Waiting on Wednesday - 1/12

Okay "Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week my waiting on Wednesday book is Sweetly by Jackson Pierce. I still have read Sisters Red yet, but I want to.  This book looks good as well.  I have to say I love the covers for this series.

Sweetly by Jackson Pierce

Length: 320 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: August 23rd, 2011

ISBN: 978-0316068659

Synnopsis from Amazon.com: "As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past-- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone-- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen it's next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.

Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry."

Teaser Tuesday - 1/11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


This week my teaser is from Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.



Here it is: "Axel has been acting wilder and wilder last spring and talking crazy stuff.  She heard him and the Five boast about midnight visits to town where they stalked humans in the shadows and scared them silly." Pg 8

Review - Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Size: 264 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 14, 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0385734219
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars


I have heard excellent things about this book and have been meaning to read it for quite some time.  I really enjoyed The Silver Kiss by Klause.  Finally I got around to reading it and it was a very good book.

Vivian is loup-garou, a werewolf of sorts.  She lives with her mother and the rest of a pack who are struggling to survive.  Vivian's father was the pack leader and when he was killed in an accident they were left leaderless.  It also appears that someone is killing humans, and the wounds look suspiciously wolf-like.  With all the tension over these issues the pack is a mess.  Vivian just wants to fit in somewhere and finds solace in a boy at school named Adrian.  But can he ever accept the real Vivian?  In the end Vivian may have to choose, does she want to embrace her human side?  Or stay true to her loup-garou roots?  Which will she decide ultimately tastes better blood or chocolate?

This was a very well done book.  As far as books done about werewolves it was one of the better young adult books out there.  The description throughout is beautiful; although Vivian isn't the most likable heroine you end up really feeling her pain by the end of the book.  Klause did an excellent job in having events unfold in a way that they really would. 

I loved how Klause brings a lot of mythology around the moon into this story and how when Vivian runs as wolf you can really feel the beauty of the night that she feels.

The above being said I did have one big problem with this book.  That problem is that almost all of the characters are complete jerks at one point or another.  I actually started reading this book last year and had to set it aside because I just disliked all of the characters so much.  I am glad I finally stuck with it though and read this book; in the end I did learn to sympathize with these characters, but I still didn't like them much.

Overall this was a very good young adult werewolf book.  There are scenes of beauty and descriptions of the night that are very lyrical.  While I didn't find the characters to be likable, there was a brutal honesty to them that was refreshing.  If you enjoyed Nightshade you would probably enjoy this book; if you loved this book I would recommend reading Nightshade.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- YA Reading Challenge List

 

In My Mailbox and Mailbox Monday - 1/10

IMM is a meme started at The Story Siren with some inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.


Anyone can participate in IMM and you are not limited to only sharing books that arrive via your mailbox. You can also share books that you've bought or books that you've gotten at the library.


Mailbox Monday can be found at: The Printed Page


Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. 

Another Vlog this week! Hope you all enjoy :-)

For Review:

Swapped through Paperbackswap.com:

Bought:

Gift:

eBooks:

Library Books:

Graphic Review - Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border (Bone, Book 5) by Jeff Smith (4.5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Size: 128 pages
Publisher: Graphix
Release Date: January 1, 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0439706360
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in Bone series
Source: Borrowed from library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars


This is the 5th book in the nine book Bone series by Jeff Smith.  This is a good installment in the series and introduces some new characters to the series.

This book deals with Fone Bone and Smiley Bone and the rat monster baby that they saved.  They encounter a new (large and in charge) character, a giant cougar, named Roque Ja.  Of course the Bones take to calling him Rock Jaw which pisses him off.  There is much running from bad guys and trying to determine who is one who's side and just how you define good and evil.

To be honest this wasn't my favorite installment in this series.  You don't get to see Thorn or Gma at all in this book and I missed them.  Also I am unsure what the point of all of the orphaned animals joining the group was since they all left at the end of the story.  I am assuming this will all tie together somehow...eventually.  But the story didn't seem to make much progress.

There also were a lot of things I really did like though.  Rock Jaw is an awesome new character and his discussion of good and evil is a..uh..good one.  This is a discussion we had with my son not too long ago when we were trying to explain (to a four year old) how good and evil kind of depends on perspective.  I liked that we also learn more about the history behind the valley.

There was a lot of stuff that happened in this installment that was a bit piecemeal.  Having not read the rest of the series yet I can only assume it will be significant in future installments.   Like in previous installments there are some very funny parts in here and the illustration is spot on like always.

Overall I really enjoyed this Bone installment, but I liked it a little bit less than the previous few.  I missed Thorn and didn't understand how some of the small things that happened will relate to the rest of the story.  I did really enjoy Rock Jaw though and hope we see him in future installments.  I am excited to read the next book, Old Man's Cave, to see how the story progresses.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge
- Graphic Novels Challenge List