with Ari trying to figure out what she is. Which was exciting, but just slight irritating at the same time. I'm aware that most could've guessed what Ari was from the start, but that legend had completely slipped my mind. I did figure it out before it was confirmed.

There's a lot of action in this one, so I'm happy about that. Kelly Keaton also has a splendid knack for plotting, because everything was intricately woven into place. Things that happened in the very beginning of the book turn up later and fit into place. Every element of this story was a puzzle piece and it very slowly put itself together.

Something you all know that bothers me occurred in this book. It switches styles far too often for my tastes. It went from very beautiful prose (which I did love quite a lot. I tabbed several things in this one.) to a grittier, urban fantasy vibe, and it just ended up seeming like the author was trying to make her writing more youthful or more lyrical.

Athena bothered me in this book, as well. I know that she was supposed to be the bad guy in this one. I can understand that. But this goddess dropped two F-bombs in the course of one or two pages and called someone a "little s**t." Cursing usually feels more natural with teenagers, but a goddess who otherwise uses flourishy language seemed out of place swearing like she did.

I debated for a while about whether this one should be four stars or three, but eventually I decided it was a 3.5. It wasn't a bad book. I will be reading the sequels and I am excited for them, but, overall I've liked more books a lot more than this one. I do recommend it to those of you who love Greek mythology, action books with lots of creatures, and a strong heroine.

Amazing quote: 

"I shouldn't be enjoying the swirling material around my legs so much, or the breathless excitement that came from racing down an eerie, darkened road with old, decaying mansions all around me. Peering through the mask made me a different person, a confident version of myself. It made me beautiful, mysterious, and powerful, as though I belonged to the night and to the magic that existed here like no other place on the earth. And it belonged to me."

-Page 172

Songs I listened to while reading:

Update: What I'm reading right now.

I know I've been MIA for a bit, but I've been sort of scrambling around recently, trying to get a lot of things done.

As you guys know, I'm doing The Great TBR Challenge, which is basically me naming something so I'll feel more like I should do it. Not that I don't love reading. I just have a lot of hobbies and I'm indecisive, so I can never pick what to do. Basically, I end up on twitter. Hah.

So, for my Challenge, here is my progress.

Books read: 2 (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children & Darkness Becomes Her.)
Next book you plan on reading: Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Books until you finish cycle: 3
Books Bought: None!
Books won/received: City of Fallen Angels & All These Things I've Done.
Comments: A little bit sad that I'm not further in this. Will touch on that in my review for one of the books I read. But, overall, I'm okay. At least I'm reading something and making some progress.

What're you reading!